Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Style and beauty

Looking for style advice? Chat all about it here. For the latest discounts on fashion and beauty, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Looking older than my age

207 replies

stargir · 31/12/2024 11:41

Age 53 with nasolabial folds and dryish skin. I have never really worn much make up and have been using a tiny amount of Bourgois gel foundation to even out my skin tone along with Olay retinol 24 night cream and Olay regenerist day cream. I have tried all sorts of moisturisers and foundations but I am feeling really low with how old I look and wondered if anyone could recommend some sort of tinted moisturiser or other product that could give me a bit of glow, I was on the point of ordering some trinny London BFF de-stress cream but that has mixed reviews and I can’t afford to waste money. I hate thick make up and would never consider fillers or Botox as I have a fear of needles and don’t have tons of money to spend on beauty. I do wonder if years of running have caused the sagging of my skin so know I mainly do cycling and gym classes. Any suggestions?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
porridgebath · 22/01/2025 17:52

JaneJeffer · 22/01/2025 17:48

I don't use it anyway @porridgebath because to me wrinkles are perfectly natural and not a disease to be eradicated Grin

Fair enough!

porridgebath · 22/01/2025 17:54

ColourBlueColourPurple · 22/01/2025 17:48

A lot of medication, surgical techniques etc provably have quite dark histories though. Look at some of the medications and treatments of the past. Barbaric.

Yes I am aware of that it's a personal choice of mine. Everyone has their own choices to make.

marshmallowmix · 22/01/2025 17:58

Can sensitive skin use tret?

Also anyone know what happened to a cream called Avibon it doesn’t seem to be available any longer …

ColourBlueColourPurple · 22/01/2025 17:59

porridgebath · 22/01/2025 17:54

Yes I am aware of that it's a personal choice of mine. Everyone has their own choices to make.

Of course. My reply wasn't regarding personal choice though, it was in response to the history of medications.

porridgebath · 22/01/2025 18:03

ColourBlueColourPurple · 22/01/2025 17:59

Of course. My reply wasn't regarding personal choice though, it was in response to the history of medications.

I'm not stupid though I'm aware other medications and techniques don't have the best of histories

ColourBlueColourPurple · 22/01/2025 18:05

porridgebath · 22/01/2025 18:03

I'm not stupid though I'm aware other medications and techniques don't have the best of histories

I didn't say you were stupid....

TheRealHousewife · 23/01/2025 18:13

Sonant · 17/01/2025 04:19

No makeup.

I use tretoin.

I showed your photo to my OH and they said 25. Ignore the haters.

Illegally18 · 23/01/2025 23:45

Brokeinto · 17/01/2025 10:42

Is that real? Odd picture. Duck pouting clearly not just for the gen z's if it is !

also a bit crazy witch-looking!

Mercurial123 · 24/01/2025 07:36

TheRealHousewife · 23/01/2025 18:13

I showed your photo to my OH and they said 25. Ignore the haters.

Does he need his eye testing? Nobody in their early 50's looks 25. She looks good, but come on, that's ridiculous.

TheRealHousewife · 25/01/2025 08:02

@Mercurial123 Come and tell my OH to his face he is being ridiculous 😅. Rude… a bit like a lot of posters on this thread.

Mercurial123 · 25/01/2025 10:29

TheRealHousewife · 25/01/2025 08:02

@Mercurial123 Come and tell my OH to his face he is being ridiculous 😅. Rude… a bit like a lot of posters on this thread.

Are we at school?! 😆 And yes still ridiculous to say someone in their 50's looks 25.

HornyHornersPinkyWinky · 25/01/2025 10:48

OP tretinoin is great for skin texture, brightening, fine lines etc. but won't do much for sagging I'm afraid.

I've been using it for years and I'm still starting to see the beginnings of (genetically inherited) jowls unfortunately. My skin still looks way better than it did, and I'm happy to use it, but it's not the miracle cream some people claim it is.

onwardsup4 · 27/01/2025 15:07

Arraminta · 21/01/2025 22:36

Am I missing something here? Why has she posted these unflattering photos, is she being ironic? Her skin tone is quite grey and her features are somewhat 'manly' shall we say. And, if she genuinely loves herself why on Earth doesn't she take a face frontal photo in natural light? Why the contrived angles and weird pouty thing? So many questions!

I've spent the day with my 81 year old Auntie who was a professional model back in the early 60s. Now she is truly beautiful and has no need for forced camera angles or pouting. She remains beautiful from every angle and in any light, because that's what real beauty is.

Is it? Beauty is only about looking beautiful from every angle in every light 🤔
Beauty can be about so much more and so what if that poster feels good in her self. Don't understand all the beef about it tbh

Arraminta · 27/01/2025 17:46

onwardsup4 · 27/01/2025 15:07

Is it? Beauty is only about looking beautiful from every angle in every light 🤔
Beauty can be about so much more and so what if that poster feels good in her self. Don't understand all the beef about it tbh

Yes, I know people can have a beautiful soul yadda yadda, whatever. But we're talking about recognisable, conventional physical beauty here. Photographic models look beautiful from pretty much any angle, and that's the reason they're models. The industry simply doesn't have the time to spend getting the model to twist and turn in weird angles, and contort her face in order to finally get the one shot where she looks good.

Our DD studied Fine Art & Photography at university and wrote her dissertation on the physiognomy of being photogenic. It's surprisingly scientific and mathematical, actually. It's an awful lot to do with symmetry, as I remember?

onwardsup4 · 27/01/2025 18:15

@Arraminta is that what we're talking about though? I thought it was about feeling good in your own skin or at least that's what the selfie poster I think was getting at. I don't think she was trying to say she's a stunning beauty

Arraminta · 27/01/2025 21:55

onwardsup4 · 27/01/2025 18:15

@Arraminta is that what we're talking about though? I thought it was about feeling good in your own skin or at least that's what the selfie poster I think was getting at. I don't think she was trying to say she's a stunning beauty

Yes, I assumed it was? I think we all know that if the selfie poster genuinely, truly felt great in her own skin then she'd have no need to regularly post such selfies in the hope for validation. And she'd surely have no need to post such carefully posed and contrived photos.

Why not just post a quick, casual snap of herself? You know, a photo that's averagely lit, from an average angle. Etc.

PeachyKeane · 27/01/2025 22:04

If everyone is aware that the poster has issues, then why is everyone being so unkind to her?

Brokeinto · 27/01/2025 23:10

PeachyKeane · 27/01/2025 22:04

If everyone is aware that the poster has issues, then why is everyone being so unkind to her?

Have you read her replies...

onwardsup4 · 29/01/2025 16:45

@Arraminta I think this is where I'm confused cause to me they do just look like average snaps

mnisawasteoftime · 29/01/2025 19:46

onwardsup4 · 27/01/2025 18:15

@Arraminta is that what we're talking about though? I thought it was about feeling good in your own skin or at least that's what the selfie poster I think was getting at. I don't think she was trying to say she's a stunning beauty

The thread isn't about feeling good in your own skin. It's about aging, tretinoin and it's effects on the face.

Posting weird angled pics where you've tried to stretch out your neck and jaw so the sagging is as minimised as possible, whilst pulling a pout or trying to smile whilst pouting, then saying tretinoin is great because you don't have wrinkles... is messed up.

In terms of the thread and OPs concerns about sagging, Sonato may as well have taken her fingers and stretched out her skin pulling it towards her hairline very obviously then taken a pic and said she doesn't have wrinkles or sagging and it's all down to tretinoin. It's bullshit.

If she wanted to advertise it's effects on her skin she should have posted an ordinary full frontal face photo in ordinary lighting and without any major face expression going on ie no pouting, frowning or grinning. Then people can see her natural skin tone and sagging. And OP could, if it helps her, compare that pic to herself in the mirror and see what she thinks about any differences.

Sonato doesn't look 25, whoever said that is looking only at the pose and the no-obvious-wrinkles-at-first-glance aspects of the photo. When you look properly, it's very obvious she has sagging jowels, you can see it no matter how much she contorts her face to try to hide it. There's nothing wrong with her pic as a selfie on FB or Insta but this isn't a "post me a flattering selfie" thread. People are pissed off at her blatent attention seeking that adds nothing to the thread. She's always doing it. That's why they're jumping on her.

OP I'm not convinced myself that anti wrinkle and plumping things are the right way to go for anyone. If it's subtle I suppose it's ok but where people have the "best" effects they look weird IMO. Smooth skin like a 20+ on the face but without the natural facial volume of someone young, very obviously older neck, décolletage, hands, knees, feet. It makes them look odd, misplaced, as if they've been put together out of different pieces, like building a robot, instead of being one whole harmonious human where everything matches. I agree with 70isalimit people look better if they smile. If you're feeling down about yourself you're maybe not smiling at all and whilst someone young just looks moody if they don't smile, older people look saggy, especially if they're also tired. So the best anti aging IMO is being happy and getting enough rest/sleep.

Arraminta · 29/01/2025 19:58

onwardsup4 · 29/01/2025 16:45

@Arraminta I think this is where I'm confused cause to me they do just look like average snaps

Oh come on? Really? Just a hasty, totally average snap?

It's obvious that the selfie poster is contorting her face unnaturally, stretching out her chin uncomfortably and pouting like her life depended on it. The very opposite of natural. The very opposite of casual.

And therein lies the problem. It's the old adage of: Ignore what people say and watch what they do

The selfie poster bangs on endlessly about just love yourself, be natural, age is nothing, beauty is eternal, eauty comes from within, feel good in yourself, yadda yadda.....but then actually only posts images of herself desperately trying to look as youthful as possible, whilst using every photographic artifice in the book.

Shubbypubby · 29/01/2025 22:31

Sonant, you're a funny egg! 😂 Are you a native English speaker? The way you phrase things is... unusual.

You have beautiful skin but I do think you look late 40s. Women can look around their age but still look very attractive, the two aren't mutually exclusive. Why the strange angles? You have great bone structure and don't need to contort your features so oddly🤔

SheridansPortSalut · 29/01/2025 22:35

Tretinoin and HRT.

Sonant · 01/02/2025 00:21

Shubbypubby · 29/01/2025 22:31

Sonant, you're a funny egg! 😂 Are you a native English speaker? The way you phrase things is... unusual.

You have beautiful skin but I do think you look late 40s. Women can look around their age but still look very attractive, the two aren't mutually exclusive. Why the strange angles? You have great bone structure and don't need to contort your features so oddly🤔

I am.

Sonant · 01/02/2025 01:13

Look. I use tret.

I obviously look my age.

That's my bloody point.

I don't think I look young.

It's ok to be ok.

Sagging jowls.

Contorted face.

I'm about as natural as you get friend.

I don't wear makeup.

It's fine to not like me.

I like me though.

Looking older than my age