Sunday 21 July 2013

Wrinkles or laughter lines?

I have to thank Staness of The Menopause Makeover for providing me with inspiration for today's post. Although she's more than ten years younger than me - far too young to be worrying about wrinkles in my view! - she lives in L.A., where there's huge pressure to look young.  Staness describes how she visited her dermatologist for an irritating skin condition and at the end of the appointment she was told " I can make you look 10 to 15 years younger with some Botox and fillers." Staness' response was "I love my wrinkles, dammit!" Good for her. I applaud her attitude and her vow that she's going to commit her life to more important things than wrinkles. 

Even if I won the Euromillions jackpot I wouldn't waste my money on botox and fillers, though I do admit to recently buying some L'Oreal day and night creams with the tantalising name of "Revitalift". I am hoping that this means it will revitalise my skin at the same time as giving me a face lift. To be honest it wasn't the name that really attracted me - nor the claim that it would target the 10 signs of ageing - it was the price (a lot less than my favourite Clarins' creams) plus a special discount if you bought two products. Sold to the pensioner on a tight budget!
Showing my laughter lines at the age of 65
I remember many years ago asking my aunt what was the secret of her youthful looking skin and being told that all she used was cheap Nivea cream. Thinking about this, I have just realised that I was in my early twenties so my aunt would only have been in her mid forties, though at the time I had considered her positively ancient. I suspect that good genetics had a role to play here, but it was reassuring to be told that cheaper products could be as good as top of the range expensive ones.

I love this quote from Inès de la Fressange in "Parisian Chic": "I pay no attention to wrinkles. I just stand back from the mirror!" Exactly. One of the advantages of getting older is that, with failing eyesight, you can't see your wrinkles without your glasses. I keep my glasses next to the PC and not next to the bedroom mirror for that very reason.

One of the pluses of being a blogger is that you get to choose your most flattering photos, however if someone else posts pictures of you on-line you can get a nasty surprise. It's even worse when a much younger friend tags you (wrinkles and double chin fully revealed) on facebook. The worst photos of me recently have been when my face has been turned sideways, revealing a saggy jaw-line as well as those tell-tale laughter lines. Excuse me while I check the ten signs of ageing that my new skin creams promise to target.  Good news! Take a look at numbers two and three below: this should sort out my saggy jaw-line.

  • Minimizes fine lines + wrinkles
  • Firms sagging skins
  • Tightens facial contours
  • Restores elasticity
  • Hydrates dryness
  • Smoothes skin surface
  • Softens rough texture
  • Brightens dullness
  • Strengthens skin's density
  • Fades discolorations

  • If my facial contours miraculously become tighter and my sagging skin does become firmer, I will post before and after photos on my blog, so watch this space!

    Do you wear your wrinkles with pride? Or have you too discovered a new miracle cream?

    14 comments:

    1. Even the biggest celebrities and the young and beautiful can look not their best depending on where and when and how the photo was taken.

      I don't concern myself with it.

      I believe what had made me appear so much younger than I am is raising in vibration and releasing old things.

      :-)

      Kathy
      kathyhadleylifecoach.com

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      1. I agree that the way you feel inside can affect the way you look on the outside, and if you worry about the way you look the worry lines can age you!

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    2. Hi Sue!

      I about to turn 50 at the end of the year. I'm a firm believer in good skin care as our skin is the largest organ on our body and the first line of defense for a lot of pesky things. I use Apriori because of its great results at an affordable price and the big plus is that its on the safe cosmetics list. No weird stuff in the ingredients list. No parabens or other carcinogenic preservatives. No animal by-products or petrolatem or mineral oil (both by-products of crude oil...ewwwwww)

      No one believes me when I tell them my oldest is 29 and I'm the grandmother of two...

      Peggy

      ****
      Peggy Nolan
      http://thestepmomstoolbox.com
      and for skin care, check out http://useloveshare.com/IC/eternalbeauty

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      1. Hi Peggy

        I haven't heard of Apriori - is it an American brand? I like to buy Body Shop products as they're not tested on animals. I also like Clarins (apart from the price!) as they use natural ingredients.

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    3. Hi Sue,

      I really enjoy reading your blog, and loved your book, "Retiring the Olé Way"!

      When I was in my early 20s (I am 58 now), a woman---a perfect stranger, I was working in a store and she was shopping---told me that I needed to learn NOT to smile so much!

      She was insistent that all the smiling I was doing would create terrible smile lines when I was older. She was quite serious and told me to cultivate a more serious expression. I have no idea why she was so interested in my future smile lines, and I never saw her again. Well, I did not change my ways & kept smiling. She was correct of course---about the lines.

      But can you imagine keeping a stony face and not smiling through the days and years of life? I couldn't, and I still can't. So I deal with the lines (mostly by trying not to think about them!). Of course those lines are kept company by crow's feet and the less-than-smooth jaw line....and I won't even discuss my neck!! I am not inclined to explore Botox or other such remedies and really like the suggestion to just "Step away from the mirror!"
      :-)

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      1. I still remember seeing an elderly woman on the bus when I was in my late 20s or early 30s. All the lines on her face were drooping in a downward direction and it looked as if she had been miserable all her life. I vowed then that I would always smile, as when I got wrinkles I wanted them to be happy ones! Neck? Did I mention the word neck? Mine is at its best in winter when I can wear scarves! ;-)

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      2. PS I also meant to thank you for your kind words about my blog and my book!

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    4. I like your outlook. It was fun to read your blog, good perspective.

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      1. Thanks, Carol. I'm glad that you enjoyed reading my blog.

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    5. I will be 51 in a couple of weeks, but to me age is just a number. We are much more than our wrinkles (I call them lines of distinction!). Sagging thoughts, sagging face. When we allow negative, heavy, low vibration thought energy into our thinking, it will pull us down on all levels of our being. I don't have a miracle cream, but I do use soap and water to cleanse, and I make my own facial cream out of coconut oil and vitamin E oil. I also use extra virgin olive oil to remove make-up. For my body-skin, I mix organic lavender massage oil with soap in the shower. It doesn't clog the pores and it keeps my skin soft and smooth.

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      1. Penny, I love the idea of having lines of distinction! Thanks for the tips on making your own face and body creams: I will have to try them out.

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