Looking Young

I do look young for my age. From a few feet away I could pass for early twenties and I do still get ID’d quite frequently. And the rest of my body, with the weight loss my skin and my figure got softer and I’m still reaping those benefits now. My only skincare tip : Drink water. Up until I was about 21 I had a face full of zits and horrible red blotches. Then I spent about eight weeks one Summer drinking nothing but water and it cleared up completely, and I’ve been relatively blemish-free ever since. Water helps in so many ways, it can be a struggle in winter when all you want is one of your favourite hot chocolates, but even just room temperature water can work wonders.

Your clues : Poppy and a Pint

Here are the good bits about looking young :

• Being able to get away with younger fashions – I wear a miniskirt and short dresses and feel good. There are a lot of things I wouldn’t try wearing because I feel too old in my head, but bodywise I’m sure I could pull off. But I still feel too young to try Marks and Spencer for normal daywear and for work.
• Help in the supermarket – nice “older” men who see you struggling to get a yoghurt off the top shelf and kindly take it down for you.
• Save money on skincare – I know this one is going to come back and bite me in the bum when I turn 40. But at that age when you’re supposed to be getting into beauty regimes and all that jazz I was being a bit bullied at school, so never really got into it, even later on. But luckily I haven’t had much cause to, the water works just fine!
• Running around with kids – You can still run round with children and it’s fine because you only look at most five years older than them!
• That feeling when someone says “No way! You look much younger than 30” – Inside we like the compliment, it helps on days when we’re feeling a bit fat or our hair’s gone a bit shit or you realise you put charcoal tights on this morning rather than black.

And of course there must be some bad sides of looking younger than you are :

Definitive Identification

• Having to carry ID at all times – This was very clumsy for me after I left uni, no NUS card anymore and no driving license so I had to carry my passport. Very frustrating as I was always really scared of losing it. Now the driving license fits nicely into my purse and even my pocket so much better!
• Condescending idiots – I am 30. No, I don’t look it but I am. There are always people who make that snap judgement and put you at 22 in their head, knowing nothing about “adult” life, and treat you accordingly. I hate this – I have lost a parent, I own a car, I have a mortgage (almost!), I pay bills, and I know I like my steak rare.
• Getting served in bars – I used to work in a bar, and I used to leave the people that looked too young until last because of having to ID them. This happens to me a lot. On one work night out, I was standing half an hour and even complained to the staff at the time and still didn’t get a drink. In the end I thought “F-this” and just went home. I complained the following day and was offered a free meal and drinks for me and four friends. I was so annoyed with them that I didn’t actually take it up, and didn’t enter that bar again until at least a year later.

On a side note, according to this article by the Daily Telegraph, women look their oldest at about 15h30 on a Wednesday, and unfortunately that’s riiight about NOW! Written and scheduled for British Blogger Selection – Skincare