Are Today’s 40 Plus Women More Attractive Than They Were in Their 20s?

This week I was looking through my boxes of photos trying to find a photo for a friend and I came across some truly awful photos of me. (This one above isn’t anywhere near the worst.)

It got me thinking: Why do I think I look better now? Is it because I pose better in photos? Or was it just because of what I was wearing, along with my hair and make up of the time that made me look so awful (by today’s standards)?

Have you ever had this thought: Are today’s 40 plus women more attractive than they were in their 20s?

The thing is, there are so many variables.

Of course there are changing fashions. Are we misled by the dated hair and makeup of the 1980s and 90s… or do we simply embrace a more youthful look these days?

There’s the expectation of grooming today: More and more of us are aware of getting our hair done, doing our nails, getting facials, grooming our eyebrows… I don’t remember women talking about it when I was in my 20s – nothing like how young women of today do it as a matter of course. I don’t remember anyone whitening their teeth, going for a bikini wax or getting their eyebrows threaded (or even plucked – in the early 90s we just attacked them with a tweezer frenzy until there was almost nothing left and we were left looking permananetly surprised).

 

Do celebrities look better today?

When you consider older celebrities today, think how many of them look a HUNDRED times better in their 40s and 50s (and older!) than they did in their 20s. BUT (and it’s a big but) they have access to all the treatments and, er, “tweaks” in the world. When money isn’t an object, I guess we could all look as groomed and glowing as they do. (And =cough= smooth.)

The ones that come to mind for me would be the three Kates: Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett and Kate Beckinsale. Now I’m not saying for a minute that they haven’t had anything done, but all three look so much more gorgeous now than they did in their 20s. You can see that grooming has a LOT to do with it. None have succumbed to fillers, thank goodness (not that I can see, anyway) – no pillow faces or overfilled lips.

(And I really hope that none of them ever do…)

If they have had anything done, it’s been done very, very well – all are radiantly beautiful IMO.

Kate Winslet (both Getty Images, left, right)

 

Cate Blanchett (both Getty Images, left, right)

 

Kate Beckinsale (both Getty Images, left, right)

 

(I’ve deliberately chosen red carpet photos as opposed to studio portraits: They’re less likely to be Photoshopped. Rarely are paparazzi photos retouched because they’re often the occasional “terrible” ones that the press like to splash about *she rolls her eyes*)

 

Grooming

Personally, I think it’s a little bit of everything: old photos (especially of the 1980s and 90s) will ALWAYS date someone and therefore make their overall appearance less appealing. But I also think we embrace more grooming and expect it from today’s celebrities – glossier hair, whiter teeth and warmer, sun-kissed glowing skin. All things that make you look more youthful.

And in a way that expectation has filtered into the lives of us regular ladies: Whether it’s pressure from society and the media or pressure we put on ourselves (we always have to be “social media-ready” at the drop of a hat for goodness sake), I do think that overall we ARE more youthful, and therefore more attractive. More products, more technology, more access to everything means we experiment more and try new things.

I don’t think the majority of midlife women in the 1970s, 80s or even 90s did the same.

I think I look better now than when I was 22 because I had very chubby cheeks (even though I was slim). My bone structure has come out more and I take more care of my appearance now. I’ve learnt how to take a “good” photo – what my best angles are (see my selfies tips post from the other day if you want some pointers). I’m more aware of what looks good and what doesn’t on me – plus I have more confidence overall.

We all have a little bit of that happen to us. It makes me wonder if they’ll look back at us in another 20 or 30 years and think how rough we looked…?!

DO YOU THINK YOU LOOK BETTER NOW THAN YOU DID WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER?! TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS!

 

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