DO YOU HAVE THE FACE YOU DESERVE?

“Nature gives you the face you have at twenty. Life shapes the face you have at thirty. But at fifty you get the face you deserve.” ― Coco Chanel

A THOUGHT TO PONDER

This quote pulled me up short because there is enough truth in it to make me wonder how much my face looks like the face I deserve. Does all the living I've done over the years sink into my skin and reflect back at me in the mirror? If I had an easy life do I stay looking young and carefree compared to older and more haggard if the going was tough?

AT TWENTY

20 years old and life was only just beginning

I see photos of myself at 20 when life was spread out before me - I'd only just met my husband-to-be and I was living away from home and experiencing real life for the first time. I'd get up, throw on a bit of Oil of Ulan moisturizer and that was the sum total of my "beauty routine". I rarely wore make up and never thought about sun protection - other than a sunhat at the beach. I was busy living life and having fun and now I think maybe I should be grateful for the face life gave me back then - I wouldn't mind the youthful skin quality and firmer jawline and wider eyes that I took for granted in those days.

AT THIRTY

30 years old - two kids and a mortgage
By 30 I'd been married for nearly a decade and had two young children - still not much makeup or skin care - too busy juggling kids, work and home life to bother too much with tarting myself up. I seem to remember making a bit of an effort to put some colour on my face when I went to work or out somewhere socially, but only the barest of necessities - life was still being fairly kind to me and I don't think the worry or stress had done much to me at that stage......(but I do regret those perms!)



AT FIFTY

my 50th birthday - so much water under the bridgeFast forward another twenty years to 50 and I can certainly see the impact of time and living on my face - especially first thing in the morning! Now I slap on copious amounts of face cream (high level sun protection included) and then whack on night cream before bed. I wouldn't go to work without makeup on - or even to church because I don't want people asking me if I'm tired or not well - which happens when my face is naked. I still go au-natural at home or to the shops, but Coco Chanel was certainly on point when she said that 50 shows us the face we deserve.



POSITIVE AGEING

I'm hoping that clean living and a positive attitude to life mean that the lines on my face are (mostly) from smiling and laughing. I'd like to think that I've been saved from extra wrinkles because I chose not to smoke and my skin tone is hanging in there because I'm not knocking back several glasses of wine each night (tempting though that may be at times!) Trying not to be a sour old woman has the added benefit of keeping the frown lines at bay and I am working on not worrying about things so much - that must have some positive effects too!

I'm not sure I have the face I deserve - I think there's a good chance that I do.......which is a little bit scary. All those years of living staring back at me from the mirror, but it's not too late to make sure that the next 20 or so only add more laugh lines, and keeping a sparkle in my eye should help offset the ravages of time more than botox ever could.

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Windback Wednesday ~ www.crestingthehill.com.au

36 comments

  1. It's a lovely face Leanne. You really haven't changed that much since you were in your twenties. I think our genes and how much sun we've exposed our faces to play a bit part in how we age. Lines and wrinkles are our badge of honour to show that we have lived a full life full of sadness and laughter. I would prefer to see these rather than the plumped out botoxed look that women tend to have done these days. It looks atrocious. :)

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    1. I completely agree Kathy - I really don't understand this shiny faced strangely contoured look that so many famous women in their 50's and 60's are sporting. I'll age gracefully (hopefully) but I do wish I'd known about what the Australian sun did to fair skin back in my childhood and teens!

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  2. You still look the same Leanne and I truly believe that having a positive attitude and eating well are the keys. I don't mind my lines and wrinkles as they show how I've lived my life. No botox for enhancement surgery for me. A lovely smile like yours is all anyone needs.

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    1. What lovely things to say Sue - I can certainly see the changes over those 30 years, but it's nice to think they're from living and loving and laughing - every wrinkle has been earned :)

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  3. You two are very inspirational.

    www.couponorcode.com

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    1. what a kind thing to say Atif - thank you so much! And thanks for stopping by and commenting :)

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  4. What a great post! Inspiration for me to create a similar one :) Thank you for partying with me at my very first Wednesday AIM Link Party. I shared your post on my social media sites.

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    1. Thanks so much Dee - I'd love to see a post with some photos of you in it - all I've ever seen is your lovely Sunflower - I'm keen to see the woman behind the bloom :)

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  5. You have a beautiful face at all your stages. At 53 I have a few more wrinkles - laugh lines, smile lines - and you can tell I enjoy being in the sun. I've been using good skin care since I was about 40.

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    1. Thanks so much Peggy - I wonder how "youthful" we'd all look if we'd known about sun damage 50 years ago? Fair skin and full sun are not good friends are they? Still better late than never to start protecting ourselves.

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  6. Oh my beautiful friend I love this so much. I adore how you wrap it up reminding us we are in control of our destiny and choices. We can choose to make the very next wrinkle added one a result of unmitigated joy

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    1. If if it's inevitable that we get wrinkles Carla, I'd like to think mine came from fun and laughter and not from grimness and frowning :)

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  7. I think we are all way too bought into the myth of perfection. Everything airbrushed. I embrace my wrinkles. Although they were a shock!
    Carol

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    1. I know what you mean Carol - sometimes I look at myself and wonder what happened, but then I think about all the years I've lived and laughed and wouldn't swap them for flawlessness.

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  8. You look great at any age! I agree with Kathy that the botox trend is atrocious, not only in the way it looks but in the message that it sends out through society via media. Every wrinkle and spot is well-earned and a badge of honor. The older face shows depth of experience and wisdom.

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    1. You are so right Carol - we all wear our lives on our faces and bodies. You can fake it and fight it but ultimately I've never seen a botoxed 60 year old who doesn't look ridiculous.

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  9. My face tells of all of my experiences & all my laughter & smiles...& wine! I don't judge those who turn to "help", but...it's not for me. You look fabulous. Dropping in from loving' life linky

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    1. Thanks so much Jo - after working for a surgeon this year, I have decided to steer away from the knife - the risks are higher than the rewards IMHO. I'll do my best to age gracefully instead.

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  10. You look fantastic at all ages! At 52 I sometimes get a shock as I walk past the mirror and see myself. I see glimpses of my mother! In my head I am much younger than the reality. My face has certainly changed a lot since I was a teen and in face from each decade to the next. It's sad how society glorifies youth and perfection when there is no stopping the aging process so why fight it? Why isn't it embraced and respected? So I guess I have the face I deserve in my 50's - a reflection of life thus far!! #TeamLovinLife

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    1. My face reflects life thus far too Min - I think we're more critical of ourselves than we need to be too. I look at the photos of me and see all the flaws - most people just look superficially and don't see half of what we bemoan. And I totally agree that it would be nice for society to appreciate ageing more :)

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  11. Coco Channel does it again! I adore her quotes.
    You look fantastic.
    My face tells me I'm more confident than I ever was at 20 or 30.
    #TeamLovinLife

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    1. That confidence thing is such a big factor isn't it Leanne? If we can love ourselves then we project happiness and that makes us look younger. Thanks for the lovely compliment :)

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  12. You look great in all of those pictures Leanne! I didn't use any skin care products until well into my 30s and I'm pretty slack even now (at 49!). My mum's facial skin is very loose and wrinkled - combo of having lost weight and never really worried too much about her appearance I suspect. It reminds me of how much life she's lived though.

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    1. I took my skin for granted for way too long Deborah - I slap the moisturizer on now in the hope I can undo a bit of the neglect from my teens! My mum complains about looking old and is always trying the latest creams she sees on TV - she hasn't cottoned on to the fact that wrinkles come with age and to own them with pride.

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  13. Beautiful post, Leanne! You are also a beautiful couple, inside and out. Thank you for the positive aging inspiration. I agree with you about the sour old lady thing. Not good and not where I want to end up myself.

    SSG xxx

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    1. Sometimes I feel really old as a blogger - so many young things out there who are still blooming! I hope that I can be an example of how getting older isn't such a bad thing - in fact it's quite fun most of the time :)

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  14. Leanne, you're lovely at every stage of life! I don't even put on moisturizer most days, let alone makeup. I wear lipstick and mascara a couple times a week maybe. About the only stage of my life I wore makeup was the stage at which I truly didn't need it -- the teen years! When I think how I covered up that gorgeous young skin with makeup, I can hardly believe it; but it was growing up.

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    1. Hi Jean - isn't it funny how we didn't appreciate what we had until it was well and truly gone? I figure all I can do now is add a bit of cream, throw on some colour now and then and just be grateful that I don't look too bad for someone in her dotage :)

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  15. You are definitely going to have smile lines. I have seen the most wrinkled faces, and when they smile that is all I see a beautiful smile and the wrinkles melt away unnoticed. My husband is always telling what a beautiful smile I have, I am hoping that is all he sees, because the rest is showing the years.
    Kathleen

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    1. There is nothing like a great smile is there Kathleen? I want to be smiling and sparkling and laughing all the way to old age. No cranky, miserly wizzen old lady here - lots of laugh lines though :)

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  16. You look beautiful Leanne. I think it's so important to feel comfortable in your own skin, at any age. I've noticed more lines on my face lately, but they are mostly from smiling and laughing, which is fine by me :)

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    1. The whole wrinkle thing is not as daunting as I thought it would be Lyndall - if you've earned them then they are kind of a trophy of a life well lived aren't they? Smooth and shiny is just weird when you're over 50.

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  17. You've got a glowing smile at 29, 30 and 50. That's great. Don't lose it...certainly not to botox!

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    1. What a lovely thing to say Mimi - and no, I won't be heading down the Botox trail - and certainly no surgery!

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  18. What an incredible quote, Leanne!! And even though there are changes in our face, it's kinda amazing how we yet look the same!!
    jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

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    1. It's like when you see someone from school days isn't it Jodie, they look different and yet still the same - if you've treated yourself well over the years then hopefully your face stands the test of time.

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