Ageless Beauty

I was wandering the drugstore skincare isle the other day and rather than reaching for my normal go tos and making my way to the checkout, I stopped to look at the expansive isle of anti aging creams, serums and magic potions lined up neatly for customer consideration. While not a life altering decision, choosing these products can be completely daunting and spending disposable income on products that don’t work feels like such an enormous waste. Like many women in their late 20s I’m somewhere between the occasional teenage breakout and becoming witness to those little lines popping up near my eyes and mouth that I’m positive weren’t there two years ago. If I told you the Britney Spears song ‘Not Yet a Woman’ actually came on while perusing products in this isle would you believe it? It did. And it made me want to stomp my foot in angst. Seems like my skin is just as confused as I am.

I see those late night informercials that make promises to sleepless viewers that their pores will be smaller, their skin will regain that youthful glow and they’ll look ten years younger (I’m nearing 30, so the ten years younger claim has now started resonating with me.) As a person who never seems to drift off easily, I often find myself in front of that glowing screen wondering how many people are reaching for their phones to order these products. Then I got to thinking, if these skincare wonders do work, does that improve our lives? How much does aging really impact our confidence and self perception when it comes to beauty?

We spend so much time and money trying to rewind the clock only to say, 'Gosh I really looked pretty good when I was (insert age here), I wish I would have been more aware of it.' Perhaps we start realizing our appeal in the moment we are in and stop reflecting on when we were younger. I'm not saying don't use your products - rather, use them, be realistic about what kind of impact they will make and move on with your day.

Please make me read this again when I'm 40.

BR