Looking awful!

Wow, so sorry I haven't been back in here, didn't really expect to get any answers TY all so much.
I wouldn't say I was depressed in any way - just trying to cope with major changes and to sort out a plan of action. I am happy with my life and feel very lucky, but I need to change my lifelong view of myself somehow. That sounds mad lol!
Suki70 yes I buy lookfabulousforever too, it's good stuff.
MawBroon, that's a good idea, a nice hairdo and some gorgeous smelly lotions & potions does sound good right now..
I do have a system of taking specs off when looking in mirrors and at the cooker..
AdelJay; what a lovely post thank you pet xx
seacliff : Re fake tan, even the expensive stuff - I am very very pale and my hair is silver (except when I put a rose bleach through it and then its beigey blonde) So the fake tan shows at the edges... if that makes sense? And being so pale I have to be very subtle and careful - things like eyebrows faze me as mine used to be black and still mainly are, but with silver hairs mixing in now. If I try to colour the black then I look like Elvis' granny.
Colour Me Beautiful will need to wait until I am able to get on a bus to Edinburgh (an hour each way). But I will try it hopefully this summer.
THANK YOU LADIES xxx am sorry to whine, but it was a very bad day when I posted this.

Fumanchu DH had the same problem then started taking a zinc supplement and the dark circles went.Hope you feel a bit better soon

Hi everyone, I agree about different mirrors showing a different you, I look grim in my bathroom mirror but better in the one in the front room. I remember being told when I was young that the best make up was a smile. Always remember that when I don't like what I'm seeing and it does help a bit.

In our last house we put a full length mirror in our hall. I loved it, the reflection took at least half a stone off!

Sadly we left it, DH didn't want to make good the mess removing it would have caused.

Don't forget mirrors can show a different you whichever one you look in because the glass can warp. Have you ever been to one of those fun mirror places at a fair? That is what I mean. Some cameras if they are set on wide view will make you look smaller and fatter so don't rely on the camera telling the truth either.

When I turned 40yrs old I went to the doctor, who was a fit young 20 something, and asked for advice on how to lose weight. He said, without any hint of sarcasm 'I don't think women should fret at how they look at your age! I was gob smacked. I hasten to add that I have kept myself fit and smart always, and I have my hair cut properly.

I suggest that you eat a decent diet and go for walks more often in the fresh air, even if it is cold because you can wrap up and the cold air will bring a blush to your skin, and a spring in your step. Not mine at the moment because I am waiting for a knee operation and cannot walk far.

Be happy with your lot, my BIL who was a year younger than I am died last week after a long illness. Funeral next week. At least you are alive and can enjoy life.

That should have been see and walk.

Problem with a photograph is that it's a still picture and we all can spend ages examining ourselves in great detail. In real life we are animated and our friends don't stare at our 'defects" intently. On holiday there was a huge magnifying mirror in the bathroom.If I'd spent long in front of it I would never have left the room. Pores became craters. Let's make the best of ourselves no matter our age (65) smile and go out and get on with living. When I've found myself moaning about my eye bags, fat knees etc I try and remind myself that at least I can see, well etc.

Rathe overused the word horrid but I hate them and the low fat spread.did

To the poster who has those horrid yellow blobs around the eyes. My DH had them and I was feeding him very carefully with a low fat diet which included those horrid low fat spreads. I then read that they are just as bad so I started using butter again. Those horrid blobs have vanished. I don't say it's the reason and have no nutritional expertise but it seems a very happy coincidence.

I always get a shock when passing a shop window/mirror and there's an old woman looking back at me! When did I turn into one of those?!

Does anyone else look at old passport photos and think " I looked good!" At the time I thought it was a terrible photo ! So, Although I agree it's a shock when I look in the mirror maybe we don't appreciate that we don't look that bad !

Positive thinking and make-up works for me. I'm very pale and always have to add colour to let people know I'm alive! I go for a natural look (not celebrity). You don't have to use expensive make-up, its how you apply it that matters. I always use Nivea tinted moisturiser and then dab Max Factor's face infinity face powder on with a brush especially under the eyes...its acts like a concealer for me...I dab a bit of eye shadow, blusher, and vaseline tinted lip balm...and I'm done for the day! Practice until you find whats right for you. My son-in-law is a make-up artist and always compliments me on my "look"...he despairs when I tell him what I actually use on my face!

67 seems so young to me! I'm 80 later this year and hate my appearance now. (never did like it much anyway). I am so pale and washed out looking. A bit of blusher helps if I am going out anywhere, but generally I think I look dreadful.

I don't have a serious illness dragging me down but I sympathise so much with those who do. I'm 67 too and find getting older horrible.
I know not everyone can do it due to illness etc. but I find dancing - any kind - is wonderful for lifting the spirits.
Personally I line dance twice and week (good for the brain as well as everything else) and go to a Fitsteps class as well. The great thing is that I share these classes with others of the same age and older. No one is trying to look glamorous, basically we just have fun.
When my kids were small, I found the peer support in a mother and toddler group an absolute life-saver, and I think this works the same way.
A friend at one of the classes
recently said "I'm just happy when I'm here" and she's struggling with a terminally ill husband.
I think I'd be a lot more miserable if I couldn't dance (sometimes worry about what I'll do when I can't!)

67 seems to be a popular age on here, though I am closer to 68 and don't consider that old. Right now I feel and look amazingly healthy having just returned from two weeks holiday in the sun. After a fortnight of swimming and walking it was quite a change to be back working on my feet this weekend (8 hr days) and I have to admit my legs are a bit achey today.
Once spring arrives do get out in the sunshine every chance you get, if you feel better you will look better.

When I read the phrase "67 and that's quite old" I was shocked. I will be 67 in september and I do not consider myself to be quite old! Perhaps even thinking that you are is not helping you feel good about yourself. I sympathise with your illness- I really am fortunate in that I have no health problems, and of course I have days when I look in the mirror and don't like what I see, but old? No way!

I did feel as if I hit 70 and then started falling to bits! I had a Colour Me Beautiful consultation recently and that helped. I was able to rationalise my wardrobe afterwards and have begun wearing more make-up (but subtle). I am also cultivating my eccentricities!

Sorry you're feeling bad. It's horrible when you feel and see yourself looking not great.

One thing I sometimes do when I'm looking very pasty this time of year - I use fake tan, just to give a slightly warmer healthy look. The one I use is Clarins self tanning gel, which is more expensive but it lasts for ages.

I also cleanse with Superdrug Naturally Radiant hot cloth cleanser which very gently exfoliates (the whole range is good.) Then I put on a little moisturiser. When that's sunk in, I use the Clarins, very sparingly. I then apply a 2nd coat on my cheeks, which makes me look more healthy.

I prefer this to foundation as it's a more natural look, and lasts a while. I don't like lipstick on me, just use pink lip balm or vaseline.

How about some eye drops too, or Liz Earle eye bright on a cotton wool pad is soothing to eyes.

I agree with farmgran about using bright coloured clothes too, just a flattering bright scarf, perhaps soft pink or peachey pattern, next to your face can lift your look.

Hope some of these ideas work for you.

Had a power cut recently. Amazed how nice I looked by candlelight!! I reckon the answer is don't look in mirrors too closely with glasses on. Avoid photos unless from a long way off and just keep remembering you are as beautiful as for what lies within.

i do think the right colours matter and so suggest colour Me Beautiful consultation. I make sure I wear colourful clothes in the range that shit me. I was horrified once when a friend arrived looking ill only to be told that she was flying out to Australia next week. It was the black and white clothes she was wearing that me her look so ill.

I have a friend that puts photos of me on facebook after we've been out somewhere together. Just awful as seeing a photo of myself can leave me feeling depressed for days! I do realise now though that in the last two photos I was wearing either cream or black and it made me look colourless. I'm going to go back to the hairdresser (my daughter has been cutting my hair) and get a cut and some lowlights. I will wear more colourful clothes too.

I have to say in mitigation, several times recently I have been told how much better I look since my TKR as the pain I was going through showed in my face. So for those of you going through illness, it will reflect and I feel for you.

I am 70 and in photographs look like my grandmother, the thing that really annoys me is that my husband looks good and he is 80 this year

I'm very fair skinned and have chronic health conditions, the slightest pain I have always shows in my face. I use boots No7 range of make up and concealer 's. They will match them to your skintone with a clever little machine. They're very good at making your skin look more vibrant and not too expensive