False eyelashes!

It's unfair to be so scathing of the young and their choices, I don't suppose any of them would be taken with the style choices of those 65+, it would be weird if they did.

Exactly. Twas ever thus though- express horror at the fashion choices of the young but hide those pics of us bra-less in our mini skirts/hotpants/ cheesecloth/ near white lipstick/ painted on flowers or eyelashes/ loon pants/ 4”platforms….need I go on?

It’s the fashion! They all say they want to be different/ express themselves but all end up looking very similar.
Those that can afford expensive salons and quality products usually look fine. It’s usually the DIY or cheap jobs that look awful.
One of my daughters has subtle eyebrow done- they look fantastic- so much so that I may have mine enhanced? ( now thin & need pencil or something). Daughters & I also have bio gel nails done by an expert- shortish but they look classy and 10x better than my flaky weak nails.
Very glad none of our family have gone in for tattoos though- Do wonder how they’ll look aged 70+ with the wrinkled skin?

The question of how tattoos will look with wrinkly skin often comes up. I have a good friend who began having tattoos in her 60’s for reasons of her own. Now well over 70, she and they look fantastic and I admire her so much for what she has overcome in her life. I wouldn’t want a tattoo myself, but each to their own.

I’m less positive about current trends in cosmetic surgery and other invasive treatments. I hate the pressure on young women in particular to look a certain way, especially when that involves physically damaging their faces and bodies. Makeup, false nails, eyelashes etc can at least be removed, but cutting into one’s face and injecting it with poisons are in my view forms of self harm and make me very sad.

I tried false eyelashes in the 60s. It was like peering through a hedge. No thanks.

I fully agree! It's like having a couple of chimney sweep brushes stuck to their faces! And the same with eyebrows!

I used to work as a cleaner at a large M&S and regularly found them on the floor and counters etc. so here's a poem I made up!

Eeeek! Falsie's!

It puzzles me how anyone can touch those,
fake and false eyelashes I'm talking about
around the eyes, by the nose.

They look so much like those creepy centipedes,
and when I see those fake things my blood pressure exceeds
the normal limit it should be.
My eyes popped with fright when I did see,
a big hairy one flopped out on the floor.
I really don't want to encounter any more!

I was whizzing around this superstore vacuuming the girl's glitzy aisle,
sucking up dusty bits and putting them in a pile.
When I screamed the entire place down as staring up at me,
was the biggest false eyelash I had ever seen!

I was about to run for Charlie on the ground floor, in the Food Hall,
as I thought it was a centipede, not a falsie at all.
But then I realized it wasn't moving, it looked fat as if it had been fed
The sight of it made me quiver and my face went crimson red.

The next day I was back in glitzy
brooming and whizzing some more,
when I saw the twin of the first one
hiding behind a cosmetics stand on the floor.
As I did with the first lash, I sucked it up the vacuum pipe.
They were both a terrible shock to me
and my foul language was certainly ripe!

I do try to be tolerant when I see silly eyelashes or plumped up lips or long claw-like nails. But inwardly I do wonder why they think it's attractive, especially the lips.
But then I remember my ducks-ass hair style when I was young, and my two or three years of wearing only black clothes and black lipstick, etc.

A lot of the false eyelashes I’ve seen lately bear no resemblance to the 60s ones (yes, I wore them) - which did at least pretend to look more or less natural.
Much thicker, longer and darker than anything Nature ever came up with!

I remember the daft things we did in our early years. Bleaching streaks in our hair with a toothbrush,painted on eyelashes ala Twiggy. I even used false ones until unknowingly DH took one home on his sweater after a cinema visit and his mother had hysterics as she thought it was a huge spider.
What worries me is all the Botox and what it will do.DH had a patient who had an eyelid tick and he took himself off for Botox injections unfortunately instead of stopping the tick it made his whole eyelid droop and took many months to get back to normal. What will happen to the trout lips in the future?
To have a tattoo removed is very expensive and not always successful.
Though it's their choice they will have to suffer the consequences in the future, not us.

Bella23 and Spuddy you did make me laugh. I did try eyelashes once but was so embarrassed when one became unstuck and sat on the side of my nose frightening the life out of my unsuspecting boy friend!

She was always at me Gin, bare legs were not approved of even covered by a lovely pair of pink suede boots, was there something wrong with my legs?
I turned up in flipflops and was sat next to FIL their new puppy got under the table and started licking my toes, I gave FIL to be a funny look which DH caught and announced I thought his father was making passes, and the whole table collapsed laughing. I was told I was a wanton hussy.FIL just carried on eating his scones with a wry smile.

Did somebody say eyebrows were over £200!! Good grief, I must be living in the past. I was thinking of having mine done and was anticipating around £20.
I agree that today's false bright nails, eyelashes and swollen lips are most unattractive but I remember thinking I looked the bees knees in the 60s when I wore a bright orange mini dress with a black feather boa and a long dark wig (I also had a short wig) as well as false eyelashes and white lipstick. And ... I used to paint on lower lashes with a thin brush, one lash at a time. All this took most of the day on a Saturday before the dance. I expect I was also wearing platform shoes. Everything back then was uncomfortable or itchy.

Guilty as charged. In the 60s- eyebrows plucked within an inch of their lives (now a vague memory - why can’t you find a decent light grey eyebrow pencil?) false eyelashes with glue applied on a cocktail stick, and bottom lashes drawn carefully on cheeks like Twiggy, my lipstick too was French white. I agree Skydancer it took ages, Plus patience and a very steady hand to achieve the desired effect.

I too dislike pout trouts, eyebrows like slugs etc., but I am hardly in a position to criticise. I do however draw the line at tattoos!

Oh, should have added the rolls of sellotape used to keep my fringe in position while all this tittivating went on. It looked more like a craft room than a bedroom.

I wouldn't have left the house without my eyelashes in the 60s. But the whole point of them was that the looked natural and made your eyes look larger. I don't know whether the girls who have the great black curtains today realise how tiny they make your eyes look. Couple that with the thick, black, painted on eyebrows that are usually in the wrong place the whole effect is an amateur cartoon.

Another bugbear is the nails. The worst ones have big square ends and just make the hands look hideous. Heaven knows who thought this was going to be attractive.

It’s obvious that some posters are out of touch with false eyelashes.
I think you would be surprised at how many women are wearing these.
My granddaughter does uses these on me. You can trim them a little if you want.

Oh, I wish my hand was steady enough to apply false eyelashes MerylStreep, I have made many attempts with eyeliner, something I could do with a quick flick, but ended up looked somewhat demented. I fear that my eyelash attempts would end up in my soup!