For as long as I can remember I’ve passed as being a few years younger than my actual age. When I was 22 I was mistaken for being 16, and on my 27th birthday I was asked for ID when buying alcohol. Why am I telling you this? Well, since becoming a parent, I’ve wondered if I have still retained my youthfulness. I can’t deny that there are now bags and dark circles under my eyes when they weren’t before. As I type this, I feel very tired. The sort of tired that’s only caused by long-term sleep deprivation. And what were once tiny, almost non-existent lines on my forehead are now becoming deep grooves.
Now firmly in my 30s (I’m 35), I decided to canvas my colleagues to see how old they thought I was. Over Slack I asked them how old they thought I looked and asked them to be genuinely honest. All of them said between 27 and 29 (I promise I didn’t pay them). I was, of course, over the moon that they said I looked so young. I maintain that it’s thanks to a mixture of good genes and a pretty strict beauty routine, I’ve been about to keep my skin in check. While I can’t do much about the former, I can tell you all about the latter.
