KT, definitely give Jen at Lustre a try. She sort of specializes in the kind of surgery-free skin care services that are targeted at reducing fine lines, sagging skin, discoloration, etc. I think you’d really like the experience and outcome.

@Kate – a good plastic surgeon has patients that don’t look like patients, which makes it really hard to find a doctor other than word of mouth. Patients usually look like they just came back from vacation and got some well deserved rest. It takes about 6-8 weeks for the swelling to go down and then people look really refreshed, but not different.

In my opinion, you really can only do surgery once, maybe twice before you look “wrong”. The pulled mouth, the joker grin cheeks (noticeable split at the corners of the mouth under the cheeks where the muscle has been separated to lift the cheeks), the eyes that are too tight are usually signs of a second or third surgery. The first was probably very successful.

Smart people time their surgery months in advance of an event like a wedding. Of course, sometimes it backfires, Ted Kennedy’s first wife had work done in the weeks before Kennedy died, but mis-estimated when he would pass and she was pretty swollen at the funeral.

You haven’t, but please share! I’m way overdue for a mole check because I haven’t found anyone I like yet.

I didn’t realize all that about Courtney Cox. I was wondering why she looks so….different (to put it nicely). I don’t know that I’ll ever have plastic surgery. I think the only thing I’d like to have done are my eyes…the sagging eye lid and the underneath. I’m afraid of looking worse!

Good idea @Copa! I also watched some of her videos from a while back when you recommended them. I haven’t watched any videos recently, but I did like her no non-sense attitude towards skin care. And the way she would recommend several brands across pricing categories. Also recognizing that no matter how much you spend, the product just might not work for your skin.

So far, I’m liking the hydrating La Roche serum I just bought (I don’t recall the exact name at the moment). I think it is really helping my extra dry skin finally feel quenched. I hope it keeps working.

So I am 39 (wtf, started reading this blog at 28, and discovered City Wendy at like, 24-25? holy moly) and my approaching 40th birthday is hitting me way harder than 30 did. This is happening for lots of reasons, but one of which is I feel like I look…worse. Older, duller, heavier, just less…bright? Youthful? Just worse. A lot of it is the pandemic/depression, and some too is my sleep apnea which I’ve recently started treatment for but had, most likely, for years prior. I feel like I definitely look tired.

Thankfully, my insecurity and paranoia starting in my early 20s caused me to moisturize and wear sunscreen on my face so I don’t really have any lines, but I have big eyes and I remember staring at a stunningly beautiful 40 year old woman about 7 years ago thinking…damn, her eyelids are creasing. I hope that doesn’t happen to me! Well, shit.

I drink water, I wear sunscreen, my mom looks 10 years younger than she is even having been a lifeguard (!) in the 70s(!) so my genetics are pretty good. I’m also short, which reads young even if you’re not. My hair is still red and I only get highlights to cover up the little bit of white wisps, and at 39 I think that’s a miracle cause my mom went gray at 29.

BUT I constantly feel like I’m not doing enough. I do not want fillers or Botox. I drink about 1-2 glasses of wine/night give or take, and am trying to cut back. Also trying to catch up on sleep as a result of sleep apnea robbing it from me. I remove all my makeup every night and use a moisturizer that I love, and I do my own extractions on my nose/face with tools I bought on Amazon during Covid. I need to be better about drinking my collagen supplement powder and doing face masks/more in-depth skin care. Getting a little long in the tooth over here. Y’all are inspiring me with how much you do!