Undoubtedly

　Undoubtedly, while still no beauty,china Inflatable Bounce I at least look better these days than I did at 18. In fact, I can honestly say I feel more confident now, in my mid-thirties, than I ever did while allegedly in the glorious bloom of youth. It’s not that I like the wrinkles and the incipient crepe under the eyes; I’ve just grown more comfortable in the skin behind them. Basically, I look better as a thirtysomething than I did as a teen or a twentysomething — as do a lot of my friends.
　　It’s one of those myths peddled to girls, that we will be at our most beautiful when we’ve young. For hundreds of years, the fairy-tale princess has scraped past the age of consent and been binned by 30. That fairy tale is retold endlessly and in countless forms. But, as we eventually accept, sort of, the fairy-tale prince doesn’t exist, and nor does the peachy, virginal princess. People blossom at different times. We all have a decade when we are the best version of ourselves. It’s just not always the decade you assume it’s going to be. Some of us are princesses at 18; others, at 50.
　　Let’s face it: we all know people whose best days have gone long before they’ve exited their twenties, or even, in some cases, their teens. Take sweet Britney Spears. At 17, she was the epitome of youthful good looks. At 18 and 19, she did vamp better than any other female pop star. Now, at the grand age of 24, she looks washed up, as though she would be more at home pushing a double buggy in the courtyard than supping skinny lattes in Beverly Hills. I predict the same for Jessica Simpson, who, in her mid-twenties, is at the height of her platinum powers, but is in danger of looking past it by the time she hits her fourth decade.
　　By contrast, who would have thought 15 years ago that a 26-year-old called Sarah Jessica Parker would become a style icon15)? Back then, she was just another jobbing actress with big hair. It was only in her thirties that she grew into her face and body. And she’s in good company. Think of Elizabeth Hurley — plump arm candy in her twenties; glossy designer-clothes horse in her thirties and early forties. These women are walking, breathing testaments to the notion that it’s not all over when you hit your thirties.
　　So, what decides your time? Good bone structure helps, of course, but the trajectory of one’s beauty is not always down to what God and your genes have given you. Some women grow into their looks, not necessarily in the classic ugly-duckling-into-beautiful-swan way, but because their appearance is enhanced by age and confidence.
　　Confidence can be the quality on which looks blossom or founder, whatever a woman’s age. For the make-up artist Jemma Kidd, it is the quality that sets older women apart. “Women in their late thirties and early forties are at their most beautiful. They’ve confident, and that resonates. ...These days, lots of women in their forties look the best they ever have.”

　　These women are wives,
　　mothers, businesswomen. They are a powerful consumer force — women in their forties are at the forefront of a ￡1 billion nationwide fashion boom — and they are happy to spend money on making the most of what they have. At the same time, many are far more insouciant about their appearance than they were 20 years ago — and it only adds to their appeal. Essentially, such women have learnt an important beauty lesson: that of acceptance, surrendering gracefully to the years without losing the essence of who they are.
　　The photographer Lord Snowdon, who has taken portraits of some of the world’s most beautiful women, thinks unexpected beauty can be the most invigorating24). “An obvious example is Leslie Caron25), who is still amazingly beautiful in her seventies, and always has been, but not at all in a classic way,” he says.
　　Beauty decades aren’t an exact science. If you’ve really lucky, you get to have more than one. Some women blossom in their twenties, fade in their thirties and forties under the combined stresses of motherhood and careers, only to relight that inner fire in their fifties. Others — Madonna comes to mind here — have such extraordinary style, or determination and commitment to the aesthetic cause, that they pull off a tri-decade of twenties, thirties and forties sexiness. Julie Christie’s beauty decade has lasted half a century.
　　For the rest of us, one decade is usually all we get. That is good news for those who haven’t had theirs yet; less good for those who fear it has been and gone. But all is not lost. Your time may come again in the most unexpected way. That fairy-tale hairdresser may yet be waiting in the wings, ready to launch your beauty comeback.