“You Look Good…For Your Age” Girl, BYE.

Me taking all my stuff and leaving when given a backhanded compliment

Disclosure: This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of RoC Skincare. The opinions and text are all mine.

Time really DOES fly by. I swear just the other day it was 1986 and I was taking naps in kindergarten. Now I’m pushing 40 and I really wonder who messed up and let me grow up…lol. On one side I’m this super confident, sophisticated 36 year-old grown woman who you couldn’t pay to be 20 again. But on the other side, I remember how strong and limber my knees and lower back were back then…lol. #neverforget

Me circa 1986—I guess you can say I was always “creative” lol

All of this thinking about age also came up the other day when RoC Skincare invited me to an event to celebrate not only the launch of a new product: RoC Retinol Correxion MAX Daily Hydration Créme, their new For Your Age campaign, and to introduce their new spokesperson Thandie Newton. So I’m sitting down chatting up Kellie B of And I Get Dressed (you know, trying to get the details on everything she had on so I could copy her…lol) and then in walks Thandie who walks up to us and says hi. I’m like “OMG THANDIE NEWTON RECOGNIZES ME” (lmaooo—where would she recognize me from? lol) and then I realized she was saying hello to as much of the room as she could before she went to take her spot on the panel…lol. She then went on to tell us about some of her experiences with age in Hollywood.

Me in high school–back then I used to think anything 30+ was soooo far away and “old”

Growing up I used to hear all kinds of crazy “rules” for women when they hit a certain age: no miniskirts after 30, no long hair after 50, etc. Mind you this wasn’t very long ago either. I can’t even imagine taking miniskirts out of my wardrobe just because I’m over 30. With THESE legs? Are you kidding?!?!? lol

But we’re SO conditioned to these type of messages from the media we consume to the company we keep. I know society, the beauty industry, and “THEY” want us to believe that everything goes downhill after like 25 but that line of thinking needs to GO. It’s why I’m happy that beauty brands like RoC are changing the narrative when it comes to aging. Now I KNOW, it sounds really fluffy and maybe even hypocritical for beauty brands who sell anti-aging creams to women to all of a sudden now be on team #AgingIsNowBeautiful or whatever iteration, BUT I would say that I see it as empowering and as someone into skincare it’s like, uh, but I need my retinol and my glycolic and my hyaluronic acid. I embrace getting older, but shoot can I still have [my version of] snatched skin as well?

And can we please for once stop with the backhanded “compliments” already? “You look good…for your age,” “You’re pretty for a dark skin girl,” “You dress nice for your size,” these are all phrases that suggest that one needs to be or look a certain way to be deemed beautiful. Sometimes we unconsciously do it, too. We need to be more mindful of the words we choose and how they affect us and those around us.

Now let’s talk about this new RoC launch: RoC Retinol Correxion MAX Daily Hydration Créme.

Official description:

Leaves skin deeply hydrated for 24 hours while smoothing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Intensive anti-wrinkle treatment and hydration combined in one. Quickly moisturizes, leaves skin hydrated for 24 hours and visibly smoothes fine lines and wrinkles.

About retinol:

Retinol is the #1 dermatologist recommended cosmetic age-fighting ingredient. A derivative of Vitamin A, retinol works to unclog pores, boost collagen to reduce fine lines, and speed cell turnover to even out discolorations and smooth the skin. RoC® scientists were the first to develop the methods needed to stabilize and package retinol in its pure and effective form.

I’m a personal fan of quite a number of RoC skincare products as you can see from previous posts. Now as someone who writes about beauty for a living, I’d be remiss if I only talked about products that suited me. I have a wide audience of people of varying ages and skincare needs—I can’t only talk about me and my needs. So that said, I also talk about products that might be helpful to some of you. This latest launch is made with those who want the most out of their anti-wrinkle cream in mind. As we get older a number of things can happen with our skin, namely collagen (it helps keep the skin taut and firm) begins to break down and we may notice a difference in skin texture as well. We ALL need hydration no matter our skin types, but more mature and textured skin types sometimes need that extra hydration which this 24-hour deep hydration formula can provide. I’d also say this is worth a try if you have other deep texture concerns as the retinol will also help to soften the skin over time with continued use. Everyone no matter your skin type or concerns should be wearing sunscreen during the day, but it’s especially important when you use a product like this that contains retinol. Don’t go sabotaging your skincare routine efforts by not slathering on the SPF.

For more information on RoC Retinol Correxion MAX Daily Hydration Créme including where to buy, go here.

How do you respond to backhanded compliments? What do you think about erasing “for your age” from our lexicon? Talk to me all about it in the comments!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of RoC Skincare. The opinions and text are all mine.