27/05/2026
I genuinely think lighting has caused more emotional damage to women than ageing itself
I swear the changing room mirror in Zara looks like it was designed by someone who actively hates women?
Why are the lights overhead like an interrogation room?
And don’t even get me started on the front camera
Specifically the 0.5 lens
Who approved that?
Because I refuse to believe that’s an accurate representation of ANY human face
The times I’ve accidentally opened the front camera and physically recoiled…
Or caught myself on FaceTime from a weird angle and thought,
“Well. That’s upsetting”
And the scary part is, we are seeing ourselves like this constantly now
Distorted angles
Close-up HD cameras that pick up things you'd never notice in real life
Filters smoothing everyone else into poreless perfection while you’re sat under your bathroom light wondering why you look exhausted
It’s relentless
Half the things people panic about aren’t even visible in real life
But because we constantly see ourselves in the worst possible conditions, we start believing that’s reality
And honestly?
I think so many women believe they’re “ageing badly” when actually they’re just exhausted from overanalysing themselves
But listen — this isn’t me saying insecurities aren’t real
Sometimes we do notice changes
Sometimes we do feel tired, less fresh, less like ourselves
But there’s a huge difference between natural ageing…
and the completely unrealistic visual expectations women are now holding themselves against every single day
You were never meant to examine your face under a ring light at 11pm after a stressful week and use that as evidence of your worth or compare your real skin to someone else’s filtered highlight reel
And you are definitely not supposed to judge yourself based on the front camera when you accidentally open it from below your chin
So before you panic about every tiny thing your phone camera has convinced you is a catastrophe…
Breathe
Step outside
Look at yourself in natural light
Look at how people actually see you when you laugh, speak, smile
Because I promise you this:
Most women are being far harder on themselves than reality ever is