Yesterday, while studying my complexion in the mirror for far longer than any sane person should, I noticed a very small, crooked line jutting out of the corner of my eye. Yes, I found my first crow’s foot. For years (25 of them, to be exact) I’ve imagined how this scenario would play out: I find my first wrinkle, I freak and slather on a jar of very expensive cream that can’t substantiate it’s claims before putting on sunglasses and dashing to the nearest dermatologist to demand a shot of the strongest venom/rubber concoction available on the market today — legal or otherwise.

But, to my amazement, this newfound “war wound” didn’t really faze me. In fact, all it did was make me think about the zillions of smiles and eye-squints on fun summer days that surely brought me such a badge of honor in the first place. But my nonchalance kind of weirded me out. I live in L.A., after all — shouldn’t I have wanted even a teensy bit of Botox just to take the edge off?

So to affirm that I am in fact normal for not wanting to poke, prod and butcher my face (in the near or, very likely, far future as well) I found this great past blog post from the New York Times discussing how eyebrow shape, eyelids and wrinkles effect facial expression. The post cited a study in the medical journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery which, in effect, found that eyelid surgery and brow lifts actually make recipients look angry and tired. Kind of funny, considering all the money you’d be spending on one of those procedures to get the exact opposite effect.

What is it about our looks that scares us so much as we age? And why are we so quick to stop at nothing to turn back the clock? Are any other 20-somethings planning on embracing whatever Mother Nature throws our way or in twenty years or so will I be the lone wrinkled redhead with jowls that reach the floor while my peers look like plastic pod people?

Photo: Socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein looking angry, tired and oh so much more.