Four or five days ago, a 28 year old whom I had never met before asked my age at an networking do, and I told her, aware of the age difference. It was at the end of a long work day where I had neither court appearance nor client meetings, and I had gone to the office without any make up on, only lining my eyes quickly and dabbing on light lipstick before I left the office that evening. I was especially conscious of having no foundation or some kind of powder or face-base on, and the messy undrawn brows, when she asked my age.)

I'm not brave enough to go completely bare face (I have liquid eyeliner and pink lipbalm on) but as my anxiety subsides I realised I wanted to record the bare skin at least with its wrinkles, freckles, moles, discolourations, pores, scars, bumps and lumps (and that sweaty strand of fringe on the forehead), in a way not dissimilar to how that girl would have seen me a few days ago after work.) A memento of what it was, really, being at the turn of both the lunar year and my personal year, this birthday selfie from yesterday.