Beauty is definately in the soul, (whether it be of the holder or of the beholder).
Just as water seeks its own level, so do the traits of one person attract that of another. (We ARE the company with whom we keep).
Age has little influence if there is a connection of two souls who are destine for eachother.
Imagine yourself as without sight, and you meet someone who delivers you the rewards of what joy there is to be found in a mate. It is a mutual unitement.
You KNOW, without doubt, that you are meant to be with this person. However, discover that this person has an appearance that is not "favored" among the sighted.
Is one then so easily persuaded to allow the judgement by the eyes of the majority to influence that of what your soul sees?
The blind eye looks beyond the visual judgement and allows to see where the true value resides. (This brings to mind the movie, "Mask", starring Cher).
We all eventually fall prey to the persistant demands of aging.
Some of us age gracefully, accepting the "simple" reality that time reconstructs our exterior with dedicated attention. These persons are able to see beyond the visual, allowing them a far better chance of obtaining what true beauty there is to be had. It is their gain.
While there are the others who fight tooth and nail those very demands by attempting to postpone the enevitable fate of the "saggy, flabby, wrinkled, tired, and gray". They are so preoccupied with that of the exterior, (and more than likely accompanied by the superficial materialistics), that they may allow an opportunity of true value slip right past them. It is their loss.
And whether it is to their gain or to their loss.....To each their own. We all are equal to that very same right...To decide for ourselves which we choose.
What started out to be a simple, random question in the OP, (with many insightful responses, I might add), had somehow transformed into a rather ugly (and imo, disturbingly angry), conjunction of attitude by which was not the intention the op was seeking.
It is also my opinion that applied diplomacy in one's words is not sugar coating one's opinion. It is a construction of an opinion in such a way that said opinion is not offensive to another. It is a means of respecful conduct of oneself, which not only clearly announces the character of such person, but also clearly states the respect from such person to that of every single other person, as well. It is a practiced skill of handling onself without causing harm or creating hostility to another.
(Sometimes, in our research, we overlook the obvious).
Older or younger....We are all beautiful persons.
Shangrala