belie

I wouldn't write either; twenty-six is not old enough that one needs perfect skin to belie one's age. I assume you are writing about a healthy human being. (What you wrote is correct otherwise though.)

Here are some results from a google search for "skin belies:"

"her beautiful skin belies her 50-something years"
"Her alabaster skin belies her 39 years"
"This gorgeous 15-year-old's flawless skin belies the fact that she was dogged by severe eczema as an infant"
"her sickly yellow skin belies her natural radiance"
"smooth skin belies her 49 years"

Edited by: chriskean1

I agree. You could use "belie," but having attractive skin at the tender age of 26 does not seem at all unusual to me.

Agreed. 27 yo is still too young and no one will be surprised if your skin is perfect at the age.

How about "His perfect skin makes him appear younger than his 26 years."

Or, if you want to convey that his skin is unusually perfect for a 26 year old: "At 26, he still has the flawless skin of a baby."

what if i write: His looks belie his 26 years of age. i just mean to say that he looks younger than he is. and some people do not have perfect skin even (/especially) if they are as young as 15...

i just mean to say that he looks younger than he is.

Then don't write that "His looks belie his 26 years of age." I would be likely to read that as meaning he looks really old for 26. Also, "of age" is unnecessary. Why not just say he looks young for 26, and save "belie" for some other sentence?

Why not just say he looks young for 26, and save "belie" for some other sentence?

That's perfect advice.

Why not just say he looks young for 26,

Because if she does that no one will know that she knows the word "belie".

(#8 was simulposted with #7. I thought it was perfect advice because it addressed #7's issue.)