Thursday 3 November 2011

Goal 46. 10 minutes to drop-dead gorgeous



The title of this post makes me laugh. I am currently wearing exercise pants and a ripped old t-shirt, my hair is twisted up into whatever makes it stay and I have no make-up on. And now I am going to start talking about being "drop-dead gorgeous"?! But there in lies the trick of this goal.

Recently I got a job and had to define what being "drop-dead gorgeous" meant to me and have been experimenting with trying to actually look good, while sleeping in.


If I am going out to a fancy party it usually actually doesn't take much time or stress to go. My wedding was the best example of this. Since I had spent months (and a lot of money) thinking about how I was going to look all I had to do on the day of the wedding was get dressed and go to my appointments. I even did my own makeup which only took about 20 minutes. And that was for my wedding! By carefully choosing my dress and accessories months before, getting a professional to do my hair and nails and spending time experimenting with my makeup I knew exactly what I was going to do. I was prepared.

But since I can't go to a salon every morning or spend $800 on every outfit, I just pull the preparation part from that example. I think preparation has a lot to do with how we end up looking. Taking regular showers, brushing our teeth and wearing deodorant should be no-brainer's. But what if you have long thick hair that you need to straighten? What kind of make-up are you using? What kind of skin care? Shopping for, deciding on and actually using these things actually takes work. So, instead of waking up at 4am so that I can shower and straighten my hair, plus use complicated makeup and whiten my teeth for 20 minutes I have been learning how to do this throughout the day and week. (Well actually I've never whitened my teeth, but its an example). I have also redefined what my "bare minimum" can be, so that I can properly prioritize my actions. For instance having greasy hair gets more attention than a dusty picture frame. Or at least it should....

One of the things I have had to redefine lately is how I want to look. For some reason when I graduated nursing I concluded that no one could see me. Don't ask me where I got this idea, but I really didn't care about how I looked. However, over time I have realized that this makes NO sense, and so have been trying to look decent in a short amount of time, since my shifts start really early in the morning.

Here are some of my "golden rules" for how I am trying to look my version of "drop-dead gorgeous":

1. Wash my hair every two days and straighten it. Even if I just straighten the top layer to make it less frizzy and weirdly wavy it looks a million times better.

2. A ponytail does not disguise the fact that I skipped step one. If skipped, deal with it until you are home, then just do it!

3. Read this article. Learning not to wrap my hair in a towel has actually changed my life. UPDATE: If you simply can't live life with wet hair (since you are waiting for it to air-dry of course) try this trick. Take a t-shirt and drape it over your shoulders so the sleeves are on the front and the bottom hem of the t-shirt is near your mid back. Then pull the bottom of the shirt up onto your forehead, so that you make a pouch. Sweep in the sleeves so that the "pouch" is complete and tie the sleeves around your head. Adjust so that it will actually stay and wear for as long as you want. Seriously, no more frizz!

4. The basics: mascara, blush, lipgloss. Second step: eyeliner, tinted moisturizer. Third step: eyeshadow, actual lipstick. Choose the level based on the event. Choose a colour palette that works for you and stick to using the same products! No more guess work. The same goes for all your beauty products. Try to reduce the amount you have by thinking about what you actually use, and then try to use the same products as long as they keep working.

5. Keep lipgloss in your bag, and actually try to reapply often. You look more put together, plus your lips don't hurt.

6. Always wear earrings. For me my pearl earrings really make me look more awake, regardless of the story my face tells. If you don't wear earrings, maybe you can find a similar necklace or pair of glasses. Glasses are especially important if you wear them everyday, so put some time into choosing them!

7. Think about your outfit the night before. I have even just done this while laying in bed getting ready for sleep. But if I have an early morning I will actually put it in my bathroom complete with socks and underwear. If you think about it before, then you don't spend 30 minutes trying to figure out what to wear because you don't have the right underwear to wear your only clean pants (true story).

And that's it. Basically have clean hair that isn't freaked out, wear mascara and think about clothes the night before. That's how I manage to stay looking "drop-dead gorgeous", without having to get up in the morning.



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