There's no need for a fairy godmother....
If I could wave a magic wand and make you more beautiful, I would love to give you that gift, but luckily you don’t have to wait for me – it’s all in your capable hands.
Here are the ten things to take care of to make sure you are as beautiful as can be without the fairy godmother.
Look After the Details
There’s a bit of an old fashioned term for this which used to be called “good grooming” (and maybe still is) but many a beauty has been spoiled by chipped nail polish, down at heel shoes or lipstick on her teeth. You don’t want to be so wrapped up in yourself that you are constantly checking your makeup in the mirror or fiddling with your hair but make sure that you have good beauty routines which will take care of most of the details. Then give yourself a final check before you leave for the day to make sure there are no glaring problems that you missed.
Makeup Magic
Makeup is a great way of enhancing the beauty you were born with but only if you learn to apply it properly. Spend some time learning and experimenting to find the best looks for you for different occasions and if you’re struggling book a makeup lesson or free makeover at a cosmetic counter to get some ideas and makeup tips.
Skin care Essentials
Not all of us have perfect skin, and if you’re in a place where you feel less than beautiful because of skin problems like acne, I know what that feels like having suffered from acne most of my teenage years. It does pass with time but that’s really no consolation when you want to look better right now. Luckily there are some great solutions these days that were not around when I was younger and it is well worth visiting your doctor or skin specialist to get advice on the best possible way forward if you have severe acne. If you have milder problems, look for over the counter skin care ranges catering for problem skin.
In any case, even if you don’t have a lot of problems, take care of your skin by treating it as gently as possible, keeping it clean and moisturized and protecting it from exposure to sun and harsh weather. Make sure you choose products suitable for your skin type and deal with any issues such as dry skin or breakouts as soon as they occur.
And don’t forget the skin on your body too – skin care doesn’t stop at the neck!
Dastardly Diet
Despite all the advice you read everywhere about getting the right minerals and vitamins and eating right to look good, you can look beautiful on a very poor diet. Just look at all the models that seem to exist on coffee and lettuce leaves to stay size zero. Not that a poor diet is in my list of top beauty tips – eating like that will take it’s toll after a while – it just doesn’t always show right away.
Given you have to eat (presuming the lettuce leaves and coffee diet is not for you) you may as well eat good food rather than bad. Skip the junk most of the time, eat plenty of fresh food including fruit and veggies along with low fat protein, a bit of fish or nuts and seeds and you’ll be fine.
Size zero really isn’t necessary to be beautiful. In fact most women look better in real life with “a bit of meat on the bones” but if you are morbidly obese, that isn’t pretty, that’s life threatening so take steps to lose the blubber, look better and save your life too.
And if you are overweight to the point where you are starting to check if you have stomach hanging over your jeans (the dreaded “muffin top”) or more than one chin then it’s time to do something about it before you get to the morbidly obese stage because losing weight doesn’t get any easier as you get older.
Easy Exercise
It’s not beautiful to be huffing and puffing after a couple of flights of stairs. If you don’t have the energy to get through the day that’s not so lovely either. So fitness isn’t optional for beauty (not to mention it’s another save your life thing). Exercise doesn’t have to be boring – try dancing or roller skating, tennis or synchronized swimming – whatever you like. Even just taking a walk in the fresh air three times a week will do you the power of good and put a bloom in your cheeks that you could only otherwise get with blush. Get fit and have fun!
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Hair : Your Crowning Glory
We all know what bad hair days feel like but you can take steps to get them out of your life if you take care of your hair. Get a hair style that suits you and is easy to manage yourself so that you can look your best every day not just when you step out of the salon. If you have limited time for styling on your hands don’t fight your hair type by trying to curl straight hair or straighten curly hair. Get a style that makes the most of what nature has given you.
Discuss color options with your stylist too but make sure that you can afford to keep up the color if you go for that. Grown out roots are not beautiful.
Keep your hair in good condition with mild shampoo and regular conditioning treatments suitable for your hair type and if you have problems such as frizzy hair or flaky scalp then choose from the great serums and treatments available these days that can deal with any problem under the sun.
Hands to Hold
You hands are a pretty visible part of you and they can either be soft with manicured well-cared for nails or they can be rough and your nails bitten to the quick or somewhere in between. It’s pretty obvious what you should be aiming for if you want to be more beautiful though and it’s not difficult if you start a regular nail and hand care routine. While you’re about it, don’t forget your feet. Treat them as if they were on show all year round and then you won’t have to worry when they are.
Fashion Note
The most beautiful girl can look like a slob in the wrong clothes. Unless you are going around without any (not recommended), clothes have a huge role in how beautiful and attractive you are thought to be and clothes can draw attention to faults or present you in the best light possible. Having said that, we can’t all wear the best designer stuff (and those who do often get it completely wrong anyway).
At least, get together a capsule wardrobe of basics that suit you and then pep up your collection of clothes with a few current bits and pieces each season. A beautiful woman looks good in a fresh white t-shirt and blue jeans as long as they are the right shape for her.
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Time Out
If you are stressed out or tired all the time, it is going to show on your face. You may not know you are scowling as you frantically go about your day. You may not think it’s obvious how tired you are. But everyone else can see the stress or the world weary look on your face and in how you move. Make sure that you have plenty of rest. You can’t be working or partying all the time. Allow some down time and get plenty of sleep and it will do wonders for your looks. If you need help to relax then look around for a DVD, class or therapy that might help. Maybe yoga, meditation or massage will be just the ticket to get you feeling (and looking) good again. Reading a good book without too much heavy mind improving content, something you can lose yourself in, can work too. One major thing you can do is to make sure you take time away each year – pre-book vacation trips so that you make sure you get that much needed down time.
A Beautiful Attitude
There’s a lot of talk about beauty being only skin deep. I would rather it was on the surface as well but the key point about that well worn phrase is that visible beauty only goes so far. If you have a positive attitude and treat everyone you meet as you would like to be treated you will be thought significantly more attractive than the beauty who thinks only of herself and runs roughshod over everyone she meets. A smile and a thank you go a long way. I suppose those old fashioned terms are creeping in here as well – such as “good manners” “respect for others” and being “gracious”. Oh dear, I’m starting to sound like someone who writes to the newspapers but you know what I mean. Sometimes the old values are also the good ones to have when it comes to being beautiful.
Of course, there are more than ten ways to be beautiful and often, the devil is in the detail but these are the essentials and we’ll cover everything else on this blog all in good time.