What do you think is best for looking professional and polished

[isthismenopausalrage]

I have two work related events next week at which I want to look more "polished" than I normally would
I would really like to lose about 1,5 stone hahah but what treatments would be good to make me put more together?

Annoyingly both are v early in the morning leaving no time for a blow dry which would be my prefernce. So I will straighten my hair.

But gel nails?
Or done lashes??

None of these.

Clean, well-laundered, well-fitting clothes, appropriate to your industry, clean shoes that you can walk easily in, tidy nails (either short and filed or, if painted, no chips, a fairly sober colour and not six inches long).

Hair should be clean, of course, but styled as is: I have Type 3C curls and I wear them naturally, hair doesn't need to be poker-straight to be professional. Subtle make-up if you want to.

A bag you can deal with: I find handbags really annoying, so I have a really nice leather rucksack that holds all my kit, but I can sling on my back so that I'm not endlessly trying to juggle it.

I agree with PP - eyelashes done probably isn't right for work context (depending on industry). Short gel nails in a classic colour could work.

My go-to is an eyebrow tidy up (at a professional threading place). Makes such a difference to the face.

Clear nail polish on short tidy nails, if you had your hair blowdried the afternoon before would it hold? Mine is wavy and I can either go the full curl by scrunching it with mousse or a salon blow dry for smooth waves which lasts a couple of days with care.

Sorry I meant a LVL so the professional looking mascara so that it doesn't smudge natural look type rather than extensions
And gel Polish to make them look neat: again not extensions

I wouldn't be able to get a blow dry as one is first thing Monday morning. But maybe I can get it trimmed on Sat and see whether it may hold..

I'm not a massive fan of Caitlin Moran, but I do like her line on 'Are men doing it? And if not, why are we, as women, doing it?'.

Like, do you think any of the men who'll be attending your work event will be thinking about their nails or eyelashes, beyond the fact that they're clean and, er, there?

Probably not.

Yes that is a good point. But I also like her line

When a woman says, ‘I have nothing to wear!’, what she really means is, ‘There’s nothing here for who I’m supposed to be today.

Because that's how I feel about both of these events... and so I wanted something to give me poise and polish outside of my clothes...

I’d go with nails.

and I don’t disagree with KM in theory, but in reality no one cares if men aren’t doing if other men aren’t doing it. But if women aren’t doing it and other women are then you risk creating a perception that you don’t care.

it’s not right l, it’s not fair but if you can’t beat them, then it’s not unreasonable to join them

I occasionally have a gel manicure - it gives a general all round polished look I think and I feel better!