People who look so polished ... How???

[birthdaymayhem]

Posting for traffic and maybe in the hopes of finding a wizard who can tell me how to achieve this.

So in my immediate circle of friends I know 2 couples who always look so polished and put together they could've jumped out of a Next catalogue!
For me it's like dark magic. They always have clean, ironed and up to date clothes.
Especially the ladies, hair always blow dried or very neat, ridiculously smooth skin even up close, and clothes which must've come out of the brand new next collection (they all dress in a very similar way).
None of them are "would look good in a bin bag and a pair of crocs" type of beautiful but they are just so well put together they always look amazing!

But how can you look so good, fresh and put together all the time with 2 or 3 small DCs in tow, a house and job and all the stuff that comes along with that?

My put together is clothes that passed the sniff test and makeup hastily slapped on whilst DCs are having breakfast before we are out of the door.

I dunno - I'm the one whose hair is always a mess, and clothes slipping off one shoulder whatever I do! Some people care too much?

Good hair, good teeth, well cut, ironed clothes, minimal make-up to enhance, simple jewellery and good shoes/bag. Everything spotless. Oh, and stand up straight. I find it very hard to look scruffy.

It’s just a question of priorities. Some people put a lot of time, energy and money into looking polished. Some people put that time and money into other things. Neither is right or wrong - just different.

Naturally straight/ sleek hair makes w different. Mine is thick and wavey but if straightened it immediately looks more polished. Also ironed clothes which o never have!

I think it’s a good thing to take pride in your appearance. I don’t think it’s about caring too much.

I used to work with a woman who had two kids. She completely let herself go. Turned up to work in woolly jumpers with porridge all over them from the kids’ breakfast. No bra. No make up. Birds nest hair. Happy as a clam she was, but I don’t really like it when women become so consumed with motherhood that it is completely to the detriment of themselves.

I swore I would never let that happen to me.

Oh, and it takes me 35 mins to shower, dry hair, dress and put on a bit of makeup. Combined foundation and powder, concealer, mascara, blusher, lipstick. Hairdresser ever six weeks for cut and colour. Dentist every three months. Emery board and handcream in the car.

Everything goes on a hanger and tops/dresses never worn twice. Oh, and a clothes brush.

Could do it in half the time 25 years ago but needs more maintenance and am slower now.

There are some threads on S&B about the secrets of looking polished and stylish. I have tried lots of the suggestions on them. I have now come to the conclusion that for some people looking polished is easier - good, thick hair, body shape etc. I wear make-up, go to a really good hairdresser, wear simple, well cut clothes etc, yet I still look like a small, slightly unkempt hobbit. My hair is thin and fine with a life of its own and never looks good no matter what. I am small and a bit squat and clothes just don’t look elegant on me.

Many of my friends with better hair, different proportions just seem to be able to do polished with not that much effort, whereas I could spend hours and ££££ and still look like an extra from Middle Earth.

Agree that often it's a question of priorities. A friend of mine looks as scruffy as me in her dressing grown when she gets up but spends 2 hours getting herself ready to be seen in public. She always looks a million dollars. I could not be arsed, especially as I can't afford 2 hours a day not getting paid.

Agreed OP!
I wear classic clothes and iron them. And pay for a decent haircut. Have a shower every morning, etc etc.
I look fine in front of the mirror in the morning. About an hour later I look scruffy.
My hair only looks fine if it is covered in hairspray. Otherwise it looks shite just an hour later. And it has always been like this. I have been to some very expensive hairdressers in my time, makes no difference.

It really is about putting the time in. When I worked full time I got up an hour earlier after my DD was born so that I could look pulled together for work. DD used to come into the bathroom and chat to me as I got ready. I did the same with my mum as a child - so it was ingrained in me at a young age to put the time in.

Later, I was a SAHM but I always got up earlier and put on tinted moisturiser etc and had clean, nicely ironed clothes for the school run. Some days now I go there in my running gear as I run straight after the school drop offs, but I always wear tinted suncream!!

So, good grooming - weekly manicure you do at home or salon; daily hand cream;
Great hair cut and colour - then I just wash and go, but it has taken years to get to this style, when longer I used babyliss big hair, or heated rollers!!!
Tinted moisturiser, mascara, concealer and lip balm.
Also, if you are older, some botox, but very discreet.

Plan your weekly outfits and iron all on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. (for work, obviously not if a SAHM, then you just need loads of jeans - or I do).

You have to get up earlier. Pick outfit the night before. Do nails when kids in bed the night before. Make sure bag, shoes, jewellery co-ordinate. In the morning shower. Put on face, stay in dressing gown whilst kids eat, you tidy up. Then dress. Hair wear up if it is misbehaving. I had to do all this when I had a front of house job. It is bliss not to worry about this now.

Basically I can look styled and polished for an hour and that is it. I tried to look like this all the time when I was about 20. I ended up going to the toilets every hour or two to redo my hair and try and look okay again. Fine as a student, impossible to do this now.

Reading people's advice, I don't think they get it at all.

Oh yes - never put your good clothes on until you are ready to leave the house, especially if you have kids.

If it were just about putting the time in I’d look fabulous. I live alone, kids grown up and have all the time in the world to sort out makeup, iron clothes, get my hair done. I can look neat and tidy but alas, never polished.

I never feel very ‘together’ if what I have on has too many colours. I will wear, at most 3 colours in one outfit of two main colours and a different accent colour. Too many and I look like I have fallen into the laundry basket . It’s like when you see v small children who have been set loose to dress themselves and simply choose all there fave things without any reference to whether they go with each other!!

Maybe, like popularity, it is just something you are born with 🤷🏻‍♀️

I'm not going to say I'm one of the polished lot, because I'm not.. However, I do have straight one length hair, I get up and I don't even need to brush it - I've often gone to work and realised I've not touched it - it looks just the same as if I'd just spent time blow drying it. I think that is definitely a bonus.

I think the other thing is always wearing clothes that fit properly, be it jeans and a top or a dress and heels. It's not about weight, some of the most polished people I know are overweight but they wear clothes well and have good posture and confidence.

I have a friend like this. Even in her scruffs she looks put together. She's 65 and looks amazing. She has an eye for a bargain as well and she'll wear something amazing and when you ask her where she got it from it was 15 quid in TK Maxx or Matalan or similar

My put together is clothes that passed the sniff test and makeup hastily slapped on whilst DCs are having breakfast before we are out of the door.

Because looking polished generally requires more effort than this.

If you want to look more polished you need to try and find time to fit in the upkeep.

I hate Next. That aside, I think being thin and having good hair is at the heart of it.

I try to look good (I’m single and you never know who you might bump into).

I make sure my hair is done everyday and get it cut every 3-4 weeks. I wet shave my cheeks/neck everyday and trim my beard every three days.

I always wear ironed clothes, even if it’s just a t-shirt. But most importantly all of my clothes fit well, ill fitting clothes never look good. My shoes are always clean, again dirty shoes are also a stand out thing.

It’s also believing you look okay, if you believe you look alright you’ll appear more confident.

I’ve heard people say I am one of those people actually .

I think it has to do with ‘doing the basics right’.
Wear classic, casual chic clothing. No need for it to be expensive: H&M will do just fine. What matters more is what kind of shoes you wear. Choose leather ones and polish them.
Keep your nails short and neat. Get a good haircut and keep up with washing, no frizz etc.
Maintain a good dental hygiene.
Don’t wear too much make up and keep your eyebrows well groomed.

Oh and for some reason, classic and modest pearl earrings instantly can make you look instantly better. I feel pearls light up your skin.

Also, smell nice, invest in a good perfume that is not too overbearing (Chanel no 5 L’eau premiere or No 19 Poudre, Dior J’adore, anything Jo Malone).

My only chance of looking some what polished is if I'm awake before DD, even if it's 10 minutes it makes a big difference.