To feel frustrated that I look frumpy and blah despite my very best efforts

[gratefulnessz]

I avoid having my photograph taken as much as possible, always have ever since I was a teenager. But on a recent weekend away I decided to have some pics taken as my last photograph of myself that I have was me at my graduation nearly 3 years ago...

I put a lot of time and effort and money into my appearance and like to try and look my best. I was devastated at how frumpy and just blah I look.

My hair that has expensive hair products and I blow dried with my Dyson Airwrap looks frizzy and lank. My skin that I've spent time on researching a good, effective routine looks oily and blotchy. My makeup which is all high end looks awful. My bras are really unflattering despite spending time researching my bra size and spending money on decent bras. My clothes look frumpy and scruffy despite being good quality. (Sorry, that paragraph sounds so pretentious, and reading it back is making me cringe).

I just don't know where I'm going wrong and feel like the money, time and effort I've put into my appearance has been a waste of time. I think my biggest issue is my figure, I have wide hips and big boobs and I just feel like it doesn't suit me (if that makes sense)

I bet you looked great to the naked eye. Sometimes I’ve taken photos with friends in where they’ve not looked great, when in rl they looked fabulous. That’s why I don’t take a lot of notice of photos of myself anymore- the camera bloody well does lie!!

Like pp, the camera lies!! 😂 I've spent hours, even days getting ready for special nights out,only to have my picture taken and it looks like I've just got out of bed, but then I've also had pictures taken where I've got next to no make up on, amd have literally just got out of bed and I look good, can't bloody win 😂😂

I bet you look better than you think you do. I have given up on expensive products and gone back to rimmel and supermarket moisturisers. I use the odd expensive product that can't be duped. That's all.

I have a pear shaped body and rather than following fashion i try to buy classic stuff that looks good on that shaped body… i lesn in to my figure and (annoyingly) wavy hair rather than trying to fit a different mould… Also are you just being too self critical…? A few photo’s are just that, a tiny snapshot of you, not who you are as a person.

Have a read of this thread. It is literally filled with people feeling exactly the same. I look better in my head than I do in RL http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/styleandd_beauty/4706399-i-look-better-in-my-head-than-i-do-in-rl

I'm only thinking out loud here but I need to try and steer my boring dress sense in a direction where the odd pound twenty pounds doesn't make the whole look fall apart. I'm keeping an eye out for the right long dress at the moment. What I want is hard to find.

Jeans and a top is not a look that works for me when my BMI is 29.7
I'm trying to lose a bit but it's been a uniform for me for 30 years and it doesn't work for a short woman whose carrying 28 extra pounds. I'm working on that right now though. But also looking at dresses that wouldn't look totally amish.

Just simple long navy, rust, olive, black long dresses. I never see them.

Look at the Gracerelle dresses on Amazon. I have a couple, plain and print, and they are very flattering on.

Grecerelle

wow this is just what I meant

I would get it shortened but this is the kind of thing you could throw on, big earrings, nice make up and feel better than a weeble in a jeans and a top.

People need to start checkind dates on threads

Doesn't really matter. other people still relate.

Why? What is time-sensitive about this thread?

Nothing is time sensitive on this thread but there are tens popping up every day from years gone by when the advice is 99% not needed anymore if Op's are even here still yet.

But you've posted on it twice now yourself.
I was grateful to @Squirrelsnut for the dress recommendations so it's not for you to tell off posters for posting on old threads. Please don't appoint yourself a moderator.