Calling all you fashionistas/style gurus! We need your style-and-beauty tips

[HelenMumsnet]

Hello.

We're thinking of doing an MN Guide to Style and Beauty - but we can't do it without you!

We'd love you to post bestest, wittiest, most practical style/hair/beauty tips, secrets, rules, dos and don'ts on this thread.

Obviously, we're thinking "this will make you look good in the 13 seconds you have between getting up and getting the kids up", rather than "this will make you look good but takes six hours and £3000 to achieve".

Right, over to you. And thank you!

I'm always complimented wherever I go. I'd say my best beauty tips are

1. Invest in a good haircut (and colour).
2. Have one stylish coat or jacket that instantly makes you look put together.
3. De-clutter your wardrobe regularly.
4. Don't impulse buy clothes. Make sure you always try everything on and that things fit well.

Then when you are rushed for time, like I was today when I went to pick up ds from nursery after cleaning the house, you can just untie your hair, put on a coat and run out of the door. 1 minute. No mascara or lippy necessary

Here are mine:

• For smarter looking nails, cut, file, rub oil/vaseline into cuticles and then paint with clear polish. Looks much neater and takes next to no time
• Sweet Almond Oil (available relatively cheaply from Holland and Barrett) is AWESOME: it can be used after a shower to lock in moisture, as eye make-up remover, on nails, mixed with sugar/salt as an exfoliator

lol at name oprah
i am SO JEALOUS

'I'm always complimented wherever I go'

I'm usually ignored wherever I go

White eyeliner on inner bottom lashline to make eyes look fresh and wide awake!!!

Do a platt over to make it look like you have made an effort with ya hair even when you not brushed it!

Olive oil ... for everything, Nail hair skin lip gloss ... it's just fab!

Take the sticky labels off the bottom of your shoes.. otherwise you look like a skanky tramp.

Do not wear anything with a hood.

A cotton hoodie for exercise purposes only may be permissable, but please god not on a coat.

You cannot ever look stylish whilst wearing a coat with a hood.

That is where the line between practical and stylish lies. Wet hair looks better than a hood. Always. But of course hats and umbrellas look even better.

(will admit exceptions to coat rule for dog walking in very rural areas).

If it's made of fleece, it will never look nice.

Pluck eyebrows in the car - the all-around light shows up every tiny hair. Up to you whether you decide to stop the car first.

Converse are acceptable. Trainers aren't.

Filing the surface of your toenails beds before buffing achieves an unbelievable shine that lasts for months. And it can be done while kids are in the bath.

Hairpieces are not just for the 1970s.

When short of time, a quick shower and hairwash will make you look and feel better than any amount of make-up and accessories.

How to look stylish in morning in 10 mins - esp for school run:

Brush hair and teeth, moisturise, apply little bit of foundation, blusher & mascara. 3 mins

Put on pair of jeans (skinny or boot cut), white t-shirt and v neck jumper/cardy with necklace - pumps or boots are fine. To be more lazy but slightly more stylish, wear black leggings, long boots, long jumper/cardy or tunic and necklace. 5 mins

Coat, scarf wrapped around & nice wool hat if cold/wet. 2 mins.

job done - can be applied to any time of day.

Never wear tracksuit, mens clothes, crocs, wellies (unless really raining hard), trainers, baggy jeans, cropped tops, horizontal stripes unless size 12 or less, scrunchies, summer clothes in winter, baggy coats, jeans that are too short, too much makeup or obvious fake tan.

Have your eyebrows threaded. The pain is indescribable, however the results are far far better than waxing and plucking them yourself.

I thought I was looking very stylish at 8.30 am in my silver Hunter wellies and horizontally-striped marinière

frensh style stripes are fine Very FC

That's a good thing, because I was walking past the shop where I bought my very beautiful and perfect navy-on-white marinière for a bargainous 50 euros earlier this Autumn, and noticed that they now have them in red-on-navy as well, and was planning to be there at opening this morning to buy one!

Must fly!

IMO it's better to budget your money to buy one or two really quality, smart looking handbags and pairs of shoes than several cheaper versions. Will give any outfit some real class.

Also well-trimmed hair makes such a difference. Doesn't have to be expensive; I've cut my own for the last 30 years - the MN haircut is fab. All it costs is the price of a good pair of hairdressing scissors and a bit of know-how gleaned from hairdressing friends/books.

I always think a really beautiful woman isn't necessarily someone with perfect features and gorgeous clothes, but someone who is attractive because of she has a warm, friendly, smiley countenance, and who obviously loves life and loves others.

Chantecaille Just Skin tintedt moisturiser is amazing. It's expensive but it makes you look 10 years younger.

Eyebrows waxing definitely - makes a huge difference to your face.

Put a little dab of white eyeshadow or cream in the corner or your eyes - makes you look bright eyed and younger.

Always wear mascara.

If you find a hairdresser you trust and who cuts your hair well, STICK WITH THEM. Also, if you don't like/are afraid of your hairdressers on hair style, generally speaking, don't let them near your hair.

When buying clothes and you see something you like, walk away, do other stuff and come back. If it still stands out, and you STILL like it, then think about buying it.

For basics like handbag, coat etc., try to only buy stuff you luuuuuuuuurve, as you'll be wearing it all the time. Much nicer to have something you love to put on every day, rather than something you begrudgingly accept.

a blow dry is the best spent £20 you can buy for feeling instantly glam.

I've just come across shoe clips! so now I can vamp up my shoes without buying a new pair (cause I've run out of room!) got mine from here Make nice presents too! My friends really liked their's!

omigosh crystalbelle those are fabulous!

Try and assemble one decent "going out" outfit for winter and one for summer complete with shoes, jewellery, bag, coat scarves etc ... It doesn't have to be expensive, it just has to flatter and fit correctly. Try and assemble it when you have some time and not when you are in a mad rush.

That way, if you are asked out to dinner at the last minute or you receive a wedding invitation, you can avoid that awful "but I haven't anything to wear" sinking feeling ....

Hello... This will no doubt create howls of derision but as soon as possible I will be taking myself off to the uber modern beautician in town and getting semi permanent eyeliner put on - lasts three years and will therefore save me an estimated 3285 minutes of my life...

And I shall save the probably huge cost of this by going to my local beauticians college for beauty treatments where pedicures cost £5 and the student beauticians are too scared/nervous/concentrating to make idle chatter about holidays to warm and sunny climes with lots of alchohol and staying out til dawn which I will never be able to do again!

Favourite products:

Eyebrows: Clear mascara stuff from Laura Mercier, takes seconds to come the hairy caterpillars into some semblence of order.

Under eyes: Bobbby Brown eye brightener - hides even the largest and darkest of bags and also contains anti wrinkle stuff - for really desperate cases stick YSL touche eclat on top.

Face: clarins instant smooth foundation - basically polyfiller mousse stuff for face, takes seconds to put on and hides large pores as well as giving a bit of colour.

I could go on but thats good for a start - oh and Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, eyes and face - will temporarily give you instant uplift - enough to make you feel better for at least a few hours!

I am a product slut, have tried everything and for easiness, speed and effectiveness the above are the best I have come across...

1. De clutter your wardrobe at least once a year. Get rid of any garment that is: a) Unfashionable; b) Age-inappropriate; c) Worn out / bobbly / shapeless; d) Too small for you.

1. Invest as much as you can afford in basics such as jeans, jersey and knitwear. Wear them with a few cheap fashionable pieces to bring your look up to date.

1. Invest in some GHDs for instant Good Hair Days...

1. Always keep day time make-up to a minimum, i.e. light foundation, bronzer, brow pencil, mascara, and Vaseline for lips.

1. Never underestimate the power of bronzer - not only does it warm up your complexion but it also gives you bone structure. Use it lightly and with a big fat brush.

1. Get your eyebrows threaded - it is so much better than waxing.

1. Keep topiary everywhere else waxed or trimmed.

1. Walk as often as you can, as far as you can, and as fast as you can. It's the best exercise.

1. Drink water.

10. Never wear black block heeled ankle boots with pale denim. Never wear black boots with light denim full stop.

11. Always wear jeans and trousers at a length long enough to almost reach the bottom of the heel. This means you will have to have certain jeans / trousers for heels and some for flats.

12. A pashmina, a pair of earrings and a splash of scent will always make you appear as though you've made an effort.

13. Invest in the best coat you can afford and try to ensure it is classic in colour and style. It may not be the most exciting coat in the world but you will wear it over and over.

14. Never combine lilac with an olive complexion.

15. For nights out, you can't go wrong with a pair of fabulous bootcut jeans and a pair of fab gold or silver heels. Have a variety of tops to go with them and you'll never look as if you're wearing the same outfit twice.

16. Never keep a piece that has gone out of fashion in the hope that it will come back in. It will never be truly cutting edge and unless you're a twenty-something-vintage-kitty you will look like you have never moved on.

17. A little black dress does not suit everybody. Very few people have both the legs and the complexion for short and black.

18. If you have chunky ankles never wear ankle straps, or kitten heels.

19. Never wear kitten heels.

20. If you have a short neck never wear a roll neck.

21. When you find your perfect jeans, buy three pairs in different colours!

22. A lovely bag (think Mulberry - swoon!) has the power to compensate for your hungover face, bedraggled hair and tracksuit bottoms.**The last one may not always work.

Oh, and use a bit of hair wax to tame sticky-up baby hair. And get your hair done AT LEAST every three months.

Just come back and re-read this and I think I sound like a right nob