Project Princess

[BlackSwan]

I have a theory that every year you should treat one wedding you're attending as though it were your own.

Not that you're the bride, or as important as the bride...that's not the idea. I mean that for many women your wedding day is the one day when you try to pull it all together to look and feel your best, best figure, best skin, best hair. You get the picture. So if you do this once a year...perhaps with less of the stress that goes along with preparing for your own wedding day...then you'll look and feel amazing.

Last year I gave birth to my first child, so getting my figure etc back on track before a wedding I attended some months later was a huge challenge. I think I succeeded pretty well - I felt great at the wedding, not like the frumpy mummy I thought I might turn up as!

So now we have the Royal Wedding to look forward to I think we have the perfect opportunity to set that as a collective project due date. 29 April.

If any of you are inclined to give this a go - I thought it might be fun to do this with other like minded (crazy?) women.

The way it would work is like this - anyone involved can add a preparation ritual to the list. Let's not make this expensive. Don't we all have a bunch of unused exfoliant, teeth whitening paste, cuticle creams, waxes and potions at our disposal in our medicine cabinet?

Get the idea? Anyone interested?

I went to have my eyebrows waxed and tinted yesterday. I have it done every other month or so with no incident.

THIS time, for some reason, she took off a little patch of skin from under one eyebrow, didn't notice and then applied witch hazel to the wound. Eeeeek!

It's pretty superficial, so will heal quickly I hope, but I look awful and I vow never to go for waxing again - threading only from now on!

But I had a hair cut, had my layers freshened up, have been persisting with the Amargan hair oil and Babyliss Big Hair and so at least my hair looks nice.

Managed to go out and get bladdered on Saturday, which isn't really in line with the whole 'looking after yourself' theme, so have vowed to be healthier this week. I DO NOT want to go to the gym tonight but I will force myself. I hope the sweat doesn't make my eyebrow sting too much.

How is everyone getting on?

I hope you all have more willpower than me! Maybe it's because I'm home a lot with two young children but I find myself reaching into the biscuit tin too often. If I avoid buying biscuits completely then I find myself motivated by strong sugar cravings to actually bake! So today instead of doing my exercise dvd during DS's nap I was baking chocolate biscuits... and then I proceeded to eat about seven!

No surprise that I've gained 1.5kg in the last 2 months. I seem to be permanently hungry though.

On the upside, I'm doing all the pampering things.

christiane perhaps you don't eat much dairy. I think I was previously eating quite a lot, which is probably why giving it up made such a difference. I was having cows' milk on cereal every morning, yoghurt every day and cheese most days too. As well as butter on lots of things.It's definitely high in saturated fat. I don't even miss it that much actually.

I've done gradual tan moisturiser all over my body for last two days.

The face pack I did at the weekend has made my face a bit dry.

Can anyone recommend a good eye cream?? i have lots of fine lines under my eyes. I use the tinted Garnier rolly-thingy over my foundation.

I would like to join if I may! Normally I spend evenings slumped in front of the tv with several (ahem) glasses of wine...last night I resolved to get healthier and instead of vegging I had a bath with the kids, exfoliated and did a face mask, then after my dinner and fizzy water (halo icon required), I fake tanned and did a manicure before retiring to bed with a fruit tea to watch Biggest Loser.

This morning I have a spring in my step and have stayed away from the vending machine at work (so far....). I am on my second 500ml water of the day and feeling very virtuous! Can I keep it up tonight though........what beautifying can I do to take my mind off wine and bad things!

Hello all
Am jumping in to join up,have been mildly depressed and have not been looking after myself. Too many nights skipping the healthy family dinner in favour of a bottle of wine and a giant sharing size packet of crisps.I'm away from all my friends and family and won't see them till Easter so I reckon that qualifies for a special occasion !

So far today have drunk lots of water, moisturised and avoided crap snacking,had extra salad in my sandwich and done a set of hand weights.

Have banned diet coke [evil stuff] and will attempt alcohol free weekdays (am two days in on this I haen't had a booze free day before since about last October and that was because I had gastric flu )
Onwards and upwards (and all that)

Wonderful to have you both on board Harrogatemum and RoyalBlingThing!

Think my 9pm bedtime is due tonight. So fatigued. I may need a week of 9pm bedtimes to repay some of the debt owing to my sleep bank account.

Ordered Babyliss big hair thing, waiting for it to arrive. Excited at the prospect of successful home styling. Please let it live up to my expectations!

Thanks for the welcome !
Its 5.30pm here (am in Dubai.. another reason I want to lose weight glam up is its started getting hot again and theres nothing like 30-50 degree heat to make you feel dumpy and frumpy)
Its normally about the time I start making dinner and eyeing the wine bottle.
I did a home manicure last night to keep me busy after the kids were in bed... might find a book to read

ho hum

Well I went off the rails a bit at the weekend because we were away but am now (largely speaking) back On Message.

Cross-trainer 20 minutes or brisk walk 1.5 hours three times a week is going really well

Eating healthily is going mostly well but I am pre-menstrual/ sluggish/ peckish so am just doing the best I can (oatcakes are surely much better than packets of salt and vinegar crisps?)

Tooth whitening has commenced in earnest - day three today... Am waiting for unbearable sensitivity/ pain but so far so good.

Am keeping on top of basic maintenance like de-fuzzing/ exfoliating/ gradual self tan...

Have also made an appointment in a couple of weeks time for Restylane filler in my top lip and the vertical lines that run from the side of your nose to the outside corner of your mouth. Sod it - in for a penny, in for a pound!

Hello can I join please

Im not doing too badly but could do with shifting half a stone. I bought a shedload of body butters in the sale so will get on with moisturising every day, and will remember to body brush too.

Could I ask for a bit of an idiots guide re. a good face cream (currently using a neals yard one at mo or a brightening one from superdrug) and perhaps some dermalogica recommendations? Im pretty skinto so cant afford to try too many things but if something is awesome I can justify it. A boot in the right direction would be lovely Also moroccan oil stockists, anyone?

Meant to say - Im getting those awful '11' lines between my eyebrows and small lines under my eyes (Im 29 in may, sob) so need a good cream to sort that. Looked at the soap and glory one linked to on here but apparently you only use that for 21 days or so, so either way Id need something else for when the 21 days is up.

I really need to find some cheap treatments near me too.

ebay for morrocan oil.

Botox for your '11'. Sorry. It's the only thing that works!

can i join? just had baby number one, and would like to look presentable, never mind princessy!

Can someone please explain the advantages of eyebrow threading as opposed to just, er, plucking them at home.

Thanks!

I think I need to revise my list and remove anything food related. Every time I try to cut down on something or restrict my diet, I inexplicably think of food all day long and end up eating MORE.

If any of you read French I would heartily recommend reading Maigrir Sans Regime by Dr Zermati. I don't think it's been translated into English. It's basically a self-help book for overeaters and yo-yo dieters and explains the phenomenon I just outlined above, ie if you think of food as bad, you become obsessed, you eat without thinking, etc etc. I think I need to read it again soon!

One time on holiday DH and I took off our watches and basically decided to eat when we were hungry and sleep when we were tired (clearly this was pre-DCs). I have to say we both came home lighter and happier. Of course with young DCs this is impossible for me now, and indeed anyone who works has similar restrictions on mealtimes, and is too busy to do this. Anyway, sorry for the essay, just wanted to share a few thoughts.

I'm going to focus on the pampering. Tonight, facemask and shave legs.

christiane to answer your question, I used to use these Dermalogica products:
Special Cleansing Gel
Daily Microfoliant
Active Moist
Pre-cleanse couple of times a week
Skin refining mask after skin prep scrub once a week

I use different products now - my skin is no longer as spotty.

I really recommend finding a good therapist to properly analyse your skin and get you kick-started with a facial. It's not cheap but money well spent IMO.

Dillinger, whoamamma and anyone else out there - yes please join us in our quest for achieving personal fulfilment through hair removal, crunches and body brushing!

Dillinger - I really love products by Revive, which they stock at spacenk. There's real science behind their stuff, one of their people won a nobel prize for their technology. I have really seen results. Their moisture renewal cream, which you use as a night cream and contains glycolic acid and some stuff called 'epidermal growth factor' is very effective.

cyrilsneer - how long does the restylane last?

naturelover, I find claims that one method of hair plucking is superior to any other method that yanks out the hair dubious. The hair can't tell the difference, can it?

Holy crap I cannot afford any of that

Botox? Oh dear!

Olay Regenerist?

BlackSwan - the Restylane will cost £375 and should last about a year before it needs topping up. Sounds a lot but it will, I'm sure make a positive difference.

I have been having Botox three times a year since I was 40 (I'm now 44) and just think it is fab. I pat £275 each time.

These things are my major indulgences though - I just use Simple cleansing wipes and face-wash and SPF day cream. I use Revitalift cream at night because it contains Retin A which is the stuff that actually works.

I do home facials with olive oil and a hot water flannel to cleanse and then ground up aspirin as a scrub/ mask.

Thanks for that cyril - not a bad price for a year's insurance!

Dillinger - the Revitalift cream that cyril recommended is the one which is meant to be great on the '11' lines.

Not so good here. Been body brushing, hair oil arrived but caught DD1's vomiting bug so no food for 24 hours and broke the fizzy drink ban as needed coke. Look rough and have loads of horrible under the skin spots round my mouth as my period is due...great ! A long way from a princess

Oh no whoneedsleep... is that awful bug doing the rounds AGAIN! You poor thing. You have all the fizzy drinks you want!

Rubyrubyruby we are all falling off the wagon left, right and centre. Just don't ask me how I'm getting on with my exercise regimen. Tomorrow is another day.

Ah look its me all keen and shiney to kick you back into the zone

Had my early night last night.
Day 4 of no alcohol
Started with hot water and lemon (suprisingly nice)
Showered and moisturised
Off to make some porridge and defrost some berries.

RoyalBlingThing - such an appropriate moniker for this thread. Glad someone is holding up so well!!

I will take a leaf out of your book. Already ate up my porridge.

Failed to go to bed early last night, though I really needed it. My brain and body are acting independently of one another: last night I squirted anti-bacterial soap on my toothbrush and just now spooned espresso coffee straight into my cup.

I haven't started yet but will today...

Am gonna get kids ready for school, do the shopping and then get started on my list. Have not started the 30 day shred yet, but have been decorating my house so think that will count as my exercise for the last couple of days !

Will report back later having started Project Princess