My new years resolution this year is to make more effort with my appearance. Who wants to join me?

[TrampyPants]

I've never really worn make up, styled my hair or bothered with how I look. That was fine when I was young and fresh. Now I'm 34 (nearly 35) and I want to look good. I have just tried to curl my hair (and failed) and sorted out my make up, throwing out stuff that doesn't suit me.

That's what I've done, PencilCase. It makes life much easier and also means I'm actually using a product to the end of its life and then replacing, rather than having zillions of things on the go and not really using any of them properly.

I did my underwear drawer today (do it every couple of months) but this time I was even more ruthless than usual. I now need new pants though, as I've thrown so many away. :)

Oh yes, haven't purged my underwear drawer in ages!

Only just remembered the other day, before the kids came along, in our more romantic days, DH and I used to ditch each others past-it underwear. I used to be quite ruthless!

Hi ladies, mind if i join?

Ive never been very fashionable, i live in tracksuit bottims, trainers and t-shirts, because i just like to be comfortable.

But my new years resolution was to give my life a bit of an overhaul, i want to get organized and make more of an effort with my apperance.

I wear make-up every day, but i never do anything with my hair (its waist length and bleached blonde but i dont get my roots done as often as i should) and the only hairstyle i "do" is down and straightened, i never wear it up, never curl it or anything, it just hangs there.

I dont usually wear nail varnish because once it starts chipping i cant be arsed to re-do.

I used to fake tan all the time as i am incredibally pale and always looked better with a tan, but i just havent bothered with it, got too lazy.

Im completely clueless with clothes, i never know what goes with what, and if it doesnt look good with trainers i give up.

Well this all needs to change! I need to get my arse into gear and take a bit of pride in my apperance!

Getting my roots done on saturday, going to get my tan on and do my nails tomorrow, and i need to start buying clothes and shoes!!

What is pintrest by the way?

Oh god if I had to ditch all the past it, illfitting and unsexy undies id be totally commando under my clothes

I need to find some nice undies and a well fitting bra asap!

Just checking in to say hi, it's already later than I wanted to be going to bed so I'm about to go now. Just going to jump in the shower first, and who knows, I may even use some body lotion! I may come back to you a changed woman tomorrow. Night all.

So I have showered and applied oil all over, I have a garnier 2in1 cleansing milk and toner I have used, cleaned all chipped nail polish off and got work clothes ready for tomorrow. Having a glass of water and painting nails before bed.
I can see this being expensive you've got me wanting to shop for new knickers as well as bb cream and rosy vaseline so far

I'm in!
I've just started another thread in seach of inspiration too.

How the hell do I get out of the 'I just can't be arsed' mindset????

Me too!

As a teacher I have to dress up every day, and do so. It's the weekends that do me in. The urge to slob out is well-nigh irresistible. I'm not a total scruff bag but...

Good things:I've managed to only once in my life break my rule of never wearing trainers unless I was going to/returning from a run. Tick.
I keep my toe nails painted during sandal months, which is a lot in Australia. Tick.

Now I have to work on wearing the nice clothes I have; not all at once, obviously, but bearing comfort in mind, to be presentable around the house. The test is: would I panic if someone rocks up unexpectedly? Hmmm.

For me the big comfort thing is bras. I've gone up a size, bought new bras and feel all the better, but am I on my own here in whipping the damn thing off as soon as I walk in from work?

A concomitant of the good weather is bare arms, so 15 half push-ups a day, every day is needed to hold off the dinner lady's arms. I didn't do them this winter, and it shows.

The knicker drawer beckons for a clear-out having read this thread.

Today was a bit hit-and-miss. The positives were that I wore make-up and dressed well (grey ombre fitted jumper with a-line leather miniskirt, black opaque tights and my black patent 8 hole Dr Martens with new black and silver laces, plus posh watch and lovely black pearls), even though I was only going to B&Q...

As for the negatives: I'm not even close to breaking the scratching-my-poor-itchy-face habit so it's looking a bit sorry for itself, and I need to neaten up my eyebrows. Also, my hairpins etc still haven't arrived, which my parrot is infinitely pleased about as it means that she's still able to groom/burrow through my hair to her heart's content!

Can i join?
I am determined to make myself look better this year, i just need the confidence to do it.

I hope those not feeling so good are better and in a lot less pain.
Echt- Is it on too tight? Or is the style of bra? My more lacy ones that dont support very well arent all that comfy. Or I only feel like that if I am not well and dont want anything too tight and annoying me.

I motivate myself by a)glancing a myself in a mirror very early after no sleep with dc and recoiling in horror ( its my Dm!). B) wanting dh and dc to be proud of me and encourage dc to care about their appearance. People do judge on first appearance so C) if you look nice people are nicer to you and you will feel better. D) an interest in clothes and makeup makes you look after yourself better so you look nicer, stand up straight, exercise..

Next I am going to rearrange my bathroom stuff including nail polishes. that is annoying me more than my pants drawers!

It can get expensive with the stuff you need to take care of yourself ( Beauty is time and money after all at my age) but I make my own face oil:) its pretty good. Been doing it for a few years now and it's fine. I use almond oil for cuticles, Vaseline is good for lots of things too, a good slathering and cotton socks on whilst you clean the house or sleep overnight will cause miracles with your feet. Miracles:)

Good morning all!

I've found that you don't need to spend a fortune to start on a beauty quest, I try to never buy anything that is full price and buy one or two bits a week and use what I have already if it works for me.

I'm on a fail for style AND beauty today. Ill-fitting black trousers and a huge blue top as I've just come on and I'm all bloated and hideous. The skirt I wanted to wear today looked awful so the only option left was these trousers. Currently have no make up on and my hair is wild. I look as bad as I feel

Hellohello

Sounds like everyone is doing well - and hope those of you under the weather get better soon. I had another better day, felt pretty again - woohooo and got a couple of compliments about my frock - which really helped me walk a little taller!

Have come in and swapped shred for red wine. But do you know what I think that is okay. every year I do a manic diet for a few weeks and its great, but its always punishing. This year I am going to use my test of whether it makes me feel better - so healthy eating is good for me and makes me feel good, but so does breaking that routine on a friday night!

Also had a quick look at my pants drawer - and found a voucher for 25 bucks for an underwear shop. Had forgotten all about it. So proper knicker sort tomorrow and then I am going to hit the sales and spend far far more than 25 dollars!

happy days

Morning! Today Im wearing black skinny jeans, a long sleeved long length black top, and a 'square' baggy type sandy coloured 3/4 sleeved top over it. Silver pendant, silver cuff bracelet and biker boots. Makeup wise I went for no7 primer, a touch of foundation (dont usually wear it as I have clear skin but today I fancied it) body shop cheek tint, mascara. I'll put lippy on if I go out (usually a mac red or orange)

I got rid of 2 binbags of clothes recently and feeling so much better for the purge! It pays to be ruthless really, Id had some of that crap for bloody years! The time came to say 'enough!' Half of it Id never even worn!

I bought a pair of carvela shoes in the sale, should get them today but I may return them and spend the money on a new milder weather jacket and a few basic bits from h an m.

Last night I removed the glittery red nail polish Id painted my toenails with for the festive season, and gave my nails a good tidy up. Theyre bare at the moment, I may paint them a nice nude later.

Morning all, so I am excited today as I'm picking up some snakeprint shoe booty things I fell in love with. After work I'm picking up some bb cream and some rosy vaseline in boots, I have sorted my underwear drawer and have had a serious purge of my wardrobe this morning. Make up on (tbh I do this part anyway) just got hair to sort. Nothing exciting about what I am wearing as its just work uniform.
Keep up the good work I'm loving this thread.

So today I'm wearing brown skinny jeggings (5 button m+s), a floral long line top, suede ankle boots and matching bag. I've put make up on but put my hair up in a twist held with a butterfly clip. Only going to the supermarket but there you go. Hubby just asked me what I'm glamourised for .

Going to clear wardrobe out ruthlessly this weekend. Half my problem is that I don't know what I've got so some serious pruning needed.

Keep it up everyone. We're all doing so well.

Good morning everyone! Feeling knackered today but that's because I was up until midnight clearing out my wardrobe after being inspired by all of you. I've got a large bin bag worth of stuff. I'm even going to invest in some new hangers so they all match and everything hangs at the same height. Is that a little bit OCD?

Guy your outfit today sounds lovely. I have to say I really enjoy reading what everyone's wearing! So if anyone's interested I'm wearing grey leggings and a grey long sleeved t-shirt with a navy silky dress layered over the top with flat Blowfish pumps. Not particularly smart but as a nod to my new self I have got eyeshadow on, managed to do a boho-style plait in my hair AND used body lotion all over this morning. Ooh get me....

Can anyone who knows about clothes help me please? I'm tired of looking like I got dressed in the dark, so I've chucked most of my clothes out and want to create a bit of a uniform till I get the hang of dressing myself properly! Post is here and I'd love any suggestions. I'm in my thirties and love beauty stuff, but know nothing about style

Lavenderhoney how do you make your own face oil, please?

Minimum, my recipe for face oil - you need a small pot ( I use an old almond oil fancy jar) and some very good of the best quality you can find almond oil. You need some pure lavender oil as well, the best you can find. Fill the jar mostly with the almond oil, and pour in some lavender oil, you don't need much maybe a 6th depends on your skin. Shake. It's ready:) just give it a Shake before putting it on. Lavender oil is very good for mosquito bites too. I use it at night only, and i put it on my decotellage too:)

I read somewhere recently that the new thing with supermodels is a sudocream:) apparently they smear it lightly over their faces once a week and it gets rid of any blemishes. I knew it was magic but not that magic:)

I looked at your blog ( enjoyed it) and I think what I do is look at as many fashion magazines and online shops as you can. Look at how the clothes are put together and what you like- what you could envisage wearing and would suit you, also get a trinny and susaanah out of the library. Write down the styles and you should see a pattern. it take ages at first:)

I did my eyebrows today, and made sure my face didn't have any rogue hairs. For those interested I am in Birkenstocks, flared jeans, floaty strappy top, with a flower clipped int my hair. Plan to do a boho plait fr tomorrow. How easy is it? Alaska77?

Bought some blow dry creme from Toni and guy boots and it's magical. Much better than that frizz stuff, then I squirt it with coconut oil - smells like a summer holiday to me:)

Hi all. I've been for a run so am feeling very proud of myself! Still in running stuff at the mo, as dp got to the shower first, but then I'll get dressed. Will probably wear a black longline jumper, with a snakeskin print chiffon shirt peeping out of it, khaki skinnies and tan heeled ankle boots.

Almond and lavender oils together sound lovely, I'll give that a go, thank you! Also thank you for the clothes ideas-would something like InStyle be a good start, or is that for really high end stuff? I just want normal clothes :)

not about this thread but might come in handy if anyone is feeling under the weather, and lavender oil reminded me I read a tip on here somewhere that if you were feeling coldy or fluey, to rub lavender oil onto lymph nodes (neck, back of knees, underarms etc) then get into the hottest bath manageable for at least 20 mins, then to go to bed afterwards-think the heat opens your pores and as lavender has antibacterial and antiviral properties it can start fighting off the bug while you sleep. I did this the other day when I got a horrible headache and my throat started feeling all dry and scratchy, and it really worked for me!

The face oil sounds lovely, I will give it a gol

minimum why don't you try going to one of those stylist sessions at John Lewis or similar? I know it's not for everyone but it might give you the Gok/Trinny & Susannah treatment you need to get you started with what suits you

lavender re the boho plait, I basically took a narrow stretch of hair round my forehead, tied the rest back so I could work with the small section and dida little french plait going round my forehead from one side to the other which was a bit fiddly but looks quite nice and works with the floaty silk dress get-up I'm wearing today. Someone's already commented that my hair looks nice which gave me a boost. However, I've come across some tutorials on hairstyles on YouTube. There's loads on there but looks quite good. FWIW my hair is only shoulder-length and I think I could manage most of them.

I'm in! I went clothes shopping for the first time since June 2010 (after having 2 DC). It was super fun Bought a dress and going to wear it when DH comes home :)