How do you look polished?

[OstentatiousBreastfeeder]

Anyone else struggle with this? It seems that no matter how much effort I make in the morning, by lunch I'm catching my reflection and I look a mess. Hair ratty, skin uneven, somehow a few pounds heavier I'm sure of it

I know I need to make more of an effort to buy new clothes but I never seem to have time. When I have new things I always notice how much of a difference it makes, but I never keep it up. I end up looking tatty before I do something about it. That doesn't help.

Is looking 'polished' a skill you can learn, or does it just not happen for some people? Any tips?

For me it's making sure my hair is styled and I'm wearing make-up. If your foundation or eye make-up is wearing away by lunchtime, you might want to try a primer. Also, don't put your foundation on straight after moisturising. I leave mine for at least 10 mins, apply foundation, some primer around eyes, blusher, powder, eye make-up. It stays put all day though I do touch up if I'm going out after work. This might sound stupid but try not to touch your face too much - I see loads of people doing this and it's one of the quickest ways to rub off your make-up!

If your hair is a bit flyaway or endy, a tiny bit of smoothing cream then hairspray will help it look smoother but get it trimmed every 8 weeks or so.

Clothing-wise, I try and wear simple stuff which fits me and I feel comfortable in. Work clothes are smart casual which can be skinny trousers with a loose top (to hide my fat stomach) and a cardi. A slight heel on shoes/boots helps me feel smarter but I have to admit I often end up in flats. I also have some lovely shift dresses which I wear with opaque tights and either boots or flats. Jewellery is good but try and keep it understated and not too much going on at the same time. I'd definitely agree with amiga - better to spend a little bit more if you can on stuff that's a bit more classic rather than £££ on cheap trendy things.

Ostentatious I've also got very pale skin which gets horribly dry in winter. Having tried the Clarins/Clinque end of moisturisers, the Boots 17 intense day cream and night cream turned out to be very good. It's a lot cheaper too which is a bonus. As rollon says too, drink TONS of water - it will help your skin no end.

If your hair is healthy and feels good, can you try styling it so it has body instead of straightening? I use GHDs every day, but I don't do my hair poker straight and flick/curl the ends to give it a bit of bounce.

I agree scarves rarely make someone look polished I feel they make people look dull mostly. I avoid them.

Invest in an expensive coat in the sales and good shoes, people often skimp on these and it brings them down a lot.

Find a good mobile hairdresser so you have regular cut and colour( if needed) at a good price.

Pay out for a good conditioner for your hair. Kerastase intensive masks are good.

Research good make-up etc online and find out how to apply it correctly.

Marking place! I dream of looking polished all day rather than the first 5 mins only!!

Hello OBF
I'm always baffled that people think me very polished and imagine I spend afortune on clothes and get up with the lark to apply make up etc ?? i spend far less money and time on my appearance than my friends i would say
I buy really good shoes/polish them and care for them and I really look after my clothes too hanging them up rather than on pegs, brushing them with a lint roller. I dye my own hair regularly and nails are short and filed with clear polish. Tidy your brows if you need to- i fill mine in with pencil to make them neat. I buy a fab foundation by YSL have Clarins BFB on every morning with blusher and lots of mascara- i also recently bought some estee lauder doublewear powder (having never been able to wear the stuff) its amazing stuff and my make up stays PUT- make up takes ten minutes tops to apply.My hair is naturally curly but I straighten it and i keep it long enough to put up as its a good quick fix if i have no time.

Buy a really good wool coat the best you can afford in the sales Ive had my Jaegar one for nine years now and I'll have it for another nine.

Buy some arm and hammer toothpaste and a great electric brush, drink lots of water and moisturise- im nothing special to look at but i polish up well. turds anyone?

I think I used to be pretty darn polished but, if truth be told, looking like that is time-consuming and requires quite a lot of effort in terms of well cut clothes, good shoes, decent haircuts, learning how to apply make up properly and so on. I haven't got the will, (or the body), anymore to be quite that soignée.

But there are some things that are useful.

A free makeover from your nearest Mac counter or similar, can be good - you'll have to buy one item but it's worth it to see the difference that well applied make up will have.

(If you're in or nr London) a friend of mine - who is the most well groomed person I know - gets her hair cut (and coloured) at Windle & Moodie, a renowned and chic hair salon for around £30 on model nights. Normal prices can run into over £300 for a cut and colour by a senior stylist ...)

A good local tailor/seamstress - getting your clothes altered to fit you once they have been bought is invaluable.

A few well cut pieces (your basic capsule wardrobe) that you can mix and match in colours that suit you.

An expensive coat in a classic colour (sales can be amazing and it should last for a few years, at least)

Shoes/boots polished and repaired as soon as they need it (no worn down heel tips or the like).

Clean, manicured hands, with a light polish.

Teeth (!) regular scale and polishes.

A good handbag.

See? Easy peasy :)

Don't save clothes for best- except the obvious wedding/black tie.
Also wear clothes that fit well and aren't out of date/frumpy/mumsy.
Hair, make-up, nails not too long and definitely not chipped.
Simple jewellery, accessories.
Avoid garish colours, crazy fashions/patterns.
Shower daily, healthy diet, sunscreen, don't smoke and generally look after yourself.
I wouldn't say polished exactly but the above stops me looking like a tramp.

Get enough sleep is the obvious one

I second getting the best coat you can. Really think about what style and look you want to achieve and then wait patiently until you find it! I got my dream british tailored wool coat for £80 reduced from £370. It was meant to be. We are soulmates!!

Yes to good outer wear in winter .

Pristine and flattering coat hat and scarf are easy ways to look put together, covering a multitude of sins .

A very, very few women I know are naturally glamorous. It's genetic and their DC are naturally glamorous too - all glowing skin, immaculate eyebrows, bouncy hair and perfect bodies while leading lives that are similar to everyone else!

The vast majority of us have to work hard at personal maintenance and grooming! Money helps (new clothes, freshly laundered and ironed, and skin and hair care are all essential to a polished look).

Neat eyebrows - I prefer threading.

Make up if you're over 35 (once you get to this age you have to be extremely genetically blessed to get away without).

Iron all your clothes.

Short, clean polished nails.

Blow dried hair or neatly tied up

When I was very slim I found it so much easier to look polished. Any extra weight on me and I look like a bag of spuds.

The new clothes thing I don't get, if I wear a smart new outfit I feel polished and I get compliments. The second time I wear it I look a mess even though the garment has been washed and ironed.

A tip I got (from the Apprentice of all places) is that if you're the type of person who wipes all their make up off by lunch time definitely then applying a little bit of fake tan once a week can keep you looking too bare by the end of the day.

Obvs not great if you go too far and end up looking like an oompa loompa but it works for me. I also apply one of those "build up" fake tans i.e. very little colour the night before if I'm having to head out from work so I don't look completely pale.

Getting a decent night's sleep most of the time
Regular exercise really adds glow. Ditto plenty of fruit and vegatables.
Keep caffeine and sugar for emergencies not a regular thing, they really effect your skin. Plus if you have a real emergency/rush on, it's great to have an actual energy boost for a couple of hours not just be keeping on the treadmill.
Get a professional blow dry occasionally, it will help keep your hair more manageable for a couple of week's after. Similarly rub a couple of drops of jojoba oil through the ends of your hair before you blow dry it yourself.
Decent conditioner. Plus a deep condition once a week or so.
Organic rosehip oil as a serum (it can be bought cheaply online from Akoma Skincare, no need to play £30+ for a teeny bottle).
Deep cleansing mud mask once a fortnight or so.
Iron everything.
A shellac manicure once a fortnight
Work out whether silver or gold suits you better- it's the one that makes your skin light up when you wear it.
Polished footwear.
For me, a blunt cut fringe that suits my face shape and softens the look of up dos when I wear my hair up.
Picking one base colour (currently it's navy for me, but it has been black, flannel grey, chocolate brown, khaki or purple in the past) for coat, shoes/boots and handbag. Then getting basics like cotton tops, tights etc in the the same colour, plus some standout items in a colour that tomes with the base, or in a pattern that contains the base colour. So things like scarves, blouses etc, whatever the "in" garment is that season. I tend to extend from the base colour in two separate directions- just now I have green things that go with the navy and also purple things. So I mix base and purple things or base and green things and have different combinations.

It's time and money isn't it, looking genuinely "polished", something we are all short on I suspect!

I have pale skin v dry in places (dreaded t thing with hormonal zits on chin and dry cheeks) anyway I've been using doublebase which is a massive tub of ezcema moisturiser and that seems to be working (not sure what to do with the zits though!).

TBH I think I look pretty OK at work and at home am a total slob and can't be bothered to feek bad about that. For work now I'm older and a bit fatter and saggier I am finding that I need to spend more £££ to get clothes that flatter. When I find something that really suits I buy it in more than 1 colour. Also getting older I find that I can carry off / maybe even need more makeup to look "done" than when I was younger. So now I look best in what would have looked like mad clown when I was 20 IYSWIM.

I keep my hair tied back smart with a side parting smoothing across.

I wouldn't win any awards but equally I think I can stand next to the very glam women in my office without looking wildly out of place IYSWIM.

For me it has also been a process after the children, being depressing and getting 3 stone overweight, I've been getting back to my old self over the last couple of years really it does take time. So a little bit at a time eg skin, get that on the mend, then think about and buy a couple of tops, that sort of thing. Trying to do it all at once is overwhelming and expensive. So keep at it chin up good luck

My best coats are 3-5 years old but still lovely so no harm in older clothing. Ts all about buying reasonable quality in the first place then looking after your clothes. De-bobble your jumpers and card is and give them a good press. It makes them look like new quite often. Matching or coordinating shoes and bag. Stand up straight and smile.

Go through your wardrobe ruthlessly and chuck out any rotten old baggy stuff or things that no longer fit /suit you. Put potential outfits together so getting dressed is easier. Agree that dresses do look stylish and can be dressed down with nice boots and still look smart.

All above advice, too. One thing, nobody looks polished all day without a bit of maintenance. Keep a hairbrush and small amount of makeup both in your bag and in the loo so you can do a regular touch up.

If you remember those cringey makeover shows a few years back, the women they chose always had terrible hair. They would dolly them up with new clothes but what made the most difference was a really top notch hairdo. If you can't afford regular cuts make sure you have a style that can really tolerate long gaps between cuts. Ask friends for honest opinions and discuss with your hairdresser. And finally, give your hair a decent brush several times a day. Dishevelled hair is definitely not polished.

Oh also if you are pressed for time shopping for clothes online is good. I like john Lewis I can collect parcels from near home and free returns that way as well, sort clothes eg tops by neckline and colour and sleeve length and so on so eg I know grey boat necks not sleveless suits me so I can filter by that and then just have a few to choose from and of course all the sizes are there. I rarely send anything back whereas in the shops I spend ages looking and trying stuff and I end up feeling like I'm the wrong shape and nothing suits me and going home empty handed. So that's a money-saving, time saving, confidence boosting tip which works for me!

Get your eyelashes and brows dyed. Gives definition to a pasty face at this time of year.

Buy clothes that fit, not skimpy and tight (because you think you will look slimmer), nothing worse than folds and bulges in tight clothes.

Stand up straight.

Lipstick.

For me, the key is making an effort. It's harder as you get older, as clothes do not flatter in quite the same way. So it's:

clothes that flatter, no bum on show-ever.
layering.
full slap always: primer, lippy, foundation, blusher, eyes, powder, mascara.
hair short, no grey, and styled.
nails done ie at least buffed, clean and even.

Regularly trimmed hair and threaded eyebrows make a huge difference. I have never been "glam" but making an effort to keep this up has really helped.

I also use Dior Nail Glow - looks like a glossy French manicure. I am hopeless with coloured polish and don't have time to let it dry and chip it. Nail Glow dries super quick, and is a bit pricey but a bottle lasts ages.

May sound weird but I think well groomed eyebrows make a massive difference. I get mine threaded for £5 a time and use Benefit brow make up for a bit of definition
Lots of water, face cream every night also make a big difference

I spent an absolute fortune on having semi permanent hair stroke eyebrows done

Not for everyone, granted!

But I have perfect groomed eyebrows ,the shape tailored to fit my face and skintone perfectly, I don't even need make up really

I second a lot of the tips on here but my top one which hasn't been mentioned yet is a keratin blow dry. Honestly this has changed my hair and made the polished look a lot easier as it keeps the frizzies at bay.

Salon treatments are often on wowcher for about £70 or you can buy an at home kit for £25 ish.

I find it allows a sleek look but still keeps some volume rather than the flat straightner look which is a bit passe now I think.