We can rebuild this woman - can't we?

[LuxuryWoman2017]

Oh, where to start?
I'm not far off 50, menopausal, feel a bit dowdy right now, a bit overweight, and just in the process of splitting with my partner of 18 years.

I need a boost, a big one, I'm not ready to write myself off yet and I need an overhaul.

I've just started low carbing, hopefully I'll drop a few pounds fairly quickly. My face is frankly starting to look baggy and I'm not completely against the idea of a little drop of botox.

My waistline is a mess, a stomach full of stretchmarks, veins on my legs (although they are slim and a good shape)

Good points, I have excellent hair which can be prone to frizz, but it's strong and I have plenty of it. quite nice eyes, great well behaved boobs, no sagging and just the right size to give me shape without being in the way or hard to dress.

teeth, grim frankly.

nails, very good.

hands, starting to show signs of age

Feet, a horror story

skin tone slightly blotchy although better since I quit drinking to excess.

I'm not one for being prodded or poked, can't bear the idea of a spa.

I guess I know what I need to do but perhaps a few new ideas and a bit of encouragement wouldn't go amiss.

I tend to stick with safe, classic styles but really I am attracted to slightly slouchy, clothes, by which I mean relaxed I suppose.

I can probably invest around £1k in myself. Help!

Watching with interest for tips, particularly interested in the outcome regarding your teeth as they sound similar to mine. I had a few back teeth out due to decay/pain and now my front teeth have gone crooked into the spaces. Also have gum disease and receding gums. I have had work done recently at nearby dental hospital (done by students but very much supervised) but this seems to have made them worse, i.e. Gums receded further, more sensitivity.

For those posters who've had orthodontic work/implants etc, is this really painful (coward)?

I had ABB non invasive cosmetic dental work (ie doesn't damage your teeth like veneers do) - alignment, bleach, bonding

Alignment - the Inman Aligner is a removable appliance, completely transformed my tombstone teeth in 3 months flat. Invisalign would have taken two years!!

Bleach - teeth whitening.

Bonding - using composite bonding to patch up the chips and build my (very short) teeth up to a nice shape. Basically very tough polyfilla for your teeth. It's amazing!

I can show you the before and after pics if you don't mind the view of an open mouth!!

Bananafish yes please!

OK annoyingly I can't find a photo showing the effect of the Inman on the lower teeth. Basically they look as straight as the bottom teeth!! You can see the bleaching and bonding effect on the top teeth though - that was 7 years ago and apart from one bit of bonding on a front tooth that pinged off when biting into something hard (which I had patched up and good as new), it's lasted perfectly

Straight as the *top teeth!!

Found it!!

They look fantastic! May I ask if it was mega £?

Your before teeth were way better than mine though.

It was £££ but central London prices so that almost certainly has a whacking extra on top

If you Google ABB dental you'll get some dentist websites with before and after pics with other teeth, to get a better idea of what's reasonable to expect from it

www.dentalelegance.co.uk/new-way.html

Wow banana your teeth look amazing, although as luxury says way way better than mine to start with. Can I ask if the Aligner is like a brace then?

That website for example says ABB for £2k vs much much more for veneers or other more invasive routes

I will take a look, BOST is up to 5k which I'm willing to find. I'll go without everything for a year tbh for that better smile.

It's a removable brace. It basically squishes the teeth from front and back to get them into line. It isn't completely invisible, but it's not massively noticeable either.

You do sound a bit like the lispotron 5000 at the start. But I removed it for any important meetings if I was self conscious. Otherwise the longer you wear it per day, the quicker the overall course of treatment. The difference between start and finish there was about 4 months, I think

I am very anti veneers because you're basically signing yourself up for a lifetime of maintenance. They grind your teeth down to attach them, so once you've committed to them, you're in, because your natural teeth are damaged (at least, this was the case when I had my ABB, this may not be the case now)

With ABB your natural teeth are unaffected. Worst case if any bonding chips off and you don't want / can't afford to have it replaced for a couple of hundred quid, then all you have is a small chip. You can quite happily not do anything, it's just a cosmetic issue. Your natural teeth are still intact

I have a fixed wire glued on the back of my lower teeth to hold them in place - I can't feel this, the only difference it makes is that I have to use Teepee brushes as I can't floss these teeth

Oh and with Invisalign (at least when I looked into it) you had to go back for regular visits to get new trays, so it was a longer course of treatment and more maintenance

The Inman I just popped it in and came back for a check in I think maybe twice in the course of treatment.

I feel your pain! @Banana your teeth look amazing! I have found a great dentist and my teeth are stable (have gum issues too!) and have been for 15 years - very careful cleaning twice a day and regular visits! Changed my career to earn more money to cover the inevitable need for much more expensive treatment and saving hard.

Have also read a lot of anti ageing related books - particularly around diet! - and found them useful).

Have read regular skincare works - but doesn't need to be expensive - and have done this since 20s (and so think it does - I also like oils).

Get hair done regularly and now also do my eyebrows (one of my young staff advised me to do this!)

Regularly up date makeup - visit to bobby brown as advised is a good tip!

Wear what suits you and update with little bits - I got a good friend who has great 'style' to advise me! Took her tips (and try to follow!)

Good luck!

You know while shopping yesterday I took notice of women of similar age and colouring to me who looked great hoping for inspiration and I think that's helpful.

I'm trawling the net now for dentists and ideas around dental treatment.

I have been religiously looking after my skin for a week now and been strictly low carbing, my trousers feel a little looser already which is a great motivation to continue.

I am having trouble with clothes, I keep veering towards my usual styles but I need to shake things up a little as I feel so boring. That is a mind set I guess that I need to work on.

The colgate max white hurts so much, no other toothpaste has ever hurt me. The pain is unreal on use.

You could do a personal shopper thing at John Lewis or similar. No obligation to buy but it may shake up your style a bit and give you new ideas of what to wear.

Yes I was wondering about a personal shopper, I think I would feel obliged to buy though - I can imagine spending thousands tbh. I think I will give it more thought though as it is hard to shake habits and I sometimes feel very dull.

My clothes are generally nice though in many ways so perhaps some funkier accessories would be good to liven them up.

I do a JL personal shop every couple of years. It shakes me up and encourages me to try new things. On one occasion out of the 4 I've done I did buy stuff out of a sense of obligation and returned it to another store a couple of days later. On the other 3 occasions I have been very happy with my choices and just returned a couple of bits that didn't pass the all important 'Adult Daughter Critique Test'.

My friend tonight says I've dropped 10 years since OH left. Maybe I'll skip botox and use that money elsewhere ☺

I think that's probably a huge factor in your situation!

My marriage is very rocky atm and I always feel so much more relaxed when he's away for a few days. Sad, but true.

I understand completely, I'm so relishing my freedom.

Good for you!