What thing (style or beauty) do you wish you’d done or discovered sooner?

[Del1lahdaydream]

I always insisted on having long hair, even though my hair is fine and gets really straggly, thin and lank once it gets to shoulder length. Although I’d love the kind of thick hair that looks good long, I definitely don’t have it!

Anyway, after over 30 years of wearing my hair in a rubbish looking ponytail because it looked crap down and I refused to go short, I finally took the plunge and got my hair cut to chin length. It looks so much better. For the first time ever my hair looks thick and healthy, and it actually suits me so much more than longer hair, to my surprise.

The other thing is getting a few really dark, sticky out moles removed. I had them done privately and it cost quite a lot but really improved my confidence and I wish I’d spent the money and done it years ago.

*Don't know where that rogue 'received' word came from!

@sparkletastic what retinol product would you recommend?

Getting my colours done. It’s made such a difference as it turns out I’d always worn the total opposite to what I look best in. Plus shopping is easier now too

Primer, wow what a difference to my skin!

managedmiss what’s your average day eating look like? I joined RHFitness and they had me on 1900 cals a day. I didn’t lose a thing. I need to obviously go much lower abd am psyching myself up for it 😬

Wearing a style I love (for me retro vintage)
Wearing comfortable shoes
Buying decent tights....I now swear by Snag tights they for me are a game changer
Having my hair coloured professionally....I'm 51 soon and have been colouring/bleaching my hair since I was 14 so a lot of years but my hair is thick and shiny and not a hint of dryness it's worth paying to get that done
Using a cleansing balm has also really helped with both the lines and the pores and I now wear minimal makeup and I'm happy with how it looks

Most important thing I've done? Got divorced I now smile and whole lot more and enjoy life

Buying colours that suit me, and keeping to a carefully curated capsule wardrobe. Everything I have for day-to-day use fits within an overall theme, so I always look perfectly put together without too much effort.

Also, bobbi Brown make up. It’s my little luxury. I love the colours and the feel of it, and it matches my mature skin and face.

Haven’t tried it yet but I’m seriously considering eyelash extensions - natural looking but just longer and more full. A friend of mine wears them and they make her eyes pop so beautifully.

Wearing clothes I love whether or not they supposedly ‘flatter me’. I give no fucks whether a pair of trousers accentuates my hips, or shortens my leg, or whether or not I’m slim enough/tall enough/young enough/‘perfect’ enough to be allowed to wear it.

Losing 2.5 stone. I went from a big 14 (so not even that big, really) to a 10 and it is so much easier to dress now.

Stopped buying too many random clothes on a whim just because I liked them and started focusing on (1) whether or not they actually suit me (2) work with my colouring and body shape and, most importantly, (3) work with other things in my wardrobe so that I now have clothes I can put together in lots of different ways to create outfits that look good, rather than a million different items many of which I don't love and that don't work together very well.

Washing with a salux cloth every day in the shower. Now my skin is always perfectly smooth.

I know it's not for everyone but having a colour and style consultation. I now wear brighter, sharper clothes and have a great pixie cut rather than forlornly trailing around trying to look a bit boho. I wish Id done it in my 20s not my 40s.

Getting a Phillips Lumea. When you are very pale and white with black hair, a moustache is quite noticeable and Jolene wasn't cutting it anymore. Waxing drags your skin too much.

Learning to do eyebrow pencil from a tutorial on YouTube - now the patches I have lost (also absurd looking on black eyebrows) are filled in and I look tidy.

Learning how to properly shade in my eyebrows and how to tightline. Once I had perfected the technique a couple of friends asked if I'd had an eye lift!

Getting my colours done and discovering I'm a soft summer, so best suit all greys, French navy, blush pinks and cool taupes. The difference it makes to my skin and eyes is amazing, and means I don't waste money on clothes that won't flatter.

Taking the plunge and getting a pixie cut. It's given me cheekbones I never knew I had and just makes me look so much fresher and sharper. I'll never go back to my Mum bob again.

I wish I had grown my hair 30 years ago instead of just in the last 2 years. I feel it suits me better than the short style I'd had for years, and I look less of a peanut-head!

I also wish I'd tried an oil facial wash and a serum years ago. My skin looks & feels more hydrated now.

@EatenByDinosaurs whaaaaat? I'm trying this immediately.

Soolantra for rosácea too.

Not using foaming cleansers. I used them my whole life thinking they were gentle for my sensitive skin. When I changed to a cream cleanser my skin was transformed within days. I could weep for all the spots those bastards cost me.

Where does one "get one's colours done"?

Mine is getting my eyebrows shaped and tinted and eyelashes tinted

Where do people get their colours done?

X post cabbage!

Co-washing 50% of the time. Makes a big difference to hair quality and feel.
Not cleansing my face in the morning. I only splash with tepid water, and am much less spotty, oily and red.
Getting eyebrows threaded and keeping tweezers in my make up bag. I tweeze a few hairs every day and they always look neat.

Tinting my eyebrows. They still need a bit of filling in but my whole face looks better.

Botox on my 11s... sad but true. I look better rested and no longer permanently scowly. I’ll probably keep it up until the rest of my face has aged and caught up with the bit between my eyebrows.

Skinny Tan Body Glow. Takes minutes, doesn’t streak, makes me look healthier and much less pasty but not like I’ve been tangoed.

Also Soolantra for rosacea. My skin is much better after about 4 weeks of it. Not perfect by a long way but I have left the house without make up for the first time in years.

I wish I had never dyed my hair- turns out hair dye can't replicate anywhere near my cool toned hair colour and it suits my skin tone so much more.

The white hair around my face makes me look younger according to those close to me. It is the opposite to what they imagined! :)

Does anyone have any ideas where I could go for one of these style consultations? I'd love for someone to tell me what would make me look better!

Mavala nail strengthener. My nails were like tissue paper, I could never grow them at all until I discovered Mavala.

Colour Consultants: www.houseofcolour.com/

There’s another company who do it but I can’t remember the name.

I’ve remembered: www.colourmebeautiful.co.uk/