Slightly overweight caterpillar (Princessing for those too old to be a princess...) ...

[Karcheer]

dreams of being a butterfly...

In my 20s and 30s I knew who I was (City girl) had regular treatments and looked pretty good even if I do say so myself.

Since I turned 40 (im 47 now) i've lost my identify, and to be honest I just don't bother anymore. The last year (lockdowns) have caused me to be even worse.
If i look at myself I don't even recognise who I am...

I'm 100% fed up with myself.

Is there a princess thread at the moment?

If not anyone else want to join me on a Caterpillar to Butterfly journey?

So far i've booked in highlights and a trim, pedicure, manicure, waxing, facial, massage - all spread over the next 6 weeks.
I've a PT session booked for Wednesday.
I'm trying to keep (falling a bit) to Exante.

I've ordered 3 bras in various sizes as i've no clue what size I am anymore.

I need to sort out clothes, make up etc

Who is in on our journey of self discovery (haha!) ?

I'm working my way through my beauty hoard. Up to now I've bought stuff but never used it for more than a couple of days. So I have lots of good stuff to use up.

Found a foot exfoliation tool so doing a couple of minutes a day on each foot after my bath.

Nails are done, eyebrows tinted. Am trying my best to eat healthily but its hard working from home. No weight lost yet. Morning Body Balance class at 7am daily though.

@70isaLimitNotaTarget @Campervan69 my beautician recommended I kept my eyebrows tinted, I meant to pick up a test thingy before I left but forgot... :/

My eyebrows are so fair you pretty much can't see them unless I tint them. Think I last had them done August last year 😅

My eyebrows are more spiderleg than slug
They do make a huge difference to my face when they're done . .

I had a look through my eyepencils ( BodyShop & Barry M) and brushes to see what to keep.
Tried my ShuUmeuru eyelash curlers again, they still do diddly squat (Holy Grail Eyelash Curlers my arse) , my faithful, ancient BodyShop ones still do the business .
Fobbed the S U ones off to DD .

I've splashed out on some eyelash miracle gro. My eyelashes are next task on the hitlist. I'm going all out here.

Campervan give it a go , it takes a while but the results are good .
I have bought ( and loved) Revitabrow .
I got a special offer on Revitabrow+Revitalash last year , I was thinking of microblading (but of course it wasn't going to happen ) but put off by trying to find a good salon and not sure if they'd suit me .

DD used the Revitalash she has brilliant eyelashes anyway but they look fabulous with Revitalash .

I then tried UKLash /UKBrow ( bought a twin pack duo) but DD said it irritates her eyes and wants Revitalash again ( over 2x the price typically )
So stalking the website for an offer . There's a risk of fakey ones so I'm not taking the risk going off piste with this .

@Campervan69

My eyebrows are so fair you pretty much can't see them unless I tint them. Think I last had them done August last year 😅

Mine are like that too

I had to cancel my eyebrow appt as the salon emailed me saying I had to visit the day before to do a stupid patch test. Previously I just signed a disclaimer saying I wouldn't sue if it all went horribly wrong.

So, I have booked eyebrows in with a salon I know won't want patch test, and rebooked at Salon 1 to have a 30 minute facial (so I can use my voucher)

Dental hygeinist tomorrow. Really not looking forward to that.

Have been fine with food but not so much at all with the exercise. I really struggle to find time and am knackered by the end of the day. I am being good with skin care and sorting out nails and hooves. I guess you have to start somewhere and if I can't do it all, that's Ok.

PP who mentioned changing career - I went back to uni and retrained aged 48. Best thing I ever did. My salary has doubled and I absolutely love my job. Go for it, you can do it!!

Going off topic here @rothbury but what did you retrain as?
I’m a researcher which is interesting but poorly paid - need to be able to afford the fillers to sort out my 11s

@MsAnnFrope I did my PGCE so I could be a university lecturer. I did that for a few years and became Head of Faculty. I now work in the not for profit sector in my subject area, and really have loved all of it.

My DC were older teens when I graduated and they were so proud. Previously I was a single parent holding down 4 jobs to keep a roof over our heads.

@Namechange2790 I trained as an accountant so if I can help with any questions I'd be happy to (although it was a while ago now so exams are a thankfully distant memory)

Its never too late to change direction in your career. The days of having a career for life are mostly gone I think, and even if you stay within one broad area you will have to pivot in different directions a few times to stay fresh and keep up with the way the world is changing

@rothbury ah maybe I should have stayed in academia after my PhD! I also work in the third sector but DD is still at primary and I’m working part time. It’s not ideal. I feel I’m wasting my potential and if DH left me I’d be stuffed! He is an a academic and earns 3x my salary fte

To be honest there were tough times in HE - I regularly pulled 60/80 hour weeks, but I didn't mind as I loved it.

Current job is just 35 hours for more money and huge amounts of job satisfaction.

If anyone is thinking of career change, my advice would be don't put it off, take the plunge!

@hemhem thank you so much I will certainly use you if I need to.
This isn’t the first time I’ve retrained, many strings to many bows so they say. I was a teen mum so have had to try and make my way through the murky world of work by always putting family first and childcare was always the biggest consideration when it came to what work I can do (evenings and weekends around dh, and currently term time only in a school). Decided it’s now time to carve out that proper career I’ve always wanted.

I must go get my eyebrows done. I always feel like they are an ignored afterthought for me but I do always feel so much more polished once they’ve been threaded. I might aim for that to be done this weekend

Really inspiring reading about everyone who has retrained, I’m thinking of retraining and felt I was leaving it a bit too late but I’d everyone else can do it then so can I. I’d quite like to be a psychologist..:

Anyway, tonight I’ve done some face yoga as DM swears it works and I figured that for the sake of 10 minutes of my time, it might lessen the need for Botox (which I am getting close to having).

There was a wonderful quote I once read that goes:

“ Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.”

Bearing in mind we now don’t get our state pension until 67, there’s always time to change.

As for my caterpillar, I have booked in an appointment with the opticians to restart wearing contact lenses although I am incredibly conscious of the dark circles under my eyes where the skin is just so thin. I can’t afford fillers, so does anyone have any wonder potions for making under eyes look less hollow and dark?

I wear glasses rather than contacts at work as it hides my awful eye bags better! You can change your look with different glasses styles, I like to think so anyway

Morning everyone. Just checking in. I've managed two days of intermittent fasting now, which is my favourite weight loss method, so feeling like I can do this now. It's really helped that the kids are back at school and I'm super busy at work so not really too much time to raid the snack cupboard. Just a stone and half to go! Also I painted my nails bright red which is a bit excessive but no-one will see them except me so might as well!

This is such a helpful thread! I have no aspirations to be a ‘princess’ but I would like to feel less slug-like. I’ve put a good stone on over lockdown so need to shift at least some of that to fit into my nice clothes again.

So far, I have bought new serum and moisturiser as my skin was feeling dehydrated and sensitised, and it’s already making a difference. Also new tinted sunscreen (can’t be bothered with foundation anymore but this is a good compromise) and a couple of hydrating face masks.

I also bought a hair mask, I gave it a go this week and my hair feels so much softer. The greys are coming in fast and I think it’s making my hair coarser, but it feels really nice at the moment. And I have a haircut booked for tomorrow, hallelujah!

This thread has inspired me to book a yoga class for when the studio reopens. I did try zoom yoga but I gradually faded out... too much zoom during the working day, couldn’t face any more in the evenings!

So - more walking and cutting down on the sugary crap are next on the list.

Happy sunny Friday butterflies to be. I'm getting organised. Back on my fitness pal, (that's the only thing that keeps me focused) fitbit back on and I have signed up for a step challenge at work. I saw posts about brow tints. I'm ginger and gray and have very fair eyebrows would they look weird tinted? Don't want slugs but would like them a bit more noticeable 🤣

40 here and I need to make myself feel better by attempting to look better.
Long covid has made me put on over a stone and none of my clothes or underwear fits.
I have bought some new makeup and I have a haircut booked for tomorrow.
I also have downloaded my fitness pal.
I plan to paint my toenails tomorrow so I can wear my flip flops. They are about the only things I can squeeze into.

I had my eyebrows done and started a skincare routine.

I bought myself some new bras and resisted the temptation to buy some hair dye (in my defence , it was those drops to go into conditioner but I already have blue shampoo/conditioner anyway)
I'm growing out my grey and it looks 'ok' , just need to increase the mask/deep conditioners.

Drink a load more water is on the agenda . And maybe substitute some of my coffee with tea.

I didn't even get a nosey into M&S today , DD steered me away (the swine)

Can I join? I've managed to get in to have hair done (went mad and got a blonde shag mullet with a fringe and bloody love it!), brows and nails done. I've also started fake tanning and back on keto IF. I need to start keeping it all up though.

I've also had a massive splurge and bought lots of new clothes to wear. Not many places to wear them yet but I'm determined to head into my 40s looking like I give a shit. I spent all my teens, 20s and 30s doing the bare minimum and slipping in and out of looking a hot mess. Need to make sure I make myself feel good after all this.

41 here. I have tinted my eyebrows and am taking care of my nails. Somehow these two small things have made me feel much better.
Also bought clarins drops that you add to your face or body lotion and they have taken the blue glow off my skin. I really recommend them.

Lapin I too rate the clarins tanning stuff. I tried the drops but kept forgetting so went back to the lotion. I must get back to doing it twice a week to stop myself looking quite so wintery. I'm off out to a pub garden today so planning on dolling myself up as though it's a proper night out. I haven't spent more than 5 minutes doing make up for the last year so it's going to be a challenge to get fake eyelashes on.