I've just seen photos of myself ...

[OneFrenchEgg]

Omg. I've posted a year or two ago about how terrible I look, and had tried growing my hair as a result, drinking more water.
But I was horrified, I look like a Disney villain - my nose and chin almost meet! I am so wrinkled, thin pin face and thick meno waist. My hair is hideous, curls, waves and straight bits. I can't tell you how much I've spent following curly methods. So -

1. Beginners guide to retinol. I have ocd and am really worried about the two week spotty phase.
2. Smoothing treatments? For hair?
3. Lip filler for non existent lips?
4. My hair is gray, the couloir is lovely but the grow out is not - do I try again wihh the matching the ends? Every time it's gone yellow and I've cut it. Or grit my teeth?

Agree with @SiobahnRoy , a fat rotating dryer brush is a game changer if you want to straighten frizzy/curly hair. You have to practice a bit (first time I ended up with a massive clod of knotted hair with the dryer stuck in the middle!) but I’ve had one for years now and using it is second nature. Just get a good hair oil or serum to protect from heat damage.

The Ordinary do an amazing range of high end skincare products for less than high street prices, including retinols.

And ignore the picture, don’t let it get in your head - honestly some of us just aren’t built photo-friendly and it’s how you feel when you look in the mirror that’s much more important, so concentrate on that.

I’m very confident and happy with how I look IRL, but in pictures (even when I’m feeling at my very best) I can look like a complete potato from the wrong angle, and it’s made me feel a bit low in the past. Then I gave my head a wobble and realised how profoundly ridiculous I was being. Now I’m happy for people to snap away no matter what I look like - sometimes I look nice, sometimes I don’t, I’ve just ceased to give any fucks about it.

Ok I feel quite inspired now. Maybe the straightening option is a no go, and trying with a hot brush again might be a good idea.
Thank you, it is so useful to have an idea of where to start.

I used to be quite photogenic but since my last passport picture oh my God|! Horrendous!

Totally agree with re awful cameras! Real life, animated people do not look the same...

With regard to hair. A good quality purple toning shampoo every few washes will keep your grey silver and get rid of yellow (like it does with blonde hair.

For frizz, try a Brazilian blow dry? It's a keratin treatment that smooths. Supposed to last 3-4 months.

Do a Brazilian blow dry, OP. You can straighten your hair with it and it makes it soft. The hairdresser can do it, but I find it easier (and cheaper to do mine myself). Just get a kit off Amazon.

I second using the tan luxe drops. Also whiten teeth.

My DH roars with laughter at photos of me.

He's a good looking man who is very picky about women's looks and says i'm beautiful (and that he wouldn't have got with me when we first met if i hadn't been, and i believe him! 😜😂) and that he can't understand what happens to me in photos! I look like shite in pics and that's that.

Think of celebs OP. They have hundreds of pics taken of themselves in great lighting ect. and they chose which ones are best and then photo shop those to fuck as well!

Everyone is photo-shopping themselves these days. Even my daughters who are perfectly lovely looking 20 somethings with no self esteem issues photo shop themselves so much i hardly recognise them in their profile pics 🙄

One random photo of you is NOT how you look, and don't compare this pic to the ones you see on face book ect.

Blimey, I always thought I was reasonably attractive but I really do look awful in photos. To add insult to injury, I got my nose pierced last week and my DD filmed the whole thing. I nearly cried at how I looked in the video. My nose looked big and crooked (they had plenty of space for the piercing!), my eyes looked really hooded and my face just generally looked ....weird. The camera doesn't seem to lie for anyone else I know 😭

dermatica is is the bomb - worked a treat for my sad skin

I'm going through a re haul.
So far.
Microblading booked in for July
Teeth have been professionally whitened. It's made a huge difference to my confidence.
Establishing a weight training routine.
Ombre pearl appointment booked.for end of June
New summer dresses booked from Silk Fred and Rixo.
Pedicure with gel nails in a bright colour done
Eye brow tint and thread keeping me going to microblade session
Chin hairs threaded
Few false eyelashes for day to day, extras for night out.
I'm 58 and needed a style intervention!

I hear you! I photograph myself for a living (have an online brand and sell online). I look reasonable In those (no filters or excessive posing going on).

In candid photos I look horrendous and about 20 years older!

Thank you for all the new ideas , lots of think about

@Kdubs1981 I've just bought Milkshake purple shampoo which I used to use. I'm v reluctant to start dying again.
@WeightInLine - tan drops on my list, not sure where to start with teeth, dentist is £££ and I'm saving for lip filler!
Yes to photo shop and choice Laiste but this is unforgivingly terrible...
poor you with the laughing dd, nose piercings look lovely funky
Another vote for dermatica from nose I keep going back to it.
And @notacooldad wow to your list. Micro blading was a really good choice for me, hope yours goes well. I'm v lazy so I do need to get some form of exercise started. Relying on diet alone is not doing it.

I’ve been using Sam Bunting’s own products for a while and rate them - they’re not super cheap but cheaper than Clarins or other beauty counter type brands, and all the ones I’ve tried agree with my skin (apart from the sunscreens are maybe a bit heavier than I’d like, so I use La Roche Posay or Vichy for that). Her Nightly serum would be a good introductory retinol.

I have similar hair to you, have tried v hard with curly girl but really never liked the results, then got it all cut off which was v easy to manage but I didn’t really feel like myself. Now growing out so it looks a bit shapeless, but straightening again and feel much happier with it. I got Aveda Botanical Repair styling crème on my hairdresser’s recommendation and really like it - it smooths but hair doesn’t look flat and it has some hold, unlike a lot of smoothing products. I’m finding my hair seems quicker to dry and straighten.

https://links.t.lookfantastic.com/ls/click?upn=7ElLKCbgR6djVnzAvuTD4UHyC-2FB2CC6AnhTjy5sn0WydtVZro0UM65IPovuJCuSTqAQkM0jtriUXAG2gLUVZ8OezV6cU3FUyTibLKwN-2FOIZMvuvO6-2BYs9HEL9H4d0u7k-2BHOVoF-2BjNvY8a2NA6dYRMkUmxmLf6yJ7YjEvRO9HHL2tiaHn9ZtcS1K77tzOuXOGiuOFJXUT4AAxD-2FqYwh7QtRXC9XbKy8xtnbNiIAi2XzKCwLi5jAJR2NdG04xXarcy7n-2FgV9S-2FzBObHQHNiBfQnr75X4kxVoe-2F2J7pyHPHHkeSBHFQ9Cz7Ux4C3oOLKesq2CZTxY4-2BVJjJfOBM-2BesC1C-2BMmrAR2YtOL8HXuSQ7W7LQgZQYzQPgxILlmXnH0PBlMpNkuLFQcMsRHeTddmx5NYoJmhAh6QXeQWx5kHXVPKnFEhS9NtMG8QbM2vCKjZjILbGU_w4n54WGZmV-2B-2Fsg3MIb7LkXFhtNjvBSrx7ifY1cBGbN6FCV0gKaF9ncGcK9awtxwF1xdMcUb6obiHumwLbmn3MLRAbA-2Bi8m3FcuxRjDnZdpnBHae1z16EAmA0T-2Fifjj-2F1upHV5ygHK86W9qehBXcq-2FkRiaJIBCnb4dk2LrPeYCHiCJgw6DvQAFQSZ-2FnWzMak-2F0H2lfWXIFfb0wbZUxlVmwGQm-2BaGn1XMXSItKbQ4RQrCeS2bsAuqWTp21f6-2BJBE2reJ-2BZzP2n4pAAz9aL2QxjQfHZbL4qVS2xYA0XlwewHrajGuxQ6In4EJ8VysbYxyHes3ezvLEaxa2inSP-2BQJdhUQylxZ2lt05EHdFaohs9uBZKqQ45YxUBnw-2Fowc6vNcXpE-2B-2FmJ1aGazHh2aKQHRAP0SfrCyrn1BxH7HmzeoqlFreRD-2BJxWGySc7nuJbPRUQe7Is3J-2FEFMv8n6mna80C8ZUZK5FNRSu-2BCImEioAyfr7x-2BhUPBsplEmaps7681OcZOGFyLsD2qraXUb-2FxMW-2FCpVqeL8IbsOYFRu58pKHt5Q0c2gFbgvG9Whm-2FA9RGKMElyK9B8HFHvuVNl9eHUXQSBVjwZ7KTGPAIh2oJ-2B8SG2BJVbyftkWTWvgb2uOnOmLE-2BB7F1GtreyFAbIubLL3kAWxV0CKllb0QTUudQJSH8ZY9sVcnUwiYzq2f4aEn0Nu-2F9p8W8w8ux1BI68mbGbOndm2w-2Fd-2B0oyy38mpBKVU5WpCrmQfStGoXeGeW7tiRP3-2BxVLt

Thank you @CaptainWentworth I feel really finished with CG, my hair is too frizzy, weird curls/waves/straight bits and hasn't liked anything I've tried. Maybe shorter and straighter is the way forward after all.

Laiste
Think of celebs OP. They have hundredsof pics taken of themselves in great lighting ect. and they chose which ones are best and then photo shop those to fuck as well!

The other thing about celebrities is that so many of them have had minor 'tweaks' like subtle nose jobs, or chin implants or other small things done to balance out their faces and make them more symmetrical and even, which looks better on camera. Even the ones people think look 'naturally pretty'.

They often get it because the camera shows up any uneven features, much more than we would notice in real life.

Ok - no minor tweaks here, but I've just bought hair biology (Pantene) for frizzy hair, a hair 'drink' by garnier and Olay retinol 24 (night) and vitamin c/spf 30 (day) plus I've been looking at highlights for grey hair and am going to do that to break up some of my natural color which is very heavy at the ends (not a block/tide mark) - I can face cutting it until I've tried one length shoulder length which it almost reaches.