Trying to tweak the details while you lose the weight?
Ultimately, we are all excited to lose the weight, to fit into clothes that we've been dreaming about, doing things we've never tried, going new places and meeting new people. But what about everything else? I know, at least for myself, when I'm not feeling great about myself, I dont take care of the small details as well as I would if I was going to be dressing fabulously, lounging poolside.
I'll let my eyebrows slide, I don't worry so much about dry skin on my back or legs... While losing weight, I'm trying really hard to get all of the detailing done as well - so that when I meet goal weight, then I don't have to go through a whole different process of working on my skin, my hair, my make up routine... and everything will fall into place at the same time.
What does your beauty regime look like? What do you work on or need to work on? What do you do that really makes your feel beautiful?
I get my eyebrows done everyother week. I inherited my dads crazy long old man eyebrows so its a must. I get my pedicure done in the same place once a month. I cant explain it but nothing makes me feel as happy/attractive as freshly painted toenails. I got my hair hilighted for the last time last summer and realized what a big diffrence it made so now thats added to the list. And I never leave the house without make-up on. Ive always had really bad skin. Its much better now but I'm really self conscious about it. All this upkeep gets expensive but I think its worth it. Im really bad about remembering to shave my legs. I'm single and wear jeans everyday for work so it just slips my mind. Maybe now that I can wear a skirt without being embarrassed that will change
I'm working on keeping up with my feet. I find I LOVE sandals with heels more now that I can wear them. I usually keep everything else on point. I very rarely do makeup or manicures. But that may change as I change.
I've noticed that I really need to put some sort of effort into my hair. I am going to covor my gray myself (I usually do this once a year or so, but it is really making my hair look dingy as it is increasing), because I can't pay to have it done at the salon. I am looking at trying a new hairstyle. Not sure what I want, though. I have never been a hair fixer! I am a casual person and just want something cute that I can wash/blow/wear. I've noticed in pics lately that I really need to pay attention to this and make myself look more presentable. My hair is starting to thin around my forehead and I really need to keep bangs to cover that.
Last edited by AnnieDrews; 05-19-2010 at 02:31 PM.
No matter what size I was, I always took care of my hair. It's one of my favorite things to play with! I splurge on good hair products especially because I like to blowdry, straighten, and curl with my hair . I get highlights every 2-3 months depending on my mood.
I give myself a manicure once a week and put clear polish on it. I do other colors when I go on mini-vacations or when I'm going out.
Skin is so important to me because I know the signs of aging are not due to age BUT sun damage. I never leave the house without SPF. I always take off my makeup before I go to bed because dirty skin is a no-no when it comes to skincare. I spend a lot of money on lotions and face creams from shiseido, clinique, liz arden. I also do 3-4 face masks a week for different things (brightening, cleansing, moisturizing... etc).
I definitely think I'm a lot more conscious now about how I look than I was when I was at my heaviest. I also feel more energetic and enthused about going out! I can't wait to go out and get all dressed up.
my skin has always been something i pay attention to...i make sure to exfoliate, moisturize, use a mask here and there...i don't wear too much make-up, just some mascara and lip gloss.
eyebrows are also a biggie for me. i feel so much better when my eyebrows are neat and shaped well.
i find that its these little things that keep me motivated to do more for myself. its the little things
i also decided to dye my hair a dark burgundy. felt totally refreshed after that!
Self-pampering is always something I've paid a lot of attention to. I get my pedicures and eyebrows waxed 1/month like clockwork. I'm really addicted to products and I spend way more money at Aveda than I probably should, but it makes me feel good.
Ive always been a girly girl so every morning and night I put on face moisturizer and eye cream and I lotion my whole body. I use different scrubs and such in the shower and I have face peels and masks that Ill use every couple of weeks or so. I have crazy thick frizzy curly hair so I straighten alot or I use gel when I curl it so to keep that from getting all dried out and burn I use hot oil or conditioner and also mayo lol i dont get manicures or pedicures because they cost too much lol im pretty good at doing my own nails so I do that myself. My eyebrows are a hit or miss. I dont get them waxed so I used to pluck then I just started shaving them but Im back to plucking them, as long as I keep up with them its not a hassle. And make up I usually just put on eye liner, mascara and foundation. Once in awhile Ill use some eye shadow and lip gloss
Now that I am close to goal, I worry more about looking younger.
My face is thinner and has less of a youthful look. But I almost never wear makeup and don't understand foundation at all. I'm trying to experiment with foundations because the coloring in my face is splotchy and uneven. And for the life of me, I can't apply eyeliner evenly so I go for a smudgy, smoky look and call it a day.
And the eyebrows. I am tweezing them more regularly and it makes a huge difference.
But I've always been a no fuss beauty person so on most days I don't wear makeup or do my hair. But now that I am thinner and fitter, I generally look better and healthier. Which is a nice thing.
Great thread! I stopped doing anything nice for myself when I was over 300 pounds. I didn't have the energy nor could I reach to do my toenails or shave. I would look in the mirror and cringe, why bother with makeup? But it bothered me, I use to be so meticulous in my appearance.
I started with just trying to remember to lotion up and keeping my fingernail nice with gloss. When I could finally reach my feet, I started to care for my dry and cracked heels, started to paint my toenails. I just did things bit by bit.
I am now at the point that I want to go further, find a becoming hairstyle, wear lipstick again, perhaps light makeup. I am working on developing my "signature style" in clothing and colours. It's fun now that I am getting close to being at midpoint on my weight loss!
This thread is really interesting to me, I always wondered if other people had done this. I actually started making these little improvements to myself BEFORE I even started trying to lose weight.
One day it just occurred to me that I wasn't taking very good care of myself. So I started building little habits like these. I shaved my legs more regularly, I flossed with perfect regularity, I bought a nice face soap that helped my skin, and I found a hair care product that helped disguise my thinning hair. I had read somewhere that it takes about 2 weeks of regularly doing something for it to become a habit.
After working on this, I felt better about myself and it felt natural to then work on eating habits. It improved my confidence that I could change things about myself, and I was able to extend that into my weight loss efforts.
If I'm going out of the house I'll wear lip stain/with chapstick over top, mascara, eyeliner, and a tinted face moisturizer. If it's somewhere fancy I'm going I'll add blush and and eye shadow to the mix. I'm big on skin care. I moisturize top to bottom every day, and always wear face moisturizer with spf 15. I find myself more willing to splurge on mid range product. I get my lotion from Avon, but I can't wear their mascaras and I don't like their nail polish. My 290 pound reward will be a new hair cut.
I try to care for myself, but my body seems so ungrateful sometimes...
Well my skin to be exact, I moisturize,exfoliate and I still have terrible skin.
I also wear makeup, but if I had a clear complexion, I doubt I would. I wish I could just apply a tinted moisturizer along with a little lipstick. My hair is easier to take care of wash and wear, it's curly and I do cover my grays. My eyebrows need to be plucked on a regular basis.
about a year ago, I went into a Sephora store for the first time, because my friend had been raving about some mineral powder makeup she bought there.
Sephora is expensive, but every now and then, I treat myself to something (an eyeliner, a lipstick, etc). I also started putting on makeup regularly, and I like that it makes me feel more put together
I usually also wear tan-colored nail polish. The color is very close to my skin color, so it's not immediately obvious, but I think people do notice that I take care of my nails.
I've always been a perfectionist on all the girly bits.
Clothes, makeup, nails, hair, skin, everything!
I rarely wear makeup anymore, but it has nothing to do with the weight loss, my skin is really clear and nicely coloured. It's more of an "I like myself as I am", but yea I wear makeup occasionally and I'd like to think I'm very good at the process of it all.
My hair's one of my favorites, I love to style/colour/cut it in crazy ways.
I also get my nails done, acrylics, all the time. I never take them off.
I'm a huge tomboy otherwise. But those are my secret indulgences.
I actually would rather get my nails done, than eat the best chocolate cake.
Trying to tweak the details while you lose the weight?
I get my pedicure done in the same place once a month. I cant explain it but nothing makes me feel as happy/attractive as freshly painted toenails. I got my hair hilighted for the last time last summer and realized what a big diffrence it made so now thats added to the list. And I never leave the house without make-up on. Ive always had really bad skin. Its much better now but I'm really self conscious about it. All this upkeep gets expensive but I think its worth it. Im really bad about remembering to shave my legs. I'm single and wear jeans everyday for work so it just slips my mind. Maybe now that I can wear a skirt without being embarrassed that will change
