Thursday, June 28

Finishing School: Personal Presentation...

Now that we have gone over feminine attitude, health, and posture, we will be focusing our attention on grooming. While caring for one's general tidiness is probably the least difficult thing one can do, it is often the most neglected.

How often have you looked in the mirror to realize that your eyebrows needed plucking, you hadn't taken the time to get your hair trimmed, and your nail polish was chipped? With the exception of appointments at the salon, most of our beauty routines only take a few minutes at a time... and once they are done, we feel like a million dollars.

There are several different ways to make sure that you take care of your basic grooming needs. One way is do lock yourself in the bathroom once every week or so and work on everything at once. Another method is to take care of things little by little, day by day. Perhaps you do your nails on Monday, your eyebrows on Tuesday, and your exfoliation on Wednesday, etc. Still another way of taking care of yourself (and sadly the category that I fall into most frequently) is the "wait-until-everything-looks horrendous-before-I-take-care-of-myself" mentality.

Many of us need a game plan for taking care of our home and it is the same with our bodies. Often, there are times in our life when we are on top of our grooming game (usually when we are dating someone special, have just gotten a new job, were just married, etc.) and we need to make sure that we take that enthusiasm for our personal presentation throughout our lives. We have to realize that we are walking billboards for ourselves and our families.

The first step in preparing our game plan is to think about all of the things that we do for our bodies on a regular basis. Once that list is drawn up, you can go through each item and decide when you need to do each item. To help illustrate my point, I will give you some examples:

  • Daily: Moisturize, Brush and Floss Teeth, Wash Face and Moisturize, Makeup and Hair
  • Every Other Day: Shower, Shave, Clean Ears
  • Weekly: Eyebrows, Manicure and Pedicure (if needed), Clean Jewelry that is worn daily, Biore Pore Strip
  • Every Three Months: Trim bangs
  • Every Six Months: Hair cut/trim
Some time ago, I also posted and entry on my blog that I found fascinating: Your One-Night-A-Week Beauty Routine (for both Housewives and Working Girls)... Enjoy!

Homework: Plan out your grooming routine and tell us what will work better for you - doing everything at once or spreading the tasks out. Also, what is the beauty ritual that you enjoy performing the most?

12 comments:

Jen said...

I think setting aside a time once a week to do a major maintenance works best for me. I plan to set aside time on Friday evenings to make sure my eyebrows are tidy, my nails are neat, and do some special face, hair, hand and feet treatments.

Every other day I will shave in the shower.

Each day I will do basic hair, dental, and skin care.

And just for luxury I will set aside one evening a week for a nice leisurely bath!

All of this will have to be scheduled in around my husband's work schedule of course but at least it is something to aim for!

Mimi said...

Thanks for sharing what you do. I enjoy seeing other people's routines, as they help me think about mine.

My goal is to allow more time in my schedule to get ready before I go out somewhere. I usually dress well enough. But, when it comes to arranging my hair and make-up, I am always overly optomistic and think that it will take me less time to accomplish than it really does. So, I end up rushing in order to get out the door. DH appreciates it when I take a little more time to look neat and pulled together.

Anonymous said...

I'm guilty of rarely looking at myself in a mirror. I shower daily and shave at least twice weekly. The details of plucking eye brows and the such are left much too long.

I need to pick a day of the week and just take care of all the details.

I don't wear make-up. I feel like I have to pay more attention to myself- making sure the mascara is not smeared and the lipstick remains fresh. I just don't want to think about myself that much.

I do take the time each day to have my hair styled nicely and to wear nice dresses which are well pressed.
Rebekah

Anonymous said...

I have fallen away from a once a week major overhaul, and it shows! This post is just the motivation that I need to make a plan and stick to it. Instead of just a quick shower I am going to plan a beauty evening for myself and for my daughter (she has thigh length hair).

Thank you ~~Mrs.J.~~

Anonymous said...

My goal is to be disciplined in my daily skin care.

I take a weekly detox (I use a special product) bath that is very relaxing. During my soak time I push back cuticles and read material that helps me become more feminine. My husband loves that I take time for a bath and "lady" time. He know that I'm doing it for the both of us.

Tip: I buff my finger nails, so that I do not have to keep up with polish. I receive a lot of complements on my nails.
April

Genuine Lustre said...

Doing farm work and having my hands in water a lot leaves them looking pretty rough. I can't keep polish on nor can I sit long enough for it to dry. I recently discovered Sally Hansen's Natural Nail Shine in the gold bottle. Not really a polish but a protectant - I love this little product.

Courtney said...

Ugh, this post has reminded me just how much I've let my routines go-- especially this summer! I haven't had a pedicure in a year! I'll work out a plan, but today my goal is to get my eyebrows waxed! I havne't done that in a few months.

My favorite beauty ritual I guess would be my getting-ready-for-the-day routine. I do everything in a set sequence, and it throws me all off if I vary it. I guess I find the sameness comforting. Otherwise, I'm afraid I don't do much that could be qualified as "beauty."

Mommy Bee said...

My favorite beauty treatment is exfoliation. I just love a good scrub with lots of nourishing oils and sugar or salt--and I love the way it makes my body all warm and glow-y afterwards. Yay for scrubs!

Janna said...

I've really enjoyed reading all of your ideas... they've certainly sparked some thoughts for me to consider.

I am partial to the "once-a-week, all-inclusive" routine because I have two very small children who make it a little difficult to get out pans of hot soapy water and other 'scary" tools at random times of the day. I call my night "Bubble Night" and I like for it to be on a Thursday evening so that I can be ready for the weekend. The quiet and solitude that comes from tucking myself into the bathroom after the children have gone to asleep is a definite perk.

I find that I can complete a manicure, pedicure, eyebrow grooming, and other extra facial and hair treatments in a relatively short amount of time if i am sure to tend to this once a week. Even though I call it "Bubble Night" I really prefer to blend essential oils in the water because I love the fragrance and feel that the bubble bath tends to interfere with the tasks I need to get done.

Anonymous said...

I must say, I know I am young, but it does not mean I should not make sure I am presentable. I have found myself very conscious about chipped polish lately but it does seem like such a hassal to keeop changing it. I will definately work on that. I must say my favorite ritual would make to be (at least for right now) putting blush and eyeshadow on, which is pretty much all I have been wearing. But when I put it on I feel all the sudden my face is animated with femininity!

I will most likely check my nails every night for touch ups or re-dos. Shave every other day.(I do tend to just wear pants if I did not shave recently! It's the easy way out, I need to watch myself with that!) I will wash my face, dental, do make-up, hair and shower daily.

Susie said...

I really don't keep up with my fingernails and toenails like most women do (they are unattractive by genetics--flat and short). I just make sure they are trimmed neatly and no polish (I don't want to bring attention to them). But one thing that I make sure that I do is get my hair trimmed no longer than every 12 weeks (this is what every hair stylist I've ever had has told me to do). It makes a huge difference and I find that I don't have to take as much time "fixing" my hair when it is trimmed often. But I mainly spread my other grooming habits throughout the week (I have to since I have 2 little ones). Thank you for your articles thus far!
~~Susie

Anonymous said...

I think I will break down my routine into smaller bits of time. Emma, I modified your examples fit my situation:

Daily: AM: Shower, Moisturize Body, Brush and Floss Teeth, Skin Care, Makeup, Hair, Jewelry, Perfume, Wear gloves while doing heavier chores/dishes to preserve manicure PM: Brush and Floss Teeth, Skin Care, Moisturize hands & feet

Every Other Day: Shave legs

Weekly: Tweezing, Manicure and Pedicure (if needed), Clean Jewelry that is worn daily

Every Three Months: Trim hair

I hope to add after I deliver a weekly bath to rest, soak and read. I miss that!

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