How aRsed are you about your appearance?

I'm arsed about it, but not over the top about it. I rarely get a compliment that isn't based on 'oh that's so different/quirky/etc.' and at times I'm not sure if it's meant as a compliment at all :P But yeah, I've never been one for following fashion so I suppose I'm not really the conventional sort. I buy things I like that suit my shape and make me feel good about myself! I despise shopping and I'm more likely to pick something up now and then if I happen to see it when I'm out in town for something else. I've some dresses etc. that I've had for years and I still wear them. I'm 30 now, and I think the only thing that's changed from my 20s is that my daywear and 'going out' wear overlaps more often than not now. I'm not a tshirt and jeans kind of person, I love day dresses, and you're more likely to see me in a vintage dress and converse. So swap the cons for flats and that's my night out sorted! I don't do heels.

For make-up, I wear foundation, under eye concealor, powder, a bit of bronzer, mascara, lip gloss, and a quick brow fill in where it's needed. Takes me about 10 mins in the morning to do. I had my brows waxed in Benefit a while back and the girl asked if I wanted them filled in, so I let her go ahead - but it was actually comical looking. She literally painted a second brow on top of my eyebrow I had to ask her to take it off before I went outside the shop! I don't know why people do that sh1t to themselves. By all means, wax and shape your brows, but do you really need to draw on a new pair?! Each to their own, I guess! I love spending time doing my makeup for a night out though - nothing like a smokey eye to give you a bit of confidence.

I used to be gung-ho about straightening my hair every day but now I just plait it each night and let it roam free :P It's that weird kind of hair that's half wavy, so it's either go full wavy or keep straightening/burning the **** out of it. I do get the GHDs out the odd time though! I get it cut and coloured every 3 months or so now. But it was every 6 weeks in my early 20s, so there's a bit of a difference there! That said, I usually hate it when a hairdresser does it and I end up going home and washing and blow drying it myself. I wish there was somewhere you could just get your hair cut and dyed and go home and blow dry it (and get it cheaper, haha!).

Skin care is my downfall. I'm getting better at it now but only because I'm freaking out about being 30. I'm told I don't look my age, but that in itself is offensive! Who says you have to look 'old' at 30? I think a lot of that is to do with how I dress too, though.

I grew up with a mother who never wore make-up. As in, never. She has olive skin and could just get away with it. Because of this, when I was a little girl, I would recoil from aunts and the mothers of my friends when they'd give me a kiss on the cheek. They'd just smell so strongly of fragrance and looked liked painted dolls to me. I found it so off-putting. Because of that, I only wear make up a handful of times a year and my sister is the same. Like, I'd wear a full face maybe five or six times a year and outside of that, no make-up touches my face. I was always this way but maybe in my early 20s, wearing make up was a bit more frequent.

Having said that, I do love clothes. I have my own style that can veer towards quirky but if the opposite sex finds it attractive, I'm not opposed to that. I've only ever had jobs where I had to dress either casually or smart-casually and thank fup for that!

I don't brush my hair every day and I don't pluck my eyebrows. I might get them waxed if I have an event like a wedding coming up. I get several Shellacs a year.

I am fantastically lazy about my appearance and it's all down to my earthy mother, I think! But, and this might sound conceited, I like my looks and think that fussing around with my appearance doesn't enhance them that much.

Bambi985 wrote: »

Saying that, there are things I will do religiously too that can be costly and I could always do without EG eyebrow threading, shellac nails, Botox every 4-5 months.

I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I'd always have considered anyone who gets Botox to be very much bothered about their appearance. It's so extreme!

Bambi985 wrote: »

It's not really though. I think people think of Botox as those Geordie Shore or Real Housewives celebrities whose faces don't move and some of them have gone so overboard they look like Frankenstein.
For me it's just like a facial (albeit a bit more expensive) and addresses the premature wrinkles caused by sun damage when I was younger. Not a sinner has ever guessed I've had it either, it's not something I'd broadcast really, it just makes me look a bit more "awake", as if I'd been on a sun holiday or something, and the confidence boost is immense.

But my point was that it's appearance-related and on the more extreme end. Collagen stops replenishing in one's 20s and ain't nothing going to stop the wrinkles unless one intervenes and to do so betrays very much being very interested in one's appearance, IMO. Again, I realise this sounds totally harsh. It just seems at odds with your OP.

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I'd consider myself pretty not arsed, but it wouldn't be true to say I don't care.

I'd love to let my hair go grey naturally but the greys I have make my hair look really greasy, even when freshly washed, so I colour my hair more so it looks clean than anything else. One of my aunties has fab silver hair but I haven't inherited her colour, unfortunately. I do spend a lot of time conditioning my hair because it's quite coarse and wavy so it's a nightmare to brush otherwise. I get it cut professionally maybe once or twice a year and my wife trims it in between.

Otherwise, I only wear make-up to big occasions like weddings. The only skincare I do is moisturising my face when I get out of the shower - and that's more because it feels tight otherwise, not any real concern about my skin drying out or anything. I only shave my legs if I'm wearing a dress or 3/4 lengths, but mostly I just wear runners, jeans and a t-shirt day to day. I keep my eyebrows tidy myself and take care of my little moustache and straggly chin hairs. If I really didn't care I wouldn't do any of those things. I'm blessed with relatively clear skin and really long nail beds so even without any nail polish my nails always look well.

Mostly, I just focus on looking clean and tidy. I'm not into fashion and the time I could spend doing make-up or having a trendy hair-style is time I'd rather spend doing something else (like sleeping!). I do actually love watching make-up tutorials on YouTube, though. They're kind of soothing in a way.

Hmmmm I'm quite into looking well. I always put a fair amount of effort into my appearance.

That doesn't mean I wear makeup every day though, or straighten my hair more than twice a year or have HD eyebrows or spend hours on end in a beauty salon.

You can be very well turned out with very little effort and the idea of spending an hour in the morning to get ready is alien to me. I simply do not have that much time to get ready.

I do get highlights in my hair and I do get eyelash extensions once every six weeks though because I absolutely love them. I'm not remotely ashamed of it and it results in me being able to wear shag all make up and still look bright eyed and bushy tailed at any hour of the day.

I wear tinted spf50 day to day and the odd day if I'm feeling like it I'll wear make up too but make up takes me 5 minutes. I don't wear lipstick or eyeliner. I don't wear mascara (on account of the eyelashes, but not even on bottom).i also wear foundation and eyeshadow if I'm going out. I swear by pink vaseline too.

I wash my hair 3 times a week approx and I always blow dry it. My hair is probably my highest maintenance and I do feel if I've good hair all else will fall into place.

I wear clothes that suit my shape and unless I'm running/going to the gym/walking the dog, I would be fairly dressy most of the time. Though not OTT. I don't wear what most would consider casual clothes, jeans for example.

I don't think I could ever see myself being totally relaxed about how I look to the point I put no effort in. Also in my 30s and I now have such experience that it's down to a fine art. I'm fairly low maintenance but the little bit of maintenance I do is very much worth it imo. To me, that is. I would be very unjudgemental about what others wear. Each to their own.

whoopsadoodles wrote: »

This is something I always gloss over. The main reason I run and go to the gym is to look good. It also happens that I love doing those things but it's mostly to look good. Certainly that's why I started doing them. Keeping them up was because I enjoyed them.

Yep, that's why I work out too but I also forgot to mention that in my first post in this thread. It's something I totally forgot about! I like that doing cycling pulls my waist in.

Smile111 wrote: »

Hi,
What would you wear instead of jeans?

Dresses!

My wardrobe is almost entirely made of dresses. Casual to formal. I wear skirts and tops/blouses a lot for work too (also in IT but with a requirement for smart dress). I prefer the easiness of dresses. A whole outfit in one go. Simple.