Your tips on how to look more Groomed, Glamorous or Polished #11

[dee_mc]

Thanks, I quite like m&s for normal stuff but anything for going out is totally not my style there how hard would it be to make your own clothes, starting to think I'd be better off learning that

It's really not that hard - sewing stretch fabrics is tricky though so I'd recommend starting with non stretchy cottons and going from there.
If you have a local "Free to a good home" group you could request a sewing machine amazing the things that are gathering dust in some people's homes!

 

[wishiniwasskinny]

Sezane is one of my favourite high end high street stores.
They have one in the U.K. in London and I’ve been to the store in Paris. You order online easily. My hubby bought me the trench for my bday recently which was a wish list item

(FYI this post relates to @HouseofTea earlier post)

 

[Ametrine]

I am sick of UK shops. If you want something with an elasticated waist or a sweatshirt, you can take your pick here. Or a sea of man made shiny sweaty material or cropped tops (I never see anyone in cropped tops) or voluminous sleeves - plenty of them. But classic clothes with a stylish twist are in short supply. I spent Saturday at Bluewater, and the pickings are poor.

Zara used to be the go to for a bit of continental chic, now it is like fancy dress. Mango is better for style these days but whilst the styling is good, the material isn’t. Massimo Dutti have taken to displaying all its clothes on big hangers as outfits. So a shirt, jumper and bottom all on the same hanger. This makes it hard to see the price plus you have to take all of the items into the changing rooms and try to wrangle off the item you really want to try on. I can sort of understand doing this to the first item on the rail but what the hell is the point of doing it to everything. Hoping for people to buy everything rather than one item? As per, the customer experience is woeful.

Shoes - a stylish pair of tan elegant loafers are what I want. Not clumpy, heavy, gimmicky ones in a baby poo colour. You want shoes you can have a 1000 styles of trainer, or the other extreme- gold, silver, diamanté sandals. I follow a few Spanish shoe shops on Instagram- so much nicer than our offerings. They wear trainers but still wear shoes too. Damn Brexit, I would be buying them from European sites but the cost is too prohibitive with custom fees.

I agree that the UK high street is currently quite dire. I think one of the problems is that they've tried to keep costs low so as to not put shoppers off. If you have a look at 90s magazine throwback accounts on Instagram, you'll see that clothes cost the same, if not more, in the 90s! Clothing prices have not kept up with inflation for many retailers, which means that the quality has come down.

Another issue is I think some retailers think we all want to dress for Instagram, and don't want to pay much for an outfit we'll only wear once in a photo. That might be true for people in their 20s, but I don't think it applies too much to people in their 30s and upwards.

I do rate the following shops:

• Boden
• Clarks
• Hobbs
• LK Bennett
• M&S
• Massimo Dutti
• Mint Velvet
• Next
• Reiss
• Russell & Bromley
• Sweaty Betty
• Uniqlo

 

[knivesnflowers]

Spoiler: coil talk

spoilering as the thread's moved on but gynae tried to put me on the coil at 15 for pcos symptoms, went on provera instead. my cousin is 3 ish years younger than me and went on it at 16, hers ended up more or less falling out

 

[Laughalong]

Does anyone have recommendations for shops with good quality stuff but that's also trendy and clothes that look hot, not frumpy? I'm fed up with cheap looking stuff from standard high street shops, boohoo etc but also like wearing crop tops, Bodycon stuff, things that don't necessarily have to be very modest. Seems like it's so hard to find in between clothes, it's either cheap tit from shein or frumpy clothes

Maybe look at Whitefox, Babyboofashion, Oh Polly. Aside from just their going out stuff (which does take up the majority), all three do basics and day to day as well now. Skims for plain crops and bodysuits. Also Mistress Rocks, House of CB and Club L London - they’re more going out vibe.

 

[margaretta]

Thanks for posting this but it now makes me want by to set my whole wardrobe on fire! Mine looks very similar to the ‘wrong’ wardrobe and not the capsule wardrobe !

Spring capsule wardrobe advice:

ETA. Just watched the end and there is a client's wardrobe sorting out promised for next week!

Thanks for sharing. I gave up after about 5 mins as I didn’t like the style, thought she looked a bit frumpy and dated - and felt she was just pushing the one label - maybe that’s just me.

I really rate clubforty.claire on instagram who recommends lots of basics and gives style ideas. I think I found out about her from here.

 

[misunderstood]

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to stop nails from breaking from using gel polish.
Every time I have shellac my nails always break

 

[houseofhoop]

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to stop nails from breaking from using gel polish.
Every time I have shellac my nails always break

Get biabs! Best decision I ever made for my nails.
These are my biabs, about a week old, with gel polish on top

 

[AlwaysSummer]

Again off topic but…..

I went to my gp to be sterilised after my husband bottled getting the snip

The gp gave me a real hard time about why I wanted to be sterilised and what would I do if my kids were all killed outright in an accident. I believe it’s because they can’t make any money off me by keeping on the pill, having the coil etc.

it’s not gender-related. My husband had a vasectomy over 10 years ago and both myself and him had to go through the same ‘interviews’ before the GP signed off the referral. I reckon it’s a standard process to ensure the decision is well considered, however it does feel a tad patronising, I agree.

 

[Chocolategoggler]

Also it’s so difficult when it’s between seasons as I feel like I have no summer clothes and need to go on a mass spending spree but I obviously managed last year so I will hold fire! I think between this video and another poster mentioning dressing French chic, I will hopefully nail it. I realised that before kids that was pretty much how I dressed but have massively lost my way.

I have held off buying. Partly due to lack of money and partly due to not wanting to make any more mistakes. I buy from Primark as it's cheap. Strangely my friends are demanding some of my "cheap purchases", though if I ever get sick of them.
I'm going to go for smart home clothes to start with like the lady mentions in the video, and pair with neutral footwear, as I have to start somewhere!

 

[hytuhh]

How often do people wash their face? (Hear me out...)
I used to wash mine morning and evening, however I fell down a rabbit hole on Tiktok where a dermatologist advised against washing in the morning with a cleanser, and just going straight to skincare. I researched it at the time and people were agreeing it helped their skin so I did it for a while.

Recently I had a facial and the woman advised me to wash morning and night with a cleanser and now I'm thinking how was I not doing this!? My skin feels a lot better and I feel kinda gross for not doing so

 

[Mamacita]

How often do people wash their face? (Hear me out...)
I used to wash mine morning and evening, however I fell down a rabbit hole on Tiktok where a dermatologist advised against washing in the morning with a cleanser, and just going straight to skincare. I researched it at the time and people were agreeing it helped their skin so I did it for a while.

Recently I had a facial and the woman advised me to wash morning and night with a cleanser and now I'm thinking how was I not doing this!? My skin feels a lot better and I feel kinda gross for not doing so

I only wash with water in the morning and cleanser in the evening, but if your skin doesn't get dry and dehydrated, and cleansing in the morning and evening makes it feel better, then do it. I don't think not using cleanser in the morning is gross though, not like I'm touching my face with dirty hands or getting sweaty during the night

To add, if I don't wear any make up at all during the day I might only wash it with water in the evening too

 

[hytuhh]

I don't think not using cleanser in the morning is gross though, not like I'm touching my face with dirty hands or getting sweaty during the night

I think for me it's because I'm super oily so now I'm using a cleanser in the morning, my skin is feeling so much more cleansed after removing the excess oil and it makes me feel gross for not doing it before. Appreciate it isn't actually gross and a lot of people wouldn't need to though!

 

[ack13]

How often do people wash their face? (Hear me out...)
I used to wash mine morning and evening, however I fell down a rabbit hole on Tiktok where a dermatologist advised against washing in the morning with a cleanser, and just going straight to skincare. I researched it at the time and people were agreeing it helped their skin so I did it for a while.

Recently I had a facial and the woman advised me to wash morning and night with a cleanser and now I'm thinking how was I not doing this!? My skin feels a lot better and I feel kinda gross for not doing so

I only wash my face with water in the morning and use a cleanser in the evening. I’ve got v dry skin. My skin looks and feels much better only using water in the morning, using even a gentle cleanser is too harsh.

 

[Brian Butterfield]

Can anyone recommend a good make up brush for liquid foundation? (For ‘mature’ skin ) I’ve bought a few online and the bristles are too hard. I’d like to find a really soft one that doesn’t leave streak marks x

I treated myself to a whole set of BK Beauty brushes. Best I've ever used (and I've used a lot!). Excellent quality and all give a beautiful finish.

I use the 101 for foundation.

Essentials Brush Collection (9PC)

The full 9-piece Essentials Brush Collection is every brush you need for everyday makeup application.

www.bkbeauty.uk

 

[Kittylover2019]

it’s not gender-related. My husband had a vasectomy over 10 years ago and both myself and him had to go through the same ‘interviews’ before the GP signed off the referral. I reckon it’s a standard process to ensure the decision is well considered, however it does feel a tad patronising, I agree.

You both had to be ‘interviewed’ before the gp signed off on your husband?!

I wouldn’t say that’s standard practice, my husband got his referral without the gp seeing or speaking to me and I got my referral without my husband seeing my gp.

That’s a different level of all kinds of wrong.

 

[Chocolategoggler]

Thanks for sharing. I gave up after about 5 mins as I didn’t like the style, thought she looked a bit frumpy and dated - and felt she was just pushing the one label - maybe that’s just me.

I really rate clubforty.claire on instagram who recommends lots of basics and gives style ideas. I think I found out about her from here.

I get what you're saying, I've noticed some horrors , but I just take on board the tips that I need e.g. shoulder pads, gadget to put your own bracelet on, rubber bands to hold up jacket sleeves, clothes tape etc
I also noticed the "hero" products that her clients love. Might treat myself to one at some point.
I've had great tips from the Body Shape Masterclasses for different figure shapes, after I hit menopause and my body changed shape.
I also like Petite Dressing for her style tips despite my not being petite.

 

[JE172]

How often do people wash their face? (Hear me out...)
I used to wash mine morning and evening, however I fell down a rabbit hole on Tiktok where a dermatologist advised against washing in the morning with a cleanser, and just going straight to skincare. I researched it at the time and people were agreeing it helped their skin so I did it for a while.

Recently I had a facial and the woman advised me to wash morning and night with a cleanser and now I'm thinking how was I not doing this!? My skin feels a lot better and I feel kinda gross for not doing so

I only wash my face at night if I’ve had make up on that day or if I’m getting a full shower after sport otherwise I only wash it in the morning, doesn’t seem to do any harm as I do have quite dry skin.

 

[Kittylover2019]

Thanks, I quite like m&s for normal stuff but anything for going out is totally not my style there how hard would it be to make your own clothes, starting to think I'd be better off learning that

What has helped me with clothing is choosing an outfit off Pinterest etc first and then searching out the pieces to put that outfit together. You can then look at specific shops for the item and if somewhere has similar you can decide between them.

I’ve got pieces lately from Asda - online, Tesco - store, M & S, Zara for the odd thing, Primark for the odd thing. River Island for the odd thing.

 

[Codiaeum]

I only wash with water in the morning and cleanser in the evening, but if your skin doesn't get dry and dehydrated, and cleansing in the morning and evening makes it feel better, then do it. I don't think not using cleanser in the morning is gross though, not like I'm touching my face with dirty hands or getting sweaty during the night

To add, if I don't wear any make up at all during the day I might only wash it with water in the evening too

I experimented the same way for a while but my skin (combination, prone to break outs) looks much better when using a gentle cleanser in the morning. If I don't, I'm much more likely to get spots and it just looks a bit irritated. I use CeraVe hydrating cleanser in the morning, apply it before I put on conditioner and it sits on my skin for a minute, my face seems to love it.
Evenings, I use a Foamie bar cleanser, I like using something a bit stronger to get off sunscreen then.