Looking Good

I have wavered on this as of late but I keep reminding myself how important it is to ensure I look good when I leave the house. I'm not talking about spending hours doing my make-up for a quick trip to Rabba, but you never know who you'll run into when you're out and about. I always seem to run into an ex or stand next to a hot guy on the subway when I have no make-up on and I'm wearing my worst pair of jeans. Impromptu after work drinks or last-minute dates always happen on the days I chose to forgo a shower and my hair's a greasy disaster.

I love sweat pants and I happily go out shopping in them. But from now on I'm going to ensure they're cute, flattering sweats, and not my men's size x-small from Wal-mart. Maybe it's a bit of extra mascara or some lip gloss, but when I do run into Mr. Right I want to make sure I can grab his attention - in a positive way!

Mirror Mirror...

I'm trying something new - let's call it a one-week challenge. Each time I look in the mirror, which is a lot (I have a lot of mirrors in my apartment including my kitchen backsplash), I have to smile and tell myself I'm pretty while focusing only the positive. I realize this is totally a challenge made for an adolescent but I know that I need it.
After just one evening of following these rules I already feel better about myself. No more negative self-talk or being my own toughest critic. No more picking apart how bad I look - even if my hair is messy or my stomach is especially mushy - I have to focus on the positive and smile at myself for at least a few seconds.
Feel free to make fun of me for this cheesy challenge, but I also encourage you to try it and update me on how it goes for you! I promise your confidence will increase making you feel happier and sexier!

Put Together

I always feel like I'm not quite put-together. When I wear a great outfit, I seem to be missing something, like a great belt or the right bra. When I dress up for a fancy event, I picture exactly how I want my outfit to look, but in reality I have a few extra bulges or the top doesn't fit quite as well as I'd hoped.
I recently went to two weddings, both at which I felt like an amateur compared to the other girls. At the first wedding, my dress went a bit too low for my strapless bra, which of course was a very bright white. I couldn't get comfortable as I had to continually peek down and ensure I was covered up. I assumed that the second wedding was going to be ultra casual since it was at a restaurant. Of course I was wrong and I spent the afternoon feeling grateful I did decide to wear a dress instead of a more relaxed outfit. However I wore tights which really dressed the outfit down, and they were a bit scrubby looking after wearing them all last winter. Also, I noticed in the bright lights of the restaurant that my shoes were scuffed. Great.
When I look around at these events, the other girls & women seem to be so put-together. Their accessories match their shoes which match their purses, their nails are expertly done and they have fresh-from-the-salon hair. And I'm not talking about some high society event - these are just ordinary women like me!
I'm trying to focus on pulling my look together from now on. I know life isn't all about looks and shallow things like great hair, but it also is not about feeling self-conscious and unhappy. I will get up earlier in the morning to blow dry my hair, and I will spend an hour a week to do my nails. I hate feeling uneasy about my looks, whether at work or in a social setting, I find that just doing a quick job on my nails or ensuring I wear the right earrings has helped tremendously already.

White Pants

An ex of mine had a girl roommate who he claimed he was only friends with. She was always really nice to me, and I am pretty positive there was nothing more between them. One night I went over to his place and his female roomie was wearing white, semi-translucent cargo pants (I know, sounds bad but at the time they were pretty cool), which were especially fitted in the butt. They looked good - I will give her that - she had a great body, helped by the fact that she was a university athlete. My ex commented more than once about how great her behind looked at the time (not to me but I was obviously within earshot) and of course I became jealous. I should be mad about him making sexual comments about another girl in my company, but instead what I am upset about is the fact that I took the bait and wore a pair of my own fitted white yoga pants the next day. Not only did I look pathetic for trying so hard to get his attention and approval, but when I'm honest with myself, I know I didn't look near as good as she did. I should have stayed confident, ditched him (obviously) and rocked my look with my regular jeans and a full dose of confidence.

Plastics

It seems that more and more people I know have had some sort of cosmetic surgery. I am a big supporter of cosmetic surgery, if (and it's an important if) it's something that has really bothered you for some time, and there's no other way to fix it. For example, if you can just work out a bit harder, do that rather than have lipo!
If you are distracted by the look of your nose in every single picture you view of yourself, or you feel subconscious in every social situation because of your chest size, go for it! Help yourself to feel as good as you can - but ensure that you're happy with the girl inside. It can be a very slippery slope when you continually look to external or material things for satisfaction and confidence.

Body Image

All of us have body issues. I don't care who you are, whether you're 6'0" tall or 100 pounds, girls all seem to have parts of their bodies that they're unhappy with. Most girls have learned to deal with their issues by this age, but I've realized that we can make it even harder for our friends to handle their issues.
Let me explain: For me, I've always had issues with my weight. Not that I'm huge, but I (like many girls) have always wanted to be thinner. Because weight has always played such a prominent role in my life, I am jealous of girls who are naturally thin. The problem comes when I assume that smaller girls are 100% confident about their bodies, and make off-hand comments or jokes about it. But chances are they have their own problems, and are not totally confident. With my comments I'm making them feel worse. Keep it in mind - next time you complain that your chest makes it hard to find bras that fit, another girl wishes she had a bigger chest. When you complain you're too tall, another girl desperately hates being the shortest in the room. Or when your skinny friend complains she's having a 'fat day', hear her out and understand she's not feeling great about herself, even if she is a size 2.
It's a sad fact that we all have so many body issues, but it's even sadder that we're unknowingly making it worse.

The "F" Word

Kelly Clarkson was on TV tonight, and I can't help but wonder if she got kinda fat. I know that women everywhere argue society's expectations of women, and we're supposed to love girls no matter what. I know that the media has created an unnatural image of women, and that being bigger than a size 2 really is OK. But I can't help but think that she's gained a lot of weight...and she just doesn't look as great as she used to. I am not saying she's any less of a singer, but that's what I notice about her now, and blame it on the media, but I just don't think she's quite as fabulous anymore.
You can hate me for this...I just think I'm saying what a lot of people have been thinking.