How To Get Polished?

[texasoddity]

I'm a little rough around the edges and very inexperienced with beauty maintenance.  I have good hygiene and I know how to paint my nails...  :P   But I want to be polished and shiny and glowing for my wedding.  As it stands I still have  almost a year and a half, but knowing myself, I need to start taking action now.

So.....   Has anyone met with a

Comments

[schexyschteve]

No one says you have to be some overly tanned, heavily made up, model-esque bride on your wedding day. If it feels unnatural, don't do it. You should like like a better version of yourself on your wedding day, not some strange new person.

A little polish for your wedding days sounds good. I wouldn't worry about being tanned. Stick to a natural, neutral manicure. in regards to eyebrows, they make eyebrow pencils, and a good makeup artist should be able to fill yours in so they match. As for heels, if you can't walk in them, you don't have to. Heck, your shoes don't even have to be white anymore. Go for colorful flats, if that feels more comfortable.

It sounds like a lot of this is out of your comfort zone, which is probably natural, but they way it sounds is like you want to become a brand new person, and that can only stress you out.

[miss58vintage]

This times a million!

I'm Portuguese so I naturally have a bit of color and my family keeps asking if I'm going to go tanning for my November wedding. I never go tanning, I'll go to the beach during the summer but that is about it. I told them how silly it'd look because it isn't me but they then said "BUT it is your wedding, you need to be tan!" I was like "uhh..." and walked away!

[nacho_cheese]

Thank you, this!!

I'm a very, erm, "unpolished" girl, too. I bite my nails, throw my curly hair into a ponytail, am tan only because I'm too lazy to put on sunscreen. So to make up for it, I have No Bite on my nails (no manicure or acrylics), my hair is going to be a nice curly up-do by the stylist (as natural as possible), and I made sure to get a dress that hid my tan lines (srsly).

Stay in your comfort zone, and don't be something that the wedding magazines say you "have" to be. The only person you have to be is yourself. :)

[amymeenieminymo]

This! I definitely advocate looking more polished on your wedding day than any other blah day, but if you go around with what you call "pale freckled skin" on a daily basis, why make such drastic changes for one day? You're FH must think you're beautiful now, and often too many changes will make you not look like yourself, and I think every bride should look like herself, just a notch or two higher than most days

Re: Hi there!

[sweetfu]

Second threading. I had my eyebrows waxed a few days before my friends wedding and was burned so badly I ended up with a double ocular infection. Threading is the only way to go -- I do mine once a month, and it costs me $20 -- but that's cause she's like the only person in my city who does it.

Re: Hi there!

[amymeenieminymo]

I have to ask...did threading make you have to sneeze? I've only done it once (usually wax) but as she was doing it I was so fighting the urge to sneeze, lol.

I did find that it hurt less, but it costs more (I'm broke) and the pain was more annoying just because it took longer. Plus the lady was not very friendly...but maybe I'll get mine threaded for the wedding just to assure against break outs (waxing sometimes gives me little white bumps, threading won't do this right?)

[alwaysanewday]

I've heard that taking prenatal vitamins does wonders to improve skin and hair. So perhaps you could try that. Also, re nutrition to help those things, just eat a lot of wholesome, balanced foods and drink lots of water

[ipsafictura]

As mentioned above, prenatal vitamins are great for your skin, hair and nails.

Everyone's skin has different needs, taking good care of it is a great idea and definitely starts on the inside. Hydration and vitamins will do great things, but getting in the habit of daily washing and moisturizing and occasional exfoliating will probably do a lot for you. There are a CRAZY number of brands, in a wild array of prices, but here are a few I've had good luck with, arranged roughly by how expensive they are.

Yes To... : Inexpensive, sold at Target and a few other stores, pretty natural and gentle on your skin. I also really like their shampoos.
Lush: Super all natural kinda hippy stuff, but really wonderful. Only sold in their own stores and online. For a body moisturizer, I think their Dream Cream is utterly to die for.
Bliss: Great stuff, sold at Sephora, the scents are really nice and it's an approachable, easy to use line.
Fresh: Also sold at Sephora. I love the scents of their moisturizers, and they make a great gentle face wash.

[suki_stardust]

Dream cream is skin heaven in a tub, it costs around £10 but is worth every single penny. My DF's sister had awful ecxema and dream cream has all but cured it. Most lush product work incredibly well, I recommend celestial moisturiser for faces and angels on bare skin for cleansing.
If used properly most of the skin care products last ages :)

[suki_stardust]

That sucks :( I hope you found something that did work for you though. It's a stressful ailment to have.

[spiltvinegar]

Have you considered eyebrow threading? Less scary (to me, at least) than waxing.