The Girl Stuff Thread

backslashbaby said:

I wish I still got excited about make-up, but I have wrinkles and drier skin now (always pale) and it's become mostly utilitarian I don't mind the wrinkles in theory -- I think older women are still gorgeous. But I wish I knew how to do it well now that my skin has changed.

Oh, and creams still break me out like I'm a teen, so I'm trying to find some kind of nourishing moisturizer that never causes acne. That's tough to do, at least on a budget!

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Surprisingly, I kept breaking out and breaking out until I gave up using "moisturizer" and just started using regular Aveeno lotion on my face. I don't know the big difference, but it doesn't feel heavy and I have very oily skin naturally but it doesn't make it more oily. Give it a try!

oh God I think I belong in that other thread, with football and stuff.
*squares shoulders, attempts to spit without dribbling over self. fails.*

I'm a football fanatic, I'm a Firefly fan-girl, and I wear straight-up vanilla extract as "perfume".

I smell wonderful.

Also, I got knee socks that say BEER on them for Christmas. They seriously rock.

Fruitbat said:

I want to try the TCA peels which are now available for home use on the cheap and actually really do remove freckles and age spots (and even tattoos, if you get the high percentages). Careful though, you can definitely burn your skin, so start with a low acid percentage. Don't even get me started on pearls of all types.

Anyone interested? Tell your girly foo foo stuff here. Also, I could swear I write better when my nails are done.

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Yes! Yay! What a fun thread!

First of all - TCA peels? Do tell. Have you tried them yet?

Second of all - I found the perfect lip color, and even a brand that stays on pretty much all day. I like the idea of it being my color.

I feel fat today, but it's my own fault. I drank too much (red wine) this weekend. I've been out of focus with my workouts lately as well. Time to get motivated!

Um...anyone else have really rough heels? I mean, mine are gross. But I'm really bad at finding anything to cure them because I just can't seem to remember to do anything daily except take my birth control pill. I'm doing okay with the face lotion routine, but...I'm a lazy girly girl.

ETA: I like trying new perfumes, my husband buys all my boots (and I have more than I can count in my head at the moment) and lots of jewelry (which I love), I love heels, on the weekends I'm all about no make-up and PJs unless we go out (which we rarely do), but during the week I'm all about mascara, my lipstick, and a tad bit of blush. I get my hair done every 6 weeks (I'm a natural yuck brown color, but I now have pretty much medium blond hair with blonder highlights and love it).

Despite all that, and even though it sounds like I'm high maintenance, I'm really not. I just have a husband who enjoys indulging me in my girly-ness.

I'm not lazy with the exercise and diet. Usually. I actually have a trainer - on-line, but we've met in person - and she's great. It helps also to have my own home gym, pretty much. If we didn't have the space for the stuff I use, it would be a lot more difficult. I only work 5 minutes from home, and there's really no gym nearby. The only time a gym has worked for me is when there is one on my way home from work, and as long as I go right after work.

I'm lazy with the upkeep stuff - I'll get excited about doing my nails for a few weeks and then stop and neglect my cuticles again (they're horrible). I try really hard to remember to take my makeup off, but unless I workout and shower after work, I don't usually remember to wash my face. Body lotion...I'm often so cold coming out of the shower that I just want to get dry and dressed! I'm working on that as well as the nighttime face lotion routine.

It sounds exhausting, doesn't it? But I love being a girl.

I LOVE Beyond Paradise. That's been one of my favorite perfumes for years. My very favorite is probably Michael Kors. The Michael Kors scent. I also love Be Delicious, the original.

AbielleRose said:

All I did was set a My milkshake brings all the boys in to the yard. Not my fault who comes.

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And they're like, "It's better than yours"?

Fruitbat said:

I do my potions at night after flossing- minoxidyl (I'd say it doubled my hair thickness until I got lazy for a couple of months and the extra fell out, dammit.

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Okay...how do you thicken your hair??? My hair is so thin...and going back about 7 or 6 years ago now, I lost a lot of it due to stress from a painful divorce and, well, anorexia.

I'm good now with my eating and everything, but I'd love to have the thick hair I used to have. *sigh*

Thanks for the links! I'll check them out. As far as narcissism goes, IMO, I just don't think anything can "turn" into it. My ex was, I fully believe, a narcissistic. Like, clinical. It had more to do with...bending people to his own beliefs, manipulating people and situations...he was very emotionally manipulative.

I wonder, though, if there's a word for someone who does become obsessed with their looks...what I mean is, not just conceited. Something more along the lines of how anorexic is to eating. You know?

PS - Enjoy your Coach! My husband and daughter picked me out a gorgeous Guess bag and matching wallet for Christmas. Not quite Coach...but it's nicer than any of the Coach bags I do have. LOL But that's only because the Coach bags are ones I bought myself, and I was too cheap to buy the nicer, more expensive ones.

Fruitbat said:

A couple of things that stand out to me on that note is one big plus- "elegance"- rich or glamorous touches rather than tight clothes or showing skin, and the big no-no imo is "harshness"- Not sure if some of the ladies had dark hair in their youth or are trying to do the complete opposite of gray but very dark hair that doesn't match the skin stands out to me here, as well as too-dark cosmetics, which maybe also suited them in their younger years.

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There is a lot of unfairness in society when it comes to women and aging. We're not really supposed to age, we're supposed to "fight it." But then, if we fight it "too hard" we're "failing to age gracefully" or we're "cougars" or "trying to compete with teenagers" or "in denial"-- in any case, too much effort is looked down on. On the other end of that spectrum it's called "letting yourself go" or "giving up" or "looking dated." Aging is a no-win, and that's a shame because it really shouldn't be.

My dad has this thing he says about women that I just hate. If he sees a woman who has some youthful aspects to her, such as having long, thick hair and a youthful style of dress, he calls it "the dead teenager look." He says "From a distance you think she's a teenager, but when you get up closer you see that she's old."

I mean, my gawd, how dare she not look her age from a distance? It's simply a crime to disappoint men who were hoping your were much younger, even though they too are old (because a young guy is nevah evah going to be fooled by a middle-aged woman with long hair and tight pants). /feminist ranting

As for hair dye, I've avoided it as hair my it grays, mainly because I don't want the maintenance hassle or the gray roots. I have 3 older sisters, and the one who doesn't dye her hair looks younger than the two who do. This is because she keeps herself fit and has never smoked. That's my path.

Alpha Echo said:

Okay...how do you thicken your hair???

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I want to know this too! Mine has been coming out by the handfuls for a while now. Fortunately I had a lot to start with, but I'm down by about a third.

Alpha Echo said:

I wonder, though, if there's a word for someone who does become obsessed with their looks...what I mean is, not just conceited.

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Vanity. I think one can have a healthy level of vanity (the vanity that helps you avoid over indulgence or gets your butt out the door to exercising when you're not in the mood) and unhealthy vanity -- I think we've all seen examples of that on reality TV.

Fruitbat said:

P.S. I'm going back to the outlet mall today to get that half price Coach bag and perfume.

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Go for it, Girl - I normally won't pay more than $50 for a purse, but I *treated* myself to an amazing Coach™ bag for my birthday a couple of months ago, and I absolutely LURVE it!

Devil Ledbetter said:

Vanity. I think one can have a healthy level of vanity - I think we've all seen examples of excess on reality TV.

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I agree - Just watch any of the *Real Housewives* on TV.

Thanks, Maryn. Once this snow clears up, I'll go get that stuff. I already have body butter...but I never think to put it on my heels. LOL

Lavern - Yay for you and your Coach bag! You deserve to splurge once in awhile!

I'm not too much into nails or hair. I do my own nails and brows because I'd rather not spend money or leave the house for such things. I've done pedicures and manicures before, I just find them expensive and unnecessary. I've gotten really good with my brows and can give tweak the shape every once in awhile as they grow back super fast.

I enjoy makeup, but find it a huge time waster. And I much prefer clothing and accessories.

You can be really creative with the eyes, but I keep that for parties. It can take up to an hour to do and I enjoy it, but get bored if I have to do it more than a couple times a month. I can't keep lipstick on for more than hour for the life of me. I know there's protectants to make them last longer, but I'm too lazy to buy and don't care. I prefer lipgloss anyway, it's girly and lipstick can make lips seem smaller. If you do lipstick, I highly recommend a lip liner so the lips look smooth.

Daily, I wear sunscreen in some form, be it plain, with moisturizer, with a tint or a bb cream. I prefer the one with moisturizer, it can be the least pore-clogging. I also wear blush and eyeliner. Sometimes I add mascara to the mix, but it's such a pain to take off and some always remains in the lashes and creates black marks on my lower lids. If I could get away without daily makeup, I would. Unfortunately, I'm a little anemic and without a little blush and liner I end up looking super tired. I've always been a little jealous of the ladies with redder cheeks, although I realize sometimes it's rosacea, which drive people crazy.

I try not to buy makeup or skin care too often. I'm a huge believer in finishing type of product at a time. Time can diminish the effect or dry out the product. So I have a lot less makeup than many of my friends. I know for some, buying makeup can be addicting. A friend of mine is addicted to buy lipstick, often thinking she's getting a new color, when it's the same three shades over and over.

I'm currently trying this beauty box: http://www.ipsy.com/
Ten bucks a month and you get full-sized samples. I've already gotten one month and while I wasn't thrilled by everything I got, I was able to give most of it away. And hey, it's only ten bucks. I'll try it for a couple more months and I can cancel anytime.

Devil Ledbetter said:

There is a lot of unfairness in society when it comes to women and aging. We're not really supposed to age, we're supposed to "fight it." But then, if we fight it "too hard" we're "failing to age gracefully" or we're "cougars" or "trying to compete with teenagers" or "in denial"-- in any case, too much effort is looked down on. On the other end of that spectrum it's called "letting yourself go" or "giving up" or "looking dated." Aging is a no-win, and that's a shame because it really shouldn't be.

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Sad but true. I once saw a movie in which a character said: 'When a man grows old, he becomes distinguished. When a woman grows old, she's just old." Can't remember when, what or who, but that quote sure stayed with me.

Alpha Echo said:

Um...anyone else have really rough heels?

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Runs in the family. We deal pretty much with it the way Maryn already said. Sometimes I treat my mom to a foot spa: A nice, hot footbath with some feet bathing salts. Then when they've soaked enough, use a pumice stone to grind the edges off. And finish with a nice coat of footcream, something with rosemary, lavender or pine usually does the trick. (My mom usually has six or eight feet rather than two at those times. There's something about footcream that temporarily turns her into Sleipnir...) The Bodyshop has some good footcream with peppermint. And I can also recommend Gehwol for their footcreams. Deutsche gründlichkeit, oh yeah!

OK, totally NOT a girly-girl - never was, never will be. Completely LOW/NO maintenance chick. But when I need to feel pretty:

A good scent. Something like Anais Anais IF going floral. Or essential oils to feel sexy. I really like feeling sexy.

Matching bra/undies set. Doesn't matter the color. Doesn't need to match an outfit. But black is always nice. I'm not a pink girl. At. All.

Hair: I don't have enough grey to worry about coloring. But I go for full highlights. Love blonde with my natural caramel and mahogany hair. Hawt.

Nails: Natural always. But if I go for a manicure or gels, French tips all the way.

Hair prep/conditioning: Alternate baking soda and acv washes with Paul Mitchell washes. Afterward: Moroccan Oil. Best stuff ever.

Face and trouble areas: acv - but the natural stuff with "mother". Ladies, use this twice a day for a few months and it will take years off of your face. Seriously. Amazing stuff. You can add a T to warm water and sweeten it with honey or stevia for a warm glow, too.

Makeup: I normally go without. But if I feel I need it, mineral powders.

Oh, and the occasional Coach bag at the outlet store is a killer find.

Yep. Mother is the cloudy fermented gunk that actually makes it beneficial. You CAN get it in certain grocery stores, but make sure it says "unpasteurized". It may not say "mother". I always got mine at a health store, though, and that does use the "mother" term.

Moroccan Oil contains argan oil, but it might not be in the name. Argan oil itself is great, but I couldn't get it in Canada, so I used Moroccan oil that was sold at the hair salon. And I fell in love.

I just did a nice grooming bath. cleaned myself up and made it to where i can show off my toned calves =3 feeling pretty good. wearing my favorite jewelry too.

A substantial piece of artsy jewelry - nothing too showy/heavy, but not a chip, either - is awesome.