Frugal Frump to Fab/Winter Solstice

lessonlearned

So over the next couple of days we can take a look at time planning, getting organised, getting and staying motivated, staying focused and all that.

But for now - your first assignment.

I mentioned that doing this would be involve a series of small changes to our daily routines, one at a time so that they slot into our daily lives and become sustainable and almost second nature.

Step 1 - Wear perfume every day.

There now that was painless:).

You probably have some stashed away - don't let it sit there slowly evaporating until theres none left. Wear it every day and smell gorgeous.

Actually that makes a very good metaphor for how we should live our lives. We should use them up and not let them evaporate away.;)

By the way did you know that perfume should always be stored in the dark, not left out in the daylight and certainly not placed into sunlight. It will go rancid very quickly.

Todays exercise - 10 minutes yoga, 50 tummy crunches
Todays treatment - Banana Face Mask

Banana Face Mask

About 1/4 of a small ripe banana,
1 teaspoon runny honey
1 small teaspoon yogurt or cream

Mash banana, mix with honey & yogurt or cream, apply to cleansed skin. Don't forget neck and d!collet!, leave 10 mins and rinse off

Packed with vitamins and nutrients to feed and nourish dry, stressed or tired skin

G'night all x

MrsWoolfe

Good Morning all!

LL don't worry it's not cheeky to quote me at all lol- and you're right that's exactly what this is all about, it's such a small thing but feeling good about yourself, feeling like you look nice/skin has improved/hair looks good, it all makes a HUGE difference, puts a completely different spin on things:D

And as for the girly thing? well I wouldn't necessarily call myself girly- that's what all the teenage rebellion was about, my lovely Mum is a complete girly girl and predictably I went the other way, big clumpy biker boots, lots of heavy rock music etc etc... but the one thing we did/do together is taking care of our skin/pampering I never really saw that as being girly per say just taking care of me...

as some of you will know( from my whines on the previous thread) I had a couple of pretty tough years, but decided early this year that the only way I could handle it all was to just keep focused on the positives and following this frump to fab challenge has been a big part of that, I genuinely feel 100x better than I did at the start of the year even though a lot of the rubbish is still there. feeling in control of my weight and appearance just gives me that extra lift that I need to get through it all:D

Right back on topic, hair treatment went well including the trim- I know I probably freaked a few people out yesterday witht he talk of cutting my own hair- rest assured I wasn't advocating that for everyone, it's just withvery curly hair like mine, you often get a better look/feel with small regular trims- a curl at a time if you like- for curly hair it's not about getting a straight line- that would look horrid and create the dreaded pyramid shape:eek:- it's more cutting in to create a nice shape- anyway came down after and DH was v impressed i get mor confident the more I do it so this time have created more layers in than I have before and if I do say so myself it looks pretty good:D now have very shiny, glossy bouncy curls:D

I've alway switched to using a little coconut oil instead of the serums I used to use and I'm really liking the result- only a little mind the greay look is not pretty :eek: so a little coconut oil when damp plus gel and my hair looks better than it did when I was spending a fortune on specialist cremes/serums/mousse:money: I do use oils to deep condition about once a month or so but didn't last night- too much in one go I think.

so my treatment was:

• shampoo- deep cleansing/sls free ( I use the tresseme naturals one)- I put both on as I alternate which one I'm using.
• conditioner- naturals one again, gently combed through to avoid breaking too much - curly hair is ridiculously fragile- left conditioner in for a while- wrapped hair up in towel before conditioning to avoid diluting conditioner too much) clipped hair up and did bits and peices around the house.
• lime-water rinse- juice of one lime in a cup/half-cup of water poured on and left on head for 5-10 minutes then rinsed out.
• coconut oil massaged through hair + gel
• trim/tidy-up once dry enough

sounds a lot written down but doesn't take that long really especially as I was pottering about in between each stage.

Right, I think this post is getting pretty long, so I'll leave it there for now but will pop back later with today's plans/tasks.

hope everyone is well!

MrsWoolfe

bratz81

was wondering if I can also join your gang?
I've only recently decided I'm worth taking care of, appearance wise I mean, and am making more of an effort to wear makeup, brush my hair, wear clothes that match/suit me instead of any old crap.

I am feeling better and more confident for doing it but need help motivating myself somethings

Kerry78

Oops I'm behind already, I didn't see the post to wear perfume till now - but I will definitely do it from now on.

Did put in contacts this morning and a bit of make up and it does make a difference to how I feel.

lessonlearned

Hi Everyone

Just a quickie - I normally do my main post in the late afternoon or evening so will be back then for a natter.

Mrs W - meant to say I loved the chatty info about your hair, it sounds lovely, and the big plus you're bang on trend. Apparently curls are coming back!!!!! About time too - personally I think the dead straight poker look has been done to death - so last year dahhlings.:rotfl:

The damage caused by hair straighteners doesn't bear thinking about.

Would definitely agree that coconut oil makes the best hair conditioner. Cheap as chips, smells gorgeous and more to the point really works.

Anyway newbies here's your assignment for today.

Stop what you're doing right now - get up and go and have a look in the mirror. You can keep your kit on - not doing a Trinny and Susannah here, no need to strip naked - I'm not a pervert - oo-er missus.

Just spend a minute or two and give yourself a true and honest appraisal.

Back already!!!! Good.

Now we are not looking for public confessions here - just "fess up" to yourself - be honest with yourself and what do you see. There now - no tears - it's never as bad as you think - you can fix it.

So what did you see.

Clean shiny hair, clean shiny shoes and clean shiny bits in between??

Or, lank greasy hair, pale pasty tired looking skin, tatty unflattering shapeless clothes, manky worn out shoes.

Yep - I've been there. The bag lady look is not a good one is it.

This is where we are going to start.

Grooming, grooming and more grooming. Till you are all bright and sparkly and gleaming like a new pin.

So today you are going to make sure that you've washed your hair, brushed your teeth and that your clothes are at least clean.

I know we've said it's about small sustainable changes.

The grooming thing is the biggest. Everything else is small and easy I promise.

I think the reason the grooming thing is difficult is because we've been fed some weird myths that taking care of our appearance. Grooming etc is somehow seen as self-indulgent, selfish, vain etc. It isn't. It's vital for our self esteem and that is where we start. Simply taking a few minutes each day to put ourselves first.

We are sooooo worth it.:rotfl:

Will be back later with more news, updates and chat.

PS Don't forget the perfume;)

podperson

Hi all,
Would like to join in with this. Have started to try and eat more healthily but definately need to work on the exercise and the beauty routine. I have a big number birthday in October that I'm rather dreading and if I could lose some weight and be looking a bit better by then think it would give me a boost and help my self-esteem a bit. Am very bad with the looking after myself part - to the extent that I only wear perfume when I'm going out and looking today have a teeny tiny bit left, may have to treat myself but will see how the finances hold up this week Hope everyone else is doing well x

yummymommy

Hi guys

Oooh how exciting. I will pop to the shops on the way home to get some runny honey.

I have a few yoga dvd's which are probably still in the wrapper. :eek:
If I have to come back here and report then I am more likely to do it!

I never go out of the house without make-up on, I suppose it's my "armour" for the day. Perfume duly sprayed.

50 crunches ! Oh go on then :beer:
Will report back later :T:T

yummymommy

BTW any cheap and safe teeth whitening tips would be most welcome xx

MrsWoolfe

hey again!

Lol LL @me being "on trend" though I will admit I'm finally starting to love my curls, I decided about a year ago to start looking after my hair properly, no bleaching and highlighting etc and I haven't straightened it for the best part of a year, and it's really showing now, such a change from my old dry, frizzy mess!

re the teeth whitening, have you tried using bicarb YM? supposed to be good for whitening teeth and is often an ingredient in whitening toothpastes- I haven't done it for ages, but my gran used to, a little bit on a damp toothbrush every now and then. ah just found this which may explain things better: http://www.whiterteethwhitening.com/2010/03/bicarbonate-of-soda-teeth-whitening.html

As Bicarb is so useful for so many other things I always have a fair bit of it in the house- I tend to buy the big bags from the chinese supermarket which work out masses cheaper than supermarkets etc.

one thing I've noticed- though not strictly MSE in the short-term it the improvement since I swapped to an electric toothbrush- I changed the brush head recently to one of those double ones and really noticed a difference within a couple of days.

Joined in and did the mirror check:eek: lol, not a total disaster- first lot of frump to fab has taken care of that, but def could do better, nothing majorly wrong with what I'm wearing, but does do a great deal for me, bit shapeless- was in a rush and just grabbed something clean that fit and was smartish- long black skirt and yellow top- skirt is ok, but together with the top which is kind of loose looks a bit meh!

Right, that's my mission for tomorrow then- plan and pick out an Outfit tonight as opposed to just grabbing something in a rush- who knows may even try and organise the jewellery etc- always feel a bit more put together when I have accessories on....

tonight's treatment will be a mini manicure- mainly trimming, filing and painting my nails- something I often forget to do/can't be bothered with but it all helps with feeling groomed/put together!

Bye for now!

MrsWoolfe

pollyskettle

OK - so I smell lovely, quite literally as I dug out the SJP 'Lovely' perfume from my drawer this morning, and I feel pretty good.

I have dusted off a yoga DVD ready for when the little darlings are in bed, I've done Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred day 1 and I've deliberately walked a total of 7.5 miles today. My food choices today have so far been excellent and I've dug out a very healthy Chilli from the freezer for my dinner tonight as the children are having burgers and we have an extra child here after school so 1 pack of 4 will do them and I won't be tempted to have the left over one from the box as it won't exist!

I shall try to fit in the 50 crunches between now and bed time - I did a few in the DVD this morning, but don't know how many so can't count them - boo hiss

I had a good long look in the mirror and I look a bloody mess. In my defence, I am just about shrinking out of the dress size I am in and I have some fab clothes in the next size down, so I'm only about a week or so away from those. I am clean though, although my hair could do with a scrub and a comb! So I am more frump than fab, but working on it.

After my adventures in Yoga town tonight, I shall be doing a little manicure as my polish is starting to chip. I think I shall try the pink-y shade again, to match the girly perfume.

Elantan - I've heard the seche top coat is possibly the best on the market. I was sorely tempted by it but plumped for the Sally Hansen mega shine one, which I shall use tonight. I think I will definitely have to try the seche one.

Right, best go collect some small people from their school.