Looking Good - Just Do It!

I used to be a well-kempt woman.

I really was. All primped and polished. All the time. I had an actual "beauty routine".

Every morning -

• Shower
• Wash/Condition hair (Bumble & Bumble Seaweed)
• Wash face (Clarins Cleansing Milk)
• Shave my legs/armpits
• Toner (Clarins Toning Lotion)
• Moisturize face (Annemarie Borlind LL Regeneration Day Cream)

• Lotion entire body (L'Occitane Body Cream with Shea Butter)
• Blow hair straight
• Put on makeup
• Put on perfume

Every night -

• Take a bath
• Moisturize face (Annemarie Borlind LL Regeneration Night Cream)
• Lotion entire body (L'Occitane)
• Apply cream to hands and feet at bedtime (L'Occitane Hand Cream)
• Apply Vaseline to lips and laugh lines at bedtime

Once a week -

• Exfoliate body with a scrub (mixed it up, but loved Fresh Brown Sugar Body Polish)
• Exfoliate face (Lancome Exfoliance Clarte)

Once a month -

• Manicure/Pedicure

Regularly every few months -

• Bikini wax
• Eyebrow shaping/wax
• Haircut
• Massage
• Facial
• Spa treatment (scrub or such thing)

5 days a week -

• Workout

I was fabulous.

But over the last 8 years, since Jude was born, this routine has...devolved. Drastically.

My current beauty routine is as such:

Every day at some point -

• Shower
• Wash face (whatever is within reach - soap, my shampoo, my kid's shampoo, whatever)
• Moisturize face (whatever's on sale at the grocery store)

When it starts looking kind of skanky -

• Wash/Condition hair (whatever's on sale at the grocery store)

When I remember -

• Exfoliate face (by rubbing it with a washrag)
• Moisturize entire body
• Put on perfume.

When somebody's gonna be looking -

• Shave legs/armpits
• Put on makeup

When I get around to it -

• Haircut
• Bikini wax
• Workout

Seldom to Never -

• Manicure/pedicure
• Blowdry hair
• Exfoliate body with a scrub
• Massage
• Eyebrow shape/wax
• Spa treatment
• Facial

It's a pretty sad state of affairs.

This drastic drop in my personal hygiene and upkeep is due to a combination of circumstances, mainly a lack of time and our dwindled finances. But also because of my general apathy.

Often, I just don't feel like anybody cares what I look like. This is particularly sad because I am an actress, and technically, people DO care what I look like. But I guess that very often I don't care what I look like.

There. That would be the problem. I don't care what I look like. If I really cared, I would make the time. I would find the money, or find ways to do it on a budget.

How did this happen? When did this happen? Is it just because I'm older? I'm no longer the woman who all the men turn to look at when I enter a room, so I've just given up?

Or maybe I'm just smarter and more evolved? I'm more focused on what's inside rather than what's outside? Nah.

I think this probably happens to most women after they've had a child. Unless you are wealthy enough to pay someone to do the pampering to you, you just stop making the effort, and the money ends up going for things for your kids. Your priorities shift. Taking care of yourself seems like so much trouble. And the truth is, we just don't consider ourselves and our needs a priority like we used to.

I remember looking at my girlfriends who had kids long before me, shaking my head sadly and thinking "She could still be pretty. She should really do a little something something about herself!"

And now, that is ME!

And so... I have decided to attempt a beauty comeback. I have been making the effort to do a little something something about myself. My new motto is "Just Do It".

I have been shaving every morning whether I'm wearing a skirt or not. I have been moisturizing my entire body every time I get out of the shower. I have been putting on makeup and perfume every morning, whether I'm seeing anybody I deem important or not.

And I'm thinking that if I'm smart, I can figure out which things I should spend a little money on, and where I can cut back.

I have invested a little bit of cash which we don't have in some of my old products that I LOVE. The products that I really believe make a difference. I found my Annemarie Borlind creams for a better price on Amazon. I can't express how happy it makes me to have my good creams back. Annemarie Borlind products really are special. I'll slather that precious fluid on my face and I can just feel my skin soaking it up and saying "Aaaaahhh".

I've learned that I can buy an inexpensive shampoo/conditioner (I've been using a Trader Joe's shampoo, and it's great) if I spend a little bit on good styling products (Aveda's Be Curly is outrageous for making my frizzies go away).

Good ole Cetaphil Facial Cleanser is every bit as good as all that Clarins stuff I used to buy. Neutrogena makes a delicious Sugar Scrub for a third of the price of the Fresh scrub.

Oil of Olay makes a Skin Smoothing Cream Scrub that works really well, and is a quarter of the price of the Lancome. And even though L'Occitane Body Cream with Shea Butter is a little bit of heaven in a jar, plain old Vaseline Intensive Care lotion does the job just as well. Maybe better.

Groupon offers outrageous deals on spa and pampering services. I just bought a Paraffin Treatment Manicure and Pedicure for $29, which is less than half price. They always offer deals on massages and facials. I have a girlfriend who has been doing laser hair removal to her whole body one Groupon half-price deal at a time!

And one thing that REALLY makes my face look more "together" is taking care of my eyebrows. I think it's a great idea for every woman to get her eyebrows professionally shaped at least once. And then you can keep them that way by yourself just following the arch created by the professional. I do, however, suggest investing in a Tweezerman, the best tweezers ever. It makes ALL the difference in the world.

So, do I think all this "doing a little something" has helped? Well, while I still don't think anybody is looking at me, and I'm sure nobody has noticed... I do feel prettier. More like myself. Cared for. You know?

And I like to think that in the words of Billy Crystal's Fernando character "To look good is to feel good." And if this doesn't work, I guess there's always that wacky "focusing on what's inside" thing.

__________________________________

...in response to the question "What are your beauty resolutions this year? How do you plan to shake up and streamline your routine? What are the good habits you are committing to developing?"

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Comments

[Jan]

Five.

Kids.

You're all lucky I get dressed every morning.

[W!]

My dear Gretchen. At this stage of the game, simplicity counts. And a woman with simple beauty that equates a face scrub with a wash rag is far more attractive than one that has that much time on their hands and disposable income at their command to squander on beautification. And yes, ocassionally men like women with a little stubble on their legs and, dare I say, a little free-growing shrubbery in the ol' luv garden. KISG, sweetie. Keep it simple, Gretchen.

I accidentally found myself watching a Cindy Crawford informercial about beauty cream or some such rubbish this morning and thought "You know, Gretchen looks hotter than that." And this was BEFORE I read this blog.

[Lisa]

Girl, I know it. I always say that the one thing no one -- I mean, no one -- will admit to you about having children is how much your personal hygiene will suffer. I am impressed with your resolve and I will say that when I do make the effort, I always sit a little straighter for it!

[Andrea]

I never really had a decent beauty regimen so it was very easy for me to fall into the abyss of good enough. When I would try to care, I didn't come up with much, so I grew to covet the mom-ness of my look. Recently I decided to try a little harder. yesterday I looked so acceptable I really hoped to run into people when I was out and about...no such luck, they are al hiding around the corner until the day I wear sweats and need a shower, but milk too!

[laura]

Yeah! I have something for you. Here's to resolutions. Mine is to workout more. I've given myself a 30 day challenge; 30 days of working out. I've done 19 days and missed 3. Much better than Dec, when I only worked out 8 times in the month. . . and ate my weight in Christmas treats.

[Ginny Marie]

I have been trying to do better, to. Just blow drying my hair in the mornings help! (It looks so much better when I do!) My father-in-law bought me this fabulous scrub with olive oil from Origins that I love. (The secretary where he works recommended it as a gift...he is very thoughtful!)

On a different note, I stopped procrastinating and wrote my Spin for this week!

http://www.lemondroppie.com/2012/01/moms-chili-recipe/

[Sprite's Keeper]

I caught Sprite's "stomach bug of fun" this weekend and actually straightened my hair plus tweezed and shaped my brows just to look a little more decent than I felt. And it worked! Now, if I could just do it more often instead of once in a never..

[Kendra]

After I had Leo I gave up. But then about 2 years ago I really started seeing myself differently and I didn't like it so I lost a lot of weight and started getting ready every. single. day. While I still don't shave frequently enough I shower daily and make sure I have makeup on every day. I feel a lot better about myself and that makes it worth it.

[pat]

If you are looking for an inexpensive body scrub you can find it in your kitchen! Take one cup brown sugar and add olive oil till you get the consistency that you desire. I add a little vanilla extract but you could add any extract you would like! It is truly that easy and very very nice!!!! Very inexpensive! Makes my skin feel like buttaa!

[Aimee]

You know, I've been wondering about the Tweezerman. It really makes a difference, huh? I may have to give it a try.

I was never one for much self-care, so I guess I really didn't ever fall off that wagon. As I've lost weight and been more proud of how I look, though, I've found myself doing more in that arena.

Great post; I'm so glad you're making the time and effort for yourself. It's important that we do it!

[פדיקור]

good luck with it. easy to say - hard to do :) Fingers crossed for you!