Eyebrows. I horrified myself by looking in a magnifying mirror one morning and realised that my mangled mess of eyebrow, with added moisturiser clogging up the works, made me look like a mad old man. Dug out an ancient mascara brush and started brushing my eyebrows every morning, just so as the hairs all go the same way you know and aren’t all manky with face stuff
I ran out of the time and the will for grooming when I had two babies very close together and moved from London to the country at the same time. I literally felt like I suddenly got wiped off the planet. But at the same time, during the night feed era I started to watch amazing make up tutorials on you tube by Lisa Eldridge. She takes grooming to the max and looks beautiful and amazing for her age. I was inspired to buy the products but for some reason could rarely be bothered to use them. My grooming now consist of DIY hair colour since lockdown. I use the same L’Oréal colour as my hairdresser - just on roots so it looks natural and not unicolour - and I save so much money and time as I need to do this every 3 weeks. It’s life changing. I started Botox 2 years ago because my eye brows started falling down and making me look angry. Which I am of course. It’s incredible what a difference it makes. Not Mr Spock…just returns them to where they were 10 years ago. I do that twice a year. When I look at “normal” groomed women with decent make up, hair and clothes and think they look great, look happy snd very much on top of their game. Whereas most of the time I now look tired, deranged and hopeless. So I really need to spend 10 minutes putting on make up and wearing some clothes that do more than just keep me warm for dog walks.
I was like you last year (bar the children & long time country dweller) I now wear a slick of lippie for my dogs & perfume every day. And hats! They change your lock instantly - chic fedora, funky beanie, dashing trilby. I have the biggest collection known to man & I LOVE THEM. I am known as the hat woman in my village & it’scalways a conversation starter as to what one I am wearing…
I tint my own eyebrows. It only takes ten minutes, it’s great for scaring the children, and makes me look less washed-out and somehow more defined even if I forget the tinted moisturiser etc. If anyone is inspired I use Eyelure tint which I think I get from Superdrug. I would love to go make-up free but every time I do people ask me if I’m feeling ok so I take that as a sign from the gods that I need a bit of slap, just a light touch.
One of the reasons I don’t do more grooming is the time, the icky salons and the bloody chit chat! The whole schlepping to the salon then the appointment... Not all salons are scrupulously clean andrew all of the treatment rooms are too bloody small and I CBA with the chat.
I now do my own bikini line at home with a Nads kit. It’s not a fancy Brazilian but those days are long gone !
I have been very into my face grooming for about a year now as I have no other control over my life. It's like face anorexia. I even have one of those things that you can electrocute your face with and one of those red light things because I *did* read the NASA research and maybe it might actually do something?
But for real, I have managed to get rid of my crow's feet and a fairly sizeable worry line on my forehead - although I think this is just from moisturizing? AND also retinol (thank you Dermatica).
I shave my legs once a year for summer holiday. When you never shave, the single shave lasts for weeks! Or maybe it’s perception... laser treatment has been on my to do list for years.
Another Botox proponent here, it’s such good shit.
I feel like this is a confessional booth. So I got my daughter aged 10 during lockdown to help me highlight my hair (using ingredients that I read Zoe Ball had used) and now I highlight my own hair with my now 12 year olds help (I pay her a fiver) and use Well products and foils to do so. No, I am not a trained hairdresser. I also - cut my own hair - and have done since 2019. I find hairdressers useless. I do better layering myself.
I've discovered the sheer job of having S and S nails done though - lasts almost 4 weeks and when I type I see colour and it cheers me... (rather than my bitten awful nails). I NEED to know how people home wax? Shaving just causes itch. The skin on my feet is also cheese grater style. What I am dying to know is - has anyone had tear trough filler? The hollows under my eyes make me look ancient - on my otherwise unlined face. I am 50 in two weeks and believe - less is more as you get older as dear god, the worst fear is something thinking 'mutton.'
BUY A BLEAM on t’internet for hair on legs. Rather than get fillers, try FACEGYM products first. They are all about how you apply / massage. Honestly, give them ago before you try anything major. They do a starter kit. My friends cannot stop telling me how much I am glowing - and frankly I am experiencing massive stress at moment but my massage oil for face etc is keeping it from showing on my face.
I am retreating & about to dye my hair with Glaze - it is a coloured conditioning gloss? But what are these nail things? I am biting my nails terribly. Only sign I am stressed. Can you still garden with them? Don’t like talons. X
So I use Electro- Lite to cleanse. If I have worn more than a light splosh of tinted serum (love Typology) I use Bioderma Eau Micellaire to pre-cleanse with cotton wool. Then what is the golden ticket product is the serum / pre moisturiser Youth Reformer. It’s an oil with a pipette & has Vitamin C which I assume does a bit of skin renewal in a gentle way. I have notoriously sensitive skin so have to avoid acids etc. Then I finish in daytime with Liftwear Moisturiser.
I was gifted by my SiL so thought - will give it a whirl & am now evangelical. I even bought the stainless steel massage thing which you use on different sides of face but keep forgetting to use cos - two dogs, too tired - other shit to do. Must get better at this self care!!
I used to use Dr Sam Bunting which I did like & people remarked on my skin but prefer this....
I HATE talons - I'm a writer and have to type all day so like hotter nails. Plus I hate the feeling of anything getting under your nails - though admire those that can wear uber long nails and look glam. Last summer at my local salon, I was about to go on hols and needed strong nails that last. I'd had gels once in my life and they peeled off in a week. So I was told about S and S powder by knowledgeable women in the salon. It is where they dip your nail in and then seal in the colour. It is AMAZING. I went to Greece for two weeks of sand and swimming and rock climbing and nails - perfect. I've had it done at two salons and the best method is that they actually dip your nail repeatedly in the powder. It just grows with your natural nails so after 3-4 weeks you need to go back and get it taken off. Healthier than gels. I have only had it down a few times, so i'm no expert but it is amazing! x
I used to cut my own hair, and it wasn’t too bad, but that was mostly because I’d had several terrible cuts at Toni & Guy and a couple of very expensive but average cuts elsewhere and like you, just thought fuck that, I can do better. Am now too lazy for the effort a home bob takes (and have found a great snipper too). Have never recovered from a student home dye job where I went tangerine. And stoically grew it out, in mortification, bc I had no idea a hairdresser might be able to rescue it. And nobody else told me that was possible either.
I home wax with tears and icecubes. About once every five years.
I’ve been having a really good haircut three times a year for about five years now, and that makes a difference especially if like me you’re going grey naturally. That and splurging on Aveda Damage Remedy conditioner which tames the wiry grey hairs.
I've started using a pha serum, though I'm not sure what difference it’s made, but I don’t really understand what to use when and why. My skin has been really good to me for fifty years so I do feel I owe it some tlc for the next howeverlong.
Haven’t worn slap since I left London, what, 17 years ago? but I am gingerly trying it again. I’ve been barefaced for such a long time I now look like (to me) a clown in even the lightest makeup, but I'm just fading into a squodgy greige sad old cushion of a face and I must sort it out. Who knew eyeshadow was so hard? Have decided to have my eyelashes dyed as a bare minimum, but as I’m usually hot and scarlet of face and do have naturally quite red lips, I’m hoping that I might just need a smear of bronzer to look made up …. I follow the beautiful Madeleine Spencer on IG and she just looks so amazing in all her different eyeshadows that I feel I must keep trying.
CBA. Have one giant tub of CeraVe cream for everywhere - face/body. Recently, entirely out of character decided to get my nails done with shellac, now have chipped, weird peeling nails as can't face returning for them to get it off.
Esther, haven't you tried Footner? Definitely Footner, the dupes aren't as good. I've been using it for years and it is fabulous. A week after using it your feet start shedding and it is horrifically fascinating. My daughter gets very cross when I give her a progress report over breakfast every morning! Your feet are left feeling so soft and yes, baby smooth.
I wore a midi skirt the other day, barelegged, to go out for meal - only shaved the bottom half of my lower leg. It's winter. This post reminds me of a silly poem I wrote some years ago for my work colleagues when we were having a v similar conversation:
Naming of the Parts
Toe, chipped nail varnish.
Beginnings of burst vein, peeping
from behind the knee.
Dry patch on elbow; cover with long sleeve.
Knocked knuckle, brave warrior,
injuries sustained in limescale removal operation.
I’m about to have my first PAID FOR manicure. I’ve only ever had two, both on hen’s dos.
I have become obsessed with my poor, corn-afflicted feet and my poor, rosacea- afflicted skin. I do look v scruffy mostly tho.
I was on a Zoom with 29 yr old colleague yesterday. Not only was she naturally lovely but also wearing expertly applied makeup. I was so taken I burst out with ‘you look GORGEOUS’ like some mad old nana. But she was ❤️
Emily, get your GP to give you Soolantra / invermectin for your Rosacea. I cannot tell you what a difference it has made to my skin. I started using it about three years ago (unfortunately after i got married 😬 - if I had wedding shots now, my skin glows) You use it nightly, it is soft & absorbent. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GO GET IT. It is amazing. Also you save so much money on expensive night creams. Xxx
Thanks Lisa :) I actually have a tube of it in my cabinet. I haven’t been strict about using it- perhaps I should have another go and be diligent at it.
I did IPL with a very reputable dermatologist. Things are better/ milder but definitely not a 100 % cure unfortunately
Don’t you love how Esther’s site is such a brilliant resource for all of us helping each other <3
As I get older I have to do more grooming in order not to look like a witch and frighten the postman. Gone are the days when I nipped to the shop to buy milk w/o putting on blusher/lipstick.
I can recommend foot creams as they really do get rid of your hard skin if applied morning and evening - after a couple of days you’ll notice the difference. Boots do a good one the equivalent of pricier ones.
A good pedicure is always money well spent. I also love the Aspect probiotic mask for when your skin is feeling awful, wash your face and put on overnight and wake up feeling and looking less haggard.
Talking of shit I buy off internet, I have ordered, (might have been a drunk midnight purchase as accidentally ordered two sets separately thus missing out on opp to get discount ) those things you stick on soles of feet to suck out toxins. As I write it, I realise how bloody mad i sound.
Re Il Makiage, each time you review a products you get a $15 off voucher. Got lip liner for £9 including postage & super amazing sparkly eye liner for £8 including postage!!
Eyebrows. I horrified myself by looking in a magnifying mirror one morning and realised that my mangled mess of eyebrow, with added moisturiser clogging up the works, made me look like a mad old man. Dug out an ancient mascara brush and started brushing my eyebrows every morning, just so as the hairs all go the same way you know and aren’t all manky with face stuff
I ran out of the time and the will for grooming when I had two babies very close together and moved from London to the country at the same time. I literally felt like I suddenly got wiped off the planet. But at the same time, during the night feed era I started to watch amazing make up tutorials on you tube by Lisa Eldridge. She takes grooming to the max and looks beautiful and amazing for her age. I was inspired to buy the products but for some reason could rarely be bothered to use them. My grooming now consist of DIY hair colour since lockdown. I use the same L’Oréal colour as my hairdresser - just on roots so it looks natural and not unicolour - and I save so much money and time as I need to do this every 3 weeks. It’s life changing. I started Botox 2 years ago because my eye brows started falling down and making me look angry. Which I am of course. It’s incredible what a difference it makes. Not Mr Spock…just returns them to where they were 10 years ago. I do that twice a year. When I look at “normal” groomed women with decent make up, hair and clothes and think they look great, look happy snd very much on top of their game. Whereas most of the time I now look tired, deranged and hopeless. So I really need to spend 10 minutes putting on make up and wearing some clothes that do more than just keep me warm for dog walks.
I was like you last year (bar the children & long time country dweller) I now wear a slick of lippie for my dogs & perfume every day. And hats! They change your lock instantly - chic fedora, funky beanie, dashing trilby. I have the biggest collection known to man & I LOVE THEM. I am known as the hat woman in my village & it’scalways a conversation starter as to what one I am wearing…
I tint my own eyebrows. It only takes ten minutes, it’s great for scaring the children, and makes me look less washed-out and somehow more defined even if I forget the tinted moisturiser etc. If anyone is inspired I use Eyelure tint which I think I get from Superdrug. I would love to go make-up free but every time I do people ask me if I’m feeling ok so I take that as a sign from the gods that I need a bit of slap, just a light touch.
Same. No mascara, look HIDEOUS.
One of the reasons I don’t do more grooming is the time, the icky salons and the bloody chit chat! The whole schlepping to the salon then the appointment... Not all salons are scrupulously clean andrew all of the treatment rooms are too bloody small and I CBA with the chat.
I now do my own bikini line at home with a Nads kit. It’s not a fancy Brazilian but those days are long gone !
I have been very into my face grooming for about a year now as I have no other control over my life. It's like face anorexia. I even have one of those things that you can electrocute your face with and one of those red light things because I *did* read the NASA research and maybe it might actually do something?
But for real, I have managed to get rid of my crow's feet and a fairly sizeable worry line on my forehead - although I think this is just from moisturizing? AND also retinol (thank you Dermatica).
I shave my legs once a year for summer holiday. When you never shave, the single shave lasts for weeks! Or maybe it’s perception... laser treatment has been on my to do list for years.
Another Botox proponent here, it’s such good shit.
I feel like this is a confessional booth. So I got my daughter aged 10 during lockdown to help me highlight my hair (using ingredients that I read Zoe Ball had used) and now I highlight my own hair with my now 12 year olds help (I pay her a fiver) and use Well products and foils to do so. No, I am not a trained hairdresser. I also - cut my own hair - and have done since 2019. I find hairdressers useless. I do better layering myself.
I've discovered the sheer job of having S and S nails done though - lasts almost 4 weeks and when I type I see colour and it cheers me... (rather than my bitten awful nails). I NEED to know how people home wax? Shaving just causes itch. The skin on my feet is also cheese grater style. What I am dying to know is - has anyone had tear trough filler? The hollows under my eyes make me look ancient - on my otherwise unlined face. I am 50 in two weeks and believe - less is more as you get older as dear god, the worst fear is something thinking 'mutton.'
BUY A BLEAM on t’internet for hair on legs. Rather than get fillers, try FACEGYM products first. They are all about how you apply / massage. Honestly, give them ago before you try anything major. They do a starter kit. My friends cannot stop telling me how much I am glowing - and frankly I am experiencing massive stress at moment but my massage oil for face etc is keeping it from showing on my face.
Ok I am on it Lisa - thank you so much!!! x (hope the stress lessens)
I am retreating & about to dye my hair with Glaze - it is a coloured conditioning gloss? But what are these nail things? I am biting my nails terribly. Only sign I am stressed. Can you still garden with them? Don’t like talons. X
Lisa, what face gym products do you use - went on the website - so much choice - no idea where to start! x
There might be a skin assessment thing. I didn’t look as was given products which actually worked for me!
So I use Electro- Lite to cleanse. If I have worn more than a light splosh of tinted serum (love Typology) I use Bioderma Eau Micellaire to pre-cleanse with cotton wool. Then what is the golden ticket product is the serum / pre moisturiser Youth Reformer. It’s an oil with a pipette & has Vitamin C which I assume does a bit of skin renewal in a gentle way. I have notoriously sensitive skin so have to avoid acids etc. Then I finish in daytime with Liftwear Moisturiser.
I was gifted by my SiL so thought - will give it a whirl & am now evangelical. I even bought the stainless steel massage thing which you use on different sides of face but keep forgetting to use cos - two dogs, too tired - other shit to do. Must get better at this self care!!
I used to use Dr Sam Bunting which I did like & people remarked on my skin but prefer this....
Gosh the facegym pro is £575!!!!!!!!!!! Good lord. Maybe this isn't expensive to most but that is a LOT! x
I HATE talons - I'm a writer and have to type all day so like hotter nails. Plus I hate the feeling of anything getting under your nails - though admire those that can wear uber long nails and look glam. Last summer at my local salon, I was about to go on hols and needed strong nails that last. I'd had gels once in my life and they peeled off in a week. So I was told about S and S powder by knowledgeable women in the salon. It is where they dip your nail in and then seal in the colour. It is AMAZING. I went to Greece for two weeks of sand and swimming and rock climbing and nails - perfect. I've had it done at two salons and the best method is that they actually dip your nail repeatedly in the powder. It just grows with your natural nails so after 3-4 weeks you need to go back and get it taken off. Healthier than gels. I have only had it down a few times, so i'm no expert but it is amazing! x
I used to cut my own hair, and it wasn’t too bad, but that was mostly because I’d had several terrible cuts at Toni & Guy and a couple of very expensive but average cuts elsewhere and like you, just thought fuck that, I can do better. Am now too lazy for the effort a home bob takes (and have found a great snipper too). Have never recovered from a student home dye job where I went tangerine. And stoically grew it out, in mortification, bc I had no idea a hairdresser might be able to rescue it. And nobody else told me that was possible either.
I home wax with tears and icecubes. About once every five years.
JOY not job
I’ve been having a really good haircut three times a year for about five years now, and that makes a difference especially if like me you’re going grey naturally. That and splurging on Aveda Damage Remedy conditioner which tames the wiry grey hairs.
I've started using a pha serum, though I'm not sure what difference it’s made, but I don’t really understand what to use when and why. My skin has been really good to me for fifty years so I do feel I owe it some tlc for the next howeverlong.
Haven’t worn slap since I left London, what, 17 years ago? but I am gingerly trying it again. I’ve been barefaced for such a long time I now look like (to me) a clown in even the lightest makeup, but I'm just fading into a squodgy greige sad old cushion of a face and I must sort it out. Who knew eyeshadow was so hard? Have decided to have my eyelashes dyed as a bare minimum, but as I’m usually hot and scarlet of face and do have naturally quite red lips, I’m hoping that I might just need a smear of bronzer to look made up …. I follow the beautiful Madeleine Spencer on IG and she just looks so amazing in all her different eyeshadows that I feel I must keep trying.
CBA. Have one giant tub of CeraVe cream for everywhere - face/body. Recently, entirely out of character decided to get my nails done with shellac, now have chipped, weird peeling nails as can't face returning for them to get it off.
I still have my winter legs (my cat has similar I notice) with no intention of baring them until possibly May …
Esther, haven't you tried Footner? Definitely Footner, the dupes aren't as good. I've been using it for years and it is fabulous. A week after using it your feet start shedding and it is horrifically fascinating. My daughter gets very cross when I give her a progress report over breakfast every morning! Your feet are left feeling so soft and yes, baby smooth.
I wore a midi skirt the other day, barelegged, to go out for meal - only shaved the bottom half of my lower leg. It's winter. This post reminds me of a silly poem I wrote some years ago for my work colleagues when we were having a v similar conversation:
Naming of the Parts
Toe, chipped nail varnish.
Beginnings of burst vein, peeping
from behind the knee.
Dry patch on elbow; cover with long sleeve.
Knocked knuckle, brave warrior,
injuries sustained in limescale removal operation.
Purple bruise on soft underside of arm:
origins unknown.
Tummy, caught unguarded on an exhale.
Breathe in, rib - not quite spare enough.
Solitary eyebrow hair makes a sudden appearance
once the tweezers have mysteriously disappeared.
Hollow gloom of the collar bone, carefully
co-ordinated with under the eye shadows.
Buy one, get one free; must invest in some Immac.
Freckles fading, along with the summer.
Frayed finger nail and a heel that says:
Must try harder. Don't even get me started
on the backside; far too much time
spent in the larder, instead of the gym.
Hopes for winter glamour recede, as today,
we have the naming of the parts.
I’m about to have my first PAID FOR manicure. I’ve only ever had two, both on hen’s dos.
I have become obsessed with my poor, corn-afflicted feet and my poor, rosacea- afflicted skin. I do look v scruffy mostly tho.
I was on a Zoom with 29 yr old colleague yesterday. Not only was she naturally lovely but also wearing expertly applied makeup. I was so taken I burst out with ‘you look GORGEOUS’ like some mad old nana. But she was ❤️
Emily, get your GP to give you Soolantra / invermectin for your Rosacea. I cannot tell you what a difference it has made to my skin. I started using it about three years ago (unfortunately after i got married 😬 - if I had wedding shots now, my skin glows) You use it nightly, it is soft & absorbent. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GO GET IT. It is amazing. Also you save so much money on expensive night creams. Xxx
Thanks Lisa :) I actually have a tube of it in my cabinet. I haven’t been strict about using it- perhaps I should have another go and be diligent at it.
I did IPL with a very reputable dermatologist. Things are better/ milder but definitely not a 100 % cure unfortunately
Don’t you love how Esther’s site is such a brilliant resource for all of us helping each other <3
I was same, I still get flares up & will still get flushed in a hot room but the actual look & feel of my skin is 100% better.
Yes, this forum is excellent! I gave gleaned & shared tons of intel on just this article!! X
As I get older I have to do more grooming in order not to look like a witch and frighten the postman. Gone are the days when I nipped to the shop to buy milk w/o putting on blusher/lipstick.
I can recommend foot creams as they really do get rid of your hard skin if applied morning and evening - after a couple of days you’ll notice the difference. Boots do a good one the equivalent of pricier ones.
A good pedicure is always money well spent. I also love the Aspect probiotic mask for when your skin is feeling awful, wash your face and put on overnight and wake up feeling and looking less haggard.
Talking of shit I buy off internet, I have ordered, (might have been a drunk midnight purchase as accidentally ordered two sets separately thus missing out on opp to get discount ) those things you stick on soles of feet to suck out toxins. As I write it, I realise how bloody mad i sound.
Re Il Makiage, each time you review a products you get a $15 off voucher. Got lip liner for £9 including postage & super amazing sparkly eye liner for £8 including postage!!