Will my makeover, takeover? THE PLAN
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
The other day I was talking to a friend. She mentioned that she felt “shitty” at work because she had not dyed her roots. After she went to the hairdresser, she regained her confidence. She felt better about herself. And this showed in her smile.
Sometime earlier I was at the supermarket on a quiet weekday. I looked and felt a mess. It was early morning and I had popped in before getting ready for work (after putting my daughter on the school van). There was another woman there. She was all groomed probably before her day at work. She looked comfortable and confident.
I tried to blend into the stacked shelves.
“It’s okay”, I told myself. I have written about this before - the pressure we can feel to look a certain way.
But the reality remained: I felt bad about myself. So, was it “okay”?
All this got me thinking… Would I have felt different if I felt better about myself? Would others look at me and treat me differently? There’s only one way to find out.
I’m going to try to answer these questions by embarking on a one-month mini-experiment. For one month I will make an effort to look more “groomed”. I’m not talking about a drastic change (I want to remain feeling like ‘me’ after all). I’m talking about looking (and feeling) more polished. So: regular blow-dries, nails, eyebrows (nothing too invasive). I’m talking about swapping my specks for lenses (for as long as my eyes allow it). Wearing my best clothes and jewellery. And maybe, just maybe, the occasional heels.
Just to put you in the picture my normal grooming routine involves some makeup and my appointment to dye my roots every three weeks (very often I ‘dye-and-dash’ which means I leave the salon with dye in my hair and wash it at home).
So when all is groomed and manicured…. Will I feel more confident? Will people pick up on this? Will they treat me differently? And, if they do, is it because of the way I look or because of the way I feel?
But… Will I get “addicted” to this feeling? Will the makeover, takeover? How will I fit in the appointments? How much will it cost in terms of time and money….. let’s find out!
I will be posting updates every week, for four weeks, starting Friday… I’m both excited but worried and might struggle to keep it up. Your suggestions are welcome.