Six Ways to Feel Beautiful Again

image via pinterest

There are days when you won't feel beautiful. Maybe you didn't get much sleep or your hair is frizzy (or greasy) or you've been overcrowded by too many loud people for too long. Maybe you wore clothes much too warm for the weather and spent the day feeling unkempt and disheveled. Whatever the case, you know you'll have a day when you stand in front of a fitting room mirror in TJ Maxx and in abject horror notice every scar, blemish, and hair on your face.

When that day comes, you will be in need of feeling beautiful again. I know this because those moments come fairly frequently to me. Since I work as a nanny, my days are largely spent being hung on/grabbed at by young children, reading-aloud on the floor, and playing dialed-back versions of all the major sports games (which I invariably lose) in the humid 95 degree weather. It is a common thing to leave work feeling the very farthest thing from composed and elegant. Since I usually do my errands before coming home, I'm quite familiar with that loathsome dressing-room scenario. By the time I reach the obnoxiously-exact TJ Maxx dressing room mirror I have worked a full day, run several errands, discussed world politics (loudly), and been given sidelong glances by the composed beauty ahead of me in line at Starbucks.

Quit judging, lady. I just want my iced coffee, no classic, add whip.

So to help all of us win back a sense of beautiful, I've compiled a list of things which help me. I hope you'll be able to see the true you again: that beautiful, talented, strong-hearted woman who just kicked a whole lot of sass.

1. Take a walk - when I'm feeling out of sorts with myself, a walk always lends new perspective. Even if you don't feel massively better when you're finished, you'll have done something beneficial to your body, taken some fresh air, and waved at a stranger or two.
2. Shave your legs – come on, it's impossible not to feel beautiful after a fresh shave. Makes even pajama pants borderline alluring.
3. Shape your eyebrows – somehow the world gets a sharper edge after the stray eyebrow hairs have been tamed. You can go from “beetle-brow'd potato-fed great-aunt” to silver screen star in about three minutes. It's remarkable.
4. Turn on your favorite music – I can never stay disgruntled for long when Meghan Trainor is blaring. Especially if I put on my booty-shirt and pretend I can dance.
5. Do something you love – a lot of times the reason you've forgotten your beauty is simply because you've been away too long from who you really are. It could be reading a book, painting a picture, sketching a view, or photographing a friend. Whatever it is, do it again and I promise you'll feel a bit more like yourself. Feed your mind. Feed your heart. Beauty is bound to follow.
6. Use that expensive lotion – I can't possibly be the only person who has a bottle of nice lotion squirreled away as if I'm waiting for some grand occasion. Get ready for it: the grand occasion is now, the guest of honor: yourself. Just use it already. Seriously.

Are there any tips you cherish when it comes to feeling human again? I would love to hear them if you'd like to leave a comment.