7 Ways To Feel Beautiful On A ‘Blaaaaah’ Day!

There are some days when we just feel urrrrgh! I notice this a few days before my period, my dark circles look even worse, my Psoriasis flares up on my skin and my stomach looks extra bloated! Waaaah…

I’m pretty sure we all have these days and weeks when we just feel ‘blaaah’ about ourselves!

For me, I know I instantly feel better about myself when I put on my makeup and also something nice to wear, it’s kind of like my confidence armour (I know it’s pretty shallow but, it works for me). However, there are more things that really help too…

I’ve rounded up some facts and tips that help me on a ‘blaaah day’ in the hope they help you too…

1. Straighten Up!

Those words you may have heard as a youngster, really do help your body! If your posture is strong and straight, the brain receives a positive message that you’re feeling great and it stays alert, meaning you’ll be ready for anything. By pulling your shoulders back and opening up the chest area, you’ll look taller, appear slimmer and it might just put a spring in your step too!

Here’s how to stand tall and own it!

Imagine a straight line along the side of your body from your ear through your shoulder, hip, and knee down to the middle of your ankle.
Pretend you have a string pulling just your head up to the ceiling; keep your shoulders pushed back and down.
Tuck in your stomach and pelvis.
Distribute your weight evenly along the full length of both of your feet.

2. Turn Negatives into Positives

I struggle everyday with this because I am faced with a body full of red marks caused by Psoriasis (an auto immune disease, from which there is no cure). I have lived with this non-contagious condition since I was 18 and while I have accepted it, I would be lying if I said it didn’t affect how I feel about myself daily.

I try really hard to mute the judgement of what I don’t like about my skin, they’re not helpful thoughts. It’s not going to change. I just have to ‘suck it up’ and get on with making the best of life. I also try and appreciate and accept what I see by finding a positive; for example, I know the reason I became a makeup artist and stylist was because of having Psoriasis – I wanted to help myself and to help others to feel positive in themselves.

Could this way of thinking help you too? Let’s ~~man-up~~ ‘woman-up’ and work hard at turning negatives into positives and be a little kinder to ourselves in the process too.

3. Turn Off The ‘Flaw Finder’

It’s easy to zoom in on our flaws. but, what if we did a little experiment by zooming in on our positives instead ? I’m pretty sure we would feel awesome and ready to take on the world!

By focussing on something positive, our brains feel rewarded and in return, this lifts our moods. Lets feed our brain some positive vibes – it will pay us back ten-fold! Consider your positive thoughts like eating your five a day of fruit and veg…

Five positive thoughts will out-weigh one negative thought and nourish our brains. YUMMY!

4. Spread a Smile of Joy

As facial expressions go, I’m sure you’ll agree that smiley faces are much more attractive than non-smiley ones. Plus, smiles have the habit of generating a feel-good ripple effect! Research shows that our brain gets an instant mood boost from the smile muscle contractions.

What’s more, that instant mood boost is maintained as people smile back at you…what goes around comes around with just a simple smile.

There’s a reason why the smiley face emjicon is so popular on our mobile devices – lets use it in real life on our faces too!

5. Accept a Compliment

Okay so I’m guilty for brushing off a compliment! But, how about this:

The next time we receive a compliment, lets try not to brush it off, because it might have taken that person a great deal to say it to us in the first place.

Think about it. It feels so much more grateful to say “thanks a lot, that really means a lot to me today” in response to a compliment.

Best of all, saying thank you for a compliment creates positive reinforcement that makes both people want to give and receive compliments more often.

Nice words are very precious and rare sometimes, they should be encouraged at every opportunity….that’s what I say!

6. Cheer up With Colour

Wearing just a small pop of colour in your outfit can actually light up your face and your mood. If you’re not a fan of bright colours, It needn’t be worn in a whole outfit, just a simple accessory can add the pop to any neutral look.

My favourite mood-booster is to wear a slick of bright lipstick! It makes me feel as though I’m ready to tackle the day head-on with gusto! Try it, you’ll see what I mean.

7. Get Real

I love social media! But, somedays it makes me feel like I’m not having as much fun as other people.

Let’s be honest who hasn’t seen a photo of someone on a beautiful beach and wished it was them? I know I have.

Sometimes seeing the ‘snap-shot best-bits’ from other peoples lives can make us feel in-adequate and as though our own lives are boring.

Life is edited on social media. A bit like a trailer to film.

Lets get real:

It never hurts to be reminded that: 99.9% of us still have to put our own bins out, hook hair out of the plug-hole and clean our own toilets… it’s just no one chooses to show ‘real life’ on Social Media. I know that you know this already, but, next time you feel inadequate on social media, Pinch yourself.

I hope that you get some inspiration from these pointers and that at least one of them makes you smile on a ‘blaaaah day’?

Love