Look good and feel good! Here are my top tips to look good all the time. Being an attractive woman is something you can learn today and enjoy forever. Here’s how to look amazing all the time!

June 2024 Update: I wrote this post six years ago, I was 56. At 62, I feel and look my best and I do this for me.

At the time I originally wrote this, I was budget-oriented and I actively looked for ways to dress and look better on a budget. Truth be told, I still love going to TJ Maxx and Marshall’s.

I also enjoy being able to do work I love and keep up with my growing family. I’m a mom to grown children and grandmother to three grandchildren so far.

On a funny note, my grandchildren are all girls and they love when I spend the night and they can do my night time face routine.

When I look great—I feel great. Here’s the important thing. The better you feel about yourself, the more you can enjoy other people and activities.

For most of my life, I wasn’t confident about my looks. My new confidence comes from looking better and it truly has helped my inner beauty come out too.

Looking Better Helps Me Say Yes More

I don’t let insecurities keep me from trying new things now. These tips for looking put together allow me to join in without any worry about how I look.

I have discovered that the better I look, the better I feel!

This is important because, in talking to some of my clients, how they feel about their looks, keeps them from doing all the things they want.

This is not just vanity ladies! It’s about living your life to the fullest in whatever way you want.

Trying new things and activities has brought me more joy, increased my social life, and has given me the confidence to try even more things.

This is so much more than vanity or trying to keep up with other women. It’s about finding comfort in my own style and in my own skin.

I’ve opened up my life to more than I ever dreamed was possible.

What Makes a Woman Attractive?

“I want what she’s having because someday I hope I can look as  put together as she does.”

This comment came from a woman who was behind me in the coffee line when it was her time to order.

It made me smile because, among other things, I was wearing a $25 pair of jeans and a hand-me-down top from my daughter.

Looking put together is possible on any budget. Being attractive is a combination of your attitude and doing specific things to enhance your natural beauty.

How I Learned How to Look Good

For years I avoided new places and situations because I was afraid, almost pathologically afraid, that I wouldn’t look right. I wouldn’t know what to pack or wear.

I’ve gotten over that. Not only that but I can step into any situation and feel confident about how I look and what I’m wearing.

From camping in the mountains to dinner with millionaires in the big city, I’ve learned a few tricks that make showing up and enjoying the experience possible.

And I’ll tell you right now, none of the tips are about trying to compete with people that have lots of money!

Let’s face it; just showing up isn’t enough. You also want to look and feel good. If you’re like me, you don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on clothes and beauty treatments.

However with some effort you can look and feel great no matter what the event is.

A few of these tips to look good all the time,  have to do with clothing.

Because we women have so many choices out there, it’s often hard to find clothes that look great on us and that make us feel fabulous. But it’s not impossible.

6 Clothing Tips to Look Good All the Time

Buy fewer clothes

The first tip is to buy fewer clothes. Most women have closets full of clothes because we imagine that makes us have something to wear for everything. Or we think, someday we’ll have that big fancy closet.

But let’s face it. I’ve been in enough closets to know most women own more clothes than they’ll ever wear. Admit it, you probably even have an item or two with the price tags still on.

When your closet is stuffed with too many items; it can be difficult to find the things you need to make a great outfit.

When you have a better edited and curated wardrobe, you will easily put together attractive ensembles. It may seem counter-intuitive but it’s true.

When you have fewer things, here’s what happens. You are more careful about what you buy and keep. You take better care of what you do have.

With fewer items, they are easier to organize and see, so you can always put something together for any occasion!

How to shop in discount stores

Everyone has their favorite one of these. Some of the common ones in my area are TJ Maxx, Ross, Nordstrom’s Rack, and Marshall’s.

I have the best luck with NR and Marshalls. I have a friend in Las Vegas that loves Ross. It probably depends on where you live and what you are looking for.

Since I don’t love shopping that much, here is my technique. When I go in, I pull the maximum number of clothes you are allowed to take in the dressing room.

Then I go try them all on. Sometimes I find nothing that fits or looks right. Sometimes I find 2 or 3 things.

I mostly look for tops in these stores. I will spend a little more for pants from regular stores to get a certain kind of fit.

I don’t have as much luck in the discount stores with pants because that seems more hit or miss.

However, I can find tops and dresses that are pretty, classic or unique in discount stores. I also find great shoes in these kinds of stores.

Check the sales rack of your favorite brands

I like a good department store too. They are convenient and we are familiar with the brands too. I love to check out the sales racks for the higher-end brands that work well with my look.

If you have a favorite brand, sometimes it’s worth paying full price to get the perfect pair of pants, jacket, blouse, or cardigan.

My rule of thumb is if you are paying full price, you definitely want to be able to use it multiple ways.

This past holiday season, I knew that I had a few upscale parties to attend. I ended up paying full-price for a dress and shoes that I thought would work for all the parties and look more expensive than it really was.

I wore that dress to everything I could! The only person seeing it each time was my fiancée and since he thought I looked gorgeous in it, he didn’t care.

The best part was that I felt great every time I put it on. I was with people that had probably spent hundreds more on their clothes but it just didn’t matter.

When you can find something that fits you perfectly in size and look, you will look fabulous.

Try on everything!

It’s so tempting to take something home to try on or order it online. I believe firmly, that you must try every single item on—even if you’ve tried on the exact same thing in a different color.

You just never know.

Any piece of clothing can look totally different on you than what you imagine it’s going to look like. Even if you absolutely love it on the rack; try it on anyway.

Make sure it fits right. Determine if the color suits you.

Take chances on things you wouldn’t normally buy. Sometimes the perfect thing for you doesn’t look great on the rack. On the opposite side, sometimes something you are sure will fit; looks horrible on you.

If you try it on first, you will absolutely minimize the number of useless items you have hanging in your closet. Most things you bring home, you will wear. And it’s great to not have to return clothing to the store.

Buy clothes that fit

Don’t buy clothes that are too small because you like the size on the tag. If it’s too small and you like it, try on the bigger size.

You’ll actually look smaller in clothes that are the right size than you’ll look in a smaller size that is too tight.

Also, don’t buy clothes that are too big and baggy. Baggy clothes just make you look sloppy.

If you are bigger than you’d like to be, buy a couple of outfits that are gorgeous and fit you perfectly. Love the body you are in as it is and dress it with love.

Looking good all the time has nothing to do with size! It has to do with what you wear and how you wear it.

No matter what your size is–buy clothes that fit.

Only buy what you love, what looks great, and what feels good

This was a rule I had for my daughters when they were teenagers. It really keeps what you buy to a minimum and what you do buy you will love.

It is an amazing experience to have everything in your closet fit and look great on you. People will think you have a much more extensive wardrobe than you have.

People really don’t pay that much attention to your individual pieces of clothing; they notice your overall look.

When you buy what you love and what fits perfectly, you always look great.

Body, Skin, and Hair Tips to Look Great and Feel Great

Take care of your hair

There are no hard and fast rules here. However, I’ve discovered that when my hair looks great; I feel great.

There’s a reason we all hate “bad hair days.” And why we feel AMAZING on good hair days.

I hate working on my hair but I do it because it is the one thing that makes me feel most beautiful. Everything else can be just okay but a good hair day for me makes me feel like a million dollars.

Whether this is actually true or not, when my hair is looking fantastic, I tell myself that no one is going to even notice anything else.

Many of you may have hair that is the perfect color and easy to style. I have always envied that.

I finally gave up hoping for easy-to-care for hair and have accepted that for me to even get close to having pretty hair, I have to put some money into it.

A few times a year, I get it colored and trimmed up. My current stylist for the past 10 years, is the only person that has really understood my hair and cuts it in a way that works for my hair type.

If you haven’t found that person—don’t give up! It took my 20 years to find Stephen.

For special occasions and travel, I pay to get my hair professionally blow-dried.

Not everyone will need to do that. However, my hair is so thick and unruly that it saves me so much time and effort and it looks great for 8–10 days.

I am able to make my hair last so I can get every bit of value from having done it myself or getting some help.

The picture below is me about to turn 60. Professional hair and makeup that day!

Take care of your skin

Our skin is the largest organ of our body and when it looks good we look good. Now that I am turning 60 in a month, I am seeing the fruit of the good habits I formed when I was younger.

Keeping your skin youthful is WAY easier than trying to make it look younger once you are older.

Here are my three non-negotiable rules for great skin.

• Eat real food: protein, veggies, healthy fats (eat lots of these!), and a little fruit.
• Avoid sugar and foods that act like sugar.
• Move your body often.

In addition, I take care of it by removing makeup and washing my face at night. I then apply my favorite skin care products. In the morning, I simply rinse as I shower. After I apply my skin care products again.

I love to take care of my skin, but I don’t think any product or procedure can make up for not eating real food or eating too much sugar and processed food.

Sugar and foods that act like sugar cause inflammation in the body and cause the skin to break down way too early. Avoiding healthy fats is also bad for your skin.

Exercise

Having vitality, balance, and energy are essential for looking all the time. Exercise and moving your body gives you these things. It also helps me maintain a healthy weight but that is only part of how exercise helps us.

Like I said, exercise raises our energy and helps us project vitality. It also helps us get more oxygen, keeps our heart and other organs healthier, and builds strength and balance.

All of these things help us look younger because we move better. Our energy simply looks younger when we move on a daily basis.

Exercise does not have to hurt, be expensive, or make you miserable. Exercise can be fun, enjoyable, and at times even easy. Find things you like to do and do them more!

I love walking outside. I like to work out in my home to videos. The best kind of exercise is always the kind that you will actually do.

Smile

Nothing makes you look and feel great as much as having a smile on your face. People are attracted to happy people.

Not feeling happy? I have nothing against real feelings and taking time to feel them. Anger and sadness are real feelings and important to process.

Yet, committing to feeling better and being able to naturally smile is important.

By smiling you project that you are comfortable and honestly, I think most people look so much better when they smile compared to when they are frowning.

Take a minute and take two selifes. Take one of yourself with no expression or even frowning. Now take a picture of yourself with a smile on your face. Now compare. I absolutely hate pictures of myself when I’m frowning!

Practice smiling if it doesn’t come naturally to you. Smile in the mirror.

Take selfies and practice your smiling technique. When you pass people in the hallway at work—smile. Smile every chance you get and see how it actually makes you feel better.

Look Good Feel Good

It might seem trivial to want to look great but it truly has changed my life for the better when I mastered how look put together it on a budget.

When I was married and had more disposable income, I was not confident at all! Money to spend on clothes did not make me feel great.

There have been times in my life when I had more money but I had way less confidence. It took making looking great a priority before I felt great.

Looking put together will help you be comfortable in your own skin.

Whether you are out for a coffee with friends, taking the kids to the park, or even going out for a night on the town, you can have look great without being fussy or spending a ton of money.

P.S. I love helping women not just look good but feel good. I work with women to figure out what is missing in their lives and create a life they love.

The post Look Good Feel Good: How to Look Great All the Time appeared first on My Think Big Life.

Are you over 50 and ready to feel beautiful again? Or maybe you’ve never felt beautiful and want to give it a try. Here are my 9 favorite tips on how to feel beautiful inside and out.

Have you ever wondered how to feel absolutely beautiful? For a long time I never even imagined that I could. Yet, a few years ago, I decided to make myself feel beautiful  and to my surprise I began to believe it as a result.

For the first time in my life; I’m truly comfortable with my looks and it feels wonderful. Here’s how to feel absolutely beautiful too.

December 2020 Update: I’m 58 now. I was 55 when I wrote this post. All of these things I wrote about 3 years ago, are still true for me today.

It’s a little weird to be almost 60 and feel that I am the most beautiful I’ve ever been.

Now that I’ve been a beautiful woman for over three years, it comes naturally. Becoming comfortable in my own skin has helped me be self-confident in all other ways.

When we hide our beauty, we also hide the light that we could share with the world. I truly believe that being beautiful is a part of being a full participant in life.

Learning to Feel Beautiful Did Not Come Naturally!

As a teenager, I never felt pretty. (Picture at the end of post) In fact, I usually felt the opposite. Miserable does not even come close to describing how I felt about my looks.

Even as late as my early thirties, I felt ugly. I can remember telling a counselor that I hated people looking at me because I felt so ugly.

Looking back on pictures, I wasn’t quite as horrible as I felt at the time.

But here’s the thing. If we feel ugly on the inside, it’s impossible to feel good on the outside. To be attractive, we have to feel beautiful inside and out.

As a women, we’ve been judged on our looks since the day we was born. And even worse we judge ourselves based on magazine and social media images that are impossible to live up to.

How can I feel beautiful when I can’t measure up to all the images I see all the time?

Add to that getting older, and you may feel that it’s going to be impossible to feel beautiful after 50.

However, that judgment can end when you become comfortable in your own skin and with your own looks. You can feel beautiful first and then everyone else will believe it too.

Learning how to feel beautiful is about taking what you already have and pouring a whole bunch of self-love and care into your own body and life.

Become Beautiful by Taking Care of Yourself 

Spending time and money on ourselves is often difficult. I can’t tell you all the times I see women who are dressed frumpy with messy hair walking around with little girls dressed like princesses. (Guilty back in the day!)

Everyone seems to be busy these days and it can definitely be difficult to make time for yourself. Yet, it’s important. Not because of someone else’s idea of beauty but because, you were born to be beautiful.

There are no rewards for wearing yourself out and giving up on your body or your beauty. You end up sick and tired and not feeling a bit beautiful.

Here’s a secret. When you put yourself first, the people in your life will honor you too. You have to set the standard for giving yourself the time to be beautiful because no one else is going to do it for you.

(For tips on How to Look Great in Any Situation, click HERE.)

Now, before you begin rolling your eyes, I am not talking about spending hours in front of a mirror applying tons of make-up or never-ending shopping.

I am talking about basic self-care that when used will make you feel beautiful.

To Look Beautiful You Have to Decide to Be Beautiful

This might sound weird but I had to decide at some point to become a beautiful woman.

I had never felt it, because of those awkward teenage years and because I was married for 30 years to a man that never told me I was.

For someone like me—I had to DECIDE that I was beautiful before it happened. This was intimidating because I thought, “Who am I to think I could be beautiful?”

Like everything else I do, I started with small incremental steps. I took better care of my appearance.

I began spending money on things to make me beautiful. (Super scary and went against so many things in my upbringing.)

One thing I did to work with my subconscious, was to create a music play list that I listened to every time I went for a walk, several times a week.

At the end of the post, I’ll share my personal playlist that really did help me feel beautiful.

Being beautiful does take time, effort, attitude, and a belief it is possible.

BEAUTY IS FREE and it really is available to everyone.

How to Feel Absolutely Beautiful with Nutrition

I have to start with nutrition because I believe that the nutrition of women is reaching a crisis. Our diets that are full of sugar and processed foods are destroying our health and beauty.

While you may know that food has an affect on your weight, most people are oblivious to its effects on your skin.

You can look around and see the shape people are in. Even when women manage to remain thin, they have poor skin tone, wrinkles, and worst of all, many are facing serious health challenges at really young ages now.

Sugar Can Affect Your Beauty

I first became aware of sugar as not being good for me when I was pregnant with my third child.

At that time, I began removing much sugar from my diet. Many years later, I got really serious about not eating any sugar or foods that act like sugar in my body.

At about the same time, I began consciously eating healthy types of fat in larger quantities than any diet had ever allowed.

And my face loved it. My skin cleared up and my color was better than ever. Best skin of my life! (How to Look Younger Naturally)

What you eat makes a difference. When I eat better, of course I feel better.

For this post, I’m going to concentrate on two things that show up in my skin. Since our skin is our largest organ, when it looks good, we naturally feel more beautiful.

There are two things that I believe create great skin: avoiding sugar and processed foods that act like sugar in the body and adding healthy fats into your diet.

At fifty-five (I’m now 58), I don’t have any wrinkles and my skin is fairly tight and filled out on my face. I’ve never used Botox, fillers, or even done professional facials. What I do though is watch what I eat.

When I eat too much sugar or processed foods; the first place I can tell is in my face. My skin starts looking dull and pasty.

Fats Help You Look Beautiful Naturally

I also eat a lot of healthy fats. Dietary fat does not cause a person to get fat.

There are lots of reasons people do get fat—but eating healthy dietary fat is not one of them. I am seeing now, many women of my age or younger, who are thin but have lots of wrinkles and look years older than their age.

I blame low-fat diets for the breakdown of the skin. Too many processed foods that increase inflammation and lack of healthy dietary fat are not good for looking beautiful.

All that sugar and foods that act like sugar create inflammation and a breakdown of the things in your body that make skin look great. Even foods we think are “healthy” can be bad for our bodies and beauty.

The Truth About Fat

If you’ve ever been on a diet; you’ve heard that you shouldn’t use more than a tsp of oil on your salad. I remember being on Weight Watchers year ago and being told to use 2 tsp of oil.

It seemed like so much and in the forums women were complaining that they couldn’t make themselves eat that much oil!

Those days are long gone for me. As long as I’m eating real food; I don’t worry about eating too much oil. I know it doesn’t make me fat and it’s not clogging my arteries. (Sugar is the secret villain in both of those things!)

In reading about fat over the years and from my own experience; I realize that healthy fats are the secret to losing weight, maintaining a healthy weight, and for having great skin. They are protective and good for us.

That’s right, healthy fats are an important nutrient!

I wrote about healthy fats here but in a nutshell, they are part of foods such as avocados, nuts, eggs, and certain meats as well as oils like coconut or olive. Canola, vegetable, and seed oils are not good for your body or skin.

Curious about 60 years of the real research behind low fat diets? This book is amazing!  The Big Fat Surprise

How to Feel Absolutely Beautiful with Exercise

I’m not telling you anything new by recommending exercise. Where I do differ from most things you read is that I don’t think you have to get all crazy to get fit.

I look and feel best when I move most days of the week and especially if some of those days are outside walking or riding a bike. Moving feels great!

Most days, I do shorter workouts for 20 to 30 minutes in my home. Two or three days a week I like to do something longer such as taking a walk.

As much as I like the benefits for stabilizing my weight; I love how it makes me feel. I’m sure that it’s doing good things for me inside too.

Exercising creates a feeling of strength and balance that are very attractive as well as improving the functioning of pretty much everything in your body. I like exercise that relaxes as well as strengthens.

How to Be Beautiful from the Inside Out

Being beautiful starts inside. It starts inside with your attitude but you can also do a few physical things immediately to make yourself more attractive.

To put out a beautiful vibe, you have to use your posture, eyes, and smile.

Remember teenage miserable Sara. It’s probably going to come as no surprise that she was quite slouchy too.

Over and over my mom would have to remind me to straighten up my back. She was worried about my posture of course. But I’m also sure it just wasn’t that attractive to see me all hunched over.

I still have to remind myself to straighten up. And I do because I believe filling out your full posture and taking your place in a room is attractive!

When I enter a room, I remind myself to breathe and to straighten up. I let my breath fill out my body and the resulting energy to straighten me up.

Instead of just trying to straighten my back, I think of positive healthy energy filling up my entire body.

So, I guess I’m straightening up and out and filling out my space from the top of my head, out my fingers, and all the way to my feet.

Don’t Have a Bitchy Resting Face

Then I put my attention on my mouth. If I feel some tension, I release it. I try to keep a gentle smile on my face. If I don’t do this, I’d probably have what some people call a “bitchy resting face.”

I know people that swear they can’t help it. I believe you can.

Once, I had a client who kept getting job interviews but couldn’t land the job. She called me because she was desperate to get a job.

The minute I walked into the waiting room to meet her I could see the problem. She definitely had a “bitchy resting face.” She looked mean and unhappy.

Well, she was unhappy to be unemployed but she wasn’t generally unhappy. I recommended that she practice smiling—all the time.

Every single time she passed a mirror, she was to smile. Any person she met or came across, she was to smile.

A week later, I almost didn’t recognize her. She looked amazing. And within a few weeks, she landed a great job that was in line with her qualifications.

Learn to Smile With Your Eyes

There used to be a show called America’s Top Model and Tyra, the host , would tell the models to “smize.”

In short, it’s smiling with your eyes. Most communication is nonverbal and your eyes are powerful assets to your beauty.

Not just because of their physical attributes but because they express your attitude, your interest, and I think, they express your general energy.

How to Feel Absolutely Beautiful with Passion

While my fiancée often tells me I’m beautiful, he tells me that I am at my most beautiful when I am talking about something I’m passionate about.

Often he say that he loves listening to the subjects I love best because it animates me in a way nothing else does.

For me those things are my current job, my granddaughters, and my blog. I am 100% sure none of those would be interesting to him at all if I wasn’t lovingly passionate about them.

Each day is something to look forward to when we have things we are passionate about. Passions give us an energy and vitality that no make-up can give us.

What if you don’t feel passionate about anything? Then it’s time to start exploring things!

All my current passions are relatively new. I had no idea a couple of years ago that I would fall in love with a job and with a blog. No idea! Yet, in the process of trying new things, I stumbled into two things that light me up with passion.

Having interests and passions makes us beautiful! Being beautiful isn’t just about physical features, it’s about having an inner light that shines from within.

How to Feel Absolutely Beautiful with Love

A while back, I met a young woman. She talked in a mono-tone and seemed to have no energy or particular personality. She seemed nice enough but conversation with her was difficult.

I ran into her last week and we began our conversation and it was difficult as usual. Then I casually asked her about some upcoming plans. All of the sudden, this woman turned beautiful right in front of my eyes!

Needless to say, I was fascinated and curious to know why. Turns out, she had gotten herself a sweet boyfriend since I had seen her last.

All of the sudden I noticed how beautiful her eyes and smile were. I could see her smooth and perfect skin.

It was crazy how fast she changed in front of my eyes as she talked about this love of hers.

In my own life, after my divorce I lost some weight, grew my hair out, and tried to dress a little spiffier. In these ways, I gained some attractiveness.

But honestly it wasn’t until I fell in love that people really began asking “what I was doing” to look so good.

Honestly, I think it was love and happiness. And it’s not just in the getting, it’s in the giving too. Love in and love out. That is powerful beauty treatment.

Love comes in many forms and I don’t think you can have too much. To feel love, you don’t have to be in a romantic relationship.

My children and grandchildren fill me with the feeling of love. Working with students fills me with love. My friends are part of my loving circle. I practice loving anywhere I can.

Choose to be Beautiful

I’ve felt ugly and I’ve felt beautiful. Feeling beautiful is way more pleasant.

Beauty truly does come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. In fact, the diversity of beauty is beautiful in itself. We have all known women that were technically “beautiful” yet something was missing.

That missing components are things such as passion, kindness, gratitude, and love.

Combine a beautiful inside with some effort on the outside and you will soon feel beautiful yourself.

Some of us concentrate on the inside stuff but ignore the outer part. Some of us concentrate on our outer wrapping and skimp on the inner work.

Do both! It’s the best combination and it will keep you ageless in your beauty. Now here are pictures from my teens, twenties, and now (age 55)

Now for my playlist…

I created a playlist that I could listen to daily to help create an inner belief that I was beautiful. As a bonus, it’s fun to hear song after song telling you that you are beautiful! Wow, all these people are singing to me?

Sara’s Be Beautiful Playlist

• We’re Young and Beautiful–Carrie Underwood
• You are So Beautiful—Joe Cocker
• Brave, Honest, Beautiful—Fifth Harmony (MY personal FAVE!)
• What Makes You Beautiful—One Direction
• Beautiful—Christina Aguilera
• Beautiful—Carole King
• Beautiful—Enrique Iglesias
• Beneath Your Beautiful—Labrinth
• Beautiful—Wayne Brady
• Good Morning Beautiful—Steve Holy
• Lovely—Sara Haze
• Beautiful to Me—Olly Murs
• You’re Beautiful—James Blunt
• Her Own Kind of Beautiful—Chris Lane\
• Forever Young—Joan Baez

You Can Be Beautiful at Any Age!

My mom is 88 and gets told she is beautiful all the time. She has perfected the inner beauty part and that light shines bright and attracts people to her like moths.

So, I would have to say, that the best thing you can do to be beautiful is to create a strong love for yourself and others.

Qualities that are beautiful are self-confidence, authenticity, passionate, kind, playful, and loving. Developing these will see you through your life!

The post How to Feel Beautiful in Your Fifties appeared first on My Think Big Life.