# Ladies, what's the best beauty advice you've acquired over the years? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 7, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633 "2010-03-07T16:49:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/61 "2010-03-10T12:32:46Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Personally, I think “if it takes too much time and money, accept it” and “if you have the time and money and it makes you happy, fix it” aren’t mutually exclusive, or even contradictory, and both are good advice. Just to be clear, I was not saying "“if you have the time and money and it makes you happy, fix it” in the sense that one is obligated (and I’m not thrilled with the term “fix” in this context. A haircut doesn’t “fix” your head, it just makes you look nice… er hopefully). It’s just that I am very frugal with money and something like brow waxing, which is a convenience because I could get the same results (eh, more or less) for free, I used to have a very hard time spending money on it. I just came to realize it’s as legitimate an expense as lots of other things that are just a bit frivolous. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/62 "2010-03-10T13:03:38Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I just read yesterday but now can’t remember where that women that wear makeup are seen as more professional and competent business-wise, and approached more by men, romantic-wise. Do wear makeup, just learn what to use and how to use it. To be honest, I think this is quite a lame reason to wear make-up. I do wear make-up because I like the ritual and as an expression of my personality. I do hope that people see me as professionally competent because I am good at job rather than because I managed to choose the right foundation. I’m not saying what you’re saying is not true, but I feel this is a sad reality, rather than a reason to conform. For the record, I admire both people who look great in their make-up and people who have to guts to go without (shock, horror, many of them even have managed to attract partners). I’m not sure wearing it because you feel you are not an acceptable female without is quite as hot in my book. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/63 "2010-03-10T13:06:21Z")
Nothing makes you look more beautiful to a man than sucking his cock. **Shhhh it may work.** ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/64 "2010-03-10T15:04:05Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Nothing makes you look more beautiful to a man than sucking his cock. > **Shhhh it may work.** Did you actually think this was funny? ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/65 "2010-03-10T15:07:51Z")
For the record, I just got a note from my client this morning–a job where I don’t wear makeup every day: "I just dropped [your boss] a note. You have been irreplaceable through the past few months of the instant surge of work and all the issues. I appreciate working with you, and do we ever need ya right now! Thanks for all you do to juggle things." Too bad I haven’t worn makeup to work for the last six years or I’d be seen as more professional and competent. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/66 "2010-03-10T15:11:45Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > If your eyebrows met in the middle perhaps you’d “get” eyebrow waxing. Nice for you that yours naturally look awesome. If mine did I wouldn’t fuss with them. Same here. I suspect most of the people who don’t understand eyebrow waxing already have eyebrows that look like what mine look like after I wax them. I’m pale as hell with black eyebrows. Every single hair shows up, and I don’t pluck them into oblivion and draw them back in. I removed the stuff in the middle and wax a bit from the underside to follow their natural shape. Incidentally, another one of the best pieces of advice I can _give_: There is no one secret to beauty that will work for everyone. I was always getting advice to use cleansers like Dove or cetaphil on my skin, which has a tendency to break out. If I used these and only these, I’d have perfect skin, apparently. Except the opposite happens - they both make it worse. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/67 "2010-03-10T15:32:35Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Did you actually think this was funny? No, not all. They were the only keystrokes that I had available at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/68 "2010-03-10T15:37:23Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > For the record, I just got a note from my client this morning–a job where I don’t wear makeup every day: > > "I just dropped [your boss] a note. You have been irreplaceable through the past few months of the instant surge of work and all the issues. I appreciate working with you, and do we ever need ya right now! > > Thanks for all you do to juggle things." > > Too bad I haven’t worn makeup to work for the last six years or I’d be seen as more professional and competent. It’s a known fact that impressions are formed within the first few seconds of meeting someone. It’s not shallow or ill-meaning, it’s just human nature. And most women look _better_ with makeup, thereby enhancing that first impression. Says nothing about anyone’s character or worth ethic. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/69 "2010-03-10T15:47:37Z")
I hear you, **badbad**. I was born with pale skin, platinum blonde hair - and brown, fairly thick eyebrows. :smack: My hair is dyed-red these days, and every eyebrow hair that pops out well under/around what I consider my approved brow line gets yanked out. > [@Audrey\_Levins](#): > > If anybody has any good eye cream suggestions please pass them along; I’m 31 and just now at that point where I think I should start using one…but there’s a billion out there and I’m confused. I’ve been using Target’s knockoff (their Up & Up line) of Olay’s night time eye cream; don’t recall the exact name of the top of my head, but I think it’s a knockoff from Olay’s Regenerist line. I use it to combat dry skin there - I went to an employee health fair at the hospital I work at, and put my face into a UV light box that Dermatology had there. I pride myself on staying out of the sun and wearing sunscreen when I’m out for long, but my face told a different tale. Pencil-eraser-sized spots all over my face, and the skin all around my eyes looked like I’d gone nuts with deep purple eyeshadow. The eyes were dry skin, and the spots were sun damage! They said that the skin around your eyes doesn’t produce much/any of its own natural oils, and that the spots were possibly left over damage from when I was a kid, or perhaps from my daily commute, where I stand or walk outside for over a half hour a day, and I’ve been doing that for years. Facial sunscreen moved from “wear this when outside a lot” to “wear this a lot!” I still look extremely young for my age, and I’m working to keep it that way! I’m 39 and long-time coworkers have been surprised to learn I’m over 30. Plus on a visit to my hometown to see a friend I’ve known since we were 5, she asked me to please tell her what moisturizers I’ve been using. Frankly, I think a good bit of it is genetics and luck, but I think sun protection/avoidance is really important. I have a sister-in-law who has gone to tanning salons and laid out in the sun most of her life, and these days with her dyed-platinum hair and wrinkled skin, she looks like a rather elderly woman rather than someone in her 50s. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/70 "2010-03-10T16:01:48Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Nothing makes you look more beautiful to a man than sucking his cock. > **Shhhh it may work.** Hey, **Czarcasm** : I thought this was funny! (I’m a straight woman, too.) And FWIF, the Other Shoe would :dubious: at pretty much this entire thread, but would I’m sure give an enthusiastic thumbs-up at a piece of beauty advice he can heartily endorse! But c’mon, man … it’s funny! (Also, I wanted to put it out there that I bought some biotin supplements after reading here yet \*another \*endorsement for the stuff. I was finally convinced.) ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/71 "2010-03-10T16:20:55Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I hear you, **badbad**. I was born with pale skin, platinum blonde hair - and brown, fairly thick eyebrows. :smack: My hair is dyed-red these days, and every eyebrow hair that pops out well under/around what I consider my approved brow line gets yanked out. I’ve given up on matching my eyebrows to my hair! They don’t match my natural color anyway, which is light/medium brown, so they don’t need to match whatever I dye it, either (also currently red). I inherited my dad’s eyebrows. Which I’m actually greatful for, since my mom has really skinny faint ones. I’d rather pluck or wax than pencil. > [@](#): > > Facial sunscreen moved from “wear this when outside a lot” to “wear this a lot!” > . I need to start doing this. I’ve had a hard time finding a facial sunscreen that doesn’t turn my face into a pimply oil-slick, but I finally did (Oil of Olay Complete Defense SPF 30 for sensitive skin), I just forget about it. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/72 "2010-03-10T16:57:21Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Bolding mine … I needed to pick up new shampoo and conditioner anyway, so on your recommendation I grabbed the Burt’s line for each. I’m used to paying bottom dollar for cheapie brands like Suave, so we’ll see if going a little more upscale than that is worth it. > > I do like the idea of using products with fewer artificial chemicals, so thanks for the recommendation. Doper ladies usually know their stuff. Just as a word of warning: it doesn’t lather as much as regular sulfate-full shampoo, but that doesn’t mean it’s not cleaning your hair – lather doesn’t clean anything, it just makes you think it does. So don’t be alarmed when you don’t get a big crown of suds. 🙂 Also, if you live in an area with hard water (here’s a [map](http://www.goodwaterco.com/watereducation/hardWaterMap.htm)), vinegar rinses are a good idea once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/73 "2010-03-10T17:06:56Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > Also, if you live in an area with hard water (here’s a [map](http://www.goodwaterco.com/watereducation/hardWaterMap.htm)), vinegar rinses are a good idea once in a while. Another bit of good beauty advice - IIRC it was the semi-recent “ask the stylist” thread in MPSIMS which said that vinegar rinse can strip out dyed color. And I live in a deep red area on the map around the Chicago area. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/74 "2010-03-10T18:28:20Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > If your eyebrows met in the middle perhaps you’d “get” eyebrow waxing. Actually, they do, but my glasses frames cover that, so why bother? Of course, there are folks who think I’m hopeless for not wearing contacts or getting LASIK… > [@](#): > > Nice for you that yours naturally look awesome. If mine did I wouldn’t fuss with them. Brows meeting in the middle is actually pretty common with my ethnicity. I don’t see why I have to obliterate my ethnic features in order to please other people, but hey, if you feel differently more power to you. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/75 "2010-03-10T21:47:11Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > Use crystal nail files instead of emery boards because the crystal file cleanly files, not shreds your nails. I just started taking care of my nails, and this is the single most important thing I’ve learned (I started a thread on it, and got _great_ advice). For just $6, you can get a glass/crystal file that will last almost forever. Those drugstore $1 cheapies shred the bejesus out of your nails. A birth control pill + 2.5% benzoyl peroxide is the best solution for my acne. Friends of mine with “ethnic” skin like myself (black, Indian, hispanic, etc) have oily facial skin yet dry body skin, and have found that Retin-A, Differin, et al make them peel like crazy (even with the wait 20 minute after washing, pea sized, every third night start out). The pill is a blessing, and mild benzoyl peroxide is the icing on the cake. The [acne.org](http://acne.org) regimen is spot on - except for the fact the moisturizer lacks a sunscreen. Concealer with an spf. Just try it, you won’t possibly regret it. Heat your waxing strips with your straightening iron. It’s so much better than between your hands or the microwave. Just be sure to wipe the iron with a clean towel so it doesn’t get in your hair later. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/76 "2010-03-10T22:04:56Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > It’s a known fact that impressions are formed within the first few seconds of meeting someone. It’s not shallow or ill-meaning, it’s just human nature. And most women look _better_ with makeup, thereby enhancing that first impression. Says nothing about anyone’s character or worth ethic. And that’s why I wear makeup to the job interview, and maybe for the first few weeks at a new job. But once I establish my competence, I use that extra ten minutes in the morning for sleeping. And when I go out, _to meet new people_, I wear the makeup. Sit at a friend’s house watching movies and gnoshing on junk food? Probably not a makeup occasion. I totally understand that appearances matter and people make snap judgments based upon totally superficial things. Given that information, I make very careful choices about how I present myself taking time to play appropriately to my audience, consider social norms, taboos, the nature of the occasion/event/activity. For example, even if I was going to a blind date job interview on the beach, I _still_ wouldn’t wear makeup… because makeup at the beach looks ridiculous! ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/77 "2010-03-10T22:15:43Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > I like to straighten mine every now and again for fun. I love being able to brush it, and it’s fun to be kind of incognito for a couple of days (seriously, I’ve had people walk right by me with no recognition), but I can’t imagine spending an hour or more every day on my hair. Yeah, I’ve gotten mine straightened too, and it’s kind of neat for the first couple days. It’s like a nice little curtain of hair. And folks definitely do a double-take when they see it! It’d be tiresome to do every day, though. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/78 "2010-03-10T22:29:57Z")
> [@Maiira](#): > > Yeah, I’ve gotten mine straightened too, and it’s kind of neat for the first couple days. It’s like a nice little curtain of hair. And folks definitely do a double-take when they see it! It’d be tiresome to do every day, though. The grass is always greener I guess, because I’d love naturally curly hair. I permed it when I was younger. It was the 90’s, it was the cool thing to do 😃 Mine’s about as straight as humanly possible. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/79 "2010-03-11T04:34:35Z")
Stay with the times. Mix it up once in a while. I’m a trend setter by nature and love to try new things, change up things. I never wear my hair the same style for more than a year or two, change the color, follow clothing trends and wear colors that are flattering. I recently got a new hair cut and now two of my friends are sporting it. I wear shoes a year before they become popular with most people. Change is good and a new hairdo or a new look makes you stay young. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633/80 "2010-03-11T12:28:43Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I’ve been using Target’s knockoff (their Up & Up line) of Olay’s night time eye cream; don’t recall the exact name of the top of my head, but I think it’s a knockoff from Olay’s Regenerist line. The exact product name is “Eye Lifting Serum”; it comes in a 0.5 fl oz (15 ml) bottle with a pump top. You really only need a drop the size of a pearl or so. I also picked up their “Night Cream”, also an Olay knockoff. Jar, 1.7 oz (48 g), a fairly thick cream. Again, a little goes a long way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-whats-the-best-beauty-advice-youve-acquired-over-the-years/531633.md?page=5)