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How to Dress and Choose the Best Make Up and Hair Style for a First Date

How to Dress and Choose the Best
Make Up and Hair Style for a First Date

First dates can be stressful. You want to look good, but you don't want to look like you spent the last 4 hours getting ready.  Here are some suggestions from a body language expert.
Here are tips and rules from how to do your make-up to choose your clothes and accessories that will make you look amazing without the overkill of an overly made up look. Think light, loose, and fresh in all your choices.

When you style your hair give it lift, body and shine. You want to keep your hair flowing and or touchable. Flowing loose hair is seen by men as sexy.

Don’t use hair spray, jell or products that make your hair look stiff or Helmut headed. If you have the right kind of hair do this trick -  flip your head over and brush downwards a few times and then flip your head back and toss your head a few times to make your hair look loose and free.

As tempting as it is to wear something tight and revealing, it can make you like you are trying too hard. A trick is to have only one item that would draw significant attention or draw a compliment.  If one item of clothing is a bit revealing like a short skirt, wear it with a top that isn’t revealing and vice versa.  Instead wear something that fits you well, as in the right size and or well-tailored.  

One way of looking extra fresh is to have one item of clothing that flows and is loose with one well-tailored or crisp well ironed item of clothing. The new Bohemian style also looks relaxed and young. Look for Lucky brand and Free People, or if they are too pricey, look at those brands and find something like it at Target or TJ Max or Marshals.

Jewelry and accessories like scarfs and hats and belts and showy shoes, should be thought of as each having a point value. For example, you would give a big chunky necklace 3 points so you would pair it with one point earrings.  You would give a high heeled showy color shoe three points so you would have less jewelry with low point. If you have big dangly earrings you would not wear a big necklace and a big shiny metallic or studded purse. Look in a long mirror before you leave your house and total the points and remove or tone down for a first date.

Make up- the recent trend in makeup is matt finish with very little color and heavy brows and liner. That’s great on a teenager but does not look fresh on anyone over 30.  A general rule for not overdone is choose one feature to stand out eye brow, eye shadow, eyeliner, lip, or cheek. So only one of those can be heavy or intense color so not to look overdone.
A makeup trick that is not the current make up trend, but does look fresh and dewy and not heavily made up is to use just bit of illuminator down the middle of the nose and on the cheekbones and a touch on the forehead. L’OrĂ©al Magic illuminator, NYK liquid illuminator, Stashbox photo finish under eye primer all work well. A fresh illuminating blush is NARs illuminator in a color called ORASAM.
Another general rule is not to wear a dark lipstick on a first date, instead put a bit of shine on the center of the bottom lip with a gooey lip gloss.


Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com. Also check out Patti's YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.