Morning Management: Is Your Beauty Routine Affecting Your Job?
(Editor's note: This post was originally published on Levo League.)
Have you ever waited for a man to get ready? Did you wait while he agonized over the perfect shoe or the perfect tie? Did he ask you how he looked, only to be unsatisfied with your answer before he promptly ran back to his bedroom to change? Here are a few things: it probably never happened, he may be a drag queen, and you know what I’m getting at.
Women take FOREVER to get ready. We don’t like leaving the house sans makeup or without our hair properly primped (thank god for top knots!). We have to know where we are going so we know how to dress, and years of What Not To Wear taught us to never shop in sweats (although I have no problem rockin’ some yoga pants).
Getting ready is a full-time job, and women are the CEOs. But amidst all the brunches, dinners, and cocktail parties, you have a little thing called your j-o-b. And if your beauty routine is anything like mine, it may be affecting your work performance. Is it time to downsize your beauty bag?
For a successful work day and thriving career, every morning every woman should:
Breathe and balance
Focus on the day and set a pace. Be grateful for the day and just breathe it in.
“The best way to start your professional day is with five minutes of calm breathing,” suggests Angie Schuller, author of God and Boobs: Balancing Faith and Sexuality. “This exercise improves both beauty and brains. Breathing relaxes facial muscles, decreases fine lines, and brightens eyes. It also helps us focus on the 1-2 items that matter most to a successful workday.”
Get prepared
Read your email with coffee or watch the news while you’re straightening your hair. Nothing is more impressive to a boss than an informed employee. In this tough economy, you need to look and know the part.
“Your attitude and mindset can make a beautiful day ugly,” warns Heather DeSantis, account coordinator at RMD Advertising. “I begin each day by listening to thought-leaders and positive-thinkers such as Tony Robbins or Zig Ziglar. I also spend a lot of time planning and visualizing my day, becoming so certain of my schedule that I am determined to get the results.”
Dress for success
“We are a visual society and are currently in a competitive job market,” says David Zyla, Emmy Award-winning stylist and author of Color Your Style. “Women want to look professional and pulled-together when going to work.”
When you’re winding down at night, decide what you want to wear the next day so you’re not frazzled in the morning. More importantly, know why you want to wear it. Power suit for a power meeting or casual lunch attire?
“No matter your profession, being appropriate for your workplace is of ultimate importance,” says Zyla. “The way that you show up for work each morning translates visually how you feel about your job, workplace, co-workers and even the history of your profession. To help shed some light on where you fall, ask yourself if you are showing up for work as a great representation of who you are and if you are accurately representing the company or service that you sell.”
Cut beauty corners
If you use the right hair color and focus on key areas of your face, you’ll spend less time and money on makeup, says Vicky Oliver, author of The Millionaire’s Handbook: How to Look and Act like a Millionaire, Even if You’re Not. She thinks it’s important to spend money on an eyebrow trim and experiment with combo products like moisturizer-suntan lotions to save yourself a few steps.
“But do spend time applying mascara,” Oliver says. “Always use fresh mascara (less than 2 months old). Dip the wand in quickly. Hold the wand on your eyelash a second longer than you have to and flick your wrist back and upwards (to give the lash a slight curl). Let dry then reapply once. For extra oomph, choose mascara in a shade that complements your eye color.”
Pack a beauty bag
“Dry shampoo,” suggests Leslie Ungar, communication and leadership coach at Electric Impulse Communications.
No matter how much we’d like to, we can’t always get out of the house on time. And for the days of oversleeping and nights of overindulging, we have, thankfully, dry shampoo to get pretty in a pinch.
“I honestly feel that with the right hair color and correct eyebrow line, a lot of the hard work is already done, and one’s beauty bag can consist of just a few items,” says Oliver. “Suntan protection of SPF of 30 or higher; a pre-base (lighter than a foundation and probably lets the skin breathe a little more); eye shadow (only to highlight the brow line); mascara (in a pretty, but subtle color to accentuate the eyes); lipstick; and a comb.”
And, ladies, can I get one more AMEN for top knots?