Grooming: From Low Maintenance to High Maintenance

[Rita Von Tess]

Good Dry Cleaner in the Bay Area

chanteuseCarey, I live in San Jose as well, and love to buy vintage dresses. But I am always afraid to give them to the local dry cleaner because they don't seem to understand the difference between vintage and modern clothing. Sometimes they will not even take something because they don't know what to do with it.

I would love to know where you take your clothes. Is it in San Mateo by chance?

Thank you.

 

[Elaina]

I style and cut my hair with what it wants to do. The gal from Chocolat is my usual cut (long layered bob) and then I style it like Marilyn Monroe's mid-length mostly because it'll do that almost naturally. I wash and set it once a week, generally I do it on Thursday night because it's done for the weekend, and by the end of it, I have 60s hair, but it's still styled. I also have very dry hair, and can go that long without my hair being nasty and I use Prell all in one to wash it. I do bathe daily, and other necessaries are handled at that time.

Wednesdays I do my nails. If I go to the salon, they do it, but more often I do my own. I touch these up on Friday and Sat. afternoons so they're also nice for the weekend. I also paint under the tips, which helps with wear to them, and I wear a fairly neutral shade. I do my toes at the same time.

Every night while I sit on the net, I file my feet then I rub in lotion onto my hands and feet, and wear gloves and socks I have for this purpose. I don't sleep in them, but have them on for a good 2-3 hours. I also apply a tanning style lotion to my legs, and lotion to my arms, elbows, and decolletage. Somewhere in the middle of this, I also apply moisturizer as well.

I am really lazy about my clothes. I generally only wash them once every couple of weeks or so, but I only wear them once. I iron and hang them all on one day, and I generally do my aprons then too. Stains are treated immediately, however.

Makeup takes me about 10 minutes for a daytime look, if I'm really not in a hurry, generally it's about 5. I've worn the same makeup since I was a teenager (base, powder, eyebrow pencil, purple and ecru eyeshadow, black liquid liner, mascara, lip pencil, lipstick) and I have it down to an art. Nighttime looks takes slightly longer, since I tend to overdose on eye shadows then (smoky eye), as does it when my eyelashes are broken off and I have to wear false ones. Makeup never takes more then 20 minutes tops. I hate messing with it. I upkeep my eyebrows as needed then, which isn't too much anymore.

Styling takes about 20 minutes if I have to really fuss. Most of the time I tease the front and other side and spray and pull the side out with a comb to wave a magazine to set it. Since I have a cowlick in the bangs where I need the part and on the side, it's just a basic shaping. Mild teasing everywhere else generally sets the rest of it, and I fingercomb it into place. On the 4-6th day I usually have to style it more then I do the first 3. (Those days I do the crown height.)

Generally, I can be out of my house for work in about 30 minutes. On a date, it takes about an hour.

 

[Fräulein U.]

I've always been high maintenance I guess. As a kid I wanted to be a princess and loved wearing pretty dresses, as a teenager I took an hour to get ready in the bathroom every morning and drove my family nuts. Tried to dress down for a while for boyfriends who were ashamed of me standing out from the rural crowd we came from and hated it.

Today I embrace being high maintenance. I just enjoy fussing with my looks, vintage or no. I can be out the house in half an hour if I need to, but I usually schedule more time because I like the art of dressing up and doing my makeup and hair. Other people paint or sculpt or arrange flowers for a hobby, grooming for the sake of it is just a different way of creating something pretty.

 

[geekgirl]

I'm low maintenance but still like to look well put together & polished.

What I have ended up doing is finding ways to minimize the time spent in looking good. This lets me still be the laid back person that I am without looking like I just rolled out of bed all the time.

The 2 ways I've managed this: professional help & multi-tasking.

Every 2 weeks I have my nails done professionally. We use a sheer, natural color (unless I have a special event to attend). This way any chips or smudges aren't as noticeable. If they start to look poor during the interim week, I just strip the color off, toss on a coat of clear (or not) & wait for the next appointment. I always have my appointment Thursday or Friday, that way my nails look nicest over the weekend when I'm more likely to be dressing up.

Every month I have a pedicure. This is just my special thing for me. My feet are always cold & the luxury of having them soaked in hot water, rubbed, scrubbed & all feel fantastic. I generally pick a bright, fun color for my toes because the color lasts & they are less likely to be seen if they get messed up.

Every 6 weeks I have my eyebrows waxed. I get a nice, natural shape & in between appointments don't even touch them! At those same appointments I have my brows & lashes tinted. This has been a saving grace for my mornings. I'm blond, so even though I have long lashes & full brows, without the tint you can't even see them. I no longer have to put on mascara in the mornings or worry about my invisible brows.

I don't wear other make-up unless I'm going out on the town, which really saves a ton of time. Just a quick wipe with a warm wash cloth in the morning & a little moisturizer. I apply a shea butter lip balm every night after taking my medication so that I don't have to worry about remembering balm during the day yet my lips stay nice & chap free.

I am a master at doing lots of things at once too. So while I'm in the shower I do both a face mask & a hair mask. I start the shower with those so that they are getting their "sitting time" while I do all the other little shower things like exfoliating & shaving. Then at the end of the shower I rinse everything off & no time was wasted standing around.

For my hair I've worked out a routine where I get 3 days from a single set. Monday is "best hair ever" day, Tuesday is ok but sometimes I pull the sides back for disguise & by Wednesday I usually wear it pulled back in a pony tail, scarf or hat so that less of the mess is noticeable. Thursdays I shower in the morning & leave my hair straight. That gets me through work for the week. Fridays depend on if I'm going out that night or not. If I am I will shower in the morning, set my hair & let it dry while going about my weekly house cleaning routine. If not then I leave my hair as it was Thursday, tie it back Saturday & cover it on Sunday until my evening shower & setting for Monday again.

I've even multi-tasked my wardrobe. Everything is in a pretty similar color pallet of red, orange & blue. I try to keep the prints to black or tan base so when in doubt I can wear them with plain black or brown pieces. I tend to like prints that have 2 or more colors in addition to their base color too, which gives me more than one option for matching (works really well when those accent colors are ones I already have in the closet). I also try to think about the pieces I already have when looking at new items & purchase only what I know will go with things I already have.

All in all I'm able to stay true to my low maintenance personality, while still looking neat & vintage.

Chole

 

[Grnidwitch]

GG, you have got it down. Way to go.