As random as the title sounds. Right now we are living in such a lonely, strange and hard world. Some of us are alone 24/7 and there isn’t much point in even getting fully dressed, let alone dress up. To be honest I haven’t worn a proper outfit in over 4 weeks! Even to film and work I wear pyjama bottoms. But you get so much out of dressing up and I guess in a way glow up! 

All this might sound weird to you. But with covid19 quarantine lockdown going on, our mental health is taking a huge hit every single day and potentially our physical health is too. Honestly we all need a little bit of normal in our lives right now. Our mental health is suffering massively and even today as I write this I know it has a play on how I feel. Looking after yourself makes a huge difference, and I am not just meaning your physical health. 

By dress up, you don’t necessarily have to go the full on dress up. This is purely to make you feel good. And trust me getting dressed some days are a struggle! Who am I trying to kid, I am dressed only from waist up most days. Oversized tees and pyjama bottoms are my go to and for walks or to collect my food shop I wear joggers. I never wear joggers, and really the only time I do is when I am off to have an operation.

I actually did this for my birthday the other week, for the first time in forever I straightened my hair. A little treat to myself. It felt so good to look good, see how long my hair had grown and feel good. No more frizzy wild hair. Simple things as much as doing my hair made me feel good about myself and life. Since then I have worn my hair down and straight several times. 

This weekend just gone actually, I spent 4 hours updating my balayage. I know we all gain grey hairs as we get older and I am for sure noticing the amount that is growing on my head of hair. It’s to be expected with the amount of trauma my body has gone through for the last 5 years. But I knew even with covid19 in the way, I had to colour my hair. Balayage from brunette to a caramel blonde, first time I have ever dyed my hair alone, and I am no hair dresser. It really lifted my spirits though and I feel so good from it. 

On Monday night, I had an early shower (5pm) and washed my hair. Used a lovely purple shampoo mask and sat in the shower for 10 minutes letting it work. For the first time in god knows how long, I took the time to dry my hair properly and then straighten it. Ready for the next day. Some how I felt amazing for my hair toning the right colour. The length of it and the way it looked. Whether it was the small change of hair colour, the early shower or everything but I got so much out of it. 

From luscious hair to a manicure. Nails aren’t lasting well obviously due to the amount we are washing our hands and using hand sanitiser. But it’s so nice to be typing away daily and noticing my perfectly painted nails. A little colour to the day I guess. May not last long but topping up and making yourself presentable and have the feel good factor. That is all self care. 

On Monday I looked in the mirror for the first time in ages and didn’t like what I saw. I don’t know it was like no effort was put in and another day at the home office. So it took about half hour into my working day and I was like no! Walked back into my bedroom and changed. Bra and all. Just by swapping bra, top and to pyjama shorts, it made me feel better in how I looked and felt. 

Every day I put basic makeup on because I am in meetings quite a lot and also to film videos etc. It’s nice to look normal. Sort of shows you put effort in, even if you literally rolled out of bed. Simple face cream, eyeliner and a bit of mascara. That is totally fine for me. Work haven’t seen me without makeup so I feel it would be odd for them to now see me without any. 

If you wanted you could totally go all out. Glamorous makeup look, going out clothes and everything. Party for one. What ever makes you feel better. I might actually do that get ready with me to go no where! Sounds fun right? Though times are really tough at the minute and everything isn’t normal, mentally we need to do our best to look after ourselves and feel good wherever we are. Put them heels on and go to the living room. 

This post isn’t meant to be about being amazing for others and really it isn’t. Fashion is my thing but we all buy and wear clothes that make us feel good. We want to be comfortable and look our best. Our mental health is valuable. For me I need to look good as its a cover for the bad endometriosis flare up days. I guess though I need to feel good for myself to be ok as well. Not for anyone else and who cares what others think of the way you dress etc. You just have to feel your best mentally and physically. 

Go look in the mirror now, look at yourself. Do you feel good? If no why? Tomorrow morning when you open your wardrobe up for something to wear, put on something nice, unusual and trust me it will be a better day. Maybe not go all out with an occasional dress but something nice, something you haven’t worn in a long while and do your hair and makeup. 

Do this for you, all day everyday. Steps if you need to. Start with painting your nails. Then your hair and on to your clothes. Then you will be able to concur the other struggles in your life right now.