There are probably thousands of interesting snippets that could be written under that title! Here are just six things, some of which my mother taught me, and that I have passed down to our girls..
How to walk in heels
You've probably seen how awful it can look when it's not done well - knees and body all bent, head bobbing up and down like a camel? Here is what my mother taught me about how to walk fabulously in high heels, that I have always found very helpful:
Two things:
First - you need to keep your knees fairly straight! Not both knees ramrod straight all the time, but as straight as you feasibly can. If you were to go and throw on some heels right now so you can try this, you are going to find that this is more or less impossible to do - unless you put a wiggle in your walk! No, not a wiggle like that, but a beautiful, womanly, gentle figure of eight, side to side sway - you have to comfortably move your hips from side to side as you walk. That's number
two. You'll find that you can glide along beautifully when you keep your knees straight and gently sway your hips - instead of badly bobbing.. There should be no bobbing up and down! Ideally, one seeks to glide! :) Keep your upper body straight too, head up and shoulders back.
One other tip here, also from my mother: You should always walk as if you are the most beautiful girl or woman in the world! 'You believe it, and then other people will probably believe it too!' she used to tell me. (You might find it helpful to sing 'The Girl From Ipanema'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHkv9BFBiyY to yourself too :)
Fight back if you are attacked!
Imagine that you have just started to drive when someone who was hidden in the back seat of your car suddenly holds a weapon on you and demands that you drive where-ever he tells you to go. What do you do?
(Well, first - always check the car and back seat before you get into the car! But, moving on..) You drive straight into a tree, or a shop, or a house, or whatever! Do it somewhere there are lots of people who will come running to see what has happened. In that situation, you have the driving wheel which means you have the power -so use it to your advantage, not his.
Even without the advantage of that situation, you should use whatever you have available to fight back for all you're worth. This makes it much more likely that your attacker will decide that he got more than he bargained for!
The most important thing to remember when anyone is attacking you is: they are always going to tell you to do something that will benefit them, not you - so don't do it! Fight back! Numerous studies have shown that your chances are much better is you fight back.
Protect yourself from the sun
http: media-cache.com
I was the girl slathered in coconut oil, laying out for as long as I could. And I have the sun and age-spots to prove it! I know you don't think you need to worry about the future too much right now. But one day you will wish you had, you really will. Sunscreen, hat, long sleeves, and staying out of the sun will ensure a much nicer skin as you get older.
Don't over-pluck your eyebrows!
Eyebrow hairs do grow back when you pluck them - until they don't. So be very careful about ever plucking more than just the stray hairs, or you may find yourself in a needier relationship with an eyebrow pencil than you planned! Many girls thirty years ago over-plucked their eyebrows, as was the fashion at the time - but they are the older woman you see about now with pencilled in brows.
Eyebrows can change the whole look of your face so much, so it's important to be careful about how you groom them.
This is a good page to refer to if you would like to know more. The photograph of Jennifer Connelly, below, is a good example of how well-groomed bushier brows enhance her beauty.
How to reduce static cling
courtney-watkins.com
This is a simple little tip, and I know that girls don't wear dresses as much as they used to, but for those times when your dress is getting too clingy for comfort, there are a couple of solutions. You can tip a small amount of fabric softener into your hands, then run it over your legs, or use body moisturizer in the same way. Quickly slathering on a bit a moisturizer is generally the easiest way to go. Works like a dream!
(To reduce static cling in your laundry loads you can try one or each of these three ideas, which apparently all work very well: use 1/4 cup of white vinegar in your final rinse (there's no smell apparently); use a couple of wadded-up balls of aluminum foil in the dryer (works, but not perfectly); use a couple of safety pins in the wash, attached to an odd sock. This is supposed to attract the static and I've read that it works brilliantly :)
Avoid germs when out and about
BC (before children), I was a nurse, so I think I imbibed some careful ideas about how to avoid germs when possible from that now long-ago training. I don't think that all germs are bad, or that you need to be obsessive, but it seems to me that a common-sense approach is useful.
Mostly, avoid touching public rest room and toilet doors, and staircase rails, etc, with your palms. When entering through public doors, it's good to be in the habit of pushing the door open with the back of your hand. If you want to hold the rail of a stair or escalator, turn your hand over so that only the back of your hand touches the rail, or preferably your sleeve. The reason for this is that you are more likely to touch your face and transfer germs from your palms and fingers than from the back of your hand. It's a little thing, but probably helps you to avoid getting sick sometimes. It's a good idea to wash your hands when you get home from being out in public too, more if there seems to be a lot of sickness around.
www.fabafterfifty.co.uk
Do you have anything that you are happy to share, in the way of tips we would all like to know? :)
