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Return to Glamour Land

I am going back to New York for a visit in a month and I must say I am terrified.  Why terrified you ask?  A friend suggested that I read this article in the Times called What it feels like having a Manhattan makeover, so now I am terrified. Ok, I am not terrified, just a bit nervous.

In a nutshell,  it is the story of a frumpy British girl that turns into a glamazon while living in New York.  I lived in Manhattan from the time I left home to go to college at age 18 until I moved to London, when I was quite a bit older.  Let’s say I left my twenties in NYC.

I was not really a true glamazon when I lived there as it was before the whole size zero thing and Sex and the City but I was a lot more glamorous than I am now. I think London has given me a make-under.

My beloved and I are going back to the homeland for a visit and possibly an engagement party which means seeing people that remember when I was on the right side of polished. Therefore, it is battle stations for me. How do you do a re-glamorization on a budget?  You get a little help from your friends.

My first port of call was Twitter, where I found Groupon  and Wahanda which are both fantastic resources for spa deals so I booked a facial treatment at a wonderful 65% discount from Groupon and a stress freeing massage from Wahanda at 71% discount.  What is better then that? The prices made the whole trying to be a glamazon, a lot more affordable.

My next step was to dig out my old teeth whitening trays and ordered some more whitening goop off Ebay.  I must say this whitening malarkey has gotten a lot less expensive than it was 10 years ago.

The tail end of my makeover is about scheduling – I have started sewing class with the plan to make two dresses before I go so I will be suitably dressed.  I have cleared my evenings to work on sewing projects and to put anything I can on Ebay to raise extra spending money.

And for the final touches – I have made my hair and nail appointments for the day before I go, which means I might be looking a bit shaggy with large roots in the up coming weeks.

I am hoping that after all this work I will not let myself slide back into being a wee bit sloppy, as opposed to the super groomed NYC gal I am on the inside. I have found that there are quite a few ways to be well groomed on the less expensive side, if you look for them.

Do you have any tips on getting the well groomed look on the cheap?  Please leave me a comment or drop me an email. Sorry if this post is a bit London/UK centric but I don’t really know about deals elsewhere.  If you know of some other amazing deals, give me a shout and I will write a post about them.

4 thoughts on “Return to Glamour Land”

  1. No deals I’m afraid but your post made me smile..it’s always ok when I go to New York because I’m just a messy british tourist and I don’t need to meet up with people..lol, but I do get my hair done before going.

    What about feet..always my concern when going on hols…it’ll be sandal weather 🙂

    you must tell me about this teeth gloop on eBay!

  2. Thanks for commenting! I am going to get my feet done when I do my nails. Pedicures are the one thing that I still maintain from my beauty routine in NY. I am lucky to have found a great place in the Goldhawk Road that is not too expensive and the people are super nice.

    As for the teeth gloop – I had trays made in NY over ten years ago when bleaching was just catching on but my bleach had expired so I bought some on eBay for only £19.99.

  3. Hey Viv!

    First-things-first love the new blog look, very nice indeed! 🙂

    Secondly I have never been to NYC so I’m naturally very jealous 😛

    I have found the key to glamming up on a budget to be accessories. You can make your own or buy some online or in shops quite cheaply but I honestly believe they add that little bit of glamour to even the most casual of outfits 🙂 Also we seem to hoard accessories more than anything else so have a look at what you have and see if they will spice up any of your outfits

    Key items:

    – Sun glasses
    – Statement jewellery i.e. bold necklaces, earrings and statement rings
    – Belts
    – Bags/Clutches
    – Hats (for day looks)
    – Hair accessories

    Also try out new make up styles (tons of tutorials online) i’ve always found it to be a huge confidence booster and always scores high for me on the glam scale.

    Let me know how you get on 🙂 x

  4. Hi Rachael,

    Thanks for commenting. I always find NY more of a stealth wealth kind of place, where it is about having a good hair cut and being well groomed. Sort of a less is more. Vxx

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