Beauty is often deemed to be in the eye of the beholder, but there are certain things we can do that add to our perception of beauty. In this article, we’re going to take a look at four key areas of appearance optimisation, focusing on the things that people notice most about you – such as your skin, your eyes, your smile and your body.
Of course, there are aspects such as how you style your hair and the clothes you wear that can optimise your appearance, but in this article, we’re looking at things that are internal to you rather than what you do to enhance your appearance, such as makeup.
YOUR SKIN
One of the most important aspects of aesthetic beauty, in most people’s opinion, is to have young, radiant, firm and glowing skin. Unfortunately, it is a scientific fact that you will age – and no matter what creams you use or cosmetic surgical operations you endure, there is no getting away from aging skin.
At the most extreme end you could consider cosmetic surgery and a variety of non-surgical facial enhancing procedures, or, perhaps a better way is to nurture your skin with natural products such as aloe vera, aromatherapy oils, and nutrient rich moisturising oils such as jojoba and coconut.
One of the most overlooked aspects of keeping healthy skin, however, is to consider the naturopathic view that your skin is an external reflection of your internal biosphere; a good example to highlight this is to consider the skin condition ‘psoriasis’ which is often a stress response to an emotional trigger or event. You need to keep an eye on your nutrition. There are plenty of foods that feed your skin; many of which are tasty and inexpensive.
YOUR EYES
Eyes are often referred to as the ‘windows to your soul’ – this is the place people go to “connect” with you on an emotional level. Radiant and refreshed sparkling eyes would subconsciously infer a happy, radiant and bright personality resides behind the mask that is your face… whereas tired, aggravated red eyes, with dark circles around them could make someone subconsciously associate this with a more lethargic, depleted, and down in the dumps type of personality.
There are many natural ways to keep your eyes looking refreshed, one of the most simple is to ensure you give your eyes the chance to relax throughout the day, simply by averting your gaze from a screen (of any description), closing your eyes, and placing your hands over your eyes in order to fully block out the light for a few minutes.
Another popular technique is to place chilled cucumber or cold tea bags over your eyes in order to reduce puffiness. The best approach is to place two chamomile or green tea bags in hot water for one minute (just enough time to release the antioxidants and tannins) then refrigerate the tea bags for ten minutes – putting them on your eyes for around fifteen minutes.
Lastly, when it comes to your eyes, a lot of people that suffer with poor eyesight tend to struggle without glasses on the basis they feel that wearing glasses will detract from their attractiveness. Of course, this doesn’t have to be the case, as there are many cool frame designs available today, but if glasses aren’t for you there’s always the option of Bausch & Lomb Ultra contact lenses, that you can receive on a monthly basis.
YOUR SMILE
Dental hygiene is an absolute priority in terms of making the most out of your appearance. The entirely preventable issue of losing teeth or having several fillings is something we often don’t start taking full care of until it’s too late, however, keeping a healthy and attractive smile is easy to maintain.
Several factors cause teeth to lose their whiteness; in particular, foods such as red wine stain the enamel and plaque naturally builds up on your teeth, which causes them to look yellow. The most important advice is to regularly visit a dental hygienist who will remove the plaque that builds up on and around your teeth in a much deeper way than you can do yourself. There are, however, a number of preventative natural remedies you can use to whiten your teeth, such as oil pulling, apple cider vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and baking soda.
Oil pulling with coconut oil is a fashionable trend but it’s been around for hundreds of years – the simple process is to keep the coconut oil swirling around your mouth (by pushing the oil through your teeth with your tongue) for about fifteen minutes.
Apple cider vinegar is a natural disinfectant and the antibacterial properties make it good for keeping your mouth clean. The best option is to use it as a mouthwash – diluted with a little water; though some people will put it on their toothbrush after their normal brushing.
Baking soda is a natural whitener used in many toothpastes due to its incredibly ability to whiten teeth (in the same way it’s used in washing machines to whiten sheets). The best way to use it is to make a paste with one teaspoon of baking soda and two teaspoons of water.
YOUR BODY
There’s few things more noticeable about a person than their physique. Of course, the clothes we wear can compliment our body type, or not, but fundamentally if you don’t feel confident about the way your body is – it will have a huge impact on how other people perceive you in terms of attractiveness.
Have you ever noticed how some people can be very curvaceous, even overweight, but exude a certain body confidence that comes from a place of self acceptance and self love. See, you don’t need to get to the gym and shed the pounds – unless that’s what you feel you need to do in order to be attractive and feel good about yourself.
The point is, your body is an external representation of your internal world, and people will judge you on this aspect more than most other aspects, as it’s the one you have the most control over.
