6 Tips to Make You Look More Put Together

I have to confess something: I’m a little bit lazy. I tend to like quick solutions to things, and I like to find patterns so that I don’t have to spend a lot of time considering options, which is how I found a few quick tips to make me look more put together, even when I don’t want to spend a lot of time on my appearance.

If you’re like me, and you have days where you want to look good without putting a lot of effort, then continue reading!

1. Match your hardware

The first tip is easy to do if you plan ahead, but is something that can easily slip your mind, which is why it adds such a level of polish to any look.

Hardware is the metal part of any piece of clothing or accessory, and it looks so good when all of your hardware matches. But there are a few different color options for hardware, which is why it sometimes requires a bit of forethought to get right.

The way that I get around this is that I chose 1 color to be my hardware color: gold. And whenever I’m considering an accessory or piece of clothing to add to my closet, if its hardware isn’t gold then I don’t get it. I’m very strict on this rule, which unfortunately has meant passing up some really cool finds, but it makes putting together an outfit so much easier.

2. Put on lip balm

Maybe it’s because of the climate I live in, or that I have dry skin in general, but my lips get chapped so quickly. I have put on lip balm at least once a day to prevent it. It’s such a small detail, but I find it really helps to subtly improve your appearance.

I personally prefer a tinted lip balm, because it also adds a bit of color to my lips, but go for whatever lip balm you like best!

3. Brush out your eyebrows

I have slightly thick and very dark eyebrows (I got made fun of in elementary school because of them) so I don’t really need to fill them in. But I have to admit, my eyebrows can be slightly unruly, so I do like to brush them out. This gives them more volume and also makes them a bit more controlled.

Even if you don’t have thick eyebrows, brushing them out a bit can help make you look more polished and intentional with your look.

4. Match your bag/belt/shoes

Like matching your hardware, matching your bag, belt, and shoes can sometimes take a bit of planning ahead of time, but my goodness it adds a je ne sais quoi to your outfit!

Since bags, belts, and shoes often have hardware, remember to match them together, but also try to match the main colors of all the pieces together. For example: if you have a black bag with gold hardware, match it with a black belt with gold hardware and black shoes.

5. Style your hair

Styling your hair doesn’t have to be an elaborate thing, and you don’t even have to put your hair up if you don’t want to. Doing something as simple as putting in a cute hair clip or putting on a headband can make it look like you put way more effort into your look than you actually did!

6. Be confident!

Lastly, confidence really changes things. You can tell if someone’s a confident person based on how they walk, how they talk, how they carry themselves, and confidence immediately makes it look like you know what you’re doing. And when you carry yourself with confidence your whole appearance looks just that much more polished. Think of the runway models who can sell you on an outfit just because of how powerfully they walk while wearing it. That’s the power of confidence.

So how do you feel more confident about your appearance? I have three tricks that I use:

1. Listen to uplifting music while getting dressed, putting on makeup, etc. Any song that makes you feel happy and alive and makes you want to dance will be perfect for this! It puts you into a good mood, which will in turn make you feel good about your outfit or your makeup or your overall appearance.
2. Compliment yourself whenever your see your reflection. Every. Single. Time. Seriously, from here on out I’m challenging you to give yourself a compliment every time you see your reflection.
3. Lastly, get used to how you look. When I was younger I would shy away from cameras (and sometimes mirrors), because I didn’t understand the way that I looked. I had this image in my head of what I looked like and that image just did not match up with the image of myself in pictures or even what my reflection in the mirror looked like. So I challenged myself to spend more time seeing what I actually looked like, and then my idea of what I look like and what I actually look like began to slowly coalesce. (Although admittedly getting jaw surgery messed this up a little bit.)

So those are my tricks! Do you have any tricks for looking put together? Let me know in the comments!

– Rebekah ❤