Personal Rebranding for Professional Females - The Finishing Touches by Sue Courtney

You want to be taken seriously as a contender for promotion or a new job - but do you take yourself seriously and treat yourself well?

Do you drink at least eight glases of water a day, ensure you have sifficient good quality sleep each night and eat high quality, nutritious food with plenty of whole grains, fruit and vegetables?

If so - great. If not - now is the time to start. Think 'extreme self care'.

You need to become your own best friend and indulge yourself with beauty treatments - either from a professional or at home. Not only will you present a more polished image, but you will also feel more confident. Some ideas to try are:

• manicure
• pedicure
• facial
• massage
• spa day

Set aside some time every week for a few of these. Make it an event, whether you do it yourself at home or have a professional treatment. Think of it as essential pamper time.

Hair
Top stylist Helen Kewell advises that you should have your hair cut regularly to maintain its style and that you always use a conditioner. She says a sleek bob always looks well-groomed and flatters most face shapes.

Use subtle colour to highlight and make the most of your natural hair colour with the addition of highlights and lowlights to add depth and interest and give your hair a healthy shine. If your style needs regular straightening then be sure to factor in the time to do this so you always look your best.

Preparing for an interview
Hair
Helen Kewell suggests having a professional blow-dry session a few hours before a job interview.

Nails
Top manicurist, Chloe Hitchman, advises keeping nails quite short and having a weekly manicure. Always use a base coat to protect your nails from the colour and smooth any ridges, and a top coat to protect the colour from chips. A neutral shade works best as it won't clash with anything you are wearing or take attention from your work, your words or your well chosen outfit and accessories. You can always up the 'glam-factor' with colour for evenings and weekends.

Make-up
Rosalyn Bristow, Senior Independent Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay Cosmetics, gives this advice...
"I bet you have taken loads of time to present yourself and your skills well in your CV, and I am pretty sure you have every intention of preparing thoroughly for those all important interview questions.

"So you will want to take the same amount of care and attention with your appearance in order to give the best impression possible and convince them what a great asset you would be in the job.

"Just as you would adapt your style of dress for the occasion, your make-up and personal grooming needs to be subtle, conservative and not distracting. The interview is about letting your abilities and capabilities shine through - not about how glamorous you can look.

"Start caring for your skin and practice a natural, every day make-up well before the interview arrives. You don't need the pressure of feeling uncomfortable and unsure about your make-up on the interview day, you just want the make-up to enhance your features and your confidence.

"If you are already used to feeling and looking successful, your interview day will be a cinch!"

*Start usine a skincare regime and make sure your skin looks and feels great and provides a god canvas for your foundation.

The five basic steps of skincare are:

1. Cleanse
2. Exfoliate
3. Tone
4. Moisturise
5. Protect

Follow these steps to keep your skin in great shape. A good skincare programme will allow your skin to look healthy and will enable the foundation you choose to sit on your skin without any flakiness caused by dryness.

* Have your foundation shade matched professionally and get used to wearing and feeling good in it. Therre are many different types of foundation but for an interview, chose something natural and fresh.

*Make sure your eyebrows are trimmed and defined with an eyebrow pencil that matches your hair colour.

*Use muted browns, taupes and greys on the eyes to create a natural, understated look. Get tuition on how to apply natural looking eye make-up. use a subtle eyeliner such as taupe and lash-defining mascara. Avoid mascara that leaves clumps or looks heavy.

*Use a soft, natural-looking blusher from the apple of the cheek to the top of the ear, just to give a healthy appearance (avoid bronzers or heavy, dramatic shades.)

*Keep lips in good order by using lip treatments regularly and use matte, mid-tone dusty pink or soft peachy lip colour. Avoid lip glosses and frosted or dramatic shades.

*Avoid fragrances as these are distracting - you are not on a date!

*Keep hands looking nice by regularly using a good hand treatment.

*Have your nails well trimmed and shaped and use a subtle colour or French Manicure Treatment.
Ros can be contacted at rosbristow@gmail.com


Top Tip
Keep the finishing touches subtle and neutral.

Copyright - 2011, Sue Courtney, Success & Image Ltd. All rights reserved.

Excerpted from "The Ultimate Guide to Personal Rebranding for Professional Females Climbing the Corporate Ladder" by Sue Courtney

To receive your FREE copy of the booklet please go to http://www.freepersonalrebrandingbook.co.uk/