Sexy Beast

It's amazing how one piece of clothing or some lip gloss or a bad hair day can make me feel like a completely different person. I've been enjoying the new job "fashion show" these past two weeks. You know, where no one has seen any of your clothes before so every day is a new and exciting outfit. After about two weeks you have to start pulling out the repeats and then it's just not as fun. Everyone at work has been very complimentary of me and my outfits and shoes and even my perfume. It's been quite a self-esteem booster but also a clean slate. I'm like a mysterious creature that they've yet to figure out. I've noticed, though, how much one thing can make a difference in how I'm feeling on any particular day.

For instance, when I have on some really hot shoes I just feel hotter and I step lighter and I get a little strut going. It makes my posture better, I keep my head up and make eye contact with people and I smile at them. Isn't it silly how a pair of shoes can do so much to improve my day? I guess that's why I love them so much. It's like Prozac without a prescription.

I've never been a lipstick person but, like shoes, I'm seriously addicted to lip gloss. I have two favorites that I like to alternate between. It's ridiculous but the lip gloss makes me feel sexy. I slick it on and all of a sudden I'm like an Olsen twin doing the duck-lip-pursing thing. Like I've suddenly traded lips with Angelina Jolie. I know they are still my lips but until I look in a mirror, it's all about the state of mind that the lip gloss provides.

There is a down side to letting how I look or what I wear define my mood though. When something doesn't work, like an ill-fitting outfit or a bad hair day, it can make me feel rotten. I've had many bad hair days in the past so it's not like they are anything new for me. But, when I'm trying to make a good impression and prove to all these new people that I'm hot, a bad hair day is not a good thing for me. I had one of those days this week. I don't know why but I tend to overcompensate for a bad hair day by using more hair spray. I do it with blush too but that's a whole other blog. I've been an admitted hair spray addict in the past and I've been trying really hard to put the can down and back slowly out of the bathroom. But when a bad hair day strikes, that can always seems to find it's way back into my hands. Unfortunately, too much hair spray usually leaves me looking like a deranged Carol Seaver from Growing Pains. It's a very crispy look- not hot.

As I get older, I think I'm working out the quirks. All the magazines I've read and all the makeover shows I've watched are slowly teaching me what works for my body and my curly hair. I'm experimenting with new products and cuts and fabrics. Maybe by the time I'm thirty I'll have it all figured out. Maybe I'll at least have the presence of mind to use the hair spray sparingly. Do they have a 12 step program for that? Hi, my name is Tricia and I'm a hair sprayaholic...