I had a blind date sprung on me recently and I found myself in an unenviable position of going “Uh oh… what do I wear? How do I look?” Since it was dinner on a weekend, I found myself with time to work out my look and I thought I’d share my thoughts based on this and other previous experiences. Keep reading because there’s also a Giveaway at the end of this post! 🙂
Where to go?
If its dinner that’s planned, try to arrange for a restaurant that you have been to. There is nothing more stressful than wondering what to eat at a new restaurant with someone you barely know! Try to aim also for a restaurant with slightly dimmer lighting (but not so dim you can barely see) and one that’s popular but not overcrowded so you don’t feel rushed, yet if the date isn’t up to par, you aren’t caught in an awkward situation with only 2 of you present. Dimmer lighting is also more flattering 😛
What to wear?
I always wear something comfortable. Skirts or pants don’t matter in this day and age to me, although skirts and dresses are more feminine. However much depends on the image you want to project. I opted for a pair of comfortable black wide-legged slacks and a shimmery blue satin top, knowing of course that this bright shade of blue is a flattering colour on me! 😉 I may be conservative but I don’t like showing off too much skin on a first date, so I kept my outfit subtle. I topped it off with a roomy clutch to carry my essentials since I was driving – I never believe in getting picked up on a blind date!
What about shoes?
Wear a comfortable pair of shoes. Don’t try to be adventurous and wear that new pair of slinky heels. You might risk getting a blister and hobbling in front of your date isn’t flattering to you!
What makeup?
For blind date or first date makeup, I always prefer going with a more muted look. Much depends again on whether you know the person or not. If you don’t, a deep smokey eye might scare him off! So, this is the look I went for:-
Face: I kept the face softly luminous, using Maybelline Angelfit powder foundation lightly over concealer and then dusting my favourite highlighter lightly over the face. Under dim lighting, using highlighter will give a softer more radiant look. If you have an angular face, this trick helps soften the edges and highlight cheek bones.
Eyes: I don’t do smokey eyes very well, so I did not. If you are good at doing a smokey eye look, then by all means do it because it spells sexy! However, “sexy” wasn’t quite what I was aiming for on this first blind date, so I compromised. I used my favourite grey and silver for an evening look that wasn’t too dramatic.
Finally, open your eyes with mascara. I used Maybelline Volume Express mascara in Black which a friend had told me is comparable to any high end volume mascara! This was the only new item I tried in my arsenal, and boy! was she right!! I will have to do a separate post on the comparison soon. I used 2 coats of mascara on curled lashes and va-va-voom! What a difference mascara makes!
Cheeks: I kept the cheeks toned down with a light pink blush because I planned to play up my lips! All I went for was a blush of colour, nothing strong.
Lips: Since I’d kept my eyes and cheeks relatively light, I played up my lips with a red lipstick- one of my favourite lip colours (and because I know that red lipstick suits me!). I had a bit of a problem initially, because my lips were feeling a little dry and flakies were showing. However, I remembered that the Maybelline Water Shine 3D Collagen lipstick (my latest lipstick love!) with its water and aqua-collagen ingredients promised moisturized, soft and smooth lips so I went for that one. I chose the brightest red shade in 301, which was a bright red yet sheer enough not to look over done and pigmented enough to impart a lovely colour on the lips. I work best with slightly warm colours and 301 has warm tones and the colour really brightened up my face. The beauty with sheer lip colours is that you can wear bright colours like red which you may not usually try. I personally love red for lips – the brighter the better; and the more glamorous I look and feel!
I don’t quite like using gloss and from previous experience, having lip gloss slathered over your drinking glass is not very impressive on a first date (at least that’s what I thought!) At least with the Water Shine 3D Collagen, I could have shiny lips without the goop of lip gloss. Even better, the new shine lock and release formula of Water Shine 3D Collagen allows shine to be reactivated by pressing lips together thus extending shine over time. In everyday speak, that means less touchups! Of course, if you love lipgloss, then by all means, use it for the high shine and gloss it offers.
Spritz a light perfume and voila! You’re done! At least I was. 🙂
Have Fun!
Unfortunately, at the end of the day, my blind date did not go all that well… boo! But hey! At least I knew that I was looking good! 😀 Do you have more tips for getting ready for a blind date or first date?
GIVEAWAY TIME!!
In line with my previous post on the new Maybelline Water Shine 3D Collagen lipstick, I’ve worked something out with Maybelline for you dear readers – A Giveaway! 😀
The prizes are:-
- 1 GRAND PRIZE of a Water Shine 3D Collagen lipstick and 1 signature mascara + a mystery item
- 4 Consolation Prizes of a Water Shine 3D Collagen lipstick
So, we are going to have 5 winners this time round! Woohoo! 😀
To qualify, simply answer these 2 questions:-
- What was the lipstick I used in my makeup above?
- Tell us your most interesting blind date or first date story or Tell us your tips for getting ready for a blind date or first date.
Please leave your answers in the comments box below. No Emails this time.
To have more reader participation, I will get some carefully chosen judges to shortlist 8 potential winners and you, the readers will then vote for the best 5 entries in an upcoming poll. Sounds good to you?
Some simple basic terms:
- As with previous giveaways, each person is entitled to only 1 entry so please only leave one comment.
- Please keep it clean and wholesome fun.
- Contest is (unfortunately) only applicable for those with a Malaysian mailing address. Sorry international readers!
- Contest will run until 12 noon 8 August 2008 and comments will be closed after that. The shortlisted 8 entries will be announced on 11 August and the winner announcement will be made on 18 August 2008.
- Unlike previous giveaways, this one is open to everyone regardless of whether you have won anything before or not!
- Want to win? Tell your family and friends – the more the merrier! Have fun!
- Subscribe for email alerts (see sidebar) or subscribe in an RSS feed reader (click on the Subscribe button) for upcoming updates!
ooh i think thats the first pic i’ve seen of you 🙂 I like the whole look you put together, very flattering and perfect for a blind date.
Oooh…first time seeing Paris! Nice look!
I am so excited to see a photo of you!!! Is that you??? LOL Sorry I can’t help commenting!!! and I am so darn excited of your blind date! I want details details details! Love the look!!! Love the lippie on you!
Hi Paris, I want to enter the contest. 🙂 do i put the answer/story in the comments section or do i send an email to you?
OMG, you finally put up a picture of yourself!!!! 😀
Very nice look indeed 😉
eliz : Please use the comments box. Thank you.
eyy 1st time seeing PB too.. 🙂 hehe. you looked gorgeous.
me trying to answer the questions:
1. Maybelline Water Shine 3D Collagen lipstick shade 301.
2. My one and only blind date was with a guy i knew and met on the internet for about 1 month. It was still considered as blind date because we never exchanged any photos of us. so until that date, our faces were remained mystery.. 🙂 We decided to have dinner and watch movie afterward. We also decided to keep it casual, so I didnt prepare much things.. but no girls who wants to look ugly in front of a guy, rite? so what i did were, put on a bit of make up (i didnt want to scare him because of my make up hehe), i fell for soft and nude colour of make up. I only wore a [bit] feminine blouse with skinny jeans and comfy kitten heels. I kept it simple yet still impressed him.. ^^
1. Maybelline Water Shine 3D Collagen lipstick in 301
2. My worst blind date experience went like this:
Me: so what are your hobbies?
Him: umm.. I don’t really have hobbies. Don’t particularly like anything much.
Me: oh.. then do you listen to music? what music do you like?
Him: Don’t really listen to music. Just sometimes have the radio on when i’m driving. Don’t really know what I’m listening to.
Me: okay. How about books? Do you read anything?
Him: Not really.
Me: sure sure.. (desperately grasping for topic) Movies.. How about movies? everyone loves to watch movies..
Him: weeell……
(end of date)
1. Maybelline Water Shine 3D Collagen
2. Will tell you abit about what happened on the first date with my current bf. Well, it started off when both of us was just bored sitting at home without needing to work on the day itself. Half way chatting thru, we thought maybe we should plan a meet up after knowing each other for such a long time over the internet. (mind you, he’s my senior at highschool, but we never came by to chat with each other until the day he added me in friendster and msn last year) and I spontaneously suggest that we should go for a movie, and to be fair to each other, we planned the ‘first date’ at midvalley (althou i still think that he should have be a gentleman and drive all the way to subang jaya,lol) I was so nervous and was being indecisive over the clothes I should be wearing. After so much consideration, I decided off with simple baby-t and a jeans with just a bit of make up on my eyes. And of course, I was late. He recognised me immediately when he saw me, and I was so nervous and felt awkward that my hands are sweating, and I was trying to be cool and joke the way out of the situation and off we went for a movie and dinner after that. Before I realise, we were chatting non-stop about everything under the sun. It’s like a instant click chemistry thing happened between us. Talking about what happened on tht day itself makes us laugh till today. After a few movie meet ups and dinner, we decided to give this relationship a go and here we are today planning out our future and learn to love each other much more each day.
Nikki : Heh… its as close to being me as possible 😉 It was a bit of a disaster.. nothing much to tell except how good I thought I looked hehe…
sesame : Thanks Sesame!
blu3 : Thank you!!
oooo Paris… Must have been a liberating date to induce the first pic 😉 love the 301! I use it too! Gorgeous right sigh
hey you have changed your hair since I last saw you and your brows are different too. love the look. i’d be scared of a blind date. you brave girl!
awwww, I would love more details! hahaha i am being *kepo* and you have my email addy! LOL
1. Maybelline Water Shine 3D Collagen lipstick in 301
2. This is the true story of my first ever blind date… haha.
It was in 2003 and I had one of those dating profiles on Match.com. So anyway, there was this guy that I was corresponding with thru emails and the odd phonecall or two before we decided to meet up one day. He had put up a picture, I didn’t. He looked really nice and handsome in his pic, if a little chubby. Hahah. When we actually met up, not to say that he had “tricked” me, he still looked pretty much the same, except very much thinner and a bit haggard and older! LOL. But that wasn’t the clincher. The thing that was awfully distracting throughout our coffee session was the way he had this nervous facial tic that made him squint every few seconds or so. That and the way he kept on fidgeting on his chair.
Basically it went like this : *blink* *squint* *fidget* *squint* *blink blink* *squint* *fidget* *blink* *squint* all throughout the 35 minute conversation.
Can’t blame the poor chappie, he was pretty honest with me and told me that he had ADHD (the attention deficit syndrome thingy) but after a while I found myself restlessly fidgeting and trying not to blink each time he squinted! =)
That experience kinda turned me off blind dates, and a recent one I had where my friend set me up wasn’t that much better!
Wow!
You do look great!!
ANd the mascara is so wow! I could see it from the computer! SO lush!
PB, you look hot! Yay! Glad you liked the mascara-did you get the waterproof one?
I’ve been tempted to try the Volum Express that holds a curl, but will have to wait till I finish my current tube first:-)
1. Maybelline Water Shine 3D Collagen in 301
2. I had the worst blind date ever only because I got conned into it. This friend of mine whom I hadn’t seen in years finally called me one day to meet up for dinner. I was looking forward to a girls night out of chatting and catching up, BUT halfway through dinner, her friend (the blind date), “happened” to be in the area so she asked him to join us. Needless to say, I was annoyed because he had just interupted our catch-up session. Plus I found him arrogant and irritating in general. Mysteriously (ah a woman’s mind is boggling innit?), we started dating soon after. The relationship lasted almost a year and ended with him breaking my heart.
But don’t be sad for me because a few years later I found my match at a friends wedding. Am now married to him-hee!
Btw, PB let me know your criteria…maybe I can find you another blind date 😉
Comment Approved but disqualified from entry as blog info indicates commentator is not in Malaysia. Thank you.
1.)Maybelline Water Shine 3D Collagen shade 301
2.) I only went on one blind date with a guy I met on livejournal. He warned me he was kind of ugly. He wasn’t lying either. He had a great job and personality. And I’ve dated ugly, but something about his looks turned my stomach.I actually went on a couple of dates with him. when he tried to kiss me, I knocked him down. I just never could cinch the deal..
wow first time seeing your picture, love the lip color!