How to Get Ready for Date Night
How to Get Ready for Date Night
Butterflies in your stomach? Maybe you’re in love, or maybe you’re just dreading the time-consuming and complex beauty rituals that go into date preparation. Dating is meant to be fun; a fact that is easily forgotten when you feel overwhelmed with pressure to look perfect and feel fabulous before the big night.
But preparation can be a whole lot easier – and even enjoyable – if you get organised beforehand! Use this guide as a checklist and you’ll end up feeling considerably more confident when meeting your dream date.
Choosing a playlist
The choice of music that you play during your date preparation might seem inconsequential, but the songs you hear have a bigger impact on your mood than you may think. A wealth of research has proven that certain styles of music can stimulate different brain circuits and increase dopamine (the neurotransmitter that controls your pleasure centers). The effect of music on the brain is so observable that certain types of music have been scientifically proven to relax listeners. This is good to keep in mind under any circumstances – but particularly useful when getting ready for an important date. Listen to relaxing music to calm your nerves, or upbeat songs to give you a confidence boost. Feeling a little sleepy and need waking up? Get pumped up on adrenaline with some badass tunes.
Freshening up with pampering products
It’s important to start your night feeling refreshed and relaxed. How better to do that than by having a pampering shower? But before you use your most luscious shower creams and condition your hair, consider applying a natural face mask. A mask containing avocado, aloe vera or banana will help soften and smooth your skin, making it easier to apply makeup later. A natural rose water body spray containing ingredients such as Vitamin E will help give your skin a healthy glow whilst calming your nerves and leaving a subtle fragrance. Rose water also works excellently as a toner for your skin, so use this after your shower.
Snacking
You might wonder whether snacking is really a good idea if you’re about to go on a dinner date. Look at it this way – it’s better starting your date reasonably sated than starving. If you start the night out with a growling stomach, you could get cranky, end up eating too much and feeling bloated, get drunk too easily or – worst of all – end up disappointed with the puny salad the waiter serves you at the overpriced restaurant he insisted on bringing you to. So – prepare a few snacks on which you can graze during your preparation. Eat something light and easy to quickly brush out of your teeth. Try fresh fruit or vegetable pots with dip – just enough to curb your hunger but not enough to ward off your appetite.
Grooming – the right way
Wanting to remove unwanted hair before your date is understandable – but risky, unless you do it carefully. If you get red, irritated skin around your eyebrows after plucking, then it’s because you’re not moisturizing the follicles sufficiently well. Simply applying some water to the skin around your eyebrows will be enough to reduce inflammation. When shaving, be sure to use a sharp razor and moisturizing gel to reduce irritation on your skin. If you’re still worried about your skin looking red or puffy, use a soothing organic product such an aloe vera based gel or rose water oil.
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Choosing an outfit you feel fabulous in
Deciding on the right outfit is possibly the hardest part of the date preparation. It’s important to know where you’re going and whether that location calls for casual fashion or fancy attire, heels or dancing shoes. Regardless of whether you’re going for chic and minimal or sparkly and outrageous, it is equally important to feel comfortable as it is to look stunning. The world’s sexiest outfit is only going to do so much if it leaves you having to pose unnaturally throughout the evening, or if you can hardly walk five steps without squirming in agony. Be stylish, be appropriate – but be comfortable!
Styling your hair
This might seem like a good time to try out that outlandish updo you saw in the style magazine on the coffee table at your hairdressers last week – it’s not. Unless you’re a pro with straighteners and tongs, it’s be better to play it safe. Nobody wants to realize they’re unhappy with the result of their ambitious hair experiment only to discover they’ve barely got 30 minutes left to get ready. Besides, too much heat can cause your hair to end up looking lifeless after several hours. Instead, keep things a little more basic, or simply add some volume with natural volume boosting techniques.
Applying makeup
The right kind of makeup will depend primarily on the outfit you’ve picked out – but also the place you’re going. If you’ll be spending the evening some place with limited lighting, go a little darker and brighter to compensate – think eyeliner, smoky eyes and bold lipstick. Somewhere with better lighting, on the other hand, might warrant a more subtle style. Consider also which colours work best with your eyes for the most flattering possible look. Check out a makeup style guide if you’re unsure.
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Accessorizing!
When it comes to those extra touches – be creative and personal. Choose something that, whilst matching your outfit, can double up as a talking piece. Expect to be complimented on your earrings (it’s one of the oldest tricks in the dating book) so choose a pair of earrings that say something about your personality, or a pair which simply have a good story attached to them (maybe don’t pick the ones that were a present from your ex…)
Finding the perfect fragrance
Resist the temptation to go a little heavier than usual on your favourite perfume when preparing for date night. We know you want to be extra sure that your fantastic aroma comes across, but it’s not worth the risk of smelling like a fragrance factory. Instead, use your scent sparingly and ensure it’s not an overly distinct fragrance. Preferences differ wildly when it comes to perfumes, so sticking with a more subtle scent is safer for first dates.
Making practical preparations
Have your charged your phone? Do you have the means of getting back home? Have you downloaded the map of your date location on Google Maps? Do your friends know where you are going? Feeling totally organised before heading out will make you more comfortable and confident throughout the evening – and can save you a lot of hassle, too.
Selfie time!
Your hard work will never go to waste if you Instagram the result of your date preparation – so be sure to get your camera focused on those perfect brows, gorgeous hair and killer dress. If worst comes to worst, and it turns out your date is not quite the dream guy you’d imagined, then you’ll at least have some Vogue-standard selfies for future use.
And there you have it! Light snacks, a rocking playlists and soothing body mist; keep all of the above in mind and you’ve got yourself some fail proof pre-date rituals to gear you up for a romantic night out. If it’s meant to be, then the date will go fine. If not? Well, you had a blast getting ready, and you’ve perfected your date prep routine for next time!