Give the Gift of Confidence this Christmas!

I just don't know what to buy them!

I am writing this blog on Black Friday when Christmas offers and discounts are all around me, and stores and businesses are calling me to spend, spend, spend.

It is easy to step on the hamster wheel of Christmas shopping madness just because these enticing offers are calling to us. It is especially easy to get drawn into buying more than we really want to, and spending more than we planned.

This can especially be true for those we struggle to buy for - those who seem to have everything already or who are just hard to please. If you are anything like me, I tend to expend the greatest amount of angst and time on them.

Experiences make the best gifts

It is tempting to buy yet more things, especially for someone whose tastes you are uncertain about. Yet it is worth remembering, as I wrote about in a previous blog, that experiences make the best gifts.

They give people the chance to make memories, to gain knowlege, to share activities together and to learn new skills. And they last well beyond the time that the chocolates are eaten, the spirits are drunk or the beautiful dress has gone out of fashion. And that brings me to my next point.

Make this Christmas an eco-friendly celebration

Physical items wear out, they age, they deteriorate. We also get bored of them and want something new simply because we want a change. This is especially true of clothes - as fashions change we want to look current. Even if we are not dedicated followers of fashion, or ultra trendy, we don't want to look outdated, or stuck in a previous decade.

But we can learn about our best styles and therefore only buy clothes that will suit us, whatever is in fashion. We can learn how to upcycle or make over items to bring them on trend or to make them more 'us'. We can learn the tools to shop confidently - knowing what to look for helps us to avoid mistakes and prevents waste.

We can have the confidence to wear and re-wear, older items in our wardrobes that we can team with newer items to create interesting outfits. Once we know what suits us best, we can have the confidence to shop secondhand, without worrying that we can't send the item back.

All of these skills can be learnt and practised to avoid:

• waste
• clothes being worn once or twice and then going to landfill
• boredom with our wardrobes
• feeling that we have nothing to wear
• seeing that none of our clothes go together to make outfits

The most ecological outfit choice is made up from those items that are already hanging in the wardrobe. Why not practise this when choosing outfits for this year's Christmas and New Year celebrations? Instead of buying something new, be creative in putting together a new outfit from what you already have.

Buy the gift of confidence

All of the things I have talked about in this blog are things that can be learnt by coming along to a House of Colour session. Each learning gives you, or a loved one, the buidling blocks to build the confidence I have been talking about.

1. A colour analysis session shows which colours best bring someone's face to life and make them look well and healthy. Take a look at the photo at the top - all of us know our best colours and are wearing them with joy and pride.
2. A makeup session gives the confidence to apply makeup well, learning new techniques and looks which don't take all day to implement. It also gives the confidence to try a new look - maybe more glamorous or dramatic than usual - to take their skills to the next level.
3. A style session gives the confidence to know your body really well and to dress it to your advantage, considering your shape, your personality and your lifestyle to make everything work well together. Once you know that you can effortlessly create your own style, then confidence will grow and grow.
4. A wardrobe review - to clear out what is wrong, identify any gaps, and put together outfits from your best pieces - gives the confidence to make all your clothes work hard for you. And earn their place in your wardrobe.
5. A shopping trip with me gives the confidence to try new looks, to stretch your comfort zone, to fill those gaps in your wardrobe and to elevate your style.

If you want to give (or receive) the gift of confidence this Christmas, contact me to buy gift vouchers from any value from £25 upwards to put towards a session or products. Or book someone (or yourself) in for a sesson with me.

Linda Clark. House of Colour Lichfield, Rugeley & Cannock

Tel: 07790 653669

Email: linda.clark@houseofcolour.co.uk

Web: www.houseofcolour.co.uk/lindaclark