Start where you are
Avoid wasting time, energy and money like I did. I heard someone say once that most of leveling up is just having the money to do so. Since not everyone has 10,000$ to drop on an overnight physical glow up, it has to be done in phases.
When I started leveling up I was so overwhelmed with all this information I didn’t what to do with. I spent the first year wasting resources on steps I wasn’t ready for. Only to have to step back and start over at the beginning of 2021. I didn’t even have an idea of what I really wanted at the end of my journey. Physically, romantically or career wise. I just knew I wanted to be rich and different than I started.
The glow up is a journey so it may take over a year or so to complete fully but it’s so worth it.
This is in order of what should be done and cost.
General level up
Workout routines 3-4x a week at home that you are excited to do!
Get in the habit of drinking 2 liters of water a day
Fix your sleep schedule! 8hrs a night.
Nails grown and done yourself
Pick 5 hairstyles to rotate
Eyebrows waxed, tweezed, or threaded.
Have makeup and makeup remover.
For now just use drug store makeup. As long as it looks good and doesn’t break out the skin no one can tell where you got it from. Besides drug store makeup has gotten much better over the years.
Makeup needed: Foundation, primer, mascara, eye liner, lip liner, blush, contour, lashes, concealer, eyeshadow, setting spray/powder + Brush set.
Daily makeup style picked out
Learn to sew and fix your own clothes to fit properly
Get a notebook to track every single expense for the glow up journey
Take online free courses/lessons. Pick up like 4 or 5 new skills to beef up your resume or your social intrigue.
Sit down with a snack, a pen, a notebook and read the blogs you look up to.
What’s the point of having access to all these tips, tricks and life hacks if its just a reblog to be tagged and forgotten or worse lost in the shuffle of your blog?
Read.
Just in general. Read for fun. Whether its good, bad, trashy, or so bad it’s good. All reading is time well spent.
Also read self improvement novels.There are so many of them. Pick a category (ex personal finance, emotional growth, eating well, beauty, nutrition, time management, persuasion, procrastination, seduction, romance, friend making, mental wellness, strategy, investing) and go wild. Finish at least 2 a month. 1 a month if taking notes.
Cost: 87$ max
Nest egg
Make an emergency fund of 1,500$. 3,500$ would be ideal.
1,500$ for real emergencies only! 1,500$ saved in 1 year is 30$ a week. 60$ a week for 6 months. 107$ a week for 14 weeks.
2,000$ for later upgrades. It’s a slush fund so you don’t have to worry about finding money for whatever you need later.
To save 3,500$ in 1 year 67$ a week or 135$ biweekly or 291$ a month. In 6 months 582$ a month, 270$ biweekly, 134$ a week.
There’s no reason to look like a million dollars and have 5$ in my bank account. Priorities.
This can be done while in the General level up and Polish phase.
Cost: Time. Discipline needed.
Polish
New outfits that compliment your body shape.
I will continue to sing the praises of capsule closets. Its the easiest way to go shopping and have a bunch of outfits for next to nothing. I recommend 23 pieces: 3 pants, 4 dresses, 3 skirts, 7 shirts and 2 jackets/coats and 2 pairs of shoes.
2 quality purses (1 large/1 small)
Consignment stores have luxury bags at 50-75% off.
Gym membership (paid off for a full year)
Take some pressure off your own shoulders by paying for it in full. Planet fitness 10$ a month, 10$ down + fees comes out to 180$ a year.
Go 3-4x a week. For at least 30 mins of sweating.
2 perfumes for your signature scents.
One for casual day to day wear to work, to the store, to school, to hobby classes. One for special occasions like dates, events, company parties.
Quality Makeup that works with your skin type.
Oily, dry, or combination. Your face is your baby. Treat her well.
New glasses that fit your face shape or contact lenses.
Keep up with your nails, hair, eyebrows and healthy habits.
Cost: $$$
Lifestyle changes. Experiment!
Lifestyle (diet) change.
Research and experiment until you find one that keeps you full, satisfies you and allows you to eat your favorite snacks/meals in moderation.
Skincare routine
Makeup remover, cleanser for morning and night, toner, serum, essence, anti-aging creams, moisturizer, sleep mask, exfoliator, sunscreen.
I started with the Korean 10 step skincare routine to find what worked for me and got rid of the steps I didn’t like or didn’t need. Like sheet masks, and essences.
Full Body Beauty Routine put together:
Skincare, shower routine, haircare, nail care, below the neck skincare.
Upgrade your room, sleepwear and loungewear!
Invest in a room you actually want to work and relax in.
Map out that business you wanna start.
Business plan, website content, business cards, goals, products, licenses needed, social media presence. Look into grants to get your funding.
Write down short term and long term savings goals
Saving mindlessly makes people more likely to spend it because its money in a jar, coming out of their check for no defined reason. Give yourself a reason and you’ll be less likely to mess up your own progress. Examples of goals:
3-6 months of emergency savings- long term
Retirement- long term
Business start up- short term
Last round of upgrades- short term
A house- long term
Investing money- short term
Vacation money- short term
Make a budget and start saving in earnest!
Set aside time for studying, reading, relaxing and recharging daily.
Make a vision book/board
Make a lookbook of outfits, makeup styles and aesthetics you love
5-10 year goals written down
Pick out any further degrees, certifications, licenses you want for your career.
Pick up new hobbies.
Keep reading, learning and gaining skills from free courses.
Research different personas and brands to find which you want to represent.
Clean up your social media presence.
Cost: Time, patience and $$$
Full reinvention
Get a lock box for your birth certificate, SSN, check book, warranties, and receipts.
Get your teeth straightened and whitened.
Braces, wisdom teeth pulled, veneers, filled in crowns ect. The smile is the most inviting thing about the face. Make it pop.
If you wear glasses or contacts: laser eye surgery.
Body hair removal. Laser or Electrolysis.
Both work. Electrolysis destroys the hair follicle but the sessions take longer and may cost more because it may take 6 or visits to do the full area. Laser is cheaper but most women have to continue to go back for maintenance and its easy to burn black women, even in an office. Home laser devices usually don’t service brown to dark skinned women.
Start seeing a dermatologist, nutritionist, and personal trainer monthly
Get a passport booklet
If you want plastic surgery, start saving/get it done.
Start that business! Order the business cards, design the website, create the products.
Get a closet full of clothes that matches your persona or personas.
Sets of outfits for Work, Casual, & Formal settings. You can pick different styles for each type- Cottage core casual, business barbie for work, and 1950′s pinup for formal events.
This is where you go all out. Nothing but quality fabrics, statement pieces, and jewelry that will last at least 2 years or more.
I’d go with a 40 piece capsule closet: 10 tops, 10 skirts, 10 Dresses, 5 Jeans/pants, 3 shoes, 2 Jackets.
Don’t forget stockings, panty hose, breast pasties, and bra strap holders.
Examples of styles: Cottage core, classic feminine, sexy, cute, alternative, sporty, business, y2k, 70s, 80s, 50′s, soft glam, barbie/bratz doll. Ectera.
Take those hobby classes
Get your scholarships, degrees and certifications
Pick a persona and create the social media, and irl community presence.
Keep track of your costs!
Treat it like a business and you’ll see where you’re wasting money, how you can improve and create a budget for future use.
Keep notes too- what brand was the lipstick you bought, what color, how did it feel on you, did it look good, how long did it last, did it come off easily when eating, would you buy it again?
Sections: One time static costs. Recurring costs, Product page with notes.
Cut out toxic people.
Anyone that makes you feel less than or perpetually uncomfortable should have their access to you provoked.
“I did XYZ to better myself, and this is how they treat me?”
It’d be like paying 2,500$ for a seat at the La Scala, Milan for the best classical music concert in the world only to be behind a pillar in the corner with someone next to you on their phone all night.
Or applying for a job after you got the highest degrees available in your field, were valedictorian, and only applied for established multimillion dollar companies. Only for them to offer you 10$ an hour on a position worth 50$ an hour.
This one is last for three reasons. One it’s not always as simple or easy as blocking them and never speaking again, an exit strategy may be necessary. Two sometimes it pays, literally, to have these people around. If they have contacts I want I’ll get them before I go. If being around them cuts down the costs of something significant in my life I save the extra money while I plan my exit strategy. By the time I’ve left I’ve gotten my payment for any sabotage they’ve thrown my way. Three it’s an ongoing process. New friends can turn to new enemies in the right conditions. You may never be 100% free of having any snakes in your garden so it’s good to stay vigilant.
Cost: Time, Patience, Empathy for yourself, $$$$$
Slow down. Take it easy. Work smart.
