Test run

After realising that I hadn't been out for a year, I began thinking about what was stopping me.

I've had my hair dyed to a brighter shade of auburn since January, and I had my eyes done in July. I really wanted to see how both of these things would affect my presentation.

In the back of my mind, I already knew what the problem was.

Lack of practice.

I knew that I was going to need to experiment with brow and hairline colouring for the change of hair colour, and with eyeliner to suit the change in my eyes.

The problem was that I'd got to the point where I was so out of practice with both hair and makeup that I didn't know how long it would take me to do it, if I could even get it to work.

For months, I've been wanting to practice both hair and makeup, but on the rare occasions that I'm not actually working face-to-face with customers, I've always got something else that needs to be done.

Today, I finally made the decision that I would ignore the work that is waiting and take the time to experiment. The sequence was to partly do the hair, do all of the makeup, then complete the hair.

There were details that I wasn't happy about, but overall, I was happy enough to dress and duck out to the local supermarket. I only wore flats, and I knew that my presentation wasn't as good as I would have liked, but at least I got out the door.