I used to love my hair -- until Tuesday. Worst haircut ever. Sort of a bowl cut that makes my round face look even rounder. Too short at the corners of the bangs if that makes sense. Does this guy really hate me? I thought the one two haircuts ago was bad. Thank goodness hair grows, and my hair growth is among the fastest, but I still want to walk around with a bag over my head and avoid all mirrors. This thread made me realize that a reason I feel so traumatized is because my hair is something I (used to) like.

Oh Donna, I'm feeling your pain! I don't like my bangs to go up at thesides either, just the opposite in fact. Actually my hairdresser is on maternity leave and I had to have someone else cut it last time and I was not very pleased. Thank goodness your hair grows quick and you will get your crowning glory back.

It's so interesting, Diane, that you brought this up on the same day I posted about the Modesty Project.

I usually play up my eyes. My face is no way as attractive with sunglasses on, because my eyes are missing. Even though I have super light eyebrows and eye lashes. Make up really brings out my eyes, without make up I look rather ill.

Yes I thought about mine and your threads. Though I don't want to advocate narcissism :). I think finding a balance is needed between the two.
I do feel exactly the same as you without some make up on as I look featurless and ill. Subtle enhancement makes a big difference.

Hmmmmm...interesting to think about. But if I had to name a couple...

1. My hair. Big, curly and golden brown ( and a bit wild on occasion ). It always gets compliments and I plan to keep it long forever.

2. Being petite. short, little hands, little feet... It's one thing I'm really aware of and I often feel like a scaled down person, but I figure it's a bit of a novelty and worth treating like an asset.

My lips (and smile) used to be my best asset. I apply lip balm nightly so that the lips stay soft, but my braces (and the yellowish rubber that holds them together) totally ruin the smile. I can't wait to have them taken out. Note I don't wear them for aesthetics, although I guess the alining has improved.

As for my body, I guess my best assets would be my bosom (love this word haha) and my legs. Breasts are a pain for me so I hardly ever enjoy them and always try to downplay them since they make me feel self-conscious. As for the legs, they are a nice shape but spider veins, folliculitis, translucent and dry skin, pasty color and visible pores completely ruin them. Oh, and I forgot the stretch marks.

Meh, couldn't I have just one perfect something?

Irene, you are so beautiful... please I hope you can see that in yourself.

Diane -- you have way, way more brows and lashes than I do! But I do agree that many of us with lighter features need some subtle enhancement.

I see loveliness in every feature the posters to this thread have mentioned -- and then some!

Diane, you do a wonderful job with your naturally stunning eyes. I understand what you mean; I feel the same without a bit of enhancement. Being low contrast colouring -- it feels as if I need a bit of definition or something.

I have been told that my best feature is my smile. I am not sure that I try to play it up, exactly, but I do exercise it regularly and never worry about the laugh lines that result!

Interesting thread - thanks Diane! you do have beautiful eyes and very nice eyebrows!
As for me it feels like I am loosing those few good features I had to begin with. I had pretty nice hair - long and very thick reddish golden brown....until my first pregnancy. Those hormones really ruined it so now I think I have half of it left. Reddish-gold brown color faded as well to mousy brown
I also had nice big brown eyes but now in my forties they seem to sink in more and those dark circles just don't go away. :-(( Unlike Denise I look much better with sunglasses now...
I guess my high cheekbones are my best feature now and it is really funny because I did not even know what they are and that I have them until you guys told me I have them Interesting thing is that I subconsciously was taking advantage of them when I realized that I look much better with hair shorter than my cheekbones. No more long hair for this gal! for sure!

Really interesting point about grooming brows. A few years back, when I started getting hair colour that was a slightly darker red then my natural colour, I got my brows tinted on the advice of my esthetician. I really liked the effect, since I had had a 'no brow' look up till then. She stopped when I grew my hair out to my natural colour ( red and white) and now I depend on the dark frames of my glasses to add some definition to my face.

My hair can be my best and my worst feature depending on it's behaviour on any given day. Today it is glossy curls (a little oily from a massage), but it can get quite witchy with high humidity and the wrong treatment. I really wish I could get my hair sorted so that it looked great every day.

My legs, however, have never let me down. I prefer dresses or skirts at a modest at the knee length. No maxis for me, but no minis either. Though my feet love a flatter shoe, a heel or wedge almost always 'gets me'.

I'm happy with my body and wouldn't really want to change anything. If I could do the genie wishes, I'd probably ask for better vision, so I wouldn't need glasses or at least not to the extent that I need them...and then I'd ask for darker eyebrows!

I would have to say my legs and my eyes. I know I am a freak of nature because I don't have cellulite, even at age 40. So I still wear the age inappropriate short shorts.
My eyes are green, and I should play them up more, but honestly I can't be bothered lately and usually just wear mascara. Heck I don't even remember the last time I had my eyebrows shaped, it's probably been close to a year.

ETA I'm also pretty hourglassy but I rarely emphasize my waist.

Newbie here! I just joined this afternoon and this thread is exactly what I needed. Lately I have been beating myself up over the way my body has changed over the last six months or so. I started a new medication that has caused some weight gain and pushed me over the line into "women's" sizes. I've always had an hour glass shape that meant I could throw on just about anything and look okay as long as the color was flattering. Now I have an apple belly that makes me work at finding flattering clothing. Anyway....this thread is making me think about my positive features. The one constant not effected by weight or age are my intensely blue eyes. I always wear mascara because my lashes are pretty much invisible without it. I also like my cobalt blue hair. The hair color makes my eyes pop even though I wear glasses. Younger women are constantly commenting that they wish their employer allowed them to color their hair in fun shades. They also ask how I get such vibrant highlights and I have to confess that they are a result of coloring over silver!

Sorry I couldn't chime back in for a few hours (UK time you know?) I was sleeping :).
Nicola, you do indeed have fab hair and you are right to really emphasise it. And there's nothing wrong with petite.
Irene, once you have the brace off you will have your winning smile back, then flash those pearlies. As for your legs pamper them a bit and try wearing fabulous hose with a skirt. Even opaque hose in the winter.
Denise, just keep doing what you're doing 'cos YLF!
Suz, your smile lights up your WIW'S!

Sveta, you do have great cheek bones and they are something I wish I had!
Carla, I do think your hair is fab, as are your toned runners legs.. amazing!
Anna, you are soooo lucky with your fab, non cellulite legs and you rock a pair of leather shorts!
Cindy, welcome! Yes definitely try to think of positive things about yourself.
I'm glad this thread helped. Cobalt blue hair sounds wonderful! And I can imagine it emphasising your eyes. Keep looking for flattering clothes shapes (YLF will help with that) Also, if you have good ankles and calves get some fantastic shoes too; then hair and shoes will be a talking point.

I think it's very classy how you replied to EVERY person on your thread with grace and stamina, Diane. Things like that really impress me. xo

I agree, Angie. A lady recognises people as people, and Diane is first class. My gosh. My jaw? Lol. Do I have a jaw, Diane?

Hmmmm absolutely no clue:)
But enjoyed reading this thread:)

Ha! you do indeed Rachy! And thank you Angie.. VERY MUCH

Diane, this is a great thread to encourage a body-positive attitude! I love your job with the brow pencil -- subtle but makes a big difference in how your face is framed.

I think my best feature is my trapezius and deltoids -- basically the upper part of my shoulders. Hard to showcase though, since usually my hair covers and most tops cover that area What other people comment on though are my legs!

I love my neck

Cciele, showcase those legs with skirts and skinny jeans with fab shoes!
Ramya I agree you have a long slim neck; but I also think you have lovely eyes.

I definitely think it is useful to know what your best feature (or perhaps *better features*) might be, and to know how to showcase them.

However, I think it's possible to fall into a trap of thinking that you must showcase that feature all the time, and that if you aren't, you are doing yourself a disservice. For instance, if you grow up hearing that you have beautiful long hair, and that you should never cut it...well, that's great up to a point. But what if you want to try something radically different and cut it all off? Thinking that your beauty lies only in your hair (or whatever your best feature may be) may end up putting you in a fashion rut.

Maybe if you cut off your long beautiful hair...you may realize that you actually have amazing cheekbones, or a nice jawline, or maybe your eyes will become the feature that people notice first.

Another example: If you have great legs, learn how to show them off, definitely! But if you get the urge to wear a maxi dress tonight instead of a short skirt, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's nobody's business but yours.

Hi Diane - it's Catherine from Not Dressed As Lamb that featured the post you mentioned!

I'm sorry I missed what you wrote but Inge brought it to my attention on Twitter... there wasn't an actual link to my post that I could see, which is hard to say without it sounding all "where's the link" - I don't mean it that way! I simply wish some of your lovely ladies had the chance to read it first before commenting

Here it is if anyone's reading this now:

http://www.notdressedaslamb.co.....ature.html

Firstly, thank you so much for mentioning my post and inspiring these ladies to think along the same lines... though from reading some of the comments it's a shame they didn't get to read the actual post for how to specifically go about getting a best feature. It saddens me a little that so many women don't have a clue what their best feature is!! Plus I want to say to Elle about the sight of fabulous legs being "not appropriate" at a particular age: Pleeeeeease don't let the age-appropriate dressing nonsense stop you from dressing fabulously! So I'd love her to read this post about me wearing crop tops at the grand old age of nearly 41 (which, in turn, is what inspired my How To Most The Most Of Your Best Feature post):

http://www.notdressedaslamb.co.....rties.html

Sorry for the rambling, but it's a subject I've become really passionate but positive about lately! I hope you will come and read the post I'll be publishing on 25 July - the initial post that you read is just the start of a project I've got planned to encourage ALL women to celebrate their best bits. The start of it can be seen here where I'm involved in a campaign where I'm talking about just that:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.....38;theater

As I said it's only just the start... I'm really excited about what I've got planned and I want as many women to get involved as possible. I apologise PROFUSELY for making this comment seem like purely a plug for lots of posts from my blog, not something I would ever normally do. But I want these ladies to read them for their own sakes, not mine, because I want to inspire and get women to change their perceptions of themselves.

Phew, that's enough rambling, self-promotion and crazy-lady talk for one night (I should have been in bed long ago)!! I'll go now...

Catherine x

P.S. The image of your eyebrows has disappeared, can it be put back? I'm a massive fan of eyebrows!!

Hi Catherine! Thank you sooo much for replying to my post. I can't believe I didn't put a proper link Please accept my apologies for that; Though I did mention your good self. As it had only been 2 days after your post I guess I thought they would just pop across to NDAL and have a look. Probably in my enthusiasm for the subject I had a brain malfunction and forgot the link. I too feel strongly about people making the best of themselves.

I did also read your post about crop tops too and your new project sounds great and anything that encourages us to be the best we can is a good thing; I'll definitely be reading it and maybe participating?
I put my eyebrow image back on BTW enjoy!!! I took it off as I thought I looked a bit tired lol!
Diane x

(ETA ; I don't think I mentioned T-rex in my thankyou's for responding. Thanks 'T' that's a valid point to make)

Oooh thanks for chiming in Catherine. Your blog post really did provide lots of food for thought (and as Diane mentioned, when she started the thread it was still fresh in our minds, also because we had linked to it in our weekly Link Love post on the blog that same week:-) I love how your encouragement and tips were the catalyst for Diane to start this wonderful thread, and how everyone chimed in, not just to chat about their own best features, but also to celebrate each others' "best bits". You certainly got us thinking, and that's a good thing!

Now I'm super curious to hear more about your further plans with the "Accentuate the Positive Project":-)

P.S. I too love your eyebrows and beautiful eyes, Diane!

Thanks for the link, Catherine, I will go back and read that. One of my best features used to be my eyes, but over the last few years I've been getting those baggy eyelids and now I just always look tired. Wearing sunglasses helps hide that but then sunglasses accentuate my nose and oh my goodness, don't get me started on that.

Maybe it's my long leg line? At least that helps play down my pear shaped hips and small chest!

This has been a fun thread to read. It nice to see people complimenting themselves instead of putting themselves down.

I think my best features are my legs, eyes and hair. I also think I have pretty feet and like to wear sandals whenever possible. Right now I have a truly impressive rack (for me anyway). Too bad I can't keep it once the baby is born.

Ooooh - I just saw this thread and have really enjoyed reading everyone's responses. What a great 'exercise' to remind us that we all have features that are beautiful.
For me - I would say that my physique - I'm muscular and lean - is one of my best assets - specifically my shoulders/arms and legs, and my eyes - blue and large. I sometimes wear body-con clothing to show off my physique, sleeveless tops to show off my shoulders and/or skinny jeans or skirts to show off my legs. I always put mascara on my eyelashes and use a brow pencil - just to draw attention to my eyes, rather than my wrinkly lips or large nose! LOL!

Diane G, no worries. My post was after your list of "thank yous", so I didn't feel left out.

Reading through the comments again makes me realize that our "best feature(s)" can also change over time. Aging, changing fitness levels, or possibly any number of things can cause the best features of our 20-something year old selves to take a back seat to different features in our 30's, 40's, 50's, etc. I think it would be wise to re-evaluate our best features every so often, while being careful not to obsess or worry too much about how our bodies and faces change over time. Personally, I'm trying to accept the fact that some aspects of myself that I took for granted have faded over time. The challenge is to find and focus on those features that withstand age, those that *could* withstand age with a little work, and even some features which get better with age.

Great thread, Diane. I think it is so refreshing for us to look at ourselves in this positive way for a change! Thanks.

You do have gorgeous eyes and I love how you have enhanced them with the pencil!