How to Make Yourself Look Completely Different and Beautiful

Co-authored by Ashley Kahn

Last Updated: September 15, 2022 References Approved

If you wish you could change your looks, you are not alone. It’s a common feeling amongst a lot of people, particularly young women. Chances are, you’re already beautiful and you just don’t know it. By learning to feel more comfortable with yourself, and by changing your look to better suit who you are on the inside, you can feel like a totally different — and totally beautiful — person!

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Changing Your Hair

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Cut and/or color your hair. Whether it’s cutting it into a different style or dyeing it another color, changing your hair can dramatically affect your overall appearance. Think about what hairstyles and colors might best suit you.
- Ask yourself, what do you want your hair to say about you? Are you outgoing and love taking risks? Maybe you’ll want short, colorful hair. Are you more down to earth and a bit of a hippie? Natural tones and long, layered hair might be the way to go.
- Do an online search or look through some hairstyle magazines to see which hairstyles stand out to you. (You can purchase hairstyle magazines at most drugstores and bookshops.)
2
Determine your face shape. An important thing to consider when changing your hairstyle is your face shape. There are several types of face shape. One way to figure out yours is to look in the mirror and outline your face with lipstick or an eye pencil.<^{[1]
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- Oval faces are balanced, and shaped like ovals (a little wider in the middle).
- Square faces are equally wide at the brows, cheekbones, and jaw.
- Triangular faces have more width at the bottom of the face, with a strong jawline.
- Heart-shaped faces (aka inverted triangle faces) feature delicate chins and wider cheekbones.
- Circle faces are shaped like circles, meaning that they are fairly round.
- Diamond faces are angular and have cheekbones that are wider than the brows and jaws.
- Oblong faces are consistently wide from the forehead to the jaw, which makes them look longer.
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3
Decide which hairstyles best suit your face shape. To make your hair look as good as possible, choose a style based on your face shape.^{[2]
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- Oval faces go well with most haircuts, although styes that accentuate length could make an oval face look long.
- Square faces are best with hair that is longer than the jawline. In particular, avoid haircuts that stop right at the jawline, as these can make a square face look even more square. Also avoid cuts with strong, angular lines such as blunt bangs or bobs. Side-swept bangs, waves, and layers that frame the face are good choices.
- Triangular faces do well with short hairstyles that balance the larger jawline by adding width to the top of the head. If you do go for long hair, ensure that it’s longer than your jawline otherwise your face may look too full at the bottom.
- Heart-shaped faces look great with chin-length layers (bobs are good!). Avoid short haircuts and thick bangs as these can make your face look top heavy. Tight ponytails and otherwise slicked-back hair can emphasis your small chin, so avoid these too.
- Circular faces go nicely with asymmetrical cuts and layered cuts, which help balance the face’s width. Chin-length cuts and blunt bangs can make the face look wider, and so can parting your hair in the middle. Side parts and side-swept bangs will look nice though!
- Diamond faces go nicely with hair that is full at the sides but not at the top. In other words, avoid high hair! Bangs and layers that frame the face will look nice. Avoid middle parts though.
- Oblong faces can look long, so it’s all about breaking up the length of the face. Avoid overly long hairstyles. Bobs, layers, and blunt bangs will go well with this face shape.
4
Consider coloring your hair. Dyeing your hair is a great way to add some drama to your appearance. Before dyeing your hair, consider which colors will look best with your skin tone and eye color.
- Your skin tone and eye color may go with most colors of hair, but they may not go with every shade of that color. For example, warm skin tones go well with warm red shades like strawberry, but pink or blue skin tones go better with cooler, brighter reds.
- Choosing a hair color close to your skin tone and eye color will give you a more natural look. As an example, think of how a “beach bum” looks with sandy hair, tanned skin, and pale blue eyes.
- The stronger your skin tone and eye color contrast with your hair, the more dramatic you’ll look. For example, pale skin and green eyes with rich, vibrant auburn hair will be quite a striking combination.
- If you’re unsure of what your skin tone is, take a few online quizzes to see what hair color suggestions they come up with.
5
Keep your hair healthy. Wash your hair as often as needed using shampoo and conditioner that match your hair type (e.g. colored, normal, oily etc.). This may be every other day to once a week depending on the quality of your hair. The drier it is, the less it needs to be washed.
- If your hair is dry and damaged, do a weekly deep conditioning treatment on it. An easy at-home treatment is to blend together olive oil with two egg yolks, an avocado, mayonnaise, and hair conditioner, and leave it on your hair for up to several hours (even overnight is okay).^{[3]
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- If you have dandruff or other hair issues, avoid home-made products. Instead, use products specifically made to help with your condition. If the hair issue is severe, see a doctor or a dermatologist.^{[4]
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  Cleveland Clinic
  Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Dressing Your Best

1
Find your style. Look online to consider what styles you like the best. Base your decisions on what styles appeal to you, and what you feel most confident in. Consider who you are as a person, and ask how you can show that off through your personal style.
- Look through your wardrobe to find the colors, styles, and patterns that show up the most. Chances are, these appeal to you for a reason—this can help you define your personal style.^{[5]
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  Ashley Kahn
  Wardrobe Stylist
  Expert Interview. 30 September 2020.}
- For example, if you’re more outgoing and like punk music, you might take your inspiration from retro punk photos, whereas if you’re more natural and a bit of a hippie, you might look at old photos of people from the ‘60s and ‘70s for inspiration.
- Make your clothes an extension of who you are. This means you should feel comfortable and great in your clothes, and not like you’re trying to be someone else.
2
Know your body type. Knowing your body type will help you dress in a way that accentuates your best features, and hides the things you’re not too happy about. Here’s one way to determine your body shape through measurements:^{[6]
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- Use a measuring tape to measure your shoulders, bust, waist, and hips. You may need to get someone to help you do this.
- Inverted triangle: If your shoulders or bust are larger than your hips, this is your body type. Your shoulders or bust should be over 5% larger than your hips.
- Rectangle: This is your body type if your shoulders, bust, and hips are roughly the same size, and you have no defined waistline. Your shoulders, bust, and hips should be within 5% of each other, and your waist should be less than 25% smaller than your shoulders or bust.
- Triangle: If your hips are wider than your shoulders, this is your body type. Your hips should be over 5% larger than your shoulder or bust measurements.
- Hourglass: This is your body type if your shoulders and hips are roughly the same size, and you have a defined waistline. Your shoulder and hip measurements should be within 5% of each other, and your waist should be at least 25% smaller than your shoulder, hip, and bust.
3
Dress for your body type. Now that you know your body type, you can choose the clothes that will make it look its best:^{[8]
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- Inverted triangle: Keep your top half relatively clean and simple, and free of any detailing that might add bulk to it. Leave the bulky stuff to your lower half to give it more volume and help balance it with your top half. An example might be a clean v-neck top with a wide belt and a pair of wide-legged, high-waisted trousers.
- Rectangle: The goal with this body type is to define your waist so that you have more of an hourglass shape. To do this, wear bottoms with embellishments that create gentle curves, and fitted tops that give shape to the waist. Avoid boxy clothes, or clothes with noticeable waistbands.
- Triangle (aka pear): The goal is to balance your wider lower half (hips and legs) by wearing clothes and accessories that add volume to your upper half and make your shoulders look broader. Avoid adding any bulk to your lower half by wearing bottoms with simple, clean lines and no embellishments.
- Hourglass: Wear clothes that follow your body line. Fitted clothes are generally a good choice as these are sure to accentuate your naturally curvy figure. Avoid wearing baggy clothes that hide your small waist, otherwise you may look more bulky.
4
Consider your height. Beyond your body shape, you’ll also want to consider your height. In particular, think about whether you have a longer torso or longer legs, as this will affect how you dress.
- If you have longer legs, you may want to wear hip-hugging pants with longer shirts, or dresses with dropped waistlines to give your body more balance.
- If you have shorter legs, you’ll want to wear skirts and pants with high waistlines, and cropped or tucked-in tops to make your legs look longer.
5
Wear clothes that fit you. No matter what you decide to wear, make sure that your clothes fit you well. Clothes that are too baggy or too small will never look good on you, and can also make you feel less confident.
- To get an idea of what styles look best on you, go through your closet and try on a couple of your favorite clothing items. Pay attention to how they fit you. Then, try on a few things that you don't like that much—notice any different in the fit, then use that as a guideline when you're buying new clothes.^{[9]
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  Ashley Kahn
  Wardrobe Stylist
  Expert Interview. 30 September 2020.}
- When you wear an outfit you really like, take a picture of it so you'll remember how you styled it.^{[10]
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  Expert Source
  
  Ashley Kahn
  Wardrobe Stylist
  Expert Interview. 30 September 2020.}

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Wearing Makeup

1
Know how to keep it looking natural. Going for a natural look means enhancing what you already have. Having natural-looking makeup doesn’t mean wearing little makeup. You can still wear foundation, blush or bronzer, mascara, eyeshadow, and lip color even with a natural look.
- You can use makeup to give yourself smoother, more even-looking skin (foundation and concealer); longer lashes (mascara); higher cheekbones (blush, bronzer or contouring kits); and fuller lips (lip liner and lipstick).
- As an example, it can take a lot of makeup to give your face that dewy look that’s so popular.
- If you’re uncomfortable wearing makeup but would like to improve the appearance of your skin, try using a tinted moisturizer or a sheer powder. These can help improve the overall appearance of your skin without feeling too heavy or oily.
2
Use eye makeup to play up your eyes. You can use different colors of eyeliner and eyeshadow to make your eyes really stand out:^{[11]
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- If you have blue eyes, aim for light natural tones like coral and champagne. The dark, smokey look may overpower your eyes, so experiment with it at home before wearing it out.
- Grey or blue-grey eyes look nice with sooty and smokey shades of grey, blue, and silver.
- Green eyes look great with muted purples and shimmery browns.
- Hazel or brownish-green eyes look nice with metallics and pastels that bring out the flecks of color in the eyes. Dusty pink, soft copper, and gold shadows would look wonderful with hazel eyes.
- Brown eyes go well with most colors and styles of eye makeup. Neutral shades of salmon and bronzy gold work well. For a smokey eye you might even add a bit of black shadow in your eye crease.
- A popular style of eyeshadow is to do a smokey eye, which involves mixing two or three shades on your eyelids to give them a graded look, often from dark to light as the colors move up the eyelid towards the eyebrows.
3
Wear lipstick. Lipstick is a great way to play up your lips and add interest to your look. Red is one of the most popular colors. It can be worn by everyone. The secret is just to find the right shade for your skin tone.
4
Use lip liner. Apply lip liner to your lips before applying lipstick to help it stay on longer. You can also use lip liner to change the shape of your lips, making them look more full or even a bit thinner, if that’s what you want.
5
Balance your makeup. Wearing dramatic eye makeup with a dramatic lip color is something that stylists generally advise against as it can be overpowering. If you wear a smokey eye, for example, go with a more natural lip.
- If you wear red lipstick, keep the rest of your makeup relatively subtle. A classic look is to wear a cat’s eye with red lipstick.
- Similar rules apply to balancing hair colors and makeup. For example, having fire-engine-red hair can limit which colors you wear on your lips.
6
Consider using contour makeup. Contouring involves using dark and light shades of skin-toned makeup to change the appearance of your face. For example, with contour makeup you can make your nose look smaller and your cheekbones look prominent.
- Contouring takes a bit of time to learn, but if you really dislike your natural features, it’s worth giving it a try.
7
Wash the makeup off well. Makeup can irritate your skin and cause breakouts. Washing your face well at the end of the day and removing all traces of makeup will help prevent this from happening.
- To help avoid breakouts, choose non-comedogenic (i.e. non-pore-clogging) makeup. It will say the words “won’t clog pores” or “non-comedogenic” on the packaging. Even with this type of makeup, you might still experience breakouts.
- If you’re wearing heavy eye makeup you may want to use eye makeup remover or coconut oil to ensure that you get it completely off your eyes each night.

Expert Q&A
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Question

How can I refresh my wardrobe without replacing it completely?

Ashley Kahn
Wardrobe Stylist
Ashley Kahn is a Wardrobe Stylist based in Houston, Texas. With over 10 years of experience, Ashley styles women both in-person and virtually and is passionate about empowering women through the art of personal style. She believes every woman deserves to feel comfortable, classy, and confident every single day. Ashley holds a business degree from Sam Houston State University. She has been featured on KPRC's Channel 2 Houston Life and ABC 13's Check This Out Houston and in the Houstonia magazine. Ashley has also hosted Macy’s “The Wardrobe Edit” and the “It List” fashion shows.

Ashley Kahn

Wardrobe Stylist

Expert Answer

Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.

Look through your closet, paying special attention to the color, style, and fit of the clothes you like the most. Then, when you go shopping, look for pieces you can mix and match with items you already have.
Question

How do I make myself beautiful without wearing makeup? I'm only 11.

Community Answer

Instead of mascara, you can wet a toothbrush and comb out your lashes. Get enough sleep, and you won't need concealer for eye bags. You can substitute slightly-tinted lip balm for lipstick. Wash your face morning and evening with a mild face wash, and moisturize afterward. Wear clothes that fit you properly, and remember to drink plenty of water.
Question

How do I make myself look different so a girl will like me?

Community Answer

Don't try to change yourself for someone else. Be yourself, and just try to get to know her. If she doesn't like you for who you are, that's her loss.

Warnings

Note that dyeing your hair can be dangerous as dyes contain chemicals that can cause allergic reactions that can be fatal. For this reason it is imperative to do a patch test 48 hours before dyeing your hair.

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