The Student Room Group

How to get more confidence in the way I look

Hey:smile:,
Would really appreciate any advice out there!

Basically, I lack confidence in the way I look. I find it incredibly hard to look in a mirror unless I'm alone, and I can never put on makeup, or preen myself, or anything like that in public, not even in front of my friends. I can't get changed in front of people, nor can I wear daring clothes- say, a skirt more than a bit above my knee, or tight or even strappy tops (never mind low-cut). I don't know what it is, I just get extremely self-conscious.

A bit of background info: I'm a girl, and Indian, but don't typically look it. I've got golden-beigey skin (not sure how to describe it really) and kinda weird amber/grey/green eyes and almost black hair. When I was younger I always used to get the piss taken out of me because of my eyes, getting called "cats-eyes" or "birdpoo-eyes" etc. I've been mistaken for looking Iranian, Italian, Spanish, half English, and the list goes on. My cousin doesn't like me as I look different to her, and when I go back to India I always get stared at a lot because I don't look like the norm.
I don't wear a lot of makeup or dress in a daring way because of this and I tend to try and blend in as much as possible.

Over the past year especially, I've been getting a lot more attention from people, but generally the wrong sort of people. I'm fed up of the internet stalkers and facebook pervs who all turn out to be 30-40 year-olds and it makes me feel unsettled and insecure.
I don't get praise from the people who matter to me most and yet I can't go out to many places without being stared at or getting dirty looks by women/wolf whistled or chatted up by men and it's come to the point where I'm not even sure if they stare at me because I look that weird or wolf whistle just to take the mickey! For example, the other day I went out for a film but I was dressed in Indian clothes having just come back from a party. All the women in the toilet were staring at me in a really weird way and made me feel uncomfortable. As I was walking out, there were gangs of chavs in groups who made comments which embarrassed me so much, especially in front of my dad.

The thing is, I see myself as ugly. I've never considered myself to be attractive, but just thankful for what I do have really, and worked very hard to make up for it by being the best possible person I can be on the inside. I tend to scrutinise myself a lot, and pick out all my faults. On the other hand though, I praise everyone else because I strive to see others being happy.
I'm not a shy person, I love meeting new people and socialising. And don't get me wrong- I'm not shallow at all, and of course there's more to people than looks. But in today's day and age, I feel like I'm constantly being judged.

I admire all you confident, assertive girls who can go out and wear really high heels, perfect makeup and attention-grabbing clothes. So, my question to the girls is, where do I start? And what's your secret to feeling gorgeous?
And guys, is this a flaw on my part? would you be bothered by a girl who felt like this- a little insecure because she looks 'different'?

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Reply 1
Anyone?
Reply 2
Get dressed before a night out with friends so that you know what they're wearing and can adjust what your wearing. If they are dressed up to the nines you'll be more confident doing it. Get hold of a book/video that gives tips on how to do your make-up well- try outlining your eyes in kohl with flicks at the outer corners.
And my secret to feeling good is listening to music before I go out and dancing like a nutter.
Shoulders back, stomach in and SMILE!
Hope it works out ok!
Normally I'm fairly confident with everything; I find that thinking about how you look makes you less confident. I'm fairly ugly so I don't think it is actually a lot to do with how you actually look.
If I'm having a bad day and feeling as if everyone should be staring at me beacuse I look so out of place, I find that people tend to stare more... unfortunately how confident you feel is a confidence thing :wink:
I think you just have to act the part and go out there and do it, whether you believe in yourself or not you have to act like you do. People will love you, honestly.
Sorry I can't be more help, xxx
My honest advice would be to buy a really cute underwear set. Matching pants and bra, very supportive but not really revealing/uncomfortable. Go for cute shorts and a fuller cup. If your underwear is really comfy and well-fitting, you'll feel sexier and therefore more confident immediatly.
And besides sweetie, you're probably really pretty. Just because you don't know your personal style yet doesn't mean you're unattractive. You'll learn to love yourself soon enough :smile:
Reply 5
ohmyGOD! i would love to have looks like yours! i'm indian and look...well, regular. don't be embarrassed about your looks, if anything, you should be proud of them. not everyone has the opportunity to look different from what most people expect! you sound very similar to my friend; she's also indian, but has fair skin, hair and eyes. and she uses it: she can wear clothes and make up that i can't, because of my skin tone (i'm super jealous, haha!)
seriously though. everyone's self conscious, even if they don't look it. as for being stared at, have you ever considered it's because they think you're really pretty? and don't worry about getting stared at when you went to see a film. that was probably because you were wearing indian clothes, and that's happened to all of us.
if you're not happy going full on with make up and whatever, start subtly. wear low heels or maybe a shorter skirt than usual with tights, or something. the way i got around this problem was by asking my friends for advice. take them with you when you go shopping, and look at what they recommend, then adapt it to your style. you'll be fine, don't worry.
ps. regarding online 30 year old perverts, don't worry. everyone gets them. ignore them :smile:
HAIRRRRR
A new hair style can make the world of difference =)
Ignore them for mocking your traditional dress =)
Alsooooo buy clothes that look good and you feel comfortable in....a wear dresses all the time because they are comfy and I know that green/blue really suits my eye colour so a lot of my clothes are that colour =)
Make sure you do simple things like shape your eyebrows, mascara etc....
Also a good bra is really useful, nice underwear always makes me feel good and a bra that really suits my shape makes me feel ten times better =)
I think you have to feel sexy and confident within yourself and to do this it shouldn't require other people telling you this.
You'll find a lot of guys that unless your wearing nothing with your tits out and fake hair and nails etc... will never wolf whistle you so don't worry =)
My tips....
+Individual style-establish yours and have fun and be confident in it
+Room-make sure your bedroom reflects you, stick up posters and pictures of mates, it will make you feel a sense of who you are and you'll be happier
+HAIR-do something with it, if it isn't styles go to a hairdresser and get them to do something that suits your facial shape
+express yourself, if you really like a certain type of music listen to it
(example:I'm really into politics atm so I've got an Obama tee-shirt because I like expressing myself)

AND....

DON'T RELY ON OTHER PEOPLE FINDING YOU SEXY/ATTRACTIVE to feel that way =)
Reply 7
yeahh what everyone else is saying about nice underwear is totally true. get some really nice stuff and you feel a hell of a lot more confident, for some reason.
and HAIR as the post above says is an excellent way of improving your confidence. go to the hairdresser and ask them what suits your face...i used to have quite long hair until i went to the hairdresser and they told me "IT LOOKS AWFUL, I'M CUTTING IT ALL OFF!" (no lies). confidence levels were much higher after i had it cut.
Reply 8
I think you sound gorgeous, OP, and this is coming from a 19-year-old girl, not an older pervert :wink: To be honest it sounds like lots of girls are jealous of your exotic looks. If you were 'ugly' you wouldn't be noticed at all, really!
Don't dress to please other people but to please yourself. Wear what you are comfortable in and you will feel a lot more pretty naturally. Even just your favourite jeans with a well fitting top should do the trick. You don't want to wear short skirts if they make you uncomfortable because this will come across. If you like your traditional dress, then wear it. The chavs who were mocking you were probably doing so because they were racist, not because they thought you looked bad. Or maybe try and wear nice dresses which have an Asian flair but not too obviously; the kind of dresses lots of English girls wear.
Don't immediately go overboard on the make-up. Asian girls tend to look very nice with some dark eyeliner. Maybe just try simple, subtle eyeliner (black, either above or below your eyes). Otherwise it sounds like brown or golden/bronze shades of eye-shadow would suit your skin colouring. Some subtle blusher could work if you know how to apply it.
Reply 9
Thanks so much to all the replies so far!
Perhaps I should clear it up a little though, the chavs weren't being racist (they were Asian themselves lol) and nor were the ladies- the place where I went to watch the film is very heavily populated with Asians, mainly Muslims who also wear similar clothes.
I don't normally wear my traditional dress btw, just to parties :smile: but I do love it.

I loved the idea of dancing like a nutter to some music before going out- haha! And also underwear, that sounds like a good idea and one I never would have thought of!

All of the replies so far have put a smile on my face, and for that, thankyou :smile:
Reply 10
TBh you sound beautiful lol. Not a lesbian or anything.
They're probably staring at you because your pretty and if they dont think you are who are they judge?
You say that you criticize everything about you but nobody is perfect hun, im sure someone who you think is pretty and im sure they have something they want to change about themselves. By the looks of it your negative self image comes from when you were younger.
Its just pure ignorance and i can get you people like that aren't getting anywhere as far as you.
When i was like in primary school up till year 9 people were all like your ugly and stuff and i really used to hate myself i just felt low, but i started to think to myself hold on a minute, these people aren't worrying about. You just have to ignore people that try and put you down because i am 100% sure there is something in their life they are not happy about so they have to criticize others.
I mean there are alot of people in this world that have unique looks that got teased when they were younger
-Kimora lee simmons
-Jodie Marsh
-Karine steffans
-Tyra Banks
-Janice Dickinson
All of the above were teased about their look when they were younger but are world famous for being models.
TBH nobody is ugly, its all a matter of opinion to you someone could be ugly but about 20 people could think that same person is goodlooking.
For your look just look around websites or look at certain styles that interest you and turn them into your own. I mean, try something different. It doesnt have to be major but just to start you getting out of your comfort zone and see how you feel.
As mentioned above underwear does make you feel good and getting my hair done!
Reply 11
Anonymous
Hey:smile:,
Would really appreciate any advice out there!

Basically, I lack confidence in the way I look. I find it incredibly hard to look in a mirror unless I'm alone, and I can never put on makeup, or preen myself, or anything like that in public, not even in front of my friends. I can't get changed in front of people, nor can I wear daring clothes- say, a skirt more than a bit above my knee, or tight or even strappy tops (never mind low-cut). I don't know what it is, I just get extremely self-conscious.

A bit of background info: I'm a girl, and Indian, but don't typically look it. I've got golden-beigey skin (not sure how to describe it really) and kinda weird amber/grey/green eyes and almost black hair. When I was younger I always used to get the piss taken out of me because of my eyes, getting called "cats-eyes" or "birdpoo-eyes" etc. I've been mistaken for looking Iranian, Italian, Spanish, half English, and the list goes on. My cousin doesn't like me as I look different to her, and when I go back to India I always get stared at a lot because I don't look like the norm.
I don't wear a lot of makeup or dress in a daring way because of this and I tend to try and blend in as much as possible.

Over the past year especially, I've been getting a lot more attention from people, but generally the wrong sort of people. I'm fed up of the internet stalkers and facebook pervs who all turn out to be 30-40 year-olds and it makes me feel unsettled and insecure.
I don't get praise from the people who matter to me most and yet I can't go out to many places without being stared at or getting dirty looks by women/wolf whistled or chatted up by men and it's come to the point where I'm not even sure if they stare at me because I look that weird or wolf whistle just to take the mickey! For example, the other day I went out for a film but I was dressed in Indian clothes having just come back from a party. All the women in the toilet were staring at me in a really weird way and made me feel uncomfortable. As I was walking out, there were gangs of chavs in groups who made comments which embarrassed me so much, especially in front of my dad.

The thing is, I see myself as ugly. I've never considered myself to be attractive, but just thankful for what I do have really, and worked very hard to make up for it by being the best possible person I can be on the inside. I tend to scrutinise myself a lot, and pick out all my faults. On the other hand though, I praise everyone else because I strive to see others being happy.
I'm not a shy person, I love meeting new people and socialising. And don't get me wrong- I'm not shallow at all, and of course there's more to people than looks. But in today's day and age, I feel like I'm constantly being judged.

I admire all you confident, assertive girls who can go out and wear really high heels, perfect makeup and attention-grabbing clothes. So, my question to the girls is, where do I start? And what's your secret to feeling gorgeous?
And guys, is this a flaw on my part? would you be bothered by a girl who felt like this- a little insecure because she looks 'different'?



So basically you look like the most beautiful people ever? I shall say one thing: Aishwarya Rai
Reply 12
put your pic up on here, not being pervy or anything, generally people have nice things to say?
Reply 13
Plus i think the best way to start gaining confidence in yourself is to stop worrying about what other people think cause its you that matters.
Reply 14
The most beautiful friends I have are Iranian so if you look like that, I wouldn't worry at all.

Anyways, go shopping and splash out on some flattering clothes. A whole new outfit (or two) of clothes that'll make you feel sexy and confident. Possibly get your hair done (cut and coloured) in an exciting way.

Look in the mirror. Hopefully you'll see a sexy new you and you'll be able to remind yourself of that feeling every time you look in the mirror again. Convince yourself you're gorgeous and you really will be, I'm sure.
Reply 15
Hit a gym, be more assertive, make an effort with your appearance.

Don't change who you are, though... you're probably after someone who likes you for you. If you change yourself, then that won't be the case.

You're only confident about how you look when you like what you see. Just don't do anything dangerous, and take your time about it.

And, for the record: light coloured eyes on an Indian girl is very attractive because it's pretty rare. Treasure it :smile:.
Reply 16
Mrs.X
So basically you look like the most beautiful people ever? I shall say one thing: Aishwarya Rai


absolutely :biggrin:
I find if it does not really matter what style you go for. For me if I am just smartly dressed in what I am wearing it gives me confidence. I know that sounds silly but that is just how I feel. I also find dressing a bit older in style also makes me feel more confident.

Kerry
Reply 18
Try to toughen up and stop thinking about yourself all the time, I don't know what the problem is as long as you are healthy it doesn't matter what you look like.
Reply 19
magicmint
Try to toughen up and stop thinking about yourself all the time, I don't know what the problem is as long as you are healthy it doesn't matter what you look like.


Whilst I agree with you completely, I also agree to disagree. As much as I'd love it if looks didn't play such a huge part in today's world, the fact is that they do, and I've had first hand experience of it. I wish it were that easy! :frown:

I absolutely love your profile though :smile: I'm short myself :smile: