Single Ladies Club: First Date Advice

The last 2 points are kind of a personal thing, so I can’t really help you with that, but the first one is easy! There are many ways you can get yourself jazzed about your date. These are my top 10:

1. On the Day - eat healthy food, drink water and do some exercise to get those endorphins flowing. Exercise makes your skin all warm and glow-y and your eyes or pretty and sparkly, (not that I am a doctor you know, that’s just my observation.) Glowing skin and sparkly eyes are exactly the look you are going for!

2. What to wear, what to wear?! I can’t give you specific advice on this, because I don’t know what you have in your wardrobe, however I can suggest what you not to wear! Avoid: anything too revealing or over the top, trying too hard is never attractive and too much skin is, well, just too, too much on a first outing. But don’t make the mistake of looking too casual either. With some dates, you may not know where you will end up so it’s a good idea to be ready for all types of venues. Unless you have already decided on cheap n cheerful dinner and a movie. The rule of thumb is to wear something you feel comfortable and pretty in, and something your mum would approve of (somehow they just know!) Keep it simple.

3. Don’t cake up with makeup! In fact, it’s best to keep it as clean and simple as possible. Your date will want to see YOU and not caked on foundation and too much smokey black eye shadow. 

Mascara, and lip-gloss, that’s all you really need. Truly.

4. Shower time: Shiny hair and freshly scrubbed skin – that’s the ticket. Try: Moroccan Oil for your hair and Coconut Oil for your skin.  Rub coconut oil on when you get out of the shower, you’ll smell like summer and your skin will feel super soft.

5. Once on the date – It sounds obvious however, do act and be interested! Don’t let your nervous alter-ego take over your whole night and talk your head off! It’s a dialogue not a monologue. Yep, that’s the two of you taking turns and chatting up a storm. Take a deep breath, and listen to what your date is saying. (Bonus of this strategy: this will prevent you from blabbering on about every other failed date you have ever been on or your terrible ex boyfriend/girlfriend.) 

6. Leave old-school expectations about money behind – this is the 21^st Century. You’re a modern woman and you can pay for a meal. More often than not, your date will not let you, but it’s always a good idea to be diplomatic about these things. Paying for things, or at least making a genuine offer to pay for things, starts you off on equal footing, and that’s important if you want this date to go somewhere in the long term.

7. Be a lady. Of course you are… However, on first dates, keep in mind that the way you present yourself reflects how you expect your date to treat you. Checking your phone constantly, checking out every other person in the restaurant, or burping (!) is rude. This is a shortlist and I’m sure I don’t need to mention it. Please don’t do any of these things yourself and don’t permit your date to do them either. Even if the date isn’t working out like you had thought, your bad behavior reflects badly on you. Hold your head high and act accordingly. That is all.

8. Breath mints. Get some! Enough said.

9. Holding hands and kissing. Two of the best things on a date. Do both. Get butterflies. That is what it is all about!

10. And yes, we’ll go there… I am not gonna get crazy preachy, but your mum was right: you shouldn’t sleep with your date on the first night (if you actually like him/her enough to consider it!) Save it up baby, and have a little bit of old fashioned decorum. More often than not your boy/girl will like the mystery and the pursuit! Not to mention the suspense…

And finally, a word from the wise: it’s always a good idea to let someone else know who you are planning to meet and where, your basic plans for the night and so on. Pass on any relevant phone numbers to a friend or someone you trust. If you have a buddy system call to check how it’s going at a pre-arranged time, this keeps everyone in the loop as to your happiness. Your date knows you have peeps around you who care about your wellbeing, and this keeps everything sweet.

Safety first girls.