Practical Glamour: Presenting Your Most Beautiful & Polished Self to the World [Paperback]

Constance Dunn (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 27, 2010

Practical Glamour is for the female who wants to look and feel gorgeous and confident each day. Cultivate your optimum level of everyday glamour with this ultimate grooming, style and manner resource.

Your mindset and not your budget is the key to lifting your look to its maximum level. And your appearance is a package deal, which includes looks and attire alongside movement, style and spirit.

No matter how perfectly pulled together and lovely you may look,without proper poise and attitude, no presentation can be complete.

Practical Glamour is your enduring guide to the essentials and the lesser-known ins and outs of presenting your most beautiful, polished and authentic self to the world.

With Practical Glamour, you will learn how to:

• Instill natural glamour in your everyday look
• Expertly groom your nails
• Travel in comfort and with oodles of style
• Steam,clean and heal your complexion
• Develop exceptional table etiquette
• Create and refine your unique Personal Style Brand
• Improve your conversations
• Naturally enhance your hair
• Strategically dress your figure
• Smartly inject your work style with individuality
• Make your closet your personal style hub
• Study and refine the way you move
• Deal with unwanted hair
• Assess and improve your voice
• Understand the importance of color
• Care for your wardrobe
...and more!

Editorial Reviews

Review

No matter the size of your pocketbook, the expanse of your closet, your age, or your cosmetic application abilities Practical Glamour is an excellent guide to finding and expressing your best self. Practical Glamour leads you through self-assessments to help you discover your personal style and realize whom you are presenting to the world. In addition, the book offers suggestions on how you can really polish your look. Author offers great tips for caring for your wardrobe, skin, hair and nails that everyone can use. For anyone looking to bring out their inner glamour girl Practical Glamour is a must-read! Plus, it is a steal for the wealth of information included! I challenge you to find your best self inside the pages of Practical Glamour. --Denise L. D Angelo (Certified Barber, Hairdresser, Nail Technician and Esthetician, Makeup Artist; Registered Cosmetology Instructor)

I loved Practical Glamour--it is Beauty 101 and more. Any girl can get useful tips and tricks from this book, which can be used each day and at any age. As a professional make-up artist and business owner who is always on the run I can say this book has inspired me to become a Practical Glamourista. --Katherine MacDonald, President/Founder Luka Mineral Cosmetics, Inc.

Thanks to Dunn, I have realized that there are ways that I can increase my glamour count without breaking the budget, and I have to say that a lot of the advice in Practical Glamour really do have great practical value. Dunn provides a very detailed guide to an at-home facial, at-home pedicure and manicures, and she gives great tip for how to do at-home hair care in the best way. Practical Glamour also contains a style guide, with several assessment exercises to help with finding a style that works best for you. I am very happy that I kept on reading, because to my own surprise, I actually found myself learning a lot about style and glamour that I previously were clueless about. Practical Glamour was an easy and enjoyable read, and I was surprised at how often I discovered advice that I can use in my daily life. --Frugality is Free

Dunn, who's passionate about women looking their best, shares her knowledge and techniques in her book, Practical Glamour: Presenting Your Most Beautiful & Polished Self to the World. Divided into three sections, the book addresses grooming (skin, hair and nails) style and spirit (clothes and fashion) and glamour (etiquette, mood and manner). --Annie Lubinsky, The Beach Reporter

Practical Glamour covers everything so well. Easy to read and interesting and informative. For someone who has been in beauty industry for 15 years I learned some new things by reading this book. Every girl should read it! --Amanda Darling, President/Founder of Skin Princess and Bio Genetics Skin Care

About the Author

Constance Dunn, M.A., has researched, analyzed and innovated the ways to self-optimization in the areas of personal grooming, style and manner. As a researcher and writer, she has covered hair, skin and nail care. She has gone behind the scenes on reconnaissance missions as a hair, makeup and fit model.

Proud to buck the establishment fashion and beauty business in favor of the self-reliant route to glamour, she instructs and encourages women to always look their loveliest--no matter their age, purse or position.

Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: RLD Publications; 1st edition (July 27, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0978761022
• ISBN-13: 978-0978761028
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,904,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Yearning to look as polished as a classic Hollywood glitterball, Constance Dunn studied and innovated the ways to self-optimize in the areas of personal grooming, style, communication, etiquette and manner. As a researcher, writer and speaker, she instructs men and women how to architect their best look from a total 360° perspective. Her book, Practical Glamour, is a guide to finding and presenting your most authentic and attractive self to the world, "no matter your age, purse or position."

Her experience spans the formal study of identity and nonverbal communication along with time spent in the beauty and fashion industries, and regularly shares her innovative tips in publications and media like Woman's World, Fast Company, Family Circle, Fox, Creator's Syndicate and Clear Channel. Constance Dunn has a BA in Radio/TV/Film from Temple University and a MA in Communication Management from the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Constance Dunn's PRACITICAL GLAMOUR Encourages Looking Great From The Inside Out June 8, 2011

By C. A. Webb TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Today's society puts a great deal of attention on how we look and what should look good to you. Author Constance Dunn takes another direction in her book PRACTICAL GLAMOUR and helps us to to decide who we are and what we want to present about ourselves to the world.

The book is geared towards women, and I get that; however, men are also being pulled in different directions by advertisement and the nagging voices around us so we can learn a few things from Dunn as well. The first thing I picked up on was the importance of realizing that in many ways your body is a blank canvas. You can decide to paint it using the standard of beauty set by others or you can decide for yourself what is right for you and your body type. Dunn shows us that we should give thought to what we see as our own best qualities and find ways to enhance these while distracting attention away from those that we see as less flattering.

This book is not just about blind advice. The author includes examples of herself an others that she has come in contact with in order to make the points that she is discussing. For me I think one of the best things about the book is that it comes across as a conversation with the reader. It gets you to think about yourself, your style presently and how you can adjust it to be the best you possible.

The book is also about the importance of your inner beauty or truth. How does who you are within translate into what people see? That to me is one of the greatest points of the book.

PRACTICAL GLAMOUR will be seen as a go-to book for women and a reminder for men about how important it is to let your personal best come through each and every day.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Packed with Interesting and Valuable Tips-Highly Recommended! October 5, 2010

By RCBR

Format:Paperback

According to Constance Dunn, author of Practical Glamour, a woman's mindset, not her budget, is the key to achieving her look to its maximum level. Appearance is a package deal that includes looks, attire, style, movement, and spirit.

Separated into three sections: Grooming, Style & Spirit, and Manner, the book is packed with interesting and valuable tips for even the most budget-conscious (and self-conscious) woman. The overall result is a handy, relatable resource for women everywhere who want to look and feel their best.

Grooming covers skin, hair, and nail care with advice for finding the best professionals in their fields to help get women on the right track, followed by easily understood directions for at-home treatments that most women will find convenient and cost effective. The topic of unwanted hair removal is handled with humor, as Dunn relates her phase of "hair liberation" in her youth and what she learned from it, and includes several options for dealing with this "unglamorous problem."

Style & Spirit includes exercises women can do to help them discover their personal styles and then gives guidelines for dressing and accessorizing from head to toe. From how to dress with glamour every day to tips on projecting your best self while working and travelling, this section packs in a variety of useful and realistic advice. Although the section on color analysis was interesting, I am not sure I would spend the money on a professional (and expensive) color analyst, as Dunn suggests, especially since I found her "quickie guide" to colors to be quite thorough. The best advice - for me, anyway - was found in the section on closet organizing and wardrobe upkeep, which included a handy primer on assessing one's closet personality (I'm Henrietta Hoarder).

The last section, Manner, discusses etiquette ("glamour is as glamour does"), mood, manner, and attitude, and includes topics such as dining versus eating, how to order wine, how to walk in heels, and even how to glam up your voice and speech. Dunn admits she has a bias against "newer" etiquette books and recommends that women learn not only the intricacies of classic etiquette, but the rationale and origins behind it as well. The section on how to exit a car is timely, given the number of young women currently in the public eye who don't appear to have mastered this skill.

Constance Dunn writes in a polished, no-nonsense, humor-infused style. Although the information and insight I gained from this book definitely give me tools to become a more glamorous me - particularly exciting to this work from home writer/editor/mother -I think the message Dunn hopes to convey to her readers is that no matter your perceived strengths, weaknesses, and/or insecurities, your attitude - living your life how you please - is fundamental to the glamorous spirit.

Highly recommended by Erin Potter for Reader's Choice Book Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What a wonderful little book.... September 21, 2010

By cheryl

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

What a wonderful little book that provides useful tips on etiquette,grooming and personal style with a sense of humor thrown in... Practical Glamour is packed with information beneficial for all ages! A rare find-Priceless!!

Cheryl D.