It’s that time again. I have to renew my passport, I can’t believe it’s been 10 years already and what’s worse is I will be 50 the next time I have it done. Yikes! I popped into town to have the photos done. As soon as my husband saw it he said ‘rough night’.
We had a good laugh at it on twitter last night but I really couldn’t live with the photo for the next ten years. I’m not normally that vain. I looked like a crack addict, or as some would say ‘heroine chic’. There is no way I’m going through a cavity search every time I try to go through immigration so I decided to have some new ones done. They aren’t brilliant but I can live with them.
Here are my tips for getting a reasonable photo:
1) If you’re scheduled to get your hair done and have the time and money, do it! However, in my case I didn’t
2) Pop into a local beauticians who do free make-up, pretending you’re going to buy something then forget your wallet. In my case, I went into Beautlase in St. Albans, where I’m fairly regular and the lovely ladies sorted me out after taking pity after seeing the photo. Plus, I did purchase a much needed concealer.
3) Treat it like a photo shoot. If you don’t like the first one ask them to do it over and over again till you get one that you like. Remember you’re paying for it! Don’t worry about embarrassing yourself. It will be 10 years until you have to go back again and I really hope they won’t still be working at Snappy Snaps.
4) Tilt your chin slightly upwards. It reduces the shadows (bags) under your eyes. Seriously, try it in the mirror now! It really works.
5) Try different hairstyles. I didn’t, but a ponytail can work like a mini facelift if you tie it tight enough!
If you’re wondering the one on the left is the before shot!
Do you have any other tips?