Tips on how to look attractive

JAKARTA (JP): Looking attractive has long been a concern of many people, especially those who have to appear before the public.

Their clothing and appearance has to match their expected performance while allowing their individual character to come through.

Mien R. Uno, vice president of the Indonesian chapter of the Boston-based John Robert Powers school for career and personality development, recently gave The Jakarta Post tips on how to look attractive.

In a bid to look wonderful, one needs to be in both good physical condition and a stable emotional state, said Mien, a mother of two grown-up and successful sons.

"We cannot draw a line separating the physical aspects of a person from his or her emotional ones.

"Both categories complement each other."

She said physical appearance was unquestionably an important factor for a person to make a success in public.

"A good-looking man or woman can easily attract other people's attention," said the 56-year-old woman.

She suggested a few hints for people to look physically and emotionally marvelous.

First of all, a person must be physically healthy.

"A person must know techniques to maintain his or her health, especially through regular physical exercise."

She introduced face building, a new technique on how to maintain the "rigidness" of a person's face.

She, however, argued that being good-looking did not always guarantee that a person would be acceptable in society.

"Physical looks are relatively insignificant compared to your ability to control your emotions," she said.

She suggested that a person must learn techniques to avoid stress and other mental illnesses.

"A person must know how to cope with and control his or her feelings and emotions."

She said a person's success in attracting other people's attention would also rest on an ability to understand his or her strengths and weaknesses.

"You must develop and master your skills and hobbies.

"You must put all your efforts into being the number one in your field of interest," she said, adding that at the same time everyone should strive to eliminate his or her weak points.

She said a bad-tempered person should not show his or her anger before the public. "It will ruin your strong points and your personality as a whole," she said.

She cited a number of government figures who appeared on television expressing their anger.

"They should not act so excessively rude. It is not good for public consumption."

Secondly, a person must develop good manners so that he or she will have no problem dealing with other people, she said.

"You cannot just be aggressive and dominating while with other people.

"Your mind should be open to criticism and feedback from others."

Another significant factor that makes a person look attractive and acceptable to other people is their brain, she said.

"A person must have a broad knowledge of many topics, especially on popular issues, so that other people will enjoy talking with them," she said.

"What do you think of a woman, who has no opinion on Andre Agassi (an American tennis player)?" she said by way of example.

Men

Above all, Mien said, the need to be attractive should not be confined only to women.

"Being attractive is not a gender issue, It has long been one of men's interests in many parts of the world," she said.

She recalled the Roman emperors who used to wear high-quality clothes and many different accessories.

She also mentioned the rulers of Saudi Arabia, who were well known for their perfumes.

Mien, however, admitted that it was still uncommon to see dandy-looking men in public.

Apart from the maintenance of traditional beliefs, she argued that men's interests in upgrading their appearance and performance did not ruin their nature as male human beings.

"If a good appearance is important to a man in his working or living environment, why should he bother with such antiquated ideas."

She said men could use foams or hair spray to shape their tousled hair and perfumes to hide their body odor.

Though supporting the idea of male grooming, Mien insisted such ideas should only go so far.

"Of course, we cannot accept men wearing lipstick or skirts. Those are only for women," she said. (imn)