Ball advice.

The ball last night was a blast! I had so much fun. It was so fun to see everyone all dressed up. Everyone really put the effort in and looked spectacular. It really was the night of nights.

As I said, there aren't very good resources to help you get through ball and ball prep. So here is my advice:

Prep:

- Try and start organizing ball during the holidays. Give yourself at least a month. My friends and I started preparing for the ball a good month and a half before the actual date, which gave us loads of time to book the limo, organize everything, even for our group to have a massive catfight and then reconcile. Anything can happen. Give yourself time.

- The key to organizing is to be completely democratic about the whole process. We had 16 people or so in our ball group, and everyone had to know absolutely everything, and have the opportunity to voice their opinion. We only ran into trouble when we tried to cut corners and people missed out on information, which caused a lot of confusion and misunderstandings. Facebook is a great tool for this, especially during the holidays when you can't always see your friends in person.

- I would let my hair grow out for as long as possible - I haven't had a haircut for a year and a half now - because longer hair is more versatile for balls. If you care for it properly, split ends and such won't be obvious. 

- We booked a 16-seat black stretch hummer from Cosmic Limousines, after searching through what felt like the entire world wide web for a good deal. Unless everyone is going to the same afters, or everyone is going home after the ball, it is advisable only to have the limo one way - nobody really sees or cares about limos after the ball. We managed to get our limo for $960 for two hours, one way, which was $60pp with 16 people. There are other transport options as well - tram, bus, limocoach. Expect to pay a minimum of $60pp one way and $80pp two way for a 16-seater limo. Book early or all the good deals are taken.

Appointments:

- I went to school as normal at 8:50am and left at 12:00 noon - just after recess. I actually don't think there's much point going to school on ball day - there are only a few boys and nobody really does anything. At any rate, you should definitely leave at or before lunchtime to get ready. 

- Book your appointments early. I honestly don't think it's worth getting your nails done - if they are neat and long you can leave them as it is - in the dark it's hard to tell the difference between a french mani and just well groomed nails - or paint them yourself, which is what I did. You can get your hair done professionally or do it yourself, but do it before makeup. My only appointment was to book Kasey from Klassique Makeup, who did a wonderful job.

- I would recommend getting a makeup artist to come to your house rather than go to a salon - it's normally cheaper and is much more convenient. I didn't really know what to do for my makeup, but that's okay - a good makeup artist will look at your dress and your natural features and figure out what to do.

- When booking a makeup artist or a hairdresser, make sure they know your ethnicity and have experience working with people of your ethnicity. It might sound racist, but you really need to work with someone who knows and understands your features and hair type.

- If you want to spray tan, dye your hair, or tint your eyelashes/eyebrows, I would do it at least a week before the ball so you have time to fix any disasters and for everything to settle and look natural. If you've never done anything like this before, now is not really the time to go DIY. 

- I paid $50 for Kasey from Klassique Makeup to come over and do my makeup. I wouldn't pay more than $60 for ball makeup; there's no real difference between someone who charges $50 and someone who charges $80. Some places offer discounts for big groups, and if you go really, really, really far out (like, salons further than Joondalup) I have seen prices drop to $30.

Dress:

- I had my dress custom made in Shanghai a few years back. I made my own design from pictures off the internet, and it was creamy white thai silk, strapless, with sparkly silver embellishment and silvery-grey embroidery with a sakura motif. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever worn.

- I would recommend buying your dress overseas or at least interstate if you can for more choice and to reduce the chance of looking like everyone else. This may mean thinking ahead - I went to China several years ago, but with a bit of clever designing I managed to make a dress for last night. Spending more than $400 is absurd (I spent about $150-$200 on my dress). Buying online is a good idea if you're the type of person who looks good in lots of different cuts and styles - I don't.

- Invest in the right underwear to avoid a dress disaster. Because my dress was handmade it didn't have the structure and boning of a store-bought dress, but that was easily fixed with a bustier that I wore underneath - which also kept me covered when my dress began to slip around a bit. The best time to buy stuff like this are Boxing Day sales or just after the previous year's ball season - normally around March. Because ball season normally coincides with Valentine's Day, prices are absurd January/February.

- You have to stand out somehow. I bought a beautiful handmade silver, pearl and crystal tiara that matched the floral design of the embroidery on my dress. Nobody else had anything like it and I felt like a princess ;). Think outside the box.

- Make sure your clutch is big enough to fit some basic essentials - double sided tape, phone, lipstick, blotting paper or powder, a few painkillers and some emergency FHP.

- Don't worry too much about shoes. I bought a pair of pretty generic silver strappy heels on sale, and nobody really notices under long dresses. You kick them off to dance anyway.

- Boys should wear tuxes or smart suits. If you have a date, colours shouldn't clash (wearing neutral colours like black and white is better) and the tie should either be black or match your date's dress.

- Traditionally, the boy buys the corsage and the buttonhole, which should match. My super sweet date bought me a beautiful corsage but it didn't really hold up to my TEH SEX dancing in the middle of the dance floor. I would actually look into silk flowers, especially if your ball is on a hot day - mine wasn't, luckily, so it  looked okay for photos.


The actual ball:

- I would eat before ball and not eat too much at the ball - I didn't do this, but I wasn't really hungry anyway. The food at my ball was pretty meh and you can't really dance on a full stomach anyway. Plus, I spilled stuff on my dress.

- Kick off your shoes before you dance. The wideness of a ballgown skirt should prevent too many people stepping on your feet

- Dance with everyone! Don't be afraid of having a good time, even if you have a date.

- Don't worry if your hair collapses, or you spill something on your dress, or your nail polish chips or your makeup smudges. Soon the lights dim and the music starts and nobody cares.

Afters: 

- I personally didn't go to afters. When the night first started I thought it might have been cool to go to afters, even though I didn't have anything planned. But as the night progressed and I got more and more tired the prospect of going to yet another party was as appealing as being eaten by a lion. I was so tired I got really nauseous on the way home, and even though I didn't touch any booze I still managed to feel quite ill for a little while.

- Make sure you wash off your makeup really well before you hit the sheets. A little bicarb soda mixed with cleanser will deeply cleanse your face with minimal effort.

 - Get your hair squeaky clean by mixing a teaspoon of bicarb soda with your shampoo - it strips away product residue. It also helps you go longer between washes, even if you have greasy hair. Because it gets rid of product buildup, it makes your hair soft and silky and shhhh....but this is my secret to my super straight hair.    

In the end, the ball won't go entirely your way. But it's a coming-of-age ritual, so enjoy it. I didn't get any perky lips under the chandelier (I don't even think there was a chandelier) and I wasn't Belle of the Ball, but you don't need that if you're determined to have a good time.