Office Party Etiquette

Office party season y’alls. Be it a big bram or a small but sophisticated gathering, how you act in a social office setting can tell your employer and your teammates a lot about your undercover personality(ies). Resist the urge to veer too far away from the person who you show up to work as everyday.

Ease off the liquor

“Two drinks is the…” maximum.

It is difficult for your subordinates to respect you after they’ve had to escort you out the office building to help you find your car, or for your superiors to seriously consider you for that promotion after they’ve seen your table top moves.

No chugging of drinks guys, it’s not a boys lime. Eat something solid, drink water and pace yourself. Ladies, if you know that you can’t handle the liquor, skip the rum punch, the Shandy and the black cake, and stick to ginger ale or sorrel on the rocks, in one of those fancy glasses, with an umbrella and a slice of lemon.

Dress appropriately

Ladies especially, it may be the festive season, there may be spiked punch, and people may be smiling and laughing more than usual but you are still in an office setting, and so office dress code rules still apply. Keep the goodies under wraps and go the sophisticated route clothing wise, but feel free to overdo it with the shoes, accessories and the hair if it fancies you. 

- No excessively short dresses/ skirts

- No inappropriate slits and/ or holes

- Keep cleavage under control and

- Keep makeup tastefully done and naturally flawless to enable the look to last throughout the night.

There may be professional photographers in the mix. These office clicks can stay in the company’s files forever, and the company may use them at will. Bring your best self.

Don’t do double duty. Don’t wear your club clothing to an office party. It’s safer to wear your office grown ‘n sexy look to the club than it is for you to wear your club get up to your office party. Still, if this doesn’t work for you, walk with a change of clothing.

If  unsure, go alone.

This may sound far fetched, but it happens. If you are single and aren’t dating anyone, resist the urge to bring along some random person as your ‘guest’.

Office parties are tricky enough when you know your colleagues. Unless you are VERY familiar with how this individual will act in a corporate environment, as awkward as you may feel doing so, go to your office shindig stag. Dress to the nines, show up and show out, and enjoy yourself. This is a chance for you to show your superiors that you aren’t only smart and possess a great work ethic, but you have a lighter side as well and know how to enjoy yourself like a grown up. 

The last thing you want to do is have your work reputation jeopardized by a guest who sulked in the corner the entire night, or worse drank too much and literally let it all spill out on the dance floor, or better still, left with your boss. Things are going to get well sticky in the office tomorrow.

 

Seen any office party faux pas in your lifetime? Why not share them below so that we don’t make the same mistakes!

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Skin Type | Oily Skin

Oily skin secretes excessive sebum, oils that are excreted by the skin. Some characteristics of oily skin are:

- Oily shine all over the face
- Thicker texture
- Enlarged pores
- Frequent breakouts
- Possible open comedones (blackheads)
- Closed comedones (whiteheads)
- Acne prone skin

Treatment

Proper management of oily skin requires that it’s secretions are balanced. Excess secretions create a favourable environment for bacteria to thrive and multiply, so it is important that bacterial activity is controlled on the skin by the use of appropriate cleansers, toners and treatment products like acne-control spot treatments for example. 

Cosmetic products that work at absorbing oil and thereby allowing the skin to appear matte also work well for oily skin. Clay masks, such as those made out of kaolin clay, work well at extracting impurities out of skin’s pores as it dries, and can also give the appearance of tighter firmer skin, and smaller pores. Other cosmetic products include oil absorbing paper products and  non-comedogenic, (does not clog pores) oil absorbing powders.

Products that contain ingredients like  benzoyl peroxide, sulphur and salicylic acid for example, are commonly used in the T-Zone area (forehead, nose and chin) to treat breakouts, blackheads and whiteheads . 

Deep cleansing cleansers, which are usually foamy, work well for oily skin types. However, just like dry skin, it is important that the skin’s protective barrier isn’t totally stripped by using harsh cleansers, as doing so would only trigger the skin to produce more oils to compensate for it’s protective layer being removed. This is the skin’s only way of balancing itself.

Exfoliation

Oily skin types benefit from chemical exfoliation, the use of acid agents such as salicylic and lactic acid, or enzyme agents such as bromelain, naturally found in pineapples and papain, which is found in papaya (paw paw). The use of scrubs, a form of manual exfoliation, should be limited as this physical stimulation of skin encourages an increase in the skin’s oil production, which is not desirable for skin that is already rich in oils.

Dehydration

It is not uncommon for oily skin types to be dehydrated. When skin lacks water, it compensates for this by producing more oil. You may find that on days where you are not on top of your water intake, your skin appears shiner, and oilier than usual. Keep water intake up, as well as moisturize oil prone skin with fluid-like, water based moisturizers to help prevent against excess oil production.

Aging

As we age, the skin’s production of sebum decreases, and skin gets less oily and more dry. Under the same conditions, skins with an excess production of oil typically age less rapidly than do dry skin types.

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Vids| Baz Luhrmann "Everybody's Free"

Word.

Music quote of the day: Timbaland

” Let them talk, let them watch, Take a pic, Let it click.
They can say what they want but it don’t mean ish.”

- Rumours, Timbaland ft. Keri Hilson and Jay-Z

It is what it is. Go get yours.

Happy Monday y’alls!