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Image / Editorial

First Date Jitters: 10 Inevitable Things We Do Before And On A First Date


By Niamh ODonoghue
24th Feb 2017
First Date Jitters: 10 Inevitable Things We Do Before And On A First Date

Meeting up with a potential lover for the first time can be a nerve-wracking experience. But the before is just as important as the date itself. We take a look at the inevitable things all girls do leading up to, and on, that all important?first date.?Sorry, not sorry.?


Your wardrobe will become your floordrobe. You will spend an undesirable amount of time carefully choosing the best first-date outfit, and inevitably, the entire contents of your wardrobe will morph not-so-seamlessly?into the floor. First impressions are everything, though, so you will assemble your squad to help you pick out the perfect look to have your new guy/girl swooning. We recommend leaving your ?Pretty Woman? boots at home?for now.

You will bat those eyelashes. Science tells us that the average woman blinks 15-20 times per minute, and?increases when you become anxious or nervous. So invest in a good mascara, because you’ll need it. We love YSL’s Babydoll mascara for beautiful open eyes and dazzling lashes.

You’ll be smoother than a hairless cat. There will be absolutely no shaving until the day of said date. You will then proceed to leave your house feeling like one of the girls from the Gillette TV ad unless you just go for the safe option… tights.

The awkward encounter. Okay, they see you walking towards them. Do you hum them? Shake their hand? What if they go in for the kiss? It then becomes an awkward compilation of all three. *face palm*

Bathroom updates. Using the toilet? Nope. Updating best friend? Yes. Sending SOS text? Hopefully not.

You will plan to go for food and instantly regret it. We’ve all done it: either party has chosen a nice place to grab a bite to eat and have a chat. Grand. Except,?every few minutes you’ll be trying to check the reflection on your phone to see how many pieces of food you have stuck between your teeth and hope they don’t notice. Charming.

You will accidentally resurrect your ex from the dead mid-date. We’re all guilty of bringing up past relationships to potential new ones, but does new girl/guy really need to know about your post-argument anecdotes and inadequate intimacy? Not on date number one, anyhow.

We like playing happily ever after. When we like someone, we have this incredible talent where we can picture our entire future in 0.2 of a second. Including our house, our kids, the golden retriever, and of course our newest addition. Just don’t let them know that because you know, date number one?

We try to be ladies. Sometimes we like our inner Carrie Bradshaw to come out and opt to drink vodka-fuelled Cosmo’s instead of the regular pint. Our lady-likeness is usually short lived, as is our vodka intolerance.

The agonising ?who pays? situation. You are pretty much guaranteed to re-enact the scene in Father Ted when Mrs Doyle wants to pay, resulting in a brawl mid-restaurant. Unless he is really keen on paying (and perhaps just a genuine gentleman), we recommend going 50/50 for a first date (independent women and all).