New Year’s Beauty and Care Resolutions

New Year’s Beauty and Care Resolutions

Near the beginning of every new year, we all make a list of things we solemnly vow to improve – whether they’re related to inner growth, personal relationships, style, wellness and beauty. By now your lists (if you’ve already made them) have probably taken up a huge chunk of the ‘paper’, but make sure to leave just a little bit more room, because these resolutions might not have come to you, but trust us, they’re worth making and keeping. New year’s beauty and care resolutions you might want to add to your list.

The cardinal beauty rule

If you have by now learned the most difficult lesson of all, kudos to you, the rest of you, listen up. Always, no matter how exhausted, sleepy or lazy you feel, always remove your makeup before heading to bed. Not only do your pillowcases suffer, but not removing your makeup can have long-term detrimental consequences to your skin. The list of consequences includes (but isn’t limited to) eye irritation, clogged pores, inflammation of the skin and horrible breakouts, skin dehydration – the list goes on. There are amazing and nourishing cleansers out there that remove even the heaviest makeup in a matter of minutes, so please, spend a minute so you don’t end up with a lifetime of regrets.

Au Naturale

Members of the millennial generation are definitely onto something as most of them are leaning towards organic and natural makeup and skincare brands. In the vast ocean that is the beauty industry, there are ingredients that we can’t even pronounce, let alone make sense of. Therefore your new rule should be – if you can’t read it, it doesn’t touch your face. With organic and natural, it’s simple, what you see is what you get. The best part is, albeit these products take a bit longer to do their magic, the long-term payoff is worth the wait because you know that you’re in safe hands.

Love thy body

With the body positivity movement gaining momentum by the second, it’s time to stop being so self-critical and embrace your body with all its tiny flaws and show it the love and nourishment it deserves. You only get one body in this lifetime, so cherish it. This means dry brushing to improve circulation, pampering it with an at-home spa day. It also means that you should stop looking for imperfections and trying to cram your body into clothes two sizes too small. We are all made unique, and there is nothing wrong with finding chic and stylish plus size clothing that will do your figure justice and look flattering. Instead of being critical, remove the negativity and focus your energy on building a sense of style based on the body you have, not the mythical ‘ideal’ of photoshopped goddesses on magazine covers.

Protect

Many people are still fairly oblivious to the importance of using sunblock all year round, despite endless expert advice and reminders of the importance of protection. Those UVA and UVB rays never rest, which makes sunblock a skincare routine step that is equally important as moisturizing. If your excuse so far has been that you’re too busy to add another step to your morning routine, there are amazing double- duty products e.g. moisturizers that contain high SPF so you’ve officially run out of excuses. Protect now, your older self will highly appreciate it.

Find your signature

If you’ve been dabbling with makeup for quite some time now, it’s time to clean and clear. First of all, take the time to rummage through your vanity desk and get rid of everything that is expired – it’s not doing you any good sitting there. After that, either work with what is left or re-stock on essentials. Then, sit down and experiment with colours and techniques in order to find a signature look. The signature look usually revolves around finding your key feature and emphasizing it in the most flattering way possible. For some, it’s a subtle smoky eye, for others it’s a red lip and simple eyeliner look. Whatever it is, make it your goal to find it, and that is your go-to no-muss-no-fuss everyday look. On the other hand, if you’re not big on makeup, you can go scouting for the perfect fragrance that speaks to you and everywhere you go make it known that you were there. It’s time to leave your mark.