Happy New Year my darling readers – I wish you all a joy-filled, healthy and prosperous 2016.
In the spirit of the New Year, I reckon a post about my 2016 beauty resolutions is in order. Every year I make a (mostly unreasonable) list of beauty resolutions, only to realize a few months down the line that they’re just not practical (keep my nails perfectly manicured for 365 days of the year. Or, better yet, never leave the house without lipstick!)
For 2016 I decided to keep my beauty resolutions simple and practical. Other than IPL hair removal, most of them are cost effective, beneficial and not too time consuming.
Here they are…
1.Clean My Makeup Brushes Once A Week
Even as a beauty industry person, I’ll admit I only wash my brushes every two months – that is until I get a breakout, I then wash them immediately. Strange to think that most of us cleanse our face twice a day, yet are so damn slack when it comes to cleaning our makeup tools that we usually use every day.
Here’s why we should be washing our makeup brushes regularly:
- Dirty brushes can cause a breakout. They collect dead skin cells, oil and dust and if not cleaned regularly, this dirt is transferred onto the face. #YUK
- Dirty brushes do not allow for a true colour payoff. This is especially true with products like blush and eyeshadow. Truth be told, you can’t create a dramatic eye look with brushes that are caked with gunky old product.
- Unwashed, dirt brushes can cause skin irritations. Yep, brushes saturated with manky old product are more abrasive for the skin. Cleaning brushes regularly keeps the hairs soft and supple.
- Clean that eyelash curler! I use my lash curler every day and often notice the product build up on the rubber. This can cause the lashes to stick to the curler, pulling out a couple. The best way to clean your eyelash curler is to give it a wipedown with an ear bud that’s been dipped in rubbing alcohol (you can buy it at DisChem).
- Washing your brushes keeps them in tiptop shape while prolonging their life. Good brushes tend to be on the pricy side, so it’s worth looking after your investment.
2. Dry Body Brush Daily
The benefits of dry body brushing with a natural bristle body brush are well documented. Below are 3 reasons it’s so great:
- Dry body brushing reduces the appearance of cellulite as it increases circulation to the skin.
- Body brushing gets rid of dead skin cells, much the same way as exfoliation does. It also encourages cell renewal, resulting in a smoother and clearer looking skin. In addition, it helps tremendously with ingrown hairs.
- It improves lymphatic drainage and blood circulation. It also ensures the body products you apply thereafter work optimally.
How to dry body brush:
Purchase a natural bristle brush, preferably one with a long handle (so you can also brush your back). My favourite one costs R190 and is from The Body Shop – BUY IT HERE.
Always brush dry skin, just before bathing or showering. Work from the ankles upwards, using gentle, upward sweeping strokes. It’s important to brush in the same direction, except for the back – Here you can brush from the neck down to the lower back. Be cautious (and gentle) when brushing sensitive areas like the chest and breasts, and NEVER brush over inflamed or sunburned skin.
3. Moisturise My Body EVERY Day
This seems like a silly resolution, but often, because I’m always in such a rush, I skip moisturising my body altogether for a day or two. The result is dry and flaky skin. This is unacceptable because as a beauty blogger and writer, I get gazillions of body moisturisers, oils and serums to try. I’ve got off to a good start thus far, but then again, we’re only 12 days into the new year. This resolution will most likely be the most challenging to keep.
4. Embrace Hair Accessories
After chopping my hair into a short bob six months ago, I’m now officially over the style and have to contend with my hair being at that dreaded “in between” stage. But, because it’s a new year and all, I’m looking at this optimistically and finding inspiration (mainly on Pinterest) on how to style my hair using accessories. The barrett in the image above is by local design house Waif – check out their website HERE (and a special thanks to my reader Lalannie for informing me about this).
Recently I’ve seen some gorgeous grips, clips and bands that I think are just the accessories to add some interest to my current style. Scarves will also come into play – I mean look at how the one worn above elevates a simple dishevelled bun.
5. Commit to a course of Underarm Hair Removal
Last year I went for one IPL laser hair removal session at Legs 11 in Greenpoint, Cape Town. I was amazed at how much of a difference just this one (10 minute) treatment has had. I’ve noticed much slower growth of my underarm hairs. You can read my post about my experience HERE. I’ve now decided to commit to a course and say bye-bye to my underarm hairs forever. Luckily for me, Legs 11 has a promotion whereby you can buy 6 Brazilian sessions for R2999 and get 6 underarm sessions FOR FREE. Check out the offer at www.legs11.co.za
6. Apply Neck Cream Daily (sometimes even twice a day)
Yep, I’m at that age where I seriously need to look after my neck. If you’re 35 or older, I suggest you do too. As we age, the skin on the neck starts to slacken causing thinning and creasing. Too much sun exposure also becomes evident in the way of hyper pigmentation. Because the skin on the neck doesn’t produce as much natural oils as the skin on the face, it is more prone to dryness, making a good, nourishing, wrinkle busting neck cream a MUST.
I’m keen to know, do you have any beauty resolutions and what are they?
