PROMISE!
I must admit that at the time of writing this post, the New Year’s Resolutions page in my Bullet Journal is currently blank. Being away for the 1st January meant that I didn’t really hit the ground running and we’re only just starting to function like normal human beings back on GMT. I’m trying to get back on track, slowly but surely and today I thought I would tackle an area that really has no importance, but is a fun one to tackle nonetheless- beauty. You know the whole drinking more water, buying less stuff schtick? Yep, today that’s what we’re talking about. I managed to narrow it down to five and really they’re all things that I’ve been trying to incorporate over the past six months anyway, but I thought I’d put them down on pixels incase you fancied adding some resolutions to your list because most of them are pretty easy and fun to do. SOD THE DIET, LET’S GO GET OUR BROWS DONE INSTEAD!
Use acids more. When I first got into skincare (read: said goodbye to face wipes and discovered Caroline Hirons’ blog), I tired out all the acids you’ve heard of: P50, Pixi Glow Tonic, Sunday Riley Good Genes (the latter reacted horribly with my skin and gave me a rash that resembled the texture of two day stubble). I used them religiously – perhaps a little too religiously – and in the end I felt like my persistent use was perhaps aggravating more than it was aiding. So a few years ago I pushed them to a side and it wasn’t until late last year that I resurrected a tub of the Pixi Glow Peel Pads that I had hanging around. Instead of using them AM and PM like I had with acids in the past, I used them solely in the evenings and I have to say that I’ve been noticing a real difference; especially when it comes to fine lines, texture and radiance. I can’t see myself incorporating a million different acid formulas back into my routine anytime soon, but I do vow to use them in a more measured way in 2018, so hopefully the rash beard doesn’t make a reappearance.
Drink more water *yawn*. It’s actually boring to write this phrase out for the 768th time, but I fear that if I don’t stop writing it in posts with titles like this, then I may just end up slowly dehydrating until I turn into a shrivelled raisin one day. I need to be held accountable, so if one of you could just tweet me once a day to make sure that water has passed my lips at some point then that would be great. A few of you could take it in turns if that’s easier? The whole ‘7 glasses of water a day thing’ or whatever it is, is slightly tough at the moment as we have builders renovating our bathroom and being a nervous pee-er, this is not an ideal situation. However in the period after we got back from honeymoon and before the work began I was chugging down on the good stuff like a pro and my skin was practically luminescent. It’s boring, but it works and when we have full use of the toilet facilities again I’m going to be back on it. PROMISE.
Ignore the trends. I’ve been a reader of beauty blogs for nearly ten years now. I still scroll through my favourites before bed – albeit with a bit more style, news and interior content these days – and still buy ridiculous things that I don’t need or use because I’m a sucker for hype. I think that’s my main aim here – not to buy into the hype. Sure, glitter highlighters are having a moment and previously I probably would have picked one up to see what the crack is, but these days I know what I like, what I don’t and quite frankly, this year I’m going to rein in any and all behaviours that constitute wasting money. So one part of that for me, means putting my blinkers on and only hauling items that I really need or already have an inkling that I’m going to love. In fact I’ve already put the wheels into action last week on this and have a beauty haul that’s more on the conservative/repurchases only side, coming up soon.
Continue to downsize. This goes hand in hand with my previous resolution, but I want to continue my capsule process across both my wardrobe and my beauty drawers into 2018. You know me I hate clutter and I hate things that are just sitting there getting dusty even more. I had a quick comb through my beauty drawers before the builders moved into my office a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve really tried to be ruthless with what’s left; keeping only those items that are back-ups of ones that I love and I know I’m going to use up, or bits that I can’t wait to use once whatever I’m currently using are used up. Of course I can never resist adding the odd new item every now again, but I it’s all about USING THINGS instead of clutter that I feel the need to hold onto ‘just incase‘.
Call in the professionals. I try to DIY my beauty routine as much as I can; I pluck my brows, give myself facials, lazer zap my bikini line, do gel polish pedicures at home. But sometimes you just can’t top the professionals, so when you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Now I’m not saying that I fancy swanning in and out of salons multiple times a week, but I do fancy trying to fit in some kind of routine when it comes to brows and facials in particular. After getting my brows threaded when I was on holiday in NZ, I’ve fallen back in love with the method for the way that it defines without looking too severe. So I’m going to book in for treatments at Blink whenever I’m in London because do those ladies know their way around a piece of cotton. Another London-based recommendation that I’m going to attempt to squeeze in on my London-based days are facials at Sarah Chapman because they are honestly heavenly. Pricey, but heavenly and again it was a facial in NZ that reminded me just how special it is to have someone give your face some TLC and tease all your blackheads out for you. Get more facials and remember to get your eyebrows threaded? It’s hardly an arduous one to keep, but aren’t they the best resolutions?
Photos by Lauren Shipley
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