I suppose it wouldn’t be right for a beauty blogger to not address the question of a New Year’s Resolution, from a beauty standpoint. Many people want to make resolutions, but some struggle to define exactly what would mean the most to them. I was in that boat, and then suddenly, it hit me when getting ready this morning – to take more care of myself, starting that moment it hit my brain. Now, “take care” could mean a lot of things, but it is simply a beautiful thought as well. Care. That also can mean head to toe. Here’s my interpretation of what that means to me:

1. Take the time for healthcare: the start of the holiday season every year also brings the start of cold season. If you get sick, take it easy, and know that putting off sleep or forcing yourself to keep going doesn’t make you better. I see and hear so many of my coworkers fighting through colds and flu in the office, and I’ll admit I did it myself several times in 2015. Not only do you feel awful, you probably feel like you look awful too. That doesn’t build good self-esteem either. Sometimes, yes, we have to power through – but ensure that you don’t push yourself so hard that you end up with a more serious illness. Sleep is often the most needed remedy, and it’s worth taking the time to get enough of it. No amount of makeup can cover up exhaustion or illness.
2. Stress release: I am a true byproduct of the famous Mattel Barbie tagline of “we girls can do anything” motto. Yes, I think women can do anything, but we don’t have to do everything – especially all at once. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to be way less harsh on myself, and learned to take time out of my day to release stress.  The pressures that are put on women everyday are enormous, but also in a lot of cases, unrealistic. Stress also ages our bodies so badly. Just look at any world leader’s photos from the day they take office to the day that they leave it – the gray hair, crow’s feet, weight gained or lost… Our relationships also fall under this category, as we often absorb other’s stresses along with our own. Make sure that you take care to handle stress as positively as possible, and allow other people to help you do that.
3. Get ready in the morning with pride: Now, I’m not suggesting that you go to the level of one of the 7 Deadly Sins. But I encourage that you take a few extra minutes when getting ready to make sure that you are putting the best version of yourself together before you leave your house. I often hear women, and men, complain that they have to rush to get out the door, and therefore just slap clothes on and run. That often stems from a feeling of disorganization, chaos, or that hair, makeup, and putting together an outfit take too much time. Try a new approach for a week, and keep it simple to help it become routine. I never leave the house without some makeup on, for example. It’s not because I’m high maintenance, and it could be as basic as mascara and lip gloss. The little added bit of polish makes me feel good about myself, and it makes me feel confident. If you add a few extra minutes to your routine, it won’t hurt you – just plan for it. When you like the way you look, it will reflect in your overall attitude, confidence in your own abilities, and your interactions with others.
4. Be patient: Life is messy, and often doesn’t go according to plan. I often found patience to be boring when I was a teen. I wanted things to happen now, and couldn’t wait for something to either start or end. Due to that, I found I often made rush decisions, or didn’t give myself enough time to really think about what I wanted. Take care by being flexible and patient with yourself. Keep your goals, but also know that they can take time and change to achieve them. For example, the skin takes an average of 28 days to show improvement in a new skincare routine, since skin cells are constantly turning over. No miracle product will make it happen overnight, and so you need to keep working at it (and be patient) to see results.

As much as this post is basic life advice, it is also beauty advice. There are thousands of products on the market that promise that “healthy glow”, but in reality, the best way to achieve that is by aiming to be healthy. And it doesn’t have to just be an annual calendar year event in order for us to make it part of our lives. If you take care of yourself, you will ultimately also help take care of others by being the best version of yourself. Cheers to a happy, and healthy, 2016!

© 28daysbeauty 2016