Ahhhhh the New Year…so much hope, so much ambition, and so much drive…for the first couple of weeks. You bought a new calender, you wrote things on it, you might even have put stickers on special dates. You’re going to buy a new wardrobe. You’re going to eat better, and subsequently tighten that ass up. You will finish all of those projects you’ve started.  Basically for those first magical two-three weeks, your life is Vogue and you are Anna Wintour.

What happens after that magic wears off?

I think that New Years resolutions are great – having goals to aim for always are- but don’t set yourself up for failure. Keep it simple and realistic.

I love this list of beauty related resolutions I found on the beauty department:

I vow to:

Find my signature scent.

Exfoliate my face and body at least once a week.

Wear SPF 30 every single day. And I will not forget to cover my ears, neck, décolleté and hands.

Never, ever smoke a cigarette.

Only faux-glow from now on. But not to the point where I’m denying the fact that I’m orange.

Not pick at any pimples I should (hopefully not) get.

Always wash off my makeup before bed.

Find the perfect red lipstick because it will give me an extra dose of sassiness.

Learn to apply my daytime makeup routine in 10 minutes or less.

Throw out all of my expired makeup. If I can’t remember when I bought it, it’s too old.

Clean my makeup brushes every week.

Experiment with styles (in the privacy of your bathroom) that I never thought I could pull off.

Stop over plucking my eyebrows.

Sleep on a satin pillowcase to protect my hair.

Not abuse my flat iron, curling iron, blow dryer or any other hot tool.

Love my natural hair texture.

Stop nibbling on my nails.

Sleep 6-8 hours a night.

Drink lots of water for a healthy body.

Take a multivitamin every day. They even make gummy vitamins for grownups so I have no excuse.

Have better posture.

Donate my time and/or money to a charity I am passionate about.

Smile.

Tell myself that I am beautiful every. single. day.

I like all of these.

let’s recap:

*Always wash off my makeup before bed*

I am guilty of this. Whatever, I get lazy. So I did myself a favor and picked up a ton of these:

$5 – any rite aid, cvs, target, walmart, harmon – everywhere. So I can still be a bit lazy.

*Find the perfect red lipstick because it will give me an extra dose of sassiness.*

I’ve struggled with this one. I always felt like I’m just not the right shade of flesh for red lipstick. Needless to say, I would not accept that as my fate. You just have to find the right shade and hue of red that works for you

 

I wanted to do that orange trend, and I wanted to go Gwen Stefani red (who doesn’t?) but the result was clownish – and a bit scary…I looked like a bit of a working girl. After going through the whole red-spectrum, I’ve finally learned that I look normal in daaark shades of red – burgundy, wine, and even almost plum hues complement my untanned, fair-skinned complexion the best.

I came to this scientific conclusion by buying those .99 cent lipsticks from shop right or rite aid (like “Wet n’ Wild” or “N.Y.C”) until I found the perfect shade. If you fall in love with one of those cheapies you can take it to Sephora or MAC or whoever else sells “big girl” lipstick and the very lovely sales ladies will match it for you. (even if it’s not exactly the same shade, as long as it’s in the same color family it will definitely look good on you)

Wet N’ Wild “Just Garnet” – $.99

Wet N’ Wild “Red Wine” – $.99

N.Y.C “Plum Rum” – $1.99

MAC – In Media

Bobbi Brown Reds

*Clean my makeup brushes every week.*

Why did I just start doing this? (Maybe because I finally upgraded from my finger to actual brushes.) Brushes you use on your eyes shooouuullllddd probably be cleaned every day.  I clean my face makeup brush once a week because it takes longer to dry. Cleaning it keeps it soft, and makes it able to grab onto more makeup.

Seriously all I do is rinse them in warm water, and put a little bit of hand soap in my palm and wiggle the brush in it. Rinse thoroughly, reshape if necessary, and LAY FLAT TO DRY on a towel. Drying them bristle side up can cause the excess water to drop down into the brush and loosen the glue that’s holding the bristles.

*Experiment with styles (in the privacy of your bathroom) that I never thought I could pull off.*

No, it’s not corny. How else are you going to find out what looks good on you? I need to do this more. I’m the moron who tries a new look that ultimately doesn’t work, needs to be taken off with new makeup re-applied ten minutes before I have to be somewhere important where I’ll be getting my photo taken, like a wedding. I will be late, and I will look like I’ve been crying because I was furiously wiping off my shitty job. This also applies to hair.

Behold: the mecca of inspiration for any braided style imaginable courtesy of Blame it on the Boogie

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Head on over to Blame in on the Boogie for the rest – which includes many image and video tutorials.

*Sleep on a satin pillowcase to protect my hair.*

Okay, I knew satin pillowcases were good for your skin because..something about how a cotton pillowcase can further irritate dry skin..oh and you don’t wake up with wrinkles on your face. But being good for you hair is news to me. It makes sense though (read this) I’ll sum it up for you – less bedhead.

I like these because they’re not that ultra shiny shit you’d find in like, a pimp’s room or something

*Drink lots of water for a healthy body.

Take a multivitamin every day. They even make gummy vitamins for grownups so I have no excuse.*

These go hand in hand and are kind of no-brainers, but seriously DRINK LOTS OF WATER. It visibly does wonders for your skin. This is my #1 resolution (see, just keep it simple)

I take vitamin D in the winter because I heard it helps to shoo away the winter blues. I swear it makes me happy

*Tell myself that I am beautiful every. single. day.*

Mmmmm k, realistically this won’t happen, because we are women and some days no matter what, we feel like we look like absolute hell.

Here’s a tip for if you have to stay out until 2am drinking when you have work early the next morning: Wear some shiny ass jewelry to work. I’m serious! For some reason it makes you look put together – hung over people aren’t shiny in the morning, so it will throw everyone off your trail. Don’t go crazy, just wear a pair of earings and you’ll feel upgraded. Keep it simple and classy

Forever 21: $3.80

Forever21: $4.80

Topshop beaded collar: $30

Girlprops Cubic Zirconia studs: $14.99

Basically the lowdown is if you feel like you look like shit, you’re going to feel like shit too. It’s a slippery slope. So, one of my other resolutions has been try to put together a decent work outfit the night before. Not only will I be able to get a little bit more sleep out of it, but there are honestly some days where I’m rushing to find something that looks good on me, and wind up having to head out the door in something I’m not 100% feelin…which results in me being self conscious and feeling like I look a mess all day. Which will result in me giving up, and binge eating cheese while I watch Rupaul’s Drag Race on Netflix all night, instead of working out and being productive.

END POST!!

XOXO

Jenny C