Here’s the deal: We’re all doing our damn best to keep ourselves (and perhaps little people or little pets) alive and well every day.
Making beauty resolutions (or any type of resolutions) is a great way to remind yourself of personal life goals, but it’s even more effective to go back and review past goals to see how things are shaping up for you.
Instead of thinking up random, new goals for 2017, I’ve revisited beauty resolutions from years past (2011 — 2013!) to see how I’ve progressed.
Beauty Resolutions I’ve Kept
Wash my face every night before bed.
I’d be lying if I said I have been doing this every. single. night. since I made this resolution, but for the most part, I’ve been pretty consistent about my bedtime routine.
As I’ve gotten older, it’s become more of a wind-down, relaxing part of my day, and I don’t dread it as much anymore because I just don’t wear as much makeup as I did in my 20s.
Spoken like a true 30-something who’s comfortable in her skin.
Invest in a monthly manicure.
True, I sometimes go more than four weeks without a manicure, but for the most part, I’m either going to my local salon for a perfect polish, or I’m taking time out on my own to clean up my cuticles and apply a clear coat. In the professional world, I notice people’s hands a lot more, so I can only assume clients are noticing mine, too. Gotta stay on top of it.
Moisturize every day.
Body oils have saved me, and now, things like cotton gloves and toe socks are helping me max out my moisture game. I could not imagine stepping out of the shower without having 1) used a creamy, moisturizing body polish or 2) applying body oil from head to toe before toweling off.
Cut my hair and maintain a healthy hairstyle.
I’m so looking forward to a haircut in a couple weeks, as my stylist has been on maternity leave. Even with this slight delay, it hasn’t taken me off of my typical 8-12 week hair appointment. Even if it’s just a trim, this is much more frequent than my past 6-month cycle. Uber-long locks just doesn’t work with my fine, straight hair. I much prefer a medium-length or short style.
Dispose of my contacts before my eyes get really, really red.
I can’t believe I used to stretch my biweekly lenses to more than a month. At about three weeks of wear, my eyes get so itchy. Blame it on being older.
Drink more tea.
While I’ll probably never be a tea addict, I do love an evening cup of peppermint tea. Bonus points to have someone else make it for you.
Invest in a monthly massage.
This is probably the best money I spend every month. I just came out of a 2-hour massage this week (I had to catch up because I missed a month). Knowing that I have designated time and money to chill the f*ck out brings me bliss. In case you’re wondering, I just go to a simple membership massage place; no frills, just good therapists who know how to do hot stone, deep tissue massages.
Pamper myself with a weekly facial.
I do this at home — sometimes even twice a week (Sundays and Wednesdays). It will save you money and can just be built into your evening routine. I used to get monthly professional facials, and it was just a little too much. Save those important treatments for a quarterly or seasonal reset, and do your own maintenance with your regular products at home.
Beauty Resolutions I’ve Struggled With
Wash my makeup brushes twice a month.
I suck at this. I use a lot of different makeup brushes and while this probably only takes about 30 minutes to do, it’s another thing to do. As someone who’s committed to better skin health, this has to move to the top of my list this year. I washed my brushes this week and will set some reminders to do it again in two weeks.
Purge my beauty stash.
As a beauty blogger, this is a constant struggle. My main goal of the New Year will be to focus in on this: only bring in what really brings me and my skin joy. Everything else has to go. That means it can be gifted to friends and family, or it just has to go in the trash. No regrets, no shame and no digging it out looking back.
Wear sunscreen every day.
My morning skincare routine is somewhat extensive, and I don’t like layering on too much. While my foundation usually has SPF in it, I know that’s probably not enough. Currently, I’m trying an SPF primer that may help eliminate some skincare steps and keep me truly protected. This will be a higher priority this year, too.
Get more sleep.
I’m a night owl. Always have been, and always will be. I try to be in bed by midnight. I set a sleep alarm to help motivate me to wind down. Eight hours is the goal. Seven hours is acceptable. Six hours is dysfunctional. I try, try, try every night. Another big goal this year.
Stay committed to my Ashtanga yoga practice.
I’m not disappointed that I haven’t kept this resolution, as I have been exploring different types of yoga as well as different types of workouts in general. However, it’s been a while since I’ve stepped into an Ashtanga studio, and I truly miss it. I’ll be making my way back at some point, but I won’t beat myself up over choosing things like flow, hot yoga, weight training and HIIT workouts instead. Variety is just fine.
Experiment with different hair and makeup looks.
When it comes to makeup, I play with lip colors a lot but tend to stick in the brown / gold eye shadow range. No biggie. But when it comes to hair … I’m just kind of boring. I rarely wear it up or curl it (remember, not a morning person), and that’s just how it’s going to be. Not a priority.
Keep my hands soft and safe.
Remember those cotton gloves I mentioned earlier? That comes into play here, as does SPF hand lotion. This is the best I’ve found.
Take my vitamins.
I’m not very consistent with this, but I’m working on it. Currently, I take prescription vitamin D, so I just tack on a few other supplements into my weekly cocktail. That includes borage oil, vitamin C, zinc, omegas and a skincare gummy that has collagen and hyaluronic acid. See why I struggle with this? ::patiently awaits the creation of one magic cure-all pill::
Schedule a skin cancer screening.
I’ve only done this once in the past 5 years. Now that I have a good, local dermatologist, I should probably do this again, stat.
Beauty Resolutions That Just Haven’t Happened
Take shorter showers.
When you aren’t a morning person, have all sorts of fun products in your shower and live in a place that can be negative degrees on a winter morning, you just don’t take short, warm showers. I’ve forgiven myself.
DIY before I buy.
I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will just never be a DIY kind of girl. The farthest I really go is mixing up clay masks … as in, just adding water or honey to an already-packaged dry blend. I’m not sorry.
Skip the shampoo.
Unless you count sitting around on Sundays and not going out in public, I just have to wash my hair every day. It’s too fine and oily not to. You do you, girl.
