Beauty Resolutions for 2017

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New Year’s Resolutions are hard.  They involve sacrifice, dedication, will power, hard work, and suffering.  Why go through all that for weeks or months (because let’s be honest, most people make resolutions they don’t keep much longer than February)?  Why not resolve to do something for yourself that is fun, has immediate results, makes you look amazing, and helps you feel good about yourself?  Now those are resolutions anybody can stick to!

Here are 10 beauty resolutions for 2017.  All they require is a YouTube tutorial or two to teach you the new skills and some time and practice to master them.  Easy!

I don’t mean to sound vein and say that beauty resolutions are more important than those for your health or fitness, but let’s be honest—you feel good when you look good, and feeling good is important for your emotional health.  When you feel good about how you look you will be more motivated to pursue those harder goals like losing weight.  So why not give these a try and see how you feel!

10 Beauty Resolutions for 2017

one: floss your teeth every day.  This one is so important, not only for how you look but also for your health.  Bad oral hygiene is really (really!) noticeable.  I don’t know about you, but I look at people’s mouths when they talk, and if there are swollen gums or stained teeth I can’t help but internally cringe.  Flossing is fast, easy and the more you do it the less painful it is, I promise!  Plus, when you go to the dentist for your yearly cleaning it will be such a more pleasant experience.

two: drink warm lemon water first thing in the morning.  This is a very popular practice in the yoga community, and I actually started doing it after reading this article last May.  I’ve been doing it every day and I really enjoy it.  There are numerous health benefits to having that little bit of cleansing acid in your stomach before you eat any food.  But I also find it’s just a small daily practice of self-discipline, and self-discipline is a muscle that needs to be exercised to grow strong.  Just this very morning I woke up thinking about how much I couldn’t wait to eat a piece of gingerbread cake with cream cheese icing, but instead of going straight to the fridge and stuffing my face I had to wait until I finished my lemon water.  It’s easy to do and it really makes you feel good.  I do half a cup of boiling water and half of cold so that I can drink it right away.

three: wash your makeup brushes.  We have to wash our make-up brushes more than once a year!  Bacteria from your face accumulate on the bristles then get redistributed all over your skin every time you put on make-up (yuk!).  Don’t be the cause of your own clogged pores!  Plus, cleaning them regularly gets all the gunk and dark colours off so you aren’t putting gray eyeshadow on when you intended white, and it keeps the bristles crisp so you can draw straight lines.  Clean them routinely, perhaps every Sunday morning after your lemon water.

four: solidify a face cleaning routine.  There are so many gizmos and gadgets and solutions and products out there to help with your face cleansing.  Find a system that works for your skin type and time allowance.  Maybe you want to try one of those spinning brushes, or a new cleanser-toner-moisturizer or a weekly exfoliating system or mask.  Take the time to research your products and read reviews and find the perfect routine for your skin type.  I like the 100% Pure brand for my skincare.  I’m also going to give a konjac charcoal sponge a try, why not?!

five: learn how to contour.  Ok, this is a big one.  If you want your cheekbones to be chiseled without having to lose any weight, all you need to do is know how to shade and highlight properly.  It drastically changes the look of your face!  Look at this picture of me as Cruella De Ville for Halloween—I literally changed the shape of my nose and cheekbones using contouring (an extreme example, but you get the point!).  My favourite make-up tutorials on YouTube are by Kandee Johnson, you will have fun watching her videos!

six: learn how to do winged eyeliner once and for all!  I don’t know about you, but I have struggled with achieving the perfect winged eyeliner pretty much since I started wearing makeup.  I literally figured out how to do it properly a matter of weeks ago!  It’s super important to know your eye shape when doing winged eyeliner, because someone with deep set or hooded eyes cannot use the same techniques as someone with shallow eyes, or someone with a round shape shouldn’t draw the same thickness of line as someone with an almond shape.  Sounds complicated, but once you figure it out it’s magical.  I wish I had figured this one out sooner!  I will eventually do a tutorial on how I do it now (stay tuned for a link).

seven: learn how to do non-winged eyeliner.  If you’ve already mastered the winged eyeliner and have been doing it for years, resolve to find a new technique.  Sometimes it seems like everybody has winged eyeliner—the hostess at the restaurant, the waitress, the popcorn concession lady, the ticket ripper at the theatre…it’s nice to not look like everybody else!  In her book “That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heals and Everything in Between,” Victoria Beckham says that we need to recognize our make-up crutches (those things we just have to do) and let them go.  For Victoria it was lip liner, for me it was winged eyeliner.  Change is good!

eight: master your eyebrows.  This is the most important resolution on this whole list, it drastically changes the way you look.  Rachel Zoe in her book “Style A to Zoe: The Art of Fashion,Beauty and Everything Glamour” says that eyebrows are so important they should be left only to professionals to do.  I tend to agree, but sometimes you live in the middle of nowhere (like me!) and have to learn to do it yourself.  Even if you can’t afford to get them done professionally all the time, save a little money to get it done properly then maintain it yourself for as long as you can.  You’re going to need some tweezers for plucking and a good makeup brush and filler; I love the Anastasia Beverly Hills DipBrow Pomade because it doesn’t smudge on my baby’s face when we snuggle.  Do some research on your face shape and what looks good, and follow pictures of eyebrows you like—I love a really arched pin-up eyebrow myself but my friend loves the straight Natalie Portman look.  Experiment and play around until you’ve mastered it!

nine: find a signature lip colour.  Red lips are glamorous, hot pink lips are fun, deep purple lips are sexy.  Or maybe you’re more of a nude or soft pink person.  Whatever your style, branch out a bit and try some new colours.  You will be surprised at how quickly you get used to a new lipstick shade and how much fun it can be to experiment with new looks.  And please please please don’t forget lip liner!   It’s crucial for defining your lips and making them look bigger and more polished.  There are many different styles of doing your lips—watch this cool video of Kandee Johnson showing 100 Years of Lip Trends—have fun experimenting with different looks.

ten: find a new go-to hairstyle.  Maybe you are a messy top knot person, or a high ponytail kind of girl.  It’s time to find a new way of doing your hair that is easy and fast.  I have fallen into the “Mom-bun” category since having a baby because I have long hair that is very easy to pull.  But my baby is a bit older now and isn’t pulling anymore, so it’s time to change things up.  You’d be surprised at how easy it is to do a 1960’s beehive, especially if you tie a scarf to hide the messy bits—try this tutorial by Cherry Dollface or this one by Pinup Doll Ashley Marie.  There are so many cute pin-up styles and updos and romantic half-up styles to try, there’s no need to be in a hairstyle rut.  Just watch Sara Angius if you need inspiration!

So there you have it, 10 Beauty Resolutions you can do in 2017 that will change how you look and feel pretty much instantly.  Have fun trying things out and let me know in the comments if you find a great YouTube tutorial that I have to try for myself!

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Ruby Woo Red Lipstick: MAC

MAC 109 Small Contour Brush: MAC

Urban Decay Naked Palette 2: Sephora

Guerlain LipLift Lip Primer: Sephora

Anastasia Beverly Hills Mini Due Angled Brush/Spooley 7: Sephora

Camera: Olympus O-MD E-M10 Mark II with 14-42mm IIR lens