Beauty-Positive Goals for a Happier You

The older I get the less I believe in making New year 'resolutions' in the traditional sense. This is mainly because the burnout effect come February of said resolutions is generally all too real for me to believe setting resolutions actually works. We all make such a conscious effort to stick to our resolutions in January that it's the ironic downfall of sustaining them for the following eleven months!

So this January, for the 2nd year, I've decided to set myself positive-focus goals that aim to improve my wellbeing and sense of self-care that I'm much more likely to achieve and enjoy. While these consist of a little reading challenge (find me on Goodreads here!) to even starting a pin collection just for fun, I thought I'd focus on my own beauty-positive goals that I feel could be applied and achieved by anyone for a happier and more confident sense of self in 2019!

Makeup-free days
I don't know about you but I can easily get into a rut of always relying on makeup. However when you look in the mirror and your naked face sans makeup doesn't feel like 'you' then it's time to change things. 

I truly believe aiming for makeup-free days both around the house and when out and about can improve self confidence and give your skin a much needed break. While leaving the house makeup-free may feel daunting as soon as you realise no one cares or even notices it can be a liberating experience that soon becomes normal. 

Over the past year, I've definitely got out of the habit of leaving the house without makeup so I will be focusing on improving that and feel it will be a positive change that I can hopefully keep up. 


Treat your skin with kindness
From black heads to visible pores, fine lines and pigmentation the natural aspects of our skin have been made out as 'flaws' by skincare companies world wide, for decades. It makes sense, it sells products! But surely our own opinion on such a complex and impressive organ as the skin shouldn't stem from such marketing strategies. Would the skin on our face be as important as say the skin on our arms if this billion pound industry didn't exist? Highly likely! 

So this year I'm pledging to almost decondition these negative views about my face and except my enlarged pores (which are totally normal) and stop centering my skincare routine around anti-aging and corrective aimed products. Instead, I want to treat my skin with kindness! 

This means out with any kind of pore extraction, or even focusing on my pores at all. Out with any kind of harsh treatments. And in with products that will keep my skin nourished and happy. 

I personally find skin acts and feels it's best when makeup is thoroughly removed so I will be taking the time to do that every night, with a double cleanse using my favourite products. Aiming to enjoy this time knowing it's benefiting my skin rather than feeling like a chore!

This is much a change of my own persception of my skin as it is a change of negative physical acts (my magnifying mirror has already gone in the bin!) and a journey I'm looking forward to going on. 

Stop comparing yourself to others
Ergh, ergh, and ergh! 21st-century comparison is at an all-time high and let's face it: the glossy nature of Instagram plays a huge role in that. 

With blurred lines of what is real and what is fake on Instagram these days it's easy to think everyone is living their best life. And while that would be great if it were true, I'm more inclined to say it's a case of smoke and mirrors to fit in with the now normal polished aesthetics of Instagram.

So if you are someone that ends up comparing yourself to others on social media then realising this fact may go a long way. It's also within your power to realise comparison in the thief of joy and you can live life without comparing it to that of others. 

If you find you are doing this with beauty and fashion accounts or even home interior account (because that's definitely the 'thing' now) then it's fine to unfollow those accounts to stop your own comparison and to allow for appreciation of your own life to shine through. 


Treat yourself to makeup that brings you joy
Following on from my goal of treating my skin with kindness and not focusing on 'flaws' I'm extending this to my buying habits. I feel this is a great one for all makeup lovers that want to make makeup more fun and enjoyable. 

You may fit into this if you are someone that purchases more foundations than you need in order to find the one that perfectly masks your pores, or, you may be someone that tries to stick to matte formulas when it comes to eye makeup as you don't want to draw attention to fine lines. Or maybe contour is your thing due to wishing you had a different nose or face shape!

What ever it is, this is the time to throw out your own restricted rule book and embrace makeup you love the look of apposed to makeup that you believe will make you look younger or prettier! If you love foil eyeshadows then wear them! If you love bold lips on other people then start loving bold lips on yourself! For me this will mean embracing my love of sparkle and glitter and being much braver with my lip colour choices.

We all most likely own enough 'corrective' makeup so let 2019 be the year we don't add to it but enjoy the makeup we love! 

While these beauty-positive goals don't fit in with the usual kind of resolution making I hope this blog post has inspired you to embrace your own beauty and work on your self-confidence along side your love of makeup! 

Fee xo.