New Year (Makeup) Resolutions

Posted by Peta-Gai | no comments

If you’re like a lot of the population at the moment, you’re setting goals, making resolutions and hoping that 2014 is better in all ways than 2013.

Well, I’m making some BEAUTY New Year Resolutions, with the hope that 2014 is a more beautiful year all round. Here are the top new year BEAUTY resolutions Iridis Cosmetics thinks may help you:

1.     Before going to sleep, get the makeup off your eyes, face and lips! Every time! If you don’t, not only does it make your pillow unhygienic, greasy and dirty, but to leave your makeup on at night can weaken your lashes, clog your skin, cause breakouts, redness, wrinkles and pimples, and literally can make you look older. Cleanse, tone if you need to, and moisturise before bed – EVERY night!

2.    Clean out your makeup! Makeup has a use-by date – did you know that? It even has the “use by” guide on the bottle or tube so you know when to toss it. It’s a little symbol of an open jar with a number and letter on it. For example, 12M means 12 Months, 18M, 18 Months. That’s right – if it’s opened and you haven’t used it up in that time, then it’s time to toss it! The easiest way to keep track of when you opened a product is to make a note in your phone or diary.  Go through your makeup bag or drawer and if you can’t remember the last time you used it, or it smells bad – chuck it out! Then find the little symbol and mark down when you think you should replace those products. Oh, and mascara only lasts for 3 months – or eye conditions can be the result.

3.    Put the tweezers down! Over plucked brows can age you, date you, and make your nose look bigger and wider. The fuller brow is definitely here to stay and it’s time to stop over-plucking. Sydney Celebrity Brow Artist, Jazz Pampling (who sculpts the brows of the likes of Naomi Watts and Samantha Harris) shares that a great tip to avoid overplucking is to fill your eyebrows in first with a brow pencil or shadow, and create the shape you desire, then only pluck the hairs outside of that shape. This helped me rehab my brows – that, and lowering the arch, by pencilling in for a more youthful look. We’ll be covering that in a makeup tutorial later this year.

4.    Choose only makeup colours that suit you.  The right blusher colour can lift your face, make you look younger, more awake and glowing. The wrong colour will highlight imperfections in the skin, over-flush your face or detract from your gorgeous eyes. Same thing with eyeshadows and lipsticks – wrong colour choice can really affect your overall gorgeousness. Iridis can help with an Expert Colour Consultation. Talk to us about whether you’re a “cool colour” or a “warm colour” gal, which shades you should avoid, which colours can make you look sick, and which colours will pop your eyes, enhance or your features, and you’ll never waste money on the wrong colours again!

5.     Following on from choosing the right makeup colours, learn how to use what you have properly. Iridis Cosmetics conducts makeup audits as part of any 2+ hour makeup lesson. We will review your current makeup, check for those past the use by dates, and then teach you how to apply it to flatter you, enhance your beauty, and otherwise make you feel as gorgeous as you look.

6.    Sunscreen! Sunscreen! Sunscreen! Most of the ageing effects on our skin are due to environmental damage and the biggest one is sun exposure. Not only do you run the risk of skin cancer, but sun damage causes wrinkles, pigmentation, fine lines and can exacerbate redness or uneven skin texture. Did you know that SPF50+ offers only marginally better protection from Ultra Violet B (UVB) radiation than SPF30+. SPF50+ filters out 98% of UVB radiation compared to 96.7% blocked by SPF30+.SPF50+ sunscreen still needs to be applied just as liberally, re-applied every two hours (or after swimming, exercising and towel drying). So grab a hat and look all mysterious and sunblock away, under foundation, and pick a foundation with sunscreen.  Use the fake tanners, spray tanners and bronzers to really great your glow on. Or, stay pale and interesting!

7.   Creating great makeup means starting with great skin, which means you should develop a great skin care routine, including regular facials. Foundation can only do so much – if the skin underneath the makeup isn’t smooth, exfoliated, moisturised and cared for, your makeup won’t look as awesome as it should. Skin that isn’t cared for can look dull, have dry or oily patches, or flat and lifeless. Plump up the moisture, and create a beautiful base worthy of a beautiful foundation.

8.    Leading on from great skin preparation – moisturise from within and drink at least 2.5 Litres of water every day. 3.5 Litres if you’re exercising. Water is the building blocks of great skin and is absolutely essential to renew skin cells, heal blemishes and hydrate your gorgeous face. Avoid too much caffeine, stay off the nasty pretend sugar, and top up with water throughout the day.

9.    One of the most resolved goals each year – give up smoking! We know it causes cancer (you’ve seen the images on the packets), and the effects it has on your face will be with you for the rest of your life. Squinting eyes to avoid the smoke gives you crows feet, and overly puckering your lips to suck back the nicotine can create lines around your mouth (when you’re 45 and want to wear a lippy and it bleeds into the lines, you’ll be cursing your addiction!). Not to mention all the nasties in the cigarettes that really takes a toll on your face – now and into the future. Give up the fags and you’ll be richer, with more younger looking skin…and less likely to die from cancer or emphysema. All great reasons to quit!

10.    Last resolution – Get more sleep! There are countless studies to show that sleep is an important part of any beauty routine – there’s a reason it’s called “beauty sleep”! Aim for at least 7 hours, get 8 if you can, and see the effect it has on your gorgeous face. Á well rested face is a gorgeous face.

Happy New Year Beauty! Love, Peta-Gai x

 

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