When it comes to beauty, finding your personal path should be a top priority. Women who get this right will often have more and more satisfying experiences in front of the mirror.
The reason finding your personal beauty path is important is because it’s your unique way of feeling confident and radiant. You want to be authentic with your skincare, makeup, and hair, and not necessarily chase trends.
But how do you do this? Let’s take a look.
Reflect on your why
You’ll want to start by reflecting on your why and thinking about what feels good. I like to ask myself what makes me feel most like myself. That’s where the power comes from.
This sort of reflection is a great idea at the start of the year, when you’re looking at getting back into work and social events again. You’ll want to journal or think about moments from the previous year when you felt most alive and in touch with yourself.Did you prefer it when you were putting in minimal effort or full glam?
Once you understand what’s motivating you, it’s much easier to find your personal beauty style. You can also identify what your activities are doing. For example, are they increasing your confidence or just giving you a low-maintenance routine in the morning that you can do quickly? When you understand your personal approach to beauty, then it sets the foundation for the entire year.
Check your features and what flatters you
Do you have a warm or cool skin tone? What is your face shape and do you have any standout features? A lot of women have big eyes or high cheekbones. If you have any of these, then it’s worth emphasising them and looking for ways to complement them.
Another approach is to drape different colours near to your face and then see which ones match. Some skin tones work best with gold, while others work better with cool fabrics. It’s really just up to you to figure out what’s going to harmonise. Once you know your colour palette, it makes it easier to choose products, whether it’s clothes or make-up. You can get a pretty good idea of what’s going to suit you without having to constantly experiment.
Use trial and error
Sometimes you need to use trial and error to decide what looks good on you. The best way to do this is to look at one new thing per week and see how it works. For example, you could change a certain ingredient or wear a bold lipstick. When you’re experimenting, take selfies in the same lights, perhaps in your bathroom. Then you can see how your appearance is changing over time.
If you have a signature look, don’t be afraid to change it. While signatures can make you more recognizable, they can also sometimes be an unnecessary island of safety. Once you embrace trial and error, you’re free to look for different methods to enhance your appearance. After a few months of mixing and matching different products and styles, you’ll discover combinations that work for you. For example, you might combine some of your old favorite outfits with new accessories or you could try a new hair cut to go with some shoes you just ordered online. It’s really just a matter of experimenting until your outfits feel effortless.
Build a mood board
Another thing a lot of women like to do is build a mood board. This is designed to give you a flavour of what’s going to look good on you based on images you see on Instagram and Pinterest. You should find that certain aesthetics automatically draw you in. You don’t have to copy what other women are wearing online exactly, but if you can notice patterns then that’s often a good way to determine what’s going to look good on you.
As you explore, you may find that you discover a totally different colour palette that you weren’t expecting. For example, if you’re used to wearing bright colours, you might find out that you like earthy tones instead. You might also prefer romantic floral dresses to conventional modern clothes, especially as these seasons change. Once you have a visual diary in place, you can look at what themes emerge, you should notice patterns developing over time, pointing you towards wearing specific types of clothing.
Define your cosmetics
After that, you’ll want to define your cosmetics. You need to think about how you’re going to combine them with your outfits. For example, my favorite cosmetic dentist is one who understands aesthetics.
Many women start with skincare, but it can be a good idea to begin with your teeth. Once you have the right structure in your mouth, the rest of the face and complexion often follows. You can also get a more defined jaw and chin. After that, you can look at more superficial interventions.
Factor in your lifestyle
Another thing you’ll want to consider is your lifestyle. You’ll need to be honest about your routine. While celebrities can afford to spend hours looking in the mirror every day, you might not be so lucky. In these cases, you’ll want to prioritize interventions that perform multiple tasks at once. For example, you could use tinted moisturiser and a lip or cheek stain.
If you like ritual, then you might want to invest in luxurious treatments. But your beauty should be about your lifestyle in particular. It shouldn’t be something you’re cramming in every day and trying to get done.
Forget your past
Finally, when it comes to beauty, it’s often critical to forget your past. If you think that your experiences are fixed because of your mood, age, or just how you’ve always done it, then that’s the wrong approach. You can always evolve how you approach beauty and lifestyle. Many beauticians recommend revisiting your strategies every 6-12 months. The approaches that you used when you were 20 are unlikely to still apply when you’re 40.