“I’ll call it ‘5 Out of 7,'” my mother quipped, referring to the short story she jokingly said she would write. Five out of seven refers to the number of people in our family who came down with the stomach flu this Christmas. Naturally, we canceled plans with extended family members, quarantined ourselves at home, and kept the holiday festivities as low-key as possible. Because my daughter was one of “the afflicted five,” I was hit shortly thereafter. My macabre sense of curiosity marveled at how grey I could look, which got me thinking—
We don’t have to fall ill to come down with a case of the mid-winter beauty blahs. Even when we look just fine, we can feel like we look grey, especially if we’re spending more time indoors, seeing less of the sun, and experiencing dry skin (or any other cold-weather beauty woes). Sometimes, the answer isn’t a carefully planned line of attack with vitamin C serum and such-and-such massage technique (though those are always welcome). Sometimes, we just need to get playful with makeup and create a little magic to chase the blahs away. Alternatively, maybe you’ve been in more formal or traditional makeup for holiday purposes, and you’re ready to shed the full-coverage foundation and classic looks; if so, this article is also for you!
The following are just a few ideas to inspire your play.
Striking Ways to Chase Those Beauty Blahs Away
Break seasonal color “rules.”
While we all know there are hardly any hard-and-fast rules about how to wear your makeup during the seasons, we tend to gravitate toward darker or deeper colors during cooler weather. From smoky eyes to red and berry lips, dark colors dominate the classic winter makeup palette. While I personally love traditional cool-weather beauty, sometimes a little post-holidays breather can make my routine feel like new. (Sometimes a swipe of fun pink lip gloss can really put a pep in your step!)
Take a break from the brooding colors of fall and winter with brights and pastels–like this striking look with electric blue eyeliner!
Psst…You can also do this with your scent! Sometimes reaching for a lighter, greener, or more floral scent (i.e., something you’d associate with spring or summer) can feel like a breath of fresh air if you’ve been steeped in orientals, darkly woody, or vanillic scents for the past few months.
When in doubt, add more (or less) glow.
Or glow of another sort. If you’re normally a touch-of-powdered-highlighter person, opt for a generous dab of liquid or cream highlighter. Alternatively, if you’re normally a “glazed donut” kind of gal, scale back and see what it’s like to live a day with barely-there shimmer. Another way to change things up is by infusing your entire look with a little glow by adding a drop of liquid highlighter to your foundation.
The idea is to play with the way light reflects off your face as a way to freshen your look—and feel infused with that very light!
The power of highlighter is real, y’all!
Challenge yourself with something new.
A brown winged liner? Why not!
Sometimes the beauty blahs come when we feel like we’re stuck doing the same look day after day. One way to defeat this is to try something that’s completely new to you. It could really be anything, but the idea is to try something outside the realm of your signature look. For example, for ages, I’ve stuck to wearing eyeshadow in colors that are complementary to my green irises. But lately, I’ve felt emboldened to try wearing a touch of green. It’s completely different from my usual look, but I think it will be just the thing to make beauty boredom a thing of the past…for the moment!
How do you keep your winter look fresh? Let us know in the comments below?
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Photo: Sam Chapman via Instagram, Patrick Ta via Instagram, Fenty Beauty via Instagram
