This year instead of doing a beauty resolutions post, I wanted to switch the focus a little and do a list of small improvements you can make to step up your beauty game. Making large sweeping resolutions can be tricky because when you fail at one portion it’s very easy to say f*ck it all and just scrap the whole thing.

“I’m going to do perfect winged liner every day and slay everyones face right off of their face! Every Day!”

“I’m never eating another carb again, ever for my entire life!”

Then you mess up your liner once, eat an entire pizza and everything goes straight down the sh*tter.

Making small, doable changes can be much more effective in my experience. Small positive changes are really effective in life, but they’re also really effective in your makeup and beauty routine so why not apply that there as well? So no beauty resolutions, just some reasonable beauty improvements that you can implement easily, make sense? Cool, let’s carry on.

I’ve come up with five little things that you can do to switch things around and step up your makeup game this year…

1. INVEST IN YOUR SKIN // I’ve definitely said this before but it’s worth reiterating. I also don’t necessarily mean to invest your money, an investment of your time can also be a huge game changer. Taking the time to research what your skin needs and trying products accordingly can really change how your skin looks, which will lead to a smoother base for all of your other makeup, or even just the freedom to feel good without any makeup on. I used the Sunday Riley Luna Oil as an example because it was a pricey investment for me, and I did a ton of research before buying it and it has made a huge difference in my skin.
2. FIND CONVENIENT NEW METHODS// It seems these days like everyone is doing more and more as far as their daily makeup (at least on the internet they are) and it can be a little overwhelming. It’s like suddenly you need an hour to put your face on just to keep up. Sometimes I’m down with that, and other times I just don’t have the time or patience. That’s when I reach for new innovative products like contour/ bronzer sticks. This tarte one is a little too warm to use a true contour but on days where I want to look nice in a short amount of time it’s perfect for adding some dimension to the skin very quickly. That’s just one example though. Long wearing shadow pencils, cream shadows that sweep on like gloss, tinted lip balms, all of these things can help you look glam in a hurry. Basically, try new and innovative products, because sometimes they’re a game changer…and if they suck then you can always return them.
3. GO AGAINST THE GRAIN // Everyone is wearing matte lipstick right now, and it’s totally ok to be on trend. But if you find yourself feeling in a rut, try something thats against the grain. I honestly wore nothing but matte lips for months upon months this year, but when ABH released their new glosses I decided to try them and it really got my creativity flowing. I was going to say creative juices but something about the phrase grosses me out. Please tell me I’m not the only one with that aversion. So anyway, for example if everyones strobing and you’ve been doing that non stop and feeling sorta blah, maybe try an entirely matte face…highlight is so popular right now that it literally sounds crazy to say that. All the more reason to try it, you might be the new trend setter.
4. TRY FALSE LASHES AGAIN // If you have tried false lashes and just can’t seem to find a way to make them work for you, try them again. Try a different shape or a better glue and try to get right with them. I swear I finally got better at wearing them and applying them and they have changed everything. You can literally do next to nothing on the rest of your face and look totally glam after popping some on. If you really can’t hang with strip lashes though, maybe try extensions. That’s the ultimate “I woke up like this” move.
5. GET GOOD BRUSHES & PLENTY OF THEM // Having a variety of brushes in different shapes, sizes and densities may be the biggest beauty game changer of all time. Over the last few years I went from having only a few brushes in my personal collection, maybe around seven or so, to having almost 100 of them (a lot are duplicates just to have clean ones for blending) and I literally don’t know how I lived with so few before. You don’t need to have 100 brushes, I have a lot because I try to do a different look for Instagram every day, but having a good variety is key. They don’t have to be super expensive either. Most of mine are either Morphe, Sigma, MakeupGeek or Real Techniques. All of those are affordable and they are really great quality for the price.

Give some of these s try if you’re looking to step things up a bit. And as always, let me know if you have some brilliant way to make improvements in your routine, I love hearing your ideas!