The five beauty resolutions I'll be setting for 2024…
And the beauty BS I'm leaving behind in 2023...
That first week of January is always chaotic AF. We seem to forget all our routines over the festive break, motivation swings from high (I’m doing Veganuary,) to low (pass the me the KFC hot wings NOW) and getting back to work seems to be really bloody hard (maybe that’s just me…!) It’s also my birthday, which is unfortunate timing.
So, I think it’s better to wait a couple of weeks until that first bit of January is over before you make any goals for the year ahead. These beauty resolutions wont urge you to spend more, or chastise you for not wearing SPF (although definitely do.) Instead they’re the beauty rules I’m going to try and live by in 2024 and I‘m sharing them in case they’re also valuable additions to your resolutions list.
Free to share them with anyone you think might enjoy reading this column. And is there anything you’d add to this list? I’m curious to know!
Remember that beauty shopping and self care are NOT the same…
Beauty can be a form of self care if you genuinely enjoy the process; take the healing touch of a massage, or the joy you get from applying your favourite green eyeshadow for example. But the beauty industry juggernaut like almost every industry out there would have us believe that we need to spend our money as a part of self care.
Self care has become a powerful marketing tool in the last decade, despite studies repeatedly showing that the things that really boost our sense of wellbeing are like, totally free. Everything from good quality sleep, walking in nature, being with friends daily and meditation has been proven to dial up our happiness levels. But when faced with various wellness paraphernalia, or a beauty product that promises to make you feel good it’s hard to resist.
If you are making self care a focus in 2024 like I am, ditch the belief that buying stuff equals self care - it’s so, so easy to get caught up in that idea when we’re constantly being sold that concept by brands. As we know, the immediate one-off boost we get from a new lipstick or scented candle doesn’t have anywhere near as much impact as going for a walk with your mates or playing with your dog. They’re nice additions, sure, but buying them is not an act of self care itself.
Stop, before you shop…
Look, nobody knows the lure of an impulse buy better than I do. My ADHD brain is wired to search for dopamine in a whole host of places that I'd rather it wouldn't for the sake of my bank balance, like TK Maxx, vintage stores and Chanel (I don’t discriminate when it comes to shopping, frens.)
But hands up who has a shelf stuffed with beauty (and fashion) loot they bought on a whim? Often because they were suckered into sales, beguiled by clever marketing emails or influenced by some dickhead on Tik Tok who said it was life changing (and it turned out to be anything but.) We don’t get rid of them because we spent money on them, and yet they languish in a cupboard taking up valuable physical space and mental space (from the guilt of the money spent on them.)
So here’s my tip: round up all those forlorn unused products, acknowledge the cost and take a picture of them to remind you of all your previous impulse purchases when that urge to splurge hits. That’s not to say you shouldn’t buy the things you want, but reality check helps discern whether it’s for a dopamine hit or you genuinely want it. If that fails, create a list somewhere (mine’s on the Notes app on my phone) and add that item you’re obsessed with to the list. At the end of the month review the list and decide whether you still want it or not - and if you do, go for it. But chances are the impulse and urge will have died down.
As for the products you don’t want anymore, if they’re old (over a year for anything liquid/cream-based and two years for anything powder-based) they may have to be binned if they’re opened (I actually use older/unwanted creams/serums on neglected body parts like hands and feet, but try that at your own risk.) You could pass newer used products on to pals to try if they’re happy to use them, or local food banks often accept used and unused products, so check out Toiletries Amnesty for a full list of places. If they’re unopened you could donate them to Beauty Banks too who have lots of drop off points. (Those outside of the UK might be best going direct to food banks to see what they will and wont take.)
Sometimes you buy stuff and it doesn’t work out, that’s a fact of life. But once we’ve done a clear out, let's all vow to shop more consciously, slowly and less impulsively in 2024 - both for the planet, and our bank accounts.
3. Get real about the effects of doom scrolling
I’ve lost count of the conversations I’ve had with friends where they’ll suddenly mention how much they dislike something about their appearance, and when I probe a bit more about the trigger, it’s always something on social media that has made them feel awful about themselves.
I think we need to get real with ourselves about the impact of what we are seeing when we scroll through social media. The algorithm prioritises ‘attractive’ faces, which are predominantly filtered, young and white, because that's what it’s been trained to see as beautiful. Looking at these every day, often before we’ve even woken up properly, is a really damaging way to start your day, and there are reams of studies showing the links between social media usage and a lower level of self esteem. But how much doom scrolling will it take before we realise that what we’re doing is self harm? And that those algorithms were literally created to make us feel lacking, to keep scrolling and to buy what we’re being sold?
I think the first step is to notice when you’re doing it; I only ever doom scroll when I’m procrastinating, exhausted, sad and in need of legit self care like sleep. The next step is deleting/muting anyone who makes me feel rubbish about your appearance - whether it’s mates or celebs. I’m not saying don’t use social media at all but we need to be way more cautious and considered with how we use it, when we use it and who we follow because honestly the tech companies give zero f*cks about our mental health - and that’s the truth.
Do a brutally honest beauty audit
How much do you spend on beauty a year? Do you actually know?
Between products, treatments like hair removal or nails, cuts, dying, massages and many more, it can really add up. If we genuinely enjoy it and can afford it then that’s swell. But when we don’t enjoy the process, it feels like it’s a waste of money or like an obligation of some kind, that could mean we’re not doing it for the right reasons, and that’s worth exploring. Do you really need to get a bikini wax if you hate the process and dread it? Or are societal beauty standards compelling you to do so? Do you actually enjoy spending three hours in a salon having your hair coloured? Or would you rather spend that time and money doing something else?
Last year I felt like I needed to have my nails looking polished all the time due to promoting my book, and that pressure came from my perceived expectation that a beauty editor should always look groomed. I get super bored having my nails done, and now they are totally obliterated from a year of gel manicures, so I’m ditching them for a while, and honestly I’m stoked about the money this will save and what I could do with that instead.
So take a look at your current beauty habits, how much time you spend doing them, and how much they cost then ask yourself whether you really enjoy it, or would you rather spend the time and money on something else. There are so many beauty practices that we have been culturally conditioned to take part in, but we do have the choice to say no.
Choose one beauty standard to push through in 2024
This could be the year you finally get over that hang up that’s stopping you from really enjoying your life or expressing yourself fully. That’s a pretty exciting thought right? But I realise it’s all terrifying too.
I’m going to tell you mine so I stay accountable. If I could, I’d wear black jeans with a band tee tucked in every single day. But I don't do that because I’ve had it ingrained in me that you should hide your stomach if it isn’t flat. I carry most of my weight around my middle, so I’ve never tucked tops into trousers for fear of this. But this year, I’m going to try and push through that belief to actually wear what I want, the way I want to wear it.
What’s that one hang up you could gently start to try and overcome (not fix) that could make a big difference to how you see yourself? Perhaps it’s finally wearing a bikini on a beach, no matter what size you are. Maybe it’s having a massage despite the fact you feel conscious about your body. Do you feel like your arms are too big to wear certain clothes, or that you’re too old to wear neon pink lipstick? (Just pick one thing to focus on - any more might be too overwhelming.)
So, how do you push through this belief? This method works for me, so if it works for you then feel free to use it with abandon.
-What’s the historical origin or reason this beauty standard exists?
If we use my example, slim, tall, caucasian bodies became the beauty standard during the 1800s. A hierarchy of beauty was created to distinguish the ‘ideal’ caucasian beauty from others who were seen as less attractive, namely those in colonised nations. This meant that people of colour, our features, our bodies, our skin and our hair were all seen as a less covetable beauty feature; a vestige that remains to this day.
-Next, what kept this looping through time?
Over time, a number of industries - from fashion, food, toys, publishing, health, beauty and more - have profited from promoting thinness. That’s a huge part of what’s kept this beauty ideal so present in society. I first received the messaging around body size in my childhood as I played with my Barbies, then graduated to the teen mags I adored and stores I coveted that that only sold tiny sized clothes. The pop stars of the era, like Britney and Christina with their washboard stomachs did NOT help either.
-What actions could I take to start to chip away at this belief?
This is the crucial bit. I’m going to add a stack of people with bodies shaped like mine and wearing the styles I like to my social media feeds so I can start to really normalise this for myself and finally, finally wear what I’d like.
Did any of these resonate? Let me know down below - and happy 2024.
The black jeans/shirt combo is an awesome lock and you are rocking it!
You look great in that outfit!
I'm not really leaving anything behind, I think (although maybe the bikini thing...) but I did stop dying my hair about 5 years ago because I hated dying it and I was fed up of doing it. I found actively seeking out grey hair inspiration on social media was really helpful, as prior to that I'd seen no real age appropriate, positive grey hair images. Seeing others regularly and in a positive light, really helped - both through the process of growing it out and beyond. So I definitely recommend following hashtags and accounts that change up your feed and make it more diverse and more representative of what you WANT to see.