How to kick-start your New Year beauty resolutions this 2020
30 January 2020, 13:19
You don't need to splurge to completely overhaul the way you think about health and beauty, a bit of self-care is good for everyone!
We’re nearly at the end of the first month of 2020, and if you haven’t jump-started all of your resolutions, now is the time to start.
If one of your main resolutions is to start taking beauty seriously, you’ve come to the right place.
From skincare essentials everyone should own to brilliant foundations that work with any skin type – here’s all you need to know
Skincare must-haves
Not everyone gets the whole luxury skincare hype and would rather swear by a tub of E45 or Nivea Cream, but trust me when I say that just moisturising won’t give your skin everything you need.
There’s no need to overcomplicate things, as there’s a seemingly endless choice of oils, acids and serums out there and it can all be a bit much.
If you’re thinking about dipping your toes in some nice skincare and want things to be easy to manoeuvre, Drunk Elephant’s The Littles 3.0 set, £71 from Cult Beauty is a perfect place to start.
In it you’ll get mini versions of the Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser, Protini Polypeptide Cream, Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil, C-Firma Day Serum, T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum, B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum and C-Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream.
On average, each product is worth about £60 for a full-size, so £71 for a tester kit (which will last you a couple months!) is definitely worth it, you'll see a difference.
Your base is important
If you’re scrimping on your foundation and concealer, it’ll show through no matter how expensive and luxe your eyeshadow or highlighter may be.
A great base is absolutely essential, and one product I’ve found to be pretty much unbeatable for over two years is the incredible Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream from IT cosmetics, £29 from Cult Beauty.
A relatively new brand to the UK, IT is famed for the CC cream of dreams, which is used a foundation and has three different options.
You have the normal, the oil-free - which is great for mattifying those with oilier complexions - and an illuminating version for those who could use a bit of extra glow.
Pair it with their Bye Bye Undereye Concealer, £25, and the Bye Bye Pores Pressed Powder, £25, and you skin will look FLAWLESS.
DIY mani-pedis
Chipped nails are a massive no-no but going to the nail salon is not only time-consuming, but very expensive!
If you invest in your own DIY gel nail kit, you’ll be the envy of all your friends and colleagues with constantly glossy talons and toes.
Amazon have some great LED lamp starting from around £40, and there are endless websites that sell bundles of gel polishes, as well as top and bottom coats, nail oils and different glitters.
Sensationail has brilliant starter kits that come with a range of polishes and all the tools you need on their site.
Kits start from around £40, but if you really fancy treating yourself then the Super Deluxe Sensationail Starter Kit is £150 from their website.
Once you've got to grips with your machine, you might want to level up and invest in some accessories, funky colours and glitters for your talons.
Naio Nails is a great one-step shop, as it's an UK supplier of professional nail products.
If you're after some wild spotty nail varnish, it'll set you back only £5 and it's available in a range of shades, you can also pick up FURRY nail varnish for £9.99, and the newest Photochromatic range that changes colours with daylight exposure will cost you £11.99.
New year, new treatments
Last but not least are the beauty treatments. This is a bit of a luxury splurge, but it’s something that’s undoubtedly worth mentioning as beauty treatments are already on the rise and are predicted to be huge in 2020.
From brand new facials to cryotherapy, the names can sometimes be truly baffling, but the results are outstanding.
The HydraFacial is one that everyone's talking about at the moment. In a nutshell is sucks all the dirt out of your face, but Pulse Light Clinic (who also offer the service) have a better explanation on their site.
They explained the three-step procedure: "Cleanse and Peel - Uncover a new layer of skin with gentle exfoliation and relaxing resurfacing.
"Extract and Hydrate - Remove debris from pores with painless vortex extraction. Nourish with intense moisturisers that quench skin.
"Fuse and Protect - Saturate the skin’s surface with antioxidants and peptides to maximise your glow. Enhancements included in your treatment: Detox begins with the lymphatic drainage that improves the circulation of the lymph system and helps to eliminate toxins. Rejuvenation finishes with red and infrared LED light to reduce redness and further stimulate collagen, supporting the natural production of vitamin D."
Another treatment that has incredible results is Cryotherapy, also known as "fat freezing".
Pulse Light also offer CoolSculpting, which is the name for the treatment, which is a "non-surgical / non-invasive fat reduction treatment with no downtime."
You can remove your unwanted fat cells with a tailored non-surgical procedure which is a great alternative to liposuction as it does not require any anaesthetic, time off work, no garment post-treatment or weekly massages like liposuction."
