Five tips to help you look fresh and fabulous every day
Who wouldn’t want to look fresh and fabulous every day? But is that even possible? When you have so much to juggle that you feel you can’t even achieve the elusive work-life balance, how can you even manage (or bother!) to look polished every single day?
And how bad could it be to let your sense of vanity take the backseat?
Well, it depends on how often you may be neglecting yourself. But if you’ve got a corporate career to maintain, someone to impress, or you just need a confidence boost, you’ve got to look the part: well-maintained, impressive, and confident.
And on second thought, isn’t easier to feel more motivated when you know you look fabulous?
So, if you’re up for it, here are some of the best self-care practices you can start with to look effortlessly fresh and fabulous any day, every day, all day.
1) Practice good hygiene and skin care
Let’s start with how you prep in the morning. Do you just wash your face, brush your teeth, and throw on the first thing you see in your wardrobe, head out the door, and just hope for the best?
Do these instead: take a bath every day, make sure your nails are always clean, and maintain good dental and oral health. Find a simple skincare routine that will suit your skin type best.
And don’t forget to include sunscreen, which you should be using every morning even on cloudy days, and even if you spend your entire workday inside your office. Harmful UV rays can still penetrate clouds and windows without anti-UV films, so make sure your skin is protected. This will help save your skin from sun damages that can lead to premature skin ageing and hyperpigmentation.
On days you feel tired, use a cold sheet mask or a cold face roller to de-puff your face. Finally, when topping off your entire look with perfume, avoid scents that are too overpowering. Choose lighter scents with refreshing fruity or citrusy notes for a fresher feel.
2) Dress up smart
Dressing up smart doesn’t necessarily mean sporting a smart casual style. In general, it means to dress up in a way that feels safe, respectable, neat, and polished. For your daily workday, opt for something in the middle of casual and formal – not too casual nor too formal.
If you haven’t given much thought to what you wear to work before, now’s the time to have a good look through your wardrobe. Chuck out anything ill-fitting, baggy, shabby, tacky, or too wrinkly. Remember that your clothes should flatter your body type. For a simple but timeless aesthetic that also looks fresh and easy on the eyes, choose more light and neutral colours like beige, nude, cream, grey, and white.
It’s also worth investing in a few pairs of closed, flat footwear with neutral colours and prints that you can easily pair with the majority of your wardrobe items. To accentuate your outfits, use simple but versatile accessories that wouldn’t go out of fashion.
If you occasionally attend formal meetings, invest in items that can easily transform your look with minimal effort. For example, a collared blazer and a pair of sleek pumps.
For your going-out days with friends or if you’re just hanging out, you can try those more casual, cute outfit ideas you’ve been saving. Just make sure they suit your body type and are appropriate for where you’re headed to.
3) Style your hair
It’s not every day that you’ll have the energy to style your hair. If you need to quickly brush your hair, use a clean wooden comb rather than a plastic one, because wooden combs help prevent hair breakage.
If you can’t afford the extra time it takes in the morning, get a shorter, low-maintenance haircut instead. And of course, don’t forget to consider your face shape when getting a new cut, especially if you’re trying out trends like long bob hairstyles.
Avoid getting drastic hair colour changes if you can’t commit to the upkeep it requires like retouching the roots or getting the recommended treatments that keep the hair from looking brassy. Unsightly roots and brassy hair colours will definitely break any fresh and fab look you’re going for.
But if you really want to style your hair and just don’t have the time, practice doing heatless curls the night before. If you’ve got long tresses, knowing how to throw your hair into a quick, stylish bun will keep you from stressing on bad hair days.
4) Use light, natural makeup
Proper makeup, especially for women, can always save the day when you want to look fresh-faced even when you feel otherwise. But there’s a line between makeup that looks fresh and makeup that looks like you got up on the wrong side of the bed.
To get a fresh look, stick to natural-looking makeup. Start with a lightweight base and aim for a second-skin look. Avoid excessive amounts of products that would only settle in the wrong places and look cakey. Practice doing a quick, no-makeup look with light pink and peach colours.
Keep multi-tasking products handy in your bag for quick touch ups throughout the day. For example, colour sticks that can double as lip and blush colours.
5) Start a healthier lifestyle
It’s not just the outside you need to work on – don’t forget your insides too! Nourishing your health inside out is the only guaranteed way to not just look great, but feel great too. If you’ve relied on convenient but unhealthy food for so long, it’s time to switch to a healthier diet. Plan your weekly meals with more nutrient-dense foods that will give you more energy that lasts.
But to get the best results, let’s not stop at the diet. Consider starting a fitness routine too. Decode your body type and plan a suitable diet and exercise program that’s also feasible for your schedule and lifestyle.
If you lead a busy life, don’t underestimate the importance of getting proper, restful sleep as often as possible. Good quality sleep will help your body recharge and recover from the day’s stresses. Moreover, it’ll be difficult to look fresh if you still feel tired and sleepy from yesterday’s workload.
Practising meditation will also help ease stress and burnout, which are hard to avoid especially when you have a demanding career.
New habits to a new you
Gradually incorporate these tips into your routine until they turn into effortless habits, et voila – hello to a fresh and fab new you! And not only will you look fresher and more fabulous, but you’ll feel more wonderful too.
Photo by Tahiti Spears
