New Year's Beauty Resolutions

Every year I always have the best intentions between Christmas and New Year where I feel motivated enough to make a list of New Year's resolutions however I rarely stick to them which often leaves me feeling deflated. This year I've decided to make five beauty resolutions for 2017 instead and I'm very hopeful that I will actually stick to them. In addition to sharing my five beauty resolutions with you, I have selected some products which I feel will help me fulfill my resolutions.

Switch Off and Relax with a Scented Candle 

Kicking things off, my very first beauty resolution is more of a lifestyle resolution really but as a blogger, I spend a lot of time on social media and every night I end up scrolling aimlessly through my feeds until the early morning. Every morning I regret staying up so late, yet I still do it every night and suffer with extreme tiredness daily and find I have to layer up my under-eye concealer to disguise my late night social media sessions. Electronic devices such as phones and tablets are known to disrupt the natural pattern of the sleep-wake cycle due to the light they emit promoting wakefulness. Not only does the light play havoc with your sleep pattern, it also makes it difficult to 'switch off'' and wind down in order to sleep so it's a vicious sleep-deprived circle.

In a bid to remedy my unhealthy sleeping pattern, my resolution is to switch off everything such as my laptop, tablet, TV and phone for at least an hour before I go to bed every evening. With this technology-free hour, I intend on lighting a scented candle to create a relaxing atmosphere and use the time to relax and pamper myself to try and fully unwind. My candle of choice is the Shearer Candles Oud Scented Candle which is still relatively festive with its beautiful, warm gold metallic jar but it's the type of scent which can be burnt all year round with a gorgeous, warm and spicy scent.

The Shearer Candles are all very high quality and each have an excellent fragrance throw, and this particular candle creates a lovely golden glow as it contains three wicks. I generally prefer to burn three wick candles as they tend to have a cleaner burn with less wax wastage. This resolution will definitely be the hardest for me to keep to, but I know that by forcing myself to disconnect from technology it will help me to fully relax, unwind and hopefully regain a healthier sleeping pattern. I'm also hoping that by having more restful sleep, my dark under-eye circles will be a lot less noticeable and my mood will be enhanced from having a full hour of relaxation time to myself and of course for having better quality sleep.

Achieve Healthier Hair with a Dry Shampoo

I feel that this year I have really neglected my hair as it always used to be very healthy and would grow very fast but the growth has really slowed down and I miss how healthy it used to be so I have a couple of hair centric resolutions this year. I wash my hair every single day which I know isn't good for either the hair or scalp but I've never found a dry shampoo which I like enough to use and would prefer to just wash my hair rather than use a dry shampoo. Due to my excessive hair washing habits, my scalp has become extremely sensitive and dry as the scalp's natural oils are being stripped by the daily washing leaving the hair more prone to breakage. There are other negatives of daily washing too such as hair colour fading faster, brittle ends, product build up and also the huge amount of time taken by washing and styling the hair on a daily basis.

So for 2017 I'm going to try to wash my hair every other day and utilise a dry shampoo in between washes to freshen the hair and absorb any excess oils. My current favourite dry shampoo is the Sexy Hair H2NO Dry Shampoo which is described as being a 3-day style saver with a translucent light and layerable formula. One of my biggest bugbears of using a dry shampoo is that they often leave my hair feeling dry and loaded with product but this dry shampoo genuinely has a translucent formula so it doesn't weigh the hair down and it even adds shine.

OPI Nail Envy

I am a total nail polish addict and I can't even remember the last time I had bare nails as I enjoy wearing coloured nail polish all the time. However by constantly wearing bold nail polishes, it really has taken its toll on my nails as they're in the worst condition they ever have been and they never seem to grow. I have experienced some great results with the original OPI Nail Envy formula which is a clear base coat which you apply prior to your nail polish. OPI introduced some colour versions of their bestselling Nail Envy formula which have the same nail strengthening properties yet they all have a subtle colour to them and I've chosen the OPI Samoan Sands Nail Envy Nail Strengthener as it'll give my nails a break from bold colours, but will hopefully improve their condition too.

By frequently wearing bold nail polishes, my nails have become stained which is why I never leave my nails bare. The OPI Samoan Sands Nail Envy is a pretty beige toned nude which can be worn in just one coat for a sheer wash of colour, or it can be built up for a stronger colour intensity. I like to wear three coats of the polish as I love the look of nude nails as they go with any outfit, and the polish dries to a glossy finish. I'm going to try and wear the OPI Samoan Sands Nail Envy on my nails every other week with coloured manicures in between to hopefully transform my weak, brittle, damaged nails into stronger, longer, and harder nails.

Make Your Eyes Pop with Purple Eyeshadow

Out of all of my beauty resolutions for 2017, the one I'm most looking forward to is my intention to try and embrace colour within my makeup. When it comes to makeup, I am very much a neutrals kind of girl and I never really venture out of my comfort zone but I always admire pretty eye and lip colours on other people. I really want to try and experiment with colour on my eyes and perhaps choose a different colour for each month to build up my confidence gradually. For the month of January I'm going to be experimenting with the colour purple as it's my favourite colour so I figured it'd be the easiest colour for me to play around with and there are so many different shades and toned of purple too.

I often like to use a cream eyeshadow base when wearing powder eyeshadows so I'm going to use the Clinique Chubby Stick Eye Tint in Portly Plum and the Rimmel Magnif'Eyes Mono Eyeshadow in Groupie for the perfect purple shadow duo. The Clinique Chubby Stick Eye Tints are one of the easiest cream shadow formulas to use as you can just 'draw' all over your eyelids and use your fingertip to soften the edges for a quick eyeshadow look without any brushes. You can also use them as eyeliner by tipping them on their side to line your upper and lower lashline and they have a crease-proof formula which lasts without fading. I like to use the Clinique Portly Plum Chubby Stick all over my lids as a base, and along my lower lashline as a liner and then apply the Rimmel Groupie Eyeshadow over the top with an eyeshadow brush to set the cream base and create a more intense purple smokey eye look. I don't think I will ever ditch my neutrals completely but I'm excited to try new colours which I'd perhaps not have been brave enough to try before now.

Protect Your Hair From Damage with Redken

My fifth and final beauty resolution is another hair related resolution in a bid to try and improve my hair's condition. With my new routine of washing my hair every other day, it will also mean that I'll be using less heat tools to style my hair as I'll be cutting out two to three hair washes per week. Whenever I use hair straighteners I always use a heat protection spray beforehand to protect my hair however I'm guilty of not using a heat protection spray prior to using my hairdryer, curling wands or hot rollers which I know is very damaging for my hair. Hairdryers reach very high temperatures but due to the high air flow, they don't necessarily feel as hot or damaging for the hair as an hair straightener would but they're especially damaging as the hair is most vulnerable when wet.

I'm going to religiously use an heat protection spray prior to using any hot hair tool whatsoever and my product recommendation is the Redken Iron Shape 11 which can be used on both wet or dry hair. The Redken Iron Shape 11 is a thermal spray designed to strengthen and protect hair from heat styling tools, leaving hair smooth and soft. Not only does the Iron Shape work to protect the hair from heat styling, but it works to give the hair additional hold without weighing the hair down which will make me more inclined to use it. I'm hoping that by using this heat protectant before any heat styling and reducing my hair washing routine will both help to improve the condition of my hair and scalp and promote quicker hair growth too.

So they are all of my Beauty Resolutions for 2017! I really do think I'll stick to them as I should see the benefits from each one quite quickly making me more likely to continue them throughout 2017. Finally let us wish you a very happy new year from everyone here at Luxplus...