Let’s re be real: The Holidays are an amazing period of the year, especially those first two days of preparation and relax. Then, everything gets more complicated: in the end, with that whirlwind of parties and the lots, lots, lots of food involved, these couple of weeks often leave a generous legacy of several food comas, a general sense of dizziness, like, “what day is it again?” and zero willpower to acknowledge the fact that we’re going to be soon back to work. Alas, every good thing is bound to finish and, after carefully listing them at the dawn of 2019, every New Year Resolution is bound to become either a reality (and we should start working on it now) or an empty wish: either way reality is knocking at our doors.
That magical period of Santas, of green and gold, of Jingle Bells, is…well, back next year, of course, but it is over for now, while it’s time for us to get back to our normal week-to-week routine.
Now the question is: how do we do that at the best of our possibilities, the morning kindled with a renewed energy rather than that sense of indolence that we all can, secretly, at least, understand?
Here’s a small (but wise) list of SOS beauty hacks to channel that extra energy we stored during the Holidays and to put it into small beauty rituals that will sweeten up our return to everyday life, with all the excitement of diving right into 2019.
An Energy Boosting Bath
Either in the morning or the evening, taking a bath enriched with our favorite energizing oils can change our mood and refill our energy for the day ahead or the one after. Essential oils are cold-pressed or steam-distilled natural ingredients from plants and flower that promote different biological reactions in our body thanks to aromatherapy and scent (for example, lavender soothes and relaxes while citrus tends to wake us up). In general, a good bath enriched with citrus, eucalyptus, grapefruit or thyme will help you re-focus and concentrate, while relaxing in the bath and just breathing the scent will reduce feelings of stress and anxiety and alleviate fatigue to prepare you for the day.
A small ritual of self-care that can turn our day from dull to bright in just ten minutes of breathing and chilling in the bathtub, leaving us reborn.
Revitalizing Masks
Let’s take this whole “return to work” matter like a very long, very frustrating awakening: we’ve been sleeping so well during the Holidays that now we struggle to face our responsibilities.
Masks are always a good idea to get back on track and to spare an average of 10/20 minutes for ourselves, cuddling our skin and detoxifying it: dry or made of paper or cloth, always infused with precious ingredients, face masks are an assurance for an instant skin boost. There are retinol infused masks (like the precious Shiseido Intensive Revitalizing Face Mask) to boost plumpness and glow, deeply hydrating masks (courtesy of the award-winning K-beauty and more specifically the rubber one from Dr. Jart+ or the ceramide and coconut infused ask by Too Cool for School) or fun and deeply cleansing bubble masks. Prefer lemon, pomegranate, kale or avocado based masks to infuse glow and vitality to our skin.
Chose a Beauty Routine and Stick To It
It sounds basic, but it’s true: new year, new (or improved) routine and habits.
What is really important is not ending up abandoning it on Week 2 or even sooner because we got bored. We can start with a good cleanser and a gentle scrub, and then move to a rich moisturizer to nourish the skin. For example, introducing more organic and vegan products in our routine from the very first months of the year (and using it as a New Year Goal) can help our soul and Mother Earth besides cleansing our body.
Truth is, a good morning and evening beauty routine can help us make “order” in our mind and everyday life, helping us in the process of sliding back into our normal weekday with tiny but non-skippable rituals that “remind” us that we still have a rhythm and, most importantly, that we still have time to take care of ourselves.
Caffeine Serum
These days we feel like we need coffee to function, but is it also true for our skin?
For soothing the puffiness in the under-eye area, the cosmetic world has soon discovered the properties of caffeine-based products, perfect for this stressful, transition time between Holidays and Work.
So we have under-eye serums (like the ones from organic and sustainable brands The Inkey List and The Ordinary) and even caffeine-infused mascara for a more awake-looking gaze, courtesy of the eye-focused iconic brand Eyeko.
To give a kick of livelihood to our body as well we can find fantastic coffee and coconut scrubs to gentle rub our skin under the shower, cleansing our body from the dead cells and pollution while giving it some extra energy via the scent and properties of organic coffee.
Energizing Candles
The energizing aroma of a scented candle is something that can unfailingly boost our energy and give a new spirit to our evening. In the evening, lit a candle and let the scent embrace the space, subtly infusing the air with aromatherapeutic fragrances and creating a relaxing atmosphere.
It’s a gentle, soft way to cuddle our mind and body after the long first days back into reality, and it can become a little “ritual of light,” especially when the light of a candle (maybe matched with diffused and orange-y soft ambient lights) is much more gentle to our eyes than the blue light of a laptop screen and the perfect way to make our eyesight rest for a bit. Other than being a beautiful piece of homeware, orange, neroli and grapefruit scented candles (such as the Verveine one from Diptyque or the delicate and natural Energise from Wax Lyrical) are an immediate mood-changer with their refreshing and mind-clearing scent, acting like an immediate recharge for our soul and infusing newfound energy in our body.
