Beauty Habits to Start Now

Alexandra Samuel, SELF magazine

Ah, resolution time: That lovely time of year when I make all these lofty attempts at being super human. This year, I'm not making resolutions. Instead, I'm just starting good habits (since we know daily habits can have major payoffs) and hoping they stick. My biggest habit to focus on: not totally forgetting my health when school gets stressful. (I literally did not work out ONCE during finals. Shame!) But, I've also decided I'm going to start some good beauty habits that you should totally do too!

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Read expiration dates: I am a little bit of a beauty hoarder [Ed. note: I can relate], so I need to make sure I read expiration dates, aka the number and a letter on some products that indicate how long after a product is opened that it's good. And--if the product doesn't have an expiration date, I need to remember to toss mascara after 3 months, liquid foundation and concealer after six months, nail polish and lip gloss after a year, and lotion, any powders and any lipsticks after two years.

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Wash my brushes!
I need to remember to wash my brushes that I use every day at least once a week with baby shampoo. Or, once a month if I only use them occasionally. It's amazing how gross they get otherwise. Seriously, ladies. Wash 'em.

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Don't pick zits!
I so rarely get them, but I need to remember not to mess with pimples. Instead, I need to remember to run a wash cloth under hot water, wring it out, then hold it over the zit until the cloth feels cool and wipe it away. That works to ditch whiteheads without the gnarly, infection-causing picking that's so tempting (gross, I know).

but most of all...CHILL! My stress levels are not conducive to gorgeousness! Not only does it lead to breakouts, dry skin, irritated skin and wrinkles, major stress totally causes more hair to shed in the shower. I need to be way better about meditating daily.

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