Up Your Beauty & Style

You can change direction and up your beauty and style game at any point, it just takes learning, practice and a lot of self love. 

I haven’t always felt like a beautiful woman.  In fact, the majority of my youth through my thirties was spent feeling pretty average, uncomfortable in my body, unsure of what to wear and doing very little on the hair and makeup front. Several years ago I met a woman who I wouldn’t consider to be naturally beautiful but after spending time with her, I decided she was the most beautiful and feminine woman I had ever met.  

_{This post is not sponsored. I only share what I love and find really useful in my life. Some of the links I share are affiliate, meaning I earn a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks in advance if you decide to purchase something!}

Over the course of our friendship I observed several things that changed my perception of her beauty.  She always took the time to care for her hair, nails and makeup, in fact she had been a hairstylist in a previous career and seemed to know a lot more about hair and makeup than I did.  She didn’t have her nails professionally done but she always had them polished.  She was thin and while she didn’t follow a particular diet or have any foods she didn’t eat, she was really careful about what she did eat so as to retain a nice figure.  She always wore jewelry, perfume and dressed nicely.  Overall she looked really pulled together.   There wasn’t a single time we went out together where I didn’t see her redo her lips before heading out and put a mint in her mouth to freshen her breath.  She carried hand lotion in her purse and used it frequently throughout the day to soften her hands.

Beyond these physical appearances of beauty and femininity, my friend carried herself in a way that let others know she thought she was a beautiful woman. I observed this in her letting others (particularly men) do difficult physical tasks for her, drive for her, buy drinks for her, compliment her etc.  She was a willing receiver of masculine strength, care and protection. This particularly struck me because I had always been proud to be capable of doing hard things on my own and not needing a man to help me. I realized she knew she could do them as well, but preferred to let someone else do for her.  What she gave in return and what most everyone loved about her was that she was a good listener.  She would be very present while others shared their stories, thoughts, ideas, etc.  She wouldn’t interject or over talk them.  She wouldn’t rush them through long stories. She received what they said and provided kind and loving responses, letting others know she heard and understood them without the need to solve their problems or sound knowledgeable herself.

In observing all of this about my friend’s beauty and femininity, I realized it wasn’t her features but the way she took care of and held herself in the world that made her a beautiful woman. I then made the connection that we can all be more beautiful and feminine if we learn, practice and just try harder to do it better. 

Which brings me to you.  If you’re at a time in your life where you’re not feeling your best or if you’ve never felt like a beautiful and stylish woman, my message to you is this.  You can up your beauty and style game at any point in your life. You can start doing it today or tomorrow if today is too busy.  Beauty, style AND femininity are all skills that we can practice at and improve upon.  Sure there are some naturally really beautiful people in the world.  There are also people that appear to be born with an eye for style.  It’s ok to not be one of them, you can still get the good feelings of being a beautiful and stylish woman in your lifetime.  You can learn this skill just like you would learn to play an instrument or learn to ride a bike.  If you commit thought, time and energy to it, you will become more beautiful. I promise. 

This post is not sponsored. I only share what I love and find really useful in my life. Some of the links I share are affiliate, meaning I earn a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks in advance if you decide to purchase something!

How to begin? Here are 5 small ways you can start to up your beauty and style.

1. Start some style boards on Pinterest and start pinning looks you love. This will help you to define your ideal version of beauty.  I like to create a current year spring/summer and fall/winter style board.  Then pick one outfit that you really love and see if you can recreate it on Amazon.  Take a look at a few of my favorites on my Amazon storefront.
   
2. Step-up your skincare routine.  Our skin is one of the biggest giveaways as to our health and overall beauty.  If your skin care routine is not giving you glowing skin, there are probably better products out there for you.  Skin is difficult and a trial and error process but well worth the investment of time and energy in your overall beauty.  An easy place to start is with a good gentle cleanser, vitamin C serum, moisturizer and SPF.
   
3. Add a few new make-up products to what you already have and be a little more consistent in your application, and re-application. I used to think my make-up should last the whole day.  In reality, you have to touch-up and reapply throughout the day if you want to look done more often than not.  You can add in a creme make-up palette to even out your skin tone and add a little blush and color to your cheeks and lips.  If you would like a color match feel free to email me directly (kerry@cageycreative.com).
   
4. Think about what you eat in a day and if it is something most beautiful you would eat and feel good about eating. Much of our beauty comes from the foods we eat.  Read this book Eat Pretty, my personal beauty bible for more on that subject. If changing your dietary habits is particularly difficult, don’t get discouraged, start by adding in more healthy foods first. Then you can work to eliminate some of the unhealthy ones.
   
5. Find a way to move your body more. There are so many great at home 10 minute workouts you can find on YouTube with just a good yoga mat and some hand weights. Or you can just start by going out for a 10 minute walk a day, then see if you can up it to 20 minutes a couple of days a week.  Beautiful people are healthy people and none among us are really truly healthy or happy without some physical activity. So find a way to move your body that you enjoy.