As smart, sophisticated, empowered women of the world, we know that New Year’s Resolutions start with leveling up your wardrobe, beauty routine, career game, and well, life. That shouldn’t be stressful or anxiety-inducing. On the contrary, there are fun ways to undergo a mini reboot to ensure you put the best, most confident version of yourself out there. To help you on your “new year, new me” journey, commit these commandments to memory.
Meet the Experts
Sarah Meikle is a fashion consultant in N.Y.C.
Shaina Ehrich is a celebrity makeup artist.
Chandra Turner is a recruiter, career coach, and founder of The Talent Fairy.
Timothy Godbold is an interior designer.
Monica Watters is a skincare expert and holistic healer of Sacred Touch New York.
I Will Create A 2023 Checklist
We all kick off January with a list of resolutions that pretty quickly fall by the wayside. Instead, we recommend creating a mini checklist and sticking it on the fridge to keep you on track. The most important thing to remember is to be realistic in your goal setting and timing — life is a marathon, not a sprint. Here are a few examples.
- Write a list of goals (attainable ones).
- Deep clean your home and declutter.
- Set a budget. (Think: Where can you be more financially savvy?)
- Make a reading list (and carve out time to read and relax).
- Reflect on the past year and the year ahead. (Ask yourself: What do you want to change in 2023?)
- Create a wellness and fitness plan. Mindfulness and regular exercise, even just walking, is the key to good physical and mental health.
- Set aside vacation time.
- Connect with family and friends (make plans, call them, healthy relationships are good for your health).
- Practice sexual mindfulness.
- Overhaul your beauty routine.
I Will Up My Skincare Ante
When it comes to complexion perfection, the focus should always be on skin health. By committing to a daily morning and nighttime skincare routine using clean, science-backed products with proven ingredients, you can renew, repair, and boost the appearance and radiance of your skin. Adopt an ABC mantra — meaning incorporating products infused with vitamin A (a retinoid to banish fine lines and wrinkles), vitamin C (to combat sun damage and brighten), and vitamin B (if you’re not already on board: Add niacinamide, a vitamin B3 derivative, to your arsenal now). This multitasking skincare hero does it all; it smoothes, brightens, hydrates, and helps reduce the signs of aging and hyperpigmentation. As for the steps, you should cleanse, apply antioxidant-based serums, hydrating oils, and then a ceramide-enriched moisturizer, to improve the skin’s barrier and provide deep hydration. Take things up a notch by adding a lactic acid serum, a few times per week to gently exfoliate those dead skin cells, reduce dullness, and allow those products to penetrate deep into the skin to work their magic.
I Will Reboot My Wardrobe
Fashion moves at lightning-fast speed and keeping up with the latest trends can be exhausting (and expensive). To ensure you’re always in style, follow the advice of N.Y.C.-based fashion consultant Sarah Meikle, and create a wardrobe uniform that’s “ladylike meets cool” and transcends seasons. “It’s all about a Jenna Lyons look. Borrowed from the boys with a funky twist, a little tough meets girly. For example, a worker’s jumpsuit with a high heel. Leather in classic shapes like pencil skirts and high-waisted pants mixed with fun, trendy pieces like embellishments, sequins, faux fur, satin.” As for timeless pieces, Meikle says every wardrobe should have crisp button-downs (white, blue, and striped), hints of army, good denim jeans, chic blazers and fun coats for day and evening. Follow Meikle on Instagram; she’s always posting gorgeous wearable looks and style inspiration and also offers personal styling and shopping sessions.
I Will Embrace Over-the-Top Beauty
Now that you have your classic fashion uniform sorted, permission is granted to go crazy making an outlandish beauty statement. You only have to look at the endless sea of OTT winged eyes, bold and bright eye color, faux lashes, and glistening skin, to understand that extreme beauty is having a moment — and we are here for it. “It’s a refreshing, exciting time for makeup as women are embracing dramatic looks to express themselves and be seen again,” says makeup artist Shaina Ehrich who points to the rise of airbrushed surreal-looking skin dressed up with metallics and glitter and a wave of color on the eyes (teals, pinks, orange and yellow) and lips (from hot chocolate to classic red and neon pink). Apply a sheer water-based foundation like MAC Studio Radiance for Face and Body to set the scene, then add luminizing drops or metallic highlighter to the cupid bow and high point of the cheekbones (you can also use it on the eyes) and try a winged cat eye from the subtle — a wing with liner (black or color) to the dramatic (you can use bedazzled eye stickers or glitter).
I Will Commit to Self-Care
We’ve all heard about the importance of self-care and we hear you say, “Who has the time?!” but do commit to carving out a little time each day as the benefits have been clinically proven to reduce stress, anxiety and depression and boost your overall health and mindset. Self-care can be as simple as pausing to do some deep breathing, listening to short meditation, going for a long walk in nature, doing some gentle yoga, or — to really get your chill on — curling up with a good book, getting more sleep, soak in a relaxing mineral salt bath or spend a Sunday in bed going down a Netflix rabbit hole. Or get yourself a gratitude journal and write in it every day. Giving thanks also makes you feel more happy and positive, and keeps the blues at bay.
I Will Level Up in My Career
If in a post-pandemic world, you’ve started to coast along in your job, are craving a new one, or are ready to take the next rung up the career ladder, make 2023 the year you level up. That starts with the way you present yourself virtually and IRL. Chandra Turner, a recruiter, career coach, and founder of The Talent Fairy, offers this advice. “Make sure your LinkedIn is up-to-date and optimized. Use the keywords that define your skills and assets. Highlight the roles and responsibilities that align with what you want to do next rather than a laundry list of titles you’ve had. Even if you are not actively job-hunting it will make you discoverable to hiring managers and recruiters for the right roles. You don’t want to be passed over for your dream job.” While you’re at it, LinkedIn also has plenty of free online courses for those wanting to upskill — always a good idea in this fast-paced digital world. Joining a networking group like Chief, The Co-Lab is also well worth the investment as the old adage stands true: It’s often not what you know but who.
I Will Upgrade My Space
Your home is a sanctuary and it’s also a place to inject some of your style and personality. If you feel like you need a reset, start in your own backyard, or rather your living room. Clear out the clutter Marie Kondo style — it will also clear your mind — and add some little upgrades to your style. Interior designer Timothy Godbold says a great place to buy good affordable art is online at Lost Art Salon. They are based in San Francisco but ship all over the U.S. House plants are also having a moment and are a great way to inject some life and greenery into your home. “Dracaena plants are an easy way to give your space a new look and depending on your ceiling height you can get very tall ones that also add a little drama,” he says. “There is also a move away from harsh overhead lighting so stick to wall and table lamps as they are a cute touch and also very ambient. I love Stone and Sawyer. And of course, nothing beats the ambiance and scent of a candle, Ernesto by Cire Trudon is my favorite.”
I Will Adopt a Clean Healing Plan
You are what you eat and by adopting the healing food diet you can improve your overall health and wellness, reduce inflammation, improve heart health, stabilize your blood sugar levels, ward off nutritional deficiencies that lead to low energy levels and brain fog, and boost the health and radiance of your skin according to Monica Watters, skincare expert and holistic healer of Sacred Touch New York. This isn’t a radical diet but a simple eating plan that involves cutting consumption of refined grains (white bread, rice, pasta), added sugars (soda, ice cream, candy), unhealthy fats (fried food, unsaturated vegetable oils), and processed foods (frozen meals, microwave popcorn, potato chips), and replacing them with nutritious whole foods.
“I encourage eating a rainbow diet filled with lots of colorful fruit and vegetables as well as nuts, seeds, legumes, healthy fats, organic meats, and healing herbs and spices like basil, oregano, rosemary, turmeric, cinnamon, paprika, and cumin,” says Watters. In addition, she recommends taking a good daily multivitamin/multi-mineral supplement as well as fish oil, vitamin D, and a probiotic. “I like brands like Pure Encapsulations, Innate Response Formulas, Premier Research Labs, and Body Ecology
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