Gray days and zero-degree temperatures can leave you feeling the blahs about everything — including your appearance. Get out of your winter beauty rut! These tips will inspire you to try something new and freshen up your look — and may just put that spring back in your step until the real thing arrives.
Give Your Skin Some Love
We all love to invest in a stylish handbag, a great pair of jeans or a special piece of jewelry to feel more beautiful, so why not invest in one of your most important assets: your skin? Regular facials aid in skin renewal and detoxification, clear your pores, help fight aging and give you a deep clean that you can’t get on your own. Celebrities and beauty experts alike can’t get enough of the latest skincare trend — solid gold facials. “Pure gold has been used in skincare and for healing purposes for centuries,” says Larisa Stupnitsky, a local beauty expert and owner of Sasha G Salon and Spa in Wheeling. “Historians found that Cleopatra slept with a gold mask on her face and ancient Ayurvedic treatments have always used gold. Its healing, anti-inflammatory and rejuvenating powers are extraordinary.” Stupnitsky says skin can look firmer, fresher and more vibrant after just one treatment.
Brighten Your Hair Color
Balayage is an increasingly popular technique for coloring your hair, and a great way to at least pretend you’ve seen the sun in the past month. “Highlights are hand-painted onto strands for hair that looks naturally sun-kissed,” explains Crystal Gretzinger, owner of Chicago’s Sogna di Vita Salon. “Women love this process since it’s low-maintenance and allows for months at a time between color appointments because there’s less visible outgrowth than your standard foil highlights.” If you want to go more extreme and try a non-traditional color on your hair, ditch the vibrant blues and pinks and instead try a pastel, sure to be everywhere this spring. In addition to pastels, Gretzinger’s clients have been requesting warm jewel tones such as opal and rose gold.
Bang Up Your Hairstyle
Hotter than ever this season, adding fringe is the quickest way to update your hair. Before you shy away from the idea, know that there are many different types of bangs, from blunt to softly layered, choppy to side-swept. While traditional bangs better complement long and oval rather than round faces, a stylist can help you determine the type of fringe that best frames your face.
Try Lips That Wow
Sometimes it only takes switching up one product in your makeup bag to quickly transform your look. Bright pink lips were all over the runways for spring 2016. Get a head start on the trend and add a pop of pink to your winter wear. It will take your basic sweater and jeans up a notch. Try Mac “Girl About Town” or Bobbi Brown “Mod Pink.”
Explore the Latest in Injectables
You’ve probably heard media outlets, from the TODAY Show to the New York Post, buzzing about Kybella (Deoxycholic acid), a fat-melting, non-surgical injectable that reduces moderate to severe access fat below the chin and above the neck, also known as a “double chin.” The procedure, approved by the FDA last summer, offers permanent results. “The best candidates are men and women with moderate fullness in the submental area; people with more advanced necks or severe fullness that do not want to have surgery can also get a good result if the proper amount of the product is used with each treatment,” explains Dermatologist Dr. Quenby Erickson of Erickson Dermatology in Chicago. “I have had many people with severe submental fullness who would have traditionally been told that they should consider a neck lift choose to do this instead because they want a non-surgical option and they get great results that they are very happy with.” Consult your doctor for more information and to learn about the potential side effects of the procedure.
Treat yourself this winter with a blowout from BlowDry Boutique or give a gift card from Teddie Kossof, both available on Shop For Good.
