The 3 Face Steps I Was Forgetting That Transformed My Beauty Routine

Let me start things off by saying, although I may be a Beauty Editor that doesn’t mean that I always want to wear makeup. If anything, the longer I work in the beauty industry the more I realise just how much I relish a simple beauty routine.

While we’ve all heard buzzwords like ‘skinimalism’ being thrown around after the fallout of the 10-step skin care routine, what’s become glaringly apparent to me is that I’m just not interested in the hype of trend-based beauty. I don’t want to spend half my paycheck on a lifestyle brand that’s all fluff and marketing and no substance either.

I want a beauty routine that prioritises minimal maintenance on the daily so I can look and feel my best. I dream of a 3-step morning routine that bridges the gap between self-care

and vanity. Plus, products with a price tag that don’t give me anxiety every time I check out would be a blessing too.

Funnily enough, after breaking down my routine and figuring out what I needed to prioritise, I actually found what I was looking for.

These are the three face steps that completely changed my beauty routine for the better…

1/ Grooming my brows and lashes

To many, groomed brows and lashes are a must, but my eyebrows and my eyelashes were often forgotten about in the chaos of my skin care and makeup routine. But after I made a considered effort to brush and groom my arches and my lashes everyday (I use the curved and comb spoolies from the Manicare Brow & Lash Spoolie Set ($5.99 at Chemist Warehouse)) I noticed that my brow and lash hairs started to look healthier and fuller.

After a rudimentary Google search to figure out why my lashes and brows were flourishing from the extra attention, I discovered that regularly brushing brow and lash hairs can help to exfoliate dead skin cells and encourage new hair growth, and it also distributes the natural oils that exist on hair and skin, which help to condition the hairs and keep them hydrated. Plus, brushing with the spoolies helps to remove dirt and dust from the hair, which can be potential irritants

2/ Curling my lashes

I’ve always battled with an irrational fear of eyelash curlers, but I got to a point where my negative experiences with mascara greatly outweighed any anxiety I had about clamping my lashes for 10 seconds. I say all of this as a person who has always believed that a face of makeup isn’t complete without a few coats of mascara, false eyelashes (just a few individual lashes y’know?) or eyelash extensions. But after years of doing all of the above, I noticed that my makeup habits were having negative effects on my naturally full and long lashes. My lash hairs were sparse, short and prone to breakage. Plus, they’d started to lose their curl and were sticking out at strange angles. So I decided to take a break from mascara, falsies and extensions, and try a lash curler instead.

I decided to use the Manicare Eyelash Curler With Comb ($12.69 at Chemist Warehouse), because I liked the fact that it came with a comb attachment to help groom my lashes as it curled them. On no-makeup days I’d simply slide my lashes into the combed clamp of the lash curler, and press and hold for about 10 seconds for an eye-opening curl. It may sound like a small thing, but curling my lashes gave them the height and length I had been missing for years. With just the clamp of my curler, my lash hairs went from short, straight and stubby to doll-like. In fact, I liked the effect so much that even on the days when I was wearing makeup I would go without mascara in lieu of a naked, curled lash look.

3/ Manicuring my brows with regular tweezing

I spent my teens plucking my eyebrows into the shape of commas and the subsequent years that followed trying to rectify the mistake. As a result of my youthful foolishness, I’ve always been hesitant about overplucking my brows again, preferring to let them grow out to wiry, bushy lengths than potentially regressing back to the sparse brows of my past. However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned recently it’s that regularly plucking stray hairs won’t affect the overall thickness of my arches, but it will allow me to manicure my way to a better brow shape. Using my Manicare Precision Tweezers in Pink ($7.99 at Chemist Warehouse) every one to two weeks means I’m able to achieve a precise brow shape, without inhibiting the natural growth cycle of my brow hairs.

Final thoughts

I think I’ve definitely entered into a new era when it comes to my beauty routine. I’m less focused on trying to alter my appearance with makeup; these days I’m more concerned with maintaining what I’ve got. It also puts my mind at ease that I’m not beholden to an extensive routine that further steals time from my already time-poor schedule. Sticking to three steps in my face care routine means that I’m able to really enjoy the self-care aspects of beauty without feeling guilty about it, which I love. Maybe in the future I’ll introduce mascara back into my routine or get experimental with makeup, but I like that this basic routine is essentially just a great foundation that works for me now, and will support more involved makeup looks I may want to try down the road.

What are the beauty steps you can’t live without? Have you tried any of these?

Main image credit: beautyheaven