Grooming... What's the Bare Minimum?

Hi there, fabulous reader!

One of the trickiest parts of my job can be a discussion with a client who needs to take his or her grooming up a notch. There are many reasons people let their attention to grooming wander. One is when our life/schedule goes haywire, for example: after a baby is born, or when we are taking care of a sick family member. I get it. In an emergency, we have other priorities. Some things fall by the wayside. Another common reason is depression. When the emergency-state grooming status becomes the norm, we may have a problem.

What Is the Bare Minimum?

Hygiene is non-negotiable! Body washed. Most of us need antiperspirant/deodorant. Hair washed and brushed. Teeth brushed. Nails clean and clipped or rounded. Moisturize your skin to keep it healthy. Sunscreen, sunscreen, SUNSCREEN! Keep stray hairs clipped. (I know these can seem overwhelming with a new baby, or when you are in high intensity caring mode. But taking the 10 minutes needed for these will help YOU feel better prepared to handle what comes your way!)

What About Makeup?

Makeup is big business. In the US in 2016, consumers spent close to 985 million dollars on foundation alone! (Data) The top 5 biggest spending cosmetics categories were: foundation, mascara, lipstick, eye liner, and powder. On those top 5, we spent more than 3.5 billion dollars. Yes, that is billion with a B. Just in the U.S. Egads! Google “makeup tutorial” in YouTube and you get more than 21 million hits… That’s not even including all the product reviews videos you can find. If I am looking to learn a new technique (or for Halloween ideas), I will look through a few ‘tutes, but most of these YouTubers are spending more time and money on makeup than I am interested in investing. When a “look” takes 25 minutes to talk through and “do”… it’s not happening for me. I didn’t even spend that long on my hair and makeup on my wedding day. I’ve been told that I am low-maintenance. (Unfortunately, as I age, maintenance seems to be taking longer and longer…)

Makeup is not a necessity. When I was a girl and wanted to start wearing makeup, I remember my mother telling me that once you start wearing mascara, you never go back. She was right. I do have no mascara days, but they are rare. I wear makeup because it makes me happy, and not because I think there is something wrong with me. I have a “more defined me” approach to makeup, and a makeup bare minimum, too.

Just as clothing has “levels of refinement”, I have three makeup levels of refinement. Play, Work, and Evening/Social would be my makeup levels. I don’t understand the full face, sculpted brows, and illumination look for every day.

Level 3: Play Even on a bare-faced play day, I still tame my brows with a brush, slap on some powder or tinted moisturizer (depending on the season), and slick on lip balm (with a tint). If I put on a smile, the rest is just icing. A positive attitude gives you a glow that no makeup can replicate.

Level 2: Work My husband can tell if it’s a work day, just by my face. No, not that I have a long face on a work day! I love my job! It’s just that somewhere along the line he noticed that work days = eyeliner.

Level 1: Evening/Social More polished, more finished, more defined. I tend to leave the darker lip and nail colors for evening, and if it’s a daytime event, stick with the lighter shades. Although a red lip and subtle eye are a fun daytime event look, too!

How about you? What’s your bare minimum? Or your favorite product? What don’t you leave the house without? Let’s start a conversation, and comment below…

Stay Stylish!