Down here in the Southern hemisphere, Spring is crawling over the horizon. The sun rises earlier, the days are warming, and it’s time to start thinking about revealing your beauty in time for summer.
Reveal Your Beauty in Time for Summer
As you may know, Beauty is one of my Virtues, or areas I am developing excellence in, so my recommendations will be a little different from those you see in the fashion magazines.
Body
Generally, during the colder weather, we snuggle our bodies away in warm layers and don’t pay them much heed. We tend to let them go, which often makes the coming of summer a bit more histrionic than it really needs to be. Before you start beating your winter body up, take a moment to thank your strong legs for supporting you, your full arms for their big hugs, and your warm belly for its soft comfort.
Face
Consider visiting a beautician or aesthetician for a professional facial tailored to your particular skin care needs.
If you’ve been using a tinted moisturiser, check that the tint still matches your pasty white face (and again midsummer to make sure it matches your toasty brown skin). Maybe buy a lipstick, tint, or stain in a new season colour.
Lifestyle
It’s probably a good time to start increasing your water intake and loading up on fresh fruit and vegetables for healthy skin and hair. If you want to slim down a bit, consider cutting back on the cakes and comfort foods. Take advantage of the early morning sun and go for a quick walk around the block; before breakfast, if you want to dull your appetite a little. Try to get some more sleep to help shake the winter blues.
Sun Protection
Take a look at your sun protection products and discard any that have expired. While you are at it, check and dump your other beauty products as well. Buy your replacements now, before the warmth lures you outside. And get some soothing after sun care as well, because you know you’re going to overdo it in the first heady days of Summer.
Presence
I prefer a simple life, so I’m always a bit surprised by the number of new season somethings that are supposed to become part of your everyday skin and hair care routines. This year, consider paring down – you’re probably going to sweat it all off by lunchtime, so try minimising your routines instead.
Exfoliation
The winter cold and climate control systems can dry out your skin, and if you haven’t been looking after it as well as you could have been, this is the time to get scrubbing. And then moisturising. Check for weird moles and potential cancers as you go.
And the same goes for your hair – use a clarifying shampoo and a deep conditioning shampoo. Or revert to shaving soap with rainwater rinses – very bracing this time of year! You might consider adding a conditioning oil like argan or lanolin as well.
Shaving
On a related note, prepare your skin before you start shaving, get some nice new (sharp) blades, and get ready to deal with the ensuing out of practice cuts and grazes. Or could this is the year to try waxing or laser hair removal?
Wardrobe
Conduct a wardrobe review, and consider whether you want to change your colour scheme for the season, pick a new perfume, or change your hair cut or colour.
Try your swimming togs on to see if you still like them. And whether they still fit… And if you think you can get another season out of them, whether the elastic is still sound.
Home
And just like you, your home needs a bit of attention in the run-up to summer.
Open the doors and windows to let the fresh air in, then clean the windows to let the light in too. Deep clean your house and put things back in their proper places – declutter as you go. Do the cupboards, fridge and freezer too, and throw out expired products. Change your smoke detector batteries and replenish your first aid kit.
Check the roof and exterior walls for any repairs. Clean and service your climate control. Prepare for the bug invasion by checking your screens and ensuring that your home is adequately sealed.
Take out your summer quilts or blankets to clean (if you didn’t do this as winter set in) or air (if they are already clean). Rotate your mattress and clean under the bed.
Garden
Clean the birdbath. And your outdoor areas and furniture. Clean and service or replace your barbecue. Don’t forget to clean and repair your front path. Repot your pot plants, and consider planting some edibles. If your lawn is looking a bit patchy, oversow with seed.
Start thinking about your bushfire plan; clean the gutters and start pruning. Apply for permits if you need to remove trees.
Summertime
It looks a lot of work now, but you’ve got a couple of months to get it done. When it gets hot you won’t want to bother with any of this, so best to do it now and get it out of the way. Weather permitting!
Did I miss anything important from my list? Let me know in the comments below.