Pretty Simple :: A Beautiful New Year

Martha Lynn here, and I don’t know about you but I just love the start of a new year. A clean slate and an open calendar never fail to put me in a great mood, and I love to take the entire month of January to reflect on the past year and plan for the next. So naturally, much of my time is spent focusing on beauty resolutions for myself and my clients. Whether you’re in a beauty rut or just want to be healthier, I hope you take some time to think about how you can make your beauty work for you this year. Here are a few resolutions to jump start your self-improvement, and I’d love to know what areas of the beauty department you’ll be zeroing in on in 2013.

1. Wear a bold lip. This one is definitely for me.  I love the look of a bold lip on others but am admittedly shy when it comes to sprucing up my pucker.  I resolve to finding the perfect shade this year and you should too! image

2. Get regular haircuts. Even if it’s just a trim and even if you think your hair grows out slowly, resolve to get regular haircuts in 2013.  Hair doesn’t all grow at the same pace so your style can get out of shape fast.  This means every 8 weeks for perfectly polished locks. image

3. Style your hair everyday. No need to spend a ton of time just take that extra 5 minutes to wrap a piece of hair around the ponytail, twist a cute braid across the front, or toss it up in a fun top knot. image

4. Use what you’ve already got. Chances are you have an arsenal of products you have purchased for both skin and hair but you never take the time to use them.  Commit to using that Clarisonic or pump up the volume with that root booster.  If you aren’t sure how to use it reach out to the professionals that sold it to you and have them refresh your memory on best practices. photo by cory ryan

5. SPF is non-negotiable. I mean this is a no brainer, but make it second nature to wear your SPF. Every. Single. Day. It’s the only way to fight off skin cancers and it’s much cheaper than all of the anti aging treatments you will have to do reversing the damage down the road. image

6. Try something new and bust out of that rut. Think you can’t go bold and brunette?  Have never had short hair?  Want to try bangs?  Find a professional and make a plan to step up your look this year.  Changing your look can be a great reminder when you look in the mirror that it’s a new year and you are ready to tackle your goals. image

7. Learn a new trick. Clients are constantly telling me that they wish they knew how to curl…braid….tease…blow their hair out like I do.  That’s why I host beauty parties at my salon so that clients can learn to do these things for themselves.  Beauty should be easy and fun so schedule time with your stylist and resolve learn a new trick in 2013. image

8. Step away from the flat iron (gasp!) It’s so hard on your hair and you shouldn’t have to use it everyday.  Figure out what products you could be using to eliminate frizz and learn to blow it out so you don’t have to fry your hair just to get it to cooperate.  I am absolutely obsessed with a new line we are carry called Living Proof (Jen Aniston is a new co-owner) and they have an entire No Frizz line that has eliminated my need to use a flat iron which means out the door in no time! image

tutorial by Martha Lynn Kale