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Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

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A makeup rut is when you wear the exact same makeup, every day.  Same lips, same eyes, same shades.

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Makeup ruts happens for a lot of reasons.  Fear of the unknown, lack of motivation, complacency, excuses, or you simply might not know what to do next.

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There’s something to be said of “Making The Effort”. The effort is easy.... before life happens.

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The women I meet, and talk to, and work with are caught in the throws of real life.  You know the drill - kids, work, meetings, dinner with friends, managing households, bills, calendars, college -- a busy life.

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Wrangling children, co-workers, households, personal needs, family, friends, calendars, etc. is a LOT of work.  It can make the effort of getting up in the morning and putting on a new face sound unattractive. It certainly leaves little time and space for you to try new things, and play with your look.

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Lack of energy, time and inspiration can keep you in makeup ruts because what you already know, and do is easy, and it kind of works.

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But what?  So you’re out of the game?  You’re not invested in your world anymore?

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I know, I know.. this is starting to sound like tough love.. because it is.  Maybe we could call it “stern inspiration” - that’s closer to the truth.

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And then there’s another quote from Catherin Aird - “If you can’t be a good example, then you’ll just have to be a horrible warning.”

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Breaking makeup ruts can have many positive benefits and experiences.

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1. You’ll discover new things, which is always delicious.
2. You’ll do away with looks that worked for you then, but are working against you now.
3. You’ll feel accomplished.
4. Other people will notice the change.
5. You’ll feel more in control of how you face the day.
6. You’ll get over your fear of trying new things.
7. You’ll develop a system of finding new inspiration in your makeup routine all the time.
8. You’ll feel more desirable.
9. You’ll have more drive.
10. You’ll stay motivated.

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Being Temporarily Motivated Vs. Lasting Change.

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It’s all too easy to be temporarily motivated to try some new makeup looks.  If you’re like me though, it’s a challenge to stay on the track of self-improvement.  You might even be thinking “You’re a man, what would you know about it?” Even though I’m a man, I battle many similar issues.  I’m 45, my skin isn’t like it used to be, muscles moved from the top to the bottom, I put on weight easier, I don’t perform as much manual labor as I did when I was younger.

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and in the last 12 months I’ve:

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1. Stopped drinking alcohol.
2. Lost 30 lbs
3. Joined an exercise class 3 times per week.
4. Cut 90% of junky foods from my diet.

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And I’ve been maintaining it.  That’s a lot of change!

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How do I stay motivated?   I WANT IT!  It’s that simple.

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I fuel my week with a little bit of desire.  Some of it's vanity based, and that’s ok. Some of it's strictly health related, and that’s ok.  Some of it's a desire to be a better human being, and that’s ok. Further in this post, I’m going to point out some channels of makeup inspiration, but until you want to break your routines badly enough, they won’t have much effect.  Once you want it, it’s simply a matter of doing what it takes.

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I would encourage you right now to stop reading and write down your beauty aspirations.  Maybe you want to eat better. Maybe it’s time to refresh your closet. It could be time for a really good haircut and color.  Maybe it’s time to try some new makeup looks. Whatever they are, I find writing them down in my journal is an excellent way of preserving my thoughts and setting my intentions.

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Next, Dump Old Belief Systems

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I have plenty of old belief systems, and I had to smash them.  Some of them went like this.

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1. Every man drinks at least a little.
2. Every man my age has a beer belly.
3. When you have small children, of course you’re going to eat gluten free pizza and gluten free chicken nuggets.
4. Vanity is foolish.
5. I’m just working in the office with the same people every day.

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These belief systems helped me keep excuses for not doing anything about anything.  Those excuses looked like this.

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1. I’m a no fuss guy.
2. It’s too much work.
3. No one sees me anyway.
4. No one around here dresses up much.
5. I just want to be comfortable.
6. I don’t have time to make these changes.
7. I should just age gracefully.
8. I’m a low maintenance person.

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Those were all excuses.  OF COURSE I want to be able to eat anything I want, who doesn’t?  But the truth is that I know when I look my best, I feel my best, and so do you.

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I also know that when I look and feel my best, other people see me and pay attention to me differently.  That’s just a fact.

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What belief systems and excuses can you dump today?

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Next, Make A Decision

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All the wanting in the world won’t make action.  You have to decide you’re going to learn new ways of applying your makeup.  You have to decide you’re going to try new lipstick shades, new glosses, and new eyeshadow looks.  There isn’t a “maybe” here, there isn’t a “probably”, not even a “try”… there is only I will, or I will not.

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My question to you is:  If not now, when?

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I would encourage you to write down your own list of “I Wills”

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I will try new makeup looks.  I will do my hair every day. I will lose 20 lbs.  I will refresh my wardrobe.

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Finding Makeup Inspiration.

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The awesome thing about today is the power of information at your finger tips.  You Tube is filled to the brim with some amazing people that provide a ton of instruction and tips and tricks.  I’m going to post some below, but before I do, I’d like to lay out some guidelines particularly when it comes to lipsticks.

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1. If you’re between the ages of 16 and 30, you can pretty much wear any lipstick color you want, provided it fits with your clothing perfectly, or clashes perfectly.  In between looks like a mistake.
2. If you have small lips, migrate from dark lipstick colors to lighter shades.  Dark lipstick makes small lips look smaller and harsh.
3. If you’re between the ages of 30 and 50, you can wear a long list of shades, but use caution with super bright or super dark shades.
4. If you’re 50 and older, it’s time to experiment with softer shades of lipstick, more eyes.  The darker or bolder a shade of lipstick is, the more it attracts attention to your mouth. The more eyes you have, the more it draws attention to your eyes.
5. Softer Lips, More Eyes is more youthful and fresh in appearance.
6. If you feel your lips have receded with age, it’s perfectly ok and advised to use a lip pencil just slightly outside of the lip line.
7. Frosted lipstick shows wrinkles and fine lines more than any other lipstick.
8. If you are going to try a red lipstick, perfect lining and perfect application are required, or you’ll be unhappy with the results.
9. Pay attention to the base color of your naked lips.  Lipstick will blend with your natural color to create a new color.
10. Pay attention to lipstick intensity.  One lipstick can have more than one look simply by adjusting intensity.
11. Feel free to blend two lipstick shades into a new one by applying one color first, and blending the second over it with a lipstick brush.
12. Did I mention a lipstick brush?  Yes, you should have one. It’s an indispensable tool.

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Ok, back to inspiration.

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I suggest that you start here on this You Tube channel below.  You can pretty much find anything here.  And as you watch, you'll see other you tube artists on the right.

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https://www.youtube.com/user/TheMakeupChair

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I would also highly recommend you watch Andrea's Lipstick Like A Pro video tutorial series.  It's free, and you'll never look at applying lipstick the same way again.

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And if you're approaching 45 or over, I cannot recommend enough Christopher Hopkins book Staging Your Comeback.

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Lipsticks for Soft Lips

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Lipsticks for Bold Lips

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Shop All Lipsticks

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Great Eye Shadow Starts

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Shop All Eye Shadow Palettes

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