small – Mind Beauty Simplicity

Why is it we tend to only pride ourselves of the big accomplishments? Do we feel like our small wins are not worth to brag about? I’m here to tell you, THEY ARE worth it & here’s why.

Burn out is a real problem in today’s day & age. I’ve talked about the importance of self care & slowing down your routines, but I haven’t yet discussed the importance of celebrating every achievement in your life, especially those little ones. And to prevent this so called burn out, we MUST take the time to acknowledge these small victories as they are the parachutes to our bigger destinations. It’s so important to enjoy the journey if you will & take in those small ounces of growth. Because once you do make it big or get to the top of the mountain so to speak, you’ll be proud of how you got there.

Take social media for instance, I feel like most people wait to announce their biggest accomplishments on there. Whether its an engagement, marriage, new job, promotion or travel opportunity, people are quick to announce those things. It’s a braggers right, isn’t it? But I guess posting a photo of your coffee mug with the caption, “tasty brew today” isn’t quite enough to be brag worthy.

But I’m saying, maybe we should do that! Maybe if we focused our attention on smaller accomplishments, our feeds wouldn’t be bombarded by highlight reels of amazing opportunities. Not so say we shouldn’t be proud of those moments. Maybe we should celebrate those small victories to be more relatable & show others that small hints of gratitude are something to be proud of too. I think for the sake of society, we would all benefit from this.

I know for a fact, if I posted a picture of me just getting out bed in the morning with the caption, “actually got my ass out of bed this morning, win win for me” it wouldn’t get that much praise. I honestly wish it would though because for some people, that’s a huge accomplishment. But I get it. Those victories don’t compare to those who have bought a house or won a Nobel prize. But it shouldn’t mean you should feel any less for your small victories. No wonder people struggle with self esteem. The world makes the little things seem pointless.

Taking pride in those small wins helps maintain proper mental health. To achieve in this life, I feel like the main characteristic to have is a good attitude. I love the quote, “when you focus on the good, the good gets better” & I think that half of the reason we have tough times, is not thinking every aspect of our lives are wins. Just being alive another day should be enough, you know?

I also feel like we are always looking for the next best things in life. And my biggest fear of mine, is waiting for this so called “big accomplishment” & never feeling like I really get there. And the reason for this is the notion of always wanting something bigger & better. Once you accomplish one thing, you are off to the next one. And it’s this big endless cycle of never really measuring up. So, why not look at your entire life as one big painting. Each little paint stroke leads you to the final masterpiece. An artist doesn’t wisk through a project & just say it simply appeared there. They acknowledge the time it took to get there, every mark & line, & every color used to get to the finished product. And I think we should treat our lives the same way.

What are some of your small wins today? Comment down below.

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-B

This past year has taught me two things: i only have one face & to embrace my natural beauty. More often than not, you would have found me bare faced & wearing sweats. This is why my Project 333 Challenge went so well. I realized when the new year came, I really needed to clean house of my makeup BIG TIME.

Youtube was the culprit to my overindulgence of makeup purchases. I always wanted the newest thing, every brand & have my drawers filled to the brim. I was a follower, idolizing other people’s collections. But as I got older, I realized the waste that went into this “hobby”.

Products Expire

The thing that never occurred to me, like food, makeup had an expiration date as well. On every bottle or compact, there is a photo with a time frame on it. If you hold onto these products for too long & apply them to your face, you can irritate your skin. So, please read the labels & clean house regularly.

It Goes to Waste

Since products have an expiration date, I noticed how many items sat in drawers untouched. Instead of wanting to finish a product, I’d always want to try different ones. Now, I make a point to try & “hit pan” on compacts & empty my bottles of foundations. The project pan community taught me how difficult it is to actually finish a product & how much waste there is. This past year, I made a point to purchase less makeup in my low buy year. I managed to get through tons of items this way, which in turn, downsized my collection in half. I’m all about decluttering when you no longer want something, but if you can use it up instead, I find that to be the more sustainable option.

Don’t Believe the Hype

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve have the urge to go to Ulta or Sephora just because of the notoriety surrounding said item. If it looks pretty to the eye & tons of people rave about it, I needed my hands on it. But I slowly realized influencers who promote certain products are simply getting paid. And sadly, sometimes the reviews are bogus. There are only a few people whose opinions I trust. Colorpop for example releases new eyeshadow palettes like they grow on trees. They recently came out with a Mandalorian collaboration. And as much as I love the Child, I knew it would be a waste to own these eyeshadows. Especially when I already own 10 palettes with an array of colors. Something I did get rid of were Urban Decay eyeliners from the Game of Thrones collaboration. I bought them solely for the love of the show & only used them once. Only buy them if you know you will 100% use them up. Otherwise it’s a waste of money & space.

Not All Makeup Is Flattering

Remember when orange eyeshadows were a thing? Yea, well I finally did a way with red toned eyeshadows because on my face, I looked like I was suffering from pink eye. Makeup is supposed to enhance your beauty. Why buy things that will decrease your confidence? It doesn’t matter if it seems to work for the majority of the population, if you don’t feel great in it, there’s no need to keep it around.

This month, I was going to be brutal with this Declutter. No exceptions. And I’m really proud of myself. I managed to get rid of some tough ones. Hyped makeup everyone loves like Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop & the Naked Basics palette. But they were super old & needed to go. I loved them for a long time but it was time to move on. I also got rid of 10 brushes! I realized I didn’t use half of them & I bought them for the sole purpose they were pretty.