The slow beauty movement, like the slow food movement, is about taking a more mindful approach to our beauty practices. According to slowbeauty.com, (an journal dedicated to promoting the slow beauty philosophy), it’s the opposite of the “fast-paced world of the beauty industry that sells us quick fixes, immediate results and invasive options,” and rather, more about “[caring] for ourselves in a deep, sustainable and meaningful way.” So, think: choosing socially conscious makeup brands, taking greater care to notice what we put in and on our body and being mindful in our beauty rituals.
Why should you try it? Well, if you believe that if you feel good, you look good, you might find it’s the best beauty investment you decide to make this year. Here are three slow beauty strategies to start:
Embrace your morning routine
To start with, just notice what your morning routine looks like. Rushed? Stressful? Do you stick in makeup application between hurriedly eating breakfast and zipping through doing your hair? Consider how can perform your basic cleansing, moisturizing, makeup, hair, with a little more intention. Without necessarily “making more time” for makeup and hair, just bring more of your attention to the motions as you go through them. After that, start to think about what you could do to make these rituals a little more sensual, even relaxing or enjoyable, part of your morning.
Audit your makeup and skincare collection
What kind of makeup, moisturizer, perfume are you covering yourself with before leaving the house? Was it made with the same intention you want to apply it with? (Another way of asking that might be: was it made with love, or care?) You certainly don’t need to rush out and buy a bunch of organic, locally made products, just start by noticing where your products come from and how they were made and how that aligns with your values. Ideally, the beauty products we choose to put on our skin, like the food we choose to consume, makes us feel good to do so, and support what we really mean to do when we take care of our outer-selves.
Be open-minded about how you treat yourself
That is, tune into the simple pleasures that are available to you right now. An example of a simple slow beauty practice you can start is to put dried flowers or even loose leaf tea into your bath and be grateful (for your water, your tub, your body, your partner, the fact that you finished you left work on time — anything), as you soak. Massage your neck, your face, shoulders. Allow the bath to support you in returning to a state of calm and equilibrium. Beauty rituals like this can be a direct connections to calming your nerves and centering your mind, which is about a lot more than just cleaning your body.
Slow beauty is as much about your mindset as it is the actual beauty practices you perform. It’s about having a sense of the greater “why” around why you do them. It’s about valuing yourself! And feeling good inside and having that spill out to the outside.
