Garance Galore

I’m going to sound just like my dad, but… crazy how time flies! I can’t believe that we are now in 2024. The beginning of a new year is always so exciting to me. I can’t wait to see what awaits us! Anyways, I’m wishing you good health, endless laughter, and a love-filled year < 3

Beauty can be such a fun and creative world when we enter it with the right mindset. But it can also be overwhelming, especially today as we are constantly bombarded with miraculous product ads, weekly trends, and unattainable beauty standards. I have done so many things in order to improve my confidence and learn to love myself despite my flaws, and only then have I started deeply enjoying makeup and fashion rather than using them as a way to hide my flaws and insecurities.

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It has been and still is a very exciting journey, and in today’s post, I wish to share with you a few pieces of advice I learned along the way and gradually began implementing as a routine in order to feel and look put together!

Mastering a natural everyday makeup look

Not everyone wears makeup, and we absolutely do not need to in order to be pretty, but I find that a natural makeup look can easily help you achieve a polished look. Mastering a 15-minute makeup and finding products that suit your skin tone, undertone, and color palette is key to having a fresh and beautiful look. Now, I don’t believe that we need a bag full of expensive products and hundreds of different shades of lipstick; you only need products that work for you!

My makeup routine consists of the following:

• CC cream
• Concealer
• Bronzer
• Blush
• Mascara
• Eyebrows pencil
• Lip pencil
• Lip tint

They all come from drugstore brands and always help me archive a cute look within 15 minutes! On some days, I will skip bronzer, blush, lip pencil, and kohl, and on others, I will add some eyeshadow to the list. The secret is to enhance whatever features you love about yourself and simply have fun while doing so!

Adding accessories

I religiously wear earrings every single day. Most of the time, I go for hoops and bigger earrings because it’s a very simple way to make an outfit less boring; it adds a little something to it. And there is a huge variety for all tastes; you can be funky, classy, simple, etc. I also enjoy wearing a classic golden watch, but maybe you prefer bracelets or necklaces. Whatever you like, you will find something that suits you. Hair accessories, scarves, belts, etc. are all great and easy ways to upgrade an outfit too! Accessories help me feel more stylish, especially when I have to wear my uniform to work. I think that adding these small pieces to our outfits is the easiest way to appear more put together, even though it takes no more than two minutes to put them on.

Finding the right perfume(s)

Until I met A, I was never a perfume girl. I would buy one, maybe once every two years, or receive them as gifts. But he converted me into a yummy-smelling girl. I used to believe that perfumes were kind of useless and insanely expensive for what they were. But this was until he introduced me to a shop called ‘perfumes & more’—there are all over the island here in Malta, I am not sure that they exist abroad, but you can surely find similar shops almost everywhere. They basically have dupes of bigger brands but are 10x cheaper; they smell just like the originals and last just as long. Since then, I have been rotating between three different perfumes, and I now cannot leave the house without smelling like a dream!

Styling your hair

Like I mentioned in a previous blog post, I cut my hair in 2022, and since it is slowly growing back, I have been loving experimenting with it. I realized that a ‘bad hair day’ was not a thing anymore once you master a few cute hairstyles. Styling your hair is such a easy and fun way to improve an outfit and your overall appearance. You don’t have to make elaborate braids or Pinterest-worthy hairstyles. Simply changing the way your hair looks every other day and taking the time to style and apply the right products to it will definitely make you feel prettier and more feminine! Watch videos, get some inspiration on Pinterest, and try them out whenever you have a few minutes to spare. I guarantee you that you will feel prettier than ever!

Taking care of your hands

Last but not least, taking care of your hands will totally improve your looks! But you don’t necessarily have to get your nails done professionally every two weeks; Filing your nails, keeping them clean and making sure you that your hands are moisturized throughout the day, will always make you look and feel extra polished! You can also learn how to do your own gel manicures from the comfort of your home, like I did. If you want to do your nails here and there but don’t always have the time to refresh them when they grow, prefer natural colors — Even if they are chipped or have grown out, it won’t show as much. The same goes for your feet; even if others might not see them, I always feel extra put together when they are soft and painted.

I hope that these tips were useful to you. If you have some more to share with the rest of us, feel free to do so in the comment section, so that we can all look and feel our best in 2024! And don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t always keep up with all of these at all times, because the truth is, most of us can’t! Beauty should not be a source of stress but a creative and fun way to express ourselves and feel more confident.

Wishing you a polished and beautiful week,

Garance xx