3 x Christmas lip makeup (and three promises to myself)

winter lip makeup

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I adore lip art makeup, so this year I wanted to try my hand at it.  I created three different looks suitable for my favorite season. It was really fun to play with makeup this way and apply colors and textures to my lip, where I normally just add a red lip or a quick gloss.

But as it turns out, my perfectionism almost stopped me from publishing these. To be honest, I got into a bit of a rut. So I decided to share the photos along with three promises to myself. These work as my new year’s resolutions too. If you struggle with perfectionism, demanding always the best, always giving your 100%, even if you were exhausted and never giving yourself a break – well, maybe you need to hear these things too.

3 x Christmas/winter lip art makeup

winter snowflake lip makeup

 

Winter snowflake lip makeup

This wintery lip makeup is my favorite out of all these, even though the snowflakes turned out to be a bit of a mess. But still, I love how cute this looked! Weirdly, I love blue lipsticks and blue lips, even though I rarely wear that. It’s just such an unconventional color, so powerful and cool. Here I used blue face paint though, since I currently don’t have blue lipsticks (now there’s a mistake that needs to be fixed).

Get the look:

*Face paints
*Fine white glitter
*Chunky silver glitter

winter christmas lip makeup art

Promise #1: Stop comparing yourself to others and be on your side.

This one just seems impossible, yet it’s probably the most important one on this list. Life is not a competition. You’ll never be like someone else, because that’s not you. Try and turn that comparison into awe and inspiration. Try and be happy for other people. Think of it this way: isn’t it great that there’s only one you? Only one person to compete with, and she/he is on your side? Make sure you are on your side. Life opens up to you differently, once you have a clean canvas – one where you’re the only one making strokes.

I know this one is tough, but every time you find yourself comparing yourself to others, stop and remind yourself of this promise. No one is you and that is your super power.

 

Green Christmas lip makeup

 

Christmas tree inspired lip – Green with colorful diamonds

This look makes me think of a christmas tree with colorful baubles. It also makes me think of christmas lights and presents. I always take out green eyeshadow this time of year.  It was fun to experiment with green lips too.

Get the look:

*Face paints
*Rhinestone stickers (or rhinestones with some glue)

green christmas lip makeup

Promise #2: Try to let go of the little worries.

When you start worrying about little things, try and look a bit further. Does it really matter or is it an “unneccessary” worry? Try and think with your brain and look further ahead. Does it matter five years from now? Does it even matter a year, a month from now? If you can’t seem to let it go,  give yourself five minutes to mope about it, then move on.

Let go of the little worries. Because life does gives you actual big worries too. Try to be relaxed when you can.

Red glitter lip makeup for Christmas

Now this final look is quite simple, but powerful, as red lips tend to be. I chose one of my fave reds, which is Jane Iredale Gwen lipstick. I topped that off with glitter primer and glitter from my glitter palette. Now when it comes to red lipsticks, I have listed all my favorite classic reds here, and all my favorite orange reds here!

Get the look:
*Jane Iredale Triple Luxe Lipstick, Gwen
*Red makeup glitter (& glitter primer)

Promise #3: Talk nicely to yourself and treat yourself like you would treat a friend.

It’s natural to have negative thoughts and feel bad about yourself every now and then. But you wouldn’t call a friend lazy, dumb, ugly or fat – would you? Every time you hear yourself saying a bad thing about yourself, stop and fix your thinking. Say a positive thing instead.

Talk nicely to yourself.

 

What was your favorite lip? And did any of my resolutions resonate with you?


About my holiday in Lapland & life

I like to write about my real life here every once in a while, even though those are not the most popular posts. I contemplated on this text quite a bit though, because the honest answer to “how are you” is not instagrammable or funny. (Or maybe with my twisted humor it is.)

I was planning on writing about my holiday, but I couldn’t write about it without first telling you how it is. How much I needed a break. How much I needed to get away –  even for just a while – and be in Lapland and stare at the most beautiful starry sky I’ve ever seen.

It feels as though this year has been just cancer, heartbreak, serious sicknesses and bad luck. I feel like for a few times already I’ve said aloud something like “if x happens, I don’t know how I’ll manage, I can’t take it”.  And then it happens and I manage. Somehow.

When the latest bad news hit me, I almost started laughing. It’s like, okay 2020, bring it on.

A little holiday in Lapland

Every time I visit Lapland, I fall a bit more in love with it. I feel a bit more rested now and I’m really thankful for the new experiences. And just the fact that we could go, even with the corona.

And when it comes to that – we had less human contacts there than we have here in Helsinki. Obviously we were at our own cottage very social distanced and the hotels we stayed at were basically empty. And the restaurants we ate at (just 2 restaurant, otherwise we had take away or cooked) were also being careful so we were not close to people at any time.

The anxiety of all the bad news didn’t fully disappear while I was eating a three course meal in the restaurant of the year, or looking outside our beautiful hotel suite. But I still enjoyed those moments. I’m still at awe when I think about the menu in Aanaar and for example the mushroom ice cream I had. I tasted things I’ve never tasted before and saw scenery I’ve never seen before.

By the way – did you know that one of the ways to handle anxiety is to eat something and really focus on how it tastes?

Food at Aanaar was delicious.

Northern Lapland is a totally different world to where I live. I felt so small climbing to a fjeld and looking at the endless trees and forested hills. I also felt out of breath, exhausted and freezing. When I was at the top, breathing heavy and being so so tired, I felt as though the whole year was weighing on my shoulders, not just my back pack. But once we got in the car, I felt like a winner, just a bit.

A true before & after. Before hiking and at the (almost) top. If you look at the second photo and behind me, you can kinda imagine how beautiful the view was.

Coming home I toyed with the idea of moving to Northern Lapland one day, to be one with nature. But I guess that’s more about escaping the every day life a bit. Being in a different place, seeing new things, to not think about the reality as much. Realistically I don’t see myself leaving Helsinki.

What else?

–  I experienced the sleepless night of travelling in a night train in the smallest cabin ever (Helsinki – Rovaniemi). I can’t recommend it. Next time we’ll just drive and take a break in a hotel.

– I woke up in a dark and cozy cottage to a warm coffee and delicious breakfast. Risto’s mom even baked me my own oatmeal bread! I watched 3 Christmas movies at the cottage and had two naps. Those are important on a holiday.

– I got to sleep in the aurora suite in Novaskyland hotel. I’ve always dreamt of staying in one of those aurora iglus, but Risto didn’t love the idea. This was almost the same, as the windows were huge and we had a clear view to the sky. The suite was beautiful and everything was nice and clean.

– I saw polar bears! And beautiful owls. We visited Ranua Zoo and because there was basically no one there, we got to walk through the place safely and in peace. Fun fact: we were the only guests at the holiday cottage village there. The cottage was nice. Actually, pretty much all the hotels we stayed at were either empty or just had a few guests.

– Had a lovely city visit to Jyväskylä. We stayed at the Sokos Hotel Paviljonki and also had dinner at their restaurant, Trattoria Aukio. Food was great and the customer service impeccable.

– Got back home and had a small Halloween party for four. My last minute look was Harley Quinn. Next year I want to do it again properly. I feel like I missed a lot of makeup fun this year, because I’ve been so tired. Next year I really want to do more looks.

My merino wool outfit from Icebreaker.

Life is also about finding happiness in the smallest of places

All in all I had a lovely holiday and life is not totally bad. This year has also been about comforting hugs, big laughs with friends, some good news, lots of movies, growth and finding happiness in the smallest of places. I even started going to therapy again and I want to count that as a good thing. This year, more than ever, I have really had to focus to find the positives. But there are always positives – you just gotta look for them.

I have already put up the Christmas decorations and I love walking past them when fetching water and coffee from the kitchen. I find solace in them. I find solace in my routines.

The planet keeps on moving no matter what. I do too. Last year around this time I told myself: you’ll get through anything. Today it feels true. Who knows what the future holds? There must be good things too. And that’s the positive attitude I’m feeling today.

 

So that’s what’s up.

How are you?

 

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