A new year is a new beginning and a chance to freshen up your look. From good foundations to sparkly eye shadows, how you treat your skin before you put your makeup on is vital. Year round, you should have a cleanser that rejuvenates, but you need to make sure you have a hydrating moisturizer for the dry winter season. My favorite brands for face washes and moisturizers range from Aveeno and Olay to Clinique. I recommend Aveeno’s Positively Radiant Cleanser, which is under $10. For the winter, my go-to moisturizer is Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizer. Since skin can dry out a lot from the cold weather, this thicker moisturizer works wonders without clogging your pores. In the summer, it is important to wear a moisturizer that contains some sun protection, which Clinique’s moisturizer unfortunately lacks. Healthy Skin Face Lotion by Neutrogena provides 15 SPF along with multivitamins in a lightweight formula.

Once your face is cleansed and hydrated, a clean, simple look shows a sophisticated and chic sense of style. Bare Minerals is a great brand for foundation powders and blushes. Their makeup brushes are really nice, too. They have an awesome starter set that contains foundation, blush, brushes and valuable tips. Sonia Kashuk is a great eye shadow brand featured at Target. For nights out, the palettes consist of colors that will work great for a smokey eye. It is not overpriced, and the colors show up well. Luckily for me — since my eyebrows grow back two days after waxing them — thicker, arched eyebrows are trending.

My favorite lip gloss is Clinique’s Long Last Glosswear in Plum. Polished nails can easily pep up your look. My favorite brand is Essie, and I love colors like mauve, burgundy, red, brown and violet for the winter. Bright colors like coral and pastels such as seafoam blue and lavender are perfect for the spring. This year, pale hues will be the leading trend.

For the upcoming season, the bun will be a popular hairstyle. You can mix up the trend with loose messy buns or ballerina buns, which can be perfected by using a sock. Start out by cutting off the toe area of a clean tube sock that you no longer wear. Put your hair up in a high ponytail then roll the sock back into an even doughnut shape. Then, pull your ponytail through the doughnut and slide your hair around the whole thing until it is covered. To secure it, place a hair tie around the bun. I hope these tips can be useful for your beauty resolutions!

—Alexa

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Women always use the age-old excuse of, “I can’t wear hats; I don’t look good in them!” It’s not a matter of not looking good in them, it just takes finding the right one for your face shape and style to think hats aren’t that bad after all. Here are a few different hats that may have you thinking differently about your style inhibitions.

Fedoras:

Works well at elongating the face and flattering wide cheekbones. Can be worn any season and can be purchased in a variety of fabrics from straw to wool. Adds the perfect ease of masculinity and coolness to any outfit.

Floppy:

Wide brim helps to balance out heart shaped faces and oval faces. Perfect fit for bohemian, easy-going styles and loose silhouettes.

Retro:

There are many different styles of retro hats in sub categories ranging anywhere from pillboxes, toppers, fascinators and cloches. A vintage hat adds a sophistication and nostalgic appeal to outfits and is sure to have people stopping you to ask about it.

Beanie:

Perfect for those times where you might be having a bad hair day or even just to keep your ears warm from the cold winter winds. Beanies work well for any style from grunge to trendy styles and are the most accessible hat to find.

Beret:

My favorite type of hat that works well with any face shape, any hairstyle — any style. Berets can be worn with classic outfits, retro-inspired and feminine. They’re versatile in the fact that they can be worn farther back on the head, or perfectly placed on the side. They come in an array of colors to match any outfit choice.

Floral Crown:

The least conventional of all hats but still fun nonetheless. Floral crowns are for dreamers and compliment hair down and romantic up-dos. Floral crowns can be purchased on Etsy or made from thrift store materials in an easy half hour.

-Lauren

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Spring is right around the corner, and the new collections are already out and in stores. One of the hottest spring trends is neon. Bright yellows, pinks and greens are being displayed everywhere you go and on the runway. Neon accessories are very popular because they add a small pop of color without going overboard.

Wearing a neon necklace with a basic colored top adds the perfect amount of color. Small neon clutches are also very trendy for spring. They are small enough to not overdo the color.

Seeing a neon sole on a tennis shoe is also becoming a very hip, urban look. It is a little risky when experimenting with these bright colors because you don’t want to overdo it and end up looking like an ’80s pop star. When wearing neons you have to remember to use them as small accents to enhance the outfit. Small pops of neon on all black outfits looks very chic and trendy.

Another hot spring trend is neon nails. If you are not yet ready to venture into neon clothing or accessories, painting your nails hot pink or bright yellow gives you that little bit of color that is still very trendy and possibly more in your comfort zone. From accessories to nail polish, neon colors are a must have for spring.

— Lilly

 Top left photo by Jim Barcu | MCT

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