Fashion
6 Ways to Make Your Monday Happier (and Your Skin Glowier)
It's easy to feel a little down once the weekend ends and you're swapping outdoor margaritas for office-wide emails. Here are six ways to make this Monday feel a little more special. How about some glowing skin and minimal stress as a side effect? We'll take it.
Image: Fotolia
Wake up with an ice cube
Whether you’re dashing out the door or already at work, filch an ice cube from the freezer and run it once or twice over your face. It won’t disturb your makeup, but it’ll promote circulation and make your skin glow while waking you up in a major way.
Hit your accupressure points
Accupressure is an ancient Chinese practice that utilizes certain pressure points on the body to cure different ailments. Just apply pressure with your fingers to the specific point — it’s something you can do in front of your computer screen. Get rid of a headache by firmly squeezing the skin between your thumb and forefinger; make your skin glow by massaging your third eye (between your brows) and the point on your cheekbones that’s one inch below your pupils.
Take breathing breaks
If you work at a hip tech startup and have in-office yoga classes, then what are you waiting for, you lucky thing? If not, make a deliberate effort to concentrate on your breathing for one minute out of every hour. Deep breathing is incredibly important, especially for the working woman: It increases energy, reduces stress, elevates moods, and helps with mental clarity.
Make touch-ups fun
There’s something about the flourescent glow of office lights that makes even the best makeup dry out, flake off, and fade over the course of the day. Use makeup touch-up trips to the bathroom for what they really are: Breaks! Keep specific products that you love in your desk (a really amazing lip color for the mid-afternoon slump, for instance). Grab a new cup of coffee on your way back, or chat with a coworker. And if things are looking really dire, slip out and head to the nearest Sephora (or another makeup paradise) to sample something new.
Image: Renata Alves dos Anjos
Do a secret foot spa
If you know you’re going to be stuck at the computer for a while, do something your old-school CEO probably wouldn’t approve of: Slip off your shoes. Then, you’ll want to coat each foot in a super-thick layer of lotion and slip on a pair of old socks. As you answer emails, Skype with Russia, or prepare a killer PowerPoint presentation, your feet will be having the time of their lives.
Image: Fotolia
Reward yourself
Setting little goals and rewarding yourself when you meet them is a good way to rev up your productivity and improve your 9 to 5 mood altogether. This Monday, end the workday with something that’ll make you a little more fabulous. Whether it’s a $3 nail polish in a crazy new color, a rollerball perfume to be used only at your desk, or a Céline bag for your brand new laptop, set your sights on something pretty, and reward yourself with it once your to-do list has been conquered.
