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Glowing up is a highly sought after achievement and people seem to want to do it as quickly as possible. This post will provide 20 glow up tips to help you feeling your best self!
What is a glow up?
Many people have many different perspectives on what glowing up means. The interpretation of a glow up for this post is to enhance your physical and mental state to help you feel the best you can. The easiest way to have a glow up is to feel good about yourself and hopefully these tips will help you do just that!
How to have a mental glow up
I think having a mental glow up is equally if not more important than the physical aspect! If you don’t feel good about yourself then it will show and you won’t ever appreciate a physical glow up if your mindset is not accepting of it!
These are my 10 tips and tricks for how to glow up mentally!
1- Affirmations
this one takes a while to truly work but saying positive statements to yourself really does make a huge difference. Repeating these statements to yourself daily will elevate your self love and alter your subconscious to make you truly believe what you are saying! To kickstart your glow up, you can download my printable glow up cards here** (use code blog50 for 50% off!)
2 – be kind!
Kindness is free and makes anyone appear more warm and inviting. There is no better feeling than getting a compliment and also giving a compliment to someone else and seeing their mood boost. Being kind will make you happier and the happiest you is the best version of yourself. It will undoubtedly elevate you during your glow up!
3 – learn to say no
Saying no to plans, doesn’t make you boring, it prevents burnout. When I’m burnt out, I don’t feel my best and as we said earlier, glowing up is all about feeling your best. Set your boundaries and stick to them as this will lead to long term balance which is key for anything in life, and in this case, a glow up.
4 – Educate yourself
Now this is an underrated strategy to glow up! Not only are you accumulating more knowledge but if you feel like you’re stuck in a rut, this tip may help you find your calling! When you find something you truly love, you’re happy and when you’re happy, you’re glowing and you’ve glowed up so easily you don’t even realise!
5 – less screen time!
Comparison is the thief of joy and you will never truly love yourself if you’re always comparing as you’ll always find something that you want to change! You can always improve but constantly chasing changes will never make you happy! Just take a moment to relax and enjoy who you are and your mind will level up in such a positive way.
6 – find more hobbies
You may wonder how this will aid a glow up but finding things you enjoy is so important so you can do something to maintain a balanced lifestyle. This helps you glow up as it ties in with preventing burnout but also finding your calling. People turn hobbies into jobs all the time and life can be so unpredictable – you’ll never know until you try!
7 – mindfulness
This one is so important! Mindfulness has been proven to reduce stress and stress is linked to the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is linked to weight retention and mood swings so practicing mindfulness can be both a mental and physical glow up tip. Mindfulness can take many forms such as breathing exercises and meditations. You only need a few minutes to incorporate this into your day and the results are worth it!
8 – set goals
Make a list of what you want to do and work towards it. This gives you a sense of purpose and achieving the goals makes you feel so proud of yourself and more confidence. Gaining confidence leads to a huge glow up and changes your whole demeanour. Your mindset will be transformed and you’ll gain much more success when you have a clear vision of what you want to achieve.
9 – planning!
This one ties into the goals but having plans keeps you organised and can keep stress at bay. As discussed before, less stress = less cortisol which then leads to a glow up. You don’t need to plan every aspect of your life as that will remove elements of fun and spontaneity, but having parts of your day planned will help it run smoother and makes you feel a lot better about yourself.
10 – gratitude
Being grateful is such a powerful mindset tool to harness! Being grateful for what you do have switches your mindset to a more positive state and can also aid in manifestation. Being a grateful person leads you to appreciate what you have and glowing up includes feeling good about yourself and your life so this is a definite tool to utilise!
How to have a physical glow up
This is the most obvious side of a glow up and is often what people think of when a glow up is mentioned. As we highlighted earlier, you don’t need a physical transformation in order to have a glow up but these are tips if you are looking to enhance your physical features for a more visual glow up.
1 – Tailor your skincare routine to your skin type
What’s viral on social media isn’t always the best option for your skin. I’ve had oily skin my whole life and when I use products for dry skin, my skin looks so greasy. When I tailored my skincare routine to cater for oily skin and breakouts, I noticed myself glow up and that is because the oil was kept at bay and my breakouts were reduced but I still had a healthy glow!
You can read my post on how to create your perfect skincare routine here.
2 – Tailor your hair care routine
Your hair can change your entire appearance which we know by now after many infamous post-breakup hair cuts. Find a hairstyle and colour that suits you and find the products that will keep it healthy! The glow up will be effortless! I recently had a period of hair thinning but I altered my routine to incorporate more products tailored to hair loss and shedding and my hair is thickening up again. I feel like it looks so much better and is regaining my confidence and therefore aiding my glow up!
3 – find a fitness routine you love
Weight loss is absolutely not needed for a glow up, but exercise and fitness is good for you and improves your mood. A glowed up you is a happy AND healthy you. Engaging in fitness may cause some weight loss and may help you feel that you’ve had a glow up physically but the real glow up from this tip is your health and that truly is invaluable.
4 – figure out your fashion sense
Changing up the clothes you wear can be such a fun way to glow up as everyone loves a shopping spree – right? Finding clothes that suit and fit your body type right can elevate your appearance so much! My favourite way is to look on Pinterest for different outfits and I’ll try and look on Vinted or upcycle some of my old, unworn clothes to create items I love and feel good in. As has been mentioned throughout this post, when trying to figure out how to glow up, you need to gain confidence in yourself and practice self love. If you feel good, you look good.
5 – Use makeup to enhance your features, not hide them!
Makeup can be such a powerful tool to help you physically glow up but the purpose of makeup is to enhance your natural beauty, not hide it! Not only is natural makeup trending more at the moment but it is more flattering and it’s a lot better for summer as it feels lighter on your skin! Covering up with makeup instills a non-confidence mindset which is the opposite of what we want when glowing up! Use makeup as your heart desires but show who you really are! Of course, you can wear heavier makeup if that is what you prefer but make sure it is not coming from a place of self doubt and misery.
6 – correct your posture
How you walk into a room can say a lot about you and can be your first impression on some people. Having a good posture is noticeable and maintaining a good posture can make you seem more graceful. It’s an easy way to glow up and it can save you for aches and pains that a bad posture will often bring.
7 – get enough sleep
This one is spoken about so often and that’s because it’s so important! Your body resets as you sleep and all bodies need rest! However, this can also help you physically glow up as ample sleep helps reduce eye bags, allows time for your body to focus on important processes such as digestion and can prevent illness. You can also implement things like silk pillowcases so your sleep provides more benefits and glow up potentials.
8 – stay hydrated!
Another commonly-spoke about tip but drinking water causes a glow up from the inside out! Remaining hydrated aids in the proper functioning of your body, it can help your skin look more plump and it aids in weight loss. Of course, not everyone likes to drink plain water so also try adding flavourings to it, or fruit or drink a herbal tea which also boasts a multitude of benefits!
9 – find a signature scent
This is a tip that helps you stand out. If you wear a scent every single day, people will begin to notice. Everyone’s skin chemistry is different so some perfumes smell different depending on the person and sometimes it doesn’t smell great – we want to avoid this if we aspire to glow up! To help you find your signature glow-up scent, I’d say to choose a scent family you like e.g. vanilla, floral, etc. then when you go shopping, spray the testers on your wrist then walk away and smell it later in the day. This helps determine if the scent lasts, as well as how well it blends to your skin. Perfume isn’t cheap so always try a sample before taking the plunge!
10 – maintain good hygiene
None of the above tip will even matter if you don’t have a good hygiene routine. There is no way you will glow up if you are not clean! Not only will others see you more detrimentally but you will not feel as confident in yourself if you are not clean. As basics, you should have a toothbrush, toothpaste, face wash, body wash, shampoo and conditioner. The rest are extra but can also help you smell better which also helps the glow up aforementioned. When taking a step towards glowing up, this is an essential basic so make sure you have the minimum to achieve a good level of hygiene.
So, those were my top 20 tips when you’re thinking of how to glow up and I hope they have been of use! I look forwards to seeing your glow ups and your journeys to becoming your best self!
