Beauty Ins and Outs for 2025

We’ve all been there—chasing the perfect skin, trying the latest miracle fix, only to find things unchanged at best. Whether it’s overdoing your routine, falling for hype, or skipping the basics, there’s a lot to be mindful of when it comes to skincare. Here’s a breakdown of what to leave behind and what to take forward in 2025 for healthier, happier skin.

2025 is the year of less fuss and letting your skin breathe (skinamalism and all that). To turn this theory into practice, you can use tinted sunscreens and moisturisers—your multitasking go-to’s. These 2-in-1 products take care of your skincare needs, be it shielding you from UV rays or keeping your face hydrated, while also concealing those WIP acne scars with a light, smooth colour. The fashionably late can look forward to meeting their New Year punctuality resolutions with a product that can have you out the door in minutes

While Gua Sha and lymphatic drainage massages have gained popularity for shaping the face and reducing double chins, the secret to a more refined, poised look might be hiding in plain sight: posture correction. Poor posture—especially from hours spent hunched over screens—can distort your face in ways you might not expect.

When your head juts forward, neck and throat muscles tighten, partially blocking the airways and forcing you to breathe through your mouth. Over time, this can lead to a thinner upper lip, flat cheekbones, and sunken eyes. Add a posture correction routine to your workout, though, and watch how your nasal breathing flows more freely, bringing your natural, chiselled features back to life.

Have you ever scanned though pictures of your mother, aunts or grandmothers and wondered how they’d managed to maintain such radiant skin, long before the age of retinoids and even SPF? Well, they were in on an age old secret—using the power of indigenous, regional ingredients to keep their skin healthy and glowing.

Borrowing a page from the “eating your skincare” trend, the kitchen can double as your at-home Sephora. Turmeric, honey, yoghurt, and rice aren’t just for cooking; they’re packed with natural healing properties, antioxidants, and exfoliating benefits. So, why not add these pantry staples to your beauty regimen?

The trend making waves on TikTok and Instagram since the summer of 2024 involves women showcasing their “morning shed” routines—videos of them groggily waking up, adorned in a strange mix of products, which they peel off one by one to reveal a seemingly flawless face. These videos are not only the pinnacle of over-consumption at its finest, but also spectacles of self-optimisation where women aren’t allowed to even sleep in peace anymore.

Instead, they’re expected to endure the discomfort of face-shaping chin corsets, taped lips, LED masks, and heatless hair curling rods, all in the name of beauty and youth. It is the ultimate irony: women striving for a ‘natural’ glow are trapped in an exhausting, artificial routine.

The promise of “Botox in a bottle” has become a marketing favourite, with products claiming to deliver wrinkle-smoothing, age-defying results without the needle. But let’s get one thing straight: no serum is going to freeze your muscles like Botox can. While ingredients like peptides might help reduce fine lines over time, they can’t replicate the dramatic effects of botulinum toxin.

These products may smooth things over temporarily, but expecting them to offer permanent, Botox-level results is a stretch. So, before you fork out for the latest “miracle” formula, you should probably remind yourself: it’s skincare, not a surgical shortcut.

You can’t expect clear skin when your brushes, sponges, and applicators are carrying a layer of grime. While we’re all diligent about cleaning our faces, the tools we use to apply makeup and skincare can often be neglected, harbouring bacteria, oils, and leftover products.

These build-ups not only affect the effectiveness of your products but can also lead to breakouts or irritation. Regularly washing makeup tools is just as essential as your skincare routine itself. After all, a clean tool applies products more evenly and keeps your skin from absorbing what it shouldn’t. It’s an easy step that makes a world of difference.

There’s a reason it’s called ‘beauty sleep’. Sleep is as essential for good skin as water is and yet, it’s often the first thing we sacrifice in our busy lives. When we don’t get enough rest, it shows up on our faces—not just in tired eyes and dullness but in the skin’s ability to regenerate.

A disrupted sleep cycle hampers collagen production, delays healing, and encourages inflammation, leading to premature signs of aging and breakouts. The skin’s natural repair process kicks into gear during sleep, so skipping out on your 8 hours (now 10 apparently, for women) can mean more than just dozing off at work; it’s a missed opportunity for your complexion to reset.