14 Things Every Girl Should Have On Her Beauty Bucket List

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If you’ve read any of my previous stuff, you know that beauty and its many incarnations, from lipstick to hair color to the actual “inner” beauty all of us possess, is one of my big passions. There are so many ways to express yourself via beauty products, and changing up your look can change your whole life. I’ve tried everything.

So what are the beauty-related experiences I think every woman should have? Here’s my beauty “bucket list.”

  1. Dye your hair a crazy color. It can (and often should) be temporary, but it’s really fun to experience life with pink, turquoise, cherry red or even silver-grey hair. If just for a day.
  2. Get waxed. It’s like they say – beauty is pain. Most waxing isn’t THAT bad, honestly, and I think having conquered the experience is like a badge of Lady Honor.
  3. Wear red lipstick. It’s not hard! I know it can be scary, but just go for it. Nobody will give a fuck. They’re going to be too busy being jealous of your confidence and sexy red lips.
  4. Find a signature scent. I don’t care if you’re faithful to it 24/7 – because lord know I’m not – but I think every woman should have a fragrance she really, truly loves for a long, long time. You know, the kind that makes ex-boyfriends remember you when they smell it on a stranger.
  5. Do something out of your comfort zone. Chop your hair off. Paint your nails a color that you’d never normally try. Do a nude lip instead of a hot pink. Whatever it is, it could be something you end up loving.
  6. Be OK with the way you look au naturale. I’m getting there with this one. I don’t hate the way I look without my whole face on, but I don’t exactly love it, either. One day I will.
  7. Be a bridesmaid. I only add this because as a bridesmaid, you really understand how much work it can be to look picture-perfect in photos. The updo, the “understated but polished” makeup … it’s really a beauty experience that you don’t understand until you’ve done it.
  8. Learn who and what makes you feel beautiful. Cherish those things. Maybe even write them down or keep a photo of a special moment, so when you feel terrible, you can go back and remember when you felt the best.
  9. Wear the same eyeliner for three days in a row. What? It’s the closest you’ll probably ever get to feeling like Kate Moss.
  10. Learn from your mistakes. So black hair isn’t your best look. Oh well – it’s not permanent.
  11. Find a signature “look” that you can pull together quickly and always feel like a slightly more enhanced version of yourself. For me, that’s brows, mascara, foundation, blush and highlighter aaaaaand done!
  12. Find a hairstylist who gets you. Once you find him or her, never let them go.
  13. Find your Holy Grail products. You know – the foundation that makes you look like your face has been filtered, the cream that enhances your curls, the lip color that makes you feel invincible. Purchase them and re-purchase them, and keep a backup handy just in case they (gasp) get discontinued. (My ultimate HG? MAC’s Teddy kohl liner, the perfect bronzy-brown. I have at least four pencils in various states of use.)
  14. Do things that make you feel beautiful. Be charitable. Be kind. Exercise. Be a good friend/wife/sister/daughter/mother. Remember that real beauty is the kind that starts within. It’s cheesy, but it’s true.