Simplify Your Beauty Routine

Could your beauty relationship be described as “Complicated?" No more. Follow these four expert tips from our friends at Vaseline to simplify your regimen, and stick to it.

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To stick with your New Year’s resolutions, it’s important to keep it simple—research shows that you’re more likely to follow clearly defined, actionable steps than broad, sweeping statements. (Just how far did that “I will exercise more” promise get you last year?)

The same goes for your beauty routine. It’s time to take a long, hard look at your bathroom or beauty counter, because if you’re like most beauty enthusiasts, you are using way too many products. Follow these four essential tips from our friends at Vaseline to simplify your routine, and help make 2013 your most beautiful year ever.

MORE: Simplify Your Skincare Regimen

1. Choose multi-purpose products: According to a recent survey of 1,000 women*, when asked why they own multiple body lotions, 59 percent say it’s because each one served a different purpose; one was an effective moisturizer, but another had a great feel and scent. Lose the multiple lotions and choose one product that meets all your criteria by feeling good and doing good. For example, a lotion such as Vaseline Total Moisture will cover all bases—it not only feels and smells great when you apply it, but it also moisturizes skin deep down to its core.**

2. Put expiration dates on all your products so you know when it’s time to dispose of them: Most lotions, creams and gels expire one to two years after purchase, while some makeup should be switched out every three months. Slap a label on newly purchased items,that way you’ll know when you need to replace them.

QUIZ: Are You Living In Your Best Possible Skin?

3. Dispose of products that you don’t need or use: Before tidying up your beauty stash do a thorough purge. More than one in three women* admit to cleaning out their medicine cabinet less than once every two years. In fact, 13 percent of women admit to never cleaning out their medicine cabinets. If you have purchased a product, tested it out and it didn’t work but you still have it, toss it. Or better yet, pass it along to a sister or friend. You’ve probably already purchased an alternative for it.

4. Conquer your beauty clutter, stay organized: Keep all your skincare products in one area, your nail care products in another and so forth—that way, you’ll actually know where to find something when you need it. Only keep necessary items that you frequently use out in the open, within reach. Try using clear containers to store all other items you have under the sick or in a drawer.

*Source: 2012 survey conducted by RedShift on Vaseline’s behalf of 1,000 women across the U.S. ** Stratum corneum (multi-layer surface skin)