Style, beauty, anything else - what’s going to get you through driech January and February?

[Judystilldreamsofhorses]

I know there will be plenty of people who love these months, but I hate them! Tell me what will make them better for you if you’re like me, please.

I’ve bought a big bunch of tulips and some daffs today which are a bit at odds with the fairy lights.

MIL always gets me the Molton Brown “selection box” for Christmas so I have lots of nice bath stuff to use.

I have some nice new knitwear I bought with Christmas money, and am going to get some new nightshirts for bed at the weekend.

The good telly has started.

I watch for it getting lighter in the morning/evening, to show spring is coming.
Like you, I’ve got fresh flowers in, and like a bubble bath.

Candles, walks and summer wardrobe review. Going to update all my gym clothes, so I have a proper wardrobe section rather than any old gear.

• knuckling down and getting ahead with work so I can take my foot off the gas a bit in the summer
• Wellies on, long walks. With a good friend, podcast and coffee stop
• Getting organised- booking some weekends away / holiday
• I’m currently focussing on getting stronger, enjoying my new weights regime & Pilates 3x a week

Lots of walks when it’s nice outside. Exercise in the gym . Runs with friends. Planning holidays!

I've started using my Gua Sha with facial oil every evening following a You Tube tutorial.

I've sorted all of my jewellery out and have put it in to my empty Liberty advent calendar box (it's so beautiful, I don't want to put it away!) I'm trying to wear it all, instead of wearing the same stuff every day.

Considering the 30 day lipstick challenge - again I've got lots of lipsticks and wear the same ones every day.

Tree and decorations are coming down tomorrow so a good clean, fresh flowers and some new candles to brighten everywhere up a bit.
I have just treated myself to some nice underwear, now the Christmas credit card has been paid

There is a sheltered spot in a front garden round the corner from me that gets snowdrops blooming earlier than anywhere else in the neighbourhood, so I take that route more regularly at this time of year so I can monitor progress 😀

Lots of other things mentioned on this thread are things I do, or ideas I will try. Great thread 😍

Most of the year I'm not the slightest bit interested in nature but I do find it fascinating, and quite uplifting, to watch everything slowly coming back to life: snowdrops, crocuses, first buds on trees, birds returning; and the light - not just the days getting longer but the quality of light changes. I'm not spiritual but I guess this is as near as I ever get to it.

More style and beauty related - I go through all the clothes I've not worn for a long time (I put the good stuff away rather than get rid of it) and, if I'm lucky, I find a couple of gems to revive. It also keeps me away from the sales!

My usual dips in the sea.. followed by flask of hot coffee -hoping for sunnier skies and calmer seas in January.
Fresh oriental lllies smell divine so I'll have a bunch of those this weekend. Out with the spicy Christmas candles and in with some fresher smelling pine and eucalyptus ones.
Lots of healthy soups and salads, plenty of fresh air and exercise.
From a S&B point of view it'll be my gorgeous new Birkenstock Chelsea style boots in nubuck getting me through January, I can't stop looking at them.

Oh this is a good thread! I find these months really difficult. In fact also March, because where I live now we can't expect even snowdrops until the beginning of April and spring comes in the second week of May. So it's a long grey, icy stretch now. I also often get ill at this time of year.

So am lapping up the suggestions for getting through it. I've had my flu and covid jabs, so am hoping not to go down with either of those again. And have developed a gym addiction which I reckon is helping immune system as well as mood and fitness, so I plan to go for in on that front while it's grim outside. Also I'm going to try to be positive about outside since need to walk the dog, and to notice the changes like returning light PPs mentioned. Planning hot baths and saunas and feeling like those are intended and indulgent and not just collapsing into them. I think I'll review my indoor plants when the tree is down and see if space for anyone new.

Loads of lovely ideas here! We have snowdrops outside our front window each year and I was so thrilled to see the shoots were already up on the 1st. Scrubby for now but they’re coming!

I'm travelling in February to South East Asia. I always go on holiday in winter. Makes the winter less depressing with something to look forward to.

In some ways I find mid summer more melancholy because I can never quite shake off the feeling that this is as good as it's going to get. In January you know better days are coming.

Plus winter clothes are so much better. Fact.

I will also look for lighter mornings and signs of spring - I walk the dog early in the morning and it’s always a red letter day when we leave the house in daylight.

Also looking forward to the 6 Nations, lots of gym and running - and hopefully finding a new job!!

Agree re winter clothes @Floisme - knitwear is my favourite!

I'm on maternity leave so before the arrival have been making sure the house is really clean and then I've been lighting candles, sitting with my swollen feet up watching movies. I have a Diptyque Ambre candle running at the moment which is one of my favourites and it makes me smile when I get a whiff of it. Feels really cosy.

I've also been treating myself to little bits of skincare/make up in the last few weeks (on sale) as I decided not to get an advent calendar. My latest purchases are a Clarins lip oil which was recommended on another thread and it is so lovely! It smells divine. I love discovering new lip products.

I'm also using up existing skincare that I have and ensuring I full body moisturise after my showers. Currently using Elemis fig body butter which smells amazing and Nuxe dry oil on the more drier parts. I've also been using up perfume samples even if it's just after my shower, so have been spritzing myself before bed, rolling in feeling well moisturised and smelling good!

I saw the first snowdrop flower in full bloom in our neighbourhood (NE England) this afternoon. The clump is only round the corner, but so much further on than the tiny shoots in my garden. No picture as I didn't want anyone to think I was some weird stalker photographing the corner of a garden through a gap in the hedge 🤣

I've also been looking at holiday pics from warmer times, which has been a lovely reminder of what it's like to wear summer clothes 😀

Yep, absolute fact!

Snowdrops and winter flowering cherry, yes.

But also, redecorating the hall and stairs, fresh clean paint, new bedroom curtains.

Planting the greenhouse with pots full of veggie seeds for spring.

Pulling out all my spring clothes, about the first week in Feb, and deciding what needs replacing, what is only fit for the recycling bin, and then planning any new purchases.

Holiday planning for after ds' GCSEs.

Working to complete challenges on my exercise app

Join a gym

Reading helps plus binging some trashy shows my husband doesn't like.

I've got a huge beauty stash and I'm going to sort it all out and document everything I have so I don't buy stuff I don't need and hopefully rediscover what I've already got. I'm also going to do the same with all my books (over 400).

I don't normally hate January but I'm between jobs so off all month (not job hunting as I already have a new job just doesn't start yet).

I took this week off (turns out everyone else at work did too, so it’s nice that I’m not getting loads of emails) and just sunk into the deep darkness of it all. I started to feel antsy that I wasn’t being more productive then I remembered how manic things are usually, and how the natural world slows down in winter - and suddenly resting and taking it slow made sense. It was a good reframe.

one long(ish) walk a day. Wellies on, raincoat on, make sure I get some light in my eyes. We have a Beautiful, big overgrown Cemetary near us which - weirdly - is my happy place. I love watching the birds, listening to the trees, smelling the mud and waiting for the snowdrops and primroses to peek their way through.

i have a load of Aesop products that I got as a gift earlier this year which I have been saving until we get our (my 🫣!) bathroom done. But I used them all today and drank in the scents.

we’re giving veggie food a go and actually loving it. My husband is the chef and also a rampant carnivore but we’ve really loved the veggie dinners this week. Chickpea curry mushroom broth…

running & yoga. The latter is new to me I always dismissed it as a bit twatty but tried again recently and realised how wrong I was!

in short - after a difficult 2023 - I’m spending January being kind to myself, focussing on health and being in nature as much as possible!

@MintJulia what seeds are you sowing?

@Howldens that all sounds really great. I’m not back at work until Monday and today I had a lie in with the cat cuddled in with me, then a very long bath with my Kindle and fresh loungewear. I did a gradual tan on my body (not that I will be baring any flesh, but whatever) and a tiny bit on my face too.

Yesterday I bought us criminally expensive cake from a very bougie coffee shop so we had a piece after dinner with a cup of tea. It’s a shame we didn’t have fancy china to serve it on.

@itsmeagainagain Broad beans, lettuce, spring onions, parsley, beetroot to start with.

Then tomatoes, chillies, courgettes, cucumbers, french beans, at the end of February. I use a greenhouse heater to give them all an early start.

I love the clean loamy smell when they are all potted up, 🙂