August is National Women’s Month in South Africa. Our social feeds are crammed with inspiring, “girl power” quotes and there are more self-care competitions that I ever imagine possible (don’t worry, we have one coming up soon too!). August is also Leo season and I suppose it’s the fact that we’re vag-deep in that whole “go girl, go” energy and the fiery, self-indulgent vibes of every Leo we know, but we are officially declaring August ‘THE MOST SELF-ABSORBED MONTH OF THE YEAR’. But in the best possible way.

This month Kim and I are BEGGING you to put yourself first, to embrace selfishness, to indulge in all the wonderful things and moments that fill you with joy. We want you to brag, we want you to highlight your workplace successes, we want you to snap a million selfies and strut like your life depends on it. Vanity has always gotten such a bad rep, and while I agree that excessive self-admiration isn’t a good thing, I also think that we have so much unlearning to do. I remember when I was a little girl, I used to love brushing my hair, I would sit in front of the mirror at my mom’s dressing table and brush my hair obsessively, one day my mom came by and asked me what I was doing, (wasn’t it obvious mom?!) and I told her that I was looking at my pretty face. She laughed and told me not to be too vain. I love my mom, but at that moment she taught me that admiring my appearance was bad. And it’s not. So we have a lot of unlearning to do. And this month is going to lay a little foundation for that.

Through our usual budget product shares, tips and insights, Kim and I will be challenging you to look at vanity as a preferred state of being. Anaïs Nin said “We don’t see the world as it is, we see it as we” so imagine for a minute how differently things would feel and look and taste if you experienced them through a veil of complete self-centeredness?

If you follow me on Twitter, if you’ve been watching our Instagram Stories or reading this blog, you will know that July has been a really challenging month for me with regards to accepting my appearance, coming to terms with ageing and generally just not feeling like a snack (more like the leftovers that get scraped into the trash). My greatest hope for August is to turn that around, to use a bit of forced vanity to propel me back to a place of extreme self-love and total acceptance of my physical self. For me, August will be about taking a bit of time out to look inward and reach deep into my insecurities and issues them with a swift and profound “fuck off”.

As for what you can expect from Two Babes this month, we’ll be serving up all the content we know you love so much. As I mentioned earlier in this post, we have a great giveaway coming up, we’ve got an ass-tastic budget jeans review on the cards, we’ll be talking about colour matching, getting through the last bit of winter while looking hot AF, and so much more.

While Kim and I are looking ahead, we thought we’d share a few of our August goals with you, and in doing so maybe inspire you to set and smash a few of your own:

Kim

I have unintentionally tried to match the pace of the passing year with my own life and this August, I’d like to encourage myself to slow down and enjoy the last few moments of the year.

I can’t shut up about Queer Eye and the main reason was a question posed by Johnathan to a dad with 5 children. “Are you telling me that you don’t have 3 minutes to take for yourself?” Just 3 minutes, just for you every day? Of course, as a parent, you can immediately understand how self-care is a luxury and that 3 minutes carved out each day is impossible. But it isn’t.
So my first August goal is

1 Set 3 minutes aside each day for self-care

I spend at least 2 hours on social media or passed out on the couch, soaking up my fave Netflix shows when the kids are asleep so I definitely can set aside some me-time. Whether a foot scrub, facemask, journaling, removing make-up, there is time to take care of ‘you’.

2 Finish my reading list

I have 3 books that I’ve started at separate times and I’ve haven’t taken the time to sink my teeth into just one. I’ve picked titles based on mood and what I was going through at the time. But I have a strategy in place to finish all three and I’m holding thumbs that I will be able to do it.

3 Pay it forward to Womxn

It is womxn’s month and often I ask myself: “What are you doing to help other womxn?” The blog has been a great way to inspire but I always want to make a real difference. You can help other womxn with anything from counselling to babysitting to giving sound business advice. So I’ve made three, rather private vows, to myself to pay it forward to other womxn. And I’ve included myself – to be kinder to myself. To know that everything is a process and will take time.

Nikki

2019 is flying by and it’s a little terrifying. I always feel a little panicked and stressed about the fast pace of time. We have a few huge things happening in my personal life and August the perfect time to prepare for this. So instead of a set of goals, I would like to carry one word with me for August and that word is FOCUS.

1 Focus at work

The busier I am, the less focused I am. I like to think that I work well under the pressure, but I don’t. Stress just leaves me feeling scattered and disorganised. This month I would like to focus on smashing my daily to-do list every day and delivering all my projects on time (without sitting up late at night to get them done).

2 Focus on me

I am going to be taking a selfie every day for August, whether I look great or not. I am going to make friends with my face again. I am going to dress up for work, splash on some makeup, go out and see people, and be sociable.

3 Focus on simplifying

Somewhere along the way, my life has gotten so fucking complicated and it feels incredibly claustrophobic. I am going to focus a lot of my energy on simplifying things this month. Detangle the emotions, clear out the cupboards, make the necessary changes so that I can head into spring with a clear mind and a decluttered heart.

July is done and dusted and we are officially entering the last half of 2019. In case you missed it, here are 4 of our most-read post of July:

The full-on pleats edit
I copied 3 street-style looks and wore them to work
Ace that job interview with these outfit and interview tips
What to wear to the office when it’s cold outside

Nikki
Xxx