Articles from October 2010

Beauty & Wellbeing Routine: Bethany Cecins, Ksubi Store Manager.

Bethany Cecins

First up tell us a little about yourself.

I am from Perth and have spent the last year managing the Subway DC shops (Perth, Claremont and Fremantle) and assisted in their buying for both mens and womens. My fashion experience also extends to New York as I lived and worked there for a year (08-09) interning in various PR Houses whilst managing at American Apparel and W!NK NYC. Gaining a lot of knowledge in the Australian Fashion Industry, the move to Sydney seemed like the next step and when offered the job to manage Ksubi’s new flagship shop in the Pitt St in Sydney I jumped at the chance.

Tell us about your daily beauty routine!

Cleanse and moisturize! I use Cetaphil for both. I have tried more expensive ones but as my skin can be sensitive I find that Cetaphil cleans without stripping my skin. Every morning every night. I try to remember sunscreen every day as I am pale and fluoro red burns tend to look very unattractive. Mecca has a fantastic one that goes under make up really well and comes in a Tinted version also.

Whats the one beauty treatment you can’t live without?
Eyebrow grooming and maintaining! So important! The girls at Serene Day Spa in Scarborough are awesome.

* Who do you trust with your hair in Perth, and why?

Head Studio, Head Studio, Head Studio. The whole team there are just fantastic and its such a fun place. The listen to what you want and offer great ideas that I would never have thought of.

Favourite budget / at home beauty treatment?
Lucas’ Papaw Ointment. Great for lips, dry skin…. Practically everything. $5!!!

Nars Orgasm

Your three absolutely cannot live without favourite products?

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat, Nars Orgasm Blush and Nars Laguna Bronzer.

Do you have any secret tips you use to keep looking / feeling great?

Sleep and water. Common sense but so hard to follow sometimes.

What beauty treatment/ wellbeing activity would you love to try but haven’t yet? (Due to time, money, scared etc!)

I would love to do an intense detox for about a month but my lack of willpower and love of food just keeps getting in the way.

Describe a typical day of eating for you?

Breakfast is really important as I feel half alive until I eat in the morning, but after that I just eat when I am hungry. I try and eat well as it makes me feel better but don’t base my life around food.

Describe your fitness routine.

I love walking as it gives me time to relax and just listen to music, but its hardly fitness. Bikram Yoga is amazing, both physically and mentally. Almost an addiction!

Do you take part in any alternative therapies or take supplements? If so, discuss.

Not really, too confusing. A multivitamin is as far as I go.

Be well,

xoxo

Event: The Cruelty Free Festival, 30th October 2010, Subiaco.

This event sounds incredible…

Held in the peaceful and shady grounds of Earthwise Community Centre (315 Bagot Road, Subiaco) from 10am-2pm, the festival will celebrate cruelty-free vegan living, social justice and sustainability – all growing interests for West Australians!

There will be two photography stalls on the day, so if you want a snap of your pooch bring them along!

Now that’s the one that’s sold me! The chance to mingle with copious amounts of puppies while dining on healthy vegetarian treats? I’M THERE!

It should be a great day, looking after and caring for animals is something very special that we can all do, so come down and learn more about it, taste some delicious veg food & listen to some bands on a Sunny afternoon šŸ™‚

You can join the event Facebook Page or e-mail info@ara.org.au for more details.

Hope to see you there!

Be well,

xoxo

Product Review: Aesop Sage and Zinc Facial Hydrating Cream SPF 15.

The sweet, sweet product in question.

So. Summerā€™s coming. And you know as well as I do that itā€™s going to get freaking hot. And that sun is going to be beating down on your face like itā€™s nobodyā€™s business. So letā€™s talk about what you are going to do to protect yourselfā€¦

I donā€™t really think I should have to say ā€˜wear sunscreenā€™ I think if you have any common sense at all youā€™ve got that bit by now. But, I do probably think itā€™s worth reminding yā€™all to wear it everyday. And hereā€™s where things get a little tricky. Because Sunscreen is so thick it can be a bit rough on the skin on your face to wear it everyday, it can be a bit oily and it doesnā€™t really smell that great either, not to mention if its SPF 30 it can actually make your face look a weird shade of white (right guys?) so I understand if youā€™d think of skipping out on wearing it everyday.

Enter; Aesopā€™s Sage and Zinc Facial Hydrating Cream SPF 15 . Ordinarily I would not even seek out a sunscreen product like this (whatā€™s the point?) but I was buying shampoo and they gave me some free samples. And I was really impressed. The texture wasnā€™t oily and the smell didnā€™t make me feel like I was at a sports carnival (interestingly enough the sage leaf/sandalwood smell that doesnā€™t do it for me in the shampoo really works for the sunscreen) and it has micronised zinc oxide in it which means itā€™s actually forming a barrier between your skin and the sun but it doesnā€™t cause whitening or clogged pores. Perfect for everyday use all year round. This is one product that moved from sample to staple in my life. And Iā€™m so glad.

It retails for $43 for 40ml, which might seem a bit expensive but if you protect your skin from the sun now then youā€™ll save a ton later on. Think of it as an investment.

You can buy it from David Jones, Remedy in Fremantle or Leederville or if you like to do the online thing…

Adore Beauty Online Store .

Be well,

Adriane D.

xoxo

Alternative Therapy Review: Reiki with Helen Walker of Walker Wellness, Pickering Brook.

I’m always looking for new and exciting ways to balance my mind and body, chill out and de-stress in general. I’ve tried comedy nights, virtual reality therapy, ongoing yoga, sublime massage and more…!

Suffice to say that when Helen Walker from Walker Wellness contacted me to trial the ancient art of reiki , I was very keen to test out its supposed relaxing qualities, and funnily enough I just so happened to have it done on the day I had a job interview!

For those who don’t know:

“Reiki is a natural form of healing therapy. It uses non-invasive gentle touch. This form of therapy aims to increase energy levels and promote relaxation and wellbeing.”

For more detailed information I have found this to be an excellent & simple resource: Reiki @ Better Health Channel.

My session started with the gorgeous Helen answering any questions I had, then popping on some relaxing music and asking me to lie on my back, I was then covered with towels (very comfy!) and the reiki began.

Over the next hour and a half her hands moved lightly over my body, starting from the head, and stopping at various points to help release the energy stored in these places!

Throughout the experience I felt deeply relaxed and nearly fell asleep a few times (which never happens to me during treatments).

Afterwards I was advised to increase my water intake, the same as after a massage, and to note any changes I felt within myself.

I felt very relaxed and went in and smashed the job interview, funnily enough the woman interviewing me was a big fan of reiki too!

If you are looking for an alternative treatment that has been conclusively proven to assist with stress reduction and relaxation then I would definitely recommend giving reiki a go, especially with Helen, as she has a beautiful energy and is extremely passionate and knowledgeable about the practice.

Walker Wellness … for a healthy body, mind and spirit; naturally, safely, effectively.
Combined Therapies
Tel/Fax: 9293 7247
Mob: 0400 999 785

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

Beauty & Wellbeing Routine: Conor Mines, Perth Food Blogger.

Conor runs the successful food blog http://www.holdthebeef.com.

First up, briefly tell us a little bit about yourself!

Iā€™m in my mid-late twenties (some may argue the ā€œmid-ā€œ is stretching it a bit these days), completing the final year of my PhD in environmental engineering, and these days find myself spending most of what time I have left over in the day either talking about, reading about or writing about food.

Although I love to bag it, I love living in Perth but regular travel is necessary for my mental health.

Tell us about your daily beauty routine.

Itā€™s really very basic, and sometimes I wonder when Iā€™ll become a proper grownup and start wearing makeup to work and using night creams. I cleanse, tone and moisturise in the morning, then normally wear a SPF-ed tinted moisturiser through the day.

Iā€™d love to say I drink gallons of water a day and always get at least 8 hours of restful sleep but this is rarely the case! Herbal teas keep my water intake at somewhat acceptable levels and coffee keeps my body from punishing me too much about the amount of sleep I let it have.

What’s the one beauty treatment you can’t live without? And your favourite place to have it done?

After discovering its joys about a year ago, I am an IPL convert. Itā€™s like magic. Smooth, smooth magic. I was getting it done at Erazer in Claremont and found them to be really good, but my last treatment was done at Hairfree Centre in Booragoon after seeing it promoted on Wellness WA.

Who do you trust with your hair in Perth, and why?

I go to Steve at LASH in Inglewood. He always does a great job, is really affordable, is fun to talk to, never berates me for how long I leave it between visits and he makes decent coffee. He also keeps his magazines up to date, and I never have to resort to reading about Simone Warne or Bec Hewitt.

Favourite budget / at home beauty treatment?

I bought an epilator on eBay a few years ago and have found it to be a great way to save money on leg waxes without having to resort to shaving. Itā€™s a bit old and only works when plugged into the wall, but itā€™s not like Iā€™d want to go do it down at the park or something anyway.

Natio Tinted Moisturiser RRP $17.23

Your three, absolutely cannot live without, favourite products?

Toothpicks – my teeth gaps are on a constant mission to embarrass me, and I always have toothpicks on hand to thwart their plans.

Natio Tinted Moisturiser – it adds a bit of colour to my face while protecting me from the sun.

Facial Wipes ā€“ these are perfect for lazy people who want to keep their face clean, and are a godsend at the end of a big night out.

Do you have any secret tips you use to keep looking / feeling great?

Smile šŸ™‚

What beauty treatment/ wellbeing activity would you love to try but haven’t yet? (Due to time, money, scared etc!)

Iā€™m curious to see how my body and mind would respond to being in an Isolation tank. While Iā€™m not overly afraid of suffering from claustrophobia inside one, I am apprehensive about paying good money to potentially spend an hour being bored and trying to stop thinking about what I need to buy at the supermarket, how badly I need a haircut, how I really should book myself in for another IPL treatment etc.

Describe a typical day of eating for you.

Eating is one of my main priorities in life, and there is some part of my brain that is constantly thinking about my next meal, even while Iā€™m eating my current meal.

My typical day will start with breakfast of a bowl of steel cut oat porridge with assorted fresh fruits, natural yoghurt, stewed rhubarb and a sprinkling of dried fruits on top.

Lunch will be something like sushi, a wrap and salad, or an enormous chicken or tuna salad.

My standard boring dinner is some sort of embarrassingly large stir fry with a huge amount of vegetables and a protein such as chicken, tofu or fish. I am also constantly snacking throughout the day, and can fade pretty quickly if I have to go very long without sustenance.

Describe your fitness routine.

Given that one of my favourite pastimes is eating, and I am not blessed with magical genes, I maintain a decent fitness routine in order to fit into my clothes and also to keep myself strong and healthy.

Despite the mostly horrendous music, Iā€™m a big fan of the Les Mills group fitness classes. I do Body Pump three times a week and Body Step twice a week when it suits my schedule. Iā€™ve also recently set myself the potentially ridiculous goal of running the half marathon component of the Busselton Half Ironman in May of next year, so have just started doing interval training once a week, and a ā€œlong runā€ once a week. So far my definition of ā€œlongā€ is 10km, which isnā€™t even half a half marathon. Iā€™m glad May is a long way off, and that Busselton is nice and flat.

Do you take part in any alternative therapies or take supplements? If so, discuss.

Although I have a good diet, I take a daily multivitamin and fish oil supplements in case Iā€™m somehow missing any vital nutrients. I went through a sustained period of getting regular acupuncture, and found it very beneficial for many reasons, but have fallen out of the habit at the moment. I also canā€™t go long without a neck/shoulder massage and treat myself whenever I can, which is never often enough.

Any questions for Conor?!

Be well,

xoxo