by Annette @ Wellness WA | Dec 10, 2012 | Other
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The silly season is here, and with it comes added stresses, plenty of parties and commitments, and if you’re not careful – the dreaded dull skin. We’re here to help you with our latest must-enter competition to win a gorgeous organic goodie pack, thanks to our friends at Organic Glow!
Organic Glow stocks only cosmetics and skin care products that are free (or as free as they can be) of toxins and other synthetic ingredients. They’re chock full of natural ingredients that have as little as possible added to them which means they’re better for your body and your overall health.
There are three fantastic prizes up for grabs for one lucky winner!
♥ Pangea Organics Skin Care Discovery Kit for Normal to Combination Skin (pictured above)
Discover youthful radiance in 5 simple steps!
Kit includes:
♥ Egyptian Calendula & Blood Orange Cleanser
♥ Italian Green Mandarin & Sweet Lime Toner
♥ Nigerian Ginger with Lavender & Thyme Facial Cream
♥ Egyptian Geranium with Adzuki Bean & Cranberry Facial Scrub
♥ Japanese Matcha Tea with Acai & Goji Berry Mask
They sound good enough to eat! RRP $65
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♥ Baby Bear Shop Certified Organic Lavender Vanilla Relaxation Candle
Bliss out with this all natural candle, perfect during a bath, yoga session or before bed. RRP $50.
♥ Baby Bear Shop “All the Better to Kiss You With Organic Lip Balm”
Pomegranate flavour! Safe enough to use on babies’ lips. 100% natural, paraben free, cruelty-free. RRP 9.95.
To enter:
– Leave a comment with your name & favourite product of the three treats up for grabs
– Entrants agree to be signed up to the Organic Glow e-newsletter
GOOD LUCK & Happy entering!
Be well,
Annette
xoxo
by Annette @ Wellness WA | Dec 3, 2012 | Products, Reviews
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♥ FAB Facial Radiance Pads
These babies are a chemical exfoliant, in an incredibly handsome jar (First Aid Beauty has gorgeous packaging. I appreciate such things). They're intended to be used after cleansing, but as a glycolic product, ultra ultra sensitive types might want to let a bit of time lapse after cleansing before using these. They clarify and brighten and are a joy to use in hot weather since the pads are generously saturated with product. Keep in fridge for optimal awesome. Available in David Jones stores & on the First Aid Beauty webstore (US Site)
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♥ Face of Australia Illuminators
It's hard to downplay the awesomeness of this range (there's four shades) – mixes well with standard moisturisers for a bronzey glow, a tiny bit lends a glossy blush to the cheeks, and the sheer size and value for money factor is astronomical. There's more in these illuminator tubes than most foundations, and at just over $12 a pop they are truly epic. I highly recommend mineral foundation (loose powder) with a dash of this on the cheeks – optimal effect with minimal layers on the skin, which is all for the best in sweatier months. Check it out here.
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♥ Cucumber Slices
It's old, and is likely the absolute first thing your first ever Dolly magazine told you to do. Of course, you could also use teabags instead (I heartily endorse peppermint teabags), and if you've got the time, a cold flannel across your whole face is going to do some pretty wonderful things in terms of de-puffing, de-redding and forestalling your summer lethargy.
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♥ Echolife Facial Mists
While Kosmea's Rosewater Mist is a popular favourite in summer, in terms of value for money I have to hand it to the Echolife range of sprays. There are four types, made to address different skin concerns – Lavender, Rose, Tea Tree and Witch Hazel. I'm a big fan of the lavender, and the 250ml bottle invites more liberal usage than Kosmea's dainty little spray bottle.
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♥ Klorane Dry Shampoo
Plenty of other dry shampoos have sprung up in its wake, but for me Klorane is still the best. Summer is a rough time for hair – you can be freshly washed but still saturated at the roots within an hour, and things like a rough dry towelling and some dry shampoo will do wonders. And also save you having to rewash and blow dry your hair, as blow drying in summer is a torturous and miserable endeavour. Klorane have also recently released a version of their dry shampoo with nettle to address oilier scalps (hoorah!) so those who have written off dry shampoos in the past would do well to reinvestigate!
Do you have a crush on any of these products too, or some crushes of your own? Leave a comment below and share the crush-love!
Crushes by Suzanne from Don’t They Know Who I Am?
Be well,
xoxo
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by Annette @ Wellness WA | Nov 26, 2012 | Wellness Tips
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The ‘party season’ can be a lot of fun but can also leave us feeling tired and less than healthy. Be mindful this season as you engage in fun and celebration and you can sail through the festive time with a glow and vibrant health.
My top 5 tips this party season
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1. Stay hydrated: Water does more than quench your thirst and regulate your body’s temperature; it is also keeps the tissues in your body moist, especially the brain which is very sensitive to hydration levels. During the daytime ensure to get at least 1 litre, and have another litre for every hour of exercise you do. Consume a couple of glasses of water before a night out and add a glass of water in between alcoholic drinks. A great option for replenishing body salts after a night out is coconut water or a pinch of sea salt in a glass of water. Just a pinch and it needs to be Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt.
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2. Diet: Maintain a healthy balanced diet, with lots of greens such as kale, spinach, rocket. Choose seafood as it contains omega-3 essential fats or the ‘good fats’ which are great for your skin and protecting the liver from ‘bad fats’ such as those found in deep fried foods. Avocado is a superfood, considered a treasure trove of nutrients, fibre and potassium which we need for energy. It’s also rich in antioxidants which quench free radical damage and support a healthy liver.
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3. Tired?: The likely thing we turn to for a ‘pick me up’ is caffeine or sugary foods. Both are stimulants that instigate a dumping of sugar in your blood stream which is very short lived and can lead to further poor food choices, inevitable weight gain and ongoing fatigue. Instead of a sugar-filled muffin or caffeine boost go for a protein snack such as nuts and seeds, vegetable sticks with hummus or avocado dip. Best of all opt for nature. A walk in the nearest park or at the beach will get clean oxygen flowing through your body and energise you.
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4. Take a nap before a late night: Make it a power nap! Research suggests a 20 minute nap is optimal for restoration to the body both physically and mentally. A nap will improve alertness, increase productivity, stress relief and control appetite. If you have ever woken from a nap feeling groggy and more sleepy this is called ‘sleep inertia’ and is best avoided by maintaining the 20 minutes.
5. Limit sugar and alcohol: these substances will lead to weight gain. The amount of sugar found in a couple of pieces of fruit plus a teaspoon of refined sugar or honey daily is as much as the body can generally cope with. Any excess will usually be stored as fat. Sugars are in many processed foods so read ingredient labels often. Enjoy 1-2 standard alcoholic drinks daily but try to have at least 3 alcohol free days per week for healthy liver function. Drink less if you are trying to lose weight.
What are your top tips for staying well during the party season? Let us know in the comments below!
Article by Shannon McNeil, Wellness Manager and Senior Naturopath at Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat. Find out more about special Christmas offers at Gwinganna here!
Be well,
xoxo
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by Annette @ Wellness WA | Nov 23, 2012 | At Home, Cheap / Free, Products, Reviews
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The first taste of the summer sunshine tells us we’re getting to the pointy end of the year when we start to worry about how our cellulite will look in bathers and we begin ditching tights and boots in favour of cute sandals.
And if you’re like me, the first showing of leg after a long, cold winter might look something like this:
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Okay, maybe not that horrific. But many of us are familiar with our winter pedicures happening only when we can be brave enough to remove our bed socks.
For me, looking down at my freshly pedi’d feet makes me feel instantly more refined and less like a wild, spear-wielding cave woman. Painting my toenails has always been something I’ve done to relieve stress – there’s something about the methodology in achieving a perfect pedi and staring at the pop of nail colour as I paint it on brightens my mood no matter what kind of day I’m having. I’m a big fan of the home pedicure where I know every bit of equipment is hygienic on my tootsies, and I’m also a big fan of anything that makes my DIY pedi easier!
Now, I’ll save you some nausea by not showing you my “before” photos. Let’s just say my feet needed some lovin’ after months of being hidden inside socks, tights, boots and uggs. On a scale of “Fresh Feet” to “Wild, Spear-wielding Cave Woman”, I was probably at “Girl, That’s Nasty [Know What I’m Sayin’?]”.
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Enter Emjoi PediSmooth.
This cute little gadget removes the effort of manually scrubbing your feet with a pumice stone at the push of a button.
The battery-operated PediSmooth has a natural stone roller that spins really, really fast and buffs away coarse, old skin with no effort or pain. The device is comfortable to hold and the roller is big enough to cover a good area, but small enough to maneuver over the natural curvature of the foot. For $29.95, you get the PediSmooth, two white “extremely rough skin” rollers, a pink “rough skin” roller and a brush to remove the build up of er…dust?
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I find the PediSmooth does a good job at “polishing” feet. It definitely makes them smoother and you can see the difference after you’ve used it, but I find it works best if I use it after my foot file (*shudder*) to get ultra smooth and soft feet. That being said, I use the PediSmooth once a week just to keep things in check, and I’ve ignored the finer pink roller that is meant to be used for maintenance. All in all, it does a pretty decent job given the budget-friendly price tag, but my feet need a bit more oomph to get the results I like.
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After my feet are buffed and fresh, I work some body scrub into my feet to really make them sparkle. My favourite is Soap & Glory’s The Breakfast Scrub (RRP $18.95 at Kit Cosmetics). It’s constantly selling like hotcakes at Kit, and probably because it smells like hotcakes. Seriously. It’s like rubbing your feet with warm pancakes, doused in maple syrup and butter and garnished with a big cuddle. This fine sugar scrub leaves skin all over the body super smooth and it’s great for feet because it can get right between your toes but rinses off easily, with no residue.
I pat off my feet, pop on some foot balm (I’m currently using QV Feet Heel Balm – I also smother it on at night and slip on some cotton socks) and prep my nails for some colour. While I was in Kit, I picked up this awesome shade of pink for summer called Let Go. It’s so perfect to add a splash of colour without being too garish!
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The final result is a beach-worthy pedicure that will look smashing in sandals, all without the effort of those pesky pumice stones or buffers!
Emjoi Pedismooth is $29.95 and available through the Emjoi online store!
Tell me… what are your favourite DIY pedicure tricks and tips? Do you have a hero product to get your feet ready for exposure to the outside world? Leave a comment below!
Review by Gemma, our resident pedicure loving PR professional!
Be well,
xoxo
by Annette @ Wellness WA | Nov 22, 2012 | Beauty Salon, Reviews, Western Suburbs
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All my experiences of spray tanning are via my family, some of whom have made some dreadful orangey-choices regarding their colours. I myself have never done it. I’m a very, very translucent pale white, and it seemed impossible that it was something I could investigate and still fall into “pale” territory, and therefore it was with some trepidation I visited Megan at Shredded in Floreat for a layer of AVIVA City Collection tan, images of Snooki dancing in my brain.
The colour chosen was Hollywood, which was a gold spectrum. I’d erroneously believed that the three colours were shades – light, medium, dark – and thus learned they were actually spectrums on their own, the shade being chosen by the amount applied and how long it is left on the skin before being washed off. Hollywood was golden, Miami was bronzed and Vegas was chocolately/latte. Since I’m the pale type and I’d clarified that I only wanted to tone down the glow a little, I was advised to leave the product on for 30 minutes before washing off.
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I left Shredded sticky, smelling a bit like a barbeque and with seams of brown dye collecting on the inside of my elbows. After washing it off I was honestly surprised (because I’m a pessimist) at how even and seamless the tan was. I’d opted for the disposable g-string as opposed to my own underwear, and while it was awkward during the session (naked in paper underwear in front of a full length mirror and a stranger) I was glad once I saw the finished product. The untanned areas (i.e. two tiny strips over my hips) were startlingly white, which was my proof that it had taken. The tan was a subtle one, and not particularly obvious on my skin – my face looked paler than usual and I looked more toned than I otherwise would. The areas of my body that are usually glaringly translucent – inner elbows, boobs, collarbones – were all glossed over, bringing me back to a human colour and making me look less sick than I had previously.
Sadly it’s not intended to be a longterm fix – five days later and I’m more or less back to the shade I was, but for events and quick-fix spray tanning, this is a really nice option. Megan was really lovely and professional, and the process (while tickly) was very easy. If I were the Spring Races type, I daresay this would have been my first port of call – as it is I really enjoyed my brief stint of being handsomely (pale) golden.
The City Collection is $40 an application, cheaper for Shredded members. Give them a call on 9284 0144 for finer details!
Have you tried an AVIVA tan before? Where is your favourite place in Perth to get a spray tan? Leave a comment below!
Review by Suzanne from Don’t They Know Who I Am?
Be well,
xoxo
