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If you haven’t heard of Taline Gabrielian yet, you’re in for a real treat. This gorgeous babe has one of the prettiest Instagram’s I’ve EVER seen, and the best part is it’s all super-healthy food related. Win. From rainbow superfood toasts, star studded rice paper rolls & smoothie bowls to make your mouth water, Taline has got it goin ON. And she’s just released her first recipe book so that us mere food mortals can get in on the brightly coloured superhealth action.

Here are three of Taline’s top tips for looking & feeling your very best – enjoy!

♥ Instagram: @talinegabriel

1. What is your top smoothie recipe for glowing skin?

My fave green smoothie has all that you need for glory skin – lime, avocado, ginger, cucumber and leafy greens. Nourishing, tasty and beauty boosting – the right combination.

♥ Instagram: @talinegabriel

2. You have a SUPER busy day ahead, what meals/morning practices do you make sure to squeeze in so that you can make the most out of your day?

Organisation is key. I will often start with a power smoothie in the morning (my blueberry smoothie is a powerhouse!) to give me energy to get through my day. I pack myself snacks like nuts and fruit or a carrot muffin if I have one on hand. And I often prep ingredients for dinner in the morning so that when I’m home after work, it simply involves a throw together of pre-cut veg. Pre-cooking quinoa or pasta is also really handy.

♥ Instagram: @talinegabrielian

3. How do you wind down after a long day?

I’m all about grazing with my family or besties to wind down and sometimes that will involve some sparkly drinks, olives and my snack platter – which includes some super tasty flax crackers I make (recipe in my new book!) and a variety of colourful dips. Other times, when I want some quiet me-time, it’s a candlelit bath, some loungy tunes and a warming spicy chai latte. My favourite ritual!

Thanks Taline! If you want to find out more you can follow her on Instagram, or check out Hippie Lane – The Cookbook and you’ll be whipping up beautiful and incredibly healthy food in no time!

Be well,

xoxo

♥

One of my latest skincare obsessions has been the Qsilica Naturally Clear Skin Cleanser, which I’ve been using for about 2 months now. Why do I love it so much? WELL…

♥ It feels really, really good on the skin
♥ It’s non-drying
♥ Leaves skin dewy, hydrated & clear
♥ Smells good
♥ Contains silica, vitamin e & jojoba oil. All skin-loving natural ingredients.

So that you can have the chance to be as in love with this cleanser as me, Wellness WA + Qsilica are giving you the chance to win one of two Naturally Clear Skincare Kits, valued at $59.95 each!!!

These packs contain the Naturally Clear Skin Cleanser, Naturally Clear Skin Support Tablets (vegan!) and the Naturally Clear Spot Gel. Your next breakout wont know what hit it, if you even get one. This is a powerful trio and you’ll be well on your way to your Best. Skin. Ever.

To be in the running all you have to do is leave a comment below with your email address, letting me know why you NEED to try these Qsilica products (and trust me, you do!).

Winners will be announced on Monday the 17th of April. Good luck!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥ Reece Carter, the Herb Nerd!

Today I’m really excited to share with you the wellbeing routine of Reece Carter, well-known Aussie Naturopath & “Herb Nerd” who loves all things to do with plants and their healing powers. Read on for some fantastic tips that will get your skin glowing & energy levels soaring. Thanks Reece!

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

I guess you could say I’ve been a ‘Herb Nerd’ all my life! Growing up in The Wheatbelt, my Pop had the most phenomenal veggie garden which we worked on together, and I felt a real connection to life on the land.

I’ve always been fascinated with the combination of traditional remedies with current research, and turning to the garden or pantry for wellness. While living in London, I had a lightbulb moment and decided to formalise my education in the area I loved with a Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy) with Endeavour College of Natural Health.

In my very first year of study, I did a subject called ‘Herbal Manufacturing’ which gave me hands-on experience of how herbal preparations are made. I loved the subject and spent more than 600 hours in the Wellnation Clinics at Endeavour to better understand people’s daily health concerns. That’s when I decided to dive into the world of herbal medicine.

♥ DOSE Vitality Tonic

Now, I’m a practising naturopath based in Sydney, creating a life I love! I have my own clinical practice, have recently released my own liquid vitality tonic called DOSE, and produce my video channel ‘The Garden Apothecary’ in Los Angeles dedicated to making the ancient art of herbal medicine new again.

♥ Tell us about your daily beauty routine! What are your non-negotiables for looking and feeling your best?.

Cleansing and a light moisturise after the gym every morning. Night time is where I do my more heavy duty skin healing, loading up with heavier oils like rosehip, and blends that I make myself. I love using sweet almond oil for Vitamin E and calendula which is very healing for the skin.

♥

♥ Favourite budget / at home beauty treatment?

An aloe vera plant is my at-home hack, because it’s so easy to grow and so versatile. It’s one of those things that has so many different uses in beauty and grooming. You can combine it with a bit of cucumber juice or witch hazel, and all of a sudden you’ve got an aftershave gel to reduce irritation. Or you can freeze the gel and replace the store bought version from your own garden if you’ve had too much sun.

One of my go-tos would have to be my aloe vera eye gel, which uses hydrating aloe, soothing cucumber, anti-inflammatory chamomile and tightening witch hazel to soothe tired, puffy eyes. You can find the recipe here, or watch me show you how to make it here!

♥ Midas Cup Tumeric Latte

♥ Your three, absolutely cannot live without, favourite products?

1. DOSE Vitality Tonic – this is built around something I was making for myself and having at the start of everyday for wellness and improved energy and mood throughout the day, so I created an over-the-counter version of that. My aim with the tonic is to reduce the effect our every increasing hectic lifestyles have on wellness, and restore vitality using our bodies’ natural energy pathways. Find it online here or also at OneFHL in Subiaco.

2. Midas Cup Turmeric Latte Superfood Blend – my absolute go to! Turmeric is another food I have every day because it has this enormous range of health benefits. It’s the king of anti-inflammatories – especially for the gut – and as we know as naturopath’s, the gut is linked very closely to mental health and wellbeing. So having a natural gut anti-inflammatory everyday is a must for me, and this blend is absolutely delicious.

3. Organic Rosehip Oil – it’s a beauty! I use it on its own at night for my skin. It’s rich in Vitamin C which not only acts as an antioxidant, but also improves collagen synthesis to strengthen elasticity and keep your skin looking fresh and supple.

♥ Reece + pals @ OneFHL in Subi

♥ How do you like to get your body moving? Describe your weekly fitness routine.

The thing I do most is high intensity interval training (HIIT), usually a 45-minute sweat session first thing in the morning. I always look for a place I can do that kind of class – when I’m home in Perth, it’s at OneFHL in Subiaco.

♥ How do you like to relax? What are your favourite ways to de-stress?

As much as I’ve tried, I’m not really big on meditation. I see enormous benefit in it, but my mind is always racing and so if I need to do something meditative, it’s a slow-paced repetitive cardio activity. I find swimming to be very relaxing, so if ever there’s a time where I feel a bit overwhelmed, that’s the kind of exercise I do. For me, it serves the same purpose – quietening the mind and focusing on a single activity, that’s where it’s therapeutic for me.

♥ How many hours sleep do you usually get each night? Do you have any bedtime rituals or tips to help you get a great night’s sleep?

A lot! I’m an early to bed, early to rise guy, and a very deep sleeper! It’s not unusual to find me in bed by 8:30pm, and I’m up at 5am. So I get at least eight hours a night, and always have my magnesium and herbal tea before bed. I usually have a passionflower, lemon balm and lavender blend that I make myself to calm a racing mind – this was a lifesaver during my studies!

To keep up to date with Reece on his Herb Nerd-y journey, check out his website or follow him on Facebook / Instagram!

If you have any questions or comments about Reece’s routine, please leave them below! <3 xo

♥ local lunar babe @chi.borrello

Hey 2016! You were actually an awesome year for me, thanks for existing and allowing me to exist through you. I love to reflect, so the following are some of my health & wellness highlights:

– Self-care became the top priority. After a few years of insane stress + anxiety, working 24/7 & zero holidays, all of that changed when I finalised the sale of my old business. Actually – it took a little longer if I’m being honest. At first I felt relieved, but also out of sorts. I’d been working so much that it felt wrong to have downtime, so I started freelancing & picked up a few ongoing marketing clients who were all AMAZING, and the extra money was terrific, however I was back to working 7 days a week and exhausted. Any days off I had from my regular job I was face deep in other work & I was burning out. Something had to shift, but I wasn’t sure what it was quite yet. All of this lead to…

♥

– Another life changing Bali trip (full review to come soon!). In June I spent 10 days in Ubud with my boyfriend & bestie, and it changed everything. We decided to create a DIY yoga retreat, this meant 2-4 yoga classes per day, meditation, incredible vegan food, loads of coconuts, cold-pressed juice & kefir, Ayurvedic treatments, pool time, a little exploring & lots of rest too.

It was here that I realised what I had been doing. I was focusing so much on work that I had absolutely no time to take care of myself. Being constantly tired, daily 2-3 hour afternoon naps, fluctuating moods & regular junk food cravings had become my new normal. I knew what I had to do.

As soon as I returned home I contacted my clients, thanked them for being wonderful & bowed out. I now enjoy 2-4 days off a week for the first time in around 5 years and have never felt healthier.

♥ Sunshine + cats!

– Moving House + Sunshine!. Prior to my Bali trip, probably the biggest event of the year occurred. I moved house! From my teeny tiny falling apart-ment of 6 years, containing zero sunshine opportunities & zero landlord fucks (the place was practically in disrepair, but I did love it), to a giant, beautiful old house with a cat, huge backyard, plentiful slices of sunshine, AIR CONDITIONING (a big deal!!!), fireplace, amazing kitchen and a million other great things. Let it be known that having space to dance around, a couch outside to enjoy the morning breeze & birds, loads of flowers & trees, and a little bit of heating/air conditioning does wonders for your overall wellbeing – who knew 😉

♥

– Seeing a Naturopath. I wrote a big article outlining the reasons why I saw a Naturopath when I was feeling healthier than ever. And I can now attest that it’s absolutely one of the very best things that happened last year.

I’d seen Marnie a few years ago and loved her down-to-earth approach. I was already feeling great, but knew I had a few lingering deficiencies that could be improved upon. Actually they were pretty important ones! My iron was incredibly low (just below the lowest acceptable minimum) and my vitamin D levels weren’t great either, more than likely due to living in the no-sunshine-home mentioned above.

Both of these have a huge impact on mood and energy. Having struggled with intense chronic anxiety and low energy in my life, I knew it was time to get on top of these once and for all. I’m now spending a little bit of time in the sun every day, taking Vitamin D supplements to help & taking Iron supplements too. Interestingly, low iron is a pretty slow fix. It may take up to 2 years to get the levels to their peak, but I’m feeling better every day and excited to continue on this journey to full health. If you need a Naturopath I can, and always do, highly recommend Marnie Downer in Mount Lawley / Inglewood.

♥ Running around Lake Monger

Running. I’ve always found it difficult due to the aforementioned anxiety and low iron, however in June of last year I decided to recruit a friend and finally give it a real go. We decided on Couch to 5K, which is an 8 week program available as a phone app or you can just time your runs (the app is much easier!). This program does as it says and gets you from the couch, to being able to jog without stopping for 5K.

I have a confession to make, however! Due to my yoga teacher training, other fitness classes that need to be taken as part of my job, sicknesses, weather and general life – my pal and I are actually only up to ‘Week 5’ of Couch to 5K!!! But we’re both okay with it. At the beginning neither of us could jog for even 60 seconds and we are now able to cruise through 5-8 minute runs without collapsing. We’ll get to the full 5K this year 🙂 The mental and physical benefits have been fantastic – increased confidence, calmness, flatter stomach, better sleep, increased overall fitness – the list goes on.

If you are able to stick at it 3 x per week as the program suggests then you will get there much quicker than us, as we’ve only been able to squeeze around 1 per week in.

♥

Hot Yoga Revelations. Listen closely, I’m about to share something that might change your life, as it is starting to do so for mine. So, as you may have gathered I do a bit of yoga and take a few fitness classes, partly because it makes me feel fantastic & partly because my job at lululemon requires it (cool job!).

What I’ve only JUST realised after all this time, is how incredible I feel the day after a hot & sweaty yoga class, but the kicker is that it HAS to be in a heated room. Why? I have absolutely no idea yet! All I know is that the day after sweating it out in warm to hot yoga, I feel INCREDIBLE. The only way I can describe it is a childlike feeling of joy and contentment that permeates through the whole next day and often lingers into the next.

You best believe I’ll be experimenting more with this in 2017!

So that’s my wellness year laid bare for you, I’d absolutely love to read your personal wellness discoveries of the year – and if you have any exciting plans for 2016, so share with me in the comments below! 🙂

Be well,

Annette xo

Hello!

It has certainly been a long time between healthy drinks. The past two and a half years have seen me immersed in building up the business I co-created, Pure Glow Cleanse, from scratch & I’ve now left my role there and am back on the wellness wagon so will be updating a little more frequently – yay! 🙂

So what’s been going on? I recently took part in a life-changing health & wellness retreat in Bali, run by Perth company Reflection of Balance. To say this retreat was what I needed would be an understatement.

It was exactly what I needed x 25 million. I will be doing a full review of my experience very soon – but the cliffs are that 7 days of rest, swimming, fitness, amazing company, fantastic trainers & retreat facilitators, sunshine & no computer (I didn’t even open my laptop for 7 days – pretty much unheard of) allowed me to gain incredible clarity into what I wanted to invite into my life moving forward for the rest of 2015. And did I mention the food? INCREDIBLE.

#takemebackasap

So after this I knew I needed to make some changes in my life. Cue shaking things up, leaving the business, going back to work @ lululemon & starting a Yoga Teacher Training at The Yoga Space – thanks, Reflection of Balance! 🙂

I don’t know what the rest of 2015 is going to bring – other than lots of green smoothies, 5 yoga classes a week & hopefully a few massages sprinkled in here and there, but what I do know is that I am very excited to get back in to blogging here.

Wellness WA will become a little bit more personal, too. For a while there was around 25 people contributing articles so that we could cover as much of the local wellness scene as humanly possible.

I’ve realised that stripping it back and giving a more in-depth insight into what is really working for me & what I am loving might be more beneficial than lots of scattered opinions.

Let me know what you think, I can’t wait to get connected again.

Lots of wellness & love x

Annette