♥

There’s not too much more relaxing than a nice hot bath. Despite the fact that it has reached over 40 here in the past few days, I found myself craving one. LUCKY FOR ME, Today was a delightful 28 degrees & a soak was on the cards!

I’ve long been a fan of Epsom salts (otherwise known as Magnesium Sulfate), you know, that weird box of crystals in the dark blue box with white writing that exists in the back of the laundry cupboard? Maybe this is just in my house…!

Well, I’ve recently discovered that this curious box contains a great stress relieving treat. Magnesium has long been known to reduce aches & pains by relaxing the muscles & blood vessels in the body (WHO KNEW?). The reduction in stress / anxiety come from these same benefits, relaxed muscles = relaxed mind.

Apparently a very high proportion of us are deficient in magnesium, which is a mineral that helps control high blood pressure, relaxation & helps the blood circulate smoothly! For more info on this super important little morsel, check out the WH Foods website & find out what you can munch on to get more! One of my favourite sites for sure!

So, I’m making these a part of my weekly routine. Once or twice a week, an epsom bath for me! I find that with a cupful of salts & a nice long soak, a wave of calm washes over me.

Apparently epsom salts are also good for the garden in some way according to my Mother, so you can go wild getting dirty with seedlings, worms & Magnesium Sulfate, then wash it all away with the same box of joy! I’m no gardener I’m afraid so take no responsibility for any withered blooms!

Have you ever had an epsom salt bath? Ever even HEARD of epsom salts? Leave a comment!

Be well,

xoxo

♥

After some busy times at my new job, far too frequent trips to the vending machine (you can’t put Twisties, Atomic Tomato, Cheese & Onion chips in a money operated glass box and not expect me to want all three on a daily basis) plus not getting enough rest, my skin has sadly seen better days.

Buoyed by my first paycheck, I decided to treat myself to a little shopping spree and first up on the agenda: foundation & lipstick!

Being a combination of albino + brown freckles makes it difficult to find a colour match that doesn’t a) wash me out to ghost-face land OR b) look too caked on and cover my kisses from the sun.

There was no-one to be found @ the Shiseido counter, I was interested in the brand because I’ve heard it’s very popular with Asian women, of which I am not, but my skin is more yellow based and they apparently have a variety of lighter shades.

Next stop Chanel, where the lady unfortunately told me they don’t have many pale shades – she was very helpful though and tried to help me out as best she could, but my skin proved too “English Rose” (I wish) for Chanel’s range of foundations.

After wandering around a bit more, contemplating the pros & cons of an electric essential oil vaporizer & deciding against it (for now…!), I moved onto the Lancome counter.

Greeted by a lovely girl, Jess, who tried a total of 4 different foundations on me! After doing my whole face with one of them that I thought was suitable, I ran off to the full length mirrors as it’s always so hard to tell with the tiny ones they give you.

Decided against it as it seemed a bit too dark, so she re-did my face in another colour that suited muchhhh more! I definitely recommend going away and looking at your skin in various different mirrors before committing to buying any one product, especially when they cost $82, as this one did!

The foundation I ended up getting was the one pictured above, Lancome Colour Ideal Precise Match Skin Perfecting Makeup. Bit of a mouthful.

I really want to find cheaper alternatives but I feel like it’s almost impossible for my skin, Cover Girl, Maybelline & Revlon all don’t really suit… HELP?!

Next up I re-bought a long-time favourite of mine, Clinique Butter Shine Lipstick in Poppy Love! A very sheer lipstick, great for paler skins & lips. Looooooove the finish, texture, colour – everything!

While this is obviously marketed at babies, I was pretty keen on the idea of sleeping like one so into my hands it went. Had a bath with it tonight & it really is relaxing! Fingers crossed on the uninterrupted sleep, but we’ll see ; )

And so concludes my shopping adventure! Feel free to tell me your favourite make-up brands & favourite bath treats.

Be well,

xoxo

♥

Hello sweet loves!

It appears the New Year is upon us & what better way to celebrate than by listing some health, beauty & wellbeing goals for the next 365 days!

The year is full of opportunity for all of us and we need to squeeze, squeeze, squeeze every last drop of it we can!

Some personal goals include, but are not limited to, the following…

♥ Eat more avocados and sprouts – for glowing skin and general health (avos) & bucketloads of fresh enzymes, nutrients & minerals (sprouties).

♥ More protein! – I’d have to say that this is the part of my vegetarian diet where I fall down. I need to work on including more chick peas, lentils, tofu, nuts etc in my diet EVERY DAY and not just sporadically! I think this will be useful for getting stronger & fitter as well, which is my next goal!

♥ Fitness – Yoga classes (trying for 2-3 x a week), dancing (1 x a week), strength work (personal trainer) & just generally being more active and doing things like swimming & bike riding!

♥ Get the recommended 6 weekly hair appointments – I’m so bad with my hair! Poor neglected little strands that they are, they need some serious loving & this year I’m going to tend to them like a Mother to a newborn. This means less GHD as well… eeeep…we’ll see how that goes!

♥ Regular massage – I’m going to partake in massage AT LEAST monthly, if not more (oh please!). I’ll be writing lots of review articles & talking your ear off on the benefits of massage. Absolutely adore it! I should also be taking a Swedish Massage course sometime this year, so I can provide the favour back to my loved ones 🙂

And the list goes on… there are many more things I’d like to improve on, but those are a few of my top picks!

What are your New Years Resolutions? If there are any that we can help you out on, let me know in the comments!

Be well,

xoxo

♥

The sweltering heat this past week has once again inspired me to contemplate the ins & outs of hair removal.

Don’t head to the beauty salon without first heeding this advice…

♥ Timing is Everything

Super mega duper wuper exclamation points on this one! Do not go for a wax when your body decides that it is in fact, not pregnant. It’s different for everyone but from about week and a half before, it’s best to leave it.

All those hormones doing their thing make us girls sensitive little bunnies and subsequently this act of hair removal inflicts much more pain than it does at other times of the month. I’ve cried when I was hormonal because someone bought the wrong pasta sauce (no, really), trust me when I say that waxing during this time is about 50 million times worse than that.

In my experience the best time to go is about a week after your girl time.

♥ Trim trim

I think I can spare too much detail here and assume that y’all know how to use a pair of scissors, delicately of course. Some lady garden trimming wont go astray and will make it much easier for the therapist to get all the hair with minimum pain!

Don’t cut the hair too short though, otherwise the wax may not be able to grip properly. No wild forest & no barren desert will make things optimal for both you and the beauty therapist.

♥ Modest Mouse

This is something I get asked about a lot. “Don’t you get shy getting semi-naked in front of a stranger?” and the answer is honestly not really.

Even from my first experience, the girls have always been so professional yet casual that it always puts me at ease. They see all types of girlies every day, there’s nothing you can throw at them that they wouldn’t be accustomed to. And they will usually just be chatting away about their boyfriend or asking what you are doing on the weekend to help you feel comfortable.

I’ve spoken with beauty therapists about this issue & the consensus is that they just want to get the hair off you as painlessly as possible, they’re not really interested in having a perve!

So no need for shyness! Modesty be gone! Think of the gorgeous smooth skin & weeks of not having to fuss around with razors / tweezers / magic voodoo praying for the hair to disappear. Totally worth it.

There will be two more articles on waxing coming out within the next few weeks!

Ps. Check me out: How to get a great wax @ a salon: Part 1!

Are you too shy to get waxed? Seasoned pro? Leave any questions or comments below!

Be well,

xoxo

♥ sprouts ♥

Today Wellness WA went shopping & picked up a few handy dandy bits ‘n pieces to keep us glowing & healthy during this silliest of seasons.

♥ Jojoba Oil

This stuff is a delight, but it’s pretty expensive as far as natural oils go. I bought a little 25 ml bottle by the brand Tri Natural which cost about $10, the good thing is that you usually only need a few tiny drops for most of it’s uses!

Gala Darling wrote an article on her experience with Jojoba Oil & it’s benefits, entitled Jojoba Oil is the Elixer of the Gods. She’s probably right.

♥ Sprouts

These little buddies have just been thrown back on my radar by the ever lovely Em of The Raw Kitchen. She grows her own sprouts (cool or what?) and apparently eats them all day long! From the photos I have seen she is a bastion of glowing skin & her energy is amazing.

Because sprouts are in effect still growing when we consume them, they retain a lot of active vitamins, minerals and enzymes – things that are lost during cooking / preservation. This is fabulous for you and your body.

Today I purchased a pack of alfalfa & brocolli sprouts. YUM. I previously made the grave error of buying a ‘salad pack’ which comprised of three sprout varieties, one being radish.

I absolutely cannot handle anything hot & spicy so this made me gasp for water repeatedly & randomly whilst eating. Not the best! Learn from my misfortune if you feel you may be the same…

♥ Avocado

One of my top culinary loves. I swear by this for glowing skin if 2 x avocados are eaten weekly. Unfortunately I don’t always get around to doing this, it’s something I’m working on!

Besides this, they are delicious and great for the heart, joints, hair…pretty much everything! If you are watching your weight don’t eat -too- many as they are quite high in (good) fats.

♥ Frozen Mixed Berries

Another favourite of mine. So delicious & so good for you. Most common uses for me are:

– on top of porridge
– in a vanilla or chocolate soy smoothie
– in a green smoothie

I plan to bake a mixed-berry pie one day soon when the heat calms down a bit!

So all this along with going for a nice evening walk tonight and drinking lots of water has put me in a good mood wellness wise.

I’m also reading this great book by the founder of Aveda at the moment.

In the morning I take about 20 minutes to quietly read from it while drinking a cup of green tea, I find it very relaxing; it’s a well written book on the concepts that inspire him & how to incorporate many small wellness ‘rituals’ into your day.

It’s lovely and I really recommend it.

I hope you enjoyed my little shopping list! Let me know if you’d like to read more.

Be well,

xoxo