Try to change how you think about your features. We share Bobbi Brown’s philosophy that every woman has positive features and it’s better to focus on playing those up than trying to disguise/conceal things we’re less-than-happy with. As she puts it: ‘If your eyes are not your best feature, play up your lips. Don’t try to fix them.’
We’re big fans of Dr. Rangan Chatterjee’s Built to Thrive podcast, and his wisdom. We thought we’d share his belief in the importance of daily stillness, in this busy and noisy world. ‘If you can’t sit in silence, you are never going to know yourself,’ he observes. ‘Too many of us, myself included, spend too little time with our own thoughts. Instead, we pick up a phone and react to what the world wants us to deal with. We should try sitting in solitude for three to five minutes every day. Get a coffee and just sit there, not thinking, tweeting or reading. It’s like pressing the reset button.’ (Although in our case, we’ll be switching ‘coffee’ for ‘tea’…!)
This quiet time of year is a perfect moment to follow some advice from US make-up pr Glenn Marziali. 'Take a Sunday afternoon to find out what makes you feel pretty. Go through magazines, cut out pictures of eyes, lips, cheeks that look like yours – or shades of make-up that you love – and see what the make-up artist did to the models. Then try it on yourself.' (You could also use a Pinterest board for this, of course.)
Not a tip, really, but a lovely nugget of wisdom from presenter and podcast host Lisa Snowdon. ‘To me, holistic living is everything. I look at that as having your body, your mind and everything in check. It should all be balanced. I also think it’s about doing things that make you happy. And of course, food, nutrition and movement are all really important, as well. Those are the elements, for me, that equal a holistic life.’ (And, she adds, ‘That’s why I wanted to create my podcast, because it covers all of that.’ It’s called ‘Get Lifted’, FYI, and you can find it on Spotify, Audible and Apple Podcasts.)
If you take vitamin D supplements – which are increasingly highly regarded as a safe, preventative measure for protecting against all kinds of respiratory infections – then you may want to plan to take them with your biggest meal of the day (or the one with the most fat), as high-fat foods can increase vitamin D absorption by 50%. (So: don’t take on an empty stomach.)
Having trouble sleeping? Try a blend of essential oils, swished straight into bathwater: three drops of clary sage, two drops of vetiver and a drop of valerian. (You can also add these to a cup of milk, then add that to the bathwater and disperse with your hands.)
Are you one of the many who received a gua sha stone for Christmas? Some advice from Jane Scrivner, then. ‘Massage doesn’t have to be vigorous. Keep the blade at 45 degrees to the skin and don’t overdo the oil; you just want enough that the tool doesn’t drag the skin. The session doesn’t have to be long – any pinkness shows the lymph is moving.’
Slde-sleeping is best for spinal health. Ideally you should have a flat pillow to prevent your upper body from rotating forwards or backwards. Placing pillows between your ankles and knees also prevents rolling, too, which twists hips and shoulders. For optimum back health, try to keep ears, shoulders, hips and ankles in a line.
Bedtime gummies can be helpful for some people seeking a better night’s sleep, but be aware that they are generally sugar-based – so be sure to chew BEFORE you brush your teeth, otherwise the sugar will wreak havoc with your tooth enamel.
If you have hard, small white bumps under the skin, these probably aren’t whiteheads, but something called milia – actually small fatty cysts. Don’t try to squeeze them, but show them to your doctor or a dermatologist who can treat them for you.
Check that your beauty products aren’t clogging your drains. Bath bombs, clay masks, rosepetals in bath salts and coffee scrubs can all impact the drainage system, so rather than leaving the drains to do all the work, always scoop the excess from the plughole rather than trying to chase it away with the hose attachment. (Every little helps.)
Why not create a healthy snack drawer? As an alternative to the biscuit tin, fill a spare drawer with healthily proportioned snacks placed in reusable containers: nuts, oatcakes, home-made granola bars, etc. will ensure that you have a nutritious grab-and-go option when you’re in a rush. (We all know how hard it is to find healthy options anywhere within spitting distance of public transport, don’t we?)
Wisdom on ageing, this time from the beautiful Julianne Moore: ‘As you get older, you’re less hung up on looks. I think it’s because you have other things that you’re interested in, such as family, relationships, work or community. Being myopic about the way you look recedes. I don’t think it goes away entirely; I don’t think there’s a person in the world who couldn’t care less – everyone cares somewhat. But the degree to which you are interested in that, and the fruitlessness of that, becomes apparent as you get older.’
Planning a late getaway? Don’t apply retinoic acid, retinol and alpha- and beta-hydroxy acids on vacation, as they all make skin more likely to burn.
Don’t ever be tempted – even if you have oily skin – to over-cleanse. That dry, tight feeling means that you’ve overdone it and stripped skin of its natural lipids, which help to protect it from dirt and keep it healthy. That makes it more vulnerable to irritants and irritation, so seek out cleansers that leave skin comfy – AND clean.
If you can’t ever find a concealer that matches your foundation, use a little concealer brush to remove the slightly thickened foundation that gathers around the neck and inside the lid of your base. That will always be a perfect match. (This is something we always do when travelling, BTW, to save space.)
Wise words on ageing from Renée Zellweger, now 53. ‘There is a big difference between being your absolute best, most vibrant self and wanting to be what you’re not. To be vibrant and beautiful you must embrace your age, otherwise you are living apologetically and to me that’s not beautiful at all.’
As we head into the ‘new term’, getting-organised season – which always is more powerful for us than 1st January – make a vow to keep a ‘health-check diary’ and book ahead now for important appointments like dentist, Well Woman check-up, breast exam, etc. Once they’re in the diary, you can create other appointments around them, rather than trying to squeeze in important health dates at the last minute.
We exfoliate the face but often forget the eyebrows, which can get gunky and almost gritty (despite daily eye make-up removal). Scrub them lightly once a week to remove make-up build-up and remove dead cells around the follicles.
Ever been distracted while bleaching your moustache, leading to redness and puffiness after you’ve forgotten to remove it? It can create a chemical burn, so do always set a timer – and if worst comes to worst, use cold compresses to bring the inflammation down, perhaps with an over-the-counter antibiotic ointment if you feel it needs it.