Anyone who is into their skincare has that one brand they can always rely on to sort out any skin woes and restore its balance. For the past year my brand of choice has been Antipodes which is an organic brand from New Zealand, and I can honestly say my skin has never been in such prime condition. Even my mum won't look at another night cream any more! The Grace cream cleanser feels like (as my mum put it) rubbing your face with a buttery cloud. It smells divine and leaves my skin nicely soft and supple. It works really well with the Rejoice day cream (A nice light cream for the summer) which is really good for soothing sensitive skin. I used these two when prepping my models skin during the London Fashion week Hemyca show because, as you can imagine, the models had their makeup constantly rubbed off, applied and reapplied so I wanted products I could trust were not going to cause any irritation!
Twice a week I use the Aura Manuka Honey mask sitting on my face for an hour so the antiseptic honey can get to work on any blemishes. Again, I love the smell of this mask! The texture is really light so for those of you who don't like the tight feeling of clay masks, this could be a good one for you.
The Avocado Pear cream is really rich and potent. When I wake I can still feel the oily residue on my face which I really like because for me, there is nothing worse in a face cream than feeling like it has rubbed off into my pillow during the night. During the winter when my skin has been battered by the wind and air con, I couple this with the Joyous or Hosanna serums which get rid of dry patches and generally help my skin to retain some of its plumpness. The Vanilla Pod day cream makes a nice winter alternative to the Rejoice, as it's thicker and sits on the skin a little longer. Strangely the smell of it really reminds me of Sudocream which makes me feel a little nostalgic every time I apply it!
Jason is a brand that I can never go wrong with. Since their giant shower gels first caught my eye some years ago, I've been loyal to the range (the Glowing Apricot and Mango ones are divine!). Recently they have added three delicious scented coconut products to their skincare range with coconut oil and shea butter. The hand and body lotion and coconut oil are great moisturisers which I have decanted into little pots and take around with me. Despite the hand and body lotion being for extremely dry skin, I actually find the oil a richer moisturiser so favour this for putting on any chapped skin, but the HB lotion makes a great hand cream. Admittedly when I first saw the shower gel £10 seemed a bit of a steep price to pay, but I use mine every single day and it lasts for three months! In my (humble) opinion Jason is one of the best value brands on the high street and it's nice to know that the skincare I use every day is without parabens, SLS, petroleum, phthlates and artificial colours.
Last year ended on a bit of fitness high. I actually had a pretty good diet and exercise routine, which completely disappeared over January. In a bid to get this back, I have been buying "hip" work out gear and equipment in the hope that it will motivate me again!
Recently I got the Manuka yoga mat, footwear and a fitness ball which are made from sustainable, non-toxic materials. I'd never heard of the brand before; they were things my savvy mum picked up from John Lewis, but I'm so impressed with the brands ethos and quality. The mat is comfortable, light-weight and easy to carry around, and it's all really good value! If you want to incorporate a little exercise into your busy routine without forking out for a gym membership you probably won't use, I recommend having a little gander at the website here
So the Australian open has come to an end and I won't bore those of you who aren't interested in tennis, but I gave a massive applause for Novak Djokovic the world number one player! Last year, Djokovic published a book which explains how dietary changes completely transformed his life both on and off court.
Whether you're a tennis fan or not, anyone who is considering cutting out dairy, gluten or just interested in making little dietary changes may find this a really beneficial read. It's a short book which is packed with so much information. What I love is how he explains in really simple terms what certain foods do to our body and the way our organs are working to repair damage throughout the day. There is a chapter dedicated to identifying foods containing gluten and wheat, and many of the culprits had never crossed my mind such as chocolate milk! The last third of the book is a break down of his weekly food timetable with a good selection of recipes from it. Over the past year this has served as a reference book I keep returning to when I need a little positive motivation. Also, I love history so the account of his humble upbringing in war-torn Serbia was a really insightful glimpse into what living in Belgrade would have been like at that time. It seems so long ago but Djokovic is still only in his mid-twenties!
