#LoveYourself

Top 3 Ways To Approach Ageing

Top 3 Ways To Approach AgeingImage by spider0702 from Pixabay 

There is no way you can avoid ageing; it’s going to happen no matter how many anti-ageing creams you buy or how much plastic surgery you have. However, rather than getting down about it, you can enjoy the ageing process and embrace it because there will be plenty of positives to it, too, more than you may think.

Look After Your Skin

One of the things that upsets people most about ageing is how their skin looks, as in some cases, it can make them look older than they are. When you are younger, it’s essential to take care of your skin, and no matter what age you are now, quit smoking and sunbathing because this won’t do your skin any good at all. As you get older, your skin loses its elasticity and can start to sag and wrinkle. There are many creams, and lotions, and face washes you can get to combat the signs of anti-ageing, but the main ingredients you want to look for are ceramides, coenzyme Q10, green tea, vitamin C, and hyaluronic acid, as well as wearing a high SPF sunscreen to reduce sun damage. Zo Skin Health have an array of skin enhancers, and as everyone’s skin is different, it is important to choose something that will target your specific problem or skin type.

Eat a healthy diet

One of the most important things to do in life at any age is to eat a nutritious diet and get regular exercise, but as you get older, this will lower your heart rate and keep you feeling younger. It’s not just what you eat you need to watch, but it’s everything you put into your body. So when it comes to food go for a diet which is low in saturated fats and make sure there are lots of fruit and vegetables, oily fish and whole grains included. It’s also essential to have small amounts of low-fat dairy and lean meat too. Don’t forget that you need to keep hydrated too so make sure you drink lots of water to avoid getting dehydrated as this can leave you feeling tired and confused. Tea, coffee, and fruit juice will also help you to stay hydrated but you should avoid sugary fizzy drinks.

Get Plenty Of Sleep

While this is important at any age, it’s so important that it needs to be reiterated. If you don’t get enough sleep, then you will likely feel tired and grumpy. But not only this, but sleep has so many other benefits. It helps to reduce your stress levels – which, let’s face it, you need as little stress as possible at any age but particularly as you get older. Another benefit is that sleep can actually improve your memory and who doesn’t need that as they age? Good sleep can also lower your blood pressure, can improve your immune system, and help you to maintain a healthy weight, all of which are extremely important as you age.

Beauty

Taking Care of my Skin with Biotulin

One of the knock-on effects of me being overweight is that I’ve made less effort in other ways with my appearance. I think it’s an issue with confidence and self-esteem, but because I’ve had a lot of self-loathing about my weight, it means that I feel like it’s just not worth making the effort to make myself look nice. On the flipside of this, now that I AM taking care of myself, it’s given me a little more of an interest in making myself look more presentable.

One thing that I am worried about with losing weight is loose skin, not just on my tummy (inevitable after two large pregnancies resulting in c-sections, as well as my weight) but also my face. I’ve seen SO many celebs who are large their whole lives, lose a bunch of weight but suddenly look ten years older because the chub had been giving them a bit of a “baby face” effect. Once the fat melts away, there’s nothing pushing the wrinkles out anymore!! Anyway, the crux of all this is that I’ve been researching skincare recently, trying to find something effective but affordable, and I think I’ve found it.

Biotulin Supreme Skin Gel is actually used by the Duchess Kate Middleton, and was also a recommendation that she shared with Michelle Obama, both of whom have incredible skin! The gel is basically like a non-injectable, organic botox which firms and tightens the face. It contains a natural local anesthetic extracted from the plant Acmella oleracea, which promises to reduce muscle contractions and relax the facial features around the eyes and between the eyebrows. This promises to reduce fine lines and make the skin noticeably smoother.

Michelle’s make-up artist, Carl Ray, says “Michelle Obama has been using this organic Botox gel regularly on the recommendation of Kate Middleton”, while Michelle herself said “It’s really pretty basic. I wash my face with a good cleanser, and I use a moisturizer with an SPF. Every now and then I’ll go to a dermatologist for microderm or a facial, but I don’t have time to do that all the time.”

The best thing about this miracle product is that it only costs £43 per bottle, making it affordable for even us mere mortals, unlike a lot of the other high-end products on the market – I’m going to make sure that this is well and truly at the top of my birthday list in June! Knowing that I’ll be able to use something to firm my face as the weight melts off is a real bonus because weight loss isn’t always as simple as being fat at the beginning and slim at the end, especially as you get older.

If it’s good enough for Michelle Obama, it’s definitely good for me!

Beauty · Health · Review

Dove Pure and Sensitive Beauty Cream Bar Review

Dove_Pure_and_Sensitive_Beauty_Cream_Bar_2x100g_FO_8711700728607Last week I was sent some Dove Pure and Sensitive Beauty Cream Bars for review, which ties in nicely with the fact that it’s also National Eczema Week. As you may or may not know, I suffer from a few different skin conditions, which are largely due to my underactive thyroid. I have psoriasis on my feet and legs, dermatitis on my hands and also get eczema on my face and scalp.

I appreciate that a skin condition may not seem like a serious issue to most people, but living with them can really be very tricky at times. My issues are usually worst during winter, when my hands and feet will crack and bleed, and although having an itch might not seem like the end of the world, when that itch is so bad that you remove layers of skin without even realising what you’re doing, it can be pretty debilitating.

Because of all of this, even something as simple as washing my hands or doing the dishes can become a daunting task as most soaps irritate my hands, washing up liquid is a menace to skin conditions and even the rubber in rubber gloves can exacerbate things. So, when NetMums asked me if I wanted to try out the Pure and Sensitive Beauty Bar from Dove, in conjunction with the National Eczema Society, I have to admit to having felt a little trepidation.

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When the bars arrived, the first thing I noticed when I unwrapped them was that they didn’t smell of anything – one tell-tale sign that something will affect my skin is if it is highly perfumed, so Dove was off to a good start. I jumped straight into the shower and used the soap, which gives great lather. I didn’t notice any immediate irritation, and with some soaps the effects are immediate; i feel my skin almost tightening on contact with irritants.

I’ve now been using the Dove Pure and Sensitive Beauty Cream Bar for 4 days, in the bath and shower and just for washing my hands, and I’ve not had a single bit of dryness or irritation. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that my hands are looking better than before I started using it and the hard, dry patches on my fingers are looking and feeling softer. I was so confident about how sensitive the Beauty Cream Bar was, I even risked using it on my face, where I usually suffer with a very dry t-zone and it didn’t dry my skin out at all.

I’m so pleased that I don’t have to dread washing my hands with soap anymore and I’ll definitely continue to use the Dove Pure and Sensitive Beauty Cream Bar for the foreseeable future as it’s proved to be a mini-blessing over the last few days.

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network, a unique community of parent bloggers from around the UK who have been handpicked by the Netmums team to review products and brands on their behalf. I have been paid expenses and supplied with a product sample for this review but retain all editorial control. All my Netmums Reviews will display the Netmums logo within the post.

This is a Netmum’s sponsored review.To find out more click the button:

Health · Parenting · Review

Panama Jack Review

A couple of weeks ago, we were sent some products to review by Panama Jack, the beach and suncare company, to try out in the last weeks of the summer holidays. Being the mother of a very fair skinned, red-headed child, suncare is of the utmost importance to us, however the fact that Sausage also has very sensitive skin doesn’t make this task very easy. Even some of the well-known brands, which claim to be kind to sensitive skin, bring Sausage out in an acne-like rash all over her body, so switching brands is something that makes us very nervous.

The first product we tried was the Continuous SPF 50+ spray for kids, which is an aerosol-style spray and made the process of giving Sausage full coverage super easy. Although we’re religious about covering her, she does still hate the daily process of smearing thick cream on; standing still while I sprayed her all over took about 10 seconds and made the process a whole lot easier! The spray smells really nice, doesn’t feel too oily, gave excellent coverage and best of all, didn’t make her break out in the usual rash, so this product gets a full 10 out of 10 from us!

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The next product we tried was the Sunscreen Stick for face, lips ears and nose, which again offered SPF 50+ protection. Ears are a place that people often miss when sunscreening, but this little stick made it really easy to cover the more delicate places and it was small enough to stick in a handbag in case we need to top up. And again, no rash.

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Finally, we were sent two Panama Jack Lip Balms with SPF 45, in Vanilla and Tropical. Both of them had nice scents which didn’t overwhelm and neither felt too greasy, which is something I hate in a lip balm. Having extra protection for this lips is great, as they’re another place that people often forget when protecting the rest of their face and having a handy stick that can go into a pocket is brilliant.

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Overall, as a family we’ve been very impressed with the Panama Jack products we were sent. Having the peace of mind in knowing that the products don’t affect Sausage’s skin whilst offering good coverage and easy application has made the last few weeks of the summer holidays less stressful and has allowed us to enjoy the nice weather without any worries about sun damage.

Giveaway · Men Stuff · Review

Mens Skincare by Audaca – Review and Giveaway

A few weeks ago, I was browsing through some press releases (as you do…) and I noticed one from men’s skincare brand Audaca. Phrases like “aromatherapy principles” and “modern science” pinged off the page at me and immediately made me think of the man in my life. Husband has long suffered with sensitive skin and often keeps a beard rather than shave as it has such a horrible effect on his skin. Just recently, he’s started using a traditional shaving system of solid soap, shaving brush and safety razor (you know, like the one your Grandad used with a metal or Bakelite handle and disposable blades) which is much better for the face and I thought that the Audaca products with their natural ingredients would be a great accompaniment to his new routine.

Here’s what he thought of what we were sent:

I recently returned to traditional wet shaving after 10 years in the wilderness of electric razors and dry skin, and so far I’ve been enjoying some great results thanks to my newly acquired Merkur 23C DE razor and both Derby and Feather blades. But when you’re altering your grooming regimen it helps to experiment, in order to find the perfect combination of items for your skin and beard type, so when my Wife asked me if I was interested in trying these new, premium grooming products from Audaca I leapt at the chance.

First up I used the Audaca Scrub for my pre-shave wash and found it to be very effective without being unnecessarily abrasive. The aroma’s subtle and the pumice felt particularly good, leaving my face feeling clean but not sore – which is important before it undergoes the trauma of shaving.

The deed itself was done with Audaca’s Shave and I had mixed results. Initially I was pleased with the muted scent and rich feel of the cream, but when I applied it to my face I found it to be thin and it didn’t generate any sort of lather, which was a red flag.

The shave wasn’t good. My face felt largely unprotected by the cream, at times feeling like I was running the razor over bare skin. It didn’t reduce friction (on my beard type, at least) and left me with quite a few nicks where I wouldn’t ordinarily have any.

By the time I had finished I was feeling pretty sore and was keen to experiment with the Audaca Soothe, and I’m very glad I did. I applied a small amount to my face while it was still damp and it spread evenly, calming the burn which had been caused by the shave. Importantly (to me at least) it wasn’t at all greasy and the slightly woody aroma was nice too.

Overall I was pleased with the Scrub and the Soothe. They’re products which I’ll be adopting into my daily routine from here on in and if, like me, you have sensitive skin then I’d recommend you take a look at them too.

The cream, on the other hand, wasn’t up to muster in my humble opinion and it certainly won’t be replacing my usual soap but it might be worth trying if you have a lighter or less dense growth on your face and the scent is definitely appealing. 

 

Now, you can win an Audaca gift set for the male-type in your life (apologies if you are a male-type, you’d obviously win it for yourself…) by entering via the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck!

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