Sunday, August 23, 2009

Wake up, beautiful.


A lot of people tell me that I have beautiful skin. And I wont lie, I believe I do too. And people always put it down to genetics and never ask what the real secret is. It has a bit to do with genetics but that's not all. Both my younger brother and sister suffer from those pesky little red spots and wonder why I don't! Well, in this entry I'll be telling you all about my beauty secrets that have me waking up clean skinned and movie beautiful.

Getting a good amount of sleep is one of the most important things you can do to achieve glowing beauty. Women need more sleep than men so off to bed early ladies! This also depends on your schedule; I write at nights and sleep during the day. You don't need to quit your fabulous bar job to catch the necessary Z's, just plan out what you need to do so that you get the right amount of unbroken sleep. If you are getting at least 8 hours and are still feeling tired, you may have an iron deficiency and should see a pharmacist or doctor about getting some supplements.

You need to make sure you have a balanced diet. Getting your 8 hours means nothing if you scoff deep fried anything and fizzy pop
and some seemingly healthy foods can cause toxins to build up in your body making your skin suffer. Drink at least a litre of water a day, stay away from gluten, refined sugars and refined wheat products. You don't have to cut cake and sweets out of your diet for good (I know I don't), but the less of these you eat, the more your body will thank you. There is nothing wrong with eating meat either. But McDonalds is NOT meat. A grilled piece of red meat the size of a deck of cards per week will keep your energy levels up and keep your digestion strong. If you do prefer to go vegetarian; eat lots of legumes and other food that make up for not eating meat. And its best to take iron to make sure you get the right amount.

Follow a skin care regime.
Find out your skin type and use products specified for it. You don't need to cleanse, tone, moisturise, night treatment, etc etc every day. Just pick up one good moisturiser without an SPF to wear 24/7 and wash your skin with a soap for sensitive skin. You can make up for the lack of SPF during the day with a small dab of sunscreen. This will also save you some extra money so you can buy good make-up that wont clog your pores and make your skin oily. My skincare regime is a bit more than one moisturiser, but mostly comprises of free samples I get from visiting the ladies at the make-up counters at department stores.

Wear GOOD foundation/power. $12 at the local supermarket might seem good to your wallet, but spending $85 on a truly good product will save you money on trying to fix your pimple problem caused by those awful products. This is from
personal experience. I used to wear something that came in 3 shades, was on sale for $9 at the supermarket and dried all my skin out making me look tired. Now, I have a beautiful Estee Lauder pressed powder that matches my skin perfectly and hasn't caused me one iota of grief. Your skin needs to breathe and you should let it. Not to mention, these products last much much longer anyway.

Use oil for make-up remover. Olive or Jojoba oil is the best. Just rub it into your eyes and skin
with a soft make-up sponge and wash it all off with a gentle soap. Its cheap, lasts ages and makes your skin glow.

Exfoliate at least once a week. You can find recipes for good exfoliantes online or pick one up from anywhere pretty cheap. I love anything from St Ives, Mecca or the Body Shop.

Eye make-up doesn't have to cost you a bundle. Just pick up a nice mascara (non waterproof) and soft eye liner and wash them off properly before bed. If you're going to put anything on your lips, make sure when you wipe it off that you have a super moisturising lip balm to put on them after. Wiping off of those "Super Stay" lipsticks with tissues can scratch and dry out your lips making them all flaky and split. FYI Licking them doesn't help them, if anything it makes them worse.

Try not to pop spots. As necessary as you think it is, its not. If you do feel the need to do so, do it with clean hands and nails and remember to wash your skin thoroughly after; this will stop the spread of bacteria but not scars. Be gentle!

Sweet dreams!

xo-xo

Thursday, August 13, 2009

How to take care of yourself - relationships


Its an arguable fact that when not in a relationship, women tend to take better care of themselves. This - in my case at least - seems to be true. When the bf is hungry, we both must eat. And while a girl has got to eat; there is a huge difference in our diets and I, in turn, put on weight. This causes me to have skin issues and get quite down about myself and in the end I just give up and let myself go.

Its not as though I figure, 'well, I've got him now so whats the point?' Its more along the lines of whatever makes him happy. And what makes him happy is nights in watching movies, pizza and drinking with the boys.

When I am single, I do my hair, get manicures, get facials, inspect my pores, exercise, experiment with make-up, by fabulous cloths and hang out with other girls. When I am in a relationship, all the time I have for those things seems to disappear and some days I can just manage to do my hair and make-up before rushing out the door to read books while he plays sport. Of course I enjoy this to an extent. But I would rather spend that time doing research or hunting out cafes.

Recently I have come up with a battle plan that allows me to do both, because lets face it, if I focus more on my own happiness, it actually makes him happier than when I self sacrifice and torture myself into doing things that make me feel awful. It took me years and years to figure this out. But when I'm in a good mood, looking amazing and being productive I am a much better girlfriend.

Set aside time for you to spend alone. Absence makes the heart grow fonder! Run your errands, pretty yourself up, prance in the nuddy about your house and have tea parties with your girlfriends. Do things that make yourself a happy and healthy lady. Put him first by putting yourself first and everyone wins.

Spend your time together doing 'couple' things. Such as going on dates to cuddling to breakfast before work and walking the dogs. Turn your phones off and focus on each other. Treat him as though you just started dating; with intrigue and wonder. Try to find out new things about each other and do things that will make him happy. He will follow suit and try to make you just as happy.

Keep your word. That goes for him as well. A gentleman always keeps his word. As does a lady.

Don't let him interrupt your 'me' time. Unless he is going to die or be shipped off in the next 24 hours, it can wait. Same goes for you missy. He needs to spend time being silly with his friends and watching sports so he doesn't have to make you do it with him. Besides, wouldn't you rather watch Sex and the City and paint your nails than deal with a bunch of silly boys? Hands up! I thought so..

Eat healthy. Don't let his bad diet affect yours and turn you into Miss Piggy. A good catch will love you no matter what size you are. But you need to do what makes you happy. If you like scoffing hot dogs and guzzling soda with him, by all means, go ahead! But don't come crying when you start to look squishy. You may be in a relationship, but you are your own woman. And you can control yourself.

Speak your mind. Stuff guys liking quiet girls with no opinion. Tell them why you're annoyed. How else will he know you hate it when he flicks bits of napkin down your top? You don't need to scream. Just quietly and politely ask him to stop. He will if you're serious enough.

Sleep in your own bed, more than you sleep in his. Unless you live together that is. You need to be able to have your own space and wake up in your own time some mornings.

Have your own separate friends. Not that you cant be friends with his friends and visa versa, but you need to be able to get away and gossip. Being friends with his friends can sometimes cause dramas too with the more protective boyfriends, or with boys who have friends that like causing trouble.

Now you know a couple things that'll help you love yourself and him more and keep you feeling great about being in a relationship for more than just the 'being in love' part.

Live like you'll die tomorrow,
love like you've never been hurt.

xo-xo