Year: 2015

WELLBEING: Stress and Everything You Need To Know!

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We have all experienced stress. It is one of the most common afflictions in our very fast and very modern world. This topic is especially top of mind for me, as I am doing my best to stay grounded with a swirl of projects, changes, holidays and nearing the end of year – these things are all tugging me in a million different ways. It doesn’t take long before my body starts to feel the effects of the crazier, faster pace of life and the energy swirling through. I don’t feel overtly stressed, as thankfully long walks with the pug and mindful eating along with cutting out unhealthy choices are helping me manage it all as well as some very determined conscious thinking with gratitude! It doesn’t always go so well though. Often we try to tell ourselves that we are not stressed out (after all, other people have it so much worse. I should just be grateful!) and so therefore don’t recognise the early stages and how we could manage it to ward off the …

GAME CHANGERS: Tribe Alive

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“Tribe Alive utilizes a passion for fashion and responsible commerce as a platform to help alleviate poverty among women. Hope is our message. Fashion is our medium.” You may have seen, read or heard about many of the examples of angel investors going into third world communities and helping women in those communities to start up businesses. Not only does it help take that family from poverty but it also has an incredible effect on the rest of the community. Find out the unique effects that women have on their community when they receive investment. Carly Burson, Founder of TribeAlive has created an incredibly inspiring story that showcases not only women helping women but of changing the lives of communities – both near and far. Carly took ‘Fast Fashion’ head on and launched an ethical fashion brand that makes you look and feel amazing. This is no mean feat. Most of us struggle with all the ‘fast’s’. Fast food, fashion, work – everything is about fast and that instant gratification. Sadly, not only do we not …

WELLBEING: 10 Ten Ways To Deepen Your Sleep

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When you think about the basics of wellness, sleep is always one of the top on the list.  Getting enough sleep can stop you from making poor choices, keep your energy levels up and your general happiness levels where they should be. Seems simple right? Not at all. Sleep is absolutely essential but also one of the most easily disrupted. I used to be one of those that was absolutely convinced that I needed very little sleep. Ah, one of the lucky few that could operate on a few hours, function and function pretty well! Just as well really. I was also one of the many that had mild insomnia! How. Wrong. I. Was. The problem that I had was I couldn’t remember how I felt on a full tank of sleep. How much easier I coped with general every day problems and how much quicker my problem solving skills were. I hadn’t realised that my moods fluctuated and my levels of optimism had dramatically dropped. Oh, then there was that energy thing! It really …

BEAUTY: DIY Lip balm and banish the chap!

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So, if you are in the Southern hemisphere, you may have noticed that summer is starting to move on in! This means many things (ahem, bikini season, rose, sun, sea – oh the list goes on!) it also means we risk constantly forgetting lip balm whilst simultaneously realising just how dry and chapped your lips are getting! I am a massive fan of doing it yourself – beauty saviours can be found in the most surprising places, the fridge, pantry and fruit bowl are often the most perfect of hiding places. This means do-it-yourself concoctions that you can make at home that are free of nasty chemicals and things that you really shouldn’t be using on your skin. Here is a super hydrating mask for your lips that is quick and easy to make – you may have the ingredients already! Ingredients: 1 Tsp of coconut oil – to restore the lipid layer to the skin and is also anti-inflammatory 1 Tbsp of honey (I use Manuka) – moisturising and antibacterial Directions: Mix both the …

MINDFULNESS: Enjoy some calm

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Sat in bold black writing on my goal list is to learn how to meditate. It’s always sounded like something I should do, but I don’t know how to. Those that meditate seem to belong to a very select and zen group that are absolutely in the “know”. It is always in the health mag’s and in my favourite blogs that proclaim (and rather loudly!) that it’s really freakin’ brilliant. They say you can’t know the peace/awareness/contentment until you do it. My brain drives me mental. I have a very busy mind and one that is quite happy to have races with itself, just around 3am! “We are what we think, having become what we thought,” – Dhammapada, ancient Buddhist text   State of mind. Pretty big subject that. Especially considering that the mind is both the problem and the solution (love that saying). It is not fixed, it is fluid. The idea that we can change how and what we think is something that fascinates me but then the thought of setting by myself with the silence …

GAME CHANGERS: No Regrets

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“What’s the one thing you dream of achieving? You know, what’s on your list?”  – Sebastian Terry Most of us know what a bucket list is. Most even have their own. It may not be written down. It may just be one of those things that we keep in the back of our mind. We all have at least one thing that we want to do before we die. You know what I mean, that “Oh, that is totally on my bucket list – I really want to do that one day”. With that in mind though, how many of us have goals and dreams that we desperately want that we ever achieve? Enter Sebastian Terry. When Sebastian was 27, the death of a close friend and moment of clarity saw him forge an incredible journey that saw him putting pen to paper and creating a list of 100 Things. His goal was the tick off everything on that list. This then kickstarted an adventure where he traveled to the end of the world. He …

BEAUTY: What’s Your Home Scent?

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  There are very few things that are more luxurious in life than a spa. Whenever you walk into your favourite spa, your senses are engaged immediately.  Your mood changes. You shoulders start to drop. Your eye lids start to lower and your breathing gets slower as you inhale the incredible scents around you. The air is perfumed, soft music quietly plays, the lights are low and there is very little clutter. Candles are lit and all the furnishings are warm, soft and luxurious.  You ignore your technology and you don’t miss at all the flickering screens or beeps. You get handed tantalising infused water or warm herbal tea. Already you feel yourself start to relax. The stresses that worried you as you walked through the door. Almost gone. Well, why not try to recreate this at home? If you are anything like me you will have a rather healthy (or not, totally depends on how you look at it!) obsession with candles and fragrance. Creating your own can be far less expensive, easier to …

ESCAPE: Wellness Escapes to Inspire

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Ah Winter. You make it ever so easy to lose motivation. To forget routine. To leave health well behind. Basically, you make it very easy to do nothing! That is almost what I did, but no, after a look at a rather judgemental Pug a few weeks ago (after a particularly busy day of study) I decided enough. I wasn’t going to let the cold, rain, wind get to me. So I made a bargin with myself to get in at least an hour a day of walking in with said judgemental Pug. Insert some gym sessions and NYC and boom. A habit is born. It was after this spurt of energy and the decision to commit to a beginners Yoga course, starting next week (!) that I got to roaming in the interwebs and found these dream-worthy Wellness & Detox retreats. Ah, not only do you get away. Get healthy. Revive. You also get to do so in some of the most beautiful destinations in the world. Perhaps if I cross off some more …

ETIQUETTE: A lesson in packing

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I am not a light traveller. I just don’t do it well. I can’t decide so I try and take it all. Packing for winter and staving off the cold – fashionably of course darling!? Fu-ged-about-it! Ok, it really isn’t that bad. There are some golden rules that stop you from packing as if you are never going to see another shop again or even worse. The cardinal sin of packing without a plan. That means getting to your destination with toothpaste and no toothbrush. Odd shoes. No hair brush and to top it off the highest pair of heels in your wardrobe and you will not be painting the town red. All a true story! As I am setting my sights on the winter wonderland that is Queenstown, here is a guide to pack fashionably and without deep regret… 1. Time First things first. Don’t leave your packing to the last minute whether that be 10 mins before you head out the door or if you are shattered the night before. You won’t have …

HOW TO: Get better sleep

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One thing (ahem, of many) that I struggle with on a regular basis is lack of sleep.  Like seriously sleep deprived. If it wasn’t bouts of insomnia then it was extremely light sleep patterns. Then, add to this one pug puppy and boom. I. Am. Knackered. Exhausted. Worn out. Zombie! A study by Jawbone, the makers of the digital activity-monitor wristband UP, Tokyo is the world’s most sleep-deprived city, with residents averaging five hours and 44 minutes per night. Melbourne was the most well-rested with six hours and 58 minutes – still an hour short of the ideal eight – and probably closer to what the majority of us are getting, if we are lucky! A lack of sleep is also the absolute worst thing that we can do for our beauty regime. Think dry, dull skin. Tired eyes with dark bags. Dare I say it, wrinkles… “I call deep sleep a free form of cosmetic medicine,” says leading US dermatologist Dr Rachael Eckel. “Repair mechanisms within our cells respond to the body’s natural 24-hour clock, …