Beauty & Fashion
Deep-Cleansing
Revive up circulation and smooth rough skin of the whole body with an invigorating scrub. A good loofah or some rough sea salt will do the trick. Buff away in circles, paying particular attention to the feet, elbows and knees. Rinse off thoroughly and blast your skin with some cold water.
Now it’s time for the face. First, use a gentle lotion to remove your eye make-up (heavy creams can leave your eye puffy). Be sure to use light inward movements to avoid dragging your skin. Then remove the rest of your make-up with a good cleanser – start at he base of your neck and move upwards and outwards in light, stroking movements. Next exfoliate your skin to remove dead skin cells, which can make your complexion dull. A handful of oats mixed with double cream is a great kitchen exfoliator. Just rub in gently and rinse off.
Next fill a bowl with warm (not boiling) water and add a few drops of essential oil, such as lavender or eucalyptus. Wrap hair in towel and inhale for five minutes (avoid this if you tend to get broken capillaries on your nose or cheeks). Now it’s a great time to tidy your eyebrows, as it’s less tortuous to extract hairs when your pores are open.
Then slap on a face mask. Home-made methods include mashing up avocado and massaging it into your face using the stone (avocado is naturally moisturizing). Alternatively, a great way to tighten up oily skin is to whisk up an egg and rub it onto your face. Remove the mask with warm water and then pat your skin dry. Give your skin a five-minute massage using an aromatherapy oil (or natural almond oil) then remove excess oil with a toner. Apply some eye gel, patting it gently inwards towards your nose, then finally finish up with your usual moisturizer.
Water Works
1.5 to 2 litres of fluids daily.
Water can help you lose weight
Research shows that 75% of hunger pangs are actually thirst.
One study showed that your could increase your metabolic rate by about 30% by having a big 500ml glass of cold water after each meal. This comes down to a process called thermogenesis, in other words the rate which your body burns calories for digestion.
Another study shows that drinking 2 litres of water per day can help burn off an extra 150 calories daily. This can also beat water retention that causes bloated bellies.
Water can make you feel brighter and more energized and is great for your skin.
Lose pounds without trying
- Don’t skip breakfast
- Eat lots of fibre
- Eat little and often
- Watch your portions
- Control the booze
- Eat more slowly
- Use smaller plates
- Go easy on evening carbs
- Eat fruit or salad before meals.
Facial Massage
Start with big sweeping movements across your neck, across your cheeks (upwards and outwards), over your nose and up to your forehead. Then move the tips of your ring fingers in small circular movements across your face. Start with the space between your face above the bridge of your nose, then over your temples, the corners of your mouth and then back up to your temples. Repeat three times, increasing the pressure slightly each time.
Close your eyes and grasp the bottom of each earlobe between your thumb and forefinger. Rub them briskly, moving your fingers from top to bottom, along the rims of your ears and back again. Do this for about 10-20 seconds. You’ll feel perkier instantly.
Hands-on Treatment
Treat yourself to a home manicure every week or two and save the real thing for special occasions. Remove old polish and then shape each nail with an emery board (nail files are too severe). Don’t saw away at your nails or you’ll break them. Instead, use light strokes from the edges towards the centre. Massage your cuticles with cuticle cream or add a few drops of cuticle massage oil to a bowl of warm water. Soak your cuticles for five-minutes, then push them back using a cuticle stick. Wash your hands, then apply a protective base coat of clear vanish to your nails, followed by a coat or two of colour. Leave your hands for twenty minutes or so to avoid smudging then, then add a sealing topcoat.
A nightly trick to soften hands is to smother Vaseline, or petroleum jelly, into your nails, which will have a dramatic effect on taming your cuticles. For best results wear cotton gloves to bed afterwards and you’ll wake up with beautifully soft hands.
Brittle nails? Eat carrots, peaches, leafy veggies and tinned fish, which are great for strengthening dry nails.
Eyebrow Plucking
· Start by brushing your eyebrows, using an eyebrow brush or small, soft toothbrush. Then trim any long hairs with nail scissors.
· Aim for a natural, gentle curving arch, thicker in the inner corner of the eye and tapering our over your brow bone. Focus on accentuating this natural curve by tidying up around it, above and below.
· Each eyebrow should start directly above the corner of the eye and should be the same width as your eye. Hold a pencil vertically along the side of your nose and remove any wild or stray hairs on the bridge of your nose beyond the pencil with a pair of tweezers.
· Then, to see where your eyebrows should end, hold the pencil diagonally from your nostril to the end of your eye and pluck anything below the pencil to open up your eyes and to avoid looking drowsy.
· Then work on the natural arch. To find the highest part of the arch, imagine drawing a line from the outer edge of your iris right up to your browline. That should be the highest point of your eyebrow arch. Tweeze any hairs underneath that arch. Don’t go mad though. Natural is always better.
· If you want a fuller look, try brushing your eyebrows sideways with your toothbrush or eyebrow brush. Or slick them down using Vaseline or a bit of moisturizer.
Energy Booster
Stand with your feet hip distance apart and your hands by your sides. Breathe in and raise your arms up in front of your body to shoulder height, with palms facing upwards as you slowly lower on to your heels again and return to your arms to resting positions. Breathe in and repeat three to four times.
Nostril-alternating breathing yoga exercise
· Sit comfortably, lengthening your spine and keeping your shoulders down and relaxed
· Take your right hand and place the thumb by your right nostril and the ring and little fingers by your left.
· Close the left nostril with the ring finger and, releasing the thumb, exhale through the right nostril to the same count of eight.
· Then inhale through the same nostril to the count of eight. Then close it with the thumb and, releasing the ring finger, exhale from the left nostril to the count of eight again.
· Repeat all this several times, building up to about five minutes. Do this daily and you’ll find it helps to clear your head and relax you.
Boob Raisers
These are considered the best move for a firmer chest.
1) Get down on your hands and knees and put your hands a little more than hip distance apart, keeping your hands in line with your shoulders. Keeping the part of your thigh just above your knees on the ground, lower your chest so that your elbows come out slightly to the side and then slowly push up again without locking them. Keep stomach pulled in tight and don’t allow your back to sag. The wider apart your hands are the more you work your chest.
Aim for three sets of ten to fifteen press-ups three times a week. Try full press-ups once you’ve mastered these modified ones.
2) Lie on your back, holding a 2.25-4.5kg weight in both hands above your head. Keeping elbows bent and your arms about shoulder width apart (either side of your head) slowly lift the weight up over your head towards your belly and back.
Build up to twelve to sixteen repetitions and aim for three sets, three times a week.
3) The back extension can help support your breasts and improve your posture.
After each set of push-ups, lie face down on the floor, lift one arm and the opposing leg a few inches straight in the air simultaneously and hold for a count of ten. Do this move twice on each side. Back extensions will strengthen your upper and lower back muscles, which will help improve your posture.
