Monthly Archives: January 2012

Skin tantrums

Woman ScreamingWe’ve all been there – our skin can be an unpredictable beast, and just when everything seemed to be going well, bam! It hits us with: the mother of all pimple(s) / a breakout of epic proportion / redness and its cousin splotchy / uneven texture and feel / an oil production in overdrive / dry skin that feels tighter than a tambourine,…

While you’re scratching your head thinking a) What have I done to deserve this? and b) How did this happen?, it’s always helpful to remember that your skin isn’t an island: if you’ve been eating less than well, not getting enough sleep, feeling stressed out, it’s going to show inside and out – and out means on your face and body.

The more products you use as part of your skin care routine, the harder it will be to pinpoint the culprit when things go bad – and it may in fact not be a single product that your skin disagrees with, but a combination of ingredients from different products. Bah! What to do?

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To the finishing line! The last two days of the 21 Day Green Smoothie Challenge…

Cartoon frog crossing finish lineIf you’ve been with us since January 13th and drinking one green smoothie each day, you may be running out of ideas by now… Last week we compiled everyone’s recipes to date so we could all get inspired and marvel at some of the participants’ creativity and boldness (the boldness was mostly Jade throwing in cabbage).

This week we’ve got something else for you: a tasty list of extra bits and pieces to throw into your smoothies to change them around and make them special. Sometimes slight tinkering can make a big difference in taste! Read on…

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Health and wellness tips: a quick catch-up with Annette from Wellness WA

Freshly Squeezed Orange JuiceThe multi-tasking, ever energetic Wellness WA editor Annette is the busiest writer on the block. She also happens to be a great source of inspiration for anything health and wellness related. Bath enthusiast, yogini, green smoothie drinker, Annette knows what’s good – and she managed to find time to answer a few questions for us – what a treat! Read on to find out how she keeps healthy in the hot months…

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Summer foods to keep you hydrated and beautiful

Cucumber slicesThe temperature around Australia is now clearly screaming ‘Summer!’ – and we should all be especially careful to stay well hydrated inside and out. If like us you don’t always remember to drink plenty of water until a headache hits – or ever cheeky, you count milky Earl Grey tea as part of your daily water allowance, you might enjoy the cheat sheet Kimberly Snyder put together: behold, foods that help you stay hydrated!

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Annette’s picks: five bath products

Cast iron bath tub
Wellness WA editor and bath enthusiast Annette knows what’s good – and lucky for us, she tirelessly tests new products out in pursuit of the ultimate relaxing and all around wonderful bath.

We thought we’d ask Annette where to start if you’re looking for some products to add to your next soak – read on!

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Green smoothie recipes ahoy!

Kale leavesWarning: this post will be recipe-heavy!

We’re in Day 7 of the 21 Day Green Smoothie Challenge, and by gosh everyone is doing so amazingly well… Some of you are even going for 2 smoothies a day – in another 14 days we forecast sparkly eyes, glowing skin and bouncy energy aplenty.

Because you are all fantastic you’ve been sharing pictures and recipes for your green concoctions – especially helpful since to get maximum benefit out of the green drinks, we should be rotating our ingredients and greens daily. So behold a compendium of everyone’s recipes thus far, and a few other bonus links for inspiration!

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Beat the heat with a face mist!

Echolife Tea-tree Facial MistThe number one thing we couldn’t be without in summer has to be a bottle of cool face mist. Now that Melbourne is no longer dithering about what season it is and the heat is back in full force, we’re misting our faces throughout the day to keep our skin hydrated and happy. At home for an extra treat said face mist is even kept in the fridge…

No matter your skin type, you should be misting your face – it’s refreshing for one, and very good for your skin. Think of what it has to endure in the hot months… a confusing yo-yo of alternating air conditioning and sweltering heat! A natural face mist contains one or more plant extracts blended to look after your skin by giving it nutrients and keeping it balanced. So beat the summer heat and pick from our favourite mists below!

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Beauty tips: a quick catch-up with Jessica from the Belle Lumière

The Belle Lumière Blog BannerWhen it comes to our daily blog reading list Jessica is right there, up top. Reading The Belle Lumière is like having a conversation with a sassy and knowledgeable friend who steers you towards the right products for your hair or skin, and recommends unforgettable books to read along the way.

As we’re bracing ourselves for the hot season and wondering how we will survive, Jessica kindly agreed to answer a few questions – lucky us!

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Even better: how to compound your dry brushing benefits

Dry Body Brush TreatmentBack in the day we set ourselves a tough Wellbeing Challenge: to dry brush everyday for one week, a full five minutes each time. Although we never gloated about our triumph, we did in fact see the challenge through. And we even came back for more by keeping the challenge up for a full month!

Admittedly, it gets a bit boring and tedious to dry brush EVERY SINGLE DAY – so to change it up a bit, you can add 2 or 3 drops of essential oil to your body brush. Neat, sweet-smelling and invigorating. But more to the point, you’ll be making your dry brushing even better for you!

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The 21 Day Green Smoothie challenge: ready, set, go!

Glass of green smoothieSince we started to drink green smoothies last year, we’ve never looked back. And if you drink them too you know what we mean: plentiful energy! Beautiful skin! And overall feeling GOOD. Really good.

We tend to average two to three of the green drinks per week these days – because we’re short on time, and they’re a little time consuming and require some planning and prep. But it’s January, we’re full of optimism and what better way to start the year than with a massive 21 day green-smoothie drinking extravaganza? The fun! Who’s in?

And did we mention there will be some prizes at the end of the 21 days? Because when you do something awesome for yourself, your health and your wellbeing, we believe you should be rewarded…

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