Stress isn’t just for National Stress Awareness Day

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While the first Wednesday in November each year is National Stress Awareness Day, the world is a pretty stressful place a lot of the time and it is different for us all.

You might feel irritable and impatient, nervous or depressed. There can be knots in your stomach, a sense of dread and the inability to see the good in life. Panic attacks, sleepless nights, loss of libido and feeling sick, dizzy or fainting are all ways stress can be experienced.

If we are to thrive, we need to find our own ways of coping with whatever our busy lives throw at us, so we have some ideas we hope might help.

Know your triggers
A buzz word, maybe, but it’s really good to try to access your triggers, where possible. Stress can come from many things, be that work, kids, family, friends or other people on social media! If you can identify what causes your stress, this will help you to tackle it and get things under control. Start to keep a diary of when you feel stressed, look at who or what sets it off and if a pattern emerges look at the changes you can make so things settle down.

Look at your lifestyle
Exercise is often on the bottom of our to do list, but it is a great way to manage stress. Increasing your heart rate, eating a nutritious diet, drinking lots of water and getting plenty of sleep are really important if you want to keep stress levels down. Just as you track your stress, look at how good you feel after a run or a swim, and how your skin improves when you swap chocolate and coffee for fruit and veg.

Pick your battles
There can be many things in life that are stressful – from a big bill, unfair boss to an angry customer, but if you react to them all you are going to be ill. Choose which things you are going to actually direct energy at and try to resolve, but the rest can be put behind you because they aren’t worth it.

Let it go
Stamp your feet, shout out loud, cry or jump up and down or do some boxing! No, we aren’t talking about toddler tantrums, but letting out your stress and steam in a more physical way. If you are feeling cross and out of control, it might just help to yell about it and get that stress out of your system.

Switch off
Turning off your phone, not checking your emails and powering down your laptop can all help put a lid on stress. You don’t need to be ‘on it’ 24/7, and no one expects you to work late every night, and if they do, maybe you need to look at how much work is impacting your life and stress levels.

Be mindful
This is talked about a lot, but mindfulness is where you have an awareness of the present moment and you pay attention to thoughts, feelings and sensations in the here and now. Mindfulness is really good for healthy mental wellbeing, so if you feel stressed, take a moment and reflect. If your mind gets busy, mindfulness can help to slow it down.

Kick the bad stuff
Smoking, drinking and binge-eating are ways many people cope with stress, but none of those toxic habits will do you any favours. Giving up cigarettes, cutting down takeaways and going to the gym rather than the pub will help you to feel better in the long run.

If things are getting out of hand, chat to your GP – you won’t be the only one.

Team Pure Beauty

Don’t let sensitive skin get you down

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Dryness, blemishes, itches, redness, tingles, tightness and stinging are all signs of sensitive skin and something many people feel they have to live with.

We are here to tell you, the suffering is over.

At Pure Beauty we sell a range of products designed to nourish, sooth and love sensitive skin and today we are putting some of our favourites in the spotlight.

The Elemis BIOTEC Skin Energising Day Cream Sensitive is great for sensitive skin that needs extra support and care. Scientifically proven to help increase cell energy, the BIO-ENERGY complex of zinc and copper increases cell energy so that complexions are bought back to life. Thanks to barley seed and cupuacubutter, sensitive and distressed skin, becomes calm and happy.

If you are looking for immediate hydration for dry, sensitive skin, the Dermalogica UltraCalming™ Calm Water-Gel is a great option. This weightless, refreshing gel sinks into skin on application and creates a weightless barrier. Hyaluronic acid technology works on the various layers of the skin so that moisture is locked in while apple fruit extract and glycerine really softens it. The overall effect is soothed, calm skin that can breathe more easily.

For dry limbs, the Decleor Lavender Fine Relaxing Bath and Shower Gel is fantastic. Thanks to loving lavender essential oil, your skin is left feeling soft and hydrated as well as smelling fabulous. Use a little amount of the gel under the shower or in the shower, massage into your gently and rinse off before patting dry and using the Decleor Satin Softening Dry Oil before dressing.

Lavender, willow, and myrrh have been blended to create the Elemis S.O.S. Emergency Cream. This intense moisturiser restores hydration levels as well as repairing and de-sensitising skin. Perfect as a base for make-up, this magic healing cream can be used morning and night which means relief is delivered 24/7.

We love the Jan Marini Age Intenrention Gentle Cleanser because the mild, non-irritating formula helps ease sensitive skin, and can be use around the eyes. This gentle, non-foaming cleanser is made from a blend of green tea, grape seed and chamomile extract and can be used daily to help you get the skin you have always wanted.

At night our skin rests and repairs, and this can be aided with the application of Decleor Rose D’Orient Soothing Night Balm. This natural, preservative-free, melt into the skin balm, is a blissful aromatic night-care treatment for sensitive skin that needs a little extra love. Applying the balm before you go to bed, will soothe skin and reduce irritation so you wake up with soft skin that is ready for the day ahead. We also like the Decleor Organic Rose D’Orient Soothing Comfort Oil Serum becasue it immediately soothes sensitive skin and leaves it softer and more relaxed than ever.

For more information, or for samples to so you try before you buy, get in touch today and we would love to help make your sensitive skin, less sensitive.

Team Pure-Beauty

Sit back and relax

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The arrival of the Internet, email, and smart phones means we are living in 24/7 information age.

Given that we are constantly bombarded with perfect images and are expected to available all the time, it is little wonder that stress is on rise.

If you are feeling as if it is all too much, we have some tips that might just help calm things down.

Take some time out. Sounds obvious but when was the last time you did just that? If you are feeling overwhelmed you often start to panic, you become unproductive and things just get worse and worse. Leave the house, have a cup of tea, go for a run, just get away from it all and take stock.

We are all good at saying yes, but saying no is harder. Just because someone asks you out for lunch or to look after their children, doesn’t mean you have to say yes and you don’t have to feel guilty about saying no either. If you don’t have time, just say no.

We like to think we can multi-task, but it is often counter productive. You might be able to talk to a colleague whilst writing a business report but it is likely that you are not concentrating on either task 100% and mistakes will be made. If you focus on one thing at a time, you will soon start to feel calmer as jobs are done more effectively and faster.

Breath. Yes, we know we do it all the time but if you take time to really focus on your breathing you will feel more able to deal with life. Each hour, stop and take five deep breaths in and out (your tummy should come forward with each inhale). As you exhale, feel the stress leaving your body and focus on the moment.

Learn to be flexible. It doesn’t matter how carefully you plan and prepare, things can change at the last minute but it isn’t the end of the world. Rather than this causing upset, take a step back, regroup and find a way to deal with the new situation in a calm, happy way. We know you can do it.

Stop trying to be perfect. There are huge pressures to be amazing at everything, but this simply isn’t possible or realistic. Demanding perfection of yourself will only add to your stress levels, so lower expectations, do your best and you will feel happier.

This is an oldie, but a goodie – count to ten. If you feel it is all getting too much, stand up, walk away, count to ten then look at things in a new light.

Focus on the positives in life. Rather than thinking about the things you haven’t done or what isn’t right, give yourself a pat on the back for what goes well. The more you look on the bright side of life, the better life is!

Surround yourself with cheerful friends. Yes, life can be tough but toxic people will eat away at your happy levels and bring you down.

Get outside and do some exercise. Your to do list might be growing by the minute, but a little fresh air will clear your head and give you some breathing space so you can move forwards calmly.

Remember to smile because it is pretty hard to stay stressed with a grin on your face!

Team Pure Beauty

Beat the Sunday Night Blues

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As we hit the last month of the year, the Sunday night blues are hitting hard as the thought of getting up on a Monday morning and making your way to work in the cold and dark makes you want to hide under the duvet.

In a recent survey by Monster.com, 78% of people said they experience “Sunday Night Blues” with nearly half saying it really gets them don’t.

Whilst we know it can be hard to shake that sinking feeling off, we have some easy to follow tips that can allow you to enjoy all of your weekend rather than spending it dreading the week ahead.

Switch Off
Whilst it is possible to be connected to work 24/7 connectivity, you don’t have to be. You are busy enough checking emails and phones call during your 9 – 5 (or 8 – 8) so at the weekend your need to switch off. We all know it is easy to check in incase of an emergency but the weekend is precious time off so switch off any work devices and relax – if something really bad happens, someone, somewhere will be able to contact you.

Plan Your Week Ahead
Don’t just save fun times for the weekend or you are setting yourself up for a mid-week fall. Plan things to look forward to during the week that will give you something other than work to focus on. We’re not talking anything amazing here but seeing a friend for dinner, tuning in for your favourite TV show, lunch away from your desk and planning a date night. You might think this won’t do anything but with the scheduled in the diary it will help make the week as fun as the weekend.

Make Friday Afternoon the New Monday Morning
Might sound crazy when all you want to do is forget about work but set aside some time on Friday to prepare for Monday. By doing this you can have things organised on your desk, a new to do list, your diary sorted and then on Sunday night your mind will be less likely to race and think about what you have to do at 9am the next day.

Make Sunday Special
Rather than using Sunday for chores and admin, instead, start to make Sunday a time to look forward to. Make it a date night, go out and see a film with a bucket of popcorn, cook a roast dinner, invite people over and really make the most of your day off. Whatever you do, put it in the diary, make it fun and stick to it and don’t think about work or the week ahead of you.

Relax before bed
With preparations for Monday complete, to keep your mind off the blues create a soothing end to Sunday night. Whether you meditate, do some yoga, read a book or have a hot bath; do something relaxing before you hit the pillow and go into a restful sleep. If you really can’t sleep, don’t lie there getting increasingly anxious, instead get up, have a warm drink, listen to some music and then try again.