Get a clean home, faster

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Let’s face it, there are better things to do with our time than clean our homes, but it is a necessary evil unless you want to live in a mess, or have the cash to pay someone to do it for you.

One of the biggest mistake people make when they are cleaning is to do it room by room (aka ‘zone cleaning’) which is slow and you can do it much faster, and better, if you take a different approach.

Focussing on just one area, may mean doing a great job on your counters which will sparkle and shine, but the cooker will still be dirty and as for the bathroom, well you won’t get time to go there if you are too busy folding the ironing for the next morning.

The reality is, if you put a system in place that is quick and efficient, you will have more time to do the things you really love.

Pick a Day
It can be any day, but pick a day when you can really get on top of your cleaning and this will automatically take some of the pressure off. We know this sounds daft, but doing this will make the rest of your week so much easier and you can get your partner, flatmate or kids doing jobs too! Maybe go for Sunday morning and then you can reward yourself with a roast dinner (wiping up gravy of course), or a Friday afternoon before you go out and then you can really let your hair down knowing it is done.

Start by Dusting
Dust each room, including the tops of all your furniture, the undersides of shelves and the books, as well as picture frames, TV screens and the bits and pieces we all collect that don’t really have a home. The best way to do this is to dust dry, when things are wet is so much harder. If you want to get rid of smudges and finger prints then use a clean microfibre cloth and good quality polish.

Clean Fabrics
Putting on the washing as you clean will make the most of your time and it will feel like everything is clean in your home, for a little while at least. Strip and remake the bed beds, tidy cushions and put throws back onto sofas neatly, vacuum your curtains and clean animal beds out too.

Clean Mirrors and Glass
Wipe down all the mirrors and windows in your home as they pick up a lot of dust and when the sun shines, it will show up and look like you haven’t cleaned for ages. One handy tip is to use one wet and one dry microfiber cloth as this will clean away dust and dirt but won’t leave behind lines and streaks.

Clean your Surfaces
Wipe down all the surfaces and counters in your home in one go. Move from room to room, disinfecting if necessary, and make sure you clean door handles, light switches, TV remotes, mobile devices and phones as these are full of nasty germs. If you have any illness or bugs in the home, make sure you do this at least once a day to stop anything spreading! Also leave cleaning items in bathrooms so you can wash during the week and prevent a massive build up of dirt to tackle on cleaning day. If you can, use environmentally sound protects, wear gloves to protect your hands, and always apply cream when you are done.

Get to Grips with the Bathroom and Kitchen
Walk through your bathroom and kitchen, spraying cleaner on your baths, sinks and toilets as you go – not on the carpets or floors of course. Then return and clean the bathroom and wash shower curtains and towels once the bedding is done. When it comes to the kitchen, wipe down the inside of the microwave, as well as cabinet and appliance doors before getting to work on the sink and table tops. Empty and bleach the bins so they are really clean and make sure everything sparkles, including the draining board.

Next to the Floors
Sweep, then mop or scrub the bathroom and kitchen floors, making sure you really get to those hard to clean areas as this is where nasties can hide and bacteria can hide.

Get the Vacuum Out
Last of all, vacuum the carpers in your bedrooms, down the stairs, through the living room and into the hallway, moving furniture so you get rid of the dust that can make you cough.

Now, put the kettle on and admire your hard work as you enjoy a cup of tea.

Team Pure-Beauty

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Say Goodbye to Puffiness Around Your Eyes

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ageing, circulation, collagen, cream, crows feet, dark circles, decleor, dehydration, delicate, dermalogica, Dermalogica Age Reversal Eye Complex, Dermalogica UltraSmoothing Eye Serum, Elemis, Elemis Absolute Eye Serum, Elemis Pro-Collagen Eye Renewal, eye, eye area, Eyes, fibres, fine lines, firm, firming, hydration, hyperpigmentation, lifting, nourish, nourishes, nourishment, particles, pearlescent, peptides, puffiness, puffy, renewal, sensitive, sensitive skin, skin, smooth, sodium laureht sulphate, spatula, tight, tighten, tightening, wrinkles

By Laitr Keiows (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

There are loads of reasons for puffiness around your eye area – tiredness, illness, stress and allergies are just a few of them. Puffiness around your eyes can make you look exhausted and far from your best, so finding a way to deal with it is a must. Fortunately, here at Pure Beauty, we have a whole load of products which can help to banish the puffiness around your eye area, and these are five of our favourites:

Dermalogica Age Reversal Eye Complex

This eye cream from Dermalogica is a real powerhouse of a product, tackling several different issues all at once. As well as dealing with puffiness, the complex also helps to remedy wrinkles, crow’s feet, dark circles due to hyperpigmentation and skin sensitivity due to dehydration. It’s ideal for drier skin or skin with is ageing prematurely and will totally revitalise the eye area.

Elemis Absolute Eye Serum

This eye serum from Elemis is all about the hydration, giving a wash of moisture around the eye area to decongest and tackle puffiness and dark circles. It conditions and nourishes the delicate eye contours, supports and tones the skin around the eyes and has a light texture that disappears immediately so that you can get on with applying your make up without having to wait for things to soak in.

Decleor Lift and Firm Eye Cream

As well as lifting and firming the area around the eyes, this cream from Decleor contains pearlescent particles which adds radiance to your skin. The peptides in the formula encourage circulation and re-energise the support fibres of your skin, which reduces puffiness and smooths wrinkles. It comes with a specially designed spatula to help you to apply the formula to the delicate eye area without causing ‘drag’, which can damage the delicate area.

Dermalogica UltraSmoothing Eye Serum

This eye serum comes from the Ultra Calming Dermalogica range, which means that it’s gentle on the skin and doesn’t contain any ingredients which might irritate the already-delicate eye area. It’s a potent but lightweight product which soaks evenly and quickly into the skin and gives immediate tightening and firming results. It’s perfect for those who suffer with sensitive skin but are trying to deal with the signs of premature ageing.

Elemis Pro-Collagen Eye Renewal

Elemis Pro-collagen products are notorious for their stunning effects and this eye renewal cream is no exception. It firms the area around the eyes, adding moisture and nourishment to the skin and obliterates dark circles and fine lines. It dramatically increases cell renewal and bears the Elemis Promise, so you can be sure that it doesn’t contain any sodium laureth sulphate or other nasties.

Skincare Do’s and Don’ts for the Over Fifities

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age, ageing, balm, base, BB Cream, chest, colour, cream, dark spots, décolleté, decleor, Decleor Lift and Firm Eye Cream, decolletage, Elemis, Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream, Elemis Pro-Collagen Neck and Décolleté Balm, Elemis Pro-Radiance Hand and Nail Cream, face, fifties, fifty, fine lines, foundation, hands, hyperpigmentation, make-up, neck, primer, puffiness, rich, skin, tighten, tightness, wash, wrinkles

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For many women, once they reach a certain age they notice that their skin has changed in many ways. Elasticity is often reduces, skin feels softer and more papery and many products can feel far too heavy to use on your face, despite the fact that dryness is often an issue for ageing skin, too. We’ve put together a list of five do’s and don’ts to help you deal with unfamiliar skin issues and so that you can avoid some of the most common mistakes that people make with ageing skin.

DON’T Drag Your Skin Down

When you’re applying an anti-ageing cream such as Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream, it can be tempting to just rub it all over your face, willy-nilly, without thinking about what the actual motion of your hand is doing to your skin. We ALWAYS recommend that women should apply creams to their faces using a sweeping upwards circular motion so that delicate skin isn’t dragged downwards. This will also help to encourage circulation, which will additionally plump the skin.

DO Opt for a Wash of Colour

Many women find that foundation is simply too heavy on their skin and no matter which primers you use, make-up will accumulate between fine lines, giving a very uneven appearance. Opt instead for a wash of colour with a BB cream which will not only give you a layer of moisture, but will help to even your skin tone and give you a base which compliments your skin’s texture.

DON’T Forget Your Neck

Skincare doesn’t finish at your chin, and having a face which is as smooth as a baby’s bottom sitting atop a neck like a turkey will do you NO favours! Remember to apply your face cream all the way down to your chest, or even invest in a product which is specifically designed for necks and décolletage areas such as Elemis Pro-Collagen Neck and Decollete Balm.

DO Invest in an Eye Cream

Eyes are probably the first place to show signs of age and while you may have got away with using an all-over face cream in your thirties or forties, once you hit your fifties you’re probably going to need to invest in something specifically for this area. Decleor Lift and Firm Eye Cream is a great place to start as it contains ingredients which will reduce puffiness, tighten the skin and even reduce dark circles around your eyes.

DON’T Neglect Your Hands

Hands are another place where ageing catches up with us, and also a place where many people forget to care for. Hands will lose moisture quicker than almost anywhere else on your body, making ageing skin look even more obvious. You may also notice areas of hyperpigmentation (known in the old days as ‘liver spots’) which will give your age away quickly! Use Elemis Pro-Radiance Hand and Nail Cream which is designed to reduce the appearance of ageing on the hands and give you more radiant skin.

Five Skincare MUSTS For Your Thirties

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30’s, ageing, anti ageing, brighter, broad spectrum, cells, cream, dead cells, Decleor 24 Hour Hydrating Light Cream, delicate, Dermalogica Antioxidant HydraMist, Dermalogica Gentle Cream Exfoliant, Dermalogica Stress Positive Eye Lift, Elemis Liquid Layer SPF30, exfoliate, exfoliating, Eyes, firming, flash-firming, hyaluronic acid, hydration, imbalance, moisture, moisturise, moisturiser, night, oily, protection, repair, repair-mode, sensitive, skincare, SPF, stress, sun, thirties, tiredness

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Your thirties can be a real in-between time for skincare; you’re probably not dealing with acne or sports anymore, and your party days are petering out, but you’re also not at that hardcore wrinkle-fighting stage yet, either. In fact, we often find from our customers that skin is neglected MOST when women hit their thirties for a number of reasons. There are, however, several things you should be doing if you want to reach your forties with skin which is still in good shape. Here’s a few of them:

NEVER MISS SUNSCREEN

If you’re in your thirties, there’s a good chance that ‘time spent in the sun’ revolves around watching the kids while they practice their divebombs in the pool, but distraction is no excuse and you should be taking extra time to ensure that your skin is adequately protected from the sun’s harmful rays. We say protect against the signs of ageing now so you won’t need to reverse them later. Elemis Liquid Layer SPF30 is a broad spectrum, water-resistant physical barrier sunscreen protects against sun’s harmful rays.

ADD MORE MOISTURE

A mistake that many women make is thinking that they only need to moisturise their skin if it’s dry in the first place, but this simply isn’t true. All skin needs added moisture, and in fact oily skin is often that way because of an imbalance and lack of moisture making the skin over-produce Decleor 24 Hour Hydrating Light Cream is a light moisturiser which offers 24hr hydration and protection to all skin types.

THINK ABOUT ANTI AGEING

Something we see really often here at Pure Beauty is women who only start to use anti-ageing products once the signs of ageing have already started, but in fact using them preemptively is so much more advantageous as they can stop ageing in it’s tracks. Opting for products containing hyaluronic acid like Dermalogica Antioxidant HydraMist with its intense hydration and flash-firming properties will help you to look younger for longer.

DON’T FORGET YOUR EYES

Many women use an all-over facial moisturiser (probably because they’re short on time) and totally forget about their eyes, but this is a mistake. The skin around the eyes is delicate and prone to collagen loss, which means it’s usually the first place to age. Treat yourself to a tube of Dermalogica Stress Positive Eye Lift which will help to remove all signs of stress and tiredness, keeping the skin around your eyes in top condition.

EXFOLIATE AT NIGHT

Changing hormones and the ageing process can mean that your skin starts to change in your thirties, maybe feeling a little more delicate than before. Exfoliation is an important step in your skincare routine but once you hit your thirties you should try to only do it at night. Skin goes into repair-mode as we sleep, so exfoliating away all the dead skin cells before your skin repairs itself at night will give you the best chance of waking up with a brighter complexion. Dermalogica Gentle Cream Exfoliant is a gentle exfoliator, suitable for most skin types.

Celebrate World Chocolate Day

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baking, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, boiling water, cake, caster sugar, chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate hit, clean, cocoa, cool, cream, creative, dark chocolate, delicious cake, double cream, Double Decker, electric whisk, enjoy, enjoy life, firm, fool-proof, free range eggs, full fat milk, good stuff, grease, guilt free, healthy eating plan, hour, ice, ice cream, icing, liquid, low heat, lump free, Maltesers, Mars bar, melted, Minstrels, mixing bowl, mixture, money, pan, plain flour, pour, quality, rack, Rolos, sandwich tins, skewer, smooth liquid, squares, Thornton’s, touch, Twix, vanilla extract, vegetable oil, wash your hands, wooden spoon, World Chocolate Day

World Chocolate Day, also known as International Chocolate Day, is here once again on 7th July and it is a great reason to ditch your healthy eating plan and enjoy the good stuff, guilt free.

With so many bars and brands out there, just where do you start when it comes to chocolate?

‘I love nothing more than a Double Decker and quite like Rolos too.”
Jane

“I love dark chocolate and have a couple of squares everyday.”
Danni

“For me it’s chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce.”
Vicky

“I wish I could stop at one chocolate but no, I can eat an entire tray of Thornton’s in one go.”
Annie

Whilst you can go out and buy a Mars Bar, Twix and family bag of Maltesers to enjoy on 7th July, why not make this amazing fool-proof chocolate cake that is bang on the cocoa money.

For one delicious cake you will need:
225g of plain flour
350g of caster sugar
85g of cocoa powder
2 teaspoons of good quality vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons of baking powder and the same of bicarbonate of soda
2 large free-range eggs
125 ml of vegetable oil
250 ml of full fat milk
250 ml of boiling water
For the top of the cake you will need
200g of good quality, dark chocolate
200 ml of double cream
1 large bag of Minstrels or similar

In preparation for baking, wash your hands then preheat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 then grease and line two 20cm sandwich tins.

To start making your cake, put all the ingredients, except the water, into a mixing bowl and beat the mixture until smooth and lump free. You can do this using a wooden spoon or an electric whisk.
Next add the boiling water a little at a time, until you have a smooth liquid – don’t worry this is how it is meant to be.

Divide the mix in two and pour into the sandwich tins and bake for around 30 minutes, or until the top of the cakes are firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

When ready, take the cakes out of the over and allow them to cool on a rack before you add the icing.

To make the icing, you will need to put the chocolate and cream in a pan and let them melt over a very low heat. Once they have melted, take away from the heat and whisk the mixture until it is smooth and thick then cover and let it rest for around an hour.

When ready, spread the icing onto the base of one cake, add the second cake then ice the top with the reminder of the mixture.

You can then get creative and add an extra chocolate hit with the Minstrels or sweets of your choice.

Serve as it comes or with ice cream and enjoy!

Team Pure Beauty