Essential Oils for You and Your Home

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Essential oils not only smell amazing, but they are totally natural and can be used on your skin, for your health and in your home.

You can create massage blends, inhalants, rubs, compresses, diffuser blends and cleaning products that won’t harm you, or the environment but could lift your mood and boost your senses.

We have looked at some of the most accessible oils out there and hope you’ll find one that suits you and fits into your lifestyle.

Lavender
This is one of the most universally loved essential oils and for good reason. This immune boosting powerhouse oil can be used as an antiseptic, antiviral, antibiotic and antispasmodic. It helps with sleep or anxiety issues due to its sedative properties. It can be used for treating burns and blisters, insect bites and stings. You can find it in most chemists and supermarkets, and a little goes a long way. You can help the whole family relax by adding a couple of drops to the bath, and if you dab on pillowcases, the heady scent could help ease you into slumber the natural way.

Eucalyptus
This is a super popular ingredient in chest balms and muscle massage oils because the natural menthol helps you to breathe easily and relax again. To make your own steam inhalation remedy, add one or two drops of oil to a bowl of hot water. Close your eyes, inhale deeply – draping a towel over your head to trap the steam – and say goodbye to your stuffy nose and painful sinuses. You can also add several drops to a humidifier to clear the air at home or work, but we would suggest you avoid direct use with babies and young children. You can add to a tissue or item of clothing to help keep your head clear and focus straight.

Tea tree oil
Tea tree oil is antiviral, anti-inflammatory, it can be used to deal with gingivitis and helps shake off dandruff. It is also a gentle way to treat acne and is less drying than more common chemical ingredients. Simply add a couple of drops of oil to half a cup of warm water, shake well and apply to your skin with a clean cloth and let the natural goodness soak in. Not only is it effective on your skin, but tea tree oil can also be used to purify your home and can be added to soap, shower gels and even your surface cleaners to give them a boost.

Lemon
It might be the middle of winter, but lemon essential oil can bring a little sunshine to your life whatever the time of year. Adored for its light clean scent, this essential oil is perfect for homemade cleaning products as it is naturally purifying and can clear away stubborn stains and freshen the air. You can use lemon essential oil to freshen up your fridge, clean your floors, put a little on the carpets in your car and it will make your bathroom smell so much better than ever before.

What’s your favourite essential oil and how do you use it everyday? Let us know, we are all ears and open to new ideas.

Team Pure Beauty

How to keep festive stress away

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Family, friends and fun are all part of Christmas, but the festive season can bring anxiety, worry and stress too.

While it’s great to catch up with your nearest and dearest, we know that things can get intense, so we have had a look at how you can make time for you, so that things really are merry and bright.

Breathe
This sounds obvious, but when the pressure is on, make sure you practise deep breathing as it will really help you to stay calm. Sit somewhere quiet, relax and then put your left hand on your lower abdomen and your right hand on your heart. As you breathe in, let your tummy expand and your chest will start to naturally lift. As you slowly exhale, bring your tummy button to your spine. Repeat each set five times and you will start to relax.

Have a place for you
With music blaring out, the TV on and computer games raising the roof, it’s a good idea to have somewhere you can go and just chill out. Whether it’s in the garden, bathroom or your bedroom, take yourself off somewhere quiet, close your eyes and imagine somewhere you really love – like a tropical island or on the beach. Think about what you see, what you can hear and what you can smell, and then float away to somewhere more tranquil than under the Christmas tree.

Go outside
Just five minutes in the fresh air can clear your mind and give you some headspace and a little perspective. A walk around the block, a quick cuppa in the winter sunshine, or clearing up the leaves in the garden can be all it takes to give you some calm. If you can, get out for longer because staying inside all day won’t do you any favours and that’s when tempers can fray.

Drink enough water
Being hydrated is important if you want to feel well and this is especially true at Christmas when there are so many demands on you. Aim to drink at least two litres a day, and if you keep a reusable bottle on your desk and in your bag, it’s really not that hard to get all you need. Oh, and don’t over do things when it comes to drinking booze as that won’t help things!

Have a bath
A long soak in a hot bath can do wonders for all of us, so go on, treat yourself.

Keep a journal
At the end of each day, write down three things you’re grateful for, and why you’re grateful for them. It’s easy to get annoyed with the long queue in the post office and frustrated by the lack of car parking spaces at the shops, but appreciating what has been good and where you have found joy and gratitude, can be really powerful.

Team Pure Beauty

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

Easy ways to create a family friendly kitchen

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If you have a family, it is highly likely that you spend a lot of time in your kitchen, and that it is very much a focal part of your home. The kitchen is where we laugh, cry and talk, it’s where we eat dinner together, where we teach kids table manners and how to cook, and where we gather at the end of the day to catch up and tell stories. It is place that’s all about love and memories.

Given just how important this room is to so many people, we have put together some ideas about how you can create a kitchen, and a home hub, you love.

Safety is key
It really goes without saying, but safety has to be a kitchen priority. Boiling water, sharp knives, hot food and rubbish are all possible danger points, so care needs to be taken. A baby gate, locks on cupboards and drawers, slip proof rugs and mats as well as putting medicines and cleaning products out of reach of children and pets, are all starting points. You want to enjoy your kitchen, but you can do this more easily if things are safe.

What space do you want to have?
We all want something different from a kitchen, and this changes over time, so think about what you need right now, not in five years. Maybe you need somewhere for a playpen for your toddler while you cook, you might want a table or island bar where the kids can do their homework, or if you have pets, thinking about where to keep their food and water bowls could be a consideration. Think about what would make your kitchen work, and then make the steps towards creating the space you want.

Clear the worktops
Of course, one thing you need is a clear area where you can prepare food that isn’t too crowded and where you have space to keep your appliances too. Even if you have a small kitchen, create an area that is free of clutter, that is easy to clean and that way you know you’ll have the room to make dinner and get sandwiches ready for the next day.

Think about the temperature
You might want your kitchen to be a cosy space, and in the evening when the cooker is on and people are moving around this is fine, but by day it could be a colder matter. To make sure you still get that toasty feeling on Sunday mornings when the children are having their cereal, or when you have your mid-morning coffee, you need to look at the space and how hot or cold it gets. Insulating your home is the best way of keeping the heat in, so check for gaps under doors and window frames, you will be amazed at what a draft excluder can do. Tiled and wooden floors might look great, but come November your toes won’t be happy, so look at underfloor heating, carpets or rugs and that way you can sip your hot chocolate before the school run without getting chilblains.

Make it your own
Yes, clean, clear surfaces and spotless walls are the images we see in magazines, but this doesn’t always create the kitchen you want. Art on the walls can add an extra feeling of love and family, pictures with magnets on the fridge are cute and of course, those precious paintings your little ones bring home from nursery will look lovely in your kitchen!

All about the smell
Kitchens are full of smells and let’s face it, some are better than others! Make sure you keep on top of your rubbish and recycling, if you fry food then keep the windows open and think about having a diffuser to help neutralise nasty odours, and these easy steps can help make your kitchen a pleasant place to hang out!

If you follow these tips, your kitchen should be the best room in your home.

Team Pure Beauty

The smart way to get your family screen free

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Let’s face it, many of us spend far too much time on our phones, tablets, and laptops, so now and again we need a reminder to take a screen break.

Yes, they help us work and play, but their addictive nature and glaring lights do little to help us rest.

We have some ideas of how you and your family can get back on track, spend less time online and interact with each other rather than living in a virtual reality.

Have a time limit
Five minutes on Insta can quickly turn into an hour, so having time limits early on is a great idea. No screens before breakfast, a couple of hours at the weekend, nothing an hour before bed and a screen ban in bedrooms can all help to get the balance right and save squabbles later on.

Keep an eye on the remote
In our digital age we often forget the impact of the mere TV screen, but you should monitor this as well. Does the TV really need to be on all the time? Is binge watching box sets the best use of family time together and do the kids watch age appropriate shows? Decide on family rules about the TV, don’t leave it on just because it’s easy and if all else fails, hide the remote!

Rethink TV dinners
Yes, a pizza and movie at the weekend is a treat and can bring you all together, but TV dinners every night might not be the way to go. Open plan living and kitchen diners mean that it’s super easy to eat a bowl of pesto pasta on your knee as you watch Netflix but eating together at the table and catching up on your news can be so much better, and if you cook together that is even better!

Digital detox
There might be protests, but even an hour of screen free time on Sunday can help make some big changes. Putting down the phones and tablets and going out for a walk in the park, having a swim or meeting up with friends will give you time together as a family and while you might not get any photos for Facebook, you will make some lovely memories.

Take back control
When it comes to kids and devices, you do have the option of taking back control and putting restrictions in place. There are various apps out there that allow you to block and filter usage and you can put a timer on the internet, or just turn it off altogether. While asking for passwords might not be your thing, knowing what they are doing online and who they’re talking to, is probably a smart move, even if it is an unpopular one as they get older.

Practise what you preach
If you’re looking at your emails or Facebook feed while you eat breakfast, your children are likely to think they can do the same. If you want your family to agree to changes, you need to ensure you are following the rules as well or you might have a real battle on your hands.

We don’t say you have to do anything drastic now, but doing one or two things differently could bring you closer together.

Team Pure Beauty