Don’t let hay fever get you down

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The sun is shining, the sky is blue, off the shoulder dresses are on trend and everyone is happy.

Well, nearly everyone.

With an estimated one in five people suffering with this common allergic condition during their life, summer can be unbearable for many.

In a nutshell, pollen from grass, flowers, plants and trees can cause sneezing, runny or blocked nose and itchy eyes and it can be both painful and frustrating as there is no known cure.

Of course, the most effective way to keep hay fever under control is to avoid pollen exposure. This, however, it’s difficult and impractical, so we have some tips and tricks to help keep it at bay so you can enjoy your summer as much as everyone else.

Medicines
Hay fever can be controlled with conventional, over-the-counter medicines on sale at your chemist. Antihistamines help prevent allergic reactions and corticosteroids ease inflammation and swelling. If you try these and they aren’t helping it is worth speaking to your GP to see if prescription medication is needed.

Diet
Eat organic food where possible as this helps avoid pesticides and additives. Low-allergen foods such as brown rice, quinoa, broccoli, cabbage, sweet potatoes, leeks, peas, pears, apples and papaya are all good options and of course will aid general peak health.

Mushrooms
Mushrooms aren’t just for breakfast and can really help regulate the immune response. A good quality organic extract from Reishi mushrooms is a good option and worth investing in if you are serious about dealing with hay fever for once and all.

Drinking
Keep your water drinking up and reduce your alcohol intake. Beer, wine and spirits all contain histamine, which is the chemical that sets off allergy symptoms in your body so as well as making you more sensitive to pollen, alcohol also dehydrates you, making your symptoms seem worse.

Wash your hair
Did you know pollen can stick to your hair? Well it can and when you go to bed it transfers to your pillow and will affect you as you try to sleep. If you have been out for the day, it is a good idea to have a shower and change your clothes before going into your bedroom and sprinkling pollen around and making life harder.

Go for sunglasses
As well as shades protecting your precious peepers, they are also a great way of stopping pollen from getting into your eyes. Go for a decent wrap around pair to create a barrier and to ensure your eyes are less red and itchy.

Housekeeping
We aren’t saying you don’t clean but given that pollen can easily get into your carpets it is a good idea to vacuum regularly and sweep it away. Try not to have the windows open too much and dust with a wet cloth so pollen doesn’t unknowingly spread around your house

Barrier
It is said that applying a little Vaseline (petroleum gel) around your nose can stop pollen getting into your system.

Home comforts
This isn’t going to happen every day but if the pollen count is high (over 50 grains per cubic metre of air) you might want to stay at home or visit a shopping centre, cinema or museum rather than being outdoors and at risk of symptoms getting worse.

Spice up your life
Garlic, ginger, red onions and other spices are all brilliant ways to help clear sinuses and ease congestion. Add them to curries, salads, stir fries and BBQs to keep your pain away.

Honey
Pop some honey on your toast or in your green tea and let the bee pollen in it desensitise your body to the plant pollens that cause the hay fever grief.

We hope you find a way to keep your hay fever under control this summer, and if you have a top tip, would love to know what it is.

Team Pure Beauty

Happiness Hacks for 2017

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2017, aunt, bath, bed, bike, birthday, blender, blog, cake, cinema, clothese, control, credit card, CV, date, day, diary, dog, Facebook, friends, gossip, happy, husband, January, journal, letter, level, library, life, lipstick, live it, local, meditate, mum, news, pop, red, Relax, run, short, sister, sleeping rough, smile, smoothies, social media, sore, sunshine, Vitamin C, volunteer

We know that a start of a new year can be a time when many of us make endless resolutions so we can be the very best we can.

The thing is, January is cold and dark and even with the best will in the world, getting out of bed in the dark and running 10 miles to be super fit, can be, well, miserable.

So we have come up with a list of 50 really easy things you can do to make yourself happy in 2017 and to be honest, that’s what really matters.

1. Smile.
2. Write down three good things for each day in a journal – even on the hardest of days there is something good.
3. Plan something fun to do each weekend.
4. Don’t gossip.
5. Say hello to your neighbours.
6. Listen to your favourite song, everyday.
7. Have a bath before you go to bed.
8. Call your mum, sister, aunt, husband once in a while rather than just texting.
9. Eat clean, or at least eat healthy.
10. Go for a walk at lunchtime.
11. Read a book.
12. Donate to charity and give back.
13. Really listen when someone is talking to do.
14. Skip the news.
15. Make a cake and eat it fresh from the over.
16. Light candles.
17. Get a dog.
18. Take up a new sport.
19. Don’t have the argument.
20. Clear out the clutter.
21. Send birthday cards don’t just post a message on Facebook.
22. Drink hot water and lemon when you wake up.
23. Don’t pop that spot on your chin, it’ll make it red and sore.
24. Become a volunteer for a local cause close to your heart.
25. Get on your bike and peddle your way to fitness.
26. Have a manicure and feel polished.
27. Turn the TV off and do something less boring instead.
28. Start a blog.
29. Wear a new lipstick.
30. Don’t keep anything for best, life is short, live it.
31. Go out in the sunshine and up your Vitamin D levels the next way.
32. Tell someone you love them.
33. Make use of your local library.
34. Don’t gossip.
35. Get a blender and make your own smoothies full of goodness and health benefits.
36. Sign up for a challenge and stick to it.
37. Meditate everyday, you will feel the benefits and it will become a part of your routine.
38. Book a spa day for you and a friend and really relax as you catch up.
39. Update your CV and get the job you have always really wanted.
40. Ask your man to marry you – it isn’t a leap year but take control and get a date in the diary.
41. Host a party and let your hair down.
42. Apply to be on a talent show.
43. Go on a digital detox and leave the world of social media behind, even for a few hours.
44. Book a holiday and have something amazing to look forward to.
45. Have a make over and only wear the clothes you love and the ones that make you feel great.
46. Pay off that credit card bill.
47. Write a letter.
48. Buy lunch for someone who is sleeping rough.
49. Go to the cinema in the middle of the day.
50. Smile, did we say that already?

You see, all easy to do and all with great potential for making you happy.

Happy 2017.

Team Pure-Beauty

5 Annoying Beauty Issues and How to Solve Them

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bacteria, beauty, dry, dry shampoo, germs, hair, lather, make-up, micellar oil, orange, puffiness, puffy, red, redness, remover, shampoo, spots, swollen, tan, tanner, tanning, threading, waking

Some people seem to be absolutely in-the-know when it comes to all areas of beauty, but some of us still feel like we’re in the dark when it comes to solving certain issues. Here, we look at five of the most common issues which befall other women and share a little bit of knowledge which might help you all in the future.

I still seem to have residue left after taking off my make-up

If your make-up remover isn’t quite doing the job then there’s a good chance that it’s just not heavy-duty enough to deal with oil-based make-up. Switching to a micellar oil will ensure that you get rid of every scrap of make-up without damaging your skin in the process and will moisturise as you cleanse.

My make-up is giving me spots

Sometimes, a new make-up simply doesn’t agree with your skin, but if you’ve been using something for a while and it’s just started to give you spots, you could have a build-up of bacteria on your applicators or packaging. Giving them a wipe over with Dermalogica Skin Purifying Wipes will help to kill any lingering bacteria and keep them clean going forward.

Dry shampoo seems to go claggy in my hair

Dry shampoo is one of those products which can be so useful but also a bit of a pain. On the one hand, it can freshen up hair that you simply don’t have time to wash but if you use it too often, it can also build up and leave your hair feeling claggy. Using a little clarifying shampoo on DRY hair before you wet it can really help to remove all traces of dry shampoo, just rub it all in before stepping under the shower to create a lather.

My face is super red after waxing or threading my brows or top lip

Waxing and threading are both really effective and long-lasting ways of removing hair, but they can be a little harsh on the skin, leaving it feeling red and puffy for hours afterwards. Whether you do it yourself or go to a salon, apply a layer of Decleor Post-Wax Cream – Sensitive Areas afterwards to reduce redness, soothe the skin and reduce the speed of regrowth.

My tan is making my sheets orange

We all love a healthy glow, especially if it comes from a bottle but fake tan can leave your sheets looking like you’ve been rolling in Wotsits! Opting for a gradual tanner and using it at LEAST four hours before you go to bed will ensure that you build your tan to a colour that looks nice and natural whilst also ensuring that you don’t end up with sheets which look like they belong to an Oompa-Loompa!

 

Rio 2016 has arrived

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and Clara Hughes (Canada), ‘Viva sua Paixão’, “Inspire a generation”, Barra, black, blue, Chamonix, Charlotte Cooper, Christa Luding-Rothenburger (East Germany), Copacabana, ddie Eagan (United States), Deodoro, flag, France, green, Jacob Tullin Thams (Norway), London, Maracanã, Maracanã Stadium, Mount Olympus, Olympic Cauldron, Olympic flag, Olympics, Paris, red, rings colors, Rio, Rio 2016, sports, Vinicius, Winter Games, yellow, Zues

It doesn’t seem four years since London hosted the 2012 Olympics, but with Rio starting in style on Friday night, we know it really was.

With nearly a month of badminton, cycling, gymnastics, judo, modern pentathlon rowing, sailing, and so much more happening, we thought we would have a look at some of the facts you might not know about this iconic, global sporting event.

The very first Olympic Games took place over three thousands years ago in 776 B.C.E. The games started as part of a religious festival to honour Zeus, the leader of the Greek gods who lived on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece.

The modern Olympics however, began in 1896. They were created by the French educator and historian, Pierre de Coubertin. Pierre believed the world would have more of an opportunity for peace if they gathered together to play sports. Nice idea.

Coubertin designed the famous five colour rings that represent the games and stand for North and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia.

The Olympic flag, featuring this symbol on a white background, flew for the first time at the Antwerp Games in 1920.

Not many people know this, but every national flag of the world has at least one of the rings colours, blue, black, green, yellow, and red, in it.

The Olympic flame is lit at Olympia in Greece every two years (summer and winter games) before it travels to the next host nation and is paraded until the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron at the opening ceremony.

The 1900 Paris Olympics were the first to allow women to take part, and winners were awarded paintings rather than medals. Charlotte Cooper a tennis player from London, was the first female athlete to win an individual Olympic event at the these games in Paris.

The Olympic Winter Games started in in Chamonix, France in 1923. There were 16 events in six different sports. Team Canada dominated in the ice hockey tournament by scoring a total of 122 goals and only allowing three against them.

Only four athletes have won medals at both the summer and winter games. These were; Eddie Eagan (United States), Jacob Tullin Thams (Norway), Christa Luding-Rothenburger (East Germany), and Clara Hughes (Canada).

The Rio games are happening from 5th to 21st August with both the opening and closing ceremonies taking place in the Maracanã Stadium.

This is the first time the Olympic Games have ever been held in South America and will events will take place in 33 venues across the four areas of Barra, Copacabana, Deodoro and Maracanã.

A staggering 10,500 athletes from 205 countries will take part in 306 competitions in 42 different sports.

There will also be over 300 horses at the games, which is more than enough horses to fill a Grand National field seven times over.

The motto of the London games was ‘Inspire a generation’ and in 2016 it is ‘Viva sua Paixão’ which means ‘Live Your Passion’.

The new mascot is called Vinicius. He is based on a number of different Brazilian animals, and names after Vinicius de Moraes one of Brazil’s most-loved artists.

At Pure-Beauty we are most looking forward to the gymnastics, road cycling and swimming – how about you?