How to practise self care when you work from home

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When you work from home, self-care is vital and it is important to make a clear distinction between your work and personal life, ensuring you take time for yourself.

We have some sensible, but easy ways you can get a better balance when it comes to working from home.

Set Boundaries
When you work from home, it is really easy to slip into bad habits like working late into the evening and at the weekend. To maintain a healthy balance between work and home, set your work hours and stick to them. Maybe it is the traditional 9 to 5 that works for you, 10 until 6 is better for some people, a half day on Friday can be a perk of the job. Decide it, do it and stick to it.

Have a place to work
If you can, create a designated office space with a desk and upright chair that supports your back. If you have a whole room or can renovate the loft or the garage, this will give you a great working area and get you in the zone. Lighting is important as this will help you not to strain your eyes or cause headaches. Having a tidy workspace will help to keep your mind clear, and turning off the computer at the end of the day will help you maintain your working hours.

Start the day the right way
You might not have a team meeting to go to, but starting your day with a new list and set of goals, will keep you on track and motivated. You don’t have to do this at your desk, you can have a walk, a coffee after the school drop off or even speak to your VA and make sure you are both on the same page.

Walk away
Making time for some exercise during your day will boost motivation levels and increase productivity. Whether you go for a park run, walk the dog, do a HIT session, or practise yoga in your living room, doing something will give you a break and more energy.

Take a lunch break
We know many people don’t take have an official lunch break, but if you can make time to walk away from your desk and head outside for fresh air, this will set you up for the afternoon ahead. Packing up a salad with oily fish, filling up on soups and stews or having a pitta with feta and egg is a good way to fuel up and afternoon smoothies or homemade flapjacks are good too.

Do not do chores
Putting on the washing, going to the shops, visiting friends or doing a little DIY might be on your list of jobs at home, but it isn’t your real work that will pay the bills. Find times when you can do this, but stick to your working times as above, or you will end up having a clean house and full fridge, but unhappy clients.

Have healthy snacks
It is easy to go for the biscuit tin or unwrap a chocolate bar when you are working at home, but having fresh fruit in a bowl and nuts and raisins in a pot on your desk means when you are peckish, you don’t overdo the rubbish.

Get Dressed
It might seem like a good idea to work in your PJs or yoga pants, but you wouldn’t go out to work this way, so don’t do it at home. Get up, get showered, put the coffee on and get dressed and this will give you a work ready feel, and save blushes with the postman or unexpected Skype calls from clients.

Meditate
We believe that if you take a little time to meditate during the working day, it will give you headspace to unwind so you will return to your computer feeling refreshed.

You still need to sleep
We all need to aim to get about eight hours of sleep a night, and this is the same when you work from home. Late nights and lie-ins might be tempting, but they won’t do your motivation or productivity levels any good. Get into a routine and if it means scheduling calls at 9am or booking a dance class at 6pm to keep to time, then do it.

Got a working at home tip? Send it our way as we would love to know what it is.

Team Pure Beauty

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Answering Some Common Skincare Questions

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advice, bright, brightness, calm, clay, combination, daily, Decleor Anti-Pollution Hydrating Fluid SPF30, Dermalogica Matte Moisturiser SPF15, Dermalogica PowerBright TRx Treatment Kit, dry, dull, expertise, experts, mask, moisture, moisturise, oily, protection, questions, redness, routine, sensitive, skin tome, skin type, skincare, SPF, sun, tips

Photo by averie woodard on Unsplash

We’re always happy to answer questions when our clients and customers ask for our expertise, and we often have the same questions asked time and again by different people. That’s why, we thought it would be a good idea to put together a post containing some of the most common questions we get asked, to help all of our readers:

Where in my daily routine should I use a clay mask?

Well, this question is quite simple – you shouldn’t! Obviously, we love clay masks, but they don’t need to be used on a daily basis by anyone, even those of us with the oiliest skin. We recommend using a clay mask once a week as a treat for your skin to help balance oil and calm redness, but any more than this and you could dry your skin out too much.

Do I need to moisturise if I have oily skin?

YES! People with oily skin often make the mistake of thinking that they don’t need to moisturise, but actually, excess oil production is actually a rebound effect caused by dry skin. Dermalogica Matte Moisturiser SPF15 will balance the oiliness of your skin while adding a healthy dose of moisture, and will even protect your skin against the sun.

I like in the UK, the sun is a rare treat – do I really need SPF every day?

So many people in the UK fail to wear daily sun protection because they think the sun isn’t strong enough here to affect their skin, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. The UK sun is more than strong enough to damage your skin so using something like Decleor Anti-Pollution Hydrating Fluid SPF30 will give you sun the protection it needs.

What is my skin type?

The best person to determine your skin type is you and no-one knows your skin as well as you do. It’s a pretty simple process to work out if your skin is dry, oily, sensitive or a combination of several skin types. Our blog post will help you to decide what your skin type is, to allow you to buy the best products for your skin.

What can I do to brighten my skin?

Dull, lifeless skin is one of the most common complaints of our customers, and it’s something that often takes a combination of products to improve. One of the best pieces of advice that we can give is to invest in the Dermalogica PowerBright TRx Treatment Kit, which contains a selection of miniature products to brighten the skin and improve skin tone, so you can see if they work for you before buying the full-size products.

Five Ways to Speed Up Your Shower

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brushing teeth, conditioner, Dermalogica Conditioning Body Wash, dry skin, essential, every day, exfoliating, hair, hair washing, routine, save time, save water, shampoo, Shaving, shower, time, tooth brushing, very dry skin, wash, wash hair, water

Photo by Seth Doyle on Unsplash

For many of us, our daily shower is the time we take for five minutes of peace and tranquillity, a private moment where we get to relax and unwind. However, showers don’t have to take an age, and if you’re looking to cut down your showering time, be that to get more sleep, save water or simply because you don’t like taking forever in the bathroom, we have five tips to help you to speed things up:

Don’t Put the Shower on Ages in Advance

The average shower takes just 30 seconds to get to the right temperature, but many of us put the shower on up to five minutes in advance and then potter around while the water is running. Try to put the shower on just before you get in and actually get in once the shower reaches the right heat. This will save water and reduce aimless ‘pottering’ time.

Use Your Time Wisely

Most of us have a routine we follow once we get into the shower, but there are a few steps which can be done at the same time. If you’re washing your hair, time spent with conditioner on your head can be used for shaving, tooth-brushing or exfoliating.

Use Multifunctional Products

If cutting down on time is your priority, opting for products which do several jobs at once could really help. Use a moisturising body wash, for example, which could cut down the need for additional moisturisers (unless you have very dry skin). Dermalogica Conditioning Body Wash contains purifying essential oils and natural extracts to cleanse the body without over-drying while conditioning the skin

Remove Some Steps

Often, people take ages in the shower because they do things that don’t really need to be done every time you shower. Shaving, hair washing, exfoliating – are these absolutely essential, every day? If not, do them every second or third day, or spread them out across the week, which will save time and water.

Only Wash Once

If you’re a ‘wash once’ sort of person, this may seem odd to you, but it’s a fact that there are LOTS of people out there who wash their body once…and then do it all over again in the same shower! In fact, lots of people wash two or three times, which is completely unnecessary and could even dry your skin out. Try to complete just one full wash per shower o protect your skin and your water bill!

Make up free nights

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alcohol, amino acid complex, Apricot, Balm Mint, bed, Blue Flower Linseed, Christmas parties, cleansed, cotton pads, day and night creams, dead cells, Decleor Phytopeel Smooth Exfoliating Cream, deep follicular cleanser, Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel, effective, Elemis Pro-Collagen Advanced Eye Treatment, Elemis Soothing Apricot Toner, eye cream, eye make up, fine lines, foundation, gentle, goodness, happiest, harmonise, harsh detergents, healthiest, Jan Marini Bioglycolic Oily Skin Cleansing Gel, late nights, Lavender Extract, long day, love, loving, make-up, make-up free, Mascara, natural, natural pH level, New Year’s Eve drinks, nights, oily skin, Padina Pavonica, penetration, problem prone skin, problems, puffy, Quillaja Saponaria, refined texture, rejuvenate, routine, silky-smooth, skin, sleep, smoother, soap free, soft cream formula, stimulate, Sweet Betty flower, temptation, tired, tone, toned and moisturised, wrinkles, youthful appearance

Don’t worry, we aren’t suggesting you head out for your Christmas parties or New Year’s Eve drinks make up free, but we are advising you to take that make up off before you go to bed.

While many people think ‘just once’ won’t hurt, at Pure Beauty we are firm believers that the happiest, healthiest skin is skin that is cleansed, toned and moisturised before you go to sleep and when you wake up.

We have had a look at some products that are tough on cleaning away foundation, mascara and eye make-up, but are gentle and loving to your skin at the same time.

Soap free, packed with goodness and suitable for all skin types, is what the Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel is all about. Balm Mint soothes complexions, as natural Quillaja Saponaria foams away the make up and toxins that can cause problems. With Lavender Extract added into the mix, this is one product we think you will love from the moment you first use it.

If you want to cleanse your skin, remove dead cells and stimulate the cellular renewal process, you need the Decleor Phytopeel Smooth Exfoliating Cream. Perfect for this time of year when we often wear more make-up then usual and have lots of late nights, this soft cream formula is one of the gentlest, most natural ways to renew your skin before you sleep.

If you are tired and have had a long day, the temptation is to skip your toner, but we would urge you to reconsider and think about trying the Elemis Soothing Apricot Toner. Extracts of Apricot, Sweet Betty Flower and Quillaja Wood have been blended to create a toner which helps to soothe and harmonise the skin. Free from alcohol and harsh detergents, this toner can applied to the skin with cotton pads and not only does it help maintain natural pH levels but using this can assist the penetration of day and night creams so they are as effective as possible.

Oily skin can really suffer over the festive period, so treat it with the Jan Marini Bioglycolic Oily Skin Cleansing Gel. This deep follicular cleanser leaves oily and problem prone skin feeling super clean and soft from the very first use. While it cannot be used as an eye make-up remover, ongoing use morning and night, helps skin appear less oily, and leaves it with a smoother, more refined texture.

We always suggest adding an eye cream to your routine, especially at night-time when your skin works hard to rejuvenate itself. The Elemis Pro-Collagen Advanced Eye Treatment targets the fine lines and wrinkles around the eye area, leaving you with a more youthful appearance. Padina Pavonica and Blue Flower Linseed have been blended to help tone and firm, while an Amino Acid complex locks moisture into the skin but doesn’t overload it so it looks silky smooth rather than puffy.

If you have any questions, please do get in touch and we would love to help you make the right choice for your skin.

Team Pure Beauty.

Keep your pets safe at Christmas

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For many of us ‘Sammy the Spaniel’ and ‘Toby the Tabby’ are as much a part of the family as the kids and grandma.

While you might think the odd human treat shows your pet just how much you love them, it could actually cause catastrophic damage and spoil the festivities for everyone.

We have some top tips on how to keep your furry friends safe and well this Christmas.

The Christmas tree
This might sound totally OTT but if you have pets then it’s a good idea to go for non-toxic decorations – details should be on the packaging. We don’t want to spoil all the fun but if you can, avoid edible decorations because these will be sniffed out, pulled down and eaten. If you go for a real tree make sure you hoover up any needles from the floor and just check the pot for any pet presents!

Lights
Fairy lights are pretty but they can be harmful, so watch out for anyone getting tangled up and if you aren’t in the room, turn them off to save any electric shocks.

Plants
Yes, Christmas plants look pretty and make the house feel festive but holly, amaryllis, poinsettias, mistletoe and pine sap are all poisonous to cats and dogs but they don’t know this and will have a chew anyway.

Chocolate
Uncle Billy might think a little bit of Dairy Milk won’t hurt Frodo but he is wrong. Chocolate contains theobromine which is dangerous for dogs and other pets, so don’t let them tuck in. Also make sure mince pies, Christmas cake and anything else containing raisins are put out of reach and never leave glasses of wine or beer on the floor or you could be in trouble.

Bones
We know that chicken and turkey bones look perfect for your pooch but the reality is that they can splinter and this can cause serious problems for your pet, so wrap them in newspaper and put in the dustbin as soon as you can.

Routine
While the holidays mean you can take a break from your everyday routine, it is important that life is kept as normal as possible for your pets.

Continue to feed at the same time each day, make sure they have access to water and don’t use this as a time to try out new food – it might make life unpleasant for all. You might not feel like going out in the cold, but dogs still need to be walked and you will actually find that a run around the park will tire them out and stop them from being disruptive and hyper when people come to visit.

Presents
If you don’t want your new boots to be chewed or that cashmere jumper to be used as a new bed, get your pet a present too this Christmas. A dog bone, new toy or bright ball will keep them entertained and out of mischief.

A quiet place
If the house is going to be busier than usual and full of strange people, make sure your pets have a safe retreat. Put their bed in the utility room or spare bedroom with their toys and blankets so they have somewhere safe to retreat to when it gets too much.

The rules
Speaking of guests, it is important they know not to pull your pets around, especially if children are coming to the house. Gently explain your rules and also ask people not to open doors, gates or windows as you don’t want your animals to escape and get injured or lost.

If anything does go wrong, call your vet as soon as possible to the necessary treatment can be carried out.

Team Pure Beauty