3D Lashes : the weaves of the eyelash world, lol

Flicking through a magazine at the gym I came across an snippet on a new product (well I've never heard of it before) called 3-D lashes which involves synthetic eyelashes being used to extend what nature has managed to bless us with. Apparently they last for up to two months...amazing. I'm already trying to figure out whether my bank account can take the £150.00 (yes, that really is the price quoted in the magazine) beating to get this treatment.

for more practical information take a look at http://www.miamilivicky.com/lashes.html

Alternatively, if you are based in the UK you should be able to find your nearest supplier on tel: 01722 329 829

I called this number and found out that only one person has been trained in the London for this treatment so far (!!!) if you know you want this treatment contact the Naked Health, Beauty Salon in Wimbledon, London on 020 8 944 5454.

My appointment is all booked - I'll let you know whether it was all worth it!

Day one of the detox

I didn't want to post yesterday because I thought I might jinx myself so I waited until today when the pressure of finishing day one would be off.

I had agreed wih a colleague, last week, to buy salads with a colleague of mine but I had to tell her I wouldn't be able to do this anymore because I was going to be watching every ingrediant that passed my lips for the next 10 days or so.

Because I haven't done a detox in over two years I've decided to be sensibe and lenient with myself as that's the only way I seem to get anything done. So I've kinda backed up on the number of days I need to do. I've decided to aim to do three days instead of ten, then if I manage to get the three days done I will see how I feel, if I can go on to day four through to day six I am going to give myself a treat of Salmon Sashimi which I absolutely adore.

The good thing about telling my colleague about doing the detox is that she watches what she eats too - I mean if she overeats on chocolate we will ALL know about it (she's slim too so she is obviously doing something right). Anyway, when I told her I wanted chocolate it was like having my very own diet coach. She countered everything I said by saying "no you don't want chocolate, you just think you do" which coming from her in her stern voice was exactly what I needed. But doesn't explain why she started talking about chocolate chip cookies later on with me in ear shot, lol!

I didn't manage to exercise for as long as I wanted to, but I'm not going to beat myself over the head for it - I know what I am like and I always push myself when I know I physically can do the exercise.

Anyway, this is what I consumed on day one, plus exercise, although I had a lot more water than is shown on the list below :

Meal - Contents - Portions - Time eaten - hunger rating at the start of the meal 1 = not full 10 = very full Rating at the end- hunger rating at the end of the meal

Breakfast
Pumkin and sunflower seeds and raisons lots of lime water - About 25 g or each and about 50 g of raisons - 10.00 – 11.00am -1 -1

Snack
Orange / tangerine - 1 medium - noon - 1 -2

Lunch
Large salad and cup of lime water -1 tub (as sold in Zest café) -13.37 -1 -4

Snack
Strawberries, blueberries, redgrapes and baby carrot -Half of a medium plastic container - 14.57 - 3 -3

15.00 I crave chocolate!!! But don’t have any!!!

Snack
Mixed seeds and raisons -About 40 g - 15.40 - 2 - 2

Snack
Banana - Medium small - 17.00 - 2 - 2

Snack
Mixed berries - The other half of the medium container - 20.45 - 2 - 3

Dinner
2 soya yoghurts with cashews - 22.15 - 2 - 5

Exercise
Reclining bike ride for 40 minutes, steps for 10 minutes and ski-master for 10 minutes, skipping for 2 minutes followed by 10 minutes in the steam room.

Dermalogica come true

Whilst I was paying up in the hairdressers I turned to look at the products on display for sale and noticed that they supplied Dermalogica!

I didn't waste a second looking through all the products. My eyes latched onto the serums - which I have been looking for a decent one ever since The Body Shop discontinued their brilliant plant extract serum (I've forgotten the official name for it). But given that it's coming the end of the month and I knew I hardly had a shekel to my name I decided to go for Dermalogica Multi-vitamin Power Recovery Mask.

Of course I tried it first thing the following day and it is good. 'Good' is quite a high compliment coming from me. It's rich and it disappeared into my skin after a while (according to a beauty consultant disappearing mask means thirsty skin) I don't know whether it sank into my skin because my skin was dry (which is strange as I always keep it moisturised) or because I left it on a lot longer than the recommended 15 minutes.

Anyhoo, happy with the end result and will definitely try the serum to see if it is any good. What I need to check though, is I thought that their products were 'natural' which always adds value in my book!

Japanese Silk Booster Facial

I heard about the Elemis Japanese Silk Booster Facial several times before I actually tried it - once in Vogue UK I think it was, then I heard about it in an evening paper and I read what it was all about and decided I would love something like that for my skin. Then finally I came across it once again in another magazine when a celebrity talked of it being her choice treatment. Methinks they either have excellent PR or there is something to all the talk - I had been lax, believe it or not on keeping to my one beauty treatment a month, at least, rule, so I decided that this would be the treatment for me.

I called the number as per the article, and made my appointment.

The day of my appointment I went to the gym first and worked out and then went to look forward to my treatment. The thing is that with beauty treatments it's definitely about the person giving it to you. There was nothing wrong with the person who gave me the treatment per se.... she probably sensed that I was shattered and kept quiet for that reason, but before and after there was this nervousness - It made me wonder whether she knew what she was doing.

The treatment in itself was not what it was cracked up to be. And at this point it's not about the person administering it - I believe, despite her nerves, she was capable. It was more the product. It was about a facial, but the products were just not up to par - I didn't feel anything like the reports in the newspapers and the fact that I had had faaar cheaper treatments which were more effective elsewhere got this bad mood festering in me once I had finished.

I loved the treatment room and I discovered as I was getting changed that there was a lovely bath area next door and the decor was clearly influenced by eastern religious themes - lovely. The service in the waiting room area was very deceptive and I mean that in a good way. The receptionist there was just so nice - which definitely relaxed me, and no matter how many times I asked for glasses of water she obliged (well I should say she asked me and I said "yes."). Even where the Elemis Day Spa is located puts you in the mood for pampering; in a little yard area which is cobbled and filled with shops that definitely add to the setting of life being all about you.

What a shame the treatment didn't match!

My Beauty Wish List

Every so often (like once a month and usually very close to pay day) I crave things. Beauty products that will promise gorgeous glowing skin. Smells that tantalise and give that feeling of treating one-self with absolute love. Treatments that get me into what I call the "princess mode" (which is not arrogant - just special :o)).

My current wish list is :


1. To try Dermalogica - I keep hearing about it and it sounds amazing
2. Buy more Dr. Hauschka products - I'd like to try the rose creme
3. I want my acrylic nails back!!!! Apart from not being able to scratch properly they were so easy!
4. An aromatherapy massage at the Sanctuary with Karen (I think her name is)
5. A slobbing weekend away - to get the city tension out of my body
6. Hair 'reconstruct' treatment (apparently this is a deep condition)


Actually not sure if 6 should be on the list as that is supposed to be happening tomorrow morning so I guess I don't have to worry about that!

See Me

I've been umming and aahing about whether to post a picture of myself and at some point I am sure I will delete this picture, but this blog is supposed to be all about practical beauty and I know that when it comes to practical health and beauty I loves to see me some good pictures. This picture is of me in New York last January flashing my crest stripped teefus, lol.

The make up I have on is my beauty speedy routine. Going around New York so I wanted to look decent so contact lenses in - mascara, blush and lip gloss. I have just had my hair texturised and parted it to the side and held it with a clip to make it easy. About 20 minutes in the mornnig and I was ready to go!

How to eat when you are on a diet

I'm always on diets. I don't like it but hey I have a goal to achieve and I am constantly learning. sometimes on the odd occasion, I feel inspired to ask the right questions to find out what I need to know to get to slim-body heaven. On one such occasion I started a thread on www.blackvoices.com where I lurk from time to time and asked what people d0 to maintain their weight loss.

'Arylon' responded to me with the much needed advice - I've posted her unedited reply here for the benefit of others who are in the same position as me:
"Hi, I could write for days on your question, but I'm supposed to be studying....
So, I'll make it short. Lost 70 lbs. NOT ABOUT A DIET. It was about changing the way I eat. I learned about it the hard way.
I started off by losing 10 lbs, then eat fried chicken and macaroni or even just too much for a couple of days. It'd come rights back on.
Do's (that have worked for me):
-Weigh yourself frequently (twice a week) OR count your calories to make sure you're not overeating
-Find what your magic calorie number is. Every person has one. If it eat 1600 cals a day, I maintain. If I eat 2000, i gain. If i eat 1200, weight falls off, but I'm tired and irritable.
- exercise- do something everyday. go for a walk. if anything, run up and down a flight of stairs a few times. Join a fitness club. Just get some physical exercise everyday aside from walking to the refrigerator or walking to your car
- drink lots of water. don't waste your calories on sodas or high sugar juice. i love to eat. so, i don't waste my calories on drinks. they aren't as good for you anyway.
- eat healthy. Eat frequently (six small meals a day is recommended). I used to LOVE peach cobbler, biscuits, pizza, french fries. But, I've given all that up. I eat something like that maybe once every two weeks. I was raised on the wrong foods. I can't believe some of the stuff I used to eat. Now a typical day:
breakfast- oatmeal and maybe a fruit smoothie/ or Kashi cereal
snack- some kind of energy bar or fruit
lunch- turkey burger/ baked items (i hate salads, no matter what you say. By the time i make it taste good enough to eat, i might as well have eaten a hamburger)/ chicken salad w/ lowfat mayonnaise/ baked fish
snack- fruit or small sandwich- something around 200 calories
dinner- meat/ grilled or baked, vegetables, a light wheat bread
snack- fruit or small 200 cal snack
Don't
- beat up on yourself.
-think that b/c you lost 5 pounds that you can go on a binge.
-starve yourself
-do diet pills
- think there is a quick fix for losing weight. it's a life-changing thing.
-EAT SUGAR!! PLEASE STOP EATING TONS of sugar. that was my biggest downfall. i got into this fat-free kick. sugar has no fat, so i was snacking on candies all day, and wondering why i wasn't losing weight. SUGAR IN EXCESS IS REALLY BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH. Not only did I have a root canal, but it was hindering all my weight loss efforts. check out this article. it's kind of scary...
http://www.alternativehealth.co.nz/articles/sugar.htm This article is extracted and edited from the book, Sugar Blues.
And, it's all about self-control. I have heard people say that they can never lose weight b/c their body just won't agree with them. Don't get me wrong, everyone has a different body and you do have minimum weight loss points. But, some of these people have undergone gastric bypass surgery and lost 50-100 lbs...which lets you know that they were simply eating too much.
I've gotten to the point where I can control how much a weigh, which is a great thing! My husband (i've been married for two years) taught me how b/c he does the same.
As he always says...Don't get hung up on your weight. It's not a reflection of who you are. It's just a measure of how much your eating versus how much energy you are burning off everyday.
OK, well that's all the advice I have for now. I gottat go study. forgive me for any typos.
Arylon"

quite simply an excellent reply. The type of practicle Health and Beauty tips that this blog is all about.

In addition I recently read that Liz Hurley goes to bed eating a very miniscule dinner - I must admit that when I eat late at night dinner is in my stomach in the morning and when I eat on top of that my breakfast I can feel the weight adding on - most mornings I delay breakfast or eat breakfast and miss my mid-morning snack. I am trying to train myself over this dinner thing because it is my biggest pitfall at the moment (along with portion sizes). I have a detox next week which usually gets me on good behaviour. I'll let you know how this goes....

My Retreat (Oxonhoath)

I found out about Oxonhoath www.oxonhoath.co.uk in about 2000 - I'd seen the adverts consistently in all the health magazines and I regularly read from cover to cover but never actually acted on it. Until I came back to live in the city and away from the country air and the slow life I had fallen in love with at my university.

The first time I contacted them I never applied and the application more than likely ended up in the bin. The second time I decided to book it - pay the 50% deposit required months in advance and then save up the remainder during the 6 months that my weekend would come up.

The day I left the office to go I couldn't believe it was finally happening - I'd taken half day vacation and had brought my rucksack in with me - it was so easy to get to the area - I couldn't believe it was finally on my way to being rejuvenated! Alls I had to do was turn up. Perhaps my only reservation was the short time.

When I arrived I had to sign up for what I wanted to attend- with out a doubt an aromatherapy massage was on there - that is my top beauty treatment and when done well sets the body all the way back to zero-state. I was a little uncertain about what else I should take - there seemed so much - but in the end I went for 'Nature's Rhythm' and then finally a facial.

All meals were vegetarian and were all edible - some extremely so especially the Laska Soup - which I am definitely not a soup person but that got me!

First day I had my massage which was good - as I said they have to be excellent. I felt relaxed after and went straight to my room to allow the relaxation to deepen (read, slept like a baby).

Next day I had my nature's rhythm which was held by Lianne Campbell. We were all worried - I didn't have to ask I sensed it - that this class would be slightly embarrasing, everyone watching each other dancing and moving with the mood and moment seemed strange but Lianne is an excellent teacher and you soon stopped thinking about being self-conscious. Especially as everyone started with closed eyes. Eventually, the more confident we grew the more we opened our eyes. This was perfect - I like my body to move - dancing in a club, walking to work allows one to move, but really moving means arms flailing about and just leaping - doing all those movements that we did as kids but we unlearn because we don't usually need them as adults - I like my body to move and throw off the cobwebs and this class offered the medicine I needed!

The mood was set with tea light candles in a room with floor to ceiling doors that opened onto a acres of land. The night was clear and the moon was high and it looked so beautiful, the absolute antithesis of the city which is what I needed to balance my city-wired mind. To say I relaxed was an understatement. I knew I wasn't alone because afterwards I sat with absolute strangers and talked in that same mood, about life and it's avenues.

I loved the retreat and loved the move away from home and appreciated getting home even more it's nice when we have that inner power and peace (which often reflects and adds to our beauty) when we get home. The only down side about the retreat was though I have no qualms about talking to absolute strangers I felt obligated to do so because all 30 or so of us had to sit at the 4 tables and do the usual small talk - which in all honesty I could have done without, the house could have done with a gooooood clean - dead flies in the light shades is not a cool look (lol), but I'd definitely do this again :o)

Going deep within : looking after the skin

Ever since I was a kid I have been fascinated (read obsessed) with beauty products and taking care of the skin. It started with this advert for soap which had the model rubbing soap onto her cheeks and lovingly washing it away. I have no idea why but at the age of six that ad intriguied me.

Then a couple of years later I remember my mum having these regular moods were she would have a long luxurious bath, moisturise her entire body and get dressed do her hair in the middle of the afternoon. She would finish up by bringing her make up bag to the front room and pulling out her glass bottles of cleanser and toner and bag of cotton wool.

One day I asked her where she was going and she said with an enigmatic smile "nowhere, it's good to take care of yourself". I don't do the dressing up part, but I admit that got me hooked. What sealed it was a program regarding Oprah Winfrey - I can't for the life of me remember what is was about, but it must have been geared towards beauty because one of the guests mentioned she had been looking after her skin since she was 16 years old. I was younger than that at the time and thinking about the amount of times I had taken time to pour over my skin I snorted inwardly at how late this person was in starting but that definitely sealed it for me.

I never try one particular thing because I believe that the skin can get used to a product and one stops seeing the benefits. But I only like to use stuff that I am comfortable with. My products always match my mood right now it's all about the natural Ayurvedic type products so olive oil mixed with essential oil, but I also mix castor oil in winter with olive oil and essential oils for a nice smell. I heard neem oil was a good sunblock and I used a little of that for a while (the one where the smell has been toned a whole lot down!) but now I've got back to my good ole Nivea anti-aging sun block. On my under eye I use palmers cocobutter scar oil I think it's called- I like it's consistency and I use a tiny amount and my under eyes seem happy. Else I use another eye cream which I think is called "fade out" or I use Aveda's under eye creme - all three of these I use on rotation.

I used to use a serum but have stopped because there will NEVER [use I capitulate this!] never be a serum like the Body Shops plant serum - which you put on under your moisturiser. On the nights I used this I would go to bed and wake up in the morning with the skin of a 5 year old! I kid you not - and it urks me this was discontinued.

For cleaning my skin I use L'oreal cleanser and toner and I mix the cream cleanser with tea tree oil and add rose water to the toner - I somehow imagine this breaks down the synthetic products or something. I've been all around the world when it comes to cleansers and toners, and up to the very expensive ones - but L'oreal's is the only one my skin responds to. For exfoliation am loving L'oreals Dermabrasion (I do believe I need commision, lol) but I wish they sold this independantly of that cream - I can use my own creme thank you very much! Else I use origins body polish which is EXCELLENT. I also use Dr. Hauschka ( I love it! I love it! I love it!) Rose Mask and clay mask which you mix with water. For a natural glycolic peel you can use lemon or lime and just rub it on your skin - be careful if you have just exfoliated before hand because it can sting a little.

for deep down care I love using the steam room to sweat out the toxins and and I try to take the right vitamins. I haven't been taking my vitamins like I ought to, but I generally take cod liver oil, collagen, antioxidents, multivitamins and calcium and many many more - but all on rotation and I tend to go according to my mood or what I feel I need.

I don't believe taking care of skin limits itself to the face - oh no, it goes over every piece of skin. So sometimes I like my all over body masks - I apply all over me and sit in the bath until it's dried. Or I do a microdermabrasion on my ass [lol, I'm being honest here!] and on my thighs and tummy to smooth out the skin there.

I remember I went through this phase of using a body toner all over me - so after I washed I'd get some home made toner water ( I'd soak a camomile tea bag in lots of water) and rinse my body with it - I don't know if it actually did anything for me, but it made me feel special and self-loved which everyone knows we all need.

Getting my nails did!

the first time I got my nails done was after I saw the results of my mothers when she got them for her imminent trip to see her relatives and family 'back home'. I couldn't keep my eyes of her nails.

What'smore everytime I saw my nails I cringed at how chewed up they were, weak they felt and mainly my hands were (it doesn't help they are so big). I'd never even considered getting them done before but here I was coming around slowly but surely until I got to the point where I couldn't see why I'd never got them done before.

So one cold saturday I took my dry and manly hands to my local shop (I don't usually do local stores, but the woman seemed very nice when I spoke to her) and sat down while she got on with things. She had one of those hospital mouth thingies that covered her nose and mouth which got me worried and thinking about toxins - especially remembering the smell of when my friend used to get her nails done. But I really wanted these nails done she first of all used her whizzy machine on top of my nails - I think this is what makes the nails weak after the acrylic comes off because at the end of the day you only have half the thickness of the nails. then she puts these tips on the end of my nails with a glue and smooths that down.

After that she cut the tips to the length that I wanted. I work in an office so it was so important that they looked as natural as possible and the length was not too exaggerated so I went for a middling length. Then the acrylic goes on top - it's amazing how a daub of water in that powder creates that plastic and moulds it so perfectly over my nail and the added tip. Then she adds the colour I want - always a pinkish colour which made the false nail look natural and that was it.

The first time I got them done I couldn't get over the fact that they looked slightly fake, too perfect and colour was slightly weird, but after a while they seemed to work and the colour did too. Also I can't scratch - I found myself picking up things with a slightly sharper edge to get a decent scratch - weird I know, but you miss your natural nails when the scratch you give yourself feels smooth instead of slightly sharp.

Not sure how many times I got these nails refilled, but I had them from November last year to February this year and I used to get them refilled every 17 days - If I could much more extravagent it would have been ever 14 - but I had to make the money stretch and the three days do make a difference! I was very pleased with them in the main, but one day I used some substance - I think it must have gotten under or on top of the nail - either way it got into the acrylic and onto my actual nail (yeuch!). I asked Jamie - my nail technician if she could take of the layer and put another on top but as her whizz machine went through and through we realised it had discoloured my nail.

I hated it and it had to come off so I told her to take them off. Now taking this mofo's off is a nightmare - they cut everything off and then soak the rest of it off and I had my hands in this liquid which was soaking all the moisture out of my skin and turning it white. When they finally removed the acrylic my nails sure were long, but they looked a hot mess! plus they were weak, so I asked her to cut them and give me the basic manicure, which she did.

It took my nails about 8 weeks to get back to normal thickness and suprisingly they appear to grow now. My left hand nails are almost the same length as the acrylics I had, however the right hand ones haven't fared so well - which I believe is what normally happens when you don't protect your nails, carry an emery board and that hand is your dominant hand.

Going on a Detox

it's been aaaages, since I went on my last detox so this is more than over due. I always think of it as getting rid of the cobwebs and giving my stomach a break from having to break down all those chemicals and preservatives with the added bonus of having glowing skin and ideally loosing weight.

Kewl Links

I sometimes come across some really links which I love referring to when I feel dispair and want information on dieting or looking good etc. I'll be adding to these in future :
www.models.com - head for the health and beauty forums, unless you are a model you will permanently be in lurk mode
http://www.cocoachic.com/cocoachic.php - for the black beauties of the world. http://www.thebroadroom.net/lp/blogs/index.html - the Lipstick Pages - beauty blog...I finally found one!
www.vogue.com
http://motowngirl.com/ - Motowngirl's person journey from transitional hair from chemical to natural
http://haircare.aldrea.com/haircare2.htm - my personal favourite hair site
BLACK_LIFEandBEAUTY - search under yahoo groups
http://www.carolsdaughter.com/home.asp - beauty products

Getting my style right Part I

I know what I do and don't like when I see other people styling but I never seem to do anything other than the plain and boring myself. I do take care of the canvass but I need to sign up to a module 101 on how to style myself so that I can try and look good not just when I go out for the evening but during the day and at work too everything goes out the window.

The good thing is I obviously know what I like but now I gotta find a good hairstyle and how to maintain it and then totally go over my clothes and accessories which I don't even think about to be honest!

I'll let you know how it goes....

Colonic Hydrotherapy II

I have to say my second experience with Colonic Hydrotherapy was not as tantalising. I revealed [honesty!] that I had been using substances to purge the body and I felt this may have had an effect on me. The consultant I spoke to was very calm and spoke about having my insides built up to their normal strength (or something to that tune) and then how I would have my meridian lines rectified.

She prescribed a course of acupuncture first to work on the meridian lines and, at the same time I was to take psyllium husks mixed with pineapple juice everyday along with some other pills and this all had to be done before the colonic hydrotherapy.

all I wanted was the colonic hydrotherapy but I had discovered about her treatments almost a year prior to booking her and had given her details to a friend of mine who had used her and ended up looking absolutely fantastic afterwards (glowing skin and everything).

So my motivation had been seeing my friend looking fantastic.

I did all she asked and eventually got to the day when I got my colonic hydrotherapy and nothing happens, nothing even comes out - okay a few buttons come out (urrgh) but nothing significant. I was such an anti climax and to top it all off - I didn't even get the glowing skin. My bank account definitely felt it though. I spent so much money - In fact I noted that everytime I went there my bank suffered an assault of up to £40 -80...what a waste!

Colonic Hydrotherapy

I'd had no idea at the 'controversy' of colonic irrigation until after I had my first experience with it. I'd been detoxing and successfully eating a diet of no preservatives, additives, caffeine or basically anything that was processed / came in a tin when I decided to go the whole hog and get the treatment done. It would be the icing on the cake, I thought, in being able to create the glow.

I was nervous and the long trek to the house didn't help, when I got there I had to wait a while for Dr. Brewer (who wore black leather shorts, lol) to take his mum to an appointment, whilst he was gone I read one of his leaflets. He was an ex-dentist who decided to go down the route of Alternative medicine. His large home doubled up as a treatment area - so I sat in the bath and was given a tube, etc. etc. ETC. (hint hint). Doing it myself cost a lot less and I had the benefit of his partner being there who was able to come in and assist me.

When I finished I was expecting to feel a lot lighter - which is what I heard someone say on a tv program, but no, I didn't I felt the same as before.

His partner (I've forgotten her name) took me to her treatment room and gave me a sample treatment of colour therapy, which was actually very relaxing. Especially when I found the colour (a deep slightly darker sky blue colour) that made me relax. She then showed me a de-stressing centre-ing technique - which I'm not sure I could do justice in explaining.

Before leaving I handed over £25, £20 for the colonic hydrotherapy, £3 for a HUGE bag of dead sea salts and £2 for a book on the different types of detoxing. Not bad at all.

I wasn't sure about the colonic hydrotherapy as I wasn't feeling lighter, however I knew it had done me good when I got home and saw my skin positively glowing. I was really amazed by that. I'd never heard of that side effect before.

Read Colonic Hydrotherapy II to find out about my second experience...

Crest Whitening Strips

Teeth whitening is the norm, it's everywhere and it ranges from the absolute professional to the home use products. A friend of mine had her teeth professionally whitened and she had a little sensitivity in her teeth for a while but they looked really good.

I went through a stage where my teeth turned a cremier shade of yellow and it was awful. Given that I grew up with comments about how white my teeth were it was not a good situation for me to be in. My friends started noticing and one or two of them made comments about it - which caused me to go through a phase of trying to hide my teefus. After a while I'd had enough and luckily enough came across Crest Whitening Strips.

The only cover your front teeth, lower and upper, but if I want to do the inner ones then I just go ahead and improvise the strips, you put them on for half an hour and then you just remove them and brush as normal.

These are a God send (if you are not sensitive to them) I used them for a while every day as instructed and one saturday I went to see a relative. my relatives' neighbour happened to be out and we were introduced. At which point my neighbour says, "your teeth are so white, are they yours?". Cue modest smile and inward jump of joy from me!

Keeping the exercise up

Using the treadmill for me is easiest because it has it's own tv screen attached. When MTV can be bothered to play some decent music I just zip away and before I know it time has gone. I try to get some swimming in there - I swim with floats, and I usually stop mid-length (yep, I'm that unfit) but I think it's the trying that counts and ultimately burning the calories.

I went home and had a small dinner - a soya yoghurt with cashews, packet of low fat crisps and a low fat bar or something or other and then went to bed!

I walked half way to work this morning and wished for the life of me that I had packed a spare top to change as I was sweating so much, I had to rush because i was late, but getting in is nice because I think about the calories I surely must have burnt.

Home Waxing Kit

I recently picked up a home waxing kit by Veet which I couldn't get to work for love nor money! I admit the first strip I made on the lower half of my leg I was scared to pull and perhaps that's why I didn't get much hair, but later on I got braver and braver and though a few hairs were coming off there wasn't the clean sweep I was expecting. so I've gone back to using Veet creme and razors. But as soon as I can afford it I will definitely go to my beauty salon for an all over wax.

Trying to look good

I have been fastidously trying to find a blog that covers someones quest to try to look good to no avail...isn't that strange? considering that appearence translates into every culture and race and creed it's strange that there isn't some place where it talks about what people actually do from day to day. I mean, how do people get their looks to the standard of Eva (winner of America's Next Top Model).
Hence my blog, very basic (and knowing me very honest) with a couple of off topic stories and favourite photo's thrown in....this feels so narcissistic!

Summer

Trying to look good: the story so far...

for anyone who has never had to loose weight or has always been slim it's always easy to resort to telling people simply not to put food in their mouth if they want to loose weight.

I concede to an extent this is true - but there is a whole battle behind this - overeating is like an addiction - some very bad habits need to be unlearned and it's not easy.

Thankfully I don't think my eating habits are that deep seated - granted when I am nervous I do find myself eating lots more high sugar foods and for some bewildering reason I do the same thing when I travel far from home, even though I am travelling to another place where I know there will be food (go figure?)

I've been quite lenient with myself and this seems to be working - so I still consume packets of crisps in one day (up to three) [phew this honesty thing is hard!] and lots of chocolate, but I use them as meal replacement [bad again I know, but I am sick of reading about all the PC eating habits everywhere!].

I have been exercising a lot lately - probably more because I don't want to waste the money. two people gave me two bits of advise which were excellent :
1. see exercising in the same way as you do bathing or brushing your teeth, it just has to be done
2. if you are feeling lazy tell yourself even 5 minutes will do - I go knowing that if I really only wanted to do 5 minutes (and believe me I would) then I only do 5 bloody minutes!

I've been taking care of what I call the 'extra's' giving myself a manicure and pedicure, hair removal (underarms, lower arms etc.), eyebrows and exfoliation.

My gym has a fabulous steam room so I usually spend anything from 5 - 20 minutes in there and that really helps

Hair has been a bit tough - I try to look after it, but it's so EXPENSIVE. I have been trying to manage my budget, but this month I thought I might splurge a bit on my hair as getting my hair done last saturday made such a difference to my looks - but I don't know if I can afford these prices and I love my hairdresser - I can't leave her! I seriously might have to look at getting a second job because my budget has been affecting other areas of my life also!

Looking good is about the inside too!

Looking good is kind a tricky, I had it down pat a few years ago when I went through an ultra healthy faze - I won't say my way is the only way - but it suited me to a T. I guess by writing this blog I am trying to reclaim what I had, but a better version, i.e. one that I can use whereever I go no matter happens!

I really believe that arguments we have had with those we consider close to us and unreleased tensions and negative thoughts can have a bad effect on how good we look.

for example I used to go around looking like a boxer because certain areas of life meant that I was always having to fight to even survive and I hated it, I was so used to arguing all the time that I ended up with a perma frown - one of my friends later told me that she could never look me in the eye because of the way I would look back, LOL.

Anyway, lots of meditation and self -talk later I managed to get rid of a lot of the inner tribulations and the result was clear on my face. I also noticed that people tended to approach me more - which is nice especially when the people that approach are cool too.

per se I don't read popular psychology because it's addictive and appeals to hundreds of us - but very rarely allows us to approach topics as individuals. Most of the books I came across in my self-help book phase were very unhelpful, usually excellent at defining the problem, but not a gitdamn piece of info on how to actually turn your life around. The best book I have found to date and which truly is the exception to the rule is a book written by Kenneth Wydro. See here for details of this book. I am truly amazed this book is not a best seller http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0139178074/ref=pd_sxp_f/103-0564871-9743054?v=glance&s=books