Hola hola!
How are we? It’s been a while since I’ve written one of these I know, but some things are better late than never eh haha? Yeahhh, I think so… So with the sudden shift of weather here in the UK (it’s suddenly turned freezing hasn’t it!) and the colder & darker nights drawing in, I thought I’d write this blog post on something that I think we can all say is something we let all slip sometimes; The importance of looking after yourself! (If you hadn’t already guessed that from the title…)
Now I know I’ve written a few blog posts on self care, self confidence etc. etc. these were in fact all based in ‘COVID times’ so I thought it was about time I A. wrote another blog post haha… and B. wrote one that was a little more appropriate for now times shall we say, because lets face it, things have changed and everything still is changing. It’s a bit like trying to keep up with the ever changing prime ministers here in the UK I guess really isn’t it…
Anyway, all prime minister jokes aside, when was the last time you did something lovely for yourself? It could be taking yourself for a walk/to the gym, went for a facial, ran yourself a bath or even just made yourself a nice coffee. Hopefully the answer to that was quite recently, but if not here’s your reminder! Because you bloody well deserve it.
Now I didn’t want this to be one of those ‘inspirational lecture’ type posts (which hopefully it’s not haha…) I just wanted to remind you that yes I know everything is really effin’ expensive right now and because of that, it’s so easy to go down a rabbit hole of ‘I can’t afford that’ (which I know in some cases this is needed), but you need to give yourself some lurveee sometimes! And actually, sometimes the nice things don’t cost a penny! So, if you’re in need of some inspiration, here’s some ideas…
- Get yourself a skin care routine. I bet you knew this was coming from me didn’t you haha…? But by this I mean one of either 2 things: actually use the products you have in your cupboard (before they go off 😉 ) or get yourself into a skin care routine. I say this because there’s truly something about the fresh feeling of clean, glowy skin. It just gives you that real ‘I can face the day’ feeling, and not to mention the benefits when used right, don’t underestimate it people! Now again, I know some products are expensive, but they don’t have to be! Think brands like The Ordinary, Superdrug own brand, Cerave, The Inkey List and Facetheory (to name a few) are all great and they’re pretty purse friendly too. If you’re new to skin care, then I’d say keep it simple at first with a cleanse, moisturise and SPF in the daytime and a cleanse and moisturise at night (all using products suitable for your skin type. For more info on this, the app ‘Skin rocks’ by Caroline Hirons is a great info hub). Then you can build from there!
- Take time out and go for a walk. Now personally I’m not very good at this unless I have a reason to go for a walk, but anytime out in the fresh air does you good. Alsooo whilst we’re on the subject, I’ve recently started swimming once/twice a week at my local pool and after initially putting it off for various silly reasons, its turned out to be great! I’m not really one for the gym etc. So I’d highly recommend and just trying something different is always nice to mix things up a bit isn’t it!
- Walk away and switch off from the desk life! Again one I think we can all agree on that is hard to do. This point kind of ties in with the above point I guess, but here’s your reminder that as much as we all need our jobs to live, there is more to life than work and if we’re not careful, you may hit that dreaded ‘burnout’ which makes you slow down with no choice. So here’s ya reminder to try and get a more work-life-balance before you overdo it! I know it’s very much easier said than done, but you get my point haha…
- Treat yourself to a treatment! When was the last time you had a facial, massage, pedicure etc? Now I know I’m biased here as this is my job, BUT never underestimate the power of a pampering treatment! Again I know they can be expensive and not exactly ‘essential’ in day to day life, but if you can, why not? If you’re looking for a reason (not that you should need one, but just in case you do…) & not to really blow my own trumpet, but here’s a little story; I had a lady in recently who initially came in feeling quite sad after loosing someone really close to her and came in as a bit of ‘time out’. She had an hours facial with me and at the end she said “That was the best facial I’ve ever had and I honestly feel like a different person after that, so thank you!”. So the moral to this story is that sometimes a treatment where you can just lie and let your mind wander might be just what you need (and I’m talking for all therapists here and not just for myself).
- Cook yourself a nice meal and chuck in some veg! Again a bit of a random one here, but never underestimate the sense of achievement and satisfaction after throwing together a nice meal. Plus, add in some veggies and subconsciously that makes you feel even better doesn’t it? Also not to mention the skin benefits too of eating your 5 a day! The simple things in life eh!
So there we have it. I’m going to stop myself right. here. as if you’ve read my blogs before, you’ll know I can write for England haha… But I hope by now you’ve caught my drift and despite the fact that the world is still a little weird and times can get hard, you need to give yourself some LOVE once in a while, in whatever shape or form that may be! Also I know it’s easy to brush the ‘non essential’ things to the side, but remember the classic (albeit slightly cheesy…) saying of- “You only live once!”
So happy November, happy skincare-ing and happy chilling all.
Lots of love, Ella x
Ella May Beauty 