Hero Product - Eve Taylor's 100% Hyaluronic Acid

I'd like to introduce you to Eve Taylor's Hyaluronic Acid part of Eve's Advanced Therapy Cosmeceuticals* range, this serum is my bestest friend!

Contains 100% pure Hyaluronic Acid and nothing else!

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*For anyone who isn't clear, 'Cosmeceuticals' are a combination of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals resulting in Advanced skin therapy.

So What Is Hyaluronic Acid?
Skin care's favourite ingredient - Hyaluronic Acid naturally occurs in the human body, it's a humectant (retains moisture) and attracts from 600-1000 times its own weight in water - WOW! Its job is to hydrate, lubricate and cushion the connective tissues - bit like your mummy!

Hyaluronic Acid molecule - image source

This gorgeous textured serum is super nourishing, hydrating and moisturising. And bonus it carries other ingredients into the skin!

Because of it's amazing ability to retain moisture it gives your skin a generous dose of pure hydration while helping protect against bacterial infections and environmental threats; ninja kicking those free radicals into touch.

Who Is It Suited To?

• A God send for dehydrated and extremely dehydrated  skin
• Perfect for sun damaged skin
• Great for outdoor types exposed to the harsh elements - hot and cold
• Anti ageing buddy - due to its plumping and smoothing action it slows down the ageing process, making your skin look more youthful - now tell me, who doesn't want that?!
• Ideal to use on car journeys, rail travel, buses and flights to stop the much needed but incredibly dehydrating heating and air conditioning from irritating and sucking moisture from your skin.
• Great for anyone working indoors to protect against the heating or air conditioning
• I have many clients who work in hospitals and schools who find this product a must - as the environment in these places are unbelievably dehydrating.

Who wants dehydrated skin? - Image source

I use this serum all year round and have been using it religiously twice daily under my moisturiser since the autumn and throughout the winter as my skin reacts badly to central heating and extreme change in temperatures between the indoors and outdoors. It not only hydrates my skin perfectly but also calms down the prickly irritation I experience.

I also pop it under my weekly face mask to give my skin an action packed hydrating treatment.

I highly recommend giving it a try, as with all of Eve Taylor's products a little goes a long way - literally one pump covers your entire face, neck and décolleté.

How I Build a Serum into My Skin Care Routine

• Cleanse - dry face if rinsed with water
• Apply Facial Oil**
• Spritz Toner over (to lock in the facial oil - remember oil and water don't mix)
• Apply Serum - let it dry (takes seconds!)
• Apply Moisturiser - easy as that!

**For more details on Facial Oils and why they are my MUST have product click here...

Available from Rituals Beauty for £29.99 for a 30ml pump. Remember a little goes a long way!

To order any product from Rituals Beauty, call 0789 4120073 or email hello@ritualsbeauty.co.uk. If you aren't local, I offer a postal service for a little extra cost. Now taking PayPal.

How to Fight Colds And Flu Naturally and Effectively

It seems a number of my lovely clients are under the weather with cold or flu at the moment. So with this in mind this has led me to write this post...

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In 2011 I was hospitalised with Pneumonia after suffering from countless severe colds and chest infections. I normally steer clear of antibiotics (being the natural kind of lady) but as I'd been ill on and off for over 5 months I had actually taken a good few courses, but nothing seemed to be working.

My doctor was also concerned that I had asthma - this unfortunately took 3 months just to get an appointment with a Respiratory Specialist (which took place after I was discharged from hospital!!)  Turns out I do have mild asthma.

Since then I've been a lot more cautious about coming into contact with people with colds or flu; if I catch one and if I'm not careful they tend to go to straight to my chest which means more antibiotics (which I am loathe to take not only because of the side effects but also I don't want to build up an immunity to them as I may really really need them again one day!)

Don't get me wrong antibiotics have their place and indeed they saved my life. The RVI Hospital in Newcastle did an amazing job getting me back on my feet and I'm forever in their debt.

However I refuse to pop them down my neck them lightly and will try my utmost to find natural remedies first with the help of my amazing alternative therapists.

Enough about me, let's move on to those helpful hints and tips!...


How to Fight Colds and Flu Naturally and Effectively

The tips in these blog articles from my amazing herbalist Nick Hudis have been a huge help to me and has nipped many a cold in the bud for me and let me get on with my daily life and running the salon a lot quicker.

Beyond Echinacea: How to survive the winter part 1
How to treat colds and ‘flu’s naturally

                         

Images via Boots and Holland and Barrett

I now take daily doses of Sambucol Elderberry Syrup (easily available from Boots and usually on 3 for 2!) and a Vitamin D3 supplement from Holland and Barrett all year round.

Why not give these tips a try next time you feel a cold or flu coming on, they've worked wonders for me and may for you too.*

Herbalism and How It's Helped Me

Nick also sends me with a monthly bottle of prescribed herbs to help build up the strength of my lungs and keep my immune system fit and healthy. I've even managed to stop taking my preventative steroids (under the guidance of my doctor) and bonus I clear my throat and cough far less as the steroids were actually exacerbating these major symptoms of my asthma. I still carry around an inhaler at all times, but it's great to know I don't need to take daily steroids at the moment (fingers crossed!)**

If you live in Newcastle and would like to see an alternative therapist I'd highly recommend Nick, he's helped me and my family with various problems for over 9 years. To read more about Nick and his healing herbs click here.

* These links will take you to the website of a professional, certified and practising alternative therapist, but if you have a medical condition and have any concerns they may not be suitable for you, please consult your doctor first.

** Always consult your doctor or medical practioner before reducing or stopping any prescribed medication.

Beats a Snowman Any Day!!

Now this is my kind of snow sculpture!

Image via Mama Doreen's Cupcake Company - Yorkshire
(Facebook page)

Hello Stranger!

Hello there, long time no speak!

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Sorry I've not been blogging lately, it's my busiest time of year in the salon and I've just not had a chance to write any blogs. What with organising and running stalls at Christmas Fairs, helping my wonderful clients looking gorgeous for their Christmas parties, soothing winter harassed skin, easing aching muscles; not to mention organising our family Christmas and the demands of our little boys school Christmas events (special thanks to his school for making his classes monthly cake stall this week!!!) But eeek it is getting exciting here!!

So until next year I'm afraid all my time is taking up with all things Christmassy!!

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Until then I'd just like to say a big THANK YOU to all of my wonderful readers for all your support and encouragement this year. 

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Hope you have a magical Christmas and amazing New Year.

Sara x

Tiffany's Do It Again

Oh my! I adore Tiffany's windows and this year's Christmas windows certainly do not disappoint.

This year they are celebrating the magical feeling of Christmas spent at home (wish my home looked like this mind!)

There's even a game to play - can you spot the miniature iconic blue box inside each of their windows?

With a chic, elegant and understated dollop of romance as only Tiffany can do...

Gives Downton Abbey a run for it's money!

Wow what a tree!

 

All pictures via Tiffany - Facebook

It's A Special Someone's Birthday

7 years ago today I met the most amazing little boy for the very first time - our son! And I can tell you it was so worth the long, hard and very stressful labour! I was induced as the little tinker still wasn't budging 17 days after his due date.

Image via Faithfully Feminine

So this post is dedicated to the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me and my husband...

To Our Gorgeous Boy...

As you love Harry Potter and adore cake, here is your very own Harry Potter Cake blog in honour of you; our special, handsome, bright, incredibly caring and well rounded boy on your special day. 

Image via The Cupcake Blog

Image via Hip Pop Cakes

Light up Gingerbread Hogwarts by Making of the Hogwarts Gingerbread Castle

Wow! By Lets Eat Cupcake

By Deb Kichline

By Cupcakes Take The Cake

Now two awesome cakes by your favourite cake maker Duff Goldman from the Ace Of Cakes TV show!

Image via The Short Line

Images via Shelf Talker

By Artcake in Russia

By Rose Bud Cakes

Image via Yelp

Hope you have a wonderful birthday little man - love you more than the last number in the world!!

Mum xxxxxxx

Hero Product - Lush's 'Helping Hands' Hand Cream

I would like to introduce you to another of my 'Hero Products' drum roll drrrrrrrrr... my wonderful caring friend 'Helping Hands' Hand Cream.

This generous tub of miracles is from Lush - formerlly 'Cosmetics To Go'.

I discovered this little gem when chatting to one of their incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic sales assistants about another product and she gave me a sample of this gorgeous cream (they are so generous with their samples so you get to have a good number of applications of the product to see the benefits).

I just happened to mention I suffer from very dry cracked knuckles. Washing your hands constantly goes with the territory when your a therapist, and even though I had stopped using harsh antibacterial washes; I was still having the problem and no hand cream I had tried had helped. To top it all off I was developing sore itchy contact dermatitis from the gloves we are required to wear for treatments such as waxing and nails; exacerbated by (sorry to say it) erm sweating like a pig inside them!

This gorgeous concoction contains nourishing Almond and Coca Butter, conditioning and healing Shea Butter, healing and antithetic Honey, soothing Chamomile and anti-inflammatory African Marigold. All natural and incredibly effective. It's rich in Vitamin A so it's great for keeping the hands looking youthful.

It was invented for nurses and people like myself who have really dry over-washed hands. I would personally like to thank Mark the aforementioned inventor. No I don't know him personally but it says so on the pot!!

Instructions on how to use - it does make me chuckle!

The scent is beautifully understated and mild, so it doesn't over power your other delicious smelling lotions and potions like some hand creams can. The texture isn't greasy but is rich enough to sink in whilst leavings your skin feeling softer, nourished and protected.

AND as with all my favourite products it doesn't contain paraffin - so no leaching your skin of moisture...

Mineral oil or Paraffin (cheap by-products of petroleum) based products draw moisture away from your skin making the area dry out further when the product wears off. Read more about this in my article Are you using the right Lip Balm?

I urge you to try this product, it's frankly ruddy marvelous! I know the smell of the shop can smack you in the face like a 'sweet smelling but not fishy smelling wet fish' from 100 yards away!! BUT their products are fabulous, natural, ethical, not to mention down right clever and deliver amazing results.

Oh and if you take back clean 5 pots you get a free fresh face mask and they will recyle the pots to make new pots!

It’s as simple as scrubbing them clean and popping them to your local store where they are whisked back to the factory at Poole. Once there our supplier helpfully grinds them up and makes them into brand new pots again, it doesn't get much more closed loop than that. Via Lush

One last thing I simply must mention is that Lush make their pretty Knot Wraps (alternative eco-friendly, re useable gift wrap) out of their recycled bottles; heaven knows how and believe it or not they are super soft! See I said they were a clever bunch!

Flower Print Knot Wrap

Helping Hands is available in 100g tub for £7.15 - believe me a little goes a long way so it lasts for ages.