September Guide

As summer draws to and end, London is optimistic.  Fuelled by some much needed vitamin D from a very decent season super charged by foreign holidays we’re feeling good as autnm breezes in.  It’s a great time to re-boot your health and beauty regime, nothing serious but just a few days of keeping it clean to get rid of a 1lb or two that the lazy, hazy days and loose clothes allowed us to gain and to make sure we are fighting fit and our most gorgeous selves for Fashion week, long hours at the office or dealing with the school run.

This Month’s Gorgeous Girl is the Pilates teacher whipping Chelsea into shape, My Lust of the Month is the vegan Protein Powder that doubles as a snack and This Month’s Gorgeous Treat is the new multi vitamin spray for health on the run.

If like me you have gained a couple of pounds over the holiday’s – firstly get it into perspective – what you can put on two weeks you can easily loose in, well, four.  But it also gives you an opportunity to re-think your relationship with food, exercise and nutrition.  I encourage my clients and indeed myself to get up every morning and move – create a ritual and just do it!  Make it a part of your life and a non-negotiable. 

If skin is still peeling from the summer sun – Rituals Good Luck Scrub will evoke memories of exotic travels and remove dead skin cells to reveal soft, smooth renewed skin.

I have been singing the praises of sprouted foods for a while but my favourite, super sprout is the Adzuki bean.  It is rich in Vitamins, magnesium, potassium and iron.  Easier to digest and lower in calories than most other beans - this is the perfect, post workout supper or flour alternative in sweets.  Reported to support liver and kidney functions this warming super-food is my must have staple for the new season.

I have mentioned Turmeric before and now is a great time to re-introduce it to your daily routine, a tea-spoonful with a splash of lemon in hot water it is a powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory.  The health benefits are numerous and long-term use should enhance both your body and your beauty.

Our complexion often needs a bit of extra tender-loving care to transition from summer sun to autumn winds and Juno by Sunday Riley from Cult Beauty is one of the best products for the job.  Packed with rare oils and an age-defying cocktail of Vitamins A, C and E, it doesn’t smell gorgeous but your complexion will look gorgeous.

Glow On!

August Guide

August is when our reality and fantasy collide; even if we are not hitting the beach, we’re enjoying long hot days and balmy nights.  Our day jobs seem like such a small part of our lives, because we have hours ahead of us to play and so many of us are literally or metaphorically on vacation.  It is too late to transform but it is not too late to tweak - a few great products and a little editing of your plate can change the way you look and feel in days. 

This Month’s Gorgeous Girl has written the ultimate summertime read, my Lust of the Month is mineral sun protection on a brush and this Month’s Gorgeous Treat is the perfect travel companion.

If you have a few days before you hit the beach, try and eliminate all refined sugar. Excess salt means excess water retention so use herbs and fresh lemon juice to flavor your food and beat the bloat.  Avoid carbohydrates after 7pm and stay hydrated. 

 When it comes to flying there are a few rules I like to stick to – don’t drink any alcohol on the plane, it will de-hydrate you and increase your chances of suffering from jet lag.  Take your own food – bananas are a great option, as well as being portable goodness they help maintain moisture levels in the body.  Nuts are a good way of boosting your protein levels but don’t over do it and avoid peanuts – apart from potentially aggravating allergy sufferers they are particularly hard to digest.  Most of us could do with a boost to our immunity before, during and after a flight so I like to up my vitamin C intake for 48 hours. 

If you do supplement, travelling with several bottles can be a drag – enter Pro-Vitality Formula - broad spectrum food supplement to support the skin, hair, mind and body in a handy blister pack.

If your skin is sensitive to the heat, the sun, foreign bodies and things that sting then Derma Sun by Salcura is your friend.  Packed with great things like Aloe, Tea Tree and Sea Buckthorn Oil and free of steroids, hormones and Cortisones even this spray works wonders on even the most damaged skin conditions.

I have talked about Dr Bonner’s soap this before but I feel this magical cleanser deserves another shout out here.  This stuff will clean faces, bodies, hair and silks.  It is the perfect travel multi-tasker and comes in the perfect size to cover a two to three week vacation.

If like me you like your space to smell as well as actually be, sacred Alaskan Essences Purification spray is an essential travel companion.  At 60 ml, it is small enough to take in your carry on and perfect for the plane, the hotel room or your friends sofa bed.

 

Philip Kingsley does good hair and when it comes to post beach nourishment, his Elasticizer Extreme is hard to beat.  My tip – apply it before you hit the beach and leave it on all day.  For a serious hair-boosting treat apply the Exfoliating Mask directly to your scalp 15 minutes before washing and you will be taking care of the hair you have as well as the hair to come.

Fly high!

 

 

 

 

 

 

July Guide

July in England feels like the very beginning rather than the middle of summer but as we see and feel more of the warmth of the sun, we show more and more of our flesh. Excess weight, prickly heat, blotchy skin or not enough colour is enough to make us want to cover up at exactly the same time that we need to bare all. 

The Month's Gorgeous Treat should reduce bloating and boost your immunity on the move. This Month’s Gorgeous Girl has one of the best noses in Europe who has created the smell of summer.  My Lust of the Month is a face saving mak that will give you back your sleepless night.

It is never to late to work on your bikini body - as little as ten minutes of exercise everyday for two weeks can be a game changer.  Focus on dynamic core exercises that work out more then one major muscle group at a time the key is intensity and consistency.  Forget about trying to get an hour in at the gym a couple of times a week, it’s too much effort for most of us.   Find something you love about your body, we all have something, ankles, shoulder blades, lower back anything – work on it and show it off.  We all have different nutritional needs but if you’re trying to loose a couple of pounds before you hit the beach, keep your carbs complicated and eat them early.  Focus on lean protein and vegetables after 7pm.

I advice my clients to up their intake of really good non acidic vitamin C at this time of year, A it will support you immunity through the challenges of flights, strange environments and unfamiliar cuisine and secondly it acts as a natural anti-histamine.  I’ve mentioned Lypospheric Vitamin C before and I am yet to find a more effective formula but for something totally natural try Cam-Camu from Navitus Naturals found in the rain-forests of Brazil and packed with 100 times the vitamin C levels of oranges.

If like me you suffer from sun sensitive skin don’t leave home without Aloe Ferox Brown Gel it will help heal blemishes, inset bites, heat rash and sun burn.  This is one of the best gels on the market and because it is made from the fresh juice rather than powder, it will penetrate the layers of the skin beyond your average aloe. 

When it comes to summer make-up don’t be afraid of splash of vibrant colour but it is best to keep the skin as bare as you dare.  Most of us look so much better with a touch of concealer under the eyes but use one of the latest crop of CC creams for the rest of the face or brush on Chantacaille Protection Naturelle  Two shades work for all but the very fairest or darkest complexions to give you skin just the perfect touch of magic with some SPF protection on the run.  

Bright sunshiny days! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June Guide

The count down is on, the beach is looming and if we're not heading for the beach in six weeks time we will at least be heading for the park, the pool or the party.  It's time to get rid of skin, fat and hair that are surplus to requirement.  It’s all about waxing, threading, exfoliating and moving - with meaning.

My Lust of the Month is the perfect shade of grey.  This Month’s Gorgeous Girl is an one of the London's most sought-after movement therapists  and this Month’s Gorgeous Treat is your perfect shad of pink!

With bare legs and sleeveless dresses, body hair is front and center.  Waxing doesn’t have to be a drag and these days the whole experience can be more about the pamper than the pain, two of my favourite places in London are Strip Wax Bar and Bliss.  I think DIY is under rated and if you don’t have the will, the time or the budget to get to the spa invest in the Bliss Trim and Bare It.  It will allow you to do – well exactly what it says on the box!

We all know that exfoliation is the key to silky smooth and yes the humble loofah can do the job but there is far more joy and fun to be had with products.  I have two that I love at either end of the ‘natural’ spectrum.  Clinique Sparkle Skin has been around for years and works brilliantly.  The Hammam Hot Scrub from Rituals is both purifying and uplifting and as with everything else from this line it will turn a chore into a pleasure.

The balancing act between protecting you skin with a good SPF and supporting your bones and your immunity with a healthy dose of vitamin D is a delicate one.  I say get some naked sun exposure in before 10 am or after 4pm and for the rest of the time use some age management SPF 20 ish.  There are lot’s of good ones around but this is one area that should be as chemical free as possible.  I am a big fan of Epicuren and their Zinc based SPF works on every skin type and tone.

I’m on a mission to get everyone moving.  Five minutes or fifty it will all add up.  Make it a non-negotiable part of your day, stretch on waking then make everything else count – walk up escalators, perform twenty lunges while you wait for the kettle to boil – Nike had it right, just do it!   

 

 

 

May Guide

May feels like the perfect month.  The temperature is rising and so too are our expectations but there is still time to shape up from the inside out before all that pressure of the hotter months when flesh is on show not only by design but through necessity.  May is our moment; we can cover up or show it off.  We can burn off the winter excess whilst honing the summer body in time - plenty of time for the summer.  May is prep month!

This month's Gorgeous Girl is helping women to shape up for their big day or night at the pull of a string.  My Lust of the Month is the delicious vegetable that is back in season and high on nutrients and this Months Gorgeous Treat is a month's supply of Better You’s Femergy Hair Skin and Nails.

Good health is so often more about adding in then taking away.   Focus on the good stuff to crowd out the bad.  I am having a supplement moment.  Yes we can get everything we need from our diet, but how many of us live on an organic farm and prepare all of our own meals?  The truth is that our food is depleted and whilst supplements should never and could never take the place of good food an occasional short sharp course can be beneficial for most of us.  So I say yes to Omega 3, yes to Vitamin D and yes to a course of Probiotics that will help us to absorb the goodness and help flatten our tummies en route. 

 

When it comes to exercise little and often is the way forward and if you are a class kind of girl there’s a new workout in town and it will take you back to the wild.  Primal Movement classes are available at Equinox – the US uber gym with a finger on the all of our pulses.  This class mimics movements of wild animals creating a strong core and lean muscles.  

Get skin prepped for the summer with a course of Good Genes by Sunday Riley.  This is the jewel in the crown of the cult skin care line and as the name suggests, long-term use will make you look like you lucked out in the skin gene pool.

April Guide

April is my birth month when I am most focused on the passing of time and how I feel about it.  It starts by replacing the negative and nonsensical notion of anti-ageing with Ageless Beauty and it ends with gratitude for the memory of survival.  I still feel about nineteen but experience tells me that time heals and that is a blessing!  I no longer look nineteen however and that’s fine but I do like the idea of looking great (for me and for my age, whatever that may be); so the serums, the work outs, the facials, the supplements play an increasingly important role as time goes by.

This month's Gorgeous Girl celebrates her age and encourages others to do the same in her life and in her work.  My Lust of the Month is a little ray of sunshine that comes in a bottle and this Month's Treat is a one-month supply of one of my favorite ageless beauty supplements. 

I always say that fine lines are not the enemy of beauty, it is sagging skin that we need to fight – enter the Night Collagen serum QMS Medi Cosmetics this formula promises to firm the skin and boost cell turnover – and it does.  It smells re-reassuringly challenging (this is a results driven rather than pampering line) my face feels instantly supported and looks subtly, at least temporarily lifted – time will tell if the results last but so far, so gorgeous.

 

MitoQ is the high powered cream that penetrates where so many others don’t with a superior version of the cell nourishing anti-oxidant CoQ 10.   These guys are confident, they are big on the science (see the video MitoQ) with a money back guarantee by way of explanation mark.  I haven’t used this for long enough to see significant results but after just a few days this cream had the effect of the perfect holiday.  I had an instant glow and everything just seemed a little better! 

 

 

 

 

March Guide

It's time to clean up - our home, bodies and minds.  This month is about getting gorgeous from the inside out.  This Month's Gorgeous Girl understands the power and the privilege of looking and feeling our very best selves.  This Month's Gorgeous Treat will brighten your smile and my Lust of the Month will take you from winter to spring in glorious technicolour. 

This Friday is  International Women's Day and an opportunity to engage with and support the women of the world.  It's a chance to celebrate our beauty without the limitations of super-imposed and unattainable images of what that means.

I will be in London celebrating the day with WIE at The Hospital Club.  I am thrilled to be joining an extraordinary group of women who will be speaking at the symposium.  It's about everything we care about from funding to presentation and the challenges of being a working Mother.  We will be hearing from some men too and asking if we really can have it all.   WIE promises to be thrilling, informing and inspiring.  I'll be talking Healthy living and Ageless Beauty at the Inside Out workshop over green tea and mini-massages.  

As we catch more frequent glimpses of the sunshine and dare to contemplate the pleasures of lighter clothes and bare skin, now is the time to get clean.  I like to think in terms of daily rituals rather than painful overhauls.  Let's do a little cleansing every day.  Aloe Ferox is one of my favorite health supplements, it's from the same family as Aloe Vera but unfiltered it retains all of the naturally active ingredients.  I don't suggest using it all year round but it is a great tonic for the warmer months, taken before food, or added to juice it supports digestion, skin and immunity. 

 

This is a great time to upgrade your facial cleanse.  We've all become a bit demanding about what we need a cleanser to do but I am here to tell you that even the great classics can't do everything all of the time. Removing make-up, grime and toxins requires a bit of work - my top tip, double cleanse, it is the only way to get everything off and ensure that treatments and moisturisers can penetrate.  I also think that we almost always need an additional eye make-up remover to get every last trace of mascara off.  So now that expectations are managed I am loving Rodial's glamtox cleansing balm - it cleans, hydrates and brightens for a clearer, gorgeous new you!

February Guide

Valentines Day, Red Carpet Glamour and the occasional tease by a spring-time to come is making us get all hot and bothered.  Sexy is the new little black dress – it’s essential!

This Month's Gorgeous Girl creates, lingerie that fits perfectly in that sweet spot between pretty and risqué .  My Lust of the Month is both sweet and good and this Month's Gorgeous Treat is a little tin of the best Green Tea on the planet.

There are three things we need most this February, a great pout, a great lash and super soft, shimmering skin.  February is the perfect time to sport a red pout and the old rules no longer apply.  Blue toned reds can look great on every skin tone, it all depends on your mood, you can clash or conform, if you like it wear it!  I still love Fire Down Below by Nars it is classic Hollywood, bold not brash and it lasts all day.  For something softer, fresher and utterly modern Tom Ford Lip Color Shine in Willful gives the prettiest of pouts.

With lashes being so firmly on the beauty agenda mascara alone won’t do.  We need to treat by night as well as enhance by day and my new favourite growth serum is peptalash from those clever guys at indeed. Not only does it do what it says on the tiny little tube that seems to go on forever but it is inexpensive and available from Boots. This stuff works without stinging or irritation - no your lashes won’t look like falsies, but they will look long and lush in under a month.

 

If the brilliant Moroccan Oil range can transform our hair then it makes a whole lot of sense to use it on our bodies too.  Their shimmering body oil smells divine and leaves skin seriously soft with a gentle even shimmer that looks expensive, never tacky and is perfect a big night out or in!

 

 

 

 

January Guide

New Year’s Day always feels like a false start.  It is simply unrealistic to wake up on the 1st of the year fuelled by the knowledge that anything is possible and that new beginnings mean, well just that.  It all starts here, during the first real working week of the year.  It is now that the adventure, the challenges and the hopes of a new year begin.

This Month's Gorgeous Girl is the private members club CEO putting wellness on the menu!  My Lust of the Month is a little stick of goodness that is perfect for city streets and snowy slopes and This Month's Gorgeous Treat is the ultimate balancing act.

I no longer make New Years resolutions, I have stopped making up rules too difficult to live by, I say let’s create rituals instead.  There are certain things that we do everyday, mostly for society, family, colleagues, they are none negotiable and therefore easy to stick to like brushing teeth, or washing faces, like turning on mobile phones or grabbing a coffee.  Create a ritual that nourishes you.  Stretch for 5 minutes every morning and if five is too long make it three but do it every morning, create a non negotiable that will give you time to breath, to think and unravel your vital organs from the nights sleep. 

For us girls it is what we eat that counts most, exercise is vital, but it won’t affect your body, your skin and your mind in the way that your relationship with food will.  So now is a great time to get support and the most effective detox you can do now is emotional because Gorgeous really is a state of mind.  We instinctively know this to be true and first saw it play out as uncertain teenagers on foreign holidays.  It was the local girl who had not been told that perfect came in one shape or size oozing with confidence and therefore beauty.  She was round, or lean, short or tall, her hair was curly red or golden blonde, her skin was like dark velvet or bone china - she was uniquely beautiful!  And mostly we just wanted to feel like her because we knew she felt gorgeous.  It’s a muscle like any other that needs to be worked it takes time to train your mind, to believe, think and know that you are gorgeous just the way that you are.  This is vital because we only take care of what we value, we must therefore detox our minds.  Re, boot, re think and re evaluate the way that we think about our thighs.  They work therefore they are gorgeous!

 

If we are going to detox our bodies, keep it simple and with respect for both your lifestyle and the context in which you live.  It’s cool in LA, cold in London - January is actually not the best time for a serious detox in so many places, but following the excess of the season it does make sense to clean up a little with some help from herbs.  The Organic Pharmacy Detox and Liver Cleanse will aid digestion, assimilation and metabolism.   It lasts for ten days and inspires rather than dictates mindful eating.

 

Happy New, Gorgeous You!

 

 

 

 

December Guide

Tis the season to be merry….and gorgeous!  Late nights, mince pies and a constant flow of mulled wine can play havoc on your body and complexion.   I say embrace it all but have some emergency supplies to hand to create some balance or at least an illusion. 

This Month’s Gorgeous Girl is one half of the team behind London’s members only style boutique – imagine your perfect boudoir, filled with wonderful clothes and your own personal stylist!  My Lust of the month is the divine smelling non toxic candle that will be on every lux wish list this season and this months Gorgeous treat is another chance to disucss your health and wellness goals with me.

There are a few things that every girl needs to get her through the season.  Three great dresses – yes you can recycle, just remember where you wore it last!  One killer pair of heels – go for a pop of colour that will work with anything or some natural sparkles, champagne works with everything, some foot petals that you will love more than your heels by the end of the night and a great make-up kit. 

Siseley-cosmetics.com is the luxury skin care line that likes to keep things natural.  This stuff is expensive but it works and the perfect solution for well, let’s face it almost every morning this month is their Black Rose Cream Face Mask, it instantly plumps, smooths and hydrates the skin wiping away any signs of the night before.  This mask is gentle enough to be used up to three times per week so get a tube now and glow through the season!

Yves Saint Laurent say that their Touche Eclat Foundation has a magic light and there is something special about this formula which feels like silk against the skin and mimimises imperfections with glorious translucency. 

The hair is always a bit of challenge, what most of us really want is a blow-dry every other day but budget, time and indeed the sheer fragility of the hair does not allow -  use the right products and both style and condition should last longer.  I am loving the new range  from uber stylist to the stars Tara Smith, Feed the Root leaves the scalp lightly exfoliated and nourished and the hair clean and shiny.  Her  Shine On Conditioner gives an extra layer of gloss and seems to stay that way for the entire working (and partying) week!

Nails have become the ultimate style statement, I must confess mine are still medium long, squaval and creamy pink but I do coo every time I see Rihanna or  Alexandra Burke or  rocking some gorgeous mulitl-coloured bejewelled gel like creations that somehow manage to work the vamp/chic look perfectly.  If you are more adventures than I or indeed no someone else that is Nails Inc have a fatastic gift set of this seasons most glorious colours and a few classics for good mesaure.  

 

Wishing you a gorgeous Christmas and a Healthy, Happy New Year!