Beauty Recommendations for Looking after Yourself in 2022

Photo by kevin laminto on Unsplash

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Finally, in my late forties, I seem to be looking after myself better. I've always enjoyed wearing make-up and doing my hair but I have been absolutely hopeless at looking after my skin or having any kind of beauty regime. Thankfully, God seems to have blessed me with good skin and I've got away with it, but no longer, I realise I'm ageing and need a change. So let me share with you some of the products I've been using in recent times and I'm loving.

Body Shop Vitamin C Glow Revealing Liquid Peel - £16 for 100ml

This is a fairly new product to me, I've been using it for just a few months but even in that short time, I am really finding it effective. I had thought that my face was looking a bit dull but this has cheered it up no end and I have that lovely glow again. The product has a gentle exfoliator in it and you apply it to dry skin and as you massage it in you can feel these little balls forming and they are supposed to collect up your dry skin cells and any dirt/ grime that is there. You then rinse it off your face and it really is very satisfying to use. 

You just need one or two small pumps for each use, so I think the 100ml bottle will last me quite some time and provide good value. When I was younger I probably would have opted for a supermarket fash wash in a much bigger size for under a fiver but as I get older I realise that you do get what you pay for. I also really like the values of Body Shop (#ad) and I'm happy to buy from a sustainable brand with good green credentials, using natural products. 

What Does He See When He Looks At Me?

Just look at that picture. Is there anything as gorgeous as a child fully at rest, peacefully sleeping? It's all the more precious when that child is a live wire and you have had to coax and train her to be able to fall off to sleep without a fight.

Last week dh and I went out for the evening and when we got back I went in to check on each of the kids as I always do, but this time I stopped and really looked at Miss M and captured this picture. In that moment I remembered how important it is to focus on the good in a person, every person.

It goes without saying that I love Miss M, adore her in fact. She is so like me but that doesn't necessarily make things easy. It makes them harder if anything, as all those little traits I don't like about myself, well she has them too and all those rough edges I've been working on and smoothing out over the last few years since deepening my relationship with Christ, yep they are evident as well.

Not So #SilentSunday - Getting back to basics.....

Over the last few weeks I have had a real sense that I need to get back to basics, my life has become cluttered. My head is cluttered and even parts of my house are cluttered. For someone who prides herself on being good at clearing out, there are a few places I have allowed to remain full of crap and that is not good.

I was at one of my counselling sessions a couple of weeks back and the counsellor asked me what I thought about something eating and weight related (I can't recall exactly what) and I sat there for a few moments and I got quite scared.  You know what? I had no idea what I thought.  I knew what the theories say, I have read numerous books and been to various clubs and fellowships to learn about my issues with eating but the sad things is I had no idea what I thought.  What does Mich believe?

Well I'll tell you what I believe - I believe I have got a bit lost along the way.  I have done so much study and tried so many different things that I now have no real idea what is me and what is just stuff I have read. There I was trying to be a diligent little solider learning more and more, quenching my thirst for all things new and what have I actually done?  Confused myself.  Whoops.

So today I had a bit of a clear out - no more diet or self-help books for me, even Christian ones.  Everything I need to know is in my manual for life (yes the Bible) and whilst it is not the easiest read it is one that gets better with time and understanding. I'll still read some fiction, a bit of fluff is good for the soul but no more books designed to change me.

Off I go now to the charity shop in town, to drop this lot off (and quite a few more too) -

What was I thinking of with some of those books?

On a related note, a film I watched last also really struck me. I was watching P.S. I Love You and the widow was reading one of the letters from her deceased husband. In it he tells her he is not afraid she will forget him but it is the girl he first met, the one full of hopes and dreams that he worries about, as she keeps getting lost along the way.  I thought yes, that is me.  I have lost sight of me along the way.  The lures of this modern world have hooked me in and I have forgotten who I am in Christ.

So this is the next leg of my life journey - to re find me. The me that is a devoted disciple and wishes to live for Christ, not for instant gratification or the search of perfection.

My Pastor had some wise words for me in his sermon this morning, when I am making a wrong choice (and lets be honest, we know when it is a wrong choice) I just need to apply one simple rule - 'don't do it'!  Yes it is that simple. Go to overeat - stop myself and pray. Say something harsh to my children in the heat of the moment - stop, apologise and pray etc.

Life is not easy but it is generally simple and the more I remember that the better.

Us humans are far too guilty of making things more complex than they need to be.

What about you, anything cluttering up your life that you need to ditch?

A 24 hour journey of self discovery....

I went away with work this week.  It is the third week in a row I have stayed away from my children and due to this fact I was not really looking forward to it, but I have to say that it has been wonderful, really enlightening.

I was away at a conference for staff developers (trainers to the non-initiated) who work for universities in my local region.  We all come together and share ideas, tips and best practise to help inspire each other to do our jobs better.  Being fairly new to my role I was really up for this and have not come away disappointed at all.  So you see my time away was not supposed to be about self-discovery but some of the development exercises that we partook in really got you thinking and reflecting, examining yourself even.

Here is what I discovered about me whilst I was there –

• That team sports can be fun
• With some coaching I can achieve more than I expected
• That my preconceived negative beliefs hold me back
• That stepping out of my comfort zone is good and can be really lifting
• That I don’t have to feel like the newbie at work, my contributions are valuable too

Isn’t that great?  What a lot of valuable learning to come from just 24 hours away from my family and everyday life.

I was in such great surroundings at Maddingly Hall, Cambridgeshire that I’ll share a few photos.

2011 - What Does The Year Hold For Us?

Image Credit

Ella at Notes From Home has prompted me to think about my resolutions for the new year and I have to be honest, I do not normally bother!

I started to ponder why this was?  Is it because I am a cynic and just think there is no point as then you break them within a few days/ weeks?  or could it be because I do not really give myself enough quiet time and space to actually think about what might be important and what I need to focus on in the new year.  I have a sneaking feeling it is that latter option.  So I am taking some time now to ponder on 2011 and to wonder what the year might hold for my family and me.

I won't be making a big list of all the things that I must not do as that for me would just be depressing and dis motivating. Instead I will make a list of positive things that I intend to do, things that are good for my family and me and things that we enjoy but sadly can get pushed to the side with life's more boring and mundane tasks.  Last month I blogged about my priorities, I had a moment of clarity when I knew for sure I was supposed to be spending more time with my family and that is where my resolutions will start..

1. I will take time every single week to have quality alone time with each of my children.  Be it playing a game, snuggling and watching TV or going out together.  Just something for the two of us.
2. I will re-start date night for dh and I.  Sunday nights used to be full of romance and longing - I aim to bring that back again.
3. I will go to bed by 11pm at least 6 nights per week and I will not stay up blogging or on the PC for too long.  Life is more important that my blog!
4. I will look after myself and stop stuffing my face full of needless food each time I feel any kind of emotion. I need to reconnect with my recovery program and gain abstinence.  Reaching out to others in recovery on a regular basis
5. That is it, I will stay realistic in 2011 and know that if I can do all those things I will be a very happy lady!

It is a shame really that I was not making that big list of 'do nots', as I read the following resolution at a new blog I found today and it was just perfect for me, it was as if Helen was inside my own mind when she wrote this one -

• I resolve to take a deep breath and count to 10 BEFORE screaming/yelling like a banshee at my children. No matter what the provocation. Even if they have written over the walls / peed on the new sofa / sneaked a lemon drizzle cake into the teepee in their bedroom and scoffed half of it / flooded the bathroom floor (again).

OMG, she is me.  I often feel like a banshee.  I pray that we both find the strength to have more patience with our kids this year, however much they test us!

So that is me.  What about you? Do you do the whole resolution thing?

Wishing you a very Happy 2011.  I hope you will continue to read Mummy From The Heart... and please do pop over and see my new blog Honest Mummy Reviews & Recommendations... I appreciate each and every one of you. Mich xx