Wednesday 17 August 2016

Product Recommendation: Aveeno

As someone who suffers from terrible eczema and skin so dry it could rival the Sahara desert, moisturising is vital to maintaining the skin, keeping it healthy and just generally feeling comfortable. However, finding a decent moisturiser that soothes my skin without leaving it feeling heavy and slimey was incredibly difficult.

Until I found Aveeno.



A few years ago, I was researching remedies for eczema, when I came across a post discussing Aveeno, and the effect it had on someone's eczema. Seeing this, I decided to research Aveeno further, and discovered lots of glowing reviews, which encouraged me to try it for myself, and it just amazed me.

I would like to emphasise that it did not clear up my eczema- I have yet to find a way to eradicate it, unfortunately. However, it has made living with eczema much easier. It makes my skin feel like it has actually been moisturised, leaving soft and smooth. It also brings great relief when suffering from terrible dryness. As I said, most other moisturisers that I'd tried left my skin feeling pretty disgusting (they did nothing to help with the itchiness and would just peel off, resulting in my skin remaining very dry), so it's been great having something that's compatible with my skin. It also lasts for ages, which is a major bonus.

I would really recommend Aveeno to everyone (and I think, having seen what a lot of other people have to say about it, there are many other people who would), especially people with very dry skin and even more so people who suffer from eczema. It's such a great  product.

Monday 8 August 2016

Ways To Relieve Stress

Stress can have a detrimental effect on our health, and can be responsible for or contribute to the worsening of multiple health conditions. Therefore, it's important to try and keep your stress levels as low as you can. Sometimes it can be difficult to do this, as high stress situations are sometimes unavoidable (e.g. important exams, which pretty much always cause a lot of stress), and in these cases it helps to have something that relieves some of this stress and presents you with an opportunity to properly relax and unwind for a bit. I've decided to make a list of things that help with stress (some of these are things that help me, but I haven't tried all of these) in the hopes of inspiring people and perhaps providing them with some ideas (though I'm sure there are hundreds of posts like this out there). I'm also hoping this post will provide me with some ideas for myself (seeing as I'm basically permanently stressed).

  • Pamper yourself- I suppose the definition of pampering yourself would vary from person to person, but it could be anything from running yourself a hot bath filled with bubbles and putting on a face mask and some relaxing music, lighting candles and pouring yourself a large glass of wine to just painting your nails or changing you bed sheets. I have to say, it's not one I've indulged in much personally.
  • Indulge in a spot of binge watching. Netflix is particularly good for this
  • Eat/drink something that you really enjoy, they're called treats for a reason
  • Bake or cook something- I've found that cooking can actually be quite good for easing stress (though it can also get stressful at times, it really depends on your mindset on the day)
  • Make a playlist of songs you enjoy or that make you happy or have good memories attached
  • Read a book you really enjoy. This could be something new or a book you've read a dozen times.
  • Actually, read anything- a magazine, a blog, some online articles
  • Sit outside, particularly on a sunny day
  • Try an adult colouring book
  • Try some yoga, or perhaps meditation
  • Exercise, but make sure that it is exercise that you enjoy and will make you feel good. I have to say, I haven't always found exercise effective (at least not in the way people make it out to be)
  • Invest in a lava lamp, it's pretty soothing to watch the wax float around, plus it gives your room a cosy glow
  • Make a blanket fort
  • Hang fairy lights
  • Get straight into your comfiest pyjamas
  • Light some scented candles
  • Go for a walk, especially in a calm soothing area where there's lots of nice scenery (if you're lucky enough to live close enough to anywhere like this)
  • Go for a drive
  • Pop bubble wrap
  • Window shop
  • Prepare a picnic and sit a nice park or scenic area
  • Spend time with a pet
Here's a picture of my lava lamp and fairy lights to soothe and (hopefully) inspire you.

I've tried to come up with as many ideas as I can, though I'm sure there are many more! I might make another post (or posts) like this if I think of a few more ideas, I like the idea of having a bunch of posts with a ton of ideas on stress relief. 

Wednesday 3 August 2016

Blog Update

I have to be honest, I haven't been doing so well in regards to leading a healthier lifestyle and, as a result, my blog has suffered. I'm just a little bit ashamed of how little I've posted in the last month or so! I'm trying to get my diet back on track, as well as managing to work at least a bit of exercise in, so I'm hoping that I will be posting more regularly about these things pretty soon. In the mean time, I'll try writing about a few other things, just to keep this blog alive. I want to stick to the theme as much as possible, but I also want these posts to reflect my lifestyle, so I don't want to post anything that focuses on a healthy lifestyle when mine isn't (plus, in my opinion. it's more difficult to write about these things when you're not practising them anyway).

I also wanted to add that as I approach the beginning of university again, I want to write about a few things related to university, some of it to help myself and some of it to help others.

Anyway, I hope to post again soon, though I have no idea what about!