Collaborative / Partnered Post - Small Changes You Can Make To Have A Positive Impact On Both Your Physical And Mental Health*

I don't know about you, but the last twelve months or so have been a bit of struggle mental health wise. I don't whether it's totally been down to Covid, and lockdown, after lockdown, or just life stresses mounting up and getting the better of me, but at times I've really struggled. The key thing when you're struggling with anything but especially mental health is to talk, be it to a friend or a family member, or even seek some professional or unbiased help.

When your struggling with your mental health every problem can seem so huge but when you look at it even the biggest problem is just a series of tiny little ones, and when you break it down, the majority of times it isn't quite as scary as what you thought it was, and the same thing applies when it comes to making changes that benefit both your mental, and physical health

As a species, humans tend to be very good at thinking big, and setting huge goals for themselves, that to be honest aren't always achievable in the one go. I know it isn't always possible but if you want to truly benefit your mental health then you need to start out with something more manageable, and more achievable. The first thing you need to do before you start focusing on some of your problems is to think about self care, and the tiny changes that you can make on a daily basis, that can help you get your mind and body into focus, and prepare yourself for the task

Exercise for 20 Minutes

It’s important to know that your version of working out doesn’t have to be anything like someone else’s, and believe me mine isn't! It doesn’t matter at all if you want to build up so you can eventually run marathons or whether you just want to try and get a little bit fitter, and get some much needed fresh air to boot, if it makes you feel better, it all matters and it all counts. Now I just do as and when, but what you need to do is make sure that you schedule it into your calendar, like you would a coffee date, or a zoom meeting, and make it part of your day and your week. You don’t have to go running either, or do anything strenuous, just spend 20 minutes or so a day being more active, you can save on the stresses, cost and self esteem issues of going to the gym by doing an online class, following a You Tube video, by buying a bit of exercise equipment (I've recently bought a seated exercise bike) or even going for a 20 minute walk. Whatever the form, exercise really gets those endorphins going, and it can really help with stress, depression and self esteem issues.

Source: Pexels (CC0 License)

Eat More Fruit And Vegetable

When I'm feeling a bit down, or stressed, I turn to food, and in particular things like chocolate, crisps, and junk food and I'm not alone in that - so many of us turn to food and comfort eat in times of stress, and that's fine, don’t restrict yourself , no food should ever be forbidden, instead though, instead of reaching for the biscuits try and introduce more fruit and vegetables into your diet. Consider how to add more vegetables into your daily meals so that you can increase your nutrient intake, add some salad vegetables to a sandwich, snack on some carrot sticks, and hummus, instead of using crisps or bread for dipping, and if you love bananas, then why not add more of them to your diet, pop them into your porridge, yogurt or cereal or even pop them in a sandwich. As I said in my last post if you hate Brussel sprouts, change how you cook them, but if you still aren't a fan then don't force yourself to eat them there are plenty of other vegetables out there to eat. It maybe because I'm a vegetarian but I do love vegetables and eating more fruit and veg is such a tiny change that can make a huge impact on both your mental and physical health.

Drink One More Glass of Water a Day

It sounds strange but just drinking one extra glass of water a day can play a huge role in helping both your physical and mental health. The average adult needs to drink around 8 glasses of water, and a few more alongside, if you're drinking a lot of caffeine. If you don't drink enough water your body and your mind will suffer, you won't be able to concentrate, you may get a headache, and it can effect your skin. It can look dull, and you can get more breakouts. and suffer from more blotchiness and skin damage. If you are struggling with your skin, it may be an idea for you to look into hyperpigmentation treatment.

Sleep for Half an Hour Extra A Day

Although most of the time I'm not one of them, so many of us just don't get enough sleep that it’s so important that you make this year, the one where you actually look after yourself. I know it's hard when you're feeling anxious but give your body the sleep that it has been craving and make sure that you are getting between 7 and 9 hours every night. If you don't get enough sleep you really struggle to focus during the day, and as well as altering your mental health it can ultimately also ultimately effect your physical health. I've done a few posts on sleeping better so take a look back through the blog, but if you are having trouble sleeping then spend some time winding before you go to bed, cut down on the caffeine, turn off that phone, and prepare yourself for a goodnights sleep.

Even if you try all of things I can't guarantee that your problems will disappear but if you give them a try, they might make you feel a little bit healthier and hopefully they might help you to think a little bit more clearly x Remember though it's okay not to be okay, and there is always help out there and somebody is always there to listen

*Collaborative / Partnered Post

Trimming My Stash - November And December 2020 Edition - Empties, Mini Reviews, And A 2020 Round Up*

 Right, after another rubbish couple of weeks in LouLouLand, it's time for another ridiculously late catch up post, and no, it isn't an unboxing post (I thought I'd try and split them up a bit), instead it's an empties post, and in a desperate attempt to try and get myself back up to date with at least something, I'm combining a couple of months, and my yearly round up into 1 epic post.

First up, let's take a trip back a few months to November 2020...

Gatineau Floracil Plus Gentle Waterproof Eye Make Up Remover - 118ml
AVON Advance Techniques Anti Hair Fall Conditioner - 250ml
AVON ANEW Clean Anti-Ageing 3 In 1 Cleansing Water - 200ml
Cussons Carex Moisture Derma Care Antibacterial Hand Wash - 250ml
The Body Shop Spiced Apple Body Butter - 50ml
Elemis Spa @ Home Body Exotics Jasmine And Rose Hand And Nail Cream - 20ml
Neutrogena Pure Glow Daily Cleansing Cushions - 22 x Dual Textured Cushions
The Body Shop Juicy Pear Exfoliating Sugar Body Scrub - 250ml
Total - 8 Items

Trimming my stash wise, November was a pretty good month. I didn't manage to finish anything too exciting but I did manage to finish a nice variety of skin, hair, and body care items, including one pretty embarrassing, old, product.

1. Gatineau Floracil Plus Gentle Waterproof Eye Make Up Remover - 118ml

No doubt you will have heard the saying 'if it isn't broke, don't fix it', well in the case of this particular product, no truer words have ever been spoken.

Although it ranks fairly high in the spendy stakes, the original Gatineau Floracil Gentle Eye Make Up Remover, in my opinion is worth every penny. I don't buy it that often now but it does exactly what it promises. It removes make up with ease, and it doesn't cause any dryness, stinging or irritation.

In simple terms if something works why change it? Well thankfully Gatineau didn't change or discontinue the original, but instead they released this,.. this imposter, Floracil Plus!

Containing good for you ingredients such as aloe vera, witch hazel, and vitamins, Floracil Plus was actually introduced to help tackle a new generation of waterproof, and long wear mascaras, and apparently like the original it allegedly suitable for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers.

I will admit that my eyes can be quite dry and quite sensitive, but this stuff make them sting like crazy, it left them feeling really greasy, and I personally didn't find it anywhere near as effective as the original.

As I say I'm just super grateful that they didn't discontinue the original, and I don't think that I'm alone in that viewpoint because this particular remover is now quite hard to find. It doesn't seem to be available direct from Gatineau now, and I can only find it in a few sets on the QVC UK website, and on Fragrance Direct who also sell it in a duo with the original for £16.95, and on it's also available on its own for £11.50, but in my opinion, skip it and buy the original instead x 

2. AVON Advance Techniques Anti Hair Fall Conditioner - 250ml

Next up the first of 2 AVON products in November's list, and it's a hair product. I'm coming to the end of my Anti Hair Fall stash now, and whilst I really do like some of the products that replaced it, I think I will always have a soft spot for the products in the range.

Containing keratin, bamboo extract, arginine, and peppermint extract, it conditioned the hair without leaving it greasy or heavy, it had a gorgeous fruity, with a hint of mint scent, and I really think that it made a huge difference to my hair.

3. AVON ANEW Clean Anti-Ageing 3 In 1 Cleansing Water - 200ml

The next item on November's list is another AVON product, and it looks as though it's something else that has either been discontinued or reformulated. This was another one of those products that I'd always intended to review properly but as per usual I never got round to it, so here is a little summary x

I did actually repurchase this a couple of times, so to put it simply it was obviously pretty decent. It was basically a micellar or cleansing water. It has a very subtle fragrance, it felt slightly tingly on the eyes, but it was fine on the rest of my face, and it removed dirt and make up, without leaving my skin dry or tight. It did leave my skin slightly sticky but overall it was pretty good.

I don't use micellar or cleansing waters as much as I used (I trying to get better with my skincare), but I potentially would have bought this one again, but unfortunately I can't find either on the AVON website, or in the latest book. The nearest thing that I can find is the ANEW Revitalising Micellar Water which retails at £6 and is something that I might try in the future.

4. Cussons Carex Moisture Derma Care Antibacterial Hand Wash - 250ml

Next up something that was like gold dust in 2020, and no I don't mean toilet paper! I'm referring to hand wash! I've used quite a few different hand washes from Carex over the last few months, but it was this rather boring sounding one that's actually become my must have.

Off white in colour, and rather suggestive in appearance, this moisturising hand wash has a gorgeous fruity scent, and despite all of its antibacterial and cleansing properties, you could really feel the slickness and the moisture on your skin.

This is the eco refill bottle which comes with a screw off cap, meaning you can save on packaging be reusing your pumps. This particular variant comes in various sizes and usually retails between £1 - £2.50 from various retailers including Boots, Superdrug, Poundland, Tesco, Wilko, Asda, and Sainsbury's.

5. The Body Shop Spiced Apple Body Butter - 50ml

Usually I try to switch up my body and shower products with the seasons, but in 2020 my usual habits seemed to fly out of the window, and I indulged in some festive scents even in the height of summer. I didn't manage to pick up anything from The Body Shop's 2020 festive range so I'm still going to be using up pieces from years gone by.

Spiced Apple was one of their offerings from around 2016 / 2017, and seeing as I love the scents of orchard fruits, I stocked up on some of my favourite products which I'm still using to this day. In The Body Shop's signature body butter formulation with both shea and cocoa butters, this particular one had a lovely warm cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and crisp baked apple scent, that smelled almost good enough to eat - definitely one of my favourite ever festive scents from The Body Shop.

6. Elemis Spa @ Home Body Exotics Jasmine And Rose Hand And Nail Cream - 20ml

This next product is the first of 3 hand creams that feature in this post, and it's the first of 2 from British spa brand, Elemis. I believe that this travel sized hand cream must have came in one of their special Christmas Today's Special Value kits on QVC UK, as it's now almost impossible to find.

From their Body Exotics range, this hand cream contained a whole load of natural extracts and ingredients, including sunflower oil, again oil, jasmine and lotus flower extract, as well as ylang ylang, rose, chamomile, and sandalwood oils. It had an almost velvety texture, and it smelled beautiful with an almost spicy rose scent, with jasmine and white flower undertones.

I really loved this hand cream, and I would definitely consider repurchasing it, if I could find it.

7. Neutrogena Pure Glow Daily Cleansing Cushions - 22 x Dual Textured Cushions

Okay, the least said about this next product the better really. I talked about these in more depth in my July 2020 empties post, but to put it simply these cleansing pads were probably one of the oldest beauty products in my stash and whilst I am now free from the embarrassment of owning and using something so old, in a way I'm still going to mourn their loss because as product I really did like them, and I'm still a bit said that they were discontinued however many years ago that was.

8. The Body Shop Juicy Pear Exfoliating Sugar Body Scrub - 250ml

The final empty from November was another limited edition Christmas item from The Body Shop, and this time it was a products from their 2019 range.

As I say I love the crisp sweet, yet tart scent of orchard fruits, and their mouthwatering Juicy Pear range was right up my street, and of course you know how much I love a good sugar scrub.

I really thought that I had another one of these in my stash but at the moment I can't seem to find it, so if this was my last pot, I'll definitely miss it, and like so many festive scents from The Body Shop, I'll keep my fingers crossed for its return.

So they were my November empties, a nice mix of bits, and a good 8 items to add to my yearly total. Alas I didn't quite manage to hit the same heights in December, but I still managed to finish a very respectable total of 7 items.

Elemis Body Exotics White Lotus & Lime Hand & Nail Cream - 20ml
Read My Lips Every Day I'm Brusselin' Moisturising Sheet Mask - 1 x 20ml Mask
Que Bella Professional Recharge & Restore Purple Moonstone Glitter Gel Mask - 15g
Benefit Gimme Brow Brow Volumising Fibre Gel - 3 - 3g
Marc Jacobs Daisy Velvet Body Butter - 140g
Leighton Denny Intense Manicure Oil - 12ml
Bio Glow Nature Inspired Hand Creme Rose - 60ml

Total - 7 Items 

Again I managed to finish a good mix of products including a few old and long standing items, some newer things, and even a make up item!

1. Elemis Body Exotics White Lotus & Lime Hand & Nail Cream - 20ml

First up a hand cream, and it's another limited edition from Elemis. I believe that this one also came in one of their QVC UK TSV's and I think that this one was possibly from 2016.

Containing shea butter, and macadamia oil, as well as bitter and sweet orange, patchouli, white lotus, thyme, and lemon and lime extracts. Again this hand cream had a lovely rich velvety feel. It had a very green, herbal scent, with only a tiny hint of recognisable citrus. It was a very unisex type scent.

Unfortunately as I say this was another limited edition product, and it's now almost impossible to find.

2. Read My Lips Every Day I'm Brusselin' Moisturising Sheet Mask - 1 x 20ml Mask

Next, up the first of 2 face masks in this post, and this particular product was my Christmas Eve beauty treat. I bought this particular mask from Boots' Read My Lips stocking filler range, which contained things like Brussel sprout lip balm, and pigs in blankets post notes and bath bombs.

The humble Brussel sprout gets a lot of stick but personally I love them, honestly try them roasted or in stir fry if you're not keen, and I promise you will become a convert!

Alas this fibre sheet mask doesn't actually seem to contain Brussel sprouts but it does contain a whole load of other plant extracts and botanicals. The mask itself was white in colour and featured a festive green cartoon sprout design. It was a good quality mask and it didn't rip or tear, and it had a lovely fruity, berry scent.

It was very wet to the touch, and it felt very cooling and refreshing on the skin. I left it on for about 15 minutes, and after peeling it off, my skin still felt quite wet. Unusually the instructions said to wash away the excess liquid, but after rinsing my skin and drying my face, my skin both looked and felt nice and refreshed and hydrated.

For a so called novelty product I was actually pretty impressed with this mask, it was fun, it felt nice on the skin, and it had a lovely scent.

Alas this seems to be another product that will be pretty much impossible to find, but you can find out more about the brand here x 

3. Que Bella Professional Recharge & Restore Purple Moonstone Glitter Gel Mask - 15g

From one mask to another, and to be fair mentioning this one in this post is a little bit of a cop out! This face mask actually came in the November 2020 edition of Glossybox UK, so unfortunately you'll have to wait just a little bit longer to read the unboxing post which should hopefully be within the next week to find out my thoughts on this face mask. In the meantime though you can buy it exclusively in the UK from Amazon where it retails at £2.49.

4. Benefit Gimme Brow Brow Volumising Fibre Gel - 3 - 3g

Make up items were very thin on the ground in my 2020 Trimming My Stash posts, so I was extra pleased to finish one in the last month of the year. 

Whenever you see any pictures of my eyes or my whole face, either on my blog, my Facebook, my Instagram or my Twitter, 9 times out of 10, this is the brow product that I'm wearing.

I love all of the brow products in the Benefit Cosmetics range but this one really is my go to, and I actually own it in a few different shades depending on my hair colour at the time, and the look that I'm going for.

This is shade 3 which is medium / neutral light brown, and this is my everyday subtle shade. Super quick and easy to use, Gimme Brow adds colour and volume to the brows, and it helps to tame down the hairs, fill on the odd gap and cover the odd grey hair.

I love it, it's the perfect brow product if you're time poor, another bonus is that you don't need a lot of skill to apply it and it lasts for ages both on the brows and despite the size, in the tube too. 

This full 3g size comes in 10 shades and retails at around £22.50 from various retailers including direct from Benefit Cosmetics, John Lewis, Boots, House Of Fraser, Look Fantastic, Feel Unique and ASOS. 

5. Marc Jacobs Daisy Velvet Body Butter - 140g

The next item on December's list was another slightly embarrassing, super old product, and this time it isn't a skin care item it's actually a body product.

Let's be honest, like most people I was probably first drawn to Marc Jacobs Daisy because of the bottle design. I love hippy, dippy looking daisies and thankfully I also love the fragrance with it's fruity, floral violet notes.

Although this was actually called a body butter, for me it had more of a rich body cream texture, with the bright and breezy daisy scent, and just a touch of shimmer. This tub looks a little battered and faded now but it was well loved, and it smelled amazing until the very end.

I think this particular product has unfortunately been discontinued now but you can still get something called Luminous Body Lotion, in a few different Daisy gift sets.

6. Leighton Denny Intense Manicure Oil - 12ml

It's funny how your buying habits change; When it was available on QVC UK, I used to be a regular buyer of Leighton Denny's nail polishes and treatments, but once they left the channel, I moved on and I pretty much stopped buying from the range, which on reflection is a real shame when you consider how good products like this actually are.

Basically this is a manicure oil that can be used as both an intensive hand moisturiser, and as a cuticle product. Containing a blend of 4 skin softening oils - sweet almond, wheatgerm, avocado, and olive, and 5 essential oils - lavender, chamomile, geranium, cedar and bergamot, this oil didn't just smell beautiful, it was also a real moisturising treat for the hands and nails.

This particular size no longer seems to be available but you can buy a 50ml size from £22 direct from Leighton Denny x 

7. Bio Glow Nature Inspired Hand Creme Rose - 60ml

The final beauty product that I finished in 2020 was another hand and nail product, and it was another hand cream. I picked this one up on a whim in Poundland and do you know what? For the £1 price tag it wasn't half bad. 

Both cruelty free and vegan friendly, it contains shea butter, jojoba oil, vitamin E, and rosemary extract. It has a nice rich and creamy texture, and it absorbed well in to the skin, especially when used alongside a pair of cotton gloves at bedtime. The scent was a touch old fashioned rose but for just £1, it was a decent buy. If you fancy trying it for yourself, as well as Poundland, you can also find it at Fragrance Direct, The Range, B&M and Savers.

So there you have it, I ended 2020 with another 8 empties in November and another 7 items in December, but what different did that make to my overall 2020 total...

January - 4 Items

February - 3 Items

March - 4 Items

April - 8 Items

May - 5 Items

June - 9 Items

July - 8 Items

August - 5 Items

September - 8 Items

October - 6 Items

November - 8 Items

December - 7 Items

2020 Total - 75 Items

Well, against all the odds, in 2020 I managed to finish a grand total of 75 items! I know! I couldn't quite believe it myself! I mean I didn't go on holiday, I didn't get dressed up at all and I barely wore any make up, but some how I managed to finish 8 more products than I did in 2019, and I managed to achieve my best finish since 2016!

I'm still now quite sure how it happened really, was it down to an increase in self care? or was it down to really concentrating on finishing all of those half finished products? Whatever the reason, I'm really just really pleased with just how many products that I managed to finish in 2020. I certainly bought less and I can really see the spaces starting to appear in my cupboards and drawers.

It goes without saying that I will be continuing to trim my stash in 2020, and my plan again is to buy less and use more, and again my focus is to try and finish a few more make up items, lockdown or no lockdown.

My January empties update should be up in the next week or so but in the meantime you can keep track of my progress in the sidebar x As per usual please let me know if you have any questions on any of the items in this all be it very long post, and don't forget to let me know if you're doing something similar in 2021. Thanks for reading and I will see you soon with another post x 

*This Post Contains Added Automatic Affiliate, Added Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links