self care – Fashion, Travel & Lifestyle.

As I write this I am so tightly tied in a knot of stress about upcoming work deadlines that it is going to take approximately 2 episodes of Gilmore Girls and 1 large cup of tea to unwind. A really bad day and you can replace that tea with tequila. Which leads me to the first topic of this week’s ‘Work’ theme: How to deal with stress at work. In my experience there are two main stressors when it comes to your 9-5 (or 9-6/7/8… whatever you’ve got). The first is when you’re at your desk up to your neck in deadlines and you have no idea how you’re possibly going to get it all done. I feel this way several times a week at least. The second, is the type of stress that hits when you’re not even at the office. It wakes you up in the middle of the night. It ruins your Sunday brunch. I experience this a couple of times a month. That inability to keep work at work. To me it’s the worse of the two. Either way, over the years I’ve developed a few tactics I can fall back on to help me. Below – the best tricks I’ve got.

Continue reading “DEALING WITH STRESS AT WORK”

Things in my life have been fairly stressful lately. And this Winter weather just isn’t letting up (as I write this they’re calling for snow again in New York tomorrow). Combined, those two things can wreak absolute havoc on skin. Which is why after returning from my trip to Wyoming last month I knew I needed to switch up my nightly routine in order to help combat all of the factors that are working against me.

I first tried out Clarins’ Hydra-Essentiel skincare collection last year (full post here) and quickly became a total convert to their Silky Cream Moisturizer (I still use it regularly!). So when they offered me the chance to try a couple of their latest products, I was ready and willing.

Their latest Moisturizing Reviving Eye Mask and Replenishing Lip Balm are great for my routine right now because they’re super targeted. While I’m happy with my nightly cleanser and moisturizer I was finding that the skin around eyes was looking dry, dark and tired by morning and my lips were dreadfully chapped (is there anything worse?).

So I’ve been making a conscious effort to set aside an extra 15-20 minutes each night to really devote to my skin and my general well-being. That means a cup of hot tea, a good book and a generous helping of the Replenishing Lip Balm each night (it leaves my lips feeling plump and smooth almost instantly!). And then a couple of times a week I’ve been using the Moisturizing Reviving Eye Mask as an overnight mask. You can also just apply it for 10 minutes and remove, but I’ve been really noticing a difference in the texture of the skin around my eyes (less puffiness and dryness) and the overall brightness of skin tone when I leave it on overnight. Plus, that way I can apply it and then crawl right into bed without having to worry about getting up again to wash off. Win, win!

My plan is to stick to this new routine and by the time Spring finally rolls, my skin and I will be looking just as lively.

*A thank you to Clarins for sponsoring this post. As always all opinions are my own.

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Tag: self care

DEALING WITH STRESS AT WORK

MY NEW NIGHTLY ROUTINE WITH CLARINS HYDRA-ESSENTIEL