love – realiTEE

5 clear steps to clear skin.

Published on May 25, 2019May 26, 2019 by realiTEE3 Comments

It’s that time of the month again… payday! Payday = shopping. After carefully reviewing my shelfie and making a mental note of what products I needed I headed to town to pick up and test some new products. Now I know you’re probably thinking WTF, you went to a shop? And yes I usually browse my favourite online stores from my sofa and get it all delivered but this month I not only wanted to get my step count in but also felt like seeing a few actually products and what was new. Plus I’m not going to lie I love smelling pretty much every product on the shelf!

One item I was interested in was IT COSMETICS CC Cream as I’d heard amazing things about it (but that’s a whole other blog post) when I headed over to the new counter within a few short minutes the sales assistant was asking me about my routine, I almost laughed. When it comes to Instagramable skin I have 5 simple rules. These rules apply 24/7. At the gym, at home, on a night out it doesn’t matter these are simple rules on the go for glowy skin. It’s that simple! Just 5 easy things to remember.

1) You are what you eat. I’ve spoken before about glowing from the inside out and how important nutrition is but honestly the more organic and natural you can keep your diet the more you can see and feel the difference. We’ve all been there, Saturday night got a little cray cray and you woke up the next morning with a McDonald’s (no? Just me then?) by the time you get to the office Monday your face has broken out into pimple central. Crap food = crap body 💩 Clear radiant skin needs veggies and berries. More kale less chicken nuggets. I known some of you may hate me for saying that but unfortunately it’s a true fact. Kale, blueberries & sweet potato are all a yes from me ✅✅✅ Avoid white bread, this is devil food (dad I hope you’re reading this!) white bread causes antinutrients which can make it harder for your body to absorb good nutrients. So next time you’re looking for something to help your skin at a supermarket move from the toiletries isle to the fruit & veg section.

2) Everything in moderation and that goes for your makeup as well. I have a very specific skin routine (even post workout) at the moment that is really working for my skin, but I’m not going to undo all that hard work by blocking my pores with layers of make up. It’s unnecessary. I’m very much about the natural glowy look and to me make up should enhance your features not make you into a different person. Don’t over complicate your routine and don’t wear so many layers of makeup you no longer represent you. And always always ALWAYS remember to remove makeup before going to bed. No one wants to wake up looking like a member of an 80’s rock band with all that smudged mascara and eyeliner. The smudged black eye look is out!

3) SPF when it comes to beauty I don’t think any blog post should not mention SPF because it’s that important. There are two types of sun rays, UVB which are rays that burn your skin, and increasing ageing of your skin. Then there’s UVA which are present all year round and penetrate clouds, windows anything and these do causing ageing effects of the skin. You can never have enough SPF in your life and you really should prioritise products that already contain these. I’m not saying avoid the sun and wear a hat everywhere you go, although if you want to feel free. Personally I love the sun it just requires some common sense when out and about. Tee’s tip: if products do say they have an SPF factor great but always check they protect against BOTH UVA & UVA.

4) Mental clarity. You may have seen I wrote about this earlier this week & you may have thought what has this got to do with beauty? Stay with me here, I’m not going off brand. Being stressed out causes a hormone known as cortisol in the body which when released into your system will ruin your skin & sleep patterns (which also has a knock on effect to your skin). With this bitch of a hormone flowing freely around your body it’s going to rob your skin a nutrients. Less stress = clear radiant skin and a more manageable life. WIN. WIN.

5) My final and most lived by rule… what works for one won’t always work for you. Each and every single one of us are unique. Although we love to share tips and tricks what works for your bff might not work for you, & no one knows you & your skin better than you. I have the fortune of sharing DNA with the beautiful lady below but you know what, if she swears by a product it’s probably not for me. Our skin types are SO different. Don’t get me wrong I’m ecstatic she’s loving herself more and her skin and I’ll gladly give tips on how to apply a product or if I’ve seen a product talked about online which might be suited to her skin type I’ll tag her or send her a message ASAP. However there are very few products I would pull out of my selection and hand over as a MUST TRY RIGHT THIS MOMENT. It just doesn’t work like that. So in the words of my lovely cousin, honey just do you.

So there you have it my five rules, almost commandments I’d say.

How many of these do you break and what are your rules?

Comment below.

Love

Tee

Zzzzzzzzz…

Published on May 1, 2019 by realiTEE6 Comments

You know when someone tells you something for the seventh billion time, or you google something, and all 13,787,546 pages of Goggle have the same answer. You sit there and think, YES I KNOW THIS ALREADY!! Well maybe, just maybe, it’s because ‘cliché’s’ are sometimes all be it the most obvious answer in the world but also the best. Why am I rambling on about this you ask? There is a point, I promise. While thinking what would be beneficial and inspiring to write about in this week’s Wellness Wednesday post I realised, I was unmotivated, feeling flat, bloated and exhausted! That’s when it hit me. The number one wellness tip in the world, the number one beauty tip in the world, the number one health tip in the world… SLEEP

We all do, we all need, and there is somebody doing it every minute of every day.

There’s a part of society that see it as cool to be like ‘I got 4 hours sleep last night’ Well this is NOT cool. Sleep is so important to all of us. It causes personalities to change (and not in a good way) if you’re deprived of it. Everyone’s body needs to rest, heal and recover.

But it’s not just about getting in those zzz’s it’s about the quality of sleep. Last year I struggled to sleep because my brain wasn’t being challenged enough in the day that it didn’t feel like it needed the full 8 hours. These day’s I’m so specific about what I plan each day that when I do finally settle in for the night it’s a welcome 7-8 hours. If I’m extra lucky I’ll get a cheeky 9 hours on a weekend and it feels SO GOOD! (maybe better than sex…maybe)

Before we get into a few things that help you sleep here’s why you should get some sleep:

Lack of sleep can make you fat! I don’t even need to see the evidence on this one. It’s not worth the risk, get to bed earlier and your body will thank you.
Improved Concentration and productivity. We all know this is true, if you got 3 hours sleep last night and do 9 hours at work the next day did you achieve anything? Most likely not! You would have been much better off getting 9 hours sleep and 3 hours of work but going into the office and smashing it!
Poor sleep can effect inflammation in your body. Woken up after 5 hours feeling puffy bloated and awful? Go back to bed and sleep it off.

When it comes to getting those zzz’s in I can’t help you but here are a few tips I do to ensure that when my head does hit the pillow the quality is as good as the quantity. THE BETTER THE SLEEP THE LESS STRESS

Coffee cut off! I love coffee and yes it’s a stable part of my morning routine, I love the smell the taste and the simple enjoyment of drinking it. However I do not drink coffee after 2pm and that is on a very bad day! Most day’s I have one 8am coffee, if I’m really struggling or it’s a Tuesday (I take a French class on Tuesday evening so it’s a rather long day for me) 2pm is the VERY latest I can drink coffee. 14:01- sorry you’ll have to get through. Coffee has an absurd shelf life in your system so if you are drinking coffee late into the day then that caffeine is still in your system when you go to bed. You are literally going to bed wired. Cut the coffee and see if it helps, I’m confident it will.
Reading. I have always loved to read but last year I managed very little. So this year I was determined to set a 2019 reading list and go for it. Admittedly I’ve discovered ‘Audiable’ and love an audio book on the way to work or while running however there’s something about a real book in your hands, turning the pages and of course…the smell. I’ve you’re no0t a book person you are probably thinking WTF right now, what a werido, but for all you book people- you know what I mean right? Anyway I’ve found that sitting down for 20-30 minutes a with an actual book really helps me get out of my head and let go of the day. I listened to a podcast a while back now (I forget which one sorry) but the theme was stress. The theory was that when we go home and replay in our heads a stressful experience then our bodies relive this and trigger all the same chemical reactions. Reading takes you away from all of that, transports you to another world. When you do put the book down (if you can) every worry from the day will seem so far away it won’t be as relevant. Now you can relax. Tonight I’m starting Lonely Planet- Vietnam!
Acupression Mats! I LOVE THIS!!! Seriously it’s so good, I even take mine with me if I’m working away. These mats (I got mine from Amazon) have so many benefits; they relieve stress from the body, relaxes the body & mind, helps blood circulation and can help with back pain. This last point I can really vouch for this week.

So there you have it my 3 simple tips for getting some good quality sleep. Try these out and let me know how you get on.

Leave your comments below or on my latest Instagram post!

Can wait to wake up and see them all.

Night,

Is it time to Fika?

Published on April 17, 2019April 17, 2019 by realiTEELeave a comment

During one of my endless scrolls through Instagram, I came across an image that featured a word, a word I had never heard or seen before… Fika.

A simple four letter sound but it’s meaning really struck a nerve. Technically, fika is a coffee break traditionally around 10am in the morning and maybe with some cake, not much different to the traditional British elevenses. However, the meaning of the word has since evolved into so much more.

It’s now considered to be a whole new concept, a state of mind or attitude and most importantly it plays an important part in the Swedish culture.

Why do I think this is so important? Sweden is consistently rated as being one of the top 10 happiest countries in the world. So why not incorporate more of their ways of life into yours? I don’t know about you, but coffee and cake always make me happy!

Loosely translated fika means ‘break time’ and I know that’s not something I make nearly enough time for. Remember being a kid in school? Turn up, do a couple of lessons have a break do one more have a lunch break then a couple more have an afternoon break before one last class and go home.

Unfortunately, such nice to haves are a taboo in adult life. I’m ashamed to say that I eat at my desk at least 3 times a week, although this is my choice as I chose to run during my lunch break if my work load allows it and the break from my screen and desk, along with the fresh air is a great distraction from my work responsibilities. I still put my headphones on and block out the world. I don’t interact, I don’t take part in social engagement until the end of the run when we stop and say good work to one another as we upload our workouts on Strava.

Fika is about engagement, spending time with people, slowing down and appreciating the good things in life. It’s less about keeping up with the Jones’s and more about stopping to smell the roses.

This doesn’t just happen in the Swedish culture! The French and Italian’s are well known for taking their time enjoying food and the company that comes along with it. Less coffee-to-go, more let’s chat over coffee and cake. (Coffee in it’s own right has created multiple communities across the world which I wrote about here).

I have so many friends that have busy lives and at times, WhatsApp chats of us trying to check our diaries can be so frustrating that you don’t even want to go out by the time you’ve finally arranged something. Have you ever sat there and thought I don’t want to go now? Or turned up in a bad mood. Honestly when you’re with people you care about and are close to those bad feelings melt away so quickly, it’s the power of being social.

FUN FACT: Thousands of years ago, humans had to be social creatures and communicate with each other, tribes would educate other tribes on what plants to eat and which ones not to eat. Move forward 2000 years and we now discuss what products to use, what brands do the best lipsticks. We share tips and tricks on EVERYTHING!

We are social animals by nature, even the most introvert ones.

Even if it’s just once a month seeing your friends and catching up IN PERSON, there are so many more benefits than chatting over the phone than you think. Following someone’s life through social media is not knowing them, we only post things that make us happy and you can easily misinterpret that as their lives being amazing, when in actual fact they’ve been going through something and could really use a friend.

RECOMMENDED:

I recently listened to the Deliciously Ella Podcast, Season 2 ‘Lessons in Happiness from Around the World’ which features Helen Russell, journalist and author of ‘A year of living Danishly.’ She talks about happiness around the world and how it’s perceived, very interesting and you can pick up a thing or two. There are things that we may talk for granted that other cultures truly treasure.

What’s your favourite social activity? Love a comment below.

Love

Tee

On your marks, get set… GLOW

Published on April 10, 2019April 10, 2019 by realiTEELeave a comment

Glow, glowing, glow-up, glow up challenge, glow getter… The amount of words we use today about shining and aiming to be the best version of ourselves is forever growing.

A few years back I didn’t even know what it meant to glow up. I thought we simply had to grow up and that has forever seemed dull and boring to me. Maybe that’s why our generation decided to add a little sparkle to this process and really own it.

Healthy glowing skin is something I strive for. The naturally radiant looking skin that people are talking more and more about is the type of radiance that emanates from within. This is possibly one of the biggest wellness trends to take over the world.

But what exactly is this glow?

Post workout glow? Sunkissed beach glow? Love glow? Contentment?

All the above have one shared common denominator and that’s true, authentic happiness.

Think about it… When you absolutely smash a workout, especially one you weren’t excited to get up and do or you started your Monday off the right way. You feel so much better about yourself and that shines through.

When you’ve worked hard for months and you finally get away; you’re in a new location, exploring, sun on your face and no worries in the world. You’re at peace, and that shines through.

When you first start seeing someone and it’s going well; you can’t wait to spend time with them, you can’t stop talking about them to your friends, you get butterflies thinking about them. That shines through!

Being happy and being content will always show, it radiates in so many ways. People pick up on this whether you’re aware of it or not and naturally people will gravitate to you. People have that aura about them, people that don’t take life too seriously, laugh off the bad times and generally want to improve their life and help you improve yours. Those are the people you want to surround yourself with.

Glowing up and glow challenges are much easier to achieve when you surround yourself with like-minded people. I’m incredibly lucky in life to have two people that have an unbelievable amount of faith in me, these two people are the reason I am who I am today, and they are still helping me to glow.

Life is an ongoing challenge but if your vibe attracts the right tribe, you’ll laugh your way through and glow from the inside out.

Love

Tee

Glam Up

Published on February 7, 2019March 28, 2019 by realiTEELeave a comment

Glam Up Bobbie Brown

Hi again! The weekend is quickly approaching and if you’re a everything girl like me you want to nail your ‘out out’ look without getting stressed over your flick not being perfect (side note it may never be even, we talk about that below).

You may have seen on Instagram that a day I had planned to spend in Cologne all went Pete Tong when our flights were drastically disrupted by the bad weather. However refusing to be a negative Nancy and let this ruin our mother daughter day out I put my passport back into my bag and headed over to customer services challenging my inner girlboss, with my mom in chasing behind me and after 20 minutes waiting in a detention area we were escorted out of the airport and headed off to sunny (be it very cold) London.

Now to turn this day around without leaving the country even though we had both been up since 4am(after not arriving at the hotel until midnight thanks to my mother forgetting her passport… stress levels were HIGH) we were both in need of some serious pampering. I knew just the place!

Bobbie Brown to the rescue for a much needed make over, and the team there were amazing. I asked soooo many questions like ‘why use a brush and not a sponge?’ ‘Why only put the foundation to the chin?’ ‘What colours should I avoid?’ etc etc… and I learned so much and got to leave with a flawless face not looking at all tired.

So whether you’re heading out to meet the girls for brunch, it’s date night or you just want to look fabulous for you, here are some tips and tricks on how to ‘Glam Up!’

Please note as always the opinions expressed are my own, and a lot of makeup techniques are personal preference, you may think ‘Oh hey I’ll try that thanks’ (& I hope you do) but you may also think ‘Oh hell no that does not work!)

Click below and see for yourself….

#10yearchallenge

Published on January 19, 2019March 28, 2019 by realiTEELeave a comment

Hi again, like mine, your social media feeds have probably been filled with the tag line #10yearchallenge and a cute picture of said person back in 2009.
With a new trending hash-tag in mind I dug through my old photo’s and was unsure whether to laugh or cry at the 18-year-old me who (although incredibly good at faking it) didn’t have a clue.
So, here’s all the advice 20-something-year-old me would provide 18-year-old me with, given the chance to sit down and talk to her.

Continue reading “#10yearchallenge” →