Quick & Easy Home Remedies for Hair and Beauty!

Top 10 Home Remedies

 Beauty:

For Clearer Skin and Clean Pores: Fill a bowl with freshly boiled water (be careful!) wait a minute or so, and put a towel over your head, letting the steam bathe (but not burn) your face. Gently wash face afterwards and moisturise.

For Thicker Eyelashes: Apply a this coat of Vaseline or petroleum jelly onto eyelashes before bed every night and they will gradually start to feel naturally thicker (this also helps with hayfever-related eye problems in the summer).

For Smooth (Not Sore) Skin After Shaving: Use a thick/hydrating hair conditioner instead of shaving foam/cream.

For Whiter Non-Stained Teeth: Rub lemon peel over teeth to remove stains. It is acidic so don't do this more than once a month otherwise you could damage the enamel of your teeth if it is already weakened by acidic foods like fruit.

For Smooth Lips: Exfoliate them, use your toothbrush on them or better still, include them in your exfoliation routine.

Hair Care:

For Smoother De-Frizzed and Less Dry Hair: Apply about half a teaspoon of Olive Oil to your hair before washing. Soak in warm water in the bath, then wash out with conditioner (yes conditioner), then wash hair with shampoo, then re-condition the ends if hair is prone to dryness.

For Shiny Hair and Healthy Cuticles: Mix a tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar with a mug of cool water and tip over hair after washing, and rinse with col water to take away smell.

For Shiny Hair and Healthy Cuticles: After warm shower or bath, rinse hair with water as cold as you can manage.

For Healthier Scalp and Shinier Hair: Eat salmon, mackerel, tuna or any other fish rich in Omega 3, twice a week.

For Less Hair Dryness and Producing More Natural Oil: Eat more spinach or green leafy veg.

Text and Images Copyright © Lise Griffiths, 2012
All Rights Reserved

Beat the Winter Blues

Beat The Winter Blues! Enjoy a Winter Wonderland Instead... and Here's How! 

Imagine a winter without Christmas cheer, without lights, without a little sparkly frost...

The darkest months are the easiest time of year to wallow and feel blue, and the hardest time of year for getting up in the mornings. A busy day full of things to buy and create, people to see, and Christmas cards to write just adds that little extra motivation in the mornings (it helps if you like Christmas)!

We humans crave natural light and some people even suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. This is a Psychological disorder where a person's mood is severely affected by the limited daylight hours. People affected can experience feelings of depression, along with the winter blues. There are special lamps which mimic daylight to help with this disorder, but you should try and get outside when you can. A crisp sunny day still exists in winter, you just need to wrap up warm and get up a little earlier to make the most of it. It also helps to embrace other cheery aspects of winter. Use candles, fairy lights and decorations to brighten up your home or office environment. Use music, food and drink to inspire and stimulate your other senses.

Fill your winter months with exciting things to do. Christmas is notoriously a busy social time of year and December is by far the page in the calendar which most resembles a busy social life. It is great to go to parties and evenings out with friends etc. Even if you don't quite feel like going out at first (it's cold, it's damp, and the duvet is invitingly close, the bed temptingly unmade), you really should make the effort. You know as well as I do that you'll have much more fun once you're there...
 
Enjoy Christmas, but save some money for January! The Christmas comedown and the winter blues are so much easier to get through when you have other things to look forward to. Keep that calendar full even if you're doing cheaper things and things that are free. Catch up with friends who were busy over Christmas, get outdoors and get some fresh air.

Decorate!

Hang 'winter' decorations so you can keep them up longer after Christmas

Place candles around your home to create a friendly and magical glow

 
Stuff clementines with cloves to create an intense spicy citrus Christmas smell

Use Christmas lights or fairy lights to create a magical and delicate light around doorways, windows and mirrors. This really adds a feeling of cosiness and banishes my winter blues most effectively!

I highly reccommend these classy 'Kasbah' and 'Maroq' lights for Christmas lights or just all-year fairy lights. They Kasbah ones are pretty little glass lanterns on a subtle white-ish string of cable. They are also not too Christmassy - I keep mine up all year round.The Maroq ones are dainty little silver globes with tiny diamond shapes cut out for the light to shine through. I bought my mum these and they are magical. She also keeps them up year-round.

Create!

Bake cookies and gingerbread. Use cinnamon and ginger to give your baking a Christmassy tang.
 
Create your own Christmas decorations and even make your own cards. An excellent activitiy with children. 
 

Wrap Up!

Wrapping up against the winter elements is so much fun, and I love winter fashion. There is just something about the feeling of being warm and snug in your winter gear with the wind and snow (or rain of course) inches from your bare skin. 




My favourite winter warmers:

• Warm and snug winter boots
• Funky and colourful woolly hats with giant bobbles
• Onesies (Midwinter is the only time it is acceptable to look like a giant baby)
• Scarves and snoods

Eat!

'Lebkuchen' - Traditional German Christmassy soft biscuits and gingerbread, spiced and iced, sometimes with chocolate and a syrupy centre. The best ones I have seen are in Sainsbury's and Lidl (the hearts in lidl are the best - covered in chocolate with a sweet jammy centre).

Bratwurst or big pork sausages. Most European Christmas markets have these. Christmas markets from Europe tour most UK cities and town centres in the run-up to Christmas.

 

Drink!

Mulled wine - THE Christmas drunk! Heat sugar, lemon and clementine peel, cinnamon, cloves and a little nutmeg with a little red wine to make a syrup, then add all of your red wine over a low heat and add a star anise, gently heating the wine for 5 minutes.
 
Hot chocolate - the cosiest drink, best enjoyed by a crackling fire! Choc-o-Lait is no ordinary hot chocolate - it is a lump of chocolate on a stick that you swirl in a mug of hot milk. Delicious!
 

Party!

Get Dressed up and go out...

Winter 2012-2013 fashion For us girls:

• Chunky heels 
• Sequin jumpers
• Cinched waists
• Skater skirts (high-waisted and puffy)
• Peplum skirts (high waisted with flaps/layer around hips)
• Peplum tops (cinched waist with flaps/layer around hips)
• Spiky studded heels

Socialise!

Spending time with friends is so good for the soul.

Make a special effort to see your friends at Christmas - everyone is so busy but life is too short...

 

Exercise!

Ice-skate at an ice-rink or a town centre or garden centre temporary rink.
 
Ski on a winter holiday or at a UK snowdome such as Milton Keynes or Tamworth, Birmingham. They have real snow and you can take a range of skiing and snowboarding lessons. Milton Keynes also have rubber donut ring sledging - no lesson required!
 
Wrap up warm and go for a walk in the crisp cold air - even better if there's a goal at the end like hot chocolate in a cosy tearoom. You'll feel exhilarated after a brisk walk, not to mention surprisingly warmed up. 
 

Watch!

• Elf (A Christmas film with Will Ferrell as the lead - hilarious!)
• The Snowman (A short film with stunning vocals by Aled Jones, and no speaking. This adds to the magic)
• Love Actually (A stupidly soppy but quite clever Christmas film - literally an all-star cast including Hugh Grant).
• Home Alone 1&2 (Very silly but funny 90s Christmas films). 
• Muppets Christmas Carol (Funny, creative and cute spin on the famous Christmas novel).

Embrace The Beauty of Winter!

• Sparkly frost
• Christmas lights in people's windows
• Crackling fires
• Pure snow
• Sunsets and twilight
• Cosiness of the indoors 
• The sound of the rain outside when you have a steaming mug of cocoa

Text and Images Copyright © Lise Griffiths, 2012
All Rights Reserved

Fashion Feel-Goods & Tips for Winter 2012

My Best Buys this Winter! Feel Good in Affordable & Fashionable Outfits...   

 

If I don't feel fashionable, I feel frumpy. If I don't feel good about how I look it doesn't matter even if I look like a supermodel to other people - I just don't feel good about myself, and that is a recipe for a bad day... If I feel like a frump, I act like a frump and I can't bear it!

 

 

Stay Warm and Fashionable: The Importance of the Sequin Knitted Jumper!

 
 

 

The knitted sequin jumper seems to be an important item in the winter 2012 wardrobe! They can be found in pretty much any high street store as well as designer. This grey, silver and black one from Bank (£35) is a wam and loose-fitting jumper with chunky cuffs.

The knitted sequin jumper is a good wear - day or night, and can be dressed up or down. It seems to be quite a fundamental piece of clothing for this winter season.

Animal Print Matching Advice: What to Wear with Lepoard Print Boots

 

 

 



Lepoard print is one of the hardest patterns to match well without constantly wearing black with it!

 

This puffball high-waisted skirt from River Island is black with a fantastic subtly shiny mottled effect in teal blue (£30). It goes really well with high shoes and black tights. The teal colour compliments the colours in the lepoard print shoes (Dorothy Perkins - last year but you can get some excellent lepoard print wedges for £35 from River Island).

 

The necklace is black rope with metal beads in the colours of the lepoard print, but without actually having to match another actual lepoard print pattern - which we all know is impossible! The necklace is from Fat Face (from last year, but they have similar things this year - £15).  

 

 

Keep Your Feet Warm and Dry: Best Feminine Boots for Rainy Days!

 



Trousers dragging in the puddles, damp soaking through to my socks... I've just had enough of it! Boots and skinny jeans are the way forward.
 
These leather boots from Office have a good solid small heel, cute buckle and zip detail, and they zip up on the inside leg all the way to the base. (£100 - Office).
 
These superskinny jeans are from River Island (£30). They are really tight-fitting so if you're like me and have no fat on you, you'll be at home in these... (No eye-rolling, I'm actually really self-conscious about it)!
 
Jeggings are a good, cheap alternative to skinny jeans and can of course be made warmer with tights underneath. There are some great choices in River Island for £20 and under.

Glam-Up for Cheap: Dress Up a Cheap and Colourful Plain Top! 

Got a Christmas doo coming up and can't afford a new outfit? It doesn't matter - dress up a plain top with some matching jewellery and add a splash of colour to make it dazzle!

 

I had this plain green H&M baggy T-shirt and quickly needed an outfit for an evening meal so I just bought some gold accessories and a bracelet with a splash of pink, and the same green as the top (accessories totalling £8.00 from H&M)

 

Just think how boring this top would be on its own - the accessories transform it! Some skinny black trousers and heels just finished it off nicely.

 

Text and Images Copyright © Lise Griffiths, 2012
All Rights Reserved

Get Rid of Your Stress or Anger: The Joys of Sleeping Cats!

Angry? Stressed? Here's a new remedy you may not have heard before...

  















I've grown up always having pet cats. For the last 4 years since having moved out, I have really been missing having a cat around the house. Not just for cuddles, not just for cuteness, but I actually find myself more stressed without one. Gone are the days when I could wander into a bedroom to find a fluffy, snoozing, peaceful creature curled up purring away. Instead, I'm momentarily distracted by a dark pair of shoes in the corner of a room, or a bin bag waiting by the back door. No. It's not a cat, sadly, it's just an unfriendly inanimate object...
 
So, yes, I know some of you hate cats. Yes, I've heard it all before 'they're not as loyal as dogs' 'they use humans' 'they're sneaky and malicious' etc etc etc... But have you ever just looked at one when its sleeping, when you're full of the day's stress and angst? When you're outraged? Or just when you're plain irritated?
 
There's no denying that many sources of stress go a little deeper than just needing to see a peaceful sleepy feline, but sometimes when we feel wound-up after a stressful day, and feeling a little hard-done-by, a cuddly little cat (or a sleeping baby or puppy even) can help restore our faith in innocence, simplicity and peace...
 
Go on - just try it. Next time you're angry, go and find a sleeping cat!

Text and Images Copyright © Lise Griffiths, 2012
All Rights Reserved

Bad Hair Day? Tips for Healthy Hair and Why Hair Matters!

How Can I Have Healthy Hair?

 

 

 

 

Healthy Scalp, Healthy Hair

The missing link for healthy hair is the scalp. The hair outside of the hair follicle is made up of dead cells. It's state is more or less permanent if you take away chemical and heat treatments. However the scalp contains the hair follicles where the hair originates from, and the sebum glands which produce the oil that coats the hair.

The health tips below have a direct influence on the state of our hair:

Exercise - This increases your circulation and more oxygen reaches the cells in the body - including the hair follicle. The hair will grow strong and well-formed from a healthy follicle.
 
Omega 3 - This stops dry skin and improves circulation, which are both vital for a healthy scalp. The oil the skin produces is in the best quality with Omega 3 in your diet. this coats the hair shaft and protects it, making it super super soft and shiny! Omega 3 is in fish such as salmon, mackerel and tuna. It is also in some nuts.
 
Green leafy vegetables - These increase the skin's sebum-production (your natural oils). Guess what - this also works on the scalp! for oily and greasy hair this isn't a problem, just make sure you shampoo the hair twice when washing. Spinach is excellent for producing more sebum.
 
Fluids - Drinking water stops us becoming dehydrated - we are 70% water, including our skin, which of course includes the scalp. Again, your hair can't grow strong and healthy if it's growing from a damaged follicle.
 
Alcohol and Smoking - Nasty toxins pollute the skin and hair from within. If the scalp is not is good condition due to dehydration and toxins, the hair being produced will not start its life in the best condition - just think how it will look at the end of its life!
 

How Else Can I Make My Hair Shiny and Soft?

The 'shininess' of hair is down to the cuticle. These are tiny little scales, or layers seen under the microscope, on the surface of the hair shaft (the outside of the strand of hair). The flatter these cuticles are against each other, the shinier the hair looks, as it is smoother and reflecting more light (think of a shiny surface - it is smooth is it not?) Also, the closer the cuticles are against each other, the less moisture (water content) can get out - this is the opposite of 'dry' hair.
 
The cuticles are far too small to just 'flatten.' The chemical state of the hair and its physical state on a microscopic level need to be just right for the cuticles to be in good health.

The hair care tips below help you keep the hair shaft and cuticles in good condition:

Don't use too much product - a build-up on the hair shaft of product isn't good for the cuticles. Good products protect the cuticles but a build-up of plastic-based ingredients (usually ending in cone) is not good, and stops the natural oil getting through and nourishing the hair.
 
Do a cold rinse - The cold water after a hot wash does wonders to close the cuticle. The reasons are probably too geeky to describe, so just do it and see!
 
Stop straightening (or frying!) - Hair straighteners are the hair's frenemy! Thy make us look and feel great i the short term, but in the long term they are bad for us. The hair dries out and all the moisture is cooked away. This makes the hair brittle and dry. It might break off, and of course, what about the cuticles - they are not happy! Without the moisture and natural oils they lift up and even more moisture comes out.
 
Don't comb or pull when wet - This stretches the hair beyond its natural shape because hair is most fragile when it is wet. The hair becomes stretched and brittle if it is pulled at when wet. You can guess what that does to the cuticles. That's right, it messes them right up!
 
Tie hair up when its windy, and when sleeping - Avoid anything that gets the hairstrands rubbing together. This doesn't do the cuticles any favours.
 
Condition with a hydrating conditioner - A good quality hydrating conditioner locks in moisture and smooths the cuticle. Don't get conditioner near the scalp - it clogs the follicles and hinders the strength and health of new hair growth.
 
Look after coloured hair - Permenant and semi-permenant hair colour works by lifting the culticle so the colour molecules can go underneath. The cuticle has already been lifted so if we aggravate it further, it is not good. Colour shampoos are specially designed to keep the cuticle closed to lock in the colour molecules.
 
Apply neat shampoo only to scalp - The rest of the hair should only be cleaned with the lather. The shampoo works by lifting the cuticle a little, to get the grime and dirt away from underneath. If it is applied directly it can be too harsh on dry or brittle hair.
 
Use an acidic shampoo - An acidic balance helps to close the cuticle.
 
Macadamia oil - This is a very good natural oil to put on the hair to smooth the cuticles and protect the hair shaft. It helps stop the hair becoming tangled, which in turn stops the cuticles becoming stressed due to the hair strands rubbing and knotting together.

Why do I Care So Much About My Hair?

For the truth, look to Science - so let's look at this from a geeky perspective:

Evolution says 'survival of the fittest' - simply put, we choose our partners based on their health, youth, reproductivity and sexuality, and the best way we can tell this is by the way they look. We reproduce with partners who have these 'looks', and pass these genes down to our offspring and so on... 'How is this relevant to my hair' I hear you ask...

Well if we are healthy, we have shiny hair. Think of a pet dog - any good pet care book will tell you that your cat or dog's (or even chipmunk's) coat should be shiny if they are in good health. Well it is the same for humans.

Strong, shiny, abundant hair is a sign of good health and men are generally attracted to women who look healthy, reproductive and youthful. Men are generally 'programmed' to look for female partners with traits such as good skin, bright eyes, shapely figures, and of course, shiny healthy hair.

Women also look for certain traits in men including health, so we still pay attention to hair, but research shows this may be less so.

Text and Images Copyright © Lise Griffiths, 2012
All Rights Reserved

Welcome to The Feel-Good Diaries!

This is a fantastic new resource, blog, and consultancy service for:

• Fashion, Hair and Beauty
• Self-Improvement
• Psychological Wellbeing
• Confidence
• Assertiveness
• Body Image
• Making the Very Best of Being You!
• Blog posts and topics also include health, hair, beauty and all of the above

These services and resources are for everyone - male, female, younger and older!

Personal Development Consultancy

I aim to bridge the gap between 'self-help' and full-on consultancy. This website exists to aid personal development and provide guidance in many specific areas of self-improvement, Psychological development and wellbeing.

Browse the free information pages (see the column on the right) and please leave comments to let me know what you think. I want to build this service around what people want. What do you feel will help you? What are you looking for? Let me know - comment, comment, comment!

Very soon I will be publishing e-books and e-resources (some FREE!), and setting up the  very useful and made-to-measure Consultancy Service.

Check back regularly for updates, as I continuously build-up and add to this website.

Text and Images Copyright © Lise Griffiths, 2012
All Rights Reserved

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