by Fiona likes to blog | Sep 4, 2017 | ANXIETY, DEPRESSION
Gardens make me emotional
The smell of freshly cut grass instantly transports me to the seaside caravan park where I spent the sunshine of my youth. My family spent every summer there soaking up the Scottish sun (there seemed to be more sunshine back then) in front of their compact two bedroom van.
My grandparents watched on whilst my brothers and I cooled off in the world’s smallest paddling pool. The caravan park was filled with house-proud residents, so most afternoons were spent trimming hedges and perfectly pruning plants.
My other set of grandparents were keen gardeners and grew flowers and tended to a huge vegetable patch. The warming, earthy scent of a greenhouse is still so comforting to me, that I often find myself wandering around the Botanical Gardens in search of ‘home’. When I feel lost and emotionally spent the temperature, moist air and smell of greenery fills my heart with something powerful. It’s a sentimental feeling both sad and happy at the same time.
So how can we control our moods with fragrance?
The power of fragrance is something that we all succumb to, and is all part of the subconscious mental connected we have to specific scents. Neuroscientist Rachel Herz says that attaching meaning to an odor is what actually gives it personal significance and leads to the forming of nerve connections linking to our emotions.
Herz says the capacities for both smell and emotion are rooted in the same network of brain structures, the limbic system. The olfactory center also interacts directly with the hippocampus, a brain area involved in the formation of new memories. “No other senses have this kind of deep access,” Herz says.
This means we can use smells to our advantage, and people have even used their sense of smell to help with sitting tests or remembering certain facts.
I’ve used smells to help me remember a loved one, like I spoke about earlier. I can enter a greenhouse, or even just smell the vine on a fresh tomato and I’ll remember my grandpa. Like every other 90s kid I can take one whiff of The Body Shop White Musk and remember every school disco I ever attended in excruciating detail.
According to psychologists you can also use your sense of smell to help create a calming atmosphere. Pick a memorable odour, then pair that with a relaxing meditation session and after repeated use, the odour itself will enduce a relaxed state, even when you don’t have time to meditate – Psychology Today.
Fragrance is part of our identity
For most people the fragrance we use isn’t just a scent to throw on before we leave the house, it’s about making a statement about how we feel or want to be perceived. They evoke memories, give us confidence, make us feel sexy, calm or even sleepy.
Various research has documented the relationship between fragrance and our mood with some changing our mind-set positively. Together with the help of The Fragrance Shop, I’ve identified some of the most powerful feel good fragrances which can help boot your mood.
Bergamot
Bergamot is an essential oil with renowned properties for lifting your mood, reducing anxious thoughts and feelings to leave you feeling calmer. Once used this cleansing scent will leave you feeling awake and refreshed. This is perfect for helping you wind down after a stressful day or before heading into a big meeting.
Jasmine
Extracted from the Jasmine flower, this scent has been shown to boost productivity and focus, whilst also having a positive impact on your mood. Great for late night study sessions or doing something complicated (IKEA flat pack anyone?)
Lavender
Exposure to lavender scent can decrease heart rate. Use the scent for unwinding at bedtime, suggests Avery Gilbert, a sensory psychologist in Montclair, New Jersey. Or take several whiffs to recharge yourself during work breaks. Japanese researchers find that the practice helps prevent an afternoon slump in concentration. I personally love to use a lavender spray on my pillow before bedtime as a signal to my brain that it’s time to switch off.
Limonene
Limonene is an ingredient which is found in the peels of lemon and other citrus fruits. Citrus scents are known to help to promote concentration and have calming and clarifying properties. These scents also help when people are feeling angry, anxious or run down. I like to incorporate this into my showering or evening fragrance routine when I’ve been working overtime or doing a lot of heavy lifting at the gym.
Mixed Floral Fragrance
Research has proven that a mixed-floral fragrance makes people learn faster than in a fragrance free zone. I can’t say I’ve had any personal experience of this but I have always gravitated towards a floral fragrance as my everyday scent. It’s one of those little daily rituals that helps me feel more ‘me’.
Crisp Apple
Extracted from apples, this scent can help to reduce headache symptoms as well as help to shorten migraine episodes. Perfect for tension headaches and other stress related symptoms. Apple odor also helps to control feelings of anxiety during stressful moments and helps us to feel calm.
My favourite feel good fragrances
Monsoon Rose Gold
This sophisticated scent opens with juicy top notes of citrus, rich floral heart notes and decadent woods which combine to create a feminine and sensual scent. It has notes of lemon, fresh mandarin and of course opulent rose. To me this is a classic fragrance, with those familiar rich vanilla, musk and amber notes to give it a truly unforgettable signature. The packaging is lovely and compact, with the beautiful rose gold detailing which it totally my thang.
Missguided Babe Power
Continuing on with the rose gold packaging, this Missguided scent is designed to evoke a feeling of strength, confidence and femininity. The box even comes with 10 Babe Power commandments which I think it actually pretty cute. I do LOVE my positive affirmations! The scent is as feminine as you’d expect it to be, and the perfect night out fragrance for me.
It bursts with zesty grapefruit and sour cherry, sharpened with crisp apple and pink pepper. At its heart, orange blossom is accentuated with soft peony and jasmine for a succulent signature; while vanilla, creamy musk, playful candy floss and amber crystals combine to leave a provocative lasting impression.
Accessorize Lovelily
This one is definitely the most subtle fragrance I’ve used of late. Normally one to enjoy a bubblegum sweet scent, this opens with juicy top notes of raspberry and orange, invigorated with a zesty accord of bergamot. At its heart Muguet (lily of the valley) combined with Jasmine add a fresh and floral depth. Perfect for an understated everyday perfume, Lovelily will help calm and soothe your mind whilst giving you a little boost when your need it.
What’s your favourite feel good fragrance?
Contains PR samples
by Fiona likes to blog | Dec 28, 2016 | ANXIETY, BODY POSITIVITY, DEPRESSION, LIFE
I’ve spent years rejecting the idea that the beauty industry can have a positive affect on my mental well-being. How can a lipstick make you happy? Why are young girls caking their faces in concealer when they don’t even need it? It’s taken me until by thirties to understand how the beauty industry has shaped the thoughts I have about my own body, and how I can reclaim them and make them positive.
It helped me develop a self-care routine
I don’t believe that possessions can make you happy, and for years I refused to spend money on beauty and skincare products because I believed I didn’t need them to feel beautiful. I definitely DO NOT need them to feel beautiful; but taking care of my physical self is something that I’ve done more in 2016, and something that’s sincerely helped me feel less worthless when I’ve been going through a bout of depression.
When I spent weeks primping and preening myself for my wedding day in 2015, I remember thinking there was no way in hell I could keep up this level of attention to my body. Who has the time? When I stepped out in my wedding dress, I felt so happy with myself from the inside out, that I could finally see the value in carrying on a few of the beauty routines I have developed in the run up to the day. I don’t spend much money on make up, but I do have a favourite cleanser, serum and moisturiser that I use religiously and a few face masks that I reach for when I need that extra special care. I don’t think this is the only way to practise self-care, but for me it’s a daily addition to my coping strategies that I do without thinking and gives me a regular lift.
Make-up can help me feel confident
There’s no denying that wearing make-up can make you feel more confident. In the same way that a new haircut and your favourite dress can make you feel like you can conquer the world, I’m not ashamed to say that a smokey eye and bangin’ highlighter make me feel sassy. But I also feel confident when I DON’T wear make-up and I think that’s important.
Washing my face and slapping on some moisturiser is all I do when I’m going to the gym. I like to look in the mirror and see my true self. For me, the gym is a place for honesty. It’s where I’m alone and focused with my own thoughts, listening to and observing my body to see how far I can push myself as well as when to rest. I find it’s healthy to have time without make-up, to appreciate the impact it can make when you really want it.
I realised need representation in the media
I grew up reading the same magazines as everyone else my age – Mizz, Shout, Smash Hits, Bliss – so I believed that to be beautiful I had to be white, thin, blonde-haired and blue-eyed with big breasts. I began dieting around 15 and didn’t stop until I was approaching 30. The penny dropped for me when I saw Ashley Graham on the cover of Sport Illustrated. She’s by no means a fair representation of the millions of ‘plus-size’ (whatever that means nowadays) women who look to the media for inspiration, but for me she’s an inch closer to that dream. In that cover I saw someone with a body shape vaguely like mine, and I’d never seen that before.
That’s when I realised I’d been conditioning myself to believe that my body shape, hair and face was all wrong by consuming the images that were handed to me. Now, I actively seek out women who have bodies I can identify with and a style which I can understand. I feel You Tube is particularly helpful when it comes to the beauty aspect of this, because it’s really relatable for me to watch a woman by age talk about what skincare and make-up brands they use in their everyday lives instead of relying on magazines which are heavily biased towards advertisers.
Check out this podcast called Unsorry, in particular their recent episode talking about feeling beautiful.
by Fiona likes to blog | Sep 16, 2016 | BEAUTY
Moving to a new city comes with so much excitement. There are new restaurants and bars to visit, sites to see, friends to make and hidden gems to seek out. But finding a new hairdresser? Nah mate. I’m not up for it. I don’t need to tell you that the relationship between a woman and her hairdresser is a sacred one. They have the power to make you feel revived, rejuvenated and ready to take on the world. The best hairdressers will listen, give you advice and tell you what you need to hear – all part of the free therapy session that comes with the best haircut.
So, with that in mind I did my research to try and find a good quality salon in my new local area. Living in Birmingham means I have endless options. With so many to choose from it seemed wrong to simply choose the one that was most convenient for me (close to where I work) but true to form, I went with the lazy option and did it anyway. James Bushell has two salons and the branch I visited is located just outside of the city centre, on Calthorpe Road. It has a huge glass front meaning if you have anxiety like me, you can walk past awkwardly several times and look at the layout before you pluck up the courage to actually walk in.
I knew I was onto a winner as soon as I made my appointment, because within minutes I was in the chair with Advanced Colour Technician Allan who gave me a free consultation to discuss my colour. Planning to go from blonde to red, I knew I might be met with some hesitation as I know it can be hard to get the colour to stick to bleached hair. However he explained to me that dying it orange first would solve this problem and then he spent time helping me pick the exact shade of red I wanted. I’m no colour expert, so having someone suggest which colour might look best along with using celebrity examples for reference was super helpful and put me at ease with my final decision. He quickly did a patch test and I booked my appointment for the following week.
As soon as I sat in the chair I was offered a cup of tea, and Allan went through the colour chart again to make 100% sure I was happy with my choice. This was great because after a week I honestly had forgotten which one I’d picked. He warned me that the first shade of orange would be close to neon (it truly was magnificent) but not to worry, it would be dyed over with the right colour straight after. Everything he said was true, and the final colour was exactly what I’d asked for – a warm copper that looked like it was my natural hair. Even if my colour had turned out a disaster, having my hair washed whilst sitting in a vibrating massage chair would have been worth the hassle. No joke.
I opted for a simple trim and my stylist Kim was happy to oblige. She could tell my hair was thick and heavy and took little off the length but loads of weight out of the ends – just what the doctor ordered. Whilst she got to cutting my new ginger mop I took in the atmosphere in the salon.
Juniors were busy cleaning, sweeping up and helping stylists with odd jobs. Every client was tended to with either a cuppa, a glass of wine or some much-needed relationship advice. An elderly lady with dementia was having her colour done and I heard the staff dealing with her needs with with decorum of a family member. Another lady was feeling faint and two stylists sat with her on the front step until she was ready to come back in.
The place was buzzing with activity, but I still felt like I was taken care of intently from start to finish. No customer was ignored, but in the same breath no staff member seemed stressed or spread too thin. After my cut my final colour was reviewed by Allan; another personal touch that really made me feel valued as a client.
The prices are really reasonable considering the standard of service that you’re guaranteed to receive. I can’t recommend these guys highly enough and can’t wait to go back for my next visit. Now for the important bit – before and after shots:
Have you ever been to James Bushell ?
