How I See It...

WHAT DAY IS IT TODAY?

Silly question under normal circumstances, but I can’t be the only one suffering from “Lockdown Day Disorder”.

As I write I was utterly convinced yesterday was Friday. I was doing Friday things like thinking about the weekend, tying up loose ends, and shall we have fish for supper? When Mark said,

“It’s not Friday and you’re not religious”, I actually argued with him, scrabbling for my phone to prove I was right. Then after laughing at my delusion I was overcome with a crazy joy, like I’d been gifted another day, mine to keep and do with whatever I wanted.

PAMPERING

I looked in the mirror and knew exactly what I wanted – pampering.

Over the years I’ve learned much about the beauty business, spoken to the wise and become a competent DIY therapist, which at the moment is all we can do.

My column isn’t long enough to give you my complete top to toe so I’ll give you a few favourites...

◆ Skin, Skin, Skin – don’t wilfully destroy it because it’s difficult to get back. However, you will never be younger than you are NOW so it’s never too late to start.

◆ Avoid the 3 S’s – Smoking, Sunbathing and Sugar! A little of the last two won’t hurt, but either to excess will do you no favours, and alcohol is just sugar in a glass I’m afraid. ◆ Taking oestrogen in a gel form is a reminder to me that everything you put on your skin either penetrates the tissue or is absorbed into the blood stream. So choose products wisely.

◆ Castor oil, a natural moisturiser, is my all-time cheap, safe, go-to beauty fix from my hair to my toes.

So on “Friday” I ran castor oil through my hair with my hands and a wide-toothed comb. (Pop a little across your eyelashes and brows if you like!) I did a bit of plucking and cupboard tidying for 20 minutes then jumped in the shower to thoroughly wash out and lightly condition. ◆ A good scrub. Before switching the water on I exfoliated using a mix of coconut oil and table salt. Be diligent – don’t miss anything out – then shower off with your favourite soap.

As I had a few episodes of TigerKing to watch on Netflix I lay on the bed with neat castor oil on my feet, socks over the top, and everywhere else a blend of olive oil, castor oil and a few drops of Ylang Ylang because I like the smell. ◆ Hydration absolutely helps skin so I made my way through a pot of rich antioxidant green tea and dreamed about my lovely acrylic French manicured nails – which I miss more than my friends, because you can’t FaceTime nail tips in a closed nail bar!

Until next week, stay safe and whatever you are doing, do it in lip gloss.

Love, Anthea X