Beauty, naturally.

Dr. Hauschka, I have to say, is a god send.

If you're not familiar with that name, you may be picturing a greying German man in a white doctor's coat. But no.

This German brand delivers natural, effective skin care and beauty products. And by natural, I mean, the ingredients lists are BEAUTIFUL, yet the product itself resembles luxury, top quality brands, not a kitchen cupboard concoction, or, an 'I made this myself' Lush tub of something wittily named.

A fusion of plant science, raw materials from their own medicinal herb garden and a passion for natural beauty, let me tell you: I am in love. Honestly, for using their Quince Day Cream, my skin has never looked or felt better; this cream sinks in like a dream, and gives a smooth, clean appearance. And, with the most divine fragrances, every facet of their products will make you feel healthy, beautiful and amazing.

My recommendation for the summer: lighten up your chemical load, and look fabulous.

I'm a fanatic ingredient reader. Ever since I was a teenager and I made the connection between what I put in my body and how I felt/looked, I've been obsessed with knowing and understanding these sometimes scary and lengthy lists. If you want to be healthy, this is a must. Many people still overlook this, don't know or simply don't care, which is why so many products out there are still so full of artificial crap. This is not good for our bodies, ravaging our health and our looks.

This ingredient reading habit isn't so unusual in a supermarket. In a drug-store, however, you can get quite a few strange side eyes, or bewildered comments from friends, "what are you doing?" It's not always easy when society is rolling it's eyes at you, but read anything on this (for starters) and you'll wonder why these horrific concoctions, sold to us as health and beauty care, haven't been banned - or at least plastered with warning labels (I'll give you a hint, and it's to do with profit). Descriptions such as 'penetrates deep into the skin' should send chills of terror down your spine.

It ain't cheap living the natural life, however (unless you're not a compulsive beauty addict), so, if you can't afford to have a whole arsenal of quality, divine natural products (I have my fantasy bathroom all planned out in my head.... oh, one day...), I employ this rule: if it sinks into your skin, then invest!

Knowledge is power: moisturiser, foundation, liquid eye-liner... next time you're shopping for these, read their ingredients. How many of these ingredients do you recognise? How many don't you? Take three. Google them.

I dare you.

A Vision of Beauty

I recently came across this quote by the lovely Dita von Teese:

"I love artificial, man - made beauty. I like the idea of being whoever you want to be, not just saying -this is what I've got -this is what I've been living with"

And I couldn't agree more. I'm all for self acceptance, for loving what you've got. Of course, you must, you absolutely have to do this. But that's something different altogether to creating beauty. I don't mean forcing your body to (though the chances are it won't) fit the 'perfect' type of beauty we're told we have to conform to. That's just bullshit. And who wants that anyway?

Let me ask you: what sings to your soul? What insults it? What do you want to be? What expresses who you are? How do you want to look? How do you look, and how can you make the best of yourself?

Have a vision of what you want to be (a realistic one, that you can achieve and be proud of. The chances are you'll never look like Angelina Jolie, and why would you want to? That's not you), and create it. You're body is your most precious piece of art. Create your version of beauty. YOU. No one else. 

Just don't forget to love and accept your own natural beauty, before creating your own man made version. 

Look at the transformation of Dita von Teese: 

She looks gorgeous in both pictures, but she wasn't expressing who she is in the first one. 

Maybe you're more of a Mandy Ingber. Yogic, peaceful, make-up free, beautiful... 

You can create this too, by being healthy, exercising, and (while, of course, I don't know her personally), she gives off this vibe of happiness and peace. It may not be as 'man-made' as Dita professes, particularly if your idea of beauty is not getting your breasts enhanced, your hair dyed, elaborate make-up, training your waist into a tiny corset... but, if you are the opposite and you're not happy with who you are and what you've got, then guess what: you don't have to live with it. You can learn to love yourself, and, in the process, take steps to create something new.

Your body is your canvas. And it is absolutely perfect the way it is. But what you put in to it, what you put on it, how you move expresses who you are.

So, what do you want? 

We only get one body and one life. Have fun with it. Live in a way that honors your being.