My Top 10 Beauty and Fitness Discoveries of 2015

As the year draws to a close, it’s time for a retrospective look back at my blog posts of the last 12 months.

Simply choosing 10 beauty products that have wowed me the most over the past year would be a challenge in itself – as last year’s ‘best of beauty’ list proved. But the task this year has been made doubly difficult.

Just before summer I launched Face Up Fitness, extending my blog’s editorial remit to include everything and anything fitness related. Now, it’s no longer just beauty products pulling at my heart strings and vying for a place in my end-of-year lists!

After much careful consideration and scratching of head, I’ve come up with a top 10 – a mix of beauty and fitness (mainly the former,  it has to be said, though it’ll be interesting to see how that develops next year) that were either newly launched or that I discovered for the very first time this year.  The list is in order of post publication.

PMD Personal Microderm – Tried & Tested Home Microdermabrasion

Fixing skin problems can be a frustrating business. It can often take time for topical skincare and home beauty gadgets to deliver any measurable results.

Our bodies are constantly shedding dead skin cells and creating fresh ones. This process slows with age, leading to duller skin, increased pigmentation, fine lines, enlarged pores and so on.  Topical creams and devices usually treat these problems by stimulating the cell renewal cycle but it’s not quick – it takes between 22-55 days (depending on age) to complete just one cycle.

‘Fixing’ skin is a game of treating and waiting. But then there are those occasions when we hit upon a product that makes an immediate impact on the look of our skin. And I’ve just had a ‘halleluiah’ moment with this gadget - the PMD Personal Microderm.

The bkr Bottle - Dislike the Taste of Water? Think Again!

I dislike the taste of water. Or perhaps it is water’s lack of taste that I so dislike. Either way, I don’t much fancy it and I rarely drink it. When I am ‘forced’ to guzzle down some H₂O (while training at the gym, mostly), I tend to put a drop or two of Robinsons Special R concentrate into my bottle to add some flavour.

In all honesty, though, I really wish I could get my tastes buds around water, to reduce my dependence on tea and coffee (of which I drink loads) if nothing else.  Alas, I don’t think that shall ever be. But, and it’s a big ‘but’, I have finally found something that makes drinking water much more palatable.  That something is the bkr water bottle.

Not Getting Your Beauty Sleep? Hello Vichy Skin Sleep

There is more than a little truth to the phrase ‘beauty sleep’. It’s during the wee small hours of the night, when our bodies are at total rest, that our skin repairs and rejuvenates - sleep enables the body to reverse everyday free radical damage through cellular renewal.

But how many of us don’t get the recommended seven hours of kip a night? I see a lot of raised hands out there, mine included.

The Beauty Industry and the 30-Plus Woman – It’s Time for Change!

It was somewhat ironic that at a gathering of bloggers and beauty experts last month, meeting to discuss how the industry could better ‘talk’ to  women aged 30-plus, event host Avene should be showcasing new skincare featuring the strapline  - ‘Deep Wrinkles, Firming Anti-Aging’.

It was an irony not lost on the Avene executives present, who conceded that the messages on product packaging sometimes lags behind internal thinking. But what makes this anecdote particularly unsettling is that Avene is one of the more forward-thinking brands when it comes to having a positive attitude towards ageing! 

Face Up Fitness: Body Testing and Why Faddy Diets & Exercise Regimes Don’t Work

There’s a lot of guess work involved in working towards our health and fitness goals, whether we're trying to shed a few pounds, pack on some serious muscle or simply get fitter.

There’s a plethora of different weight-loss eating plans to choose from and a strong temptation to ride the latest trend - hands up those on the 5:2 diet? It’s the same with exercise.

But how do we really know which eating plan or exercise programme is the best one for getting us to where we want to be? The truth is, without knowing exactly how our body works it’s a bit of a guessing game.

3 Fabulously Quirky Scents to Get This Christmas

I’m sure we all have that relative who is impossible to buy for. Mine is my brother. He’s a man who has everything. His Christmas present is usually the last I buy because every year I struggle to find something fabulously quirky to get him.

Fabulously quirky is key because a) it’s fabulous, so I’ll know he’ll love it, and b) it’s quirky, so it’s likely to have fallen under his shopaholic radar.

If you’re similarly scratching your head, wondering what to buy that ‘difficult’ loved one, here are three fabulously quirky suggestions in the fragrance line…

How to Look After Your Lips This Winter – Expert Tips With Dr Kuldeep Minocha

Winter can be harsh on our skin, and lips especially as we so often neglect them. Here top aesthetics doctor Dr Kuldeep Minocha, of Absolute Aesthetics, kindly shares his tips with my readers on how to keep lips looking and feeling sweet in chilly weather…    

Face Up Fitness: The Benefits of Yoga and My Virgin Experience

Having goals is good but there’s not much point in setting them unless they’re challenging – and my latest one certainly is!

I went to my first ever yoga lesson last week and I have much to learn. Like mastering the move above - just look at it!  I have no idea what it’s called but here teacher Mark is using his two arms to hold and suspend his entire body in mid-air. Impressive!

The Much-Fêted Biologique Recherche Facial

Biologique Recherche. Mere mention of that name is enough to prompt a chorus of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from skincare connoisseurs from around the globe. I say ‘skincare connoisseurs’ as outside of those circles Biologique Recherche is not a name that terribly well known.

It is through writing Face Up Beauty that I have got to know the brand and I was thrilled at having the opportunity a few weeks back to experience the much-fêted BR facial for myself.