AMBITIOUSLEE | UK Beauty, Travel & Lifestyle Blog: 2017

Bali Mini Haul: Soulcal & Co

It's not long now until me and Alex escape to Bali and enjoy some well deserved TLC.

I recently picked up these 3 bargains from Soulcal & Co from Sports Direct, they varied from £6-£8 and are so adorable and lightweight to wear.

I could have bought everything they had on offer, but I wouldn't have known when to end, and half of it would have to stay at home.

I love bargain hunting and my favourite app for that is Depop, the amount of clothing I have bought from there is insane, it does feel good recycling clothes .

Focus Friday: My Skincare Regime

Bonjour!

Another late Focus Friday, but better late than never.

This weeks is all about my skincare regime.

Over the last 6 months I have migrated to an organic regime free from all nasty things such as parabens which are used to extend shelf life, but interfere with hormones, and petrochemicals.

Firstly I like to cleanse my face with warm water and the Yes to Blueberries fine lines and wrinkles cleanser, I'm 25 and now is the time to worry about them appearing... I also like how moisturised my face feels after using it.

Then I like to spritz my face with the Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner which contains rosewater. This feels really refreshing on my face and Sukin are an amazing brand free from all nasty chemicals and allergens. It also contains chamomile which helps soothe tired and inflamed skin.

After I have cleansed and spritzed, I like to use Dr Organic's Pomegranate Cream, I use this for both day and night because it has the right consistency for both and helps with my dry skin, again I'm helping fight ageing with the pomegranate in this product as it has brilliant antioxidant properties.

Then to top the whole regime off I use Beauty Kitchen's Seahorse Plankton High Definition Facial Oil, this helps to promote collagen stimulation and adds that bit more moisture for my dry skin. It smells gorgeous too!

Focus Friday: Boost Yourself

Today's Focus Friday is about ways to give yourself a boost of energy when you need it the most!

We've all had it, does the midday slump ring any bells?

Well I'm here to give you some handy tips on what do and eat to help counteract those stale hours throughout the day that make you want to sleep under the counter (or desk).

A quick disclaimer here to state that I would always recommend visiting a medical professional or your GP if you suffer from fatigue and tiredness on a regular basis, as there could be an underlying cause that I am not qualified to diagnose.

My personal top tip is to have a healthy and varied diet that consists of lots of fruit and vegetables, protein and fibre. Things like broccoli, bananas, mushrooms and blueberries.

Green leafy vegetables, eggs, lean meat and whole grains are full of fatigue fighting B-Complexes. Alongside that,green veggies are full of iron which helps with the transportation of oxygen round the body (be careful with toxicity levels of iron in children).

Another tip is to take a good multivitamin that contains Ginseng, Ginseng may help keep you alert as it has a slight stimulant effect, it is also an adaptogenic, helping the body cope with stress.

If you suffer from Migraines then I would advise speaking to your GP before taking Ginseng. So making sure you are getting your daily nutrients is very important, but what about sleep?

We need 8 hours sleep for optimal performance, now for some people that is easily said than done. Get into bed mode by switching off any white back lit electronics a few hours before you nod off, this is because the white light blocks the hormone Melatonin, and Melatonin helps you sleep. You can also help induce sleep by having a hot shower or bath before and add a little lavender to the bath for a soothing aroma.

My final tip for energy gains is keep hydrated, get that water bottle out of the cupboard from last years yoga classes and keep it filled up and ice cold throughout the day. No slacking.

Focus Friday: Antioxidants

Focus Friday will be my new sub genre of this blog, with topics of focus from all parts of life such as food, mood and cats!
That's if I remember to blog every Friday...
Todays topic is Antioxidants!

Let's start with the basics
According to Google the almighty, the definition of an antioxidant is "A substance that inhibits oxidation".

Ok so in what?
Food and our bodies.

In layman's speech our bodies weak cells split sometimes and we are left with what we call free radicals which contribute to various illnesses and ailments, this is accelerated by pollution in the environment, UVA rays from the sun and smoking (amongst others).
This is where antioxidants come in to the equation, they interact with these naughty free radical 'cells' and connect with them, stopping the damage of other vital molecules in the body.
So they may help to protect us from these factors mentioned before.

(Psst they also help with premature ageing caused by sun damage, just take a look at Sir Patrick Stewart back in the day and now.)

Where can I find Antioxidants?
Good question, now Antioxidants are pretty common in many everyday foods and vitamins. For a start foods rich in vitamins A,C and E are abundant in them so if you like citrus fruits, strawberries, broccoli and bell peppers the chances are you are getting a good dose already.
Other sources are:

Goji Berries
Wild Blueberries
Pecans
Kidney Beans
Tomatoes
Green Tea
Grapeseeds
Pomegranite
Matcha Green Tea
Acai Berry

So maybe swap that third cup of tea at the office for a cup of green tea? or the next time you reach for the milk chocolate swap it for the darkest you can find.
I'm sure our bodies will thank us for it.

Ok so that concludes this weeks Focus Friday, if there's anything you'd like me to go into depth about next friday then feel free to drop me a message or email on leeaaronharley@gmail.com.
Keep it clean!

Credit
normsfarms.com
boldsky.com

Bucket List 2017

Good Morning 2017

Where have I been hiding? I hear you ask.

Well I shall tell you, I, like many minions on this rather blue earth, have suffered from a large dose of no motivation.
5 years of blogging and then suddenly having to be an adult and work lots zapped my brain of all creativity ( or what creativity I had left) and I fell into the routine of rise, shine and sleep.

Now I have risen like the phoenix (club) and am raring to go!

Which moves me gently on to the subject of bucket lists for the year, I love bucket lists, they give me a sense of purpose and aim. I work an enjoyable retail job but sometimes even a job you enjoy can make you feel like "I need to experience somethinnggggg". Some people are right daredevils though, xtreme sports and death defying jumps FML.
We all focus so much on status and material things in life that we forget to enjoy the moment wether it be alone or with the people we love, for example hands up who's guilty of holding up their phone at a gig for almost half the set list for most part of having a memory in hard copy and to shout out to the peasants on social media " LOOK WHERE I AM"?
I'm not saying keep your phone away from gigs, but you get me right?

Anyhow, back on track, this is my bucket list of experiences I wish to encounter this year. Whether or not I encounter them all is another matter, but they can roll on to next year no?