October is a rather temperamental month. As many of us know all too well, the trans-seasonal weather isn’t often kind to skin. Plus, we may tend to find our energies and mood start to ‘dip’ a little as the days get darker, shorter, and the warmer summer days become a distant memory.
So if you’re faced dealing with moody skin and general mood swings, fear not – in our October Mood Special, we’ve put together some of our organic beauty and wellbeing essentials to help you navigate through it, mindfully. Also, don’t forget to boost your immunity with some of our favourite superfoods and natural remedies – get them here.
Moody Skin Fixes
Skin misbehaving like an unruly teenager with the fluctuating temperatures? Give it some TLC with our #ContentApproved October natural beauty must-haves.
Masks
- Skin & Tonic Coco Mask: Thirsty skin? Mix this with water, honey or yogurt and leave on for ten minutes for a hydration boost. The coconut milk powder is rich in lauric acid and vitamins A, B, C and E.
- Guy Morgan Himalayan Pink Salt Mask: One of the key ingredients in it is French red clay, which is a great detoxifier for temperamental skin. Softens and moisturises skin in no time – and that jar is just too pretty!
Treatments
- MV Daily Soother Booster: One of our favourite SOS products to calm you skin when its having a bit of a tantrum. Easy to use: just mix 2-3 drops to your moisturiser. Ideal for eczema and dermatitis too.
- Guy Morgan Black Thorn Oil: Skin a little blotchy? This oil helps improve skin tone and is easily absorbed by all skin types.
- S5 Skincare Calm Serum: Irritated or pigmented skin? Soothe it with the help this serum: packed with marine extracts, it instantly helps cal grumpy skin..
Moisturisers
- Amala Soothing Moisture Cream: Packed with soothing organic, anti-oxidant rich ingredients like desert fig seed, argan seed and red tea, this creamy moisturiser protects skin from redness and reactions.
- Pai Instant Calm Chamomile and Rosehip Day Cream: Packed with omegas 3, 6, 7 & 9, this light silky cream leaves skin hydrated and happy.
Mood Managers – A lot of factors can affect someone’s mood but granted – weather is a big one! Take your typical continental Autumnal day for instance, which tends to fall somewhere between the damp, windy and cloudy end of the spectrum (with the odd beautiful sunny day in between) and leaves us feeling a bit deflated. While we can’t do anything about the lack of sunshine, we can certainly turn to some trusty natural remedies instead to help increase our ‘content’-ment levels. These are ours favourite mind-altering products:
Aromatherapy
- Lotus Wei Anointing Oils and Energy Mists: These natural perfumes act like mood-enhancers thanks to their clever flower essences and crystals formulas. It’s plant-based alchemy at its best! The Anointing Oils are purse-size and perfect to carry around throughout the day, while we always have a mist sitting on our desk or next to our bed. Find out more
- Therapie by Roques O’Neil Restore Aura Spray: Restore your energy with a quick whiff of this mist which is designed to rebalance our energy fields thanks an infusion of essential oils, crystals and Reiki.
- Tata Harper Treatments: Feeling stressed, irritable or having trouble sleeping? Apply these to three pulse points: inside of wrists, behind the ears and on each side of the throat throughout the day to soak in the aroma-therapeutic properties.
- De Mamiel Seasonal Oils: A blend of seasonal supportive oil to help us achieve balance and harmony. The De Mamiel Autumn Facial Oil is great for skin (decongesting) and wellbeing (uplifting) alike.
Want to know more about the favourite aroma-therapeutic products listed above (and more)? Read our aroma-therapeutic guide here.
Supplements – Omega 3: Don’t underestimate what topping up on your omega 3 levels can do for your mood! Healthy brains depend on omega-3s because the nervous system is mostly made of fat. Actually, Omega-3 essential fatty acids are one of the basic building blocks of the brain and keep brain signals moving smoothly in our brain cell membranes. This means that signals that travel through our flesh—feelings, thoughts, commands to our bodies—skip along cells and their arms sheathed in fat.
One study1 has found that there is a nutrient in fish which might actually be more effective against depression than traditional antidepressants: the omega-3 fatty acid called EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). Depressed patients were given a daily dose of EPA and in the course of three months, over two thirds of the group reported a 50% reduction in their symptoms including sadness and sleeplessness.
So make sure you eat a diet full of Omega-3s and get it in these natural supplements: Minami Nutrition Morepa Platinum or VeganDHA
Mood Mantras – Mindfulness and mantras is how we roll – we are Content after all! What is a mantra? The word mantra is made of two parts: man – the root of the Sanskrit word for mind and tra – the root of the word instrument. Thus, a mantra means “an instrument of the mind” – a powerful sound or vibration that can be used to enter a deep state of meditation.
The most known mantra is of course, “Om” – the most elemental sound, which has been used for millennia and whose sound represents the infinite universal consciousness. In fact, according to Vedic tradition everything in nature – wind, river, flowers – produces a vibration, which is a manifestation of spirit into matter.
See how we like our daily dose of mantras below:
Mood Journal – I Am Here Now – A Creative Mindfulness Guide and Journal: Writing is therapeutic – so, keep a journal! We love to carry around this cute, handy guide and pour our thoughts and doodles in it throughout the day. Part guide, part journal, it’s a hit with the likes of Arianna Huffington to practice, cultivate and enhance our awareness and wellbeing. It makes a thoughtful, lovely gift too!
Meditation – Although it’s been practiced forever in various forms, the research on its health benefits is relatively new – and astounding. A 2014 study2 found that meditation can help alleviate anxiety, pain and depression as well as cardiovascular variables3, even as effectively as an antidepressant! In fact, practicing meditation is one of our favourite #ContentRituals for wellbeing.
Mantras – We can’t bet the Buddhists on putting together a great mantra, but we all have little musings on life that we like to live by and that we like to remind ourselves throughout the day. Try it too! Put post-its of your favourite mantras around your room, on your workspace and why not – on yourself? The Mantraband bracelets are perfect for that! Just pick your favourite wearable mantra from these and adorn your wrist for an instant boost of mind altering positivity.
This is what team Content team turn to when life calls for it:
- Shelly Lake – Life is a journey, not a destination
- Annie Matafonov – Everyday and every way, I am getting better and better
- Magda Tiesler – Everything happens for a reason
- Pip Coulthard – Happy girls are the prettiest!
- Suzie Winsor – Eat well and travel often
- Liz Marchetti – When life gives you lemons, make lemonade
- Kate Burton – Have courage and be kind
- Mai Vi Ferraro – ‘Sapere Aude’ – Dare to Know
- Imelda Burke – You are the sky (still and limitless) – everything else is just the weather
FREE MIND ALTERING MOOD GIFT: Buy a Mantraband and Anointing Oil before October 11th and receive a FREE Truth Teller Lip Balm (£7.50) from Lotus Wei! No code needed. No other offers apply.
Read More: THE ART OF ANOINTING | Read More: AUTUMN ATTUNEMENT
REFERENCES
1- Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Depression: Scientific Evidence and Biological Mechanisms – Giuseppe Grosso,1 Fabio Galvano,1 Stefano Marventano,2 Michele Malaguarnera,1 Claudio Bucolo,1 Filippo Drago,1 and Filippo Caraci3,4 Received 7 June 2013; Accepted 7 February 2014; Published 18 March 2014
2. Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Wellbeing, A systemic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2014; 174(3):357-368.doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018
3. Effects of brief and sham mindfulness meditation on mood and cardiovascular variables – Zeidan F1, Johnson SK, Gordon NS, Goolkasian P. 2010 Aug;16(8):867-73. doi: 10.1089/acm.2009.0321.
