Category: health

Cherish Skincare-not just about your skin.

Whilst I was on my holiday in Italy I got a message on Twitter by a lovely lady called Mel, inviting me to the launch of a new, ethical, organic skincare company just starting in Southampton called Cherish skincare.

I’m not sure why I was invited. I’m not a professional or a fashion/beauty blogger and make no money off my blog, but I was really excited as I’m a big advocate of wellbeing, self care and loving oneself as well as local, independent companies,  and I love meeting new people and trying new things so the combination of the four grabbed my attention and I actually looked forward to it.

Unfortunately I could not make it on the day, it was on the week I was back from my holiday, it was crazy busy at work and I was extremely tired for the whole week. I went to bed at 9:30pm on a Friday! So I asked Mel and Beth, the awesome gals who invited me initially and the co-founders of Cherish if they’d like to meet for lunch and tell me all about it.

So yesterday we spent more than an hour at Mettricks telling me all about their business, how Cherish is not just about skincare but a holistic approach on caring and treating yourself, and ended up chatting about digital marketing, the 5Ps of copywriting and other useful tips and advice I discovered through my personal interest and reading on marketing and social media on how to promote their business.

Mel is a full-time mum of two and Beth is actually a recent hair and make-up graduate. I felt immensely proud when I found out she just graduated from Southampton Solent University, my work home for the last six years. I told her all about the support and advice she can get from our Employability (Solent Futures) department and offered any help I could. I posted about it on LinkedIn today and I have already been contacted by our PR and Comms team asking me how they can get in touch with Beth!

All their products are organic produced by Mel and Beth and the idea of Cherish is to offer a suite of products from night oils to spray on your pillow to help you sleep better to day creams, anything to improve your skin but also your health and quality of life.

I left from our meeting genuinely excited and grateful I got to meet these two inspiring ladies. I can’t wait to see their business flourish!

Cherish Skincare co-founders Mel and Beth

They have just set up their website so if you want to find out more go have a look here and if you like what you see, spread the word! You’ll be supporting an inspiring local business as well as promoting wellbeing and self-care, something so basic but essential more than ever in the busy, crazy world we live in.

I wish you all the best Mel and Beth!

Eleni

 

 

Patience is the path

Happy Tuesday! Well. Sort of. It’s been a challenging day for me.

I found it extremely hard to concentrate.

I spent most of the day at work writing my PDR. I know that PDRs are supposed to be useful and necessary (although I believe that a large part of it is not of any use depending on your role and responsibilities, it should be shorter and more concise) but surely I’m not the only one that’s dreading it?

So I had to exercise my patience and perseverance skills. Every time I got distracted (and that happened A LOT throughout the day) I put my music back on and wrote a little bit more, and then a little bit more.

And I’m almost done. I should be done by tomorrow. But oh my Lord it was hard to keep going.

The selection of delicious homemade cakes freshly prepared by a colleague (thank you Craig!) brightened my day and lunchtime was a pleasant break. Sunshine makes any day better (although it’s harder to concentrate and be motivated to keep working when the sun is shining outside and you are stuck behind a desk) and spending lunch with my best friend in the sun is one of my favourite things to do.

Sheba and I went to where most Solent people go if they fancy quick lunch, Mettricks. I do love this place. Not only because it has delicious food, great coffee and tea, good vibe (love the leather armchairs!) but also because it is local and independent.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BX0JsBBhrP6/?taken-by=eleni_zenonos

That’s what I think Southampton needs more of. Character, uniqueness, individuality (no more chain restaurants and shops!). And Mettricks is one of the very few independent cafes in the city centre, with Halladays being my all time favourite! If you haven’t been, you should!

We spent our lunch chatting, whinging, laughing, dreaming of sunny holidays and travelling, craving new beginnings, whilst having a nice cup of tea.

Not sure what to make of the tea I had-trying new things is always exciting- it was one of the weirdest tastes I’ve ever experienced (it’s called Lapsong and it’s very smokey, it tastes how I’d imagine boiling a tree brunch or a stick in water would taste, if that makes any sense!). But I loved sitting in the sun chatting away with one of my favourite people, and occasionally waving at Solent Colleagues passing by.

Although there was this baby, he must have been around 10 months old, maybe a bit younger, sitting just opposite us, who wouldn’t stop giving us death stares the whole time we were there, not smiling at all, not even once. It was the first time I was ever scared of a baby!

death stare

And then I came home to do my Yoga practice. Day 24 woohoo.

And today’s theme was patience! Either irony, coincidence or an opportunity to continue practising patience!

It was a 47 minute long session, that I just finished doing. And it has completely and utterly relaxed me.

So I guess my message for today is patience is a virtue. Is not in any way or sense easy. But the more you practise it, the better you get at it.

And remember to enjoy every little moment, even when you are patiently working towards your goals, dreams or aspirations, whatever they might be. You do not want to miss the present because you are only looking forward to the future.

I’m not sure that everything it is as it should be, as often Adriene says, but I’m now super ready to face tomorrow.

Namaste

Eleni

I relapsed, now what?

Happy sunny Sunday!

I just came back from a run and I feel great. I love the high, my body flooding with adrenaline and endorphin.

I sometimes exercise at home and as you might know, I’ve been doing Yoga every day for the last 20 days and I love it. I’ve recently posted about it if you want to know more. You can have a read here.

Yoga relaxes me, I feel more confident and has already taught me a lot on how to love and take care of myself. But I need cardio in my life. I need the high and I desperate want to improve my stamina and strength.

I love Zumba and dancing. I can’t afford either right now, and when it comes to dancing, there are not many options in town (if you know of any do let me know!).

I love running. I know it’s not for everyone. For me, putting on music (I highly recommend the personal running mix on Spotify, it picks up your tempo first and selects songs based on your pace and the music you love), looking around, enjoying the moment (and often stopping to take a photo to remember that moment) the air on my face, my heart beating fast, is one of the best feelings in the world.

But I don’t go running that often. I often come back from work tired, hungry and I struggle to find the motivation to get out and go running or do any form of exercise.

So I often relapse. As I do with most things.

I eat healthy most of the time but I can’t resist a treat and LOVE a pizza on a Friday.

Some days I struggle to stay positive and I let myself become sad and depressed. And some days I feel like doing nothing at all.

But I promised myself that every time I relapse, I need to get back on it. And since then I feel much better. Because I know a moment or a day of weakness doesn’t mean I should let myself go, I should not give up.

Coincidentally, I recently came across relapse management in a book I’ve been reading on CBT, An introduction to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Skills and Applications (Westbrook D. et al, 2007). It’s a heavy read at times but very educational.

Relapse management is such a vital skill for everyone to develop. Not only in therapy but in daily life. The book suggests to ask yourself the following every time you relapse:

  • How can I make sense of this?
  • What have I learnt from it?
  • With hindsight, what would I do differently?

In this way, you learn more about your vulnerabilities, weaknesses, yourself and also gives you a plan, so after each set-back you can still get back on it and reduce the chances of relapsing again.

So that’s my message for today!

Relapsing of any form does not mean giving up or starting from scratch.

Relapsing means you are a human being and if you look at it as a chance to learn more about yourself and improve your mental and physical wellbeing, you’ll feel much happier and confident.

Amen 🙂

Eleni