Healthista writer Charlotte Dormon shares 7 of the best fitness, wellness & beauty buys to help you look and feel great this spring
Spring is finally here, flowers are blooming, the days are lighter and brighter, and now (unlike in bleak and cold January) is the perfect time of year to set new goals, get ourselves out of hibernation mode and rejuvenate ready for the new season ahead.
From vibrating hair brushes that massage your scalp whilst you shower to face steamers that hydrate and spring clean your skin – Healthista writer Charlotte Dormon shares 7 of her favourite tried & tested feel-good beauty buys to help us step into spring with a little more, ‘Joie de Vivre…
Beauty Buy #1 Manta Pulse Hairbrush, £70
Great for: for a healthy scalp and glossy voluminous hair
Make way for the ultimate wow factor glossy mane to show off this spring with the new MANTA Pulse.
This award-winning design is commended by celebrity stylists thanks to its multi-array of styling and hair health benefits. Enjoy the soothing massage setting – which can be used on dry or wet hair – that will ease away tightness and tension and exfoliate your scalp so it’s fresh and clean.
proven to prevent tension breakage caused by regular brushes
A must-have hair care tool for anyone with fine or thinning hair, it has been proven to prevent tension breakage caused by regular brushes.
I love my MANTA and wish I had one of these years ago; it’s been a total game-changer for me, and from now on I’ll never be found using a bog standard hair brush ever again.
READ MORE: Post-covid hair loss? 5 ways to keep your hair and scalp healthy
Beauty Buy #2 London Dispensary Slumber Aromatherapy & CBD Candle, £22
Great for: blissful sleep
Want your bedroom to smell like you’re inside a luxurious spa? Then this all-natural sleep-boosting Slumber CBD aromatherapy candle by The London Dispensary is for you.
At the flick of a match, you’ll enjoy the soothing aroma of essential oils, from Lavender, ylang-ylang, clary sage and nutmeg, along with CBD terpenes that waft around the room to aid your ZEN.
The smell is divine and so effective in helping me drift off
Despite being a die-hard NEOM candle fan for the last ten years, I’ve been greatly impressed with the results from my Slumber blend.
The smell is divine and so effective in helping me drift off that I have not considered going to bed with any other candle for quite some time.
READ MORE: Insomnia? Too stressed to sleep? 5 tried & tested sleep hacks to beat stress
Beauty Buy #3 HoMedics Nano Facial Steamer, £79.99
Great for: clear, fresh and hydrated skin
Spring clean your skin like a pro.
Remember the days of putting your head over a bowl to steam your skin, or having to pay a load of cash for a facial so a beauty therapist could steam your pores open to get your blackheads squeezed out – yuck – and oh so uncomfortable.
Luckily those days are now over for me, thanks to the genius Nano face steamer design by HoMedics. The Nano steam effectively unclogs your pores of all the grime, dead skin cells, and goodness knows what else is buried under our skin from makeup and lotions to pollution.
I use mine once or twice a week as part of my skincare ritual
The Nano steamer nozzle allows you to freshen and hydrate your skin with ease, leaving it radiating with a healthy glow.
I use mine once or twice a week as part of my skincare ritual, as well as using it when I have applied a hydrating or cleansing face mask, which helps the treatment work more deeply and effectively.
There are others around on the market, but this one is well-priced as just as good, if not a lot better!
READ MORE: 3 best facials in London for glowing skin – tried and tested
Beauty Buy #4 Manucurist Paris Natural Nail Polish, £14
Great for: healthy natural nails
Give your nails a spring break and enjoy eco-chic beauty at your fingertips with Manucurist chemical-free nail polish.
After reading all the negative news reports on the damage caused by gel nails, I was keen to give my claws a well-deserved break from gel and go 100 per cent chemical-free.
Heading to a salon to get gel applied has been an expensive and addictive monthly habit for me to achieve flawless-looking red nails, but at what cost?
Not only was it a big financial investment over the course of a year, but it was also damaging my nails, leaving them sensitive and paper-thin when the layer of gel was taken off.
After doing plenty of research and buying various brands offering chemical and cruelty-free natural nail vanish, I finally found the eco-chic French brand, Manucurist.
Although higher in price than others, once I purchased them and tried them out, I realised that the extra few pounds in price meant a far better result with applicate ease and staying power.
They are all made with natural ingredients and are free of any chemicals deemed toxic and not ‘clean’ by natural beauty standards.
I realised that the extra few pounds in price meant a far better result
I treated myself to the Manucurist starter kit that comes in a cute red bag with two nail varnish colours of your choice – I chose Pomegranate for extra glam and Bare Skin for a more subtle look – a base coat, top coat, nail polish remover (this in itself is the total dream product as it does not strip your nails like acetone) a nail file and a buffer.
Yes, of course, my nails do not last the duration that the chemical salon gels do. However, I am very happy with the finish and touch up any chips with my colour if I need, or I just use the base and top coat and go colour free.
Also, I now enjoy sitting down and taking care of my nails with natural products in the comfort of my own home and not having to endure paying to sit in a busy nail salon to redo my gels.
Just a few weeks in and my nails are healing from the damage, getting stronger, longer and beginning to look very healthy and lovely again.
READ MORE: Tiredness, cracked lips, brittle nails, feeling low? You could be lacking this VITAL vitamin
Beauty Buy #5 Orbitrek MX Elliptical Trainer, £250
Great for: staying active and burning calories at your desk
So many of us spend hours of our day sitting at our desks working, and sadly we’re not moving enough. This, unfortunately, is not good news for our mental and physical well-being.
Being deskbound for so much of our time, being that almost everything we do, from online shopping to team meetings, means that getting our steps in and staying active can be a challenge.
I always try and get out for a walk on my lunch break or first thing in the morning if it’s not too dark and dreary, but often my work schedule means that meetings can overrun or I don’t get out in time to get a good amount of movement in.
I decided I needed to find ways to make it as easy as I could for me to stay more active at home, of which I found two things that helped this.
The first is my mini trampoline, which I usually try and do for two bursts of the day, it burns off some energy mid-morning for around five mins, then again in the afternoon to boost energy and get my body moving.
Then I purchased myself the Orbitrek MX elliptical trainer to fit under my desk, so I can keep my legs moving and exercised while I sit on Zoom calls and long, drawn-out meetings.
Very soon I noticed that my mood and patience levels had improved thanks to the fun exercise I was doing whilst sitting.
The MX has a remote control, so you literally tap the button, and you are off. You have a choice of speed and can even set a program to challenge you.
It also greatly improves my mood as it aids blood flow to improve my circulation
I absolutely love this nifty gadget as it’s ever so quiet that no one would know what you are doing, and rather than feeling like your legs and backside have gone numb after hours of sitting, your legs feel refreshed and revitalised and can get quite toned if you do it every day.
It also greatly improves my mood as it aids blood flow to improve my circulation, which means I feel less irritable and grumpy like I do when I have been stuck at my desk for hours not moving.
Having this fun and easy-to-do fitness support at the touch of a button under my desk has definitely given me the opportunity to burn extra calories.
And overall, I feel better about myself for moving more instead of being stuck and itching to get away from my desk when I need to just sit and do my work.
READ MORE: 5 back stretches to help relieve desk hunch
Beauty Buy #6 Correxiko Wild Marine Collagen Capsules, £29
Great for: fighting fine lines and hydrating dry, lacklustre skin
Supplement your skincare routine with Correxiko Wild Marine Collagen capsules with hyaluronic acid & vitamin C.
Too many fine lines and dry, lacklustre skin is never a great look, especially not in spring when we want to be wearing less makeup so our natural glow can shine through.
I have been a huge fan of marine collagen for a few years now. Ever since turning 40 (now 43), I knew it was time to get serious with my skincare and up the ante on supplements that are proven to help fight the signs of ageing as much as possible.
Collagen has proven to be one of those that can help support plumpness, firmness and hydration in our skin, as well as helping to prevent hyperpigmentation.
My hair has started to grow with more volume and less dryness
I was adding Correxiko’s collagen powder each morning in my coffee or warm water and lemon, but then I decided to add another round of skincare support to my evening routine and started taking four capsules of the Correxiko marine collagen capsules with my herbal tea in the evening.
Since doing this I have noticed a big difference in the overall health of my skin, nails and hair. My hair has started to grow with more volume and less dryness, and my skin was noticeably more hydrated in the morning after only a few days.
As most of our rejuvenation and repair work happens overnight, and I had an evening skincare routine of various serums and hydrating creams, it made sense to include the collagen capsules into my evening routine.
READ MORE: Collagen powder: why celebrities love it and how it can help you look younger
Beauty Buy #7 Asquith London Leggings, £65
Great for: feeling confident when working out
Pack your winter wardrobe away and brighten your workout vibe with Asquith eco bamboo and cotton magenta leggings.
When it comes to dressing myself to feel good for a workout, my go-to figure-flattering options in my wardrobe were always my Sweaty Betty or Lulu Lemon black leggings. That was until I discovered Asquith.
I was at a Pilates event last autumn and noticed a lot of women wearing some very chic-looking leggings that appeared to be made out of very soft fabric that looked a lot more comfortable than the skin-tight lycra black leggings I was wearing.
After stopping a couple of them to quiz them about the brand they were wearing, it seemed they were wearing bamboo fabric leggings from a brand called Asquith.
I was so impressed with the fit and great style that I was hooked
What appealed to me was the breathable fabric, made up of eco, sustainable and breathable bamboo blended with organic cotton and elastin.
After receiving my order, I was so impressed with the fit and great style that I was hooked. I have felt confident enough to move to colours and love the new magenta move-it leggings.
They are really comfortable to wear, the fabric feels soft on my skin, and the materials are naturally sweat-wicking, so as the weather warms up/or your workout intensity rises, you can get fit and stay looking and feeling fresh.
READ MORE: 8 best squat proof leggings – tried and tested
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