The Best Treatments For Ageing Skin*

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Hello loves,

*This is a collaborative/pre-written post (not written by me).

When you start to get older taking care of your skin gets a lot harder. The days of a quick skin routine with a couple of products are gone and if you want to keep on top of it, you’ll have to work a lot harder. That doesn’t mean you can’t have great skin still, you’ll just need to start using different treatments and products to what you normally would. These are some of the best treatments for ageing skin.

Retinoid Creams

The biggest skin problem that you have to face as you age is wrinkles. There are thousands of products on the market that claim to effectively fight wrinkles, but only a handful of them actually will. There is only one ingredient that has been proven to fight the effects of wrinkles; Retinol. A lot of the more expensive creams don’t contain Retinol while some of the cheaper ones do so there’s no need to break the bank to get an effective anti-wrinkle cream. There are loads of great Retinol based creams that you can buy for around £20 and the results will be far better than a lot of the more expensive creams.

Peptide Creams

Peptides are another chemical that claims to reduce wrinkles and while that hasn’t been proven completely, peptide based creams are great for reducing a lot of the signs of ageing. The reason that your skin starts to look tired and sag a little as you get older is that it doesn’t produce as much collagen. Peptide based creams encourage collagen production in your skin and stop that from happening.

Skin Peels

If your skin is blotchy and you’ve sustained a lot of sun damage over the years, it really shows your age. Creams and treatments can go some way to rectifying that, but if you want great results, you should consider getting a skin peel from somewhere like The Belvedere Clinic. It’s nowhere near as drastic as getting a surgical treatment but it gives you results that are almost as good. They’re also great for adult acne sufferers as well.

Microdermabrasion

Microdermabrasion is another great skin treatment that can give you great results without having to undergo invasive surgery. It works by taking a hard diamond tipped wand to take the top layer of the skin off and encourage new, healthier looking skin cells to grow. It sounds a bit scary but it’s not painful, it might be slightly uncomfortable but nothing you can’t handle. The skin heals quickly so you’ll see a big difference almost right away. However, the only problem with microdermabrasion is that the effects don’t last that long at all. After about a week, you’ll need to have another treatment and they can be quite expensive. If you want to look your best for a special occasion then microdermabrasion is a good choice but it isn’t that practical as a day to day skincare solution.

Keeping on top of your skincare routine as you get older is hard, but these treatments and products can make it a lot easier.

Thanks for reading. Leah xoxo

Bipolar and learning to self-soothe

Hello lovelies,

This is actually a post written by me. 😁 I've lost my voice and don't have the urge or confidence to write much these days, but I've been mulling over this post for some time.

Before I had bipolar, I was really good at occupying myself. Housework, personal care, Netflix, reading, tv........there were any number of things I could do to take up time and keep myself busy. Now I have bipolar this has changed and I've reverted to a child-like state where I've lost the ability to self-soothe. 

I'm like a newborn baby who needs everything brought to them. I'm very dependent on my family to keep me 'entertained' for want of a better word. On days where I see my mum and step dad and we go for drives I feel at ease in myself. When I'm stuck indoors I struggle to keep myself busy and entertained, and I want to cry or sleep, just like a baby. When I'm left indoors on my own it's even worse, I just lay around feeling miserable unless I can force myself to go out for a walk.

I know when I'm bored or sad that reading, watching a film, doing some personal care (or anything else at all) will make me feel better but it's like I'm caught in a quicksand of inertia and doing things I know will make me feel better is really damn hard.

I'm writing this after discussing it with my lovely friend Faith and hoping that it can bring a bit of solidarity to anyone else with bipolar who struggles to keep themselves busy or look after themselves. I do believe I'm getting slightly better at self-soothing and Faith's idea of a self care box to reach for when I'm feeling particularly down is a great idea. I could fill it up with books, dvds, self-care items and so on to help me feel better.

If you had a self care box, what would you put in it? If you've got bipolar, do you find it hard to self soothe?

 Thanks for reading. Leah xoxo

A Luxury Wardrobe On A Not-So-Luxury Salary? No Problem!*

Hello lovelies,

*This is a pre-written/collaborative post (not written by me).


Photo - Pexels

What would you do if you won the lottery today? If you’re a fashion lover, you’re probably already daydreaming about that fantastic designer wardrobe. Sadly, winning the lottery is a one-in-how-many-million chance, making those designer items feel far out of your reach.

But what if there was a way to get a designer wardrobe for less? Believe it or not, it is possible - you just need to hone your shopping skills!

Start bringing affordable luxury into your wardrobe with these amazing tips for scoring cut-price designer goods.

Make yourself a luxury wishlist

Buying designer for the sake of buying designer is not going to be a good use of your money. Is it really worth spending your hard-earned money on a bargain designer item simply because it comes from a good label? While yes, you want to get your hands on some luxury goods, you don’t want to fill your wardrobe with unwanted items you’ll regret buying.

Make yourself a luxury wishlist filled with items you dream of owning. Be it a black designer handbag, a sleek leather jacket or a certain pair of heels with the red sole - write down the sort of items you’d love to get your hands on. Start off small and realistic, these need to be achievable goals after all. With a wishlist in hand, you can set off on your mission to owning those coveted luxury items and raise the bar for your wardrobe.

Focus on accessories and classics


Photo - PxHere

Trends will come and go each season, and most fashionistas will warn you to avoid investing a lot of money in trends if they’re likely to disappear by next season. Accessories, bags and shoes, however, have much longer staying power and can easily become a part of your wardrobe staples.

Luxury items like shoes, handbags, sunglasses and classic Design watches are easier to pick up at a bargain price than a dress or a pair of jeans might be. Each new season brings a new selection of must-have accessories, while the styles from the previous season can come down much lower in price. As accessory styles tend to be timeless, you won’t be considered ‘last season’ by picking up an item from last year’s collection.

Try ‘reverse credit’

Credit and designer spell a recipe for disaster - you don’t want to end up thousands of pounds in debt because you went overboard at Selfridges. Reverse credit, however, is an entirely different concept.

Reverse credit essentially means investing in gift cards for a particular store, treating them as a savings scheme so that you can buy the things you want. This little trick means you won’t be tempted to spend your savings on Friday night prosecco and will have a nice amount to work with. £30 on a gift card each month for a year could give you £360 - not a bad start for your fund, while asking for the same gift cards for birthdays and Christmas could also help to boost your total. Most designer stores like Selfridges, Net-a-Porter and Harrods, offer gift cards, so that you can have your pick of the top designer labels.

Start using cashback websites

If you’re not using a cashback website, then make sure you sign up to one as soon as you’re finished reading this article! Cashback websites essentially give you money for nothing by carrying out your usual online shopping through their portal. The money you make is credited to your account that you can have as cash or in gift vouchers, making it an ideal savings scheme to put towards your designer goods.

Cashback is not only awarded for purchases, but things like renewing your car insurance, signing up to Sky and taking out a new phone contract - so even life admin can prove to be rewarding! Some of the best cashback websites include Quidco and Topcashback, which offer various rewards to take advantage of.

If you have a lot of followers on social media, then be sure to share your referral code - you can make a lot of money from generous referral fees, helping to grow your cashback quicker.

Find discounts where there aren’t usually discounts

When it comes to your regular high-street shopping, it’s easy to save money on full-price items thanks to the wide range of discounts available online. Sadly, luxury goods will end up on the ‘exclusions’ list 99.99% of the time. But there is another way to save money without a discount code…

Did you know that there are websites that resell unwanted gift cards? Well they do, and they offer them at a discount. Websites like Zeek sell gift cards with a certain percentage saved on the regular price, so you can save 5, 10 or even 15% on the value of a gift card. 5% might not seem like a lot, but if you’re eyeing up some £500 shoes, that’s a £25 saving - every little helps doesn’t it?

You can also use this trick to save money on your regular purchases, essentially giving you a double discount if you can combine it with a coupon code or student discount.

Forget eBay, it’s all about Depop now

While eBay might have been the place to pick up second-hand designer goods - it’s now so oversaturated with fakes that it can be difficult to spot them. Enter Depop, a great website that’s loved by bloggers to help them sell on their designer loot. Depop is simple quick and fun - helping you discover fantastic designer pieces easily from people wanting to sell their treasures on.

Of course, as with eBay - Depop is home to plenty of fakes, but there are some good tips out there for helping you avoid a Depop scam. More often than not, you’ll find sellers easily on social media to get an idea of who they are and whether or not they buy genuine goods - ideal for grabbing a bargain.

And there you have it! With a bit of savvy saving and knowing where the bargains are, you could soon be the proud owner of the designer item of your dreams. Discover some great new looks to pair them with on the fashion pages. Mixing up designer and high-street is a great way to create on-trend looks, using pieces you’ll be able to cherish forever.

Thanks for reading. Leah xoxo