Top 5: How to beat the Chrismas blues

According to recent studies, depression rates strike over the festive season. The dark weather, the weight gain and the get together with old friends and family that you don’t see often can cause a feeling of melancholy. Here are my personal top tips how to stay positive and motivated during Christmas time and the cold winter months.

• Make a plan

After the excitement of Christmas, going back to the old, regular routine is something that lowers lots of people’s spirits. So make a plan what you will do after Christmas. This might be to book a holiday in the sun that you can look forward to, writing that thesis, or doing something from which you will benefit later on.

• Do some exercise

The serotonin that exercise creates actually works to make you feel better, as it releases mood boosting endorphins. So why not go ice skating with a friend or just go for a nice winter walk and enjoy the christmas lightening as well as a nice cup of hot chocolate when you return home.

• Avoid over-eating

It will not only make you feel guilty but stressed out after Christmas because you need to lose all the weight afterwards.

• Go to the sauna or the solarium

During the cold winter month it is very dark outside which can lower your mood. The gentle warmth of a good old sauna or the light in a solarium can lift up your spirits again.

• Stay busy and social

The worst thing you could do is to stay at home all by yourself and do nothing. So get your ass from your sofa and go out there. Meet up with your friends and always stay busy and social.

Always keep in mind that your own thoughts create your mood and your entire reality, so just stay positive. I wish you all a merry Christmas and that you will beat your winter blues 🙂

Anti-Age your winter skin: With micro skin needling

Needling your delicate skin sounds scary at first, but with a derma roller it’s not a problem at all. It’s actually the best way to stimulate collagen and elastin production as the micro needles stimulate or puncture the skin. The natural healing process which is been activated through the “wounding” does wonders for your skin, revealing smooth and rejuvinated skin with a reduction of lines and wrinkles as well as a tighter feeling.  To me this was the holy grail to get rid of my dull winter skin, so I could glow just in time for Christmas.

What size needle and what brand do I need? 

There are so many brands of derma roller out there with different lenghts of needle. I can assure you that it doesn’t matter which brand you use. I got my 1.0mm roller from amazon for under 10€ and I’m really happy with it.

Nevertheless, the length of needle is very importan. Skin dermatologists say that everything under 0,5mm can’t go deep enough into the epidermis. So if you want your skin to produce more collagen and elastin, you must get at least a 0,5mm roller for your skin.

If you want to get rid of stretch marks, scars and pigmantation issues, a 1,5mm roller is the best. Everything which is higher than 1,5mm is too harsh on your skin, according to dermatologists.

My 1.0mm derma roller

Very important is to always sanitze your derma roller before and after every use so you don’t get any infections. Do you have any experience with derma roller so far? I did it only twice and can see a difference already in my skin. It’s much softer and more radiant than before. Good luck and have a great holiday season!

DIY: Fall / autumn nails

As summer is already over and fall just around the corner, I wanted to try out some cute nail art ideas. Warm colours like warm brown hues, oranges like “aurora red” by Pantone or cool greens like “Cypress” by Pantone are in trend this season. Here is my take on cute nail designs for autumn:

Fall design Turkey 🙂

Fall design trees

which is your favourite design? Do you like nail art like this? Often, I’m just too busy to paint my nails, but when I have a minute, I’ll do it 🙂 I hope I could inspire you.

Occó beauty drink – results

As I told you in my previous post, I received a 4-weeks supply of Occó the beauty drink to test and try out for you.

Here is what it really did for me and what I think of the “beautifying” drink:

First of all, I really liked the taste. I heard other people say they didn’t like, but it kind of reminded me of a German drink called “Rotbäcken”, it has a nice berry flavour and every morning, I was really looking forward to have my little beauty-breakfast juice.

I must say that I didn’t notice a glow in my face or more radiant skin, as other testers did, but that’s maybe because I’m currently on a medicine called “aknenormin”, which fights acne and dries out the skin a lot.

What I did notice though, is that my hair and nails have grown much quicker than usual! My hair grew 3 cm that month (they usually grow only1-2cm a month) and my nails weren’t that brittle, felt much stronger and grew a bit so that I don’t need my fake nails anymore 😀

Although my skin cleared up, I can’t say whether the drink did something for my acne, because I took the medicine. Because I don’t have any wrinkles yet, I also can’t say if the anti-ageing properties helped my skin.

All in all, it is a nice, natural berry flavoured drink with lots of vitamins which is definitey good for your health. For me personally, it helped a bit with hair growth and although I think it doesn’t do any miracles, turning a not-so good looking person into a beauty queen, it won’t definitely harm you. Nevertehless, if you eat a healthy diet with los of vegs and fruits, you might get the same results for far less money… 😉

Beautifying vitamins contained:

Vitamin A – for thicker hair
Vitamin C – for brighter, more radiant skin
Vitamin E – to help skin cells heal
Biotin – for serious hair growth
Zinc – helps fight acne and other skin disorders/irritations
Copper – repairs damaged skin
Selenium – helps heal damaged skin
Niacin – fights aging

Conclusion-You can also get all these vitamins in a healthy diet, so you don’t necessarily need to splurge on those drinks. Nevertheless, if you want to splurge and do yourself something good, go for it-it won’t do any harm 😉

OCÓO – The Beauty Drink – review and test for a month

In fairy tales, people are often on the hunt for the elixir of everlasting youth. How easy it would be to just buy a bottle of juice that will make you drink yourself youthful and beautiful? The German brand OCÓO promises just that – it’s the world’s first natural and functional beauty drink; a  product of years of extensive research by a team of dermatologists, scientists and nutritionists.

Although I’m a very sceptic person, I must say that I was really intrigued to try this “elixir of beauty” and see whether it keeps what it promises. Luckily, I have been sent a month supply of the drink to try and test out for you. So for the next 4 weeks, I will keep you guys updated on how I liked the drink, if there are any results to be seen and whether it’s worth the money or not.

But for now, let’s see what the product is about:

OCÓO is the first deliciously fruity Beauty Drink. The positive effects of the ingredients have been proven by extensive studies.. The perfect beauty-mix for skin, hair and nails from within! Only 48 Cal per 250 ml bottle (8.5 fl oz).

OCÓO contains red and blue carefully selected Beauty Berries – a mixture high in antioxidants with an exceptionally unique refreshing taste.

You will adore the uniquely refreshing OCÓO signature taste, and even more its attitude: live Beauty fully!
OCÓO – The Beauty Drink is a 3-time winner of the “Beverage Innovation Functional Drinks Awards. Beauty has never tasted so good.

 

So far so good. I think the fact that the positive effects of this drink have been proven by several international, scientific studies is quite impressive, so I’m really looking forward to trying it now.

OCÓO – The Beauty Drink is made with natural, anti-oxidative ingredients, including the six red power “beauty” berries, as shown in the picture: pomegranate, açaí, aronia, cranberries, black currants and red grapes.

Besides this, the complex of active ingredients have different effects:

• Anti-Aging*: Zinc and selenium protect cells from oxidative damage
• Skin care*: Vitamin B3 (niacin), biotin and iodine help to protect and repair normal skin
• Collagen production*: Vitamin c helps to produce and build collagen in every normal skin
• Hair care*: Copper supports the natural pigmentation of the hair and  biotin strengthens the hair.

 

It all sounds very promising, so I will try my first bottle now and do an update on the results in a week’s time xoxo Kim.

P.s. If you are curious now, here is the link to OCÓO’s website

OOTD/Fashion Friday: Skinny Jeans, red lace top and Strap heels

My outfit of the day was my favourite skinny jeans, a red lace top by New Yorker and my strap kitten heels by H&M. I like it because it is so comfortable while it still looks rather elegant.

Strappy kitten heels

And before I forget.. last week was my Birthday and I had such a great time! I’m sending out a big thank you to all of you who made this day so special. I’m really blessed to have such a great family and awesome friends! 🙂

If you were wondering what I got for my Birthday, here you go 😉

cute owl bag, gift voucher for a professional photo shoot, sleep in rollers, clothes…

Thank you all so much, I felt very loved  xoxo Kim

What I ate Wednesday: Fresh egg pasta with tofu

Today I had self-made egg pasta on freshly made tomato sauce with corn and tofu strips. Have you ever tried tofu in your pasta? It’s such a great alternative to bolognese I think.

Start living – what it means to turn 25

I love February because it means carnival, valentine’s day and of course my birthday 🙂 It’s actually my birthday today and while you are reading this I’m off to Brussels.

Usually I’m spending my big day surrounded by my family with lots of cake, but for my 25th Birthday I wanted to do something special and travel to a place I’ve never been before. While I’m more than aware of how very young 25 still is, I kind of feel the urge to reflect on myself as a person, what I have achieved so far and on my goals because turning 25, I can’t just say “I’m in my early 20s” anymore. It means that there are no longer excuses for bad decision-making because I’m still “so young and trying to figure everything out”. More than that, it also means that this is the time that you should be a help, instead of a burden, for your parents.

This again means that you should actually start choosing a career and stick to it whilst progressing and developing yourself. Furthermore it also means that you can’t jump in and out in relationships and “see what it brings” but start choosing a man who you can actually imagine to stay with him forever. To me, Twenty-five is when things start to change, begin to turn over — I am going to finish my studies in July and will start applying for jobs and because the village I’m living in at the moment is so small, I know that I will have to move to a very different place where I will meet very different people…

For me, it also means it would be five more years until I turn 30 and want to get married and have kids. It’s a wake up call to actually take matters in my own hands and start creating and living the life that I actually want!  So no reason to panic- just a reason to finally start living the life you want 🙂

My sister’s Raffaello cake

What does turning 25 mean to you or what did it mean to you? Happy Birthday to everyone who is turning 25- you will be just fine 😉

Fashion Friday/OOTD: Leather jacket with studs, knits and leopard print treggings

For my outfit of the day I went for something cozy and warm as well as stylish. I paired my favourite studded leather jacket by Zara with a cozy, thick knitted sweater in a light blue colour which lightens up the entire outfit. I’m also wearing my grey H&M leopard print treggings which I just love.

Heavy knit and leather

What I ate Wednesday: Spinach-rocket farfalle on roasted seeds

This is what I ate today: healthy farfalle on a spinach-rocket duet sprinkled with roasted sunflower seeds.

This must me one of the healthiest pasta dishes I ever had because it’s not only with super healthy spinach and rocket salad (everyone needs their leafy green vegs!) but the farfalle are also made out of wholemeal. Oh and it was delicious too 😉