Liz Earle Facecare

I keep meaning - and mentioning - that I'm going to write various posts and then never get round to it.

I mentioned a while ago, back when I first moved into my current place with my sister, that I was going to try out Liz Earle's face-wash and toner. I went through two bottles of toner and one and a bit bottles of face-wash before switching (I'm about to go back to the left over face-wash though as I need to use it up before I go, or at least, use it up so it wasn't a complete waste of money).

The method for the face-wash feels nice, but really it could be applied to any face-wash or face soap. Fill the sink with warm water and soak a muslin cloth in it. Rub the face-wash all over the face and neck. Squeeze excess water out of the cloth and buff the soap off the face. Rinse the face and pat dry. The soap itself feels nice and silky, but I didn't feel like it was doing anything for my spots when I had them. Sure, my face felt exfoliated, but that was just cause of the cloth, not the soap itself. In fact, when I used it in the shower and didn't use the cloth, it didn't feel nearly as nice afterwards. It does smell nice though, and is very good at removing make up.

The toner is lovely, refreshing and cool with a beautiful floral fragrance. But again, I didn't feel like it was doing much. In fact that's all I can really say about it. Cause of the nature of the dispenser, you end up with a lot of it on the cotton and consequently it runs out quickly. I hate this, cause I'm used to toners that last ages. Granted, these toners are expensive, but because they last for so long, I don't feel like I'm being ripped off.

Summary: 

• Products smell nice
• Not overly expensive either
• The soap lasts a really long time.
• Toner runs out quickly
• Not effective against acne

I give both products 5/10, and I would recommend them to a friend, but warn them I didn't feel like it did a lot if anything for my acne.

At the moment I have one spot above the bridge of my glasses near my right eyebrow and it is driving me mental...

Accident-prone

I fell down the stairs on Friday on my way to work. What happened was I cause the end of my boot on the edge of the stair and fell a few stairs with that foot twisted under me, so the ankle, bent at the wrong angle, took all of my body weight and I banged into the radiator at the bottom of the stairs.

I shouted out but my sister was asleep with earplugs in so couldn't hear me. The cat came running up to me though and ran up to my face to make sure I was ok, and even tried to leave the house with me. So cute of her~~

I managed a day at work and a contact lens check up, where I got more bad news. My lenses are fine, but the ophthalmologist said there's something stuck in my cornea and I have to go to hospital to have it taken out. I'm putting it off a little though to see if the problem resolves itself cause I can't feel anything and my eyes aren't watering or painful for anything like that.

My sis said her ophthalmologist told her to go to the eye hospital too when she had abrasions on her eye but she didn't bother and it fixed itself, so I'm going to take a break from contact lenses and add eye drops daily and go back and see them on Thursday morning. If they tell me then that I need to go to hospital, then I will.

I've been giving my foot a lot of rest. My sister taught me how to bandage an ankle (pretty easy but I'd never done it before) and we iced it and put some freeze gel on it and it's already so much better with much less swelling. I still can't walk properly, but at least I don't have to use my umbrella as a walking stick any more.

Full of pancakes

Less than one month til I move to Tokyo!

Don't really have time to say much more than that, just waiting for a document I need to proofread and then I'm getting ready for bed.

Happy Pancake Day! I'm stuffed.

"Mental Virus"

My virus has taken it's toll on me so much that it's affected my mood, mindset and mentality.

Had anxiety attacks and just feel plain awful.

Ok I was gonna write an entry but it's so whiney that I'm just gonna go shower instead.

Busy Sick Busy Sick

I haven't been updating for a while because I've been alternating between really busy at work and then getting ill, normally with just the sniffles and my normal ailments, but last week I started to get a pain in my throat which became a full-blown virus.

I've been on a lot of bed rest. I took a day off work and - except for the day this week where I did 10 hours - I've been allowed to come in late or go home early.

Right now I've got a bit of a headache, sniffles, wet cough, sweating, reduced appetite and weirdly passing a lot of water. Perhaps overshare but meh. So I'm trying to keep my fluids up even if I'm not eating much.

Tomorrow is a 12 hour day at work, I need to be there an hour earlier than usual too. Which sucks for someone like me who is not a morning person. I'm fine with staying late, but coming in early is bad for me. But it can't be helped, it's the big meeting for the grant I've been handling the paperwork for. It's going to be a long, long day and I might have to go for dinner with the attendees of the meeting afterwards too.

My CoE is on its way from Japan, so soon I need to go to the embassy to get my visa. And I received a card from the staff at the school I'm going to be working at, so I need to send them a card in return. And finally write a card to my former student. She sent me a Christmas card but I was far too busy/disorganised to send Christmas cards this year, despite buying some.

I got a new lipstick last week, Shu Uemura, a lovely purple one which I can wear to work. I'll hopefully wear it tomorrow. Need to look all pretty for the meeting. In fact, I think I'll do my nails. Maybe I should write the cards before I do my nails... but I'm not sure I have the mental capacity to write cards atm. This entry itself is just rambling!

Back at work

I'm back at work after 2 weeks of holiday. It's only the second day - only the first full day for me, mind - and all I want to do is go home and sleep!

I'm exhausted! I'm still having insomnia but forcing myself out of bed to not be late for work in the mornings. Yesterday I at least had time to wash my face properly and take all my supplements, but not this morning.

There's things I need to do, but I'm busy every night this week :( which also means no gym for me. I've been trying to find the drive to get myself to the gym for a while now. The closest I've come to working out was a 2 mile walk I took on Sunday to the nearest open train station (my station was closed as part of engineering works). Was a nice walk for sure, and just the push I needed. But now I'm too busy seeing friends and family to go to the gym this week. Except for possibly Thursday, and perhaps Friday, but I do have something scheduled as a maybe on both days.

The doctor gave me some sleeping pills to try and reset my body clock. These pills worked really well last time, but I lost the pack so she gave me a prescription for some more. Now I just need to find the time to go get the prescription filled! Hopefully tomorrow at lunch I'll have some time.

I would have gone today at lunch but I spent this lunch chatting to my colleague while we both ate in the kitchen, and then filling in a medical customs declaration for Japan...

...because I've booked my ticket now (!). After some initial confusion as to whether or not I was supposed to wait for my Certificate of Eligibility (turns out it's my choice but it only arrives about a month before your departure date), I decided to go ahead and book it. So I have the date I'm leaving London, provided nothing goes wrong with the Certificate.

Monday March 11th.

So I've been trying to get things organised as much as possible. Checked in with my doctor yesterday, filled out as much as I can of the medical customs form, bought 3 smart skirts, have made a note of other smart clothes etc I have my eye on... informed supervisor at work of when I would like my last day of work to be...

Speaking of work, I should get back to it. But I'm just not enthused about work right now. I need to rest.

Food info from Boots WebMD

Finally remembered to bookmark the Boots WebMD page so I could put some of the info on here.

1. High fat foods aren't the worst for belly fat. The worst are alcohol (especially beer) and calorie-dense foods. Genetics, diet and lifestyle all play a role.
2. Sugary drinks and oversized portions are also bad. Alcohol however has a particular association with fat around the abdomen - the liver is working too hard burning off alcohol and then doesn't burn off the fat.
3. Salads can be bad if eaten at a place that drowns them in dressing e.g. typical crispy chicken bacon salad with Caesar dressing and a large soft drink would have around 540 calories and 35g of fat, and is worse for you than 3 hamburgers.
4. Trans-fats are the worst kinds of fats for belly fat. They can redistribute fat from other parts of the body to around the abdomen. They can be found in margarine, pastries, biscuits, crackers or fried and convenience food.
5. Green tea, blueberries and soy all show promise for reducing belly fat but more research is needed.
6. Fast foods are bad for belly fat because they are typically high-fat, calorie-dense, and come in large portions.
7. Whole grains are better than refined grains i.e., brown pasta and brown bread are better for you than white pasta and white bread.
8. Popcorn is actually a whole grain food and can be good for fending off belly fat. But not if it's smothered in butter or toffee etc. Whole grains tend to be better because they're high in fibre and take longer to digest, satisfying hunger and helps you more efficiently use blood glucose, lowering blood glucose levels and reducing fat.
9. Men are more prone to storing belly fat than women. Women before 40 tend to store fat in hips, thighs and buttocks, but after 40 the body fat is redistributed to the belly when oestrogen levels drop.
10. Belly fat is usually the first thing to go when you begin losing weight. Belly fat is typically a "visceral" fat - more metabolically active type than others, so is easier to lose.
11. Strengthening your core muscles helps to hold in the belly fat, but not to lose it. Aerobic exercises (running, swimming, cycling, tennis) are some of the best to reduce belly fat.
12. Belly fat is more dangerous than fat around the hips and thighs because it is "visceral", which wraps around the inner organs. It produces hormones and chemicals that can cause hormonal and blood chemistry imbalances and inflammation. Researchers think the belly fat's location near the portal vein (carries blood to the liver from the intestines) makes it easier for fatty acids produced in the breakdown of belly fat to travel to the liver, where they can raise the amount of fat in the blood.
13. Belly fat has been linked to heart disease, dementia and osteoporosis, diabetes, bowel cancer, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure and other health problems.
14. Cutting calories and getting more physical exercise is the best way to reduce belly fat. Most scientific evidence suggests that a calorie-controlled diet rich in fruits, veg, whole grains, low-fat dairy, beans, nuts, seeds, lean meat, fish, eggs and poultry is the foundation to reduce the waistline, combined with 150 minutes of exercise across most days of the week.