8 Steps to Improve Your Day - Morning Routine

By Sebastian Gabriel

I really enjoy sleeping. Any opportunity to sleep a little longer and I'll grab it, no questions asked. But I've realised recently that my day can be dramatically improved if I make the most of my mornings. I adore breakfast - so many yummy choices to choose from! Eating my breakfast at my desk is fine every now and again, but I don't really get as much enjoyment out of my brekkie as I'd like to. I also feel like I don't have enough time to really wake my brain up and warm my body up for the day. So, I'm trying to change all that, little by little, to make my mornings not necessarily more productive, but set me up better for the rest of the day. Here are my tips for doing just that. Enjoy!

1. Go to bed earlier and read.

Okay so it's not morning, but this fits in nicely with number two, and it's important. So often, I hear people complaining that they never read anymore, and I sometimes find myself complaining too! Grab a good book, snuggle up and have a good read before bed. Even if you still end up turning your lights out at the same time as you did when you didn't read, you'll feel so relaxed that you'll most likely nod off quicker than usual.

2. Get up earlier.

Ouch, right? So it sounds terrible, even to myself, but think of all the wonderful things you can do for yourself that you wouldn't have time for otherwise. Gradually set your alarm earlier and earlier (try 5 minutes every other day) until you're able to get up about 40 minutes earlier than usual. Now for the fun stuff!

3. Forget you have a phone/laptop/tablet/etc.

This is DIFFICULT! There's just something great about looking at your phone first thing and seeing a message or a bunch of new insta followers, but it can also make for a terrible start to the day if you lose a bunch of followers or you get an email with some bad news. Eliminate the chance of ruining your day by not looking at your phone until you've eaten your breakfast, by which time you'll be in a better place mentally to deal with anything rubbish that has happened overnight. Use the time to read a magazine, read the paper, listen to the news, talk to your family, ponder the meaning of life, and you'll notice how much you enjoy the tech-free time.

4. Drink water.

Right, so has it ever occurred to you that when you're awake, you're pretty much drinking constantly, but when you go to bed at night, you don't drink anything for a reallyyyyy long time? I'm no scientist or anything, but to me this screams DEHYDRATION. When you wake up, have a big water-based drink, whether it's tea, hot water with lemon, plain old water, whatever you really enjoy.

 By Jordan Sanchez

5. Move.

I'm loathe to use the word exercise here. For me, it sounds like a chore, and I don't like doing chores first thing in the morning. If you love exercising then that's amazing, good for you, go for it! But for me, I like to think of it as simply a lovely morning stroll. You can Google the benefits of walking, and the benefits of a morning walk, apparently it does great things. For me, a 10 to 15 minute stroll is a great way to get the grumps out of myself if I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and a great way to gently wake up (I'm the ginger zombie shuffling along first thing in the morning ha!)

6. Do yoga/stretch/meditate.

Again, I like to keep it brief, and I don't do all three every day. It really depends on what I feel like doing. If you don't feel like doing any, close your eyes and point, and do the one your finger lands on. You'll thank yourself afterwards. Headspace is an amazing app if you're looking for guided meditation/mindfulness. It's just 10 minutes a day so it's really easy to fit in. Rachel Brathan AKA Yoga Girl has shared a morning wake-up yoga flow on YouTube which I adore. And as for stretching, gently fling yourself around, have fun with it! 

If you simply can't wait to eat after your walk, then swap numbers six and seven around, easy.

7. Eat breakfast.

 I LOVE BREAKFAST! Did I say that already? It's because I really do. I love it so much, sometimes I have breakfast for supper! Use the extra time you've given yourself in the morning to make yourself a super yummy meal. Check out my 'In the kitchen' board on Pinterest for some drool-worthy breakfasts.

8. Write down your goals for the day.

Take a few minutes to think about what you want to achieve each day and write them down. It's a great way to focus your mind and get you excited for what you're going to do with the rest of your day. At the end of the day, take a look at all the things you've done, and for goodness sake don't beat yourself up if you didn't tick everything off, just focus on what you DID do.

By Demi DeHerrera

Struggling to imagine what your new mornings will look like? Here's my typical morning routine:

8am - Wake up. Moan and groan a bit. Pull on some leggings, a hoody and some trainers and stumble downstairs to put the kettle on. While the kettle boils, stare out of the window for a bit and then make a big glass of ice water with cucumber and mint leaves. Make a big mug of green tea (half hot, half cold water, I hate burning my tongue). Sip tea and glug water. Ahh, so refreshing!

8.10am - Drag myself out of the house and go for a stroll wherever my feet take me. Start to realise what a lovely day it is and feel jolly/splash around in the puddles and feel jolly.

8.20am - Do some yoga/meditate/stretch. Feel good.

8.30am - BREAKFAST TIME! I usually have a massive fruit salad with coconut yoghurt, muesli with fruit and coconut yoghurt, or a croissant. I also love bacon, avocado and eggs. Sit down, relax, read the newspaper or Vogue, and think about what I want to achieve today. Write it all down and do some doodles to jazz things up a bit.

9am - By 9am, I'm dressed and at my desk ready to start work. I'm lucky as I work from home, but of course you can adjust the timings to take into account when you need to leave for work/school.

Usually I would wake up at 8.40am and everything would be a complete rush. Turns out I don't mind getting up earlier if it means I have a super chilled morning that makes for a happier day.

What's your morning routine like? Will you be incorporating any of my tips into your routine?

Much love,

Bemsy xxx

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ASOS Sale - Bemsy's Picks

The sale we've all been waiting for has arrived! Get up to 50% off thousands of items at ASOS oh yeahhhhh. Now is the time to buy all those things you've had in your saved list or to buy your perfect bikini or prom dress. I've made a lookbook of my picks to get you feeling inspired.

Nothing in my lookbook took your fancy? Shop the whole sale here!

Much love,
Bemsy x

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Bemsy's Evening Skincare Routine

I went through something of a skincare revolution about a year ago, mainly (okay, totally!) thanks to my BFF and beauty blogger Charlie (check out her blog here!). She explained to me some things that had never occurred to me before, such as the double cleanse and facial oils. I had been struggling with problem skin for several years. Not full blown acne, but I constantly had pimples in my T-zone which I thought was completely unfair considering I'm looooong past puberty. I suffered enough through my teens, I thought my twenties were for gorgeous, clear skin! Well, it turns out that they are, if you use the right combination of products.

So, here's my nightly skincare routine that has transformed my skin so that it now looks lovely, glowing, plump and generally pimple free!

Step 1 - Cleanse Part 1 - Remove make-up and/or dirt and pollution

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water -- Clinique Take the Day Off Makeup Remover -- Organic Cotton Pads

Micellar water is a new thing for me, and I have a feeling it might be new for most people, but I don't want to make any assumptions as I'm not great at keeping up with beauty trends. I used to use a basic drugstore own brand cleansing fluid liquidy water stuff, but this Garnier Cleansing Water claims to do more and be, well, better. I have to say I really like using it, and the bottle is enormous so you feel like you're getting a really good deal.

I've sworn by the Clinique Take the Day Off Makeup Remover for YEARS. I only ever wear waterproof mascara and eyeliner as my eyes water in the wind, cold, summer (hayfever, OMG go away), just all the time, and I've had some really ghastly experiences of makeup removers that claim to blitz waterproof eye makeup but that just don't. It ain't pretty! Clinique on the other hand has made the perfect remover that's a mixture of something oily and something... watery? I don't know, anyway, it works! Swear by it, can't live without it, cry when it runs out and I don't have a spare.

And just a quick note about cotton pads. I only use organic ones because I feel like they're better for the earth and possibly also better for my face. I'm not completely certain but I feel very strongly about this despite my vague assertions as to why they're better than normal ones. Give them a whirl, they may or may not be better than normal ones!

Step 2 - Cleanse Part 2 - Time to get really clean and fresh

The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Calming Butter

 So I'd never heard of cleansing butter/balm things before Charlie introduced them to me, but I'm converted. I lost my cleansing butter virginity to the Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm which was truly wonderful and I definitely recommend it, but on a recent trip to The Body Shop website, I spotted this Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter and thought I'd give it a whirl as I was running low on the Clinique Balm. I just love The Body Shop because their products are cruelty-free and they make a real effort to get their ingredients from responsible sources such as Fair Trade farmers (although I recently found out that The Body Shop is owned by L'Oreal, which is owned by Nestle, which makes me feel really rather sad and annoyed...) This butter is just as good as the Clinique Balm, so I think I'll stick with this one.

In case you were wondering, you scoop a wee blob out, rub your hands together to warm the butter and then massage your face - no water needed yet! Then you get a warm/hot damp face cloth and wipe off the butter. It's a divine experience, I have to say. 

Step 3 - Exfoliate

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Clarifying Lotion

Okay, I'm not entirely sure about this, as in, I don't really know what it is, and I only vaguely know what it does, but it came highly recommended from Charlie and I do think it's a really great product. So what I think it does is gently exfoliate your skin. So it's kind of like a cleanser, but not. It might be a toner, but I'm not sure. You still put it on an (organic?) cotton pad and rub the pad on your face like you would with a cleansing water, but it removes dead skin, tightens pores and generally smoothes things over. You know like when your foundation looks a bit crusty and ew? This prevents that. Amazing. I'm about to run out and I will be re-purchasing.

Step 4 - Spritz

Pukka Organic Rosewater (Bought mine at Whole Foods) -- Avene Eau Thermale

Another product that I don't really know much about, but nonetheless swear by. These are waters that you spray on your face. That simple. The rosewater (left) is supposed to function as a toner, I'm not sure if it does but it's really refreshing and smells nice and it's organic, so basically it's a win. The Avene Eau Thermale (right) is equally as wonderful. I particularly enjoy using these after a shower, and I absolutely have to use them before I apply a face oil (see below). Basically, I don't know what they do but I love using them, so I definitely recommend them.

Step 5 - Facial Oil

Sukin Certified Organic Rose Hip Oil (Bought mine at Whole Foods) -- The Body Shop Vitamin E Overnight Serum-in-Oil

Another of Charlie's recommendations, and boy has this made a difference to my complexion. Whoever would have thought that putting oil on a face that produces enough oil to lubricate a small engine would actually result in less oil production and clearer skin? Not me. But I turned sceptic to worshiper overnight. I'm serious, if you aren't using facial oil, try it. I spritz one of my sprays on my face and then quickly rub 4 drops worth of one of these two oils all over my face. I alternate between the two. The Body Shop one is slightly richer, but generally I find them interchangeable. Basically, I just use whichever one takes my fancy. 

Step 6 - Moisturise

Eos Lip Balm -- Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions Clinical Clearing Gel -- Avene Cleanance K Cream-gel -- Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief -- Avene Rich Skin Recovery Cream

Okay so I have a confession - for quite a while I just used the facial oil on its own, so I didn't moisturise after I'd put the oil on. Apparently this isn't what your supposed to do, and since I've started moisturising after I've put a facial oil on I've noticed my skin is even more hydrated but not more oily in the morning. 

I pick my moisturiser based on the state of my skin in the evening. Looking only slightly dry? I reach for Clinique Moisture Surge (I AM IN LOVE). Looking reallyyyy dry? It's a richer moisturiser in the form of Avene Rich skin recovery cream. One too many blackheads, visible or blocked pores? I use Avene Cleanance K Cream Gel (I don't know why it says gel, feels and looks just like cream to me, but oh well) on my t-zone, and then one of the other moisturisers everywhere else. The Cleanance K is great for occasional use, but if you're like me and you have sensitive skin be a bit careful as it can sting a bit as it's an exfoliating cream so contains some kind of mild acid (sounds awful, but won't burn your skin off, don't worry).

If I spy a pimple trying to make an entrance, I apply Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions Clinical Clearing Gel to the area. I have sworn by this product since my early teens and I really cannot live without it. I've tried more than a few cheaper alternatives, but they just don't compare. I'm not a massive fan of the new packaging, but the stuff inside is the same so I can't really complain.

And finally, I cannot go to sleep if I haven't applied some lip balm. I have what many would describe as a vast collection of lip balms and I'm proud of it! I'm currently obsessed with Eos balms, yum!

I do also use a hand cream last thing at night, but the one I have at the moment (Nivea Q10) is far from satisfactory, so if you can recommend a great one then leave me a comment please!

Do you use any of the same products as me? Do you double cleanse? Tell me what your evening skincare routine is like, I'm always on the look out for ideas and new products.

Much love, Bemsy

xxx

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Photo Diary: 2 Nights in Brussels, Belgium

All photos are mine

I travel a lot, but most of the time it's not for a holiday as such. In the last few weeks I've had a real urge to explore somewhere new, and I found myself researching places to visit in the UK and Europe. It was a toss up between Loch Ness and somewhere on the Eurostar, and when I came across an amazing deal on lastminute.com for two nights in Brussels including the train and hotel, I thought why the heck not travel for just two hours to a whole new country instead of 10 hours to Inverness?!

I thought it would be fun to share the photos I took with a disposable camera while I was there, with a few bits of advice and info about our trip thrown in for good measure. Hope you enjoy!

My first taste of fruit beer. Needless to say I am now obsessed. I hate beer, like really hate it, but now I feel quite pleased that I can actually enjoy a cold beer on a hot day (as long as it's fruity, obvs). There are loads of different flavours to choose from - my favourite was peach, mmmmm!

My boyfriend and I didn't really have a plan, which had it's good points and it's bad, but one of the good points was happening upon this lovely green park in the middle of busy roads, with a magnificent church looming up in front of us.

The impressive church peeking out above the park.

Grand Place, oh Grand Place, you darling! It reminded me of Leicester Square in London but waaaaay prettier. Just a shame that it's so touristy - at least in London you can get away from Leicester Square into other lovely impressive areas. But anyway, I didn't mind too much because PRETTY!

After the obligatory supper of moules frites, we saw what we thought was a magnificent sunset, until...

... we got back to our room and this happened...

... and then this!

Our hotel was right next to one of Brussels' many cartoon... I want to say walls? Anyway, whatever they're called, they're superb, and you can actually plan your own little tour round the city taking in every single one! The Tin Tin one was my fave.

We trekked all the way to The Atomium, which by the way is absolutely incredible and ridiculous at the same time, to find a HUUUUGE queue to go inside and up to the top, provided you bought an 11 euro ticket each. Continuing with the theme of not planning, we did not have 22 euros...

... so we bought an enormous sausage in an enormous baguette and ate it in the park, where we saw a crow, a rabbit and a woodpecker. Win!

Brussels, and Belgium in general, really knows how to do flowers. One of the reasons I wanted to go to Brussels was because I'd heard about this daily flower market. I like flowers. It wasn't as big as I'd imagined, but it was still great fun and oh so pretty.

I miss waffles.

Don't get run over by a horse!

Gobble gobble!

A lovely green wall that I fell backwards into just as my boyfriend took the photo, oops!

 We also trekked all the way to the flea market, which was another thing top of my list of things to do, only to find that while the stalls were there, that was it. Completely empty. Fail! But hey, there was this lovely park thing which the disposable camera dealt soooo well with....!

And lucky for us the church next to the flea market that was just a load of empty stalls had some stunning stained glass windows.

We then trekked all the way to the Cinquantenaire because I'd read you could climb to the top via the free-entry military museum and get a great view over Brussels. Yeah that failed too because most of the museum is closed until July I think while they prepare for a new exhibition. FAIL! 

It was fine though because we then walked to the Natural History Museum and went to the dinosaur exhibition (OMG AMAZING), via a picnic lunch on a sunny park bench surrounded by ducks, swans and Marley from the movie Marley & Me terrorising the ducks and swans.

Homeward bound.

It was a wonderful trip, and I'd definitely recommend it. If you'd like any info about how we got there, where we stayed or anything else, just leave a comment below.

Find more photos on instagram!

Much love, Bemsy x

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