Filed under: Beauty Swellness

Beauty Swellness: 5 lessons in looking and feeling beautiful as you age

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Getting older makes me nervous. Plain and simple. I’m going to assume I’m not alone in this. Ladies, are you a bit stressed about aging, too?

But a recent roundtable I attended with a group of very successful women helped to ease some of that anxiety about aging. Assembled by Procter & Gamble Canada, the group of inspiring women included fashion expert Jeanne Beker, lifestyle expert Lynn Spence, dermatologist Kucy Pon, dentist Janet Tamo, and wellness expert Tosca Reno. Jeanne, who’s just turned 65, shared that she’s finding this time of her life exhilarating. “So many years, it was all about pushing forward and having to survive and going out there and getting it, we all need that drive, but this stage of our lives where we can sit back and see the forest for the trees, it’s a sweet time,” she says.

That sounds pretty incredible, doesn’t it? A little bit of a waiting-to-exhale moment when it comes to life…Here are the other useful nuggets of inspo I gathered from this powerhouse of women when it comes to taking care of one’s health and beauty.

1. Look to your meals as a way to nourish your body. “Each meal, I see as an opportunity to load myself with nutrients. Not “is it going to be chicken or steak tonight?” I look at food differently, as a way to flood my cells with nutrients.” says Tosca. She added that according to the World Health Organization, wellness is the presence of three lifestyle practices. “Eating clean, whole. nutrient-dense, minimally processed foods, exercise and emotional wellness,” she says. And while she noted that keeping moving physically is important, so is keeping your digestive system moving things along is key, too. And her tip for making sure you’ve got that down pat? Adding Metamucil and a shelf-stable probiotic (just open the capsule and add the powder right in!) to your smoothie is a simple way to make your smoothie instantly better for you.

Olay Regenerist

2. Feed your skin vitamins, too. Eighty percent of premature aging is due to sun damage, says Kucy. And while you can’t undo all the sun damage to your skin, you can make sure your skincare has vitamins that’ll benefit it. Such as vitamin B3 (niacinamide) — it moisturizes, it’s anti-inflammatory, helps pigmentation, and prevents irregular skin tone; vitamin A, which you should use in the evenings, which will help repair some sun damage; and vitamin C, as this antioxidant will help neutralizing damaging free radicals. Where to get these vitamins? Well, Olay Regenerist is, as Lynn points out, affordable and accessible to most women.

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3. Give your hair some TLC. Have you ever watched Lynn on TV and admired her shiny, voluminous hair? I know I have. Lynn swears by Pantene 2-in-1 products and its Smart Technology, which targets the areas it needs to treat and then washes out, but still leaves the hair nice and hydrated. She also makes sure to limit her use of heat tools by using a hair dryer that works efficiently so she can minimize the time it’s blow dried, and she finishes off with velcro rollers to build volume.

4. Create a budget and regimen for your dental health. Discoloured teeth are seen as a sign of aging and your teeth will darken with years of smoking and drinking coffee and red wine. The strategies to maintain a healthy mouth, though, are simple. Start with planning a budget for your dental health. “People budget for their hair, but hair grows back, teeth don’t,” says Janet. That’s so true, and good oral health over your lifetime is so essential, it should have its own budget. As for how to use that budget? Crest Whitestrips will immediately make your teeth look healthier and more beautiful. Invest in an Oral-B electric toothbrush, as it has been proven to better remove plaque. And lastly, floss daily as it helps to remove bacteria from your mouth. Did you know  most dental conditions are preventable?

Crest Whitestrips

5. Exercise can fit into even the busiest of schedules. People often ask Tosca if she spends hours at the gym and she tells them she doesn’t have hours to spend. Thirty minutes performed at 65 percent maximum heart rate is far more effective than spending hours at the gym, she says. Women in the baby boomer demo need to hit metabolic catalysts and target large muscle groups, that is the glutes, core and and quads, so that your burning fat at a faster rate all the time. Her fave? Rebounding. Fifteen minutes on this mini trampoline is the same as running 30 minutes on land, she says.

And when it comes to all of these lessons, it’s important to remember that taking care of yourself inside and out doesn’t have to be an all-consuming, overwhelming task. “Do the doable thing,” says Tosca. “Once you’ve done that thing, the next thing becomes easier. Do it 10 times in a row, and now that’s a new habit, and you can move onto the next one and commit to the next doable thing.”

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Leave a Comment November 21, 2017

Beauty Swellness: Why I don’t leave home without my Panasonic Nanoe™ Compact Travel Hair Dryer

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If there are two things I do a lot of it is travelling and blow-drying my hair. My work calls for me to go out of town a fair bit (even though I am cutting back on it as I know I need more time at home), and as for the blow-drying, since I work out regularly and sweat a lot, I’m frequently showering twice a day (to get ready for the day and then again post-workout), and that often calls for blow drying twice a day.

You’re probably wondering why I’m talking about these two things as going hand in hand, and that’s because I’ve been testing out the brand-new Panasonic Nanoe™ Compact Travel Hair Dryer, and this little addition to my beauty toolkit has helped me out with both my time on the road and at home.

I never used to travel with a hair dryer and never really understood the point of travel hair dryers–after all, don’t all accommodations have a hair dryer in the room? But now having traveled regularly for the past six years and having been forced to use the often terrible ones at hotels (you’d be surprised at how many places still offer the old-fashioned weak ones that are attached to the wall and look like a Flowbee) I’ve paid for it with bad-hair days. This is why I’m now making room in my carry-on for the Panasonic Nanoe Compact Travel Hair Dryer. It’s not a big deal to bring it along, since it’s so compact thanks to being foldable.

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So now I can rest assured I have the right tool for the job when I’m away from home. This powerful  1,400-watt hair dryer is lightweight, and its Nanoe™ technology helps minimize damage from brushing (which is helpful since I find my hair can often feel dry and damaged, I think because of all the shampooing and heat I expose it to). The proprietary Nanoe™ technology draws water from the air to fortify hair with moisture-rich particles that reduce the damage caused by everyday brushing, leaving hair smoother and shinier. Since using this dryer, I’ve noticed my hair is a little more brilliant and less parched.

It has so many other great features going for it, I often reach for  it first even at home  instead of my non-travel/usual hairdryer. It comes with a quick-dry nozzle that puts out both strong and soft airflows so you can get the job done faster–and if you know me at all, you know very well how I’m often rushing last minute to get out of the house, so I can definitely use any tool that helps me get ready quicker. If I’m on time for events or meeting with friends, well, that’s thanks to precious time saved with this impressive little hair dryer.

I can’t quite say I’ve come to love the routine task of blow-drying , but it’s definitely less of a chore, and you always feel more confident when heading out the door on a good-hair day, am I right?

The Panasonic Nanoe™ Compact Hair Dryer has an MSRP of $99.99 and is available at T&T Supermarket locations and at Panasonic.com.

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Leave a Comment August 1, 2017

Beauty Swellness: My At-home Aveeno® essentials

Aveeno at home essentials

I spend a fair bit of time away from home (and I talk about some of my travel must-haves here), and being away so often makes my time at home that much more precious to me. I struggle sometimes at making it a haven where I can kick back and relax (between what seems of endless loads of laundry–I’m just one person but between delicates, regular clothes and workout clothes, it piles up!–and constantly unpacking and repacking luggage, gah!).

But the one thing I know I don’t have to worry about is my stash of skincare essentials. As an Aveeno® Active Naturals® ambassador and a lifestyle writer, I get to try out a slew of products regularly, and these are the Aveeno products I turn to time and time again, and what helps me keep a healthy balance to my on-the-go lifestyle:

Because I’m working out regularly, I shampoo my hair often. Which can dry out hair, but I use Aveeno® Positively Nourishing Moisturize Shampoo and Conditioner so that my hair doesn’t get stripped. These two products are made with a formula of gentle moisturizers and includes a nourishing Wheat Complex and Oat Protein so my often over-shampooed hair maintains shine and strength. I usually don’t travel with these products (in order to save space in my luggage — carry-on only whenever possible!) and I notice the difference in how much more manageable my hair is once I return home and use these products instead of whatever was in my hotel room.

While I typically wear a higher SPF, during cooler months where I’m typically indoors for more time, I love to use Aveeno® Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer SPF 15. With its Total Soy Complex and natural light diffusers, it helps with my uneven skin tone and dark spots, and I like that it’s hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic. It is lightweight, though, so in the winter, I use a heavier night cream or an oil to give my dry skin (which gets exposed to harsh winter elements since I run outside all winter) more of rich dose of hydration.

As for my body, I’ve always been prone to dry skin, so with my skin recovering from winter and my frequent showering (often twice a day because of (1) life and (2) regular workouts), hydrating my skin well is actually the thing I’m most diligent about when it comes to my beauty routine. If I were to skip this step, I’d be scaly as a snake and itchy AF. So, in order to NOT be in such a state, I slather on the new Aveeno® Eczema Care Itch Relief Balm, which helps strengthen the skin’s natural moisture barrier and moisturizes skin well. It’s not greasy, and is gentle enough for daily use. Plus, I love that it’s in a large pot (it drives me crazy when pump dispenser’s stop pumping out lotion when there’s so much left in the bottle!).

Where I can slack off with my moisturizing routine is when it comes to my hands. Did you know–your hands are the first part of your body to show serious signs of aging?! So, I keep a tube of Aveeno® Daily Moisturizing Hand Cream on my office desk so I can apply it when I’m working on my computer.

I remember Aveeno® being on the bathroom shelf when I was growing up, actually, so it’s been a trusted staple on my bathroom shelf for practically my whole life, come to think about it.

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Leave a Comment June 12, 2017

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