Tag Archives: relax

Jul8

Face Mask Festivities: Freeman’s Anti-Stress Clay Mask Edition

Posted on July 8, 2018 by lifewithlilred

Hi everyone and welcome to the newest edition of Face Mask Festivities. Today, we are going to be discussing Freeman’s Anti-Stress Clay Mask. Delightfully reminiscent of Lush’s Don’t Look At Me mask, this blue baby definitely was a hit and was a fraction of the cost at only $3.29. Plus, no refrigerator to keep this mask fresh is required! Check it out:

If there’s one thing that the ballin on a budget lifestyle has taught me, it’s that drugstore brands are equally, if not better, than name brands. This mask by Freeman’s was essentially the exact same thing as Don’t Look At Me by Lush for so much less. And, this made me enjoy it even more, because I felt so pampered completely guilt free.

Using Freeman’s Anti-Stress Clay Mask was the perfect treat after a long day of working and getting caught in the rain during a hike. I ran a bath, applied the mask, and was instantly transported to Relaxation Station. This mask smells awesome, for one. It is so minty and invigorating with the slightest touch of an ocean breeze, thanks to the dead sea minerals in the formula. It also was the perfect texture. It wasn’t too light or too thick, but right in the middle, and it didn’t over dry when my bath took longer than the wash off time.

Because this mask didn’t over dry, it left my skin feeling amazing after washing it off. My pores felt like they got deep cleaned and all of my blackheads were removed, to boot. Once my face was nice and clean, I applied my Vitamin E Sleep Mask from The Body Shop and drifted off into the Land Of Nod feeling like I just spent my evening at the spa. Except this spa costed me less than ten dollars to enjoy, and I can definitely swing that!

What is your favorite face mask to use? How do you create a spa experience at home? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun22

Bath Bomb Blitz: Lush’s Over & Over Edition

Posted on June 22, 2018 by lifewithlilred

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Bath Bomb Blitz: Lush’s Over & Over Edition

Hello! This past weekend, I finally got to enjoy a nice, long soak in the tub with one of the bath bombs from Lush that I received for my birthday. I was feeling so worn out, so I decided to go with the Over & Over bath bomb, because of its bright yellow and orange color to see if it might help energize me. And, after watching it take off in different directions in my tub like a little rocket, it surely did! Take a look:

This is so bad, but my first thought when this bath bomb hit the water was “great, it’s going to look like a tub full of pee”, because of the initial pale yellow color. But, shortly after, I was proven wrong, because the pink coloring from inside the bomb began fizzing out in full force. So much so, that it literally made the bomb whiz off in the opposite direction of the tub like a shooting star. It. Was. Awesome.

From then on, the bomb began fizzing its vivid yellows, oranges, and hot pinks for a solid ten minutes, all the while it was filling my bathroom with a scent that was like freshly squeezed pink lemonade. The swirling colors left the final shade of the water a really pretty sunset orange and it felt like laying in a bubble of sunshine once I finally got into the tub.

Not only was the bath bomb display gorgeous but, because it’s made with cocoa butter (My favorite!), it left my skin feeling so hydrated and good – especially after shaving the Woolly Mammoth legs! 10/10 would use this bomb Over & Over again!

What is your favorite bath bomb from Lush? What is your favorite non bath bomb product from there? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May30

Are You An Anxious Night Owl?

Posted on May 30, 2018 by lifewithlilred

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In recent years, awareness of anxiety has come to the forefront. Aside from making you nervous, a full-blown case of anxiety can leave you on edge and unable to calm down. It feels as though you’re about to face something frightening every second of the day, and it can leave you on the brink of breaking.

If this sounds familiar, you should speak to your doctor and seek treatment which helps you to get on top of this. But, we aren’t focusing on treatment today. Instead, we’re going to address something few anxiety sufferers speak about: the fact that symptoms often get worse in the evenings.

In many ways, this seems strange. Surely anxiety should abate when you get home and let loose? But, often, the situation worsens once you get home. In many ways, this could be because you’re no longer distracted by work. As such, you’ll feel the full effects of the condition. But, this is also, in part, down to how we spend our evenings – so we’re going to look at a few every day habits which can make matters worse:

The Television Trap:

While television usage has dropped in recent years, many of us still put the box on the moment that we get home. It’s a comfort, and it helps a lot of us to relax. But, what you might not realize is that television can also boost anxiety in some ways. Even if you avoid anxiety-inducing programs, advertisements fill us with worries about what we don’t have. They also lead to comparisons with those on screen. On top of which, television eats time like nothing else. It could leave you feeling as though your evening’s over before it’s begun.

So, for at least a few hours, turn the TV off. Rely, instead, on board games like Scrabble. These still take complete concentration but without comparison. You can even avoid disputes by using tools like this word.tips word finder to check anything you’re unsure of. If that doesn’t appeal, you could always turn to hobbies like reading or coloring to see you through. The chances are, that you’ll feel much better after an evening of doing these.

There’s nothing better than a good book!

You’re Too Hung Up On The Day:

Many of us also make the mistake of overthinking our days once we get home. And, we still wonder why we have anxiety-induced headaches by the end of the night. In truth, you should avoid thinking about work during your evenings. Draw a line under the day with a quick walk around the block or even a meditation session to ease your mind. Then, turn your attention to something else every time work crosses your mind. Getting this distance could work wonders for helping you to relax. Bear in mind that it may take longer to adjust to than you expect. After all, you’ve spent years thinking about work all evening, every evening. But, if you focus your attention here, you could soon find that your mind is much calmer when you need it to be.

Featured Image By: Unsplash

May6

The Busy Girl’s Organization Guide

Posted on May 6, 2018 by lifewithlilred

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Heyyy! We live in a world where everyone is super busy and on the go constantly. With phones ringing in your ear, emails to answer, and appointments to get to, it can sure seem hard to balance it all. Believe me, I get it. As a woman on the go myself, I would be nowhere without the organization techniques that I have used throughout the years to keep me on track. And, now, I’m here to share them with you! Check it out:

Invest In A Desk Calendar:

With my work appointments growing by the month, a normal wall calendar just wasn’t cutting it anymore. I needed something that was nice and big so that I could fit my daily tasks into each day comfortably on paper. Now, not only do I have plenty of room for work scheduling, but I am able to really see how much time I have left in the day to work with for the side hustle or drinks with friends. Whereas, with a wall calendar, your space is so cramped that you can’t see any free time at all. I paid seven bucks for a large desk calendar at Target, and I scoff at the fact that I used to use anything smaller.

This would do nicely!

Color Coordinate:

The best part about a big desk calendar, though? THAT YOU CAN COLOR COORDINATE!! I have had a blast assigning a highlighter color to the person that I’m meeting with and using colored pencils to add in anything extra that I need reminders of. It makes planning your week or month a little more bright and fun, and sometimes you really need that extra boost to make your work schedule less stressful.

That’s what I’m talking about!

Take Notes:

I am constantly taking notes throughout the day. Whether I come up with a new blog post idea in my head or hear about a new restaurant that I want to try, god knows that I will forget it minutes later. You can definitely carry around a notepad for such findings, but I prefer to just send texts to myself so that I always have my little reminders handy in text message form for when I need it again.

Have Backup Plans:

One of the worst things is having a meeting or an outing with friends cancelled and feeling like your time for the day is just going to be wasted. So, it’s always nice to have a Plan B. This could range from just having some you time and going for a walk or trying out the new restaurant that you text reminded yourself about. It’s good to have something to fall back on if you have something scheduled with a flaky friend or you have a work appointment that isn’t mandatory.

Take A Break:

It might seem like the best thing ever to spread yourself too thin during the work week and on the weekends. Extra moolah, potential for raises or promotions – I totally get it. But, don’t forget to schedule in some time to take a break, too. Going nonstop is a great way to fatten your wallet, but you also get very burned out in the process. Schedule a pedicure during your lunch break or dedicate your Sunday to finishing the book on your bedside table. Just make sure that you’re working in some R&R somewhere!

On the go lifestyles are the norm, now. But with some top notch organization skills, you can make the most of your time whether it’s for work or play!

Apr24

7 Ways To Stop Stress

Posted on April 24, 2018 by lifewithlilred

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Is stress starting to get you down? Long-term stress can have lots of negative effects – it can damage your sleep quality, create achy muscles, make your skin more reactive to spots and rashes, raise your blood pressure, and bring on serious conditions such as heart disease and strokes. Taking steps to reduce stress could save your mind and body. Here are seven ways to counteract stress:

Take a hot bath:

Nothing beats a hot bath for helping you to relax. The hot water is great for your skin and can help your muscles relax, whilst pumping your body with feel good endorphins that help to rid it of the stress hormone cortisol. It’s the best way to unwind after a stressful day.

Get more sleep:

A lack of sleep could lead to stress, which could be affecting your sleep, creating a vicious cycle. Going to bed earlier and catching up on sleep could help you to break this cycle and destress. If you’re finding it difficult to get to sleep, consider changing your bedtime activities – staring at bright screens or eating lots of food can make it harder for us to get to sleep, so quit these activities an hour before bed. You may also be able to up the comfort of your bedroom with better bedding, sleep-inducing scents, and black out blinds.

Listen to music:

Listening to music that you like can release endorphins that can help you to overcome stress. Studies have found that calmer music and classical are most effective at combating stress, however, louder music may appeal to some people – it’s all a matter of taste.

Exercise:

Physical exercise also releases endorphins that can combat stress. It doesn’t matter what activity you do, so long as it helps to get your blood pumping, igniting those feel good hormones and flushing out the cortisol. This could be a long workout at the end of the day or a short five minute burst of HIIT when you don’t have the time.

Book a holiday:

A holiday in the sun could be just what you need to get away from the causes of your stress. Hotels like the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Villahermosa could offer the spa treatment you need on a budget. Cut yourself off from work if you need to or take a weekend away without the kids and get some much needed R&R.

Have a digital detox:

Much of our stress nowadays is technology based, whether it’s work emails or social media pressures or simply the strain of having to stare at a screen all day. There are many resorts and hotels that are now being marketed for this purpose such as these retreats at It’s Time To Log Off. Take a digital detox and watch your stress dwindle away.

Try meditating:

Meditation is also great for reducing stress and can be something that you can do at any time throughout the day. Finding some time to yourself, closing your eyes and freeing your mind of the things worrying you can help you to gain better perspective and reduce your cortisol levels.

Stress sucks. Take a deep breath, get yourself in the zone, and reduce your stress levels with the above tips.

Featured Image By: Flickr

Apr10

Adult Coloring Book Fun

Posted on April 10, 2018 by lifewithlilred

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Hiii everyone! So when my mom had her stay in the hospital, she was gifted with a plethora of adult coloring books to keep her occupied. So, we now have a plethora of adult coloring books at home for anyone in my family who is interested in doing a little coloring of their own.

I have to admit, I have never fully completed an adult coloring book picture before. God knows that I have started them with every intention to finish it, only to lose interest or give up a few days later. With that in mind, you can only imagine how excited I was to have finished my first picture in its entirety. I was so thrilled that I even started another one! Check it out:

It was easy to choose which pictures to color, since I love The Little Mermaid and all things skulls! Is my mermaid picture the best? Of course not! But, it was fun to do. It was nice to take a quick five or ten minutes during the day to sit down and fill in some of the blank spaces.

Taking a little break to focus on something other than my work day proved to be beneficial. It’s always good to take a breather and relax when you feel like you’re going nonstop during the day. And, even though my colored picture was low quality, I felt accomplished to have actually finished it instead of leaving yet another half finished page in the book. In fact, I’m even looking forward to finishing my skull picture!

Who else likes to use adult coloring books? What kind of color palette would you use for the skull picture? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr1

Happy Easter!!

Posted on April 1, 2018 by lifewithlilred

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Hi everyone and Happy Easter, Happy Sunday, and Happy April Fools to all! I, myself, do not celebrate Easter but I want to wish the happiest of days to those who do. Oddly enough, I will spend my time today watching the live version of Jesus Christ Superstar, as it happens to be my favorite musical. Go figure, huh?

No matter how you spend your day, I hope that you have a wonderful time doing it! Enjoy a lazy Sunday, a church celebration, or revel in the tricks of April Fools – just have some fun! See you all tomorrow. 🙂 Much love. -Sarah

Mar28

Introducing Sleep Hygiene To Your Life

Posted on March 28, 2018 by lifewithlilred

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If you’re someone who struggles to get to sleep at night, or you’re the kind of person who lays awake for hours just waiting for sleep to catch up with you, then there’s a good chance that you do not have the best sleep hygiene. This is a relatively new concept that’s been getting a lot of attention recently, with more and more people complaining of insomnia and research into sleep disorders becoming a wide medical field.

If you want to introduce it into your life, because let’s face it, at this point you’ll take anything to make sure you get a good night’s sleep, then here’s some basic tips. It’s important to remember that not everything works for everyone before frustration makes you give up on the entire premise!

Get Relaxed Before Bed:

It’s all well and good that you can fall onto the softest mattress from Sterling Sleep Systems, but you need to get properly relaxed before that to make sure that sleep takes hold of you in the shortest time possible. The best way to do this is to implement a routine for the nighttime that gets your body used to switching off and falling asleep, and gets your brain to remember that sleep is its friend!

Make sure that you’re washing in warm water before you head to the dream world, as a bath or shower can release tension from your muscles and give you a very refreshing feeling. You could also try stretching yourself out before you sleep; yes, a bit of exercise before saying goodnight could help you. Your body doesn’t need to settle into a lethargic position before you fall into a restful slumber, after all.

Keep it Dark:

Your brain needs to focus and only focus on trying to get to sleep, and that means your sleep environment needs to be calm and quiet for you to slumber away in. Making sure it’s dark is a good way to indicate to your open eyes that it’s time to rest. This isn’t something everyone finds relaxing, of course, but you can easily minimize the effect of harsh lighting before you go to sleep by turning off the phone or the TV, or dimming these screens down.

Try Not to Nap:

Everyone needs to nap from time to time, but if you’re taking two to three hour naps in the middle of the day, you’re going to suffer at bedtime. This is because your body doesn’t feel tired due to the extra energy, and let’s face it, you already know this is a problem you have to conquer. If you do need to nap, try to limit the time to 30 minutes, with 20 minutes being the optimum. It can erase the tiredness behind your eyes and really boost your mood, so feel free to take these shorter naps.

Sleep hygiene is quite effective to practice and can make going into the land of nod a lot easier.

Featured Image By: Pexels

Feb28

Feeling Old? Time To Get Rejuvenated!

Posted on February 28, 2018 by lifewithlilred

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People always say that you are only as young as you feel. However, it’s difficult to feel young when you start to notice the signs of age on your body and skin. It might not even be a change to the way you look but, rather, how your body feels. As you age, you’re more likely to experience issues with chronic pain, muscle and joint aches, as well as other problems. Even getting out of a chair can make you groan and grimace once you reach a certain age!

What should you do about this? You can ‘age gracefully’, and in other words accept your fate. Or, you can look into some of the ways people stay young for longer. If you’re leaning towards the latter suggestion, here are a few ideas that may interest you:

Exercise More:

Studies have shown that exercise actually keeps the body younger for longer. That means that you will be able to avoid the aches and pains of old age. As well as this, you might just find that wrinkles develop more slowly on the skin, too. The best exercise to take up is cardio, because this works out every area of your body rather than a few of the places you want to see muscle develop.

So, it might be time to buy a pair of running shoes and get jogging. In no time at all, you could feel a lot younger than you do today. Some people worry that it’s too late to start but it’s never too late, and there’s always a chance to get back on track.

Time to hit the gym!

Consider Medical Treatment:

If you are really upset with the effect that the ageing process has on your looks, you might want to consider taking a more drastic measure. Cosmetic procedures can help you take years off your age and could be a fantastic possibility if you are tired of not recognizing the person staring back at you in the mirror. Many people are turned off by the idea of surgery, due to the intensive procedures they think are involved. However, looking at a facelift surgery video, you’ll see that there’s actually nothing to be scared of. Indeed, cosmetic surgery is so advanced these days, that it’s one of the easiest surgeries for doctors to complete.

Any type of surgery is a big decision and you will want to ensure that you are in the most capable, skilled hands. Start researching your options by entering a search for “best plastic surgeon Beverly Hills” (or your local area) and look at reviews carefully. One unsatisfied patient could be a fluke but several is a definite problem, so make sure to avoid clinics with such reviews.

And, of course, surgery is something that should be considered deeply.

Go For A Spa Day:

Lastly, you might also want to think about heading out for a spa day. At the spa, you can get the benefits your body needs to stay young and vitalized. To keep your youth, you need to make sure that your body is getting the right nutrients and vitamins. You can do this at a spa with face treatments and you will be able to relax. Stress is one of the main causes of the signs of aging, including wrinkles, after all.

A spa day can truly help you unwind and look your best. It’s the perfect opportunity to relax, recharge, and give yourself some well-deserved care. If this sounds like just what you need, check out spa experiences on sites like https://www.invernesspalacehotel.co.uk/ so you can get some inspiration for the treatments you might like to book. The ultimate pampering and glowing skin is just one spa day away!

So relaxing!

It’s always good to treat yourself every now and then. With Mother’s Day somewhere on the horizon, this might be the perfect excuse to get pampered and get rid of those signs of age once and for all.

Featured Image By: Pexels

Jan18

Bath Bomb Blitz: Xmas Gift Pt. 2 Edition

Posted on January 18, 2018 by lifewithlilred

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Bath Bomb Blitz: Xmas Gift Pt. 2 Edition

Howdy! Today we are going to talk about the other bath bomb that my BFF gifted me for Christmas. It was a lovely purple and pink one with a Jasmine Rose scent. Although I am not big on either fragrance, this bath bomb was super pleasant to use and I LOVED the color that it made the bath water. And the dried rose petals were definitely a luxurious added bonus! Take a look and let’s discuss:

Even though the Cran Orange bath bomb from yesterday’s post was fun, I think that I like the Jasmine Rose one better. I didn’t get any hints of Jasmine at all when I put the bath bomb in the water, it just gave off this soft floral scent that was really pretty. Speaking of pretty, the lavender hue that my water turned into looked so gorgeous and I loved seeing the rose petals and pink glitter swirling around. It made me feel so lux and pampered!

I officially have no more bath bombs to use and now I am craving going to Lush something fierce! Taking baths is one of my favorite ways to relax and bath bombs just add to the R&R in the best way possible. I never thought that I would find myself wanting to go to Lush so badly, but here we are now, and some of their bath bombs sound like the perfect way to treat myself. 😀

What is your favorite Lush product? How do you make your bath time luxurious? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

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