Phyl Clarkehas good intentions for the new year
I always think New Year's Day is a bit like a birthday. There is no getting away from taking stock of what you did (or didn't) achieve in the previous 12 months. What's another year?
Casting my mind back to New Year's Day 2006, I should now be so proficient in yoga that I could give classes, and my Italian conversational skills would give Sophia Loren a run for her money. Those resolutions of last year are a distant memory, as neither came to pass. So this year my resolution is to make resolutions that I have some chance of sticking to. So here are my beauty resolutions for 2007.
The first one is easy, and free - sleep, and lots of it. A well-rested face can look fresher and years younger. You don't need to go to bed at 10pm, but it's a good idea to have your face cleansed and moisturised by this hour, as you will derive most benefit from your night cream between the hours of 10pm and 2am.
Before I go to bed I will be giving my hair 100 strokes of the brush to stimulate the natural oils and condition each strand. If I can bribe a family member to do it for me, all the better. Just before I pop under the covers, I will apply some of the detox foot pads that seem to be flavour of the month. They are everywhere, from the Dream On brand in pharmacies, to the Chi patches in health shops.
They all do the same job and are similarly priced at €29.95. If you prefer to ingest your detox, Flor Essence €24.95, is a herbal tea with cleansing and healing properties, available at health shops.
In the shower, I will exfoliate my body with my Japanese wash cloth (£17), available by mail order from www.spacenk.co.uk. I recommended this to a friend last year, and she tells me her skin has changed for the better. My choices of face exfoliators are Shiseido Bio Performance Super Exfoliating discs €65, used once a week, and Dermalogica daily microfoliant €45, a rice-based powder gentle enough to use every day.
Another of my body-related resolutions is to be braver about waxing. Since having my eyebrows waxed with Lycon wax, I feel able to go "below the neck" and will be going to Ellen at Brazilia, on South William Street, Dublin 2. The waxes at this salon use natural resins and aromatherapy oils, so there's less of the "ouch" factor associated with waxing.
Another free one? Drink lots of water - two litres a day if you can manage it, and tap water is fine. Adding a slice of lemon and ginger or both has added benefits. I used to find water difficult to drink, but at room temperature it tends to go down more easily.
In keeping with my new healthy lifestyle, those MBT walking shoes are coming out from the back of the wardrobe, as I will be walking for one hour three times a week. Luckily for me, this is the length of time it takes for me to walk to work, give or take the odd bit of window-shopping on the way.
When I work I will ignore the lift and take the 90 steps to the fourth floor, arriving at my desk with the natural, outdoorsy glow that the makers of cosmetics strive so hard to achieve.
At the end of a day, while brushing my hair, I will try to make sure it doesn't get tangled up in my halo. Ciao bellas.