#elliskincare

[candynosebest]

PMS: Pass My Sweatpants

All women are united on one thing. No, not that Ricki Hall is the hottest man alive, or that vodka + 80′s karaoke = solution to everything... It’s that PMS is an absolute nightmare and completely unfair havoc wreaked on us by our own uterus's as revenge just for not falling pregnant.

Like clockwork. You wake up, and “oooooh, ouch, my back/shoulder/knees!”... joints feel achey. Boobs feel bruisey. Tummy feels like you have a hard inflated balloon in your lower intestines and clothes feel like a serious inconvenience.

You get to the mirror and oh HEY! A pimple popped up overnight. Stunning!

If you’re like me, it lasts a few days, and to cope you really need to be disciplined and do the right thing to make it as bearable as possible for yourself. (And those around you).

Avoid caffeine, sugar, alcohol, white flour and white sugar. (Ironic, since most of us crave McDonalds, pasta, Krispy Kreme and champagne on these days like its a crisis of epidemic proportions) I usually drink about 3 flat whites a day and 1 bulletproof, and just having the 1 bulletproof is about as restrained as I can be.

Alkaline foods really seem to help- greens greens greens! Fresh spinach, avo, kale, fennel, cucumber, cabbage, mint. Turmeric, ginger, lemon, cayenne.... Salmon baked in garlic and chilli with coriander and miso ramen.... Heaven. Dark chocolate covered Brazil nuts. Thank me later.

Drink water, LOTS of it. I drink BuchuLife water every day because I love the taste, and Kusmi Tea’s Algothe. 

Yoga- vinyasa flow has been said to sort out all the soreness. If I ever wake up in time to make the Yoga Life class without wanting to cry into my pillow- I’ll let you know. I circumvent any hard work and just keep to my BodyTec and order a home massage.

Supplementation- Premular (Vitex agnus castus in all its unadulterated glory) has saved my life and I’m sure that of many of my exes. Waterex from GNC, Magnesium Glycinate by SOLAL and Evening Primrose Oil. No ifs, buts or maybes.

Now here’s the fun part. To calm your skin and appease any breakouts, I swear by SkinOwl’s Beauty Steam, available in SA via @McLeodandSavage. It’s a herbal ‘tea’ including comfrey and nettle that calms your skin. I’ve even bought my own little facial steam thingie for this purpose. 

Afterwards I use Kudu Cosmetica’s Squalane. It feels like an oil but it sinks in and is totally non-greasy. Its fragrance free too. I just feel like anything too active is too much. Plus the owner, Angelica, manufactures all her products locally. What’s not to love!

Bathing in Epsom Salts, milk powder, mustard, salt, kaolin and essential oils will work miracles- @McLeodandSavage makes “Cleopatra’s Secret” using locally sourced clay, milk, mustard and a secret blend local essential oils from Elli. (A company we adore- they really know their stuff!)

Before bed I do some light cupping on my tummy using a soft Bellabaci cup and their ‘Stress No More’ gel oil emulsion. Nicolette and Keren are my personal gurus and every product they create changes my life for the better. 

Right then. If that doesn’t help the bumpy ride before Aunt Sally Comes to Visit, then I recommend taking two Aleve’s, calling your mum and climbing into bed for the day.

Love,

C xo