How I Relieve Stress & Anxiety

Over the past few days, my anxiety has flared up drastically and ever since Sunday evening, I have been doing everything in my power to keep myself feeling relaxed and calm. It hasn't been easy... I mean, heck, I have been crying on and off for days! However, I have found a few techniques that have been working really well for me. Although lifestyle posts are not my usual thing (I usually post one every few months or so,) this topic means an awful lot to me as I have suffered with both anxiety & depression for years now and so I thought that I would hop online & share a few of my tips with you all. I hope that you find them helpful!

1. Colouring
Adult colouring books have become all the rage this year and I have well & truly jumped on that bandwagon. I honestly do believe that doing something creative can give you something else to focus on your attention on - plus, its pretty fun too! The two books I currently own and am working my way through are Millie Marotta's Animal Kingdom and the Zen Colouring Advanced Art Therapy book - which I strangely couldn't find online! Concentrating on such a simple task is really helping me to pass the time and I am really enjoying experimenting with lots of different colour palettes too.

2. Apps
I had used a few apps in the past but have never used them on a regular basis. However, I have re-downloaded a couple to help me through this difficult period that I'm having. There are so many apps out their that help you deal with stressful situations but my favourites are 'Calm' and 'Headspace.' I think it's really important to actually listen to your body and to your emotions rather than suppressing them and these apps allow me to do just that. Simply lying down or sitting somewhere quiet, listening to some relaxing sounds or going through a guided meditation is really helping me so far!

3. Lush baths
Last but not least, you can never go wrong with a good old-fashioned Lush bath. Pamper nights are one thing that I can always rely on to make me feel a little better. Using a bath bomb or taking the time out to give yourself a manicure may seem pretty trivial but I find it really useful. Different things definitely work for different people! I love how scents can relax me and a bubble bath can really make all the difference if you are feeling tense too!

A few extra tips:

- Listen to your body; make sure you are getting enough rest and are eating properly.
- Never be afraid to talk to your friends and family about how you are feeling.
- Take everything one step at a time, so that everything feels more manageable.
- Most importantly, be proud of yourself for getting through each day!

I hope that these tips may be helpful to some of you, as I am finding them to be quite useful for me this week! Hopefully I feel a lot brighter and less anxious soon! If you have any tip of your own, please feel free to share them with myself and other readers by leaving a comment down below :)

Lush's 'Best Washes' Shower Sheet

My good friend Lucy bought me this amazing new product from Lush as part of my birthday present at the end of May and I am still waiting for the perfect time to use it (I'm thinking as part of a long pamper day this upcoming Sunday!) For those of you who may not already know, a little while ago Lush opened a brand new three-floor store on Oxford Street in London. Not only is it full of everybody's favourites such as The Comforter and Twilight but the store has hundreds of new and exclusive products too! There are some really innovative new items and you bet your bottom dollar that I have been watching a million YouTube haul videos seeing what cool and exciting things other people have been buying on their trips there!

One new product range that caught my friends eye whilst she was there were shower sheets. The concept behind these little sheets of goodness is that you can simply tear a piece off, wet it and lather it all over your body like you would a body wash or shower gel. I personally think that the idea is genius and I can imagine that they would be a great thing to travel with as they are very light and small in size!

The sheet that Lucy chose to buy me was 'Best Washes,' a vivid pink shower sheet that smells exactly like 'Snow Fairy' - one of Lush's most infamous scents and best-selling shower gels at Christmas time! Although I haven't even used it yet, it smells absolutely divine and very sweet & sugary. I have heard that the sheets foam up really well and the scent lingers on your skin for a long time, so I'm excited to put these two aspects to the test! Unfortunately, as it was a gift, I am not sure how much each shower sheet costs but I'm sure that it will be just as affordable as most Lush items seem to be!

Overall, I am really excited to test this product out and I will be sure to report back on how I get on with it. Have you been to the Oxford Street store yet and if so, what did you pick up? What is your favourite Lush product? Let me know by leaving a comment down below!

My Sephora Wishlist: Highlighters

Hi guys! Welcome back to the fourth installment of my 'Sephora Wishlist' series. For those of you who do not know, I started this series on my blog a few months ago after browsing their website for hours on end wishing that I lived in America or another European country that actually had Sephora stores! Of course they do now luckily ship to the UK but let's face it, the postage and packaging is really not worth it unless you buy a tonne of products in one go! In case you missed my other three posts in the series, here are the links to the previous three categories I have feautured so far; lips, eyes and blush.

Over the past year or so, I have become absolutely obsessed with highlighters and how they make my skin look. I always feel so pretty and glowy when I wear them! So, it was no question that I had to create this wishlist next. So, here are the eight luminising products that I would love to own!

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette / Buxom Divine Goddess Luminizer / Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder Compact / Josie Maran Argan Enlightenment Illuminizing Wand / Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Highlight / Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector /  Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick / Josie Maran Argan Enlightenment Illuminizing Veil

So, those are the highlighters that I am currently lusting after! Hopefully I will be able to add one or two of them to my collection in the future. What is your all-time favourite highlighting product? Do you own any of the aforementioned highlights? Please let me know, as always, by leaving a comment down below!