Idle Waters: Quaint Cottage Countryside Retreat
Why Solo Travel & Why Now? What Solo Trips Mean To *Us*
Unplugged Retreat: A ‘No Phones’ Countryside Break
New Home Tour
We all need a pick me up every now and then. When - in the immortal words of The Rembrandts - it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month, or even your year (if you feel like the latter applies to you, this list may not help) - then having your next-door neighbour tell you to “look on the bright side” may not be enough to get you out of your funk. Whether your creative juices have stopped flowing, your career is feeling stale or you’re wondering if you’re ever going to find a fringe that suits you, then give this sassy girl checklist a try and I promise if your efforts go unrewarded, that I will personally come and pep talk you over crisp glass of rose and big ‘ole plate of nachos.
This post was sponsored by Yes To.
Indulge in lazy skincare so you’re ready to glow in the morning
I’ve spoken before about how I would love to look after my skin more, but how my disinterest in lengthy skincare routines and stronger desire to be in bed often stops me from achieving that. Anything that requires too much time, too much effort or too many stages is an instant no for me, and if I’m stuck in a funk, I’m especially unlikely to set aside 45 minutes before bed to apply five different obscurely named floral toners.
That’s why simple bedtime skincare is best. But do you know what is even better than a quick, pre-bed routine? Skincare that you can sleep in. Okay, so maybe today wasn’t the best of days, but tomorrow is a clean slate, and to make the most of it, you want to wake up with a go-getter glow.
Yes To have recently launched a brand new line of Sleeping Masks which are the perfect hack for achieving just that; simply pop the creamy formula on at night and it will absorb into your skin without leaving any residue, so your pillow as fresh as your face the next day. There are four different variations (Detoxifying Charcoal, Calming Cucumber, Moisturising Coconut and Boosting Grapefruit), but I personally opt for the Vitamin C Boosting Grapefruit mask as it works to even out skin tone and refine pores, two areas of which my skin often suffers with.
So pop that mask on, get a good amount of sleep and wake up ready to tackle the morning. You got this.
Read, write, breathe
Whenever I feel like I’m stuck in a funk and I’m struggling to find my way out, I can feel the stress creeping up on me like a long-drawn out shadow. The more difficult I find it to shake up my mindset, the more stressed I become, and the more difficult it becomes in turn. The only way to truly break out of this cycle, for me, is to take a step back, take a deep breath (aaaaand, breathe), and allow myself the time to get to know myself again. Often, I’ll do some reading of my favourite sites and magazines (ManRepeller.com and Oh Comely magazine are ace) to give myself some content ideas and get my creative flow back up and running, but to also remind myself of what I actually enjoy. It’s very easy to get stuck in a routine of doing what you normally do for the sake of normally doing it, when in fact, this is a recipe for ultimate staleness.
If it’s 7:30pm and you’re still staring into the abyss, desperately trying to come to a decision as to whether you want to take that promotion or trying to write an article or understand your math problem, then it’s not going to happen for you tonight. Shut down your desktop, put your phone on Do Not Disturb and inform the WhatsApp group chat that you’ll be out of gossip office for the rest of the night - you need to give yourself the physical and mental space to breathe, in order to wake up with a fresh mind. We’re often so reluctant to admit defeat that we prolong our funk, desperately trying to claw ourselves out but actually digging ourselves deeper in the meantime. Give yourself the permission to take time out, and you’ll find yourself coming back to tackle life with new ideas, new motivations and a renewed sense of self.
Step away from the black - today’s the day for something a little jazzier
‘Why is Chloe telling me to step away from the black when all I ever see her in is that and denim?’ Okay, fair. Normally I would be the last person telling you what you can or can’t wear, but today I’m putting my foot down. You’re in a funk, I’m here to help, and we’re going to do this. So yes, maybe today you feel like wearing a giant black jumper, black jeans, black shoes and black lipstick to mirror your black soul, but instead, I want you to pull out something funky. If I’m ever feeling a bit stuck then I’ll reach for my oversized red fluffy jumper from Stradivarius, because the combination of the colour, shape and texture makes me feel like I’m dressing with a purpose, rather than dressing to hide.
The Zara knit I’m wearing here is a new addition to my wardrobe, and even received the stamp of approval from both my Nanny and my Grandad, which is positively unheard of. Naturally Keiran’s judgement of it ran along the hideously polite lines of ‘hmmm.. it’s interesting’, but receiving compliments from my grandparents was enough to give me a little boost and get me thinking about how I might style it up in future and what content I could create around it. There’s also something to be said for treating yourself to something new if you’re feeling stuck in a style rut, but often that’s no so sustainable in terms of your wallet and bank balance, so if in doubt, stick on something jazzy and stay.away.from.the.black.