I think I'm suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder. I'm concerned about getting rickets what with the Vitamin D deficiency. The only thing that appeals at the moment is either a holiday or staying in bed all day wearing a onesie, eating biscuits.
Since I have a job to hold down I thought I would not do the biscuit/onsesie thing. So with a clean slate and self improvement on the mind I prescribed myself a bottle of fake tan and sought solace in some little things that would automatically make me feel better about January.
The best. Nothing like a new diary to list resolutions (like 'Blog at least once a week'...pah!!)...to-do lists and to get planning. In this glorious mustardy, canary-y yellow it's like a beacon of light in the bottom of my handbag especially in grey old January...pages of promise. It's definitely a large expense to foot at the start of the year but if you think about it as cost per compliment it's TOTALLY FINE....
This stuff is very peculiar. I can only describe it as tasting like what I imagine rat poison would taste like. However it contains something called Resveratrol which is the beauty molecule found in Japanese knot-weed and red wine. Sadly it tastes the exact opposite of red wine. I can't quite identify what has happened over the last month I have been taking it but my friend said I looked about 5 years old and my skin feels....tighter?! I mean obviously I don't want to reverse my ageing so much that I look 5 but you know...There's also the 'Youth' version which tastes like Ginger flavoured phlegm. I'll get back to you on that one. I've only managed to hold down one teaspoon so far. But do try the other one - it does super things.
The last thing I want to do is buy clothes in January once Christmas has left me looking like an oversized cocktail sausage. So to get a quick fix of buying something cheerful that I don't have to squeeeze in to I headed to ASOS and purchased some of their insane and insanely good costume jewellery. I typed in words like 'jewel', 'cocktail' and 'oversized' to the search mechanism. The most bonkers stuff tends to end up in the sales too which is great so it's cheap cheap cheap. Type in 'UFO'. Yup! I have those earrings! The other good place to check out is The Outnet - especially the pieces by Kenneth Jay Lane.
ANYTHING THAT WORKS ITS MAGIC OVERNIGHT
Aesop Rosemary Leaf hand cream and Rosehip Lip Cream, This Works Deep Sleep Stress Less (I have mentioned the wonders of this stuff before here) and Christian Dior Abricot Crème for nails. It's quite a lurid orange which is a bit disastrous when in contact with clean white sheets but it works wonders on brittle nails that aren't dealing well with the ravages of time and weather. I've also been putting some on my lips but I'm not sure that's right so maybe don't do that.
FLOWERS
Simple I know...but I defy anyone not to feel a bit cheerier with bunches of colourful blooms around them.
I read about this in an article by India Knight in the Style magazine last year who raved about it so much that a frenzy was whipped up and it completely sold out. Just as I had started to resemble a scarecrow and my poor hair had been frazzled to a crisp, I managed to get my paws on the magic potion. It's a three step situation (Clean, Condition and Connect) and sometimes I can't be bothered but after a bit of consistent use my wintry, lacklustre and stringy hair is looking definitely less mop like and a lot more swishy.
NEW UNDIES
Nothing is more depressing than having to put on underwear that matches the colour of the rain clouds. I've thrown out all my grey-in-the-wash bits I've had since forever and replaced them with these! They make you feel REALLY happy in the morning before putting your armour on. Try Topshop here and the Agent Provocateur collaboration with Penelope and Monica Cruz here which is half the price of the main range and just as good, if not better.
The recent festivities left me feeling like a minced pie having done things like consume chocolate coins for breakfast ten days in a row. SO with a plan to turn things around quickly I tried to jump on the green juice bandwagon that is sweeping the world. I bought a blender and some eye-wateringly disgusting supplements. After a particularly bad kale and chia seed smoothie experiment, I wandered to Joseph on Westbourne Grove where they have a Canyon Juicery shop within the shop. These are cold pressed, gag-free juices made for any ailment you may have and are completely delicious. They deliver too so when I'm sitting at work eating cake, one quick call and I can undo the damage by swigging on this! That's how it works right? The Good Green made me feel very virtuous and the Sweet Potato one tastes like nice things.
How can you resist anything that says on the box 'The magic dew of youth and luminosity in a jar'?! - especially when the skin on my face looks like a worn out sock. This cream from the make up maestro Charlotte Tilbury is a truly lovely product that transforms your skin in seconds, smells rather nice and has really substantial, quite old-fashioned packaging that is reminiscent of Hollywood dressing-tables.
When the cupboard is bare - financially speaking - I think its good to spend what little money you have on things that bring immediate joy and comfort. A bunch of flowers for your bedroom, bright underwear, a new scent*, colourful trainers to incentivise you into actually doing some exercise, a diary to make to do lists....all these things are a lovely way to pick you up and see January as the start of something wonderful.
*I have rediscovered Apres L'Ondee (After The Downpour - how apt) by Guerlain. I first wore this when I was 17 purely because Linda Radlett the heroine in The Pursuit Of Love did. I thought it was the most glamorous thing. It is completely delicious and has clearly stood the test of time. And look how lovely the bottle is.
