BeautyWorksWest

It might be deeply ingrained within the British psyche, but the compulsion to moan and complain is ultimately self-defeating - it makes us feel miserable.

Flip it around and the converse is true: offering praise and support creates a positive atmosphere that benefits not only the recipient of our goodwill, but also ourselves. We feel good because we've made someone else happy.

Now I'm not suggesting for one moment that we should all pass our days liberally lavishing praise on the unworthy, otherwise that surly, unhelpful, call-centre worker would score unrealistically high on the post-call feedback score we're all encouraged to engage in. But praise where it's due is a force for good. As the owner of BeautyWorksWest, I've been taken aback by the number of positive comments we've received from customers who have enjoyed using our new products. Not because our products are not worthy of praise, they are, but because many of these comments were quite unsolicited. People were emailing us extolling the virtues of YOUTH, thanking us for courteous customer service and prompt delivery, and detailing how the supplement had made them feel better. Many more conversations took place on the phone, a rare thing these days but so rewarding.

Be happy, avoid the news!

I have a useful piece of advice to pass on, which may make the run-up to Christmas, and Christmas itself, altogether more enjoyable.

There’s not really much that any of us can do about the Eurozone, the ECB or reducing the sovereign debts. As a self-confessed news junkie, I’ve found myself feeling a deep sense malaise over the last few weeks. A loyal fan of Newsnight, even Paxo forewarns us that the show will be delivering more depressing news the following night. So I concluded that the best course of action was to wean myself off the news, to simply stop watching. I feel lighter, as if I have unburdened myself of the weight of the unruly world. It’s not forever, I need to keep myself connected of course, but a break is as good as a rest, as they say.

The magnetic pull towards Christmas is palpable; shop windows along Westbourne Grove are bare, awaiting their glitzy and welcoming festive adornments. But Christmas will not be merry for many young people within a short distance of these fairy lights.

Notting Hill is a tale of two cities, the ever-fashionable W11 and the socially deprived areas further north, within W10.

It is here that the Rugby Portobello Trust makes a real difference to our community, by enriching the lives of young people and providing a positive alternative to a life of social exclusion. Every year, some 800 young people walk through the doors of the RPT centre in Walmer Road, many of them dealing with exceptionally difficult personal circumstances.

This month we raise the curtain on our very own beauty range, which is cause for much celebration and pride. As our clients well know, we are passionate about beauty so the products we use in the spa and feature on our web site are all chosen with great care and love.

Now Girls you have to try this!!

I have and read my dairy to find out more ...

ViEW MY DIARY HERE

Raw Fairies is the No 1. luxury detox and diet delivery service in London offering raw organic cuisine. Leading raw food chef Anya Ladra combines great taste in inventive dishes with fresh, nutritious ingredients.

Raw Fairies, based in Notting Hill, has a cult following including A-list celebrities and VIPs. It offers a selection of unique food programmes designed to make detoxing and healthy eating convenient and pleasurable. Choose the programme most suited to your lifestyle and it will be discreetly delivered directly to your home or office in central London.

The 5-Day Cleanse is a combination of gourmet raw food, fresh fruit and vegetable juices and nutritionist-designed supplements. It is the perfect home detox solution for those who want easy access to increased energy, clearer skin and weight loss.

The sorry clothes in your wardrobe

which haven’t seen daylight for years, either too big,

too small or too off-trend, as they say.

The shoes that you’ve never worn but worship in their pristine box. Then there are the infamous drawers, that safe haven for all those things you must keep hold of but never use. A jumble of wires, cables, computer parts and broken watches. Not to mention the piles of old papers and magazines which would more suitably sit in your dentist’s waiting room.

We all aspire to the semi-mythical ‘spring clean’, but rarely get around to it. Well, now is the time to declutter. Charity shops are just desperate for those old clothes and remember, those designer must-haves you bought on a whim could raise money for many global hot-spots in need. So liberating your home not only liberates your mind but can help needy others.

Here's to female friendships : Good for your health

I received this email through a friend and want to share it with you…

She wrote...

I just finished taking an evening class at Stanford. The last lecture was on the mind-body connection--the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends. At first everyone laughed, but he was serious.

Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this "quality girlfriend time" helps us to create more serotonin--a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being. Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities.

Your local salon is fully booked, the Jimmy Choo open-toe

sandals are a must for that party tonight. Or perhaps

you’ve just looked down and your chipped toenails and

rough calloused feet could feature in an Alien movie.

What to do?

First step – always keep the following tools and products in a beautiful box ready for emergencies. Olive oil, coarse brown sugar, coarse sea salt, moisturizer, professional buffer block, nail clippers or scissors, pedicure sticks (referred to as Orange sticks) and a really good nail/foot file. Also, a top quality nail varnish remover, basecoat, topcoat and a favourite colour nail varnish.

Are you passionate? Well it most certainly helps to be if

you want to maintain your youth and vitality. According to

doctors Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen, authors of the

book, Young: The Owner’s Manual for Extending Your

Warranty, having a passion in life is a major determinant

in anti-ageing and can erase as much as 13 years off

your biological age. Yes, that’s right – 13 years, and not an

expensive cream or scalpel in sight!

It’s too easy to believe that our chronological age defines

what we are, who we are and how we should behave.

Not only is it too easy, it’s also self-defeating in that we

circumscribe and define our expectations by thinking

ourselves old.

The way we think influences the way we feel, and thinking ourselves old saps our energy and vitality and makes us feel old. So, what to do? In short, we need to think young, we need to focus on the positives to stay as young, vital and energetic as we can.

We need to trade in old thinking for new. No more talk of ‘senior moments’ or ‘growing old gracefully’. Even the way we express our behaviours reinforces our negative thinking. The key to opening up our lives centres on the way we think and our lifestyle choices.