- Laughing out loud
Laughter mobilizes a huge number of muscles, from your face to your stomach. But, much more importantly, it releases endorphins (the feel-good hormone) and reduces levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. So, to avoid being overcome by anxiety, nothing like meeting up with friends to laugh about everything or renting a good movie to cry with… but with laughter!
- Dare to make a reversible change
We all know that going to the hairdresser to look beautiful is one of mankind’s oldest recipes to lift our spirits. Why not take the opportunity to dare to give a twist to our look in a non-permanent way? Extensions; curls with a curling iron where everything is usually straight; a daring updo; a non-permanent hair color or an extreme straightening with a flat iron. The important thing is to look totally different. Because if you don’t like it, just jump in the shower and wash your hair, problem solved!
But it’s not just the hair that needs a change: makeup needs a makeover too. Just as we renew our wardrobe every season, it doesn’t hurt to update our image, because it’s easy, over time, to fall victim to routine, as we often prefer to play it safe and not take any risks. Why not give yourself something radically different from the usual? You don’t even need to spend a lot of money: in the stands of department stores of brands such as Armani, M.A.C., Lancôme, Clinique, Lauder. Make Up Store or Stila give free makeup courses for the purchase of products, and can be used to learn new tricks without hurting the pocket in the middle of January.
- Going for red
Spanish women often find it difficult to paint their lips a fiery red, even though it is the most feminine color par excellence. For an evening or a special occasion, we offer a unique recipe, which is to mix, in equal parts, your usual lipstick with a touch of red, which should be coral carmine for brunettes and bluish red for those with pink skin. The result? Several extra degrees of immediate glamour. For the more timid, there is always the option of drawing the whole mouth with a pencil liner, coloring all the lips, and spreading a little gloss or balm on top, which leaves a matte and discreet “bitten mouth” effect, perfect for entering the fascinating world of red.
- Walking at a good pace
There are few exercises as healthy as walking briskly. To make it more fun, nothing like finding an mp3 player or, simply, a portable radio with which to listen to lively music and take to the streets to walk them as if we were wearing the Boots of Seven Leagues. It is important to walk at a high and constant pace for at least twenty minutes! It is considered that the pace of a healthy person should be about five km / h, which is equivalent to about twelve minutes per kilometer. By the way, to burn fat, it is essential to do these twenty minutes in a row: it is no good if you take two walks of ten minutes each, because the body does not start to melt fat reserves until after that time. This way, you burn fat, improve your muscles and boost your cardiovascular system – almost nothing!
- Shrinking the belly
That exercise that we do almost unconsciously when we look in the mirror is not a bad abdominal exercise, since contracting the muscles of the belly helps to strengthen them. So to improve posture, nothing like keeping in mind that the shoulders should be erect, but not tense; the spine, straight respecting its natural curvature and the abdomen, tight! There are certain practices that make control of the abdominal muscles their focus, such as yoga or the Pilates method, which works especially the deep muscles through very concentrated movements and made with great attention.
- Starting the day off on the right foot
A recipe to start every morning eliminating toxins, taking fiber and with a healthy supply of vitamins: just take on an empty stomach a kiwi and a natural lemon juice sweetened with a teaspoon of honey. If you are looking to improve the functioning of the liver, this organ sometimes mistreated by rushed or too abundant meals, nothing like making an infusion of boldo or milk thistle, or prepare a delicious green tea with licorice.
- Sleep a little more
Lack of sleep is becoming endemic in Spain, the country in Europe with the least amount of sleep. A bad habit, because lack of sleep is fattening (yes, just as it sounds); it ages and prevents the body from having the necessary time to recover from daily wear and tear, which hinders absolutely all its functions. So now there’s an excuse to turn off the TV, turn off the light and close the book as soon as possible: it’s the best beauty – and health – cure there is!