This is a time of year when skin can look a tad washed out and you feel all ‘blah’. So we thought this month we would share with you some of our top tips for instant sparkle – and beyond that, some of our favourite quick-fix products.

• Start by breathing – it’s the foundation of everything. It calms you down, peps you up – oh, and keeps you living. So if you want to be more alive, practice this simple, quick technique at least twice a day for five cycles – more is better. Unfold your arms and legs, sit, lie or stand loosely and close your eyes (if possible). With your tongue just behind your top teeth, inhale to a count of four down to your belly, hold for seven (without letting your shoulders rise), exhale through rounded lips for eight. Brilliant for stress control (and one of the basics of Tantric sex, you might also like to know!)

• If you can, go for a 20-minute walk in the fresh air. If you’re stuck indoors, march on the spot, arms swinging, knees coming up, then speed up and downstairs. Try jumping up and down – or even some star jumps…

• Sip a glass of warm, boiled water with a squeeze of lemon. Drink at least eight of these daily between meals (so as not to dilute the nutrients in your food).

• Splash your face with alternating hot and cold water; do this several times. And/or fill a bowl or small basin with warm water, add two drops of rosemary essential oil (or any one which appeals to you), soak a flannel in it and lay it over your face.

• Have a shower and give yourself a top-to-toe- scrub. Finish by turning the shower to hot then cold, three times if you can. It’s the most amazingly perkifying thing you can do (and truly not as awful as it sounds).

• Turbocharge your moisturiser with a squeeze of Bach’s Rescue Remedy flower essence.

• Make, or treat, yourself to a fresh juice: try detoxing cucumber and melon or revitalising carrot, apple and ginger. Add a shot of wheatgrass or spirulina if you wish. If you whizz everything in a Nutribullet, this will keep the fibre in the drink – so much better for you. We also love to zoosh up fresh or frozen berries: all the pinks, purples and reds (loaded with vitamins), adding a pot of natural live yoghurt for real punch.

• To restore glow to a dull complexion, pinch your eyebrows with your finger and thumb, working from the nose out. Then pinch your jaw-line, working upwards.

• Three quick energisers: rub the rims and the lobes of your ears with your thumb and forefinger; rub and pull your fingers – especially the joints; massage your second little toes, which are linked to the liver. May sound strange but it all works!

• Last but not least, give your cheeks a ‘pop’ of blusher. Blend concealer under your eyes, gloss up your lips, sweep on some mascara and go-go-go!

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