Hello 2023.  As we connect once again, let me begin by saying that I wish each of you the very best of everything for 2023.  With this being the first Weekend Read of the year, my message is one of hope and optimism as we continue to support each other throughout the coming weeks and months.  As such, we will of course throw the focus on all aspects of health and wellbeing, and although that may be stating the obvious, we really do learn in each and every moment as new thoughts and ideas come to the fore, running alongside pioneering research and development.

Being pragmatic, we have to keep things real if we are to be gentle with ourselves and those closest to us.  The importance of nurturing, and being nurtured, cannot be under-estimated because it heals on so many different levels, with time.  There are no fast fixes in life, so instead of writing a whole long list of resolutions today, I would rather that we take it as it comes, staying true to ourselves in all that we are and all that we do together.  Nothing remains static in life, so it will be interesting to see where life takes us, which will include the products, and perhaps the people, we meet along the way in 2023.

Without giving too much away, because I can’t at the moment, Shabir has been formulating a series of new products for several months now and I hope to be able to start drip-feeding these to you as soon as I can.  We have always kept our curation of products extraordinarily tight, but as several of these new products will supersede existing brands and products, there will be changes, but these changes are necessary in order to uphold our stance of only recommending the products that we believe are best-in-class in any given genre.  There is no room for complacency with health and wellbeing issues.  Only evolvement.  Knowledge.  And understanding.

I think that in some way these changes were always going to happen, and whilst I am on the subject of change, many brands increased their prices from 1 January and several more will do so in the coming weeks.  I am unable to list all the price changes, but there was, and is, a certain inevitability attached to this because of the current economic climate, the ongoing shortage of raw ingredients and astronomical shipping costs.  Even with these price increases, I know that many niche brands will still be struggling to survive, but that goes across all industries, which is why it is so important to support SMEs however, and wherever, we can.  Flying the flag.

Please know that through all of this, we will continue to support you as best we can and I am going to begin the product section of this newsletter by talking about immunity once again.  All I really want to say here is that without exception I have written about the importance of protecting our immunity throughout the winter months for more than twenty years, with a particular emphasis on the months of January and February, although our recommendation has always been that we should start protecting our immunity from the first day of autumn until the first day of spring.

Of course, we are all aware of seasonal viruses, more than aware, so we do the very best we can to help prevent the onset of seasonal illnesses.  The caveat across all immunity supplementation is that they will not prevent you from catching a contagious virus, but with a strengthened immune system, supplementation may help to lessen the impact and that is really important.  What is also important is that we remain balanced in our recommendations and as such we believe that Daily Immunity should be taken as a best-in-class foundation supplement for enhancing the immune system.  And with that statement, I am dropping the price of Daily Immunity from £27 to £22.
VH Editorial: A Daily Supplement That Supercharges Your Immunity; Daily Immunity £22 for 60 Capsules (offer ends at midnight GMT, Friday 13 January)

Having stated that Daily Immunity should be taken as a foundation supplement for enhancing immunity, there are of course several products which can be used as an adjunct to Daily Immunity.  Elderberry Syrup by Pukka Herbs contains Elderberry and Manuka Honey and the herbs contained within this formulation have long been used to support the respiratory system and seasonal health outside of illness.  And if you have succumbed to a seasonal illness, it also helps alleviate the symptoms of coughs, colds and flu, and it does that rather well.  So, let’s do another price drop here, as Elderberry Syrup drops from £14.99 to £12. Whilst stock lasts.
Elderberry Syrup Organic by Pukka Herbs £12 for 100 ml (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 8 January)

Staying with immunity, I want to throw the focus here on immunity supplementation for children, most especially as our children, or grandchildren, are now back at school and are susceptible to infection.  There are certain supplements that children can take, but with a lower dosage, such as Elderberry Syrup as above.  However, for general supplementation we believe that the very best supplements are those which have been specifically formulated for children.  We particularly recommend the Super Stars range and most specifically Super Stars Immune Support, which is suitable for children between the ages of four and twelve.  Let’s throw a 15% discount across this entire range.  With responsibility.
Super Stars Immune Support; Super Stars (all products) (offer ends at midnight GMT Friday 13 January)

One more product to go in this section and of course it is Vitamin D3, Better You’s D1000 Vegan Vitamin D Oral Spray to be precise.  I really don’t think I need to tell you about the benefits of Vitamin D3 because I have been on a D3 mission for as long as I can remember, but I am still going to link you to Shabir’s article about the importance of D3 because I think I should.  But most specifically D1000 drops in price throughout the month of January and it drops from £12.95 to £9.50.  And whilst I’m at it, I will do a 15% discount across all other Better You products, this weekend.
VH Editorial: Vitamin D Deficiency; D1000 Vegan Vitamin D Oral Spray by Better You £9.50 for 15 ml (offer ends at midnight GMT, Tuesday 31 January); Better You Products 15% discount (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 8 January)

Let’s talk mushrooms.  Medicinal Mushrooms.  The use of medicinal mushrooms dates back thousands of years due to their wide variety of health benefits.  What is interesting here is that there has been a recent resurgence of interest in mushrooms and many scientists believe that mushrooms are superfoods.  I would certainly endorse that and with most things in life being cyclical, I remember campaigning about the benefits of Lion’s Mane rather a long time ago, in fact I think it is one of the first major campaigns we ever did, alongside the benefits of Magnolia, but we’re not talking about Magnolia right now, we’re talking about mushrooms.  And DIRTEA.

DIRTEA partner with the best mushroom farmers to grow and extract the most potent and pure medicinal mushrooms in powder form.  Mostly based in the Fujian province, these mushroom farms are nestled in hardwood forests that consistently deliver high quality organic mushroom extracts.  As such DIRTEA mushroom teas are completely natural, they are 100% vegan and these potent extracts support a wide range of health concerns such as helping to alleviate occasional stress and enhancing energy. 

If I wrote about the benefits of each mushroom type, I would be here forever, so I am going to refer you to Shabir’s article, linked below, where he writes about the benefits of four of these teas, including Lion’s Mane.  The fifth mushroom product is not actually tea, it is coffee.  Mushroom Coffee Super Blend is a blend of Arabica coffee coupled with Chaga, Lion’s Mane, Cordyceps, Maca and Ashwagandha.  The idea here is that Mushroom Coffee Super Blend can be used as a base coffee product, which can be dosed with any of the four powdered teas, dependent upon your daily specific needs.  Unsurprisingly, Lion’s Mane is the bestselling tea.

So, the DIRTEA wardrobe as it were, and of course I have each of these lined up in my kitchen most specifically because I really believe in these products, less specifically because each tea comes in its own cute tin, and I love tins.  For clarity, the Mushroom Coffee Super Blend is housed in a pouch, so I don’t have that on display, it would upset my equilibrium.  Anyway, and as ever, I invite you to join me and to make things a little easier, I am dropping the price of each of the DIRTEA products from £39.99 to £32.  For the interim.  Bedding in.
VH Editorial: The Unique Benefits Of Medicinal Mushrooms; Lion’s Mane Mushroom Powder £32 for 60 grams; Chaga Mushroom Powder £32 for 60 grams; Cordyceps Mushroom Powder £32 for 60 grams; Reishi Mushroom Powder £32 for 60 grams; Mushroom Coffee Super Blend £32 for 150 grams; All by DIRTEA

Right, let’s take a look at sugar substitutes and I am throwing the focus on this subject because sugar is bad for our health and most of us consume too much of it.  I am not telling you to diet, I really don’t like writing about weight loss at any time of year, least of all in January.  This is not about deprivation either, but the use of artificial sweeteners is on the increase, which in and of itself is a conundrum because they are not as harmless as many believe them to be.  Shabir does the lowdown on sugar substitutes, healthy sugar substitutes, such as Organic Palmyra Tree Blossom Sugar, so whilst you read all about it, I’ll take the price down from £12.99 to £11.
VH Editorial: Are Sugar Substitutes Healthy; Organic Palmyra Tree Blossom Sugar by Sugavida £11 for 250 grams (offer ends at midnight GMT, Friday 13 January)

Fifteen paragraphs in and I have yet to write about a beauty product, so let’s begin this section with an offer.  A Temple Spa offer.  In The Beginning is one of Temple Spa’s bestselling products and it has been for a very long time.  As a deep cleansing melt, it contains gentle exfoliating beads, an advanced vitamin complex and it is rich in olive oil too.  It can double up as an indulgent weekly face mask, which you should keep on your skin for about thirty minutes. And with that said, In The Beginning drops in price from £32 to £25, which is a saving of £7, and this offer runs through to the end of January.
In The Beginning – Deep Cleansing Melt by Temple Spa £25 for 75 grams

The next offer comes from Dermelect.  Yes, Dermelect Cosmeceuticals of Smooth Upper Lip and Self-Esteem Beauty Sleep Serum fame.  As things currently stand there are seven products in the Dermelect Cosmeceuticals range, with more coming soon.  But before that happens, if you buy any two products from the Dermelect range, and it can be any two products, we will automatically send you Runway Ready Luxury Foot Treatment (103 grams).  This is not a sample, it is the full size which is worth £25.  And because I’ve written rather a lot about this product, I don’t feel the need to repeat myself, other than to say that I am quite besotted with this foot treatment.  Only one gift per customer.
Dermelect Cosmeceuticals

Hands and feet. Feet and hands.  And Intensive Anti-Ageing Hand Serum by Margaret Dabbs.  Loaded with Vitamins A and E, this formulation was created to help target age spots and to soothe dry hands, leaving them feeling smooth and hydrated.  Fragranced with Geranium and Mandarin, this Hand Serum can be used as an overnight treatment too and in a Limited Edition offer, we are dropping the price of Intensive Anti-Ageing Hand Serum from £30 to £15, whilst stock lasts.  Please do not use if you are allergic to essential oils.  So that’s me out of the equation.  And that could make all the difference to our stock levels.  Unless Shabir feels the need.
Intensive Anti-Ageing Hand Serum by Margaret Dabbs £15 for 30 ml (whilst stock lasts)

Rolling on.  And another serum.  This time it is C-Deep Vitamin C Serum.  We all know that the market is flooded with Vitamin C serums so there were many considerations to take into account when Shabir was formulating this specific serum.  Perhaps one of the most important factors is that so many of us are unable to tolerate many Vitamin C products.  Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate is a powerful form of Vitamin C, it doesn’t irritate the skin and research indicates that it penetrates deeper than comparable formulations.  Shabir does the lowdown as I tell you that I am offering the oversized version of C-Deep (45 ml) for the same price as the 30 ml version C-Deep, which is £19.50.
VH Editorial: Is Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate The Best Vitamin C Serum; C-Deep Vitamin C Serum by Garden of Wisdom for VH £19.50 for 45 ml (Limited Edition Offer)

Let’s do a couple of updates.  And the first thing I want to talk about is the Nickel-Free version of the Heated Eye Wand Pro.  When we launched the Heated Eye Wand for and on behalf of Peep Club, it became obvious that rather a lot of you had a Nickel allergy and were therefore unable to use this wand, which was specifically created to help those suffering from dry eyes and to help rejuvenate the eye area.  Towards the end of last year, we were finally able to launch the Nickel-Free Heated Eye Wand, but this was a limited offering, so I’m happy to tell you that the Nickel-Free Eye Wand is now back in stock, but once again we don’t have many of them and the next consignment is scheduled for February, all things being equal.
Heated Eye Wand Pro – Nickel-Free £75

Spacemasks.  As many of you will have seen, we launched a new edition of Spacemasks, Orange and Grapefruit Spacemasks, on Boxing Day.  As I wrote, it really was a crazy thing to do, but Harriet (founder of Spacemasks) and I decided to have a bit of fun, so that’s what we did.  Quite honestly, we felt it was irrelevant how many we sold, it was more about bringing a touch of madness into a difficult world at a time when many felt so alone.  So that’s what we did and on from that we now have three different editions of Spacemasks, each of which will help propel us into a warm state of relaxation.  Much needed, I feel.
Spacemasks (Original) £16.50 For Five Spacemasks; Orange & Grapefruit Spacemasks £16.50 For Five Spacemasks; Chamomile Spacemasks £16.50 For Five Spacemasks

Before we come to the end of this newsletter, I would just like to revert back to health concerns and having mentioned Magnolia earlier in this newsletter, I just want to say a few things here.  For an ever-increasing number of reasons, stress levels are elevating and however optimistic I am, the challenges facing so many of us are very real.  With so many of these challenges being out of our control, we reach a point where we become anxious and feel unable to cope, aided and abetted in no small way by clickbait articles in the media.  And I think I had better leave it there.

Through all of this, there are two things that I absolutely know.  The first is that we are independent and free-thinking and the second thing is that however irresponsible others are, we are responsible for our own health and wellbeing and the decisions we make are ours, and ours alone.  All of which leads me to Magnolia Rhodiola Complex and Shabir’s article on stress.  And with Magnolia Rhodiola Complex being our bestselling supplement for anxiety, perhaps we can begin the year with a sense of calm as I take the price of Magnolia Rhodiola Complex down from £28 to £23, essentially because I know it helps so many of you.  And we need to continue to help each other as best we can.
VH Editorial: How To Combat Stress Effectively; Magnolia Rhodiola Complex £23 for 60 Capsules (offer ends at midnight GMT, Friday 13 January) (Note: Please do not take if you are taking prescribed anti-depressants)

Into the first Saturday only treat of the year and with every order placed for £30 and above, excluding p&p, we will automatically send you Breakfast Smoothie (15 ml) from Temple Spa.  Breakfast Smoothie is a face mask which helps to cleanse and exfoliate your skin in a non-abrasive way.  It helps to remove dead skin cells without disturbing the balance of your skin, so I hope you enjoy the Breakfast Smoothie experience and you can read more about it on the link below.
Breakfast Smoothie

Finally, at the end of the Boxing Day email I wrote that I have always been a dreamer and that I have held a long-term vision of creating a safe space for each of us.  As I was writing those words, two songs came into my mind, one of which I shared with you on Boxing Day and the other song I will share with you now, which I think is profoundly relevant as we push through the darkness.  The song is ‘I have A Dream’. I believe in Angels. Something good in everything I see.
I Have A Dream by Abba; The VH Playlist

Love always.

Gill x

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