Gorgeous Glow

Garnier Ambre Solaire No Streaks Bronzer, £10.99, Boots

No SunshineNo Problem

Love a golden glow but there’s no sun shining? Whether you like a deep golden tan or a subtle whisper of warmth, we’ve rounded up our favourite self-tanning products that’ll have you glowing.

St. Moriz Professional 1 Hour Fast Tan, £4.99, Boots

Garnier Ambre Solaire Vegan Natural Bronzer Intense Clear Self-Tan Mousse, £14, Boots

Isle of Paradise Self Tanning Water, £18.95, Beauty Bay

Lancome Flash Bronzer Self-Tanning Leg Gel, £28, Selfridges

Ways to Boost your7 Confidence after Lockdown

It may not feel like it, but an end to lockdown is slowly coming, so we need to be prepared. The pandemic has knocked a lot of us sideways and affected us in so many different ways. It has up ended our “normal” day to day routine and may have knocked your confidence for six.

We’ve put together ways you can boost your confidence whilst coming out of lockdown.

You are Still You!

Take some time to visualise yourself pre-lockdown. The selfassured person who was able to walk into every business meeting with confidence, and who was totally at ease with entertaining friends or social gatherings. The person who would happily chat with anyone from the barista to the company CEO.

Whatever you may feel now, trust that you are still that person.

Now visualise a time when you felt your most confident and at ease with yourself. What environment were you in? What were you doing? Who were you with? Try to identify the factors that contributed to the feeling of empowerment and see if you can recreate them as you gradually ease yourself back to your regular routine. Visualising is one of your most powerful tools. Try it every day for a couple of minutes.

Comparing Yourself with Others is Not Healthy

Comparing yourself to others will only undermine your confidence and self-belief. I know this can be a very difficult habit to break, especially with social media giving us no shortage of opportunities to measure ourselves against other people, many of whom we’ve never even met.

Have you ever gone on social media to connect with the outside world only to find it just drags you down seeing all those people with apparently perfect lives who’ve sailed through lockdown in a blur of creative or positive pursuits? And that then makes you feel like you’ve let yourself down?

Stop right there! Change your focus and shift your thought patterns to focus on what you already have and how lucky you are.

You Are Worth Investing In

Investing in yourself is the best investment you’ll ever make. Learning new skills and expanding your knowledge can help boost your confidence. Even making small, positive changes can inspire you to try new things and get out of your comfort zone.

Here are some “you “investment tips: inexpensive online courses available such as Udemy, Cousera, etc.

• Invest in your health by taking regular exercise and eating nourishing food.

• Invest in your creative abilities by pursuing a new hobby such as playing an instrument, painting, gardening or cooking.

Self Confidence and Standing Tall

Try standing tall, holding your head up high and I promise you, you’ll feel better. Look up and you feel instantly more positively and confident.

How something that seems insignificant can have such an immediate and positive effect on how you feel, I don’t know. But I promise it does!

Your posture and stance affect your mood and the way you feel, so try experimenting. If you find yourself feeling low, check your posture, raise your head and try and straighten your body. Because let’s face it, if you can change your outlook and boost your confidence just by doing that, holy cow! Let’s do it! Let’s do it every day!

Try a Different Perspective

Take a moment to think about your own thoughts. Are they happy or sad? Positive or negative? Do they lift you up or bring you down?

Our thoughts are powerful and can have a big effect on how we feel. How we feed our minds is just as important as the way we nourish our bodies, and we can select our thoughts the same way we would choose from a menu. Would you order something if you knew it wasn't going to make you feel good?

But you should also honour your feelings. This is not about trying to be artificially happy. Our feelings provide us with valuable information about our needs and desires and whether or not we’re in alignment with ourselves and our values. And that means they need to be acknowledged.

It’s a bit like the childhood game of hot and cold. The closer you are to being on track with the truth of who you are, the better you feel. The further away you get, the worse you feel. Once you’ve acknowledged your feelings, how you react to them is governed by your thoughts.

You have the power to choose the way you think about a situation, no matter what the circumstances. And in day-to-day life that means making choices that reflect your values and supports your dreams. With practice, you'll develop a skill that will become second nature to you. Then the sky's the limit!

The following exercise is designed to help you discover facts about yourself that will nourish your sense of wellbeing;

Every evening for the next 30 days, pick a quiet moment and review your day. Write down the positive and loving things you’ve accomplished even if it’s just one thing. That’s enough. Then focus on that one thing, and express gratitude for it.

Notice both your thoughts and your feelings. Do you drift into judgment or undermine yourself? For example, do you qualify it with thoughts like “…but it could have been better” or “I won a great new client today …but it was probably just a fluke.”

If that sounds familiar, go back and think about that positive achievement again. Try and be more honest with yourself about it. Ask yourself why you’re putting yourself down with your own negative self-talk. After all, if you’ve won one great client, then why shouldn’t you be able to win many more? Think about all the reasons behind why that client chose you! them carefully and change them so they fit you and what you want and need. Just repeating an affirmation with no feelings attached will do nothing. Think about what you want and make that your affirmation.

This can feel a bit odd at first but stick with it and you’ll reap the benefits. Start with 2 and work up to 10! Using positive phrases will challenge any negative thoughts and can be an amazing weapon for a better life.

Be Kind to Yourself

Rebuilding and improving your confidence after a tough lockdown may take time so be kind to yourself and cut yourself some slack. If your life was very busy and stressful before lockdown it may be a good time now to take stock and decide what is serving you and what not.

As life slowly returns to normal, we have a unique opportunity to consider the lessons we have learnt about our pace of life and wellbeing. Make time for rest and recovery, surround yourself with a supportive network of friends and do not be hard on yourself if you find it difficult to get back into a routine.

best foot forward

Feet fall into the forgotten category of body parts that we hardly pay attention to because for over half the year they’re hidden away, but come spring it’s time to give them a little TLC ready for summer sandals and barefoot beach walks.

Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Cream, £12.99, www.burtsbees.co.uk This Works Perfect Heels Rescue Balm, £16, www.feelunique.com

Weleda Foot Balm, £11.50, Holland & Barrett

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Foot Magic, £3.00, Asda Aveda Foot Relief, £17.60, www.feelunique.com