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Monday 9 March 2015

Focus On : Peppermint

Thought it was about time I did the next installment of my "Focus On" series - this time I went for mint. Peppermint is such a refreshing scent and has a bunch of benefits both for the skin and for your insides if you use it in your diet.

peppermint frank, mask of magnaminty, fair trade, burts bees, lush cosmetics


Mint is great for pepping you up - using a shower gel or soap with mint in it in the morning is a lovely way to get yourself going without a coffee the size of a small keg first thing. An old favourite of mine is Dirty shower gel from Lush - it's bright blue, super fresh and leaves you feeling squeaky clean. Lovely post-workout if you're a morning gym bunny too (or just a "slow-riser" like myself...)

Mint is also great for problematic skin, it soothes redness and spots and is mildly antiseptic due to the menthol content. A favourite mask of mine is Mask of Magnaminty, I prefer the self-preserving version as it's a little more gentle on sensitive skin. It's very refreshing and leaves a lovely cooling feeling on your skin even when you wash it off with hot water.

I've always found minty products to be great for brightening dull skin as well - again I feel like it might have to do with the menthol encouraging blood flow but a particularly wonderful product for this that incorporates mint is of course Peppermint Frank (I'll stop raving about this product one day but today is not that day). Wonderfully invigorating and cooling, like Dirty shower gel it's great post-work out to soothe muscles and makes you feel super clean (bit like that post-tooth brush clean feeling except on your whole body). I love to follow up post-workout with Fair Trade Foot Lotion too - this combination is soothing and restorative for tired muscles and feet.

Because mint encourages circulation and blood-flow it can act as a lip-plumper when used in lip products. A lovely one for this is Burt's Bees beeswax lip balm. Scrubbed smooth lips with a generous layer of balm is a must for me - great during makeup application too to get the best lipstick application and wear possible.

As for your insides, mint is great for digestion - there's a reason "After 8 mints" are a thing. I personally prefer my post-dinner mint in tea form. Steeped for a few minutes it's a nice way to wind down for the evening and if you suffer from travel sickness a great way to alleviate some of those problems too. If tea is a pain there's always good old Extra Spearmint gum (sugar free of course...) - I chewed my way through a lot during the windy parts of a recent South Island road trip.

Claire x
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