Life lately ... some being fifty and fab moments from a rather wet summer!

Hello!  How are you?  I thought I'd write a life lately blog post, a brief revitalising of my previous being fifty and fab series that I've not had time to keep up with for so long!  Life has been crazy, difficult, busy, challenging but there have also been moments of joy, fun outings, some sunshine and lots of family time.

This blog post contains some affiliate links.

Lotties Loft is a small business based in Kent and online, I am wearing the beautiful
​Esme Cardigan in Mint Green, so soft!

Holidays still to come!

I am actually about to go on holiday, well two holidays in fact!  I am late to the party this year.  My husband has been very busy with work plus it was his 60th a couple of weeks ago so I decided we needed a 60th trip.  We are off to Tuscany which has long been a dream destination and I can't wait!  We are flying into Florence, spending three nights there, then we pick up a hire car to head to Lucca for four nights and then finally drive to Chianti for the final four nights. I have an itinerary planned but some of it might get ripped up in favour of just winging it.  I am told that the best way to explore Florence and Tuscany is to just slow down, go with the flow and relax.

Then I have a week with my daughter to look forward to, we are off to our favourite destination, Kalkan in Turkey, for some October sunshine, and sunlounger time.  I am told the weather should still be fantastic (mid-20s) with cooler evenings but the sea will still be warm.

We already did a trip to the Isle of Wight this year and got lucky with a heatwave few days and it was fabulous not having to worry about flights.  My only concern is how badly flights have been interrupted this year, I really hope we don't end up delayed and losing out on one of our precious 7 nights away.

What's new on the blog?

In blogging life, I have been using the summer to update my website a little bit, there are new photos from my amazing brand photoshoot with Terry Joshi and I've improved my recommendations and discounts page.  

My blouse is from LK Bennett and I love it, such fantastic quality, it is the Coco Black & Ecru Polka Dot Blouse worn here with trousers from Rey House.

A couple of my favourite small brands

Desavery

Desvery is a small business, a skincare brand, that not only cares for your skin but also your wellbeing.  Founder Andrea Dinnick sources the best ingredients to help you achieve healthy, hydrated microbiome with a simple routine.  Desavery have a range of products that are organic, vegan, cruelty free and hand-blended, they are packaged in glass and look fabulous on your dressing table or in your bathroom.  I am currently using their Smooth followed by Lit!

Smooth is a hyaluronic acid designed to enhance your natural glow by perking, plumping and hydrating then I seal in all the gorgeous moisture with Lit! which is a daily serum made with nourishing plant oils for deep skin nutrition.  Absolutely in love with these new products, they absorb beautifully and leave behind a restful scent - the ingredients in Lit! have been chosen because studies show when inhaled they boost cognition and focus and I need that right now!

I will be back with a full blog post about Desavery but for now if you fancy trying something from their range, please use MICHELLE20 for 20% off your first order!  And a big shout out for their Garrigue Body Oil which is the best I have ever tried and Desavery will be launching new packaging soon, Garrigue will come in a gift box ready for Christmas gifting, add it to your own wishlist or gift it to a special someone in your life.

I met Andrea at the Postcards from Midlife event a couple of years ago, she is a very warm person, and super easy to talk to.  I am hoping to do an Instagram Live with her when I am back from my holidays, I'd love to introduce you to the brand properly.

Desavery is an organic, vegan and cruelty free skincare and wellbeing brand

Weartwo - for the ultimate midlife travel outfit

Another small brand I met this summer when I attended a networking event in Windsor, Weartwo is the ultimate travel outfit for us midlife women. created by two stylists, Maddy and Justine, they have put a lot of work into the detail of their designs.  The jump-set is a deconstructed jumpsuit (also comes as a skirt - a dress-set) and it works so well.  It's the co-ord of dreams, there are wide leg trousers, sleeveless tops, or t-shirt or long sleeve top and swap out the trousers for the maxi-skirt and there's a new style top too - with sheer sleeves!

Perfect for your next airport travel outfit, as comfortable as a jumpsuit but without the fiddly faff to go to the the toilet.  Wear with trainers and add a denim jacket or shirt over, it also dresses up really well with a blazer - visit Weartwo on Instagram for some more stylish inspiration from Maddy and Justine.

The perfect midlife travel outfit!

60th birthday celebrations

We celebrated my husband's 60th with a night in Cambridge, why have we never been before!?  We are regular visitors to Oxford as it is so close for us and my sister is an Oxford city tour guide and my nephew is about to do his Masters at Cambridge University. I already have another nephew at Oxford University (he is currently doing. his DPhil (Oxford's version of a PhD)!  Having previously stayed at The Randolph in Oxford we decided to try out their sister hotel, The Graduate in Cambridge. The location was perfect, right on the River Cam and an easy walk into the city and to see the colleges, plus it felt a little bit more special for a 60th.  I booked a room with a view overlooking the gardens and the River Cam and I even managed an hour on the balcony before the weather changed! 

A funny story, when we stayed at The Randolph we paid for their Valet Parking service so I requested the same at The Graduate (£35 for them to park it for you or £25 if you park it yourself), well we went for a walk before dinner and realised the car park was immediately next to the hotel, literally a 2 minute walk, so we did laugh at ourselves for paying £10 when we really didn't need to)!  Clever marketing!

One of the reasons for choosing Cambridge was to go punting.  We've never tried punting before so I booked a guided tour online, packed a little picnic and some bubbles and prayed for a dry afternoon.  Some advice though, I booked in advance but there are hundreds of punts available and a lot of punting companies touting for business, we didn't need to have booked in advance and probably would have got a better deal if we'd had just turned up.  Our guide Arun from Let's Go Punting was excellent and we had a lot of fun, I'm glad we chose not to punt ourselves, I could imagine that going very wrong and my husband not then able to relax.  The views for punting in Cambridge are better than Oxford in my opinion and I think you see far more of the historical buildings and unversity colleges from the River Cam than you do walking through the City.

Punting in Cambridge, my dress is from Boden earlier this summer

But it's also time to lose some weight and put my health first again

I have really really lost my way with my health and fitness this last year or so.  Back in late 2022 life was good, but I had gained some weight and I knew I needed to get back on it, and I was so fortunate to be gifted a Core to Floor program at S-Thetics in Beaconsfield, which combined the Emsella chair for pelvic floor health and EMSculpt NEO for muscle building and fat loss on my abdominals and glutes.  I was delighted with my results and felt fit and happy with my figure again. 

Then life got difficult, a combination of challenges including some very low mood and I found myself having another of those pesky mini midlife crisis.  I felt rubbish, and the weight crept back on.  But my motivation to deal with it was zero, I wasn't loving what I saw in the mirror, I really lost my confidence and my clothes were getting too tight. 

So I've been working on my self-care this summer, slowing down a bit and getting some help.  And I am incredibly grateful to Miss Sherina Balaratnam for inviting me back to her state-of-the-art clinic S-Thetics in Beaconsfield to experience a second course of EMSculpt NEO, this time as well as my abdominals we are treating my flanks too.  It was just the push I needed to give me the motivation to put the alcohol on hold, improve my eating habits and up my workouts.  A healthy lifestyle combined with the incredible technology of EMSculpt NEO really does work together to support fat loss and muscle strength, there is a full review of EMSCulpt NEO on my blog post here.

But it is a good lesson in learning that any results are not permanent unless you keep up with the healthy lifestyle.  EMSculpt NEO works but if you go back to unhealthy habits you will gain new fat and lose muscle mass.  Regular maintenance treatments are a really really good idea, and worth considering if you do embark on your own course of EMSculpt NEO, because they are a reminder to keep up with the workouts, don't drink too much wine and keep your diet optimum with plenty of protein and lots of green vegetables.  And never forget the self-care, look after yourself.  I was dealing with some personal upsets, supporting my children through some challenges and of course looking after my mother's care, it all got a bit too much.

My dressing gown is from British Boxers, get 20% off using my code FIFTYANDFAB20

A brand new facial, the Acu-Firm Acupuncture treatment

And whilst on the subject of self-care, wow what a wonderful morning I had at S-Thetics last week experiencing their brand new, just launched, Acu-Firm Facial Acupuncture treatment.  Aesthetic nurse, Cheryl did an amazing job of helping me feel relaxed, rejuvenated and very very chilled plus my skin was absolutely glowing and felt hydrated, smooth and healthy.  Perfect as a stand-alone treatment before a special occasion or as a course to really increase skin regeneration, support general mood and wellbeing.

The Acu-Firm is a holistic, deep tissue facial massage with acupuncture to improve physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.  Massage as we know has a therapeutic effect and promotes an overall feeling of good mood by stimulating happy hormones and reducing the stress hormone cortisol.  When I arrived for my pre-massage consultation Cheryl advised me to relax for the rest of the day and avoid any exercise, I realised I'd have to cancel by regular workout with my PT but I didn't quite appreciate why, but afterwards I soon realised why, yes this massage does leave you feeling relaxed, sleepy and in need of taking it easy!

The massage starts with cleansing the skin then an oil is applied, the massage technique was created by Nataliya Robinson from the Health & Skincare Clinic London and it works to relax tight muscles, detox and boost circulation and lymphatic drainage.  But what I love about S-Thetics is how Miss Balaratnam designs a complete combined package adding other elements to tailor every treatment to offer the best for her patients.  The Acu-Firm includes facial massage, acupuncture, celluma and lymphastim, so throughout the entire treatment you are also zipped into the Lymphastim, which provides an incredibly relaxing massage to your mid-section and legs to offer improved skin tone, reduced cellulite appearance, help with heavy leg syndrome and detoxify the body, this is especially good alongside EMSculpt NEO.

The facial massage feels completely different to anything I've experienced before, giving deep fascia release, Cheryl worked on the areas of my face that needed more relaxing, tailoring the treatment to my unique needs, the massage increases hyaluronic acid and skin hydration and it is easy to see and feel the tension disappearing.

The second stage of the treatment, involves facial/cosmetic acupuncture to rehydrate and tone the skin and targets fine lines and wrinkles.  Again Cheryl works to my unique needs and added the right needles in the right places.  For me this meant frown lines and smile lines!  It is not painful and as each micro-needle goes in you can feel a slight prick.  Each needle promotes the body's healing response and releases growth factors, and while you relax, blood flow is increased and oxygen and nutrients are delivered to the cells to initiative skin regeneration.

The needles and then gently removed and you have ten further minutes of pure relaxation under the celluma LED light therapy.

I loved every moment of my Acu-Firm treatment, you can see more on my Instagram reel which will be shared next week - if you'd like to find out more about the Acu-Firm Acupuncture treatment please do get in touch with S-Thetics.  

Trying out some products from makeup brand Zoeva Cosmetics

Above, I tried out a new makeup brand, was very impressed with the products from Zoeva Cosmetics, I'm wearing my dressing gown from British Boxers.
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On Friday we went to see my friends son perform with his A Capello group from St Andrews University, this is what I wore, we had such a fabulous evening, they really were very good indeed!

What I wore for for a night out in Marlow

My blouse is from LK Bennett and I love it, such fantastic quality, it is the Coco Black & Ecru Polka Dot Blouse worn here with Reiss Selin Straight Cut Jeans and Zara blazer.

And a personal note, one of the reasons I started my blog was to help me with my own confidence as I turned 50 and throughout my 50s and beyond.  In my early 50s I really thought I had achieved that midlife confidence.  But the last few years have taken their toll and given me a few knocks consequently my mental health suffered.  Despite what others see from the outside, that is rarely the reality, I am feeling every one of my 57 nearly 58 years currently!  I know I've got work to do to find me again but I am working on it and I am determined.  Without a doubt I am so much better than I was last autumn - thank you to my regular readers for your ongoing support and kind emails, it is always so appreciated.   And thank you to the small businesses and brands that have confidence in me and invite me to work with them, I appreciate I get to try lots of amazing products and services that I wouldn't ordinarily be able to afford, but I always try my best to share positive reviews and real life experiences.

Love from
Michelle xx


Disclaimer: I have used some affiliate links on the this blog post, this means that if you click on a link and buy something from the site, I earn a very small commission (very small) but every little helps to keep my blog running and compensate some of the time I spend writing my posts and creating content, thank you so much.

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