I’ve blatantly pinched that title from The Beauty Chef herself, Carla Oates, but it felt very relevant.
I want to start by saying that I, quite obviously, am not a health expert. I am not a diet guru or fitness junky, but I take a bunch of supplements because my job is beauty, and each of these products came my way because they promote beauty from the inside out. By no measure am I the picture of health and wellbeing, and what works for me may not work for you, however whenever I post about one of these products on Instagram I’m asked a tonne of questions. This felt like the right place to answer them.
I had to change my diet a few months ago as I found out that, after years of issues, I am intolerant to wheat, corn and soy (so like, all foods). While my vitamin and wellness routine didn’t need to change, it felt like a good time to give it an overhaul- like when you spring clean your wardrobe then you feel compelled to clean out the bathroom cupboards while you’re at it. I’d always taken vitamins, just not religiously (because lazy), and I’ve been mixing a protein powder into my breakfast smoothie for years but I learnt that all my go-tos contained either wheat or soy- so out they went.
I’ll start with Cilk Rose Water as this is the product I’ve had the longest relationship with. I’ve been drinking Cilk since its inception at the beginning of 2016, and despite having known Chanelle for years upon years my praise is entirely unbiased. Rose water has been used for centuries to stimulate digestion and it’s a proven anti-inflammatory. I notice a difference in the brightness of my skin when I’ve not consumed Cilk in a while, and it definitely encourages me to drink more water (which of course has an effect on the skin too). What I find it particularly good for is detoxing- I’ve long relied on Cilk essence mixed with sparkling water as my hangover cure, although I also pop a few drops in a G&T more often than I’d care to admit. I drink Cilk a few times a week, although I don’t include it as part of a routine as I like to take the time to enjoy it- you’ll understand what I mean when you try it.
The Super Elixir’s Alkalising Greens Powder has also got me drinking more water. On occasion I’ll mix some of this into a juice, but usually I forget to buy the fruits I’d planned to put into said juice so I just end up mixing two teaspoons across two bottles of water and sipping on it throughout the day. Important to note that this is the ONLY greens powder I have ever been able to stomach with water and nothing else- it actually tastes really good. I did my research before I started getting amongst The Super Elixir a bit over 2 months ago. While your skin should always run slightly acidic, your body should run alkaline to maintain the ideal pH level. An acidic body can lead to low energy, weight gain and sugar cravings- not ideal. My energy levels are up ten fold and while I can’t put my (very slight) weight loss down to this on its own (as I’ve had to alter my diet within the same time frame), it’s certainly not hindering anything. I’ve also been drinking The Super Elixir’s Chocolate Nourishing Protein every morning (I just haven’t photographed it because I buy the 500g tin and it doesn’t fit my aesthetic) with a frozen banana, milk, and a wee bit of peanut butter- I don’t know if it’s all that healthy, it tastes VERY naughty, I am addicted to it and I took the recipe from the WelleCo website so stop judging me. This is the richest and yummiest choccy protein I’ve ever tasted. And I’ve tried them ALL (so has my mum and she agrees with me).
The Beauty Chef’s Glow Powder came into my life more recently, after being one of those products I’ve wanted to try for years but never got around to it. I love Carla Oates’ whole philosophy on how beauty begins in the belly, and while a thorough skincare routine and good makeup can do a world of good, I truly believe that poor health does show on the skin before it shows anywhere else (it’s important to keep in mind that good skin means more than just having few blemishes- think about the texture of the skin, how reactive it is, its elasticity, the glow, I could go on). Glow has been specifically formulated to feed the skin, and I won’t go through all the ingredients but what each of the 24 have in common is that they’re packed with antioxidants. This powder improves gut health, thus improving the skin, and works to synthesise collagen and flood the skin with Vit C. It also tastes like berries and that’s important to me.
While BEAR Vitamins aren’t necessarily part of my skincare routine, it felt apt to include them here as wellness is wellness and it’s all inextricably linked isn’t it? I’ve been taking Protect and Explore since late May and I made it through winter in its entirety without so much as a cold. I’ve eased up on Protect now that winter is finito (which is no excuse), but they work- Protect includes Vit A and Echinacea which are essential for immunity, while Explore is packed with Vit C and Rhodiola boosts my energy and erases fatigue. I should also note that I take 3 generic Vit D per day- before you hit me with “you know there’s such thing as TOO MUCH Vitamin D” YES I KNOW this was prescribed to me by my doctor as my body doesn’t absorb Vit D as it should and I have lumbar facet arthopathy and leave me alone I used to have to take 4 a day so cop it.
I’ve gone against cardinal skincare reviewing rule here, which is to try one product in a specific category at a time to test which works and which don’t, so I can’t tell you if my upped energy levels, nice skin, improved gut health and the fact that my arthritis hasn’t been giving me grief are down to one or multiple parts of this. What I CAN tell you is that supplements, like eye creams, can’t hurt.
And these ones all taste good.
