Weekend Read 10 July 2021

Weekend Read 10 July 2021

I am what I am.  You are what you are.  And as we come together each week, the exploration of our collectiveness continues as we embrace our strengths, our weaknesses, our joy and our sorrow.  The absolute certainty that night follows day is of course reflected in the reality of life.  It is here that I am strongly minded of the profound work of Kahlil Gibran in his book ‘The Prophet’.  So please allow me to share some of his words on joy and sorrow: ‘Your joy is your sorrow unmasked’.  On work: ‘Work is love made visible’.  And on time: ‘Embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing’.

So if I may, I just want to take a moment of your time to talk about ‘work is love made visible’.  Several months ago I declared that I would never, ever put product reviews on our site.  I then continued with a full-on rant about how fake reviews were dominating so many sites and if you do your research, there are many well-known sites that have been exposed in this respect, but more than that brands were, and still are, paying people to write bad reviews on competing products.  It is nasty and insidious, yet I am about to eat a great big slice of humble pie as I got out-voted by Shabir and Lara to put reviews on our site.  

As we do this, my concern is of course that we are intruding on your privacy, yet although we are right at the beginning of another journey, the early reviews have started to come in and I see each and every one of them.  Once again, I am so humbled by the kindness being shown because there are two different types of reviews.  The first is about us and the second is a review of our products, which of course are pretty sparse at the moment.  We have laid the foundations.  For further sharing.  And you can read Customer Stories on the bottom of our home page.  Thank you.

Notwithstanding any of the above, I am seriously wondering how it can be that my own daughter, Lara, sides with Shabir because together they are out-voting me on several different issues.  But the one thing they won’t out-vote me on is my determination to continue sharing the product treats I write about each week.  But of course it’s not just about the pricing of the products, it’s so much more than that.  And without writing chapter and verse on that subject, I will open the product section by telling you that I am about to take the price down on our on-and-off bestselling supplement, Hyaluronic Acid Capsules High Strength.  With Shabir watching.  Intently.

I am sure you know, if you regularly read the Weekend Read, that there is a three-way battle to achieve the bestselling supplement status.  And that battle is of course between HA, Ionicell and Fulvic Acid Elixir.  We are only halfway through the year, so anything can happen.  I try to be even-handed with these offers, so as not to give any of the three products an unfair advantage.  So with that said, I am taking the price of Hyaluronic Acid Capsules High Strength from £35 to £30.  This offer will end tomorrow, Sunday 11 July at midnight BST and with four articles about HA on the product page for you to read, I don’t feel the need to write any more.  So I won’t.
Hyaluronic Acid Capsules High Strength £30 for 30 Capsules

What I do feel the need to do is to tell you is that there is a new product launch from Goli Nutrition.  Goli Nutrition are of course famed for their Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies, which consistently went in and out of stock on a rather frequent basis last year, and I’m just hoping that we can sustain the availability of their new product.  So please allow me to introduce you to Ashwagandha Gummies.  Made with clinically proven KSM-66 Ashwagandha, they are vegan, non-GMO and they do not contain artificial preservatives.

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), is rooted in Ayurvedic medicine and has been recognised for its medicinal properties since ancient times.  It is also an adaptogen, a plant that has been proven to help maintain body balance, with a particular emphasis on stress.  Well-documented and backed by scientific evidence, KSM-66 Ashwagandha is the highest concentration of Ashwagandha extract available and as such it has been proven to help reduce stress and tension as well as helping to promote memory and concentration, helping to improve sleep quality and helping to support sexual function.

Ashwagandha has also been shown to help reduce and maintain healthy body weight, but I’m always cautious when writing about supplementation for weight loss because there are so many other elements involved.  As such, you will never see me declare that any given supplement will absolutely work for weight loss.  It’s just not a great thing to do, aside from the fact that it can give false hope to those who are really struggling with weight issues.  We do not play with lives.  We have a responsibility to each of you, and with that said, I will just say that the Ashwagandha Gummies are Mixed Berry flavour and their taste is rather fabulous.  So don’t OD.  They are not sweets.  Honestly.
Ashwagandha Gummies by Goli Nutrition £18.95 for 60 Gummies; Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies by Goli Nutrition £18.95 for 60 Gummies

Leading on from that, I will keep the focus on stress, tension and anxiety because stress continues to be the root cause of so many health issues, as I wrote last week.  It has to be acknowledged that we continue to live in uncertain times and it has almost become a given that the vast majority of us are taking some form of stress medication, both allopathic and complementary.  I have written many times that I believe in an integrated approach to medication, but of course our focus is on complementary medicine and as such I want to write a few words about Magnolia Rhodiola Complex, our bestselling supplement for stress and anxiety.

Actually, all I really want to say is that Magnolia Rhodiola Complex was specifically formulated by Shabir to help take down high levels of the stress hormone, cortisol and it also has a tremendously calming effect on our emotions.  The other thing to say is that we believe Magnolia Rhodiola Complex to be the core ‘umbrella’ supplement for stress and anxiety, much in the same way as Daily Immunity is an ‘umbrella’ supplement for our immune system.  There are always going to be the adjunct products to support the umbrella supplements, such as Ashwagandha Gummies above, so I just want to be clear on this because it’s important to be transparent.  About expectation.

There are seven articles to read on the Magnolia Rhodiola Complex product page, each one with relevance, which would include Adrenal Stress, a vastly misunderstood health concern.  The wrap.  I am lowering the price of Magnolia Rhodiola Complex from £28 to £23 for today only, Saturday 10 July.  This offer will end at midnight BST tonight, and I am doing this in complete understanding of what it is like to hit rock bottom.  Together with a strong acknowledgement that certain initiatives are completely heart-led and they will always be that way.  Because we are only human.  After all.  Even Shabir.
Magnolia Rhodiola Complex £23 for 60 Capsules; Daily Immunity £26 for 60 Capsules

And talking of Shabir, he has actually just written a new article.  And I nearly fell over.  With all due respect, I shouldn’t really be making a big song and dance about this because he has been working tirelessly behind the scenes on several different projects, the most important of which has been advising, as best he can, on the ever-increasing health concerns that so many of you are now facing.  The root cause is of course high stress levels in so many instances, but this article is not about stress because I’ve just written about that, it is about Vitamin A.  Vitamin A For Acne, to be precise.

Because there is much confusion as to which Vitamin A supplement to take, Shabir does the lowdown and in so doing, he introduces us to a new supplement, Liposomal Vitamin A.  It provides 1500iu per daily dose, which is generally accepted as the therapeutic dose for skin concerns, with the much-lauded liposomal delivery system ensuring excellent absorption into the bloodstream, which is of course vital for efficacy.  I will leave it to Shabir to tell the Vitamin A story, but aside from Liposomal Vitamin A, he is recommending the use of Granactive Retinoid 5% Serum, so in another one of those waving to Shabir moments, I am dropping the price of Granactive Retinoid 5% Serum to £11 from £14 across the weekend.
VH Editorial: Vitamin A For Acne; Liposomal Vitamin A by Da Vinci Labs £15 for 30 ml (60 Servings); Granactive Retinoid 5% Serum by Garden of Wisdom for VH £11 for 30 ml (Offer Ends Midnight BST Sunday 11 July)

So let’s stay on the subject of acne, and compromised skin conditions.  And we will do this by taking two of our bestselling topical products for this condition, namely Derma E’s rather brilliant Acne Deep Pore Cleansing Wash and Thyme Out.  The Acne Wash is loaded with a complex of Tea Tree, Willow Bark, Rosewood, Lavender and Chamomile, delivering antibacterial and antiseptic properties.  And Thyme Out treats all inflammatory skin concerns that include acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, cold sores and prickly heat.  Powered by Thyme.

And now we will put this all together, creating a topical acne regimen in three steps.  Step one, cleanse your face with the Acne Deep Pore Cleansing Wash.  Step two, lightly spritz your face with Thyme Out (less is more) and finally apply two or three drops of Granactive Retinoid 5% Serum to your face.  And now the treats, which of course you knew were coming.  Acne Deep Pore Cleansing Wash drops from £15 to £12 and Thyme Out drops from £18 to £15 across the weekend and in line with Granactive Retinoid, above.  And just to state the obvious, this regimen can also be used on any part of your body and I’m thinking back acne.  Sorry, I dislike the word ‘bacne’ intensely.  There, there.
Acne Deep Pore Cleansing Wash by Derma E £12 for 175 ml; Thyme Out £15 for 200 ml (Offer Ends Midnight BST Sunday 11 July)

It is now time for this week’s Health Notes from Sarah, but before anything I would just like to say that I am always in awe of how life unfolds.  Having written about a book, The Prophet, in my opening paragraph, Sarah called me and said she was going to write about a book this week too.  Neither of us knew ahead of our call that we would both be on the same page, as it were, but when you are exceptionally close friends and you have campaigned together on so many vital issues, these things happen.  And for good reason. 

With a heading ‘This Book Is Important – Please Read It’, Sarah discovers a truly wondrous book called A Book For Life by Jo Bowlby that she believes can help everyone be happier.  And as she states in her article, she doesn’t say that lightly after spending more than 30 years working her way through stacks of personal development tomes.  And in and of that, there are always a few books that will always be ahead of the crowd and Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is on that list for both of us.  And now, in Sarah’s opinion, A Book For Life joins that illustrious list.  So as a Shaman speaks, we listen.  To the wisdom.
This Book Is Important – Please Read It by Sarah Stacey

Back to products we go and we are now going to talk about a rather fabulous product for our legs.  It is called Legs In The Air and it has been specifically formulated to provide daily care for legs and feet.  Primarily it was created to help increase circulation when flying or on long journeys, but as I write this it remains to be seen if any of us will be doing that any time soon.  Irrespective of that, it helps lock in moisture and provides a cooling, refreshing and cleansing experience for tired legs and feet.  So if we fly, we fly and if we don’t fly, our heavy legs will give thanks to Legs In The Air.  And if your legs haven’t seen the light of day for some time, it has a discreet natural hint of a tint.  Marvellous.
Legs In The Air by Mrs White’s £15 for 50 ml

Right, it’s update time and the first thing I want to do is to thank you, together with Dr Colette Haydon, for your amazing support as we launched The Lab Edit together over the past two weeks.  As I wrote last week, Colette and I are more or less making it up as we go along and at this stage we don’t have a specific product or date scheduled for the next limited edition product to come out of Colette’s lab.  But then things can change at any given moment, so for now and as promised, more Grains were made to accompany Universal Body Oil and once this final batch has gone, it will be gone forever.  Once used, never forgotten.  Amen.
Universal Body Oil by Lixirskin £39 for 100 ml (Includes Universal Body Grains 150 grams whilst stock lasts)

After last week’s rendition of Menopause Rhapsody, which actually still makes me laugh whenever I play it, there were one or two lines in the song that I want to talk about.  So a treat in recognition of the line ‘magnesium for our bones’.  And it goes like this.  If you buy Better You’s Magnesium Oil Original Spray, we will automatically throw in a packet of Magnesium Oil Original Flakes (250 grams), whilst stock lasts.  This topical transdermal magnesium chloride spray has numerous benefits including helping to alleviate sore joints and aching bones.  And we have long advocated the benefits of magnesium bathing in the evening.  To help relax the body.  For sleep.
Magnesium Oil Original Spray by Better You £12.20 for 100 ml (includes Magnesium Oil Original Flakes 250 grams whilst stock lasts) Magnesium Oil Original Flakes £9.95 for 1 kg

Staying on subject, unwanted facial hair was also referred to on Menopause Rhapsody and The Tweezy, which removes facial hair, has had several moments in its lifetime.  The first was when we launched it several years ago and of course it had a second coming when we all went into lockdown and none of us could get any form of beauty treatment, not least varying forms of treatment for hair removal.  I suppose it is one of those safety net products, because no matter what, when you reach a certain age, hair can sprout at any given time.  Normally in between treatments.  Of course.
The Tweezy – Facial Hair Remover £10

And finally, before we go into the Saturday only treat, let me just say that our stock levels are just about holding up on LiProtect, Crepey Skin Repair Treatment, Sheald Recovery Balm and Fulvic Acid Nail Cream.  Derma E are wondering what on earth we are doing with their Crepey Skin Repair Treatment, most especially after Shabir put in a whacking order, lest there should be another famine.  They slightly told us off for not forecasting correctly, but seriously how can you forecast anything these days.  And on that note, Shabir couldn’t possibly have forecasted the fact that I’m about to take the price of Fulvic Acid Nail Cream down from £12 to £10 across the weekend.  Because I just made that bit up.  To humour myself.
LiProtect SPF 35 from iS Clinical £20 for 5 grams; Crepey Skin Repair Treatment by Derma E £20 for 180 grams; Sheald Recovery Balm by iS Clinical £20 for 15 grams; Sheald Recovery Balm by iS Clinical £52 for 60 grams; Fulvic Acid Nail Cream £10 for 30 ml (Offer Ends Midnight BST Sunday 11 July)

This week’s Saturday only treat is from Derma E.  I like to keep things neat and in celebration of all things Derma E, we will include a tube of their Vitamin C Concentrated Serum (15 ml) with every order placed for £30 and above, excluding p&p.  It has been formulated with vegan Hyaluronic Acid together with stabilized Vitamin C to help brighten and hydrate your skin.  I hope you enjoy using it.

With nothing more to say, let us go straight into this week’s song.  I have chosen this song for several different reasons, but primarily because I think, almost without exception, we have all shed tears over the past sixteen months, if not for ourselves, then for others.  I have always believed that we must acknowledge pain, yet I know for some it remains an almost impossible thing to do, such is the depth of the hurt, more often than not caused by other people and the ongoing difficulties of life.  So can we please sing this song, with love and understanding in our hearts, knowing that silent tears are falling for so many.  As we ‘see’ them.  And sense them.
As Tears Go By by The Rolling Stones; The VH Playlist

With love

Gill x  

 

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