Fallen Idol
We love our celebrities. What they wear, drive, eat, where they shop, vacation or get their nails done is the driving force behind most of the advertising industry.
The word ‘paparazzo’ was invented to label the people who devote their lives to snapping the celebrities doing all of the above and sometimes a bit more than we want to see.
Some celebrities have been fast tracked to this intrusion in their daily lives by appearing on ‘talent shows’ such as ‘So you think you can dance!/sing!’ with the winner voted for by the general public who along side a motley crew of questionable peers often turn regular mildly talented people into ‘stars’. This means their talent is built on sand without foundation or experience and eventually most will crash and burn, as they are unable to deliver the goods or maintain the pace required.
Whether the famous person is propped up with sand or stone we soon find out things about them we don’t like. They drink, they take drugs, they are prone to various forms of extreme behaviour or they have a penchant for exposing parts of their bodies or lives that are better left under wraps. We are torn between wanting them to be god-like deities and wanting to watch them do the things we never would, so bowed down are we by common sense, morals and/or the law of the land.
With this level of fame comes a plethora of people who do things for you such as shopping, driving and even thinking, resulting in a level of laziness that needs some careful harnessing especially if you are teetering on that yard of sand. Do we feel responsible for enjoying their unravelling? – no we don’t. Its entertainment, similar to throwing Christians to the lions without the Christian attitude. Is it the pressure that leads them to act badly alongside poor judgement or would they have acted like that anyway, albeit on a smaller stage and with less publicity?
The ones that have taken the slow route to the top with plenty of guidance, experience and an actual talent have a better chance of survival. But the constant exposure and in turn criticism can be wearing for even the most hardened trouper. The red-carpeted road to the Hall of Fame is littered with the bodies of those too fragile to stay the course
This is the same with our attitude to health and beauty. You can’t expect to look great if you are indolent or make poor choices with your diet and exercise routine.
We need to build our inner health and outer beauty with some hard work and make the time to fit it all in to our daily routines. Don’t save facials up for special occasions and expect a miracle to occur.
Don’t eat ready meals six nights a week and expect to fight off that cold.
Don’t skimp on sleep and then moan about poor attention spans and dropping off in meetings.
But let’s not dwell on the Don’ts and do look at the Do’s.
Do take responsibility for yourself and your health. Start by ditching all the short cuts you have become more than accustomed to.
Buy all your foods ‘loose’ and you will soon lose that extra five pounds, along with reducing your intake of hidden sugars, fats and salts.
If you make all your meals from start to finish the only person hiding any ingredients will be you.
Loose foods are easy to spot – they are the ones not in tetra pack trays with or without cardboard sleeves. Loose meats, fish, cheese and cold cuts will be on the ‘fresh’ counters where you can buy 2oz or 2lbs (yes I am that old) of whatever you like and not be beholden to eating for two unless you are two.
Make more than you need of any dish and freeze it or fridge it for later in the week or the month. That way you are producing your own ready meals, which are not drowning in preservatives and thickeners, such as methyl cellulose, which is a core ingredient in those Lite, Light, Low Calorie numbers – yes readers this delightful substance is legal to ‘fill’ out foods just as it is legal in its use as wallpaper paste. It expands in your stomach and makes you feel full – disgusting on all levels and I am willing to bet even if you have some left over from doing up the guest bedroom you won’t be adding it to your food…
Do keep up a regular round of facials and exfoliation. Buying supermarket brands of cleansers and toners is fine – it’s the using of it that will win out in the end. Take your make up off properly at night and save those ‘wipes’ for emergencies such as coming in late from a party or spending just a few nights away from home.
When you are cleansing, whether with a wash-off cleanser (foaming or otherwise) or cream, take the time to massage it well into the skin with small circular motions to up the penetration of the product and increase the blood flow to the skin through the capillaries. Remove the cleanser really well with toner or water and finish with the most extravagant moisturiser you want to indulge in. After the age of 30ish invest in dedicated morning and night eye creams and for goodness sake never neglect your neck. Your neck is the one area that will come back to bite you if you ignore it - so be warned!
Funnily enough blood flow is what it’s all about really. A good circulation brings a good tone and colour to the skin, carries away waste in the lymphatic system which runs around the body in tandem with the blood and brings oxygen to all parts giving you more energy and focus.
Exfoliating in the shower is doing this job as well as sloughing off cells waiting to fall off so giving you a smoother skin with a brighter hue.
Exercise also addresses blood flow as well as increasing flexibility and heart strength. Stretching is almost as important as moving about so done together they should see you reaching for the stars for years to come.
We may not be in the public eye but we do need to be standing tall on good foundations in order to be the stars of our own show until the end of the second act. Of course if we get any applause along the way then we’ll take it with a grain of sand.
First published March 2013By The Dart
