Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2023 i Platinum

The sun has got its hat on, and so it’s important to add SPF protection to your everyday beauty regime. I love a double-duty product that offers sun protection alongside hydration and concealment, but I’d still advise adding a skin-care base designed specifically to protect, ideally from both UVA rays (that can cause cancer and ageing) and UVB rays (that cause sunburn). Time is of the essence in the mornings, so look for a fast-absorbing non-whitening product. Gel-type products are great for this. Allow a few minutes to let it sink in before applying your make-up on top. Keep hair pulled back from your face and avoid putting your hands through it straight after. Be sure to read if products can be used around the eye area and, if so,…

Stronger If you want to look and feel your best as you age, then you’ll need to exercise, and increasingly experts are recommending strength training (lifting weights) to hold off muscle mass loss and protect your bones. Celebrity trainer Matt Roberts explains: ‘As we get older, we lose pounds of muscle every decade. We need to reverse this trend in order to stave off the conditions that occur when we lose fitness due to a lack of ability to exercise. In short, we need to give our body the chance to fight, because it will and it does!’ To prevent and reverse muscle loss, Roberts recommends lifting heavy weights but, importantly, aim for strength, not size. He refers to research showing that lifting heavy items regularly slows down the ageing…

Once hidden away in the bowels of the house, the kitchen has long since become the hub of the home – so it was only a matter of time before we decided one was not enough and moved the party outside. Nowadays, outdoor kitchens – from a kettle barbecue to a wood-fired pizza oven – can be just as luxurious as the one inside (and sometimes more so – most households would struggle to fit a tandoori oven next to an AGA inside the house!). So how do a few mismatched outdoor cooking appliances earn the name ‘kitchen’? The key element is the work surface. There’s no official ruling, but for me a prep space turns a cooking station into an actual room. Organise it properly and introduce a dining…

Gardener’s glow I confess, my gardening know-how extends little further than an appreciation of pretty flowers. However, if I can do something that will make me feel happier, learn something new and end up with some homegrown produce, I figure it’s time to up my game and start growing. It turns out the gardener’s glow is about more than sunshine and physical activity (though they play an important role). The secret lies in the soil, and the serotonin-boosting bacteria it contains. Research shows that when we inhale the microbe M. vaccae from soil, it increases levels of happiness hormones in the same way as an antidepressant. On the rare occasions I do planting, I always wear gloves, mainly because I can’t be bothered to scrub my hands afterwards. However, with…

Holidays are officially back, with millions of us jetting off to the sun, and we couldn’t be happier! Logging off for two whole weeks, the warmth on your skin and the sweet smell of sun cream. You’ve browsed the online brochures and picked your dream destination; let the fun commence, right? Well… almost. As much as we all love holidays, our minds and stomachs don’t always play ball. With the stress of packing, planning, and the logistics of transporting you, your travelling companions and possessions by plane, train or automobile, it’s no wonder your mind is spinning and your guts are turning before you even reach your destination – and that’s before you navigate your fear of flying or nerves at being so far from home. Here’s the thing: your…

Hay fever might be more associated with the spring months, but this year scientists have said the peak will last right up until mid to late July – possibly because of our late spring – so if you suffer, it’s well worth taking the time now to sort it out to help you enjoy the weeks ahead. You may already know the cause: it’s an over-reaction by your immune system to a normally harmless substance (an allergic reaction). Your immune system mis-identifies the substance – usually a type of pollen or spore from a plant – as dangerous, and produces an antibody which then triggers the production of histamine. It’s this that leads to the swelling, mucus, itching and burning in areas, such as the throat, nose and eyes, that…

Your hands are often one of the first places on your body to show signs of ageing. And it’s no wonder: they’re washed more frequently than any other body part, and this constant washing strips away your skin’s natural moisture barrier. If you use regular soap, it also makes skin slightly alkaline, and skin is meant to be slightly acidic to stay in a healthy optimal state. Added to that, your hands are always exposed to the sun, and while you may remember to use SPF on your face, it’s more difficult to keep those hands protected, unless you carry around hand cream containing SPF or a mini bottle of sunscreen while on the go throughout the year. Melanin spots (also widely known as brown liver, dark or age spots)…

If you think back to a time in your life when you felt your most happy, energised and optimistic, the chances are it would be a time when your friendships were positive and plentiful. There’s nothing quite like the company of good friends to lift your spirits, help put things in perspective, and make you laugh out loud. Our friends aren’t just good for a giggle, however; they’re vital for our health, with research showing that people with positive friendships live longer and healthier lives. The extent to which friendship influences our wellbeing is evidenced in studies of people living in Blue Zones – areas of the world where a higher number of people live much longer than average. Johann Hari, author of Lost Connections (Bloomsbury, £10.99), explains: ‘All the…

Living on an island, we’re drawn to the coast. As we look towards the horizon, we’re captivated by the wonders of what lies beyond, while the mysteries of the deep provide endless fascination. Take a step closer to our shores and you might find yourself on the ultimate coastal adventure. Like a ‘choose your own adventure story’, it’s not entirely clear where the path you pick may lead. The only certainty is that there’s always something new to discover in the space where land meets the sea. It’s this mystery and magic of our ever-changing coast that inspires so many great artists and writers. From Turner to Gormley, Murdock to Woolf, they portray a sense of longing for the coast or to merge with the sea, as though returning to…

Live experiences THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME WRITING FESTIVAL HARROGATE Crime writing can sometimes feel a little overlooked by the literary scene – but not here! Visit Agatha Christie’s old haunt, The Old Swan hotel, to hear from some of the best in the business, including stellar names such as Vaseem Khan, Val McDermid, Lee Child, Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware and Lucy Worsley. IN GOOD COMPANY: NICOLE FARHI + LUCILLE LEWIN NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Celebrated designers turned sculptors Lucille Lewin and Nicole Farhi have joined together to create In Good Company, a celebration of creativity and friendship. The hugely successful pair had, unbeknown to each other, left their stellar fashion careers to have new, equally successful, careers as sculptors. Discover more at the Harley Foundation, Welbeck, Worksop, Nottinghamshire. On the screen MATTHEW BOURNE’S…

For many women, life can mean putting everyone else first – your partner, your kids, grandkids, elderly parents (it doesn’t really matter who they are, there’s likely a long list of people you help out on a regular basis!) – while your own needs slip steadily to the bottom of the pile, something you’ll sort out on Monday, or in the summer, or in September... But your health should never be something you put off until tomorrow. If you want to improve your energy, you need to have a mindset shift about how you want to live your life right now. It’s time to ask yourself: ‘Who am I in the world, and who do I want to be? What’s important to me as a human being?’ When I work…

Now the warmer days are here, we’re all looking forward to getting outside a bit more, be it to enjoy a walk on the beach or a game of tennis on the courts. But if you’re one of the millions of British women suffering with backache right now, your summer might not be looking quite so rosy. The latest research shows that a staggering one in seven of us suffer from back pain most days, with six in 10 saying it affects their wellbeing. In the same Real World Research poll, 43 per cent of respondents noted that their back pain affected other parts of the body, too. So whether you get the occasional twinge or it’s affecting the way you live your life, it’s time to discover what’s at…

Most nights, I lie in bed, fretting over decisions I’ve made in the past, wishing I could go back and undo what happened. It’s a common problem, but one I’d love to get over. After all, whether it’s ruminating on big life decisions, such as if you should have moved house or ended a certain relationship, or just lots of little things that you wish you had done differently, feeling regretful can easily impact us negatively. ‘Being stuck in constant rumination can be linked to low mood, and can signal that we may actually be experiencing a depressive episode,’ explains clinical psychologist Michaela Thomas. When we then turn our attention to looking forwards, our thinking can become much more negative and anxiety-fuelled, and worrying about the future can lead to…

Beginning life as little more than a pot and a bowl of water, we can’t get enough of bathrooms today. New and revamped homes now often boast more loos than bedrooms! So, with so many options available, what can you do to really make a, ahem, splash? THE PRINCIPAL SUITE Attached to the main bedroom, open-plan bathing has become a popular choice in this lavish add-on – if you’re lucky enough to live in a remote, rural location (or, indeed, a swanky, sky-high penthouse, make the most of unrivalled privacy and those priceless views, and enjoy them from the comfort of your bath). The bathroom has always been a place of innovation: walk-in showers and the wet-room concept have their origins in creating accessible bathing. The double sink, however, was…

SOLUTIONS ON PAGE 128 CODEWORD Each letter of the alphabet has been replaced by the same number throughout this grid. Use the decoded letters given to work out the identity of other letters and fill in the grid. The alphabet list and reference grid will help you to keep track of the letters you’ve decoded. WORDWHEEL You have ten minutes to find as many words as possible using the letters in the wheel. Each word must be three letters or more and contain the central letter. Use each letter once, and no plurals, foreign words or proper nouns are allowed. There is at least one nine-letter word. AVERAGE: 19 wordsGOOD: 26 wordsEXCELLENT: 32 words CELL BLOCK Fill the grid by drawing blocks along the gridlines. Each block must contain the…