Category Archives: lifestyle

Discovering asian beauty wisdom and Beauty of Joseon serums

Posted in beauty, lifestyle, Skin Care, Skincare, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by

My mother used to make her own skincare from rice. not quite understanding why, just that her skin looked fresh, clean. Decades later, I’ve found three serums that finally explain it.

There’s a skincare memory I keep coming back to.

My mother using rice โ€” actual rice, from the kitchen โ€” as part of her beauty routine. She would wash her face with the rice water collected every evening before cooking our meals. I was a child and I didn’t understand it then. I just noticed that her skin had a quality I couldn’t name. A luminosity. A calmness.

I’ve been thinking about that memory a lot recently, because I’ve been using the Beauty of Joseon serum range for the past few months and there’s something in them that feels like a homecoming. An acknowledgment that the ingredient my mother trusted in her kitchen was not a home remedy but a centuries- old truth that Korean skincare has been quietly building on all along.

Science is now confirming what my mother knew

For generations across East and Southeast Asia, rice water has been used as a skin tonic. Women rinsed their faces with it, soaked cotton pads in it, used it as the basis for homemade skincare. The wisdom was handed down rather than written down.

What we know now โ€” what the formulations in Beauty of Joseon make visible โ€” is that rice bran water is rich in amino acids, minerals and antioxidants that hydrate, soothe and brighten skin. The Glow Deep Serum, which I’ll come to shortly, is 68% rice bran water. Not a trace ingredient. The foundation of the entire formula.

Why I started looking at Korean skincare

Twenty-five years ago, the skincare I admired โ€” the essences and serums associated with the luminous, hydrated skin I wanted โ€” came from Japanese luxury brands. Kanebo was the benchmark. The formulations were extraordinary. The price point, for someone with a young family and a kitchen table business, was not accessible.

So I improvised with what I had. Traditional approaches. Home remedies. Instinctively, SPF on my face to avoid freckles in the sun, which I’m grateful for now.

Korean skincare has changed everything about this. In the last few years it has arrived properly on the UK market โ€” not just in specialist shops but on high streets, in pharmacies, on mainstream beauty sites โ€” bringing with it sophisticated, well-researched formulations at prices that feel almost suspiciously reasonable given what they contain.

Beauty of Joseon is where I landed. And I want to tell you honestly what I’ve found.

The three serums I rotate โ€” and why I rotate them

I don’t use all three every day. I rotate them depending on what my skin seems to need, which changes with the weather, with how much sleep I’ve had, with how demanding the week has been. The rotation is the point โ€” each serum does something slightly different, and together they cover most of what my skin in its fifties actually requires.

Glow Serum โ€” Propolis + Niacinamide

This is the one I reach for now in the mornings.

Propolis โ€” the resinous substance bees use to seal their hives โ€” has been used in Korean skincare for its antimicrobial and healing properties. Combined with niacinamide, which works to even skin tone and refine texture, this serum has become my daily baseline.

What I notice: it gives my skin a healthy, settled quality before I apply anything else. Not a glow in the obvious sense โ€” more a sense that my skin looks like it got enough sleep, even when I didn’t. It’s lightweight, it absorbs quickly, and it doesn’t pill under SPF or makeup.

I’m using this now in the mornings and it’s worth noting that niacinamide is stable in light โ€” so morning use is perfectly fine for this one. You can order it here

Glow Deep Serum โ€” Rice + Alpha Arbutin

This is the one that connects most directly to my mother’s rice water rituals โ€” and the one that has surprised me most.

It’s formulated with 68% rice bran water and 2% alpha-arbutin, targeting pigmentation and uneven skin tone. Alpha arbutin works by inhibiting melanin production โ€” which is what causes dark spots and uneven tone to develop and deepen.

I had been using The Ordinary’s version of the serum and it was great, but I was curious about the Korean version of the ingredient, coupled with rice water.

I want to be honest: I haven’t taken before and after photos. What I can tell you is that there was a sunspot on my nose that I’d had for years and had accepted, having tried various age spot serums including expensive ones from premium beauty brands.

Now, it seems to have faded significantly. I still have some stubborn ones on my forehead and a couple of age spots on the top of my cheeks that I’m working on โ€” but the overall tone of my skin looks more even than it did six months ago.

Alpha arbutin and rice extracts are genuinely quite gentle, making this serum safe for sensitive skin types. This matters to me because some brightening ingredients โ€” vitamin C at high percentages, for example โ€” can be irritating on skin that’s already dealing with the sensitivity that comes with hormonal change.

I should confess something here.

I had been using this serum in the mornings โ€” happily, without question โ€” for several months. It was only when I sat down to write this post and started researching the ingredients properly that I discovered alpha arbutin is best used in the evening, as it can be vulnerable to light and heat. (I don’t think this was mentioned in The Ordinary’s version so I assumed it would be ok with this one.

The reason I hadn’t noticed? The instructions on the packaging are in a font size that, post-cataract surgery, I simply cannot read without my reading glasses. Before my operation, being short-sighted meant I could read tiny text with no difficulty at all โ€” I was practically built for small print. Now I can see across a room perfectly, but the guidance on a skincare bottle requires a separate expedition to locate my glasses for very small print – under 8pt to be precise.

The reading glasses are now living in my skincare drawer, since most product information seems to be in a font that’s too small to read without glasses now.

There’s something rather ironic about this โ€” and perhaps something beauty brands should think about. Women over fifty are your fastest-growing skincare audience. We are also, many of us, navigating vision changes that make the small print on packaging genuinely inaccessible. Larger text on labels would not go amiss.

In any case: if you’re starting with the Glow Deep Serum, go straight to evenings. My research did the work so yours doesn’t have to.

If you’d like to read the full story of my cataract surgery and what it taught me about skincare โ€” including the waterless cleansing routine I now use every day โ€” that post is here

The texture of this serum, I should add, is silky in a way that feels genuinely different from most serums I’ve tried. It sinks in without leaving any tackiness. My skin feels soft rather than tackyโ€” which is exactly the right sensation for skin that’s been working hard all day.

Calming Serum โ€” Green Tea + Panthenol

This is my rescue serum.

I live in Britain. My skin knows it. The combination of central heating, cold wind, and the particular damp grey quality of an English winter does something to mature skin. For many years, I seemed to have skin that would bounce back from harsh cleansing or topical scrubs, in fact I loved the clean feeling it gave me, but now . Redness. Tightness. A general sense of protest.

The Calming Serum is what I reach for when that happens. Green tea is a well-established anti-inflammatory in skincare โ€” it calms redness and protects against environmental stress. Panthenol (provitamin B5) supports the skin barrier and helps it hold onto moisture.

Together they work quickly. Not dramatically โ€” this isn’t the serum version of a cold compress โ€” but within the time it takes to finish getting ready, the redness has settled and my skin feels like itself again.

These are not aggressive serums. They’re not going to produce dramatic results in a week. If you’re looking for the kind of transformation that changes your face in a fortnight, these aren’t that. What they do is work steadily, gently, and consistently โ€” which is, I’ve come to believe, exactly how skin in its fifties wants to be treated.

Not pushed. Nourished.

A note on price and where to find them

This is where Korean skincare genuinely changes the conversation. These serums are available in the UK through Lookfantastic, Cult Beauty and Amazon, typically in the ยฃ10โ€“ยฃ18 range each. For the quality of formulation โ€” the ingredient percentages, the research behind them, the results I’ve experienced โ€” that feels almost unreasonably good value.

The full circle

I started this post thinking about my mother and her rice water rituals. I’m ending it thinking about my daughters โ€” one of whom has already borrowed my Calming Serum and declared it “actually good, Mum, genuinely.”

There’s something in that continuity that I find quietly moving. The wisdom my mother handed down without explaining it, now available in beautifully packaged bottles on a UK high street, now being passed on to the next generation who will discover their own relationship with these ingredients.

Rice water. Centuries of it. Finally in a serum I can afford and my daughter will steal.

Have you tried Beauty of Joseon โ€” or any Korean skincare that’s become a non-negotiable for you? And do you have memories of traditional skincare ingredients from your own family? I’d love to hear in the comments below.

And if any of the vision or packaging observations resonated โ€” or if you’ve had your own post-surgery skincare discoveries โ€” tell me that too. These are exactly the conversations I started this blog to have.

The 25-Year Twist: How a Legendary Lipstick Anchored My Recovery

Posted in beauty, Chanel, Health & Wellness, lifestyle, Lipstick, Make-up, makeup, Over 50s by
Chanel Rouge Coco Legende - previously 428, now reformulated

A lipstick I discovered at a Chanel counter in Selfridges on the morning of my wedding day. Worn to every job interview since. And the thing that got me through cataract surgery recovery when I couldn't wear anything else. This is my story of a twenty-five year love.

There is a distinct vulnerability that comes with eye surgery.

When I underwent cataract surgery earlier this year, my immediate focus was understandably on healing. But as the initial days passed and I prepared to step back into my working routine โ€” a calendar packed with in-person client meetings and many Microsoft Teams calls โ€” It struck me that there would be a month where I would not be able to wear any eye make-up while my eye was healing from the surgery.

To some, this might sound trivial. But in a professional setting, our outward presentation is deeply intertwined with our internal armour. For me, preparing for the day isn’t just about reviewing my meeting notes โ€” it is a ritual of readiness. Walking into a meeting room or opening a Teams call without a finished face felt like showing up to a presentation missing half my slides. I would lose my usual baseline of professional confidence.

The psychology of the power pout

Psychologists call this “enclothed cognition” โ€” the idea that the rituals of what we wear and apply can trigger real psychological changes in how we think, feel and perform. Cosmetics function as a kind of mental switch, signalling to our brains that it is time to lead, speak and connect. Research into what’s known as the “Lipstick Effect” consistently shows that even a single piece of makeup can meaningfully boost a person’s sense of self-esteem during challenging times.

Unable to touch my eyes, I made a decision: I would let my lips be the focal point. One powerful element, doing the heavy lifting for my entire face.

At a time such as this, there is only one lipstick that has the magic to make me feel complete – Chanel Rouge Coco in Lรฉgende

A story that begins twenty-five years ago

Wedding day Chanel make-up
Wedding day, me applying Chanel make-up

This year, my husband and I are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. The story of this lipstick begins on that day.

Like many brides, I felt deeply uncomfortable with the idea of someone else doing my makeup on the most important morning of my life. Wanting to feel entirely like myself, I booked two bridal makeup lessons in August 2000 to design my own look.

My first stop was the department store House of Fraser, where they have a specialist make-up studio. This introduced me to a product that changed my beauty life: Kanebo’s 38ยฐC mascara, now called Sensai 38ยฐC, still as good as ever. As anyone with short, straight Asian lashes knows, mascaras are notoriously prone to smudging. The thermo-sensitive formula was absolute magic. I also left with a beautiful โ€” if rather dazzling โ€” bright pink eyeshadow.

Which immediately created a new problem. Try as I might, I couldn’t find a lipstick that balanced it. Something that worked with my skin tone without tipping into overdone.

So I went to my second lesson: the Chanel counter at Selfridges London.

I happened to get incredibly lucky. The makeup artist running my session was a man named Olivier โ€” I remembered he mentioned he had just finished the runway shows, clearly talented, and seemed genuinely interested, asking me about what hair style, the gown, if I’d picked out a colour scheme for the wedding. He understood my skin immediately. For Asian skin tones with a cool, pinkish undertone like mine, finding a pink that doesn’t wash you out is a genuine exercise in frustration. Olivier took one look at me and handed me Lรฉgende โ€” a fresh, luminous satin pink that tied everything together perfectly.

I was so spellbound that I had the biggest beauty haul of my life that afternoon. The eyeshadow, the blush, the concealer, and that lipstick.

Wedding day photo, 25 years ago, September 2001

That look became my wedding day. And Lรฉgende became mine.

The scarcity that isn’t really about lipstick

I want to tell you something about the kind of person I am.

I hate running out of things. Genuinely, deeply hate it. My house is too full โ€” I know this. I keep more than I need of almost everything, and I’ve spent a long time understanding why.

My parents were children when they fled China in the 1950s and went to live in Taiwan. They lost almost everything. My mother once told me about the journey. Her mother โ€” my grandmother โ€” would tell her to collect the grains of rice from the ground around them as they travelled, adding each one to their small store so the family could eat. I still think about what they endured to give us what we have today.

That particular fear โ€” of scarcity, of the things you rely on simply not being there anymore โ€” is the kind that gets passed down through families without anyone quite meaning to pass it on. It lives in the body before it lives in the mind.

For me, it expresses itself in making sure I always have enough. Always.

With Lรฉgende, I have a system: I reorder when I reach around one third of the tube remaining. It never failed me. I always had it.

Until about two years ago, when I went to reorder and found it simply wasn’t there. Discontinued.

For the first time in twenty-five years, I had one tube left and nowhere to get another.

I’ll admit something else: I have worn Lรฉgende to every single job interview I’ve ever had. It grounds me. It makes me feel unshakable. The idea of facing stressful professional moments without it is unsettling in a way that feels disproportionate โ€” until I understood that it wasn’t really about the lipstick at all.

What recovery taught me

Chanel Rouge Coco Legende

So during my cataract surgery recovery โ€” bare eyes, full professional calendar, one month of enforced simplicity โ€” I decided something. I was going to wear my remaining Lรฉgende properly. Every day. Not carefully, not sparingly. Fully.

Because some things are not for saving.

Every morning before a major client meeting, I twisted up Lรฉgende and applied it. And something interesting happened. My recovery month taught me that beauty is more fluid than I’d understood. Standing tall in front of peers and clients doesn’t require a full face โ€” sometimes it just requires one thing that connects you to your strongest self.

The physical act of twisting up that lipstick โ€” the weight of the black and gold casing, the specific click of it โ€” is a direct line to my wedding morning. To Olivier at the Selfridges counter. To the best day of my life. That memory might soften with time. The physical connection never does.

The ending I didn’t expect

A few weeks ago, on a quiet evening, I went looking online again. Half expecting nothing.

Chanel had rereleased Lรฉgende. Same shade. Same distinctive black and gold packaging. Exactly as it had been.

I can’t quite tell you how happy this made me. It felt disproportionate, and then I remembered โ€” it was never really about the lipstick. It was about the thing the lipstick represents. Twenty-five years of showing up. Of feeling like myself. Of never running out.

I’ve ordered two.

A note on Lรฉgende for Asian skin tones

If you’re reading this with a cool or neutral undertone โ€” and particularly if you have Asian colouring โ€” I want to be specific about why this shade works when so many pinks don’t.

Most pinks marketed as “universally flattering” lean warm, which can make cooler skin tones look sallow or washed out. Lรฉgende sits in a rare middle ground: cool enough to complement a pinkish undertone, luminous enough to add warmth without adding yellow. Olivier was right twenty-five years ago. I’ve never found anything that comes as close.

If you’ve been looking for your pink โ€” this might be it.

Chanel Rouge Coco in Lรฉgende is available now at chanel.com and at Chanel counters nationwide.

If this resonated with you โ€” a beloved product lost and found, a scent or shade that holds a memory โ€” I’d love to hear your story in the comments. These are the conversations I started this blog to have.

And if you’d like to read about my full cataract surgery skincare journey โ€” what I discovered, what changed permanently, and the products that got me through โ€” that post is here:ย [link to cataract surgery article]

Washing Hair After Cataract Surgery: The safety swimming goggles hack

Posted in beauty, Hair care, hair treatment, Health & Wellness, lifestyle, Scent, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by
Aveda Botanical Repair and swimming goggles
Aveda botanical repair and swimming goggles

Recovering from cataract surgery required a brief pause in my usual haircare routine. While the procedure itself was quick, the post-operative care required some serious thoughtโ€”especially when it came to everyday tasks like hair washing.

Having worn contact lenses for years, I was already hyper-aware that getting water into your eyes can introduce unwanted bacteria. Because it is absolutely vital to keep water, soap, and pressure completely away from the healing eye during the first week, the prospect of washing my hair felt incredibly daunting.

Today, I want to share my exact personal experience, the clever safety hacks I used to navigate this transition smoothly, and how I turned a medical restriction into a comforting, holistic self-care ritual.

Post-Op care:

Wooden comb through wet hair

My Step-by-Step Post-Op Hair Routine

If you are nervous about getting your face wet, you do not have to rush into a full wash immediately. Here is the exact, protective routine I used to stay fresh while keeping my healing eye completely dry:

Days 1โ€“3: Refresh with Dry Shampoo

For the first few days after the operation, I didn’t wash my hair with water at all. Instead, I opted for a high-quality dry shampoo. This completely removed the risk of accidental splashes during those critical early days while keeping my scalp clean and comfortable.

Day 4 Onwards: The Swimming Goggles & “Backward Tilt” hair wash

When it was finally time for a proper wash, I came up with a plan using a pair of swimming goggles I had originally purchased for a beach holiday last year.

Swimming goggles create an excellent physical seal to protect your eyes from stray drops of water or running soap. For an extra layer of safety, I placed a couple of dry cotton wool pads inside the lens area over my treated eye before putting the goggles on.

Once secured, I stepped into the shower, turned completely around so the shower head faced my back, and aimed the water stream carefully while keeping my head tilted firmly backward. This ensured that the water splashed exclusively over my forehead and down my back, draining safely away from my face.

Haircare Tip: I repeated this exact process a month later when I had my second eye operated on, and it worked perfectly both times.

Elevating the Experience with Plant-Powered Care

Once safely in the shower, I wanted to use products that offered genuine therapeutic and botanical benefits. For a very long time, I have been a fan of Avedaโ€™s Botanical Repair range. Built on ancient Ayurvedic philosophies, this collection focuses on holistic balance and uses plant-powered, bond-building technology to naturally strengthen hair without heavy, stripping chemicals.

The aroma alone transforms the bathroom into a spa. It fills the air with a calming, blend of lavender, rosemary, ylang-ylang, and marjoram.

Why I Trust This Range (Especially Post-Menopause)

This range has been my absolute go-to since navigating menopause, a time when I noticed my hair beginning to lose its original thickness, strength, and lustre.

Engineered around a plant-based, triple-layer repair technology, the formula works systematically to restore compromised hair:

  1. The Cortex: Micro-molecules derived from corn or sugarcane penetrate the inner layer of the hair shaft to build structural bonds from within.
  2. The Cuticle: A nourishing macro-green blend of sacha inchi, green tea seed, and avocado oils mimics the hair’s natural outer layer to smooth the cuticle and detangle strands beautifully without heavy silicones.
  3. The F-Layer: Coconut and corn derivatives replicate the hair’s outermost, water-resistant barrier, locking in a healthy shine and guarding against environmental damage.

I usually shampoo twice. Because the formula is highly concentrated, a very small amount goes an incredibly long way.

My can’t live without product is the Aveda Botanical Repair Leave-In Treatment. It brilliantly acts as a protective conditioner and a styling product all in one. Because it shields hair from heat damage while smoothing frizz perfectly, I find I don’t need to apply any additional styling creams or gelsโ€”keeping my haircare routine wonderfully simple.

Because you want to minimize any tangles, tugging, or pulling anywhere near your face right now, I use a wide-tooth wooden comb to gently detangle your hair, always working mindfully from the ends up to the roots.

From my motherโ€™s garden to mine

Lavender harvest
Lavender harvested from the garden

Every time I open these bottles, the herbal aroma instantly reminds me of my childhood home. Growing up, my mother cultivated both rosemary and lavender in our family garden, harvesting them regularly to brew a traditional, homemade hair rinse. She used it on our hair constantly to give it an incredible, healthy shine, but she also knew the functional secrets of those plants: their powerful, natural antibacterial and protective properties.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), these two botanical powerhouses represent a beautiful Yin and Yang balance for total scalp health:

  • Rosemary (Mi Die Xiang ็ฑณ่ฟญ้ฆ™): A warming herb known to stimulate the movement of Qi (energy) and blood circulation. In TCM, hair health is a direct reflection of blood vitality. By stimulating the scalp, rosemary delivers essential nutrients directly to the hair follicles.
  • Lavender (Xun Yi Cao ่–ฐ่กฃ่‰): A cooling, calming herb that clears heat and soothes cutaneous irritation, perfectly balancing the energetic warmth of the rosemary.

Today, I grow both rosemary and lavender in my own garden. At the end of every season, I lovingly harvest the lavender and tie them into fragrant bundles, placing them in vases all around my home. It acts as a completely natural air freshener that feels exceptionally fresh and deeply grounding all at once. In TCM, these ambient botanical scents soothe the Shen(the spirit and mind), making the entire home feel like a peaceful sanctuary during recovery.

A time for patient healing

Recovering from surgery is a gentle reminder that our bodies deserve time, patience, and protection. By pairing the practical safety of swimming goggles with the timeless, plant-powered wisdom passed down by my mother, a simple shower can transcend a medical chore and become a moment of deep healing.

If you are preparing for your own surgery, take it one slow, mindful step at a time. Put on your goggles, tilt your head back, and let nature lend you a helping hand!

Disclaimer: Always follow your specific ophthalmologist’s instructions regarding when you can safely wet your hair and face after surgery, as individual recovery timelines and protocols may vary.

How scent from my garden became an act of self-care

Posted in In the garden, lifestyle, Perfume, Scent, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by
Cut roses from garden by my workspace
Scented roses from the garden

I had a busy work week and last Friday, I found myself heading off to the A&E to have a sebaceous cyst looked at, after the nurse at my GP said they couldnโ€™t help me further after a course of antibiotics the practice had prescribed.

When I finally returned home after the long wait to see one of the consultants, knowing that I had to go back on Saturday, because they couldnโ€™t treat me that day, I turned to my happy place; the roses that I had planted about 3 years ago, now coming beautifully into bloom.

Cutting a few stems and placing them in a vase on my desk made me feel happy, a welcome distraction from hospitals and what that entailed. I cut some rosemary and placed this in a vase so it would sit on my windowsill behind my desk.

The science of the “Happy Place”

We often think of comforting fragrances as a luxury, but modern science proves they are a physiological intervention. There is a profound medical field called Psychoneuroimmunologyโ€”the study of how our emotional brain interacts directly with our nervous and immune systems.

When we experience sudden trauma or work related stress, our bodies flood with cortisol (the stress hormone). In clinical studies, high cortisol levels have been shown to delay physical wound healing by up to 50%*. It slows down cellular repair and constricts microcirculation.

Scent can be a shortcut straight to the limbic systemโ€”the brain’s ancient emotional control centre. 

So when you inhale an authentic, uplifting botanical fragrance, your brain instantly signals your nervous system to switch off the “fight-or-flight” response. By dropping your cortisol levels, a happy scent physically allows your body to redirect its resources toward cellular recovery and healing. 

My garden brings comfort to my mind, and it is also a way to help repair my body.

I have to admit that I had not tended to the roses and only purchased soil improver to ensure the roses would bloom over the coming months and some rose fertiliser, sprinkled around them and raked in.

From Garden to Bottle: Bringing the Antidote Indoors

They are now entering their most beautiful phase of growth, so each morning before doing anything else, I will take a pair of secateurs and give them a light pruning, taking away spent rose heads so that the plants continue to bloom well into autumn.

While I am fortunate to watch Gertrude Jekyll and The Poetโ€™s Wife bloom right outside my window, you donโ€™t need a mature cut-flower garden to harness this therapeutic power. The beauty industry has long looked to these exact heritage botanical profiles to create scents that do more than just make us smell goodโ€”they alter how we feel.

The roses were an investment – I guess looking back little did I know they are also an act of self-care.

If you are looking to bring this grounding, anti-stress ritual into your daily routine, you can explore it through fragrances such as:

  • Affordable budget friendly High-Street Everyday Mist: For a light, accessible burst of morning optimism, The Body Shop’s British Rose offers a clean, dewy, straight-from-the-flowerbed freshness that acts as a perfect midday pick-me-up at your desk.
  • Historic rose scent : To truly replicate the timeless, old-world rose experience, look to L’Occitaneโ€™s classic Rose Eau de Toilette. It beautifully captures the elegant, velvet depth of traditional rose speciesโ€”the very same historic heritage varieties you can source and plant in your own space via David Austin Roses.
  • Luxurious and Aromatic: If you want the a sophisticated pairing of floral and herbal notes with white musk, Jo Malone Londonโ€™s Rose & White Musk Absolu is the ultimate luxury. By weaving authentic rosewater with sharp, earthy rosemary, it has a crisp scent that helps with mental clarity.

A New Lens: Navigating Cataract Surgery, Menopause, and the Scent of Recovery

Posted in eye care, Health & Wellness, lifestyle, Perfume, Scent, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by
L'Occitane Eau de toliette. Now has new packaging
Home ยป lifestyle
Visit L’Occitane’s site for Vervine Eau de toilette with new packaging

Hello again,

Itโ€™s been a while since I last shared a scent story here. Life, as it often does, required a bit of a “pivot.” For the past few months, Iโ€™ve been navigating a journey that many women face but few talk about in the world of lifestyle and beauty: experiencing Menopause, High Myopia, and Cataract Surgery.

Clarity and Contrast: Navigating Menopause and Cataract Surgery

The last few years have been hectic, helping my daughters find their way through higher education, balancing that with the ever increasing pace of change at work, but always finding personal enjoyment through scent. But as my estrogen levels shifted, so did my sight. I learned that for those of us with high myopia, the “menopause ” can sometimes bring cataracts forward much earlier than expected.

The Reality of Mid-Life Vision Shifts

I found myself like many people, getting older also meant getting reading glasses or in my case a combination of multi-focal contact lenses and high strength multi-focal glasses. It was manageable, but for the last couple of years, I struggled with both near and far sight and couldn’t focus. It was on my last visit to the opticians where during the consultation, the optician told me that I had had the cataracts for years but they had been very small and were gradually getting worse. It was time to get a referral to the GP to get an appointment with a specialist.

Inevitably, surgery was the recommended path forward. If you’re thinking about it and have been delaying the idea of surgery. Speak to your optician, explore the options available and don’t wait for things to get worse. I can honestly say it’s the best decision I made to have cataract surgery.

I opted to use my work private health care insurance to have a better type of lens implants. In the UK, the NHS will provide basic monofocal lenses. So for a small premium, I elected to get the multifocal version, the type that would be very similar to how my contact lenses helped me see things at an intermediate and distance range.

I’ll cover off the process in a different post for another time.

Sensory wellbeing: My Recovery Essentials

During recovery, when I couldn’t wear my usual makeup or even splash my face with water, there was one sense that I leaned on:ย Scent.ย I found myself returning to one of my absolute favorites fromย Lโ€™Occitane. There is something about theย Lemon Verbenaโ€”and especially theย Verbena with Mintโ€”that helped lift my spirit. During the short recovery after the cataract surgery, the sharp, zesty “frosted lemonade” scent was the clarity and it became the sensory anchor that helped lift my spirits.

Whatโ€™s Next for The Scented Abode? Iโ€™m relaunching this space not just to talk about perfume, but to explore how we navigate the “mid-life shift” with grace and some helpful information that I’ve learnt. Over the coming months, Iโ€™ll be sharing:

  1. The Waterless Cleanse: How I redesigned my skincare routine when water on my face was off-limits.
  2. The “Strong Lip” Phase: How I felt “assembled” when I couldn’t wear eye makeup.
  3. Sensory Weight Loss: How I used citrus scents to help me lose 20kg naturally.

Recovery isn’t just about healing; itโ€™s about rediscovering the world through a new lens. Iโ€™m so glad youโ€™re here to see it (and through the senses of sight and through scent) with me.

If you’re new to this site, welcome. Please explore other content, such as the home made skincare such as the Rosewater toner recipe

Spring clean your skin with Grapefruitย 

Posted in beauty, lifestyle, Skin Care, Skincare, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by

Sunshine and spring weather has finally emerged and is making me feel it’s time to give my skin a spring clean.

I love the scent of Grapefruit and on a recent trip to the high-street, I purchased this lovely tube of refreshing Grapefruit skin sorbet from The Body Shop. The scent is uplifting and energising. Sinceย my budget did not stretch to getting any further skin treats, I decided to make my own refreshing bath soak and skin scrub in one.

This is the simplest way to get the scent of grapefruit to fill your bathroom and give skin a refreshing spring clean.

All you need is half a grapefruit. Just squeeze the juice into a bowl and mix in a large helping of rolled oats (I had porridge oats in my store cupboard), next add in a teaspoon of Green Tea leaves, since I’d received a gorgeous tin of White Peony Tea, I used this to ensure the antioxidant benefits found in Tea would make its way onto my skin.

To add moisture, I added half a teaspoon of Jojoba oil to the mix.

To boost the scent of the grapefruit, I added Bergamot essential oil. You can add any citrus-scented essential oil that you have to hand if you don’t have grapefruit.

Add the zest of the grapefruit skin by grating it with a fine grater.

By now this mix looks clumpy and can the smell of Grapefruit and the citrusyย scent has already filled my kitchen with its wonderful aroma.

You can now use it as a skin scrub or use it as a bath soak.

So that the small bits of the porridge do not float around the bath, I filled some empty tea bags. You can order these empty tea bags online or use a tea infuser.

These tea bags with fresh ingredients will keep in the fridge for a couple of days.

Just hang the tea bag under a hot running tap in the bath and the aroma of Grapefruit and all the lovely ingredients that have been used in this mix will infuse the bath water with its scent and goodness.

There’s just nothing like a good soak, except perhaps smoothing over the Grapefruit souffle body lotion to complete the experience.

If you like citrus scents read my latest post about how it helped me through myopia and menopause related Cataracts : Lemon Verbena

Home Made Gentle Eye Make-up Remover

Posted in beauty, eye care, lifestyle, Make-up, Rosewater, Scent, Skin Care, Wellbeing by

Update (May 2026): 

DIY Eye Make-up Remover

This is a quick and simple recipe for making your own gentle eye make-up remover.

Why Choose a Homemade Eye Makeup Remover?

In a world of complex ingredient lists, returning to basics is often the kindest thing we can do for our skin. Many commercial removers contain harsh alcohols or synthetic fragrances that can strip the delicate eye area. By creating your own gentle solution, you control exactly what touches your skinโ€”ensuring it remains hydrated and calm.

The 2-Ingredient Recipe (Rosewater & Oil)

The beauty of this tonic lies in its simplicity. I have found that a 50/50 split of pure rosewater and a light carrier oil (like almond or jojoba) creates a dual-phase remover that rivals any luxury brand. The rosewater soothes inflammation, while the oil effortlessly dissolves even stubborn pigments without the need for rubbing.”

All you need is some good quality oil, Rosewater and Glycerin.

Make it in small batches as the ingredients are all natural and there is no preservative so it is best to make it fresh every few days, 50ml should last between 3-4 days if you plan on using it every morning and night.

Ingredients:

20ml Rosewater

20ml Jojoba oil

10ml Vegetable Glycerin

How to make:

Pour the Rosewater, Jojoba Oil and the Glyercin in a small bottle. Shake vigorously to combine the ingredients. This recipe is very similar to the home made Micella Water recipe which I wrote about a while ago. You can see the post by clicking this link.

As you can see from the test below, I applied a very dark colour pallet of eye shadow, eye liner and mascara and used the home made version on one eye lid and compared this to the Clinique Eye Make-up remover that I occassionnally use.

Home Made Eye Make-up remover test

I was surprised as the Clinqiue remover was good, I’ve always used this as it’s non-scented and wipes away Make-up with only a couple of swipes. But the home-made version took off much more make-up with just one swipe. Result!

Better still is that it cost considerably less and smells lovely because of the Rosewater.

I’ve been using Rosewater for many years now and I don’t think there is anything better than this gorgeous smelling scented liquid.

simple ingredients for eye make-up remover

It has been nearly a decade since I first shared this recipe, and its relevance has only grown for me. Following my recent cataract surgery, I had to be incredibly mindful of what I used around my eyes. After the initial recovery period where makeup was off-limits, returning to this gentle, 2-ingredient remover was a sensory joyโ€”it provided the cleanliness I needed without any of the irritation of synthetic brands. While I have continued to experiment with high-end products since then (which Iโ€™ll be sharing soon in a dedicated post on eye care for mature skin), this homemade classic remains my trusted baseline for sensitive days.

Nespresso machine for Coffee and Walnut Cake

Posted in At home, baking, Drink, Food, Home, lifestyle, Uncategorized by

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We bought a Nespresso machine, an offer which really was too good to miss and now we have two coffee machines that sit on opposite sides of the kitchen.

The Dolce Gusto machine makes great coffee, it also makes lots of other great drinks which my kids enjoy, particularly the iced Cappuccino and iced tea, drinks which if we were going to Starbucks would cost a small fortune.


The Nespresso machine however, makes coffee an experience and I wish we had gotten around to getting earlier. If you are thinking about getting one of these machines, this month there is an offer too good to be missed. Not only is the machine on offer but the Aerochino machine is free. Yes that’s right free as long as you purchase their coffee pods from the website.

We’ve been in coffee heaven, and what better way to enjoy a cup of rich intense coffee, but with Coffee and Walnut cake.

This is a simple recipe – just use the Muffin mixture from this recipe and use just walnuts instead of the blueberries and cinnamon, add an espresso shot of coffee to the mix and bake.

That’s it. I used these cute cardboard mini loaf cases which I spotted in M&S, which were a perfect size for individual portions to serve for a tea time treat.

Refreshing herb tea foot soak

Posted in beauty, Health & Wellness, In the garden, lifestyle, Skin Care, Wellbeing by

This is the easiest recipe to make at home which will revive and refresh tired aching feet. I had all the ingredients in my garden. Better still, the only cost involved was just the use of the pre-made little tea bag pouches which I got online. One hundred of these little pouches ready to fill with tea leaves, herbs or anything which you want to infuse or soak in hot water.

For this refreshing herb tea foot soak, I simply picked a small bunch of mint leaves, a few sprigs of rosemary and some lavender buds which were still flowering in the last days of summer.

A dash of Dead Sea salt, which I already had in my cupboard and a few drops of Peppermint and Lemon Essential Oils, and Orange Blossom Water all mixed roughly together in the tea bag pouch.

Soak in a bowl of boiling water for as long as you want and pour into a warm bowl of clean water. Ready to soak tired weary feet.

I know this seems like quite a bit of effort, but after a long day at work, I like the idea and ritual of preparing something a little indulgent, a little bit of me time to indulge in. The scent is uplifting and has this magical way of transforming the ย room into a scented retreat.

Feet are now soaked and feeling light and refreshed. Hmm now for that pedicure, a colourful treat for my toes.

Dead Sea Bath Soak ingredient for DIY Foot Soak
Peppermint, Lemon and Carshalton Lavender Essential Oil
Easy to make Rosemary, mint and lavender foot soak

Home Made Apricot scones infused with Rose Pouchong tea

Posted in At home, baking, Food, Fruit, inspiration, lifestyle, Rosewater, Uncategorized by

 

Apricot Scone infused with Rose Pouchong tea

 

When we visited Fortnum and Masons, I noticed ย lovely jar of Rose Pouchong infused Apricot conserve, which is the inspiration for these apricot and Rose scented Scone recipe.

Scones are so easy to make, and they are better freshly baked, eaten slightly warm with a big pot of tea, jam and whipped cream. I can’t think of anything better to cheer up a dull cold afternoon.

Here are the ingredients for home made scones:

50grams of dried apricots (diced into small pieces about the size of a raisin. Soak the dried apricots in a strongly brewed dark Rose Pouchong Tea overnight. Drain and remove all the excess liquid.

40grams of room temperature butter

225grams of self-raising flour

1.5 level tablespoons of caster sugar, a little more if you prefer the scones to be sweeter to taste.

A pinch of salt

110ml milk (this can be soy milk if you prefer)

A little extra flour for rolling and dusting the scones with.

To make the scones, preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius.

The mixture should be made as light as possible, sieveย the flour into a bowl. Cut the butter into the flour and rub into the flour as if making pastry. Aim for a light fine crumbly mixture. It’s very important to get the butter combined in well with the flour, next add the sugar and salt and mix well.

Slowly add the milk and then add in the pieces of apricots. By pre soaking the dried apricots overnight in the Rose scented tea, they have taken on the wonderfully aromatic floral qualities of the tea. This is enough to add just the subtlest hint of Rose to the scones.

If you want the scones more fragrant, add a couple of drops of Rosewater. Continue to add the milk and then combine into a soft dough.

Roll the dough out on a well floured pastry board. As my work tops are made of granite, I dusted this with plenty of flour and rolled them out with a well dusted rolling-pin. The dough should be rolled out to the thickness of about 2cm or thicker if you want high-rise scones. I’ve rolled these out to about 2cm and then used a large round cutter to cut out 8 scones.

Lay them out on a well buttered baking tray.

I then sprinkled someย granulated sugar and dusted the scones with some flour.

Next, pop the baking tray(s) ย into the preheated oven (220 degrees Celsius) for 15-20 minutes until the scones look warm and golden in colour.

Cool them on a baking rack.

Best served freshly baked and still warm from the oven with a pot of tea, with Jam (apricot or marmalade is delicious with these scones) and ย cream, clotted if you want to be extra indulgent.