Radiance Cleanse | Botanical Beauty on John Lewis Roof Garden

Botanical Beauty on John Lewis Roof Garden

by Clare Ward, Tue 15th July 2014

As part of John Lewis' 150 year celebrations they have transformed their Oxford St, London store roof top into a glorious roof garden. There are a series of events taking place and we love the sound of one happening this Thursday, 17th July. Hosted by expert natural facialist, Abigail James, and renowned ethnobatnist, James Wong, on behalf of Liz Earle skincare, it promises to be an afternoon dedicated to botanical beauty. Abigail will be teaching facial yoga and giving out her tips for natural skincare, whilst James will be showing you how to grow your own beauty food. The Liz Earle team will also be present, giving complimentary hand massages and skincare advice. No tickets are reqiured so simply turn up and enjoy their talks whilst taking in the view.

The schedule for the talks is as follows:

11am: James Wong – Grow your own beauty patch (20 minutes)
12pm: Abigail James – Facial yoga (20 minutes)
1pm: James Wong – Grow your own beauty patch (20 minutes)
2pm: Abigail James – Facial yoga (20 minutes)
3pm: James Wong – Grow your own beauty patch (20 minutes)
4pm: Abigail James – Facial yoga (20 minutes)

Radiance loves... Organic sun lotions by Green People

by Rosie Guest, Mon 30th June 2014, link

With the sun making a much needed appearance we are relying on Green People's natural sun care range to protect our skin. It's made with over 80% organic ingredients; vital when you consider that up to 60% of a substance can be absorbed through the skin. Many sun lotions are full of synthetic chemicals which can block the pores, causing prickly heat. Just as importantly, they can damage marine life such as corals and where they contain chemicals that mimic the effects of oestrogen, these chemicals seep into the sea, having major effects on aquatic life, with the long term affects leading to fish turning into hermaphrodites.

Green People do not use parabens, pore-clogging silicones and mineral oils, synthetic fragrances, artificial colours or skin-drying alcohol in their products. Instead their sun creams are made with a blend of minerals that sit on the surface of the skin to naturally bounce away harmful UVA and UVB rays. A filter derived from cinnamon and the mountain flower edelweiss, which has developed a natural defence against UV light, neutralises UV rays to offer broad-spectrum protection.

Even better, Green People have packed their sun lotions with natural antioxidants and skin vitamins A, C and E from avocado, green tea and rosemary extract. So they are actually good for your skin!

Content Founder Imelda Burke says 'When choosing your sunscreen, forget the numbers and look to the additional topical antioxidant ingredients they use. It is a common misconception that SPF30 gives you twice as much protection as SPF15. Infact an SPF 15 filters about 93% of UVB while a SPF30 only gives you an extra 4% protection filtering 97% of UVB. Our first protection is always avoiding the sun between the hours of 11am and 3pm. If you can't avoid it be sun safe and ensure you apply sunscreen liberally and often.'

Radiance Nourish: Brazilian Smoothie

by Clare Ward, Sun 13th July 2014, link

We're not usually avid football fans, but it's been hard not to get excited by the hype of the World Cup. Now that it's come to an end we thought we'd keep the spirit of the hosts Brazil alive by creating this Brazilian inspired smoothie. It's the colours of the Brazilian flag, and it's also packed with ingredients native to Brazil.

The smoothie uses our Cashew Milk to give it a rich creamy base with protein. Perfect for post training. Some of the ingredients included which are native to Brazil: cashews, coconuts, avocado, pineapple.

To make a Cashew Milk:

60g cashews (ideally soaked for minimum of 1 hour)
450ml water
1 tsp coconut butter
1 tbsp maple syprup, agave or honey
pinch salt

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour half the cashew milk into a separate container and set aside.

To create the green part of the smoothie:

1/2 ripe avocado
large handful of fresh mint
large handful of spinach
1 tsp greens powder - optional

Add these ingredients to the cashew milk in the blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.

To create the yellow part of the smoothie:

1/2 ripe pineapple (or you could use mango instead)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tbsp lucuma (optional)

Place these ingredients along with the cashew milk set aside earlier into a blender and blend until smooth.

To construct the smoothie pour in some of the green smoothie mixture and then alternate with the yellow smoothie mixture until the glass is full. We topped our smoothie with blueberries and dessicated coconut to represent the disk of blue starry sky on the Brazilian flag, but you could leave these ingredients off or add another fruit of your choice. Drink immediately and enjoy whilst picturing a gorgeous Brazilian sun-filled day!