Without a doubt, and you probably don’t need a blog post to tell you this, stress is written all over our faces! You can see it in your skin tone, texture, elasticity and the absence of a youthful glow.It would be easy to say, “stress less” but we know that’s easier said than done! However, if we understand why stress affects our skin as well as change a few habits, we will be able to manage the stress and in turn look a whole lot younger!Dark CirclesWhen we are stressed our blood flow increases and the fragile capillaries beneath our eyes become engorged so dark circles become more obvious. Drinking more water can help, getting more sleep will certainly improve things, while gently massaging a good eye cream or gel to the delicate eye zone will to help increase blood flow. Apply a soothing eye gel around the eyes and slide your middle and ring finger around the orbital bone (slide outwards on the brow and inwards beneath the eye). We recommend Pevonia C Evolutive Eye Gel, the ginkgo biloba, this helps increase the circulation while soothing and hydrating the eye contour.Mini-menopauseWhen we are stressed our body creates cortisol, which can lead to a drop in Oestrogen, much like it does when we are in menopause. Less Oestrogen means less collagen and less moisture. Nourish your skin from within with hydrating food such as fish, nuts, avocado, sweet potato, olive oil and cucumbers to name a few. And “up the hydration” with products rich in collagen and hyaluronic acid. We recommend Pevonia Power Repair Line for bringing back the bounce and youthfulness of dehydrated skin.WrinklesAs our hydration levels decrease our collagen and elastin production decreases. The skin cells that form these vital proteins take a siesta and meanwhile our expressions seem to become indelibly etched into our faces. Maintaining hydration is key but to restore the damage already caused it might be time to get out the big guns and reboot the skin cells which have become lazy. We recommend Pevonia Micro-Retinol line to help rejuvenate the skin from within.Itching, flaking and hivesStress leads to inflammation which may lead to rashes, rosacea, eczema flare ups and changes in skin moisture. It’s vital to maintain your skin’s barrier function with filmogenic products that trap moisture and to reduce inflammation in the skin. Take cooler showers and baths, avoid synthetics in warm weather and apply soothing products such as Pevonia Propolis Concentrate and Reactive Cream which provide both anti-inflammatory properties as well as restoring your protective acid mantle.A Heavy JawGrinding teeth and clenching of the jaw are common symptoms of stress. Unfortunately, these habits can cause the jaw muscles to work overtime. This can result not only in damaged teeth, but also a heavier than usual jawline, as the muscles become larger with the grinding action. Be mindful of this habit by relaxing the jaw whenever you think of it, and massage the jawline every evening while cleansing your skin and applying your moisturiser. Take time out to completely relax with a warm bath, a short nap or just doing something that distracts you from over-thinking! Even though you might only be able to spare 10 minutes your body trains itself to be more relaxed over time and will thank you.Hair LossStress can cause sudden hair loss by literally flipping the switch on the hair follicle’s growth stage from an active to a resting phase. Once the follicle enters this resting phase prematurely, it stays there for about three months, after which time a large amount of hair will be shed. Avoid over-styling hair and using too many heat appliances. We recommend a weekly hair mask using the Micro-Emulsion Massage Oil Anti-Stress. This not only helps stimulate a healthy scalp, but leaves hair soft and conditioned too.Adult AcneAcne isn’t just for hormonal-crazed teenagers. Many adults can’t seem to outgrow it because of stress hormones. Cleanse your skin thoroughly every morning and evening and exfoliate every couple of days to keep skin clear and pure, we recommend Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser for mild breakouts or the Clarifyl Line for more serious adult acne. It purifies, calms inflammation and deals with pesky breakouts pronto.Clearly there is a connection between how we look and how we feel and think. The good news is that we can get to the root cause of our stress and manage it!

National Selfie Day may have ended in June, but you can capture your best self all year around with the ELES HD Luminous Foundation. It’s formulated to deflect imperfections so you won’t need the blurring filter for your next selfie. This new tech foundation will do all the high-tech work for you. Plus, you'll have a luminous glow all day long.Let's start with the coverage: It feels very light, you can barely feel it on the skin and you can build it with layers that give you any desired effect from super-light to full. A little goes a very long way! You may need concealer; a little under the eyes and on blemishes if you want the “perfect skin” look, however most are happy with the coverage and don’t feel the need for added cover up.One thing we love is the flexible pigments in HD Luminous that float above lines and wrinkles and adjust to your facial movements, giving you natural-looking coverage that won’t crease or crack. Great news for those of us with fine lines!What’s inside? Pro Barrier Complex helps protect and repair damaged skin. This complex contains LCA Complex for advanced moisturization, multi-layer skin renewal and antioxidant protectionIt is formulated with ceramides, cholesterol and essential fatty acids to aid in restoring a healthy lipid barrier over impaired skin making it ideal for all skin types, including sensitive and rosacea-proneIt also has specially-engineered Titanium Dioxide which helps scatter light for a more even skin tone and Optical Diffusion Technology which helps minimize the look of lines and wrinkles and acts like a “soft filter” for the skin.If that’s not enough we’ll throw in some Ascorbyl Glucoside, which slowly releases Vitamin C for all day skin radiance and Silk Powder to help hide pores.Finally White Water Lily, Indian Jasmine, Vitamin C and Vitamin E help brighten and condition skin.So all up this foundation is so much more than makeup, in fact, if you took away the pigment you’d have a wonderful anti-ageing skin care product!And the exciting news is we’ve added two new shades! Welcome Linen and Cream Beige, two of our most popular shades in the Liquid Mineral Foundation.What’s more…this month when you purchase a HD Luminous Foundation, you’ll receive a free Pro-Blend Sponge, an indispensable tool for getting an airbrush effect to your base!