Be:Fit is London’s largest exhibition devoted entirely to women’s health, nutrition and fitness. Formerly known as the Vitality Show, Be:Fit London was held over the weekend and I attended the show for a few hours on Friday.

Old Billingsgate Market (the venue) was buzzing with excitement on the first morning and from what I hear, the energy only got more electric as the weekend crowds rolled in.

Here are a few photo highlights from  Be:Fit London featuring my favourite discoveries and moments!

A postcard view of Tower Bridge outside Old Billingsgate Market (the venue).

Happy International Women’s Day to all the incredible women in my life! Today is all about proudly celebrating our strength and femininity and there couldn’t be a better opportunity to introduce you to an inspiring women’s health and fitness festival coming up in London in a few weeks.

Be:Fit London, previously known as The Vitality Show, returns at the end of March with London’s largest women’s health and fitness event. Be:Fit London celebrity ambassadors include inspiring Olympic athletes  such as Victoria Pendleton and Denise Lewis, supermodel and sports personality Jodie Kidd, as well as Sky Sports News presenter Kirsty Gallacher who will formally open the show.

You know it’s December when the shops are packed and all you hear is the same old Christmas music everywhere you go. The scramble for gifts combined with mad shoppers, pushy sales people and an overwhelming choice is a daunting experience for many. I hope to make this a bit easy for you over the coming weeks by sharing some of my favourite gift ideas this season.

Today’s post is about  my top 5 beauty buys under £50 – these will make excellent festive gifts for any beauty addict in your life – or perhaps, yourself! 😉

Judging by the enthusiastic response to my blog on Post-Diwali Detox, it is clear that many of you are craving a clean-up!

I am sticking with the detox theme today and sharing a simple tip that I learned on my recent spa break at the Thermae Bath Spa. My massage therapist spoke to me at length about trying the simple technique of dry body brushing to help the body’s natural detoxification process.

All you need is a long-handled body brush from Boots or your local health shop. Prices range from £6 for a Boots body brush to £20 for the Elemis brush pictured below.

I blogged last week about some gorgeous makeup out there designed specifically with Halloween in mind (see Spooky Chic for more). Couldn’t resist another Halloween makeup post this morning, considering it is today and some last-minute, easy makeup inspiration may be timely. 🙂

I turned to one of my favourite sites, Pinterest, for some relatively subtle, DIY Halloween makeup ideas. Some seem super easy while others definitely need a creative hand. Here are some Halloween looks I love….

Halloween is just around the corner and I am really missing the American Halloween spirit – London comes nowhere close!! The last-minute hunt for unique costumes (age no bar!), and dressing up in character for crazy Halloween parties are sorely missed each year.

Today’s blog is on some fantastic Halloween inspired beauty collections out there to help you create the perfect spooky chic look for the occasion. Really making me wish I was back in New York City for Halloween….sigh.

MAC + Rick Baker Halloween Collection

My friend, Shikha, told me about a special event at the Neal’s Yard Remedies store in Wimbledon last week. Guests were being offered a choice between a free mini-facial or organic makeover and a 20% discount on everything at the store. Shikha knew this would be right up my alley and sure enough, up the hill I went for some shopping and pampering to the Neal’s Yard Remedies in Wimbledon Village.

Neal’s Yard Remedies is an organic health and beauty brand passionate about finding natural solutions to improve health and well-being. I have used a few of their products over the years and always been impressed by the contents of the signature blue bottles (specifically designed to keep light out and ingredients fresh!).

Many of you will remember my blog last month on  ‘The Beauty Detox Solution – Part 1′.  It has been the most popular post on Hungry Aphrodite so far!

I have embraced many of the ideas that Kimberly Snyder recommends in ‘The Beauty Detox Solution’ and am slowly easing myself into a new way of eating. Of course, there are occasional indulgences but I hate the way my mind and body feel afterwards so something is clearly working.

‘The Beauty Detox Solution – Part 1’ gave you a super brief summary of the first half of the book. As promised, here is Part 2!

The perfect shade of nude lipstick is a beauty staple that can be quite tricky to find. Despite looking for a shade that closely matches the natural lip colour, it is very easy to end up with the wrong kind of nude that makes you look more washed out and ghost-like than classy.

With summer officially over, I am looking for a break from my pink comfort zone and in the market for a more autumnal look. I think I may have found a helping hand in the recently launched L’Oreal Collection Privee.

I have gone crazy over raspberries this week. Bright red, plump and the perfect balance of sweet and tart – raspberries are clearly at the peak of the season and I  just can’t get enough. Finally, a healthy addiction! 😉

Raspberries are a lot more than a tasty fruit. Below are some very good reasons to grab yourself a juicy bowl of raspberries….NOW!

Immunity

Raspberries are extremely rich in vitamins, anti-oxidants, minerals and all the other good stuff. Raspberry anti-oxidants help to inhibit the growth of infections and protect the body from all sorts of damage. Research has also shown that a specific anti-oxidant found in raspberries can also help to fight cancer and other diseases.

After a sunny summer spent wearing pretty dresses, sipping cocktails/wine, and eating gorgeous food, it wasn’t much fun struggling to breathe in my ‘comfortable’ pair of jeans last week. Ugh. I think it might be time for another round of detox.

As a ‘foodie’, I don’t have the desire or discipline to ‘diet’ so my focus will be on eating right and making better choices.

In need for some serious inspiration and guidance, I turned to ‘The Beauty Detox Solution’, a book by celebrity nutritionist and beauty expert, Kimberly Snyder.  I am not even half way through the book and seem to have already found the motivation to make some changes.

Anyone else having a long streak of bad hair days?  The sunniest July in years has wreaked havoc on my hair and it is looking annoyingly dry, damaged, frizzy….you get the picture!

It is clearly time for a summer hair intervention and here is my rescue plan:

Hair Masks

A regular shampoo and conditioner is simply not enough in the heat. Summer hair requires an extra level of TLC and this is where  a deep conditioning hair mask comes in!  I am a huge fan of MoroccanOil haircare products – they come at a price but smell gorgeous and the results are absolutely amazing.Treat your hair with MoroccanOil Restorative Mask – a weekly dose of argan oil vitamins and anti-oxidants will work wonders for hair that has been overly processed and excessively fried in the sunshine!!

My ‘June’ Glossybox arrived shortly after the recent  ‘Hello Glossybox‘ post.

This month’s theme was ‘Summer Looks’ and the box had a variety of summery treats including Paul Mitchell Ultimate Wave Cream to create sexy, tousled, beach hair and a lovely coral Nails Inc polish.

My favourite product in the June Glossybox is, without any doubt, the Figs & Rouge Tinted Lip Balm (Cherry Blossom)

Quite a claim, isn’t it? I thought the same when I first read bareMinerals bold statement! Of course, I was instantly curious!

bareMinerals was launched in the United States  in 1995. They have come a long way since and bareMinerals products are now available all over the world. Their makeup is made out of natural minerals with no chemicals, preservatives, dyes, oils or perfumes. bareMinerals boasts that their ingredients are so kind and gentle to the skin that one can even sleep with makeup on!

11 degrees Celsius. Thick, dark clouds, rain and HAIL! Isn’t it almost the end of MAY?? Someone please tell me why I choose to live in London?

The best way to fight this miserable weather is of course, to escape it! But for those of us with no such fun in the sun plans, here are some ideas to make it feel a little bit like summer.

• Host a BBQ – Nothing like freshly grilled corn-on-the-cob, a delicious burger and some Pimm’s to make it feel like summer. Who cares if it isn’t 28 degrees and sunny. You can sit and whinge all weekend OR throw on a jacket, call some friends over, fire up that grill and let summer in!

Who doesn’t want  clear, radiant skin? There is no doubt that besides being born blessed, the best way to a healthy, luminous complexion is drinking lots of water, eating right and exercising. But let’s get real…we all need some help, don’t we?

I wandered into my local Body Shop the other day and left with a great skincare product from their Vitamin C range that deserves a special mention on Hungry Aphrodite!

I am always intrigued by bizarre beauty fads from around the world. It is often a source of amusement and other times, just disturbing to see how far women (and men) can go in their pursuit of beauty and eternal youth. Hearing about these crazy treatments makes me wonder about if and where I would draw the line.

There has been a lot of buzz recently about the anti-ageing ‘Fire Facial’ aka Huo Liao treatment being offered in Chinese beauty salons. Sounds hot, doesn’t it? Think again.

I read earlier that this week marked the 130th anniversary of modern day lipstick. Given that lipstick is a beauty staple for women across the world, I thought it might be fun to dig deeper into the history of this miracle worker and share some little known facts with all of you.

• Lipsticks made out of colourful fruit and plant juices have been used by women since prehistoric times
• In ancient Mesopotamia, women used to grind gemstones and use the dust to decorate their lips with sparkles.
• Cleopatra is known to have used a mixture of beetle and ant juice to colour her lips red – Yikes!