Live a Healthier Life

September-17-2021

While we are all enjoying being able to have more normality again in our lives after the past 18 months, it’s naturally going to take a little adjusting to as diaries fill up, people get back into offices and children get back to school. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with the sudden freedom, so managing our lives right now is key in making these adjustments without burnout both mentally and physically. 
This is not just an age thing! There are plenty of twenty-somethings around the world currently saying “I honestly don’t know how I used to do what I used to do! I feel so tired.” A study was conducted at the end of 2020 by the charity The Centre For Mental Health which predicted that up to 10 million people in the UK may need additional mental health support as a result of the pandemic, with 1.5 million of those predicted to be children.* 
With that in mind, anything we can do support ourselves makes sense, rather than throwing ourselves back into ‘our old lives’; let’s hang on to some of the calmer, less frenetic way of living that many of us have come to appreciate. It all starts with physical self-care. 

Get enough sleep and relaxation

Our mood and sleep are inextricably linked.  Aim to go to bed at the same time each evening and try to be technology free at least 2 hours before bedtime.  If that’s impossible for you, try to make it an hour. The blue light from mobile devices has been shown to impact the quality of sleep. If you are one of the majority who use a phone as your alarm, ensure notifications are switched off. iPhones, for example, have a Night Shift setting that subdues brightness.  
Try not to eat too late into the evening, optimally your last meal should be at least 3 hours before bedtime. It also makes sense to not be stimulated by caffeine and alcohol in the evening and a night-time routine can ease you into a better night’s sleep; a warm bath, relaxing music and reading are all activities that allow your body to wind down and make a good night’s sleep more likely. 

Food equals mood 

Support your body with nutritious foods and hydration. Too much food and/or processed food will not support your mood or your energy levels. Indulgence is fine as long as it isn’t every day.  Save those treats for the weekend or when you can have a more relaxed start on your days off. Instead of reaching for that sweet snack in the afternoon, take 5 minutes to simply focus on your breathing; it’s amazing how shallowly we breathe when we are busy. Just a few rounds of slower, longer breaths stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system which makes us feel calmer and more relaxed.   

Manage your diary

Learn to say ‘no’ and perhaps set some rules about how many social activities you will accept during the course of a week and weekend. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when we are rushing from one thing to another, even if it’s for pleasant social encounters. It can rob us of being in the moment and truly appreciating the here and now as we get consumed mentally by ‘what’s next’. This really is within our control, we just need to exercise it.  By doing less we achieve more and the people we are with also benefit as we are more present and at our best when we are not running on empty. 

Look after your gut

It’s becoming increasingly accepted and understood that the gut and brain are inextricably linked; hence why we call the gut our second brain. There is bi-directional communication between the gut and the brain and imbalance in our gut bacteria impacts our mood. It’s also where 70% of your immune system is housed so it deserves our attention and care. 

Get active

We became a nation of walkers during the lockdowns – let’s hang on to that good habit. Being outside and moving around is a natural mood booster, plus it’s free and accessible to us all. As Laurette Mortimer so beautifully said, “Walking brings me back to myself”. 
*Study by The Centre For Mental Health:https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/news/10-million-people-england-may-need-support-their-mental-health-result-pandemic-says-centre-mental-health

September-13-2021

Winning an award is never an easy feat. From qualifying in a certain category and competing against large recognisable brands, to going through the rigors of judging panels and testing, winning an award is highly esteemed. As an FBO, winning these awards offers a third party, and often a global, endorsement for our amazing aloe-based products. If that isn’t enough, usually the winners receive great press in digital mediums, in social media accounts and in print after the awarding organisations have announced the awards. 
Already in 2021 alone, Forever Living’s personal and skincare products have won over 14 awards ranging from ‘Highly Commended’ and ‘Finalist’ to carrying a Gold or Silver ribbon, beating many high street brands. And there is more to come this year, and at the end of this blog, we will share details on how you can be involved in the voting process.   
Here is a little about each awarding body and the Forever Living product winners: 

Green Parent Awards

This is the 11th year for the Green Parent Beauty Awards, and each of the submitted products undergoes a vigorous selection and testing process as testers spend months trying out and reviewing every product. These awards search for the cleanest, greenest and most effective natural products in a range of categories. The magazine has an independent panel of beauty experts to try out each of the submitted products and write about their experiences. Forever Living competed against the likes Neal’s yard, Weleda, Better You and other ‘Green Friendly’ companies. 
In 2021 Forever’s Infinite Firming Complex achieved  BRONZE in the ‘Best Beauty Supplement’ category, and Aloe Sunscreen won GOLD for ‘Best Sun Protection’. 

The Beauty Bible Awards

Since they launched their first book “The Beauty Bible” in 1996, they’ve had 31,000+ women taking part in their trials – the biggest-ever independent survey of beauty products ever carried out in the world, with products submitted both from household name brands such as Elemis, Murad and Liz Earle and from new, independent names. In their 25th year, 1,380 ‘real’ women trialled the entered products.
Forever Living’s Aloe Bio-Cellulose Mask won a SILVER award in ‘Sheet Mask’ category.
“We had real reservations about including sheet masks in our awards on environmental grounds, but were reassured that Forever Living’s Aloe Bio-Cellulose Mask is actually compostable. So not only did our testers tell us it worked to hydrate and brighten skin, but, in the words of one tester, ‘I love the fact that this mask is organic, vegan and actually compostable!’ Her and us too.” - Quote from Sarah Stacey & Jo Fairley, Joint Editors, Beauty Bible

Pure Beauty Global Awards

2021 was the 4th edition of the Pure Beauty Global Awards. With 42 categories, competitors are voted for by their expert judging panel with criteria based on a product’s usability, effectiveness, unique selling points, packaging, functionality and innovation. The goal of the competition is to provide global exposure to new and existing brands, whether large or niche and based anywhere around the world.
Forever’s Hydrating Serum was a FINALIST this year. 

Global Makeup Awards  

The 3rd year for this competition saw over 90 different brands take part, with over 350 entries. The Global Make-up Awards, a partner with the Global Green Beauty Awards, is only for newly launched products, and looks to celebrate the best launches of beauty brands globally and is judged by a panel of beauty professions on product efficacy. Other well-known competitors were Murad, Mary Kay, Dr. Botanical, and St Moriz. With over 30 product categories, these makeup awards showcase brand innovation, expertise and quality. They look for all the best in cosmetics, as well as the best products for your hair, body, skincare and wellbeing. 
Forever Living won in several categories: 
Aloe Liquid Soap won GOLD (Best Liquid Soap category)
Forever Instant Hand Sanitizer won GOLD (Best Hand Sanitiser) and
Sonya Soothing Gel Moisturizer won SILVER (Best Moisturiser). 
In addition to this, overall, Forever Living Products won a silver in the prestigious ‘Best UK Beauty Brand’ category which is absolutely amazing! 

Global Green Beauty Awards

The Global Green Beauty Awards 2021 celebrates the best of green and clean beauty brands which are ethical, natural, organic, vegan, zero waste or cruelty free. This was their biggest awards to date, and unlike their sister awarding body: Global Make-Up Awards, there are no launch date restrictions. With renown brand competitors such as Tropic, Liz Earl and Molton Brown, products are judged by a panel of 6 judges from the beauty industry whose identities are kept confidential to promote award fairness. Forever Living celebrated several winners this year: 
Aloe Bio-Cellulose Mask scooped another award with a SILVER in ‘Best Natural Face Mask’.
Aloe Jojoba Conditioner won its first GOLD in ‘Best Natural Conditioner’
Aloe Liquid Soap won a GOLD in ‘Best Natural Soap’

Woman & Home Beauty Awards 2021

Woman & Home, the popular magazine, held another annual beauty awards. Leading experts in the beauty industry judged entries, from top make-up artists to dermatologists as well as the Woman & Home beauty team, which included brand competitors such as Charlotte Tilbury and Dermalogica, and had over 100 categories.
Forever’s Smoothing Exfoliator has grabbed the ‘Best Daily Exfoliator’ in the Woman & Home Beauty Award for 2021.

Pure Beauty Awards London

Since its creation in 2001, the Pure Beauty Awards has grown to become one of the most recognised events in beauty calendar, and is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Covering skincare, body care, hair care and make-up, Pure Beauty’s award-winning editorial team reviewed, shortlisted and curated just under 600 entries in 43 categories. However, what makes this competition different is that the short-list now receives votes from the public.
This means YOU can vote now for our shortlisted Forever products! 
After they count the votes, The Pure Beauty Awards London reveals winners live during an incredible formal awards ceremony in October 2021.
The current short-listed Forever products for the Pure Beauty London Awards 2021 are:

• Best New Hair Product—Aloe Jojoba Shampoo
• Best New Bath and Shower Product—Aloe Liquid Soap
• Best New Premium Anti-Ageing Product—Hydrating Serum

SO, what happens next and where can you help?
Since a voting system decides the winners, we need you, your teams, your family and friends to help make every vote count.
The deadline for votes is Saturday, 25th September at 5pm, and this is how you can place your votes:

1. Visit this link
2. Select the relevant category:
   1. To vote for Aloe Jojoba Shampoo – Hair Care > Best New Hair Product (page 2 of 6) > Forever, Aloe Jojoba Shampoo is number 7 on the list > continue to press ‘next’ and then ‘submit’.
   2. To vote for the Hydrating Serum – Skin Care > Best New Anti-Ageing Product (page 6 of 9) > Forever Hydrating Serum is number 7 on the list > continue to press ‘next’ and then ‘submit’
   3. To vote for Aloe Liquid Soap – Body Care > Best New Bath and Shower Product (page 3 of 7) > Forever Aloe Liquid Soap is number 4 on the list > continue to press ‘next and then ‘submit’.

Download some social posts we have created to help encourage exposure and votes here 
2021 has been an amazing, multi award-winning year for Forever Living and is fantastic leverage with your customers when promoting these products. 
Watch this space for more information, webinars and posts regarding this year’s winners with various awarding bodies. 
To find out more about our awards over the years, please click here

September-03-2021

What can nutritional supplements do for you?

With autumn fast approaching, and the world settling into a new form of normal, we are turning our attentions to keeping healthy and supporting our bodies, and one way to do that is through supplementing our diet. Everyone should consider taking some form of supplements to support a varied and balanced diet, whether young, ageing, fit, sedentary, or healthy. Science today shows us that our diet alone may not be enough to give us the nutrition and essential vitamins our bodies are unable to create on their own.

How Does Someone Know if a Certain Supplement Will Benefit Them?

It’s important to do your research and pick a supplement that will benefit your needs based on your individual lifestyle. Of course, if there is ever a question, consult with your doctor before trying a new supplement.

Are There Nutrients I Can’t Get From My Food Alone?

Eating consistent, nutritious meals is incredibly important, but they may not contain all the recommended daily vitamins and minerals your body needs. Also, many of our Forever products have proprietary blends of other nutrients, botanicals, or herbal extracts that may be difficult to source from diet alone. For example, everybody should be taking a vitamin D supplement throughout the winter months, when exposure to sunlight is reduced, and it can be difficult to get from food alone. Forever ImmuBlend contains 10ug of vitamin D alongside a powerful combination of natural botanicals and proven ingredients.

Where Should Someone Start With Forever Nutritionals?

Forever ImmuBlend is an immune support supplement with a powerful combination of natural botanicals and proven ingredients. Help support your body’s defence system with a combination of the best of science and nature, with this blend that supports the immune system. This supplement is high in vitamin C, D and zinc, all of which contribute to the normal function of the immune system.
Vitolize for Women provides balanced support with women's needs in mind. This blend of herbs, vitamins and minerals has been designed with a woman’s needs in mind. It’s high in iron, which contributes to normal cognitive function, and it’s also high in essential folic acid. As well as calcium, vitamin D and B12, Vitolize for Women also contains vitamin B6, which contributes to the regulation of hormonal activity.
Vitolize for Men provides nutrition that’s unique to a man’s needs. This blend of herbs, vitamins and minerals has been designed with a man’s needs in mind. It contains a high-quality blend of herbs, vitamins and minerals including zinc, which contributes to normal fertility and reproduction. This powerful blend is packed into an easily digestible softgel, making it incredibly easy to support an active and healthy lifestyle.
Forever Kids is a delicious, advanced multivitamin for kids. These fun, delicious, chewable multivitamins provide children with the nutrients needed each day, including vitamin A, C, D, B12, calcium, iron and zinc. This complex blend of phytonutrients are taken from raw broccoli, spinach, carrots, beets and sixteen other fruits and vegetables! They contain no aspartame, no artificial colours or preservatives and are suitable for children from three years old.
In addition, Forever also has a wide range of supplements to support a healthy lifestyle. Forever Daily is always a good product to start with to get a blend of fifty-five perfectly balanced aloecoated nutrients including vitamins A, C, D and B12, iron, calcium and zinc. Forever Lite Ultra shakes are easy to make and a satisfying way to provide an additional boost in protein to your diet. ARGI+ is also nutritious berry-flavoured sports drink contains five grams of L-arginine per serving plus vitamins, including vitamin C and vitamin D. For heart health, we would also recommend Forever Arctic Sea which provides a high dose of EPA and DHA which support the normal function of the heart. Forever Active Pro-B works synergistically with Aloe Vera Gel to support gut health which is critical to your body functioning at its optimal level.
What are your go-to supplements to support a varied and balanced lifestyle? Let us know in the comments below.