CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

Mental health disorders affect 12.5% of men in the UK. However, one third of these will never disclose their condition to a friend or family member, and remarkably, 78% of suicides in the UK are men. This Wednesday is World Mental Health Day and Anna Williamson is the author of the hugely successful #1 selling book on Amazon ‘Breaking Mad’. Anna found fame on kid’s television shows on networks including CITV and Disney Channel, but after secretly battling an anxiety disorder, realised there was a huge stigma attached to mental health issues and became an official ambassador of the charity Mind. She is now a qualified counsellor, life coach and Master NLP Practitioner. Anna currently runs her own private coaching practice alongside being the resident agony aunt and psychology expert on TV shows including ITV’s Good Morning Britain and BBC’s Inside Out. Today she give us her expert top tips to deal with Stree in the workplace.

1 – Take a lunch break – so many of us are guilty of grabbing lunch on the go or snatching just a few minutes break for lunch. It’s proven that taking a proper lunch break away from your desk makes for a more productive afternoon, so everyone wins – you, your boss and your health!

2 – Talk to your boss – your boss has a duty of care for your wellbeing at work. Sure, some bosses can be a little unapproachable, but have think about how you could communicate more effectively with your boss (or HR department) about how you’re feeling and any issues or challenges you may be facing. Perhaps an email is the first port of call, but try not to let any stressful feelings simmer.

3 – Set realistic expectations/deadlines – don’t over commit to work deadlines or projects. Be careful not to over promise or try to people please your boss or colleagues if taking on too much is going to leave you feeling pressured or stressed. Have the confidence to set clear boundaries of what you can/can’t do from the outset and update your colleagues along the way so you don’t feel the pressure of them chasing you.

4 – Explore flexible working – if family life is demanding and work pressures are getting too much, have a think about enquiring with your workplace about flexible working. It might be that working from home for a day or so could reduce stress and benefit your mental health – you’ve got nothing to lose by asking the question.

5 – Take your holiday Entitlement – it’s unhealthy for your mental and physical health if you’re taking less than three weeks of annual leave a year. You don’t need to go abroad, a stay-cation is just as effective, but make sure you allow yourself that time away from work to recharge and focus on you.

Filorga Universal Cream, claims to be, “The solution to any skin situation! No bathroom, gym bag, travel bag or first aid kit should be without this multi-tasking cream.”

Yep you read that right, the solution to ANY situation ! So it Protects, hydrates and soothes fragile skin? yeah. It Repairs dry, cracked and irritated skin? Errr yeah. What and provides comfort and softness for acne-prone skin ? Well it claims to be. What even, soothes sunburn and repairs damage caused by external aggressors such as shaving, temperature variations, UV damage, hard water, aggressive soaps? Well so it says, yeah. What and can be used by all the Family? YES !

So what’s the secret to this Universal Miracle Cream ? Well the secret is a trio of intelligent active ingredients:

1) Urea: a moisturising factor found naturally in the skin to ensure optimal interaction among the cells to restore the moisture balance in the epidermis and maintain optimal hydration. It also brings comfort and softness to damaged skin that is prone to roughness and dry patches.

2) A ramified polysaccharide: rich in rhamnose, galactose and glucuronic acid, it helps to fight tightness, overheating and redness caused by external aggressors – it can even be used to soothe sunburnt skin. It also stimulates the release of endorphins, bringing an immediate feeling of comfort and well-being from the moment you use the cream.

3) A collagen boosting peptide: this activates the healing process and promotes skin repair to restore smooth, new 
skin in record time: perfect for those prone to scarring or peeling due to grazing, abrasion or sunburn.

Few watches have made as much impact on the stylish contemporary men’s wardrobe as the Diving watch. The watch of choice for 007 himself, a real staple of style and charm and only real competition would be the classic Formal evening favourite, the dress watch. Watches.co.uk very kindly produced this great and highly informative guide to the history of the diving watch. Enjoy.

Founded in 1879 in, of course, Northampton, the true home of Great British footwear Crockett & Jones are a British institution. Their name is associated with quality and innovation and in 1914 their footwear was used for the 2nd time on a Shackleton Polar expedition, emphasising the excellent quality of the shoes and their construction. Plus, during the 2nd World War Crockett & Jones manufactured over a 1,000,000 pairs for the armed forces under instructions from the government to switch the majority of the production to military footwear, making officers’ shoes and boots for the army, navy and air force.

Now with the 5th generation of the Jones family to work for the brand. The strong reputation of Crockett & Jones, which today sees stores in London, New York, Paris and Brussels, is built on solid foundations and a great ethos started many generations ago. The fact that the business remains in the hands of the family after more than 130 years ensures their shoes still retain the attention to detail, quality, comfort and durability that was the hallmark of their founders.

This season they introduce us to the Black Edition, three styles, one sole, three leathers and one iconic colour. The collection of three styles are The Chelsea XI, The Lanark III and The Tay II, offering an oversized ‘Cleated’ rubber Soul showcased using a selection of contemporary black leathers. A true British brand influenced by Japanese sharp style.

For more than a century, Crockett & Jones has exported footwear far and wide, today Japan is the houses no.1 wholesale market. Inspired by their knowledge of the market and the close working relationships with with such iconic retailing institutions as Isetan, Hankyu, Barney’s, Beams & United Arrows, ‘The Black Editions’ represents shoemaking of authentic quality, design and insight.

Horace is a French brand with an international outlook who are making positive waves in producing natural grooming essentials for men. Founded by two friends in Paris back in 2016, Marc Briant-Terlet and Kim Mazzilli. They had both come to the same conclusion: they felt stuck between natural, clean, and well- designed but expensive brands on one hand, and affordable, poorly-formulated brands with cheap packaging on the other. And as a result they decided to launch Horace in order to give men the grooming experience they deserve: high-end products at affordable prices, advice, routines, and portraits on their website Horace.co, and the desire to build strong relationships with a community of users. Being users first and product designers second is the key to their success.

Their ethos is to make products designed for the daily lives of modern men. They believe that – as men – taking care of yourself should be easy, fun, efficient, and it should feel good. Above all else, it’s important to love the skin you’re in while remaining true to yourself.

However, this is not the only factor within their business ethos, Horace’s commitment to natural and clean products is part of a more global approach to the conservation of natural resources. They use natural ingredients sourced from non-invasive plants. That means all the products contain 95 to 100% natural ingredients and their formulas are simple and straight to the point, they only ever use the amount of ingredients necessary for the products to be efficient. No more, no less. They reduce the use of secondary packaging to the bare minimum, and their products’ primary packaging is recyclable.

Plus they are proud members of 1% for the planet, an association created by Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. As members they give back 1% of their annual income to environmental protection associations. Horace is a natural and digital-first company, as such, they direct their donations to organisations that support organic farming, take part in reforestation and the conservation of water quality.
Oh, and their office is 100% green energy-powered.