Last week I was lucky enough to be invited along to the Christmas event at Chichester's Body Shop. It was lovely to be invited to an event in Chichester. I have previously studied and worked in there, its a lovely place and I was looking forward to visiting the town again.
Having watched Saffron's Christmas lights switch on in Southsea. I thought Chichester's lights would be on, so I got there early to take photos. However, they weren't. So thanks Saffron, haha.
James, who had organised the event, was there to welcome Bloggers into the store for the #TheBodyShopVIP event. It was nice and warm in the store with a lovely array of calming colours. I also got to see some fellow Pompey Bloggers Saffron, Charlie and Sophie. It was nice to catch up with Saffron and Charlie and to met Sophie.
This sounds so silly, but I loved looking at the colours and smelling everything. I was thinking I hope this is acceptable.
The staff were lovely, they told us about the history of The Body Shop and of the Chichester store. All before introducing the new Christmas product line. It was lovely to hear staff talk positively of their brand and their own experience at the store.
I am not a regular Body Shop customer, in fact I have probably been into Body Shop stores less than 20 times in my life. I didn't plan to get anything on the evening, maybe a bath bomb... Well... I ended up spending £50 on a range of products. Im holding back on saying what they are at this stage, as I am considering using some for gifts at Christmas. But I kind of want to keep most of what I got. It was nice to be able to get a few good quality ethical products and the items I picked up were at a good price.
It was really cool to hear what some people were interested in and see a few Sussex Bloggers. Being in Havant, I am right on the Hampshire Sussex boarder, so meeting some more Sussex people would be great. Additionally I got talking to one of the two other men at the event Dan, who was there with Abbie. Talking to Dan was super interesting, finding out about hypnotherapy and talking about mental health openly was really great. I don't know if Dan noticed my top, but I have recognised how when I have my top on more people seem willing and even start talking to me about mental health. I think it helps to let people know I'm open to talking about it and willing to discuss my own experience too.
There was a really nice atmosphere at the store for the whole time I was there. The store had displays explaining the ethical polices and processes of The Body Shop. The staff too seemed to really believe in the ethics and ethos of the company. In addition to The Body Shop ethos we also found out about the 2017 Play for Peace Campaign.
"This Christmas, we want you to forget adulting and embrace togetherness through festive fun and games. From quizzes and spinners to mazes and dice, loads of the packaging in our exciting new seasonal gift collections transforms into games for the whole family to enjoy. By playing with us this season, you’re not only doing your bit for the planet by upcycling your packaging, you’ll also be supporting International Alert’s Peace Play Project, which helps Syrian refugee children to heal through play."
For me places like The Body Shop are becoming more important as I learn to practice more self care. Actually taking time to relax is really important. Even if I have time when I'm not really doing anything, I stress about what I should be doing. I have recently started to use candles and its been lovely. I need to find out and invest in more self care support products.
Self care is something I have spoken about a lot recently, but I need to actually do it more.
What do you guys do or use to support you with your self care?