Sarah Wilson, Author at Sarah Wilson

The Happiness Project giveaway. and the winner is….

August 16, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

Hello everyone, thanks so much for all the happy tips from Sunday’s post on Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project. All of them, caring, creative replies. Thank you!! Gretchen just got back to me with her verdict: Let’s see…so hard, so many of them are great, and a good cup of tea is always a good idea … Read more

the best (safest) cosmetics: a list

July 31, 2018August 16, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

The other week I posted about getting a toxic audit on my flat (cough, cough…I have to now move out, such is the dire state of my bedroom). And also about the toxic state of our beauty products. Since then I’ve studied further, and this Time magazine interview with the authors of the new book No More Dirty Looks popped into my inbox over the weekend. A few stats that might make you feel sick:

* Putting chemicals on your skin is actually far worse than ingesting them, because when you eat something the enzymes in your saliva and stomach help break it down and flush it out of your body. Cosmetics absorb directly.

* Women who use make-up on a daily basis can absorb almost 5 pounds of chemicals into their bodies each year.

A stack of you wanted to know what to buy, what to look for.So here’s some extra info:

1. The best advice I can give:

Use less products.

Then…

Check out Good Guide. And download their iphone app. The site surveys 16,000 products and lists the best in each category. And the worst. The FREE app allows you to scan barcodes and they give you a rating out of 10. If you live in the US, you should definitely use it. I spent an afternoon going through my products and not all of them are recognised.

Me, I’m not tossing the stuff I already have…that’s a waste. I’m using it up and will gradually replace with safer alternatives, researching as I go. Which I’m glad to read is also the No More Dirty Looks chicks’ approach. I’m working through my cosmetics stash, with my main approach being to use products with as FEW INGREDIENTS AS POSSIBLE. I do the same with food. So, Triology Rosehip oil and lavender oil (on my spots) are a good start. I’m also going to start using Natural Instinct products* – Australian made and totally committed to this kind of cause. My sister-in-law swears by it.

* Although update: see reader Vanessa’s comments below. Sigh…

2. Avoid fragrance, just avoid fragrance.

One artificial fragrance can contain hundreds—even thousands—of chemicals, and fragrances are a major cause of allergic reactions. When a product lists “fragrance” or “parfum” as an ingredient, run the other way. Companies are not obliged to tell you what exactly it is that’s making it smelly… it’s Russian roulette. And, yes, this applies to perfumes…they are stenchy endocrine disruptors. Not convinced? Read this.

3. Read the label and avoid these ingredients:

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. This is a really good starting point. Anything with SLS…high-tail from it – it’s a common ingredient in anti-freeze and engine degreasers. For a full rundown,see Dr Mercola‘s site.
Read more

sunday life: the secret to happiness (a chat with Gretchen Rubin)

August 15, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

This week I get happy…close to home

Gretchen Rubin calls it her “Beautiful House” moment. As in, “This is not my beautiful house”, the existential lament from the Talking Heads hit “Once in a Lifetime”. Gretchen’s life was ticking along just fine. She had a beautiful house. Two kids. And all the rest. But she woke one day with that feeling of discontent and disbelief and asked, Is this it? Is this me?

It wasn’t. There was more she yearned for and so she set off on The Happiness Project, which launched – as everything does these days – as a blog in March 2006. I’ve been following it for years, often somewhat bewildered by the Cartesian precision with which she pulls apart the bumbling ways we humans happen upon happiness. She’s written thousands of posts over the course of her journey, attracting a monthly following of 300,000 readers. She’s a regular on the American morning TV circuit, contributes to the Huffington Post and has turned her findings into a number one bestselling book that sat on the New York Times list for 18 weeks (and it’s released her this month).

Sweet bonus on a Sunday: I’M GIVING AWAY THREE COPIES of the book today to three readers generous enough to share what they think makes human’s happy. A simple tip will do. I’ll get Gretchen to pick the winners!

Which begs: after such a long, imbedded journey, what’s the one take-home-wrapped-in-ribbon-with-warrantee trick that has resonated with her disciples? What, dear Gretchen, moves us beyond our beautiful house and makes us happy?

On Monday I posed this very question. Gretchen’s response down the phone from New York? You ready for it?

chat to your nan this weekend

August 13, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

I like the idea. Not so keen on the execution. But let’s focus on the idea and intention. The Australian Youth Climate Coalition have launched Nag Your Nan day, encouraging all of us to talk to our grandparents about environmental issues ahead of the election. It’s kind of a local version of the American one … Read more

how to be alone (and feel like Miranda July)

February 2, 2011August 13, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

I think one of the most juicily satisfying and yet simple tricks for feeling pretty damn happy with yourself is to go see a movie on your own. It’s a big deal. Then you realise it’s a no-brainer (no one sees you in there, you’re completely occupied). Then you come out and want to high-five yourself royally because you just overcame a big deal.

Alone is not lonely

Far from it. Aloneness is an antidote for loneliness. When you sit alone, you get to know yourself. You like yourself a bit for doing it. Then you can like everyone else a bit more, too. And you connect. Aloneness fixes loneliness. I’m never more lonely than when I’m in a crowded room and “I” am lost in the din of it all.

A little while alone in your room will prove more valuable than anything else that could ever be given you. –Rumi

Experiment playfully

I recommend the solo movie thing to anyone who feels they’re losing themselves in the din of life. Doing things on your own is so healing. Concertedly doing them – as a fun experiment? – is wonderful practice for coming home to yourself. You’ve done the movie thing? What about going out to dinner alone? What I like about it (and I’ve done it often): the slightly prickly awareness that you are doing something a little out of place brings your awareness smack back onto what you’re doing. It encourages mindfulness. It also makes you feel rather unique for Being Someone Who Can Dine Solo. A little smug, a little soulfully special.

I feel the same way about solitude as some people feel about the blessing of the church. It’s the light of grace for me. I never close my door behind me without the awareness that I am carrying out an act of mercy toward myself. –Peter Høeg, Smilla’s Sense of Snow

Push yourself. (dance?)

Have you seen this video of artist Tanya Davis’ poem “How to Be Alone”? It’s really rather kooky and delicate. I got swept up in the very Miranda July-esque aesthetic of it. She takes the “doing things on your own” one step further: she goes dancing alone.

And, you know what, this weekend – gulp – I’m going to do the same. I shall report back.

I like these quotes from her poem: “If you are at first, lonely, be patient. Just wait. You’ll find it’s fine to be alone, once you embrace it.”

Just because: laughing babies are rad

August 12, 2010August 12, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

As an additional thought, posted a few hours after I first put this up, I like this: Reader “Teresa” has commented that when she’s sad she goes on Youtube and looks up laughing babies. I read this and loved how particular and sweet this was. It really is funny what we find around us that … Read more

we’re all searching for a heart of gold

August 11, 2010August 11, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

I think I’m getting old. I’m about to quote Neil Young lyrics at you. Darnnit, I’ve posted a YouTube clip of the old guy singing this classic track. As a kid, Dad used to play Neil Young on Saturday afternoons when we cleaned the house. And Credence Clearwater and Deep Purple. I happened to see … Read more

Tuesday eats: turmeric (the healthiest food on the planet?)

March 6, 2015August 10, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

It’s ugly and lumpy and mostly people don’t know what it is when they see it at the shops. But I love turmeric. Even if it does stain every device in my kitchen a bright yellow.

Know this: more and more studies are showing it beats inflammation. And fights cancer. I eat it as often as I can and it’s made major inroads into my puffiness from that damn ole thyroid disease. SO MUCH SO, MY RECENT TEST RESULTS WHICH I GOT BACK YESTERDAY SHOW I’VE REDUCED MY ANTIBODIES TO NORMAL LEVELS. It wasn’t just turmeric. But it was from diet! Yes. It can be done. PLEASE be heartened by this. Read more about how I heal my auto-immune disease here.

Turmeric has been called one of nature’s most powerful healers.

sunday life: why i love ugly walking shoes

February 22, 2011August 8, 2010 by Sarah Wilson

This week I wear ugly walking shoes

Recently I was given a pair of those chubby, stack-soled “fit” sneakers*. You know, the kind that look a cross between that very special footwear you can only buy at a chemist and those foam stilts Baby Spice used to wear with legwarmers back in 1993.

* I was given Reebok EasyTone’s. But MBT‘s are very popular. So are Skecher’s Shape-Ups. This is not an endorsement…but so many of you have asked for the details!

Such shoes come with claims: they are said to lift your bum, increase your heart rate, zap cellulite, solve your existential angst, sort your tax return and nab you a new partner. That last one, of course, is made up. These shoes are so ugly, they’re known universally to deflect potential suitors as soon as they see you coming (in life-improving, calf-elongating strides).
Lifted bum or no lifted bum.