Because Some Days You’re a Squirrel, and Some Days You’re a Bear
Our energy isn’t always the same from day to day. Some mornings, you might bounce out of bed like an over-caffeinated squirrel; other days, you’re more of a hibernating bear, slow and reluctant to leave your cosy den. Your beauty and self-care routines can reflect this rhythm, if you let them.
Let’s be honest, self-care isn’t about rigidly sticking to some Instagram-worthy schedule. It’s actually more about tuning in to what you need, even if that means spending an extra five minutes cocooned under the duvet or indulging in a face mask that makes you look like a friendly swamp creature (not that the Tropic Hydrogel Face Mask will do that, unless the friendly creature in question glows like a dewy woodland fairy).
Some days, you’ll be squirrel-level sprightly, requiring nothing more than a quick cleanse and moisturiser before scampering off. Other times, bear energy takes charge, and you crave a longer, richer ritual, think slow massages and layers of creamy goodness. Both are perfectly valid (and, let’s be fair, sometimes both are needed before the first cup of coffee). The secret is listening: what does your body want today, a dash or a dawdle?
This isn’t about rebelling against discipline or skipping skincare altogether. It’s about giving yourself permission to adapt, to shift gears as needed, and to view beauty as an act of self-alignment rather than just another box to tick. Your routine can flex with your energy and the seasons, just as squirrels stash snacks in autumn and bears hibernate in winter.
On a “squirrel” day, when you’re zipping about, the light ritual is your best friend. For example: Smoothing Cleanser, a brisk spritz of Morning Mist, a dab of Rainforest Dew Serum, and then Moisturiser; Skin Relief or Fresh Waves for those balmy Spring/Summer days, or Skin Feast when the winds howl come Autumn/Winter.
On a “bear” day, let yourself retreat into the deep, plush cave of skincare. This might mean adding a Hydrogel Mask or Comfort Food Hydration Mask, calling in Eye Work or an extra Serum like Glow Berry, and finishing with a nourishing, rich face oil such as Super Greens or Elixir. (Pyjamas and fuzzy socks optional, but highly recommended.)
Whether you’re a loyal Tropic devotee or have your own favourites, the real magic isn’t in the product but in allowing your routine to become a bridge, a gentle crossing where body meets mind, and sometimes, with any luck, a biscuit as well.
Beauty isn’t just about what you see in the mirror; it’s about how you feel in the moment. Treat your routines as moving meditations and watch them transform from chores into rituals. Washing your face can be as grounding as a deep breath. Applying moisturiser? Consider that an act of gratitude for the skin that keeps you from turning completely inside out. Here lies the beautiful crossroads of mindfulness and beauty, not a finish line, but a chance to be truly present, one gentle gesture at a time.
Texture, Temperature, Touch: The Sensory Bridge
One of the easiest ways to invite more joy into your routine is simply to change your tone. Instead of thinking of skincare as something you must do to fix, enhance, or perfect, try seeing it as a way to honour your body (squirrel tail, bear fur, or otherwise).
When your inner narrator swaps “must” for “may I?” everything softens. Suddenly, you’re not pushing your skin towards an impossible ideal, you’re listening, you’re responding, and you’re giving it what it needs right now, even if that’s just a splash of water and a wink in the mirror.
You may feel you don’t have time, or the patience for formal meditation, but you can lean into your senses during your routines. Let’s make self-care a sensory adventure:
Notice the coolness of your products gliding across your skin
Feel your fingers tracing tiny squirrel-paths or slow bear-trails along your cheekbones
Catch the subtle scent of botanicals wafting up, bonus points if you can identify them before your morning coffee
Observe how your breath shifts, deepening as you massage, or turns squirrel-fast when you’re in a hurry
Each gesture becomes a moment of presence, not necessarily a grand meditation, but a little act of reverence, care, and the sort of self-love that would make both squirrels and bears proud.
A Gentle Challenge
As you go about your week, try this simple experiment: listen before you do. Each day, pause; even if just for a breath or a glance, and sense: “What energy is here today?” Then, match your beauty ritual to that energy. Notice what shifts in your skin, your spirits, and your sense of presence. If you start speaking to squirrels, maybe take a day off…
Beauty is not a fixed standard. It’s a living, breathing companion, sometimes sprightly, sometimes sleepy, always yours. Rather than chasing perfection outside, maybe it’s time to reclaim beauty as an experience that’s felt from within (bushy tail and bedhead included).
If you’d like to see how these ideas connect with balance and gentle self-care, you can read my main piece: The Beauty of Gentle Courage and Self-Care here, or for a more mindful skin care routine: The Mind-Skin Connection here.
The Christmas season is fast approaching, and Tropic has launched some fabulous luxury gift ideas, something for everyone, whether they’re squirrel, bear, or somewhere in between. Please check out the gift guide here.
If you would like to order any Tropic products, Christmas or otherwise, please check out my webstore here.
The world is often full of strange synchronicities. Self-care has been such a feature this week, both for myself and for my coaching clients. It feels like both they and I are finding it harder to be motivated to keep healthy routines going. I notice I am seeing and hearing so much lately about people not even knowing where to start with showing ourselves compassion and kindness.
For some, it can be Summer itself, with its promise of a slow pace, freedom, fun, and longed-for getaways. The days become busier, routines go out the window, and before you know it, you’re running faster than you were before, and running on fumes to boot.
We forget in the lure of warmth, sizzling BBQs, and the constant smell of sunscreen, that we still need support physically, emotionally, and mentally. We still need to make time for ourselves. In fact, for some of us, we need it more than before, because, for all its ease, Summer can be stressful.
For others of us, the transition between lazy Summer days, the freedom and quiet, the longer evenings, and holiday adventures, back to the faster pace of normal life can not only be tricky but leave us feeling unmotivated and even low. It’s like that “back to school” feeling that never quite goes away.
As summer draws to a close, the “Summer Slump”, whatever its cause, often gives way to reconnecting with the stress and anxieties of predictable schedules and life’s demands. Even making the most of the final days of Summer can feel pressured. And self-care? Well, that becomes a time burden and a chore.
The Power of Self-Care
Yet, there’s something powerful about the way we care for ourselves. Not in the picture-perfect sense that’s so often pushed at us, but in the quieter choices we make each day, the ones that feed our spirit as much as our skin. The actions and choices that tell us we matter too.
Self-care doesn’t need to be complicated or take ages when you’re feeling that Summer pressure. Sometimes the most nourishing rituals are the simplest. Maybe it’s taking a few extra minutes at night to slow down with your skincare routine, not rushing but really noticing the textures, the scents, the way your breath deepens as you let the day go.
Maybe it’s taking a long soak in the bath or a shower with vibrant, luxurious scents that spirit you away to a tropical paradise. Or perhaps it’s just about taking a few minutes to put some makeup on and feel more together when you face your day.
Whatever it is for you, notice how these small pauses feel in your body and mind, recognising that this too can be a way of showing ourselves kindness. Small moments like these create a sense of safety and calm, a reminder that we can hold space for ourselves no matter what else is happening in the world.
But self-care isn’t only about soothing, it’s also about balance. It’s finding the sweet spot between tending to our inner world and showing up with confidence in the outer one. When we create routines that feel sustainable rather than overwhelming, we step into a kind of harmony that shows in our posture, our energy, and even in the way our skin glows. Notice which routines feel balanced and nourishing to you personally; it’s not about doing everything perfectly, but feeling right in your rhythm.
And then, there’s courage. The kind that doesn’t always look like climbing mountains or making dramatic changes. Sometimes courage is as simple as choosing a bright lipstick on a day when you’d normally play it safe. Or wearing your natural hair or with a salt spray spritz to give it wave and volume, when you’re used to hiding it. Or meeting your own gaze in the mirror without immediately critiquing what you see.
These seemingly small decisions carry weight. They are private rebellions, quiet affirmations that say: I am allowed to take up space. Tiny acts of gentle courage can ripple out in surprising ways. These small, bold gestures are reminders that beauty is not about perfection; it’s about daring to express the truth of who we are, even in the subtlest ways.
When you combine gentleness, balance, and courage, something shifts. You start to notice that self-care isn’t a checklist, it’s a dialogue with yourself. And in that dialogue, you can discover both comfort and confidence, softness and strength. Try picking just one small nurturing gesture this week; it doesn’t have to be complicated, but doing it consistently makes it transformative.
Your gentle challenge
Choose one small way to nurture yourself this week, one way to bring balance, and one small, bold gesture that feels just a little braver than usual. See how it feels to weave all three together.
These ideas can each stand on their own, and I’ll be sharing more in the coming weeks, like simple evening rituals of release, ways to balance beauty with energy, and little acts of brave beauty. But they all come back to this: self-care as an act of gentle courage.
I’d love to know what small act of gentle courage you try first.
If you’d like to explore products that can support your own self-care rituals, please check out my Tropic online shop here.
For more ideas on how to create a more mindful skin-care routine, click here, and for more reflections on self-care, click here.
Ok, so I did cringe slightly when writing that title, but you know what? It’s true! Stay with me here and lets unpick it further.
I don’t know about you but I like to feel good, I mean if we were all really honest, who doesn’t like to feel good within, and about, themselves? While as a coach I understand completely that feeling good has to come from something within ourselves, I think it is also important to acknowledge that self-care can be a factor within this.
Writing the above, I feel like I should instantly follow this discussion up with a clarification that it’s not about being vain, shallow or self-involved. And I think there in lies the problem, we are conditioned to think paying attention to ourselves and how this impacts on how we feel is somehow wrong. There are ways that self-care is acceptable and other ways in which it is seen in a more negative light.
I want to be really clear appearances are not everything, and self-care is about taking a holistic approach and thinking about a whole host of things; such as what we eat and drink, how much sleep we get, lifestyle and work-life balance. However, as part of my own self-care I do like to take care of my skin.
When your skin glows with health it can be incredibly empowering. Healthy glowy skin can lead to improved confidence and self-esteem and it can help you reframe your mindset; when you feel good about yourself you naturally feel better about the world around you. There is, after all, a reason why phrases like “feeling comfortable in your own skin” emerge.
I feel like taking care of my skin is something I do just for me, just something ‘nice’ for myself, and it really doesn’t have to take ages, it can be as simple as being more mindful with face care as shown in my recent blog.
However, are there bigger reasons why we should focus on our skin?
Brain-body-skin connection
The skin plays a huge role as a protective barrier to keep our bodies safe from harmful external factors, as well as keeping good stuff, like moisture, in. Skin even has an important role to play in supporting our immune function. Therefore, it makes sense to consider how to care for our skin in a way that supports it to do its job.
However, research suggests that there is a deeper connection between the brain and skin than we may be aware of. A brain-body-skin connection [1][2][3], means that our skin reflects our emotional, psychological and physical health states. While we might be familiar with the notion that what we eat, drink and various lifestyle changes may impact our skin, so to do our thoughts, feelings and stress.
This does make sense as it’s now well known that the skin can bear the evidence of acute and chronic stress. When we are feeling run down, feeling stressed, anxious of overwhelmed, or even in response to hormonal triggers, ‘breakouts’ can occur on the skin such as acne, eczema, and psoriasis.
However, what may be less well considered is that the skin can also perpetuate the body’s stress response system. Our skin and hair follicles send messages of environmental and psychological stress back to the brain which then prolongs the body’s stress response.
As pointed out in a recent Harvard Health blog[4] this really shouldn’t be so surprising, after all for example, when we get stressed or nervous we blush and sweat – clear brain-skin connection. However, these kinds of responses are more temporary, prolonged stresses can be more problematic. Cortisol and other flight of flight hormones can cause inflammatory effects on the skin and this can promote a bidirectional feedback response with the rest of the body.
Essentially, environmental stressors, such as UV rays (sunlight) and air pollution for instance, and psychological stressors such as your thoughts feeling and emotions, contribute to a stress cycle. A recent study conducted with women from China and Japan[5], recorded that psychological stress can contribute to sings of “aging, including the appearance of wrinkles, dry skin, loss of elasticity and firmness, the thinning of skin and dullness”.
It stands to reason the more stressed-out our skin is, the harder it becomes for it to do its job efficiently and the less stress it can cope with. It can also be a self-perpetuating cycle in that, if we become stressed about the impacts of stressed-out skin, this feeds psychological stress which then in turn stresses the skin further.
Stress can impact or cause irritation to the epidermal barrier, the top layer of the skin, this can lead to signs of aging[6], irritation and more chronic skin conditions[7][8][9]. It is this layer that plays a crucial role in protecting us from harmful bacteria and locking-in valuable hydration. Skin cells need water to be healthy just like everything else, and well-hydrated skin provides a more effective barrier.
So, basically the main takeaway is the skin is amazingly important, not just to feeling empowered, looking and feeling good, but also in keeping us healthy and protected day-to-day.
There are many changes you can make holistically to take care of your skin, mindfulness and stress reducing practices, good levels of sleep, being more aware of what you eat and drink, fresh air and physical activity and many other lifestyle changes. However, there are also really simple steps that you can undertake as part of your skincare routines.
5 cornerstones for being skin savvy
While all skin is different and may need different products there are some key elements that you should always include regardless of what your chosen products might be. For me it is always Tropic and if you are not sure about your skin type and the best products to suit, then you can always take the skincare quiz.
Step 1 – Cleanse your skin regularly
Cleansing the skin removes free radicals, excess sebum, and gently gets rid of dirt to keep your pores clear. I personally cleanse twice a day, once in the morning and in the evening or after work. The knack is to not let everyday dirt and free radicals sit on your face for longer than you need to. So, if you have been to work you might want to cleanse when you get home, rather than waiting until before bed. I also find with skincare routines if your tired then it can sometimes feel like a hassle and you skip it, so before bed many not always work for you.
I use Smoothing Cleanser either on its own (particularly if I am removing make-up) or in tandem with a few drops of Radiance Cleanser for an extra glow, although this too can be used on its own but not for removing make-up. If you feel like you need something extra, or if you have oily or combination skin, you can always add Clear Skies or Clear Slate for your second cleanse.
Step 2 –Exfoliation is important no matter your skin type
Exfoliating and gently removing dead skin cells supports the skin’s renewal process, it provides a radiant boost to your skin and smooths out your complexion. Personally I mostly just use the bamboo cloth as a physical exfoliation that is generally enough for me. But there other products you can add in, such as Face Smooth which buffs away the cells, Electric Bloom mask, Fruit Peal (which I add in more of a once in a while option) and Juicy Greens (which I use in the evening). These products brighten your complexion and stimulate collagen production. However, if you have oily or blemish prone skin you might try Tropics New Horizon mask or Ocean Dive serum. Finally, Clear Skies and Clear Slate offers an enzyme exfoliation if this is more what you need.
Step 3 – Hydration is paramount
Your skin cells are no different to any other cells, they all need water to live and be healthy. Well-hydrated skin is able to renew and rejuvenate itself effectively, it regulates the production of sebum, builds more collagen and elastin so your skin it better able to support itself, and promotes a healthy skin microbiome. All of this ensures that our skin is in the best possible condition to act as a barrier to anything harmful and enables our skin to function optimally.
It doesn’t matter what skin type you have, hydration is always key. In my routine I include Morning Mist and Rainforest Dew in the morning and Juicy Greens in the evening.
Step 4 – Nourish your skin and enjoy taking care of it
Nourishing your skin is akin to feeding it. Your skin needs products that contain essential fatty acids and ceramides, which top up the lipids in the skin and support the skin barrier like mortar between our skins cells. This once again keeps the skin strong, supple and healthy.
I do like to change my daytime moisturiser depending on the time of year and how my skin is feeling. My personal favourite is Skin Re-Leaf or Fresh Waves in Summer and Skin Feast the rest of the time. At night time it has to be the more luxurious Skin Dream. Moisturising can always be followed by a few drops of Super Greens or Elixir– just adds that perfect finishing and luxurious touch.
Step 5 – PROTECTION
It is vital to always protect your skin even if it doesn’t ‘appear’ sunny. Protecting your skin against environmental factors such as free radicals, bad microbes and UV rays is essential and non-negotiable for me. I always use Sun Day for all year round protection but the good news with Tropic Make-up is that is also contains UV protection, a win win in my book!
So there you have it, 5 key cornerstones for skincare and keeping your skin at its strongest and healthiest. But actually, why just stop with your face. Tropic do a whole range of products to support your whole body, such as soaps, shower gels, body scrubs, body lotions, hand creams and foot care all designed to take care of your skin wherever it is on your body. After all why should your face have all the fun.
If you are interested in Tropic products, don’t forget to check out my Tropic website, or contact with me on Facebook or Instagram for more information.
Sources
[1] Chen, Y. and Lyga, L. (2014) Brain-Skin Connection: Stress, Inflammation and Skin Aging Inflammation & Allergy – Drug Targets,13, pp.177-190 177
[2] Orion, M.D., Edith and Wolf, M.D., Ronni (2012) ‘Psychological stress and epidermal barrier function’, Clinics in dermatology, 30(3), pp. 280–285.
[3] Anwar, S.S., Apolinar, M.A. and Ma, L. (2023) ‘Perception, understanding, and association between psychological stress and skin aging: Quantitative surveys of Asian women aged 18–34 years, dermatologists, and psychologists in China and Japan’, Journal of cosmetic dermatology, 22(8), pp. 2297–2307.
[5] Anwar, S.S., Apolinar, M.A. and Ma, L. (2023) ‘Perception, understanding, and association between psychological stress and skin aging: Quantitative surveys of Asian women aged 18–34 years, dermatologists, and psychologists in China and Japan’, Journal of cosmetic dermatology, 22(8), pp. 2297–2307.
[6] Anwar, S.S., Apolinar, M.A. and Ma, L. (2023) ‘Perception, understanding, and association between psychological stress and skin aging: Quantitative surveys of Asian women aged 18–34 years, dermatologists, and psychologists in China and Japan’, Journal of cosmetic dermatology, 22(8), pp. 2297–2307.
[7] Chen, Y. and Lyga, L. (2014) Brain-Skin Connection: Stress, Inflammation and Skin Aging Inflammation & Allergy – Drug Targets,13, pp.177-190 177
[8] Orion, M.D., Edith and Wolf, M.D., Ronni (2012) ‘Psychological stress and epidermal barrier function’, Clinics in dermatology, 30(3), pp. 280–285.
[9] Fukuda, S., Baba, S. and Akasaka, T. (2015) ‘Psychological stress has the potential to cause a decline in the epidermal permeability barrier function of the horny layer’, International journal of cosmetic science, 37(1), pp. 63–69.
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