Curated and considered April recommendations

Nervous system regulation for healing, one of the best books I’ve ever read and glowing skin for summer

Hello you

April was far from a regular month. It was the month I escaped Paris for Italy to finish the first draft of my novel. Days were repetitive and quiet, just the way I wanted them to be - filled with beauty and nourishing routines to create ideal conditions for the creativity I needed to get me through what was the most trying and demanding project of my life so far.

Here’s what added value during that month…

My brilliant friend by Elena Ferrante is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I love to read about a place while I’m in a place and this Neapolitan coming of age novel was perfect company. It tells the story of two girls growing up in Naples post war. The writing has the most beautiful way of teleporting you right into the story alongside the author. I was so sad when I got to the end but luckily there are another three books to dive into.

I’ve been focusing on my nervous system this last month, prioritising it for healing, manifesting and creating. I found myself learning about chakras, fascinated by how these energy centres in our bodies can affect us and what we can do to work with them. Spotify’s frequency playlists targeted at each specific chakra (heart or third eye for intuition for example) have been playing throughout the night while I sleep and have dramatically reduced how disturbed my sleep has been. I’ve had a few crazy dreams as a result but I know that’s my subconscious bringing what needs to be healed to the surface so I’ve welcomed the messages. The 639hz heart chakra playlist is a good one to start with.

This podcast episode on the collapse of modern dating was eye opening and interesting for anyone who’s looking for love right now. In contrast to this I also found Alain de Botton’s take on knowing when to stay in a relationship and when to go both incredibly insightful and simple to comprehend. A very good tool for your romance kit.

I ran out of facial oil cleanser on my trip and gave this Patyka option a try as my usual pai oil cleanser wasn’t available in Italian pharmacies. It’s perfect for sensitive skin, left my face feeling moisturised while also removing any makeup (including on my eyes) with ease. The smell makes using it feel spa like too.