After a few attempts at trying reputable cosmetic brands only for them to peel away layers of my sensitive skin leaving it raw and irritated, I decided that the word natural was going to feature heavily in my beauty routine. My epiphany came after a Signature Facial at Malika Beauty Salon, where the beauty therapist used seasonal fruits, herbs and absolutely no chemicals throughout the whole treatment. It was by far the best facial I have ever had leaving me with a natural glow that could only be achieved with natural ingredients.

So imagine my delight when I heard about Beauty Within Me – a brand dedicated to promoting beauty, health and wellbeing with an emphasis on natural products. Over the bank holiday weekend, The School of Oriental and African studies in London will host the Beauty Within Me seminars allowing visitors to explore a variety of natural hair and skin products and holistic approaches to food, nutrition, exercise and spirituality.

Speakers like, Complexd Woman and founder of Raw Skin Food, Clare Eluka who was featured in the Beauty & Body issue, will discuss the benefits of natural skincare on Saturday 25th August 2012. The topic of health and well-being will feature heavily on Sunday 26th August 2012 with speakers advising on how to prevent high blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes, one of the reasons why co-founding member Glen Yearwood created this event. Recently two members of my family had diabetes scares, which developed from stress and anxiety at work. It made me aware of the strong link between mental and physical health and I am eager to hear what answers counselor and psychotherapist Pamela Eytle has to the question, ‘Is our lifestyles making us lose our mind?’.

At Complexd, our aim is to encourage you to embrace your natural beauty, which is why our editorials focus on enhancing your beauty naturally. Back in the Island issue we asked eight women to share their best natural beauty/health remedies passed down to them from their mothers and grandmothers.

GIVEAWAY: Share your favourite natural beauty/health remedy with us on Facebook or tweet us at @COMPLEXDMAG and you could be in with a chance of winning two tickets* to the Beauty Within Me Seminar on Sunday 26th August 2012.

For more info on the event click here  

* Tickets are non transferable. 

Today I cooked, ate and ran! If you’re wondering why I’m writing about a mundane task that is necessary for basic human survival, then wonder not because today’s lunch wasn’t as dull as it usually is. It was in a snazzy kitchen, among city workers with a skillful chef named Andre who showed us how to expertly dice an onion.

Cook, Eat, Run is a cookery class at L’atelier des Chefs where you cook under the guidance of a master chef and enjoy your efforts with other members of the class – all within an hour. With over 15 schools in Europe, French brothers François and Nicolas Bergerault came up with the concept in the hope of breaking the habits of urban inhabitants who depend on frozen food and ready-made meals. Another city dwelling tradition is eating out, so with the locations in the heart of London, they have found the right balance between learning to prepare a healthy lunch in sociable surroundings.

I was catching up with a friend who will be joining the British Navy as a junior chef soon. I figured she would feel right at home and I could check out her culinary skills. The first L’atelier des Chefs, opened in London, near Oxford Street, but we decided to try out the intimate surroundings of their St Paul’s kitchen. On the menu was Paprika roasted chicken breast with a chorizo, butter bean, almond and tomato stew. Chef Andre who has cooked in Gordon Ramsey’s kitchen at Claridges was extremely composed and not as frightening as Mr Ramseys. He swiftly talked us through how to make our ingredients and cook our meal, while we starred at him in disbelief at how effortless cooking a complicated sounding meal actually was.

Cooking took no more than 25 minutes, which gave our group of around 12 enough time to sit around the welcoming dinner table and marvel at how delicious our own efforts looked and how tasty it turned out to be. Nervously giggling about the prospect of cooking, crying over chopped onions and cheering when our meal was finally finished with a bunch of complete strangers, was the most memorable thing about cooking at L’atelier des Chefs.

To try out this recipe see cooking instructions here

Cultural pride has been running high over the last few days of the Olympic games in London. Every packed tube carriage, red bus and street corner has been revivified with colour from the painted faces or flags of patriotic spectators. From every London pub, café, bar and restaurant you can hear collective cheers when their teams compete and in every home someone is jumping up and down in front of the TV when an athlete from their home country gets that gold medal.  For anyone sucked into the Olympics, watching the Athletes compete has been nerve racking, and heart stopping with full of adrenaline-charged moments.

On the night of the 6^th of August 2012, nineteen year old Grenadian Athlete Kirani James sprinted to the finishing line in 43.94s in the men’s 400m final. For me, and my country it wasn’t just another gold medal, it was our first and we couldn’t have asked for a better ambassador for our tri-island state. Today I had the pleasure of congratulating Kirani and meeting team Grenada at the Grenada House at the Arlington Business Centre in Camden Town.

It was a beautiful moment when fellow Grenadian Margaret Noel who carried the torch for the London Borough of Ealing planted a motherly kiss on Kirani’s cheek. Margaret proudly declared that she had been following his career long before the Olympics and believed he would be the one to inspire young Grenadian athletes coming up. When I asked her what she was doing on the night he won, she shyly confessed, ‘I broke my flag jumping up and down in Grenada House! It was a brilliant atmosphere here and probably the second best place to be after the stadium when he won his race’.

It was even more admirable when Corporal Johnson Beharry VC who was awarded the Victoria Cross, the UK’s highest military award for bravery was humbled by the presence of the young Olympic gold medalist. He later admitted to me that Kirani’s presence gave him goose bumps. While the High Commissioner of Grenada, Ruth Elizabeth Rouse and special guests hugged and congratulated the athletes and members of the Grenadian Olympic Committee, excited Grenadians were packing into another room anticipating the appearance of the team and eager to get a picture with the man of the moment.

Athlete Kanika Beckles who wasn’t able to compete in the women’s 400m race because of a hamstring injury told of her disappointment, but eagerness to get back into training. Confident 100m freestyle swimmer Esau Simpson who was the first and only swimmer to represent Grenada at the start of the Olympic games and who won his heat, was happy with his personal best but plans to work on his sprint endurance over the next four years.

When asked at the prospects of a Grenadian swimming medley he mentioned a few strong talents, who if trained with the right facilities and structure could see a stronger presence in the pool for Grenada. 800m runner Nisha Bernard-Thomas, who hinted at a possible retirement to sports journalist Michael Bascombe, advised aspiring 800m athletes that they need passion and dedication to take up a sport that requires a lot of repetitive training and physical endurance. Andrea St Bernard who became the first individual to represent Grenada in Taekwondo said she was proud to be a part of Grenada’s Olympic Team, and competing heightened her sense of pride for her small island.

And that sense of cultural pride filled the corridors of the Arlington Business Centre when children, adults and elders couldn’t contain their excitement charging forward like athletes going for gold when they finally got to meet team Grenada.

As the Olympics draw to a close, we anticipate the closing ceremony and the torch gets handed to Brazil, there is a melancholy feeling among Londoners who are actually going to miss hosting the games for such talented athletes and spectators who travelled from far and wide. I am sure we are all going to miss the collective support for the outstanding athletes who made us proud no matter what country they came from.

I’m looking forward to celebrating more achievements from our athletes as the torch gets passed onto Brazil.