The Feelgood Files: The Shires’ Crissie Rhodes

Crissie Rhodes shot to fame in Brit-born country duo The Shires, who brightened up our beloved radio stations with the likes of Guily and My Universe. Here one half of the band that locked horns with Niall Horan for the number one album spot in the charts last month talks through her feelgood must-haves.

**The song I listen to when I need a boost:**Mmmbop by Hanson, it’s my jam and never fails to put me in a better mood after hearing it!

The book I can’t put down: The Power of Now by Ekart Tolle. However, I do put this book down a lot but I love picking it up time and time again to re-read different sections. I’ve never read it front to back. Just dip in as it’s quite a lot to take in. I feel this book will accompany me throughout my life, whenever I need it.

My go-to feelgood recipe to cook myself: I don’t have a go-to recipe that I like to cook, but as long as I simply love to cook from scratch. I love adding all kinds of herbs and spices and especially fresh turmeric to almost everything!

The Instagram account that brings me joy: @risingwoman, her words always resonate with me, she is always uplifting and inspiring.

What never fails to make me smile: Being on stage singing to an audience, preferably with a sparkly dress on!

My go-to supplement: High strength Turmeric - it’s great for reducing inflammation in the body.

My favourite at-home workout: I’m not a big fan of working out at home, I can find every excuse to stop myself exercises outside (I don’t know why I do this to myself) I’m great at motivating myself in the gym or at my yoga studio. However, now in this lock-down life i’ve started to mix up my training each day. I use my rowing machine in the garage to do HIIT, roll out my yoga mat to do Ashtanga yoga and/or pilates and sometimes a workout from the FIIT app.

My feel-good at-home beauty routine: I love to make my own body scrub each week. I put my left over coffee grounds in a bowl and add some white sugar and almond oil. I smother it all over myself in the shower, It’s pretty messy but makes my skin feel amazing after!

My failsafe face mask: I don’t really do face masks, but I do love to add Tropic Sun Drops Gradual Tanning Facial Serum, £22, into my moisturiser a few times a week. It’s completely natural and means I can go about my day’s off with no make up.

Another song that makes me smile: The House That Built Me by Miranda Lambert. It’s one of my favourite songs that paints a very real picture of looking back in my life.

The smell that lifts my mood: Essential Oils, I use them in spray bottles around the house instead of artificial air freshers. My favourite combos are cinnamon bark, clove bud, rosemary and eucalyptus and peppermint and eucalyptus.

The movie I’ll happily watch again and again: as a child I was obsessed with Disney’s The Little Mermaid. My mum said I would watch it over and over again and when I wasn’t watching it, I was singing the songs from it. That film was a big part of my passion for singing. I don’t think i’ll ever tire from watching that film!

The Netflix show I tell everyone to watch: Heal - It’s about healing yourself with Eastern Medicine’s. I’ve watched this so many times and got friends and family to either watch with me or watch themselves.

My happy place: I was raised in the country. As much as my work takes me all over the world, to lots of different cities, I have to get out into the countryside often to centre me again. Anywhere with trees, nature and birds is my happy place.

A final inspirational note from me: Make the best of this time in isolation. Stop rushing and slow yourself down. Stop consuming negative information and instead switch it for positive and uplifting messages. Unfollow people of social media who do not lift you up, learn something new, read a book, discover new music, learn how to cook a few more recipes, get crafty, meditate, put a photo album together, declutter your computer, organise your home, start a new hobby and so much more. We have never been in this situation and most likely won’t be again, so take this time to invest in yourself and be sure to apply some of your new ways of living to your everyday when we come out of this.

Also, I am so very grateful and want to thank all those key workers out there for putting themselves out to serve those in need. You are all wonderful people!

Shop: Crissy Rhodes' Feelgood Buys

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