When I get a chance to do yoga, it’s a good day. It just is. My blogger friends Melissa, Lindsay, Cynthia and Tiffany joined me at the SLS Hotel for Fitness Magazine and Murad’s skin fitness event! I’ve been a user of Murad’s acne products in the past, and this year, I’ve been using their Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Serum. (This stuff is a miracle!)
Murad/Fitness Magazine yoga event with Manduka yoga mats to keep!
Some of my fave fitness/health bloggers! – Murad/Fitness
We started the event with an hour of yoga led by Mary Beth LaRue – a teacher at Yoga Collective! (When I was still working in Santa Monica, that was my go-to studio! They’ve since moved to Venice.) Little did I know, I wore Target leggings with a hole near the crotch. Class – I’m full of it!
Will the real Dr. Murad please stand up?
We headed into the hotel to meet the real Dr. Howard Murad. Dr. Murad talked about taking in a holistic approach to keeping skin healthy. He’s also written a book with his thoughts on being happy. I wrote down “Why have a bad day when you can have a good day?” on my notepad. I’m right there with ya, Dr. Murad!
Murad products – Fitness/Murad event
Candace from the Murad team revealed that their Step 2 Acne starter kit had revamped two products. The Acne Clearing Solution and the Acne Spot Fast Fix had changed formulas for the better. I’ve used the Fast Fix in the past and it had helped with my occasional breakouts. They also lowered the price of the starter kit to $30 which you can pick up at your local Sephora, Ulta or Murad.com. (If you’ve got a teenager who is suffering from breakouts, this may be something to look into and it won’t break the bank.)
Murad/Fitness Magazine panel
Dr. Murad and Candace were joined by Mary Beth LaRue (yoga), Editor Pam (Fitness Magazine), and Julie Morris (chef and author) to chat skin health, fitness, and nutrition. Did you know we lose 1% of collage every year after age 25? Dr. Murad encourages all to put sunscreen on every day. I agree. He also recommends cutting down on the sugar intake which damages the collagen in your skin. Apparently everyone puts eyecream on before bed – except me. I just forget. Julie recommended we get in more fruits and veggies in our diets, including adding them in smoothies and juicing.
Another quote I wrote down was Mary Beth’s “Instead of cutting out [something bad], add more good things.” Agree! I think if you add enough good foods, you don’t have room for the bad ones. I absolutely subscribe to this, especially now that my body is playing host to Spawn. This also applies to real life outside of food – add more like-minded peers who support you into your tribe and you just don’t have room for the a-holes.
Julie suggested yerba mate as a substitute for coffee. *eyes bulge* Blasphemy! Kidding. I like yerba mate and that’s something for me to think about and drink more of instead of coffee. (Note: I do cold-brew decaf coffee and my OB has given me his blessing.) Green tea is another winner – it helps with sunscreen absorption! (WHAT!?? YEP.)
Julie Morris demo-ing a super food smoothie!
During lunch, Julie set up her table to share one of her superfood smoothie recipes. Can I just say that I am now 100000% convinced that I have to save my pennies for a quality blender like a Vitamix or a Blendtec. Why cook my veggies when I can suck them down in a glass?
A few ingredients and notes I wanted to flag for my readers:
- Use flavored ice cubes – freeze green tea, coconut water, nut milks and you don’t have to use ice!
- Maqui Berry Powder (a superfood) has 2x as much antioxidants than acai. Whut!
- Ginger or ginger powder is a good addition to smoothies – it’s an anti-inflammatory.
- Golden Berries are full of quercetin, another anti-inflammatory) and according to Julie, they taste like Sour Patch Kids. (I’m in!)
- Sea buckthorn juice is the next big thing – it has Omega-7s! (7s!!??)
Superfood Smoothie – Julie Morris
I found this event to be pretty awesome. I really didn’t expect Dr. Murad to be there. I avoided gushing at him but I did vomit my praise to one of the other women on the team. That Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Serum is awesome.
Bonus time – I left the event feeling energized (probably from yoga) and inspired (to save my money for a fancy blender). The Manduka yoga mats that we all worked out on? They were ours to keep! So generous! I also took home Murad products, Julie’s Superfood Smoothies book, and some yoga inspiration!
Big thanks to the teams at Fitness Magazine and Murad for inviting me to a very informative event and yoga session! Sometimes you just need a reminder to be present and to take care of your skin health!
Skin health goodies from Murad/Fitness Magazine event
Disclosure: Event was hosted by Fitness Magazine and Murad. The above is my honest opinion, especially the thing about the blender. Damn it, I need one. Some of these links are affiliate links.
I love the idea of adding something good instead of taking something bad. It’s really hard to break a bad habit. Totally had no idea that green tea helps with sunscreen absorption. Yay green tea. And yeah, the Vitamix is worth saving all your pennies for. I bought a reconditioned one and love it.