BEAUTY & FASHION

To give or to receive presents? Some people prefer the former, others – the latter, yet others love to do both. What unites them all is that regardless of the occasion, the tradition fills the hearts of everyone involved with joy, happiness and warmth. It charges us with hope for the future, inspires us to immerse ourselves in a better and trouble-free version of the world, helps us to forget the challenges, to let ourselves to the moment of pure pleasure and to stretch it, day after day, for months on end.

Gifts are one of the best ways to say "I love you" to the people we cherish. And the best time to do it, outside of special events in life, are the Christmas and New Year's feasts. They combine the feeling of old things ending and the excitement of new ones approaching, the atmosphere of being closer to the people we love, of childhood memories of wondering what was in the boxes under the holiday tree.

Summer is a special season. It is the only part of the year of which we think about long before it has arrived. We anticipate its future pleasures: the vacation by the seaside or in the mountains, the sun's caress on the skin, the feel of relaxation, escape from the everyday life, reconnection to our authentic Self.

With this, however, comes the question: and how do we look? Is it not too late to achieve the smooth skin and sculpted body with which to enjoy life and sun?

No matter if the winter in question has been mild. The very thought about the coming summer inevitably begins to excite us long before the season's actual beginning. The warmth! The vacation! The planning! The long days and the short nights! We really cannot wait to enjoy those as soon as possible.

Historians say that gifts are a pillar of human civilisation. Sacrifices to the gods, exchange of luxurious objects between rulers – since times immemorial humanity was entangled in a web of relationships based on the pragmatic principle "I give in order that you may give." 

The Christmas and New Year's celebrations in 2020 will be as never before. Unlike other years, this December we will forget about the ease with which we planned trips, meetings with friends, parties and family gatherings. But this should not discourage us. The Covid-19 pandemic stimulated us to reconsider our life and priorities and to realise how important for us were our loved ones, families and friends. The global cataclysm reminded us to concentrate on the small things in life and to cherish them.

What do we, women, need to be happy? Physical and psychological health, the opportunity to grow professionally and intellectually without obstacles and restrains, a united family and trusted friends, a supportive and encouraging environment, a cosy home and travels to places that charge us with energy – and the comfort to feel well in our own skin. When we feel realised, valued and able to pursue our dreams, to search and to discover, happiness is on our shoulder and smile appears spontaneously on our face.

They say you cannot buy happiness with money. It is true, in principle... until the moment when we see the shining eyes of our beloved one when they open the carefully packaged gift for a birthday, holiday or St Valentine. And in this case, the happiness is double, for the person who receives and to the one who makes the gift.

Recently, a 10-year-old girl's wish list to Father Christmas went viral on the Internet. It included a motley crew of gifts: the latest iPhone and some more expensive gadgets, brand sport shoes, toys, make up, jewellery, a live bunny (and some clothes for it), $4,000 cash and... an alarm clock.

But are we ready for the summer? Preparation for the season when we are closest to the sun requires not only the right psychological attitude.

The oil-bearing rose is a delicate plant that feels well only at a single, restricted territory: the Valley of Roses, the strip of land between the Stara Planina and the Sredna Gora mountain ranges around Kazanlak, Karlovo, Sopot and a couple of other towns. Only here the winter and the summer are balm enough and the soils are nurturing enough so that this gentle plant can create its unique aromatic magic.

The oil of the Bulgarian rose is a key ingredient for perfumery and cosmetic industry and Bulgaria is one of the main international producers and exporters.

What do women want? According to the widely accepted view this is a question without an answer. It is believed that we struggle to decide what do we want and in the moment we finally have it we forget it completely and begin to obsess over something else.

Like all cliches this one holds some water. But the inability to choose and to be happy with your choice is a problem that affects the modern humans as a whole, not just women. We are facing so many opportunities and are overwhelmed by so many inspirational examples that we always feel unsatisfied.

The habit to recapitulate in the end of the old and the beginning of the new year is inevitable in this season. After all, retrospection is our way to evaluate what we have achieved, to set new goals or to change the old ones, contemplate our mistakes and successes.

Such thoughts might leave us satisfied or probably not, if perfectionism or bad luck are involved. In all cases there is one thing that helps us to greet the challenges of the new year with more energy, optimism and belief that everything is going to be fine.

Gifts.

The presents for Christmas and New Year are one of this season's best things. It is hardly so only because we receive a new item: we live in a world where one visit to the mall or a browse in a shopping site allows us to buy whatever we want; and the money will even not touch our hands. Christmas and New Year presents, however, are charged with special emotion.

There are so many reasons to love summer. It is the season of vacation, light clothes and light flirting. Summer is the time of hopes that we are going to experience something beautiful, of plans to discover a new place, of dreams to meet the most important person in our lives or just to relax and forget about all the stress.

The season is heavy with expectations and dreams. But they are not only about our lives. They are also about us. In summer we want to wear the most beautiful clothes. To have more colour in our everyday lives. To be more beautiful.

What women want is a question as old as the world. The answers are many, and they change in accordance with the historical moment and the development of the society. But no matter how much the times change, some things remain firmly at the top of women's desires. Besides life cornerstones like love, family, motherhood and career, the modern woman also yarns for eternal beauty and youth, for adventures and life pleasures, for interesting experiences. The satisfaction from each of these brings happiness and tranquility, a feeling of harmony with yourself and the people around.

New Year's resolutions are a tradition in which we take part with particular pleasure and enthusiasm, although we are well aware from experience that our efforts to loose weight, start doing yoga, spend more time with our family and visit Nepal at last will probably all fail, thus frustrating us (until we completely forget them).

The reason, probably, lies in the exalted atmosphere, in the decorations in our homes and on the streets, in the anticipation of the feast and the gathering of the family, in the memories of our childhood and the impatience with which we waited for Santa Claus. Whatever the answer – or the answers, – might be, the process of selection of Christmas presents for the important people in our lives is an experience that brings us joy and inspires us for love and happiness.

Light clothes, beach and warm days are for many people a source of anxiety regarding their appearance. Excess weight, silhouette imperfections, skin problems: any of these can spoil our summer pleasures and make us feel unconfident, with low self-esteem. Luckily, we are living in times when science and aesthetic industry work together. As a result there are already products and procedures for men and women that help us change what we dislike about our appearance without risk for our health.

The good news is that we live in a world where it is increasingly easy to win the battle against time, stress, over-expectations and the desire to preserve our youth and beauty. Aesthetic dermatology is developing, using the latest news in scientific discoveries, in its mission to understand in depth the ageing mechanisms and to slow them down. Traditional and new methods for relaxation and physical exercises help us to restore our inner balance and physical shape.