An Open Letter To Myself (And You Too)

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I want to show up this year. Not just online, but in life in general.

And I’ve made a decision.

In 2026, I’m done with the noise. I’m done with the constant performing 'wellness', the same advice I hear over and over, the fear based marketing, scaremongering podcasts and social posts (don't drink water was one of my favourites from last year!) and the constant pressure to fix ourselves. I want to be more real. As in real real. Even if that makes some people uncomfortable.

From January onwards, you can expect a blog post from me every week (as I always do). Each one will focus on a home truth. Something we do not talk about enough. Something social media glosses over or dresses up in some wholesome language. Something that women around my age feel but rarely say out loud. I'm not quite sure what it will be exactly each week, but it will be 'something'. I have these conversations in my clinic daily with clients, so why not share with you too.

I feel like the noise out there is just getting louder. Maybe the thoughts in my head are just noiseier, I'm not sure. There is just constantly so much information flying at us at all times I'm starting to miss the silence, the quiet, the peace, even feeling bored... maybe it's just my age though. Potentially it is.

Some of what I will talk about will be about skin. Some of it will be about hormones. Some of it will be about stress, sleep, sex, relationships, food, confidence and ageing. Potentially, some of it will be about us needing to check ourselves too.

I'm not planning on being harsh or judgemental. Just speaking my truth. Please don't be offended though, this isn't about you.

If you are around the 40 mark (give or take ten or so years either side and beyond), you will know exactly what I mean when I say the last five years have been an utter shit show. Globally, personally, emotionally. It's like we have been surviving. Getting through and holding it together. Pushing on. "Keep pedaling your bike" as my mother would say.

But survival mode is exhausting. Exhausting!

At some point, all this surviving has to turn back into living. Otherwise we end up anxious, disconnected, inflamed, tired and wondering why our skin looks dull and our spark feels gone.

I see it every day in my clinic. Women who are doing everything 'right' and still feel off. Skin that suddenly reacts. Energy that never quite comes back. Confidence that slowly slips away. A constant low level anxiety that feels unnecessary but hard to shake. Is this life now?

I know this feeling personally too.

I could have died in 2025. Ok, I know that sounds a tad dramatic, but it is true. A nasty infection after my hysterectomy left me pretty poorly to say the least. Ok, let's not get me onto the topic of women's health, especially endometriosis and the diagnosis (or lack thereof) that keeps women in a constant state of pain and anxiety for ridiculous lengths of time - and that's just merely two symptoms of many. I'm already feeling another blog post coming on. Anyway, it changed the way I look at everything. It stripped away a lot of the nonsense very quickly and humbled me beyond belief.

I realised how much time we waste worrying about things that do not deserve our energy. How much anxiety we carry out of habit. How often we put ourselves last and call it strength like we're some kind of friggin' hero.

I do not have time for anxiety this year. I am not interested in it rearing its ugly face unless it genuinely needs my attention. That does not mean I'm ignoring my reality. It means I'm choosing where my energy goes. I'm not hanging around in toxic places with toxic people. I will happily say "thank you but no thank you" when I need to and refuse to harbour any guilt that 2025 and previous Emmaline would have carried like a sack of potatoes along the way.

This year, for me, is about living as well as I can. Feeling good in my body. Being strong. Being healthy. Enjoying my life. Taking pleasure seriously. Resting and recovering properly and especially moving my body, because it has supported me through a very difficult year. That will be the focus going forward. 2026, for the love of all things holy, please don't let me down!

And yes, great skin tends to follow all of that. That is the irony.

When you look after your nervous system, your hormones, your digestion, your sleep and your confidence, your skin gives back. Yes, of course I had to bring it back to skin. This is a skincare blog after all!

So this is the plan...

Each week I want to have honest conversations with you. Less pandering to everyone. With a lot more truth and depth. A little more perspective.

If you are someone who is tired of the bullshit, tired of all of the noise, absolutely tired of feeling like ageing is a problem to solve for some reason, you are in the right place. This at the end of the day is all about ageing well and good skin health. We're going to call this the red pill.

If you want quick fixes, hacks and social media style perfection, this might not be the place for you. This is the blue pill.

This year is about us now. We're not just surviving anymore, I want more and I hope you do too.

God, I'm feeling feisty at forty!

And if great skin comes as a side effect of that, even better.

So which is it...? The red pill? Or the blue pill?

Emmaline xx

P.S. If you don't know the reference I'm talking about here, you're far too young to think about anti-ageing.

Happy 2026 folks! 🤍