Valentine’s Day often arrives with a lot of expectation attached to it.
The idea that love needs to be proven in a certain way - the right gift, the perfect plan, the visible display - can quietly take the focus away from what love actually is.
In real life, love doesn’t always look like a highlight reel. It doesn’t follow a script. And it certainly doesn’t only exist on one day of the year.
Love shows up in consistency. In care. In shared history. In people who show up again and again, even when life is busy, messy, or imperfect. It lives in friendships, family, partnership, community - and in the relationship you have with yourself, wherever that currently sits.
Valentine’s doesn’t have to be a performance. It can simply be a moment to notice where love already exists in your life, and to acknowledge it... quietly, confidently, without comparison.
One of the most important things I’ve learned is that love works best when it’s communicated.
Many of us are brilliant at coping, organising, supporting everyone else. Yet not always great at naming what we need ourselves. Not because we don’t deserve care, but because we were never really taught how to ask for it.
Meeting my fiancé Tom made me reflect on that deeply. I had to ask myself:
• How do I want to be loved?
• What actually helps me feel supported?
• What makes me feel safe, seen, and looked after?
Those aren’t small questions. And answering them often means unlearning the idea that needing care is an inconvenience.
Love, in any form thrives when there’s honesty. People can’t meet needs they don’t know about, and we can’t keep expecting ourselves to function without rest, softness, or support.
Sometimes love looks like boundaries. Sometimes it looks like asking for help. And sometimes it looks like choosing to take care of yourself without guilt.
So many people carry enormous mental and emotional loads without even realising it. Work, family, children, responsibilities - constantly holding everything together.
In those seasons, care is often postponed. I’ll do something for myself when things calm down.
But life doesn’t always slow down!!
The truth is, care isn’t something you earn once everything is done. It’s something that supports you while life is full.
That’s why I love when patients come in for spontaneous self-care. Not as an indulgence, but as maintenance. A moment of nourishment. A choice to put yourself back on your own list.
Life moves in cycles. Especially as women - with hormones, stress, seasons, and constant change.
There are times you feel confident and energised. And times when things feel heavier. When your skin changes. When your body feels different. When you’re simply doing your best to get through the day.
None of this means you’re doing anything wrong.
These shifts are part of being human. And it’s often in these moments that care matters most, whether that care comes from others or from yourself.
Allowing yourself to be looked after, even briefly, doesn’t need to be justified.
Galentine’s has always felt like such a beautiful way to celebrate love.
The kind that lives in friendships. The people who really know you. Who’ve seen every version of you.... and not just the polished version. The ones who listen, laugh with you, sit with you, and stay.
There’s a deep steadiness in those relationships. A love that doesn’t need to perform, explain itself, or compete.
Celebrating that doesn’t need to be big. It can be a message, a moment together, or choosing to do something kind for yourself in honour of the people who support you.
Sometimes the strongest love in your life is the one that’s walked alongside you the longest.
Valentine’s gifts don’t have to fade, sit in a drawer, or feel obligatory.
Sometimes the most meaningful gifts are the ones that support how you feel, not just how something looks for a moment.
If you’re gifting yourself, think of it as nourishment and maintenance, not indulgence.
And if someone asks what you’d like this year, it’s completely okay to say:
“I’d actually love something that supports my skin.”
That’s not unromantic. It’s self-aware!
Focused on hydration, brightness, and overall skin quality.
This combines Laser Me on the half face to support tightening and regeneration, a chemical peel cleanse to refresh the skin, Dermalux LED for balance and healing, and Neauvia to improve hydration and skin quality.
Ideal if your skin feels tired, dull, or in need of a gentle reset - without changing how you look.
> The Valentine Glow Treatment
A more comprehensive option for ongoing skin support.
This includes Hydro Deluxe (one syringe) to improve hydration and skin quality, alongside Laser Me to the full face and neck to support tightening, brightness, and regeneration across a wider area.
A beautiful choice if you’re thinking long-term, or if the neck is already on your mind.
> Love Yourself Valentines Treatment
If neither of these feels right, that’s completely fine. The intention is simply to give you options - whether you’re choosing something for yourself or hinting to someone who loves you.
Valentine’s is just one day.
Care is ongoing.
You deserve softness, support, and moments that help you feel like yourself, even in busy, complicated seasons.
Love comes in many forms.
Every one of them matters.
And every one of them is worth celebrating.
Julie x
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