The winter is still on in Shanghai. Although it is not as extreme as back in some of our hometowns with temperatures reaching – 20 C , our daily comfort still depends on air conditioner. And this one wreaks havoc on our skin. So of course we have a couple of options : freeze our butts and fingers off and not use it all, or keep ourselves warm, but take extra care of skin and provide it with A LOT of moisture. Good topical moisturizers are essential BUT the key is to give our skin a boost from inside. That’s why me and my ‘special water cup’ (well, cups – since every now and then I tend tend to lose them) are inseparable. Why ‘special’? Well, since my childhood I have been cultivating lemon water. My grandmother would always make sure I had quite a few slices of lemon in my bottle before letting me go to school. And nowadays, I am still the biggest fan of this habit. Just with a little twist. I love experimenting, so I will combine lemon with mint leaves on some days, cucumber with lemon or lemon with slices of ginger. Lemon obviously is rich in vitamin C, and has a lot of cleansing properties. Cucumbers also have most of the vitamins the body needs every single day and are known to fight cancers. Mint leaves are widely known as digestive aid, may offer anticancer benefits as well as reduce allergy symptoms and may increase the effectiveness of medications used for yeast infections. Ginger also has endless benefits and should be a part of everyone’s daily diet – helps fight and prevent cold, improves the absorption and assimilation of essential nutrients in body, fights nausea….to name a few. So if you want to look for economical and efficient ways to boost your health, get yourself a 10 RMB water cup and drop some of these ingredients inside, or let your imagination go even wilder! I will be experimenting more this year and will keep you updated on my new mixes!:)