Clinique freebie in Glamour magazine!

No wonder I've had to search high and low for Glamour magazine this month! The mag's only a couple of quid (the April Fearne Cotton cover), and there's a Clinique freebie stuck to the front! Ten to collect, together worth £80.

I've bagged the All About Eyes eye cream but there's also a make-up remover, two lip glosses, a lip colour, a facial scrub, a facial soap, two moisturisers and a mascara.

Personally I can't think of a better way for Glamour to celebrate its 10th birthday!

no!no! Trial - Week 3 (of 8)

Have been getting on so much better with the no!no! this week, with my new mantra being, moisturise, moisturise, moisturise!

I'm a bit hit and miss when it comes to slapping on the creams but I've discovered this is a step I can't afford to miss with the no!no! My skin is sensitive and the combination of heat (even though mysteriously you can't feel it!) and the buffing away of the singed/crystallised hair afterwards, left my legs feeling a bit on the dry side and a little itchy.

(Just a point but I'd always say go with the cream/aftercare products the manufacturer advises to avoid any reactions).

I had some interesting feedback from a friend who has been using the original model for the past year and who says it's worked well for her. She tries to use it every other night and reports finer hair and some patches with no hair. Would love to hear how anyone else has been getting on?

So after last week, my faith is renewed and I'm replenished with buffers and tips. Results: still pretty much the same as shaving. Is the hair density lighter? Not yet, but time will tell!

More next week when I'll be halfway through my eight week trial.

no!no! Trial - Week 2 (of 8)

I found myself with a spare half hour tonight so, with my hair back up to the optimum length of 1-3mm, I decided to squeeze in my second no!no! session this week (four in total so far).

I don't want to sound negative as I'm all for giving things a fair chance but I did struggle a little with it tonight. The machine kept turning itself on and off (maybe I'm doing something wrong?); the status indicator is showing that my large Thermicon tips (for legs) is down to 1 of 3 bars (I've only treated my lower legs four times!) and my buffer is completely buffed out so I've already had to buy some more.

I'm finding I have to repeatedly go over areas to get a smooth finish (maybe that's why my tip is running low) and whilst it works pretty well on finer haired areas, personally I'm not finding it that effective at all on coarser areas. Really strange as I got a great finish after my first session. Am wondering if my hair isn't long enough this week? Unlike waxing, if your hair is on the darker side, you can still see the darker hair under the skin like a pin prick waiting to come through. 

I did lend it to a former waxing client of mine earlier this week and it worked absolutely brilliantly on her finer facial hair (that annoying peach fuzz hair) using the smaller tips and she told me it left her skin feeling soft and smooth, without the redness associated with waxing. Maybe this is one area where the no!no! really comes into its own?

I can only really judge this on whether I'd recommend it to a friend and how I'd feel if I'd spent almost £200 on the product. As I sit here with my prickly legs breathing in the smell of burning hair, I think I'd be questioning if I'd done the right thing. I really, really hope I'm going to be proved wrong! Will keep on with the sessions, more next week...

Sugared Almond Shower Gel by Organic Surge

Who wouldn't be seduced by a shower gel called Sugared Almond, sweet or what?

I'm a big fan of Organic Surge's affordable range of hair, skin and body products. In fact, their Let's Face It refreshing face spritzer once got me through a particularly traumatic labour, I can certainly say I put its 'happy blend' of ingredients to the test that boiling hot August day! 

This is a lovely lightly-scented shower gel (ideal for sensitive skins), and will bring a welcome burst of sugary sweetness to your shower. I loved the calming wafts of palmarosa and sugared almond that come through in the silky foam, and found the vitamin E and glycerin naturally nourishing on the skin.

The range is formulated using naturally-derived ingredients, pure plant extracts and organic essential oils. I can't get over the fact that it's only £3.99, it has the look and feel of a much more expensive shower gel!

   
Every Organic Surge product we buy contributes to the company's efforts to support Africa's most vulnerable children. For more info, visit www.organicsurge.com

Sugared Almond Shower Gel, £3.99 for 250ml, is available online from www.organicsurge.com or from Boots, Waitrose and Lloyds Pharmacy.

Give sensitive skin the royal treatment with Queen Cosmetics

I'm sure you'll all be fascinated to learn that I have ridiculously sensitive eye lids!

So when I discovered one of beauty's best-kept secrets for sensitive skin recently, Queen Cosmetics - a range which spans cleansers, toning lotions, face and body creams, hair, bathing, sun protection and make-up -  I decided to put their Eye Make-up Remover and Eyelash Cream to the test.

One of the first things that fascinated me about this little-known brand is its 84-year-old history. I can imagine the fashionable, wealthy women of the 1920s, with their cloche hats and bobbed hair-dos, trotting across London to the pharmacy on Queen Square (hence the name), where the brand made its debut after being developed by three eminent dermatologists.

The manufacturers appear to be so confident of the brand's efficacy that they let the products do the talking, keeping both the packaging and formulations fuss-free and simple. There are no perfumes, essential oils or any unnecessary ingredients here, so that's great news for easily irritated skins.

I found Queen Cosmetic's Eye Make-up Remover particularly soothing after I'd been wearing heavier eye make-up, even waterproof mascaras. It has a thick cream-like consistency and glides across the skin effortlessly when removing, minimising pulling the delicate skin around the eye area. I found using damp cotton wool pads worked best for this. It feels creamy, mild and I felt no sensitivity towards it at all, if anything the eye area felt protected afterwards, and it removed every last trace of make-up.

I've always been pretty proud of my long eyelashes (the only part of me that is long and leggy!) but over the years I've noticed they've become more and more sparse and brittle. Queen Cosmetic's Eyelash Cream conditions and repairs lashes, and you can even wear it as a mascara if you like a natural look. It's also a good eyebrow groomer too, and keeps unruly brows in place throughout the day. It's also a pretty good lip conditioner and cuticle balm!

If you have allergy prone or sensitive skin which suffers from breakouts, redness, itchiness, eczema, rosacea, acne, dermatitis or soreness after using certain products, or maybe that your skin has become more sensitive with age, I'd give this time-honoured, tried-and tested range a try. There's a free sample of the month and trial sizes are available (great for finding out if a product suits your sensitive skin before committing to buy!) and also a 60-second survey on the website offering free advice via e-mail (and a 10% discount off your first order as a thank you).

Queen Cosmetics Eye Make-up Remover, £14.50 for 50g, and Eyelash Cream, £9.70 for 12ml, are available from www.queen-cosmetics.com

Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment Review

... and how I saved myself from the haircut from hell!

Six months ago I had what can only be described as the haircut from hell when a 'stylist' from a very well-known chain of salons, in a very well-known seaside town, hacked off my locks to leave me looking, well, to start with like Jimmy Crankie then in later months, Hayley Cropper.

Needless to say I've spent the past six months in tears growing it partially back (it will take around three years to get it to back to how it looked before I went in!) but just lately I've had the Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment to thank for adding extra inches.

I L.O.V.E Lee Stafford. I love everything about his products, from their sweet, candyfloss smell (like walking through a fairground) to the way the bright pink packaging peps up my bathroom. I also particularly like the fact he has a puppy called Knickers! But mainly I like all the compliments I get on how shiny/glossy/healthy my hair looks when I've stocked up and slapped on his range from Boots.

Marketed as a 'fertilizer for the follicles' the Hair Growth Treatment claims to give the hair 'strength from within' and I can honestly say, after a couple of weeks of useage, my hair is longer, not to mention in super-soft, run-your-fingers through condition. 

I know it's longer because my fringe is in my eyes and what would normally fall straight down at the sides is kicking out enthusiastically with extra length. It also works really well with the other products in the range, so no need to skip the regular conditioner (another of my favourites!).

Speaking of which, I can't wait to try his brand new nourishing miracle oil, ArganOil (an oil native to Morocco), which I hear is lightweight yet lends and soft lustre and shine to the hair.

The Lee Stafford range is available exclusively in Boots. Hair Growth Treatment, £7.14, 200ml. Order online at www.boots.com and don't forget to stock up when there's a 3 for 2 offer on!

no!no! Week 1 (of 8) continued!

 

First up, the no!no! 8800 is incredibly simple and easy to use and totally mess free. There's a Quick Guide so you get going straight away (once you've charged it up, but you really do need to read the user manual on CD too) and I love the fact that it's cordless (once charged) so you can do it wherever you like, even in front of the TV!

When I first heard about this device I thought it was a take on a home IPL/laser machine. It is based on the same principles but it uses heat, or what's called the Thermicon Effect, to target hair instead.

A gentle wave of heat removes hair and continues below the surface down into the hair bulb, then with time and consistent use the idea is hair growth is distorted and that the hair that does grow back appears thinner and lighter. The real advantage over laser/IPL systems is that the machine doesn't target the melanin, so it's suitable for everyone, regardless of skin colour or hair colour.

This model comes with three treatment levels (low, medium and high) which are displayed on the digital status screen. There's also a tip status screen which lets you know the condition of your tip and when it's no longer working efficiently.

Does it hurt? Absolutely not. It's like running a little roller over your leg against the hair growth (or wherever you're using it), if anything a slight warm feeling but nothing to get excited about. A blue light and continuous beep reassures you that you're gliding it on the skin correctly (ie holding it at 90deg and using it at the correct speed, keeping it steady and not too fast/slow).

As you run the device over the skin, the hair starts to 'frazzle' up as a thermal wire passes over them, or to use their terminology, 'crystalise', but there's no pain and barely any heat. It's so quick too, it takes the same time as shaving would (very quick), but without the hassle of having to bath or shower, and without the mess and stickiness of home waxing or nicks when shaving! The only gripe I can image anyone having is the smell of burning hair, but it's worth putting up with for the end result! Hair needs to be 1-3mm long.

Any hair that's left on the skin is then buffed away gently to leave a smooth and silky finish. I was really quite taken aback by the results at this stage, I was really amazed at how effective it was. My skin is very sensitive so it did feel a little warm and slightly itchy at this stage but not as much as it would after waxing/shaving. I soothed the skin with aloe vera gel but no!no! do manufacture a Smooth After Treatment Cream so if you use anything, I'd say go with their recommendations.

By the next day, I could feel the hair returning, and couldn't really see the advantage (at this stage) over shaving (and it certainly comes nowhere near to the long-lasting effects of waxing). But, as the manual says, with patience and dedication (ie 2-3 times a week for 6-8 weeks) I should reap the rewards, then I'll need to use only as often as necessary. Fingers crossed!

More next week ...!