Jolen Crème Bleach : Celebrating 50 years in Beauty

I am sure everyone who reads this post will have heard of Jolen Crème Bleach and this summer Jolen celebrated 50 years in beauty. That is 50 years on continuous sales in the UK Market since its launch in 1966, which is simply amazing in a market which is ever growing and with new technologies formulating products which are almost space age in their concept, telling that Jolen has stood the test of time and clearly does what it says on the box because people keep on buying it. Jolen offer a variety of solutions for unwanted facial and body hair including our Creme Bleach Original and Mild formulas. Creme Bleach was the first cosmetic created to lighten unwanted dark hair to a colour which blends with natural skin tones. 

My first memory of Jolen is my older cousin using it as a sort of facial bleach to lighten the hair on her face, especially her top lip and it was only later on that I realised that it is also recommended for lightening any darker hairs on arms and thighs as well as other body hair.

In celebrating those 50 years, Jolen has had a bit of a makeover with packaging that I feel is more stand out on the shelves and much easier to figure out what it is for. It also now comes with an easy mix cup and spatula. 

So why bleach when there are so many other ways of removing unwanted hair? Well Jolen say it is quick, safe, inexpensive and at-home convenience. Add to that unlike waxing, bleaching unwanted hair on the face and body does not involve painful pulling which can make the face swollen or red, or lead to stubble growth weeks later. Because you’re not pulling at the hair follicle, you don’t risk the possibility of ingrown hairs, either. 

One thing I wasn't aware of is how many uses Jolen has until now. It can be used as a facial bleach to lighten unwanted hair–upper lip, chin, cheeks and even sideburn areas. Jolen is also recommended for minimizing noticeable hair on the arms, thighs, back, stomach and other body areas (but not for use on pubic hair). You can also use Jolen to lighten eyebrows to match your hair colour and even add highlights to your hair. 

Available as the original formula or with added Aloe Vera, Jolen isn't tested on animals and you should always do a test patch before using to check for signs of irritation.  Available nationalwide, prices range from £3.29-£11 depending on where you shop and which size pot you purchase.

*this post contains PR samples unless indicated otherwise

L’Occitane La Flamme Marie Claire

Did you know that less than a third of school children worldwide are girls? Quite a shocking statistic when you realise how many children of school age there must be! Launching the first week of September, the L'Occitance La Flamme Marie Claire, a collaboration between Marie Claire and L’Occitane will be released to raise funds for the education of young women around the world. 100% of the profits from the sale of each candle will be donated between three chosen charities in order to help transform the lives of thousands of young girls in Sierra Leone, Uganda, Cambodia and South Africa where the lack of available education leaves girl and women dependent, powerless and vulnerable.

Access to education is something I used to take for granted, in the UK it is a right not a privilege and I know without it, I wouldn't be where I am today. I was lucky enough to go to pass all my GCSEs and A Levels before going on to University where I graduated with a 2:1. It is campaigns like this which make you realise just how lucky we are.

L'Occitane have, for the past 30 years, supported many ethical and charitable foundations and one of their biggest projects has been enabling the women of Burkino Faso, where L'Occitane sources their famous Shea Butter, to develop other revenue generating activities to drive them towards economic emancipation.  Partnering with Marie Claire to support projects with a common goal: educating girl and young women, the flame (La Flamme) is a symbol of hope, a beacon of knowledge spreading the light of understanding and education throughout the world.

So the candle! It comes packaged inside this beautiful pink tin is a Verbena scented candle and it smells just incredible and very much like Lemon Bon-bons to me and that is before I have lit it. 

The L’Occitane La Flamme Marie Claire La Flamme Marie Claire initiative will be available in the UK, France, Italy and Czech Republic and will be priced at £8 from 1st September.

*this post contains PR samples unless indicated otherwise

It Could be You!

Like many people I dream of winning the National Lottery or Euromillions, not a huge jackpot, but enough to be comfortably well off so that I can work my way through my bucket list, the first being moving to the countryside and having my own cattery for unwanted, abandoned and unloved cats. I would also love to be mortgage free, go back to Las Vegas where I got married and finally see The Northern Lights, not too much to ask for right?

To that end, I do occasionally, well when I remember, buy National Lottery tickets in the hope of a big win, I buy them randomly and hope lady luck is on my side, I personally think she has taken early retirement or is ignoring me. With more and more people playing the lottery and the odds becoming less favourable, I was introduced to Lottoland which offers you the chance to bet on the outcome of many draws, from across the world.  You might have heard of the Irish Lotto and the massively popular American Powerball which had a prize of £1billion earlier this year and currently has £515million in the kitty, but did you know there are lotteries in Australia, Poland, Sweden, France and Spain to name but a few? I am sure many of you will have even see the adverts for Lottoland on the television as it is fronted by Chris Tarrant, so what is it all about?

With Lottoland you are not buying a ticket to a lottery draw, this is where it differs from going into your local newsagent and buying that ticket, instead you are betting on the outcome of the real draw but on offer are the same prizes as the official lottery itself. Yes really. Put simply you pick the numbers that you think will be drawn and if you guess correctly, you will win prize and the size of the prize will depend on the number of balls you correctly guess. So with the American Powerball for example, you choose your 6 numbers and you correctly guess 4 of them plus the powerball, your prize would stand at £38,000, essentially hitting any of the prize tiers available on the official draw and you’ll win!

You don't have to play alone either, Lottoland gives you the chance to be part of a syndicate, you simply decide how many shares you want to purchase be it 1,2 or 5 for example, you then click the button and it is all done for you and with 1 in 5 jackpots being won by a syndicate, it is something to definitely consider.

If you do play the lottery then Lottoland I think is a really interesting idea and with prizes so big in so many lotteries, then it might just be worth little flutter, as the saying goes "It could be YOU"!

*collaboration