Pain free hair removal with the iluminage Touch

If someone said to you that you could remove hair pain free and in just a few minutes, I am sure like me you would be raising your eyebrows thinking "Yeah right" laugh a little and walk on. Well meet Iluminage** a device which I have been using once a week for the past 6 weeks. It is described as being the most advanced at-home hair removal system and is said to work with all skin tones and hair colours! I am one of those lucky people who has very very light hair on my arms and legs so it doesn't really pose too much of a problem, but I find shaving, waxing and using creams a right bore, time consuming and a faff!

So Iluminage is an at home hand hand IPL hair removal device which or to give it a proper introduction "From the scientists at Syneron - the inventors of IPL and the breakthrough elōs professional technology - comes the first and only in-home technology to combine Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and Radio Frequency (RF) energies to deliver clinically proven, permanent hair reduction. The combination of these two complimentary energies delivers unprecedented safety, speed and effectiveness for smooth, hair-free, beautiful skin - painlessly"

That last word 'painlessly' was the one which made me raise my eyebrow because in my opinion and experience, these devices usually do cause some amount of pain and wincing, yet this one claims not too plus it is also safe, fast,effective and pain-free method for hair removal for any skin tones and hair colour.

So to use it, you use the Iluminage device on those areas that you would usually shave, wax, strip and so on and you use it once a week for 6 weeks and the statistics state that it is clinically proven to reduce hair growth by 94% in just 7 treatments! On the body it can be used everywhere, from your facial hair right down to your toe hair, all you need to do is prep the area before you use the Iluminage by removing the hair (wax/shave/epilate) for it to work effectively. Oh and it comes with an epilator attachment if you want to give that a go. Once you are ready to give it a go, you switch on the machine, select your level (low/medium/high) and glide the device over the area you are treating and it is so easy an quick to use that you can do both legs in around 20 minutes, your bikini line in under 5 minutes and even your arm pits and it looks a bit like this:

When I used it for the first time, I fully expected to be wincing and using all kinds of profanities as I went, but it does not hurt at all, the only thing you will find, depending upon which intensity you choose is a little heat, which isn't uncomfortable but does take a few minutes to get used to it.

So as you move the scanning device over you chosen body area, which in my case was my legs, it claims to give permanent hair-reduction, which isn't the same as permanent hair removal. That said, over the last 10 weeks, I have noticed that the need to shave my legs has lessened though I feel I need to use it for a further few weeks to see results.

Iluminage is not cheap and it costs £375 but for a permanent reduction in hair-growth which it promises, then for me this is a really good price and absolutely worth every penny, more so when you work out how much it actually costs to de-fuzz per year using the products you buy on the highstreet. It is clinically proven to work so I have no doubt it will do what it says. 

Available to purchase various online retailers, Harrods, Boots & QVC.

Do you think that this something that you would be interested in?

LookFantastic Beauty Box October 2015

The October LookFantastic Beauty Box has just landed and it is another great box.  Not only is it beautifully decorated, there are 7 products within the box which makes it pretty full!

The first item in the box is from Elemis and it is a 20ml tube of Hydra-Balance Day Cream which is suitable for combination skin. Well my skin is combination and this cream is specially formulated to provide continuous hydration and is said to be ideal for normal to combination skin, it's enriched with meadowsweet extract to regulate oil production, whilst hyaluronic acid locks in essential moisture to keep your skin balanced. It is infused with an aromatic blend of petitgrain, neroli and mandarin which work together to soothe and comfort your skin, this regulating cream will leave your skin feeling nourished without making it feel greasy. This has a value of around £17.

The second item is a 30ml tube of Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser. Described as being a gentle cleanser it contains salicylic, lactic and glycolic acids to encourage clarity and brightness by dissolving skin cell build-up; jojoba beads to further polish and re-texturise the skin; sodium PCA and jojoba seed oil to help counteract dryness; and liquorice extract to provide anti-irritant and anti-inflammatory properties to your skin. This product had a value of around £8

The third item from the box is from Percy & Reed and it is the Volumising No Oil, Oil.I assume it is for thin hair, though it doesn't say on the bottle, but it is essentially described as being a lifesaver of a product when it comes to creating lovely locks which are smooth, sleek and shiny whilst also adding volume. It uses violet extracts and pro vitamin B5 acting to strengthen, deeply nourish and moisturise you hair, you can be sure that this non-greasy oil will give you only the best results. Also, with added heat protection properties, your hair will be kept safe from thermal styling. This 30ml bottle has a value of around £7.

The fourth item is a 15ml tube of Nuxe Reve De Miel Hand and Nail Cream. Said to be perfect for dry, chapped hands, the non-greasy formula works to nourish and repair the hands, protecting from premature ageing whilst smoothing and soothing to reveal, soft, supple skin. It uses a blend of honey, oils such as Avocado, Sunflower and Soyabean plus vitamin E to ensure hands are intensely moisturised and nails strengthened. This product has a value of around £4.

Next comes Balance Me Radiance Facial Mask in a 30ml tube.  This is the only product within the box that I have tried and I am a big fan.  The mask can be used can be used as a reviving exfoliating face wash or as a soothing, intensive treatment mask to replenish lost moisture and luminosity. Contains purifying kaolin clay to eliminate impurities and a bespoke fruit acid complex to restore a healthy glow. Enhanced with rosemary, palma rosa, lavender and Roman chamomile oils to help smooth and soothe your skin.  This product has a value of around £7.

The Monu Firming Moisturiser is the penultimate product in the box.  I am a big fan of Monu products and this is one I have never tried.  It is Enriched with marine collagen and Aloe Vera, fine surface lines will appear smooth and skin feels tightened and toned.  It also uses sweetly scented Neroli and Lavender essential oils which give a fantastic scent.  The cream should be used daily for soft, smooth skin. This 25ml tube has a value of £11.

The final item in the box is from Look Good Feel Better, a brand I have never come across until now, but I have the Eye Shading Brush. The brush is described as being a hand-sculpted blending brush designed for contouring and shading. Its flat-headed tip allows you to accurately buffer around the eye area for definition. This is a professional quality brush which has been handmade, it is also cruelty free and is suitable for sensitive skin.  It has a value of around £6.99.

Look Good Feel Better (LGFB) is the only worldwide cancer charity providing practical support for women and teenagers struggling with the visible side effects of their cancer treatment. 12% from all sales of the brush collection (HERE) will be donated to the LGFB charity.

So there you have the October offerings from the Look Fantastic Beauty Box and I happen to think it is fantastic. There is a nice mixture of products and some amazing brands included and the box has a value of over £50 which is amazing value for money when the box itself costs just £15. If you want one of these for yourselves, grab them quick right HERE.

World Sight Day with L'Occitane

Every Year for World Sight Day L’OCCITANE sells a special soap to help raise funds to support the fight against avoidable blindness in developing countries. This year World Sight Day is on 8th October and this is how you can help/

Almost 285 million people around the world are blind or visually impaired, even though 80% of blindness is avoidable! In 2014 L’OCCITANE raised €162.000 to support projects in Burkina Faso and you can read and learn more about that
right here.

Melting Honey Solidarity Soap is made with nourishing shea butter and softening honey from Provence, this soap gently cleanses the skin while enveloping it in the delicious scent of melting honey. As you can imagine, it smells absolutely delightful and is a pleasure to use. A 50g bar will cost just £3 and for each soap purchased, the money raised will enable a patient from a rural area in Burkina Faso to have access to glasses and eye care.
Also within this Limited Edition range there are other products, all of which have matching packaging an really do capture your attention:

Melting Honey Exfoliating Sugars - This melting balm contains sugar crystals and ground walnut shells which work to gently exfoliate the skin and remove dead cells. It is also enriched with shea butter and honey from Provence and after using, it leaves skin feeling silky smooth and delicately scented with tender notes of melting honey.

Melting Honey Soft Shower Gel - If ever there was a shower gel that smells good enough to eat, it is this one.  As with the Exfoliating Sugars, this shower gel is enriched with softening shea extract and honey from Provence.  It is a golden-coloured shower gel that gently cleanses the skin while leaving it feeling supple and comfortable with the delicious scent of melting honey.

Melting Honey Lip Balm - No Limited Edition set from L'Occitane is complete without a lip balm and this one is my favourite yet. Formulated with 5% of nourishing shea butter and softening honey from Provence, this luscious balm leaves lips beautifully soft and scented.

So for £3 you can help L'Occitane and get yourself an amazing scented soap!

Midnight Gelly from Barry M

Barry M is one of those brands I absolutely love, I find them a bit quirky and within their range, there are some amazing products just waiting to be discovered.  

The Midnight Gelly range is a set of four off-black nail polishes which have really captured my attention and they are perfect shades for AW15.  The description is as follows:

"Devilishly dark past the midnight hour. AW15 saw a range of dark moody hues hit the runway, get the look and rock an off-black shade this season".

Now I wear dark shade nail polishes all year round.  I am not the kind of girl who likes pastel shades on my fingers at all.  You'll often find me sporting an off black shade - usually a deep burgundy or my latest favourite being a dark grey shade, so for there, these are quite exciting.

Within the range the four shades are Black Grape, Black Pistachio, Black Currant and Black Cherry and I like each and every one of them.  

Black Grape isn't black and it doesn't remind me of grapes either, but what you do get this is stunning deep blue shade which looks black out of the sunlight or away from my camera flash.  

Black Pistachio again isn't black but what you get is a deep dark moody green shade which as you might have guessed, looks black away from the sunlight and away from my camera flash.  I am not usually a fan of green, but this shade I absolutely love.

Black Currant is everything a good Ribena should be.  Brooding, not quite black but definitely purple and it is an amazing shade which you can clearly see from the swatch above.

Black Cherry is possibly my favourite of the four shades.  If I was to described black cherry as a shade, then this would be it.  It is dark, moody not quite black and definitely not a red but somewhere in between.

So here we have four great shades for AW15 and even better for those, like me, who prefer darker shades of polish on our nails.

What do you think to this collection?