Original post title huh?!

As I’m sure you are all aware, Illamasqua are launching a new fragrance called “Freak” on Thursday the 20th October, but you can Pre-rder it on the Illamasqua Site from tomorrow…

I was very lucky and very surprised to receive a small sample sized bottle of the perfume in the post the other day, and I have to say, I like it a lot. As with a lot of Illamasqua products though, it’s not a stretch of the imagination to say that this will be a scent that people will either love or hate. As Julian Kynaston (Founder and Joint MD of Illamasqua) says…

“For me, Freak is all of the dangerously sexy parts of Kubricks film “Eyes Wide Shut” captured in a bottle. There’s no middle ground with Freak. The name, the packaging and the fragrance will polarise opinion to simply love or hate.”

 Obviously, as scent is affected by your own skin chemistry, it will smell different on everyone... It also worth mentioning that Illamasqua are marketing this as a unisex fragrance, so (although I hardly think it needs saying), don't expect a light and girly scent!

I have to say, I’m in love with the quirky design of the bottle…

Having said that though, I can see that those with an insect phobia might be “freaked” out (Yeah, I went there) by it. If you follow my twitter though, you’ll know that Ren and Coco, my kitties have started to bring me “trophies” of spiders, usually still alive – I don’t get freaked out by insects, and I actually always try to rescue them and release them in the garden while they still have enough legs to scuttle away. So that little snail just strikes me as cute…

The imagery behind the new perfume is also stunning as we’ve come to expect from Illamasqua…

So what about the scent itself? Well, I’ll go into the “proper details” in a second, but I though it might be helpful to some (ie those who don’t necessarily have a perfumiers finely tuned nose) to know what my impressions are…

This is not a light scent – its no floral or “green” based type of smell, and definitely veers more towards the heavier darker sexier side of perfumes. It has almost musky “leathery” touches to it, but it’s all stopped from getting too heavy by a great blend of citrussy notes (I think this comes from Black Davanna), which wears really well for a citrus note – I usually find on my skin they are the first to fade, but this lasted really well. This is definitely a scent I’d wear for night-times, and I think it’s really rather sexy!

Ok, now the “official” explaination…

Top Notes - Black Davana, Opium Flower and Belladonna bewitch the senses into uncontrollable lust and passion.

Heart Notes - Poison Hemlock, Datura and Queen of the Night blossom, caress and kiss.

Base Notes - Aromas of Frankincense, Oud and Myrrh, addictively mesmerises and captures the senses.

The fragrance will retail at £59 for 75mls, and to celebrate it’s launch, Illamasqua are also launching three limited edition products – Hemlock, a pale opalescent green nail varnish; Queen of the Night pigment, a blackened plum shade, and a sheer lipgloss in Datura, which is a neutral mauve.

St Moriz fans will be super pleased to know that the range is coming to Tesco’s soon and will be available there from the 3rd of August.

As well as the mousse which is a big fave with many a blogger (I personally find it a little drying), and will be available in both medium and dark formulations, as well as a lotion.

The range will all be on offer initially for £3.99, and with each purchase you get a free mini body scrub….

Great news for those who love this tan, but have issues getting hold of it!

When I hear the name “Eucerin”, I automatically think of eczema relief creams – My poor sister used to suffer with it as a child and I have memories of her being slathered in their creams to give her some relief, and they did a good job at that… Euceryn now have an entire range of skin care, backed up by an impressive century of research and knowledge of the skin, it’s aging processes, and various other ailments ranging from dryness to over production of oil. Eucerin was for example, one of the first brands to recognise the importance of maintaining the acidity levels in skin (which is where many brands fall down – a lot of face washes for example, render the skin’s surface alkaline, making it more prone to bacteria and blemishes… The Eucerin website, which you can find HERE, is a great resource for those looking into any issues with their own skin…

That said, this is not a range I’ve used before, however it can be found now at Boots, and seems pretty reasonably priced – the range is priced between £8.57 to £30.63 for their latest high tech Hyaluronic acid containing wrinkle busting range.

I was sent their hand and foot creams to try…

I have to say as a nurse I wash my hands and use alcogel all the time, which leaves them in a pretty poor state sometimes. I am also out and about a lot visiting patients, which takes it’s toll on my feet – whilst I wouldn’t say I have the worst trotters in the world, they definitely aren’t the best.

Both these creams contain Urea (the hand cream has 5%, whilst the foot cream has a heftier 10%), and while this isn’t the most glamorous sounding of ingredients, its one of the most effective for binding moisture into the skin. They also both contain lactate, which helps deal with dry skin gently.

The hand cream is rich and effective, but it sinks easily, and given how rich the cream is, I love how non-greasy this feels – I despise my hands feeling greasy from handcream – it makes me want to wash my hands immediately, which kind of defeats the purpose. This is a great staple for hard-working hands which suffer from dryness, and I’d also see it as a good option to carry around in the winter for those who find that time of year hard on their hands.

As detestable as I find greasy hand lotions, I find greasy foot lotions even worse – this one sinks in as easily as the handcream, but obviously needs a good massage into the heels and drier areas. I’ve been using this at night and sleeping in socks (sexy huh!), and I’ve found it’s actually starting to make a difference in how my feet feel on both the heels and the callused areas. Over a couple of weeks with persistent use I’m expecting good things from this.

My one word of caution with both these creams is that they do contain parabens, so those who prefer to avoid, or find parabens allergenic will probably want to give these a miss… Both are fragrance free.

Both are available now at Boots; the handcream retails at £8.57 for 75mls, and the footcream retails at £10.85 for 100mls.

Have you tried any other products from Eucerin, and what would you recommend?

Disclaimer – this is a sponsored post. All opinions expressed of the products are honest and 100% my own. 

The Anatomicals range is now pretty well established, but this is actually the first product I’ve tried from the range, and it was a pleasant surprise. The packaging of this tan is as witty as I’ve come to expect from Anatomicals…

This tan is a lotion/cream, which develops over a few hours – there are other formulations available too in the range – a mousse, spray and instant tanning lotion. The whole range is priced at £6.99 each, and is available now at Superdrug.

I’ve used this tan about three times now over the last fortnight and I’ve found that a top up application every four or five days keeps it nice and even – I only ever apply tan to my legs, because the logistics of trying to blend any tan on my arms or back, frankly, terrify me… I’ve probably used about a quarter of the tube over that time at the most, so in my book that makes this a very good value product.

The lotion itself is white, so has no colour guide. Despite this it was easy to apply – it reminds me of Xen Tan Deep Bronze Luxe lotion, which is also a white lotion – same rules apply with both, apply and rub in until the white has gone, which is easy enough. To ensure no streaks around the ankles etc, I just used a tiny amount of body lotion to blend the edges out around the toes, ankles and feet. The other thing I love about the application of this, is that you can apply it with your hands – no mit or gloves required (believe me I was sceptical about this, but I’ve used this three times now, and after a good handwash with soap and water, not an orange palm in sight…)

Prep wise, this tan wasn’t “hard work” either – one of the things that always makes me groan when anticipating fake tanning is the amount of preparation required to make it look good, scrubbing, shaving moisturising… All good habits but the thought of it sometimes make me want to retreat under a duvet… I applied this tan at various times between scrubbing and shaving my legs, and got good results each time. I think this may be due to the fact that is far less drying than a lot of other tans I’ve tried.

Scent wise, this starts of having a pleasant enough tropical-pina-colada type scent, but it does develop a typical fake tan smell as it develops – for this reason, I’d recommend this as a bed time tanner which you wash off the next day before facing your public…

The resulting tan is a natural looking one, with a golden-yellow undertone – if you are pale and looking for something believable which lifts your skin from grey to sunkissed then this is well worth a try. The tan can also be intensified by repeat applications too – I tried this whilst testing the tan, and got good results. On the other-hand though, if you like your fake tan to make you look like you’ve spent two weeks frying yourself on a beach in Barbados then this is unlikely to satisfy you… It does give very even and streak free results (providing you don’t splash water in it whilst washing your hands after application – I learnt this the hard way!)

For those who are interested, here are the ingredients;

I personally really really like this tan – its one of the best budget tans I’ve ever tried. I’ve tried St Moriz and found that although it gave good colour, it was very drying and it wore off very patchily. On the other hand, this one felt nice and moisturising, was relatively fuss free to apply, and faded evenly.

Like all products though it won’t suit everyone…

Recommended For;

• Pale skinned types who are looking for a natural tan
• Those who don’t mind lack of colour guide
• People looking for a tan which doesn’t cost the earth
• People with yellow undertones, who want a golden tan, rather than one with red tones.
• Those who hate “fussy” tan preparation.
• Those who don’t mind topping up every five or so days

I wear body lotion every single day – whatever the weather, come rain or shine. If I don’t I get scaly reptile dry legs which itch like hell and keep me awake at night. For this reason I usually favour richer lotions, creams and butters to slather on after my morning shower…

For this reason I was a bit mixed in my expectations about this new product from Jergens, which has a lighter more gel like formula. It’s easily absorbed and doesn’t feel sticky or greasy on the skin, which is great for super hot days, and its also nice for an extra little hit of moisture at night, if you’ve been in the sun or feel a little dehydrated, so for these reasons would be great as a holiday body lotion, or to use as an aftersun.

I also like the fresh smell – Aloe vera is always a winner in my book and this also has a hint of cucumber.

The downside for me with this, was that there were days when I found my skin did start to feel dry and itchy, especially on days when I’d shaved my legs – it felt lovely and soothing initially after shaving, and the gel formula was nice and cooling (this would also be lovely applied straight from the fridge… but after a while I’d feel like I needed a top up. Oh, and a little aside on the ingredients – Jergens claim this is made with 94% natural ingredients, however it does contains parabens, so if you are allergic then you might want to give this a miss… It’s cruelty free which is always a good things.

This lotion is also not pricey at £4.99 for 200mls, although I’ve seen it on offer (together with other lotions in the Jergen’s range) at Boots and Superdrug…

Repurchase ?

While I’d certainly pick up products from the Jergens range again, for my own skin, I feel I’d go for a richer lotion, so personally no. Those who don’t suffer dry skin, and are looking for something fresh and light may find this works well or them though. I am planning to check if Jergen’s do a similar formula in their handcream range though, as this is light enough to pop on several times a day without feeling greasy (as a nurse I have to wash my hands a lot, and use copious amounts of alcohol gel hand sanitizer, so they get dry, but I detest the feeling of greasy hands… )

Disclaimer – this product was sent to me for review purposes, however the opinion  expressed in this review is honest and based on my skin type/experiences with it. 

Regular blog readers may remember last year’s P&G webcast, which gave us all the chance to interact live with their brand ambassadors.

On Thursday 2^nd June 2011, P&G will be hosting a similar event, involving ten P&G ambassadors including…

Caroline Barnes for Max Factor;

Ben Cooke for Herbal Essences;

Nicola Joss for Venus and Braun;

Other brands represented will be Silvikrin, Sebastian Professional, and Wella.

P&G want to know what questions you want answering by voting in this poll;

If you have any other burning questions then leave them in the comments box below, because if your question is picked on the night then you will will a goody bag from Proctor and Gamble, filled with all their star products to try.

As mentioned in my recent post about the new Braun Epilator, I’d love to know what ideas they have for the next model up in the series!

Check back here on the 3rd June to see if you won, and also to have a look at the broadcast…

Disclaimer – This is a sponsored post on behalf of Handpicked Media and Proctor and Gamble.

The most recent version of Braun’s silk epil was a good’un – complete with a little light and equiped to deal with being used in the shower (see my review HERE). So good I was wondering how they would improve or change it for its next incarnation…

The answer,  according to Braun is to combine the longer results of epilation, with the short term gain of shaving. So the newly designed epilator comes with a nifty head combining all the best bits of the original silk epil 7 epilator, with the pain reducing massage section, as well as a Gilette Venus razor.

The new design means that some of the old issues and bugbears with epilating, namely having to go over and over the same place again to get a grip on all the shortest hairs is solved because with this model you can only go over the area once, because epilating is closely followwed by shaving. This also reduces the old problem of legs not feeling quite so silky smooth after epilating than after shaving.

I’ve  used the new machine a couple of times now, and my first impressions are very positive – it seems less painful than previous epilators, due to not having to go over the  same area several times. Its also really convenient – as long as its charged you just use your regular shave gel or foam (obviously the manufacturers recommend the Gillette Venus shave gel)., aand use in the shower just as you would with a wet-dry ladyshave etc. Its a lot quicker than other epilators too, again due to not having to go over the same area a lot. I also love how smooth this leaves my legs feeling, and that feeling does seem to last longer than shaving alone.

Possible downsides I can anticipate so far are that the razor heads need replacing for hygeine reasons -I’m not sure how much these will cost or where they will be available, but that might be an issue for some people. In addition, due to the fact that your epilation might not be as thorough due to the fact that any little leftover hairs are whisked away by the razor, so initial results might not be so long lasting, meaning it may take longer to get “hairfree”.

There is a way around these problems though – the epilator comes with changeable heads, so you can use it dry on the body as with the older models -bear in mind though, this will inevitably involve a higher pain level. The set also comes with a charging lead, storage pouch, instruction manual and cover for the razor head. The plug for this is a two-pin european style one, so if you are in the UK, you’ll need a converter plug as well, which isn’t included.

I’m also very happy with the fact that the new model keeps the light, and two speed control – the light was one of the best features on the last model in my opinion.

My top tip if you are planning to begin epilating is to make sure you exfoliate the area regularly – epilating works by plucking hairs out at the root, which means you can be prone to ingrown hairs, and exfoliating can go a long way to helping prevent this.

This  new model retails at £169, however is currently on offer at Boots for £109, a saving of £60.

So far I’m loving this epilator, it’s a lot less painful than previous models (if using the razor head), quicker ad leaves lgs silks smooth. Time will tell how effective it is for producing longer term results, so I will revisit this product after a few more week use to see how I’ve fared before giving my final verdict!

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me free of charge by a PR for consideration for review. I was not under any obligation to review it, in either a positive way or otherwise. My reviews are always completely honest, and based on my own experiences with a product. Iwould always recommend reading as many reviews on a product as possible prior to making a purchase.

With Summer almost upon us, its time to get your toes ready to bare to the world. I love wearing summer sandals, flip-flops and my beloved Birkenstocks, but my feet do leave a little to be desired at the moment. Time to hit them with the full force of scrubs, lotions, and all manner of tortuous looking foot files.

First to face the test is this duo from Aubrey. Aubrey produce a wide range of body care, hair care and even household cleaners all of which are Organic and free of petrochemicals – check out the full range HERE.

The “Neat Feet” range consists of a scrub and a massage cream designed to cleanse, deodorize, and remove rough skin and callouses.

The foot scrub has a very earthy smell, tinged with a peppermint edge, which will either be to your taste or not – I personally didn’t mind it, and I also liked the way that this means that the scrub is more suitable for both men and women. Obviously if you like your footcare fragrant and feminine then this might not be right for you.

The scrub itself has a very creamy base (coconut fatty acid is the base ingredient here), and is filled with almond, ground walnuts and oats as scrub particles.

The scrub applies well, and is a nice thick creamy consistency - it left my feet feeling refreshed, clean and deodorized, however I personally would have preferred a rougher scrub to deal with dry skin and really slough away at rough skin on heels etc. This just wasn’t tough enough for my trotters, but if you have minimal problem skin then this would be sufficient. This scrub retails at £10.20 for 118mls.

The lotion of the duo was very nice and left me feeling far happier though;

Being a massage lotion this takes a bit longer to work into the skin than a standard footcream. But this is no bad thing, and its nice to use if you have the time to give your feet a good massage, which makes your feet feel better anyway. This has a similar scent to the scrub, but is more minty and slightly less earthy smelling. it also has a pleasant warming feeling as you massage it in. A little seems to go a long way too, which makes this decent value, at £8.57 for 118mls.

I wouldn’t describe this lotion as the richest or most deeply moisturising footcream I have ever used, however this can be viewed as a good or bad thing – On one hand, its not the sort of thing you could apply at night expecting to wake up with perfectly softened feet, however on the other hand, you don’t have to walk around with greasy feeling feet for hours so its  a good one to apply after a tough day at work. The deodorizing qualities of this would also make it a good one for after runs or workouts.

So would I repurchase? Of the two in the set, I’d be most likely to repurchase the massage cream, as I liked the warming sensation, and was partial to the scent, and I also feel its a reasonable price. The scrub, although nice enough didn’t really meet my needs, so I’d be unlikely to repurchase that.

Disclaimer – Both these products were sent by PR for review purposes – all reviews are honest and based on my own experiences with a product. Your’s may differ so I would always suggest reading as many reviews as possible on a product prior to making a purchase.