My partner came home from a music festival the other week and due to him not showering for four days he smelt terrible. I mean not just a little bad but offensively bad. He was hungry and tired and all he wanted to do was climb into bad with some toast but I just couldn't bare the thought of getting into bed with him when smelt that bad, it really was a horrible smell. Luckily I had been sent Radox's new Uplifting in pink grapefruit and basil just the day before so ran him a hot shower and practically peeled dirty clothes of him. I handed him the shower gel and told him not to get out until he smelt better.
When he got out the shower he was not only completely clean but also smelt fruity and refreshed. Basil probably isn't the first thing you would think of to put in a shower gel but as a subtle after scent it works really well. The predominate smell is the pink grapefruit, which I am such a big fan of. The range also has a mandarin and lemongrass scent and a keylime and peppermint scent. Radox are masters at creating evocative scents that gently coat your skin and leave you feeling fresh for hours.
The days of having to use shampoo and conditioner are over. Now one product does the job of both and it does it superbly, a new concept in haircare has arrived. Chaz Den noticed that the detergents and sodium laurel sulphates strip the hair of natural oils, which can make hair frizzy, fade colour and dry out your scalp. He developed WEN available now at QVC a revolutionary new concept in haircare that contains no detergents or sodium laurel sulphates.
You use a dollap all over your hair, massaging into the scalp for a few minutes and combing through, then leaving for five minutes on the lengths of the hair. It doesn't lather up so I was slightly concerned that it wouldn't clean my hair as well as a normal shampoo but that wasn't the case at all. As soon as I rinsed the cleansing conditioner out of my hair it felt really clean but also well moisturised. The mint scent is lovely and refreshing and pleasantly tingles your scalp.
I thought it would either be dry or still greasy but as soon as I dried my hair it looked and felt really clean with loads of bounce and root lift. After a few uses it made my hair much more manageable to the point were I don't have to dry it to stop it going frizzy and the ends especially are much more polished. I've noticed that I only have to wash my hair every 3 days rather than every other day that I had got into the habit of.
I was really surprised at such a dramatic improvement in my hair condition after using WEN for a few weeks. It's got a lovely shine to it and is much easier to style but even if I can't be bothered to style it it isn't really manic and all over the place. It might cost slightly more than your average shampoo and conditioner but in the long run it is cost effective as you don't have to wash your hair as often and you save on styling products and time styling your hair. I also found I don't need to deep conditioner my hair every week as WEN has left it in such good condition.
When I got told I needed to switch my beauty routine to natural and organic products I felt quite daunted and didn't really know where to start. As well as the financial cost but it felt like a whole new world of trying to figure out what I could use and what I should avoid. Many products also might be natural but they contain perfumes that can irritate your skin. Green people was set up by Charlotte Vøhtz who wanted to help her daughters skin problems. Finding that products that were advertised as natural could contain synthetic chemicals. Charlotte went on to develop Green People's solely organic philosophy and now the brand has 100's of products, many of which have won a host of awards.
Green People's sensitive skin solution (£29.95) has three products specially developed to soothe sensitive skin. Firstly a cleanser and make-up remover to remove all the grime your skin collects over the day and night. It contains calendula which is known for its anti-inflammatory properties and feels really soft against your skin. I found it tackled even the longest wearing makeup including waterproof mascara, which can be a real pain to take off. Unlike some makeup removers it didn't leave my skin red or dry it out so if I was running short of time (i.e it was really late and I was tired) I could just take my makeup off with out using moisturiser.
The second product is a scent free 24 hour cream, an intense burst of hydration that kept my skin moisturised all day. It contains evening Primrose and Avocado oils to deeply nurture the skin, which has a really rich and creamy texture so feels like a luxury product.
Lastly you get a scent free eye cream that soothes the delicate eye area. I find that in the winter months the corners of my eyes can get quite sore especially if it is windy out. I have started to use this eye cream when I get home and it is great at cooling down my sore eyes. Also I have found that if I am really tired, popping this in the freezer for 10 mins then applying it really helps to awaken my eyes.
During the day I don't like to wear foundation but still want something with a little coverage. Occasionally I mix my regular foundation in with moisturiser but depending on the two products this doesn't always work. Recently I was sent the Hydrating Tinted Cream Mineral Pigments £27 from Collin Resultime to try. This tinted moisturiser is extremely hydrating and contains luminous mineral pigments to provide soft coverage while keeping your skin lovely and fresh. It doesn't sit heavily on your skin and so looks completely natural. If regular foundation use leaves your skin dry switching to this tinted moisturiser will help to keep it moisturised while still giving enough coverage to banish imperfections. It's really long lasting to so no need for touchups during the day.
For the ultimate in skin luxury their Regenerating Collagen Gel £47.25 can be used as a serum or face mask but my favourite use is as a sleep mask. As the winter nights drawn in the sharp change in temperature is going to play havoc with most peoples skin and an extra treatment will be needed. The collagen gel helps to smooth, plump, hydrate and firm the skin, providing several benefits in one pot, which is good as it is on the more expensive side. That being said if you use it as a serum it is going to last you a decent amount of time. If it is a splurge item that you want to use occasionally I would suggest using it as a sleep mask after a night out to give you a slept for the whole night fresh faced look when in reality you might not be feeling like that on the inside.
Thanks to my dad I have very fine and slightly lank hair, why I couldn't have inherited my mothers thick and voluptuous hair I will never know. My hair also seems to fall out at an alarming rate and when I was my hair I am always a bit concerned there won't be any left on my head as it all seems to have piled up around the plug hole. Up until now there hasn't really been much you can do if you have thin hair, several products claim to thicken hair but none of them have trial results to back up their claims.
Nanogen is different though, it has ten years research behind them and use advanced DNA technology to create hair growth factors which are safe, identical copies of human hair growth signals. Enough with the science though, how do they actually work? Well I've been putting the range to the test to see if I could see and feel any difference after using the product.
The thickening treatment shampoo (£7.95) and thickening treatment conditioner (£8.95) work harmoniously together to thicken hair from the first wash. After just one use my hair certainly felt stronger and left my hair shiny. It took two weeks of regular use before I really noticed a difference to my hair, the main one being that much less of my hair was left around the plug hole after washing. They both have a pleasantly tingling sensation that awakens your scalp and presumably your hair follicles. As they are clinical products I was expecting them to smell as such but they actually have a lovely fruity scent that settles deep into your hair as it cleans. The conditioner left my hair feeling soft but not weighed down so that after the first use my hair was left with a bounce in it making it appear much thicker. Compared to other shampoos and conditioners the price is really reasonable as you get a lot of product so after two weeks I still have just under half left and my hair is just over shoulder length.
As lovely as the shampoo and conditioner are the real star of the show is hair growth factor treatment serum (£29.95) which is like a magical potion for your hair. Each day you add a few drops to your scalp and massage in, it took a bit of getting used to but after a few days I really liked the routine of giving myself a little head massage and it has even been suggested that it helps you sleep better - the head massage not that serum that is. It is very quick to dry so you could easily use it at any time of the day, I just got into the routine of using it at night. I was a little worried that it might make my hair greasy or interfere with the amount of time I needed to wash my hair but my hair habits were able to remain the same. You can feel the serum working as soon as you apply it, almost like it has a slight menthol effect. I'm not going to pretend that I understand all the science behind how it works, all I really care about it the end result. After nearly a month of use my hair feels so much stronger and less damaged. It is still a bit too early to tell if it's growing faster or how much new growth it has achieved but because the quality of the hair is so much better it certainly looks thicker and fuller.
A real catch 22 of having thin hair is the allure of extensions, thicker hair in minutes but the downside is that they can destroy the natural hair that you have, meaning thin hair gets thinner. Nanogen is providing an alternative that is actually going to do good to your hair at a fraction of the price of what you would pay for extensions so before you even think about getting them I would suggest a round of treatment serum to the quest for thicker, fuller hair. In fact I'm so won over by the quality and results of Nanogen products I think I'm going to try the Keratin hair thickening fibres.
