Waxing at Home - A Good or Bad Idea?

Morning ladies,

I wanted to review some Morrisons wax strips with you today.  Not very glamourous I know, but they were only around £3 so I though I would give them a go.

First thing to say is that when it comes to removing hair I tend to just shave.  I used to have waxes but I just hated that you had to let it grow back to then have it removed again, seemed a bit pointless and not very nice!

So I gave up on that and basically just shave.

However, when I saw these I thought I would give it a go, more out of curiosity than anything else, as I have never waxed myself and therefore thought - perhaps stupidly - that it might be easier if I just did it at home.

The strips in this kit are narrow due to the target areas, and you are directed to rub the strips together to warm them up and talc the area you are waxing for more grip.

So I did all that and then applied the strip, held the skin taught and pulled.  Ouch.

It definitely hurts, but it is bearable. Kind of.

I think firstly I thought that actually, this is something a beautician should do, I hate the fact that I had to keep bracing myself because I knew when I was about to pull.

Next thought?  This is bloody hard work!! Seriously.  It took about 4/5 strips to cover the tiniest area.  Definitely not ideal.

In the end I gave up and just thought to hell with this - it's taking way too long.

So I concluded that shaving was the way forward, particularly because I just had red blotches where the hair had been pulled out.

That said, I noticed that surprisingly there was no regrowth a week later.  Which is not something I recall from when I used to get it done.  So waxing may be the way forward after all.  I will definitely be doing this before any holiday now.

At home though no, it will need to be at a salon for me.  Far too much hassle I'm afraid!

Anyone else tried waxing at home?

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Venus Spa Breeze Razors

So I never really got around to getting into the whole leg waxing routine whilst growing up and as a result I still reach for the razors to this day.

Let's face it, they're quick, easy and (usually) pain free. Hair removal cream is messy and often without great results and waxing is painful. Plus there's the pain of having to wait for the regrowth before going back.

Errrr no thanks.

That said, I never really was overly fond of a particular razor, until these past couple of months that is.

My now go to blades are these bad boys. Yes, a bit of 'I'm your venus, I'm your fire - your desire'. Or not.

So onto why I keep coming back to these. Basically two reasons

1) they provide a close comfortable shave; and

2) they smell nice!

Yes that's right, they smell lovely!! Basically the blade is surrounded by two soap-like edges that once wet provide a lubricant for the skin and helps protect the skin from pain and cuts when shaving.

I find the razor blades to be nice and sharp and long lasting.

I love what a difference these razors have made to my skin and would recommend as while I still use this with my normal shower gel (Soap and Glory Clean on Me) I've found the extra lubrication provided makes such a difference to my skin.

I have previously bought on offer at tesco for around £5 (first time) and thereafter paid around £10.

xxx

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Boots Expert Hair Lightener Review - Before and After Pictures

Those of you who have been following me from the early days may recall I did a post on hair lightening, reviewing Jolene Creme Bleach.

I use this for the dark hairs on my face and have found it better than trying to find a suitable removal method.

Following this review, quite a few girls recommended the Boots version advising it was cheaper and didn't sting unlike the Jolene version.

So of course I gave it a try. It comes with what you can see below and then you mix equal parts of the formulas into a paste.



I found this product to be a little less effective than the Jolene version (picutres from Jolene review can be found here). The below pictures demonstrate that the hairs had been lightened but were not as light as they could be.

However, I was still happy with the result. Boots's version did still sting me though so I must have sensitive skin. Bleaching has always stung my skin though so it doesn't worry me, it just would have been nice for no stinging!

The downside to Boots' bleach was that the result did not last as long as with Jolene. I noticed the hairs going darker again within around a week and a half, whereas with Jolene it lasts around 3 weeks.

Therefore, I will continue to use the Boots version until I am finished, but after that I will be going back to Jolene Creme Bleach because the effects last longer. And lets face it, what girl wants to spend one night a week bleaching the hair on her face!

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Jolene Creme Bleach - Before and After

Hey peeps!!

Some of you may be familiar with this product as it has been around forever, is cheap and can be bought from most chemists. But for those of you who are not, it looks like this...





Although the one I use has a pink stipe along the bottom as it is the milder formula for sensitive skin.


As you can see, you get a spatula, two tubs and you also get a mixing board which isn't pictured here.

The instructions say to mix 1/4 tsp of the powder with 1/2 tsp of the creme. You must mix until no lumps, although I have never achieved this and I have been using it for 7 years!!!


I am olive skin toned with dark brown hair, but in the winter I am pretty pale, so the darker hairs on my skin show a lot. So much so a boy once at high school once said "gosh your arms are hairier than mine"! I was 14. So you can only imagine how that made me feel.


So it was only natural that I would try this. I used to use it on my arms and tummy and it was only after about 2 years that I started using it on my face, because prior to that it hadn't really been a problem and if I felt a bit hairy on the face I would just use hair removal cream.

Anyway, after around 6months of bleaching my arms I got bored and have been shaving them ever since.

However I now regularly bleach the hair on my face to avoid it showing up as it's a nightmare with my foundations and very embarrasing!

Because I am nice though I left it that bit longer to show you how this works... Please be kind - I am practically showing you my soul by showing you my before and after shots but here they are:-


Before
After

So you can see that on the first pic I have lots of dark hair around the mouth and also the jaw area. It's horrendous.

However, obviously it's not gone on the second pic, but its much less noticeable and my makeup goes on fine with it. Which for me is fine. Personally, I would rather bleach than remove if I can because I then don't have to deal with the re-growth.

In order to do this I left it on for around 20 mins. The instructions say 5 - 10 but that you can leave for longer. I find that the best results are if you leave it for around 20. By the way it BURNS!!! My face was killing for the first 5 - 10 mins, but this happens every time. Aside from that though I never have any irritation and my skin is perfectly fine afterwards!

I would seriously recommend this, it retails at around £5.00 and lasts AGES. However, if you have a dark skin tone I wouldn't recommend this as I have both family and friends who have tried it and said it made the hairs on their face more obvious because they were blonde!!! They swear by laser treatment, but its a bit pricey for me!!

Let me know your thoughts and opinions, or if you have any good hints and tips for concealing or removing unwanted facial hair!!

Giddy Princess xxx

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