Author: brightandbeautyfull

Dude Week Q&A: Jules Heptonstall of St Tropez Tan

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Jules head shotJules Heptonstall started his career in fashion, but knew all along that beauty was his true calling. ‘I really believe in beauty products and services,’ he says, ‘and love the “feel good factor” they give to the user.’

He’s been with powerhouse tan brand St Tropez for six years, and using the product is one of the perks of the gig. ‘I have the kind of skin that just needs a tan,’ he explains. ‘Without it I look totally grey!’

I tend to tan when the sun shines, but now that it’s disappeared again and I am sad, I feel like I will keep up the bronzing to make me feel better. Jules loves a good tan because it makes us look better, too. ‘I was drawn to specialising in tan and skin finishing because I like how it draws everything together, from hair, make up and fashion, to create the perfect canvas for all the other elements to work on. It’s that touch that really makes a difference.’

Are you tan averse? Never had a spray? Jules will calm your fears, and shares some tips and tricks!

Okay: I have just landed from Venus, a planet which does not have spray tanning facilities. What is so great about this beauty technique?
Haha — welcome! Spray tanning is a quick treatment that gives the skin that just-back-from-holiday glow. It disguises signs of fatigue and can even make the body look slimmer and more toned — what is not to love?!

Seriously, though: I think that there are many (many) people who would benefit from a good spray, if only to show them what not to do when self-tanning at home. What’s the best thing about getting a salon tan?
A salon treatment is great for those who are nervous about tanning results. Don’t get scared about getting naked in front of your aesthetician — chances are they’ve seen it all. Like a nurse, nothing will shock them. I’ve bumped into some of my clients on nights out and I don’t recognise them with clothes on — its something a tanning expert gets used to very quickly!

Prior to your treatment your tanning expert should moisturise your hands, elbows, knees and feet as these are the areas of the body where the tan tends to cling to. Usually you will receive two coats of St. Tropez Self Tan Mist from top to toe, and afterwards your nails and palms will be wiped to remove excess colour.

A tan should be dry within five minutes and you can put on loose dark clothes after. You will need to allow the tan to develop for eight to twelve hours and you should have colour for five to seven days.

I find that I am not so great at maintaining my tan. How can I get the most out of my self-tan?
So many clients believe that once you’ve tanned, there is nothing else more you need to do. To get the most from your tan, and to keep it topped up for longer, I recommend using St. Tropez Tan Optimiser Moisturiser. This aloe vera rich moisturiser has been formulated to work with Self Tanned skin and is clinically proven to keep your tan going for up to three days longer.

I also find that I don’t have much patience for gradual tanning, but feel like I would like to change that this year. How long should it take St Tropez Gradual Tan plus anti Aging Face 50mls €24.99to develop, in general? Do all gradual tans work for all bodies? Is it good to build one up as a base for a professional spray tan, or is that a big no-no?
With gradual tan, it’s great to keep your options open, as the product is extremely versatile. The more consecutive days you apply, the darker you will go. Our gradual tanners work on all skin tones — we have two shades, Light/Medium and Medium/Dark. It’s not a big no-no with a spray tan, but I would only apply it once or twice after a tan.

How do you see the world of spray tan evolving? For example, most products have improved so much in the scent department — in what other ways do you think the industry is trying to moving the process forward?
There are so many innovations happening in tanning: we’ve recently just launched our Gradual Tan Plus range, formulated with firming and anti-ageing benefits, giving a four-products-in-one approach to tanning.

We’ve also formulated our new sensitive range, one that has no guide colour, that naturally develops over 8 hours to deliver a tan. There’s no colour left on your clothes or sheets, and the product is formulated with a melanin activating ingredient so that your skin reacts with the tan to deliver the most natural looking tone possible. Tanning is only moving in giant leaps forward now!

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I’m going to get stuck into the Gradual Tan Anti-Ageing; its RRP is €24.99.

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Dude Week: Q&A with Simon Duffy, Founder of Bulldog

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Simon Duffy is 36, and lives in North London. He’s married (soz, ladies) with a baby daughter, and a dog called Bruno. With a background in advertising and product development, it seems natural — no pun intended — that he’d know how to work with a new and big idea. Along with business partner Rhodri Ferrier, he conceived a line of skincare products for men that were akin to the good stuff that women were able to buy for themselves.

Bulldog rolled out in the UK in 2007 in Sainsbury’s, and whilst the business has grown, Simon is keeping it real. ‘We’re certainly a lot bigger now, and are currently operating in 12 countries,’ he says. ‘However, we’re still learning, and by no means do we have all the answers yet.’ Here as some answers! Simon very kindly talked to B&B! about ideas, fundraising, and follow through.

SIMON

What was the ‘ah ha!’ moment that lead to the start up this business?
The idea for Bulldog came about when I was shopping for skincare products for my wife. All the products she used were natural, and when I went to buy my own I realised that there were just no natural products out there for men. A few days later I met Rhodri and told him about my idea for natural skincare products for men. By the end of the night we had agreed to become business partners. In 2006 we decided to quit our jobs and create Bulldog with no experience in the sector.

Can you talk about the learning curve involved in the start up, and how you’ve grown since then?
Once we had the idea, we did an enormous amount of research into all aspects of product development. Our main considerations were that we wanted to make the highest quality natural skincare products for men, manufacture everything in the UK, and offer great value to consumers.

Personally, I would never spend €30 for a moisturiser, so value was always going to be key. Our Original Moisturiser has a RRP of €8.75 and comes in a 100ml tube, making it considerably cheaper than the smaller sized alternatives from L’Oreal and Nivea. We’re really proud that we can make this affordable without any compromise on our commitment to using the highest quality natural ingredients or delivering great performance. This took an enormous amount of work in the upfront stage.

How did you get the whole thing off the ground?
Initially Rhodri and I combined our life savings and maxed out our credit cards. I think we scraped together just under £37,000. However, once we started talking to large retailers like Sainsbury’s, we realised we were going to need additional funds.

Raising money is a very hard thing to do. We spoke to hundreds of potential investors and got knocked back more times than I care to remember. Ultimately, we found a group of people who loved our concept of removing controversial chemicals and replacing them with the highest quality natural ingredients. The people who invested in Bulldog are as passionate about Bulldog as we are.

What’s the best piece of advice you would give to anyone looking to go out on their own in business in general, and skincare in particular?
Don’t conform to industry conventions, and make sure you work with great people.

It’s been a really steep learning curve, especially at the beginning as we were total outsiders to the industry. Nothing is insurmountable however, providing that you approach every challenge with an open mind, and actively look to seek out people more experienced than you to help at critical stages. We’ve learnt a great deal through collaborating with great people.

I am struck by the packaging design — most dude stuff has very macho names, and the containers are black or silver with like, racing stripes all over them. Can you talk about the approach that you took to designing the line’s appearance, and the ethos behind it?
We compete with massive multinational companies who spend tens of millions of pounds on marketing their brands. There’s nothing unique about them as they pretty much do everything the same. They all use very similar formulations, market their products in exactly the same way, and really are just repackaging traditionally female products for men.

Their packaging all feels very similar and derivative. People have grown used to this sea of sameness on the male skincare shelf, which is typically, as you say, a blur of blues, black and greys.
Bulldog Group Pack Shot

We wanted to bring something exciting and fresh to the skincare category and we wanted our packaging to reflect this. We set ourselves the challenge of standing out rather than blending in. When you can’t afford to run massive advertising campaigns, you have to let your products do the talking for you. We like to think that the shelf is our opportunity to catch people’s eye.

Last year I got some samples of Bulldog’s products, and very boldly used them myself instead of passing them on to the dudes in my life! Turnabout is fair play!

Seriously though, I thought they were great, especially the face scrub. It’s not as if there’s not enough product for women out there, but have you thought about applying your principles to lady product?
Great to hear this! We do know that our face scrub, face wash and moisturiser have something of a female cult following, which is great. However, we have no plans to launch a new range or a sub-range in this area. There are just so many ‘For Men’ version of female brands, where men know that they are being treated as something of an afterthought. We only want to focus on men’s skin, and unlike pretty much 100% of our competition, Bulldog is 100% focused on men and their skincare needs.

Any new launches we should look out for?
Watch out for our brilliant new roll-on deodorant, coming later this year. We are also working on some great gifting sets and you should start to see some new options in the later part of this year as well. We’re also working on some new face wash products, but we can’t quite reveal any exact details in this area just yet!

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Look out for Bulldog at Sam McCauley Chemists, McCabes Pharmacies , www.beautyfeatures.ie and  selected pharmacies nationwide; see www.meetthebulldog.com for more information.

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AOTD: Tanned, Glowing and Manicured {Partially}

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LOL.

AOTDAll it seems to take is that first swipe of self tan, and I am a goner. I did the legs, and then got some sun from horseriding, and then decided it was the arms’ turn.

Behold, one of said limbs, adorned with Xen-Tan Weekly Self-Tan with Moroccanoil {€30}. I was actually quite alarmed when I dispensed some on my tanning mitt. It was dark! Even more taken aback when I applied it to my arms. It was really dark! I mean, there’s fake and then there’s fake. Luckily, I slept on it, having showered post-horse, and had enough for it to dry before I retired for sleepytime.

Next morning, the sheets were free of skidmarks, but I did get some water on my arms from washing up, and things went a tad streaky. I’d say this needs the full monty, in order to stop it developing. Maybe? I’m not sure now that I should have gone to sleep with this on? Ah, sure, it’s grand. It looks like I’ve been on a cruise in the Aegean. It’s the kind of brown that I struggled to achieve in high school. This is my inner teenager’s dream tan.

It’s grander still, with the application of Pixy Glowing Body Butter {€12.99}. The tin, she is small, at just 100gs, but the glow, she is large. I wouldn’t expect to use this all over the bod, perhaps only on highlight points like arms and legs and collarbones, so that’s no big. It smells gorge, too.

And, finally, may I present the ESSIE MORE MERRIERWorld Famous Supermodel Thumbnail™, proudly displaying one of essie’s new summer nail varnish colours, the more the merrier {€9.99}. Oh, yeah! And this is after a few hours spent in horseriding gloves, and with no top coat to speak of. Impressive!

And, honestly, that really is the colour of the arm, maybe even a little darker. Photoshop and I decided that there was to be no fakery because it looked true, even for an iPhoto.

Well, that’s me, bronzed for the duration. At least as long as the sun is shining…

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Xen-Tan is available at Debenhams, and/or on debenhams.ie.

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Beach Hair in a Can: Wella Professionals Create Character

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WELLA curls 0I went through a phase many years ago, in which I was pushing the natural waves of my hair into curls.

When I say ‘natural waves’, I mean ‘neither here nor there hair’. It wasn’t going to go all springy all on its own. If left to its own devices, it would sort of half-heartedly swoop itself in the mid-lengths, and then go straight at the ends. The roots? Don’t even talk to me about the roots. They did nothing.

I would routinely haunt the aisles in chemist’s shops, looking for the magical substance that was going to give me:
A} If not curls curls, then at least loads of waves.
B} Plenty of body.
C} Softness.

That last was huge in my book of wavy, because just about every product I tried resulted in a very cripsy, crunchy texture. Did not like. They looked good, but felt awful.

I had a serious flirtation with Moroccanoil Intense Curl Cream: I got softness, and oh! the gorgeous scent, but I found that it dulled down my blondeness. Uh, thanks, but: no. Every now and again I give it go, but am always very distressed by the colour-stress to the tresses.

Yesterday, giddy with vitamin D, I thought I’d give this a try. Wella Professional’s create character | dry seems to be sending mixed messages: it says it’s dry on the tin, but the directions recommend that you spray it on damp hair. Maybe it goes both ways. Which can only be a good thing, really.

I admit to having unrealistic expectations when it comes to haircare. When my hair didn’t immediately spring into waves and curls straight out of a Burne-Jones painting, I was disappointed. Hmmph. I sprayed on some more, and was at least gratified to see some shine. That made a nice change already.

I twisted The Hair up into its usual knot, pre-bedtime, and wondered what the morning would bring.

Waviness!

WELLA curls 1

Pure surfer-gurrrrl, been-at-the-beach-all-day-and-all-night waves!WELLA CURLS 4

Verdict: loads of body, if a bit dull as regards shine. It doesn’t feel as soft as I’d prefer, but hmmm, oh look, I’ve got this to hand, too. I’ve been using Wella Professionals SP Luxe Light Oil Spray to fairly good effect in conjunction with the BaByLiss Big Hair {see here}. I had also taken delivery of the Luxe Oil version of this new formulation — no sticky, slippery residence on the hands, or the hair — but I feckin’ lost it. In my tiny flat. Lost it. I even asked St Anthony — no joy.

Anyway, gave The Wavy Hair a spritz, and it helped the very slight crispiness loads. I was tempted to twist it back up into that knot, the knot from which extra-super-waviness emerges, but I resisted. Sure, I’m only going horseriding tonight, the beasties don’t care about The Hair.

Since we have summer this week, though, I think this will be my project. How many days can I get out of one round of this process? Will the use of these products be enough to get a girl through a weekend music festival down the country? Will it?!?!

WELLA curls 2

Waves!

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Wella Professionals create character|dry is €10.50; SP Luxe Light Oil spray is €23.

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‘Phase’, not ‘faze’. Pet peeve!

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A Word to the Wise: Do Everything You’re Told Regarding Self Tanning

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That phrase, I don’t know, it doesn’t really make sense. If you’re wise, why would you need a word from me? I had to google that to make sure I was using it correctly and I was. It’s what you say before you give someone advice.

Oh, advice. It’s what we give away, for free, because we’ve no use for it ourselves.

The sight of the sun sent me into a joyful panic. OMG, I have not done any tanning! It is June! I know it’s a year round gig here in Éire, but I am stubbornly sticking to the seasonal aspect of bronzing. So when Apollo finally dragged his auld chariot our way, I found my self feeling pale, uninteresting, and yes, panicked.

So I decided to just whack on some tan, on my legs, and see how they all worked. I had one on each section — calf, calf, thigh, thigh — and since I am an avid exfoliator, I reckoned that I was as ready as I was gonna be.

Oh, I was so, so wrong. Hadn’t shaved my legs, couldn’t really truly remember that last time I’d scrubbed down properly, and I think I may even have been spotty on the moisturising! Shock and horror.

I shaved the next day, and buh-bye browniness. Huh. Everything that us beauty types write is Actually True.

So here my words, wise ones:

A} Exfoliate the day of, or the night before — maybe even both. ELEMIS SCRUBI am adoring Elemis Skin Nourishing Body Scrub, beyond measure, and will talking more about that soon.

B} Moisturise, for the love of the little baby Jesus. Between that and the scrubbing, you will have primed yourself to be a masterpiece of at-home tanning.

C} And if you are a leg-shaver, just do it. Or even better, go get a wax. I had the full leg procedure at Shavata in Harvey Nichols, Dundrum, and I have never felt shinier. I think I may be saving me beans for another go.

COCOA BROWN 1 HRIt’s just a waste of time otherwise, and I hate the time it takes to walk around the house waiting for this stuff to dry. Oh, but when it is dry, and perfectly applied? There’s nothing like a bit ‘o’ colour to warm up the skin tone.

I am off to work on testing SPFs — I know, I know, so selfless of me — and tonight will be treating myself to a Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Tan. I am such a grudging tanner, it’s taken me forever to try this. I’ll have to put it on then shower it off, which is grand, and I have been assured by the reviews of others that it won’t come off on my sheets. But then, those others are probs much better at this self-tanning lark than I, so fingers crossed. I’ve also seen the result on the woman herself, Marissa Carter, who has brought out this particular tan. I only hope I can look as well…

Okay, so. I think I’ve followed my own advice, but if not, sure, it’s another cautionary tale to put the fear of Bad Tan into ya.

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Elemis Skin Nourishing Body Scrub: €38
Shavata Full Leg Wax: €42
Cocoa Brown I Hour Tan: €8

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HOTD: Ojon, Babyliss, and The New Hair

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I got The Hair cut last week, and I’ve been struggling to figure it out.

As much as I was loving the extreme length, and the ease of care — flip the head forward, dry it in no minutes flat, then lash through it with a flat iron — the ends were dead, basically, and it felt a little flat around my face.

But I loved the length. But the ends were dead. But, but, but.

BABYLISS

In another narrative strand {LOL} there was the BaByLiss Big Hair Airstyler {€56} I had sitting in the drawer. I was doin’ it rong, or something, because my hair was not in the least bit enbiggened by it. I did all the things they said to do — dry it a bit with a conventional dryer, divide it into sections, apply the Big Hair, one section at time — and it wasn’t working. I had even got over the fear that I was going to tangle the bejeeziz out of The Hair and have to cut the scary rotating electric brush out of a big hank of it, but there’s no worry there: if you do tangle it, you merely take your thumb off the button and stop the rotating electric part.

That was grand, but I didn’t end up with the mahoosive shiny barnet as shown in all the Big Hair videos. Hmmm. I mean, it was right there on youtube, it must be true.

With the new cut, especially with its new layers, the day I tried to do it the old way was a bad, sad hair day. So I broke out the BaByLiss, and some new Ojon styling products I wanted to try, and gave it go. HOTD 28 05 ojon

Both come under the rare blend umbrella. In the past, Ojon have responsibly sourced the oils that infuse their products, from the Central American rainforest. In this new line, they are casting their net wider to include oils from Tahiti, the Kalahari, and various locations in Africa, thus presumably establishing their sustainable business practice on a larger scale.

First up, the deep conditioner {€34} an intensive repair treatment that is a double threat of restorative oils and nourishing conditioner. It dispenses in two different colours, which you mix together in your palm. The texture feels really rich and thick, and isn’t too terribly fussy to use as it only requires 2-3 minutes {as opposed to the completely impractical, nay, impossible, 10-15 some deep conditioners recommend.}

Next up came the rare blend oil: Total Hair Therapy * {€34}. This one is a treble threat of Amber, Crystal and Red oils that, when mixed together, are meant to nourish, repair and smooth. Okay, I’m up for that. Shook it, and applied just a tiny bit: it provided as much coverage as I needed, and it didn’t feel too oily on my fingers. Cool!

Now for the heat. I had been advised by a pal that I was indeed doin’ the BaByliss rong, and that I needed to really dry my hair, like 80%, before messing with the scary rotating electric brush. I followed this advice. Regarde.

HOTD 28 05 the hair

Like it! It feels as smooth as it looks, and the oil hasn’t dulled down the colour one little bit. Lotsa movement! Thanks, Aileen, for the lovely style!

Also: I have thrown in the clips, and mainly used the Big hair the same way I use a conventional hair dryer: just flipped the head over and spun the locks of hair round and round. Then I flipped it back up and took the sections of hair around my face for another spin.

Also also: the Big hair + dry shampoo + second day hair = big feckin’ hair. I have bolded this because it really is the business. I may even post another picture tomorrow to prove it…

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I am keen to continue my BaByLiss investigation and try the Perfect Curl — tune into lovelygirliebits for their video review!

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*What is up with the cavalier use of upper and lower case, lads!?!
/typenerd

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LOTD: No 7 Stay Perfect™ Lip Stain

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Here’s a Pro Tip®: always try to match your lippy to your surroundings.
photo-1

Oh, okay, not really. This was just a happy accident!

photo-2

This is also, as it says in the headline, No 7 Stay Perfect™ Lip Stain, in Ballet. It looks like it belongs in the mauve end of the spectrum, but applies rather more strongly than that. I’d prefer it to look the way it does on the cap, as far as that is ever possible anyway, but am delighted that it’s matching the big KISS Magazine logo on the poster behind me.

Lip stains have come a long way. There was one iteration, lo these many years ago, whose brand shall remain nameless, that was horribly drying, despite the liquid gloss that came with it. It also had the worrying/disgusting/completely weird habit of crumbling off the lip. Like, it would ball itself up right there on yer gob, due coffee drinking or talking — anything that made your mouth move.

This doesn’t do any of that crazy stuff. It applies well, but it does seem to bleed a little around certain edges. And you will need the gloss that is situated at the opposite end of the wand, because as lightly as it lays, it is still a bit drying.

I do like it, regardless, and am keen to try the brand’s BB Lips Beauty Balm, too!

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Available in Boots: €12.95.

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Haiku Review: Neal’s Yard Remedies Organic Beauty Sleep Concentrate

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O, bedtime! Heart you!
And waking up, all youthy,
Makes me heart the day.

NYO Beauty SleepI love my bed: my sheets, my pillows, my duvets {yes, plural.} I love my electric underblanket, and some days, when I wake up, I immediately begin looking forward to getting back in that night. My glorious cocoon! From which, more often than not, I emerge refreshed.

How much more refreshier I am emerging these days, having discovered this little gem: Neal’s Yard Organic Beauty Sleep Concentrate!

My nighttime regime has improved mightily in the last while, when it dawned on me {LOL} that I was not gettin’ any younger. Since the skin does most of its rejuvenating on the astral plane, I needed to hop on that bandwagon. Not wishing to leave too much to chance — no offence, astral beings! – it seemed like if I kept a bunch of stuff at my bedside, I’d remember to use it.

And so it has transpired: I am loading my skin up with good stuff before the zeds descend, and this one here has qualities beyond good skincare. Its blend of essential oils help to soothe you into a good night’s rest, as well work on those fine lines and wrinkles — which creates a virtuous circle of deep sleep creating deep relaxation, which means you are waking in finer fettle, and feeling excellent about yourself, which helps you to manage the stresses of your day, and return, still virtuous {or not, lucky you} to another round of dreamtime. Sleep, and awake beautified.

It’s all down to the essential oils, which include Clary Sage, Cypress, Orange oil, Patchouli and Ylang Ylang, married with Grapeseed oil and Cocoa seed butter. {There is also Ricinus communis (Castor) seed oil in it, yo?!?!} I feel like, to its detriment, I am going through it too fast. I suppose it’s my job to manage my portion control, but I’m not sure how many nights I am going to get out of it. That’s a good news/bad news kind of thing: good that I am finding it beneficial, bad on the wallet.

The concentrate has been proven in clinical trials to increase the moisture levels of the skin by 98%. I don’t usually just feed back a fact that readers will most likely come across on their own whilst googling, but I can support this finding myself: my day face improves mightily when I use this, which is the whole point, a far as I can see, of using a thing at night. Right?

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€41.20/£37

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I Used It All Up: Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant

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Or did I? O.o

Reaching for anything whilst in the shower is an exercise in trust: I’m expecting the thing I’m reaching for to be usable, because replacing something that is not usable, when water is rushing down and I’m in the nip? Circumstances are not at their optimum.

So when I uncapped {decapped?} my container of Daily Microfoliant, and gently shook it, to dispense the minuscule amount that I require, and nothing happened? Gahhhhhh.

The thing is, the Dermalogica packaging is extremely high end, and the opaqueness and heft of the cylinder makes it pretty hard to tell when you’ve used it all up. I held it up to the light in the bath, and couldn’t see through it. I shook it and shook it, and had to give up, because it was clear that it was all gone.

Post-shower, I took the container to my desk, where I keep my cutting implements, fully prepared to slice off the top, because I simply did not believe that there wasn’t any left.

Well!

MICROFOLIANTI rapped the container against my desk — whappp! — and there’s loads left! And the backlit effect of the sun coming in the window over my desk negated the need to chop off the top to see what was in it.

Since one needs such a tiny bit every use, I’d say this is gonna last me another three months at least!

Desperate times, desperate measures…

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What is it about Daily Microfoliant, blades, and me?

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