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Having done IPL before (bikini line), I had a sense of what to expect with the Philips Lumea Precision Plus system (RRP $1,299.95). I assumed it’d be a gentler process purely because the people using it don’t need a course and a qualification to use it.

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The set consists of the handset, two interchangeable heads of differing sizes, a charger and a bag. The head is much heavier than the handle and some care needs to be taken since your hand is sitting very close to the power button. Because I was always using the Lumea after a shower, I’d be lightly steaming, which didn’t help. I ended up wiping off the handset after every second pass or so to make sure I didn’t slip around and accidently switch it off.

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The light is a very bright red, as opposed to the white light of the salon IPL systems. While the flash is bright, it also doesn’t “imprint” on your field of vision. My cat scuttled out of the room two flashes in.

While the interchangeable nozzles attach to the handset securely, you’re also required to press it firmly into the skin to attain the “airlock” that allows you to pull the trigger safely, and if you’re careless and inadvertently drag it along the skin at that kind of pressure you’ll probably knock the nozzle off. This will result in hot glass-skin contact which is unadvisable.

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After the first application, the most noticeable difference was a longer growback period, and many of the hairs when they came through came through a bit stunted – either doubled over, or oddly curled. I have strong, straight leg hair, so this was very noticeable on me.

The regrowth slowdown and cessation seems to happen on an individual hair by hair basis – some follicles immediately shut down, some grow oddly, some are determinedly still growing as they always have. I have big channels on my legs where hair has completely disappeared next to unconcerned normal growth. But as each application comes around, the normal hairs are shriveling up and eventually give up and don’t grow at all. There’s a perverse kind of enjoyment in this.

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Meanwhile on my belly it only took two zaps for this finer hair to disappear, and in my underarms there seems to be the same amount of hair, but the hairs are thinner and finer. But even if I’m still shaving, shaving is a good deal easier and I do not need to do it as often. I’m confident that with repeated applications this lot will slow down and cease as well.

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I’ve used this machine six times and the results have varied depending on where I’m applying. Stomach has been perfect, underarms have been encouraging and a lot more manageable, my legs have been patchy but steadily progressing. I should stress again that my leg hair is monstrous and will almost certainly put up more of a fight than yours.
I’ve done full, 12-session courses of salon IPL, which cost me far more than I’m willing to think about.

The Lumea system is admittedly expensive, but less so than doing it through a salon and it gives you the option of topping up your applications on a whim. All up, you will likely need to use the Lumea more often to get the results of the salon IPL, but salon IPL is also something of a trauma for your skin – it’s a good deal more powerful and the tradeoff is tender, red skin for a while afterwards. The Lumea did not irritate me at all. There wasn’t even any pinkness. I could slather on moisturizer directly afterwards and nothing bad happened. I’m really impressed by this system – would recommend it for those considering IPL through the more traditional means.

Find out more about it on the Philips website!

Product supplied for consideration.

Have you tried IPL in salon or at home before? Leave a comment below with your experiences!

Review by Suzanne, who also blogs over at Don’t They Know Who I Am?

Be well,

xox

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♥ Acupuncture

I've used acupuncture a couple of times before and always found it helpful. My digestion has been a bit sluggish lately, so I decided to see Jacinta at the Perth Natural Medical Centre. I find the sessions extremely relaxing and always leave with a gentle buzz of energy and feeling really refreshed. The dietary advice has been so interesting and also counter-intuitive. Apparently my system works best without cold and raw foods according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. I'm not sure where that leaves my green smoothie habit, but it's worth a go!

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♥ Swimming at the new Beatty Park Pool

I started to swim regularly in my teens and it's the one aspect of my exercise routine that has stuck. I've tried many types of exercise but, for me, nothing beats the soothing, meditative effects of lap swimming. I absolutely love it and always sleep so well after a long swim. I'm feeling very lucky that my local newly renovated pool at Beatty Park is so lovely. The works haven't been totally finished yet but it looks like the centre will be amazing when it's all done.

research paper topics

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♥ Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate

This is my new mantra! There's nothing like summer to make you more body conscious. I've been using the 'hot towel scrub' method lately to make my skin silky smooth. Just grab a flannel, warm water and soap or shower gel, lather up and scrub away! For my face I'm enjoying a lovely scrub from the Smitten Organic skin care range. My skin tends to be quite dry so I avoid harsh scrubs, but this one is a very gentle, creamy and really effective.

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♥ Hands and Feet Pampering

I'm loving Burts Bees Tips and Toes Kit at the moment. I'm pretty busy, so find it hard to fit in a mani-pedi and I also find them pretty boring treatments. This kit is great for some quality at-home pampering.The hand creams are also the perfect size to throw into a handbag or purse. They've thrown a yummy pomegranate lip balm into the kit too! All of their products are 'earth friendly' in fact they were one of the pioneer natural skin care brands as they started in 1984. It's a pretty affordable range too.

What are your favourite budget and at-home pampering tips?

Article by Karen, who's certain she was a fish in a previous life!

Be well,

xoxo

♥ My facialist Maryanna Lucror

What better way to start a weekend than with a facial? Make that an ‘at home’ facial using one of the finest skin care brands, Arbonne. Now you’re talking!

The lovely Maryanna Lucror treated me to an Ultimate Facial last weekend, and my skincare resolutions for 2013 (to stick to using one brand) are now set in stone. Luckily, Arbonne is a product that my skin knows and loves (I have never had clearer, more glowing skin than when I used to use it), so I’m looking forward to getting that glow back!

♥ The beautiful Arbon, how amazing does it look?!

Hailing from the Swiss village Arbon, the highly regarded, premium skincare brand is inspired by nature and each product contains clinically proven and botanically based ingredients, which, in combination with meticulous research and testing, exceeds industry standards for purity.

My facial began with Arbonne’s FC5 Purifying Cleanser + Toner, a lightweight formula designed to simultaneously cleanse and tone the skin while visibly reducing oiliness. Ingredients include witch hazel and strawberry cells – yum! This was followed by the FC5 Exfoliating New Cell Scrub, a vitamin rich exfoliant with a slightly clay-based texture. The scrub feels warm on application and tingles slightly as it deeply purifies to reveal fresher, brighter skin. I love this scrub, and use it 3 times a week now!

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My skin was then treated to the RE9 Cellular Renewal Masque – its key ingredients include pineapple, papaya enzymes and algae extract, which function to improve skin tone and texture and minimise pores. What I loved about this masque was that it didn’t dry and harden, which can be very harsh on the skin, particularly if it is sensitive. This masque is actually equivalent to two dermabrasion sessions (but without the risk) so to replenish the skins moisture, Maryanna applied the FC5 Skin Conditioning Oil. The oil hydrates, conditions and softens without being greasy or heavy on the skin.

I have quite dry skin, so to give it that extra moisture boost, the FC5 Intense Hydration Mask was then applied. This is a lighter, gel based mask containing fresh mango, sunflower seed oil and pomegranate extract. The RE9 Regenerating Toner was spritzed gently on my skin, followed by RE9 Eye Crème and FC5 Oil Absorbing Day Lotion with SPF 15.

♥ My Arbonne goodies!

The Arbonne Ultimate Facial was such a treat. It was relaxing, informative and luxurious and a product I really believe in. Since the facial, I ordered the FC5 Complexion Revitalizing Set and have been using it religiously! My skin loves me for it.

To purchase Arbonne or to find out more, contact Maryanna at lucror2010@hotmail.com

Or check out the Arbonne website https://www.arbonneinternational.com.au/

Do you have a favourite skincare brand that you have always used? Or have you tried Arbonne? I'd love to chat in the comments below!

Review by Lucy, Arbonne convert and preacher!

Be well,

xoxo

♥

If the thought of coming home from a day at the office and being whisked away on a Balinese yoga retreat appeals to you… then this is the next best thing! Filmed in the midst of a serene Balinese backdrop, Eoinn Finn's 6 DVD Blissology Project contains a Vinyasa Flow yoga and meditation routine for each weekday and one for the weekend, and at just $30 from Amazon it's a real bargain! Each day focuses on a different area of the body and mind to guide you through the week.

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Eoin is a well-known Canadian yogi and surfer who has studied and taught yoga and meditation for many years. He regularly teaches workshops and holds retreats as well as having a line of DVDs. Eoin was also one of Lululemon’s first ambassadors!

He describes Blissology on his website as “the art of consciously finding the balance between one’s personal desires and our impact on the web of life. It is not just a brand but a way of being. It is a path of interconnectedness and love.”

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Eoin approaches yoga holistically, encouraging us to adopt its philosophy into our everyday lives. There is no reason not to get some yoga practise in every day with this DVD set, with each weekday disc giving you the option of a ‘quickie’ (usually around 30-35 minutes)if you’re strapped for time, or a longer routine of around 45-55 minutes if you are after a more intense session. If you’re new to the world of yoga there are beginner’s options throughout, as well as a reference guide to help you perfect those postures.

If you are looking for more of a challenge, there are alternatives during each session to help you push yourself further. Every routine also finishes with a 10 minute meditation to keep you grounded, present and feeling like you don’t have a worry in the world.

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Practising yoga at home with the assistance of a DVD is a great complement to your usual yoga or fitness routine, and is an excellent option for those of us who don’t always have time for classes before or after work, or who may not be in a position to commit to a full membership or course.

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If you are a true beginner this is an enjoyable introduction to the yoga lifestyle, however I would recommend that you do combine your at-home practise with some guided sessions at your local yoga studio in order to truly understand and master the various postures and sequences, and of course to avoid injuring yourself.

You can even pop the DVD into your laptop, take it outdoors and practise in the park or at the beach… I can’t think of a better way to shut out the world and get some quality me-time in!

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The DVD can be purchased in-store at Lululemon, or online at Amazon. You can also find Eoin’s range of other videos on the Blissology website, which can all be downloaded straight to iTunes.

I'd love to hear if you've tried the Blissology DVD's, or are keen to, and what your favourite yoga DVD's are at the moment – so leave a comment below!

Review by Alice – yoga-lover who would really like to attend a retreat in Bali sometime soon!

Be well,

xoxo

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The first taste of the summer sunshine tells us we’re getting to the pointy end of the year when we start to worry about how our cellulite will look in bathers and we begin ditching tights and boots in favour of cute sandals.

And if you’re like me, the first showing of leg after a long, cold winter might look something like this:

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Okay, maybe not that horrific. But many of us are familiar with our winter pedicures happening only when we can be brave enough to remove our bed socks.

For me, looking down at my freshly pedi’d feet makes me feel instantly more refined and less like a wild, spear-wielding cave woman. Painting my toenails has always been something I’ve done to relieve stress – there’s something about the methodology in achieving a perfect pedi and staring at the pop of nail colour as I paint it on brightens my mood no matter what kind of day I’m having. I’m a big fan of the home pedicure where I know every bit of equipment is hygienic on my tootsies, and I’m also a big fan of anything that makes my DIY pedi easier!

Now, I’ll save you some nausea by not showing you my “before” photos. Let’s just say my feet needed some lovin’ after months of being hidden inside socks, tights, boots and uggs. On a scale of “Fresh Feet” to “Wild, Spear-wielding Cave Woman”, I was probably at “Girl, That’s Nasty [Know What I’m Sayin’?]”.

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Enter Emjoi PediSmooth.

This cute little gadget removes the effort of manually scrubbing your feet with a pumice stone at the push of a button.

The battery-operated PediSmooth has a natural stone roller that spins really, really fast and buffs away coarse, old skin with no effort or pain. The device is comfortable to hold and the roller is big enough to cover a good area, but small enough to maneuver over the natural curvature of the foot. For $29.95, you get the PediSmooth, two white “extremely rough skin” rollers, a pink “rough skin” roller and a brush to remove the build up of er…dust?

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I find the PediSmooth does a good job at “polishing” feet. It definitely makes them smoother and you can see the difference after you’ve used it, but I find it works best if I use it after my foot file (*shudder*) to get ultra smooth and soft feet. That being said, I use the PediSmooth once a week just to keep things in check, and I’ve ignored the finer pink roller that is meant to be used for maintenance. All in all, it does a pretty decent job given the budget-friendly price tag, but my feet need a bit more oomph to get the results I like.

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After my feet are buffed and fresh, I work some body scrub into my feet to really make them sparkle. My favourite is Soap & Glory’s The Breakfast Scrub (RRP $18.95 at Kit Cosmetics). It’s constantly selling like hotcakes at Kit, and probably because it smells like hotcakes. Seriously. It’s like rubbing your feet with warm pancakes, doused in maple syrup and butter and garnished with a big cuddle. This fine sugar scrub leaves skin all over the body super smooth and it’s great for feet because it can get right between your toes but rinses off easily, with no residue.

I pat off my feet, pop on some foot balm (I’m currently using QV Feet Heel Balm – I also smother it on at night and slip on some cotton socks) and prep my nails for some colour. While I was in Kit, I picked up this awesome shade of pink for summer called Let Go. It’s so perfect to add a splash of colour without being too garish!

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The final result is a beach-worthy pedicure that will look smashing in sandals, all without the effort of those pesky pumice stones or buffers!

Emjoi Pedismooth is $29.95 and available through the Emjoi online store!

Tell me… what are your favourite DIY pedicure tricks and tips? Do you have a hero product to get your feet ready for exposure to the outside world? Leave a comment below!

Review by Gemma, our resident pedicure loving PR professional!

Be well,

xoxo