Spa Days: Volair Spa, Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park

Despite a promise to look after myself a bit better this year, beauty treatments and spa days have been pretty thin on the ground. Other things and other people come first, which as a mum is how it should be, but it was definitely my turn for a bit of TLC. Real life friend and fellow blogger Liz from Expression and Confession and I hopped in the car for a day at Volair Spa at Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park. We had been invited to the spa for the day to check out their facilities and to find out more about the treatments they offer.

Volair Spa at Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park

We arrived at Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park and not being locals we had no idea what to expect. It is a large, very modern leisure centre. It’s an interesting state of the art building, filled with sculptures, interesting art works, the biggest swimming pool I’ve seen in a while, a gym, squash courts and lots more.

We headed upstairs to the Volair Spa. We were greeted by Hayley who gave us fluffy robes and slippers to change into. Once we’d got changed we sat in the relaxation room and chilled out with a cup of herbal tea while we waited for some more people to arrive. This is a really restful place, with soft mood lighting, scented candles and comfortable chairs or beanbags to sit on.

Volair Spa at Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park

After a short welcome and health and safety talk we were shown downstairs to the Thermal Suite. I love thermal suites, they are always my favourite part of a spa. The thermal suite at the Volair Spa was small but perfectly formed. It had one steam room, a sauna and a jacuzzi. Everything looked new, scrupulously clean and very very tempting.

We were given some Lycon Spa Essentials exfoliating sugar scrub to scrub ourselves all over with before we began. There were lots of different scrubs to choose from, but I went for the pomegranate. We scrubbed and showered, and with fresh glowy skin we slipped into the jacuzzi to let the de-stressing process begin.

Volair Spa at Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park

We had an hour in the thermal suite, and we tried out the sauna, steam room and jacuzzi. We felt deliciously relaxed and reluctant to leave for lunch. A two hour session in the thermal suite costs just £9.50, or two people for £15 which is excellent value. If I lived locally I could happily spend the day here, swimming for an hour or so, then unwinding in the thermal suite for a few hours.

Volair Spa at Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park

After a light lunch and a glass of fizz we found ourselves in the capable hands of Beauty Therapist Hayley. Hayley gave us a fascinating hands on workshop on how to take our make up off and give ourselves a lovely home facial. My skin already felt pretty fantastic after applying the AromaWorks facial cleanser, toner and facial oils.

We were then ushered into one of their treatment rooms. The rooms are quiet, lit softly and are lovely relaxing spaces. I volunteered to have a Crystal Clear Micro-Dermabrasion treatment. It works by gently exfoliating the outer layers of the skin and gives immediate results for a range of skincare niggles including fine lines and wrinkles, open pores, blackheads, pigmentation, blemish scars and acne scars. I have pretty good skin for my age, but they promised to blast out some of my stubborn blackheads, clean my open pores and give me a general freshen up.

The Crystal Clear Micro-Dermabrasion didn’t hurt at all. Ultra-fine crystals are blasted onto your skin, but it feels quite gentle, just a little bit like someone is gently pushing your face with something like the rubber end of a pencil (that’s the only comparison I could think of, I’m sorry). It took around 20 minutes and afterwards my skin was moisturised. When I got home I took a photo…

Volair Spa at Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park

… and I was impressed by how fresh and glowy my skin looked. It was visibly cleaner (yes I do wash every day) and brighter. Everyone who has clapped eyes on me since has remarked on how well I’m looking too.

We had a thoroughly relaxing day at the Volair Spa at the Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park. It’s a lovely, modern spa with good facilities, great treatments, a restful atmosphere and free parking. It was so good we’ve booked to go back next month!

The Volair Spa is at Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park, Longview Drive, Huyton, Merseyside, L36 6EG Tel: 0151 443 2580

We were invited guests of Volair Spa, but all images and opinions are our own. We were under no obligation to blog about our spa day.

Prosecco, skincare and a makeover in Didsbury

I am not by nature one of the beautiful people. I don’t have lovely swishy hair and flawless make up. In fact on the rare occasions that I wear make up it’s usually a quick flick of an ancient mascara and some free lip gloss I got with a magazine years ago.

The saying goes – you can’t polish a turd, so there’s no point in me trying, but this week my friend Jane and I went to Toni & Guy in Didsbury to find out more about their beauty rooms and Jane persuaded me to have a makeover.

makeover

Jane has recently had what ladies of our age call “a special birthday”, she arrived at her party looking stunning. Gillian Rafferty, a local make up artist had done her make up and although Jane is naturally beautiful anyway (with swishy hair) she looked flawless and fabulous. Gillian has been a make up artist for ten years and has worked with celebrities including Colleen Rooney, Kate Kelly and Michelle Keegan.

Gillian did my make up and Jane watched keenly. Gillian quickly assessed my skin and applied a tinted primer, deftly hid my quite massive eye bags and put eye-shadow, mascara and eyeliner on me to make more of my eyes. She finished my makeover with some pink lipstick in a shade I’d never normally try, but obviously worked for me, and then sort of spray painted my face which fixed my make up and made it look flawless. Yes, I looked flawless.

makeover

We spent some time looking around the beauty rooms, Clare Angela is the resident beauty therapist and she offers pretty much everything you might need -manicures, pedicures, tanning, waxing and facials. Clare is passionate about skincare and she offers a range of facials using Environ products starting from £45.

During the evening Environ were there with a special camera which takes photographs of your face and allows you to see how damaged your skin is and what you can do about it. They come to Didsbury every few months, so if you’re interested it’s worth phoning Clare and booking a session with them.

makeover

We had a lovely and interesting evening learning about make up, beauty and skincare at Toni & Guy and then we went off to drink some more prosecco in a local bar. And my make up still looked good when I got home!

makeover

Beauty and Skin Health by Clare Angela is available by appointment at Toni & Guy in Didsbury, phone 0161 445 5466 for more information on what Clare offers. Makeovers and make up tutorials are available from Gillian Rafferty by appointment.

Review: Babyblooms gifts for new parents

When a new baby is born it’s usually a time for celebration. Friends and family rush round for a cuddle and often bring gifts for the new arrival. It’s a kind and thoughtful thing to do, but often it’s not always possible to visit or bring gifts straight away. Babyblooms are a company who have a lovely selection of original, beautiful and practical gifts online for delivery all over the world.

Although I’ve not got a new baby, I do like receiving presents. Babyblooms got in touch and wondered if I’d try out some of their pampering skincare products for Mums. They sent me the following items…

Replenishing hand cream
Soothing body lotion
Rejuvenating facial moisturiser
Lip rescue
Baby care cream

Babyblooms

My pampering presents came in a lovely keepsake box designed by Amanda Bradley and inside was a sachet of lavender and rose buds which was a nice touch.

Over a few days I tried all of the products out. It’s worth noting at this point that I have quite sensitive skin, especially on my face, so any products I use need to be as kind as gentle as can be. All of the Babyblooms products I received were made in the UK, are 100% natural and are cruelty free.

I’ve had a cold so my lips were dry and chapped, and my skin generally dehydrated and drab. The first product I tried was the lip rescue. A little pot of lip balm, an essential for your hospital bag, and something I use every day. Made from a blend of beeswax, calendula, olive oil, sweet almond oil and cardamom, this is a lovely lip balm which moisturises, soothes and really helped my dried, chapped lips.

Next up was the baby care cream, which is like aqueous cream. I used this every day on my dry elbows. I also used it on my five year old who is prone to dry skin, when his eczema patches are very bad I used this cream to wash him with too. It’s all natural, it smelt quite neutral and was easily absorbed.

One of my favourite products was the rejuvenating facial moisturiser. Described as a rich, restorative and detoxifying night time moisturiser, it was reasonably thick but was absorbed beautifully by my hungry skin. The skin on my face is so sensitive I was worried that this would make my skin red and itchy, but it didn’t and I was very impressed. It’s hard enough to find a high street moisturiser that my face can tolerate, so I was very impressed with this find. I’m definitely adding this to my Christmas list!

The replenishing hand cream contains refreshing lemongrass and moisturising jojoba. The cream had a soft lemon fragrance and was non-greasy. It’s a lovely light hand cream you could use every day. I found it nicely moisturising and I enjoyed the uplifting fragrance. You can never have too much hand cream when you’re a mum, constantly washing your hands after changing nappies, wiping bottoms and cooking and cleaning all takes it’s toll on your hands. I go through so much hand cream it doesn’t bear thinking about and it’s lovely to use one with such a refreshing fragrance.

Last but by no means least was the soothing body lotion. This was one of my very favourite products in the box. The lotion contains calendula, lavender and evening primrose. It smells absolutely beautiful and not too heavily of lavender which can be overpowering, this is just enough to help you wind down after a long hard day. Another one for my Christmas list!

The Babyblooms pampering products for mums are lovely, really well thought out and even now, as a veteran mum I would be delighted to receive a box of these treats through the post. There are so many gorgeous gifts for new parents and their babies on the Babyblooms website, and I love that you can send gifts all over the world, which is a helpful thing to know, especially as we have friends and family all over the world now.

For the full range of pampering products, or to view their gift range visit the Babyblooms website.

Note: I was sent the Babyblooms products for review. All images and opinions are our own.

Review: Razorun Wet Shaving Subscription Box

For men, the last few years seem to have been about sharp haircuts and big beards. I love a beard as much as the next woman, but there’s an awful lot to be said for a clean shaven man; men who make the effort every morning to look spiffy. With this in mind, I got my hirsute husband to try out a monthly subscription box for men – Razorun – everything you need for your daily wet shave.

Razorun

The first Razorun box contains a double edged safety razor, a shaving brush, blades, soap and a couple of mystery items. Our box contained some matches and a shaving towel. From your second box onwards you will receive aftershaves, soap, blades and more. There are several different payment options depending on the length of your subscription, but they start at £17.99 per month for 12 months.

Razorun

When we opened the box we found that it contained everything you’d need for a wet shave (apart from the water obviously). Fitting the blade into the razor was simple and after a hot shower, husband lathered up and got shaving.

There’s something special about watching a man have a wet shave. As I child I would stand at my father’s knee and watch him lather up and shave. It was one of our things, I’d sit, legs swinging on the bath while he shaved. We’d talk about everything under the sun whilst he carefully dragged the razor across his face. Even now I love to sit and watch a man shave.

Razorun

Using the synthetic brush and the soap provided he lathered up his face. It’s a moment of ritual in a shave that you don’t get when you’re squirting foam out of a can, so it felt a bit more special than usual.

The shave took him a bit longer than usual, I think he was being cautious with the new blade, he has a very contoured face and his beard grows quickly. The double edged razor was heavier than the modern razors he is used to, but he liked the results and his face felt very smooth afterwards.

Razorun

I think the Razorun monthly subscription box is a lovely gift idea for men. Especially those men who like to do things the traditional way, shaving with proper shaving soap and a proper razor blade. Having a box of different shaving goodies sent each month is I think a lovely way of making a daily chore into something a bit nicer.

As a woman who probably cares a bit more about skincare than her man, I’d like to see some manly moisturisers and calming aftershave balms in subsequent boxes. I know each month the products are hand selected, so maybe that’s something which may happen at a later date. No two months are the same, which is part of the fun.

With Father’s Day fast approaching, I like the idea of setting up a subscription for a monthly Razorun box for either my Dad or for husband. Giving them a monthly treat to help them tackle a daily chore will hopefully help to remind them that they’re appreciated year round, not just on 19th June 2016 (Father’s Day).

To get a discount on your Razorun subscription enter SMOOTHSHAVER at the checkout, this gives you 15% off your first order. For more information about Razorun and their monthly shaving subscription boxes, visit their website.

How to have a good wet shave

Anyone who has ever run a razor over their face or any part of their body knows that shaving without due care and attention can leave you with irritation, razor burn or little cuts. Here are some top tips for having a good wet shave.

Get your face wet. Husband likes to have a shower and he exfoliates before he shaves so it is easier for him to shave.
Use a good quality shaving soap, cream or oil. Find a product which suits you and your skin (lots of women use conditioner on their legs and in an emergency it’s ok to use on your face too).
Use a good quality shaving brush – this will help get a good lather up and help lift the stubble making it easier to get a close shave.
Change your razor blade regularly. A dull or blunt razor is more likely to give you razor burn and irritation.
Use hot water, run the razor under the hot tap to clean it whilst you are shaving, this stops it clogging up with gunk and leaves the razor clear to give you the smooth shave you want.
Rinse and wash your face after shaving and then apply some soothing aftershave balm or a light moisturiser.

If you follow these tips you should get a good shave. Do you have any shaving tips you can share?

Note: We were sent a subscription box from Razorun for review purposes. All images an opinions are our own.

A seriously good facial at Beauty Bee, Bramhall

When Beauty Bee opened in Bramhall a few months ago, I started to hear from friends how good it was. As something of a facial addict I decided to book myself in for a treat and to see if the buzz about Beauty Bee was correct.

Located at Moorend Golf Driving Range in Bramhall, it might at first glance seem to be an unconventional location for beauty treatments, but Beauty Bee offer a selection of deep tissue and sports massages to the golfers, as well as a full range of beauty and pampering treatments to non-sporting types too. Once you are in the Beauty Bee treatment room you’d never guess you were in a golf club and it has the benefit of having more than ample free parking too.

Beauty Bee

On arrival Abby greeted me and escorted me into her treatment room, it was warmly decorated and very comfortable. We sat and chatted about my skin and if it had any problems, then she left the room while I got undressed and I made myself comfortable on the treatment table. Abby wrapped me in towels and a blanket and offered to put the heated blanket on for me, but I was warm and comfortable enough without it.

I’d booked myself in for the Prescription Facial (£30) and Abby took a good look at my skin. It’s fairly normal, combination skin which is a bit dehydrated around the eyes and starting to show a bit of wear and tear (I am 40 this year so it’s time I started looking my age, if not acting it occasionally).

Abby explained that she would be using products from The Potion Shop, a Manchester based company who make organic and paraben free skincare products.

Beauty Bee

It was at this point I largely zoned out and just relaxed into my treatment. I was aware that for the best part of 45 minutes I was being pampered to death. My skin was exfoliated, massaged and treated to hot towels and lots of TLC. Towards the end of my facial, Abby applied a face mask and put chamomile and lavender soaked pads on my eyes whilst she gave my hands and forearms a massage. It was blissful.

My skin felt amazing and was really glowing. As you can see from the before and after photographs below, my skin is a much more even tone, it’s less shiny and I look incredibly relaxed afterwards.

Beauty Bee

The treatment lasted just under an hour and it was an excessively good pampering. Abby clearly loves her job and is very passionate about what she does. I can really recommend Beauty Bee and the prescription facial, I adored my treatment, the look on my face in the second photo is all you really need to know – I will definitely be booking to go back again soon!

SPECIAL OFFER: Maternity Mondays at Beauty Bee – 30% off all treatments if you are on maternity leave and book in on a Monday.

Beauty Bee is at Moorend Golf Driving Range, 177 Woodford Rd, Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire SK7 1QE Phone: 07876 032125. You can find Beauty Bee on Facebook. They also offer treatments on selected days at The University of Manchester.

Review: Hope’s Relief Intensive Rescue

I’ve had patches of eczema on my body since I was a toddler, and generally I’m very prone to dry skin, more so these days now I’m on the countdown to 40 (hard to believe I know *coughs*). When I was asked to try out some Hope’s Relief skincare products I jumped at the chance.

Hope’s Relief is Australia’s best selling hand cream, and they have a range of other products designed to relieve eczema prone, itchy, cracked or dry skin. The Hope’s Relief range includes intensive rescue cream, moisturising lotion, body wash and herbal haircare products, all of which are made with natural products and is free from parabens and other nasties.

I sampled the moisturising lotion, the intensive dry skin rescue and the goats milk body wash.

Hope's relief

The moisturising lotion is suitable for face and body, it’s a general lotion which sinks in quickly, leaves no smell on your skin and helps my skin to feel moisturised and soft. I slather it on all over after a shower and my skin very quickly started to feel softer, smoother and it had fewer dry patches on it.

The intensive dry skin rescue cream is altogether a much more intense product, it is thicker and better for rubbing into patches of eczema, psoriasis or just really dry bits. Like any cream of this nature it’s best to do a little patch test first to make sure your skin likes it, my skin did, it drank it up. I applied it to some of my drier patches and it did give them a boost and within a few days they started to look and feel better.

Probably my favourite product of the three I tried was the Hope’s Relief Goats milk, shea and cocoa butter body wash. I was almost expecting it to smell goaty, but it doesn’t, it’s got quite a neutral smell, it lathers up beautifully and really leaves my skin feeling great. I really love the body wash and have expressly forbidden anyone else from using it!

Hope’s Relief is made with a range of natural products including Hospital Grade Organic Manuka Honey NPA 10+, Gotu Kola, Aloe Vera, Organic Calendula and Licorice Root to soothe and repair damaged skin. Their range is suitable for all ages, even for newborn infants and is free from sodium laurel sulphates, parabens, coal tar, artificial colours and fragrances and contains no mineral oils or petrochemicals.

I found that using these Hope’s Relief products for a couple of weeks did make a difference to the feel of my skin and that the cracks and cuts on my hands in particular are looking much better.

For further information please visit http://www.hopesrelief.co.uk/

Bubble baths & squeaky clean fun with Paddy’s Bathroom

We were sent these Paddy’s Bathroom products for review purposes, all images and opinions are our own.

One of my favourite times of the day with the small boy is bath-time. He loves a bath, he enjoys playing with all of his bath toys. He has a selection for every mood – planes, trains and auto-mobiles; ducks and seafaring stuff and a big tub of foam letters we use to spell our names out. One thing he does insist on, but doesn’t always get, is a very bubbly bath. We were sent some Paddy’s Bathroom products to try, so we put them to the test on holiday in Devon.

Paddy's Bathroom

Paddy is the brother of Ella from the popular Ella’s Kitchen range. With such a pedigree I was expecting really good things from this brand. We were sent almost the full Paddy’s bathroom range including –

Foamy Stuff hair and body mousse – smells of rosy apples
Squirty Stuff hair and body wash – smells of mangoes
Squirty Stuff hair and body wash – smells of pineapples
Bubbly Stuff bubble bath – smells of tangerines
Stuff for Shiny Hair shampoo – smells like squeezy lemons
Stuff for Hands foaming hand wash – smells like squeaky clean lemons

We packed it all for our holiday, I always think it’s nice to take new toiletries away and these looked really good for all of us, so I didn’t even pack any “grown up” stuff.

I like the packaging, especially the products in pouches, these seemed like a really good idea to me and I’d like to see more bathroom products in pouches. The “squirty stuff” bottles are a little fiddly to open until you get the knack, but they’re a great design which foams the gel as it dispenses. The range is colourful and has a lot of information about the product on the packaging, which I find useful.

Paddy’s bathroom contains No SLS, Parabens, Phthalates, Sulphates or GMO ingredients. I am increasingly aware of parabens and the other nasties we find in skincare and bathing products, so this is good to read.

Paddy's Bathroom

But what did the small boy think? I ran him the bubbliest bath he’s probably ever had. He stayed in there until his fingers and toes were wrinkly and he had a great time. He particularly loved the foaming products, the foamy hair and body mousse was a real favourite (he’s washing his hair with it above). He came out of the bath squeaky clean and very happy.

The Paddy’s Bathroom range all have fruity scents, which is some products would smell really fake and cloying, but these are made with as much natural and organic ingredients as possible, and they smell really uplifting to me.

Both the boy and I have very sensitive skin and I was pleased that neither of us came up in a rash, or had any dry skin as a result, we’ve all used them for a week now and we all really like them.

Paddy's Bathroom

Paddy’s Bathroom products are really fun and well thought out. I’m really pleased we discovered them, a foamy hand wash will only encourage him to wash his hands, which is a nigh on impossible task. He loves the bubble bath – which may well be the bubbliest bubble bath ever, so we’ll be buying that again. And even I love the squeaky clean lemon shampoo, which makes my hair shiny – again, an almost impossible task. Paddy’s Bathroom gets the thumbs up from us!

Update: 21st November 2020. Paddy’s Bathroom are no longer trading and their products are no longer available.

Review: Urtekram – The Danish Skincare Brand

I have an addiction, my addiction is to skincare products, specifically nice moisturisers; but I’m happy to get my fix where I can; soaps, hand creams, haircare products, lip balms, oh the lip balms. Anyway, I digress, I’ve recently stumbled across an interesting and exciting Danish brand called Urtekram. Urtekram produce a really lovely looking range of organic and vegan skincare products which haven’t been tested on animals, what’s more the packaging is really fresh looking and looks great in my bathroom. I was sent a selection of Urtekram products to try out, here’s what I thought.

Aloe Vera Hand Cream
This is a great hand cream for me, thick enough to really moisturise my dry hands, but light enough to be absorbed pretty quickly. It’s got a great scent too, there’s a lovely hint of orange zest which is fresh rather than sickly sweet. I love this.

Rose Body Lotion
It’s only fairly recently I’ve started to really like the smell of rose, this isn’t overpowering and is a lovely light fragrance. The lotion itself is light and absorbs quickly but leaves my skin feeling soft and supple. It’s going to become a favourite of mine I think.

Rose Soap Bar
A normal looking bar of soap, infused with the same delicate rose fragrance as the body lotion, an excellent bathroom staple.

Nordic Birch Shampoo
This is for normal hair, so it was ideal for mine. The bottle says it is infused with the smell of corn flowers, but to me it had a nice, light almost medicinal smell. I liked it a lot. The shampoo contains birch leaf and walnut leaf extracts as well as aloe vera to moisturise your hair. It left my hair feeling really clean and fresh. I’ll be looking out for this again.

Camomile Shampoo
This is for blonde hair and none of us are blonde, it is however the most gorgeous smelling shampoo, it is infused with wild camomile oils and aloe vera. Our hair smelt lovely after using this and it was squeaky clean.

Lime Crystal Roll-On Deodorant
I am naturally very cautious about deodorant as I am sensitive to some deodorants, but I gave the organic one a try. First of all the fragrance is fresh and zingy, if I want my armpits to smell of anything then fresh lime is a good thing to smell of. It’s not sticky on application and I think would be great to use in the summer as it feels instantly cooling.

No Perfume Baby All-Over Wash
Lastly, this unscented, organic body wash is great for babies, young children and sensitive types like myself. A little goes a long way and it has a no more tears formula.

I really enjoyed trying all the different Urtekram products. They feel gentle and caring on my skin which is important to me. They are not expensive either, with the shampoos currently available in a range of online stores for under £5 a bottle and body lotion at around £6.50. I think they’re really good value for certified organic and vegan skincare products of this quality. I will definitely be searching these out in the future.

For more information, visit their website.

Disclaimer: We were sent these Urtekram products for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Spa Days: The Sienna Spa, Radisson Blu Edwardian, Manchester

I like to think of myself as a reasonably articulate person. I’m usually pretty good at stringing a sentence together, but as I left the Sienna Spa at the Radisson Blu Edwardian, Manchester, I literally had no idea how I was going to write it up. It’s rare I’m left speechless, but my afternoon at the Sienna Spa was so incredible I had no words. A few days later I’m now able to formulate proper sentences, so here goes.

On Monday I went to the Sienna Spa at the Radisson Blu Edwardian, Manchester. I love going to the spa and pre-baby, it was something I treated myself to fairly regularly, I used to have regular facials and massages but now time is tight and my face further down the priority list. I was booked in for an ‘Advanced Enzyme Facial’, I arrived early and was offered the chance to use the facilities before my treatment. I took one look at the pool and couldn’t resist.

The Sienna Spa is gorgeous. There is a modern, well-equipped gym, a stunning pool with jacuzzi as well as a selection of steam rooms. I had a quick swim in the pool and enjoyed the hot bubbles in the jacuzzi before drying off and going for my treatment (for this reason, next time I’ll take a spare swimming costume, one to swim in, one to wear during my treatments).

I was given a lovely fluffy dressing gown to wear and I was escorted to the relaxation room. This had a number of comfortable, adjustable couches where you could recline, relax and drift off before and after your treatment. You could also help yourself to water and herbal teas. The relaxation room had ‘spa music’ piped in, you know the kind of music I mean, the sound of water in a stream, birdsong and such like. I do find ‘spa music’ quite restful and it helps me to focus on relaxing and clearing my mind.

My therapist, Cathy came to collect me and ushered me into the treatment room. Cathy ran through the details of my ‘Advanced Enzyme Facial’ and explained that it was quite an intensive treatment which would involve a fruit acid peel which wouldn’t be suitable for very sensitive skins.

The ‘Advanced Enzyme Facial’ is described as “a powerful and highly effective facial to boost cell regeneration and give an instantly smooth, softly glowing complexion. A deep brush cleanse is followed by an intense Enzyme Peel containing botanical extracts and Pumpkin Enzymes to deeply exfoliate and remove dead skin cells. After a soothing massage using Rose Quartz Crystals to help cool and calm, a Lifting and Smoothing Mask is applied, containing concentrated Seaweed Extracts, Argan Oil and Menthol, to give your skin a more plumped and firmer appearance”.

I lay on a heated treatment table and the treatment began. The heated table is such a good idea, especially for someone like me with a very bad back, the heat helped to soothe my aches and after my 90 minute treatment was over I got off the table quite nimbly, without the heat it would’ve been a different story.

Cathy talked me though every step of the process, telling me what might tingle and what might feel cold. She looked at my face carefully under a special lamp and told me that the skin around my eyes, on my forehead and chin was quite dehydrated, she advised me on skincare to help hydrate my skin as well as encouraging me to drink more water, something I have been trying to do lately anyway.

The facial was relaxing but thorough, the treatment also included a scalp massage and conditioning treatment as well as a hand and arm massage and some neck and shoulder work too. At one point I drifted off I was so relaxed.

My skin looked and felt so much better. It was clearer and it glowed, some of my more noticeable lines were less prominent too. Have a look at my before and after picture and see for yourself. (Also, note how incredibly relaxed and happy I look in the ‘after’ picture).

It was absolutely the perfect pampering treatment and without a shadow of a doubt THE best facial I’ve ever had, both in terms of how good my skin now feels and just how relaxed and pampered I feel right now.

The Sienna Spa is a beautiful spa, well designed and comfortable, I am already planning to go back very soon. They have regular special offers available to book on their website, so it’s worth looking our for deals on their spa days and treatments.

My ‘Advanced Enzyme Facial’ cost £100 for a 90 minute treatment. Any regular spa goer will know that this is a good price for that quality and length of treatment, especially one which includes a peel. I really feel it made a big difference to my skin and to the appearance of my wrinkles. I will be returning to the Sienna Spa very soon. Sometimes a girl just needs to treat herself.

Note: I was an invited guest of The Sienna Spa and I was not asked to pay for my treatment. All images and opinions are my own.

RawfullyGood Vegan Skincare Review

I am a sensitive soul. As a child I had eczema which I eventually grew out of, but then grew back into. I’ve got psoriasis on my feet and my skin in general is dry and sensitive.

My face when dabbed with the wrong products turns into something dry, red and itchy. I’ve got to be careful. My little monkey does too; he gets dry patches which we have to keep an eye on. It’s safe to say all our beauty products are for dry, sensitive skins.

I was given the opportunity to try a selection of products from local company Rawfully Good. The products are vegan, a lot of the ingredients are fair-trade and Amy who mixes all the products up herself keeps the products as natural as can be.

I was sent these products to try – Super Healing body butter with arnica & calendula, African black soap, lavender & tea-tree deodorant, Green Tea Cleanser and Aqueous Cream. We’ve used them for a couple of weeks now, so here are our honest thoughts.

Super Healing Body Butter with arnica & calendula
This body butter says it is great for sore, inflamed and itchy skin conditions, also for burns, eczema and nappy rash. It can be used to treat thread and spider veins as well as varicose veins.

I’d wholeheartedly agree, this was one of my favourite products. I have various scars, I applied the cream to them twice a day for two weeks and there was a definite improvement in the look of the scars, they have shrunk in size and the redness had reduced. We’ve used it on dry patches, psoriasis, chicken pox scars, bites, anything and everything. If I could butter my toast with it I probably would.

Aqueous Cream
This cream is usually a fairly standard piece of kit in any house with a small child. Generally the over the chemists counter versions contain paraffin oil or jelly, this aqueous cream is made with pure shea butter.

It was very moisturising, easy to apply and I used it on some of his sore botty bits. I also used it on my hands which are starting to suffer in the cold weather. It was a good, general, all purpose cream and we gave it the thumbs up.

African Black Soap
Honestly I opened this tin and thought “what the hell?” it looks like the innards of a fig roll and has a similar consistency. To the conventional eye this just looks plain alien. But I am assured its not, this is an entirely natural soap made in Ghana and is entirely biodegradable and contains no synthetic ingredients, no preservatives, Parabens, SLS, or Detergents.

To use this you take a little scraping from the tin and rub it on a damp flannel or sponge, against all conventional wisdom it lathers up nicely. I used it instead of shower gel and I came out squeaky clean. I noticed that the shower took less cleaning too which is always a bonus. It is gentle and kind and it didn’t dry my skin out like normal soap does.

Green Tea Cleanser
As I’ve already mentioned I have a very sensitive face. I was cautious about trying this but I needn’t have worried, it was fine, no red face, no adverse reaction, just lovely soft, clean skin. It contains natural Vitamin E and Green Tea to help protect skin, restore moisture, and improve the tone and texture of skin. Obviously I didn’t try this on the boy, but I used it morning and night for a couple of weeks, my skin appeared brighter and my skin was softer. If you’re looking for a sensitive cleanser then I’d recommend this.

Lavender & Tea-tree Deodorant
Cards on the table, no one likes talking about their pits; but like my face they’re sensitive. I’ve only found one deodorant that doesn’t bring me out in an awful, itchy, painful rash, so I was understandably worried that this would cause me all kinds of problems.

I tried it on freshly shaven and not quite so freshly shaven pits, not a problem. It comes as a stick which I thought would be sticky but it wasn’t. It doesn’t smell too strongly, is easy to apply and I imagine one stick would last for ages. I know what you’re thinking, did I have stinky pits? Well my lucky husband was forced to sniff them (in the name of science) every night and declared me sweet smelling.

This deodorant gets a massive thumbs up from me and I will definitely by buying it again in the future. I love that it’s natural and the shea butter in it conditions the skin rather than dries it out like my old spray on deodorant.

RawfullyGood products do seem awfully good, there are lots of lotions and potions on the website and I will be buying and trying more products for my family to use on our tricky skin.

I’m really glad I tried these products. I think people who have problem skin are often really cautious about trying new things. I’m glad I got the opportunity to give these products a go and I’ll be adding them to my shopping list in the future.

Disclaimer: I was given these Rawfully Good products free of charge to try for review purposes. If anything when reviewing products I’m more discerning than usual.