Hair removal. Tedious, time-consuming and occasionally painful. You’d think this would be something evolution would have sorted out for us ladies.

I’ve tried most of the methods out there for defuzzing. A brief dalliance with waxing, epilating and threading tested my (very low) pain threshold to the limit. Hair removal cream only succeeded in fumigating the bathroom and left me light-headed. Hair removal mitts gave me an appalling rash that garnered appalled looks from parents who quickly ushered their children away.

Which basically leaves me and my modest budget with the trusty razor. That’s not to say I haven’t eyed up the pricey salon-based IPL (intense pulsed light) courses though that promise permanent results.

So, when I was given the chance to try out the iPulse Smooth Skin IPL system from Boots to try at home, I snapped up their offer faster than you can say “Julia Roberts fuzz faux-pas”

Here’s how I got on.

The product

The iPulse Smooth Skin IPL system is a compact machine that consists of a base with two control panels, and a handset that emits a short, intense pulse of filtered light. The system works when the light is absorbed by the coloured pigments in and surrounding the hair and it disables the hair follicle, helping to prevent hair re-growth.

Using it

There’s a huge instruction book to read, but here’s the basics:

• Shave/trim area.
• Apply Activation Gel
• Choose your heat level (you’ll find the suitable one for your skin in the book) and switch it over to ‘ready’
• Apply the headset to an area of hair you want to target. Once the four pins on the headset touch skin, a red light will signal it’s ready.
• Hit the button!

This video sums it all up.

Wins points for:

• Lack of pain: I used the highest level (fair) but the pain barely registers. A quick shot of heat and it’s done
• Quick: It only takes around five minutes to do both areas of the underarm
• Results: I can definitely see a difference. See the conclusion below for more information.

Loses points for:

Messy: You’ll need to apply a messy gel before using the applicator on your skin

Small surface area covered: This means it’ll take a long time if you fancy tackling your legs or any large areas of skin

Expensive: Although the results should be permanent which will save you money long term.

Not suitable for all skin types. Try the suitability tool on the Boots website to see if you can use it.

Conclusion

I’ve been using the iPulse Smooth Skin system for six weeks now and I can see a reduction in hair growth generally and some areas where hair has simply stopped growing. As I’m blessed (!) with red hair and pale skin, it’ll take a little longer. But an extra five minutes spent once a week with this gadget is a small commitment for what could be a long-term hair-free future. Plus it’s quite a bit cheaper than the courses you can buy in salons.

iPulse Smooth Skin: Boots: £274.99

Last week I went along to the launch of Cosmopolitan magazine’s first blog awards. It started at 9am (9am!) and I got there so fashionably late that I actually missed all the speeches and most of the pastries.

However, there were just enough people still wafting around the cool, creamy interior of the Future Gallery in London to make it worth my while shedding my flip flops in favour of some last-season United Nude shoes (someone’s got to be fashion-backward with all those fashion-forward people in the room or the planet would topple over).

Needless to say, I didn’t make it into any of the photo gallery shots, but I *did* spend some time downloading a Twitter app for Cosmo publishing director, Justine Southall. Hey, I’ve found my niche in life, why fight it?!

Nominate Dork Adore!

If you would like to nominate Dork Adore in the gadget/tech sector, we’d be *really* OK with that. It takes about 20 seconds (I know because I nominated Big Girls Browse by sometime Dork Adore contributor, Gemma Cartwright in the fashion sector).

****  Nominate Dork Adore for the Cosmo Blog Awards! ****

Ta v. much.

River Wellbeing Spa at The Rafayel Hotel

A couple of months ago, I wrote about the various bargain designer clothes sites available online. Since then, another type of shopping has taken off in a big way, giving consumers the chance to take advantage of group buying for fun activities.

Group buying (also known as mobdeals or groupons) is where a website offers a deal that only becomes available once a certain number of people sign up for it. So, the deal is ‘on’ when they reach their target.

Most of the sites currently offering these deals work on a regional basis, so it’s not just the capitals that can take advantage. The majority of deals come with a 6-12 month voucher, so you don’t have to use it straight away either.

So, fancy getting involved in this bulk buying phenomenon? Here are three of the best sites offering the service.

Wahanda

Wahanda was the first site that made me aware of bulk buying, with their daily MobDeals. Currently available in London, Manchester and Birmingham, the spa site offers deals like 3-for-1 power plate classes, a full spa day for under £30 and spray tan deals for under a tenner.

My City Deal (soon to be Groupon)

My City Deal offers deals on everything from meals out and comedy nights to pampering treatments and paintballing days. They’ve got a good coverage of cities, so you should be able to find something close to you.

Groupola

Groupola works in much the same way as MyCityDeal, although they’re a bit more limited on locations. Recent deals have included hot air balloon rides in Liverpool, Scuba Diving in Birmingham and Zumba classes in Edinburgh.

There are plenty of other sites offering similar deals, including Groupon (which has recently taken over MyCityDeal), Letsgroupit, Crowdity and LivingSocial, but the three above update most often.

Know of any other good group buying sites?

Every dork worth his or her salt has a geeky t-shirt somewhere in the wardrobe. Whether it features a favourite video game, a geeky sci-fi program or a random catchphrase no one else has heard of, it’ll be lurking there somewhere.

So if you haven’t got one yet, your geek credentials are in serious doubt. I suggest you rectify the situation by grabbing one now.

Perhaps this Cancel or Allow T-shirt from Jinx for £10 (right)?

Here’s a few more inspirational dorky threads.

C’mon, you know it’s impossible to have a round up of dorky t-shirts without at least one Pac-man option! This one gets double points for the cult movie reference.

It’s available from Game for £9.78

Couldn’t resist this Soda Stream t-shirt after reviewing the revamped version a while ago. It’s from retro-geek haven TruffleShuffle for £20.

Amazon have this Doctor Who t-shirt (£11.99) for the trendy dork in your life.

Finally, a multi-purpose t-shirt/gimmick. This T-Qualizer Music Tee from IWOOT reacts to sound, so the EQ actually works when exposed to music. A gadget and a retro design? Ultimate dorkiness.

Seen any other dorky t-shirts? Let us know in the comments.

Being a bit of a gym-dodger when it comes to exercise, the concept of a pair of trainers that tones up the legs and bum without taking a step near a treadmill appealed immediately.

So, when Fitness Footwear offered me the chance to try out their latest range of Shape Up trainers, I happily took on the challenge.

A few days later and I was strapping on a pair of chunky looking fitness footwear with girly pink piping for my morning dog walk.

Several weeks on, does it stand up to its claims of being a bum-toning, leg-strengthening, posture-improving wondershoe?

Here’s my thoughts…

Sketchers explain that their trainers help you do all of the above thanks to its “unique soft kinetic wedge insert and dynamic rolling bottom to stimulate walking on soft sand”.

So, that explains why none of the cast of Baywatch had cellulite.

The trainers  are surprisingly comfortable, partly because that wedge provide the arch of your foot with a soft support, and partly because they’re just very well made trainers. Walking around in them takes a couple of minutes to adjust to. though, as you rock forwards and back due to the rolling bottom.

Once I got walking, I felt my calves working harder and my core muscles strengthening. I can’t even remember the last time my core muscles made their presence known, so it was a welcome sensation to feel my body automatically adopt a better posture.

Looks-wise, you’re not going to grab any style awards. But they look fairly normal under a pair of trousers or jeans, so you can pop them on for your commute to work or when you’re doing the school run.

In summary:

Wins points for:

• Working wonders for your calves. I’ve definitely seen an improvement in my legs since using them on a daily basis.
• Improving your posture. It does make you more aware of a straight posture, although I’m not sure whether this effect lasts after you take the trainers off.
• Convenience. If you don’t have time to hit the gym, this can help you get your legs ready for the beach.

Loses points for:

The look. They’re not exactly ugly, but they’re a little clumpy. But then, when do fitness trainers ever look good?

The price. Currently around £89.95. Ouch.

Storage. They’re chunky, so there’s no way you can chuck these in your handbag after commuting to work.

Conclusion

These trainers do exactly what they say on the box. However, they’re not a replacement for the gym unless you plan on incorporating a large amount of walking into your daily schedule. They basically optimise the results of your current walking regime, which is no bad thing. If you’ve got a spare £80 hanging around, I’d say they’re worth a purchase.

The trainers were sent to me by Fitness Footwear, and you can buy them here.

Also available on Amazon, eBay or Schuh.

A little while ago I mentioned a couple of vibrating mascaras that proudly claimed to be the Next Big Thing in the world of cosmetics. Following in the footsteps of the vibrating cleansers (the Neutrogena Wave and the Clarisonic Skin Therapy System) and the vibrating hair straighteners (The Pink Vibe Straighteners), the vibrating mascaras promise to give you the kind of fluttery eyelashes that would gather a few dirty looks from Bambi.

My lifelong search for the perfect mascara has finally overcome my fear of placing any form of buzzing brush near my eyes, and Maybelline have kindly offered me their Pulse Perfection mascara to put to the test.

Maybelline claims to give the lashes extra length, body and curl with its vibrating brush, without applying half a dozen coats.

Here’s how I got on.

The Pulse Perfection looks like any other mascara, except there’s a tiny battery section at the wand end to power the vibrations. The battery is already included, so all you need to do is remove the safety tape and hold down the button to activate the ‘pulses’.

You apply the mascara in the same way as you normally would, holding down the button whilst weaving the brush through your lashes. I found holding the button down whilst applying it a little tricky, especially as I tend to roll the mascara when applying for a bit of extra volume. The mascara wand itself is a small, bendy brush.

The actual vibrations are pleasant enough, and rather bizarrely you can actually feel your lashes lifting a little at the roots. It’s an odd sensation but not uncomfortable. After a couple of coatings of the mascara I noticed that my lashes definitely looked longer and separated, giving a pretty fan effect. However, this is a similar look to how my lashes look if I wiggle the brush during the application.

Wins points for:

• Good quality mascara formula (no smudging, no stinging for sensitive eyes)
• Lifts the lashes

Loses points for:

Button activation is uncomfortable when you have to constantly hold it down.

The price is high for a mascara, coming in at around £14.67 from Boots.

Conclusion

Overall the results were good, but I’ve got static mascaras that give better results without the buzzing. I can however see the benefit of this product for shorter lashes as they give a wide-awake look.

Fancy giving it a try? You can also buy it on eBay for under a fiver.

Designer stores scare me. Snooty shop assistants, ultra-organised and therefore intimidating rails, and huge price tags have me running for the high street faster than you can say “so this season”

The thing is, after years of buying cheap and cheerful high street clothes, I want to start investing in a few high quality designer pieces. Sample sales are one of the best ways to access designer pieces at affordable prices, but they’re not particularly accessible to those of us living outside the big cities.

Thankfully, there are now plenty of websites with private sales, so you can pick up a bargain from the comfort of your own home. For your surfing pleasure, I’ve created a round up of all the top websites to bookmark next time you’re on the hunt for a retail treat.

ASOS.com
Probably more well known for its cheap and speedy imitations of celebrity outfits, ASOS has recently expanded into the higher end of the market.  Head to the outlet section and you’ll discover pieces from Diesel, French Connection and Twenty8Twelve. For a more expensive splurge, click on the designer section.

Cocosa

Cocosa is an invitation-only fashion destination, giving members a chance to view private designer sales from the comfort of their own homes. Daily e-mail updates alert members as to what sales are coming up, and each sale runs for a limited period of time.

If you’d like a code, let me know in the comments and I’ll send you one!

Rue La La
Cocosa only delivers to the UK, but luckily the USA has Rue La La. You can expect prices to be slashed by up to 50%.

Comment below if you fancy an invite.

Brand Alley
Brand Alley is a private designer sale site which doesn’t require an invitation, just a quick registration. I’ve seen some great sales here recently for Traffic People (dresses starting at £8) and on designer sunglasses (around 50% off)

My-Wardrobe
My-Wardrobe is a fashion focused website in the UK that focuses solely on this season’s collections. Now the sale has kicked in, you can grab some real bargains.

Net-A-Porter
Net-A-Porter describes itself as the “world’s premier online luxury fashion retailer”. It’s an A-Z of designer names and editorial pieces.

Koodos

Koodos is the family choice, with over 170 designer brands for women, men and children.  In their quest to get the best for less, they’ve also launched a blog rounding up all the best deals.

Know of any other designer discount sites? Let us know in the comments!

Article adapted from a post on Emma Cossey’s blog

I don’t know about you but I’m always a bit disappointed with hairdryers in hotels – not to mention when I go to stay with my mum, who is still using one from of the seventies – so I usually lug my own along with me. It’s a great big, years-old hefty thug of a hairdryer, but the reason I like it is because it’s powerful, and you can’t beat a good blast of hot air when you want to do your own blow dry before a big night out.

Having said that, I’m always on the look out for something smaller which does the job, but travel dryers never seem to quite cut it when it comes to the power stakes, and usually they are just plain ugly.

Thankfully, the vintage style, floral pattern travel dryer (£21.24 plus p&p) from www.looksgorgeous.com is cute, lightweight and very portable.

It comes in a zip-up travel pouch, has an 800w motor and two power settings, and is available in a choice of plain powder pink and dusky blue as well as a retro floral print.

I tried it out on my shoulder-length hair and while I can’t say it did a quick job of drying it, it is certainly a pretty creature, and its moulded handle made it comfortable to hold. If you can’t bear to travel without your own hairdryer, then this is a good retro-girly choice.

Gains points for

• Extra-long power cable – at 5’ 10” I could dry my hair standing up

• Very lightweight

• Neat carry case to keep it tidily tucked away

Loses points for

• Not particularly powerful – took 20 minutes to dry my shoulder-length hair

Conclusion
Its tiny size means it’s not the most powerful of dryers, but what do you expect from something so dinky? It’d be perfect for retro glamour pusses on the go, or little girls with smaller hands who are into all things pretty for their dressing tables.

by Sasa Jankovic

Another year, another hair tool released to rival GHD.

This time, it’s the turn of the Bullet Hair Straighteners from Diva Professional Styling, who have kindly sent over a pair to test out on my unruly, thick hair.

This hair tool claims to bring “curling and straightening together in a way never seen before”

Let’s put that to the test, shall we?

Compared to my GHDs, the Bullet Straightener has thicker plates, a more curved tip and an adjustable temperature dial. These features allow you to create curls and waves  in your hair, or to straighten it whilst giving it a bit of body at the roots.

So, basically, the muse for this product is Cheryl Cole.

Quite rightly too. After 40 minutes with these babies, my hair had bounce, loose waves at the bottom, and a glossy sheen.  More miraculously, the waves stayed in overnight. I woke up this morning, and my hair was still bouncy and wavy.

*flicks hair*

Anyway, on to the pros and cons

Wins points for

• Curved tip ensures curls form nicely and stay in place. Also gives lots of volume at the roots.
• Adjustable temperature means you can adjust how much you want to fry your hair.
• Product comes with a heatproof carry case

Loses points for:

• The plates are thicker than GHDs, but they’re shorter too, so you’ll need to work on small sections.
• For some reason, they’ve included diamanté hairslides, the 90s type that you have to twirl into your hair.  Which makes me think the product is aimed at a younger market than me.
• No automatic sleep mode, so it’s a little more dangerous for those of us who regularly experience the “did I leave it on?” thought on the bus to work.

Conclusion

Sitting just under the £100 price tag, you’d expect these to be a decent rival to GHD. Whilst the GHDs are still much quicker to use, I’d happily turn to this styling tool when it comes to waves and curls.

Additionally, to get around the lack of sleep mode, you can use the Energenie Energy Saver Plug (£8.99) This plug acts as an adaptor for the appliance you’re using, and turns the product off after 30 minutes.

I’m not a particularly high-maintenance girl (I work at home, I live in the countryside, the only person I see all day is my dog – and yes, I realise she’s not technically a person either) but when I go out (infrequently) I like to make an effort with my hair and do possess a pair of GHDs.

The thing is, I can’t get them to work that well when it comes to creating curls that stay in place without using gallons of fixing products, so when I heard about the new YOGI curling wand (RRP £59.95) I thought I’d give it a try.

It’s basically a ceramic wand that plugs into the mains, heats up and is ready to use in an instant. It comes with a pair of heat-proof mitts so you don’t burn your fingers as you wind the hair around the wand. Since you have to hold the strands of hair in place yourself while the heat does its thing – there’s no ‘clip’ mechanism like you used to get on hair tongs of old – these are a very good idea.

Now I have very unremarkable hair. Long, flat-ish, a bit dry at the ends, neither thick nor thin, some highlights and that’s about it. After my lack of success with GHDs I wasn’t that optimistic to be honest. I wound up, counted to ten (give or take), let go of the end of the hair and slid the wand out. And there, indeed, was a curl.

So far, so good, but did it last? Depending on the thickness of the strand of hair you wind you can create anything from ringlets to waves. Although on my hair they did drop a bit throughout the day, I still ended up with curls at bedtime without me having to put any kind of product in my hair at all. As a low-maintenance girl, I call that a result.

Gains points for

• Super-long flex cord so you’ve got plenty of room for manoeuvre
• Heats up very quickly and cools down fast as well
• Curls that last all day without extra product in the hair

Loses points for

Heat-proof mitt is a great idea but fiddly until you’ve got used to it
If you want a heat-proof mat to rest them on you have to buy it separately

Conclusion

A good buy. I used them this morning and have taken the dog crashing through the woods, done a day’s work, watched a bit of Jeremy Kyle (although that’s enough to make your hair curl in itself) and the curls are still there, and will still be in place when I get to gad about on the town tonight (OK, my local up the road).

by Sasa Jankovic