Summer is coming but, chances are, your face, body and nails are still suffering from the effects of winter: cold weather, central heating, too much alcohol and comfort eating. If you want to get back on form before sun, sea and sand start testing them again, an intensive home course could be the answer.
‘A concentrated treatment will help to kickstart your skin so it looks and feels better,’ says beauty guru Bharti Vyas. ‘You should see an improvement instantly, and over time too. A new season is an especially good time to do an intensive treatment because it helps your body adapt to the changing climate.’
But can a short, sharp shock really make a difference to your knackered skin, flabby body or flaky nails? We’ve tried out seven boosters to find out which ones are worth splashing out on.
THE PERFECT SILHOUETTE
Jeanne Piaubert Speed Dieting, £96
When: Apply the creams twice a day for seven days – miraculously quick to achieve an ideal figure.
How: The promised slimming effect comes from a mix of 5% caffeine (more than fresh coffee beans) plus ginkgo biloba (to free the fat cells), decapeptide (to burn them); l-carnitine (to eat them up) and ivy cosmelene (to drain them out of you).
The promise: A gob-smacking array of promises – this product is apparently ‘for a woman who wants to slim without dieting and find her dream silhouette within one week’. So that’s all of us then.
Tester says: ‘The bottle is divided in two, for a day and night treatment. I measured my waist, hips and thighs and embarked on the cream-applying programme. I was horrified by the massive size of my waist and thighs, so throughout the week I helped the creams by eating sensibly and going to the gym four times. But after seven days I hadn’t lost any inches on my waist and thighs. My hips were slightly slimmer, but that may have been down to bad measuring rather than the miracle cream, because my clothes certainly didn’t feel any looser. Put the £96 in a piggy bank towards lipo, that’s my advice.’
SKIN REFRESHER
Lacura 7 Day Intensive Treatment – Rejuvenation, £3.99
When: Every evening for seven days.
How: An oil with calming rice proteins and fancy active ingredients like ‘tropical balloon vines’ help to protect and regenerate the skin.
The promise: A fairly modest claim of increased elasticity and a refreshed appearance of the skin.
Tester says: ‘Each vial contains 3ml of oil and the first hurdle is actually using the whole contents in one go. I tried, and after half an hour of vigorous massage, I had to wipe the rest off. It didn’t absorb very well and each morning my pillow looked as if I’d eaten fish and chips off it. My skin on the first few days looked a little better, but I’m sure that’s more from the amount I had to massage it. But by the fourth day my pores looked enlarged, and I had a spot. By the fifth I gave up, feeling a bit miserable.’
BETTER BREASTS
Monu by Susan Molyneux Ampoules No.3 for the Bust, £29.50
When: Once a day for 10 days.
How: The ampoules contain collagen (the magic stuff that keeps skin young and supple), as well as firming and moisturising ingredients such as wheatgerm and evening primrose oil.
The promise: Smoothes away tiny lines on the breasts, rehydrates the skin and helps skin cells to renew themselves.
Tester says: ‘The claims for this weren’t excessive, so it’s not like I was expecting new boobs or anything. And I didn’t get them, but it did do pretty much everything it said. The skin was smoother, firmer and small lines faded slightly. Not dramatic enough for anyone but me to notice, but giving my boobs a pep was very rewarding.’
STRONGER NAILS
The Nail Doctor Rescue Me Strengthening System, £8.99
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When: Once a day for 10 days.
How: A two-step once-a-day application of clear varnishes. Step one is a base coat with vitamins, aloe and red algae (which helps to build calcium). Step two is a hard protective barrier to help nails grow.
The promise: Beautiful healthy nails with no splitting, cracking or peeling.
Tester says: ‘It gave my rubbish, bendy nails that awful, shiny look they used to have when I was 12 and had to paint them with bitter polish to stop biting them. Not cool. But they started feeling stronger almost straight away. Ten days of careful removal and reapplication later and my nails are in better condition – longer than they have been in a while and mostly not peeling. Three nails still need help, but there’s plenty left in the pots for another 10 days.’
RADIANCE BOOSTING & WRINKLE REDUCING
Matis Paris Le Concentré Caviar Rétinol, £158
When: Twice a day for 28 days.
How: The daytime bottle contains caviar extract to energise and moisturise. The night bottle contains a high percentage of retinol to stimulate cells overnight.
The promise: Brighter, firmer, luminous skin, with lines and wrinkles smoothed away.
Tester says: ‘The results were good. My skin was softer and I looked more glowing. Lines I’d dreamed of seeing the last of didn’t disappear, but looked less obvious. My neck was firmer and less jowly. My only complaint was the effects lasted for a couple of days after the treatment ended, then my skin went back to normal. I wanted lasting effects for this price.’
FACE FIRMING
Tesco Skin Wisdom Salon Professional Instant Face Lift Kit, £9.97
When: A face mask on day one, then wrinkle serum and lip plumper once a day for five days.
How: Vitamin E and co-enzyme Q10 firm up the skin while peptides create an instant tightening effect.
The promise: The kind of moisturising, skin plumping and radiance boosting effects you’d get from an in-salon treatment.
Tester says: ‘My face had been feeling neglected, so taking time to pamper it was already a good thing. The face mask was lovely and moisturising, and I did feel much glowier the next day (the boyfriend even commented, hurrah) but I’d have liked to have five masks over five days. The serum alone kept my skin looking good, but didn’t give any further improvement over the following days. The lip plumper kept my lips more moisturised than usual, but no bigger. It did get me using a serum daily though, which I’ll stick to.’
MOISTURISING & LINE BANISHING
Ahava Time Line Age Defying 3D Essence Ampoules, £88
When: Three times a day for 10 days.
How: The secret is the extremely scientific-sounding ‘3D Complex Mineral Skin Osmoter’ – a mix of Dead Sea minerals, desert plant extracts with names straight out of the jungle book (Tigonella and Jujube Tree) and seaweed algae.
The promise: 12-hour moisturisation, smoother and younger skin. It promises an ‘almost instant face lift’.
Tester says: ‘Easy enough to use, though having to apply one at lunchtime was a bit of a hassle – I felt silly slapping on serum in the office loos. The ampoules have an odd smell for a face product, but it’s not unpleasant – a bit like fresh coffee – and have a wonderful silky feeling on the skin. I found that my face had a more luminous quality after 10 days. They are on the expensive side so I don’t know if I’d buy them again but as a one-off treatment it was a great pep. Face lift? Well, no. But a definite improvement.’
Edited by: Octavia Walker.
