I've watched the last few episodes of Beauty and the Beast on C4 and I've found it fascinating! I'm not a fan of cosmetic surgery, unless like the lady in the first episode who had very large breasts and it was causing her problems in her day to day life or for maybe for medical reasons.

I once heard a saying 'every woman is beautiful, in the eyes of the man who loves her' and this program has made me think that each of these people with facial disfiguarments is beautiful, because the external features don't matter as they are beautiful inside!!! My favourite moment so far was when in this weeks episode the lady with the disfigurement who did have some problems with her speech, started to sing in a really lovely voice and with real confidence too, it made me smile and it shocked the hell out of the lady who has spent over £250,000 on cosmetic surgery and who it turns out has some psycological problems where the disfigured lady was happy and well rounded!

It has also made me think about the beauty industry for which I have worked in for coming up to 20 years. It really annoys me when companies use stunning models in their product information, I do my best at Calm not to have much of it, as I feel it can be intimidating, but that must be multiplied when you have a facial disfigurment.  I try to ensure a comfortable and welcoming environment for anyone especially someone who is maybe a bit shy, or has body issues or even intimidated by other salons, and I now want to extend that to anyone that has a facial or body disfigurement, If I can offer a relaxing treatment, than my job is done.

So how much do you pay for a cleanser? I ask beacause I am looking for a new brand to add to Skintruth at Calm and have been very surprised by the difference in pricing and it has led me to consider what I would pay.

I love love love Skintruth Soothing Facial Wash and so do my customers (several who are also therapists) it smells divine and is only £7.95 but recently i've bought a few Elemis kits from QVC (would never buy it full price from a salon, they offer amazing value) in one kit I got a Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser RRP £27.60. I did like it but I honestly still prefered my Skintuth! I certainly wouldn't of spent that sort of money on it (the kit was around £34.00 and had lots of other things in).

I ideally wanted a Welsh Organic skin care range, but of the very few I found, and after several messages, no one got back to me!!! So I have cast my net further afield and have been looking at Eminence Organics, a Hungarian company with fabulous eco credentials and with the oh so tempting Champagne and Mimosa Body Oil!!! they have a strong range but the cleansers cost around £29.00!! would I pay more for a cleanser that is ultimately better for the environment, but maybe not better for my purse??? I'm going to try it out when I meet up with them at the Professional Beauty Exhibition at the end of the month.

Having a look on www.lookfantastic.com, they have in stock Rodial Glamtox Cleanser for £50.00!!!! I'm pushed to pay that for a moisturiser let alone a cleanser, am I just being tight, or does it seem mad to pay so much??? does the high price tag mean that the product is so much better??

Ultimately I believe that if you find a product that suits your skin and that you love to use, you won't mind what it costs because it makes you feel good! So for now I'm sticking with my Skintruth.

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding has been a huge hit and almost everyone that has had a treatment with me over the past few weeks have mentioned it!

It has though sparked a huge dabate in the beauty world, how young is to young to spray tan??? there are therapists, like myself who think it's ridiculous to spray tan a young child, it just enhances to myth that fake is better than natural!! don't get me wrong, all little girls these days like to have their nails painted or put on a bit of lipgloss now and then and I'm sure I did too, but it seems to of extended into things like Katie Price getting her little girls beautiful curly hair, straighted and 6 year old girls having spray tans!!!

One of the arguments for spray tanning girls that young is if they are taking part in a dance competition, but why should they have it done for that either? we are still saying that their natural skin colour isn't good enough and they need to fake it!!! I worry about these young girls when they reach their teens, spray tanning for the last few years, they'll want to try the injections that tan your skin, or sunbeds to keep thier tans looking as bright as possible, are the future British Women, going to be Orange???

I'd love to hear what you think about this too!!!

The sun is shining today and it doesn't half cheer me up, even though it's cold still, it feels like spring might be on the way!

On the tv and in the papers today though one story really caught my eye, A young girl whose mother had been really careful to ensure she always had on sun protection whilst outside, has developed a condition closely linked with rickets due to lack of Vitamin D!!!

This is a subject close to my heart, the advice is so confusing, skincare advice from counters, spas and salons is pretty much that you should always were an SPF of at leaset factor 15. This makes snese as cases of skin cancer are on the rise and was the cause of around 2000 deaths last year. Then the tv doctor this morning was suggesting that you should have 30mins of exposure to the sun each day without any protection to get your daily dose of Vitamin D. There is also the wrinkle factor! if I have 30mins of sun exposure each day without protection, does my skin get more wrinkles and does sun damage become a factor?

In my reserch on this subject I discovered that most sun burn in the UK is from being out in your garden or just doing day to day things and not realising how strong the sun is. If I was going to walk across the beach in Saundersfoot today, I don't think I would put on an spf as I wouldn't think the sun was strong enough.

I would say, enjoy the sunshine and try not to over do it and certainly put away the cocnut oil!!!

In January the magazines and newspapers are full of fashion trends for the coming year, well the spa industry is no different.

One that caught my eye is that consumers are demanding proof for claims made by the spa/beauty industry and are wanting to see clinical studies. This is something I have been passionate about for a very long time, I think that skincare companies are some of the worst offenders when it comes to claiming a product will do such and such for you, with no proof to back it up. I am a rep's worst nightmare when it comes to products, they will use jargon to try to impress you that a product is worth the hefty price tag, for example, if i'm told something has a hexapentapeptide, I want to know what it is and why I need it!

This has cropped up for me recently with a body wrap company, who claim the wrap is 50% more effective than anything else on the market and that after having the treatment you will burn calories for up to 2 hours afterwards. Sounds great!!! I met with the ditrubutor, who showed my before and after photos of clients that had been having this treatment, which again were very good. I didn't commit to anything as I am so sceptical. A few weeks later they emailed me about the products, so I replied asking for evidence of their claims and wanting to see the science and research behind the wrap. Do you know it's been a few months and i've not heard back from them!! I think that speaks volumes!!

If you decide to try out a treatment or product that you've maybe heard about and it seems to good to be true, do your research, because you might just find that it is! Or get in touch with me and I'll find out for you, I visit some of the worlds biggest beauty and spa exhibitions and i'm also involved in product testing as well as being involved in many spa publications. I also love harrassing reps!!!

2011!!!

If like me your wondering where does the time go? and you have a slightly stunned feeling as another year hits you right between the eyes as the fireworks light up the sky at midnight, and you think, just one more gin and tonic can't hurt!

As I get older (still officially 28 - unofficially 36) I feel the need to try new serums, eye products, moisturisers, masks, toners, exfoliators, cleansers etc etc etc in the attempt to fight off those sneaky fine lines that seem to creep up on you while you sleep. I seem to have a product addiction and I'm proud of it!!!

I also like discovering new gadgets that might help me, in 2010 I bought my first illuminated, magnifying mirror, and yes it was very very scarey looking into it for the first time whilst also a little bit addictive as you can see every single open pore, line, wrinkle and imperfection up close. The model I bought was the Revlon Freedom Make-Up Mirror and I have discovered a new use for it other than staring at my skin, and so now cannot imagine my morning without it. I wear glasses most of the time, so putting on my make-up can be tricky, I use Barefaced Beauty mineral foundation, which to be honest I could put on in the dark and I'd know it would be fab, but putting on eye make-up is frought with danger when you wear glasses and mascara is a nightmare! not anymore, I pick up my mirror, turn the light on, and hey presto I can see!! I've not blobbed mascara on my nose since I bought my favourite beauty must have!! I would advise anyone that wears glasses and has problems putting their make-up on to try it!

I also bought the Sarah Chapman Facial Massager, I met Sarah when we were both judges for the Professional Beauty Awards last year and since then have been seeing more and more about her range of products, but the massager really caught my attention because I know how good massage is for your skin. Now i'm   not going to lie, the reviews i'd read about it were mixed with some people saying it was quite painful to use. I agree, but a back massage can be painful and we put up with it because we know it's doing us good! So I have been using it every day for the last few weeks and I feel it is having a positive effect, if it does start to make a difference then I'll let you know.

This is my first blog for 2011 but as I hate January and my computer has a heater by the side of it, then I suspect I'll be doing a lot more blogging this month, as well as thinking about where I'd be right now if I had taken that job on the super yacht I was offered just last week!!!!