Smooth summer skin

by Naomi

The weather is hot, hot, hot which means it's time to whisk our shorts and mini-skirts and bask in the sunshine! And no self-respecting goddess would be seen baring all without doing a little preparation, so I bring you a few beauty treats to help get your skin feeling smooth and summery.

Naturally Upper Canada is new to the UK and has a positively enormous collection of natural beauty products - you will be spoilt for choice!

For glamorous hands and feet, there are the All About Hands and All About Feet collections. The former offers luxurious hand soap, a moisture rich hand mask, triple action night cream, moisture hand was, exfoliating hand & elbow scrub and daily moisture hand lotion, to name a few! The avocado scent is really fresh and the hand cream has a light texture that absorbs quickly.

Peppermint oil is used in the All About Feet collection, which includes soothing foot cream, cracked heel treatment, exfoliating foot scrub and massaging foot scrub. They are also available in gift sets so perfect to add to your wish list or for your nearest and dearest! Prices range from £7 - £10.

The Naturally body collection is offers luxurious body beauty essentials, made from natural ingredients and in some scents that smell good enough to eat: Pressed Olive Avocado, Sweet Vanilla Fig, Wild Mint Lime, Cranberry Moro Orange and Warm Honey Nectar.

I am a big fan of the Pressed Olive Avocado, which is really sweet smelling (but smells nothing like the avocado hand range!). The body butter is rich and nourishing; it has certainly got me keeping an eye out for others in the range, such as the coarse salt scrub, foaming milk bath and nourishing massage oil. I tested the nourishing lip balm from the Warm Honey Nectar collection and it makes a great everyday moisture stick, made from beeswax, Shea butter, cocoa butter, and coconut oil. Prices range from about £5 - £10.

Naturally Upper Canada's products contain loads of natural ingredients and all are free from parabens, mineral oils, SLS and synthetic dyes. They are available from Amazon and soon to be elsewhere in the UK.

Facts: Naturally Upper Canada: beauty products made with natural ingredients, free from parabens, mineral oils, SLS and synthetic dyes.

For more information visit www.uppercanadasoap.com
With this lot to keep you busy, your skin will be soft and summer-ready in no time!

Smell sweeter with DKNY

by Naomi

Any self-respecting lady's dressing table isn't complete without a signature perfume (or a few in my case!). So if you are looking for a new scent, check out DKNY's latest creation: pureDKNY.

DKNY is making a bold statement, introducing the fragrance as "a moment of calm, to find beauty in living simply, taking time out for the things that are closest to your heart: love, joy, comfort, embracing relationships and finding community".

Fortunately the ideals extend to more than just the concept; DKNY is using vanilla from Uganda and helping to build long-term vanilla production there in association with humanitarian organisation, CARE. The 15-month project will reach 900 farmers in rural communities, 60 per cent of whom are women, and enable them access savings and credit to help with health care and school fees. Furthermore, the packaging is made from certified paper which is biodegradable and compostable.

But, lets face it, no-one is going to buy perfume just for its eco credentials. I haven't had a chance to test pureDKNY yet, but according to perfume magazine, Fragrantica.com, "The fragrance opens with Ugandan vanilla, dewdrop floral petals, lotus and Bulgarian rose. A heart beats in rhythm of exotic flowers - jasmine, freesia and orchid, while a base finishes the pure composition with white amber, sandalwood and vanilla in water." Sounds like it could be worth a try!

Prices at Boots are: £32 for 30ml EDT, £45 for 50ml EDT and £61.50 for 100ml EDT.