Hello my lovelies

I got some products from Soap and Glory the other day, and have been using them for the past couple of days. I have the hair and body wash, the anti-perspirant and the aftershave balm. Soap and Glory is becoming one of my favourite brands, I love their stuff, i already have the body spray and hair wax which are 2 more good products from them.

The body wash smells really good! Its really slippery actually It does what its supposed to do, get you clean, and smelling really clean too.

The anti-perspirant is also good, it does have a scent, if you prefer an oderless style then this might not be for you. I like a scent, it saves putting on spray over the top. I wouldnt say its a really powerful smell, more light and fresh. It doesnt make a huge tone of white powder under your arm or on your clothes either.

I have only tried out the Facial balm once. It is light, and does seem to have a very light scent to it. I dont really mind this, but some might. It does feel good and moisturises well, i dont know if it will replace my King Of Shaves Soothing balm though, only time will tell

If you wanna buy Soap and Glory you can buy from places such as Boots online here or instore.

Hello Blog readers

As you probably have seen, I got lots of Spain things, and lots come from the company Subside Sports. I have bought things from them before, and the thing which is the worst about the company is the delivery.

First let me say the things they sell are great. You can get some things here which you may not find anywhere else, and that is good. The customer service is also not bad, if you send an email you will probably get a reply within a day.

The delivery is what lets this company down. I have ordered from them a few times, so i am aware of how bad it is, but like i say, they sell some good things. Well my order took 2 weeks to come!! This is just not acceptable really when it comes to ordering online in 2010. The bad thing is they do not give you any updates, any tracking, or any indication of when or how long you have to wait for your order. This isnt a one-off, it has always been the case with the few orders i have placed.

I have ordered from other palaces, some outside the UK, and never had to wait this long. It is just not good enough. The items were non-personalised, and they were supposedly in stock, so i cant see the problem.

I only order off them every now and again, purely for this reason. They sell some things others dont, and i dont really want to buy from them but i do, but i just expect it to take a long time. I would order far more from them if they 1) gave an expected delivery time 2) it was within 2-3 working days, like every other company out there!

Its not 20 years ago where you ordered from a catalogue and you would get your things “some day” in the post…Subside needs to sort out its deliveries, or change its name to Substandard Sports.

Now it is around 2 weeks from the world cup, it should be their busiest time, but i wont order off them again, at least for this world cup; You dont actually know if you will get your order in time!

I have some Soap and Glory For Men products, and i have to say, i do like them

I had the shower gel which i liked, it had a nice smell comes in a big bottle, good value for money @ only £3.49 for 250ml. (not pictured)

The “Billy Wildhair” styling putty is really good, you dont need to use a lot of it to get it to work with your hair, it doesnt smell bad and works well £5.49 100ml

The Al Fresco deodorant smells so good!! It has a fresh smell, and has got to be my favourite smelling deodorant now. I am a big fan of Soap and Glory now, so i will be getting some more. £3.49 150ml

Soap and Glory do some other products, such as:

• Knock Your Spots Off – A Spot fighting gel (£5.99 – 10ml)
• Dry Hard – An anti-perspirant spray (£3.49 – 200ml)
• A Mans Got to Dew – Faical moisture balm (£5.99 – 50ml)
• Eau Man – Deodorant body spray (£3.49 – 150ml)
• Soap’er Man – Hair and body wash (£3.49 – 250ml)
• A Shave To Love – Shave gel (£3.99 150ml)

Soap and Glory is available at Boots.

Hey all,

I got some hair products a few weeks ago, and i have been using them since them. I have tested a few, and found that the following are simply rubbish!

FCUK Hair Sculpting Gel
Brylcreem Gel Cream
Brylcreem Gel Wax

I hate these products! They are terrible. They do nothing for your hair, and make it feel what i can only describe as horrible. In comparison to others, such as Trevor Sorbie fine wax, they are far lesser quality.

All 3 seem to do nothing, which means you seem to apply more and more, and then your hair feels like crap after you have put them on.

I got Brylcreem because of its reputation, but it seems it doesnt live upto it, or i just got the wrong stuff. Maybe i should of bought a different wax.

I finally got my camera! The Sony Cybershot HX5V. Woohoo!  So you are probably wondering about it right? Well since i only just got it this is my initial review…First i would say i have only used it a little bit, had a mess around, but so far, i love it

Size and weight

Its a good size and weight, it is a tiny bit thicker (i.e. the depth) and heavier than i thought, but this may be because i am comparing it to my previous camera, the Lumix FX35. It feels like a strong sterdy build. It can fit into my most skinny slim fitting jeans, but only just. In normal jeans or in a jacket pocket it would be completly fine. Its very easy to handle, take pics and vids etc.

Ease of use

The menus are simple and easy to use. There are lots of modes on the camera and you can move between them using the dial on the top of the camera. There is an “easy” mode and “iA” mode, which makes shooting simple for anyone. There are also program and full manual modes if you want more control. Photos can be saved to either an SD, SDHC or Sony’s Memory sticks, well done Sony for finally backing SDHC like the rest of the world

The Sony Software supplied is actually pretty good, and easy to use. This is required if you want to use the GPS or the videos or use 3rd party software).

The Zoom

I have only tried this a little bit, but it seems great! I have tried the zoom at 10x (full) and took a pic, and the quality was amazing, just like without the zoom.

Image Quality

What can i say, it is gooood!! I have only used the ‘easy’ mode so far, and that produces excellent quality images. I have taken both indoor and outdoor shots. Want sample pics? Read my blog then!! All future pics on here will be taken using this camera.

So what about that cool ”Sweeping Panorama” feature

Well In light outdoors it is brilliant! What a great feature. There will be many uses for it. You will be able to produce some good photos with it. The downside seems to be low light. I havent played around with the sweeping panorama much yet, but it doesnt seem to work in low light. There is no flash when using it, so with indoor use it doesnt work, i assume outdoor in low light will be the same. This is a big disapointment if it doesnt work well in low light, because you could of got some spectacular night panoramic shots.
Update: You can change the EV of the shot before you take it. This makes it work better in low light, however does add noise. It still produces an image of reasonable quality.
Update 2: Here is a sample pic using the Panorama mode. As you can see it is an amazing feature! If you set it to wide mode, you can take a pic of over 180 degrees, i have taken this pic of a street, and you can get a full view of it all, its almost like Google Street View Click Here  for the sample, it may take a while to download, it is at full resolution and not been optimized/edited for the web.

What is HHT (Hand Held Twilight)? Update

I heard people talking about this and didnt really know what it was…Its a mode on the camera which lets you take better shots at night or in low light. I am not a camera expert so i dont know the technical details behind it, but it basically takes a few images when you hit shoot (like a burst) then processes them and gives you the final shot, which is amazing! All this is done without the flash, so if you feel like a tourist taking pics at night with an embarrasing flash you dont need to worry, because the Twilight mode doesnt flash
Yesterday i took 2 pics, 1 with flash and 1 in HHT mode, the HHT mode beat it hands down
It must be good, because i heard the camera ‘experts’ talking about it saying you cant compare it to other cameras because technically it doesnt take 1 photo….Well it doesnt make a difference to me, its the end result which matters!!!

What about the Movie Mode?

This is another good feature! Not that i am planning on shooting movies, but i did a test one and the quality is like nothing i have seen I have seen some vids from other handheld camcorders, and i have a Flip Mino, and this blows them out of the water. Indoor it looks good, as does outdoor, i havent tried it at night so far.
Update: I have tried the video at night and it is pretty good. Bear in mind this is primarily a camera and not a camcorder, it is a little dark, but the quality is good, not grainy or blury. I have tried playing it back on my 40″ Bravia via my PS3 and it looks pretty decent to me! I wouldnt bother with a video camera if i was going on holiday, i would just buy an extra memory card to fill up with video

OK So Its great! But what is wrong with it? Bad Points, Disadvantages etc.

The Cable – Its sony, which means no standard USB cable/connection. Instead you get a sony special connection on the camera, with their own cable, in this case, its a USB cable and Video cable in 1, which makes the cable big. This spoils the user experience.

Sweep Panorama in low light – Now this may just be my inexperience with the camera, and maybe i havent found a feature/setting, but the sweep panorama doesnt work in low light.
Update: You can change the EV of the shot before you take it. This makes it work better in low light, however does add noise. It still produces an image of reasonable quality.

The Format of the HD Videos is ACVHD, and the file format is M2TS, which no standard media player recognises. That means you have to use the Sony Software to view and/or convert the files, or use 3rd party software. This is typical of Sony. I wish they would use a proper standard. You can use the software to make a HD DVD, SD DVD or Convert to WMV in various bitrates, but only in VGA xVGA formats.
Update: If you have a PS3, the video can be played back using that. I have tried and the quality is great (you can also view the pics of course)

No Quick Menu – With my Lumix i was used to this, you have the quick menu button and you can quickley and easily change the ISO, light settings, and other settings. The HX5 doesnt have this, and you have to go into the menu and then do the setups. Not a major problem, but i loved using the quick menus of the Lumix.

And i think thats about all for the downsides! Not many huh?

I love this camera so far, it is good, its compact, better than my Lumix which is not a bad camera, and is what i was looking for

Hey everyone!

So, i buy, or have bought lots of skincare products, now and in the past. The title says skincare tips for men, but really its for girls too.

So, products, what do you buy? Well it depends on what you want, and how much you wanna spend. There are a few types of products, a few basics are: Scrubs, Toners, Exfoliators, Mousturisers and cleansers. These can be broken down even more into day or night creams.

Basic info

You should probably use 3 different types of treatment. Most call it the 3 steps, or similar. These usually consist of a scrub and a moisturiser, and a toner or cleanser. The order you apply them is usually Scrub>Tone/cleanser>moisturiser. Scrub should always be first, and moisturiser last.
Personally i dont like cleansers, and prefer to use exfoliator masques more, i feel they do more for my skin. If you are using a scrub and an exfoliator, you should know NOT to use these every day, they are to be used around every 3 days. You dont have to follow 3 steps and can do more if you wish. Along with these 3 steps there are other skincare products such as for your eyes.

Also be aware everyones skin is different! Some brands sell for 3 skin types: Normal, Dry or oily.

Normal – No oily spots, no ‘oily shin’, clean, smooth and a good complexion
Dry – prone to aging and irritating; flakey
Oily – shiny, greasy, think, larger pores

A Look At Some Products

Well if you want premium products, you can read my posts about Dermalogica. I got alot of there products and have been using them for a few months now, and i think they are great. The problem is they are premium, so you can expect to pay £20-£30 for a bottle, the size and price depends on what you are getting.

Ole Henriksen is another expensive brand. I have used the eye cream, and it worked OK, but i did not think it was worth the extra money. I have not used any of their other products yet, but i probably would in the future as they have a reputation of being good.

There is also Clinique, which offer many different products and have their own 3 step system, so it is easy for you to buy, just get bottles 1, 2 and 3. I have used a cleanser before, and it was OK, but i dont think it justified the pricetag. I still wouldnt rule them out, because they do some other fantastic products and are known as one of the leaders in skincare.

ZIRH is a brand which is a little cheaper, but i would say still a bit premium. I have used one of their exfoliator masques before, and found it good. It was a dark grey clay, if you use something like like dont have tops/shirts on!

Lab Series is another brand which i have not tried yet but would like to. It is again a semi-premium brand, and getting just a few bottles from them can add up to over £50.

Nivea For Menis probably one of the more noted brands. They do some expensive and inexpensive products, i have used some of their Q10 eyecream before and did not think it produced any good results. There other creams for day-to-day use seem to work well.

L’oreal Men Expertis another brand which do some nice things. They do everything from moisturisers to scrubs to aftershave balms. At the moment they are promoting an eye roller for men to help your sleapy eyes, similar to the Garnier eye roll-on, which i bought last week.

The Scrub – On A Budget.

If you are on a budget, i would definitely recommend St Ives Apricot Scrub. It is a scrub and exfoliator, and i think it is brilliant. Something else which is good is the price, you can pick up a nice sized bottle for around £3 and should last at least a month! The scrub should be used around every 3 days. I used to use this particular scrub for a long time and thought it was the best value for money. I think the scrub is one of the most important steps, because it really cleans out all the dirt and dead skin, before you apply anything else should you do so.

Moisturisers

These are also important, and keep the skin soft and hydrated. You could use a number of these to figure out what works best for you. You can get creams which should be applied once a day, or you can get day and night creams. You can pick up some moisturisers from Nivea for around £10, Clinique for £20 and Dermalogica for £20. These are for 50ml bottles, and should last a month. Budget brands are FCUK for £5, King Of Shaves for £5 and Trevor Sorbie for £6. Some moisturisers also contain an SPF.

Where to buy

Some brands are only available in some places. The best place to buy any of these products are Boots and Superdrug, who between them sell the majority, if not all these products, and both have online stores. Dermalogica is only sold in authorised dealers, and i noticed this is now being sold at Boots online.

Boots Online - Various Products
Superdrug Online - Various Products
Dermalogica – Can be bought online via Pure Beauty (aswell as other places)
Ole Henriksen – Can be bought online via Beauty Expert  (aswell as other places)

Hello Lovely readers How are you?

I got some products from Boots yesterday, i got myself loads of hair products, because, I HAVE HAIR! If you know me, then you will know that i always got my hair shaved really short, for more or less all my life. For the last year or so i decided not to do this, and have been growning it and getting it cut properly. Its now as long as its ever been…which isnt really long, not like a girl or anything!

Anyway, i got some Brylcream, i got a gel cream and a wax, and also got FCUK styling get too. I heard some good things about Trevor Sorbie so i also bought that, some fine wax. I have only used the Trevor Sorbie so far, and it is good! Its not like wax, the only way to describe the texture is yoghurt like its better than hard wax, but not greasy like some gels.

I also got some Veet waxing cream for men. I havent had the “for men” one before, and since i just waxed my chest i will have a long wait to use this

I got some more King Of Shaves gel, i love their products of course

I have wanted something for my eyes for ages. I have black bags under them, not really deep black, but god knows why, i get enough sleep but not too much! Anyway the Dermalogica stuff i have was more for lines, which i dont have, so i got a pen. Its a roller, by Garnier, and cost £10. Its supposed to be good and work, so we will see. If feels really nice to apply, the ball is metal and cold, and its easy to apply.

I love to smell nice, and i love a variation of smells. One of the things about buying EDT, Aftershaves and things like that online you cannot know how they smell! So, it you wanna buy any online, here are what i think are the top 5, and i will try to explain how they smell, which is hard to do!

Eau D’Issey by Issey Miyake is in a cool fake stone type of bottle, with a woody masculine kind of smell. It is a bit musky, but not too much. It is sort of an old skool aftershave smell which i am into at the moment.

Gucci Envy is probably my all time favourite, and combines a fruity, wooden and fresh smell all into one. Even though it is over 10 years old it is an essential if you want to smell good, it is very hard to find these days.

Gucci by Gucci is the latest scent from Gucci. It is a powerful smell, which is fresh, and is very much like an old aftershave with a bit of a twist.

The One by Dolce and Gabbana is once again an old skool aftershave type of smell. A bit woody, a bit fresh, these kinds of smells work well in a spray bottle rather than am open bottle, you can get better coverage without being too overpowering.

Narciso Rodriguez is not as big of a name as the others, but the smell is so good. Once again i have gone old skool, but this one smells a bit more updated, with little bits of retro aftershave smell.

I do not like the fragrances which are too fruity. I like them fresh, or muskey, but the fruity ones seem too femanine and smell very sticky. Some have a strong smell of lemon and citrus, which i try to stay away from. I would not reccommend these types of smells for evening, and if you have to wear them i would suggest daytime use.

I got myself a load of Dermalogica products, from exfoliants to scrubs, moisturisers, toners and creams, and i think they are all great. If you use them everyday they do work; My face has always been soft and smooth, so its hard to notice a difference, but i do with the rest of my body using the body lotion cream.

Total Eye Care

I use this every day on my eyes. It is hard to tell if it does work or not. I wanted something to lighten the black around my eyes, not that there is much, but it could do with some lighting. It works a little, but could do more.

Skin Prep Scrub

As the name suggests, its a scrub, so i use this a few times a week. I apply it and leave it on for a minute or so, before rinsing it off. It doesnt reccommend this, but i always do that with a scrub, its superstition, i wanna ‘know’ its doing something.

Gentle Cream Exfoliant

This again is only used a few times a week, and is used after the scrub before moisturising. Apply the cream, leave for 10-15 minutes then rinse off. After using my face does feel fresh

Multi Active Toner

I use this daily, if i use the exfoliant it comes after that, and then moisturise after. I use it every night and sometimes through the day (if i remember).

Active Moist

This is a day and night moisturiser, which i use twice a day. I must admit i do sometimes forget to apply it sometimes, but always use it at least once a day (usually at night).

Body Hydrating Cream

I use this every night after the shower/bath. Its a cream which is for the whole body, as the name suggests. I dont like the smell much, a bit of lemon/apple/fruity, but dont worry, its not over-powering.

I like the Dermalogica products, i have used alot in the past, i never liked Clinique, although i only had 1 or 2 of their products. Dermalogica is expensive, but if you can afford it i would recommend it.

Most bottles (of anything) run at around £20-£30, they do some more expensive lines, but these arent really daily skin products.

I have had my Slendertone belt for a while now, but i dont really use it religiously. For this reason, it is hard to tell if it actually works or not. I am going to use it more and more, and when i first got it it did work a little bit. Dont expect to get a 6 pack using this and sitting around for the rest of your time, it is supposed to be an addition to a healthy diet and workout.

I am going to start using it more and more, and along with running, crunches and situps see what happens. When i was using it everyday before, it did some work. It does tighten up your stomach a little, but like i say, it is to be used in ADDITION to exercise, not instead of exercise.

If you dont know about Slendertone, basically it is a belt you wear which shocks you with pulses of electricity. This can be turned up and down, and ranges from 0 – 99. The idea is you start on a low number, and build yourself up. There is a computer system which keeps it all in time, and 9 programs for you to follow. If you use the belt, it will move you onto the next program when you are ready. The programs vary in terms of time and frequency of the pulses. You typically use the belt for 30 minutes on the first few programs.

They say you can use this and forget about it, and do your normal daily routine. But i have found if you want to use it properly, you will need to sit or stand or not move around much, because you will want to keep moving it up to give yourself stronger shocks as you are using it.