Last week Hey Gorgeous sent me two ‘wintery’ scented body products to trial – Vanilla & Cinnamon body mousse and Vanilla Chai body scrub (prices TBA).

I wasn’t a big fan of the Vanilla & Cinnamon scent. While I adore cinnamon, I found the vanilla aspect a little too sweet. Still, from a formulation point of view, I liked that it absorbed into my skin (which isn’t dry) like a dream. I like that the ingredients are all ‘natural beauties’ that are good at their jobs – hydrating Shea butter, jojoba and coconut oil with a dash of antioxidant vitamin E. Also, Hey Gorgeous really wasn’t afraid to gooi lots of cinnamon in here (which I really like) and it’s the kind that reminds me of those fireball sweets my sister and I used to be crazy about as a kid. If they made a purely cinnamon product I’ll happily snap it up.

The body scrub, however, is a gem in that, again, there’s vanilla in the mix, but it’s not too sweet and even if it were, so what? For me, in-shower or bath body products can get as potent as they like provided I leave that scent in the bathroom and don’t have it wear it on my skin all day. This is the case with the scrub and I like that.

I also really like that it’s nice and scrubby! My worst is any scrub that simply doesn’t have enough scrubbies in it. I want something that’s going to strip my body of old self-tan like a boss and Hey Gorgeous’ does the trick. I don’t adore that it’s oil-based as having to wash that off afterwards with a very strippy soap is a chore, but if you’ve got dry skin and like the supple post-cleanse feeling oil-based products provide you’ll be as happy as a clam.

In other news, Cetaphil Gentle Skin cleansing cloths are now available in South Africa.

If you’re one of the brand’s many fans you’ll be glad to know you can now get a fix of your favourite cleanser in super convenient wipe format. Each wipe takes of dirt and non-waterproof make-up with ease and leaves your skin feeling clean but not ‘stripped’.

Cetaphil’s uber-gentle formula promises to play nicely with even sensitive skin and I can vouch for this as recent retinol/AHA binge-fest on my chin to blitz a pimple had left the area sensitized. While the fragranced baby wipes I often reach for stung, Cetaphil’s wipes didn’t.

For the record, there’s also a teensy dash of soothing allantoin in the mix but Cetaphil’s wipes can also be lauded for what they don’t include – namely fragrance, alcohol and soap.

The only downer here is that at R99 for just 25 clothes it’s a bit of a wallet crusher and works out to just under R4 a wipe. Still, if you’re not budget-conscious or only use wipes here and there as opposed to several times a week like I do, this is a nice pick.

Last but not least, TRESemme have a new collection on the shelves called Platinum Strength.

It aims to repair up to two year’s worth of damage in five washes but that’s not something I’m paying any attention to. You can’t measure damage in years as it’s too broad a term and there are thousands of ways you can damage your hair. In fact, I can damage my hair to the max with just a few minutes in a bleach bath, so come now, let’s not be silly.

Also, when they make this claim, they’re quick to add that their conditioner was trialled against a ‘non-conditioning shampoo’ so they could be comparing their product to bloody dish washing liquid for all I know. Odd, odd, odd.

But all that aside, Platinum Strength is a very nice sham and con for anyone with dry hair that’s prone to frizz as it makes use of loads of silicone. In this way it reminds me a lot of Pantene’s Smooth & Sleek collection so if you’re a fan of that, you might want to try TRESemme’s offering too. Just make sure you use a clarifying shampoo every now and then as the imminent silicone build up will be a hair-sleekening joy at first, but could end up weighing your locks down if you don’t give it the odd break.

If, however, you’re dealing with very damaged hair and looking for solutions I’d encourage you to invest in that with a protein-rich salon treatment like Joico K-Pak which is triple the price of TRESemme, but contains hair strengthening keratin that can fortify your hair until you grow it out and chop it off – the only way to truly get rid of severe ‘damage’.

See anything you’re keen to try?

Love, love

Leigh