Best Cooling Leg and Foot Creams…

maternelle leg foot gel

I’ve done some preliminary research into cooling foot creams and gels before – you may remember last summer, when I praised the benefits of Weleda’s Foot Balm – but I had never really seen the point of them. Until now. Late pregnancy, one and a half weeks to go until my due date, legs that are the same width from knee to toe and feet that look like oblong balloons? Now I very much see the point of them. Being able to make your lower legs miraculously feel as though they’ve been stuck in the fridge for an hour without actually having to stick your legs in the fridge for an hour is something of a boon. Just whack on the cream and put your feet up and you’ve suddenly swapped your tight-skinned, swollen joints of raw pork for normal (ish) limbs.

And not exclusively for pregnant limbs, obviously – anyone who suffers from swelling or discomfort during the hotter months. Anyone who’s on their feet all day for work, or who likes to run half-marathons every morning or who spends most of their time at a desk and wants to get some zing back into their step. These, my friends, are for you..

Decleor Circulagel Refreshing Leg Gel (£25.50 with free delivery here): of all the gels and creams tested, Decleor’s had the most instant cooling effect. Rather like pressing a pack of frozen peas to your skin. The gel absorbed instantly and left no residue, but it’s worth noting that there’s no real moisturising effect with Circulagel – if you had very dry shins, you might want to go steady with this one. It’s for making the legs feel light and refreshed, and it does this perfectly – if it’s hydration you need then this tightening effect might not suit.

Maternelle Reviving Leg and Foot Gel (£4.99 through Ocado here): a great budget option – not so “crikey, that’s cold” as the Decleor, but a nice degree of refreshing coolness and a cream-gel texture that’s light but not drying. It worked at a kind of “half pace” compared to the Decleor Circulagel but then it is a fifth of the price, so I think that it’s very good value for money.

Burt’s Bees Leg & Foot Cream (£13 with free delivery here): a cream rather than a gel, this had about the same effect as the Maternelle Leg and Foot Gel – very minty and fresh, but not quite so intense as Decleor’s Circulagel. This cream came in a set with a tummy butter and a stretch mark oil – the stretch mark oil was excellentYou can find that here.

mama mio lucky legs review

Mama Mio Lucky Legs (£19.50 with free delivery here): my overall winner due to the fact that it comforts and soothes as much as it cools and revives. Nearly all of the leg gels and creams tested had a tightening effect (I suppose that goes hand in hand with the whole refreshing function) which is brilliant for instant cooling and de-puffing but not quite so great if your leg skin tends to be dry or scaly. Mine does. And I did find that after extensively using about a dozen gels and creams, my shin scaliness was getting slightly worse. The Mama Mio Lucky Legs seemed to be the most hydrating of the bunch whilst still managing to be zingy and energising. Not as hydrating as a proper, dedicated dry skin cream, but enough to be properly comfortable to apply and leave on. I’ve been impressed with all of the Mama Mio products I’ve tried during pregnancy, but this one (and perhaps “Boob Tube”) really stand out from the crowd. You can see the whole line here.

cowshed udderly gorgeous leg foot treatment

A last-minute addition; the Udderly Gorgeous Leg & Foot Treatment from Cowshed. (£18.50 online here.) Another instantly cooling, light-textured gel, this one contains sea buckthorn oil and a load of essential fatty acids and so goes some way to helping with skin protection, as well as skin refreshing. It’s not quite as hydrating as the Lucky Legs, but I can tell you that the cooling effects last for ages – second only to the industrial-refrigeration-unit level of cooling provided by Decleor’s Circulagel. Nice.

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La Fidèles

intensae swatches

What do you think of these shades from Intensae? 7-free, cruelty free and vegan. Founded by hair colourist James Samual and photographer Christian Roman, they create their nail polish to match the current fashion season with on-trend colours.
I’ve been sticking to pale neutral tones recently but I couldn’t resist painting them with the deep purple La Fideles (inspired by Yves Saint Laurent’s muse Lou Lou de la Falaise). It’s quite the stunner and is one of those great black-but-not-quite-black shades (It’s a little darker in person than the picture below suggests). I like dark nails at any time of year, but I like to feel on-trend by wearing them to match the gloomy weather and winter fashion.
Intensae shades are £14.50 for 12ml. I don’t know anyone who has ever actually finished a bottle of nail polish without it turning gloopy and drying up in the bottle before its completely used up, so I would prefer if they halved the bottle size and price, but that’s a problem I have with all nail brands, not just Intensae. The formula itself is high quality and reasonably long lasting. I didn’t use a base or a top coat with my application *gasp* and the tips had started to wear by day 2. Always prep and seal! I applied two coats out of habit too but one would have been fine as this particular colour is extremely opaque and has a wonderfully glossy, smooth finish.
intensae

You can buy Intensae from Naturisimo here.

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Chanel Les Beiges

An innovative, versatile powder makeup enhances, brightens and bronzes your complexion for a custom glow. On its own, it heightens the skin’s natural beauty, while over foundation it provides a sheer, luminous finish. Its formula features advanced technology to protect against skin-dulling environmental stressors, while white rose and cotton flower offer absolute comfort for even the most-sensitive complexions. The powder is available in seven no-fail shades. Each comes with its own sculpted half-moon brush.

EUR 57.93

Colab Giveaway: Guess the “City”, Win the Spray!

colab dry shampoo giveaway

I have devised a little giveaway to celebrate the launch of my newest Colab Dry Shampoo product which is, incidentally, my favourite so far. It was rather a labour of love getting the fragrance just right – it’s definitely one for the warmer months, all gorgeously mediterranean and sexy, very much inspired by some of the classic summer scents such as Tom Ford’s Neroli Portofino. This limited edition frahrance is available in both of the Colab dry shampoo formulas – the Sheer & Invisible (clean feeling, refreshes the roots, no horrible chalky residue or white powder!) and Extreme Volume (little bit of residue, but LOADS of root lift and volumising grittiness, a bit like a spray-in version of one of those root boosting powders, but better!)

colab shoot behind the scenes

I have fifty cans of the newly scented dry shampoo to give away to UK readers and Youtube viewers* – all you need to do is guess the “city” that this scent represents and leave your answer in the comments below. As you will know if you’ve used Colab, each scent relates to a city – London, New York, Paris, Tokyo and Rio – the latest is no different. Apart from the fact that it’s slightly a trick question, because the place in question is actually a principality, or small country. That was your first major clue. I’ve also dropped a bit of a clue in the first paragraph, and if you watch the video below, you might see a few visual references to a certain (very grace-ful and glamorous) former resident of the place in question.

Do have a look at the video anyway, as it’s not often I get to film behind-the-scenes; usually there’s nobody willing to keep holding my camera! I’ll be announcing the winners next Monday but you only have until this Friday at noon to enter. So do it while you have the page open or you’ll probably forget. Only pointing that out from experience… Fifty winners will be picked at random from those who have the correct answer. Good luck!

*sorry, UK only due to shipping restrictions. Please be patient, rest of the world, we’re getting to you!

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