Ignore the name ‘All in one magic makeup’ – here’s the real skinny. Like most other products in this category, it’s a tinted moisturiser with some SPF and some light reflecting/luminising particles. It comes in two colours, light and medium, and the shades are nice and neutral, unlike other brands which can be a bit too pink or orange for my liking.

It’s designed for combination skin from the looks of things. This formulation is less greasy than its main competitors, and it’s nicely long lasting, although if you have an oily t-zone you’ll probably need to add a little blotting or mineral finishing powder in that area too to prevent excessive shine.

Although it’s described as ‘foundation plus skincare’, I would say that’s a claim too far. There have been products like this around for a few years, but they’ve just been marketed in different ways (step forward Stila and a few others). This works as a good quality tinted moisturiser – small amounts of pigment give light cosmetic coverage, gently evening out the skintone (redness, sallowness, dark circles) without completely masking anything. That’s probably why they’ve only made it in two shades, as there’s less likely to be a problem with colour matching for a wide range of (European) skintones. You may need a little concealer here and there.

There’s also a light reflecting component, which again evens out skintone and also diminishes the appearance of fine lines. This level of luminosity is just enough to perk up tired skin, without lighting you up like a glitterball and adding excessive shine. The SPF of 25 is very welcome and unusual in this price bracket, although I can’t personally test the claim that any given product offers this level of protection, or that it shields from both UVA and UVB rays.

To sum up, ignore the hype and enjoy it for what it really is – a nice product for day-to-day wear that looks natural, and makes you look like a healthier, perkier version of your usual self. Over time, an SPF of 25 will benefit the skin, and it’s easy to apply and blend in too. If you like the natural look, this is a good all-rounder that could save you a fair amount of time in the mornings.

It has an RRP of £6.99 for 25ml, which I think is an absolute bargain given the formulation. Right now it’s available for an introductory price of £5.99 at Boots, and is also part of their 3-for-2 promotion across the 17 brand. Best BB cream I’ve tried, and interestingly also the cheapest.

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Have you tried it yet? If so, what did you think?

One thing I should definitely mention from the off is that the book focuses on natural spa destinations. By ‘natural’ I mean mineral water springs, thermal springs, clays and muds, salt caves and the like, rather than spa hotels that could have been built at any random location and had the facilities added afterwards. That’s why, for example, the two British choices are centred around Bath Spa and the Lake District. There are also a few additions that include local ingredients such as seaweed, grapes and chocolate (seriously, check out the Sacher spa, it’s real and everything).

There are plenty of photos of the spas and nearby towns and countryside, and I particularly like the way they’ve included a few sightseeing options for each destination. After all, once you’ve finished with the pampering it would be a shame to miss the landmarks.

The natural spa centres themselves range from the basic to the high tech; some are hippy heaven, others are luxurious and still others are quasi-medical. The reviews quickly give you a very good idea of what you’d be getting yourself into, and outline the treatments and therapies for which each spa is famous. A guideline price is also included for popular treatments, which is helpful if you’re watching the Euros.

If I had one small complaint, it would be that I’d like to have seen a few more pictures of treatment rooms in individual spas and clinics. However, you can get round this by looking at the spa websites which are mentioned along with their other contact details.

To sum up: an interesting, unique guide to natural spas with a wide range of styles and price brackets included. It’s an ideal jumping-off point if you’re about to start researching a European spa break, and it would make an attractive gift for any globetrotting beauty fan.

The Spa Lover’s Guide to Europe by Sarah Woods has an RRP of £14.99. It’s currently available on Amazon for £7.50.

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COMPETITION TIME: We have one copy of this rather attractive tome to give away. If you’d like to win yourself a copy of the Spa Lover’s Guide to Europe, just leave a message saying ‘Spa me!” in the comments below to go into the prize draw.

T&Cs: UK entrants only, winner picked using random.org. No cash alternative. Only one entry per person please – multiple entries will be disqualified. Competition closes at noon on Wednesday 23rd November 2011.

The first one is Auberge du Chocolat: The secrets of fine chocolate making, by Anne Scott. This book really is something else, and it would make a perfect Christmas gift for a foodie friend, partner or relative.

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to melt, temper and work with chocolate, this book shows you how. It will also give you the confidence to create all the classic fillings, and work with interesting new flavour combinations. The author has a real can-do approach, so after reading you’re left feeling like you could just get on with it and make some really special treats, either for your own consumption or giving as quality gifts.

There are separate sections on decorating and presenting your chocolates, dairy-free chocolates, and making choc treats with kids. If you follow the instructions you should definitely be able to create professional looking gourmet chocolates at home after reading, if you just take your time and don’t rush. Photographs are plentiful, and mouth-wateringly attractive.

Auberge du Chocolat by Anne Scott is published by New Holland and has an RRP of £16.99. It’s currently on offer at Amazon for £8.99, with free super saver delivery.

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Our second book is Natural Soap, by Melinda Cross. It focuses on traditional soapmaking techniques and has a strong emphasis on natural ingredients. The author began making soap as a hobby, and then became a professional supplier of natural soaps and toiletries.

It begins with a through explanation of the basics of natural soapmaking, and describes the properties of all the ingredients that can be used to make it. You won’t find any bright colours, artificial perfumes, or melt and pour in here, but that’s really all part of the charm – and the products look luxurious. The largest part of the book is given over to a whole range of different soapmaking projects, including bar soaps, liquid soaps, and scrub soaps, each with presentation and wrapping tips.

As an added bonus there are also recipes for shampoos, shaving soap, bath melts, and an impressive range of creams and lotions at the back of the book. To top it all off, there’s a section about turning your hobby into a small business – this is concise and direct, and gives you a realistic idea of what is necessary if you want to be successful.

Natural Soap by Melinda Coss has an RRP of £8.99. At the time of writing this review it’s available on Amazon for £5.03, and qualifies for free super saver delivery.

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COMPETITION TIME: If you would like to win a hardback copy of Auberge du Chocolat, just leave a ‘yes please!’ message in the comments section below. We’ll pick a winner at random from all the comments at lunch time next Friday.

Good luck everyone!

T&Cs: UK entrants only please, winner picked using random.org. No cash alternative. Only one entry per person please – multiple entries will be disqualified. Competition closes at noon on Friday 18 November 2011.

The full name is Love Me Rose Body Wash, and it’s organic and free from parabens, pthalates, petrochemicals and the like – if that’s your sort of product. It’s also suitable for vegetarians and vegans, and no bunnies were hurt in the making of it.

However, that isn’t why I like it so much. I love this stuff because it is rose-scented without being sickly sweet, and it has the tiniest, tiniest hint of clove oil in it. I also love it because it’s almost identical in fragrance, performance and contents to another designer-y shower gel that costs over four times the price.

The cheapest I’ve found the Naked Bodycare version for is £3.79 at Boots, and it’s sometimes included in different multi-buy promotions so keep an eye out for it.

I’m hoping they expand the Love Me range. Meanwhile I’m eyeing up their orange blossom body wash for a neroli oil hit once I’ve come to the end of the rose…

Have you tried this product? If so, what did you think? If not, are you tempted to give it a whirl?

Here’s what I’ve been getting up so in the last few days:

• Wednesday: 30 minutes of mixed aerobic exercises on the Wii fit, and a 20-minute lower body workout. Getting some more flexibility in my legs already, which is great progress.

• Thursday: One hour of step on the Wii fit. Compared to the first week of doing this, it felt so much easier so that’s definite progress.

• Saturday: A nice long walk, approx 60 minutes of mainly brisk walking. Nice bit of fresh air as well as a chance to stretch my legs.

• Sunday: One hour of digging in the garden and lugging 50 litre bags of compost around etc. My arms are stronger but it does still make my back a little tired. Maybe that will improve too, in time.

How did it go? I think it’s gone OK, and I’ve managed not to spend any cash at all. You do have to think ahead a little and find interesting workouts to do, and try different forms of exercise otherwise I’m sure it would get monotonous very quickly indeed. Might reward myself by getting one of those fancy pilates balance balls to help with sit-ups if I can find a good deal on one.

Health-wise, I don’t feel like a new person or anything like that, but my lung capacity has improved a fair bit and I’m looking a little more toned all over so it’s been well worth the effort.

It’s the 28th tomorrow, so that will be my last workout for February and I’ll have hit my target for 20 days of exercise in four weeks. How’s your fitness level this week? Feeling inspired?

• Sunday: 30 minutes of aerobic exercises on the Wii fit. A bit of an afterthought as I had a busy weekend. Still, at least it’s better than nothing.

• Wednesday: 70 minutes of Wii step, including 20 minutes with weights. Lost track of time and did more than I intended to, but no pain or breathlessness, or problems afterwards. Stopped using weights after old shoulder injury started to play up slightly, but no residual problems. Might be time for a sports massage soon though.

• Thursday: 35 minutes of yoga from a recorded TV show. It looked tame from the title, but turned out to be fairly advanced with a real need for upper body strength and core strength, and the teacher went from asana to asana rapidly and talked in jargon a lot without explaining things. Fortunately I’ve done a fair bit of hatha and Iyengar yoga over the years so no injuries, but wow, that was not suitable for beginners or the truly unfit.

• Friday: 40 minutes of Wii step, plus 20 minutes of brisk walking. Lung capacity seems to be improving, and general muscle tone has continued to improve too.

• Sunday: 30 minutes of aerobic exercises on the Wii fit, 10 minutes of stretching, 50 sit ups.

How did it go? I managed 5 sessions, but three of them were relatively short. I confess I was a bit surprised at how bad my hamstrings were, but they should improve over the next few days given some care and attention. In dire need of a shoulder massage now too.

What’s next? There’s still time for another five sessions before the end of February, so I’ll try some more DVDs and lots of stretching, and start to mix in some high intensity exercise too. Think I’d better create a timetable since ad-hoc sessions are too sporadic and it’s too easy to forget.

Are you doing any exercise this February? Any get-fit-for-free tips to share?

I said I was going to see what free equipment and other things I could lay my hands on. Well, a quick look around the house and shed has revealed two yoga mats and some mini dumbbells (in pink, bletch, but beggars can’t be choosers), which is a start. Was also reminded that I had a free rental code for LoveFilm who might send me an exercise DVD instead of a movie, although there was no guarantee of when it might arrive.

Here’s how the second week went:

• Monday: Still had a sore throat and some queasiness when I woke up, so decided to stick with ‘safe’ exercise. Did an hour of step on top speed, and 50 sit-ups. No problem at the time, and by the afternoon I was feeling a lot healthier too.

• Tuesday: Pilates matwork from a recorded TV show. Way better than the one I tried last week, this one was a good half an hour of proper exercises that went on for 30 minutes without any annoying ad breaks. Felt nice and toned after the matwork, without having overdone it.

• Wednesday: Half an hour of step at top speed with hand weights, half an hour of Wii fit running and coordination games, 50 sit-ups. Tired before I started, shattered afterwards.

• Thursday: Lower-body workout from a recorded TV show. About 25 minutes of continuous, fairly challenging exercises – could feel the muscles working hard. Right knee making crunching noises so was extra careful with lunges etc.

• Friday: Rest day. No delayed muscle pain, but feeling washed out and sleepy.

How did it go? On Monday I could already feel some improvement in muscle tone, which was extremely encouraging. My appetite has increased too, and I’m eating more to make sure I don’t lose weight.

What’s next? Will be doing some Wii Fit later this afternoon, to make it 5 sessions for this week again. I’m dying to go for a swim, so hopefully next week I’ll be able to find a free trial at a gym that has a pool. Watch this space. Still waiting to see whether LoveFilm are going to send me an exercise DVD or not.

Are you getting fit at the moment, or boosting current levels of fitness? Any ideas for me that involve no spending?

OK, with that out of the way, this is a body lotion that retails at £2.99 for 250ml, and is currently on offer for £2 at Superdrug. In true Golightly fashion I tested it on only one leg for a week, so I could see how it compared against my usual body lotion.

Like many similar products, the bottle makes all kinds of claims, such as your ‘skin will feel intensely hydrated for up to 7 days’ after use, and it’s ‘inspired by probiotics’. But of course I’m going to turn the bottle over and look at the ingredients list instead because that’s where a good review should start, and the placebo effect is something we want to minimise.

The main moisturising ingredients in this body lotion are actually: mineral oil, glycerin, palm oil and cetearyl alcohol (a non-drying form of alcohol). These work nicely together to hydrate, add oils to and protect the skin. The shea butter is so low down on the ingredients list that it’s unlikely to do much.

The ‘L Bifidus’ is actually L Bifidus lysate, so these allegedly probiotic bacteria have had their cell walls burst (by either heat, cold, chemicals, etc) and are stone dead. As far as I can see, they’re going to do as much for you as deep fried or freeze dried yogurt, if they do anything at all since they are 10th down the ingredients list.

Ninth on the ingredients list is benzyl alcohol, a nasty, drying form of alcohol that has upset my skin in the past, so I was rather worried that it was going to bring me out in a rash. Fortunately being 9th on the list means there’s very little of it in the product so I didn’t have any bad reaction after one week of use.

There is a light fragrance, which is kind of inoffensive and fades quickly. I perhaps would have preferred it without the fragrance, especially on dry, sensitive skin.

Now then, does this stuff work? The simple answer is yes, I’ve had very good results with this. The lotion sinks in quite quickly without any mess or tackiness, and leaves skin looking smoother and feeling comfortable for 24 hours. If you don’t mind the way it smells then this is good value for money and an effective moisturiser for dry body skin.

After I stopped using it, my skin went back to its usual state within 48 hours, so I’m not so sure about the ’7 days’ claims. Why not just say ‘this works’ and have done with, dear manufacturers? Having said that, this is definitely a product I will use again. Marketing flim-flam aside, it is an effective moisturiser with a nice low price tag.

Have you tried Garnier Body Intensive 7 Days for yourself yet? I’d be interested to hear about how other people got on with it.

• Tues 1st Feb: 25 minutes of brisk walking outdoors. Felt fine during and afterwards, but hated the drizzle.

• Weds 2nd Feb: A quick warm up then 60 minutes of step*. Fine during exercise, but felt shocking afterwards (never been like that before after step) so I’m probably still a bit post-viral.

• Thurs 3rd Feb: Decided to do some gentle stretching and toning for flexibility. Used one of those free channels to do pilates and yoga to increase the range of upper body movement and improve posture. Did 25 mins, not counting the ad breaks.

• Fri 4th Feb: Back to the aerobic exercise with 60 minutes of free step on top speed, plus 50 sit-ups. Fine during and after, and the following day the muscles felt exercised without being properly painful.

How did it go? I was slightly surprised at how bad I felt on Wednesday (sick and dizzy rather than just tired), so decided to go really slow on Thursday then push it a tiny amount on Friday. It’s probably just a case of factoring in ‘rest’ days, and keeping things ticking over while my health improves itself over the next week or so. Frustrating though, this being patient lark.

Having said that, we all know people who go on these OTT and impractical health kicks – they never last and more often than not, injuries are involved. Most of us probably know other people who make loads of excuses for not exercising either. Just trying to find a sensible balance between the two extremes of human nature.

What’s next? I’ll have a quick look around the house for old sports equipment, as the last people who lived here left all sorts of things behind. Might send off for a free exercise DVD or find a good low impact workout on YouTube as well, or record a couple of fitness progs off the telly. Today I’m hoping to garden later, if the weather holds, so that’s some digging and lifting, and tomorrow I’ll try to put an hour of some kind of aerobic exercise in.

I’m also going to try to line up some free gym passes so I can get a free swim or two in, and use some decent core weights machines. Will let you know how that works out – bet there’s a lot of BS and hard sell involved with quite a few of these chains…

Wish me luck!

Are you trying to get fit too? Any ideas for freebie fitness?

*We exchanged our supermarket clubcard points for a Wii Fit in the Argos sale about 18 months ago, best freebie ever – nice to blow the dust off it! There’s a ‘free step’ function on it that lets you watch TV while you exercise.

Naturally I was interested when Batiste sent me one of their newest products to review. It’s the blonde and light hair version of their new colour product, which is just right for my highlighted hair, in theory. It’s available in all major chemists for £3.05.

I tried it out before going out for the evening, just to give my work-day hair a bit of a boost. I was careful not to get it all over my clothes (it does wash off easily though) as it sprayed on the roots, then I rubbed it in and brushed out. It did give me that squeaky clean feeling and the scent was very light, which I much prefer. Now, the colour bit. It did give a tiny bit of help blending in the growing out roots of my highlighted hair, but it wasn’t a shockingly strong effect. There was a little left on my scalp too, but it didn’t show up too badly.

Meanwhile, I suspect that the darker shades might be more popular for a number of reasons. First of all, you’re less likely to get that chalky, dusty look in your hair that you can sometimes otherwise get if you spray too much on or don’t brush out thoroughly enough. Secondly it might well help to tone down a few stray grey hairs here and there. Thirdly, a little darker pigment remaining on the scalp might lightly disguise very fine or thin areas of hair.

However, if your priority is colour blending then this isn’t perhaps the product you would automatically reach for. There are other spray-on blending products that you might buy first, or you might prefer to buy a rapid root-retouch dye product instead. When my highlights start growing out and I can’t get to the hairdresser, I’m more likely do a running repair by mixing up half a teaspoon of highlight dye and tinting 8 to 10 very fine strands of hair with it.

What else can I say? It’s an effective dry shampoo with a very light and non-offensive fragrance, and it gives just less than half a shade’s colour difference on my roots. Primarily it is a dry shampoo, so be realistic in your expectations about the colour. If you’re a Batiste fan already, you might like to try a can of this next time you restock and I suspect it’s going to be more popular if you have dark, fine hair.

Are you thinking about trying Batiste Tones Light and Blonde? Have you tried this new product already? If so what did you think of it?