Summer is without doubt my favourite of the four seasons. The feel of warm sun kissing my bare shoulders is one of life’s greatest pleasures, though not one you get to experience that often when living in the UK, granted!
But there is one aspect of Summer that fills me with dread – my legs coming out into the fresh air again after spending all Winter and Spring beneath thick tights and trousers! Hidden away they have been largely forgotten, but come August there is nowhere for them to hide.
While my days of wearing a pair of skimpy denim shorts around town are past me, come August I’m usually to be found on a beach or near a pool. I feel incredibly lucky that I get to spend most of August in Spain every year. But that does mean I have rather a lot more flesh on show than usual while I’m there; and when you get to my age, having a lot of flesh on show calls for a lot of body prepping beforehand!
Dry body brushing is brilliant at getting rid of dead skin cells and smoothing away those bumpy bits on the back of your arms and tops of your legs. I do it daily for about a minute – more on that here. Couple that with some body massage using a topical treatment cream and you’ll be looking super sexy and beach ready in next to no time.
For the past few weeks I’ve been using Dr Jackson’s Natural Products’ Body Perfecting Gel to help with my beach body prep. I was kindly sent the jar by the natural and organic online beauty store, Naturisimo, to try.
The gel is designed to tighten and firm skin. It contains natural extracts of:
Sea Buckthorn – high in antioxidant vitamins C and E, great for skin smoothing
Aloe Vera – heals and softens
Orange Flower (Neroli Oil) – increases circulation, stimulates cell growth, regulates oiliness
Patchouli Oil – calms inflammation and irritation
Baobab – very rich in antioxidants, boosts skin firmness
You apply a liberal amount to skin and massage in until thoroughly absorbed. For best results apply after bathing. I’ve been using this mainly on my upper thighs, where I feel I have most need for some skin perfecting action!
Any good?
This is greyish/brown in colour and feels instantly cooling on my skin. It would actually make a perfect after sun soother – I’m going to be decanting some of this into a plastic jar (it comes in a glass one, so not particularly travel friendly) to take on hols with me.
The gel absorbs easily, it hydrates and I am definitely detecting a greater firmness to my skin too. It appears to have a bit of an instant anti-ageing effect on my legs, though these results do wear off after a time – no formula is going to deliver long-lasting results in one shot.
Whether these benefits will build and last I can’t really say, as I’d need to be using the product for longer. But if you’re looking for something to give skin an instant boost in firmness and smoothness, then this certainly delivers on that.
One aspect I’m not so keen on, though, is the fragrance. It’s described as having a fresh natural floral scent, but I’m not getting that. For me this has quite an earthy smell to it. I’m missing the floral.
Dr Jackson’s Natural Products Body Perfecting Gel costs £50 for 200ml and is available here.
PR Sample
