Welcome to the June newsletter where we launch one of the best mud products ever, ever, ever; I introduce you to an amazing panacea for unhappy skin and after last month’s launch of Billion Dollar Brows, I write about more new products from them and there is a treat in there too. For lovers of This Works (and there are a lot of you), I have two rather wonderful treats to tell you about, we launch three new products from Color Wow, which are of course pretty wonderful and I bring you all the feedback from the launch of Re-Connect from Phylia de M. Additionally, Shabir takes a look at eczema and psoriasis and he also writes about the most common summer holiday problems. With news and feedback thrown in along the way, together with this month’s editorial features and a very brief appearance on The Podium from me, we are ready to begin, so let’s go:

Hungary Mud

Let me tell you, there is a lot of mud flying around at the moment; I have had so many mud products thrown at me (well, not literally!) over the past couple of months, it is pretty obvious that there is one great big mud fest going on, so the buzz is mud and it’s trending heavily. As ever, a touch of discernment is needed when evaluating the various products on the market and after a rigorous testing exercise, I am beyond excited to launch Hungary Mud in the UK.

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Welcome to the May newsletter and I need to tell you that I have been skipping round the office in a state of over-excitement because we have the exclusive global launch of a new product from Phylia de M and I have THE most perfect eyebrows in the world, which trust me is a big deal. I will write about my eyebrows after I’ve told you about Phylia and we also launch some new products from This Works, Famous Dave’s, Margaret Dabbs and Color Wow. Throughout the newsletter there are some special treats, including a fabulous gift from HealGel, so please read very carefully because I wouldn’t want you to miss out! Additionally I jump onto The Podium to write about an extraordinary treatment and Shabir takes a look at two big health concerns, haemorrhoids and cataracts. Finally, we have some great new articles in our editorial section. Right, let’s go:

Re-Connect by Phylia de M

It is exactly a year since we launched Phylia and what a year it has been; as I have written regularly, the feedback from the three step kit, Clean, Condition and Connect, has been completely phenomenal and this includes many testimonials from people who have suffered hair loss or thinning hair through critical illness. Following on from this, we launched Fulphyl late last year, which I wrote about in the last newsletter, so if you missed what I wrote, read here because I believe this is one of the most important health products to have launched in the past decade.

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Welcome to the April newsletter where we launch some amazing new products (do so love a good launch!), we bring you all the latest news and feedback, I write about ‘miracles’ (with a treat) and Shabir investigates Restless Leg Syndrome. Should spring ever arrive, we have a tried and tested hay fever regimen for you and we have some great editorial features this month, which I will write about later in the newsletter. Additionally, I leap onto The Podium and talk about product famines, because there have been quite a few recently and that said, I am going to start this newsletter with a treat for everybody and then follow with the new product launches. One last thing, Shabir and I will be joining the Beauty Bible girls (Sarah Stacey and Jo Fairley) at The Anti-Ageing Exhibition in London; details later in the newsletter. Let’s go:

Fabulous Skin

On last month’s newsletter I wrote about how skin ages and referred you to an article, Nourish Your Skin, written by Shabir, which you can read here if you missed it. The ageing of skin is a multi-faceted process, which is impacted by lifestyle, dietary choices and genetics. The cells of our bodies are programmed to have a finite lifespan. Each time a cell divides, some genetic material is lost, so that on average thirty to forty cell divisions are usually the maximum and after this the cell is considered to be aged.

The market is flooded with thousands of supplements that claim to have anti-ageing properties, including a variety of marine-based extracts, countless antioxidants and several vitamins and minerals. In order to maintain healthy and radiant skin, you have to protect, nourish and help prevent damage to the cells of skin.

In his article, Shabir recommends three supplements that work synergistically to help nourish the skin, plump it up and help prevent the slide ‘south’. These are Hyaluronic Acid (HA), the most crucial of anti-ageing supplements in our opinion, Skin Restoring Phytoceramides which I love and adore with a big passion and Astaxanthin, a brilliant antioxidant. I have taken all three supplements since they were launched and quite honestly I owe my skin to them!

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Welcome to the March newsletter, where we take a look at new product launches, I fall in love with a nail polish and I give you the feedback from last month’s launches. Additionally, Shabir writes about nourishing your skin and takes a look at PMS. Throughout the newsletter there are some treats thrown in, so do read carefully because I wouldn’t want you to miss anything. We also have some great editorial features this month and I’ll write about those later, but for now all you need know is that one new product brings a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes and it is my fervent wish that both the product and the words will help many of you. That said, I’m up there on The Podium again this month and I have a lot to say – so standby and let’s go:

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Welcome to the February newsletter where I have a whole long list of new products to tell you about, we take a look at two regimens, one for cold sores and the other for candidiasis and behold (!) in the midst of all of this, I will be writing about a special treat, which I think you may like rather a lot. We also have a new product release from the creator of Phylia de M, Kazu Namise, and after the runaway success of the brilliant product, Root Cover Up by Color Wow, we launch a further three products from the range.

Additionally, Shabir writes about multi-vitamins and Vitamin D and I’m taking a pampering journey. To be honest, I just don’t get this whole thing about detoxing and/or recreating ourselves in January, or February for that matter, so I was very happy to see Sarah Vine write about the same subject in The Times magazine recently; more on that later. For now I will also tell you that I am going to leap onto The Podium for the second month running with an important announcement and we are now going to kick off with some new product launches. Let’s go:

Color Wow

We launched the first product, Root Cover Up, from the Color Wow range on the December newsletter and being an ‘industry first’, I knew that we had a rather miraculous product to tell the world about. Just to recap, Color Wow is the first complete line of professionally formulated products that prescriptively address all colour treated hair issues and needs, allowing colour to always look perfect. Created by John Frieda, Gail Federici and a team of top editorial hair stylists, most beauty editors have gone crazy for Root Cover Up, the feedback has been amazing and the message is: no more roots ….. ever! If you missed what I wrote when we launched the four Root Cover Up colours, please click here to read all about them.
Root Cover Up £28.50 (Blonde; Light Brown; Medium Brown; Dark Brown)

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Welcome to the January newsletter where we take a look at two fabulous new supplements; one for sleep disorders and the other for compromised skin conditions, such as acne.  I will also be reviewing the health and beauty trends for 2013, Shabir shakes up our lifestyle and there is a bit of a treat for those amongst us who have raging female hormones. As ever, I will be writing about your feedback and we will also review winter immunity, which is crucial at this time of year with so many horrible bugs flying around.  Let’s go:

Sleep Tight

Good sleep is one of the most important aspects of health, although like many things in life, we still do not fully understand why we sleep.  Many people have theorised that the purpose of sleep is to physically rest, rejuvenate and repair.  However, increasing research seems to point to the fact that when we sleep naturally, our brain is not dormant and actually reviews and processes all the information gathered during the day, some of which we discard and some of which we store into memory.

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Welcome to the December newsletter, where we have two fabulous new product launches for you and we take a look at some of the highlights of the past year. We also have two new editorial categories for you to explore and participate in, Shabir writes about strategies to help promote healthy joints and he then takes a look at a very common health concern, constipation. On the gift front, Temple Spa, This Works, Neom and Margaret Dabbs have some fabulous seasonal offerings and I reveal Shabir’s five favourite health products of the moment.

Before anything, I just want to say a very big thank you to all of you; your loyalty and support is immeasurable; your continual feedback staggers me at times and our Facebook family is just something else – so, so special. More than ever before, this year has been a year of sharing in many different ways and this newsletter is written in that spirit, so let’s go with the new launches first:

Color Wow – Root Cover Up

Color Wow is the latest creation from internationally acclaimed hairstylist, John Frieda, and industry-renowned products innovator, Gail Federici. John and Gail, co-founders of John’s original professional hair care company, have now gone on to form Federici Brands. Together with John Frieda UK Creative Director, Kevin Moss, John and Gail have created a complete line of professionally formulated products that not only protect, correct and resurrect your hair colour and texture, but also gives your hair the ‘wow’ factor. ‘Root Cover Up’ is the first product to launch from the Color Wow brand.

The first thing I want to do is thank John and Gail for allowing me to launch this new range on VH. With a history of groundbreaking products behind them, including Frizz-Ease and Sheer Blonde, I strongly believe that Color Wow will follow in that genre and for the millions of women who colour their hair, Color Wow means no more roots or ‘in-between colour’ days, just perfect hair colour, every day. See miracles do happen!

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Welcome to the November newsletter; this is the one that I have been waiting to write for several months as we release a new outstanding product from Phylia de M, we launch Miracle Glo, which I have been using and loving since the beginning of this year and we celebrate the tenth birthday of Innovative Skincare with a treat. If that’s not enough, we also have another treat from Phylia de M, Shabir writes about Krill Oil, B12 and a regimen for Post-Nasal Drip, which is a massive concern for so many people and I take a look at five gifts for Christmas.

Before anything, I just need to tell you that I am writing this under the influence of a general anaesthetic, which I had yesterday, so it might go a bit whacky in places, but we shall endure and later in the newsletter I will write about it because it’s quite funny and I will tell you about the product that saved me before, during and after the procedure. But now please allow me to introduce the product that I think will save the world (this is not an under-statement), so let’s go:

Fulphyl by Phylia de M

I am going to begin by stating that I believe ‘Fulphyl’ to be the single-most important health product to be released in the past decade and I am pretty sure that statement will suffice for the next decade too. Working closely with Kazu Namise, the creator of Phylia de M, I was sent on a steep learning curve about the amazing qualities of Fulvic Acid, and most especially about Phylia’s custom blended organic humic-free Fulvic Acid, which is of course the key ingredient in the propriety mix for the hair care system (Clean, Condition and Connect).

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Welcome to the October newsletter and as we head into the autumn and winter months we launch ‘Daily Immunity’, a new supplement to help protect against infection and after last month’s launch of the new HealGel products, we take a look at the feedback received. I will also follow through on the latest news from Innovative Skincare and Phylia de M, both of which include a rather fabulous offer, so you will need to read these sections carefully. Additionally the Beauty Bible girls announce their latest awards, I bring you up to speed on the supplements that I am currently taking and Shabir throws the focus on how to combat stress effectively and also investigates the myth of cranberry juice. Let’s go:

Daily Immunity

As autumn and winter approach, many of us will experience bouts of colds, infections, catarrh and similar concerns. Often we blame bugs as the cause of our illness rather than addressing varying weaknesses in our immune system.

The immune system is unlike any other system within our bodies with a complex interaction between several glands, proteins, tissues, chemical compounds, hormones and gut bacteria. These interactions are all involved to help achieve optimal immunity and in its simplistic form, the immune system comprises specialised white blood cells, which learn what belongs to the body and what does not. The role of the immune system is to protect the body against many pathogenic bacteria and viruses on an ongoing basis. Any organism that attacks our system will cause infection and disease and it is the optimal working of the immune system that helps destroy these organisms in order to prevent any further damage and infection. This process is referred to as the immune response.

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Welcome to the September newsletter where we launch the long-awaited new products from HealGel, I have breaking news from Phylia de M. and I follow through on the amazing feedback from Innovative Skincare where you will find a rather fabulous offer and discover which product has been described as ‘Spanx for the face’. We also have an exclusive new launch from Lanolips, we take a look at some new products from Aromatherapy Associates and if you are devoted to HA, then please read this newsletter carefully because I have a treat for you. Additionally, we celebrate the publication of the new updated Anti-Ageing Beauty Bible, Claire Gardner brings us up to speed with more news from the VH Community and Shabir throws the focus on two big issues, bloating and rosacea. Before any of this, I have a few words to say about skincare products:

Over the past couple of months I have been launching the new range of products from Innovative Skincare and I am going to follow through on this later in this newsletter because the feedback has been phenomenal and I’m jumping up and down with excitement. Having said that, I am of course extraordinarily aware that we are all different and our skincare needs vary from skin type to price point and a whole lot of things in between. So that said, I’m going to kick off with three new skincare products from HealGel.

HealGel

We launched the original HealGel several years ago and it instantly became a cult product with a massive following. Created by five of the UK’s leading plastic surgeons, it was specifically formulated to help reduce the appearance of scars and to ease a wide range of skin problems, including psoriasis and eczema. I have known for a long time that the HealGel range was going to be extended and after drumming my fingers on my desk for the past 18 months (or longer!), the wait is over and I can now write about the three new products. The HealGel journey is very emotive for each of us involved, so please do read my interview with Natascha McElhone, the wife of the late and very great Martin Kelly (a founding partner), as she talks about Martin’s inspiration, philosophy and legacy.
Gill meets Natascha McElhone

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