Another week, another Weekend Read and as most you know, because I’ve written it several times, I am an eternal optimist.  From one day to the next, life can change.  In that statement, I am not only referring to the past few months, but for all time.  It is for that reason that I have never done a business plan and I can’t ever imagine doing one.  An email, a phone call or a chance meeting can change everything.  It has always been that way and it’s the way we roll.  Being a heart-led business, I am extraordinarily aware of differing circumstances and it is for that reason that we take our responsibilities very seriously when guiding and helping you through these difficult times as best we can.  With a bit of fun thrown in too.  That bit is non-negotiable.  And so we share:

Since the beginning of the pandemic our main focus has been on our health and immunity.  We do this in many different ways, with many different supplements and because I always use Fulvic Acid Elixir as my base, I like to think that I am concocting ‘Immunity Cocktails’.  Before I write one more word, I have to put the usual caveat in.  There is not a supplement available today that will prevent any of us from contracting Covid-19.  I am of the view that if we strengthen our immune system as best we can, then that’s what we need to do.  I take no chances with our health and wellbeing.

It is for all the above reasons that I am taking our bestselling immunity supplement, Daily Immunity, and putting together a treat.  I did a dance of all dances when we received our recent delivery because I was waiting for the moment when I could do this.  That moment has finally arrived.  I know you are eager to read the bottom line of what I’m about to do, so instead of writing reams about Daily Immunity, I will instead refer you to Shabir’s article, which gives the lowdown on the workings of our immune system and much more.  Just to be clear, this is another archived article and was written before the pandemic came into being.  We have always been pretty strong on this subject.  Even more so now.

So for one day only, that will be today (Saturday 8 August), with every order for Daily Immunity we will automatically include a free DLux 3000, which is worth £7.95.  Yes, this is the product that has been on these missives almost weekly because we can never under-estimate the importance of Vitamin D.  I suppose in some ways it helps cement the fact that together with Andy Thomas, Founder of Better You, I have been campaigning about Vitamin D deficiencies and the detrimental impact it can have on our health, for more than ten years.  Actually I might not survive ten minutes when Shabir reads this, but never mind that. To receive this gift, you will need to click on the Daily Immunity Treat linked below.  This offer will end at midnight GMT tonight, or whilst stocks last.  And it could well be the latter.
Daily Immunity Treat £26 (Daily Immunity £26 for 60 Capsules; DLux 3000 Spray by Better You £7.95 for 15 ml); Fulvic Acid Elixir £30 for 480 ml; A Daily Supplement That Supercharges Your Immunity

I now want to write about iS Clinical.  Or most specifically Sheald Recovery Balm.  Since the very beginning of time, the boys, Bryan Johns and Alec Call (the co-founders) bequeathed upon me the role of custodian of their brand in the UK.  Shame they didn’t give me shares alongside that, but that wouldn’t be ethical, so I just dream of what might have been, bearing in mind that they are one of the top cosmeceutical brands in the world.  Deservedly so in my humble opinion.

Anyway going back several years, we did the global launch of Sheald Recovery Balm.  I will never forget it.  This miraculous product was the first of its kind because it was formulated for healing scars and it could be used on open wounds, which was beyond innovative.  The rest is history; it has been acknowledged and praised by surgeons worldwide and when India Knight wrote about it in The Sunday Times, the Sheald famine lasted months.   I still don’t believe there is a product in this genre that can get close to Sheald, so just a few more words to say.

When Sheald launched, the boys had the UK retail price at £48, but because I’m bolshy (understatement) I thought £43 sounded better.  They let me do it.  It has been seven years since there were any price increases across the iS Clinical products, but there has just been an increase.  I think that’s fair because most brands tend to increase their prices annually.  The price for Sheald will increase to £52, but before I do that, I am going to hold the price at my launch price, not theirs, and this will be good through to next Friday (14 August) when I apply the increase.  Load up.  Load up.  It’s the ever-rocking Sheald-Show.
Sheald Recovery Balm by iS Clinical £43 for 60 ml 

Let’s do a new product launch.  And I’m going to wrap it all up in a treat.  A Thyme Out treat.  The original Thyme Out is rather famous; you know the kind of thing, it has been seen here, there and everywhere.  So with a bit of a tra-la-la, here comes the new product, and it is the Thyme Out Face and Body Mask.  It retains all the benefits and ingredients we know and love, with the inclusion of volcanic clay ash to help draw out impurities and toxins.

It is a powerful anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory solution for compromised skin conditions such as acne, psoriasis, rosacea, eczema, fungal conditions and prickly heat.  Added to that, it helps skin that has been trashed by wearing disposable face masks.  Anyway, you know how much I love alchemy, well this is not a pre-mixed mask, it is a powder.  So do with it what you will.  That perhaps is the excitement.  For optimum benefit, we recommend mixing a small amount of liquid Thyme Out with the powder, although you can use water for a diluted version.  It is perfectly safe for babies and pets too.  In fact the original Thyme Out helps clear nappy rash rather magnificently.

And the treat. If you buy the Thyme Out Face and Body Mask, we will send you a free gift of the Thyme Out Face and Body Wash, which is worth £18.  In other words, a Thyme Out ritualistic happening.  A couple of caveats.  You will need to click on the Thyme Out Treat link below to receive it and this is a limited time offer.  I know it probably won’t last the day, so you will need to be quick.  Once it’s over, it’s over.  As sung by Roy Orbison at the end of a brilliant episode of Big Little Lies back in the day.  I replayed it at least five times.  I do things like that.
Thyme Out Treat £18 (Thyme Out Face and Body Mask £18 for 8 oz; Thyme Out Face and Body Wash £18 for 210 ml); Thyme Out (The Original) £18 for 200 ml

Behold.  A new article from Shabir as he tracks Shatavari through the various stages of a woman’s life cycle.  Shatavari is one of the main Ayurvedic rejuvenating tonics for women.  Also known as wild asparagus (Asparagus racemosus), Shatavari belongs to a group of herbs which are collectively referred to as adaptogens because they bring the body back into balance.  Discover its virtues from puberty to menopause and why it is also hailed as a reproductive tonic.
Wholistic Shatavari by Pukka Herbs £16.96 for 30 Capsules; Shatavari From Puberty to Menopause

The conquering of another wait list.  I have to tell you that I am now living for these moments in this seemingly never-ending roller-coaster ride of product famines.  And emotions.  I suppose I only have myself to blame, but when I suggested several weeks ago that Castor Oil was brilliant for helping to grow eyebrows and eyelashes it all went a bit pear-shaped, the orders not my eyebrows.  It is with hope that by the time you read this, we will have fulfilled all outstanding orders and it is with a sigh of relief that I can now say that Castor Oil is back in stock.  Finally.
Organic Castor Oil by Pukka Herbs £9.95 for 250 ml

Voila.  A new morning skincare set from LixirSkin.  It is called The Glow Set and I think many of you will be rather taken with this.  The set consists of three products to use daily.  So what are the three products.  They are Vitamin C Paste (30 ml), Universal Emulsion (30 ml) and Good Skin Shaker (15 ml).  Start with the Vitamin C Paste.  It is your morning express mask and Vitamin C treatment in one; follow through with Universal Emulsion.  Universal Emulsion is a clever cream.  It is light and intensely hydrating and its unique semi-reverse emulsion technique also provides a natural SPF10 without added sunscreens.  Finally, Good Skin Shaker simultaneously plumps and de-puffs for an instant pick-me-up.  Anything that helps with the puff is good with me.

And now a slight twist.  There are two sets actually.  The first contains the original Good Skin Shaker and the second contains the Good Skin Shaker Summer Edit.  I suppose we should really call the latter ‘The Glow-Glow Set’, but I don’t want to confuse the issue.  Or myself.  Anyway, the bottom line is that this entire routine will take about five minutes.  Long gone are the eleven (or more) steps to beauty regimens.  I didn’t do them anyway.  And I doubt you did either.  Does anybody know anybody who did.  Rhetorical question.  Go Glow.
The Glow Set by LixirSkin £45 (Vitamin C Paste 30 ml; Universal Emulsion 30 ml; Good Skin Shaker 15 ml); The Glow Set: Summer Edit by LixirSkin £45 (Vitamin C Paste 30 ml; Universal Emulsion 30 ml; Good Skin Shaker Summer Edit 15 ml) 

The three words ‘I feel exhausted’ are so common these days, so I thought we should take a look and see what is happening here.  In medical terms there is a big difference between tiredness, fatigue and exhaustion and Shabir takes an in-depth look at each of these conditions.  It is perfectly normal for people to feel tired and perhaps this is accentuated by the many uncertainties of life as it is right now.  Fatigue and exhaustion are completely different, with exhaustion being the most serious of the three conditions.  Talking straight.  As we do.
Methyl B-12 by Jarrow Formulas £20 for 100 Lozenges; Super Ubiquinol CoEnzyme Q10 by Life Extension £20 for 30 Softgels; Understanding Tiredness, Fatigue and Exhaustion

Look, I have a new treatment plan.  And it’s a home treatment plan of a hugely beneficial magnitude.  I know it because I’ve done it and I am going to do it again.  I don’t think Shabir can play the violin (in fact I know he can’t), but for the sake of my story, he is playing it softly as I tell you that I have been virtually chained to my computer since the beginning of the pandemic.  That really isn’t the issue.  The issue is that my body aches rather a lot and I dream of having treatments I can’t have at the moment.  None of us can.  The solution.  Go to bed wearing patches.  The Healing Patches.

I know it’s rather extravagant to slap ten patches all over me, but that’s what I’ve done.  And I no longer ache.  And I know it says that they shouldn’t be used for more than six hours, but I hereby give you permission to do the same.  Because it’s kind of a miraculous thing to do.  Actually they are rather smart patches now after their appearance in Vogue.  My love and thanks to Jess Diner.  And the thought of Shabir playing a violin is now killing me.  Rather a lot.
Healing Patches by Ross J. Barr £15 for Five Patches

Glory be. Goli’s Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies are back in stock and by the time you will read this, we will have hopefully demolished another huge wait list.  That’s the good bit.  The other bit is that because of the ongoing manufacturing issues across most brands, we only received approximately one third of our order.  In other words we are being rationed.

It is impossible to put a time factor across these things, but our stock levels are now pretty low, so low that I’m not convinced they will last the weekend, or today.  I am being told that no further stock will be available until at least September, and with everything that is happening in the world, that is not cast in stone.  Far from it.  With respect, rather than wait, we are offering a sugar-free version to get you through.  The weeks.  Or months.
Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies by Goli Nutrition £18.95 for 60 Gummies; Sugar-Free Apple Cider Gummies by New Nordic £17.95 for 60 Gummies

Three things.  A temporary blip in the proceedings as Vitamin C Bright Eyes Hydro Gel Patches went out of stock for the fifth time.  Temporary because they will be back in stock any moment now.  I am so thrilled that most of you appear to be Dermaplaning with me.  It has obviously become a big ‘thing’ in our lives.  I cannot believe that I went so many years without it.  Now resolved for £8.99.  And I am still giving thanks that Hyaluronic Acid is finally back in stock.  Its absence was deeply felt.  In all kinds of places.
Vitamin C Bright Eyes Hydro Gel Patches £20 for 60 Gel Patches; Brow Shaper/Dermaplaner £8.99; Hyaluronic Acid Capsules High Strength £35 for 30 VegeCaps

Nearing the end and everything changes this week as I throw the Saturday only treat to the wall and replace it with a weekend only treat.  When we launched It’s A Ten, the haircare brand, I said at the time that it would be a revolutionary launch, with revolutionary products.  I also wrote that their Leave-In products sell over 13 million bottles a year in the US and I was on a mission to replicate that in the UK.  And of course It’s A Ten read what I wrote.  One phone call later.  And this.

With every order placed this weekend for £25 (excluding P&P) and over, we will automatically send you It’s A Ten Miracle Leave-In Spray, worth £11.  This goes across any of our products and is not restricted to the It’s A Ten products, although I suppose it would be pretty cool if you tried something from the range.  Revolution upon revolution.  It’s A Madness.  My love and total respect to It’s A Ten for supporting us so magnanimously.  This offer will end at midnight tomorrow (Sunday 9 August).  There’s going to be a riot.  I know these things.
It’s A Ten; It’s A Ten by Jo Fairley

This week I want a share an article with you.  And it’s from Nigella.  So if you don’t mind, a few words from me first.  As so many of you know, Nigella is one of us.  It’s not a secret.  And neither is the fact that Nigella has a new book being released in October.  Cook, Eat, Repeat could not be published at a better time. Well ‘better’ would actually be if it was released today or tomorrow.  Anyway it explores ritualistic and therapeutic cooking, which is probably more of the moment than it could ever be. We await.    

In my dreams I told Nigella that I wanted to serialise her book on here.  And then I woke up with the big realisation that I’m not a national newspaper.  Doesn’t stop me writing about it though.  And I will.  But more than that, last Sunday I read Nigella’s monthly column in The Sunday Times.  Actually I read it three times before asking Nigella if I could share it with each of you.  All this before 9 am.  Her words are profound and as they resonated with me, I hope they resonate with you too.
The Strength of Weak Ties by Nigella Lawson

The end. Finally.
Once again, thank you for all your support and emails, especially those from Australia where it is now Saturday evening.
Johanna and Jodie, you are the legends.

My love to each of you for a peaceful weekend.
Be well.

Gill x

 

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