Tag Archives: body care

Treatment review: Lipocavitation and lymphatic drainage massage at Body Wise Clinic

bodywise9

Flávia starts my lipocavitation – with a smile!

I love a good body treatment but I usually have face ones more often. When I was invited by Flávia Azevedo at Body Wise Clinic to sample one of theirs I was chuffed – it seemed she read my mind, as I have been retaining a lot of liquid, and feeling a bit puffed up after changing medication.

The clinic is located in one of the business units above shops on the Queensway, a super central and easily accessible location. The petite clinic, pretty much the treatment room itself, is very clean and comfortable and the calming ambiance felt miles away from the bustle of the main road.

Flávia suggested the lipocavitation, a treatment known as the “non-invasive liposuction”. The machine has metallic pads like an ultrasound one, and it works pretty much the same way: by emitting strong sound waves that reaches the fat layer, breaking down the fatty structures into a something that our bodies can absorb and use as energy. Nice eh?

There are a few contra-indications to this treatment; those suffering from  fatty liver disease, some types of cancer, decompensated diabetes, high blood fat, renal insuffiency or women wearing copper IUD (for stomach treatments) should not do it, so Flávia asks about all these conditions beforehand.

She recommends that you follow some rules to maximise the treatment, such as not eating for an hour before and after the treatment, avoid alcohol during the treatment, especially 24 hours after (as the fat is processed by the liver) and not to wash the area at least for an hour after treatment, so the products can keep working.

Lipocavitation in progress
And it goes on….
After lipocativation and radio-frequency
The machine!
Metal pads
Warming product
Little roller used during the massage
Some of the products used by Flávia, all from Brazil
My measurements, before and after!

She first asked what area concerned me the most in my body. After marking the region to be treated, I stepped onto the treatment bed for a real treat. She applied a warming product to the marked area, then a gel (similar to ultrasound gel). There is a discreet noise and you feel a tiny bit of vibration while she works the area. This goes on for 5 minutes on each treated area. After that, she applied radio-frequency for 10 minutes, which heats up the skin’s deeper layers, aiding tightening. After the treatment, the area feels quite warm and the skin goes slightly red and a tiny bit itchy from the all the stimulation, but it is nothing uncomfortable.

Flávia will recommend a tailored treatment to suit your needs, depending on how much and where you want to see reduction. Usually, a couple sessions a week are recommended, as well as a minimum of 48 hours between sessions, for better results. The typical measurement reduction is of about 0.5 to 1 cm per session; legs and waist areas usually show better results, with loss in arms being less.

After that, I had a great lymphatic drainage massage. This is no ordinary massage – it is a gentle, rhythmic massage to push the toxins and fat broken down by the previous procedure towards the lymph-nodes and subsequently into the blood stream, to be eliminated by the body. It is very good for circulation and those suffering from “heavy legs”; it also helps diminish the appearance of cellulite.

Following that, an “aesthetical massage”, which works at a fat level and not muscle. It is worth remembering that this massage does not eliminate fat, but helps to smooth the skin appearance and shape the body by helping to eliminate liquids retention.

I really like that Flávia explained the procedures and what I would feel in detail, so there were no surprises. She told me about the main benefits, touched on secondary benefits but she didn’t create false expectations; many times she mentioned that measuring takes place before the course of treatments, in the middle and at the end, not after very session not to create anxiety. I asked her to measure me… and the reduction was, amazingly, more than 2 cm from one of the measured areas (and about 1 in others)!!!!

At the moment, there is a promotion until the end of May; six 30 minute lipocavitation sessions for £120. The normal price per session is £40.
For the all over the body (not face) lymphatic drainage massage, a single 50 minute sessions costs £40, but packages are available, at £175 for five sessions.

BodyWise Clinic is located at 54 Queensway, London, phone number 078 6831 9584 . You can get more information about the range treatments and the team on their website. You can also buy their treatments at Wahanda.

Product review: Elemis Frangipani Monoi body oil

elemis frangipani monoi body oil

Ooooh, I absolutely LOVE a body oil, it keeps my skin soft in London’s crazy weather and hard water so I consider myself lucky to have received this GORGEOUS body oil from Elemis to keep my skin happy!

I have been using a few Elemis face products lately and my skin, which has been going through an awful patch, has been liking them. I also had an amazing facial and massage at their London Spa – bliss – so I have lots of good things to say about the brand.

To me, one word defines this Frangipani Monoi body oil: luxurious. It is made with Tahitian monoi (Monoï oil is an infused perfume-oil made from soaking the petals of Tahitian gardenias (best known as Tiaré flowers) in a semi-wax coconut oil) and infused with frangipani flowers (you know, those super fragrant tropical flowers with big oval petals that are white on the outer border and yellow-pinkish on the inside, that girls put on their hairs?).

It has this thing of being solid when cold, and you need to put the bottle into warm water for it to melt. I fill a container with water at the beginning of my shower and by the time I am finished, it is liquid, ready to be used.

If I have to point out a downfall, a very small one, is the top of the bottle. Looks very pretty, a little metal drop, but can be a bit fiddly in the shower – could easily go down the drain and because it is so dinky, it’s a  bit tricky to manipulate with oily hands. But this wouldn’t stop me from buying it.

The consistency is great and it gets absorbed quickly by the skin. There is no greasy feeling after application. A small amount goes a reasonable way. The smell is lovely – flowery, not too sweet, and not overpowering either. It lingers in the body afterwards but doesn’t interfere with your perfume, for example.

My skin felt soft and hydrated afterwards. Really, I will repeat – a luxurious product, try if you can. It is a 3 in 1 product so it can also be used in the hair and nails (which I have). What is not to love?

You can buy it here, full size retails at £31.50, Elemis also has travel sizes and other products in the range made with the same ingredients.

This post contains PR samples, however, this review is based on my own true experience with the products and reflects my honest opinion on them.


Product review: Sienna X gradual tan lotion

Finally I got round to trying gradual tan lotion I was given by the lovely Nicky from Sienna X over at Olympia Beauty exhibition. This will make a long-ish review, as there were quite a few products to try!

Sienna X was in the media cloud area, and I was very excited to stop by, have a chat about the company and get hold of great products.

The company was born out of Nicola Matthews ingenious tanning cubicle idea, and evolved into a brand that provides salons with professional tanning supplies as well as helping with education, marketing and business support to salons and mobile therapists. Add to that tanning provided to huge TV shows (Strictly), fashion shows (London Fashion Week – Holly Fulton), glossy mags coverage and celebrities fan and you have a winning formula.

However, what really makes it and matters, for me is the product. I received a full size gradual tan lotion, as well as a sample of their Try me, Tan me kit in a pretty bag containing a Polishing Scrub, Dark Glowing self tan (which will also come with latex gloves!), Radiance Body Balm, and Silver Shimmer (when you buy a berry bag) or Gold Shimmer (when you buy a gold bag).

All the products I tried are paraben and cruelty free, have natural ingredients and some have anti cellulite and anti-ageing formulations. Instead of the Dark Glowing self tan, I decided to try the gradual tan sample only.

The packaging is very nice, with a lock pump, sturdy and easy to use, especially when you have your hands full of products. The lines are simple and modern, the colour scheme very pleasant to the eyes with good contrast – fuchsia/pink and gold, of course!

To prepare for the tan, I exfoliated my skin with the polishing scrub, which contains fine pumice, ginger and a lovely lemongrass smell (which is present across most products I tried).

After rinsing it off and drying my skin, I applied the gradual glowing self-tan lotion, which has aloe vera, almond old and cocoa butter AND the anti-cellulite formula! The cream is not too thick and spreads really well, so it is easy to rub thoroughly on the skin.  The colour develops in 6-8 hours. I applied at night and could not wait to see the result in the morning.

Finally, I applied the radiance body balm all over my body – this contains almond oil, shea butter and vitamin E, has a very nice consistency and also spreads well, being absorbed quickly by the skin and leaving a subtle cocoa smell, which I love. This, after the self tanning lotion, is my favourite product from the samples I got.

I woke up to a sun-kissed skin, much richer than I thought I would after only one application. The colour is a lovely light shade of gold, not too orange for my skin tone. There were no streaks, which is fantastic;  in the past, I always went for sprays and mixed with moisturiser, to avoid streaks!!!. My skin was also soft and feeling moisturised. My palms, being washed as instructed, had no stains! Bonus!

When I got to work, I also noticed that the radiance balm had left very subtle shimmery flecks all over my body, and the over all effect was a nice sheen – I wasn’t sparkly! The following day I washed my body with the Balance body wash, with silk protein, ginger and lemongrass, which is meant to help to prolong your tan.

The proof is in the nose (yeah, you heard it!)

So, the whole line and the tanning product are ace right? Wait for this, it gets better. When Nicky offered me the lotion for review, she asked what was my problem, if any, with tanning products. I said, without thinking twice, “the smell”, to which she replied “we got an award for best smelling tanning product”. That got me excited, despite being quite sceptical. I have tried many tanning products over the year, even though this is the first I review, and the smell really, really gets to me.

Well, I ate my words. This products smell is much, much, much better than anything I tried before. I am not going to say there is not even a tiny sign of that “biscuit” smell that exhales from your body after self tanning application. There was, but it was almost imperceptible. At no point during the day I caught a sniff of it. NOT A SNIFF. Amazing!

So I am sold. I am soooo glad Nicky gave me a full size bottle if the Gradual self tan! This is my favourite  self tanning lotion and I shall keep using it – more than vanity, it is a need, just because I am from a tropical country, and I don not recognise myself in the colour I turn into in this country!

For more information on these products and others from Sienna X, visit their website. They also offer free delivery in the UK!

I was offered the products to review by Sienna X. The review is based on my own true experience with the products and reflects my opinion on it.