So, if you are one of my male readers (and I know there are a couple of you) then pop on over and have a look, as he puts Product Placement to shame. And in the meantime, male or female, have a read of this because it’s about products that work for all of us. Over to you, Dil.

There are a host of products out there made ‘for men’ or ‘for women’ but the truth is that good skincare is universal. Here are a few skincare essentials that every man and woman should have in their medicine cabinet – if you’re a couple, you can share!

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant (£29.50 from www.beautyflash.co.uk) is a tube of white powder which, when mixed with water, creates a foamy and very gentle facial scrub. It brightens and treats blemishes as it cleans.
Girls: This allows you to exfoliate every day if you wish, that means foundation will go on a lot smoother every morning.
Guys: A good facial scrub is the best way to get a close shave. Even if you shave every day, you can use this in the mornings to prep your skin for shaving. Regular facial scrubs are too harsh to use every day (especially if you’re shaving too) but this is gentle enough to use daily.

Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid (£18.75) is a cult product containing 2% BHA (or salicylic acid). It’s fantastic at unclogging pores and treating acne. Unlike most acne treatments, this is alcohol-free so it won’t dry out your skin – not everyone with acne has oily skin!
Girls: Regular use of a BHA product will calm blemishes and redness, giving your skin a far smoother and more even tone.
Guys: BHA products like this one are fantastic at treating and preventing ingrown hairs. Just swipe a bit on your skin with some cotton (or with your hands straight from the bottle) after shaving and your skin will look good and feel comfortable all day.

Serums like the Kiehl’s Line Reducing Concentrate (£52) are like skincare shots, lots of good stuff for the skin and all in one pump. This one happens to be among the best.
Girls: If you’re looking for something anti-ageing, serums containing a large amount of vitamin C like this one are the way to go. Vitamin C is one of the only ingredients scientifically proven to help prevent and even reverse signs of ageing. Expect a brighter skin tone, a fading of hyperpigmentation and gradual lessening of fine lines.
Guys: This is a do-it-all product, perfect if you don’t want to fuss with your skincare. It’ll help to lessen and prevent wrinkles as well as make your skin look a lot more youthful in general.

Sun protection is vital if you’re looking to keep your skin in good nick and Shiseido Sun Protection Lotion is a fantastic sunscreen. UVA rays (the ones that age skin, rather than burn) are constant so you need to wear something with SPF every day, rain or shine!
Girls: This Shiseido sunscreen is very thin and mattifying so it acts as a fantastic makeup base if you happen to have oily or combination skin.
Guys: It’s a sunscreen that doesn’t feel like sunscreen, what more could you want?! The texture’s like runny water or milk and it keeps your skin perfectly matte all day – a far cry from the sticky, white sunscreens you’re probably used to.

So there you have it, four skincare products that everybody should own!

She’s taken her time to get to our barnets, it has to be said. In fact, the range is six years in the making. Six years? I’ve got married and started firing out babies in that time. But Liz has not scrimped, oh no. In fact what she has come up with she describes as ‘Cleanse & Polish for the hair’. (And if you don’t understand what that means you haven’t been paying attention.) I got my shampoo and conditioner in the post on Saturday and have used them twice already, which for me is uncharacteristically frequent hair washing. But I am already well and truly sold.

Liz Earle Botanical Shine Shampoo and Botanical Shine Conditioner (£7.50 each)
The shampoo contains West African shea butter as well as apple and orange extracts to clean hair without stripping it. It smells pleasingly herbal but not overpowering, and lathers up a treat, which is always important in my book. I chose the conditioner for dry or damaged hair due to my problematic curly locks, but you can also get versions for normal or oily hair. It melted away my tangles in the shower, with no need for me to stand hacking at them with a comb and four pints of leave-in spray conditioner when I got out, which is the usual scenario. On this basis I will be using the conditioner for the rest of my life and possibly writing some kind of fan letter to Ms Earle. Nothing too gushy, mind.

And she likes to keep tabs on her contemporaries in the public eye to see how they’re getting on in the wrinkle stakes. The turning point for anyone is whether their neck has ‘gone’ or not. For example, Judi Dench. She’s lovely, but her neck’s gone. Anna Ford’s went recently. Julie Walters is still clinging on to hers, I believe.

Of course when she says ‘gone’, what she means is given way to the crêpiness and sagging that is the tell-tale sign of ageing for the delicate, thin skin under your chin. But what is the secret of the woman herself, whose neck is decidedly unlike a turkey’s? Genes (hopefully). And creams. Quite a few of them it seems, because when pressed she managed to name four favourites, which I have duly researched and will tell you about now.

Philosophy’s When Hope is Not Enough cream for neck and décolleté (£26 from www.qvcuk.com) is a favourite. It contains glutathione, an ingredient that neutralises free radicals. My mum likes its light, non-oily texture that absorbs easily and doesn’t leave a greasy feel around the collar. Pricier is Dr Brandt’s Time Arrest V Zone Neck Cream (£45.95 from BeautyBay.com). It feels more luxurious and no wonder, boasting as it does a ‘highly effective platinum delivery system that carries active ingredients into the deepest layers of the epidermis’. My mum said it gives the skin on her neck and chest a much silkier look and feel.

She is also a big fan of the Renergie range from Lancôme. She tells me she’s only had a sample size of their Anti Wrinkle Firming Treatment for the face and neck (usual price £57), but loved the results even from a small tube. It contains a protein-based restructuring active ingredient (corn extract), which acts within the epidermis on intracellular fibres to help strengthen them. Which I feel it should for that price.

Finally, just to show she’s not high-maintenance, my mum has chosen The Body Shop’s Vitamin E Creamy Neck Gel (£7), which she describes as a good stop-gap in amongst all the more expensive stuff. “Light, refreshing and smells lovely.” I might go and buy all four now I’ve seen that picture of a turkey.

As it is, I’m willing to give it all a try and see what happens. It’s pretty much my philosophy for life. (Or certainly the motto that recently got me up the spout.)

Now, let’s talk RoC. Not a brand I believe I have ever mentioned, but I’m going to be trying some of their stuff soon and I thought I’d tell you about this new launch and promotion in the meantime.

These French pharmaceutically type people have a new skincare range that uses innovative technology to reduce the signs of ageing. It’s called E-Pulse Electro Stimulation Technology and it’s based on creating natural levels of electricity and delivering them directly to the skin to help facilitate cell-to-cell communication which, in turn, can help stimulate the skin’s rejuvenation process.

Anyway, from today, you can visit www.Boots.com/Roc and sign up to be the first to try the range. You’ll also have the chance of winning a luxury weekend break for two to Paris, which includes staying in a lavish 5* hotel, €200 for dinner at a top Parisian restaurant, and first class travel on Eurostar. Not bad at all. So look out for my forthcoming review of the range and in the meantime, sign up to try it for yourself.

Anyway, there seems to be a current trend for pointing out the hideousness of the hands of any woman over about 35. This is because once you get into your forties and fifties and are a ‘celeb’, your face becomes so ironed out and plumped up that any other part of you that hasn’t had that kind of treatment is going to look ‘wizened’ and ‘cadaverous’ in comparison. Or so these kind journalists will tell you.

So why, you may wonder, don’t these ladies just get their hands sorted out too? I’ll tell you (because I like to be informative now and again). Hands have long been the last frontier in anti-ageing surgery, because they can’t be treated in the same way as other parts of the body. A ‘lift’ would literally disable the hand, and besides, the problem with ageing hands is actually just fat loss (think about how plump a baby’s hands are).

But recently, some women have resorted to a new type of cosmetic hand surgery that removes both the prominent veins (which stand out as the fat disperses) and the age spots that give away their years. Which all sounds a bit vile if you ask me.

So hoorah for anti-ageing hand creams. They might not return your mitts to their toddler glory, but hey, we just do the best we can, don’t we? Try All About Hands Anti-Ageing Night Cream (£10 from www.amazon.co.uk), which is a rich cream containing whitonyl, a natural active ingredient that has been clinically proven to significantly lighten brown spots and unify skin tone within eight to twelve weeks. It’s completely natural, contains avocado, olive oil and vitamins A and C and is best used as an overnight treatment wearing cotton gloves, to promote effective penetration of the cream during sleep. If you think that’s a bit silly just keep it on your desk.

Clarins Age-Control Hand Lotion SPF 15 (£17.50) is pretty much a cult product these days. It lightens existing pigmentation marks through gentle exfoliation and prevents more appearing by slowing down the production of melanin. It also helps protect against the drying effects of external factors and against the skin-ageing effects of UV rays. What I love about it is that if you apply it regularly you’ll see a real difference in the condition of your nails, too.

Jurlique’s solution to mismatched hands and face is their Purely Age-Defying Hand Treatment (£33). Pricey, but you get an age-defying, high-performance, moisturising hand cream containing daisy, liquorice and black elder to help fade discolourations. Smells gorgeous too. And to finish off, here’s something insanely cheap: Avon Skin So Soft Age-Defying Overnight Corrective Hand Cream. It’s usually £3 but at the moment in the online Avon shop it is £1.50. MADNESS. Sinks in nicely and you never know, it might just prevent you developing the ‘hideous skeletal talons’ of Angelina Jolie.

I take that back. No longer is Clinique all about that ominous looking big bar of yellow soap kept on many a sink in the 90s. Now you can go online and choose your ‘concern’ from a list (De-Ageing, Anti-Blemish, Redness, Pores, Radiance and Uneven Skin Tone), then find carefully targeted products that, it seems, do a flippin good job. Who knew? You did? Oh.

In the last couple of weeks I’ve been lucky enough to road-test a new launch by these skincare boffins. And I decided yesterday that it should be the subject of a ‘Loving your work’ when I met a friend I hadn’t seen for a couple of months and she positively enthused about my complexion. Now read this while I chew on a fedora.

Clinique’s Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle & UV Damage Corrector, £35
For a lot less than some rival products you are getting a three-in-one anti-ageing serum that boasts a 63 per cent visible wrinkle reduction and results that are remarkably close to a dermatological laser treatment – in just 12 weeks. Extraordinary. The science bit is this: it contains natural repairing enzymes which help DNA repair and recover from damage caused by the sun; proteins and peptide complexes that work to boost your natural collagen production, and a cocktail of vitamins to protect against everyday environmental aggressors. From a normal person’s point of view, it comes in a lovely dropper dispenser, is light, goes on smoothly under your moisturiser (and even around the eyes without irritation) – and gets people enthusing about your face. What more can I say? I suggest you invest. It’s available from Selfridges and www.selfridges.com now, and at Clinique counters and www.clinique.co.uk from 10th September.

If you think this is a little dull, you are clearly reading the wrong blog so off you go and find something weightier. But for those of you who have stayed… hoorah! Let’s talk scrubbing. It’s one of those things I know makes a huge difference but when the shower curtain is being tugged at by a two-year-old holding a plastic dinosaur and ominously shouting “Made a mess, Mummy”, it’s the first thing to be dropped from the morning routine.

Which means the bad boys that I use need to be really good, because I don’t use them as regularly as I’d like. Enter Peter Thomas Roth Botanical Buffing Beads, (£21.25 from Cult Beauty) which, incidentally, are a great preparation for facial fake tan products. They remove dead skin cells using ultra-fine jojoba beads that partially dissolve as they touch warm, wet skin – minimising the risk of irritation. Don’t just take it from little me, either – the beads have won ‘Best Exfoliator’ category at the InStyle Beauty Awards for the past four years running. Crikey.

For your body, I think I’ve told you about this one before but what the hell, it’s a cracker, and it’s lasting ages so deserves another mention. Clinique’s Sparkle Skin Body Exfoliating Cream (£18.50) has a unique, creamy consistency but still works really hard on elbows, knees and feet – and leaves skin feeling cool but never dry. I don’t even mind the slightly minty smell that I’m not usually a fan of. (My personal rule being that mint is for toothpaste, and THAT IS ALL.)

Also next to my bath is St Ives Apricot Body Scrub (£4.99 from Superdrug). A big tub and undoubtedly cheaper than Clinique, the granules are however a lot more abrasive and I felt a bit too scratchy for areas other than really rough ones. It left the bath full of what looked like sand, but had a pleasant enough smell. I’ve taken to using it on my feet.

And speaking of which, a good scrub specifically for your crusty old heels is Leighton Denny Sole Mate Foot Scrub (£11 from BeautyBay.com), a tingling 3-in-1 treatment that says it will uncover softer, smoother, more beautiful feet. Softer and smoother only, in my case. And finally, I’ll just squeeze in another foot scrub that is unfairly gathering dust (or mildew) on my bathroom shelf: Rituals Yogi Secret Foot Scrub (£9.90 from John Lewis), a cooling scrub designed to speed up the natural cell regeneration process. Fancy. Smells very aromatic too. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to investigate The Mess. Wish me luck.

So, on to the meaty stuff – what has been happening at BeautyBay.com this month? Well, firstly we’ve taken on additional customer services in the form of the delightful Simon. He’s already underwhelmed by being one of only two boys in a room full of women, but his product knowledge is growing fast. (It’s mainly about OPI nail polishes at the moment though, as we painted his nails with all the testers that came in last week.) And the good news for our continental contacts is Simon speaks fluent French, so our customer services team is now bi-lingual – check us out!

As well as putting make-up the new boy, we’ve also been having a blast with our new ranges: Illamasqua and OPI. I must admit, I’m completely in love with Illamasqua – so much so that I’ve organised for some of our team to get some exclusive Illamasqua make-overs next week. These are purely for research purposes, I can assure you. And to prove it, we’ll be posting pictures on our website and telling you all the fabulous tips we get from the Illamasqua girls. Keep an eye out.

My plan for this post was to give you a ‘hot list’ for Autumn/Winter 2010, but I just can’t get over the fact that summer was such a non-event this year. And as I’m jetting off to finally get some sun in a week’s time, instead of thinking ahead to the colder months I’ve been trying every tester of sunshine related products in our warehouse…

I’m hoping for the sun to work miracles on my skin, so I’m leaving the huge make-up kit at home for once and taking just three (you read that right: THREE) products. They are Bare Escentuals Foundation, Blinc Mascara (I’ve not tried this yet, but it’s got a 80% repeat order level, so I’m putting my faith in our customers’ choices) and finally, my faithful Too Faced Fun In The Dark Palette. So I’m off on my hols, but I’ll be back with some more BeautyBay.com news in a month. Don’t worry though, you’re not on your own – if you’ve any beauty questions, you can always contact us via Twitter. Enjoy the rest of the summer!

If, that is, I have remembered to both fake tan and to remove my leg stubble – neither paleness nor hairiness are a good look with a cute little summer skirt. Mind you, nor is a tum that doesn’t look properly pregnant and instead suggests I had a rather large lunch. For the last six weeks.

Anyway, if you are currently on the hunt for a longer-lasting, less time-consuming hair removal option than waxing, shaving or whatever you normally do, I may be able to help. This week, to celebrate the fact that successful singer, model, and mother-of-two Jamelia has teamed up with Philips, Product Placement has one SatinPerfect Epilator to give away to a lucky reader. Which could be you.

The new Philips SatinPerfect has an extra-wide head which enables it to removes more hair in one stroke, giving you long-lasting smoothness, faster. Its high performance discs are made of textured ceramic material, which gently grip and remove even finest hairs.

You can get your hands on one at Boots, Argos and on Amazon, and RRPs start at £70. But to win one right here right now, all you have to do is answer the following question… What was the title of Jamelia’s highest-charting single in the UK?

Email your answer to me at productplacement@live.com by 5pm on Friday 13th August, along with your name and postal address. I will use an independent person, possibly my toddler again if he obliges, to draw one of the correct answers from a hat. Good luck.

Terms & Conditions:
1. The prize is the SatinPerfect Epilator as described, no cash alternative is available.
2. Only one entry per person.
3. This competition is open to UK residents only.
4. The competition closes at 5pm GMT on 13th August 2010. The winner will be notified by email. Product Placement’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

You get the picture: generally being a total whinge about the joys of procreation and the impact it has on your purse, eye-bags and opportunities to drink alcohol.

Well I must like something about it, because I’m doing it all over again. Yes, it’s true: the toddler is going to have a little brother or sister, and I am going to have even more stretch marks and even less sleep. But joking aside for a second, I am delighted – and I’m really chuffed that via Facebook and Twitter many of you have already let me know that you are too. So thanks.

What I’ve not been delighted about though is how unbelievably dreadful I have been feeling. It’s passing a bit now, but my nausea has been horrendous. Which is why, in a special, non-beauty edition of Loving Your Work, I’d like to tell you about something that has made my life a bit easier over the last couple of months. And if you’re up the spout, know someone who is, or are planning to be yourself at any point soon, remember the name as they are a veritable lifesaver.

Lillipops Iced Soothies (£6.95 for a box of 20) from www.lillipops.com
These are essentially ice-pops that are specially formulated for pregnant women. Naturally flavoured and free from artificial colourings and flavourings, the claim is that they may ‘ease nausea and heartburn, alleviate a dry mouth and provide energy’. They did all these things, and they’re really rather delicious and refreshing, too. Lillipops come in five flavours: Lemon & Mint, Grapefruit & Tangerine, Ginger, Lime & Vanilla and Camomile & Orange. I liked the taste of the Grapefruit & Tangerine best but found the Ginger most effective for nausea relief. Get some, preggos. I insist.