GIRLS! If your a fan of lip gloss rather than lipstick (and I am) then head over to Bargain Crazy and grab yourself a set of five Calvin Klein Sheer Lip Plumping Lip Glosses for £9.99 instead of £65!

• Click HERE to grab this deal at Bargain Crazy

I know! £9.99 instead of £65; now I love lip gloss as much as the next person and I thought I was pushing the boat out buying tiny viles of DuWop Lip Venom (which I ADORE by the way) for £12, but I really wouldn't be pay the full price for Calvin Klein Sheer Plumping Lip Gloss.

But at £9.99 for the five, you can tempt me.

They will come in a white box and three of the colours are a smaller size than the other two; the set consists of:

• Clear - 201
• Mirage - 313
• Taffy - 315
• Precocious - 210
• Ultimatum - 319

Clear and Precocious are 8.5ml in size and Ultimatum, Taffy and Mirage are 6.5ml.

Calvin Klein Sheer Plumping Lip Gloss gives a sheer, radiant shine and colour to your lips.  It's enriched with marine collagen micro-spheres these lip glosses will replenish moisture and boost volume which will leave your lips looking fuller and more glamorous - well that's what they say anyway.

Happy Plump Lips!

With Mother's Day just around the corner, mums up and down the country will be receiving lotions and potions for pampering. What better time to support a women's charity while treating mum then?

We asked mum and daughter duo Sandra and Kim to review another set of beauty products for us, this time from All For Eve. 100% of ‘All for Eve’s’ net profit goes to The Eve Appeal, a women’s charity which raises funds and awareness for Gynaecological Cancer Research. All the All For Eve products are paraben free, contain no nasties and are infused with organic cucumber and lightly fragranced with an allergen free scent.

We sent our tester-couple the hand cream, body scrub and body butter, and they gave us pretty mixed reviews. Here's what they had to say:

All For Eve Hand Cream £7.50

“The hand cream is fresh and light smelling, I really can't put my finger on any particular something it smells like; its not unpleasant though and its not overpowering,” says mum Sandra. “The cream itself is quite thick and almost has a translucency about it, it doesn't go watery when you start to rub it in but its definitely not greasy either.”

For daughter Kim, the hand cream is a winner too. The backs of her hands tend to get a bit dry in the winter, so she used the All For Eve Hand Cream.

“I like the smell a lot” Kim told us, “but because it smells a bit of sun cream and reminds me of my skiing holiday a year ago.”

A little goes a very long way so you really don't need to apply too much at all. She found it absorbed quickly but not so quickly that you end up feeling like you should put more on. Kim believes that the 100ml container will last a very long time and for £7.50 is good value for money.

Sandra agrees, “I'd happily pay the £7.50 for the hand cream (I've paid more for less) because it does a good job. I'm not sure if it would be up to the task of heavy duty hand protection in dry/cold weather, but if you want a decent hand cream that does all the things we've already mentioned then you could do far worse than this one.”

The Body Scrub £7.50

“Neither of us liked the smell of this, it was reminiscent of musty old waxed jackets!”said Sandra. They felt it was too creamy with not enough scrub, “but then I like to feel as if I've been sandpapered in the shower. So for me this just seemed a bit 'namby-pamby'.”

Kim, on the other hand, felt there was adequate 'scrubbing' going on and said it was very easy and quick to wash off.

“So, mixed reactions for the body scrub, but neither of us would buy it; the smell was a big influencing factor on this. We certainly didn't get the 'refreshing and uplifting scent' we were expecting after we'd read the blurb on the back.”

Hydrating and Refreshing Body Butter £10.50

“My daughter thought the body butter smelled very nice which was odd, because I thought it had the same musty waxed jacket smell that the body scrub had!”

Kim says it was very cool and smooth to apply, left her skin very lightly covered, nicely moisturised and not overly greasy and quick to absorb into the skin.

Sandra really didn't like it at all - the smell put her off again, and she had a bit of a reaction to it. “It left my skin feeling cold and clammy AND I came out in a non-itchy rash across my decollete. I've never had this happen before so I can only put it down to the All for Eve Body Butter, although quite why it should I have no idea. My daughter didn't suffer any adverse reactions to it at all.”

So what do our mother-daughter duo have to say for the finish?

“To sum up - the hand cream was a definite winner, the body scrub, NO because of the smell (or lack of) and the body butter another no from me, but a yes from my daughter.”

Skin Wisdom, the skin care range from Tesco, is celebrating its 10^th birthday. In celebration of this, Skin Wisdom has been refreshed and re-launched. Bharti Vyas, the renowned holistic and wellbeing beauty expert who helped develop the products, says, “The new ranges bring together a collection of 34 exceptional products. The age indicator takes the guesswork out of skin care so you know what ranges will suit you. These new additions enable women to concentrate on individual features ensuring that every part of the face is given the care it deserves.”

That sounds fantastic, so we sent a test package to Tamara, mum of one, to trial for us.

The first item Tamara tested was the Skin Wisdom Youth Protect Wipes.

“These are soft and tingly and smell fantastic”, she said. “The are really good at removing make-up and your skin feels clean when you're done.” She would advise using a toner anyway just to be sure you've got everything, but feels that they're ideal for travel. “If you're away for the night and don't fancy schlepping your entire regime around with you, these wipes are perfect. You only need one wipe per night really, although I don't use heavy make-up and so don't have a lot to remove.”

Next up was the Age Delay Deep Wrinkle Concentrate. It came in a gold tube with clear instructions on how to apply it – although Tamara did make me laugh when she moaned about the font size of these instructions. “The instructions are in a tiny print which, for a cream aimed at older women, is hardly useful!”

The need for a magnifying glass making her feel older aside, Tamara liked the Age Delay Deep Wrinkle Concentrate. “The lotion dabs on nicely and absorbs really well leaving a light sheen behind. It doesn't disappear entirely but it isn't excessively oily either. I like this one a lot and have found my eyes look a lot less bedraggled since I started using it about two weeks ago.”

The Skin Wisdom Moonlight Renewal Cream, looks, according to Tamara, “ bobbly”. In other words, “it was a bit wet and sort of clumpy.” (Yes, we were grateful for the explanation of 'bobbly' too!) A little further into the tub the consistency was better, but it is a thick and very heavy cream and definitely meant for night time. While Tamara loved the smell, she did think it was a bit sticky and heavy. “I would put this as a great night cream for anyone on a budget but it still had my skin feeling a bit tight afterwards. And, the big minus, is that a couple of hours after application it sort of rubbed off in weird little clumps. Like peeling skin after a bad sunburn. Not a lot, mind, but enough to make me think twice about it. Not a keeper.”

Moving on to something she liked a whole lot more, Tamara tried the Skin Wisdom Age Delay Treatment Serum next. “This serum is lush. It applies to the skin like silk and velvet. It is so creamy and luscious that I want to eat it.” This serum is applied before your moisturiser and after your toner. It absorbs instantly, and is good value for money as one squirt will cover all the areas. Tamara loved it. “It leaves your skin feeling really silky. I love it and would definitely buy it again and again.”

The Skin Wisdom Face Wash sent to Tamara was a winner too. “This is a very gentle and pleasant wash with no granules or harsh textures. It foams up quickly and spreads really well. It cleans beautifully without making my skin feel excessively dry, more so that my usual anti-aging face wash actually and this is a youth one for younger skin! I like the smell and the way a little goes a long way.”

For not so young skin, there's the Skin Wisdom Ultimate Lift Eye Cream and Tamara loved this too, calling it “the stuff of dreams”. She felt that her eyes really did look less tired and black underneath than they had before. “I don't care if that's in my head, if it works for me I am happy to keep on using it. The cream has a lovely smell too.  I have used the eye cream with the serum and the moisturiser for a fantastic feeling skin all day.”

Skin Wisdom Instant Benefits Beauty Balm comes with a warning on it telling you to get more sleep, a warning Tamara doesn't always heed. As a work at home mum, she often works late at night when her daughter is sleeping. “This is the cream you use when you've been up all night with baby (or working) and your skin is tired and dry and fed up with your bad behaviour. It will boost your skin with extra moisturiser and make it look like it had a good nights sleep. I can't say that I saw any major difference between it and the others but I did get compliments when I used it after a wedding this weekend.”

And the final product we sent to our tester was the Skin Wisdom Ultimate Lift Face and Decollatage Serum. “Another of the potions to protect and stop the ageing of your sensitive skin areas, this serum is another silky delight that I could happily use all day”, says Tamara. It is very very luxurious to apply and feels fantastic, she told us, but unfortunately it also suffers from the same strange peeling thing that the moisturiser does. “It seems to leave a residue that then flakes off during the day. You won't see gigantic flakes or anything, obviously, but you can feel them if you run your hands along your skin. I would buy it again regardless, though, because I really like the way my skin feels after I've used it.”

So, there you have it – the full verdict on the Skin Wisdom range from Tesco. Those we haven't linked above aren't available yet, but do keep an eye out for them at Tesco, because they'll be out soon, for prices ranging between £1 and £7.

As Spring lurks stealthily around the corner, not quite here but coming, it's time to throw off the shackles of winter and prepare soul and body – or face – for the new season.

I must admit that during the cold winter months I find tearing myself off the sofa at bed time hard enough without still wanting to subject myself to a three-part beauty routine. That changes as the temperatures improve though, so I was keen to see what our PlayPennies mum Sandra thought of the Cleanser, Toner and Moisturiser we sent her from Naked.

“I haven't had a three-step cleanse, tone and mositurise skin care routine for YEARS so this was like revisiting an old friend,” Sandra told us.  She added, “All of the products are lovely,” which is no big surprise as everything we've used from Naked Body Care always has been.

Sandra tested the sulphate, paraben and petrochemical- free Naked products herself and then passed them on to her teenage daughter to try.

“Rapidly heading towards 40, I decided to give these products to my teenage daughter to try too - would they work just as well on young skin which is prone to breakouts and slightly more oily than mine?”

Sandra was happy with the Perfect Getaway Cream Cleanser (£4.49, 200ml), the starting point for any good skin care regime.

“The cleanser is wonderfully creamy, not too thick and not so runny that it runs off the side of the cotton wool pad.”

Our testing mum felt it did a good job and commented, “I don't wear much make-up, as a rule, but what was on my face was removed easily.”

The Perfect Getaway Cream Cleanser ingredients include aloe vera which is used to sooth and hydrate, cocoa butter for its softening properties and ginseng for radiance.  The cleanser, along with the toner and moisturiser, is fragrance free, alcohol free, suitable for sensitive skins and has been dermatalogically tested.

Kim, the teenage daughter, wears a lot more make-up than her mum, “At some point she'll learn the art of less being more,” sighs Sandra, "the cleanser coped with all of that admirably, although it took two goes to get it all off - isn't that always the way with a ton of black eye liner and mascara though?!”

Next in the process was the Up Tone Girl Gentle Toner (£4.49, 200ml)

“The toner was fabulously cool and refreshing; it removed all traces of the cleanser and my skin did indeed feel taughter after using it, but not in an unpleasant way which can happen with some toners,” says Sandra.

Of the toner, Kim says, “The toner was nice to use, made my face feel really cool and fresh and didn't take too long to dry.”

The Naked Skincare products had what Sandra called a 'familiar smell', but it took using the moisturiser to finally pin down what it was.

“The smell is very much like Savlon! Now I know that sounds like it should be a bad thing, but the new Savlon (not the stuff my mum used when I was a kid) actually smells lovely - very fresh, very 'clean' and very light.  It's almost fragranced but not, at the same time.”

Sandra is rather picky about the smell of whatever she puts on her face, she says, “I mean, it's right under your nose for hours and if it smells horrible then it's a no-no for me, but the Naked Skincare range gets a thumbs up in the smell department.”

The magic ingredient in the Uptone Girl toner is witch hazel, it helps to condition the skin and is very effective at removing those last traces of makeup.

Sandra confesses to being equally demanding about moisturisers. She likes them to feel luxurious, thick, creamy and smell nice too whilst at the same time mustn't leave her skin feeling greasy or suffocated.

With starflower, neroli, argan oil and shea butter as ingredients in the Thirst Aid 12 Hour Moisturiser, that shouldn't be a problem.

From her list of requirements Sandra admits, “It's a tall order I know and is why I have been through more moisturisers than I care to mention.”

Kim agrees, “I love the Thirst Aid 12 Hour Moisturiser (£7.49, 100ml), it leaves my skin feeling smooth for a long time. It's not greasy, smells nice and is absorbed quickly.”

Both mum and daughter were very happy with the ethics behind the Naked range.

Kim is impressed and hapy that all the Naked Skincare products are vegetarian and vegan friendly, especially as she's considering becoming a vegetarian.

So, Mum's final thoughts on the Naked Skincare cleanser, toner and moisturiser?

"All of the Naked Skincare products are wonderful but my favourite is the moisturiser; it ticks all the boxes, what more can I say!

It meets my demands, doesn't contain anything horrible, isn't tested on animals and the price is fabulous too. My search for the perfect moisturiser could well be over!"

Naked Skincare products can be found on the Naked website, or at Boots.

With Valentines looming dangerously close, we've gathered together a few great items to test out for you. We sent our findings to PlayPennies mum Hajong to see what she thought.

We sent out the Seductive Shimmer Serum and the Ciate Paint Pots.

First off is the the Seductive Shimmer serum for hair (£5.99 available from Superdrug stores – and currently it's 2 for £6.99), which has glossy kukui nut oil that “leaves the hair with a gorgeous shine without leaving it heavy and flat”, according to Hajong. Apparently it also contains citronella to neutralise odours, although citronella is so strong I find this hard to understand!

“I am rather taken aback by this” says our PlayPennies mum. “I mean, it is nice to have nice smelling hair after a night out but I've never actually seen a hair odour neutralising agent in a hair serum before. The serum smells delicious though. So if it neutralises smoke and food, that can only be a good thing. I am smitten with the smell actually. Often hair serums can really smell chemical or weird, this smells so yummy I could put it on toast.”

There's no glitter in the Seductive Shimmer Serum, but you Hajong says your hair shines in a delicate shine that really appeals to her. She says: “I have very short hair and it needs quite a bit of styling to ensure that I don't look insane and the styling wax has a tendency to make my hair look flat - and I don't mean as in flat like down I mean as in dull. Styled nicely, but dull. SO when I applied this stuff it immediately lifted the shine and made my hair look stunning.”

It lasts a while, as you don't need much and too much can make your hair look dirty and oily as opposed to lustrous and shiny.

Ciate Paint Pots (£9.00) are a fancy name for nail enamel. The shade Hajong received was called “Mistress”. She wasn't overly impressed. “The nail enamel is called mistress and with good reason. It is the most insane colour of red that I've ever seen. I am SO not putting it on my nails. I would look ridiculous. This is a very personal colour choice and not one I would make”. So perhaps a better purchase for Halloween than Valentines, unless, of course, Mistress is your thing.

The nail enamel does seem to be pretty good quality though. “I used it on my toenails as they are allowed to be a bit wild and the polish has been there for about two weeks now.”, says the PlayPennies mum. “It is good polish actually. A cheap polish starts to look faded and bedgraggeld after about a week. Chips appear and you look like you've never had a pedicure after 10 days. at 11 days the Ciate Paint Pot polish was starting to chip and fade, but it wasn't looking excessively shabby.”

Cheapsmells offers, as the name suggests, are in the smelly stuff. They currently have quite a few fragrances on offer until Valentine's Day.

For example, CK Truth for Men is £16.90 with the code Truth3 which gives you free postage. This scent is described as an aromatic, sensual, woody fragrance, accented by aromatic basil (YUM!! - on food, anyway) and fresh cardamom.

CK Contradiction is a 'daytime' scent for women and has a blend of pepper, rose, satin wood and sandalwood. It RRP's for £39, but on the Cheapsmells Valentine's special it is only £15.95. This is a £23.05 discount amounting to a 59% saving.

There is a massive list of fragrances available to choose from, and until Valentine's day you can also have your purchase gift wrapped for 99p.

The only problem is that with Valentine's day on Monday, you're not going to get these in time if you order with standard postage. You'll have to order today by Special Recorded Delivery and with any luck you'll receive it by 1pm on Monday, but this cannot be guaranteed. So even if you can't order for Valentine's day, you can still take advantage of the special offers for any birthdays or special occasions that might be coming up or even just because.

And finally,

Hajong loved the Seductive Shimmer Serum. Her final words on it are, “It is gorgeous if applied sparingly and I am a total convert. Delicious.” On the nail enamel she says “I'd give this an easy 7 out of ten. It loses points for colour.”

We've been utterly spoiled for choice with make-up and beauty products here at PlayPennies over the last month, but I certainly haven't heard any of our PlayPennies mums complain!

We received two items from QVC to test and sent them on to Sally, mum of three, to see what she thought.

The first item Sally tried was the Hugs & Kisses eau de parfum (100ml) by ‘Judith Williams’ (£23.95)

“I’m very picky when it comes to perfumes – I don’t things that are too flowery, too fruity, too spicy, too light, too heavy and so on,” Sally told us. “There are also perfumes that can give me a headache too, so I tend to be a little wary and, dare I say it, sceptical when I’m sent perfume to review. Not only that, so much of it comes down to personal taste – one woman’s Vera Wang is another woman’s (Dior) Poison and all that!”

On arrival, the Hugs and Kisses box is delicate and very girly – predominantly white with a very pale pink rose on the front and pretty swirly writing. The bottle itself is clear glass, with clean simple lines, something Sally likes in a perfume bottle. However, Sally felt he cheap gold plastic lid lowered the tone somewhat.

The scent wasn't an immediate win for Sally either. “When I first sprayed it I was NOT impressed. It was sweet and flowery and far too heavy. So much so, in fact, that I flung the windows open to try and air the room and vowed never to spray it anywhere near, or on, myself again.

A week or so later, I went to the QVC website to see what everyone else had to say about it and, on the whole, it gets RAVE reviews, so I went back to Hugs and Kisses and smelled it again.”

In the end Sally isn't sure if she likes it or not - “It’s funny how it smells different now, much less flowery.  So now I’m in a quandary – do I like it or do I not? I actually have no idea anymore.  Was I lead into thinking it was super flowery because of the picture on the box…? Or am I smelling what other people are saying they smell?”

The aroma aside, Sally says that the scent “lasts a reasonable amount of time on the skin and also comes with a very handy 10ml handbag travel size spray too – I think this should be compulsory for every perfume!”

The second item QVC sent to Sally was the Mally Ultimate Performance Lip System - £17.95 and unfortunately, she's definitely not a fan. “This is hideous. I’m sorry, there’s no other way to describe it and I don’t feel I can dumb it down.”.

Sally explains: “It comes with a primer/liner and what they call a ‘lacquer’ (that’s what my nan calls hairspray…that should have given me a bit of a clue!)”

So what you do is this – you draw around the outline of your lips with the liner and then colour in the rest of your lips with it. After that you go over your lips with the lacquer.

The liner comes in a thin pen and you twizzle the end to push the liner ‘pencil’ out – so no need for a pencil sharpener. “It’s quite soft, goes on easily and has a matt finish to it”, Sally tells us.

“Next,” she says, “the lacquer. In the instructions it says this:

‘Finally, using the innovative applicator, specifically designed to get as close to the lip line as possible, fill in your gorgeous mouth and watch as your lips are literally transformed into little pillows of perfection. I got your back on this my lovelies, this gorgois colour isn’t budging, so enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!’

I kid you not, that’s word for word…my lovelies (groan).”

To say that Sally was less than impressed would be just touching the surface of the matter. To start with, she was unconvinced by the applicator. “Firstly, I fail to see how the applicator is remotely innovative, my mum had lipstick/gloss with a little furry-tipped applicator when I was five years old (some 32 years ago!).”

This might seem like a small detail, and a bit of marketing speak, but the next bit is not good at all. “My lips were NOT transformed into little pillows of perfection – they were transformed into two slimy, greasy slugs on my face! Seriously, the lacquer was gungey and stringy when you pulled the applicator out and it will come off and leave messy trails on anything it comes into contact with; if you kissed someone with this on, they’d never forgive you.”

For all the wrong reasons, it seems.

Interestingly enough, the reviewers on the website gave it five stars each, with one saying that “the liner is soft enough to apply easily but stays put all day & the liquid lipstick/gloss is high shine & long lasting reducing the need for touch ups.”

Sally's final thoughts?

“Well, maybe I'm just a make-up grinch, but make an application mistake with this at your peril and don't go anywhere near anything with your lips that you don't to get covered in lacquer slime!”

You can see a whole list of QVC products on their website, and hopefully you'll agree with their customers more than with Sally!

I am getting old. I have finally succumbed to wrinkles and holes and eyes that look like they need a month off. So I have decided to make 2011 the year of the anti-aging cream/serum/rescue and to start out my adventures I nabbed Myreen Young anti-aging serum.

The Myreen Young Firming Brightening Serum has Hyaluronic Acid and Pine Bark as two of the most active ingredients. These firm, lift and hydrate the skin. Apparently pine bark extract has over 45 times more wrinkle fighting properties than CoQ10.

I have been travelling quite a lot over Christmas and my skin has taken a beating. The dry air of aeroplanes, the different climates, and the usual winter drama of hot to cold and back again have dried my skin out considerably.

I used the serum every day for about two weeks and I have mixed feelings. First the good points…

A little goes a long way, two squirts will cover your face, neck and décolletage quite comfortably – this tiny bottle will last you for ages. My skin did look brighter and fresher after about a week, which is definitely a result, and it did feel really smooth.

On the bad side the serum made my naturally fair and dry skin feel incredibly tight and even drier than normal. I think that this would work really well on skin that is prone to oiliness or that isn’t quite as fine as mine, though. But, for me, it was too drying and I had to apply another lotion afterwards to stop my skin from looking flaky under make-up.

The serum retails for around £21.50 on the official site which is quite pricy, but the actual serum will last you for months – I really did find that a tiny squirt went a very long way.

A company called Upper Canada Soap recently sent us a sample of their Vanilla Fig Foaming Bath Milk, and we sent it straight off to PlayPennies Mum Kelly to review for us.

Most mums we know would love the chance to just soak in the bath for a few undisturbed minutes (or is that hours or even days!) so we were keen to hear what Kelly had to say.

Upper Canada Soap started 40 years ago and has been drawing upon the natural surroundings in Canada for inspiration. To date it has over 2,000 bath and body products in its range. These products use natural botanical ingredients and extracts and leave out harsh chemicals and preservatives. They are also not tested on animals, and all are produced in Canada before being transported to more than ten countries around the world.

We asked Kelly to review the Vanilla Fig Foaming Bath Milk. This is a 50g sachet and retails at around £2.50.

Upper Canada Soap say that the fragrant milk moisturises your skin, leaving you feeling fresh and re-energised.

"The perfect way to relax and unwind, this mineral-rich soak purifies and detoxifies hard-working muscles as your mind drifts off; relaxed by the aromatherapeutic ingredients.”

So what did Kelly think?

Her first impressions were good. She thought the packaging was nice and natural looking and that the wrapping was classy and nicely put together.

“The fragrance” says Kelly, “was an interesting combination and when I stuck my nose in the packet it did smell very nice. The blurb claims it is a mineral rich soak to rehydrate and refresh to skin, so I was full of hope as I emptied into my warm running bath (as per the instructions) and prepared to sit back and enjoy (also as per instructions).”

Kelly likes a foamy bath, so she was rather disappointed in the distinct lack of foam.

“The 'foaming bath milk' labelling really did suggest the product would be right up my street. Er, wrong. It did not foam one bit. In fact, so lacking was the foam it actually made me laugh. Ruined my bath, but made me laugh.”

At least she had a sense of humour about it, but what is unfortunate is that as soon as the product hit the water, the fragrance disappeared too.

So, all in all, that's not a great review for the Vanilla Fig, which is slightly worrying for the other bath milk options of Pressed Olive Avocado, Cranberry Moro Orange and Warm Honey Nectar – all of which sound fantastically luxurious, and sadly I can't seem to find any other customer reviews on it.

And Finally...

As a company that has been in business for forty years, one would think that the rest of their product range must be somewhat more promising. In the UK we can currently buy the Naturally range, and the All About Feet range.
Naturally includes wonderful sounding fragrances, such as Warm Honey Nectar Nourishing Hand & Body Lotion, Pressed Olive & Avocado Whipped Hand Repair Balm, Soothing Mint Lime Gentle Baby Wash, and the Wholesome Soap Bar Collection.

The All About Feet range includes all the pepperminty goodness you'd expect: Peppermint Feet Soothing Foot Cream, Peppermint Cooling Leg Rub, and Peppermint Feet Cracked Heel Treatment.

What does count in it's favour is the fact that the ingredients are 97% natural, using botanically active ingredients, while remaining free from Parabens, mineral oils, SLS, and synthetic dyes.

Tinted bottles give an apothecary feeling to the products, while preserving and extending shelf-life, which is essential for a Paraben-free product.

Unlike beauty products from a few other sources, it is also a relatively affordable range, assuming you're happy with your purchase once you've tried it.

Unfortunately, Kelly was not.

Her final verdict was simple, really: "Not impressed!"

Amazon, which is where we can currently buy them, and all the links above lead, is currently having a sale on these items too, so if you do want to try them out, you don't have to do so at full price.

Just over half of mums want more me-time. I'm just guessing here, but I figure that really means that more than half of us just want to get some me-time, any at all!

This statistic comes from research undertaken for Tesco Your Beauty. It found that 53% of women just want some more me-time in their hectic lives and 36% of women would love some expert advice to get the best out of their bathing and beauty routines.

So with that in mind, the store came up with its Skin Wisdom Day Spa range. This has been, according to Tesco, created in collaboration with three of the UK’s leading spas and inspired by what professional therapists use during treatments. Tesco are even giving the range its own website, with beauty tips, which we've linked to here. But you'll just need to keep an eye on the site for now, it hasn't gone active yet. The products however have been available in stores since November of last year.

Which has given our parent panel a little while to try them out, and see just what the products are like.

Personally I'm intrigued. Spa treatments are always nice, even if it is just to get a chance to smell something other than baby rice and nappy rash cream for a change. Usually the stuff costs more than a week's supply of nappies though! However, all except one of these from Tesco's Skin Wisdom Day Spa range cost less than a fiver - the most expensive being £5.95. So that's one point in its favour already.

Pure Distress – Rose & Geranium

• Shower and Bath Gel - £3.97
• Bath and Body Oil - £5.95
• Hand and Body Lotion - £3.97

Mum of five lively lads, Teresa, tried out the hand and body lotion. "I am not a fan of rose smelling lotions and potions as they are usually relegated to grannies and people who wear cardigans on their shoulders, but this is rather nice. The geranium neatly offsets the rose so it isn’t too overpowering."

Luckily for Teresa then she found that the cream is not too pungent. "You won’t put this on and then forgo perfume as the scent soon settles into your skin and offers just a gentle whiff every now and again." She used it as a hand lotion mostly because she liked the fact that it was non-greasy, sank in quickly and left her hands feeling nice and moisturised. "I didn’t feel like I was being de-stressed massively, though, but I am not feeling particularly stressed either so perhaps that is the scent working out." Well with five boys I think I'd be feeling stressed, but clearly Teresa is made of hardier stuff.  Her overall verdict was that it as nice and soft, not greasy and easy on the nose.

Truly Relaxing – Warm Cinnamon & Fig

• Shower and Bath Gel - £3.97
• Body Butter - £4.97

Mum of one year old Milo, Juno found the Shower and Bath Gel wonderful. "I just soaked and soaked to be honest. The smell! I would never have picked it out as fig isn't a scent I would have thought was appealing."

She did find that the scent on the body butter was too much. "It isn't something I'd like to carry around with me all day. The body butter didn't really absorb into my skin that much, and I found it harder to put on than my usual stuff. "

Very Enriched – Vanilla & Neroli

• Shower and Bath Gel - £3.97
• Wash & Scrub - £3.97
• Body Crème - £4.97

These products were more to our tester Teresa's liking. "The vanilla and neroli shower and bath gel is just scrummy. I adore the scent of vanilla as it makes me think of yummy puddings and summer days." With one eye on her budget, she also liked how much use she could get out of the shower and bath gel. "You only need a teeeeeeny amount on your cloth/sponge/scrubbing device and it foams up beautifully. I loved the way my skin smelled afterwards too. Vanilla notes with gentle pops of neroli every now and again." She found it was a bit strong for use with perfume, though, so would recommend using the body crème after the shower to round off the scent and keep it lasting for longer.

"The vanilla and neroli body was tested on me and my mates. One said she adored it, another didn’t like the actual smell as she hates neroli but said that she didn’t think it overpowering and another said she would use it daily."  This is very enriched ultra rich body butter (those are the exact words on the tub) and Theresa agrees. "It is thick thick thick. It takes a while to absorb so be warned but you can almost HEAR your skin going “nom nom nom”. Still I think that paying nearly £5 for a tub is a bit much when it doesn’t quite have the quality of the body shop for example – there is an almost plasticky after smell that I can’t put my finger on." However, it isn’t excessively oily, doesn’t take ages to absorb and the smell is appealing.

Gentle Revive – Gingerlilly & Orange

• Shower and Bath Gel – £3.97
• Wash and Scrub – £3.97
• Hand and Body Lotion - £3.97

Mum of two girls, Caroline, felt like she was on holiday. "I love the scent of orange. It is just so gentle and uplifting. I could close my eyes and feel like I was transported somewhere warm, not in a bathtub in Woking!"

Caroline wasn't sure she'd ever heard of gingerlilly's before, but she liked the combination. "This just smelt sophisticated, and so different to anything I've come across outside of an actual spa." Yes, but what's it like to actually use? I was beginning to wonder if any of my testers cared that there were lotions and creams in those bottles, or if they just sat there with the lid off and the bottle under their nose sniffing!

"Totally hydrated. There's not a way to say it otherwise. I really did feel like my skin had soaked it all up. And smooth. Really deliciously smooth."

And Finally...

This range comes from three of the UK's top spas - PURE, Edinburgh; Kuno Tierra, Mayfair and Glow, Chester. I'm a little surprised it is being sold exclusively through Tesco in the UK! But that could give the range a much wider market.

So here's a bit of an odd one for you – the Diesel Fuel For Life Gift Set at Boots is £27.54, instead of £40.34, a nice little £12.80 saving.

• Click here to smell pretty with Diesel and Boots

Why do I say it's a bit of an odd one? Well, the Diesel Fuel For Life 30ml Eau de Parfum is £30.13 at Boots. The Gift Set, however, contains the 50ml Eau de Parfum, and the Diesel Fuel For Life Unlimited Body Lotion 200ml to boot.

You're getting 20ml Eau de Parfum more and 200ml body lotion, for £2.59 less.

You'll receive 108 Boots points for this purchase, and can order online for home delivery at an additional £2.95 or collect from one of 2400 Boots stores.

We can't promise what Diesel does – that you'll be unlimited in your pleasure, sexiness and opportunities - but we can agree that that's a pretty good deal.

Thanks to @glowstars on Twitter

Half Price Perfumes have a great little deal on Bourjois Eau de Gloss - five for £5; they should be retailing for £39.95.

• Click HERE to hot foot it over to Half Price Perfumes

The last time these little beauties were on offer they sold out FAST, so the 'early bird' and all that applies to this deal.

PlayPennies dads, I know this is no good for you (well, maybe only on the weekends hey *wink*) but if you think a little more laterally you could stack up some brownie points if you bought this for the woman in your life, as a little 'just because...' pressie;  you know it makes sense!

And girls - you can't beat a bit of lip gloss to make you feel just a little bit more glam', even on the most drudge days.

I never bought in to the idea that only celebrity mums are allowed to look groomed and lovely.  Don't get me wrong, I don't wander around in full 'slap' every day, but a quick swoosh of mascarra and and a swipe of lip gloss can make you feel great and ready to take on the world (or maybe it's just me...)

These lovely little Eau de Gloss dodgers have a 14% water content that keep your lips moisterised for up to four hours - just the thing for avoiding chapped lips heading in to winter!

Standard shipping from Half Price Perfumes, by the way, is £3.95.

Pregnant ladies look! Here is the amazing Bio-Oil marked down from its usual high price of nearly £20 to only £10.90 including free delivery. This stuff is just brilliant and I swear it made a huge difference to my stretch marks.

• Click here to oil on over to Amazon

Bio-Oil is not just good for pregnant ladies, it’s also fabulous for those of us who got stretch marks and want to work on reducing their vividness and getting the skin to an almost normal state. It helps to improve the appearance of existing stretchmarks and the elasticity of the skin, so it can help to prevent more stretchmarks from forming.

The product is made with all natural ingredients that include Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Calendula Oil, Lavender Oil, Rosemary Oil and Chamomile Oil. It’s really lovely smelling too. Another ingredient which makes it all work nicely is the PurCellin Oil that helps with dehydrated skin.

Oh, and for those of you who would just like something to ease their skin and reduce the signs of ageing, well Bio-Oil is good for that too. Rub it into your hands and feet at night to ease ageing and moisturise your skin.

Thanks to nikkit72 at HUKD!

In all the fuss about baby we often forget about ourselves so here are some lovely products thatthat are just for mums and mums-to-be.

In the constantly flunctuating temperatures of winter as our skin is exposed to dry heating and cold air, it's always a good idea to add extra moisturising habits so you don't get dry and damaged skin. So here are some lush products I discovered in the world of organic skin care.

The first product I received was from the dr.organic range, the Vitamin E Super Hydrating Cream. The cream is fragrance-free and 100 percent organic with ingredients like Aloe Vera, Shea butter, Cocoa butter and sweet almond oil. I immediately applied this to my hands, and those of every mother I could find. It goes on beautifully and the oiliness doesn’t last for a long time, which is always a relief.

The cream is supposed to instantly hydrate your skin and leave it feeling very soft and moisturised.  I have to agree. The backs of my hands felt softer and I didn’t get that sweaty palm feeling you usually find with hand cream. You can use this on stretch marks, scars and even ageing skin to help limit and control the damage. I’ve been applying it to my pregnancy stretch marks and have actually seen a slight improvement.

The only downside is the smell (husband complained about it for ages) that is almost yummy but with a faint scent of something unpleasant.

You can grab some from Holland & Barrett for £6.99 which sounds costly for 50mls but a little bit really goes a long, long way so it will last for ages. Perfect for dry mummy hands or growing bellies.

My next task was to tackle the First Class Face Mask from Organic Surge. The entire range is new, launched only in July last year, and is a complete range of skincare products for women who prefer the organic way of life. The face mask is designed to be deep cleansing and nourishing, with rosemary and lemon essential oils to boost the skin.

I put some on my skin and it started tingling pretty fast, a lovely clean tingle that always bodes well. Just as a warning, though, don’t get too enthusiastic with the pump like I did. A tiny amount goes far and I ended up face masking my neck, chest and arms so I didn’t waste any.

After you’ve put the mask on you have to wait five minutes, rinse it off and then dry with a warm towel. It rinses off dreamily, none of that discovering weird blobs after copious rinsing here. My skin felt fantastic afterwards. I love this product.

It costs £6.99 which is cheap for the volume and the number of uses you can get for it. If you apply it twice a week as instructed I think it could last you at least two to three months, if used sparingly. Perfect for those brief breaks in our battered schedules for a skin and mood pick me up.

I liked this one so much I didn’t share it with anyone else.

The Blissful Daily moisturiser was my next victim, also from the Organic Surge range. This smells truly odd in the bottle, I must admit, and I wasn’t that enthused about smearing it on my face. The other mums who tested it also said that they weren't huge fans of the scent.

I applied this after the mask and my skin ate it all up with glee. Now I’m always very fussy about face moisturiser as some can dry your skin out or leave it feeling stretched and sticky.

Blissful Daily does leave a little bit of stickiness and didn’t quite moisturise me as much as I’d like  but it isn't for dry skin, as I'm prone to. It’s possibly not a winner for those of you who suffer from dry skin. However, the other mums who tested it said that they found it to be gorgeous on the skin, leaving it soft and moist.

Coming in at £7.99 and including soothing essential oils and antioxidants this is not a huge expense but I don’t feel it’s necessarily a bargain. That said, the mums with normal to oily skin that tried this out all said that they really loved the way it made their skin feel. The only downside is the smell, it may not appeal to everyone.

Overall both these ranges proved that organic need not mean pongy, brown sludge that costs a fortune. The dr.organic Vitamin E range made a notable difference to the condition of my skin that has had me hooked, and the Organic Surge range caters to a wide range of skin types. I would definitely recommend both to any mum, expectant or otherwise, looking for some “me” time on a budget.

What better way to kickstart the New Year than with a completely free makeover? Fresh are offering a stunning makeover with experts that will do your make-up and hair followed by a cool photo session to take home some mementos of the day.

• Click here to register for your free fashion makeover from Fresh and Handbag.com 

The Fresh fashion studios are in both the UK and Ireland so everyone stands a chance of getting in on this fab freebie. The photo shoot will take place in a photographic set with a professional photographer and will include clothing changes, background changes and guidance on how to look your best. 

Once you’re done you’ll be able to see your pictures and you can then choose one free A5 print to take home with you. The viewings may not be on the same day or instantaneous so prepare to possibly travel back to see them. 

If you love your new look ad photos, you can also pay for more prints while you’re there. It’s ace! Claim this faboosh special offer by following the instructions on Handbag.com and then wait for your turn to be pampered. Divine and delightful start to 2010, don’t you think? 

Thanks to Navcity at HUKD!