So this same thing keeps cropping up over and over again on twitter, on facebook groups and on chat forums.
Bloggers hate compers!
Then you have massive arguments and much keyboard warrioring and it's basically the same arguments each time and I really dont see what the big deal is.
Now for the uninitiated this is how I see it:
Bloggers write blogs - sometimes about specific things, sometimes about whatever floats in their mind, sometimes dedicated to their favourite pair of pants and so on - a blog can be about anything you feel like sitting down and writing content about. I write this blog so I am by default a blogger BUT I am not a professional one - this isnt a job or a source of income for me. For me a professional blogger is someone for whom the blog is an income generator.
Bloggers run comps/giveaways on their blogs - companies want bloggers to try out and to review their items and to run these comps and giveaways - giving away 2 free items (1 for the blogger and 1 for the prize) is going to be a cheap and quick way to get your brand seen. The blogger reviews the item and then runs a comp which runs for oh I dont know say a month. To enter you have to do things like visit the companies social media or follow them or tweet or share on facebook and so on and lots of these comps have a daily entry option so your doing it every day.
Now imagine 100 people enter the comp and you can do everything daily to get extra entries - thats 3000 RTs/Followers & 3000 B likes and shares in a month... that doesnt seem much but most people have an average of 150 friends on FB and a similar amount of followers on twitter so thats actually a potential 450,000 people you are reaching on each site - so basically just under 1 million people in a month across both sites - and thats assuming most people have a low average number of friends! To get that kind of advertising on the regular media or even paid for ads on social media is going to cost way more than the item you have given. So it's a win-win situation - the company wins because they are getting a shed load of free advertising and the blogger wins because they are getting new followers, more hits on their site, more hits on their social media pages and so on which then means they are going to get noticed by more companies and pr companies and offered more products and the advertising bar on their blog is gonna earn them more money.
So it makes sense that actually they want people to enter and join in after all compers have friends and its likely that their friends are gonna see the comps and enter too.
So why do bloggers hate compers then?
Well the truth is most of the bloggers I know actually are compers themselves - some of the most successful compers also run very successful blogs.
And lots of bloggers are very comper friendly - some of them even have a nice little badge on their blog and on their giveaways saying just that.
I have won some amazing prizes with bloggers.
In fact there is only a tiny teeny small minority of bloggers who dont like compers and below are some of the reasons I have heard:
1. They want their giveaways to be for genuine followers of their blog
- but you can be a genuine follower of a blog and still comp! And since comping I have found so many interesting blogs who I follow on various social media - I now see people and companies in my social media feeds who I would never have seen before and I interact with them more - if I hadnt entered a comp on their site I wouldnt be following them now
2. People only follow them on social media for the duration of the comp and then unfollow - they repeat this each time there is a new comp!
- I think this is a completely valid point - however only on Twitter - I have heard of a mystical capped follow/like limit on FB, Instag etc but have never known anyone who has reached it. Personally I try to keep all the bloggers I follow on twitter on there - I only unfollow people when I have reached my follow limit and then I sort by activity and unfollow those who havent been active in a month. Since Twitter increased the follow limit for everyone to 5000 this is less of a problem than it was previously
3. Compers are rude - they dont say thank you,they dont appreciate the prize and they just want it to sell
- All sorts of people are rude not just compers - I personally always post a thank you to any company or blog I win form when they announce me as a winner and also I usually tweet or post an fb pic to their wall once the items have arrived. Most of the compers I know do the same, but there will be a few rude people who dont - but you can't blame all compers for their behaviour (just like all compers shouldnt be rude about bloggers because few refuse to let them enter their giveaways).
I would also say I appreciate each and every item I win or get as a freebie - and am grateful.
As for selling items...I will put my hand up and say yes I have done this. An example would be winning a blu-ray and selling it on ebay and then buying the dvd (because I dont have a blu-ray player) or winning a runners up prize which I dont want but I never enter a comp and think hmm how much can I get for this item on ebay? But really once the item is in someone elses possession its their item and you really have no control over what they do with it - and non-comper winners might also sell the item on or swap it for something else and so on.
To be honest if someone says I dont want a comper entering then I am prob not going to enter - whats the point of wasting 5 mins of my time? I'm not going to read the blog post, view their pictures or their videos or even check out the product on the companies website - in fact they become an internet dark spot for me and I avoid them. I'm sure the majority of other compers do the same.So the compers lose out on the chance to win a prize but so does the blogger and the company in terms of traffic and media reach.
The issue is there are some compers who make it their mission to go out on a limb and attack such bloggers - the quote ASA code and various other things and waste a lot of time and energy arguing and generating hate, they can be rude, they can get their friends involved - it becomes a social media shit storm. And after all that they wonder why the blogger doesnt like them.
Crazy!
Now some bloggers who comp take it upon themselves to politely nudge the blogger in the direction of various articles regarding giveaways and fairness and so on. They do it in a way which encourages them to reconsider their views and to allow compers to enter. This is totally the way forward. No shit flinging like monkeys in a zoo - just reasoned and correct information passed on in a friendly blogger to blogger manner.
So that's my take on the whole mess.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Calmurid Pro - Product Trial with the Insiders - Post 1 - an introduction
I'm a big fan of The Insiders - to read more about how to sign up and take part check out my page on reviewing items here.
I've been chosen to take part in previous campaigns so when the chance came up to sign up for a new campaign working with a product aimed at dry skin I was straight in and applying.
I have really dry skin - I always have - my GP has prescribed me E45 which is okay but it doesn't work hugely well on my feet or legs.
The campaign is for a product called Calmurid Pro - a product for sensitive dry skin.
After applying for and getting selected to take part in the trial I was anxiously awaiting my parcel from them. It arrived over a week ago but I am a bit late posting this :)
When it arrived I was really impressed by the amount of goodies and information sent
The parcel contained:
I've been chosen to take part in previous campaigns so when the chance came up to sign up for a new campaign working with a product aimed at dry skin I was straight in and applying.
I have really dry skin - I always have - my GP has prescribed me E45 which is okay but it doesn't work hugely well on my feet or legs.
The campaign is for a product called Calmurid Pro - a product for sensitive dry skin.
After applying for and getting selected to take part in the trial I was anxiously awaiting my parcel from them. It arrived over a week ago but I am a bit late posting this :)
When it arrived I was really impressed by the amount of goodies and information sent
The parcel contained:
- 25 x 10ml samples with an information guide and £3 off vouchers to use at boots
- An Insiders Guide book with all the need to know information about the products and how to use them and demonstrate them to family, friends and colleagues :)
- A pad of ask your friend sheets - these are great to hand out with the samples - so you can get feedback easily from those who you give the samples too.
- A wheel showing which product is best for each skin type
- Some Insiders business cards to hand out to people who want to know how to join in their campaigns
- Full size products for me to use :) So us campaigners get full sized products to trial (which is awesome!) for this trial we get the Body Lipolotion and the Moisturising Hand Cream
- A spritzer bottle - this confused me slightly as the bottle top had a long like double the size of the bottle straw bit? But after speaking to people on the campaign blog I just cut it down to fit the bottle and it's ready to use. This is to show people how you can rub the cream into your skin and it locks in the moisture and it doesnt come off easily
So as you can see thats a HUGE amount of goodies and reading and passing out of samples and trying out stuff I have to do - phew.
Sunday, May 8, 2016
Braun IPL Project with SavvyCircle - Post 3 - An update
So let me start by saying I am still loving this Braun IPL for my legs. I now have pretty much baby smooth legs without the need to shave - I am actually dropping down to just 2 weekly sessions on them with the IPL now as I am not needing to shave! and who knows I may even be able to drop to one monthly session eventually.
However - tragically for me I have had an issue with using it on my underarms!
So I wrote about how I stupidly used the IPL on my underarms when I had stubble and that it was pretty painful at the time but I carried on. This was a BIGGGGGG mistake.
At the time my armpits were sore when I used the IPL but felt fine after - but like the next day I noticed some red patches - which got worse for the next 3 days - it looks like I have somehow managed to set off a reaction - so I have had to stop using the IPL until the skin on my under arms fully heals. It's been 2 weeks and there are still pinkish red marks there so I am going to leave it another week before I start the programme all over again.
I am so annoyed about this - it's my own fault and not down to the IPL at all the literature tells you to shave prior (although in fairness it doesnt say how long prior). It's particularly frustrating as I was starting to see results on my underarms too - slower regrowth, less thick and less coarse hair.
I am also going to be biting the bullet and trying it on my bikini line - I have to be honest the thought of a super hot laser pointed at my lady bits would generally fill me with terror but having used the IPL and knowing how it works I feel much more confident about giving it a go :)
So overall, I'd happily recommend the Braun IPL particularly if you are very hirsute (loving that word for those who dont know it means proper hairy!) or spend a lot of time and money getting waxed, laser treated, plucked, bleached or shaved! Obviously you need to check before buying that you match the skin tone / hair colour guide and if you shop around you can currently pick the IPL up for around £300. The product itself is supposed to have a life span of around 2 years so if you break that down to a monthly cost thats around £12.50 a month - much cheaper than salon treatments and much more convenient as well.
However - tragically for me I have had an issue with using it on my underarms!
So I wrote about how I stupidly used the IPL on my underarms when I had stubble and that it was pretty painful at the time but I carried on. This was a BIGGGGGG mistake.
At the time my armpits were sore when I used the IPL but felt fine after - but like the next day I noticed some red patches - which got worse for the next 3 days - it looks like I have somehow managed to set off a reaction - so I have had to stop using the IPL until the skin on my under arms fully heals. It's been 2 weeks and there are still pinkish red marks there so I am going to leave it another week before I start the programme all over again.
I am so annoyed about this - it's my own fault and not down to the IPL at all the literature tells you to shave prior (although in fairness it doesnt say how long prior). It's particularly frustrating as I was starting to see results on my underarms too - slower regrowth, less thick and less coarse hair.
I am also going to be biting the bullet and trying it on my bikini line - I have to be honest the thought of a super hot laser pointed at my lady bits would generally fill me with terror but having used the IPL and knowing how it works I feel much more confident about giving it a go :)
So overall, I'd happily recommend the Braun IPL particularly if you are very hirsute (loving that word for those who dont know it means proper hairy!) or spend a lot of time and money getting waxed, laser treated, plucked, bleached or shaved! Obviously you need to check before buying that you match the skin tone / hair colour guide and if you shop around you can currently pick the IPL up for around £300. The product itself is supposed to have a life span of around 2 years so if you break that down to a monthly cost thats around £12.50 a month - much cheaper than salon treatments and much more convenient as well.
Thursday, May 5, 2016
New Job :)
So I have been really quite on the blogging front - apart form a couple of posts about the Braun IPL and about comping / reviews you haven't heard much from me.
The reason for this is that during January I was applying for a new job - it closed at the end of Jan and it took me ages to complete the application form and update my CV and stuff.
Throughout February I was stressing about not getting short listed - this lasted until the end of February when I got invited for an interview.
At the beginning of March I was stressing about the interview. Then in the middle of March I found I got the job :) BUT the HR team took until the end of March to send out my provisional offer letter (subject to checks).
At the beginning of April I had completed all the checks and thought everything was fine...but as it is for a different Healthboard to the one I currently work for I had to see Occ Health. I arranged the appointment and travelled like over an hour to get to their head quarters for my appointment. When I got there I met with a nurse who made me feel woefully inadequate, who came out with wonderful comments like - "well your diabetic so changing office might cause you to go into a hypoglycaemic attack" and "you have migraines? you might faint" or a personal favourite "you had a perforated ear drum? well you cant use phones". At the end of the consultation I was starting to think I should go for a PIP assessment as clearly they didnt consider me fit for work!
I explained the situation to my new manager who told me I would be getting a phone call to have a consultation with a dr/consultant. A few days later I hadnt heard anything so I called them and they had no availability until mid May - I may at this point have lost the will to live and work!
Happily at the end of April I was squeezed into a cancellation review by phone and the Dr after 5 minutes said there was no reason I couldnt work - YES. He wrote a letter confirming this.
Which brings us to the first week of May - HR contacted my manager to say I passed all the checks, she contacted me to arrange a start date and I handed in my notice.
I will be starting my new job the second week of June nearly 5 months after applying.
I am now feeling a lot calmer and a lot more like I can relax and get back into the joys of comping, reviewing,updating my wins and reviews list and of course blogging in general :)
The reason for this is that during January I was applying for a new job - it closed at the end of Jan and it took me ages to complete the application form and update my CV and stuff.
Throughout February I was stressing about not getting short listed - this lasted until the end of February when I got invited for an interview.
At the beginning of March I was stressing about the interview. Then in the middle of March I found I got the job :) BUT the HR team took until the end of March to send out my provisional offer letter (subject to checks).
At the beginning of April I had completed all the checks and thought everything was fine...but as it is for a different Healthboard to the one I currently work for I had to see Occ Health. I arranged the appointment and travelled like over an hour to get to their head quarters for my appointment. When I got there I met with a nurse who made me feel woefully inadequate, who came out with wonderful comments like - "well your diabetic so changing office might cause you to go into a hypoglycaemic attack" and "you have migraines? you might faint" or a personal favourite "you had a perforated ear drum? well you cant use phones". At the end of the consultation I was starting to think I should go for a PIP assessment as clearly they didnt consider me fit for work!
I explained the situation to my new manager who told me I would be getting a phone call to have a consultation with a dr/consultant. A few days later I hadnt heard anything so I called them and they had no availability until mid May - I may at this point have lost the will to live and work!
Happily at the end of April I was squeezed into a cancellation review by phone and the Dr after 5 minutes said there was no reason I couldnt work - YES. He wrote a letter confirming this.
Which brings us to the first week of May - HR contacted my manager to say I passed all the checks, she contacted me to arrange a start date and I handed in my notice.
I will be starting my new job the second week of June nearly 5 months after applying.
I am now feeling a lot calmer and a lot more like I can relax and get back into the joys of comping, reviewing,updating my wins and reviews list and of course blogging in general :)
Monday, April 25, 2016
Braun IPL Project with SavvyCircle - Post 2 - Using it weeks 1 & 2
So I am getting to try and review the Braun IPL with SavvyCircle - you can read a bit more about the project on my first post here
So
I left you last time following doing my patch test which worked out fine no issues.
I was prepped (meaning I had shaved my legs and arm pits!) and ready to go for my first use :)
To protect you the IPL has 2 sensors either side - these have to be in contact with your skin for it to work - no contact no laser (you can see these in the pic above with the bluish tinge)
Once you have those sensors connected to your skin the IPL adjusts the intensity of the light based on your skin tone - as you can see in the pic above my pasty pale skin registers for full on top level zapping! EEK
Now I acknowledge my cowardliness and for week one I used the IPL on sensitive mode.
I used it on both legs - it was completely pain free - I used it on the glide setting meaning I just held the power button down and it flashed out a pulse of light every 30 seconds or so. It's a bit like shaving but without the razor. The video below (links to youtube) shows how easy it is to use - yes I apologise for my pasty white tree trunk legs - they arent actually that big in real life its the angle honest!
Youtube Video
Both legs took around 10 minutes.
I did have some difficulty around the ankle and the knee area. To overcome this I did top of ankle to just under the knee in strips around the leg and then I turned the IPL on the side and and went around the ankle in a circle and did the same by going across the knee - problem solved and all bits done!
Armpits - again used it on the glide setting - slightly more awkward to do and to manoeuvre due to the fact the IPL has a large head and a large handle which I struggled with.
Each armpit took a mere 2 swiped with the IPL and were done.
Following day:
Legs fine no issues
Armpits - itching like I had an infestation of armpit nits! Seriously itch itch itch it drove me NUTS and it lasted for around 3 days. Whether due to the IPL, the sensitive underarm skin or my scratching I ended up with some rather ugly red splodges on my pits which didn't look great,
I was going to take a photo but taking a selfie of my armpits proved to be quite difficult! So just imagine a lot of red blotches no spots, no cuts, no grazes just like a red stain on the skin.
Apart from the arm pit issue there were no other issues and this resolved after a few days
Fast forward 1 week and I am ready for round 2.
To prep I go to shave - but my legs are still pretty much hair free not much stubble at all - however I shave the little hair that is there.
On checking out my armpits there seems to be slower growth than usual - for some reason the hair on my under arm grows quicker than hair on any other part of my body. I shave and within 24 hours I have stubble nd its not that light soft downy looking hair either we are talking thick black stubble! Within a couple of days its practically long enough to plait! So I was quite pleased to see it was only around 3mm in length - SCORE!
I shaved my underarms in prep for their second shot of lasering.
I did all this on a friday evening around 7pm (your probably wondering why this is significant - it is and I'll tell you in a few lines why!)
Saturday morning I was up at the crack of dawn and off out for the day - I didn't get home til gone 10pm d I was wayyyyy too tired to do anything other than feed the cats and clean my teeth and crawl into bed.
Sunday morning I got up showered and thought okay I am a day late but lets get our IPL on!
Did my legs with ease no probs no pain just a quick and easy up down and around whilst catching up on Britain's Got Talent.
Checked my arm pits they were a little stubbly as it had been over 24 hours since I shaved but thought thts fine its not like I have dreadlocks there...well it was most deffo NOT fine. The first blinding flash was followed by a searing pain and a smell of burning hair. I was shocked - surely my lovely IPL machine had not just given me the equivalent of a nipple tweek on my arm pit? No it couldn't be so I carried on and the searing pain came again and again and again. Followed by the stench of burning hair - gross and painful.
I carried on though - bravely did both armpits (in fairness it literally was 2 glides on each but damn they were the longest few minutes ever!)
So what did I learn from this? You need to shave no more than 12 hours before using the IPL any longer if your me and that bugger is gonna sting like mad! See and now you know why my shaving my armpits at 7pm on a friday is significant!
Anyways it is now Monday evening and unlike last week I have no itching or after effects from using the IPL.
Next week will be my 3rd time using it. According to the literature you start seeing results in 3-4 weeks so I should hopefully start seeing some real results then
So
I left you last time following doing my patch test which worked out fine no issues.
I was prepped (meaning I had shaved my legs and arm pits!) and ready to go for my first use :)
To protect you the IPL has 2 sensors either side - these have to be in contact with your skin for it to work - no contact no laser (you can see these in the pic above with the bluish tinge)
Once you have those sensors connected to your skin the IPL adjusts the intensity of the light based on your skin tone - as you can see in the pic above my pasty pale skin registers for full on top level zapping! EEK
Now I acknowledge my cowardliness and for week one I used the IPL on sensitive mode.
I used it on both legs - it was completely pain free - I used it on the glide setting meaning I just held the power button down and it flashed out a pulse of light every 30 seconds or so. It's a bit like shaving but without the razor. The video below (links to youtube) shows how easy it is to use - yes I apologise for my pasty white tree trunk legs - they arent actually that big in real life its the angle honest!
Youtube Video
Both legs took around 10 minutes.
I did have some difficulty around the ankle and the knee area. To overcome this I did top of ankle to just under the knee in strips around the leg and then I turned the IPL on the side and and went around the ankle in a circle and did the same by going across the knee - problem solved and all bits done!
Armpits - again used it on the glide setting - slightly more awkward to do and to manoeuvre due to the fact the IPL has a large head and a large handle which I struggled with.
Each armpit took a mere 2 swiped with the IPL and were done.
Following day:
Legs fine no issues
Armpits - itching like I had an infestation of armpit nits! Seriously itch itch itch it drove me NUTS and it lasted for around 3 days. Whether due to the IPL, the sensitive underarm skin or my scratching I ended up with some rather ugly red splodges on my pits which didn't look great,
I was going to take a photo but taking a selfie of my armpits proved to be quite difficult! So just imagine a lot of red blotches no spots, no cuts, no grazes just like a red stain on the skin.
Apart from the arm pit issue there were no other issues and this resolved after a few days
Fast forward 1 week and I am ready for round 2.
To prep I go to shave - but my legs are still pretty much hair free not much stubble at all - however I shave the little hair that is there.
On checking out my armpits there seems to be slower growth than usual - for some reason the hair on my under arm grows quicker than hair on any other part of my body. I shave and within 24 hours I have stubble nd its not that light soft downy looking hair either we are talking thick black stubble! Within a couple of days its practically long enough to plait! So I was quite pleased to see it was only around 3mm in length - SCORE!
I shaved my underarms in prep for their second shot of lasering.
I did all this on a friday evening around 7pm (your probably wondering why this is significant - it is and I'll tell you in a few lines why!)
Saturday morning I was up at the crack of dawn and off out for the day - I didn't get home til gone 10pm d I was wayyyyy too tired to do anything other than feed the cats and clean my teeth and crawl into bed.
Sunday morning I got up showered and thought okay I am a day late but lets get our IPL on!
Did my legs with ease no probs no pain just a quick and easy up down and around whilst catching up on Britain's Got Talent.
Checked my arm pits they were a little stubbly as it had been over 24 hours since I shaved but thought thts fine its not like I have dreadlocks there...well it was most deffo NOT fine. The first blinding flash was followed by a searing pain and a smell of burning hair. I was shocked - surely my lovely IPL machine had not just given me the equivalent of a nipple tweek on my arm pit? No it couldn't be so I carried on and the searing pain came again and again and again. Followed by the stench of burning hair - gross and painful.
I carried on though - bravely did both armpits (in fairness it literally was 2 glides on each but damn they were the longest few minutes ever!)
So what did I learn from this? You need to shave no more than 12 hours before using the IPL any longer if your me and that bugger is gonna sting like mad! See and now you know why my shaving my armpits at 7pm on a friday is significant!
Anyways it is now Monday evening and unlike last week I have no itching or after effects from using the IPL.
Next week will be my 3rd time using it. According to the literature you start seeing results in 3-4 weeks so I should hopefully start seeing some real results then
Friday, April 15, 2016
Braun IPL Project with SavvyCircle - Post 1 - getting selected and prepping to use it
I was super excited to receive an e-mail from the savvy circle team the other week telling me I had been successful in applying to take part in their project to review and spread the word about the new Braun Silk Expert IPL Hair removal system.
Now in case like me before I applied to take part you have no idea what this is:
The Braun IPL (thats intense pulsed light) removes the need to pay expensive prices at the salon for hair removal treatment - it provides permanent (with maintenance sessions) hair removal! So that's no shaving, no waxing, no using stinky hair removal cream! How could I not apply? think of the savings!
So the technology has been around in salons for years and now they have put it into a product that can safely be used at home.
It works based on skin/hair pigmentation so it's not suitable for everyone but for pasty pale creatures with dark hair like me it's perfect. It basically zap the root of the hair stopping it from working - okay it's a bit more complicated than that but after reading all the material about it thats basically how it works.
It only works on light skin because it works on the pigmentation in the hair follicle - so if you have very dark skin and dark hair it wouldnt be able to differentiate and would zap your skin instead which probably wouldnt be very pleasant. For the same reason it doesnt work on people with grey or very light hair (or red hair for some reason!) as there is little to no pigmentation so nothing for it to zap!
What makes the Braun different to other similar items on the market is the built in SensorAdapt which scans your skin and then tailors the light to match your skin tone - other similar products you have to match skin tone on a colour chart and then set the machine to a specific level - as different parts of your body have different skin tones you then have to change it if your doing your lip, your legs, bikini etc - in fact even on one body part you can have different skin tones for example on my legs my knees are always darker than the rest. The Braun adjusts for this automatically meaning you always get the right level of light for the part of your body your doing! Making it safer and easier to use.
A few days later I received my exciting package in the post
Now, to be honest I dont know much about salons and treatments like this - I dont even pluck my eyebrows! So I am not sure what I was expecting to arrive but if I did have something in mind it was small and delicate like a Lady Shave.
I was a tad alarmed by the giant box and had visions of a crazy ass laser!
However on opening the box it contained 2 smaller boxes one containing the IPL and the other containing a sweet bonus in the form of a sonic body exfoilator (and I have no idea what that is either! - perhaps I should start reading the beauty blogs I follow instead of looking at the pretty pictures!)
So I put aside the exfoilator to look at another day and got out the IPL to examine and see what was what.
In the box was the IPL hand held device, 2 rather large manuals, a cable and 2 x plug attachments one for standard and one for the shaver socket.
Being my usual geeky self I had a good read of the manual...okay I skimmed the first bit and got straight to the how to guide. Where it told me all how to use it which was remarkably simple - hold the device - press to the skin - press the button and zap away (but they took a lot more words to say it).
The device uses an intense light so as a safety feature it only comes on when 2 sensors built into the device are pressed firmly to the skin - if they are not attached to the skin the device will not work. This stops you from accidentally burning out your eyes or those of anyone unfortunate to be nearby - I love a good safety feature like that! It also means if you have kiddywinks or pets they cant accidentally set it off.
Part of the instructions stated that you have to shave (or use whichever form of hair removal you normally use) before using it - I was a bit gutted by that I had been growing a nice pair of furry tights on my legs thinking it would magically remove it all in one swoop.
It also recommends you do a patch test on an incongruous body part before using.
I chose to try it out on my thigh - a body part I rarely display due to it's wobblyness and pastiness and therefore I wouldnt mind if it turned red and blotchy for a few days.
So I hooked up the device to the power source - first impression here was that the cable didnt fit as securely as it could and it popped out once.
The device is slightly bulky to use and didnt fit comfortably in my hand which is a shame as I really want to like this product (I really want to quit shaving!)
I set it up for the patch test. They recommend that you use the single pulse option - so I pressed the device firmly to my skin and .... wussed out!
I went back to the manual and checked on how to turn on the sensitive mode (that is where you can set it to be slightly less intense)
I turned on sensitive mode pressed it against my thigh and pressed the button and ZAAPPPPP!
Apart from a rather blinding light which I could see even thought I looked away and a warm sensation a bit like a camera flash going off next to your skin there was nothing else.
Felling brave I move it down and zapped again - this time no warm sensation ... no sensation at all.
Really completely painless.
I checked my skin - no bright red mark, no oozing blister, no anything - it was fine.
And 24 hours later - there is still nothing - no ill effects, no pain, no reaction.
Tonight I shaved my legs in anticipation of using the IPL properly tomorrow evening on them and I look forward to updating everyone soon with how it works, ease of use and hopefully some pictures of my silky smooth alabaster white legs (if your really lucky)
Now in case like me before I applied to take part you have no idea what this is:
The Braun IPL (thats intense pulsed light) removes the need to pay expensive prices at the salon for hair removal treatment - it provides permanent (with maintenance sessions) hair removal! So that's no shaving, no waxing, no using stinky hair removal cream! How could I not apply? think of the savings!
So the technology has been around in salons for years and now they have put it into a product that can safely be used at home.
It works based on skin/hair pigmentation so it's not suitable for everyone but for pasty pale creatures with dark hair like me it's perfect. It basically zap the root of the hair stopping it from working - okay it's a bit more complicated than that but after reading all the material about it thats basically how it works.
It only works on light skin because it works on the pigmentation in the hair follicle - so if you have very dark skin and dark hair it wouldnt be able to differentiate and would zap your skin instead which probably wouldnt be very pleasant. For the same reason it doesnt work on people with grey or very light hair (or red hair for some reason!) as there is little to no pigmentation so nothing for it to zap!
What makes the Braun different to other similar items on the market is the built in SensorAdapt which scans your skin and then tailors the light to match your skin tone - other similar products you have to match skin tone on a colour chart and then set the machine to a specific level - as different parts of your body have different skin tones you then have to change it if your doing your lip, your legs, bikini etc - in fact even on one body part you can have different skin tones for example on my legs my knees are always darker than the rest. The Braun adjusts for this automatically meaning you always get the right level of light for the part of your body your doing! Making it safer and easier to use.
A few days later I received my exciting package in the post
Now, to be honest I dont know much about salons and treatments like this - I dont even pluck my eyebrows! So I am not sure what I was expecting to arrive but if I did have something in mind it was small and delicate like a Lady Shave.
I was a tad alarmed by the giant box and had visions of a crazy ass laser!
However on opening the box it contained 2 smaller boxes one containing the IPL and the other containing a sweet bonus in the form of a sonic body exfoilator (and I have no idea what that is either! - perhaps I should start reading the beauty blogs I follow instead of looking at the pretty pictures!)
So I put aside the exfoilator to look at another day and got out the IPL to examine and see what was what.
In the box was the IPL hand held device, 2 rather large manuals, a cable and 2 x plug attachments one for standard and one for the shaver socket.
Being my usual geeky self I had a good read of the manual...okay I skimmed the first bit and got straight to the how to guide. Where it told me all how to use it which was remarkably simple - hold the device - press to the skin - press the button and zap away (but they took a lot more words to say it).
The device uses an intense light so as a safety feature it only comes on when 2 sensors built into the device are pressed firmly to the skin - if they are not attached to the skin the device will not work. This stops you from accidentally burning out your eyes or those of anyone unfortunate to be nearby - I love a good safety feature like that! It also means if you have kiddywinks or pets they cant accidentally set it off.
Part of the instructions stated that you have to shave (or use whichever form of hair removal you normally use) before using it - I was a bit gutted by that I had been growing a nice pair of furry tights on my legs thinking it would magically remove it all in one swoop.
It also recommends you do a patch test on an incongruous body part before using.
I chose to try it out on my thigh - a body part I rarely display due to it's wobblyness and pastiness and therefore I wouldnt mind if it turned red and blotchy for a few days.
So I hooked up the device to the power source - first impression here was that the cable didnt fit as securely as it could and it popped out once.
The device is slightly bulky to use and didnt fit comfortably in my hand which is a shame as I really want to like this product (I really want to quit shaving!)
I set it up for the patch test. They recommend that you use the single pulse option - so I pressed the device firmly to my skin and .... wussed out!
I went back to the manual and checked on how to turn on the sensitive mode (that is where you can set it to be slightly less intense)
I turned on sensitive mode pressed it against my thigh and pressed the button and ZAAPPPPP!
Apart from a rather blinding light which I could see even thought I looked away and a warm sensation a bit like a camera flash going off next to your skin there was nothing else.
Felling brave I move it down and zapped again - this time no warm sensation ... no sensation at all.
Really completely painless.
I checked my skin - no bright red mark, no oozing blister, no anything - it was fine.
And 24 hours later - there is still nothing - no ill effects, no pain, no reaction.
Tonight I shaved my legs in anticipation of using the IPL properly tomorrow evening on them and I look forward to updating everyone soon with how it works, ease of use and hopefully some pictures of my silky smooth alabaster white legs (if your really lucky)
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Facebook - SCAMS & FAKES
Loads of companies run great competitions across Facebook which is great as they are generally easy to enter and have some lovely prizes. Unfortunately Facebook is rife with SCAMS and FAKES.
I hope this information will help you spot a scam/fake site.
Scam/Fakes sites are on Facebook for the following reasons
1. To like harvest
2. To get your information
3. To earn money through affiliated links
4. To scam you out of your money
I'm going to explain the above in a bit more detail.
1. LIKE HARVESTING
A scammer will make a page. They will then by various means get people to like and shared the page. Some of the tricks they use include:
- a heart wrenching picture such as a cancer sufferer, an abused animal, a child molester, etc these pictures are used without permission. There will be usually text included such as Like and share if you hate cancer ignore if your a heartless piece of shit (okay maybe not quite that graphic but it's the implication behind the like and share bit) or like and share if your against animal abuse ignore if you like having sex with horses and so on and so on. The purpose is to get you to like and share the post and the page with the text written in such a way as to make you out to be evil and nasty if you dont.
- a post with or without a heart wrenching picture saying that Microsoft, Bill Gate, Facebook etc will donate 25c (it's usually in american but could be 25p or other currency) to some charity for every like and share - again they are working hard to get you to like and shared the post and page
- a post that Bill Gates, Microsoft, Facebook, someone else who is loaded is giving away a prize of $gazillion to one lucky person who likes and shares the post/page
- a post that you can win some amazing prize by liking and sharing the post to all your friends.
With all of the above they want you to like the page and the post and to share it.
They want you to share it so they can reach as many people as possible, if your friends see you sharing something they are likely to look at the post and they might be encouraged to like and share too.
So - if you share to your wall -
1 share and 1 like
5 of your friends then share and like
5 shares and 5 likes
5 of their friends share and like
25 shares and 25 likes
5 of their friends share and like
125 shares and 125 likes
So the numbers increase exponentially and before you know it the page has a few thousand likes and shares and the more people who like and share it - the more its showing up on news feeds and timelines and the more people will see it and like and share it.
Whats the purpose of all this?
Well once they have reached a set number of likes on the page its going to show up in lots of newsfeed and timelines and high on searches too. They can then sell on the page. The more likes and shares, the higher the value of the page.
Who do they sell it to? fake companies, scammers and other nefarious people who then use it to scam people.
It's easier to trust a page with 10,000 likes than one with 100 likes.
How can you tell a fake page?
Luckily it's fairly easy to tell a fake page:
1. Have a look at it's history - scroll down the page - if there s literally nothing but giveaways, no winner announcements and little info it's likely to be a scam or fake page
2. How long as the page been running for and when was it created? If it's just been started and is giving away crazy prizes its most likely a scam or fake page
3. Is it claiming to be part of or affiliated with a specific well known company E.g. Disney, Thomas Cook etc? Check by the name for a blue tick - if it doesn't have a blue tick it's not a verified company page. Other things to look out for are slight mispelling's of the name and / or additional punctuation e.g Disney. Company or Tomas Cook Holidays, Carnivaal Cruises etc. Also check the company information section and the logos used. If your not sure then check out the companies official page - if they are working with another company or running an amazing giveaway its going to be listed on their official page
4. Do they have a website? If it's a real business then they will have a website or at the very least a lik to their etsy shop. If the website is down or the has a strange link then it might be a scam page
5. Is it too good to be true? No company is going to give away 1000 free cruise line tickets, or 200 first class flights or 700 ipad airs if it looks too good to be true it probably is!
What should you do if you have been suckered in?
First thing first - go to your timeline - find the shared post and delete it
Second - unlike the post, unlike the page and hit the report button - report it as a fake, as a copy or as spam.
Third if you see your friends or family sharing it - tell them to stop - tell them it's a scam and tell them to follow the steps above.
Why is it important to do this?
Because it can lead to vulnerable people being fooled and scammed
At the least it's annoying to have your page spammed with fake comps at the worst by promoting the page you are helping the scammers who will then go out and prey on other people.
2. GETTING YOUR INFORMATION
Please see my post on SPAM sites here.
Often these fake pages will have a link to another site to put your information in to win or enter. Once you have done this your information can then be sold on by the scammers or used by aggressive telesales / marketing people. I wont go into detail here as I have already written in depth about it on the SPAM site posts.
3. TO EARN MONEY THROUGH AFFILIATED LINKS
These fake scam pages will often have a link for you to enter to win the competition - this will be a link to sign up for some site, or to complete a survey or something similar. As soon as you click on the link the scammer is earning money, if you complete the sign up process then they earn even more money. It's a win win for them and a LOSE for you as you are likely signing up to a spam site or worse. If you share their post and your friends all click on the link thats even more for them!
4. TO SCAM YOU OUT OF MONEY.
So the page announces you as a winner (along with a whole bunch of other people) The prize is free but you have to pay postage. You can pay it via paypal, money transfer or some other means. The P&P is only a small amount say £3. But they announce 3000 winners, the prize costs less than 25p from china or some other country an they are pocketing nearly 10 grand off the back of their competition. That's a best case scenario. A worst case is where you give them some information that allows them to get access to and wipe out your accounts or through paypal.
If in order to get your prize you have to pay it is highly likely that it's a scam and you should seriously consider whether you should enter. You should NEVER give out bank details or any other information.
The only cases where you may need to pay towards the prize would be:
- The item is coming from outside the UK and your liable for tax and customs - you should take this into consideration when entering international comps (although I have had prizes come this way and just be marked as gift so no customs applies)
- The competitions clearly states that anyone applying from outside the country it is run from will have to pay the international postage costs
- The competition is being run by a small business - they clearly state in advance on the competition post that the item is collection only or can be posted at the winners expense and has a set postage cost listed (and is only offering 1 or 2 prizes)
- If the prize is a holiday and there are additional expenses not included with the prize e.g.the cost of upgrade, the cost of a single person supplement, the cost of visas, the cost of travel insurance, etc
- If the prize is for appliances or furniture or flooring etc where the prize is the item but fitting is not included.
Please note
Scammers are clever people - they are constantly changing the way they work in order to rip people off - if they put as much effort into a real job they would be loaded! Therefore this page doesn't list every scam but hopefully it does list the main ones run on facebook and also how to spot them.
Spotting fake comps on other sites is a whole different topic and I will be posting on that separately.
Any comments or feedback or anything you think I have left out please let me know
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