I bought the Braun 7280 epilator earlier this year. I had done a little bit of research online, reading reviews and comparing different epilators that were available, but there was nothing that stood out as the obvious choice.
I decided to go to Boots because I wanted to earn some advantage points and compare the different epilators that they sold side by side.
I deliberately visited the largest Boots store in our area thinking they'd have more variety and luckily they had a few shelf loads of different ones.

I had seen Braun's epilators online - there are many that have a similar appearance, but come in different colours and they all seem to do something different. The main thing that put me off this design is that they all seemed very expensive, most of them being between £75 and £130.

~ Price ~
The Braun 7280 epilator was, at the time, on offer in Boots reduced to just £54.99. It is currently available on Amazon.co.uk for £91.95.

As it was reduced, it boasted 40 sets of tweezers and it is pink and sparkly I decided on this epilator.

~ What is an epilator? ~
An epilator is a handheld instant hair removal product, similar to a razor, only rather than cutting the hair, an epilator pulls the hair out using a motorised roll of tweezers. The roll of tweezers spins around really fast, each set of tweezers nipping and releasing and pulling out any hair it comes into contact with.

~ Packaging ~
The epilator comes in a black cardboard box with a window displaying the epilator. The front of the box boasts that you also get 3 extra heads/caps with it. There is a little pink rectangle on the bottom of the box, which has the word 'legs and body' in white. This indicator is on all of Braun's boxes - other epilators were to be used on your legs only. I think this is to do with which head/caps come with the epilator.
The back of the box claims that the tweezers remove even hair as short as a grain of sand (0.5mm).

~ The epilator ~
The epilator a good size, fitting comfortably in your hand. It is mainly white, but the lower half of it is clear plastic with white glittery plastic underneath, which makes the device look a lot prettier. This version also has pink finishes to it with pink plastic on the head, the on/off switch and the light and the Braun logo is also in pink.
The light comes on when you turn the epilator on and it is quite bright. This is supposed to help you identify any short or stray hairs more easily and it works well.
On the bottom is where you plug the epilator in to charge up the battery. It cannot be used when it is on charge. 1 hour of charge allows up to 40 minutes of use. I have found that the battery does charge very quickly and lasts a good few sessions.
The cord that the epilator comes with is a two pin bathroom plug, but we do not have a two pin plug in our bathroom so I had to use an adapter plug, which luckily my partner already had one to charge his electric toothbrush with!
The head that comes already on the epilator pivots to "smoothly adapt to your body contours" and it has two sets of plastic massaging rollers to "actively stimulate your skin for an extra gentle epilation".


There are three extra heads/ caps:
The efficiency cap is plain white and fairly flat and it also has a pivoting head. This ensures close contact with the skin and is a quick and very effective head.
The two other caps are the shaver head cap and the trimmer cap which are designed for a quick close shave for more sensitive areas such as underarms and bikini line. These caps are both really effective producing smooth results.

The instructions stress that the epilator must not be used without one of the head/caps. This is probably because the tweezers would get so close to the skin that they would nip the skin rather than any hairs.

~ My experience ~
The epilator has two speed settings which seem to be fast and very fast, but according to the instructions the lower setting is 'extra gentle' and the higher setting is 'extra efficient'. I decided to start by using it on the slower of the two speeds.
Switching it on the light comes on, there is a yellow light at the bottom of the device in the shape of a plus sign indicating that the device is charged (a red minus sign light flashes if the battery is low) and also the head starts rotating. The motor is rather loud and sounds very aggressive as if a jet engine is about to take off. It doesn't make you want to put it near your legs, but that's what I bought mine for so that's what I did.

I had heard many people say that they had tried epilating, but refused to continue as it had hurt so much. I was convinced I wouldn't be one of these people. Like waxing, epilating is supposed to last a lot longer than shaving before the hair resurfaces so for me this was a major plus as well as the fact that the epilator tears out hairs that are as short as a grain of sand.

I find using the epilator does cause some pain, which is bearable and tends to just last a second like being pinched. It hurts less on shorter hair and the instructions advise that it is more comfortable when the hair is at the optimum length of 2-5mm. If hairs are longer, it is recommended to shave first and epilate the shorter hairs after 1 or 2 weeks.
I find it is a lot more comfortable and less painful when you have already epilated an area, but are going over the area again for shorter hairs or any hairs that have been missed. Although the epilator is very effective I have found you do need to go over the same areas a few times for the shorter hairs and stubble that you have missed and the light on the epilator is invaluable for helping identify any remaining hairs.

~ I should also mention ~
The faster speed setting does not hurt any more than the slower one, but it is probably quicker and more thorough - pulling more hair out while going over each area of skin.

You are advised not to share this product with anyone for hygiene reasons and also you are supposed to clean it after each use with a little white brush that is provided and the back of the box advises that you can also rinse it under running water. It is easy to take off the head/cap and the brush can be used to get rid of any hairs that are caught in the device.

It also comes with a little white pouch which the epilator can be stored in.

It takes around 20 minutes to thoroughly epilate your legs and for them to be smooth with no stubbly bits left. I find that the regrowth is softer and you don't need to epilate again for 7-10 days which I am really pleased with.

~ Overall ~
Overall I am really pleased that I bought this epilator. It is effective and leaves my legs smoother than shaving and the regrowth takes longer. The pain is a downside, but it is bearable and I think it's worth it. The light on it is a fantastic idea and it is really helpful for identifying shorter hairs. I would recommend this epilator to anyone who is thinking of getting one although I would be reluctant to pay close to £100.00 for it. I would consider any of Braun's epilators with the same design as long as the box specifies there are 40 sets of tweezers as I am convinced all of their epilators are pretty much the same.