* ~ * THE WAX STRIPS * ~ *
The wax strips are made by Veet and come in a blue and pink cardboard box which then contains the 20 wax strips and 3 perfect finishing wipes for when you have finished waxing. The wax strips are a convenient and easy way to ensure effective and long-lasting hair removal. These particular wax strips are for sensitive skin; how-ever you can get other wax strips for different skin types. I went for the sensitive one's because I have been suffering from dry skin on my legs so I wanted something that would be extra kind to my skin. The strips contain Vitamin E and Almond which are perfect for sensitive skin. You can buy the wax strips from stores such as Boots, Superdrug and other supermarkets. I purchased mine from Boots and they cost me £7.19 for a pack of 20 strips. You can also buy them in packs of 40; how-ever I haven't seen these in my local boots store.

* ~ * USING THE WAX STRIPS * ~ *
The wax strips need to be used on legs which haven't had moisturiser or anything else applied to them, as this can stop the wax from working properly. Hair also needs to be at least 0.5mm long when using the wax strips. There are instructions inside and on the back on the box on how to use the wax strips. Simply warm the wax strips between your palms and then peel the 2 strips apart. Using just one of the strips smooth down onto your leg and holding your skin taut with the other hand immediately pull the wax strip off in the opposite direction of the hair re-growth. The strip needs to be pulled off immediately after applying it otherwise the wax can start to dry and this can cause irritation to your legs when removing. I thought the wax strips would be quite painful to use, how-ever they weren't too bad. I used to epilate my legs; how-ever I kept getting ingrown hairs so I changed to waxing instead. Using the wax strips hurts a lot less then epilating, how-ever if you are not used to waxing or using an epilator than you may find this a little painful, even though the pain doesn't really last for long. I often cheat and pop a wax strip on top of the radiator before using, as my hands are often cold so they don't heat the wax up very much. I only leave it on the radiator for a few seconds, and then I applied one half of the strip on my legs and smoothed it down. This is really easy to do, but can prove a little difficult when getting to the knee area.

As soon as I pulled back the wax strip I could see the amount of hairs that were attached to the wax. You can use the wax strip a few times before having to throw it away so I used it again. After about the 3rd time it wasn't really worth using as it wasn't pulling anymore hairs out, how-ever the other half of the wax strip could be used by folding in half and warming up as before. The hair's were pulled straight out, without breaking and left my skin looking very smooth and hair free. I only waxed my lower legs as I don't get many hairs on my upper legs, and these hairs are very find so I find that wax doesn't remove them very well. I was surprised at how many wax strips I actually had to use in order to remove all of the hairs from my leg. I had to use at least 6-7 wax strips on each leg in order to get rid of all the hairs.

There was a particular patch on my knee where I pulled most of the wax strip off and then paused for an unknown reason before pulling the rest off. This left a fair amount of wax residue on my leg and also caused some slight bruising to my leg as well, so make sure you pull the wax strip off in one go and don't pause or stop when pulling it off!

* ~ * THE FINISHING WIPES * ~ *
The finishing wipes are perfect for wiping away any wax residue and for moisturising your legs, as you may find the wax may cause a little irritation from all the pulling of the hairs. Although there wasn't a lot of wax residue left on my legs I decided to use one of the wipes anyway. The wipes are folded up but are quite large and unfold, so you can use the wipe on both legs. The wipes do a really good job at removing any wax residue and left my legs feeling really smooth and soft and also a little moisturised too. The wipes are slightly scented and smell a little floral, how-ever this isn't very strong and the smell doesn't really last.

* ~ * OVERALL OPINION * ~ *
Although the wax strips did a good job at removing the hair's from my legs I was disappointed at how many strips I actually had to use in order to remove all the hairs, and this was only the bottom half of my legs. I found the wax strips easy to use and they didn't cause me any discomfort to my skin. The finishing wipes are a great way to soothe your skin after waxing and wipes away any wax residue easily. As you get 4 finishing wipes, I think this is more than enough in a single pack and I even had some left over. In terms of quality I think they are good quality but are pricey considering I would use all the wax strips up from waxing the bottom half of both legs just twice. Legs are meant to stay smooth up to 4 weeks, how-ever I found that I started to get re-growth back within about 2 weeks so these don't live up to the 4 week claim. I give this product 3 out of 5 stars, as they do remove hair but they are expensive and don't last very long.



(review may also appear on ciao)