Sweet Charidee
OK, we are Generation Gimme-Gimme-Gimme and atop this very page I’m advocating gifting goodies to yourself, but sometimes we need to think of others. Charities, aware of the demands of an increasingly competitive marketplace, have cottoned on to this and are now harnessing our compassion as well as our propensity for selfishness by selling grooming products with a charity spin. One such product is hairdressing head honcho Paul Mitchell’s tea tree-themed packs (contents vary; £20-£25) that bunch together all your bonce’n’body sprucing needs whilst supporting the worthy cause of Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric AIDS Foundation so you can, quite literally, look and feel great. Mixing lemon and sage with the tea tree, the products are fizzily zingy, redolent of crisp countryside and Boxing Day stuffing sarnies.

Browned off
The heat of the summer is long gone. The limp, languid days of the package-holiday already deposited in the memory bank. And the tan… Ah, the tan is fading faster than an X-Factor winner. So what to do about keeping a sunny glow without ending up looking like Dale Winton. If you don’t want to sunbed it because of the health risks (although in moderation it can benefit well-being) and are too scared to DIY fake it, then a pro spray tan in a salon is the way to go. The Tanning Shop does a decent one (£24.99 a session) that doesn’t leave your skin Cuprinoled. Situated slap-bang in Cardiff city centre, it’s handy for a cheeky lunchtime tan top-up and, more importantly, a winter mood pick-me-up. All you have to do is get into the automated booth, lose your kecks and bask in the warm shower.

The Tanning Shop, Dominions Arcade, Cardiff Tel: 029 2039 0964

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