Well, here we are at the beginning of another long weekend, so let’s take it easy.  And I’ll start by saying that our strength and optimism is rooted in the closeness that we continue to share with each other, so thank you once again for your supportive emails last weekend.  I think it is indicative of the world we are living in that anger and abuse are increasingly prevalent, which is why it is so very important to face this head-on in order to grant a semblance of comfort and understanding for those who feel so incredibly isolated, and so many of us do, much evidenced by your email responses.

Leaving that aside for the moment, I want to talk about 4711 Eau de Cologne, which I wrote about last weekend.  The sense of nostalgia embraced so many of us as we shared memories of another time and another place.  And in its own way, it also brought another sense of comfort, the comfort of an everlasting bond that so many of us hold with those who are no longer with us. It goes without saying that many of you had tears in your eyes as you were sharing your memories, and that made me cry too.  And maybe it was a cathartic release, a release to a time where we were so innocent and, just perhaps, the world was a better place.

And we will be in an even better place in the next three or four weeks, because there is now a famine across the 4711 products.  I am so sorry, this is beyond my control, but having taken all available stock from the manufacturers, there is nothing left.  We have therefore stopped taking orders for these products, but as soon as we receive our next consignment we will fulfil all orders on the pre-existing wait list and I will announce its return as soon as I can.  This is what happens when you write about epic products.  You get an epic headache.  Thump. 
4711 Eau de Cologne

With that said, let’s go straight into the product section.  And I actually want to talk about our own supplements, most of which have been formulated by Shabir.  It is perhaps unsurprising that all of our own products have, over the years, become our bestselling supplements.  This is based on our unrelenting mission to stay ahead of the crowd with the supplements we believe are best-in-class in their own respective genres.  And we do this in full acknowledgement of the ongoing research and development which underpins the efficacy of any given supplement.  And we also do this with an uncompromising sense of responsibility to each of you.

I will not compromise when it comes to our health and wellbeing, no matter what, and I know I write this often, but it is important that we understand the fundamental core of efficacy, which is so often dependent upon correct therapeutic dosages and the inclusion of the novel ingredients which have been subjected to rigorous testing, including clinicals.  And we get a bit over-excited when new researched ingredients come to the fore, as per L-Ergothioneine, which doesn’t actually belong to us because it is not VH branded, but I’ve more or less made it our own, which always thrills me.  And I did the same with iS Clinical, which is totally unrelated to anything I’ve just written.  But I don’t care.

But back to our own supplements we go, and there are currently fourteen VH supplements in our range, leaving aside the Fulvic products, which we categorise separately.  I don’t think I need to reel off each and every product, but they do include Hyaluronic Acid High Strength Capsules, Mega Probiotic ND, Ionicell, Superior Joints and Magnolia Rhodiola Complex.  There you are, that’s five of them and with another nine on the list, I am going to make a stand for excellence by taking the price down of each of our own products by 15%.  And I’ll drop the price of Essential Youth L-Ergothioneine, just so it doesn’t feel left out.  It might develop isolation syndrome otherwise.
VH Supplements; Essential Youth L-Ergothioneine by Life Extension £17 for 30 Capsules (drops from £20); VH Editorial: Is Ergothioneine The Next Longevity Nutrient? (offers end at midnight BST, Monday 29 August)

Our curation of supplements is very tight, but we like it that way.  So I would just like to highlight another one of our products, which is Complete Fibre Cleanse.  Fibre is the roughage found in cereals, fruit and vegetables, which is basically the cell structure of plants and vegetables.  We do of course receive numerous benefits from the nutrients which are present in the above-named and in so doing we ingest fibre, which has many positive effects on the digestive tract.

However, these foods must be flushed out of our bodies correctly otherwise we can end up with constipation, nutrient deficiencies or a toxic build-up due to the stagnation of food in the intestines.  It therefore follows that it is the fibre in our diet which is important for gastrointestinal movement.  It is recommended that we need approximately 30 grams of fibre each day, but it is thought that on average we only consume approximately 18 grams of fibre which is why we recommend supplementing with Complete Fibre Cleanse.  Containing a comprehensive blend of fibres, Spirulina and Chlorella, Shabir does the facts in his article linked below.
VH Editorial: What’s All The Fuss About Fibre; Complete Fibre Cleanse

If we are talking about facts, pragmatic facts at that, we all know that not every supplement will work in the same way for everybody.  In this particular instance I want to talk about our energy levels, because there appears to be an overriding sense of malaise which is affecting so many of us.  The general consensus appears to be that we feel drained of energy, in other words we feel wiped out, with most of you saying that you wake up feeling tired.  I know that stress plays a massive role in this, but it is of great concern that this human energy crisis seems to have become an epidemic in its own right.  Let’s take a look at the solutions.

As you would expect, Shabir has written several articles about this subject, and because we must always have a choice, I am listing two of those articles below.  I think that your intuition will guide you when you read both of these articles, and of course that embraces the products recommended.  The first article is ‘Enhancing Energy’, where Shabir recommends Daily Energy (a VH supplement) and Alive Once Daily Multivitamin Ultra Potency, which provides food-state nutrients and vitamins, formulated to support a range of concerns, including a compromised immune system as well as low energy.  Daily Energy has already dropped in price, and I will continue by dropping the price of Alive Once Daily from £30 to £27.
VH Editorial: Enhancing Energy; Daily Energy; Alive Once Daily Multivitamin Ultra Potency £27 for 60 Tablets (offer ends at midnight BST, Monday 29 August)

The second article, Understanding Fatigue and Tiredness, explains the difference between fatigue, tiredness and exhaustion because although they all seem to come under the same umbrella, in medical terms they are distinctly different.  Talking through these issues, Shabir believes that adrenal stress can often be the cause of fatigue, so you may find this quite interesting.  However it is often difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of fatigue, so setting adrenal stress aside for the moment, there are two important supplements that Shabir tends to recommend for fatigue, and they are B12 Elite and Super Ubiquinol CoEnzyme Q10.

Although we are talking about supplementation to help support the above, it needs to be said that many of you take each of the supplements mentioned for differing health concerns.  I know I am going to be asked if all four supplements can be taken together, and the answer to that is yes, if you feel the need.  I really don’t want to overload you with supplements for obvious reasons, so I will just say here that I am dropping the price of Super Ubiquinol CoEnzyme Q10 from £20 to £17, with the more potent alternative also dropping, as below.  And as I have just mentioned adrenal stress, Ross J. Barr’s Adrenal Calm Formula drops in price from £32 to £29.
VH Editorial: Understanding Fatigue and Tiredness; B12 Elite by Life Extension £12 for 60 Lozenges; Super Ubiquinol CoEnzyme Q10 by Life Extension £17 for 30 Softgels; Super Ubiquinol CoEnzyme Q10 with Enhanced Mitochondrial Support by Life Extension £40 (drops from £45) for 60 Softgels; Adrenal Calm Formula by Ross J. Barr £29 for 60 Capsules

Moving away from supplementation, I have a new product to tell you about and it’s from the Heritage Store.  Many of you will remember that I wrote about three of their products a few weeks ago, so here is the fourth product, which has just been released.  Heritage Store’s Rosewater Moisturizer has been formulated with gentle botanical ingredients together with their signature rose complex.  This lightweight gel-cream offers soothing hydration for dry skin, although it can be used for all skin types.  But of course it is the rosewater element that is also reminiscent of another time and another place, and it sits beautifully next to the Rosewater & Glycerin Hydrating Facial Mist.  Uplifting the senses, perhaps.
Rosewater Moisturizer by Heritage Store £14.50 for 59 ml (drops from £18.49); Rosewater & Glycerin Hydrating Facial Mist by Heritage Store £9 for 237 ml (drops from £10.99) (Offers end at midnight BST, Friday 2 September)

I want to return to our own brands and I am going to do so with two products.  I will begin by talking about the versatility of 100% Prickly Pear Seed Oil, one of our favourite oils.  Prickly Pear helps restore skin elasticity, it helps to calm inflammatory skin, it helps to brighten dark spots and it also helps to even out skin tone.  The benefits are therefore numerous, so all I am going to do here is to refer you to the product page and Shabir’s article about the beauty benefits of Prickly Pear, as I tell you that I have another one of those Limited Edition offers, whilst stock lasts, so when you buy Prickly Pear, you will receive 45 ml for the price of 30 ml, which is £21.50.
VH Editorial: The Beauty Benefits Of Prickly Pear; 100% Pure Prickly Pear Seed Oil by Garden of Wisdom for VH £21.50 for 45 ml (whilst stock lasts)

I don’t think I could ever write about our own brands without mentioning Fulvic along the way.  And this week the mention goes to Fulvic Acid Conditioner, which doubles up as a conditioner and a hair mask.  I also need to tell you that I sometimes use it as a skin conditioner as I slather it all over my body in the shower, without turning on the water.  I stand there for about three minutes and as I shampoo and condition my hair, it rinses off.  After showering, I follow through with Fulvic Body Lotion, and I absolutely promise you I didn’t plan to write that, but I just have, so I had better take down the price of both products, as below.  As two becomes three. 
Fulvic Acid Conditioner £20 for 240 ml (drops from £25); Fulvic Body Lotion £17 for 200 ml (drops from £20)

More new product launches.  Three of them to be precise and they are from Green People.  So please allow me to introduce you to their new hand creams, Born To Be Wild Manuka Hand Cream, Fresh And Wild Mandarin Hand Cream and Wake Up Wild Ginger Hand Cream.  Once again, I will refer you to the individual product pages for further details, but I would like to take ownership of the first one mentioned, Born To Be Wild, if you don’t mind.  So if you want to join me on this, or either of the other two hand creams, then I invite you to do so as I drop the launch price from £9.50 to £7.50.  Birds of a feather.  Flock together.
Born To Be Wild Manuka Hand Cream by Green People £7.50 for 30 ml; Fresh And Wild Mandarin Hand Cream by Green People £7.50 for 30 ml; Wake Up Wild Ginger Hand Cream by Green People £7.50 for 30 ml (For the interim)

Taking a break from products just for a moment, I wrote last week that life works in mysterious ways and it certainly does.  I am a huge proponent of reaching out, I write about this often, so in this week’s Health Notes, Sarah talks about reaching out to those with whom we have lost touch.  There are of course many different reasons why people drift apart, so do read Sarah’s story about lapsed friendships, because it may well inspire you to reach out to somebody you were once close to.  And mysterious ways, within a few hours of reading Sarah’s words, somebody I had lost touch with for approximately seven years reached out. I thought that was awesome.
Reaching Out by Sarah Stacey

Back to beauty treats we go, and as I write this I need to tell you that this is an extraordinarily limited treat, so much so that I’m not sure how many hours it will last.  So here it is.  It comes from Aurelia and it is their Rested & Radiant Eye Collection.  It is a four-piece eye-care set and it includes their Conditioning Eye & Lash Cleanser (15 ml), Brightening Eye Serum (7 ml), three reusable Bamboo Cotton pads, which you can use over and over again, together with their Sculpting Rose Quartz Gua Sha Tool, which in and of itself has a value of £20. 

The Rested & Radiant Eye Collection drops in price from £60 to £30.  And just to reiterate, you really need to be quick here because they could all be gone within a blink of an eye.  Tick. Tock.
Rested & Radiant Eye Collection by Aurelia London £30 (whilst stock lasts)

And it’s time for the Saturday only treat.  So with every order placed for £30* and above, excluding p&p, we will automatically send you a face mask, which comes with a message.  Be Calm (7 ml) by Temple Spa is a real tonic for stressed skin.  It will help soothe your skin and at the same time it will hopefully soothe your mind as I invite you to take ten minutes to close your eyes and rest with Be Calm on your skin. Full product details listed below.
Be Calm by Temple Spa

Finally, and after all of your emails last weekend, my head has been focused on the nostalgic moments we have been sharing, so let me say this. One moment we are having a drought, in another moment we are having flash floods and then, behold, there are hosepipe bans.  Through all of this, I remembered a song about water from another era.  I think you will know the words if you are of a certain age, and I am.  So on this Bank Holiday weekend, let’s stand up and sing this song together. Applauding the legends.  
A Hole In The Bucket by Harry Belafonte & Odetta; The VH Playlist

With love

Gill x

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*Free gifts will only be granted if the items purchased are physical products and your total basket value exceeds the required amount noted.  Saturday only treats are subject to change should the specified gift run out prior to your purchase and are only included in orders placed between 7.45am (GMT) and Midnight (GMT) on the Saturday the Weekend Read is sent.  VH Addicts membership is a digital product and therefore will be excluded from the basket value.  Some gifts are blocked from international shipping due to local limitations imposed based on the country destination.  If this is the case, we will replace the gift with one that is able to be shipped to your destination.