And so December, the other side of Black Friday, which more or less dominated November as we celebrated some of the products and brands which really do make that difference. But November wasn’t only about Black Friday, we launched two new products, the first being DoSe Vitamin C Eye Cream on 2 November, followed by DoSe Liposomal CoQ10 on 16 November and then DoSe Daily Cleanser won an award from The Telegraph, which I wrote about last weekend, so a moment here to say thank you for your kindness and support, which means so much to us.

At this time of year, it is inevitable that we take a look back at the year and I will be doing that next weekend when I write the VH Awards, but for now I want to throw the focus on the month of November, essentially because after launching two new products, we rolled straight into Black Friday and then won an award, so in a sense this is a debrief of the past month, so let’s take a look.

Kicking off the month, we launched DoSe Vitamin C Eye Cream, a formulation powered by seven advanced active ingredients, including Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate (THD), a stable, oil soluble vitamin C Ester, and Ergothioneine, which is of course an extraordinarily powerful antioxidant. With several studies indicating that THD penetrates the skin faster and deeper than any other form of vitamin C, it sits alongside C-Deep Serum, a THD formulation, released earlier in the year.

There are several things to say here, the first being that unlike most other forms of vitamin C, THD is well tolerated by those of us with sensitive skin, which is really important, but there are other things too, including the delivery system, aka the precise cooling tip. When we launched this product, I wrote that in many respects the efficacy is immediate in that it helps to soothe tired eyes, which of course is attributable to the formulation, but it is also attributable to the precise cooling tip which is a wonderful massage tool in and of itself, so once you have the slip with the product, you can glide across the orbital bone targeting inflammatory puffiness.

The other thing I wrote about was multi-tasking, because after I stated that it could be used on other age-prone areas such as our hands and vertical lip lines, several of you messaged me to say that you were doing the same. That made me happy, and although it can obviously take time to begin to notice results, I have noticed subtle differences, but that aside, gliding the precise cooling tip across age-prone areas of my skin is tremendously therapeutic, so it has become a rather ritualistic event each evening. And as we glide together, let’s continue to celebrate as I extend the Black Friday 15% discount across Vitamin C Eye Cream and C-Deep Serum.
VH Editorial: Is Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate The Best Vitamin C Serum; DoSe Vitamin C Eye Cream £24.65 for 30 ml; DoSe C-Deep Vitamin C Serum £18.70 for 30 ml (offers end at midnight GMT, Sunday 8 December)

Onwards to the second launch of the month, Liposomal CoQ10 and once again I want to thank you so very much for your support, because it was such an important launch for us, mostly because it demonstrated the ongoing importance of delivering clinically evaluated formulations which supersede all that has gone before. And Liposomal CoQ10 truly does supersede all that has gone before. The crucial factor here is that there are two forms of CoQ10, ubiquinol and ubiquinone, and with ubiquinone being the chosen form of CoQ10 in most clinicals, Liposomal CoQ10 delivers a therapeutic daily dose of 200 mg, aligning with, and adhering to, cited clinicals.

As ever, when launching best-in-class formulations, it is important to demonstrate factors such as efficacy, but it is also important to understand why specific nutrients are required by most of us. CoQ10 is a powerful antioxidant and as such it helps neutralise free radicals, important because highly reactive molecules are known to damage the tissues and possibly the genetic material within cells, but there is far more to understand about the importance CoQ10 and I think the easiest thing is to refer you to the words I wrote earlier this month, which you can read here.

With the referral done, it was obviously a choice as to whether we launched Liposomal CoQ10 before or after Black Friday, but we made the decision to launch it two days before we sent out our first Black Friday email, which was sent to the VH Addicts, and we dropped the price of launch by 15% to stay in line with what was to come, a 15% discount across DoSe supplementation. As this is a debrief, I am holding that price across this weekend together with the offer on DoSe Liposomal Vitamin C, which sits alongside Liposomal CoQ10 both in terms of efficacy and supersedence.
VH Editorial: Choosing The Right Co-Enzyme Q10; DoSe Liposomal CoQ10 £40.80 for 240 ml (48 days’ supply); DoSe Liposomal Vitamin C Duo £49 for 2 x 240 ml (96 days’ supply) (with a saving of £21) (offers end at midnight GMT, Sunday 8 December)

Completing the November debrief, let’s talk about DoSe Daily Cleanser, our award-winning product. I wrote many words about awards last weekend, but throwing the focus on the product, it was of course formulated by Shabir, so a few words to share from him: ‘I formulated Daily Cleanser to effectively remove all traces of dirt, debris and make-up, whilst nourishing, hydrating and protecting the skin. It’s pH balanced, non-pore-clogging, non-drying and it is suitable for all skin types. Balancing cleansing with hydration, it leaves the skin refreshed and prepared to receive other skincare ingredients, without compromising its natural barrier’.

And with those words from Shabir, a few more from me. Launching DoSe skincare on a health platform was incredibly important to us, and although we have launched other skincare brands on a health platform, this was different because we needed to make a difference in our approach and understanding of skin health in an over-saturated marketplace. The integration between health and beauty was critical, but taking a pragmatic approach was of equal importance, basically because I became seriously bored with the categorisation of skincare and the nonsense that accompanies that categorisation.

If a product is to serve its purpose, it has to do just that, serve its purpose. It has to be best-in-class, sorry, but it does, and it has to be recognised for that and that alone. For far too long, skincare products have been subject to division, and divisive competition, and I think that’s wrong and misleading, so please allow me to say this. DoSe is not a budget skincare range, it is not a middle-of-the-road range or a high-end range either, it is a range of products for skin health full stop. I can’t change the system, that much I know, but surely we have to make a stand for truth and honesty, and with that said, I am keeping Daily Cleanser at its Black Friday price of £14.45.
DoSe Daily Cleanser £14.45 for 100 ml (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 8 December)

Amen to that, and let’s move on and as we do so I have often written that we always take your lead, and it’s important that we do so because it enables us to share the things that really matter to us. We are all different, that much is obvious, but as we are coming towards the end of the year, I thought it would be interesting to see which of our articles were the most read, and it threw up some obvious results, such as Hyaluronic Acid, NAD+ and The Elixir Of Life (Fulvic), but it also threw up some surprising results, and we are going to look at a few of those now.

I am going to begin with the article that really surprised me, basically because I haven’t written about Acai Berry for many years, but not only that, Shabir wrote this article a very long time ago, yet it makes in appearance in our top twenty most-read articles. This was the era of the superfoods, a superfood being defined as a food that offers superior nutritional value for the number of calories it contains. I remember writing about Noni Fruit and Goji Juice, which went completely wild at that time, but Acai berries were considered to be one of the best due their incredible antioxidant properties. And as that still stands, the article is linked below.
VH Editorial: Facts And Myths About Acai Berry; Acai Berry Powder by Green Origins £7.49 for 50 grams

This next article is also interesting because it is quite specific, but from our statistics it shows that many of us experience nausea after eating. Here, Shabir takes a look at the root causes of feeling nauseous, gassy and bloated together with explanations why this may be happening, referencing gut health and stress, but also discussing the fact that we do not chew our food sufficiently, and I know I am guilty of that. I have friends who have been to the Mayr Clinic where they were told to chew each piece of food about forty times, but we are not at the Mayr Clinic, we are here, so the article is linked below with specific product recommendations in that article.
VH Editorial: How To Stop Nausea After Eating

This is also specific, actually it’s very specific because here Shabir talks about digestive problems after gallbladder removal, and however specific it is, thousands of people have their gallbladder removed due to pain and digestive discomfort. It is extraordinarily common to have digestive problems after surgery and I absolutely know this to be true because it happened to a friend of mine recently and she was rather shocked that her consultant hadn’t informed her this could happen. Anyway, this probably happens quite a lot, so once again the article is linked with the recommended product being Milk Thistle Complex.
VH Editorial: Digestive Problems After Gallbladder Removal; DoSe Milk Thistle Complex £18 for 30 Capsules

Another product I haven’t written about for rather a long time, and that product is BroccoMax. In this article Shabir discusses Broccoli Seeds and their health benefits, and there are numerous benefits, not least because they are rich in essential fatty acids. Broccoli belongs to the Brassica family, commonly known as cruciferous vegetables, which include Brussel Sprouts, Kale and Cabbage, but it is the compound found in broccoli florets, sprouts and seeds that makes this vegetable so important. That compound is called Sulforaphane, and in 1992 its benefits were realised by Paul Talalay, an esteemed researcher at John Hopkins University, Baltimore.

Since that time there have been over 1700 studies indicating the benefits of Sulforaphane across a wide variety of diseases and concerns, with most of the studies focusing on diseases associated with cell mutation. Sulforaphane seems to have the ability to protect healthy cells, target mutated cells and also to prohibit cell mutation, possibly due to its potent antioxidant properties. I am forever making reference to the importance of ongoing research and clinical evaluation, and this research stands in demonstration and testimony of that importance, and with that said, I am dropping the price of BroccoMax from £24 to £21, across the weekend.
VH Editorial: Broccoli Seeds And Their Health Benefits; BroccoMax by Jarrow Formulas £21 for 60 Capsules (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 8 December)

Onto the next article, and I am totally convinced that Shabir wrote about treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome because it is one of the many disorders listed under the general term ‘Repetitive Strain Injury’ and at that time he had Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. So, with three product recommendations for treating RSIs, Bromelain Capsules drop in price from £31.55 to £28, Pure Magnesium Oil Spray drops from £14.99 to £12 and the Aculief drops from £19.95 to £15. All linked below and all for the interim.
VH Editorial: Treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome; Bromelain by Viridian Nutrition £28 for 90 Capsules; Pure Magnesium Oil Spray by LifeFlo £12 for 237 ml; Aculief £15

This next article doesn’t surprise me at all, because it has been one of our most-read articles for a very long time and it is of course Shabir’s article about how to get rid of warts. Warts are small protrusions or raised lumps which are caused by a viral infection often arising as a result of broken skin or a compromised immune system. The virus responsible is the human papillomavirus, HPV, of which there are many strains. Shabir does the lowdown recommending L-Lysine and Fulvic Nail Cream, and because we didn’t include Fulvic Nail Cream in our Black Friday offers, I will do it here by dropping the price from £14 to £11, also across the weekend.
VH Editorial: How To Get Rid Of Warts; L-Lysine HCI by Lamberts £14.95 for 120 Tablets; Fulvic Nail Cream £11 for 30 ml (offer ends at midnight, GMT Sunday 8 December)

Onwards, and this article wasn’t written by Shabir, it was written by Sarah who felt compelled to write this a few years ago when it emerged there was a spate of allergies to the methacrylate chemicals present in the application of gel nails and that many had experienced problems in this respect. Sarah conducted an investigation, which is still relevant today, even though dermatologists have issued warnings about this issue since 2018. Anyway, the article is linked below and you will also read about the healing and repairing qualities of Fulvic Nail Cream, which I will link again below for ease with a glory hallelujah.
The Trouble With Gel Nails by Sarah Stacey; Fulvic Nail Cream £11 for 30 ml

I will end this section with another article from Sarah, it is a campaigning article actually, but Sarah and I have been campaigning about the dangers of eyelash growth serums for over a decade and we are not about to stop either. I don’t actually care if I have to bring this article out every year, because too many people are unaware of the dangers and when this article was first published, we received many, many emails detailing some horrific experiences from those affected by eyelash growth serums.

I will not back down on the importance of this, and in her article, Sarah recommends Natucain Lash Serum and Natucain Brow Serum, so in my final fling, and because we didn’t include the Natucain products in our Black Friday offers, we will offer you a 20% discount across all of the products in the Natucain range of products, with the offer ending midnight GMT, Friday 13 December.
The Natural Eyelash Growth Enhancer That’s Safe And Really Works by Sarah Stacey; Natucain Products

And into the Saturday only treat we go, and with every order placed for £35 or above, excluding p&p, we will send you a relaxing treat for your bath or shower and that gift is TEMPLESPA’s La La Lagoon Aromatic Bath and Shower Gel (50 ml)*, details of which are linked below.
La La Lagoon Aromatic Bath and Shower Gel (offer ends at midnight GMT, Saturday 7 December)

This song, because the way we were is still the way we are, holding hands through the decades of our lives.
The Way We Were by Barbra Streisand; The VH Playlist

Wishing each of you a restful weekend.

Gill x