Part One

Another Saturday morning, another Weekend Read and after I quoted an article last weekend entitled ‘Don’t Believe The Lies’, I am sorely tempted to dedicate this entire newsletter to that subject matter, but that would be the end of me and I’m not ready to face the end because I still have too much to do.  All roads lead to our health and wellbeing and as I have often written, it is too narrow to focus solely on products, although of course they play an integral role in supporting our health and wellbeing, so as I widen our perspective, it continues to be important to discuss that wider perspective.

We are a small business and when writing recently about independent small businesses and the difficulties small businesses are facing, I referenced all SMEs, irrespective of industry, because it’s important that we have a voice and it’s important that we support each other wherever we can.  I make no apology whatsoever for remaining extraordinarily vocal on this subject because I will continue to fight our corner, all of our corners, but when you are campaigning for the very survival of SMEs, you cannot do this alone, and we don’t do it alone.

Across the years, I have periodically mentioned Teresa Graham, actually make that Dame Teresa Graham DBE, my long-standing mentor, affectionately known as my ‘mighty mentor’, who is Chair of the Administrative Burdens Advisory Board of HMRC and Chair of the Advisory Group at UK Finance.  Teresa has advised the Government on better regulation and deregulation for more than three decades and authored two significant reviews, namely The Graham Reviews, the recommendations of which were accepted by the Government of the day. She is also our Chair Emeritus, as it were, and Head of Parties and Fun at The Lexi Cinema, London’s only social enterprise cinema, linked below for perusal and information.
The Lexi Cinema

As Chair Emeritus, Teresa and I have gone into battle on many occasions and although on each of those occasions it has been specific to VH, Teresa is passionate about two things, providing strategic advice to SMEs and freeing small business from the fetters of red tape, tirelessly campaigning for legislative change.  I am very clear that each and every battle we fight is a battle fought on behalf of each of us who either own a small business, are part of a small business or who support small businesses, so we share.

It’s not easy, mostly because corruption exists at the highest levels of corporate governance and during one such battle we were told that if we didn’t fall in line, we would be shut down within seven days, despite the fact that we were standing in the truth, not our truth, but the truth.  I was incandescent with rage because as I have often written, there is no such thing as a level playing field in the health and beauty industry, or any other industry actually, and it is SMEs who often suffer reputational damage and/or financial loss because of an ongoing lack of governance, despite best efforts.

Having shared Dr Simon Opher’s words last weekend from his published article ‘Don’t Believe The Lies’, I felt compelled to write this section today because SMEs must not be marginalised, yet we are. SMEs are the backbone of many economies, representing a significant portion of businesses and employment, yet the lies continue to be told, the truth is often covered up and that really does affect each and every one of us.  In the end.

Part Two

As an addendum to the above, I will just say that in the recent past Lara has taken on these battles with Teresa and campaigning is obviously in her blood too, so apples and trees. However, I will leave it there because this section of the Weekend Read is all about products and celebrations, and the celebrations begin with DoSe skincare, so let’s take a look at the next phase of the DoSe skincare journey.

I think most of you are aware that when we launched DoSe skincare, we took a simple and pragmatic approach to skin health, offering a collection of treatment products to support differing skin concerns, including compromised skin conditions.  Launching the DoSe collection, I wrote at that time, and on several occasions since, that this curation was designed to offer a wardrobe of products specific to skin concerns, and it is our serums, formulated to target pigmentation, lines, wrinkles and dull skin, which are at the core of a dedicated and pragmatic approach to skin health.

So, this is what we have done.  We have created a series of boxed sets, six in total, each containing three serums, which mirror the skin concerns on our site and these include targeted solutions for dehydrated skin, dull skin tone, anti-ageing and firming for mature skin, blemish-prone skin, reactive and stressed skin and clarity for pigmented skin.  Each boxed set has been carefully and thoughtfully curated, allowing and honouring the evolutionary process of achieving optimal skin health with cutting-edge and clinically evaluated compounds.

I have linked the collections below and although each boxed set is priced individually, each will carry an approximate discount of 11% when compared to buying each of the serums individually, but for the purposes of this launch, we are offering a 15% discount across the boxed set collection this weekend because we celebrate by sharing. 
We always have and we always will.
The DoSe Collection (offer ends at midnight BST, Sunday 10 August)

Last weekend, I wrote about the Beyond Pills campaign co-founded by Sarah Stacey, but I also wrote about the meticulous research carried out by Sarah across several campaigns, one of which was an in-depth report about the safety of eyelash serums which was cross-platformed in The Mail on Sunday YOU magazine, online at Beauty Bible, co-authored by Sarah Stacey and Jo Fairley, and here.  That report was written over a decade ago, but its importance still holds, so as I link Sarah’s report below, we are offering a 20% discount on Natucain’s Lash Serum, as featured in Sarah’s report, and that discount will also apply across each of the Natucain products.
The Natural Eyelash Growth Enhancer That’s Safe And Really Works by Sarah Stacey; Natucain Products (offer ends at midnight BST, Friday 15 August)

I have been writing about Margaret Dabbs and her wonderful products for a very long time, and scrolling through our site recently, I came across an article about Margaret, which is actually a discussion between the two of us, which must have taken place at least fifteen years ago. In a constantly changing world, there are some things which remain absolute and our recognition and support of Margaret and her products is absolute, so in recognition of our collective support, we are offering a 20% discount across her full range of products this weekend.
Gill Meets Margaret Dabbs; Margaret Dabbs Products (offer ends at midnight BST, Sunday 10 August)

It is six months since we launched Collagen Tripeptide Complex and I’ve kept it on rather a lot of newsletters throughout those months, mostly because collagen tripeptides are such an important advancement in collagen supplementation, superseding all that has gone in this genre.  And so another celebration, and as we celebrate six months of Collagen Tripeptide Complex, we celebrate like this.  Collagen Tripeptide Complex is £45 for a 30-day supply, but across this weekend, we will automatically send you a 40-day supply, which is worth £60.  And with nothing more to add, we move on to the final fling, a summer fling actually.
VH Editorial: Does Your Collagen Supplement Contain Collagen Tripeptides; DoSe Collagen Tripeptide Complex 40 Day Supply £45 for 120 Capsules (offer ends at midnight BST, Sunday 10 August)

And soon it will be September, well we have just over three weeks left in August, so a few words about September.  September is the month when I start writing about Christmas, purely and simply because most brands launch their seasonal gifts during September and very often these are limited editions, so we start early because more often than not, some of these limited edition gifts sell out really quickly.  That’s one reason, the other reason is that it allows a considered approach to seasonal gifting, spread across the autumn months, and I think that’s helpful.

With that said, we are still in the throes of the summer months, so here I am referencing our Travel & Sun category and across this weekend, we are throwing a 15% discount across all products listed in that category, and as I’m writing this there are approximately 170 products to choose from, although that changes all the time.  The other thing to say is that travel is not just restricted to the summer months, but that is a rather obvious statement, so I’m leaving it there as we head in the Saturday only treat, with a note to say that Neom have just released a new addition to their summer scenting range, the Great Day Travel Candle, and we’ve added it into this category.
Travel & Sun (offer ends at midnight BST, Monday 11 August)

So, the Saturday only treat, and with every order placed for £35 and above, excluding p&p, we will automatically include Fulvic Mist (60 ml)*, which is worth £12.50.  I absolutely know that we gifted Fulvic Mist very recently, but I am repeat gifting because although Fulvic Mist was specifically formulated to support hair loss and thinning hair, it really is a multi-tasking formulation and having wound healing properties, it could almost become a travel essential.  So, as we stay on topic, we also stay neat and full product details are linked below.
Fulvic Acid Mist 

Part Three

Music.  I am dedicating this last section of the Weekend Read to music because it plays such an important role in so many of our lives, influencing our emotions and often our therapeutic wellbeing.  Acting as a powerful medium for self-expression and healing, we have shared so many different forms of music across the years, but music became an integral, if not ritualistic, part of these newsletters during the global pandemic, which is also when I began writing weekly rather than monthly.

At that time, our lives were turned inside out and upside down, and it became apparent that we needed to stay as close as we possibly could because none of us knew the extent of the difficulties that were to follow.  It felt appropriate to share our vulnerability, seeking comfort and support from the words of the songs chosen, songs which told a story of the hurt, trauma and pain that so many of us felt, and in and of that need, the VH Playlist was created which carries some of the words I have just written, but it is also a reflective, and ongoing journey of the love and hope we each share.
The VH Playlist

With music playing such a pivotal role in our lives, most of the emails I receive mention the music shared each week, and I love this aspect of our sharing given that it allows moments of fun and nostalgia, actually rather a lot of moments.  So, if I had to dedicate a song to this paragraph it would have to be Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’, which is evocative not only of the spirit of the moment, but evocative of our being, the fun side of our being.  And I love, love, love Cyndi Lauper.
Girls Just Want To Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper

On the subject of nostalgia, I am a child of the 60s and I spent rather a lot of my childhood standing on the pavement outside Abbey Road Studios hoping to catch a fleeting glimpse of The Beatles, alternating with the pavement outside Paul McCartney’s house, which was just around the corner.  The reason I have just mentioned Abbey Road is in demonstration of the closeness and fun we share because Sue Mautner, who is one of us, was actually inside Abbey Road with The Beatles, so while she was on the inside, I was on the outside.  And therein a story.  Her story.

She toured with The Beatles, she partied with The Rolling Stones and she lived rock & roll, so when Sue told me that she was releasing a podcast telling her story, I knew I had to share it with you.  That podcast is ‘She’s With The Band’ and I have linked it below, so cue another song because in the first episode Sue talks about being in a box at The Royal Albert Hall with Mick Jagger at an Eric Clapton concert, the more than brilliant Eric Clapton.  I was there too, actually I went three nights in a row and I wasn’t in a box, but never mind that, I am reliving the moment.  And sharing.
She’s With The Band Podcast; Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton

In all of this, and with the emails flying backwards and forwards between us, I asked Sue to share a Saturday song with us and she responded by saying that it was one of the most difficult things she had ever been asked.  I knew it would be, except I really wanted to know which song she would choose, and in the end it was down to four songs, the winner being ‘I Drove All Night’ by Roy Orbison.  As a postscript to that, Sue wrote that I might find it odd that Bruce, Eric and Dusty didn’t make it onto her list, but she had to go for pure nostalgia since her podcast is all about nostalgia.  And so it is.
I Drove All Night by Roy Orbison

And, if I may, I want to add my own postscript here, because if I was asked the same question I would probably choose a Dusty song, and I know this section isn’t about products, but I have vivid memories of launching the Rainbow Volume S Brush because when we launched it, I wrote that it was the most amazing hairbrush I had ever used because if I turned my head upside down, brushed my hair through and flicked it back again, I had Dusty Springfield hair.  Big Dusty Springfield hair, and I launched the product with a Dusty song.  As one does.
I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself by Dusty Springfield; Rainbow S Volume Brush £12

So, as we come to the end of another Weekend Read, I am holding back the three other songs on Sue’s list and will share them with you across the next three weekends, but on another musical note, let me leave you with one more song which is so evocative of the 60s, and it’s Cilla.  And it’s Cilla because those of us of a certain age stood in front of a mirror and using a hairbrush (another hairbrush mention) as a pretend microphone, we belted out this song.  And hands up if you still have the 60s fringe.  Because I do. 
Anyone Who Had A Heart by Cilla Black

Finally, in true 60s terminology, we really do have a ‘groovy kind of love’ between us, but that’s another song, and having written above that I was leaving you with one more song, I have just added another one, but never mind that, we are having a ‘far-out’ ‘love-in’ and because I could carry on ad-infinitum, I just might dedicate the next year of Saturday songs to 60s music, and the year after that.  Anyway, have a ‘fab’ weekend and I’m sorely tempted to link ‘It’s Over’, because this Weekend Read is over and I’m with Sue, Roy Orbison is pure nostalgia.  So, as that temptation is realised, I’ve linked it with a smile on my face.  And that really is the end.  For now.  
A Groovy Kind Of Love by The Mindbenders; It’s Over by Roy Orbison

With love

Gill x