It’s a wrap!

WITH a wedding in two days time, the chance to lose at least six inches in two hours seemed too good to be true. After all, it’s even worth spending a morning mummified in bandages soaked in dead sea clay to drop a dress size.

I lost an impressive 10.5 inches across my body, which Delva Wilkinson at New Image beauty salon says is guaranteed to stay off for at least 30 days, and could last up to three months.

Delva, the magician who melted away my inches, wrapped me up tightly in wet bandages before I lay down flat on the first of three toning tables, which maximise the effects of the detox.

The Universal Contour Wrap, which costs £55, is very popular with male and female clients, she says. Mine is the first of five treatments that day.

Unlike a facial or a massage, this definitely is not about being pampered. It’s all about getting results.

The bandages rapidly cooled and hardened to the mould of my new body shape.

When they were unwrapped I could see immediately that my stomach was more toned and my waist more defined. I was delighted.

The Universal Contour Wrap has been endorsed by actress Claire Sweeney. The manufacturers say you are guaranteed to lose six inches in less than two hours, or you’ll get your money back. “So many beauty treatments promise you the earth and never really deliver. The fact that the classic treatment from Universal Contour Wrap has been scientifically to produce inch loss every time and on everyone who tries it, makes it unique and real value for money,” says Sweeney.

The treatment has also been independently tested by the University of Westminster, which noted that inch loss was found on everyone tested.

Delva recommends a course of wraps, which could see an incredible loss of 25 inches over three treatments.

I feel that I have cheated the system.

I’ve bypassed a month spent dieting and exercising after just two hours spent doing very little.

And now I’ve been given the kick-start to get healthy again, I’m determined to maintain the results.

Unfortunately, they won’t last forever.

■ New Image, 4-6 Horsemarket.

Tel: 01325-357402

■ universalcontourwrap.com

Pretty in pink STOP traffic with the ultimate commuter candy this summer – the beautiful new Vespa Rosa.

With only 65 units available in the UK, the limited edition Vespa Rosa is the first pink scooter to come from the iconic Italian brand. The Vespa Rosa LX 50cc is now available for £2,249, the 125cc for £2,899, and there’s a selection of ready-made accessories for sale including windscreen, retrostyle chrome kit, handy top box and a matching pink helmet. For more information contact your local Vespa dealer, visit uk.vespa.com, or call 00800-818-29800

DID YOU KNOW?

Northern women who shop online are 68 per cent more likely not to return unwanted garments compared with buying on the high street.

A great idea for your dog<.h3>

BOOKING a holiday abroad is great fun… until you realise you’ll be leaving one of your best friends behind. If you can’t bear the thought of leaving your beloved dog in kennels, a service targeted at dog lovers could be the answer.

Ann Lowes, from Barnard Castle, runs the Barking Mad franchise for County Durham – a business which places dogs with host families rather than in kennels.

Barking Mad research shows only ten per cent of dog owners use kennels, and 28 per cent of dogs are looked after by friends and neighbours – 33 per cent of whom would rather not have the responsibility.

Ann explains: “Many of our customers don’t live near obliging family, or don’t feel they can ask for this level of commitment from a friend. For some, kennels aren’t an option either, perhaps due to the temperament, age or health of the dog which means they need special, one-to-one care. The idea of Barking Mad is to provide home-from-home care for dogs while owners are away.”

Anyone interested in finding out more about Barking Mad, either as a customer or to become a host, should call 01833-695153 or email ann.lowes@barkingmad.uk.com

WIN A HOLIDAY FOR YOUR POOCH

Ann is offering one lucky reader the chance to win a three-day holiday for their dog (including free registration, collection and delivery) plus a Marley and Me DVD. The runner-up will win a Marley Plush Toy plus Marley and Me DVD.

For details of how to enter see today's Northern Echo.

Tried and tested

Elemis Liquid Layer Sunblock

THIS very lightly perfumed cream has got to be one of our alltime favourites, as it’s so perfect for wearing under your makeup this summer. It’s so light and non-greasy that it’s difficult to believe that it also has a hefty SPF of 30 to protect against the sun’s harmful UVA and UVB rays. It’s also water resistant. All in all, pretty indispensable when you’re packing for the summer holiday. From around £21.50 for 40ml.

Four years cooking, eleven doing chores

RESEARCH launched today has revealed that the average British woman spends more than 21 years of her life running around after others, but only three years of her adult life time on herself.

Running errands, looking after the house and shopping for the family takes up almost four months of every year, a total of 19 years, three months, and four days in the average women’s lifetime.

On top of that, looking after children and the daily ferrying to after school clubs and swimming lessons accounts for a further one year, nine months and eight days.

Eleven hours are spent cooking for the family each week, equating to almost four years of a women’s life spent up close and personal to her cooker.

Washing the family’s clothes takes four hours a week – or a year and six months in a lifetime – while ironing takes up another two hours and 15 minutes, which is almost a full year bonding one-onone with the ironing board.

Women spend five hours tidying up the house, while another two hours and 52 minutes washing up. Even looking after the household pets is taking just over two hours of a woman’s time each week, which equates to a whole year tending to Fido.

In total, washing clothes, doing the dishes, cleaning and tidying the house, and looking after household pets account for a whopping 11 years in a women’s lifetime.

Shopping reputably a woman’s favourite past time (only when shoes are involved), when broken down, is actually a year and a half of family grocery shopping down at the local supermarket.

All this running around after the family; cooking, cleaning, walking the dog and grocery shopping is resulting in more and more tired, stressed-out women.

Sixy-three per cent are reporting regular outbursts: 50 per cent of women admit to yelling at their partners. A quarter of women report a “boiling over” episode every week.