Zara Rabinowicz Writes...

2007 was a good year for tech fiends, with everyone wanting a Wii (hey they were hard to get Dec 2006), loving the iPhone and enamoured by the ultra tiny Asus Eee PC mini laptop. Now we’re all decked out with this kit, we have to look further afield for our tech requirements, as other than upgrading my camera, I’m pretty much done.. for a while at least.

It being January and all I decided some beautifying was in order and was pleasantly surprised about just how helpful tech was in that respect. Unwanted hair? Zap it away with the the Tria laser hair home removal system. Unruly hair? Blast it dry with satin pro hairdyers that use satin ion technology or dry and straighten it with top of the range wet to dry hair straighteners. Love handles and bulges? The iLift will handle that. Fitness looking a little peaky? Try the Power Plate. And this is just the round up of last year’s beauty and fitness top rated. What will be in store for the new year, and what do I hope to see on shelves soon?

Now I'm sure you don't need me to tell you just how frustrating shaving/waxing/epilating can be, and no matter how silky smooth your legs are one day that give a day they'll be bristling with pesky stubble. Up till now options were fairly limited; wear jeans all the time and wax every four weeks, hair remove and deal with the chemical smell, or splash out and go for laser hair removal, the only permanent treatment around.

Problem is , laser hair removal costs serious bucks, as it's approx £50 a time for your underarms or £200 for your legs, and you need 6-8 treatments on average. Now I've already tried laser treatment before at the sk:n clinic so I can testify it does work, but I want something that isn't going to have my bank manger chasing me down the street with a sharp object. And then the Tria comes along, an all in one DIY laser hair removal device that promises you salon results at home. Now here's the science bit...

The black comedy bit of my brain is going overtime with this one, suggesting all sorts of disgusting (diarrhoea) and more sensitive (bulimia) situations where the Toilet Tunes device could be used to sitcomic effect. It's a bogstandard (I'm so sorry) music player which senses when you're on the seat and delivers jazz, Latin guitar or modern techno/jazz while you deliver stuff we're not going to talk about. Wrong? Yes. $29.

Toilet Tunes [via OhGizmo!]

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Whoever would have thought it would get to the stage when the humble toothbrush would deserve a tech review of its very own. But when you have a wireless toothbrush that tells you things like how hard you're pressing on your teeth, you have to devote some space to it.

The Braun Oral-B Triumph works like a run-of-the-mill electric toothbrush. Plug in, charge, go. But once you go, interesting things start to happen. The wirelessly controlled Smart Guide tells you which setting - harder or softer brushing and polishing - you're using, how long you've been brushing for and whether you're brushing too hard.

I've been surgically attached to my straighteners ever since I discovered their amazing frizz-busting properties far too late in life, but I have been known to do the back and forth mirror dance when the cord doesn't stretch. Extension lead? Pah! Why not make them cordless? Everything else is.

1.5" ceramic plates do the actual straightening, coated with tourmaline to help calm static and protect your hair from heat damage. The numbers: 90 seconds to warm up, 30 heat settings, maximum setting 395. Oh, and $69.99 (£35) from Hammacher Schlemmer.

[via TechDarling]

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Sometimes you're better off dead / There's a gun in your hand and it's pointing at your... hair?

This vintage looking gun hides a secret; it's a 100v hairdryer. Cock the pistol to get the right one of three heat settings and a cool, er, shot and then pull the trigger to start and stop it. There's a nozzle available and a choice of blue or pink handles, too. If your Japanese / web page translation tool is any good, you'll find more information on the product page.

[via TOKYOMANGO]

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You know, I'm skating close to not being at all sure what the no!no! system actually does. It uses some technology called "Thermicon", that much is clear, and it has something to do with pain-free hair removal, but it doesn't actually say removal, it says "achieving hair density reduction". Is that marketing-speak for shaving? Or does it mean that the hair will be weakened and thinned out to make waxing easier and longer-lasting? There is some mention of not having to wait as long for hair to grow back in order to remove it, which can only be a good thing as hair may be acceptable for some but no-one likes stubble. It's $250 (£125), so before you shell out you might want to be less confused than I.

Oh, well. It ought to make nine percent of us happy, anyway, because there's a pink one.

[via Gizmodiva]

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University can be a stressful time; leaving the comforting arms of your parents and braving it into the wide world, where you have to do your own laundry and learn how to cook on your own. For others it's an opportunity to go a little crazy and embrace a hedonistic 24 hour drinking culture and engage with the other sex like a rampant rabbit gone wild. Whichever type you, we at Shiny have prepared for you the top ten gadgets to make your transition from shy retiring high schooler to mature university babe.

Number 1: A Laptop

If you don't have one already, it's definitely time to buy a laptop and thanks to local price wars they are more affordable than ever. Well you don't want to waste your evening in a n unconditioned computer lab do you? Make sure you check out the specs as well as the styling, cos a gadget savvy girl knows it's whats inside that counts, not just if it's pink; however there are a LOT of pink laptops out there that are up to scratch if that's what tickles your fancy.

Seki Easy View nail clippers provide a swing-out magnifying glass that gives 3x enlargement on whatever small object you're trying to cut off with them. I mean, your fingernails. Which will probably also remind you that you should clean them instead of just repainting them. $17. [Camille]

Seki Easy View nail clippers [via Coolestgadgets]

More personal grooming

This cult classic is remembered fondly by many; and up till now it was just a memory as they haven't been produced for many years. Now back due to popular demand the old classic is new and improved with a 60 second heat up feature, ceramic coated barrels with an integrated steam brush and an easy fill water tank. There are two lengths of comb to help you create the latest looks and it comes with a two year guarantee.

£12.99 from Argos

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It's that time of year again, where random showers cab destroy all that good straightening work, so it's a good idea to have a spare hairdryer about at the office to combat damage caused by the elements. The Braun Satinpro features Satin Ion technology which uses negatively charged ions to target the frizz in your hair and has a ceramic care module to ensure even heat distribution. It has silence technology so you don't have to endure the full volume of the air, and has 3 heat settings and 2 air flow styles to ensure all round sleek perfection.

£ 29.99 from Argos

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As everyone in my office knows, my desire for straight hair is an unending quest, with the latest straighteners eagerly tried and discarded in favour of the latest 'ceramic style double plated gizmo' that promises me perfect hair with minimum fuss. Well, my long wait may be over with the discovery of the new Braun Satinliner from their Satin Hair range which utilizes the power of satin ions to provide my hair with frizz free smoothness with maximum shine. It reaches 200 C in under 30 seconds and has a 3metre swivel salon length cord. A button releases a stream of negatively charged ions which are attracted to the positively charged frizz int he hair and envelop them. the NanoGlide ceramic plates a provide a great finish and the straightener itself is a joy in black and silver. Perhaps my search is over...

£69.99 from September at Argos

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I always get excited about beauty products, which one of my recent videos will attest to (free Benefit make up with phone= great excitement) and one which combines the latest technology and promises to tackle tough cellulite is bound to have me salivating. It's called the ILIFT, and you'll have to excuse me if I Appleize it and call it the iLift, and it's a handheld anti ageing and anti cellulite device which transmits galvanic infrared high frequency toning functions.

Apparently 15 minutes a day with this handy little gadget is all you need to combat the signs of aging as it will massage and tone your face, as well as reduce that pesky cellulite, and it can be used on any part of the body, if it's your bingo wings that are troubling you.

A sonic screwdriver can sometimes be too useful for Dr. Who writers being lazy - but now you can lie in the bath and be lazy too. One function of the sonic screwdriver previously unknown, is that it makes bath water fizzy - at least the Sonic Screwdriver Bath Fizzers. It dispenses 30 fizzers - probably not at once, but the party level in your own tub is up to you. Making a Pez dispenser out of a sonic screwdriver. That's more genius than making a screwdriver sonic. £7.99. [Camille]

Doctor Who Screwdriver Bath Fizzers

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While Mr. Tengu is pretty high on the list of goofiest USB peripherals ever, there's something about the SunDayo Eye Massager which takes goofy to a whole new level of moderately alarming. It's supposed to give your eyes a nice invigorating rub... which, RIGHT THERE! I do not want my computer to have fingers which it believes it ought to poke in my eyes! Besides, given the shape, I think I can predict what use the fairer sex would find most relaxing from this gadget. [GT]

SunDayo Eye Massager [via ThisNext]

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Clearly the quality of my hair is of utmost importance to everyone, and be it shiny and sleek or volumized and curly I know we all want to see it looking as perfect as possible. The latest Toni & Guy hairdryer promises me hair to die for, but even better, offers me all sorts of tech style controls for a gorgeous geek like myself to enjoy. There are seven heat and speed settings, plus a cool shot button for smoothing down that frizz, but what I really like is the colour changing LED display, which turns blue for the cool function and orange for heat. The temperature is controlled by an iPod styled joystick button, which you use to vary heat levels, and tourmaline technology prevents hair from crisping. It's all a little bit unnecessary, but seeing as the price remains high street I can just embrace the added power and blast my hair into submission with all 2000 watts.

£34.99 from most stores [ via Toni & Guy]

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Fashion! Turn to the left! Fashion! Turn to the right! Smile! Smile! Smile! Don't know how to smile? Get a Smile Trainer. This chunk of rubber is shaped to make it absolutely unpleasant and difficult not to look like you're having the best, best time, darling. It also promises to make your face smoother and younger looking by reducing wrinkles and improving muscle tone. Be sure to get 'em while they're young, as per the packaging! [GT]

Smile Trainer

More personal grooming

This scary looking gadget might not look like something you'd want to put near your face but they look like a pretty nifty idea. If you really must pluck your eyebrows in the dark like a crazy person these Illuminated Tweezers are the solution.

The two intergral LEDs in the arms of the tweezers turn on when you apply pressure. They're made of polycarbonate too so they won't rust. I don't know if you tend to pluck hairs underwater but if you must. Oh, and they've got ridges so they grip well too. Sounds rather impressive to me. These tweezers cost $24.95 from Hammacher Schlemmer.

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There's nothing like a good hair day to have you strutting down the street, flicking you hair Hairspray stylee, and these sexy slimline straighteners are just the thing to give you super sleek locks. They're Tourmaline coated, with slimline plates to reach all the way to the roots. This baby is highly portable, and lightweight so it won't turn your tote into the equivalent of a schoolbag. The styling is simple, and the concentration here is on salon quality with a 3 metre cable and temperature reaching up to 200 degrees.

£29.99 from 1st August at Toni & Guy

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I love this limited edition retro hairdryer from Morphy Richards’ 70th Anniversary Retro Headgear range. I don’t know why retro appeals to me so much as I definitely wasn’t around when this was current, but there’s just something so *nice* about those curves. And as for the pinkness…well, that can only add to the experience.

Not that it would bother me whether this gorgeous hairdryer actually dried my hair, but someone out there might be more practically minded so… it has 1800W of power, two hot settings and a cool shot button, plus a concentrator nozzle. And it’s so gorgeous! Who cares if it works? It’s an ornament!

Product Page, £24.99

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