Nivea Cellulite Gel and Moisturiser

Having gained some (*cough* a lot *cough) of weight during my time in America, I started losing weight seriously when I returned to University in September 2013. Due to some the yo-yo dieting over the year, my skin was beginning to reject what I had done to it. It became wrinkly.....and weirdly saggy...and then it hit me. 

Oh my gosh, I had cellulite. The thing I thought was only present on celebrities and were bits of skins awfully circled by crude magazine editors who are jealous of the celebrities hot bikini bodies. Those lined parts on the backs of people's legs that I didn't actually understand and I thought was only present on old people. And I mean old. I am not old! Am I?! Maybe I am! PANIC. 

So this panic and sudden desire to anti-age myself made me impulse buy. I bought the two creams pictured above. I bought a brand in which I trusted and I read the instructions carefully. The rules were simple. You were meant to rub them into the parts of your body containing cellulite for two weeks and there would be an obvious difference.

I was totally sucked in. I thought it would definitely work. Nivea stuff usually works. Nivea is a good company. Nivea is the foundation for all other companies (most beauty companies actually list Nivea as an ingredient in their products!) 

I enjoyed putting it on. I have never put on moisturiser on after showering, or any other creams for that matter - I am not a big girly-girly - so it was slightly strange for me to get used to. I found it a bit odd as I didn't know whether you're meant to hop around until you feel dry or put clothes on afterwards. Did I hair dryer myself afterwards so that I could avoid that sticky feeling when I got back into my clothing? It reminded me of when I was little and Mum would pin me to the floor to make me wear suncream on holiday. I'd refuse to put clothes on for at least half an hour because I believed my clothes would stick to me. I would run around flapping my arms. However, this is less cute when you're a 21 year old who has places to go, things to do, and is in a freezing cold Student apartment rather than a nice warm tropical country. Furthermore, is quite horrified by the sight of her own body and therefore, consequently, wants to hide it from the walls, let alone the mirrors, the moment she gets out of the shower. 

I opted for loose pjamas as I was scared I'd get cream all over my clothes and it felt comfortable to get into them rather than more constrictive clothing. 

At first I believed the creams were working. 

They weren't. When I finally looked in a different mirror to my usual one I realised that it hadn't worked. None of it. Once I stepped away from my usual mirror I realised that the lines were still all there and it was simply my brain projecting onto the previous mirror that the cream had worked. I did it for three weeks, until both bottles ran out and I saw no difference. You are meant to see the difference in two. I saw Nada. 

The only thing that was making my cellulite improve was that I was losing more weight and drinking more water. That was what was helping. NOT Niva Cellulite Cream. I won't be buying these expensive products again and I wouldn't advise anyone else to. I wouldn't advise anyone to buy any of the 'body firming', 'body toning', 'cellulite vanishing' products from any company because I do think it is a big scam based on the placebo effect. If you really want to lose cellulite I'd advise drinking a ton more water and exercising more. It is boring and a long process but it is the only way, alas.