I bought the Braun Silk Epil Xpressive 7781 online at amazon.co.uk a month ago, and I must say that I'm absolutely in love with it.

Having owned the Braun Silk Epil Soft Perfection for years, I had learned to equate epilation with medieval torture (in fact now that I think about it, I'm sure some primitive form of epilators were used during the Inquisition). I had actually stopped using it altogether and reverted to shaving, simply because I couldn't deal with the amazing pain of epilating my knees (owwwww!) or worse, my thighs (aaaaaaggghhh!) But shaving is far from ideal, as we all know, so when I saw the commercial for the Xpressive, I admit I was interested enough to look it up online. After browsing many, many forums, I figured it was worth a shot. The underwater concept seemed to have great potential for a less painful epilation experience, even if part of me said, "it's just marketing!" And I should know, being in marketing myself!

Anyway, as I live in France, where epilators are much more expensive, I decided to order it from Amazon UK, neglecting to notice that the plug was obviously suited for the UK and not for France. Have I mentioned my hair colour? ;-) Ah well, a quick trip to the BHV solved that, and with my plug converter in hand, I charged up the Xpressive and went to work! I sat in a nice hot bath for about 15 minutes, reading a book and letting my pores dilate (they say it makes for an easier epilation). It was then time to put the Xpressive to the test.

MIRACULOUS. I put one leg and then the other up on the side of the tub and epilated both of them up to the knee without feeling a THING, aside from the pressure of the "anti pain" roller attachment. I admit I had felt very skeptical out the outset, but after 5 minutes of what was basically a strange kind of massage, all doubt vanished into thin air, to be replaced with pure wonder. HOW could this not hurt? Then, on to my knees...and thighs... OK, there I admit I did feel some pain (there is no such thing as a 100% perfect product after all), but it was SUCH a pale comparison to what I had to endure with my previous epilator! No tears, no cursing, no resorting to my razor...

I've now used this product twice on my legs from ankle to bikini line, and all I can say is BRAVO to Braun. What a pleasure to finally have smooth legs without spending 3 hours in the bathroom, teeth gritted and tears in my eyes, suffering for the sake of hair-free legs! Oh the lengths that we women will go to! But with this little beauty of a machine, all that is behind me. :-)

I would just like to point out one small down side, which may not affect everyone, and which I believe is most likely a "problem" for every epilator out there: not every hair on one's legs grows at exactly the same rate, so after epilating there will probably remain a slight sensation of tiny stubble when you run your hands up your legs. This can be treated with 5 minutes of rubbing hair removal gloves/mittens/abrasives etc. over the surface of your legs (there are many brands - look them up online). Afterward, they're smooooooooth and wonderful (aside from the little red spots that always appear after electric epilation of course!). Yes, having smooth legs is an ongoing effort that requires time and determination, but so is having shiny hair (and in my case, natural-looking highlights), smooth skin, correctly applied makeup and a toned body (just to name a few). Welcome to womanhood! ;-)