In the boudoir... 5 grooming gadgets I love

Ok, so this is the Gadget Girl Files right? And I am about sharing the everyday ways that I use technology. As I was exfoliating in the shower and checking out the couple of electronic grooming products in there, I thought about the fact that there are a raft of technologies I use on a regular basis. And when it comes to grooming and beauty, there are constantly new technologies and methods to help us take care of, pamper, or even enhance our assets.

Five of my favourites - in this article staying with hair care and in no particular order - are as follows:

1. Remington Pearl Hair Straightener: okay, so my hair is drop-dead straight with a simple run of my fingers through it. I actually use straighteners for adding waves or curls. The Pearl has replaced my old Remington Diamond and is a nice step up. I love it because it has a 10 second heat up, perfect for my inability to get organised in the morning; and it cools down in 2 minutes which means I can put it away properly before I leave the house, no stress that I've left it plugged in. It's variable temperature control can heat to 235 degrees Celsius: my hair requires 230 degrees for a curl to stick but once it's curled it will stay that way all day. It's a ceramic (good) with real pearl mixed in. This is a smooth glide and my hair looks glossier when I finish. Other features not to be sneezed at: fully rotating cable, digital display and a 3 metre cord so I can stand upright whilst fussing about in front of the mirror.
2. Braun Silk Epil Eversoft Deluxe: I grant that Braun have a wide range of epilators to choose from and I have had this one for around six years now, but it still does the trick and I like it much better than the Philips one I bought with a built in battery that just doesn't cut it. The Eversoft Deluxe has two speed settings and a couple of attachments to cover the tweezers. The cable is long and fully removable from the device itself. An oldie but a goodie and though, I have easy-care legs, nice occasionally to have them smoother than shaving and with the effects lasting a couple of weeks rather than days.
3. Remington AC3000 Ionic Hair Dryer: to confess, I thought ionic technologies were a bit gimmicky. When I bought this hair dryer from the Salon Collection, I chose it because it came with a carry case and the Pearl hair straightener. Now, however, I am a convert and have been telling all my gal pals to change out to an ionic dryer if they want fizz-free, glossy, dried at the salon hair. I love this because it has three heat settings and three speed settings. It does come with a couple of attachments but I really don't use them. I can wash my hair and within the space of a song on my iPod my hair is dried, styled and ready to go. The paddle brush it comes with converted me too: I seriously have glossy, flyaway free, straight hair very quickly from roots to tips and can achieve Cleopatra-channeling looks with my shoulder-blade length hair with no fuss and no other haircare products. Of course, this is because I have straight hair anyway, but you wavy and curly ladies, this should smooth out the texture of your strands and the diffuser attachment is meant for you.
4. Remington Smooth & Silky Beauty Groomer: this facial epilator runs on two AAA batteries and is perfect in between or instead of waxing. Need I really say more? I've had it for about three years and it still works a treat.
5. Revlon Gentle Heat Lash Curler: I find traditional eyelash curlers to be quite awkward and somewhat cruel to my lashes. This little beauty takes a single AAA battery - lasts a few weeks before changing out - and heats to a low temperature, just warm enough to move mascara. I generally switch it on just as I start applying my foundation or BB cream. By the time I apply my mascara, it's warm enough to run over the eyelashes and use the heated mascara to create the soft curl I prefer. My day-to-day makeup routine is less than five minutes and since I use nude, glossy lips, my enhancements tend toward my eyes. This little gadget helps me get the right effect with less hassle.

Activate the Windows 8.1 upgrade

If you have a Windows 8 notebook or tablet, you may have been wanting to upgrade to Windows 8.1 and haven't been prompted by the Windows Store. Particularly if you have a new device and are facing several gigs of system updates, you may want to skip that step altogether and get on with the 3.1 GB download of Windows 8.1.

I've faced this exact problem with my Taichi. Despite several attempts to apply all the updates and therefore activate the 8.1 upgrade, one of the updates happens to be incompatible with my device and the patching has been reversed. Annoying!

A Google search threw up a Microsoft help article with the specific update required. A few minutes after installing KB2871389 and restarting the computer, the familiar upgrade panel in the Windows Store was available.

The support page gives step by step detail on this and other potential Store issues related to the upgrade, so I won't cover that here. Suffice to say, however that you can elect, as I did, to install just that update rather than download all the security patches.

Is it a notebook? Is it a tablet? No it's a Taichi!

As I write this I am applying (or at least trying to apply) patches to my Asus Taichi ultrabook. This is preparation of giving it a real trial. Frustratingly it's still on Windows 8. Attempting to navigate that operating system has been frustrating, hence the updates so I can upgrade to Windows 8.1.

So what is the Taichi? It's a dual screen device: one screen functions as the 'lid' and is a touch-screen enabling a tablet mode. Open it up, however and you have a second, non-touch screen and a standard keyboard which gives you a notebook/ultrabook mode.

You can elect to use both screens at the same time: as a presentation screen, for example, with the desktop duplicated or extended to the external panel.

To confess, I've had this since December as my other half thought it would be good for me to trial and gave it to me as my Christmas present. I just haven't actually been excited enough to use it and I suspect that it's because I've been on holiday. As a personal device I'm not really seeing how it would fit into my daily life in a way that exceeds my existing separate ultrabook/tablet combo. The most useful I suspect would be as a business device to take to clients and use for small presentations/discussions.

ASUS TAICHI

I was extremely excited when I got the Asus Zenbook last year and it's now my main workhorse (for writing and anything where a full OS is required and a desktop environment). I wouldn't consider swapping the Zenbook for the Taichi, the former's sleek lines and slim profile are still more aesthetically pleasing... and it's Windows 7.

That said, I haven't spent enough time yet to form a firm opinion on the Taichi as a business device and online reviews give the hardware some pretty good scores. More on this later...!