The Skinny
I hate diets and have never stuck to one so I’m doing the next best thing and having a body shrinking wrap and a spray tan to get me as bikini ready as I'll ever be. The Universal Contour Wrap is a salon treatment, full body wrap that claims to reduce at least six inches from your body after just one session by drawing out toxins and reducing water retention. Plus, I'm having a St Tropez spray tan which should make me appear even slimmer in my swimsuit.

The Breakdown
I go for the wrap the day before my holiday. The therapist explains that she will wrap me up in the Dead Sea mineral soaked hot bandages and then leave it to work its magic for an hour while I lie under a silver blanket. She measures every part of my body including my chin, arm pits and ankles so that after the wrap we can measure how many inches I’ve lost. She draws marks on my skin (did I forget to mention I am naked save for a disposable paper thong!) with biro so that she can re measure me in exactly the same spot. I am then wrapped up like a mummy - tightly. So tight it’s hard to get on the bed once I’m ready to bake.
I just about manage to get comfortable on the bed before the therapist leaves me for an hour. Some people nod off at this stage apparently. Sadly I did not! For someone who is always on the go it was hard to lie still for a whole hour and not be able to reach my Blackberry! But the thought of emerging super svelte gets me through. After an excruciating boring hour I am rescued by my therapist who then strips me of the bandages in front of a heater so that I don’t freeze – the mud had gone quite cold and slimey now!

Next up is a St Tropez Fake Tan, which does exactly what it says on the tin. I stand naked in front of St Tropez specialist James in the St Tropez salon in Debenhams on Oxford Street! He advises me to remove deodorant and any other cosmetics with a wipe as I strip down to my second pair of paper knickers of the day! The wipe comes in handy to clean off a little bit of excess mud that is left on from my wrap – and those biro marks which are all over me!
James starts with the face and works his way down, as this is this part of the body takes the longest to dry. Next it’s the torso, arms, legs and finally feet and hands where extra mosturiser is used to blend these parts in evenly.
James then uses a wipe to clean excess tan from my toe nails and finger nails. I have to stand in the booth for a good five minutes to let everything dry before I’m off to hibernate until I can shower. St Tropez advise waiting at least four hours but really the best thing to do is sleep in the application and shower in the morning for the best tan. I do just this and wait for first thing to shower off before heading for the airport – with a tan!

The Verdict
I'm quite disappointed with the wrap. I only loose one inch from my bust (great) and less than an inch from my thighs, nothing from around my waist and nothing from my hips - on the plus side because I didn't lose the optimum six inches in total the treatment is completely free! They do recommend three treatments for best results, so if you have more than a day to get ready you could try a course for better results or you may just be lucky and drop six inches in one go! This is not the quick fix I thought it would be and didn’t have me looking any slimmer in my bikini. On the plus side, my skin is silky smooth which is a great way to start a holiday - as well as getting on the plane with a ready made tan! This was really the factor that gave me the confidence to strip down to my bikini!

Universal Contour Wrap, £50 for one treatment, £135 for a course of three. Call 01784 259988 to find the nearest salon or visit the website.
St Tropez spray tan, £25 per session, available nationwide. For your nearest salon call 0115 983 6363.

Total weight loss - Nothing but I do feel a bit more confident with a lovely, even tan.

Difficulty Rating 1/5