With the most haunted night of the year just around the corner, are you stuck for Halloween ideas?

Here at Xtras-Online, we have a great selection of Halloween costumes, available to deliver before October 31^st.

Why not try our Skinz Glow-in-the-Dark Skeleton Body Suit. Or maybe a blood-soaked nurse costume is more to your taste?

Best of all, with our hair-raisingly good value, you’ll have a night to remember without breaking the bank.

For more information, please visit our Halloween page!

They opted for our Adorable Alice Fancy Dress Costume and topped the outfit off with one of our Novelty Bopping Willy Wands!

If that isn’t embarrassing enough – one of the guys on the stag is a great artist and he sketched this drawing so that we could all have a good laugh! With friends like that, who needs enemies??

Whether you’re heading on a hen do or a stag night, let us cater for your last night of freedom.  With free delivery on all UK orders, it’d be rude not to.  Just remember, the camera never lies!

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Here at Xtras-Online, we have around thirty different colours and styles of Coloured Contact Lenses. We can give you a subtle change in colour, or a frightening new look. Our Cyborg, Lizard and Devil colours will really enhance your Halloween Costume.

From only £14.99 per pair and with free UK delivery on all purchases, these Coloured Contact Lenses will really help you stand out from the crowd! We’ll also throw in a free lens case and solution!

Check out our Halloween section to see our full range!

In ancient times, we may think it strange that great rulers chose to have baths of asses’ milk, golden water or even blood (if they bathed at all). Over the past year, absolutely noone has considered approaching us here at Xtras Online asking “How can I do that?” Well, just in case you’re pining over such long-lost times and traditions, fear not – the ever-quirky people of Japan have come up with your perfect solution:

It may be some distance to go to the “Hakone Kowakien Yunessun Spa”, but rest assured, it’ll be worth it…Well, it’ll be a story anyway. For a wallet-emptying ¥3,500 (£30) – children are half price! – you can choose to bathe in one of 25 various liquid delights ranging from Green Tea to Chocolate. By the very nature of these pools, hygiene, it seems, is not the foremost consideration. Consumption therefore, is entirely at your own risk. But, in relation to the Coffee Spa, “It has been said that coffee is an effective treatment from the recovery of fatigue, and also adds beauty to the skin. The aroma of the coffee will also perk up your senses.” – Milk and sugar optional.

Not content with just offering such wonderful treatments, the spa also display regular “performances of pouring real wine into the Wine Spa” – it’s an interactive experience too!

Xtras Online top tip – Want to look good? Keep your make-up choice seasonal.

We all know it’s far too easy to get into the habit of using the same make-up all year round. After all, people naturally like to stick with what they know and the old adage is never more appropriate – “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”

There comes a point then, perhaps in the middle of winter, where you have to wonder why you continue with a daily application of the same bronzer that you wore in the middle of August.

Picture the scene; a high street full of coated shoppers, battling the lashing rain and blustery wind, autumnal leaves on the ground, and inside-out umbrellas a-plenty. Try and include in this scene, a lady striding calmly through the mayhem with a sun-kissed brown glow to her face, the image of coolness and control. Difficult to imagine?

As much as summer is the time to indulge in our wonderful range of fake tans and sunscreens, perhaps in the cold depths of winter, the simple and honest approach may look best. After all, if your closest

beach is less Barbados and more Bognor, you might be a little more convincing.

We’re on hand to help as always – battle that dried out skin and chapped lips with our moisturizer and gloss; bring warmth and style to your face with our selection of lipsticks or add a comforting scent with one of our many perfumes.

Enjoy the cold seasons. Make the most of the comfort of wrapping up warm in your living room while a gale rages outside.

A Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year from all at Xtras

Maybe we’d normally think of gloves as thick, woolly and practical items of clothing; only useful to keep you warm. But when worn as a stylish accessory, Gloves can add a sophisticated touch of allure to the classiest of outfits. They’ll be sure to make you stand out from the crowd.

We’re able to offer you over a dozen styles on our website, have a look for more information.

However, there are other, less extreme ways in which the modern man appears to be getting in touch with his feminine side. Companies such as Clinique, Nivea and L’oreal are investing heavily into their exclusively male ranges. Perhaps it’s no wonder that we’re beginning to see “male moisturizers”, “bio-scrubs” and “lads lotions”. The number of Image-Consciuos men seems to be on the increase in all their Chino and Gillet’d glory. Presenting; the ‘Metrosexual’.
Traits to watch out for when distinguishing the Metrosexual include:

• Fake tanning.
• Owning three or more hair styling products
• Knowledge of how to use an iron.
• Insistence on wearing only designer boxers.
• Swearing by anti-ageing creams.
• Thinking of themselves as the next Gordon Ramsay.
• Chest waxing? No pain, no gain.
• Wearing vests or tank tops outside the gym.
• Drinking wine/cocktails instead of beer.
• Complimenting other guys on their ‘sleek muscle tone’.
• Secretly using girlfriends GHDs
• Openly using girlfriends GHDs.
• Owning GHDs.

We sit and wonder what may have caused this development in men’s fashion. Are they jealous of the comfort and elegance of being able to hide behind make-up and beauty products? Perhaps they’re fed up with the negative connotations of the unkempt man.

It could be the ‘David Beckham’ effect – certainly if footballers are more infamous for their hairstyles than their ability on the pitch, this is bound to have an effect on the male psyche. Not typically the purveyors of anything deemed to be extra effort; some Metrosexuals are now rivalling their female counterparts in their knowledge of beauty products and healthy living.

One thing’s for sure, the Metrosexual looks good, is helpful round the house and can still be manly. What’s there to complain about?

Making mistakes with make-up is easy to correct. Simply wipe it off and start again. Even fake tan will soon go after a hearty scrub. However, hair takes time to grow back. Perhaps one of the more stressful times comes when you’ve overplucked your eyebrows, leaving you faced with a misshapen brow for weeks. Fear not readers. There are ways and means with which to hide your mistake.

• At the most extreme, you can get an eyebrow tattoo. Increasingly popular with older ladies, eyebrow tattoos are a great way in which to give yourself a semi-permanent shape. (“Love” & “Hate” inscriptions are optional)
• Fill in your bare spots with a brow powder or pencil. Using your pencil to create light hair-like strokes can give the impression of real hair on your brow.
• Hold your eyebrows back in place with brow gel or hairspray squirted lightly onto a finger or toothbrush.
• Next time – let a professional beautician pluck your brows, they’ll give you a style, which you can easily maintain rather than doing it all yourself.

Whilst many are left dumbfounded by unconventional treatments and beauty secrets, the Garra Rufa fish seems to be taking the high street by storm.

With a slightly grim reminder of the days where people used to apply leaches to their skin to “suck out bad spirits”, these little fish nibble away at your feet as you sit with them emersed in a tub of water. What’s more, they only eat the dead skin on your feet, leaving the healthy fresh skin underneath to be revealed. Many swear by the treatment, saying that it leaves your skin feeling soft and supple.

However, some have recently claimed that there may be risks associated with a visit to the Garra Ruffa clinics. In particular, because the water isn’t regularly changed, experts are concerned about the transmission of infection from open wounds. Although, so far no one has complained about a footbath-related illness, some states and authorities in the US have banned them from commercial operation for this reason.

In the meantime perhaps the biggest issue is for the squirmy and the squeamish – apparently having your foot feasted upon by toothless carp is quite a strange experience!

The make-up box is much like the spice rack in the kitchen. It’s jam packed with an excellent choice. But, whilst some things may be used daily, other items might see the light of day about as often as that bread-maker or foot spa you received last Christmas. However, many women don’t know of the potential dangers of using old make-up.

Just as you wouldn’t drink milk from the 3 week-old bottle, cosmetics can be breeding grounds for harmful bacteria. Various forms of bacteria have been found in old make-up, including MRSA. Naturally, as you’re applying the make-up directly to the skin or eyes, it can be very dangerous indeed!

One of the biggest culprits is old mascara. For a while, the formaldehyde in mascara prevents bacteria from growing. But eventually, the mascara stops producing the formaldehyde, which allows these harmful bacteria to grow.

Don’t panic though! Whilst this sounds fairly scary, all new make-up is regulated and adheres to the strictest industry standards. We’d just recommend that you keep an eye on the expiry dates of make-up and change your mascara every few months. If you stay on top of it, you’ve nothing to worry about.