Lifestyle and Parenting blog based in Surrey.

Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Lush Bath Bombs

Lush Bath Bombs

People tend to be bath people or not. I fitted into the second category until a few months ago - why would you want to sit in water that got dirty around you? I am now a bit of a bath obsessive and most evenings I love to dim the lights, light up a few candles, get an episode of Grey’s Anatomy on the iPad and relax. So good. Waiting for my train home from Waterloo is deadly with the little Lush store calling out to me, there are too many treats to fuel my new obsession and recently I’ve been trying out these three beauties. 
Lush Honey Bee Bath Bomb

Honey Bee (£3.35) was the first to catch my eye, how pretty and spring-like is the bright yellow? Containing a trio of honey, aloe vera and rhassoul mud it bubbles away to help soothe, moisturise and cleanse. It doesn’t have a strong smell, so I got a yummy scented candle burning that bath time. 

Lush Honey Rose Queen Bath Bomb

Rose Queen (£2.75) was a last minute addition to my basket, but even as the smallest has been my fave of the three. The floral fragrance is a really pretty combination of blossoms, which are present in petals that fill the tub. 

Lush Honey Twilight Bath Bomb

Twilight (£3.35) is a perfect for a pre-bedtime-bath session. Containing lavender benzoin and tons to help aid sleep it fizzes away to give purple and blue swirls in your bath. As I’m getting to think of myself as a bit of a bath-pro now, I’ve also treated myself to a bath pillow - this really raises the game of a serious bather. I opted for the small waffle version from Champneys (£7 Boots) which I really recommend.

Champneys Bath pillow



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Monday, 30 March 2015

Mama Mio

Mama Mio
Being my first day of the Easter holidays which is going to to roll into my maternity leave, I thought it was apt to blog about one of the mummy-to-be beauty brands I've been using over the past few months.

Mama Mio

I’d never tried Mio skincare which is know for their skin firming, cellulite control and workout skincare, but I was keen to try out their prengancy skincare range. Obviously during pregnancy the skin on your stomach has to stretch, which you really can’t do anything about, but to try and combat the assosiated stretch marks, I’ve been layering on all sorts of body oil over my tummy since early pregnancy. 

The Tummy Rub Oil from Mama Mio (£27/120ml John Lewis) is packed full of Omega 3,6 and 9 oils which help strengthen the skin and prevent the college and elastin fibres from giving way, which cause those pesky red lines. During pregnancy the baby raids your stores of these fatty acids from your skin, eyes, brain and nervous system so your skin, being at the bottom of the list is the first to be stripped. So lather this oil on to the skin quick! The fragrance of all of the do-good oils smells very natural but isn’t as spa-esk as I was hoping, but things that do you good don’t always smell dreamy I suppose. It is soaked up by the skin really quickly, so your not left feeling greasy at all, and use all over your torso, tummy and thighs which are the danger zones. So far I haven’t got any stretch marks from pregnancy (although I got them in my teens) but I’ve still got 4 weeks of expanding to go…. 

Another part of your body that expands during pregnancy are your boobs and the skin is much less elastic in this region. Pregnancy Boob Tube (£29.50/100ml SpaceNK) cream is again full of Omega Oils to help strengthen, elasticise and hydrate the skin and other ingredients to help with firmness and prevent sagging (nice!) 

 For all the other areas of my body, I’ve been slathering on Megamama (£24.50/150ml Jojo Maman Babe) cream which again contains lots of strengthening Omega Oils but also contains pumpkin seed oil to help relive aching muscles (although sadly this isn’t a magic cure for all the random aches and pains of the 3rd trimester) and a multi-fruit blend to combat hyper skin pigmentation. Although these products aren’t super bargains, the Tummy Rub Oil and Pregnancy Boob Tube do last a long time - my Megamama has sadly just run out as you do tend to use much more of it.

Mama Mio

Mama Mio

Mama Mio

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Thursday, 19 March 2015

Clarins Spring Makeup


Clarins Instant Light Lip Balm Protectors

Bit of a busy week, so being my first post of the week, I thought it should be a goodie. Clarins have recently launched their Garden Escape spring collection - yay! I've been lucky enough to try out some of the new products and some of them have become part of my daily make-up routine.

Clarins spring 2015

The Blush Prodigy (£26) in Sweet Rose is made up of a matte and iridescent shade, so you can choose either to use just one, or as I use, a combination of the two. The colour is so pretty and perky, adding a flush of colour to the cheeks as if you have just been for a spring stroll.


I am also obsessing over the Instant Light Lip Balm Protectors (£18 each), which as well as adding a sheer colour to your lips, contain mango, shea, Vitamin E and Hydaduronic acid to hydrate, smooth and pump up your lips. I am using the brown-pink Rosewood shade full-time. My Pink is also really fun as it changes colour due to the pH of your lips, so is a bespoke pink to only you - which I also loved in the Colours of Brazil Collection. There are a total of 6 shades to choose from.

As the sun starts to shine, bolder pink lips come into their own and the new shade of Coral Dahlia in the Joli Rouge Brilliant Sheet Shine Lipstick (£19) will be just fabulous. 

So, what do you think of the collection? To me it feels really fresh and I think this years is a step up from last year's spring collection (see review here)

Clarins Instant Light Lip Balm Protectors

Clarins Instant Light Lip Balm Protectors


Clarins Instant Light Lip Balm Protectors

Clarins Instant Light Lip Balm Protectors


Clarins Instant Light Lip Balm Protectors

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Friday, 13 March 2015

Mothering Sunday Gift Guide

The last Mothering Sunday not as a Mum - so I'm going to make the most of spoiling mine. Whilst flowers and chocs are often the route I go down to show my mum how appreciated she is, I thought I'd give you some other suggestions for this Sunday too.


Clarins Eau des Jardins is such a beautiful floral fragrance of wild rose, blackcurrant and mint I think my mum would love it and a gift with a mini shower gel and moisturiser is even yummier (£32 Debenhams)

If you want to show your Mum what a star she is, Theirry Mugler Angel perfume gift set could be a winner - I love the star shaped bottle of this perfume (£51.50 Debenhams)

If your mum is a skincare junkie, a gorgeous mask or fab moisturiser would be perfect, I recommend Manuka Doctor aprirefine Illusionist Rapid Lift Mask which contains purified Bee Venom to list, plump and add radiance to the skin (£29.99 Superdrug). Indeed Laboratories fillume volumising moisturiser is another goodies, targeting facial loss that happens when we get older and again helps to plump up the skin and improve tone and texture (£24.99 Boots).

If makeup is more up her street, then she'd love to be treated to a new set of makeup brushes, such as these from The Vintage Cosmetic Company Air Brush Face Kit (£22.50 Feel Unique) which are super soft and will help her to create a professional finish. Otherwise treat her one of to the latest summer collections, such as this lipgloss trio from Elizabeth Arden's Sunkissed Pearls Collection (£28 Elizabeth Arden)

Who doesn't love a new pair of slippers? These super-cute striped ballet pumps are only £5 from the F&F clothing range at Tesco.

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Tuesday, 10 March 2015

Orla Kiely Wash Bags


Over the years I have become more high-maintainance with the beauty kit I need to travel with, so 
one small wash bag doesn't really cut the mustard. I tend often to end up taking a proper wash bag for hair and skin care, a make up make for my actual makeup and then another bag for my brushes and tools. I was, therefore, delighted when Orla Kiely sent me a set of matching bags which fit my needs perfectly.

The large wash bag (£32 John Lewis) is super-roomy, even fitting all my full size bottles and hair brushes in and has a hook so you can hang up where ever you are staying and handy net zippers for your toothbrush and other small bits.




My fave is the medium size wash bag (£26 John Lewis), which has a front zipper that you can use for your brushes (depending on the size of your collection) and it is roomy enough for all of your fav products for your trip.



The smallest is the cosmetics bag (£20 John Lewis), that I've found perfect for all of my brushes, but could be used to keep your handbag essentials in, jewellery or if you are less high-maintainace than me, your makeup.


I love being so co-ordinated on the travel bag front!


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Monday, 2 March 2015

Mani Monday: CND Shellac Salmon Run


It is officially March and Spring time! To celebrate, I used the voucher my brothers-in-law bought me for Christmas and booked myself in for a shellac mani-pedi at my fav local beauticians (The Little Palour in Weybridge). I chose Salmon Run, which comes from the Spring 2015 Flora and Fauna collection. The peachy pink is subtle enough for even a miserable day like Saturday was but is still suitably spring like!
Shellac Manicures range in prices at different salons and cost £40 at The Little Palour.




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