Lifestyle and Parenting blog based in Surrey.

Friday, 25 September 2015

Fashion Friday: Autumnal Cape


I've been seeing loads of capes at press shows and now on the high street but I have been slightly nervous about taking the plunge, worried that I'm going to look like someone who got lot on their way to a fancy dress party. But being a cold body, the idea of wearing blanket sounds heavenly! So when I was offered an exclusive Becksondergaard cape to celebrate the film release of Miss You Already (a chic flick starring Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette which is released today) I jumped at the chance.

I initially though I would wear a belt to pull the cape (Similar £99 Becksondergaard at The Dressing Room) together and give a bit more structure, but there is just too much material! I kept the ret of my look simple with a quilted white t-shirt (similar New Look £7 - sale) Topshop Leigh Jeans (£40 Topshop) and my super comfy Fit Flop Ballerina Pumps in Pony Hair (£85 Fit Flop). I then added some gold accessories, including my new Caravelle watch (£129 Watch Shop).

I hope you like this look and it gives you confidence to give the cape a go this season!
Thank you again to This Surrey Mummy for being my photographer in KT11!




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Wednesday, 23 September 2015

My day in Cannes


As you may have seen from my Instagram last week, I went on holiday to the South of France, near Cannes. As their were three babies in our group, we didn't venue out of the villa too much, however, visiting Cannes was a must. We decided lunch was baby-friendly and headed to the croisette - which is a selection of beach side restaurants. We selected CBeach and kicked back and enjoyed moules et frites with a cheeky glass of rose.





Mr BMB decided he was far too manly to have pink wine! We then took baby Sophie and her pals onto the sand for a quick snap and then walked along the beach with ice creams lapping up the afternoon sunshine whist the babes where kept cool and shady.






It was such a warm day that I sundress seemed the only rational outfit option so I slipped on my sale bargain from Fat Face and teamed with a Zara necklace from last season (my fave place to buy statement necklaces - this one is permanently in my online shopping basket!), diamante sandals (£19.50 M&S) and my floppy sunhat (Similar from Accessorise £22)- which I had to abandon when the sea breeze picked up!




We had such a lovely day in Cannes I'm craving to go back again already! Thank you so much to Natalie who writes This Surrey Mummy blog for the photography!



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Sunday, 20 September 2015

Pre LFW and Wedding Skincare


On Friday evening Mr BMB headed off to Twickenham to watch the opening game of the rugby world cup so when the little one was tucked up in bed I decided I needed to give my skin a little TLC before heading to my cousin's wedding on Saturday and going to some London Fashion Week events next week.

Although my skin isn't too congested at the moment, there are always a few blocked pores to clear, so I spread GlamGlow Supermud mask (£45 SpaceNK) over my face whist I chilled out for 20 mins sipping a glass of bubbles. This clay based mask sucks out any imperfections and feels like it scrubs out all your pores - you see all the impurities being pulled out, which is a bit gross but so satisfying.

After removal I layered on Elizabeth Arden Superstart Skin Renewal Booster (£40 John Lewis) which helps the surface layer of the skin renew itself and boosts your natural defenses. Applied before your serum it helps to super charge your skincare, adding extra hydration and helping your other products work better too.

I then applied Radical Advanced Peptide Antioxidant Serum - not pictured -(£125 SpaceNK) which is such a gorgeous luxury serum which I always notice a real improvement in my skin when I use and Elizabeth Arden Flawless Future Night Cream (see my review here) to finish. 

My skin felt so pampered, clean and dewy I could have just come out of a luxury facial. In the morning I then popped on Nuxe Splendieuse Anti-Dark Spot Perfecting Mask (£30 Feel Unique) as I'm really hating the few age spots that have crept up on me which this mask helps to fight. 

I then layered on the same pre serum and serum as I had the night before and finished with Indeed Labs Fillume Moisturiser (£24.99 Boots) which helps to plump out wrinkles and help skin look more youthful.
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Monday, 14 September 2015

Mani Monday: OPI Gel Are We There Yet


Greetings from Cannes - currently sat on the veranda in the sunshine typing away and sipping on a cafe. In preparation for my trip I decided to get another gel polish applied. As it is the end of Summer (or beginning of Autumn!) and I have my beautiful cousin's wedding at the weekend I didn't want to go to bold on colour so opted for this pretty shade 'Are We There Yet' from OPI which is on the nude side of the pink colour spectrum. OPI gel is another brand similar to Shellac, so will keep beautiful for around 2 weeks when it will need to be removed - either professionally, or you can DIY (see my post on how to remove at home here).

So next week I will be back in the UK heading to LFW, so I need to start thinking what nail shade I'll be opting for.....


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Friday, 11 September 2015

Baby Skincare


As a beauty obsessive, little baby Sophie has a draw full of baby skin-care goodies too. So as a dip-my-toe into doing some baby posts, I though blogging about baby skincare was familiar territory!

There are SO many baby skincare brands I was totally unaware of pre-baby and I've loved trying them out along with some more familiar and traditional brands.


Sophie loves her bath time with all the bubbles and the bottle goes down quite quickly, so I've opted for the budget friendly Johnson's baby bath (£3/500ml Tesco). I've used the traditional and recently the 'bedtime' variety, which contains soothing aromas to get baby relaxed and ready for sleep.

One of my favourite products at bath time is Ten Baby Cleansing Foam (£11/150ml Boots), it has a pump which converts the product into a foam as it is dispensed which I then rub all over baby's skin to wash of the day. Being free from the top ten nasties I feel confidant using it directly on my little one's skin. The calendula (from marigolds) and camomile are natural skin soothers and leave baby smelling yummy. I also love the shampoo (£11/200ml Boots) from this range too.

When I was pregnant my mum bought baby BMB a selection on Burt's Bee Baby Bee skincare goodies and I'm currently loving the Shampoo and Wash (£7.95/236ml John Lewis)- which I am using solely as a shampoo but can be used all over the body too. It has a plant based tear-free-formula which is gentle enough to use daily - which is handy as baby tends to have got sick in her hair at some point during the day!! The smell when I kiss baby good night on her head is just heavenly.

Another brand that I completely trust to use on my baby's precious skin, I have used Bepanthen Baby Moisturiser (£5.99/100ml Mothercare) which has been perfect for sorting out any dry patches without being greasy and has been much lighter to use than oils for giving Sophie a pre bed massage.

Although I have used the Bepanthen on Sophie's face, I have preferred using a special Baby Face Moisturiser and the Sophie La Girafe Cosmetics has been perfect. Containing white tea, lavender water, jojoba oil and shea butter is relieves any irritation and protects this delicate skin. My little tube is from the Starter Set which contains other minis (£14.99 Boots) or can be purchased individually in a larger size (£11.99/50ml Boots)

Sophie loves her bath time and I love wrapping her up in this bear eared hooded towel from The Little White Company (£22) before getting her in her pyjamas and tucking her into bed.


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Wednesday, 9 September 2015

Max Factor Colour Intensifying Balm


I do like a lipbalm-lipstick which moisturises and whilst giving colour. The sheer nature gives them a really easy-to-wear formula and those scared of lip colour can really embrace.

Max Factor has released its own offering to the lipbalm-lipstick scene with the affordable Colour Intensifying Balms (£8.99 Boots). Although the packaging isn't the prettiest, it has a lovely feel on the lips, as if you are wearing a lip balm. For Autumn I love Exquisit Caramel - a nude brown shade and Luscious Red - which does give a lovely red lip, that isn't too scary! Voluptuous Pink is a little too bright-pink for me, but I think it would look fun in the height of summer.


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Monday, 7 September 2015

Mani Monday: Perfect Match First Love


I know it’s September, but I’m trying to eek out summer a little longer with this week’’s mani. It is summer holiday personified - super, super bright highlighter pink, I love it. Neon colours really brig out a tan (just look at the shades in Model’s Own Polishes for Tans Collection) so it is a perfect shade to make the most of what is left of your summer glow. This is a gel polish, from a brand I’ve never heard of before - Perfect Match in the shade First Love. It has worn pretty well, although a few little cracks a week on. I’m off to the south of France at the weekend, so I think we might just have one more summery Mani Monday before I hit the autumnal palette!


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Thursday, 3 September 2015

Jo Malone Mimosa & Cardamom


Oh Jo - you rarely disappoint! This week saw the launch of Mimosa and Cardamom in Jo Malone and as you may have guess from my opening line, I'm a fan. This exotic fragrance is perfect Indian summer to me - the spicy cardoon combined with floral mimosa is a warming but light fragrance, I can't help but to breath it in, deeply. Combined with a base of Tonka Bean and hints of English Pear, Freesia and Red Rose it is a beautiful fragrance to end summer, and begin Autumn wearing. 



As part of the British Bohemia which inspired this fragrance, you can create your own digital wall paper on the Jo Malone site - here's what I came up with!



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Tuesday, 1 September 2015

Clarins Autumn Collection


Meteorologically speaking it is the first day of autumn (eeeeek - how did that happen?) so a perfect day to share with you Clarin's Autumn Make-up Collection. I do always get excited to see what Clarins bring out at the change of the season as it is on of my fav beauty brands and they rarely disappoint.

My favourite item in the collection has to be the Limited Edition Pretty Day 5-Colour Eyeshadow Palette (£33). I love pink-brown-nude shades for eye makeup and this fits the bill. You can wear the paler shades on their own on a busy morning, or use combinations to add depth for evenings or when you have more time on your hands! If you need a bit of help layering shadows, helpfully there is a little guide telling you where to put each shade for two different looks. I would have liked the palette to have been in classic Clarins golden metal packaging rather than the card to feel more luxe.

In this collection, there has been two new editions to the Ombre Matte eye shadows (£19), a pretty greyish-purple Heather (shown) and and black Carbon. The cream-to-powder formula means they are easy to apply and I can see myself using the Heather as my go-to Autumn everyday shadow.

To accompany the Heather eyeshadow in the purple colour spectrum, there is also a silky smooth True Violet eye pencil which looks beautiful contrasting green eyes. If this is a little bold for you, the Crayon Khol (£17) is also available in Carbon Black. Both are double ended with a little brush to help blend out to create a shaded look. The other pencil in the collection is for the brows (£17) and is available in three shades to suit your colouring, with a handy eyebrow brush at one end to tame strays.

No Clarins collection would be complete without a lip product (thankfully!) and there are two new additions to the Rouge Eclat range - Tawny Rose, a nude-brown which I've been wearing loads already and a brighter Red Paprika. They feel so smooth and silky on the lips, they are such a pleasure to apply and how beautiful is the golden packaging?!

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