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The Mummy Tag.

The Mummy Tag.

Thank you to the lovely Lucie for the tag on this post to get to know our fellow mummies! Hope you enjoy, but remember there’s no obligation for my tagged Mummies to continue the post, so just read and enjoy if you like!

1. Are you a Stay at Home Mum, or a Working Mum?

I’m on maternity leave until May when Henry turns 1 and I return to work.

2. Would you have it any other way?

I have begun the process of looking for nurseries and returning to work for a day here and there to “keep in touch” and it depresses me! I keep thinking how nice it will be when the warmer days arrive and then realise I will be stuck in the office and not out playing with Henry!

3. Do you co-sleep?

No we don’t. I have no problems with the idea of it, I just know I wouldn’t ever sleep properly myself! After a lot of time, trial & error we luckily have a very good sleeper (in his own bed!!)

4. What is your one must-have item for your baby?

For out and about it has to be his carrier! We have the Bjorn Active carrier and it is amazing. Perfect for food shopping, country walks or a trip to town. (start him young!!) Although he is getting so heavy which is becoming a problem for my back.

5. How many kids do you plan on having?

To be completely comfortable financially we’d say 2…Although that would depend if he next one is another boy of course!!

6. Date nights? How often do you have them? 

We aim for once a month to go out and do something different.

7. Your child’s favourite show?

Henry pays absolutely no interest to the TV! The only thing (annoyingly!!) which remotely grabs his attention for 5 seconds is the football!! He is definitely his father’s son!!!

8. Name one thing you brought before you had the baby and never ended up using?

Hmm. I guess I’d have to say his Bumbo! He borrowed a friends for a few days and loved it, so we got him his own one…and he used it for about a week before he got totally fed up with it and stuck in it every use!! (despite being well in the age range!) So into the loft it went…

9. Your child’s favourite food?

This boy can eat. Literally…eat everything!! He really loves anything you put in front of him. Faves would have to be something like banana, pear, cottage cheese, chicken or pork Casserole…but not fish pie (no matter how many times I’ve made it from scratch!!)

10. How many cars does your family have?

Three…One each for Daddy and I, and Henry has one of his own which he scoots around downstairs in tormenting the poor cat!!

11. Weight gain, before pregnancy, during, after and now?

I totally ballooned when I was preggo!! I put on over 4 stone!! Thankfully I have lost it all and have now got down to my pre-wedding weight. (Thank you breast feeding!!)

 

12. Dream holiday with your kids?

We always like to holiday places we’ve never been, where we can explore and discover new cultures and scenery. However this may not be quite as practical with children! So probably something like a cruise where they could have loads of entertainment on board but loads of culture each day as we explored the countries we docked in. Or Disney World of course!! (Can you tell I’ve never been on holiday with children?!)

13. Dream holiday without your kids?

Having travelled most of the world I’d have to say America, every time.

14. How has your life changed since having kids?

Hmm. Well, I have more worries and less relaxation…more wrinkles and less money…But, I have so much more to look forward to each day. Sometimes, no matter how hard my day has been at about half 4 in the afternoon I think oh no, I only have a couple of hours left that day with my little prince! There’s really no negatives, even when you get no sleep!!

15. Finish the sentence “It makes heart melt when…”

Stuart and Henry have their little conversations!! They are adorable! Especially the bath/bedtime ones!!

16. Where do you shop for your kids?

Mamas and Papas, GAP,  Mothercare, H&M, Onliners & most supermarkets.

17. Favourite make-up and skincare products?

I  personally think I have terrible skin (see my previous posts!!) So I use absolutely loads of skin care products, still haven’t quite found one to fix my poor skin!! Make up wise at this moment I have Dior, Estee Lauder, Bare Minerals, No 7, Mac, L’Oreal, Clinique & Urban Decay in my make up bag.

18. Huggies or Pampers?

Erm, I have actually had a great experience with Asda’s Little Angels!! Pampers at the current size are doing well too (4) (although I found the smaller sizes really poor.)

19. Have you always wanted kids?

Absolutely. Even cutting trips around the world short to get going on beginning a family.

20. Best part of being a mum?

Despite the eye bags, constant smell of sick on me, tiredness and being scared most of the time that something tragic is going to happen, being a Mum is pretty damn wonderful. And I am grateful for every moment.

Hope you enjoyed my answers. I tag the following yummy mummies…

Emma

Claire

Jess

Michelle

Today, was a good day!

Today was one of those pretty darn awesome days where everything goes so well it makes one feel all warm and fuzzy inside! After a mammoth lie in I ventured downstairs and played with my little prince until Daddy J took him out to the shops. With all this free time on my hands I decided to channel my inner Mary Berry and bake! A couple of weeks ago while we were watching one of my cookery programmes Stuart said to me that he “remembered when I used to make him treats” ha! It occurred to me that it had been ages since I’d actually found/made the time to bake, so I figured there was no better time! And here are the fruits of my labour;

They were so quick and easy to make so I thought I’d share the recipe;

250g self raising flour

2 eggs

100ml olive oil (or veg if you have it)

4 squishy bananas

100g caster sugar

teaspoon of baking powder

100g fudge pieces & dark chocolate chips.

– Mix the 2 eggs together and add to the oil. – Mash bananas in one bowl. – Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar in another bowl. – Add in the egg mix and whisk together (I used an electric whisk but you could do so by hand if you have the time or patience!) when it’s all mixed up and looks like cake batter, add the fudge and choc chips. And you’re done! Spoon into 12 muffin cases and pop in a 200C oven for 20 or so minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Et Voila! Now, pop the kettle on and enjoy.

So this afternoon comes along and Mr J springs a surprise on me…an afternoon at a near by spa! To my warm and fuzzy delight he had booked me in for a facial, back, hand and foot massage and it was uh-mazing. Pure luxury. If any of you reading live nearby, I would most definitely recommend The Courtyard in Basingstoke. (http://www.thecourtyardhampshire.co.uk)

Now, due to my self-consciousness over my bad skin, I’ve had quite a few facials in my time. But I have to say, this was definitely the best I have had. The Courtyard use Clarins products and my therapist Stacy explained to me each of the products she would be using throughout my treatment. As I lay down under the soft, warm covers with towels in all applicable places I let myself drift off on a dreamy massage induced cloud. There is just something about the way each move feels during any treatment like this. The hot towels on your face, the cool eye compresses, the way each movement doesn’t leave the body until the next is initiated. Stacy’s delicate, warm fingers worked a certain magic on my knotted shoulders and it melted away all the strained tension I’d gathered along my way.

Tonight the hubbo has gone for an Indian with the NCT boys, so I am going to treat myself to a glass (or 2) of wine whilst watching ancient episodes of Carrie and her friends! If Carlsberg did Saturdays…

My February wish list!

It is so true that when you don’t have the money to spend, you want everything in the shops! And when you go to the shops with specific plans to buy something you need you can never find it! With this in mind, and my statutory maternity pay finished my wish list is of course, huge!! Luckily for me Valentine’s day is just around the corner, so hopefully Mr J might just tick a couple of these off!

• I have been coveting the Mama Mio skin post pregnancy range over the last couple of months, as I have been a huge fan of their products throughout my pregnancy and beyond. There’s just so much I want to try! Next up I really want the “Get Waisted” and “Boob Tube” which always have rave reviews throughout the blogging community. I have finally started feeling like I’ve got my pre-preg body back, but could definitely do with the skin on my tummy feeling tighter. Have a look here for their amazing products; http://www.mioskincare.co.uk/mama-mio.html

• With such dreary weather outside, I am yearning for the bright and fresh spring sorbet prints. Not quite warm enough for skirts and feeling a little more confident about my shape, I’ve been looking at some big print trousers to brighten up my look.

• I am a huge SATC fan; Carrie’s adventures just never get old! Team that with my shoe obsession you can imagine how upsetting I found it when I saw how uninspiring SJP’s very own shoe range is! With lots of events on at the moment I want to add to my shoe collection and have found some absolute bargains at Matalan of all places! A friend Instagrammed these shoes and I just love them! I also had to buy these Topshop beauties in the sale last month as a parting gift to my shopping addiction.

• I have the Clinique Chubby Stick in Plushest Plunch, but it’s just a bit too bright for me for every day wear so I really want to get a more natural shade of this super moisturising lip balm, something like Mighty Mimosa. It’s £17 and perfect for just whipping out of my bag and applying quickly and keeps my lips really soft in this horrible cold weather.

• Speaking of keeping my skin soft in this weather, I find my hands get so dry and cracked, especially when pushing the pram around all the time. So my final item for Feb’s wish list is the ultra moisturising, rich, Shea Butter Hand Cream.

Although not strictly for me, I absolutely love these Cath Kidston children’s food trays so wanted to include them on this post. I most definitely want to get one for little Henry for all his different finger foods – although currently I know it would immediately be thrown overboard with his flapping little arms, so perhaps he can enjoy it from afar for the moment!

What items are you longing for this month?

Woohoo! January is done for another year!

I for one am so glad that January is over and done with. It’s like month full of Mondays and it just keeps going and going and going…For me it was a dreary, post-Christmas slump of a month and I couldn’t wait for it to be over and to move on to Feb, a month closer to spring!

It was my first month without my measly statutory maternity pay (It’s not much, but you miss it when it’s gone!) I think it rained & stormed pretty much the whole month, I had to start thinking about work and nurseries and dreaded Aunt Flo came to visit me for the first time in 18 months!!! (TMI?!)

But we all made it through, and I celebrated at the end of it with one of my oldest, bestest friends 30th Birthday. (and reminded myself just why I do not do shots any more – ouch!!)

February is already off to a great start with our little boy finally finding his way to put one hand in front of the other and crawling!! It is true what they say…now the fun really starts!! Trying to get ready with a very inquisitive little boy who finds mummy’s make up and hair styling wires far more interesting than the smorgasbord of bright coloured toys I lay out in front of him is proving to be very tricky indeed! He seems to have developed so much over the past week or so, making lots of conversation with new sounds and syllables, pulling himself up in his cot, spinning around happily in circles on his bottom and of course, crawling.

This month I want to take Henry to a lot more group activities as he is now mobile and less likely to be squished by bigger babies. My NCT friends and I went out to the under 18 month session at Active Tots in Stratfield Saye last week  (http://www.activetots.org) and loved how clean it was and Henry got so much more enjoyment out of it than I thought he would. He loved freely sliding down the soft slides and playing with the babies in the ball pit. This week I want to take him to Bouncing Tots which is in Basepoint, off of Wade Road (http://www.bouncingtots.co.uk) . We’re also going to be independently taking him swimming again more, after having had to cancel his swimming lessons due to them falling bang in the middle of his morning nap time. As hard as it is with this weather it’s so nice to get him out every day to one thing or another.

I love sites such as http://northhantsmum.wordpress.com and www.mumsintheknow.co.uk/basingstoke for finding out all the fun things to do with little ones week by week. I also vow to go to more Sure Start stay and plays which are government funded as I hardly ever go to them and Henry loves to play with the other babies and get filthy at the messy plays! 

I’d love to know what things you’re going to be doing with your baby this month and what ideas you have to keep them entertained!

Baby Henry’s Room!

For months I have been meaning to blog about little Henry’s nursery! I wanted to show how we decorated it and what ideas included. It is definitely a work in progress as I am always finding new ideas and styles I like and want to incorporate, but anyhow…here it is!

Whilst I was pregnant I decided that I didn’t want a cream/beige nursery which seems to be the inevitable option when you don’t know the sex of your unborn child. So, after thinking about it I realised that because little one wasn’t actually going to be in their own room for a good few months anyway I could actually wait until we knew the sex and then decorate it…However, I actually think that it’s pretty unisex after all!! But I am still really pleased I waited.

I absolutely love green, it features in quite a few of our rooms at home, so I decided to instruct Mr J to paint the walls this colour as a base so we could mix it up with pink & peach florals for a little girl or boyish blues for a little boy. We went for white furniture and a dark laminate to contrast with the furniture. After shopping around for AGES I realised I wanted to get normal sized furniture rather than the children’s furniture as I found they came up really small. Because we have a built in wardrobe in the room all we actually needed for clothes storage was a chest of drawers which I bought from Homebase and matched the colour to the rest of the furniture. It had really old fashioned handles so I bought some crystal ones from Ebay and gave it a more modern feel.

We decided to go with a free-standing change table instead of an over the cot one, and I am really pleased we did as it provides heaps of storage, we got ours from Mamas & Papas. I found these green and white baskets in Tiger which allowed me to organise everything into easy to grab, mid nappy change, sections! It is a life saver for bad backs as you can stand up rather than having to bend over to change the many nappies Henry goes through! A friend of mine bought us the changing mat, also from Mamas & Papas.

I fell in love with this “Mia” sleigh cot bed from Mamas & Papas, but completely underestimated how huge it was! I think I could quite comfortably sleep in it! It meant we needed to change the layout from what we had planned but now I love it being tucked away in the corner of his room to leave plenty of room for him to play in the rest of the nursery.

Daddy mid-build.

I knew I wanted to use wall stickers to bring some animation and excitement to the walls for little Henry, and this means we can change them when he grows out of them without having to re do the whole room if we don’t feel it necessary. I really love the look these bring to his sleeping area, I figured who couldn’t fall asleep amongst the clouds?! – Turns out Henry! But that’s for another blog!

I remember the Owl and the Pussycat from my childhood and I wanted to include this traditional feature in Henry’s room. I managed to find this brilliant wall sticker from notonthehighstreet.com and it is by the Brighton based Koko Kids – which I looooove!!!! It’s a fabric sticker which was so easy to apply and Henry gets so excited when we look at the whales and talk about the rain falling and waves splashing. Take a look at all the other beautiful things they do! http://kokokids.com

After our 7 months of no sleep we decided on trying a black out blind to help Henry along with his naps during the day, and having already got a blind and curtains I found the Gro Company did a “Gro Anywhere” blind, which we suckered onto the window which is so effective at blocking out all of the daylight. It is absolutely huge and of course, mobile so perfect if you need to take it on holiday or away for the weekend.

Personally I knew I didn’t want all matchy matchy in terms of the accessories and so I searched loads of different websites for unique things to include in the nursery. I came across this great company who make these prints and they were kind enough to make me one up to document Henry’s birth details. You can decide on your own colours and themes and they are sent on high quality paper and I bought a chunky white frame from Ikea for it. You can get your own – for any occasion from http://www.elliebeanprints.co.uk

My friend Lucy also had this lovely, 3D birth picture made for us which ties in with the bunting and owls we have in his room.

This is a horrendous photo but it kind of lets you see most of the room altogether!

Some homemade bits…

        

Bunting!!

        

The next thing I want to make are 3D hot air balloons similar to these stickers to hang at the end of the cot amongst the clouds!

 

Well, there we have it! I love his room and love adding to it when I find new things and there’s lots more I can’t wait to get. I am making the most of actually being able to choose what he has before he wants the whole thing football themed!!! What did you go for in your little one’s room?

Bath time for our little splasher!!

The days when Henry would fit into his freestanding baby bath are long gone (sob!) especially as he is such a happy splasher! The bathroom floor would be covered in water by the end of his time in there happily flapping and whacking around. I was given a Tippitoes baby bath at my baby shower which had a nice soft head cushion and moulded support for Henry to rest into. It saw us through for about 3/4 months and we have since moved on to a bath rest, but now that he can support himself he sits in the bath playing with his toys and making even bigger waves.

It took me a long while to start using products on his delicate skin because it was just that. I knew I wanted to use products which were extra gentle on his new skin which is why I am so grateful Urban Retreats got in touch to sample the truly wonderful eco-organic products of Estelle and Thild. It is a Swedish brand created by a mother who also wanted only the best for her 2 little girls. It is sourced from botanical, organically grown raw materials and developed with both dermatologists and paediatricians. And has the most beautiful pastel designed packaging making it an all round winner in my eyes!

As Henry still doesn’t have much hair (this doesn’t stop Mr J and I excitedly pointing out most days recently that we think it’s grown just a smidgen more!) we’re currently only using the body oil which can be used in the bath and after to lock in the moisture, but will definitely be stocking up on the shampoo/conditioner when the time comes to need it.

 

All of these beautiful products are available from Urban Retreat; http://www.urbanretreat.co.uk/beautique/brand/Estelle_Thild.aspx?p=0

I also found a wonderful brand, Green People, back in the summer (remember that?!) when I wanted an organic sun block for Henry’s delicate skin, and they also do a fab baby wash which is so gentle and scent free. Pioneers in the organic baby care sector, they have won so many awards for their huge range of products, but you may not have heard of them so I would definitely urge you to check them out; http://www.greenpeople.co.uk or at John Lewis and Ocado. They do super sweet sets which would be perfect for baby shower presents too.

If your little one is more of a bath time screamer than they are splish splasher then aside from bath toys, why not try taking a bubble machine in with you to make it more fun for them and distract their attention from the fact that you’re washing them, or for older children who have decided bathing is no fun any more how about coloured dye to turn the water or take they’re favourite doll or toy in and wash them first to tempt them in. Remember it’s not just a job to get them clean, make it fun and enjoy that quality one on one time yourself. Stuart nearly always bathes Henry now as he is home so late from work, like most Daddies, so it means he gets to enjoy some fun time with him before bed and I get to listen to all the cute (one sided!) conversations he has with him from downstairs.

Autumn in upon us; the search for the new season’s coat.

Like most of the nation, I was shocked last week when all of a sudden I woke up to single figure temperatures, it was only the beginning of the month that I was still in a maxi skirt down in Cornwall! So, swiftly I am in need of a new warm coat. There are so many great options out there and because a coat is something you can wear more than once a week it means it’s worth a splurge! I thought I would share 5 great options which I’ve found if you too are looking to make your coat purchase of the new season.

1. Animal print is the trend which thankfully will not leave the catwalk & shops year after year and this short length coat is a nice subtle option if you’re not confident in wearing a full on bold patterned leopard print.

Zara leopard printed double breasted coat, £79.99

2. The Parker is a staple a/w wardrobe feature, and this one is a smarter version which I really love.

ASOS Formal Parka With Fur Trim Hood, £90

3. The Trench is a lightweight, waterproof coat and looks great with both smart and more casual looks. This one is half price, so a great bargain!

La Redoute Mid-Length Belted Trench, £49.50

4. Unfortunately, for my personal preference, tartan is back on the runway and therefore in the shops. Dreaded memories of dodgy fashion choices from the first year of senior school come flooding back. How am I old enough to see a trend do a full circle?! So, if you’re looking to relish in the trend of the season this cape coat is a bold option which would look great with a pair of cropped trousers or coated jeans.

Zara Checked Studio Cape, £159

5. Last year was all about the faux fur coat, this year there’s still a lot of textured, luxurious materials in our shops, coupled with the cocooning boyfriend cut, this is a super on trend look which is also warm and comfy!!!

Topshop Slouchy Mohair Boyfriend Coat, £89

Weaning; A brand new world of taste adventures!

Baby Henry has always had an insatiable appetite and we were beginning to think that milk might not be enough for him any more (he still feeds every 2 hours, day and night!), so we have decided to wean earlier than the 6 month UK guidelines. I have to say, I find these guidelines a little misguided as they are based on World Health Organisation recommendations, which are misplaced in a developed country like Britain where people know the importance of sterilisation. So, if your baby is older than 17 weeks then remember, Mother knows best!

The NHS recommends your baby is ready for solids if;

1. They can stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady.
2. They can co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so that they can look at the food, pick it up and put it in their mouth, all by themselves.
3. They can swallow food. Babies who are not ready will push their food back out, so they get more round their face than they do in their mouths.

Because he is not quite 5 months and his motor skills are not ready for baby led weaning, we are going to start off with purees, and slowly move on to sticks of cooked broccoli, pasta, cheese etc when he is older and more able to pick up and chew on them himself.

Henry waiting patiently for his swede purée.

And so it begins! With my veggies and fruits at the ready the week before we’re set to start Henry off, I block out a Saturday afternoon and get started on prepping his new tastes for the first couple of weeks. My first try wasn’t as successful as I might have hoped, to say the least! I went in first with sweet potato. Having trained as a chef many many years ago, I’ve always been one for just putting things together and more often than not they don’t turn out so badly. Not really suitable when things for the first stages of weaning need to be pretty controlled. My first round of sweet potato was drizzled with olive oil, before roasting…Not something a little baby should really be eating, so that was turned into a delicious chilli spiced sweet potato & red lentil soup for myself. Round 2 was set off in the oven successfully while I ate my own supper and later on discovered still in the oven by Mr J, resembling more of a sweet potato vegetable crisp than a soft blend-able version…Round 3…this time I got as far as the blending, and with my trusty hand blender at the ready I began whizzing it up, a few seconds in a peculiar burning smell wafted up to my nose, followed by the sad noise of the blender dying a very slow, very noisy death and the contents of the motor being burnt out and deposited into the mixture of sweet potato!! This was a disaster.

Wide mouthed and ready for each spoonful!

Luckily for me, I was recounting this fiasco to a friend who just so happened to have the most perfect tool for the job, which I love so much it’s made the whole process soooooo much easier and I would recommend to anyone who is looking at pureeing. Simply wash, peel and chop up your fruit or veg and put into the Phillips Avent steamer and blender and load up your ice cube trays to freeze, label and you’re done!

As we are so new to weaning we are only preparing “tastes” so basic flavours and not full on meals, so I can defrost a couple of cubes at a time for mid morning, although as he feeds every 2 hours finding the time when he’s not too full, too hungry or too tired is harder than one might imagine! Today’s “brunch” was at 4:45pm!

It’s really important to say that at this early stage all nutrients should still be coming from breast or formula milk and these first stages of weaning are more to get your baby used to tastes and textures and the new action required to eat solid food which is completely different to how he or she has ever fed before. If your baby isn’t keen on a particular food, or maybe none at all, then leave it a couple of days and then revisit. They may not be ready just yet. Try giving your baby a spoon to hold in the other hand so that they feel they have some control over what you are doing with them.

With parsnip being a relative disaster compared to the absolute hit that sweet potato was on the first round of veg, tomorrow’s new taste adventure is going to be carrot, wish us luck!

My quick fix beauty products.

Well, firstly apologies for my absence!! Henry and I have been busy busy!! Life has whizzed by over the past couple of months; he’s now 4 months old and I am loving spending such quality time watching him grow. So much so I’ve not had time to blog! This inspired me to write a post on my quick fix beauty products because I’ve had to really reduce my “me time” during the days as he’s always keeping me on my toes! For any new Mums out there I’m sure you know the feeling, so hopefully you might find some of these useful for your own morning routine when you’re pushed for time.

Bronzer;

It goes without saying we all feel better with a touch of colour to our skin and normally we can’t rely on the good old British weather; although I have to say we’ve been treated so well this year. That said I am more than aware that my ageing skin (Big 3-0 in November!!) needs all the favours it can get, so I always keep my face out of the sun nowadays to prevent ageing and sun damage. I’ve never been one for fake tan as I always end up looking like a patchy extra for Willy Wonker and the Chocolate Factory so I always make sure I wear a quality bronzer to ensure my skin looks glowing even on the tiredest of days! I’m a big fan of Estee Lauder products and I love their new Bronzed Goddess range – personally I think the name needs a bit of work, but the products are fab! I’m currently using the Bronzed Goddess Soft Shimmer Bronzer which comes with a wide brush for the perfect application. At £28 it’s at the higher end of the budget but it lasts ages and the finish is just beautiful.

Dry Shampoo;

Gone are the days where I can leisurely spend an hour getting ready for the day. Nowadays it’s more like 10 minutes on and off in between feeding, changing and dressing little man and running out the door before he’s sick or explodes the other end and then needs feeding all over again! Sometimes I’m lucky enough to wash my hair, but for the days where I don’t quite get the time I love the Baptiste range of dry shampoo. I have gone back to blonde now after a huge fail trying to go dark while I was pregnant (darn hormones!!) but I still use the dark tinted one which doesn’t come out quite so white on my hair. It also is great for giving texture and aiding up dos.

BB Cream;

I have always felt that I have terrible skin, and always feel really conscious about it! But when I am having a day at home with Henry I can use my BB Cream and feel much more confident about my skin – even just to answer the door to the postie! I didn’t think I would ever feel happy with only a tinted moisturiser but the Garnier BB cream has great coverage and evens out skin tone as well as covering up imperfections. It’s a really well priced multi-tasker at around £9 and it’s the best I’ve found for this low price range.

Mascara;

It’s the age old quick fix if you only have a couple of seconds for your appearance and it’s true a lick of mascara really makes the difference, especially to my near on albino lashes. I love Diorshow Black Out, which has an amazing application and great lasting power; although it might be a bit too dramatic for some. For a more natural daytime look I really like the Elizabeth Arden Double Density mascara which has a much thicker brush.

(Try and keep an emergency back up in the car for when you forget to apply before you dash out of the house!)

Bright nail polish;

I find a bright polish makes me feel glam on days when I don’t even have time to brush my hair – you know the sort! You just have to find 10 minutes of uninterrupted time to paint them for the week! I love the staying power of the O.P.I polishes and have been loving Big Red Apple over the hot summer days we’ve had. (This was applied rushed 4 days ago and is still going!)

Miracle 10 “It’s a 10!” leave in conditioner;

This stuff is amazing! Spray over towel dried hair and it combs through even the most knotted of hair. It is a 10 in 1 product including protection, gloss, frizz control and, colour enhance. It’s so good for all aspects of hair care. I give my hair a quick spritz and brush through before rough drying to keep my hair in really good condition regardless of how little time I have.

What beauty products do you use to make you feel “yourself” on days where you don’t have the time to fuss? I would love to hear about them!