Fun and easy nails...

I am yet to try the Impress nails that I have heard so many great things about, I have been put off by the price tag and the lack of designs/colours I like.  I was asked if I would like to try Brit Rocks Nails, another brand of pre-glued nails, here are my thoughts.

Good points:
1. They take about a minute to apply
2. Fun, on trend designs.
3. Perfect for a night out or one off event
4. Great for those with short nails who don't want ridiculously long talons

Bad Points:
1. They don't feel overly secure.
2. The glue strip is a little thick on some of them not allowing them to sit completely flat.

These are perfect to jazz up an outfit for a night out and so easy to use but I wouldn't recommend them if you are after nails you can wear for a week.

You can buy them from www.eyelashhq.co.uk for £4.50.

Pregnancy Update: 22 Weeks

We are having a boy!!  I was convinced it was a girl so was really shocked but I'm so pleased we know now and can focus more on names and what to buy.  Any suggestions of names would be greatly appreciated as we are struggling loads!

Me now at 22 weeks

I finally bought some baby clothes!  I don't think I've ever had more fun...sad but true.

One of my good friends got this recently at her baby shower, and when I saw it in H&M, I couldn't resist!  It was £5.99.

I bought a pack of three terry cotton sleep suits from Mothercare for £12, in my opinion this is the cutest thing you can put a baby in!

He will be born in the middle of winter, so little cute hats will be essential!  I think this one was only £2.99, from H&M.

Symptoms wise there isn't anything out of the ordinary to report; I still get very tired from the most pathetic of activities but I hear this will ease off soon!  I suffer from occasional heartburn but nothing I can't cope with, and I get quite bad lower back pain but Im off to the Physio Therapist next week so hopefully I will learn some good exercises to help ease it.  I feel the baby move all the time, and its getting stronger everyday!

Affordable treats

I have often seen Montagne Jeunesse face masks but never actually tried one.  I feel slightly snobby saying I was probably put off by the affordable price tag, which seems silly but when it comes to skin care, the products that work, generally tend to come at a more high end cost.  I was recently asked if I would like to try some out and as they are pregnancy friendly I thought I would give them a go!

This Travel Pack is designed to be taken away with you to treat yourself whilst you are on holiday, but these products are equally nice to try out in the comfort of your own bathroom!

Montagne Jeunesse Travel Pack

It comes with two body wash sachet's, a foot cooler, a purifying face mask, a body scrub and a hair mask.

I have so far tried the Orange Body Wash, which has a very strong, tangy orange smell.  If you like the smell of orange you will love it, which personally I do and it felt very invigorating.  You also get more than enough for one showers worth in a sachet.

I also tried the Passion Peel Off mask which I was a little hesitant to try as I have very fussy skin.  It claims to deeply cleanse your skin, leaving it with a radiant glow, it also has added antioxidants to protect.  The first thing I noticed was the lovely sweet, fruity smell, not hugely natural smelling but very appealing.  Make sure you tie your hair back well, as it has a very sticky gel consistency, also don't apply too much as it wont dry properly.  I left it on for around 20 minutes, it felt really cooling on, which was lovely as it was a hot day so I can imagine this would be lovely on holiday.  It was really fun to peel off and left my skin feeling very clean and looking bright and fresh.  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised!  I would avoid any extreme dry areas on the face but over all this felt really gentle.

The last thing I have tried was the Intensive Spa hair masque which claims to repair and condition.  It smells very strongly of Lime which is nice for a morning bath or shower, but I found there wasn't enough product for my hair which is long but very fine.  The consistency of the masque didn't feel as thick as I would have expected and was hard to spread evenly.  It has, however, left the ends of my hair feeling quite soft, so it has done more than I thought it would!

I am looking forward to trying the Foot Cooler which can apparently be used anywhere on the body.  It is creamy when applied and quickly turns in to a soft powder, sounds strange and interesting at the same time!  I am going to save it for a day when my pregnant feet feel all hot and swollen.

Over all I think this is a great little selection of products if you are going away for a long weekend or you just like trying out new things.  It retails for £5 and it available at www.montagnejeunesse.com

Pregnancy Skin Savers...

The two main skin concerns I have had since being pregnant is fear of stretch marks on my bust and stomach and coping with crazy breakouts on my face!  

Luckily, as yet, I have had no stretch marks on my rapidly growing stomach or bust, I have  heard that it is down to good or bad genes whether you will get them or not.  Despite this I have been loading on the cream after every bath or shower, just to be sure!  A very kind Makeup Artist friend of mine, who is also a mummy, gave me a HUGE jar of Pure Virgin Coconut Oil which I am extremely grateful for as it's going to last me the entire pregnancy and beyond!  
The first thing I love about it, is the smell, which is a completely natural coconut fragrance that, luckily, I really enjoyed during my few weeks of morning sickness.  It  smells really natural and pure!  Secondly I love the way it goes hard when cool and turns in to an oil when warm, I keep it in my bathroom so it's usually in its solid state, I love digging a big chunk out and letting it melt between my hands, SO lovely to use and it sinks in surprisingly quickly whilst feeling extremely nourishing.  Thirdly, I read that is is has anti bacterial properties so can help prevent skin infections during pregnancy.  I don't know if its common to get skin infections during pregnancy but either way it can only be a bonus!  I'm pretty sure you can buy it anywhere for between £5-£10.

My main concern though recently, has been my breakouts and dry skin on my face, I tried just sticking to a sensible and simple routine of making sure I thoroughly cleansed my skin morning and night with a sensitive and natural cleanser (I can't remember the name) and then using Cetaphil Moisturiser to make sure my skin was hydrated.  This did not work, I continued to breakout all over my chin and slightly on my forehead along with really dry flaky (mm nice!) patches on my chin and nose!  I have since invested in a tube of Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish (as featured in my last post) which I have been using for exactly a week now and I can already see a major improvement.  My spots are slowly but surely disappearing, with a stubborn few still remaining and the dry patches have pretty much gone!  Yey I love you Liz Earle!  I knew I would and am annoyed it took me this long to get around to trying it but when I read on the website that it is safe to use during pregnancy I was sold.  In case you haven't heard about this product before I will tell you briefly how you use it (regular blog readers or skincare fanatics out there will be bored stiff by this!)  It is a cream formula containing Rosemary (great for breakouts), Chamomile (calming and soothing), and Cocoa Butter (moisturising).  Using 1 pump or 2 you massage in to dry skin, it will remove eye makeup as well but do this last so you don't get a big messy face, then take one of the two muslin cloths it comes with and run under hot water, gently then wipe of the cream and makeup from your face, rinsing the cloth a few times in the hot water.  The muslin is great to exfoliate the areas that need it as you do this.  I then use another small pump to repeat this process to make sure my skin is completely clean.  At the end, splash your face with cold water to close the pores.  It sounds faffy, but its really not and you can use each muslin three times before you wash it, just rinse it well after each use.  I bought mine from John Lewis for £14.25.

The last, very simple product that has helped is Sudocrem.  When I found out I was pregnant I stopped using all my usual spot creams and masks as I couldn't find solid answers for whether they were safe to use or not (certain chemicals, active ingredients and high doses of essential oils can be harmful to the baby) so I resorted to using my pot of Sudocrem that I had bought a while ago and never really given a proper go.  Its not revolutionary but its helped and its great to have something I can use over night when I have a seriously bad attack of breakouts.  Since I have been using My Liz Earle I have used this a couple of times and together they are working wonders for my poor face.

 I hope this is useful to anyone who is pregnant and has the same concerns!

Hello again!

So, a few months ago, I was just getting in to the swing of all things blog like and then I stumbled across some life changing news (or little blue lines!) and discovered that I'm pregnant!  I can't describe the utter elation and pure amazingness of what this meant/means to me and basically anything else that wasn't baby related just went out of the window for a while!!

I am now 19 weeks pregnant and very much missing my little blog, so I will do my best to update as and when I find the time/have the urge.  I will, of course, include beauty posts, but I will also slip in the odd baby/pregnancy related one in too as now this is basically the most fun thing I have ever had to talk or think about and it might be nice of me to give my friends ears a rest by letting it all out on here!

Here is my bump at 18 weeks and a few days

I'm not sure how I feel about the full on pregnancy update blog posts where I would have to state symptoms, weight gain, bump size etc. I'll just keep it nice and light yeh!  I will finish off this post with a little 'Current Faves'.

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish:  I have been meaning to try this for around 5 years now and just never gotten around to it but my skin has been horrendous to put it lightly, during this pregnancy, so I am relying on this highly recommended product to sort me out, fingers crossed!

Clinique Stay-Matte Sheer Pressed Powder Oil Free in 101:  My Clarins Ever Matte just wasn't cutting the mustard with the recent shine that likes to take over my complexion so I thought I would give this one a go, for no particular reason other than it felt really fine and soft.  So far, so good!  

Lucas' Pawpaw Ointment:  I am so sad that we can't buy this in the UK any more (apparently its medical grade or something).  This is my forth, and last tube which I have had to steal out of my kit as its been lovely on my dry, dry pregnant face.  Yes unfortunately for me I am suffering from breakouts AND dry patches, in the same place.  Whoopy!

Jools Oliver, Minus Nine to One:  I saw this recommended in P&B Magazine, and as a fan of the Olivers, I thought it was only right to purchase Jool's contribution to the book world.  I read it in two days and I don't read books in two days.  If you are pregnant, buy it, such an easy read and sooo insightful!

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth:  I was recommended this by a wonderful friend of mine who is also pregnant, it's full of inspiring birthing stories and so far I am loving it.  The more I learn about the process of child birth, the more it makes me excited about my own, I think this makes me officially mad or extremely Naive!