babyurbeautiful

Hands up who hasn't tried micellar water yet?

Are you a mum?

Do you use face wipes?

Are you falling asleep with your make-up on?

Is your skin often dry?

Can you be arsed to cleanse and tone?

Do you know how drying and bad some face wipes are for the skin?

If you answered yes to more than two of those - listen up!

Micellar water should be a staple in any mums beauty routine, simply because it's the laziest and easiest way to cleanse and leaves skin supple and squeaky clean.

The teeny micelle molecules in the water use a clever technology to attract the dirt (a bit like a magnet) which then lifts away make-up and grime - and there's no need to rinse.

Simply soak your cotton wool in a reasonable amount, and with one deft swoop you've removed the grime of the day and can collapse in bed.

BUT here's the exciting bit....

The Sanctuary (of Spa fame) are SO confident about their new micellar product, they're offering customers the chance to bring in an old pack of wipes to swap for a sample of their Cleanse Foaming Micellar Water - FOR FREE!

This is only on the weekend of 19-20th MARCH in BOOTS stores nationwide. 




So get down there armed with your wipes and a smile.

I didn't get any roses this year for Valentine's.

But I did get myself Liz Earle's new limited edition Rose & Cedrat Cleanse & Polish.

Silky smooth texture

With the freezing cold weather, and the ultra drying central heating (says me sat next to the radiator typing this) you need to ramp up the daily cleansing routine.

The rich cleanser is perfect for sloughing off dead skin cells (when used with the muslin cloth provided).
You can gently massage the cream over skin while showering, then put your pure muslin cloth in hot water, wring out before gently 'polishing' off the cream.
It even removes stubborn mascara - it's gentle and effective.
No panda eyes here (except from the lack of Valentine's cards).

Other wonderfully moisturising ingredients like cocoa butter help to soften skin, as chamomile readily tones. It's also well known rose is great for soothing sensitive skin; aka moi.

I'm not a big fragrance girl unless it's aromatic and spa-like; but this fragrance, despite it's main component of rose, smells more zesty and orange.

After googling Cedrat, I soon discovered the 'large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick rind' is cold pressed just before it's ripe to make the fragrant oil.
Should I have known this? Apologies if not - I'm still on the basic lemon, lime, orange stages!

It's a must for cheering skin up, and possibly mum for Mother's Day.

Are you a Liz Earle lover - what one is your favourite and why?

For 150ml it's £20.75 and comes with 2 muslin clothes.

Liz Earle Limited Edition

A sample was sent to Babyurbeautiful for review purposes

LN x

New year, new me, blah blah blah.



Essentially it's a new day, but that one day spurs us on so much to make a change as it brings in a New Year. It puts us in this general mindset to be proactive (hilariously when you look back the previous years attempts - perhaps a meagre 30 per cent has been achieved).

Since Monday (oh, today), I've been writing lists of TO DO and NEW ME codswallop - although I do think mine is rather achievable.
But in hindsight I could have done it all last year when I got a little lazy and procrastinated, and quite frankly ended up still unable to drive. And fat.

This years include:

Learn to drive

Read more books (got new Kindle)

Gym - tone up

Same old story....

My post today is about my face. I've decided I need to ramp up the skincare routine.
I hit 35 last year, and since having the little man I've really noticed how much the tiredness and exhaustion is taking a toll on my face (and there's only so much strobe cream and highlighter I can slap on).
I've never succumbed to botox or fillers or anything drastic, but my laughter lines tell another story Note to self: stop laughing so much.

I recently updated my make-up skills, and found myself on a course with some lovely ladies and one token guy (who looked bloody great with a cut crease and eyeliner, I tell ya).
Each application we cleansed with an oil and removed all the excess with a micellar cleansing water suitable for very sensitive skin.

I heard about this backstage beauty product years ago (favoured by models and makeup artists alike) when I was a fully fledged beauty editor (if I'm lucky I can muster up about one feature a month now juggling little man, a make-up business and the rest!)

It was developed hundreds of years ago to help Parisians deal with their notoriously harsh water supply - and is known to remove dirt effortlessly with the micelles (more coming up about this shortly) and leave skin glowy and dewy.

I can find 5 person Micellar Water pro's immediately...

1. You don't need to rinse after using
2. It's hypoallergenic
3. No perfume or alcohol so doesn't leave skin sore and red raw
4. Leaves skin soft, not tight and stingy - doesn't smear make-up around the face like wipes do
5. Removes really stubborn mascara/makeup- the cleansing agents lift the dirt away from the skin like a magnet.

As a mum, I find my beauty routine NB: non-existant-wipe-my-face-with-his-wipes (or anything I can find) is the easiest way to go before I collapse into bed exhausted. We're just looking for ease to cleanse, right?
But armed with my beauty arsenal of Sainsbury's cotton pads & Garnier Micellar Water. It's actually far easier to remove make-up effectively than with a wipe that I've been lazily using for the past few years and drying the fook out of my skin.



The formula is made out of micelles which are tiny molecules of oil suspended in soft water.
To wit, the micelles are attracted to dirt, and grime (I can think of better things to be attracted to) but it draws out impurities and cleanses skin without drying it out and can replace, dare I say, the laborious routine of cleansing, double cleansing and toning.

Do not get me wrong, a great skincare regimen is mega important, there's never a 'I don't get time' or shortcut when it comes to your skin, but really, as a mum, you just can't be bothered or are too exhausted. Put paid to the problem and don't wear makeup at all, but run the risk in scaring a few people.
With magical micellar, I can safely say that it can save a lot of money in the long run by cutting down on your skincare products (one bottle instead of three different items)

Plus there isn't a makeup artist worth their weight in Chanel lipstick that isn't toting a bottle of this game changer in their make-up kit.

Garnier Miscellar Water, £4.00, Feelunique.com

LN

First of all, it comes in pretty packaging which is always a good start...

Magnitone Barefaced Facial Cleanse & Tone

After an overnight charge, it comes with a handy micro USB lead with a magnetic charger that just sits on top of the Magnitone to charge (OK, I admit I did spend a few minutes looking for a hole for the charging lead to go) I was ready to get to work!  After a quick check of the instructions, which are super user friendly, I jumped in the shower and got to work.  The beauty of this little tool is it can be used in the shower, so no faffing about washing your face separately, and you just use it with your usual facial cleanser. 

Easy to understand guide

There are two settings, you simply press once for daily cleanse and twice for toning.
Then you just let it do its magic!  Just like with an electric toothbrush, you don't need to apply any pressure, you just let it vibrate and gently exfoliate. 

I tend to get blocked pores around my nose and chin so the Magnitone is perfect as it gets deeper into your pores without the need to scrub the life out your face! 

Once you're done, simply rinse, and dry.  The Magnitone comes with a little case which is ideal for nights away.  I then just apply toner and moisturiser as I normally would.  The charge seems to last a while, I've only charged once since I got it and brushes only need changing every few months- so low maintenance. 

"ooh did you really mean to stare at my bottom?"

I've been using the Magnitone for a few days now, and can definitely see an improvement in my skin.  It is definitely brighter and smoother.  I will be continuing to use this simply because it's sooo easy and hassle free to use.  By Christmas I hope my skin will be as shiny a bauble!

This would be a perfect Crimbo present, and perhaps something we'd not necessarily buy for ourselves.  Saying that, there is currently £10 off when you buy online at Boots.