babyurbeautiful

Last year I attempted to fix up a treatment with Lush UK called The Planets.
It didn't materialise, but I managed to eventually fix it up for this month.
It must have been fate.

I got a surprise to discover the treatment was 3 hours long, so I had to swiftly shuffle appointments and block out my day - the little one was with nanny, so it worked out perfectly.

Whenever I walk past my local Lush store, I often get overwhelmed by the array of scents, but as soon as I stepped into the Chelsea store I became immune to it and nothing overpowered or sent my senses overdrive.
I won't deny that Lush hasn't been massively on my radar, I am hypersensitive to strong fragrances, and whenever I received a delivery (I'm a beauty writer by day) I could smell the bag before it hit my desk and often felt a little queasy.

On arrival at the London Kings Road store, I was directed down to the spa through the Chelsea shop - if you weren't aware, you can experience a spa tour even if you're not having a treatment.
The spa is delightfully simple, with a large rustic solid wooden table to fill the essential health forms out on.
By the toilets there is a variety of lush products to test out - should you wish. The staff are exceptionally happy throughout the store  - which I thought was a real testament to the brand.

The therapist, Pauline, gave me a warm welcome in her thick Bordeaux accent.  As I mentioned before, I had no idea what I was in for - just 3 hours of unadulterated bliss!
She explained the Planets treatment over a fragrant water, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover it had a somewhat holistic approach, with huge attention towards astrology.
This is where it became apparent that this treatment was more than apt for the start of the 2017.

I was presented a pack of cards and told to pick a word that seemed relevant to me - Uranus was staring straight up, and the naughty side of me was drawn to the innuendo. So Uranus (or mine) it was.

The Planets Facial Essentials

The card was presented as 'Challenge', which most of last year was - especially after losing my job of ten years, and constantly battling to be heard and taken seriously with ideas - now it's trying to carve out a freelance career.

She mentioned the treatment would be a lot of letting go of the past, and that I can open up as much or as little about it. I thought felt very perturbed about offloading onto a stranger....

Basically the treatment works in three parts; the past, the present and the future, I won't  ruin the entire treatment and go too much in depth, but here's a quick synopsis.


The past

This incorporates a indulgent 1 hour and a half massage using one of the infamous Lush massage bars which melt into your muscles.
As soon as a relevant pressure point is detected, your therapist will explain what the area is, and the issue you could be up against. You then feel compelled to answer, what the heck!
For instance, the left side is creative, and the right logical - the bottom right of my back was linked to money, as a freelance not knowing when you'll work next - no wonder it was as stiff as a board.
But the interesting one, (which is when I realised the efficacy of the treatment), was when she said do you struggle to let new friends in? Absolutely not!
I'm a very warm person. But then I found myself contending with a dull pain as her  thumbs kneaded a pressure point and I found myself blurting out about a friend who had been a bit of a dick last year, dropping me when I needed her after years of continuous support from me.
As I opened up, the area 'popped', Pauline laughed and said 'there you go!', we closed the metaphorical drawer and eased the pain with a warm stone, and moved on.

The present

Having a 'tea party' with my therapist wasn't what I expected, as warm papaya tea and a chocolate macaroon was placed around a palm-reading area.
A multicoloured bath bomb was placed in the middle of the table to depict a planet, and dry ice gave the room a mystical aura as it bubbled up and circumnavigated itself around the 'world'.
As a gentle arm massage was performed, we addressed me as a person who fell into the 'water' category - my palm was also read - I won't elaborate, that's for you to find out for yourself (about you, obviously!)
Throughout the treatment there's a score of music, no achingly annoying whale sounds or panpipes.
The score has been re-worked around the entire treatment, for instance when when you're letting go - a crescendo.
One part I commented how it felt like a weirdo clown was on the loose, and Pauline confirmed the part was actually called deranged circus, or something similar (don't worry, not my mental state!) no part of the instrumental was the same, and having a background in music I found the attention to details incredible!
I found myself mesmerised as how cleverly executed and perspicacious the arrangement was.

The future

We'll, this where I left thinking ok I can do this, it seemed a lot of my blockages were to do with self doubt, and as the therapist moved down my body with a lamp oozing with dry ice and an uplifting lemony scent - she was signalling I let go and move on.
The future is the facial part of the treatment, and it was so interesting to be introduced to the lush products I'd so often overlooked, like the solid facial serums (solid because they contain no nasties like parabens) the massage bars that melt on contact with the skin, the intoxicatingly scent of the lemon and rose mask and facial techniques to 'lift' and anti-age the skin.
One thing I will say about this entire treatment is the skill of the therapists, they take great pride in making you feel comfortable, relaxed and acting as your therapist for the day.
This may not be the treatment for you, and the price tag of £285 may put you off.

Do take into account its a three hours treatment, consisting of an hour facial, a ninety minute massage and the palm reading aspect (with hand and arm massage).
Sweet tea and chocolate is served and you're packed away with the majority of the products used.

Relaxation Levels 5/5
Price 4/5
Location 4/5
Products used 4/5

I'd also like to say, where I was so ignorant to the length of the treatment, all I'd eaten all day was a Marshmallow bar and had a cappuccino.
My therapist was obviously concerned about my energy levels, so sent one of the staff out to get me a sandwich completely off her own back - how adorable.
I left seriously relaxed and positive - self doubt be gone!

Are you a big fan of Lush, and have you experienced any of their treatments before?

Challenge for Lozza!

Hi, I'm Cat.  I'm new to this site but here to stay.

 After a short hiatus and a mini makeover, we've both (myself & Lauren) put our heads together and decided to rebirth the baby (URbeautiful baby), so to speak.

 I'm going to regale you with my very long tale of how it took me to become part of the 'club' I hankered after for so long.

When I first toyed with the idea of blogging on Baby Ur Beautiful, it was going to be from a  slightly different perspective – it was going to be for the baby­-less; the women that apparently don’t hold a stake in societies future according to some failed leaders.

After years of peeing on sticks at various times in a month, faddy diets and the, “You’re leaving it a bit late” comments (which forced me to bury my head deeper into that cheeky bottle of Marlborough/gin and end the night sobbing on my friends shoulders). 
I remained the taboo one – the one without a child, and it's hard to forget these comments as my story eventually got its happy ending.

Don’t get me wrong. There were rays of hope. I got pregnant fairly quickly after we had decided to “start trying”. 
Six months after getting married I gagged at the smell of broccoli (which I love) shouted a lot at my husband, and suddenly it dawned on me – I was pregnant! 
I basked in my smug secret, idly looked at baby clothes and drank ginger ale from a champagne glass clad in my bridesmaid gear at my BFF’s wedding (theoretically I was an Usherette but that takes too long to explain!)
It was to be short lived, however. 

Two weeks after the giddy delight of watching two blue lines pop up on a stick it all went horribly wrong. In hindsight I’d ignored some key signs that it was about to. I’d searched chat sites for reassurance; brown discharge = normal, right sided cramping = normal, morning sickness miraculously disappearing at 8.5 weeks = normal.
Hospitals don’t deal with miscarriage very well – in fact they are fairly useless. 
On one level I can understand why; there’s nothing they can do and you are not ill. 
On another level I question the motives of some health care professionals for choosing such a vocation.

It was a Bank Holiday and we had gone into London to support a friend who had organised a fun run in aid of Leukaemia Research. I woke up that morning and didn’t feel great, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what felt wrong so I brushed it off – if Rich could run 10km whilst waiting to see if his treatment had worked and he was in remission I could get my backside into London to support him.
We met everyone at the pub post run. I had the most expensive pint ever. Two bottles of Becks Blue poured into a glass so no one would know ­- oh the irony! 
A couple of hours later we were finishing up; congratulating runners, saying our goodbyes to friends and planning to leave for along leisurely lunch to finish the afternoon. 
As a matter of course I popped to the toilet before we left. I’ll never forget that moment as I glance down and looked at the toilet bowl that was a sea of red. I froze. What should I do? 
I quickly pulled myself together told P (husband) we needed to go straight home and in a hushed whisper on the street outside I explained what I’d just seen. 
We decided to head home and go straight to the hospital. Once on the tube I changed my mind. I needed answers now - not in 40 minutes.
We headed to the nearest hospital in East London. We were seen quickly. They did the standard urine and blood tests and discerned what I already knew – I was pregnant. More than that they couldn’t tell me. 
The nurse asked to see my panty liner and declared (with a glimmer of patronisation) that with such a small amount of blood on it I was experiencing a standard level of bleeding that for some unexplained reason happens to a lot of women within pregnancy. 
The doctor readily agreed that I was looking ­ and evidently feeling ­far too well to be experiencing a miscarriage. 
I was packed off home and told that unless I experienced signs of an ectopic I was to wait until Wednesday and return for a scan.I went home. 
I continued to bleed. I returned on the Wednesday to the Early Pregnancy Unit(EPU) where after a 90 minute wait I was given an internal scan (with the wand that is now affectionately known as dildo cam in our house). The Sonographer, a lady of Polish origin, foraged about for a while and then said “Are you sure you were pregnant? There’s nothing there!” and that was how I learned that I had definitely lost my baby.

Miscarriage is much more common than people would think but it still remains a taboo subject. I am fairly open about most things in life so told people it had happened and many then opened up and shared their stories with me. 
Then there is the other side of the spectrum the people spouting the hard facts and the 1 in 10 pregnancies end in miscarriage. Slightly tactless, you think?

The one thing everybody assured me was at least I knew I could get pregnant. 
That it would happen again very soon. It didn’t.

After a year where nothing happened I asked for a referral to fertility clinic. We were both “textbook perfect” for everything with the exception of me having fibroids and these seemed to be of little concern. 
There followed a year’s treatment of various medications. Some that stimulated eggs, others that released them and we were sent home to perform mechanical sex 18 hours later - still nothing. 
The Consultant decided that IVF was our only option and we agreed, attended an introductory lecture and planned to begin at the end of the year. Three weeks later I discovered I was pregnant.
This pregnancy was much shorter lived than the first. In fact I could have blinked and missed it. 
I discovered I was pregnant on the Friday evening and by 7am on Monday morning I was sitting in A+E wedged between a lady who appeared to be suffering a nervous breakdown and a surly looking boy cuffed to an accompanying policeman. I had no doubt this time I had miscarried. The clots of liverish sludge, the agonising stomach cramps that were forcing me to try and curl into a foetal position as I unashamedly sobbed. 
This time the news was broken in a slightly different way. A very harassed Indian doctor with a plethora of ear stubble simply said to me, “you were pregnant but now you’re not”. 

IVF had to be delayed as a result until the start of this year. I decided to throw everything I had at it. My Friday night tipple became peppermint tea. I had acupuncture, reflexology and took up yoga. 
I meditated. I reacted quite sensitively to all drugs. It was hell on earth. I felt tired, sick emotional and as though my body didn’t belong to me – it didn’t. All seemed to go quite well. They harvested 11 eggs, 10 fertilised. Then 10 fell apart. They thought the drugs might have been too potent. They weren’t quite sure. At my follow up appointment I was told that it was only worth one more go. We agreed to pay an extra 1k for various drugs; anti ­rejection drips, Clexane to thin the blood, steroids (which would ensure a hefty weight gain on top of all the hormones). This all came with a health warning though – I was old (38 to be precise) and therefore I was probably not getting pregnant because my eggs were old. If round 2 didn’t work my next option was egg donation.

After a long chat we decided to give my body a break and delay round 2 until the beginning of August.
So here I am. I should be preparing for round 2 of IVF. Instead I am preparing for a 20 week scan!

My initial reaction was “How did that happen?", apart from the obvious answer! 
Typically ­and almost annoyingly as everyone says it’s when you are not thinking about it that you fall *coughs Lauren*  – I had become pregnant in a normal month where I had eaten whatever I fancied, drunk more than a little (I’d been on a long weekend to Ireland – enough said) and generally had fun. 
I’m naturally delighted. I’m also petrified. 

The first weeks after I found out were the worst. There was no excitement when I saw two blue lines – I didn’t dare feel excitement, but when I saw a heart beat on a grainy picture in our local hospital I felt a surge of love I’d never felt before. I felt it was important to acknowledge the struggle it has been to get to where I am today – and I am mindful it is a long journey ahead. 

Future blog posts will therefore have to be about the here and now – all the bits that no one tells you and I promise they won’t be as long as this (within reason!)

Oh my wow! We are so excited. It's starting to feel a lot like Christmas...

Tesco have launched their first EVER beauty advent calendar.
Forget choccies and the calories, indulge in this beauty instead.

Bursting with brands like Korres, Katy Perry, Dr LeWinns, Candy Kittens, Eyelure - it's everything you need for party season and MORE.
From cosmetics to fragrance and shower gels, it'll feel like Christmas every day.

For only £50 instead of the actual retail value of a whopping £125, best tell daddy to treat a much deserving mummy ASAP!

Best go to Tesco Tesco Beauty Advent Calendar LN x

Wow, we've finally found something that helps bedtime! Hallelujah!

The Slumber Buddy.

Slumber Buddy Elephant

I purchased the cute elephant variety. 
Due to me finding out I was preggers in Thailand,  I then decided my son would then be obsessed with Elephants, natch. So there's why I went for 'Eddie the Elephant.'

The Slumber Buddy is in the form of a teddy (elephant) with a plastic shell on the top where a star a moon display projects around the room in a warming blue, green and amber, and is really rather cute with stars, moons etc.

It also works as a nightlight giving the room a warm glow so baby feels comforted.
There are 3 lullabies available, 2 nature sounds and a heart-beat (this is probably best for very young babies). Although when my son had a bad belly I found myself rocking him on the rocking chair, at 4am, listening to a repetitive heartbeat for half an hour!
The general lullabies and soothing music lulls your little ones to sleep, and the calming display catches their attention, soothes, calms and relaxes them.

I've also tried the slumber buddy at alternative times, I found that when my little one is having a meltdown at nappy change time I press the button and the music kicks in and actually shuts him up! 

Although suitable from birth, we only found this 10 months in - if ONLY we had found it sooner. 

Bedtimes are normally tears, tantrums and fighting and random giggles as he refuses to go down. As I type this post I can hear the lullaby tune playing softly in his room, with a 30 minute shut off time (also a 15 and 45), by the time he's in a deep, deep sleep it'll finish up.

If you're looking for a babyshower gift - this is your buddy.


Slumber Buddy Tesco

LN xx

As I pottered around Primark, I stumbled across one of those face masks you used to treat yourself to as a teen with your pocket money. You know the ones? 
Often pink or green in colour, muds, peel-off, heat-up, little bit dated in packaging, a glam model oh the front resplendent in pink goo with strategically placed fruit on her eyes (and often in her gob).
Those ones.

Nestled in bustling Kensington, West London, and a stones throw from Shepherds Bush station, (although according to my incompetent iPhone – up, down and round and round in circles). The K Spa and Hotel is the perfect retreat for those wishing to remove themselves from the hustle and bustle of daily life - even if for just a few hours.

After my excruciating journey from Essex, mainly due to the latter part of getting lost, it is in fact, just three minutes max from the station. The K Spa could not have been any more perfect in timing, as a new mum... I'm exhausted.



Bursting out of the elevator, My best friend and I were greeted by a brightly lit reception, laden with products, which then led us into a waiting room with cosy leather beds, lunch menus, delicately flavoured water, magazines - everything to take your mind off of poos, teething and tantrums.One of the biggest buzz ingredients in beauty right now is Baobab, one of Africas best kept secrets.

The green fruit delicately hangs from the African Baobab tree, and the white flesh resembles fluffy marshmallows; high in antioxidants, vitamin C, calcium and potassium. It is natures own Berocca.Usually served in powder form, and in K Spa's case, a scrub, oil and delicious smoothie, the fruit has now become part of one of their signature treatments: The Feel Good Baobab Treatment costs £110 for 70 minutes. £2 of your purchase will be donated to the Aduna Foundation.



As a very stressed mum (mainly due to partner, not baby), I had high hopes the treatment would deliver escapism, and perhaps a little soujourn to the Sahara. The treatment uses Germaine De Cappucini 'Perfect Forms' products throughout. The Oil Tonic Scrub for starters, Firm & Tonic Oil, then the Dreamy Legs cooling gel. The piece de resistance (or Baobab) is a delicious smoothie, made with Aduna's Baobab Superfruit Powder.



First, I was gently eased onto a warm, heated bed. The start of the treatment was a scrub, which I usually find painful as the seeds or kernels attack my crocodile-like skin. However, the scrub was very delicate, in scent, and delivery, and as I've neglected my body for so long, it was such a treat to be pampered, yet at the same time receive a targeted treatment. I felt the dry skin melt away with each and every stroke and felt really relaxed. The scrub also works to remove impurities and aims to leave skin as soft as my baby's bottom. Beautiful!

As the therapist set to work, when it came to removing the scrub, it was a delightful yet different experience. Using a soft rocking motion with a towel to improve energy flow and also remove the debris, It was deftly whipped off. Despite the fact I was being covered in an abrasive scrub, I still felt the urge to nod off, and in my dreamy state I kept wishing my little tootsies would be included too, my poor, weary feet, but more of that later...

As I was gently rolled over onto my front, the Germaine de Cappuccini Baobab unctuous oil was applied bountifully. Now, if you think you're booking in for a massage, this it is not. There's no petrissage (deep tissue), nor Swedish techniques. It's African, don't you know! The technique they use is actually long, sweeping movements, sometimes a little eye-wincingly painful, but designed to improve energy flow and remove blockages. And this old gal, will have very little of the former. The 3-in-1 treatment (scrub, massage, pressure points) is a great way to ease yourself back into the world of pampering. Who would want to be pummelled and sore after a massage, anyway? As the skilled therapist applied more oil, I got a distinct whiff of menthol, one of the key ingredients in the product, which will help tired and weary limbs. And also a nasty cold, that seems to be going around right now. As I subconsciously willed the therapist to release the tension in my poor, neglected feet - she did! Remember, positive thinking, ladies.

Whether it was part of the treatment, or not. My throbbing feet were enveloped in the sweetly-scented products and left satisfied and relieved (as far as tired feet go).The therapist continued the sweeping massage strokes - which help the lymphatic and circulatory systems relieve tension and completely relax you (even if you are still worrying about that washing that needs rescuing from the washing machine....)

If I'm very honest, when I was gently placed on my front, it was game over. My body completely gave in, and I found myself in a dreamy state. Wandering along the Sahara with a soft, white sand blanket sifting between my toes. It was only when a heated towel was placed under my neck and used to lift my head up slightly and roll it from side to side. As my stiff tension-filled neck cracked with the movement, it awoke me from my pleasant daydream. This was the most painful part, mainly as it's where you hold the most tension, but not at any point was it not enjoyable. It was bliss.

For the final stage of the treatment, the therapist finds the pressure points on my face and scalp. Never something I've found relaxing due to sinus problems, and I always feel the point between the eyebrows a little tender. Then comes the baobab super charged smoothie. I could detect banana, and possibly papaya or mango, I'm not sure, but it was so tasty, and I was gasping after my trip to the desert, so I downed it in one - probably not the best move. Delicious as it was, it sat on my chest for a good hour after!After your treatment, and dreamy state, there's the opportunity to visit the spas' wet room, literally the most heavenly spa I've seen. And I've seen a lot.

We gasped as we walked into the cleanest, whitest of white room, with a smattering of brown and gold, twinkly lights and the most inviting aura. There are foot baths, sauna and steam room, snow room (yes!), and huge jacuzzi-pool big enough for 10! It's worth popping along just for some time out here. It's really, really peaceful and stunning. Therapists float in and out to ensure it's spotless and serene.



This is a great treatment if you are feeling de-energised and run-down – or if you want to indulge in a long and blissful massage that will scrub new life into your skin.K Spa gets a big four star 'mums' up.

LN x