babyurbeautiful

This might be an unpopular opinion but on my daily commute there's nothing right now that makes me (admittedly unreasonably) angrier or more bemused than Cath Kidston 'handbags'.

Why women feel the need to carry around what can only be described as glorified plastic shopping bags is beyond me. None of them are pensioners so it can't be that. And none of them are also carrying babies so they can't be nappy bags either.

I don't know how any of you feel but for daytime make-up I often feel like lipstick is a bit too much. Yet equally for work I still want an injection of colour on my face to combat looking tired and washed out, as well as to look more professional in meetings.

I did a bit of scouting in the shops and there are quite a few lip stains available as well as some coloured lip balms.  So I picked a selection and tried them out.

Sleek MakeUP Pout Polish with spf15 in Pink Cadillac £4.49
















I think Sleek is a new range of make-up and I came across it in Superdrug. The colour looks really bright in the jar but it's actually really subtle on the lips so if you buy this I would definitely go for the brighter colours. It goes on like a bit of a cross between lip balm and lip gloss so you end up with a glossy but not sticky finish. It smells a little weird, kind of like coco and on inspection of the ingredients it has shea butter, almond oil and avocado oil in it which is nice. It's a bit expensive for an unknown brand but I really like it so would definitely buy it again.

BarryM Lip Lacquer Crayon in No.3 £4.99
















I'll be honest, I'm not overly keen on this one. It's a pencil lip colour but even though it goes on nicely - you can layer to create the depth of colour you need - it feels dry and sticky on the lips. It's also a bit too sparkly, great for a younger market or maybe on a night out but not right for work.  It's also expensive at £4.99 for what it is.
It hasn't helped that the woman in the shop diddled me. I had picked up a tester version of the cherry colour so the lady behind the counter went to get another one but she picked up the orange colour instead.

Collection 2000 Colour Pout Lip Stain in Pout 5, £3.99
















This pretty much does what it says on the tin. It's like colouring in your lips with a felt-tip pen. Although this means that you do get that coverage and the colour stays put, it also means that there is only one colour level and that's full on.  So if I bought this again I would be inclined to go for a more subtle colour.


Lush It Started With a Kiss lip tint, £5.75













You have to put lip balm on before using this lip tint as it's a bit dry on its own. But the colour is good as you can dab it on so it's a nice pink or build it up to its full red glory. Good for taking to work and for a touch up before after-work drinks!

RL xx

I wrote recently about the back-to-work wardrobe I was planning, inspired by watching Suits on TV.

On Friday Lucy had her second settling in session at nursery which she took to really well. She didn't even cry when I left! So I'm both relieved and slightly upset about that.

Leaving Lucy at nursery is going to be tough, but I still know I'm doing the right thing by going back to work. It's partly about me - I just don't feel I'm cut out to be a stay-at-home mum, much as I respect those who are (or have been - my own mum was). But now I've been a mum for a year, going back to work is also about Lucy.

So here's my perspective. You'll notice that I precede most of these points with 'I need' which may come across as selfish but it would be foolish and unhelpful to deny that mums have needs too.

And admittedly some of the below are pertinent mostly to my own situation so bear with me. Feel free to comment if you disagree!

I need some mental stimulation
I've been working since I left school and been doing marketing of various kinds for over 10 years. And since the novelty of being able to watch daytime TV wore off fairly early on in my maternity leave, it's been really hard for me to keep myself challenged mentally (not mentally challenged!).

I promised myself that I would stay abreast of the latest online marketing developments and even learn some new things while off work, but I'm ashamed to say that I've barely done much at all. The daily business of being a mum has kind of worn me down. I can barely decide what to make Lucy for lunch or dinner most days.  But doing this blog with the girls has re-motivated me and made me realise that going back to work is definitely best for my brain.

I need some sleep
As I mentioned in a previous post, Lucy used to be a pretty good sleeper. But even back then she only slept through the night maybe 4 out of 7 nights a week and I still had to get up at 7am 6 days a week. For the last 2 months she's woken several times every night and frankly I'm exhausted. I'm on edge a lot and get teary at small silly things like I used to when the preggers hormones were raging in me. And I'm not the best mum when I'm tired as I've started to lose my temper more often, quickly followed up by a large dose of guilt!

Hubby does help out on weekends but ultimately most days a week it's me that hasn't had more than two or three hours of sleep in a row for what seems like an eternity. How other mums manage to do this from birth and still function is amazing to me.

Going back to work will allow me to get back at least half my sleep (and half my sanity) as we'll now have to share the shifts equally. Maybe my ginormous eye bags will get smaller too.

I need to get back the equality in my relationship
This is completely my own issue (not down to my husband) but being at home for a year and not earning money has knocked my confidence a bit and made me feel less of an equal in the relationship. When your 'job' is essentially cleaning the house and looking after a child it's easy to feel unappreciated or that what you're doing is trivial when it's really not. It's sad I often find I'm trying to justify - to myself - what I haven't done during the day.

I also haven't been able to contribute financially to any big costs this year such as holidays or the house move which has been hard as I'm used to paying for things roughly equally.

All these things tend to put me on the defensive quite a lot which is no good for a harmonious marriage! Poor hubby - I think we'll both be glad to get back to the norm!

Nursery gives Lucy what I can't
I might be alone in this, but as Lucy has grown more alert and physically capable I've found I can't keep up with her needs in terms of stimulation and play. I'm not saying I don't ever play with her, read to her and generally entertain her, but if I'm honest I don't spend as much time on it as I feel I should. There is always just too much other stuff to do.

But Lucy loves the nursery - she can run around and play with all the toys and do activities that I'm often too knackered to want to do (like messy play). She likes interacting with other kids and she gets as much attention as she wants from the lovely staff.

I'm hoping that going to nursery will help her become a more creative, sociable and independent child.

Lucy gets to spend more time with her dad
The new working set up means that both hubby and I have flexible working arrangements (lucky I know!) and Lucy gets to spend a full day with just her dad in addition to the weekends we all spend together. Not very dad would feel brave enough to ask for flexible working for fear of it affecting his career so I have much respect for my man. I know that this aspect alone of my going back to work will make it worth it.

One of my favourite TV shows right now is 'Suits' and since I'll be heading back to work in a few weeks, I'm taking inspiration from the ladies on the show for my back-to-work wardrobe.

While my company isn't quite as corporate as Pearson Hardman, I love the tailored, sexy and feminine look of the outfits the female characters wear on the show. I'll be looking out for a few key pieces along these lines to keep me from looking mumsy at work.

Here's my rundown of the Suits workwear style.

Jessica Pearson - Managing Partner
Jessica's wardrobe is uber tailored, super sexy power dressing. Slim fitting dresses and skirt suits are the order of the day with ruching in key places to leave something to the imagination. Gina Torres who plays the character has an amazing figure so some of these will be hard to pull off.

 





Rachel Zane, Paralegal
Rachel has a less high profile job in the firm and as such her style is smart and sexy but with a more relaxed vibe. She mostly goes with separates - pencil skirts and sweaters or fitted shirts.

 



Donna Paulsen, Executive Assistant to Harvey Specter
Donna's style is super-feminine - she wears mainly dresses that flatter her figure. Sadly The Google hasn't produced any decent images of Donna's outfits (possibly because she sits behind her desk a lot) so I have only one example to show here. I strongly suggest you watch the show if you want to see the full range!




















Since I don't have a TV budget to buy my clothes, this is the type of thing I'll be going for. I particularly love the V-neck fitted dress and the flower print dress from Debenhams - super sexy - and they'd look great with the ASOS jacket. Just add a pair of killer heels for added height and glam!

Damsel in a dress Debenhams.com

Wallis floral jersey dress Debenhams.com

PLANET ruffle front dress Debenhams

Definitions 2-in-1 dress Very.co.uk

Black roll-sleeve blazer - ASOS.com

Check blazer - ASOS.com

Black leather look pencil skirt DorothyPerkins

Blue tube pencil skirt DorothyPerkins.com

Printed sleeveless shirt Very.co.uk

Classic white shirt Next.co.uk

RL xx