I Tried Beauty Pie's 30 Day Free Trial

 Today I thought I would share with you a little skincare and beauty content. It's not something I have written about in a long time, though I do tend to share the ramblings of my latest buys over on my Instagram stories, as it is something I'm quite passionate about - especially as I am growing older and my skin is changing. Instagram is where I discovered Beauty Pie and I saw a number of my favourite accounts sharing their latest buys and from there I became very drawn to the brand. 

Why sleep should be no.1 in your beauty regime.

Sleep is just as important as diet but is often overlooked. It has been noted that the best time to sleep is between 10pm and 6am. In a recent article I read in ‘In the Moment’, author, Mira Manek claims that these particular hours are the most rejuvenating and as our biorhythms are programmed to follow nature’s rhythms ideally we should sleep when its dark and wake with sunrise. With our fast paced world we often look for quick ways to enhance our looks, whether its applying makeup to going to a cosmetic dentist to get that perfect smile - sometimes going back to basics is equally effective and transforming giving you that confidence boost that many of us crave.

Falling in Love with The Ordinary

Before I begin this review, I just want to be clear - I'm no skincare blogger. In fact, for a long time, the extent of my skin care shamefully involved scrapping off my makeup with a baby wipe. Mum life got me bad. However, now I'm in the 30's club my skin has become somewhat of a concern. Which is hilarious as we all know what happens when we age! I have always been fairly lucky with my skin, I have never really suffered with spots - but my face is full of freckles and can be sensitive with the changing seasons. Also, those "fine" lines are starting to become even more prominent.

I have been really interested in The Ordinary products for around 18 months, their price point is so appealing and I had seen so many positive reviews. But there was always something that overwhelmed me - the huge choice. The fact you could mix and match to create your perfect skin care routine with some of skin care's most sought after ingredients were perfect for those skin care whizzes. But for me, I was really confused as to what to order! Many products can't be layered together, some cancel out each other's effectiveness. So I decided to actually sit down, do my research and start out small.

Skin Care now I'm approaching 30

Me- "Mum what's that stuff you're putting on your face?" My Mum -"It's cream to stop wrinkles." Me - "It's not working is it Mummy".

Dental Veneers: What you need to know

We’d all love to have the perfect smile, but like a lot of people, you might feel self-conscious about your teeth. Whether you think your pearly whites aren’t straight enough or you’re worried they’re too stained, you may be keen to find ways to improve them. The good news is, there are now a variety of effective cosmetic dental treatments available that can help you to achieve the smile you’re after. One increasingly popular option is dental veneers - but what exactly is this treatment and could it be right for you?

Autumn Favourites 2015

With Autumn well and truly here and Winter creeping in, I thought I would share with you a few of my Autumn favourites I have been loving this year. A few of you have been asking where a few things are from over on Instagram so thought this would be the perfect post!

OPI Hawaii Collection | Review

Despite being heavily pregnant and having a toddler to run around after, I always try to make time to paint my nails. I love switching up colours and styles, it always make me feel a little bit more me. With summer in full swing I have been swaying towards the brighter summery colours as I do every year, and every year I'm naughty and add more to my collection - despite my hubby's disapproval!

As always, OPI bring out some fab collections through each season every year. I love getting these as they are the mini sizes and allow you to experiment with the latest trends, never failing on quality plus they don't break the bank. I was recently sent from Just My Look (who currently have up to 40% off OPI!) the Hawaii gift set which is perfect for this time of year.

The set includes four shades, I Lost my Bikini in Molokini, Suzi Shops and Island Hops, That's Hula-Rious, Aloha from OPI. I was instantly drawn to Aloha from OPI and That's Hula-Rious, both are such gorgeous colours and so very me! The mint colour is literally the perfect shade, I have been searching for the perfect mint colour and it's definitely this. 

The quality, as expected, never fails. You need about three coats to get a true opaque finish but it dries relatively fast, which did surprise me. Staying power, about 3-4 days with no chips, not the best but I switch them up so often that doesn't bother me. Plus I didn't put a top coat on so probably would last longer. 

What's your favourite summer shade?

Mummy B xoxox

*I was kindly sent these products for the purpose of the review. All thoughts, opinions & images are my own.

Skin Care Staples // TEN Anti-Aging Range

One of my upcoming favourite skin care companies have released a new anti-aging skin care range. Made in Italy, the TEN anti-aging range includes four essential skincare products which actively fight the ageing effects of photo-damage, fatigue and lack of moisture. It is made with "no nasties" and is free from parabeans, ethanol, SLES, formaldehyde, dyes, colour, phthalates, lanolin, soap, paraffin mineral oil and nitrosamine. It is suitable for sensitive skin and has been formulated to reduce the risk of skin allergies. The range includes;

Anti-Age Revive Eye Contour Cream, RRP £29.70, 30ml

Anti-Age Complete Rejuvenating Care Cream, RRP £34.50, 50ml

Anti-Age Luminescense Skin Exfoliation Care Cream, RRP £29.70, 50ml

Anti-Age Instant Lifting Cream, RRP £34.50, 50ml

My Thoughts

Organic Beauty Week Challenge

The fantastic people at Green People challenged me to swap something from my daily beauty regime that is non-organic to something that is. Having already been converted to a number of their products, I decided to opt for a body scrub. A body scrub is something I don't skip out on, I will do a body scrub around two times a week. I have been pretty happy with my current scrub and haven't deviated from that one for around four years! So the Green People did have to come up with something amazing!

They kindly sent me their Sugar Scrub which is 95% organic and does not contain micro-beads (which are very controversial at the moment). Micro-beads are often found in scrub products, I have used products with them in before, the reason they are so controversial is, ultimately these plastic beads end up in our oceans causing problems for marine life. Not something I had ever considered before, but I will now think again before buying products containing micro-beads.

Back to this wonderful Sugar Scrub! When I opened the tub I couldn't help but breath in the heavenly scent! I can't quite place it but looking at the ingredients it contains, coconut oil and jojoba oil - so heavenly!! The scrub itself is a nice consistency, I like my scrubs to feel like they are working. When applying the scrub slowly melts away and starts to moisturise the skin - it feels so luxurious! 

I have to admit, Green People have done it again. I'm converted. The main reason for this is just how moisturised my skin feels without having to actually moisturise (something that I sometimes forget to do!). I really am falling in love with this brand, everything I have tried from these guys really haven't failed to impress. If you have never tried anything from them, make sure you check out their website, I'm sure you will find a new organic love - just in time for Organic Beauty Week. 

Have you been using anything organic in your beauty regime this week?

Mummy B xoxox

-TEN- // Review

Today I have a little review of a couple of products we have been testing out whilst on honeymoon. We were kindly sent two products from TEN, the Baby Natural Shampoo (RRP £18.90) & the Hydration Body Cream (RRP £31.80). 

I will start with the latter, the Hydration Body Cream. This cream is marketed for during and after pregnancy, and is a definite luxury for a new/mum-to-be. It's aim is to restore the skins natural oils and elasticity, by a formula that includes essential vitamins (B5, E and F) and pure wheat germ oil. The product smells gorgeous and is lovely to apply, it soaks quickly into the skin and is non-greasy. It has worked wonders on my very dry legs! As I said before, this is a luxury product as it is priced fairly high, but is a beautiful hydrating cream and would be tempted to buy again if I wanted to splash out and treat myself.

Next is the TEN Baby Natural Shampoo, a really lovely formula for your little ones. Darcie has been blessed with beautiful hair, everyone comments on her curly locks. But this holiday with the sea, wind and ice-cream occasionally getting in it, its needed a little bit of extra care. This product has helped get rid of any nasty knots, whilst keeping it nice and shiny (and perfectly curled!). One thing I really love about this product is that its a light formula. I detest it when shampoo weighs down on Darcie's hair, it can make it look dirty and greasy but this is lovely and light! Again, it is pricey but a little goes a long way so I think its going to last a long time (unlike other products I have used). 

I really want to try some more products from TEN like the Bath Milk and Baby Protective Diaper Cream, but may be that will be a treat if baby number two comes along soon!

Have you tried any of the TEN products? What are your thoughts?

Mummy B xoxox

Wedding Makeup Buys

With the wedding now under three weeks away some of the finer details are having to be arranged/sorted. Something which I was on a mission to get done a couple of weeks ago was a few make up pieces to keep my makeup lasting all day and looking its best. I'm having my makeup done by the beautiful Jessica, who is a YouTuber and Blogger and have followed for a couple of years now which is really exciting! I have my trial this Wednesday, which will be fantastic so we can work on the look for the day. I can not stress the importance enough on having trials for your big day, whether it be for hair or makeup. I had my hair trial a few weeks ago and have now decided that I don't want that particular hairstyle, I would of hated to look back on photos regretting that style!!

So, as I'm still yet to have my trial, I have just bought a few pieces to keep me going through the day. First up is the Benefit POREfessional primer (£24), which reduces the appearance of pores beautifully. This silky lotion really does set me up to have a good makeup day and is soon becoming apart of my daily routine, it just does exactly what it claims to do but does fade a little throughout the day.

Which leads my onto my next item, the Urban Decay All Nighter makeup setting spray (£20). This oil free spray is applied after you have finished your makeup (or can be used to set different layers of makeup), I have to admit that it felt weird putting a spray over makeup that you have just done!! But this spray helps to keep you make-up looking its best all day (or night!), it can be applied to freshen your makeup too.

Lastly is a lip product, Urban Decay's NAKED Lipgloss in the colour Rule34 (£14), which is a lovely natural colour with no shimmer. I was advised by the lady at the Urban Decay counter to avoid shimmery lip glosses as they don't look good on camera so recommended this beauty. The lipgloss applies well and wears nicely, what more could I want?!

I would like to buy a concealer but I'm waiting for my trial with Jessica before making any purchases. 

What makeup tips would you give to any bride to be?

Mummy B xoxox

P.S If you want to see Jessica's beauty channel click HERE and for her blog click HERE. xxx