Fancy face creams and a bit of pampering have taken on new importance now I’m pregnant. It might sound shallow, but taking care of my skin and painting my nails gives me a boost that I really need at the moment.

Thing is, when you have a demanding three (and three quarter) year old, work deadlines and a million and one other things to keep on top of, it’s not always easy to prioritise a beauty routine. So I’m pleased to share this guest post crammed full with handy beauty tips for the busy mum. 

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As every mum knows, it’s impossible to give much time to your own beauty routine when you’re making sure your children are fed, watered and supplied with costumes for the numerous dress-up days schools seem to have. Of course, there’s so much more to being a mum than those few things and it’s fair to say that your own appearance can become neglected, which is why it’s important to have a few tricks up your sleeve.

A little bit of fakery to do you good

Imagine if you could look your best without having to take any time applying make-up! Actually, there are a couple of things you could do to make that a reality! First of all, you should apply a fake tan; with your smooth, well-moisturised skin it should go on very easily and will give you an instant lift, making foundation unnecessary. Secondly, you won’t need mascara if you get your eyelashes dyed. There are some great home-dyeing kits, which you can use on your eyebrows as well, leaving you with no need to reach for the eyebrow pencil in the morning!

Shower time

While you may not be able to indulge in long, hot showers – especially when there’s a queue of children for the bathroom – you should make the most of the showers you can get. A shower is the perfect time to give your skin a swift makeover by indulging in some regular exfoliation; you can do this really quickly by using an exfoliating glove or mitt, making beautifully smooth skin achievable in the same time as it would take to apply your shower gel. Not only can you clean off all the dead cells, but you can moisturise your whole body, either by using a moisturising gel or by spraying on a little body oil at the end of your shower. Perfectly clean, moisturised skin in just about the same amount of time as an ordinary shower.

Hair-cheats!

Your hair is your crowning glory, but not if it’s limp, lacklustre and dragged back in a ponytail. It’s important to keep it trimmed, as there really isn’t any other permanent answer to split ends, but beyond that, there are a few things you can do to keep it in top condition.

There are several hair treatments which come in sachets and are designed to be left on the hair for a while before being washed out; the beauty of this is that you can put the treatment on your hair before you do other things, such as making packed lunches or dressing a baby. Another friend to the busy mum is the ease with which good hairpieces are available, so you can still ‘drag it back’ into a ponytail, but with the cunning placement of a matching hairpiece at the back of your head you can look as though you’ve just stepped out of a top salon.

You’ll always put yourself last because that’s what mums do. If, however, you find yourself feeling guilty about the few minutes you snatch for primping, remind yourself that your children love you whatever you look like, but a confident, relaxed mum is better for everybody.

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For more information please see my disclosure page. 

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I love a pamper. It doesn’t happen much, but when I do get the opportunity to indulge in a soak in the bath, or a luxuriously long hot shower, then I feel like a different woman.

The Body Shop’s Honeymania range is the ideal partner for such an occasion.

Because I couldn’t offer something as a prize without testing it myself first (I’ve got to check it’s up to standard, obviously *cough*) I can tell you with conviction that this range is lovely.

It smells rich but not sickly, leaves your skin polished and soft and is the kind of stuff you sort of want to eat, because it smells SO good.

And now – your chance to win a selection of Honeymania treats all for yourself. Just complete the Rafflecopter widget on this post.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and conditions: 

• Competition open to UK residents aged 18 and over, exluding anyone professionally associated with The Body Shop or Mother’s Always Right.
• Prize draw starts at 12pm GMT on 11th December 2013 and closes at 11.59pm GMT on 6th January 2013.
• Entry is via Facebook by liking the page specified. Bonus entries can be obtained via Twitter, by tweeting the specified tweet and following the specified account.
• The winner will receive a selection of non-specified products from The Body Shop’s Honeymania range.
• There is no cash alternative.
• The winner will be contacted direcly within 7 days of the competition closing.
• The name of the winner will be published on this website within 7 days of the competition closing.
• Entries that do not comply in full with these requirements will be disqualified.
• The promoter is: The Body Shop International plc, Care Centre, Building 7, Watersmead, Littlehampton, West Sussex, BN17 6LS, UK

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When I got married back in 2011, I invested in some beautiful Liz Earle hot polish cleanser, some very posh Dior make-up and a shampoo and conditioner from Aussie Hair. Frivolous? Yes. Indulgent? Too right. Worth the cash? Of course.

Since then, I haven’t splashed out on many beauty buys for myself. That’s slowly changing though, as I recently invested in a Bioderma Sensibio H20 cleanser, as recommended by Alice at More Than Toast. I’ve also got some Emma Hardie products on order, along with a Touche Eclat Radiant Touch from Yves Saint Laurent.

I have become vain and now accept it’ll take more than a dash of my daughter’s sudocrem and a bit of soap to make my skin shine.

Here are my latest beauty wants, as appearing on my Shopcade lists.

Clearly it doesn’t end there. I’ve also notched up the following:

Sugar Crush from Soap & Glory, via Shopcade, £8.00

Urban Decay, Naked Palette, via Shopcade, £36

Dior, Rock Coat, via Shopcade, £18

Tell me, did you suddenly become more interested in taking care of yourself when you reached a milestone birthday? Is the next step doing something REALLY silly like splashing out on a hugely pricey handbag or a pair of designer heels?!

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Disclosure: As an ambassador for Shopcade, I get sent lovely items to keep from time to time. If you like Pinterest and shopping, it’s worth checking out the site. You earn points which lead to rewards, just for making lists of pretty things – as well as cashback for products purchased through the site.

The post The things that will make me beautiful appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

*whispers* Is it just me, or does it finally feel like it could, possibly, maybe, perhaps, be spring?

The last couple of days have seen moments of sunshine and blue sky that have left me blinking. I’m not suggesting we all get carried away and start donning a bikini or hotpants, but the brighter days have definitely left me wanting a bit more colour.

As the spring days tease us, I’ve been busy catching up on my recent addiction: my spring colour boards on Shopcade.

This is a site that works a bit like Pinterest, where you make lists of things you want. But with Shopcade, you can actually buy the stuff. Plus, you get points for your activity (if someone follows you or repins something you’ve found, for example) which lead to lovely rewards. And you get more rewards if you buy stuff through the site. Seriously, it’s great.

You can follow me on there and see my boards here, I recommend the trainers and boots lists. I’ve toiled long and hard over those.

Here are some of the products currently featuring on my spring colour boards:

I also rather like this very serious and sophisticated jumper from Boden, which I think would look pretty good with early morning uniform of jeans and converse.

Then there are the numerous shades of lipstick I’ve been looking at, the bunches of daffodils winking at me in the supermarket, as well as my sudden hankering after a fresh salad rather than a hearty stew.

I’m telling you, spring is on the way. Hopefully.

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Disclosure: As a Shopcade ambassador, I get sent lovely items every now and again. For more information about commercial content please see my disclosure page.

The post In search of some colour appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

It was a rare couple of hours of solitude in an otherwise hectic schedule. As I sat under a pile of foils, hoping my hair wouldn’t turn green, I ignored the lump of mother guilt sitting in the pit of my stomach, choosing instead to concentrate on my showbiz current affairs magazine.

On being ushered to the basin for my rinse, I brushed away thoughts of not spending enough time that day with my toddler, turning my attention to the twinkly lights set deep in the ceiling.

And as the raw guilt and feelings of stress started to recede I was left with a huge question staring me blankly in the face.

With the deft massaging fingers of my hair guru doing their work on my scalp, the question started flashing before my eyes, in bright neon. I couldn’t believe that in the space of all my (nearly 29) years, I had never stopped to consider this burning issue before now: when having your hair washed at the hairdressers, should you sit with your eyes open or closed?

Clearly my immediate response to this question was to snap my eyelids open, meeting my lovely hairdresser eyeball to eyeball. Awkward.

So I clamped them shut again and feigned relaxation as I debated the issue in my head. That was fine until the water stopped and everything went quiet.

Assuming the hairdresser was busying herself preparing solution to be massaged into my follicles, and not wanting to look like I’d fallen asleep, I hesitantly opened one eye.

It was then I found my tormenter standing over me, leaning in to rearrange my towel. This time I was winking at her. Without question. Again, awkward.

Nonchalantly opening my eyes into a half open, half closed state seemed the best option. Until I realised that looked like I’d broken wind.

If only I could remember the unwritten rules of the hairdresser. It’s been far too long since I actually sat in a salon and was pampered. I don’t recall it being this stressful before.

So what’s the deal? Eyes open or closed?

The post Getting all deep and meaningful on you appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

Me

I have a big task ahead of me this evening.

It involves razers, tweezers, body scrub, nail varnish, moisterising fake tan and copious amounts of other potions and lotions. Because tonight, I am going to tame the beast.

As tomorrow’s hen do looms ever closer, I’ve come to realise I can no longer hide behind the “I’m a mum now, I’m busy” approach to my beauty regime. This excuse has dominated the last year of my life, meaning I’m no longer au fait with what one does with a razor or a bottle of fake tan.

But tonight all that has to change. As I understand it, many places where adults go to dance and drink on a Saturday night have some sort of dress code nowadays. And milk encrusted t’shirts accessorised by furry armpits and hairy toes don’t really cut the mustard.

So after I’ve spent an hour de-fluffing the legs and another hour scrubbing the cellulite on my bottom into oblivion, I need to remember how to use a pair of tweezers. The Liam Gallagher look I’ve been sporting for the last couple of months isn’t the image I want to convey to friends I haven’t seen for nearly two years. I want to be “Yummy Mummy” with hairless toes and perfectly arched eyebrows, not “Slummy Mummy” with dried snot on my top and chipped nails the likes of which Worzal Gummidge would be proud of.

This is a big task. One that I’m going to set aside an entire evening to complete. But there’s one obstacle that even a heavy duty razor and a vat of moisterising lotion can’t overcome.

How to walk in heels?

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