Blog Guilt Alert!! Life has been manic these past few weeks, what with our two trips away – to visit family in Ireland and then Italy, all within a month – so I have had scant time to devote to my blog, which has given me “blog guilt”. Anyway, having missed a couple of weeks of my usual This Week I’m Loving feature – indeed even this week it’s a day late, argh! – this week I am going to treat you to a BUMPER edition!! So, this week I’m loving…

A’kin Pure Rose Hydrating Mist

Since having Richmond Baby, it is a fact that I can just about manage to wash my face and brush my teeth of a morning before considering my beauty routine basically done. Richmond Daddy, I’m sure, is not best pleased about this but he’s too kind to say anything. Anyway, I have been thinking that I should at least put a layer of moisturiser on to go some way to prevent me from looking completely bared faced and (bloody) awful, but to be honest, I’m hit and miss even with that: time was when I literally couldn’t leave the house without moisturiser on or if I did I would have to buy some on the way to work as I couldn’t make it through the day without putting some on. Sad but true.

So, I was rather delighted to come across this delicious little beauty product from The Purist Company, which is essentially a spray for all skin types that revitalises, soothes, and moisturises. So no longer do I need to laboriously apply moisturising cream, which takes up vital seconds when I could be doing one of my many many other tasks, I can just spritz the mist and go! And it smells amazing thanks to the unique blend of Australian Bush Flower Essences of “old man banksia” (strange but true!), “dog rose”, and “tall mulla mulla” – all of which, granted, sound a bit peculiar, but combine to produce the most wonderful rose fragrance. Not only that, it also contains something called hyalouronic acid that hydrates skin cells and helps reduce fine lines, plus soothing aloe and vitamin B5.

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I’ve been using it daily for the past few weeks and it really refreshes you each time you spritz it on, it would be great to keep in your bag for when you’re out and about particularly travelling or if you’re abroad and in a hot, dry, or humid climate. I also found a novel new reason to use it after Richmond Baby actually threw up in my face towards the end of last week – yes, in my face, in fact, most of it actually went in my mouth (seriously, I can barely type this without heaving…) – and despite scrubbing continuously afterwards I was convinced I could still smell puke radiating from my face. Not a good place to be in let me tell you.

Not an easy photo to take by yourself!

So I got out my A’kin hydrating mist and went to town – hey presto, the smell of baby sick beautifully replaced with the fragrance of rose. Phew. Not sure that’s what they’ve designed it to be used for, but at that moment in time, it worked a treat for me.

A’kin Pure Rose Hydrating Natural Face Mist costs £15 for 125mls and is available from Holland & Barrett, Bentalls, Whole Foods Market, Planet Organic, http://www.lookfantastic.com and http://www.eco-essentials.co.uk

Funky Giraffe Bibs

When she’s not puking in my face (and in my mouth – IN MY MOUTH I TELL YOU!!?!?!), Richmond Baby is a bit on the dribbly side bless her and teething has exacerbated this somewhat. Sometimes she requires a frequent outfit change just due to the fact that her top is soaked with drool, nice! So, I was delighted to be sent these really cool little bibs, which are like little bandanas, to try out from Funky Giraffe Bibs – who are a small company founded by a mum whose background is in textiles and fashion and who launched the business after having her son and deciding it was time to go it alone, she says “in short, I wanted to design items that I would buy” – which makes sense. Funky Giraffe Bibs design, ethically source, and sell all their own range of bibs and baby products in a variety of funky (the clue is in the name!) designs. There’s bandana bibs, long-sleeved bibs, messy bibs, coveralls and more!

We were sent three designs to try out….

Funky Giraffe Bibs

The designs are all lovely, I think of the ones we were sent my favourite is the middle one above, it certainly jazzes up an outfit! Here’s a picture of Richmond Baby modelling it whilst at the gym (baby gym that is… I haven’t yet got her down to Fitness First to work off those pudgy thighs):

Over the shoulder, always the best angle

What I love about these bibs is that they are really stylish and practical at the same time. They can enhance an outfit (a key point for any style savvy baby) but also, because of the lovely soft cotton front and fleecy back, they keep any moisture from soaking through onto baby’s clothes/chest. They also fit really nicely around her neck, snug but not tight. And they wash really well too – as I found out when I had to get carrot stains out of them… thank goodness for Napisan eh?! I found them particularly a godsend when we went on holiday recently as being on the move I really didn’t want to have to keep changing her clothes any more than necessary.

Take a look at the website, there are tons of designs to choose from – my particular favourites are the McQueen inspired skull and crossbones print, very cool, and the rather imaginatively titled “Penguins in Fog” (a new take on Gorillas in the Mist perhaps?), which made me smile. Plus there’s a special offer running right now where you can buy 4 bibs for only £8.60 including free UK delivery.

Becoming a founding UK stylist for Stella & Dot

Yes, I have an announcement to make…. No, I’m not pregnant (seriously people?!)… I have decided to take the plunge and sign up to be a UK stylist for Stella & Dot, a jewellery company established in the USA that is set to launch this side of the pond imminently. Am very excited about this because (a) it means I have an excuse to buy lots of jewellery – got to have a good range of samples after all, it’s business! (b) it means I have an excuse to organise fashion/gossip/drinking wine/eating nibbles gatherings – again, in the name of business!

I signed up on the 1st Sept and got my starter kit last week – check out my (not so) Silent Sunday pic for a sneak peak. I’ll be buying more samples to make sure I have a good range to showcase, already I know I’m going to make sure I get my hands on the Chantilly Lace Cuff, which I’ve already mentioned on this blog and here are some other little beauties I’m planning on getting…

Contessa Jade Necklace (£95) & Camilla Ring (£40)

Renegade Cluster Necklace (the shorter chain) (£45)

Delicate Drop Earrings (£20)

I’m also rather taken with the La Coco Collection, which is a range of base chains and strands, and brooches, which you can mix and match to create unique pieces of jewellery for yourself. There are some really gorgeous pieces. For example, you can take this…

Paradise Brooch (£32)

And add it to this…

Gold Pearl Strand (£35)

And/or this…

La Coco Vintage Chain (£55)

To create this…

One look from the La Coco Collection

I’ll be up and running from mid October, so am just in the getting everything ready phase right now. I’d love to hear what you think of the jewellery you’ve seen here and if you take a look at the website, you can see the full range. If you like what you see and you’d like to host a “trunk show” (basically a little gathering at home or work) with me, then get in touch! You just invite some friends over, provide some light refreshments, and I bring the bling. There’s no pressure to buy, but the hostesses does get rewarded with a discount on jewellery.

So if you fancy creating a little pop up jewellery boutique in your front room – perfect for some stress free Xmas shopping – then just let me know and we can book a date as I’m starting to book-in dates now for Oct/Nov/Dec. If you’d rather not host a “trunk show’ but still like the look of the jewellery then you’ll be able to buy online – I’ll let you know once my site is up and running.

Wish me luck!!
(p.s. if you REALLY like what you see and fancy becoming a stylist yourself then drop me a line and I can tell you how and what’s involved etc. it’s super easy and not expensive to get started, plus you can do it as a hobby or serious business depending on how much time and effort you want to put into it).

So, tell me, what are you loving this week?