Everyone knows that when you’re pregnant it’s safe to assume you’re bound to get stretch marks – between 75% and 90% of women develop stretch marks during this time. They’re a badge of honour, they show you’ve brought a child into the world....

That doesn’t mean I can’t try to prevent them! In my attempt to prevent stretch marks I have been using Nivea Q10 Plus Firming Body Oil. This is usually available from the shops for £6.63 for 200ml, but I managed to get it from Boots half price so I was very pleased with my eagle-eyedness. It’s enriched with coenzyme Q10 and avocado oil and is said to be intensively moisturising and supposedly firms your skin in 2 weeks.


I’ve been using it every morning to massage my belly, boobs and thighs since I was about 12 weeks pregnant, so about 8 weeks, and I’m only a third of the way through the bottle. I think that’s great value for money as a whole bottle should theoretically last me 24 weeks! Whether or not it will help prevent stretch marks remains to be seen as I have the other half of my pregnancy to get through, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

One of the things you might not realise happens when you’re pregnant, is that your skin just goes mental. It’s goes from normal to oily to dry and back again. And by dry, I mean so dry that my legs looked like they had fish scales on them! Yep, very attractive! I been through so many body lotions, butters and creams in the last few months  – Soap & Glory, Korres, Dead Sea Spa Magik – but the one that has finally soothed my poor dry skin is Lush Vanilla Dee-Lite Body Lotion.


I had this in my box of tricks for a few months but had left it to last as it’s a lotion and I didn’t think it would be rich enough. I was so wrong! Within two days of using it my skin went back to normal; no more itchy fish scale legs for me! It also smells gorgeous; it’s got coconut water, coconut oil, cocoa butter, hibiscus and kiwi amongst other things so you can just imagine how lovely it is. I think it makes me smell like a vanilla cupcake! Kiwi has an enzyme that helps dissolve dead skin so I reckon this is what did the trick for me. You can buy this for £11.75 for 250g – I got this little 100g bottle in a set at Christmas but I will definitely be buying it again.

What tips have you got for dealing with troublesome skin?


Pregnancy Skincare Tips

Everyone knows that when you’re pregnant it’s safe to assume you’re bound to get stretch marks – between 75% and 90% of women develop stretch marks during this time. They’re a badge of honour, they show you’ve brought a child into the world....

That doesn’t mean I can’t try to prevent them! In my attempt to prevent stretch marks I have been using Nivea Q10 Plus Firming Body Oil. This is usually available from the shops for £6.63 for 200ml, but I managed to get it from Boots half price so I was very pleased with my eagle-eyedness. It’s enriched with coenzyme Q10 and avocado oil and is said to be intensively moisturising and supposedly firms your skin in 2 weeks.


I’ve been using it every morning to massage my belly, boobs and thighs since I was about 12 weeks pregnant, so about 8 weeks, and I’m only a third of the way through the bottle. I think that’s great value for money as a whole bottle should theoretically last me 24 weeks! Whether or not it will help prevent stretch marks remains to be seen as I have the other half of my pregnancy to get through, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

One of the things you might not realise happens when you’re pregnant, is that your skin just goes mental. It’s goes from normal to oily to dry and back again. And by dry, I mean so dry that my legs looked like they had fish scales on them! Yep, very attractive! I been through so many body lotions, butters and creams in the last few months  – Soap & Glory, Korres, Dead Sea Spa Magik – but the one that has finally soothed my poor dry skin is Lush Vanilla Dee-Lite Body Lotion.


I had this in my box of tricks for a few months but had left it to last as it’s a lotion and I didn’t think it would be rich enough. I was so wrong! Within two days of using it my skin went back to normal; no more itchy fish scale legs for me! It also smells gorgeous; it’s got coconut water, coconut oil, cocoa butter, hibiscus and kiwi amongst other things so you can just imagine how lovely it is. I think it makes me smell like a vanilla cupcake! Kiwi has an enzyme that helps dissolve dead skin so I reckon this is what did the trick for me. You can buy this for £11.75 for 250g – I got this little 100g bottle in a set at Christmas but I will definitely be buying it again.

What tips have you got for dealing with troublesome skin?


On the Bank Holiday my friend and I decided to pay a visit to one of our old favourites, Just Desserts. It’s a cafe and wine bar in Hitchin that serves desserts, sundaes, waffles, crepes, teas, coffees and also does wine. It is heaven! 

 
I decided to go for a waffle with “The Cheesecake” topping (£5.25) which is literally the components of a cheesecake – sweet cream cheese, strawberries, raspberries and blueberrys, berry compote and crushed digestive biscuits. Lauren went for a crepe with “The Cherry Chocolate” topping (£3.95) which has hot black cherries, chocolate sauce and grated chocolate. Oh and we both had a blob of vanilla ice-cream and a pot of tea. Delicious!

On a healthier note, I’ve just signed up to Graze.com. You might have already heard of it – a box of snack delivered every week, or more often I guess if you wanted. I initially just signed up to get the free box and whilst there is absolutely no obligation to carry on after the free box they are just so yummy that I have fallen hook, line and sinker and continued my subscription.

 
This is my second box which contained: Black Pepper Doms (black pepper crackers with fruity mango chutney), Bounty Hunter (Belgian chocolate, coconut and cranberries), Apple & Cinnamon Flapjacks (self explanatory!) and Pina Colada (pineapple, coconut and mango). The boxes are normally £3.79 each including delivery but if you want to try a FREE box then please go to http://www.graze.com/p/31J2X7V and use my referral code 31J2X7VD - I’ll get £1 off a box as well as you getting a free one! There is no catch, you can cancel after the first free box. Whether or not you’ll want to cancel though, well that’s another matter....


Just Desserts & Graze Boxes

On the Bank Holiday my friend and I decided to pay a visit to one of our old favourites, Just Desserts. It’s a cafe and wine bar in Hitchin that serves desserts, sundaes, waffles, crepes, teas, coffees and also does wine. It is heaven! 

 
I decided to go for a waffle with “The Cheesecake” topping (£5.25) which is literally the components of a cheesecake – sweet cream cheese, strawberries, raspberries and blueberrys, berry compote and crushed digestive biscuits. Lauren went for a crepe with “The Cherry Chocolate” topping (£3.95) which has hot black cherries, chocolate sauce and grated chocolate. Oh and we both had a blob of vanilla ice-cream and a pot of tea. Delicious!

On a healthier note, I’ve just signed up to Graze.com. You might have already heard of it – a box of snack delivered every week, or more often I guess if you wanted. I initially just signed up to get the free box and whilst there is absolutely no obligation to carry on after the free box they are just so yummy that I have fallen hook, line and sinker and continued my subscription.

 
This is my second box which contained: Black Pepper Doms (black pepper crackers with fruity mango chutney), Bounty Hunter (Belgian chocolate, coconut and cranberries), Apple & Cinnamon Flapjacks (self explanatory!) and Pina Colada (pineapple, coconut and mango). The boxes are normally £3.79 each including delivery but if you want to try a FREE box then please go to http://www.graze.com/p/31J2X7V and use my referral code 31J2X7VD - I’ll get £1 off a box as well as you getting a free one! There is no catch, you can cancel after the first free box. Whether or not you’ll want to cancel though, well that’s another matter....


A few weeks ago my bump buddy, Kelly, and I went on our usual monthly shopping trip to Cambridge. We were full of intentions of buying baby bits but after spending hours gossiping we came home with nothing for the babies and a few cheeky bits for us!

We were wandering about in John Lewis and Kelly mentioned she wasn’t getting on with her usual Clinique foundation. Seeing as we were in John Lewis beauty hall I said why not visit a few counters and see if they can match her up to a new foundation. The Chanel counter was our first – and final! -  port of call. I’d recently tried a little sample of Chanel Perfection Lumiere and loved it, but the Chanel lady explained that was a medium-heavy coverage foundation and as Kelly was after something light she suggested Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua. She said it was a light coverage foundation that she felt was between a foundation and a tinted moisturiser. 

 
She found the shade to match Kelly’s skintone and tested a patch near her ear; the colour was perfect and the coverage so light, it looked fab. So I asked the Chanel lady to match me up too! I turned out to be shade 40. I don’t often wear foundation, usually only if my skin is looking a bit grotty or if I am going on a night out, but when I do use it I like a light coverage. I think it looks dreadful when you can tell someone is wearing foundation. Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua evens out my skintone but doesn’t make me feel like I’m wearing mask. It just makes me look like I naturally have lovely skin! It’s long lasting too; I wore it when I went to a friend’s BBQ and it was still perfect when I got home which must have been a good 10 hours wear on a very warm day. 

 
What made it even better was that John Lewis had a 10% off day so I got it for £27.90 instead of £31.00 and then the Chanel lady gave us each a cute miniature Intense Radiance Lipgloss in 166 Amour – a juicy watermelon shade with a hint of shimmer – as well as a moisturiser sample.  I was given Hydra Beauty Gel Creme as my skin is crazy combination at the moment. I never know what it’s going to do from one day to the next!

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation

A few weeks ago my bump buddy, Kelly, and I went on our usual monthly shopping trip to Cambridge. We were full of intentions of buying baby bits but after spending hours gossiping we came home with nothing for the babies and a few cheeky bits for us!

We were wandering about in John Lewis and Kelly mentioned she wasn’t getting on with her usual Clinique foundation. Seeing as we were in John Lewis beauty hall I said why not visit a few counters and see if they can match her up to a new foundation. The Chanel counter was our first – and final! -  port of call. I’d recently tried a little sample of Chanel Perfection Lumiere and loved it, but the Chanel lady explained that was a medium-heavy coverage foundation and as Kelly was after something light she suggested Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua. She said it was a light coverage foundation that she felt was between a foundation and a tinted moisturiser. 

 
She found the shade to match Kelly’s skintone and tested a patch near her ear; the colour was perfect and the coverage so light, it looked fab. So I asked the Chanel lady to match me up too! I turned out to be shade 40. I don’t often wear foundation, usually only if my skin is looking a bit grotty or if I am going on a night out, but when I do use it I like a light coverage. I think it looks dreadful when you can tell someone is wearing foundation. Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua evens out my skintone but doesn’t make me feel like I’m wearing mask. It just makes me look like I naturally have lovely skin! It’s long lasting too; I wore it when I went to a friend’s BBQ and it was still perfect when I got home which must have been a good 10 hours wear on a very warm day. 

 
What made it even better was that John Lewis had a 10% off day so I got it for £27.90 instead of £31.00 and then the Chanel lady gave us each a cute miniature Intense Radiance Lipgloss in 166 Amour – a juicy watermelon shade with a hint of shimmer – as well as a moisturiser sample.  I was given Hydra Beauty Gel Creme as my skin is crazy combination at the moment. I never know what it’s going to do from one day to the next!

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