Make Me Yummy Blog Hop - Week 2

Wow, its Saturday again already and time for part two of my mission to find beauty treatments, cosmetics and products that really do work. This week I am happy to report that the beauty products have been flying through my letter box. 


Due to the sudden heatwave I have decided to first trial The MÁDARA Herbal Deodorant. I received one of these free but it usually retails at £10.50 for 50ml. Quite expensive when compared to the average deodorant but read on to see if its worth it 


I had never heard of MÁDARA products before. However, they are an entirely natural and organic range of cosmetics manufactured in Latvia. Their ingredients include biologically certified flower and herb extracts from the Baltic region, as well as other natural substances. This appealed to me because I like the idea of using natural products. The deodorant claims to be 100% natural, non-staining and provide all-day protection, even on a hot summer's day! Perfect for this weather I thought.

So what is so special about this deodorant? Well first of all it does not contain any alcohol so should not cause any irritation.  Being a natural deodorant it doesn't contain any harmful chemicals either,  like parabens or aluminium, which have been linked to serious health risks including breast cancer. Instead it is enriched with Baltic Yarrow and plantain, which both have anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Sounds good so far! I have extra sensitive skin so was happy to trial this product. 


The product is appealing to the eye and the packaging is environmentally friendly and can be recycled, always a bonus in this day and age.


I am not usually one for using roll on deodorants I tend to prefer the spray ones but I gave this one a go and can seriously say I was pleasantly surprised! It claims that this "quick-drying anti-bacterial and soothing formula will leave your underarms feeling fresh, while hydrating the delicate skin in this area". I would actually agree with this!


 Like all roll ons it felt wet when I applied it to my underarms but it was quick drying, did not sting or irritate and did not leave a sticky residue. I have been out in the sunshine playing with my little girls, running around tidying up after them and I still feel fresh and dry and not even the slightest bit "smelly". Can't be bad! 


To make it a perfect product I would have perhaps added a scent and made it slightly cheaper.


Overall, I would give this product 9/10 and would be very happy to try some of their other products. MÁDARA do a whole range of natural eco cosmetics including those for the face, body, Mums to be and children. They are available from Selfridges, Harrods, Wholefoods, independent stores nationwide, leading online beauty shops and of course www.MÁDARA.co.uk.  You should check them out I know I will be!


Feel free to join in this blog hop.  It is open to all Mummy's that want to feel a bit yummier. All you have to do is publish a post about a beauty or fashion product, your favorite beauty tip  or an upcoming relevant event you want to share details on, then add your name to the linky below.  If you want to, you can also grab the badge and the linky code for your page.

Hop along and join in the fun.  You might "meet" some new bloggers you haven't met yet and get some new tips you haven't tried.

Karen x

Poppy's quote of the day (age 2)

"i'm proud of you Sister Rosie"

Reasons to be cheerful, 1,2,3

I haven't participated in this for a while but am feeling extra chirpy and cheerful so thought I would.

1.  My Sister-in-Law has had a new baby girl and we are off to visit her soon

2.  Its the weekend and set to be a scorcher. Husband doesn't have to work so I am looking forward to enjoying the sunshine with my family

3.  Poppy is being much better behaved these day and is a pleasure to be around again.  A happy and well behaved little girl means a happy Mummy

4.  I am looking better and feeling good as sticking with a low carb diet and exercise plan.

5.  I am loving having the support of the other MUMenTum ladies.This has made all the difference and the daily messages on twitter make me smile

6.  Its only about 3 weeks till CyberMummy and I am so excited.  I am looking forward to having a whole day away with my Sister and meeting everyone I have been chatting too on twitter and blogs

7.  I have started to receive lots of beauty products and children's products to review on my blog.  This is very exciting and I am looking forward to testing them and sharing my thoughts with you

Head over to Mummy From The Heart to see more entries.

Karen x

Poppy's quote of the day (age 2)

My little girl is such a cutie and comes out with the funniest things. My Sister came up with the idea that I should record them! So that's what I am going to do. I am going to record them daily! Here is the first one:

"Mummy take your cross face off"

Karen x

I love girls and hair bows!

This is in no way a sponsored post. I just love my little girls to look pretty and girly in pink dresses and hair bows and I wanted to share my excitement with you! I was thrilled to bits today when I received our latest order of hair bows from my favorite online shop The Bow Company.  I got excited as soon as I saw the pink envelope I now know and recognise to be from them.  This is what we received:

Lots of bows and clips

We have quite a few hair bows  now.  Recently we purchased a bow holder from the same Company to hang them up and keep them them all on.  Its great and means they don't get lost or ruined.  We also brought one as a present for a friends little girls who also love their bows and ribbons.

Ice pink bow holder

We call the bows our "Finishing Touch" (pinched from the friend mentioned above!).  Poppy likes to pick which one to wear and her favorite is the one with strawberries on it!

Rosie with a teeny weeny bow

Poppy with a big one

I love everything about having little girls especially the clothes, the pink and the hair bows and just wanted to share this with you.

Karen x

Successful update on managing terrible two's

Last week I wrote about my little girl Poppy here and how she seemed to be just starting the terrible two's only two months before she turns three.  I described how in two weeks she had turned from a little angel to a monster.

I had looked at possible reasons for it and could not see how we were doing anything differently: no change to routine, no new friends, no less attention etc. She had become a nightmare at the table, refused to eat, had started to kick (Mummy, Daddy, Sister and sofa!) and was generally becoming a pain in the bottom!

My little monster

I told you that our plans for managing it were to use the naughty cushion, no cartoons or no ipad story's.  No other punishments or threats.  We were just going to be extra strict and very consistent.

We also told Poppy that "bad girls got nothing and have to sit on the naughty cushion but good girls get lots of things".  We talked about these things being anything from play dates, trips out, presents, nice snacks etc.

Well so far so good.  It took three days of being extra strict and consistent for her behaviour to change. During those three days she spent a lot of time on the naughty cushion, didn't eat much, didn't get to watch much TV, had quite a few tantrums, lots of crying and screaming but that was it! After three whole days of this, she told me she wanted to be a good girl.  Since then she has been pretty good.  We have had no more kicking incidents, she has been much better behaved, she is eating again, behaving at the table and she has not sat on the naughty cushion once.

My little Angel

We have been giving her lots of positive feedback when she is good.  for example when I say goodnight and give her a kiss I might say "thank you for being such a good girl today, we had a lovely day didn't we?" etc.  She keeps telling me and anyone else who will listen that "good girls get lots of things but bad girls get nothing and have to sit on the naughty cushion" She says it in a voice that is happy when talking about the good girl and sad when talking about the bad girl!

So it seems to have sunk in.  We are going to stick to being consistent. I do not expect her to be a little Angel always, after all she is a child and testing boundaries is part of the job description. However, we seem to be managing it okay now.  I was really worried it was going to get out of control and her Sister would copy.  I really did not want that to happen.

Thanks for all your comments and feedback on the last post and watch this space.  Will bring regular updates!

Karen x

The Gallery - I'm grateful for

This weeks Gallery topic is i'm grateful for and it was inspired by Chris over at Thinly spread who is about to embark on a journey to Mozambique with Save the children.

This got me thinking. What am I grateful for? I feel like I should be saying things like fresh water, a nice house, security etc but these are all thing we take for granted in this country! For me it might seem to be the obvious but I am most grateful for my family and friends.

These include of course my beautiful little girls Poppy and Rosie.  It took a few years for us to get pregnant and at one point I was beginning to think it might never happen.  For this reason I am grateful for them every day and am very grateful that I was able to become a Mummy.

I am also grateful for my Husband.  We have been together since we were 17 so were childhood sweethearts. I love him even more every day and am looking forward to growing old together. He is my best friend and soul mate and I feel extremely lucky to have him.  He is also a fantastic hands on Daddy to our girls.

Then there are my parents. They have been great to me over the years. They have even brought my Sister and I tickets for CyberMummy...very generous! They are also fantastic doting grandparents. My girls are lucky to have them.

There is of course my Sister (Not Yet A Yummy Mummy).  Being parents together has brought us even closer and although we don't live very close we are on the phone daily.  I am currently enjoying sharing our passion for blogging and helping each other with develop our blogs.  I am really looking forward to going to Cybermumy with her.  She is a great friend as well as a Sister and I am glad my girls have each other just like we do.  She has been feeling really rotten lately due to extreme morning sickness but this photo reminds me of her personality.

I am also extremely luck to have lots of very close friends.  Due to my Husbands job, we move regularly so I have friends spread all around the world.  My very best friend is Sarah, we have known each other since we were 17 too.  She is more like a Sister than a friend and we are very close.

There are a million other things I am grateful for but without my family and friends I would not be the happy grounded  person I am today.

To read more entries head over to sticky fingers

Karen x