Easter Goodies From Lush

Being over 24 weeks pregnant I am going to have a chocolate Easter egg this year - after all its not as if I'm calorie counting and I'm worried about my tummy sticking out! However, if you want to treat someone to a little gift (or a big one) that's calorie free then I have just the thing.

The Easter range from Lush has some fabulous products on offer and I have been lucky enough to get to try some of them out. A huge Lush fan, I cant think of a better way to relax this Easter than with a gorgeous relaxing bath once my girls are in bed.

I was lucky enough to receive these gorgeous goodies to try:

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My favourite had to be the fluffy egg which was wrapped in this very cute chick wrap knot.  A great alternative to wrapping paper it made my bath bomb look Seasonal and a bit special. As soon as I opened it I was impressed. The fluffy egg is a good size and smells delicious.

Once I dropped it into my bath the water changed to a bright pink colour and the smell was out of this world. Very girly and sweet, a bit like candy floss. I settled back and enjoyed my hot pink bath. Once I got out, I noticed my skin was soft and smooth and the scent lingered all over me. I smelt good enough to eat! Definitely a good one if you have a hot date planned this weekend!

The Carrot Reusable Bubble Bar was nice but not my favourite product. A fan of the bubble bars I was keen to try this one out. It smells gorgeous, a mix of vanilla, blackcurrant and lemon. Very fruity and tropical, reminding me of Summer Holidays. You swish the carrot around the bath a few times and it fills with lots of lovely bubbles.

However, rather than turning a bright orange colour, my bath water was a very pale, almost cloudy colour instead. I also found the smell kind of disintegrated a bit once the bath was full. Although a lovely scent at first, its not quite strong enough and definitely doesn't linger like the fluffy egg did. Overall a nice product, but for me not quite strong enough!

Lush do have a range of other goodies to try out and best of all there are no calories in them.

Karen x

Stagecoach Education - Project Christmas ipad App

Poppy absolutely adores playing on both her Daddy's and Gramp's ipads. At three and a half years, it amazes me how quick she is on it and how she just seems to know what to do. Was I that quick at this age or is it just that technology is getting easier to use? I don't know but I do know that they have both downloaded various stories and games for her which she loves.


We were therefore thrilled to be approached by Stagecoach Education to trial and review the new project Christmas Application available for £1.49. 


Poppy couldn't wait to use this fun and festive app and quickly got the hang of it. As a parent I am happy to see that while she is having fun she is also learning without even realising it. This app helps develop her skills in drawing, colouring and counting as well as helping her to read and write.  There are 33 pages of activities and Poppy is easily able to move between them.


It involves lots of drawing and colouring actives and I am amazed to see her doing dot to dot exercises too.  She really enjoys it and it keeps her busy for ages.  


Aimed at age 3+ I would say there is lots of room for her to improve and grow.

We give it 9/10 and would definitely recommend to others.


Karen x

Warner Brothers Generous Christmas Present

Our family are very excited to be working closely with Warner Brothers UK to help review family orientated DVDs.

We knew that some DVDs would be on the way to us very soon but had no idea what they would be or how many would be sent.  We were therefore delighted when this amazing package arrived:

A huge sack full of goodies

Inside this fantastic package was all of this:

Wow, what a generous selection

Poppy thought the most amazing part of this gift was this really cool Scooby Doo van which cleverly  hides the complete set of Scooby Doo DVDs. Scooby and Shaggy sit in the front and she has been happily pushing it around all over the house:

The DVDs are hidden in the back. I thought this was a lovely way for them to be presented and Poppy thinks its the best thing ever:

We cant wait to get reviewing these and tell you what they are like. 

Poppy is three and at the age where she has just started showing an interest in films. Up until now she wouldn't sit still long enough. I will be very interested to see what she makes of them all! 

Karen x

Liz Earle Botanical Shine Shampoo & Conditioner Makes Me Feel Yummy

Its Saturday again and time for another beauty, fitness or fashion product to make us Mummy's feel a bit more yummy.

I have been really lucky recently to try some amazing products and this week is no different. For the past month I have been using:

Liz Earle HairCare Products

Liz Earle Botanical Shine Shampoo

Delicately wrapped in tissue paper, as all Liz Earle products are, I was excited when these products arrived. I love having long hair and am fussy about the products I use on it. As soon as I opened them I knew they would be special.


The actual packaging looks good and I like the way the shampoo is suitable for all hair types. Derived from natural products and and SLS/ SLES free, it immediatley appealed . 

"Naturally active ingredients include natural vitamin E, west african shea butter to moisturise plus apple and orange extracts to boost shine" 

As with all Liz Earle products, I found a little goes a long way and produces a lovely rich lather, even on my long thick hair. It also has a light, gorgeous scent reminding me of salons and spas. Very nice!

It washes out easily, leaving my hair feeling very clean and fresh.  After using it for a month my hair has a lovely shine to it and I have had none of that feeling of build up you sometimes get.

At only £8 this shampoo is much cheaper than salon prices but gives you the same feeling of luxury. I would definitely recommend.

Liz Earle Botanical Shine Conditioner

This product is available for three different hair types - Normal, Fine/Oily and Dry/Damaged.  With coloured hair, I opted for the latter and was really impressed with it. 

Rich and creamy it goes on well, rinses away without leaving any greasy residue and leaves my hair smooth, soft and under control.  


Again you don't need much. I am terrible for using huge amounts of conditioner meaning that it usually runs out long before the shampoo, however with these products I seem to be using around the same amount. That makes such a change.


I have even noticed that I have laid off the hair straighteners a bit more recently, happy with the way it looks after being washed....result.


Again costing only £8 this conditioner is pretty good value for money.

These products score a huge 9/10 from me.

I am a huge fan of Liz Earle products. Excellent quality, they never fail to make me feel special and as though I have enjoyed time at a spa.  You can read previous posts I have recently written about the Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloths, Instant Boost Tonic and Active Repair Moisturiser.

If you want to discover more then check out Liz Earle for yourself. 

Karen x

A Review Of The Great Pretenders Bumble Bee Costume

As my regular readers will know we love dressing up in this house. With two gorgeous little girls we have a variety of pretty tutus, fairy costumes, wings and wands. Now thank you to The Great Pretenders we also have a very cute bumble bee costume too as modelled by Poppy age 3:

Poppy has had great fun trialling this and loves pretending to be a bumble bee.


The Great Pretenders claim to offer high quality costumes that are manufactured using the best materials and workmanship, so do we agree with this? Well yes we do actually.


The dress itself is of  a very good quality. It is lined inside so very soft and silky against the skin, making it very comfortable to wear and not scratchy at all. The bodice of the dress is made of rouched satin whilst the bottom of the dress has several layers to it, making it quite full. The black stripes are made with a lovely satin ribbon. When I first saw it, I thought it looked quite small but it stretches well and fits perfectly. She loves it!


The wings have the elasticated straps that fit over the arms. Complete with gold glitter and black feathers, they are quite glamorous for wings!


The headband completes the outfit. It has black ribbon wrapped around the actual band then it feels like thick pipe cleaners on the end. Feather pom poms top it off complete with gold sparkles.  It is apparently very pretty and very comfortable and Poppy thinks it makes her look like a real bumble bee.


This costume not only looks good but has sparked great imaginative play. Since it has arrived Poppy has been running around the house pretending to fly and when she sits down she pretends it is on flowers. In fact it was quite hard to get photos because she would not stand or sit still long enough.


We give this costume a huge 10/10 and would recommend it to others.


If you want to get your hands on one then they are available at Bright Spark Toys. The dress is available for £21.98 and the wings and headband for £9.98


I think we now need to get some sort of dressing up rail as we are getting quite a collection and the next party we organise will have to be a costume one.


Dressing up is such fun!


Karen x

Lush Lip Scrub And Lip Tints Will Make You Feel Yummy

Each Saturday I bring you a new Beauty, fitness or fashion product that I believe will help us Mummy's look and feel a bit more yummy. The last few weeks I have reviewed a few expensive products so this week I bring you something must cheaper but still gorgeous.


This weeks products are Lush Pow Wow Lip Scrub and the new Celebrate Lip Tint.

Pow Wow lip scrub is available for £4.75.


I must admit this product looks very green and wasn't that appealing to me. You might appreciate I am a bit of a girly girl who loves all things pink and sparkly.  I actually thought this scrub would taste horrible but was pleasantly surprised to find it tasted of sweets, I guess that is the magic of the popping candy. Okay I know you are not supposed to eat it but I personally cant help but lick my lips. 

To use this product, you simply take a small amount and apply to your lips in a circular motion. Together the sugar and popping candy work together to gently scrub the lips while the organic jojoba oil soothes away any redness and soreness. I must admit, it is lovely. You can actually feel it working.....scrubbing away your dry skin, it leaves them all flake free and smooth. 


If you want to try it, you need to be quick though as it is a festive limited edition lip scrub so wont be around long.  


Once you have scrubbed away all the dryness you are ready to add a hint of colour whilst moisturising at the same time. There are three new ones to try but I trialled the Celebrate lip tint:

Available for £4.75, it comes in a tiny tin. It looks very nice and immediately appealed. A pretty pale pastel pink, topped off with popping candy. Very nice, smells good and very me!


Ingredients include almond, jojoba and camellia oils which all help soften and add shine to your now gorgeous looking lips. It tastes nice too... apparently of pink champagne! Very sweet and yummy..


Anyway, I have only been using these products this week but my lips are already feeling gorgeous: very smooth, moisturised and a pretty pink colour!


I would give these products a huge 9/10 and recommend to all.


I will be back next week with a new treat for you. Don't forget to leave me your tips below.

Karen x

Get Crafty With This Fantastic Art Jar

I have been asked to do a review of this fantastic Art Jar from Galt Toys for www.izziwizzikids.co.uk.  It costs £14.99 which might seem a little steep but it is fully packed with activities to keep your little ones busy. It  is aimed at children 4+. Poppy is only just three but already plays with toys like this and loves sitting at the table doing arts and crafts.


Poppy was very excited when the parcel arrived and even Rosie was intrigued:

We chose to open it while we had friends and their two little girls to stay. This meant we had more mini testers to help to review it. We did it one morning whilst it was raining and it kept them all busy until the sun came out so we could all go out to play! Despite being promised a day at the beach there was no moaning at all from any of them..they had great fun.

The jar really is jam packed, filled to the brim with an exciting selection of art & craft materials. It also includes handy idea sheets to help you out. It contains: 

70 pompoms, 40 wiggly eyes, zigzag scissors, sequin pack, shredded paper, 2m red fringed crepe paper, felt alphabet, 18 plastic buttons, 7 cotton reels, 50 pony beads, 20 small star beads, 10 pipe cleaners, 10 straws, 6 sheets self-adhesive foam shapes, 7 printed card templates, 10 sheets coloured paper, 25 gummed label strips, glitter & white glue, 2m wiggly trim and 3m elastic. Quite a selection I think you would agree!

 Here is a little video to let you see how we got on:

As you can see, it provided great fun for all and there is plenty left to keep us busy for any more rainy days. The only negative thing I would say, is that with so many activities a little more glue would be nice.  It really is a small tube and children tend to be a bit generous with it. Despite this we still give it a huge 9/10.

Karen x

For the record I was provided with one of these art jars for reviewing purposes but all views, opinions and words are my own.

Playing Mummy, She Thinks Ironing Is Fun!

After blogging about how much I wanted to be a toy tester here, I think Helen over at The Crazy Kitchen took pity on me and kindly decided to share some of her luck and work load by asking my little girls and I to help her out with this another Toys R Us Toyology review and do a guest post. We were of course delighted to be able to help.

We were asked to review this Casdon ironing set which includes an adjustable Beldray ironing board with storage tray, a Morphy Richards Iron and a clothes horse with 4 clothes hangers. Its aimed at children ages 3-8 years and is available in-store at Toys R Us for a very reasonable £20.

The girls had great fun unwrapping the package when it arrived and Poppy in particular was very impressed. She couldn't wait to start playing at "being Mummy".  This surprised me at first considering Daddy does all the ironing in our house but never mind!  

I went to find some of Rosie's old clothes and she quickly set up this game where she washes the clothes in her washing machine (not included), hangs them on the line to dry and then irons them.  The whole process takes approximately two minutes and she plays it about 100 times a day! I am actually amazed at how much she enjoys it and how busy it keeps her.


Here's a little video clip we have done for you:

The actual board is quite sturdy and adjusts to three different heights.  Its great and she loves it so that's all that matters. The iron doesn't actually do anything. It is not an all singing all dancing one that takes batteries and lights up or make noises but to be honest Mummy quite likes that and Poppy doesn't seem to worry. The only problems she has, is her younger Sister keeps knocking over her clothes horse but this is just a side effect of having a Sister. We give it a massive 8/10 and would definitely recommend it as a great gift for little ones.


Karen x

I'm taking part in the Garneir UltraLift Challenge

Whilst I may not be the wrinkliest person on earth (I am only 35), I do have a few and am therefore very happy to be taking part in the  Garnier UltraLift Challenge front lined by Davina Mccall. You may have seen it advertised on the TV recently or the Internet or twitter!! You too can join in, just visit the site here and fill our your details.  They send you 14 sachets of UltraLift cream (enough for 2 weeks) and the Garneir UltraLift Wrinkle Reader.

To use the wrinkle reader you stand in front of a mirror and place it under your crows feet.  You then match them to the closest image on the reader and note it down.  I cannot believe I am doing this but I have decided to go one step further and take a photo of my wrinkles!! Even more unbelievable is the fact that I am putting the image on the internet for you all to see.

So here it is...a close up of my wrinkles!!

Husband and I have decided that I score between  2 and 3 on the wrinkle reader.  While this is not that bad.. I would prefer it to be a score of 1 or off the scale completely so I am up for the challenge.  I will report back at the end of two weeks.  So watch this space! Anything to make me yummier!

For the record I am posting this on Day 3 of the challenge but took the photo on Day 1.

Karen x