The Ultimate Guide To Mummy Maintenance - A Blogger Collaboration

Over at Moderate Mum, the lovely Charlene has brillliantly answered my question on dealing with your identity shift once you become a mum. So in return, I'm answering this question...

..."You seem like you've got your beauty groove down...With the time and practicality of keeping up with all the womanly grooming I used to love pre baby, I'd like to know, what's your ultimate guide to mummy maintenance?"...

I feel ill-equipped to answer this, being a self-confessed slummy mummy but I have gained a lot of confidence since I had my son - or as I see it, I give a shit less. If I want to wear make up/look nice, I will, if I don't, I won't. However, it's massively time dependent, so I just like things that make me feel good, which in turn I think make me look good. Here's what works for me.....

Hair Colour
I have really dark hair so never coloured it due to expense/faff. Now I have lots of little grey fuckers hairs so needs must. I am really enjoying trying out life as a red-head. It's an easy change, took an hour or so to do and I feel really good about myself! I think it's something nice and fun also. I use this shade

Eyebrows
I've always had a bit of a thing about a well plucked eyebrow. It's one of those things that just brightens your whole face without people being able to put their finger on what you've done...I tend to get mine threaded 2-3 times a year (it's about £10) and then maintain the shape myself at home.

Foot de-hobbitting
Having nice nails - hands and feet - can really boost my mood. To this end I've started bunging a quick bit of foot-scrub on my tootsies in the shower every few days and slapping on the moisturiser and socks before bed. My feet and nails look much better and ready for a quick bit of polish when the sun arrives!

Manicures
Not posh expensive ones, just investing in decent polish and a shiny topcoat and then ear-marking time to do it. I do my nails on a monday evening after all chores are done. I settle down to watch Revenge and by the end my nails are done and dry . I then go to bed so no risk of damage. My favourites are Dorothy Shoes nails using the shades below. For the record, glitter polish hides chips really well. Also, if you're a fan of Rouge Noir colour polish, update your look by going for a dark green or navy blue.

 Make up routines
This is a case of really knowing what works for you and for what occassions. I have 3 different looks depending where I'm going and how much time I have. I know exactly what order to do it in and what products I need. I can do my make up in 10mins or 20 as a result. Even with "assistance" from Toddler45 who loves applying make up to himself. He's a whizz with a powder brush!

Tutorials - Buzzfeed
A lot of mums I know struggle with the image changes post-baby. The hormonal soup we're in often results in changes to skin, hair and size, so sometimes we don't know what suits us any more. On my frequent night wakings I have spent an *embarrasing* amount of time on Buzzfeed. Which has its uses. 

Not just to tell me what's happened to those 90's hunks I loved (erk) but they have some great make up, hair and clothing tutorials on Buzzfeed Beauty. I learned most of my eyeliner tricks on there. So if you're up at night or have some spare time, check out those tutorials. Pinterest is also great for this and Bloglovin makes it very easy to find beauty bloggers.

Tip - remember that you don't need to look Pinterest Perfect. It's more to give you ideas about what might suit you and new things to try - and then adapting them to work for you and your life. You might also like this post.

Accessories - Amazon
There is little opportunity to shop solo as a parent. Particularly for accessories, which need a bit more time than a smash and grab shopping trip allows. This is where online shopping is your friend - and Amazon in particular. 

You can try all sorts of new jewellery, scarves, leggings, tops - whatever takes your fancy - for very little cost at all. This can be reflected in the quality but for a quick perk me up, or way to change your look, it's really good. Recently I've bought a pair of black spiked hoops and some blue galaxy style leggings, both for less than £5. 

If you're looking to splash a bit more cash and get something unique, you could do worse than try Stella and Dot. It's relatively new to the UK but featured in quite a few fashion mags already so perfect for birthday and Christmas pressies. Their statement necklaces and charm bracelets/chain are fab but I love my tech wallet in cobalt best.

Soooooooo that's my best effort at mummy maintenance - what are your top tips and links - do share with us below!


Thank you and goodnight,

Stupidgirl has left the building.

Feline Fine - Top Tips for Eyeliner Application

After my post on Top 10 Beauty Buys and an extensive discussion on Twitter about eye-liner application, I thought I'd go off tangent - again - and do a post on just that! The post is split by kit, key things to remember, tips for pencil/tips for liquid liner and then some 'don'ts'. To add, I bought everything myself, nothing has been sent to me to review. 

The Kit
Al of these have helped me with eye-liner application:

• Good magnifying mirror, free standing and lit, ideally. I love this one from Boots. I use it to apply all my make up and it really means I get a very polished look. It's not essential but it does help. It's very helpful for spotting small errors and easy correction.
• Cotton buds - any brand, but they are *perfect* for quickly swiping in to remove smudges, splotches and errors without needing to re-do your whole eye.
• Pencil eye liner. I find the best pencil liners are soft and waxy, meaning they have a strong pigment, go on smoothly with little pressure but also smudge well - either to conceal errors or for a smoky look.  My top 3 pencil liners at different price points are Rimmel Soft Khol, Benefit Bad Gal and Lancome Crayon Khol.

• Liquid liner. I recommend using a liner with a fibre tipped brush - like a felt pen - rather than a standard fine brush. The reason for this is that they are firmer, giving easy application and a solid line. They also go on smoothly and evenly. I like Rimmel as it lasts all day (or longer) and you get a lot in the tiny pot. I also recommend Sleek's liquid liner. 
• Facial wipes/Baby wipes - self explanatory really but good for removing make up! And having a quick swipe in specific places without needing to remove everything.

Key Things To Remember:
1. Your eyes are sisters, not twins. So don't worry if your lines are not identical.
2. Practice makes perfect
3. Don't stress if you start out with mostly thicker lines, as you practice you'll get better at doing finer lines.
4. Start with a well prepped eye - apply foundation/concealer to your face if required and but key is to dust translucent powder over your face and *eyes*.
5. If you are wearing eye shadow(s) apply as normal prior to liner but save your darkest shade for *after* your eye-liner application.
6. Always pull your eyelid skin taut when using either type of liner. Not everyone agrees with this but it works for me.
7. If you have sensitive eyes, all these products *should* be okay but do check the labels. I have sensitive eyes/wear hard lenses and am fine with all these products. Also, when applying, go slow and allow your eyes to adjust between applying products.

Pencil Application Tips:

• Start at the outer corner of your eye but with the pencil pointing up (this is key) and pressed against your skin. Then drag the pencil along the line of your eye, as close to your lashes as possible. This will give you a neat little flick, turning into a graduated line. Once you get about 3/4 across, I find it easier to then work from the inside corner out to meet the other line. This picture shows the pencil starting position although I prefer the pencil to be pointing straight up. 

credit. TNKHY

• If you have any unevenness, the great thing about pencil is that you can just smudge and smooth it across and touch up if needed.
• Dust your darkest eye shadow over your pencil line. This hides mistakes, softens the line and gives slight smoky effect. If you use a colour that highlights your eye colour (eg green eyes/dark purple shadow) it can really make your eyes "pop".

Liquid Liner Application Tips:

• Rest your arm on a solid surface. It does help a lot. 
• Trace the line in pencil first. Then go over in liquid liner - much easier!
• Fill in gaps with your eyes open. This sounds nuts but if you've got a few wiggly bits/uneven application, a fibre tipped brush makes it surprisingly easy to correct these with your eyes open and a steady hand. You can almost 'dot' or 'dash' it on.
• To get a decent cat-eye flick, I use this trick.  It it *so* easy!

credit http://avintageaffairgal.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/how-to-eyeliner-for-all.html

Don'ts:

1. Don't apply liquid liner under your eyes

2. Don't apply liner in a hurry, you'll f*ck it. I speak from experience.

3. Don't curl your lashes until your liner is dry or you'll remove it!

4. If you have sensitive eyes, be careful of applying liner on your water line.

5. If using pencil liner on your bottom lids, don't join it up with top lids with a line, just smudge it together.

So, that's all - hope it was helpful and useful, do let me know how you get on in the comments or hit me up with a tweet on @stupidgirl45

Thank you and goodnight,

Stupidgirl has left the building.

Top 10 Beauty Products

Time for something different - I'm not normally a reviews person but I've been using some beauty bits recently that are great and worth a blog post. Most of these products below cost less than £10, if not less than £5 and are available from your local Boots/Superdrug. Hope you like them as much as me! Also please note I have either gotten all these as gifts (hi there mother in law) or bought them myself, none were sent to me to review.

HAIR
If I could afford it, I would use Kerastase all day everyday. But like most people £20 for shampoo/conditioner is a bit much. So L'Oreal Extraordinary Oil shampoo, conditioner and hair oil seems to be the next best thing.

I have long, dry, curly, coloured hair, which is a bit of a tough call for any hair product, but this conditioner really brought my colour back to life, and the hair oil is light but effective, giving a lovely moisture boost and shine.

FACE
I've got combination skin - oily t-zone and then dry cheeks with a lovely collection of black heads and the odd "proper" spot at er, certain times. And also wrinkles are gathering apace around my eyes *sob*. Anyway the Soap & Glory Peaches + Clean 3-in-1 face wash has worked wonders on my skin - really clearing my pores and making it smooth and clear. 

I only use it every 2-3 days, applying with fingers and rinsing off with warm water and a flannel. For extra moisture I do it before my shower and then apply a thin layer of basic Nivea cream and leave it to sink in.

FEET
Yeah, I have hobbit feet. Or I did until I discovered Soap & Glory's The Scrub of Your Life and also their Heel Genius foot cream. 

After a couple of weeks of regular use most of my disgusting dead skin is gone and my nails look really clear and strong too. Almost good enough for the holy grail of pedicures - a french manicure! Roll on summer!

EYES
I love eyeliner, pencil and liquid. The best pencil liner I've found is Rimmel's Soft Kohl Kajal eyeliner pencil in black. It goes on nice and smoothly, easy to smudge and correct. I have super sensitive eyes and wear contacts and it's never irritated them. It's also easily removed with make up wipes.

The best liquid liner I've found is also Rimmel - Exaggerate Eye Liner. It's got a fibre tip like a felt pen, making it easy to be precise. I don't have the steadiest hand but I never make a mistake with this.

LIPS
I *love* lip gloss and have owned hundreds over the years. I love a lovely shiny flesh coloured gloss and my current favourite is Soap & Glory's Sexy Motherpucker XL Extreme Plump. (I'm not sponsored by Soap & Glory honest!).

It's a lovely pinky-nude colour with menthol in the gloss to literally plump up your lips. It gives a bit of a tickly-tingle but it works and it's moisturising too.

NAILS
I don't have much time to paint my nails, I want something that goes on quick, dries fast and doesn't chip. So the holy grail of nail polish. Well I've found it - Rimmel Salon Pro Nail colour with lycra. It's got an extra wide brush which seems to make it much easier to coat my nail precisely and avoid mess. 

I also rate their Finishing Touch Ultra Shine top coat. Even with washing up, fumbling for keys in my bag and an overactive toddler this stuff can last up to a week but usually a good 5 days without chipping.

So that's it - my best products. What are yours? Share them in the comments or tweet @stupidgirl45 and let me know!

Thank you and goodnight,

Stupidgirl has left the building