Bean's mum's blog

I thought I'd do my december loves to show you my current loves and because I can say that these all are products I would recommend, although I would need a remortgage to use the serum all the times. These products are all from beauty box companies, although two are from my advent calendar and one is from a free gift that I got with my christmas present, a six month Birchbox subscription. The first product is the Neostem serum and I received it in my mybeauty box a few months ago. As it is over £50 I could never afford to repurchase it but it is so wonderful to get it as it sinks into the skin and is really creamy so a little goes a long way. I really think it has helped with my fine lines and will definitely miss it when it is gone. More info can be found  here . I am rather lazy with body moisturising so this product is great and it is rose scented, which if you have read my blog posts before you know I love, and this is the Cinq Mondes Spa Paris Hamman rituals roses...

I was in Durham from boxing day until yesterday but not even time with family could stop me shopping. We had to pop to Boots to get a few essentials I forgot so I looked at the same things and got these two sets half price and a few bits and pieces my family needed.  I needed shampoo but when I saw this at nine pounds I had to have it and the added bonus was that it had some shampoo inside it and the bag, now I am back in Birmingham, is perfect for my nail varnishes that were in a soft bag and now they are up on the shelf and stored more easily in this bag. I really loved the headband when I was away to help me wash my face. I also really liked glad hair day and use it when I was up north and would probably use it but at the moment I have about a litre of Tresemme Shampoo and conditioner to use so I am not really buying more shampoo or conditioner as I don't need duplicates. In this bag was: The Righteous Butter 50ml. This is incredibly creamy and smells lovely and...

Here are my empties for the month in one of my old birchbox bags. There isn't much and it is all from old beauty boxes. This is the organic Surge gentle cleansing lotion for all skin types. This smells strongly of rosemary and lemon and it was so gentle it didn't sting my eyes or upset my sensitive skin and it was great for removing even the most stubborn make up. I have another one in my stash and will use it after the holidays as I really enjoyed using it and it was very effective. This is the L'Occitane Essential Water and I really loved how tight it made my skin and how delicate the green tea scent is. I got this as a gift and I would probably buy it again although the price tag means it is a considered purchase. This is Mystic Diamond by eva diamond.I have extremely frizzy long hair and I quite enjoyed this product as it made my hair soft and shiny. The added Argan oil helped my hair a lot and i might use it again but at the moment I have other produc...

On the twenty fourth day of advent my Ciate advent calendar gave to me: A 13.5ml pot of nail varnish in the shade 'serendipity'. This is a densely packed pink glitter polish and would be great over a dark nail varnish or even on it's own. It is full sized and I love it. On the twenty fourth day of advent my youbeauty advent calendar gave to me: A 100g bag of Roques Oneil therapie Himalayan Detox Salts. I tried these last night as they fell out a few days ago and was getting curious and found there was no real scent to them once in the bath although they were very fragrant in the pack. I am much more of an oil person though. Worth £8.75. x-J-x

A few days ago I was looking through the deals boards on a few sites and came across the VIP membership in one on the threads and decided that I couldn't go wrong with getting a nail varnish inc. postage for £5 as I had wanted to try Nails inc. for a while but had yet to purchase a nail varnish and this persuaded me. Additionally benefits of this membership be found  here . Really great value in my opinion. When I signed up on Friday I was expecting to get this after Christmas as they said it would be second class delivery so I was amazed it came today, on Monday. As the nail varnish isn't selected by you I was concerned that I wouldn't like the colour but I really like the colour I received, which was Richmond Terrace. It is a very dark brown and a wonderful shade for the winter below. I also received the most recent catalogue from them and this has really nice products in it. Here is the swatch of my nails inc nail polish on a piece of paper as I ...

These are my first ever Rebel Nail wraps and were bought for this years festive season as it is the first year I have ever had nails at Christmas, after only giving the nail biting up a few months ago. They were buy one get one free on Amazon so I managed to snag them for four pounds each which was a bargain as I love nail wraps and these were the best ones I could find. I applied these yesterday and here are the pictures of the 'Christmas Glittering Penguins' pack I bought as my son told me he wanted me to wear these and in general it is easier for me to listen to him. This is how they look from a distance as they are quite cute. Here are them closer but I have to apologise about the glare as the light really hits them and makes them shine due to the glitter. They are really super cute and my only issue is that a few of the penguins nearly got decapitated as I have tiny fingers and nails but managed to stick them further down so none got harmed in this endeavo...

On the twenty third day of advent my Ciate advent calendar gave to me: A 5ml pot of nail varnish in the shade 'locket'. This is a silver overcoat and would look amazing over any solid colour nail varnish or on it's own to give a good sparkle. In my opinion best over a colour that is not too statement so the glitter won't fight for attention. On the twenty third day of advent my youbeauty advent calendar gave to me: A 10ml tube of Weleda Skin Food. I have a couple of small tubes of this already and both me and the hubby have eczema and this is a complete lifesaver in our house. It smells amazing and is also great on knees and elbows. Such a great product.

I'm not sure if it is just me or is this housewife and stay at home mother thing totally exhausting? Every few months I hit the point of total exhaustion and that has hit today. It's Paul's last shift tonight and I hope to God that I can get a decent sleep over Christmas because I hope this goes away soon. I write this blog mainly because it gives me a rest from the thoughts of potty training, toddler fashion and trying to teach Edward nursery rhymes, his numbers and letters. It helps me unwind to write either this or the fiction I write. I am incredibly lucky, though, and have no real right to moan. My husband is amazing and all three of us are in good health with enough to eat and drink and a roof over our heads. This Christmas I can buy him presents and I won't be alone over Christmas and I have people who will be for me, even on days I desperately want them to be there for me. I reallly don't know where my brain is today but maybe I need to grow up ...

On the twenty second my Ciate advent calendar gave to me: A 10g pot of caviar pearls in the shade 'christmas tree caviar'. This is a multicoloured caviar that reminds me of christmas baubles with a gold, green and red colourway. They are very pretty and would be great all winter as they aren't too festive to use all the time. On the twenty second day of advent my youbeauty advent calendar gave to me: A 50ml tube of NEOM Complete Bliss Moroccan Blush Rose organic Hand Cream. This is another rose product and anyone who has read a few of my reviews knows that I love rose but I can definitely smell the lime as well. I love that it is 83% organic too as you aren't putting junk on your hands. This sinks into your skin with little effort and I think this is due to the Argan Oil which I am loving at the moment as it is in everything and especially prevents my hair from getting overly frizzy. I might drop this into my handbag as it smells so nice and works so ...

On the twenty first day of advent my Ciate advent calendar gave to me: A 5ml pot of Ciate nail varnish in 'confetti'. This is a great top coat and I have tried it on over my ultraviolet and it is very pretty and very festive as well as fast drying. It contains lots of different colours of glitter and is one of my favourite nail varnishes so far, especially as it looks amazing over other nail varnishes. On the twenty first day of advent my youbeauty advent calendar gave to me: A 30ml spray bottle of Alterna Bamboo Smooth Kendi Oil Dry oil mist.I have used this one before and this is a great product. It makes even my long frizzy hair straighter and more controlled and I really like that it has no scent and isn't ridiculously oily in my hair. I will definitely buy it again as it makes my hair look so much better. This sample is worth £4.32. x-J-x

Firstly I have to admit I have emailed this company twice about this order in the last two weeks, since I ordered this on the 5th December and they were in the doghouse about taking so long to deliver and or even do anything on my order.  But now it has come and their amazing value has taken the sting off, even taking away the shock of this order being supposed to arrive in March next year.  This was bit of a shock but following the products arriving and Edward's reaction at one product I will definitely order again from this company. Everything in this order was £17.95 (paid for postage in that total) as I had a Glossybox promo code and I had one of the free gifts from Yves Rocher and there was three free samples.  My, that is a lot of ANDS. All these products can be found  here . This is the Collection Cacao Cocoa and Raspberry Home Fragrance. This one one of the items I bought in order to get the extras from the Glossybox code. I really like this ...