Bean's mum's blog

I was perplexed when two parcels came to my door today and although one was my expected Nonabox the other was rather unexpected as I didn't know my ciate nail varnish advent calender was going to arrive today. The advent calender looks so nice and I am surprised by how luxurious it looks and how heavy it is. According to the back, in the box there is the following colours: Snow globe, boudoir, Ferris wheel, hopscotch, sugar plum, fit for a queen, kiss chase, amazing Grace, pepperminty, encore!, party shoes, confetti, members only, play date, ivory queen, locket, pillow fight, speed coat, underwear, caviar pearls frost yourself, caviar pearls Christmas tree, glitter jingle belle, sequins miss mistletoe and a secret full size paint pot exclusive to mini mani month. You also get a funnel. I say roll on advent now as I want to celebrate twenty four days with nail varnish.

Lovely purple paper Unmentionably cheeky  is probably one of my favourite monthly boxes and it costs me less than 9 pounds a month to get three pairs of 95% cotton knickers including shipping from the USA. October selection  This is my selection this month in a large size. It is a nice selection and they are a good quality, even if they are under a tenner for three pairs. Black with lacy trims I haven't included an individual picture of the purple as it was same design as the black panties and these are sexy and flirty. I love the lacy trim and it doesn't tend to snag or tear in the washer or dryer and they tend to shrink so they still fit even after multiple washes. They are really comfortable and I feel cheeky when I wear these and my hubby approves. Plain blue with Love with a heart in diamontes These are rather more utilitarian but I really like them. The stones seem stuck on well and they are a rather pretty pale blue. Great for everyday wear a...

My Love Me Beauty facebook prize pack came today and I am over the moon, especially as we are all ill with gastric flu in our house and anything that will cheer us up definitely helps. I really wanted the headline color nail varnishes as I am trying to grow my nails but I am really happy I won the rest of the products too. Lustrous locks Vitamin Complex 28 tablets look quite interesting. With hair down to my waist anything that makes it better in appearance or condition is definitely popular with me. Will definitely try these and see if they make any difference after the two weeks supply I have. These cost £15 for 28 tablets from  here . Organic surge gentle cleansing lotion is suitable for sensitive skin and is in an organic rosemary and lemon essential oil scent. It is a good size at 200ml and would last me a fair amount of time. I look forward to using it after my current cleanser has finished. This costs £5.99 for 200ml from  here. Melvita Extra rich hand c...

My husband's first flavourly box arrived today and the box was a good size and was nice that it came quickly. I used to get Flavourly boxes but had to cancel when I started the paleo diet so I am really happy I can get them again and even happier Groupon had an offer so the box was £6 not £15. The box once opened was fully filled and it looked very good value for the money I paid. Kents kitchen Meal kits thai red curry has only natural ingredients and should be quite good. We have previously had their Korma curry and really loved how simple and easy it was to make and how good it tasted. This retails at £2.30 for the kit at  www.kentskitchen.co.uk Clearly scrumptious simply cranberries are slice dried cranberries that are infused with Apple juice. They count as one of your five a day and would make a good healthy snack instead of chocolate and sweets. This retails at £18 for 18 30g packs at  http://clearlyscrumptious.co.uk/ . So sample is worth £1. Jaz an...

I love my rock star romances so when Terri Anne Browning suggested this book to her readers I was happy to give it a go, even though it is a new series and author for me. I was happy I did as the book was great. The book centres around Everleigh and Ryder and shows what happens when two completely different worlds and characters meet. Ryder Storm Matthews is the tattooed lead singer of Bad Blooded Rebel, a world famous band. He is 27 and spends his life chased by fame hungry groupies and photographers. His band plays hard rock and he lives a life associated with this genre with sex on tap and adoration wherever he goes. Everleigh Grace Stone is a waitress in Muncie, Indiana, and lives a pure but anonymous life in small town America. A fan of country music she lacks confidence and worries that she is unattractive as she has a few extra pounds than what society deems acceptable. She definitely isn't interested in celebrity or money or tattooed lead singers of heavy rock bands...

Been ten days since my last empties but five more products are finished. Oxygen purifying honey masque This product was in a previous Lovelula box (when it was Amarya) and I really love it. It was a small sample but lasted three applications. Only has nine ingredients and the second ingredient after water is nelson active manuka honey and it smells amazing for this reason. It was a great masque to use, although it was sticky, obviously, and I would definitely buy as a treat in the future. Simple soothing facial toner This was used as my staple toner for weeks and is great for sensitive skin. It caused no reactions and is great around the eyes and doesn't sting. I am now using one of my stored products but would definitely use it again. L'Occitane Divine Extract This is supposed to be a must have product and although it was good I preferred the Calm Serum I finished a few weeks ago as it had a better smell and texture. I probably wouldn't buy it but I got it...

I bought the September Box and was unhappy about delivery but this month I unhappy about the box and feeling annoyed I have signed up for another 2 months, purely because it was cheaper and I ended up paying less than twenty pounds a month. Although my son is a little over the maximum age I thought the first box was good and was happy overall but I was on the fence about trying again until I got a promo code and thought I'd try it out again. The first item was the Cloud B- Sleep sheep on the go. He is cute and the sounds would be nice to fall asleep to. He is as beautiful as the sheep pillow from Cloud B we got from the first box and he provides me with something I wouldn't buy Edward myself and he got an enthusiastic cuddle from my son when he first met him. My only really issue with it is the stability of the sound unit as it is only Velcros in. You buy him  here  for £22.02 My second item is a singular babycup. It holds only 50ml and in a house when my s...

Standard box, but tends to be a box that makes me happy I just hope birchbox is as good as normal. Funky Leaflets and useful bag They have changed the format of the information in the boxes to cards from a magazine and they are really pretty and look funky and up to date. my seven item birchbox (1 more than normal) The subject of this month's box is 'Beauty Buzz' and it is much looks much closer to brief than Glossybox's 'Dark Romance'. I was really happy to see my products and they all look expensive and on trend with seven types of product with the normal being six. Egyptian magic 3 x 3g foil sachets approx. worth £2.21 Egyptian magic all purpose skin cream is exactly what it says in its name. It is a cult healing cream with only six ingredients. I have tried a lot of creams in the last few months and this has the strangest scent and texture I have seen in a cream. With only five ingredients I like that it is natural but the texture an...

Original release date: 21 August 2013 I have to admit that I wish I was best friends with Maya O'Connell. She has managed to put the world to rights in each book and this one is no different. As a married mother of a toddler myself, her advice and musings on raising the terrible twins are especially resonant with my own experiences of motherhood. Anyway, maybe I should get back to reviewing this book and stop worshiping the lead of the first two books and the contributor of advice titbits in this book. This book is the sixth in Celia Kyle's Ridgeville series. It centres around Tess and Harding following the death of Alistair McLean, who died in the previous book, Deuce's Wild. Tess is an anomaly in the shifter world, neither fully human nor fully shifter, and she lacks any identity but that with which the world has given her. This is the identity which has been forced on her as her 'father', the maniacal polar bear shifter, Alistair McLean, has hurt a lot ...

I always love payday but this month we have started to save again as hubby wants a computer and rainy day money is always a bonus so money is tight. Thankfully I was able to use my Boots advantage card to get my nail varnishes so they were free. Always great to get a freebie. I picked out a purple Sinful colors shade ( Let's talk 929) and hubby picked out this red nail varnish. Sinful Colors Cross my heart 957 To be honest I have wanted a vibrant red since I started to grow my nails but finding the right colour is hard on a budget. I really didn't want to look like I was wearing a shade you would wear when you were playing with child's make up when you were 5 or 6 or that looked like it was cheap. This is neither cheap or overly garish. Nice red nails This sinful colors shade took longer to dry than 'Love Nails' but even after running around after a toddler today it is not scratched nor dented. It looks great on and will look even better in a few...

After a disappointing box last month I am really hoping that this box, with the theme of dark romance is better. Last month was 'the London edition' filled with mainly non British products. The perfume was fit for an old lady, the eye lashes useless when I have little sight without glasses, the nipple balm a pathetic size and they sent yet another eye liner, the third in three boxes. The only useful product was the hair serum. All in all a terrible box. I just hope this one is better, especially as I bought a subscription that won't run out until the new year and had a Lovelula box I didn't enjoy, due to too many foil samples, so cancelled my Lovelula subscription this week. I love the nails and lipstick on this picture and I have wore a very similar nail colour this weekend that was made by Ciate. This is a great colour palette for my pale skin. The box was very light this month and did look very empty but I reserve judgement until I try the products. ...