Bloom Beautiful Mother and Baby Cosmetics Review

Bloom Beautiful are makers of gorgeous natural balms, salves and butters for pampering goodness and the Bloom Beautiful Mother and Baby range is EXACTLY my cup of tea - 100% natural products made in Devon from local ingredients designed to help soothe and protect your skin and that of your baby.

Holly and I have been trying out some of the Bloom Beautiful Mother and Baby skincare products and we LOVE them!

First up, we tried Bloom Beautiful's Mummy and Baby Massage Oil which is a gorgeous blend of sunflower, grapeseed, coconut and apricot kernal oil and chamomile for soothing and protective properties along with sweet orange oil and rose otto oil for a gentle uplifting fragrance.  The scent is simply heavenly and the orange oil really does make me feel bright and sunny when I'm using it on Holly - these days Holly still enjoys a massage but tends to wiggle a lot and I would say this massage oil was more energising than relaxing for bedtime.  The massage oil is beautifully presented with small rose petals suspended in the oil.  The Mummy and Baby Massage Oil costs £9.95.

I have used the Baby Bee Butter from Bloom Beautiful on Lara's dry skin on her arms.  The Bee Butter is a mix of shea butter, coconut oil and beeswax so it is quite a firm butter but with added vitamin E it makes a brilliant natural moisturiser.  Lara likes it because it doesn't leave a moist residue on her arms.  I would be more than happy to use this balm on a newborn suffering from dry skin and to help protect skin from losing its natural oils.  The Baby Bee Butter costs £6.50.

The Bloom Beautiful Baby Bottom Balm is a really firm waxy balm for soothing nappy rash and helping to calm reddened skin.  I found I had to really work the balm in the little presentation tin to soften it enough that I could easily use it in a hurry at the next nappy change.  The blend of olive oil, coconut oil and beeswax does mean however that once you can get some of the balm onto your fingers it is nice and oily so very easy to apply over the skin and rub in to provide a barrier against the nappy. The Bottom Butter costs  £7.75.

Bloom Beautiful's Mummy Bee Butter is a very similar texture to the Baby Bee Butter but with some more grown-up scents of lavender, tangerine, rosehip and rosewood.  The scent is still very subtle.  I've used this butter on my face, my legs, my arms and my tummy... I reckon you could use it anywhere where your skin needs a little bit of TLC but it would be ideal on skin shrinking after pregnancy.  It costs £7.75.

Bloom Beautiful products can be bought online from the Bloom Beautiful website and Not on the high street.

Cussons Mum & Me Baby Sleep Tight Balm Review

Sleep isn't something that Lara ever struggled with as a baby, but Holly is different. Only this week did we have our first ever undisturbed night's sleep. Until very recently, Holly refused a dummy so we used to struggle to send her off to sleep and would let her settle herself in our arms before transferring her into the cot. The Baby Sleep Tight Balm from Cussons Mum & Me is part of a range of baby products designed to help encourage a peaceful sleep and to become part of your baby;s bedtime routine.

The Baby Sleep Tight Balm is a small 20ml tin of fragranced oil-based balm designed to be gently rubbed into your baby's temples before bedtime. The combination of oils and fragrances has been chosen to relax. It isn't really designed for all-body baby massage but is great for applying in very small amounts to the forehead, or to the wrists and ankles.

Holly is always more mellow at bedtime when we have had chance for a little bit of massage but these days she is always on the move so we rarely find time, the Sleep Tight Balm is great because I only need to apply it quickly to a small number of places. I love the smell of it and in fact I've used it on myself more than I've used it on Holly!!! It is a gentle aromatic fragrance, based largely on chammomile.

The oil of the balm is a mixture of olive oil and castor oil which are both great for baby's skin.

Holly has been unwell for over half of the time we've spent using the Mum and Me balm so it has been hard to test its effectiveness as soothing her to sleep (snot and a sore throat are not conducive to a good night's sleep!) but I have already found that just the simple act of applying it is calming for both her and for me.

Mum & Me Baby Sleep Tight Balm costs around. £3.49.

Big Green Smile - Pure Beginnings Baby Cosmetics Review

I LOVE a good set of baby cosmetics! And, as you have probably gathered by now, I'm a huge fan of organic and natural cosmetics in the first instance, especially for young skin. Eco shopping website Big Green Smile is just my kind of website and they asked Holly (and me) to review one of their new ranges of baby skincare products - Pure Beginnings.

Pure Beginnings is a family business from South Africa who make organic and natural cosmetics for babies. Pure Beginnings specialise combine herbal botanical ingredients with plant ingredients, many of which are unique to Africa. They also pride themselves on the fact that they contribute to the welfare of South Africa's rural communities and protect its biodiversity.

Our favourite product from the range was the Pure Beginnings Baby Bum Cream which has a self-explanatory name! We don't use a lot of nappy cream (no need if you have good cloth nappies!) but in the warm weather the nappies have become a bit clammy and Holly has needed a barrier cream applied. The cream is a really nice buttery texture - not too runny, not too thick and, when I apply it, it makes a visible barrier on the skin.

The Pure Beginnings baby bum cream contains baobab extract which improves skin elasticity and is packed full of anti-oxidants. It also contains olive, lavender and tea tree oil which make the cream naturally anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral; It can also be used to soothe insect bites and stings as baobab has anti-inflammatory properties. The scent of the cream is really floral - to me it is the organic geranium oil that is most distinctive in its scent.

On Lara I have tried out the Pure Beginnings Baby Lotion to soothe her dry skin on her arms and legs. It smells divine, the same rose hint. Baobab is also a key ingredient in the baby lotion along with moisturising shea butter. It is lovely to apply and having also used it on myself, I can vouch for the fact that it is both refreshing and soothing.

Also in the range is a two-in-one baby bath and shampoo. I haven't yet used anything other than water on Holly's skin in the bath (a lesson I learned from last time was not to introduce cleansers to the skin too early in life) but for Lara, the shampoo seems to be a success. Once again, I've fallen in love with this product for its scent - the organic rose geranium oil is such a summery smell and leaves Lara smelling scrumptious! Baobab and rosemary are also key ingredients in this body wash and shampoo. It seems like a good all-round baby product and I look forward to using it on Holly in the coming months.

Big Green Smile also sell the toothpaste and bubble bath from the Pure Beginnings range for slightly older children than Holly.

Corine de Farme Disney Baby Bath Products Review

Gosh, the new baby Button is going to be a lucky little thing. We were asked to try out the range of Winnie the Pooh baby bathtime cosmetics from luxury french cosmetics company Corine de Farme. Although we have been trying these out on Lara, I think they are very special for a tiny baby so I'm going to stash them away for baby's arrival!

In the past I have known Corine de Farme better for their upmarket range of shower gels and body care products for women but these latest Disney Winnie the Pooh products are designed with baby in mind. Especially for sensitive skin and to be gentle to hair, eyes and soft baby skin.

All of the products are colour free. I really like the sensitive baby lotion as it is a very light lotion that is almost instantly absorbed but you can feel a velvety soft residue on the skin afterwards. I wouldn't use it frequently on Lara because of her skin condition (for which I prefer to use 100% natural products or a specialist emoilliant cream).

My favourite product from the range is the hair and body wash. For a baby with very short hair I don't mind using an all-in-one product and this one has a nice gentle foam on both the skin and the hair. The scent is very gentle and conjours up images of tiny babies just sniffing it!

The Disney Winnie the Pooh branding particularly caught Lara's eye and the colours are fun without being bold and garish. The pump action bottles are perfect for when having to hold a baby as you can squidge them down with just one hand cupped over the dispenser.

Corine de Farme Winnie the Pooh products can be found in Boots and some Sainsburys stores and they recently won the Mother & Baby award for Best Premium Baby Skincare Range.

The Sunday Review - Burts Bees Baby Dusting Powder

Very shortly after Lara was born, I discovered a great talc-free dusting powder which I really rated but I never went back to buy more because I couldn't justify the cost. We've recently discovered Burt's Bees Baby Dusting powder which is sold at the online organic health store Lucy Rose . It is made largely of cornflour which offers high absorbency and because of this, I can't help but compare it to the Maclaren Beginnings dusting powder that I raved about before.

When Lara was in reusable nappies, we didn't often need to use powder because the nappies kept her skin quite dry but in disposables Lara's skin tends to stay very moist so these days I do still like to use a powder but I like to stay away from talcum powder due to the scare stories about it being carcinogenic. Cornflour (corn starch) is a far more natural ingredient and seems, from experience to be far more effective too.

The Burts Bees Baby Dusting Powder powder contains largely natural plant-based ingredients and it is pthalate and paraben free but it isn't 100% guilt free – there are one or two ingredients such as linalool and benzyl benzoate that can still cause skin irritation but thankfully Lara seems to be fine with these.

The bottle of Burts Bees powder is easy to use and, unlike the Maclaren powder, the lid doesn't fall off every time I use it! You just need a tiny amount of powder sprinkled on your baby's bottom to keep them dry at a nappy change. I also use it after Lara has had a bath to make sure her skin is dry, soft and sweet-smelling before putting on her pyjamas.

I really love the smell of the Burts Bees powder. It doesn't smell like anything I can directly recognise... herby, fruity and honey-ey at the same time.

The powder is incredibly good value for money at £6.99. It costs 2/3rds of the price of the Maclaren dusting powder (for a bigger bottle). As with all cornflour dusting powders it will last a very long time.

Lucy Rose stock a large number of organic and natural beauty products – not just for babies (although they do stock Green People and Beaming Baby which are two favourites of mine)! They also stock some of my favourite organic brands for Mummies such as Lovea bio and Akin.

My Cosmetics Stash aka A Promise to Use Stuff Up!

A wise person (aka my Mum) once told me that cosmetics companies make their money out of all the bottles and jars of smellies that sit unused on your dressing table. I think there is probably some truth in this – the cosmetics industry is centred around a marketing concept of perfection – you'll buy anything you can get your hands on in order to achieve that perfection. If you're always on the lookout for the next magic product then the old ones quickly get discarded.

Welcome to my cosmetics cupboard!



This is the place where I stash all of my goodies that aren't currently in use. They are all products I've bought, received as gifts, won as prizes or been asked to review. Many of them are unopened! Some of the products are things I love and I'm just stockpiling or saving for a rainy day. Others are things I'm not that keen on, but it seems a waste to throw them away.

I have a similar stash in the bathroom where I keep all of my bath and hair products.



At the start of this year I made myself a promise to start using all these things up. I gave away a few items to friends and fellow reviewers. I asked Mr. B. not to give me any new smellies for Christmas, our Anniversary or my Birthday.

In the past 4 months I've made a significant dent on the stash (these photos would have been a lot more chocca full of bottles and pots a few months ago!). I've enjoyed furtling through the cupboard for the next item to use – it means I've rediscovered some favourites and forced myself to try some products that I was previously avoiding.

It feels good to be using stuff up and getting to recycle the empty bottles. I feel like I'm achieving something! I feel like I'm beating the system. The best thing about it is that I'm slowly making space on my window ledge and in the cupboard so that when it comes to Christmas 2011, Mr. B. will have free reign to buy me smellies galore!

The Sunday Review: Method Kid Body Wash & Shampoo

We have been using the Method Kids bathtime products for some months now – they are Mellow Daddy's favourite to use on Lara at bath time because they are brightly coloured and fun-smelling.

MethodKid make products from largely natural ingredients (99%) for children (I reviewed MethodBaby products some time ago on Mellow Mummy, they were a hit with us right from day one).

We have been using the Squeaky Green Body Wash and 3-in-1 Shampoo.

The Squeaky Green body wash is the next step up from the Method Baby body wash. It is a very light texture for a baby wash because it isn't made from the normal petro-chemicals used in bath products. We love it because it is gentle on Lara's skin. Lara likes it because of the bright green bottle that she likes to squeeze - it is in the sampe of a tiny little creature of some sort! Daddy likes it because of the smell of crisp apples (actually, I find the fragrance too strong and a bit artificial). Both Mummy and Daddy like the fact that the bottle doesn't have a lid – the body wash is dispensed from a squeezy valve in the bottom of the bottle which means you don't have to faff about with lids when you are in charge of bathime.

The 3-in-1 Shampoo and body wash comes in a similar bottle. We tried the fuzzy peach scent which, once again, is a fun, vibrant fragrance that kids and dads love, but which I find a bit in-your-face. The Shampoo is a very similar product to the body wash and in fact can be used as a body wash too. I take it with us when we are staying away from home, or when we go to the swimming pool because it means we don't have to take a separate shampoo for Lara.

I'm a big fan of the Method environmentally-friendly approach to cleaning and washing products. I've tried plenty of their products – some I love, some I don't rate at all but the Method Kids products are high on my list of must-haves. I think Method have found a good balance between the green, healthy cosmetics market and the bright, bathtime fun that kids expect.

We buy our Method products from Waitrose but some of their range are available in several different supermarkets and in Boots as well.

The Sunday Review - 'Naturally' Cosmetics for Mother & Baby

Very rarely do I come across a skincare or cosmetics brand that suits BOTH my skin, and Lara's skin. Naturally Upper Canada and Naturally Baby are skincare brands that are recently launched in the UK but have a successful history in Canada, the USA, South America and Asia.

'Naturally' products are made from 97% natural, botanically active ingredients and they are free from parabens, SLS, mineral oils and synthetic dyes which means that they help to reduce irritation to the skin on my arms and face, and to Lara's arms, legs and face too. The natural ingredients also help me feel less guilty about the foam and suds being washed away down our drainpipe into the world's water systems.

Lara has recently been using the Naturally Baby mild shampoo which costs around £6 for 200ml. It is totally clear in colour (which always leaves me with a good feeling) and foams well. The shampoo smells very subtle but when it is rubbed into Lara's hair it releases a faint scent of mint and lime. It contains witch hazel and aloe to help soothe the scalp. I really like the Naturally Baby shampoo – it hasn't wowed me but I think that's a good thing; its a simple, eco-friendly, skin-friendly product that doesn't need to do any wowing!

Other products in the Naturally Baby range include baby wash, nappy cream, body lotion and room freshner.

I've been using the Naturally Upper Canada Whipped Hand Repair Balm. As you may know from past reviews of mine, I'm very fussy about my hand creams! This hand cream comes in a nice big 120ml squeezy bottle and comes in some amazing flavours(!) - Sweet Vanilla Fig, Pressed Olive Avocado, Cranberry Moro Orange and Warm Honey Nectar. They all sound scrumptious to me but the one I've been reviewing is the sweet vanilla fig which just smells wonderful. Not overly vanilla-y, and not overly sweet, it is a warming, comforting smell. The texture of the hand balm is unlike anything I've tried before – almost moussey! It is a light, whipped cream that isn't heavy or cloying and is absorbed quickly. Even after the first use, I felt the skin on the back of my hands felt soft and that's a feeling I love before I go to bed each evening.

I really enjoyed using the Naturally Upper Canada products and can't wait to try out some of their other pampering products for myself – I'm not sure what to try first – the Coarse Salt Scrub and Foaming Bath Milk take my fancy.

You can buy the full range of Naturally products from the stockist on 01277 220 842

The Sunday Review - Tiddley Pom Natural Baby Spa

Oh I'm a sucker for smellies. I'm sure Lara would be too if she knew how to be a sucker for anything... until she does, I shall do it on her behalf. These past few weeks Lara has been being pampered with the organic baby wash from Tiddley Pom. It has been heavenly, but definitely not your every day kind of baby wash!

A baby wash has got to be incredibly good to be worth £9.99 a bottle. I just don't think I would ever choose to buy a baby product that expensive unless I had tried it before and KNEW it was worth it. However, I would like to think that nice people would buy something like Tiddley Pom as a gift for my baby. I guess it's the same as with my favourite smellies – I would never spend a fortune on a bubble bath or skincare products for me, but I always like to receive them as presents.

Tiddley Pom claim to be the first UK company to offer a holistic spa range for babies. Their approach is a sensory one – pampering babies through touch, smell and sound. Alongside their range of baby massage oil, body lotion, baby wash and nappy balm, Tiddley Pom also have a set of calming music CDs to accompany your baby massage, settle your baby to sleep or just as a good excuse for cuddles.

Tiddley Pom was founded by Emma Nash. As an expert in natural cosmetics for the skincare and spa industry, she was perfectly placed to develop a range suitable for her baby daughter who had sensitive skin prone to eczema, just like Lara does. Tiddley Pom products are made in the UK using natural ingredients. They contain no parabens, mineral oils, SLS or other nasties which is perfect for sensitive skin.

We tried the Tiddley Pom organic baby wash which comes in a pump bottle. You need just a few drops in a small bath (although you need quite a lot to get a foam going in a full-sized bath). The product smells lovely – a very gentle and not-over-powering scent of lavender and chamomile. Additionally made with Aloe and Xantham Gum, it is well targeted to the healing of dry or damaged skin. We loved the smell – it really does remind me of the gentle, aromatic surroundings of some of the best spas and salons I have been to. When used the baby wash in large quantities, we found it made a great hair and body wash as it lathered quite easily (which is surprising for an SLS-free product).

We have also been listening to the Tiddley Pom 'Baby Cuddles' CD. It is a long and incredibly mellow set of instrumental tracks ideal for playing during a relaxing baby massage or as a way of settling down before bed. Lara found it very peaceful but I found it, much like the music they play in my own beauty salon, extremely reviving – I am more than happy to have it playing in the background during my day to help me chill out!

If you use it sparingly, as a special treat, I don't see why Tiddley Pom products can't be considered good value for money. But I do think that a smaller bottle at a smaller price would be more appealing, and perhaps a small glass (recycled/recyclable) bottle would make the product feel even more luxurious.

The Tiddley Pom organic baby wash costs around £9.99 for 200ml. You can find their products in Harrods or online at http://tiddley-pom.com/shop. Their 'Baby's First Spa Experience' boxed set looks like an amazingly luxurious gift for any new baby.

All Images courtesy of Fuse Communications

The Sunday Review – Earth Friendly Baby

Earth Friendly Baby is a brand of organic, eco-friendly, natural toiletries and baby essentials. You can see some of their products in the big supermarkets and at Boots but you can also buy online at many of the eco-baby websites such as So Organic Ltd.

All of their products (from baby wipes to body lotions) are simple, yet fun. The packaging is bright, without being garish and their scents are tangy and strong without being artificial.

We recently tried the Earth Friendly Baby Organic Chamomile Bubblebath (£5.99). It is very runny for a bubble bath because it it made from natural ingredients. This means that it is quite hard to be sparing with it but you soon learn that a little goes a long way. We live in an area of very hard water and normally, natural bath products struggle to produce a lather (because of their lack of chemical nasties). Surprisingly, we found that the Earth Friendly Baby Bubblebath produced the most impressive bubbles of any baby bath we have used to date; and, as a bonus, it left a fresh scent in the bathroom after use.

We also tried the Organic Calendula Daily Care Cream (£5.49). Until now, we have been using the Weleda Calendula Lotion (£7.50) on Lara's body; it is runny and, after months of using it, I've found, quite frankly, that it is ineffective at anything other than making Lara (a)smell scrumptious and (b)a bit slippery. In contrast, the Earth Friendly Baby Daily Care Cream is thick (thickened with vegetable oil and beeswax) and easy to apply. Designed as a nappy barrier cream, it also makes a great moisturiser for sensitive skin such as Lara's because it makes a protective barrier over the skin. It is the first body cream I have used on Lara which seems to prevent, rather than just relieve her dry skin.

We have also won one of the Shampoo & Bodywash products from the Earth Friendly Kids range from Mummy's Busy World. The 'zingy citrus' range is so zingy and citrussy that myself and Mr. B. stole it off Lara! Great fun for all the family.

Images courtesy of Sparkle PR

The Sunday Review – Halos n Horns Baby Bath

Lara suffers from mild ezcema on her arms. In an attempt to reduce the irritation to her skin, we have decided to only use bath products that are free from SLS/SLES, Parabens and Phthalates (if you don't know what these are, there is a complete guide to common cosmetic ingredients on the Halos n Horns website). Halos n Horns was launched by a mummy whose child suffered from ezcema and who felt that as parents, we wash our little angels to git rid of all of the nasties, not put more on!

Image courtesy of Halos n Horns

The Halos n Horns baby bath is a bubble bath which is so gentle that it can be used as a body wash and hair wash as well. As an all-in-one product it is a great option for taking on holiday as it saves you having to pack separate bottles and trust me, when you travel with a baby, you need to save all the space you can in your suitcase! I'm looking forward to taking our Halos n Horns baby bath with us when we got to NY in June.

The baby bath smells fantastic. It took me a while to work out what it smells of, but I think I have got it now... Cherryade! Lara seems to enjoy it, and certainly doesn't complain when we use it to wash her hair and body. The dry skin on her arms often comes up very red after a bath but it seems to be a little more calm when we use this to clean her. The baby bath doesn't froth very well and takes quite some effort to lather up but this may just be because we live in a part of the country where we suffer from astonishingly hard water (which probably contributes to Lara's ezcema too).

The Halos N Horns baby bath comes in a 200ml tube and costs around £3.29. Halos N Horns also make two different combined shampoo & conditioner products, a body wash and a toothpaste. Their products can be found in most major supermarkets.

They have a great website at http://www.halosnhorns.co.uk/ where there are competitions, tips for having fun with your kids, a discussion board and children's activities. You can also request your free 'Little Book of Holiday Fun' which is a great booklet packed full of holiday tips and activities for children of all ages.