A bit Hippy - Winter Warrior Skincare

I talk a lot about food on this blog. Mr Fork and I may live on a tiny suburban block, but I'm a country girl at heart. I love to be sustainable and eco friendly (read a bit more about it all here). I especially love to grow my own food - it's healthy, it's cheap and I like knowing what I put on my plate. I feel that eating and sourcing local ingredients where possible is so important, both for the environment and for the local economy. I like knowing that I'm a bit self sufficient, growing vegetables and making my own bread, but I'm also ok buying kitchen staples from the grocery store too. It's about taking small steps to do what you can isn't it?

I'm not into labels, not really. I'm a vegetarian who eats vegan at home. I'm married to the biggest carnivore I know. Why label it?

Living an eco friendly and sustainable lifestyle is more than food just though. It's caring about the ingredients in other things too. Like skincare. Did you know that our skin is our largest organ and absorbs up to 60% of what we put on it? Yeah. So you'd want to be using stuff without any nasties if you can right?

Coming into winter, my skin can get dehydrated and just plain freak out (I'm looking at you, big chin pimple!), so sometimes a bit more love is needed to help maintain that summer glow.

When the team at A bit Hippy, asked if they could send me some winter warrior saviours, I jumped at the chance. A bit Hippy is a natural skincare company in Burleigh Heads. So, they're local AND they are 100% pure and natural, plant based, vegan friendly and totally affordable. Shut the front door!!

Let's talk about Rosehip oil shall we? I love the stuff. It's like a miracle oil that helps with pigmentation, dry skin, scarring, stretch marks... the list goes on. I'm also picky about the sort I use, because it can oxidise and lose effectiveness if it's exposed to air. I was super chuffed to see that A bit Hippy's Rosehip with Benefits is packed into an airless and lightless pump to keep it fresh. There's also some Vitamin C (that's the 'benefit') in the mix to help new cell turnover. It's a lovely strong yellow colour and has a fresh smell so I know it's been treated and stored correctly. I've been using it morning and night after cleansing (and before moisturiser in the morning) and I have to say I'm feeling moisturised and maybe even a little bit less pigmented (pregnancy is awful to your skin I have to say!). While I had some problems getting the pump to work at first, once it got going, I had no other issues.

I also tried the Soothing and Improving moisturiser. Usually I have a couple of moisturisers on the go at any one time, but since giving this one a try, I haven't been reaching for anything else. There is plenty of liquorice root extract, aloe vera and almond oil so it's super soothing and a great texture for keeping that dry and scaly winter skin at bay without feeling greasy or taking forever to soak in. My skin just drank it up. I also tried a little on Jimmy as his skin was a bit dry after the pox/HFM incidents and it worked really well on him too. I'm big on products that are multiple use and for multiple people!

And just as a little aside, how cute is this delivery box? There were also some seriously sweet badges included which miss Ellie has claimed for decorating her daycare bag.

This post is getting a bit long, so I'll talk about the other goodies in a separate post. 

Disclaimer: Thanks to A bit Hippy for providing these gorgeous natural products for editorial consideration!

Review: MU Australia, Library of Flowers field kit

Recently, the people at MU Australia were lovely enough to send me a Library of Flowers Field Kit to try. MU Australia specialise in niche bath, body and home products of classical design and high quality. I chose The Forest - a bath goods collection containing a triple milled soap, body scrub, shower gel, hand creme and a lip nectar.

The Library of Flowers brand designer Margot Elena has done a wonderful job creating scents inspired by nature - opening the package was a lovely smelling experience. Apparently, although I am not cultured enough to pick it (nor am I a beauty blogger), the top note is oak bark, middle note is arctic moss and bottom note is white sage. Take my word for it, it smells nice!

I love the packaging - the bamboo container is quirky, and the product labelling is bright, cheerful and very contemporary.

I especially loved the hand creme. With a toddler and a newborn, I am constantly washing my hands, and so I need something to stop them drying out. This hand creme ranked highly for me, absorbing easily, smelling gorgeous and not being greasy. The coco and shea butters, along with macadamia and avocado oils made me feel conditioned and soothed with lovely soft hands to boot!

I try to avoid heavily scented shower gels and body scrubs as Jimmy doesn't seem to like them on me, but I couldn't resist trying these ones out. The shower gel wasn't drying at all due to the shea butter, bee balm and jojoba oil used. The body scrub was a great texture - medium sized beads were perfectly sized so that I felt I was getting a good scrub, but gentlly as well. Afterwards, I was smooth and clean and not overly perfumed either.

I'm not a huge soap fan (Mr Fork usually gets given all mine) but I dutifully unwrapped the fine perfumed bar and was just a little smitten. Children and dogs mean I wash my hands constantly so I left this one beside the sink for a little washing luxury. The coco butter base meant I was nicely cleaned without being too dry afterward.

I had to fight Ellie for my lip nectar (she loves her gloss!) as I was such a fan of the honeyed peach. It has a lovely aroma and left my lips soft without being greasy or sticky.

The Library of Flowers kits retail for $64.95 from MU Australia.

Disclaimer: Although I was provided with the Library of Flowers kit for free, I was under no obligation to write a post. All opinions are my own.

Toes

Sometimes, you just need to leave the baby at home with the husband and go get a spa pedicure. So that's what I did on Saturday.

The colour of the polish is called Yoga-ta get this blue by the inimitable OPI. It makes me smile every time I look at my pampered, polished toes. Which is great, because I've had a pooper of a week already, and it's only Monday.

How's your week going dear readers?

Moogoo keeps the nappy rash in check

Recently the little miss has had the most awful nappy rash. As with her cold, she doesn't seem to know that something is amiss and doesn't show any reaction except for smiles and giggles. I suspect one of the main culprits is the horribly acidic urine associated with teething, so it'll pass eventually, but it sure looks painful!

As we're using modern cloth nappies, we have to be careful with the creams we put on as certain ingredients tend to coat the fibres of the inserts, making them less absorbent. Tip #1: if there is one quality you want in a nappy, absorbency is it, so don't mess with that!

Tip #2: If there is a place you want to use a good quality product, it's in the the nappy area! I make a habit that with every product I use on the little miss, I also test it on myself. Yes, this means that I've tried some pretty awful things (certain teething gels, panadol, and nappy creams, I'm looking at you) but I've also discovered some great products too.

Nappy free time is only practical some of the time, we definitely can't go out in public comfortably that way! I went through the contents of my baby sample collection to see what I had, and tested them one by one.  I even went to far as to use creams I knew I shouldn't be, having to add extra liners to the nappy so they wouldn't touch the material but nothing was clearing up this rash - if anything, it was getting worse.  In absolute desperation, I turned to my trusty MooGoo MSM soothing cream. I'd originally bought this to help soothe some itchy spots I had on the scalp, and hoped it would help with nappy rash too. The real bonus is that it doesn't have any zinc in it, which is something that most nappy rash creams contain and a big no no for the modern cloth nappies.

Verdict? Since using the MSM cream, the rash has noticeably improved and there was no need for more icky zinc creams and added nappy liners. The cream is soothing without being thick and gunky, and really does help keep nasty acidic teething rash at bay.  I've learnt that if a product is natural enough, it can be used on both mama and baby skin with fantastic results for both.

As a new mother, it's hard to find products that I trust, but when I find one that I like using and that helps my baby feel better too, I'm sold. Yay MooGoo, thank you for making a natural product good enough to eat and safe for baby's bottom!

Do you have any products you share with baby? Any baby products you've stolen for use yourself? I'd love to hear about them!

Organic Spa Gel Mask

Before becoming a mama, I used to follow a simple skin care ritual: cleanse and moisturise with the occasional exfoliate and mask thrown in when my skin was feeling a little run down.  Makeup was for work days only, and I kept it very simple with mineral foundation, neutral mineral eye shadow and a quick slick of mascara and lipgloss. Viola!

Now that I'm a mama, all of that has fallen by the wayside.  I'm lucky if I get time to wash properly in the shower, and really it's a matter of choosing to cleanse or exfoliate my face and sometimes it's neither. Moisturiser happens when I remember, or when I happen look in the mirror and notice I'm more haggard than usual. And makeup - I think I remember how to use it!

What I'm trying to say here, is that I'm sadly in need of a little pampering, and my new lifestyle means that I also really value products that I can use for multiple purposes (hello, organic coconut oil - edible and a beauty multitasker!).

That's why I was so chuffed when I won an OrganicSpa Gel Mask. Given that this company is all about organic, natural and vegan products, it was right up my alley, claiming to replenish and brighten my dry, tired skin.

I love it when products come with the pump top. It just makes me feel like they stay fresher and it's a little more hygienic that I only touch what I'm going to use each time.

So do I love the mask? Heck yes! I had Mr Fork take over baby duties while I shut myself in the bathroom for some 'me' time.  The consistency is nice and thick so it really is a gel as promised and not a liquid (yay!). It was lightly scented in a pleasant and non overpowering way, and went on easily without tightening uncomfortably as it dried.

I applied a thin layer, left it on for 10 minutes or so while I paged through a magazine and then rinsed off, following with a layer of moisturiser. I definitely felt relaxed, moisturised, firmer and refreshed afterward so I'm going to make an extra effort to take care of my skin and give it some extra love occasionally.

Do you have any little rituals in your life that you make time for, to relax and help keep your sanity?

Winner!

I've always been a bit shy in the internet world.  I read a lot of blogs quite avidly, but I rarely stop to comment on them.  I scour various specialist forums for other people's advice, but again, rarely add little to the conversations.  I decided recently that I should really change that, and so I've been moved to comment on a few things I felt strongly about, add some expert knowledge and advice when I could and oh yes, enter the odd competition or two.


Maybe this is the way the universe is telling me that I'm doing the right thing, because I won something!  A blog that I follow recently celebrated it's 18 month birthday and was giving away a few gorgeous things.  I was the lucky winner of a Kit Cosmetics Duo Cheek & Lip Creme in Turn it On!

It arrived today and I couldn't resist opening it right away.  First impression was that it smelt divine.  Fruity and full of watermelon scented goodness.  I then had to try it out.  I'm working from home today so I don't have a nice base to add blush to, but I couldn't resist adding some to my lips.  The lighter shade on its own was a bit too pink so I added some of the darker one... perfection!  They just blend beautifully together and give my lips a nice sheen and a feeling of ultra hydration.  I can't wait to see how this will look on my cheeks.  

Thanks, and what a great "hump day" pick me up!