A couple of weeks ago I attended an event that was a little bit different from those I normally go to each week. It wasn’t a cosmetic/foodie/makeup event, it wasn’t a glamorous, heels and frock, dress-to-the-nines occasion (thank god!). It was a book launch. A beautiful …
Nothing beats homemade hamburgers and with BBQ season quickly approaching, getting a go-to burger patty recipe locked, loaded and ready to go is a kiwi summer essential. I tried this recipe last night for the first time and it’s a winner. These burgers made an …
Sometimes when you’re a parent (actually quite often – like, daily), you have to make a decision, one that will determine which of two paths your day is likely to take.
You have to decide whether you are going to laugh or cry at whatever lunatic situation you find yourself in as the mother or father of a Kiwi child. Laugh and you’ll more than likely pick yourself up, clean the poo off the walls and soldier on with the extremely positive outlook of ‘well, it couldn’t get any worse right?’. Cry and you’ll limp through the rest of the day, somewhat comforted by the knowledge that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that light goes by the name of COFFEE & CHOCOLATE – two of my very best friends btw, great peeps.
So in conjunction with Karicare Toddler (a heritage NZ brand who’ve been helping mums care for Kiwi kids for over 90 years now!), I’ve been writing about what it means to me to be a Kiwi mum. In this post, I’ve done some brainstorming and come up with a list of 9 things that I think we can all file away in that box that lives in the garage that you never, ever open.
Take heart, it’s all worth it. Wipe your little darling’s snotty noses, send them off to school and kindy today and count your blessings as you are one of us. A parent of an amazing Kiwi kid.
This post is brought to you by Karicare Toddler.
The joy of both being a Kiwi kid and having the immense privilege to raise one – or 2 or 10 or however many you want – is an awesome journey to be on. Of course, it’s made infinitely easier when there are fab products such as Karicare Toddler that are made in New Zealand.
This Mum Service Announcement (MSA) is sponsored by GLAD. Life with kids can easily become an all-consuming cycle of coveting, collecting, consuming and then (sneakily lol) culling when the opportunity arises. Kids are hoarders, I am not, plus, I’m on a bit of a decluttering …
It’s Spring! It’s a bit grey, gloomy and coldish, but it is indeed Spring. The notion of the ‘Spring Clean’ is not something we focus on quite so much in this modern era of the multitasking homemaker – who may or may not work …
When you love Netflix, you really love Netflix. It might happen gradually, it might happen overnight but it will happen and when it does it’s easy to appreciate the amazing learning potential that exists in the combination of a medium that’s often relegated to the ‘mindless entertainment’ category, with the tangible, precious experience of books and the modern luxury of the world at our fingertips à la Google.
It’s enough to blow little (and big!) minds in a quiet way that sneaks up on you and creates educational experiences in your living room when all you’re looking for is 5 minutes of peace and some downtime for your overtired little ones after school.
And that is the Netflix Effect.
The Magic Schoolbus series of books were handed down to Ethan by one of my cousins many years ago. He never even looked at them, to be honest, but we kept them and they were eventually relocated to Nixie’s bookshelf. He discovered them earlier this year and they’ve since become a bedtime staple. Mrs Frizzle and the class have introduced Nix to phytoplankton and zooplankton, the water cycle and decomposition, the concepts of water pressure and air pressure – these are my least faves to be honest! I used to groan when these (l o n g) books would be chosen night after night, and I do have to skim read a little here and there, but, like Nixon, I’m now a fan of the Magic Schoolbus.
I’ve written before about his peculiar viewing habits; the thought of watching a movie sends him running for the hills, and trying to introduce new shows is like pulling teeth. He simply likes what he likes. Luckily, he LOVES watching The Magic School Bus on Netflix. I say ‘luckily’ because there are four seasons of the early series as well as the first season of the Netflix Original, The Magic School Bus Rides Again, streaming now. Dave, Ethan and I have been desperate for some new ‘Nixon approved’ content to beef up his current obsession, the single series of the fishing show, Chasing Monsters. If you need to know what ‘noodling for catfish’ means, I’d recommend you watch this lol.
The combination of mixing our quiet, bedtime reading routine with the Magic School Bus content on Netflix has seen Nixon’s interest in the world around him multiply so quickly, it’s hard to keep up. A conversation about volcanoes over the weekend quickly moved to windows. We finally caught up with his busy little brain and realised the connection he was making between rock and sand being heated by lava and the manufacture of glass from silica.
Mental.
TV, (or should I say, the ability to watch digital content on a television or device) is so much more than the Saturday morning cartoons and Coronation St we grew up with. Moving away from the negative screen-time paradigm and making choices around the content your kids are watching can provide some awesome and very entertaining educational opportunities for the entire family.
Our touch rugby season kicked off on Thursday night, which is great, we love our module. It’s social, fun and a great chance to spend time with our friends each week and have a run around together. Preparation for touch has been somewhat lacking this season, …
How good are the school holidays guys?! Slow starts, maybe a sleep-in (not in my house but a girl can dream), no lunchboxes, no homework dramas and maybe a road-trip thrown in for good measure……… The easiest way to kick your school holiday mojo into …
Here it is – my FAVOURITE stand-alone cleanser of all time, and I’ve sampled many.
Prior to this I had only ever used one Kiehl’s product before, Ultra Facial Deep Moisture Balm. Fab product, but not something I use every day, I always take it snowboarding though as it’s a perfect barrier moisturiser.
Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser $38, is a gentle, liquid gel cleanser that somehow holds it’s form (I can’t think of any other way to describe it lol) so that while massaging it on, you can feel the gel gliding between your fingertips and your face. It’s such a luxe daily ritual that I really look forward to and it works beautifully on removing a full face of makeup as well as fresh morning skin.
LOVE LOVE LOVE and a great price point for a full-size product (150ml) from a premium brand.
An excellent coup for those with sensitive skin, Garnier has just launched a 3 step cleansing and care routine designed for sensitive acne-prone skin.
Garnier Pure Active Sensitive comprises 3 products; a soap-free Pure Active Sensitive Cleanser, a clarifying Pure Active Sensitive Toner and Pure Active Sensitive Moisturiser. The combination of natural ingredients such as zinc to purify and boost skin immunity and witch hazel to soothe irritated skin results in a hypoallergenic and ph-neutral range, perfect for calming and caring for sensitive skin.
Point of difference to note; a gel toner!!! I’ve never seen nor tried one before!
Garnier Pure Active Sensitive range RRP $13.99ea, available from select supermarkets, pharmacies and Farmers.
This little blue pot of matte-moisturising perfection has been my daily go-to for the past 2 months. I took it with me to Surfers Paradise anticipating needing some help controlling shine in the warmer conditions and it exceeded my expectations. It’s like a combination moisturiser/primer, which is awesome as it’s one less step when you’re getting ready. I’ve found many ‘blur’ products end up sitting on top of my skin leaving a residue that seems to rub off when applying foundation or BB cream over the top – which kind of defeats the purpose really! This stays on during makeup application and looks great on a bare-faced day as well as one where I’m sporting a full face of makeup. Zero shine plus great looking and feeling skin.
I was gifted this but would absolutely purchase as it’s now a daily essential. Shop it here
To discover your custom fit perfect moisturiser, take the Clinique Hydration Quiz here – that’s how I discovered Pep-Start!
I’m a huge fan of this range so am always excited to tet out new additions. The Shea Butter skincare line from L’Occitane not only smells incredible but is pretty much the most effective hydrating collection I’ve used.
It’s got a lovely back-story too, with L’Occitane only purchasing fair trade shea butter from the women producing it sustainably in Burkina Faso.
One of the new arrivals is the limited edition Shea Solidarity Soap, 50g RRP $8. Do yourself and a charitable cause a favour and pick one of these up next time you’re at the mall or shopping online at nz.loccitane.com. The subtle fragrance of the shea range is totally addictive and works beautifully in this solid soap bar which cleans without 
stripping skin. Plus, 100% of the profits are redistributed to fight avoidable blindness. Ask in store if you can’t find this variety as it may have sold out!
I’ve also been enjoying another line addition, the Shea Butter Foaming Cleanser, 125ml RRP $45. With 5% shea oil, this is an excellent in-between cleanser if you’re not a fan of liquid/gel cleansers but aren’t ready to commit to an oil cleansing regime. I’d recommend this for normal to dry skin types, the end result is beautifully clean, but also really soft and hydrated skin.
Other new products in the Shea Butter Skincare Line are; Shea Butter Intensive Hand Balm 150ml, RRP $53, Whipped Body Cream Shea Rose 125ml, RRP $38, Whipped Hand Cream Shea Rose 30ml, RRP $18.
You may have seen me try this on my IG stories last week, in which you’ll remember how surprised I was at the formulation and how easily and quickly it was absorbed. I find most all-purpose balms to be super sticky, which makes them far too annoying to keep on for any duration. Miri’s new offering is different. Made in New Zealand from natural ingredients, Miri’s Kiwifruit Seed Oil & Manuka Honey Balm was created with the intent to combine NZ and South Pacific ingredients into an all natural balm to soothe chapped lips or irritated skin. Suggested uses are; moisturising lips, chapped lips, dry or cracked skin, burns, scrapes, nourishing cuticles, insect bites, prevention of nappy rash, general massage and shaving rashes.
There’s no nasty fillers, preservatives, petroleum, BHA, BHT, DEA-regulated ingredients, dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde, parabens, PEG compounds, siloxanes, SLS or triclosan.
And it’s STILL lovely and effective.
Available from leading pharmacies nationwide.
Described as Step Zero in your cleansing routine, this is a breakthrough product that takes Dermalogica’s double-cleanse regime to the next level. I’m a huge fan of their PreCleanse Oil, it’s in my shower for everyday use, to be honest, but the pump bottle does make it more difficult to travel with.
Enter the innovative PreCleanase Balm that activates on contact with water, transforming from balm to oil. LOVE. There is no cleanse like a Dermalogica double-cleanse, that is a fact. The retail pack comes complete with a double-sided, ergonomically-designed mitt that is heaven on skin (really), and leaves skin “soft, nourished and ready to receive the benefits of your regular skin care regimen”, Caroline Parker, Head of Education for Dermalogica New Zealand.
Available from authorised Dermalogica® skin centres, selected department stores, Life Pharmacies and online at dermalogica.co.nz
Confession time; I’ve never, ever self-tanned. Ever. but I’m going to.
After two revelatory spray tans, one before our family holiday on the Gold Coast and one before my trip to Melbourne last month, I realised that fake tan has come a long way since I was in high school. You very rarely see an orange tan-victim these days, in fact, I can only think of one and his name starts with T and ends with Rump. So, I’m going to do it. My dad died from melanoma as many of you know, so my passion for laying out is pretty much zero these days, plus the bikini bod isn’t doing what it should either. In the words of my very wise nail tech, “tanned fat looks a whole lot better than pasty fat’.
So that’s my new motto.
Eco Tan is a cruelty-free brand that uses natural cacao, herbs flower extract, fruit extract and chamomile to create a natural looking glow that is certified organic. To support the Eco Tan range of tanning projects, creator Sonya Driver has also brought a beautiful range of natural body care products to market. These are all vegan, toxic free, synthetic free, cruelty-free and licensed by PETA.
Eco Tan and Eco by Sonya Driver are available at Unichem and Life Pharmacies, Health 2000 and Commonsense Organics, leading health and organic retailers and online at www.naturalthings.co.nz
I’m seeing a lot of awesome new products each week so thought it was about time I curated these new releases into a regular ‘Hot List’ that’s short and snappy, giving you guys the lowdown on the latest and greatest from brands we love. I …