Get the kids out of the house and into Mrs McGinty’s garden this April school holidays. Mrs McGinty is known around the neighbourhood for being a grumpy old lady, but deep down she longs for friends. So when the kids next door get bored during their school …
If you follow me on Instagram you may be aware that over the past month I have hit a bit of a wall with my running. Despite a long and distinguished career {I began running way back in December 2014!}, I had never hit the wall …
So, a couple of weeks ago I kicked off The Mummy Make-up Project by asking for your opinions on the BEST mascara on my Fb page. You guys were into it! Many had strong favourites but even more of you were also looking for advice on a new lash BFF. The only mascara I have ever used is ye ol’ faithful, Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof mascara. After 20 years of service it’s time to retire the old girl in search of something a little more ‘new millenium’.
Overwhelmingly you all recommended I try Benefit’s They’re Real! Mascara and the Goddess Mascara from cruelty free brand Eye of Horus. I purchased both of these products with my own husbands hard earned cash, so rest assured this is not a sponsored review.
I ordered both mascaras online, the Benefit from Smith & Caughey’s RRP$45 + $5 shipping and the Eye of Horus from their website RRP$44 +$4.50 shipping. Both were despatched super quickly and received in excellent condition. During the trial week I wore the Benefit mascara on my left eye and Eye of Horus on my right – 7 days of faffing around with two different products! See what I do in the name of science! You. Are. Welcome.
Ok, this mascara has some huge fans out there, ladies love this product so I was expecting BIG things. I wasn’t disappointed. They’re Real! delivers some long lashes on initial, one swipe application. The brush is a rubbery, spiky looking thing which is WAY different to the bristly, brushy Great Lash and this, I have come to believe over the past week, makes all the difference. I had no problem with panda eyes, even after a swimming lesson with Nixon involving huge bombs in my face, I barely had any black under my eye. I also had no trouble removing this mascara at night with the miracle product that is micellar water. Though, in all fairness, I doubt there is much that could withstand a few cotton ball swipes of micellar! {review coming soon}.
One thing which irked was that big clump on the end of the brush – you can see it in the image. There are bristles right on the end of the brush which serve no purpose to me but to exacerbate clumping. This was honestly the only negative in an otherwise amazing product. I particularly loved how quick drying it was so no black marks on your lids from blinking.
Like the Benefit, Eye of Horus mascara has it’s own cult following. I’ve heard professional makeup artists swear by it and those cruelty-free gals get quivering knees at the mere mention of EOH! So what’s all the fuss about? Again, the brush is brilliant. Same rubbery, spikey stylus, but…..look at that concave in the middle of the brush! I have no idea why this makes a difference, but to my very unprofessional hand, it feels easier to apply, like I’m less likely to slip and smear it around my eye. After more than a week of daily use, almost zero visible product on the brush. That’s pretty impressive I think. Overall I had less clumps with the EOH than They’re Real! but, it takes a few seconds longer to dry so I did have to fix a few lash marks on my lids over the week. It doesn’t go on quite as long with one swipe, however after a couple more strokes there is no difference between the two products. Again, I survived swimming with no panda eyes and was easily able to remove EOH at night with my Garnier Micellar water.
Overall, both mascara’s are just light years ahead of the Maybelline Great Lash I was using, check out the vintage brush on pinky! Ugh. Her only saving grace was her staying power, but these new generation mascaras can definitely hang without the specified ‘waterproof’ formulation.
So which would I purchase again? The Mascara Showdown has been won by Eye of Horus Goddess Mascara. I SO loved this product, the formulation is 10/10 with NO clumping plus that brush has curves in all the right places. My lashes have never looked better, or longer. If you were wondering, I am convinced that mascara is definitely one beauty product worth spending a wee bit more on, those brushes don’t lie ladies!
Today I crossed one task off my to-do list and added 4 more. One. The tasks on my list are not even that onerous or time consuming. They simply require my undivided attention for a small period of time. Therein lies the conflict. Nixon is …
A little chill in the air at night is certainly hinting that Autumn is here, meaning it’s time to think about ditching the sandals, lowering the hemlines and starting to add a couple of layers to our summer wardrobes. I’m super excited to be taking part in The …
Since December 23rd 2014, I have run 251 kilometers. This is something I’m pretty proud of, I can also feel every single one of those kilometers concentrated in the arch of my right foot! Ow.
I don’t have plans to give up anytime soon as the changes in my body {NOT on the scale I might add} have been so beneficial that I really hope I can maintain this level of activity throughout the coming winter months. Fingers crossed x
I run quite hard {so it seems to me anyway!}, I sweat a lot and sometimes I feel like puking when I’m done. My favorite running outfit is a pair of seriously amazing compression tights that cost me a whopping $20 from The Warehouse and a meshy sports tank of some description. I’m not running along Ponsonby Rd here. Most days when I run I won’t even pass a single person, ergo, it doesn’t matter what brand of running gear I’m wearing as long as I’m comfortable.
Despite this, I was beyond excited to have received a sizeable gift card recently to spend at Lululemon, the world-wide athletic apparel store with somewhat of a cult following. After picking out his rugby boots for the coming season, Ethan and I headed to Takapuna yesterday to check out the Lululemon phenomena for the first time;
It was truly, a lovely shopping experience. But, I had anticipated leaving with some great running wear. Turns out I just can’t stomach the thought of purchasing luxe $135 tights that will end up stinky and sweaty, doomed to a life of 35 minute runs around our neighborhood, with no-one appreciating their beauty and hefty price tag except me and the inside of the washing machine where they would spend most of their time. Truth: my workout clothes smell bad. I wash them right away but you can never entirely remove that smell of sweat when you’re running 4 times a week. The beautiful clothes at Lululemon were just too pretty {and expensive} to relegate to my workout drawer. I know many ladies around the world regularly get their sweat on in these gorgeous threads, I mean that’s what the brand has built their reputation on, but I just couldn’t shop with that intention. Did I get it wrong?
I ended up choosing some items that I will wear on a daily basis as the weather cools, a jacket, sweatshirt, some leggings that are ‘Mummy’ appropriate {in my opinion!}, the most perfect cap ever – I wear hats all the time, and a sweet purse for every-day use. As for my workout gear, I’ll be sticking with my existing functional compression clothing that doesn’t blow the family’s grocery budget on one outfit!
What do you guys think? Do you spend a lot on premium labels when it comes to workout clothes or are you like me in that you like what looks and feels good regardless of brand?
I’m so pleased to have joined Munch Cooking this year as one of their Munch Mums! Look out for my reviews and giveaways each month as I introduce you to some awesome {and pretty innovative} products from The Munch Cupboard. Oops. This morning I …
A little chill in the air at night is certainly hinting that Autumn is here, meaning it’s time to think about ditching the sandals, lowering the hemlines and starting to add a couple of layers to our summer wardrobes. I’m super excited to be taking part in …
As 2015 unfolds, I’m noticing the ‘slow it down’, ‘rewind’, ‘simplify’ phenomena becoming more and more prevalent, none more so than in the area of homemaking. But is this trend actually making our lives simpler/easier/more fulfilled? Whether you are a SAHM or a working Mum or not even a Mum at all {maybe you’re a Dad, an Uncle, a serial killer who likes reading Mummy Blogs?} you will undoubtedly have noticed that expectations have changed. The bar has been raised again, higher than it’s probably ever been before and the pressure is on.
I grew up in the ’80’s, in what must have been a wondrous time to be a homemaker. The introduction of the microwave, the dryer, the VCR, muesli bars and snack packs of chips must have each brought squeals of excitement to consumers as all of a sudden, efficiency and convenience became one’s ultimate goal. Getting those boring jobs done – like preparing dinner – was suddenly barely a blip on the radar, there were chicken nuggets in the freaking FREEZER! Best of all, dishing up a Big Ben pie for tea once a week came judgement free! No one gave a damn what you fed your family for dinner, there was no required Instagramming of every meal, no need to worry about pinning the recipe because it was just a pie, some frozen peas and some mash right? Washed down with some Jungle Juice or a full sugar blast from the Soda Stream and the whole family was fed, happy and watching Macgyver by 7pm.
No judgement, no expectations, no constant self-analysis or exclusion diets. Just getting on with the day to day business of life and trying to snatch back a few precious minutes here and there by making life easier.
Chances are the kids weren’t involved in after school tutoring and at least 3 other assorted extracurricular activities, Mum probably wasn’t consumed by getting her pre-baby body back and perfecting the art of vignettes while cooking a Pinterest-esque GF, dairy free, organic, whole foods meal every night and maintaining her mani-pedis.
{That last sentence makes me so tired just reading it}.
It goes on and on doesn’t it? Birthday party planning needs to begin months in advance to ensure the invitations match the cake, theme, decor, food and goody bags. Don’t even think about presenting a cake from Countdown and a simple round of pass-the-parcel, oh hell no girlfriend. It’s time to step up your game.
Your kids wardrobe should essentially match your home decor; think uber cool, scandi, monochrome with a touch of expensive kawaii graphics, finished with some Nike roshe runs, a bento lunch box and BPA free drink bottle – preferably in stainless steel. This may require a second mortgage – if you’re lucky enough to have been able to get on the property ladder here in Auckland anyway < I count the many blessings of our house every day, our mortgage is one expense I will NEVER complain about.
Times have changed and now more than ever the expectation of maintaining perfection in our roles as wives, mothers, homemakers, business women is creating a pressure-cooker environment for those of us that are buying in to the dangerous ideals that abound on social media darlings Instagram and Pinterest.
I’m not just a passive commentator btw, and I’m also not suggesting that common sense around food and family nutrition haven’t come a long way since I was 6. I love All the Pretty Things as much as the next Home & Garden subscriber, but I can’t be my version of an Awesome Mum and wife if I can’t say, “you know what? It’s Friday, it’s 4pm and I’m going to have a glass of wine, call Pizza Hut and sit on the couch with a book for a while. Ignore the crumbs on the floor, I couldn’t be bothered vacuuming for the 4th time this week. The kids? They’re fine, Ethan is playing Xbox – he’s very happy. Nixon is digging in my vege garden wearing a nappy and he is as happy as a pig in shit. Dave? He’s skateboarding with his mates, pig in shit reference applies here too”. Things might not be picture perfect, but I need to learn to live with that and not call it a bad day because the beds didn’t get made.
That sounds actually quite hard for me to do, but damnit it’s worth a try! 0800 838383……….
So one day toward the end of winter last year, I had this freaking genius idea to turn a corner garden surrounded on two sides by concrete into an in-ground sandpit. Bordered by railway sleepers, complete with driftwood and spendy, smooth river rocks, over-flowing with …