26.1.16

My Non Toxic Beauty Faves

My blog initially started out as a 'beauty tips for mamas' blog but over the years I've diversified a little I guess. Lately, I have been so concerned with researching what I put in my body and on my skin that I have pretty much stopped blogging about beauty. I guess I felt as though I needed to educate myself on non toxic and clean products, which was fine but the trouble was that I became so preoccupied with this that I totally forgot to blog about all the great products that I've found!

I totally do not claim to be an expert on green beauty products. As a rule of thumb,  I'm avoiding anything that contains parabens and SLS's until I know more. I try to research each and every product that I buy but I'm no saint, I do love beauty products and sometimes find myself at the till buying something dubious! I also hate throwing things away so I am still using up my old products I didn't research before buying.

Right now these are my favourite non toxic, clean beauty products for face and body:


ARK Skin Essentials Reverse Gravity Eye Cream : I am obsessed with this!! It helps reduce dark circles and puffiness under the eyes, something that has always been an issue for me, even before becoming a sleep deprived mama! It comes with one of those cooling metallic balls which you use to massage the product in to the skin, I don't always have time to use this and the cream still works brilliantly, LOVE!!

Organic Surge Brightening hot cloth cleanser: I love the Organic Surge Shampoos and if you follow me on Snapchat, you will have seen my Organic Surge Haul from TK Maxx, this hot cloth cleanser was a bargain and works just like the Liz Earle one. Annoyingly, it doesn't come with Muslin cloths but luckily I already have plenty.

Botanics Tea Tree Oil- Tea Tree Oil is natures antiseptic! I use this as an overnight spot treatment for myself. For the kids I use it on cuts and scrapes and can also be used to help prevent icky head lice, I just add some drops to their leave in conditioner and it's far safer than the over the counter treatments which often contain harmful pesticides.

Yes to Blueberries Moisturiser: Gorgeous and effective lightweight moisturiser and great for my oily skin. It smells amazing and I love that you can buy it Boots so you don't have to trawl the internet for stockists.

Dr Bronners Almond Castille Soap- You can use this for just about anything and according to their website, it has 18 uses from body wash to floor cleaner! As it contains soap, I find it too harsh to use on my skin every day but it's perfect for travelling because it has so many uses. Smells delicious!

Faith in Nature Crystal Stick Deodorant- Honestly, I have yet to find a natural deodorant that matches the chemical ridden variety but this is the best that I have tried so far. For it to work well, the deodorant needs to dry completely on the skin and weirdly I find that it works better in summer, probably because our armpits are less concealed, making it easier for the crystals to dry.

Vita Coco- Coconut Oil I've noticed a few overpriced coconut oil brands on beauty counters but the stuff that you buy at the supermarket does exactly the same job at a fraction of the price! Read this post on how I use Coconut Oil as a beauty product.

Konjac Sponge- I forgot to add this in the photo but you can read all about them in this post from a few years ago. I stopped using them for a while and picked a few up during my TK Maxx Haul the other week, I have fallen in love with them all over again.

With so many of us still in January detox mode, it's really important to be mindful not only of what we eat but also what we put on our bodies, our skin is our largest organ after all! What are your favourite non toxic beauty products?

20.1.16

#CityCountryLife Shoes Pleasure & Pain Exhibition at the V&A

Welcome to this week's #CityCountryLife link. I'm so excited to be hosting CCL again this week after a bit of a hiatus. The theme for January is Winter Activities and we would love it if you could link up your posts.

#CityCountryLife is a series run by myself and my gorgeous friend Lizzie. Living in the heart of London, I write about life with kids in the capital city and Lizzie writes about all the wonderful things that country life has to offer.



Since E returned back to school following the Christmas holidays, we've had a few tearful goodbyes in the morning. I get it, she's only 4 and it's probably just a phase, but it's just such a contrast to last term when it used to take us half an hour to leave the school because she was so busy saying goodbye to all her new friends.

A girlie afternoon, just the two of us, without the boys was definitely in order and I thought it would be a great opportunity for us to take a trip ( and E's first ever visit) to the V&A to see their current exhibition-  Shoes Pleasure & Pain.


When we arrived I was reminded of my favourite hotel, Hotel Costes in Paris with swathes of decadent red velvet adorning the walls. There is a definite boudoir feel to the exhibition which I guess goes hand in hand with the Pleasure & Pain title. The highlight of the exhibition for E was of course Cinderella's glass slipper. There were also short films about shoes projected on to the walls which she found captivating and as a bonus allowed me to browse the display.


Annoyingly I did't know that photography wasn't allowed in the exhibition and absurdly I was reprimanded for taking a photo of E against a white wall ( the first photo here) with the 'One shoe can change your life' caption.  I get that camera flashes can damage art but I never use the flash and anyway- I hardly think photographing a white wall would damage it!  I shared the top photo of E on social media and it is one of my most popular posts of all time with friends and followers expressing interest in an exhibition that they had no prior knowledge of so I think the exhibition is doing itself a disservice by not allowing pics.  Anyway I'll stop ranting now, I did actually get a few photos before I got a telling off as you can see!!





I am a self confessed Shoe addict so I found this exhibition fascinating, with extreme footwear such as minuscule shoes worn on bound feet in Asia to crazy boots without heels worn by the likes of Lady Gaga to this seasons Louboutins. I loved how the exhibition addresses the obsession so many of us have with shoes, something that I certainly identify with. I could have spent all day there, but a certain little lady had other ideas..... fortunately we bumped in to my art exhibition buddy- Sarah of MyCityMyLondon - and her little guy so we headed off for hot chocolate with the little ones.


 Oh and if you're thinking of visiting the V&A, the exhibition is on until the end of the month and you can book tickets online or on the door. 



I don't know if any of you use Snapchat but I am a little bit obsessed with it at the moment. It allows me to instantly engage with my followers without having to spend hours obsessing over hashtags and Instagram filters. It's especially great for sharing days out, which I did on our visit to the V&A. If you're on Snapchat then my username is as always @mrsjoneslondon so do pop over and say Hi!!

Link up and share what you've been up to with Lizzie & Me:







19.1.16

Updating your living room for 2016

Now that all the Christmas decorations are well and truly packed away, it's time to start thinking about updating my living room for 2016. When we renovated our home, three years ago, I was totally in to greys and whites. Whist I loved the fresh look of these tones, it now feels a little bit cold. Beginning with our living room, the plan is to inject some subtle colour into the home, adding warmth and colour to our surroundings (aside from the assortment of primary coloured children toys that have yet to find a place to be stowed! ).




Subtle peaches, pinks and copper shades add warmth and an art deco feel to a room. H&M Home have a great selection of rose gold accessories that don't cost the earth, they also stock some lovely cushions too. Pastel blues and greens would enhance and brighten the current grey palette of my home and I'm loving Zara Home for these shades.




Source: (Clockwise) www.bintihomeblog.com, www.planete-deco.fr, www.theeverygirl.com, www.decorpad.com


Wooden flooring is a great way to modernise the look of your living, it's also far easier than carpet to maintain and keep clean if you have babies, young children and/or pets. Nexus flooring is an excellent stockist of engineered and solid wood flooring. Alternatively you could go the whole hog and repaint the walls with a hint of a pastel hue, using some fabulous non toxic and environmentally friendly paints such as Earthborn or Little Greene.

Are you planning on updating the look of your home this year?

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18.1.16

Welcome Back!

Happy New Year everyone!! 

I've taken a little longer than planned to get back in to blogging following the Christmas Holidays.  My blog is 4 years old at the end of this month and there are still so many things that I want to do with it. I also feel like it's time for a refresh, a new design, perhaps a new direction and maybe even a new name!! Instead of blogging, I've been sitting at my laptop contemplating the future of my blog. So my phrase for the week is 'less thinking, more doing'.

I'm planning on resuming the usual blogging from now on and I'm hosting our #CityCountryLife link this week. Our theme for the month is Winter Activities, so head on over to Lizzie's blog : Lizzie Somerset and links up your blogs posts.


See you soon xx


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