Bump Friendly Bodycare

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My plans to write this post up before giving birth didn’t seem to go to plan. Those last few weeks were so exhausting and uncomfortable I couldn’t sit anywhere comfortably and type for long periods of time… and now I have a baby that is 16 days old! How did that happen? (see my Instagram for a little picture of his adorable-ness)


Anyway, I wanted to round up my top bodycare products that I’ve been using for the past 9 months to help with itchy stretchy skin problems and attempting to avoid stretch marks. I luckily didn’t get any stretch marks – and I couldn’t say whether it was my obsessive application of these products, or just good genes? Because I think they both played a part. What I enjoyed most was a few moments to myself to have a little pamper and mini massage after every bath or shower, especially as my bump got bigger and bigger and I could feel little limbs wriggling around!

Lucky Cloud Soothing Body Butter £16.50


This was my favourite scented product. So calming and perfect at bedtime to wind down with. The cream was rich and silky but not sticky or greasy after application. I used a lot of oils on my bump and eventually wanted something lighter feeling on my skin, especially when it was warmer – this was perfect. Definitely check out this vegan brand!

Tropic Tamanu Healing Balm £32 or mini size £16


This green balm is a multitasking wonder! and now baby is here can also be used on any of his little dry patches too. The balm is super concentrated so I liked to use just a little mixed with another body oil, Tamanu is the main ingredient here and is wonderful for scars and helping skin renewal, so seemed like the perfect companion for a growing baby bump.

Trilogy Pure Plant Body Oil £15.50


As you can probably tell this was my most used oil! With just three ingredients (sweet almond, apricot and rosehip oils) this oil was simple and really lovely to use. Perfectly nourishing I used it all over my body and it made a great massage oil for when I often had back pain.

Tropic Body Love Firming Buttercream £20


This dreamy scented body butter is super rich and well… buttery! I used this mostly on my legs because I liked the idea of helping keep my skin firm. I only used this on my bump a couple of times when the skin was very itchy as it felt like one of the richest products in my stash and took a while to sink into skin.

MOA Energizing Body Oil £22.50


“hello sunshine” is appropriate here! Scented with eucalyptus, peppermint, lemongrass and pine, this sunny scented oil had a lovely light texture and was another one great for a back massage and mixing with the tropic balm to help it spread further.

And those are my top picks! Whether you have a baby bump or not, I think I’ve found some fantastic body care products for keeping your skin (almost) as soft as a baby’s bottom during the winter months! 😉


Weekly Window Shop: Wedding Guest Essentials

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wedding guest essentials

Ah, the wedding season is upon us. Actually, it has been upon us for a while now, but I’ve only just done my first one – a gorgeous, outdoor affair in a very posh garden with possibly the most lavish tent I’ve ever set foot in. I could have set up home in it!

Anyway, as I was so utterly unprepared for this particular wedding (it came around more quickly than I thought it would) I’ve put together some wedding guest essentials to make sure that I’m ready for next time. Obviously some of the essentials are more tongue-in-cheek than others, and one is a more “if I won the lottery” choice rather than anything realistic, but I have to have some fun with my window shopping otherwise it becomes a chore. Shopping should never be a chore. An olympic sport: yes. Chore: no. If it gets boring, shut the laptop and try again another day, that’s what I say…

wedding guest essentials

Let’s start with the dress, shall we? I’m all for pretty and elegant this year – the Crilly Physique is in no way ready for anything bodycon, “nipped in” or mini. I have been enjoying shirt dresses (see this post) but the Karo Silk Dress from LK Bennett, with its longer length and fine cut, is just beautiful. Very English Country Garden, but you can stop it from looking too Miss Marple by sexing it up with some vampy accessories. See below. The Karo dress is £325 here and comes in a few different colours – pink is my favourite.

topshop kimono wrap dress

Staying on the floral pink theme: I am head over heels with this wrap dress from Topshop. It’s a little short for my confidence levels, at present, but those wanting to get their legs out in full glory will look spectacular!  I have a feeling that those with very large busts might struggle with it a little – it could tip over into “sexy dinner lady fancy dress costume” territory with that particular pink hue – but who am I to say. Give it a try and let me know! It’s £55 at Topshop here.

Let us please just take a moment to appreciate the fabulousness of this bag:

chandra s jimmy choo

It’s so glitzy it almost hurts my eyes. So does the price. It’s not my usual sort of style (I’m normally quite simple and understated when it comes to bags) but – my God – I would totally carry this until it fell apart. Mr AMR has just reminded me that I have a rather special bag that is still in the box because I’m too scared to take it out, so I suppose I won’t be adding to my handbag collection anytime soon! But if you fancy a little fantasy gaze at the Chandra from Jimmy Choo then it is here online.

wedding guest essentials

What does every handbag need? A handbag-sized pack of blotting paper. Thinner and lighter than carting a powder compact about, and you’re less likely to look like you’ve covered your face in a layer of chalk dust by the time the dinner’s served. I’d totally forgotten about blotting papers until I was on a shoot, recently, and the makeup artist whipped out a packet of them on set. Makes so much more sense than repeatedly powdering throughout the day – the skin stays fresh-looking and bright. These blotting papers, from DHC, cost £4. Find them online here.

halston heritage suede heels

We’ve splurged on the bag (in our minds) so let’s save on the shoes. They have to be chunky-heeled, if you’re going anywhere near grass (I spent last week’s wedding sinking repeatedly into the lawn, most annoying) and though – good lord – I am sorely tempted by these Nicholas Kirkwood laser-cut beauties, the Bobbie Suede Sandals from Halston Heritage (pictured above) are chic, sexy and a relative snip at £150. Find those here.

Right, I’m off. I didn’t realise that the sales were on – I’m in my element! I have one page open with dream holidays (doesn’t look like I’ll get the time to go away, but I’m still rooting for my stay-at-home-cation) and another with my fashion wishlist. There goes my early night…

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Sarah Jessica Parker Stash Eau de Parfum Review

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Sarah Jessica Parker Stash Eau de Parfum Review

I wanted to kick start the New Year with a new fragrance; a scent that would remind of all the optimism, hopes and dreams, held for the coming months and offer a sensory kick up the butt, or warming embrace should I need it. Said scent would also have to suit all occasions and be a somewhat power player (year of the “Boss Lady” and all) and yet not be so demanding that it becomes cloying at the mere mention, of an admittedly optimistic heat wave. The answer may surprise you, a celebrity launch that is far more affordable than the packaging may suggest, and is easily the best attempt at a truly ambiguous and unisex fragrance, I have encountered in a long while. Yes I am gently swaying you to give Sarah Jessica Parker’s Stash Eau de Parfum a chance, regardless of how you feel towards the now adopted New Yorker’s (SJP was born in Ohio) past fragrance launches.

Sarah Jessica Parker Stash Eau de Parfum Review

What sets Sarah Jessica Parker Stash Eau de Parfum aside from the mountain of other fragrance launches of 2016 is that it is entirely universal; Stash will be as at ease worn by a female as it will be a male, thanks to the harmonious and perfectly blended woody notes. It is sensual, rich, all consuming, yet unidentifiable and entirely enigmatic, which is no mean feat and entirely glorious in concept. Stash all but screams “let’s take away gender labels” and enjoy the product for what it is and as a result wonderfully simplifies an overcomplicated world of fragrance.

The bottle – which I imagine was carefully crafted – too echoes such sentiment of gender neutrality, all the while capturing the robust, almost cognac tinged fragrance inside – the little hints of NYC cool and luxury gold gilded details don’t go unnoticed either.

Sarah Jessica Parker Stash Eau de Parfum Review

Sarah Jessica Parker Stash Eau de Parfum is a classic in the making; as painful as it may be to read, I do believe that had this been a launch by a non-celebrity fragrance house it would have reached cult status by now. Sadly yet understandably, we don’t always give the handy work of the rich and the famous, all the credit it is due and often dismiss said launches as being a little tacky. Sarah Jessica Parker fragrances are the beacon of hope needed within an often overcomplicated, unimaginative celebrity endorsed and created market.

Sarah Jessica Parker Stash Eau de Parfum Review

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