From 'Mumsy Mum' to 'Pretty Mum'

Before you read any further, I would just like to point out that I am in no way a ‘beauty blogging expert’. I’d describe myself as a mum who is just delving back into the world of makeup. Some might say I am a mum who has watched too many episodes of Glow Up and decided to add MUA into my wish-list of potential careers, underneath custom cake baker, teen fiction writer, pet portrait artist and webtoon creator.

There are many beautiful aspects of becoming a mum, but your identity can get lost, shuffled away under a flurry of breastfeeding pads, Mumsnet posts, mother and toddler groups and butternut squash puree stained shirts.

After a five-year stint of mum buns, overstretched leggings, and poorly covered acne breakouts I decided it was time for a complete style re-vamp. The problem was, I had no idea where to start. Staring at the dull, listless face in the mirror, I began to paste on my old make-up regulars—the darling red lipsticks, too-light foundation that only succeeded in caking to my every, glaring flaw and mascara that clumped to my lashes.

Watching YouTube videos tutorials helped, giving me the basic knowledge I had either failed to pick up or ignored during my school, college, university or even work days (Looking back at old photo’s is something I do rarely, and through thinly spread fingers). I love to watch a variety of content creators, finding a strange, relaxing comfort in seeing product applied to skin. One of my favourites, because she isn’t overly technical or hard to follow is Chlo Cat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGdKdFrUzDc

As if by fate, at this time in my life, I happened to meet fellow mum (and now good friend) Emma at a kids dance class. After mentioning to Emma that I want to sort out my dry, spotty skin and start rebuilding a new image she told me about Oriflame. After trying some of the products from Emma’s Oriflame catalogue, as well as some other amazing budget products I have happened across, I would love to share my beauty routine with you!

The prep - Cleansing, Toning and Moisturising.

In the past I had troweled my foundation onto an unprepared skin base which never went particularly well. To me, all of the cleansing, toning and moisturising malarkey was reserved for Sunday facials with my sisters.

A lovely product that both cleanses and tones—removing a step and saving precious time before the school run—is this micellar cleansing water https://uk.oriflame.com/products/product?code=34002

This is quick and simple to use, removes all of the left-over traces of yesterday’s makeup (I never seem to wash it off effectively) and is followed up with a dab of moisturiser.

These days, as the dreaded wrinkles are beginning to encroach, I tend to use day cream as moisturiser. My cream of choice is https://uk.oriflame.com/products/product?code=32468

It has completely eliminated the dry skin that has plagued me for years, so I would definitely recommend this product for anyone suffering with dry, flaky, red patches of skin.

Primer/foundation

I was never a big believer in primer until I used one and saw the difference for myself. Again, I use a product from my friends’ catalogue. It was on offer at the time and decided to give it a try since it also has the anti-aging properties that I am desperate to absorb in every form imaginable.

I pair my Giordani Gold Youthful Radiance Elixir Primer with a Giordani Gold liquid silk foundation.as it also gives an anti-aging effect.

After watching way too many tutorials I took the plunge and bought my first foundation brush. Up until now the idea of putting on foundation with anything other than one of my stumpy fingers was just absurd. Who were these people that had sets of brushes – a different shape for a different product?

I am (sort of) happy to say I am now one of those people. The product goes on with so much finesse when using a brush. I have been converted – could you be next? :o

Eyes

On my eyes, since they are blue, I use a bronze shade. I would highly recommend finding out which colours pair well with your eye colour and experimenting. Buying a cheap, large pallet with many shades could be a great (and fun) way to find out which colours go well with your skin tone and eye colour.

In the past I struggled to find a mascara that didn’t irritate my eyes. I now use super mascara volume by Christian Breton since it doesn’t make my eyes run or puff up in a red mess that makes me look like I have a permanent case of conjunctivitis. It also doesn’t clump, which is also a bonus.

As I said in the beginning—I tend to use budget products. The mascara can be quite expensive, but I found it on offer in TKMAXX—a great place to go shopping for makeup and beauty supplies if you want good quality but don’t have a lot to spend. I highly recommend taking a bit of time to rummage through their makeup clearance section!

I don’t tend to wear liner. My days of chasing the perfect liquid line ended a long time before my two darlings were born—a goal best forgotten, along with having five minutes to use the toilet in peace.

Lips

Every year my mum buys me the same lipstick for Christmas—Rebellious rose by Estee Lauder.

I am starting to think it might be part of the ‘bonus gift’ you receive when buying the threshold number of Estee Lauder products. That said, I do love it.

I always used to apply a liner first, fill in with colour and then whack on a thick, gloopy layer of gloss. These days, I apply a bit of colour, use the lip liner to sort of ‘push’ the colour about to create that perfect bow shape and then use a little bit of lip plumping gloss to naturally give the lips some umph without making them too shiny.

I use ‘The ONE Lip Spa Plumping Lip Balm’ which I actually won on one of Emma’s Facebook games. https://uk.oriflame.com/products/product?code=32365

I don’t tend to use blush as I find it makes me look like someone’s slapped me across the face, but I do apply a tiny bit of lipstick to my cheeks just below my eyes where I naturally blush. Once rubbed in it gives a slight glow. Warning – this only works with natural coloured lipsticks. If you tend to wear a more purple shade I wouldn’t recommend it for your cheeks!

A lot of the products I have mentioned can be found in this online catalogue. https://uk.oriflame.com/products/digital-catalogue-current?pageNumber=1&catalogue=2020016&fbclid=IwAR0CkAP5naKv9t7zlFsrXAt15hMugyfkvZQkHQQPaATe751oxqWckIjs8CA

I’d just like to finish by saying that although I love my new look and feel more confident, I don’t think people need to spend loads of money and time on their looks to be validated. I always felt like I’d become ‘just a mum’ and was never the ‘pretty mum’. Since then I’ve heard myself described as ‘the cake lady’, ‘group mum’ and ‘the artsy one’. You might be surprised to learn how people see you.