As you know from my top notch recent review of the Primark 90p lipstick, which I think we can agree was a blessing for everyone, I don’t have anything against Primark make-up generally. The 90p lipstick was actually pretty decent for under a quid. Plus I know that it isn’t just Primark who are doing this – it’s make-up brands everywhere.

But then I walked past Primark on my way to work this week and saw this advert for the Primark Insta Girl make-up range, and my hackles were instantly raised:

Primark Insta Girl make-up

(Quick question – what exactly is a hackle? Please find out and let me know.)

I hate the idea that we are bringing up a generation of young women who feel they need to be selfie ready at all, or, more to the point, that their own faces, as they are, are not good enough to be photographed.

Am I selfie ready? Yes thank you. I have A FACE. Oh, that’s not enough?  View Post

Follow:

I get a lot of people on social media questioning my blog name.

‘You don’t look slummy,’ they say, ‘so where does the name come from?’

It’s true, I am glorious – a virtual goddess, always turned out impeccably and with full make up, so I can see where the confusion might arise. When I started Slummy Single Mummy, the slummy part of it came less from my physical appearance though, and more from my general attitude to life, especially my ‘relaxed’ style of parenting* and my lack of enthusiasm in the housework department.

To illustrate the point, here is my dressing table, as it was 24 hours ago:

dressing table makeover tidying tips

dressing table makeover tidying tips

You see what I mean? View Post

Follow:

I have to confess that I’m not really a terribly girly girl when it comes to skin care products and make-up.

As much as I’d love to believe that an investment of just thirty odd quid would keep me looking young forever, I just don’t. If it worked, no one would ever look old would they?

Dur.

I do like to moisturise, but it doesn’t need to break the bank. A basic, light moisturiser with built in sun protection is all you need – I’ve been using mine for about 20 years and I got asked for ID to buy a bottle of wine in Sainsbury’s just a matter of weeks ago, so it must be working.

I’m also not taken in by fancy pants shampoo and conditioner adverts, which show Cheryl Cole, inch deep in foundation, waving her extensions around over-dramatically, telling me I’m worth it. Worth what exactly Cheryl pet? Spending unnecessary amounts of money on a shampoo that will give the appearance of stronger, healthier hair? (When you listen, all the ads say stuff like that – it doesn’t actually make your hair healthier, it just makes it look it.)

"Pantene"

Wash your hair with Pantene and you too could have breasts like ripe canteloupes. Seriosly – WTF??

Stretch marks though are a bit different. As hard as I try to see them as a ‘badge of motherhood’, they really don’t do it for me. The trouble is, I’m a total skinflint, and would much rather spend my cash on a book or a nice cup of coffee, so the lotions and potions that friends use and swear by, and that might actually work, like Apothederm stretch mark cream, never quite make it as far as my dressing table.*

The paradox in my reluctance to spend money on skin care though is my love of bottles, boxes and pretty packaging. I love how it looks, just not what it does. I have happily over the years lined up my Chanel nail varnishes, still in their boxes, admiring the elegant, sleek black lines they makes, but you know what? They chip quicker than Rimmel. Fact.

Don’t get me started on ‘scrubs’ either. Who needs to pay extra for shower gels with bits in when you can just use a bar of soap and give yourself a good hard towel down afterwards?

But then if it were left to me, I’d probably just not wash at all. I never did like showers.

So tell me – am I missing out? Can you recommend any fabulous products you love that might lure me into the shower?**

*Lifts up t-shirt for a nose and wonders if it’s an investment I really should make.

**I don’t mean into the shower WITH you. That would be creepy. I would be using them in my own bathroom obviously. In private.

Follow:

As a mother to two daughters, I’m extremely conscious of the way women and young girls are portrayed in the media and how this influences how they feel about their own bodies. There has been a lot in the press lately about the use of airbrushing and younger and younger girls wanting to wear make-up, but what can we do about it? How can we make our daughters feel good about themselves without closing them off from the real world?

Wednesday is my day for volunteering at Belle’s school. I sit on a coach with 50 small children and we all get taken to the nearest swimming pool. My job is to look after the girls in the changing rooms, supervise the switchover between the year threes and the year fours, and make sure everyone goes home with the right pants on. It is an intense couple of hours.

View Post

Follow: