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Mamma Fairy

Mamma Reviews

Mamma Fairy December Favourites

The Mamma Fairy monthly favourites for December was an easy one to write. December in the Mamma Fairy house was a month of highs and lows however there were 3 products that were in almost daily use.

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1 Cocoa Brown Gradual tan

I am naturally quite pale and deep tan doesn’t work too well on me however I do like a nice natural healthy look glow and find the Cocoa Brown gradual tan very good for achieving this. It’s also really pleasant smelling. It’s tinted too when you apply so you can easily see how you are applying it. I find after about 3 days I have a nice glow and I maintain it after my shower each time. It fades quite evenly too which is a big plus as there is nothing worse that patchy faded tan.

I bought mine in my local Tesco however it is readily available in pharmacies.

 

2 Vivisical Gorgeous Growth Shampoo and Conditioner

I have quite long dark hair and prior to my little men arriving it was glossy and healthy looking. Two kids and little time later it was dry, brittle and not healthy looking at all. I have spent nearly 3 years of buying various different shampoos and conditioners and salon treatments to varying degrees of success. I attended the BloggerConf and in my goody bag was a the Viviscal Shampoo and conditioner. This is new to the market and we got an early sample to try out. I am not over reacting in the slightest when is say this is amazing stuff. After just one use, the difference was noticeable. As you can see from the pic above the tubes are well used, I use both every time I was my hair.

viviscalWhat I have noticed also is that it makes straightening or curling so much easier and leaves the most amazing glossy shine. I knew it made a difference when the Dada Fairy asked me what did I do to my hair that it looked great!

I will keep you updated on the blog when I hear the date its on general sale but seriously you HAVE to try this for shiny glossy hair. See http://www.viviscal.ie/ for more information.

 

3 Jo Malone shower gel

I wore Jo Malone Wild Bluebell perfume on my wedding day and since then anytime I get the scent it reminds me so much of happy memories of that day. My perfume ran out early in the month and the Dadda Fairy gave me my Christmas present early, included with the perfume was the shower gel. I love love love this fragrance and adding the shower gel certain prolongs the lasting power of the scent.

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I like perfumes that aren’t too overbearing, this Jo Malone scent fits the bill every time. I know the Dada Fairy purchased mine in Brown Thomas.

Features

Tasty Fish bites – Featuring One Yummy Mummy

I am very lucky that as part of the blogging world there is a lovely community of bloggers who help each other out.  None more so than Award winning Blogger One Yummy Mummy (website here).   I have a fussy eater 3 year and an almost 9 month old. At the moment its dinner for 3 year old, dinner for 9 month old and another for us. In an effort to streamline meal times I hooked up with the lovely Jolene for a recipe idea both my boys would enjoy.  Fish is always a hit with Mr Fussy eater so I was delighted to get a recipe both could enjoy.  I am no Nigella in the kitchen and gratefully accept all help  in this department.

See below for recipe, all readily available and super easy for the likes of me!

Recipe for Tasty Fish bits

Ingredients
  • 2 pieces of fresh cod
  • 3tbsp plain flour
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 100g  breadcrumbs – brown or white
  • 1 tsp thyme
 
  1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6
  2. Cut the fish into chunks carefully removing all bones
  3. Put the flour on a plate. Put the eggs in a second shallow dish. Put the breadcrumbs on a third plate and mix in the thyme, 
  4. Take a piece of cod dust it  in the flour, shaking off any excess. Dip in beaten egg,, then coat in breadcrumbs pressing them on lightly with your fingers.
  5. Put on a plate. Repeat until all the pieces are coated.
  6. Spray an oven proof dish with olive oil 
  7. cook in the oven on the top shelf for 20 mins 

fishbites

 

Features

A Mamma Fairy Christmas – Gift Guide PT 2

The latest instalment of the Mamma Fairy gift guide is here including a few ideas here for the men in our lives.

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 1 – George Foreman Grill

We have one of these for many years and I find it so handy for quick tasty wraps and Panini’s. The one pictures is the 5 portion grill and priced around €60. A good investment in my opinion. Most models have the standard features of the grill channel where the grease drains away into a separate tray. This makes for easy cleaning and healthier cooking.   Most also can recline flat for toasties or slightly elevated for meat (enabling the fat to drain).

George Foreman grills are very readily available in electrical retailers throughout the country.

 2 – Remington Gift Set

I know where a certain person reads this he will instantly know this is for him!! Known as the Gentleman’s Gift set! (bet he is having a good laugh now!!).

Remington Gentlemans Toolkit €29.99I think this looks good and is reasonably priced at €29.99 and readily available. Handy shaver, nose/ear trimmer and a novelty mug, sure what more would a “gentleman” need.

 

 

 

 3 – Zenji & the Muzzy bugs book

I was first introduced to this book by the author, the lovely Aisli Madden. Aisli herself, wrote, illustrated and funded the book herself (via a Kickstarter campaign) after becoming interested in mindfulness herself. The premise of this book is to purposely promote positive mental health from infancy through the characters as they go about their business incorporating breathing exercises and mindfulness techniques. The illustrations in this book really stand out.

zenjiMy 3 year has really taken to this book, the vivid illustration captures his attention (no mean feat), also for him I find the names and variety of characters hold his interest. Not an easy thing to do  in a book these days, captivate a child like this one does. It would make a lovely and practical present. The book is currently available through Amazon.

 

 4 – Fuschia Make up.

Fuschia make is an award winning Irish make up brand. Since the early days my sister and myself have been fans having been introduced to the brand just before my own wedding back in 2011. They do a fab mineral foundation with great lasting power. Their lip sticks are also a good safe bet if you are looking for good colour pay off without the Charlotte Tilbury price tag. I am a fan of matte lipsticks so my staple is Bare truth. Totally digressing there but back on track, in my humble opinion a gift of Fuschia gift set, you cant go wrong. The set I am gifting is the colour pop, to a lovely lady who loves her lip stick and is not afraid to experiment with colour (unlike me!!). The gift set is currently reduced to €25 and available from their website.

Reviews for Mama & Babas

Bathtime in the Mamma Fairy House

My boys love their baths and what helps I think is that I always try to make the bath time fun and enjoyable. Currently in The Mamma Fairy there are 2 items which we are really loving and add to the bath time fun.

 1 – The Babyswimmer

I am going to admit, I was a tad dubious about this product not really sure how it was going to fare out with the littlest man, for a teeny little thing he really has his own mind. Like anything when it comes to my kids, I educate myself before I use/ try anything out. According to their website the Babyswimmer has a number of benefits for babies including:

  • Improving muscle tone -Building neck, upper body, arms and legs muscles with less stress on baby’s joints while they are having fun;
  • Helps with earlier right/left brain development;
  • Improve their balance and coordination, support their ability to crawl and walk; and
  • Floating relieves constipation and digestion issues, eases colic symptom.

Its an inflatable ring which you sits around baby’s neck with a Velcro strap for really easy putting on and putting off.

babyswimmerIt’s fascinating! It really is, once he is in the water his little legs were going a hundred miles an hour and he was bobbing along. It was adorable. He seemed to really enjoy it. We have been using it in his bath for the playtime element for the last couple of weeks and im going to continue to do so. I grew up with a terrible fear of water so I try as best I can to help the boys enjoy water. My 3 year old goes swimming with his uncle who is a trained life guard and the littlest man will be joining him and will be using his Babyswimmer. If it got thumbs up from his very picky uncle it gets a thumbs up for me. They are going swimming later this afternoon and ill report back on how he got on in the pool with his babyswimmer. I think because its familiar to him to there wont be a bother on him.

 

 

2 – Naif Skin care products.

As mentioned above before I try or use anything on the boys I always try to educate myself and how better than being able to chat to the founder of this new baby skincare brand – Naif. Naif is a new brand of baby skincare on the Irish market, it totally natural chemical free designed by two Dutch fathers who coincidentally became father around the same time.  The products use natural oils like cottonseed, sweet almond, macadamia and avocado rather than harsh sulfates and parabens. naif

Having chatted to the guys it is clear that have a real passion for their products, I was curious to know how long it took them to get their products to market. From initial concept to seeing the product on the shelves the guys were explaining to me that this alone took over a year, as they spent significant time on the testing and development to ensure they got the high quality product they envisaged. There are currently 7 products in the range and the founders, Sjoerd and Jochem were filling me in that early next year they are planning to launch a sunscreen (SPF50 with natural filters) and from there to gradually build the range.

naifbabyswimmerThe products I have been using are the softening body lotion and the cleaning wash gel.

Both products have a lovely gently smell, more so the body lotion which contains cottonseed extract. My littlest man suffers with quite dry skin on his ankles and knees so I use this a couple of times a day and it keeps those areas nice, soft and hydrated. What I like about these products are that they are natural, dermatologically tested, hypoallergenic, and PH skin natural. This is so important for babies particularly very young babies whose skin is so delicate. They products are a little more on the pricey side that the average supermarket brand however I don’t have an issue with paying for a quality product. For more information see website here and most of the range is stocked in Boots stores.

Has anybody tried any of the above? If so, would love to know what you think.

Take Care

~Mamma F

Mamma Musings

Waxing while pregnant – Advice from the experts

This article was originally written for  Mummy an Little Me – See original here

This is a subject which has generated a lot of discussion amongst my own friends, with lots of different viewpoints on whether or not we should or shouldn’t wax while pregnant with the phrase “it would be too sore!” gaining the most air time.

I had the opportunity to speak to Ellen Kavanagh from Waxpert’s on this very topic so I jumped at the chance. Waxperts is a multi award winning waxing salon run by Ellen and her team. Their own products – the Waxperts Wonder pads and the Waxperts Beautiful Body Oil have become firm favourites in the beauty world. For more information see here

wax

On the subject of waxing and pregnancy, there is normally no reason to avoid waxing while pregnant, however if you do have concerns for peace of mind it’s no harm to chat to your consultant or midwife. I asked Ellen what were her top tips for getting as pain-free a wax as possible while pregnant, as our skin can be extra sensitive during those months.

Her expert advice was:

  • Book all your appointments in together and work back from your due date. Even if you have to change them you’ll stick to the overall plan better this way;
  • Keep your skin hydrated. This helps prevent ingrown hairs from occurring but also helps your skin maintain elasticity while it grows and stretches through your pregnancy;
  • And it’s not just your bump that grows, so don’t forget to apply creams or oils to your bum and thighs too!
  • Exfoliating gently with a mitt will help prevent ingrown hairs; and
  • Avoid caffeine before you get waxed too, it only makes you more sensitive.

Honestly didn’t know that about coffee and im a coffee addict myself!!

Another thing about waxing that I really wasn’t sure about was how soon after having a baby can you get waxed although let’s be honest the thought of it can be scary after all we have just gone through!!

According to Ellen, depending on the labour you had, you can get waxed anytime from 6 week post partum. However, that all depends on each individuals healing rate and if there were stitches etc. Again if in doubt no harm in seeking the advice of your midwife. I had 2 C sections and waited quite a while before contemplating a wax as I was firstly, petrified of anybody seeing the scar and secondly, conscious of how sore it might be. Ellen’s expert advice is following a C section its best to wait for around 6 months before you could wax over the scar area. What they do in Waxperts is they work around the scar area. So you can get your brazilian 6 weeks post partum but instead of a landing strip they leave a neat triangle and the scar is hidden there! Genius!

Ellen herself is a busy working mum and I wanted to hear her top tips for combining a successful business and her home life with her young son. According to Ellen the key is when in work to give 100% but when at home she devotes her time to her son. I love this advice and try subscribe to the same moto myself.
Massive thanks to Ellen for taking the time to answer my questions – hopefully this is of some help to those debating whether to wax or not while pregnant.

 

Take Care

~ Mamma F

Features

Lunch with Jeff Brazier in London courtesy of Netflix!!!

Following on from this post – I was invited to London to have lunch with Jeff Brazier at the super trendy Hoxton Hotel (check it out here) courtesy of Netflix. The lunch was to mark the launch of the Netflix and DreamWorks Animation collaboration –  Dinotrux Favourites, an entire episode in a 5-minute package. Genius – simple but very effective. Kids think they have won the battle of wills but for parents bedtime is only delayed by five minutes!
dinotrux

Joining me was fellow bloggers Kellie (My Little Bábóg Blog) and Sinead (Bumbles of  Rice), two of the nicest ladies you could meet. Being a newbie blogger I was pretty nervous, but nerves were unfounded they were so welcoming and we had some good fun.

The hotel is amazing, it epitomises London for me – super cool and super trendy with immaculate attention to detail. (If the Dadda Fairy is reading this – yes id love a weekend break here for Christmas!).

During a very tasty lunch Jeff spoke about parenting and his own bed time battles with his boys. Jeff is a life coach and gave some great insights into parenting but with his life couch hat on. One thing that stuck in my head since Tuesday was the phrase “asking appropriate questions at the appropriate time”. This phrase really made me think. In other words don’t bombard them with questions as they walk out the creche/ playschool/ school gate. Like the concept of 5 minute Dinotrux episodes, this advice is so simple yet so effective.london1The whole day went so quickly. The flight home that evening was the evening of Storm Barney, so after initial uncertainty about whether the flight would go or not and whether we would land in Dublin or Belfast, I was pretty glad to be home safe and sound. Nothing like the pilot announcing he will “do his best to land in Dublin” and the cabin crew to proclaim its too dangerous to serve hot drinks on the flight given the stormy conditions to invoke the fear of god in you!!

 

 

Thanks to Netflix and fellow bloggers Kellie and Sinead for a fabulous day. Also thanks to Netflix for helping us with those bedtime battles. My Master Negotiator has been outwitted!!

Would love to hear some of your bedtime battle stories.netflix - research

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Take Care

~Mamma F

Mamma Musings

A Mamma Fairy Christmas – Gift Guide part 1

It’s hard to believe its the time of year again, planning for Christmas and getting the presents sorted. I love this time of year and its only become more magical since having the kids.

Below I have set out part 1 of my Mamma Fairy Christmas gift guide where I give you a sneak peak into my purchases so far for Christmas.

christmas

Going from left to right above, ill set out some details of the products.

1 Baby Dapper onsies: These are fun little babygro’s which come in a range of styles from superheroes to rugby to seasonal santas and elves.  They are available on the website – here and retail at €20. Admittedly on the more expensive size but the quality feels great and they come presented in a lovely presentation box, no need for wrapping!

2 Kate Spade Dairy: I love stationary, I think you can’t beat a cool funky diary, especially for busy mums. I completely fell for this Kate Spade Diary.  Its a 17 month diary (from August 2015) and the quality is fantastic it comes with monthly and weekly pages, note pages and laminated dividers.  Its €46 and available from My Shining Armour – see here

katespade

3 WatchOver watch: This is a gift between a couple of my family members for the head of the Mamma Fairy family!!! He is almost 90 and the most amazing person you could meet. This watch we are hoping will assist him in continuing to lead an independent life as well as giving us the peace of mind for the times he is out and about or home alone.  In summary with this watch you can:

  • Check the live location (via an App)
  • Call/ makes calls from the watch
  • Receive alert notifications through the App
  • Set safe zones

I will do a full blog post on this after Christmas when he has tried and tested it. However I am hopeful this lives up to our expectations. For further information please see website – here

4 AYU Make up brushes: This is a travel brush set developed by Irish company AYU Makeup led by make up artist Suzanne O’Neill. It comes in a really soft leather pouch with five brushes in it.  It’s  hand bag friendly and reasonably priced at €35 for good quality brushes. Available from their website here

5 Agrikids books: I am a farmers wife!! And farm safety is something I feel incredibly passionate about. My kids love the farm and from a young age we instil the safety aspects of work and farm life in them. Agrikids was set up with this in mind, they sell a range of kids books and clothing all with the key message of promoting farm safety. I think books are a lovely present for young children and “Tales from Riverside Farm” is ideal for kids especially those who live or visit working farms.  There are 3 books in the series and they make the perfect Christmas present. See  here for more information and products. (ps – check out the fluorescent beanies!)

book

6 Sceál Handstamped Jewellery: You have to check out the amazing hand crafted personalised jewellery created by Sceál jewellery. The one pictured in the graphic above is my absolute favourite which can be personalised with family names or messages. The range includes pendants and bracelets and price wise is incredible value. The one pictured at the top of the post starts at €26. They are made to order, personlised and unique. They can also do totally custom made pieces. Check them out on Facebook here includes a link to their Etsy shop.

Part 2 next week featuring much more for the men in our lives!!

Take Care

~Mamma F

 

Features

Netflix Stream Team – The final countdown 5,4,3,2,1 Bedtime

It’s been a busy and exciting week in the Mamma Fairy house.  I am delighted to announce that I have been invited to join the Netflix Stream Team.  We are already fans of Netflix in the Mamma Fairy house having been subscribers for almost 2 years now.

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You might have seen my social media post a couple of days ago on the survey conducted by Netflix on kids bedtime stall tactics!!! I have posted about this before, my 3 year old doesn’t do sleep or bedtime! In fact it’s as if he doesn’t need any!! Two of the below tactics are used (actually make that over-used!) in the Mamma Fairy house.  netflix - research

He is THE Master Negotiator.  Tonight’s negotiations began like this:

Mr Master Negotiator: – “I can’t go to bed until I talk to Dada, I need to ask him something important” (Dada is working late, he works in construction (stay with me its relevant!!))

Mamma Fairy:  – “Why? maybe I can help”

Mr Master Negotiator: – “No Mamma, I really do need to talk to Dada, you wouldn’t know the answer”

Mamma Fairy: – “Try me!!”

Mr Master Negotiator: – “Dada would be better to ask”

…..time is ticking on……..

Mamma Fairy: – “I’m sure ill know the answer”

….after careful consideration and yet more time lapse….

Mr Master Negotiator: – “Ok….Do tractors have 4 wheel drive and throttles??? Its really important, I need Dada to ask him…..I NEED to know the answer before I sleep”

Mamma Fairy: – “Look Team Umizoomi is on, lets watch this and then we will go to bed”

Its Netflix to the rescue….it’s one his favourite Netflix shows, closely followed by Paw Patrol and Dinotrux.

This is just one example, I could write volumes on his random bedtime questions, which are all naturally so important and urgent and most of the time the only person who could possible know the answer is not there!!

This leads me to the genius parenting hack a collaboration by Netflix and DreamWorks Animation. They have launched a new series of shows called Dinotrux Favourites, an entire episode in just 5-minutes!  Its genius – simple and effective.

dinotrux

As anybody with kids will know, it’s a daily battle of wills.  By agreeing to one more episode, they think they have got the upper hand, however with it being only 5 minutes long it’s win-win and bedtime doesn’t get too delayed.

Mr Master Negotiator, I have you sos’d!!!

Anybody else got a Master Negotiator in their house? Would love to her the negotiation techniques!

Take care

~Mamma F

 

 

Reviews for Mama & Babas

Eskimo-3 Kids Supplement Review

I am a firm believer in the benefits of supplements, even more so in the case of my oldest who is a fussy eater. At the end of the Summer we were kindly sent some Eskimo-3 kids to try. I had never used this supplement but did plenty of reading up on it before I gave it to my son.

eskimopic

The timing was ideal for us as he was just starting playschool. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to the colds, flu’s and the likes that were destined to come through the front door. Added to the fact that at the time I had a 4 month old baby in the house.

We have been using Eskimo-3 kids since September and I am really impressed and happy with them. I give them to him after his dinner in the evening, no particular reason why its just become a habit now. Now, im not saying this is solely down to the supplements but I am certainly of the opinion that they were a major contributor. We have had some sniffles here and there and dodgy tummy one night after a mammy dinner (that’s a whole other story!) but nothing, yep absolutely nothing else. I am delighted, I was really worried about it and everybody kept telling to prepare myself for an onslaught of illness but thankfully this hasn’t materialised. I am really hoping I haven’t jinxed myself now!

Well what are they….they are a stable fish oil, with omega-6, omega-9, vitamin D and vitamin E. According to the makers of Eskimo-3, Omega-3 fatty acids have been well studied for their role in the support of many systems in the body including brain function. Because a child’s brain and nervous system have different fatty acid requirements whilst growing, Eskimo-3 Kids provides a balance of omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids to reflect these needs.

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(pic credit: http://www.eskimo3.ie/)

Its in liquid form and and comes in two flavours – tutti-frutti flavour and orange flavour. We have been using the orange flavour with no objection from said fussy eater!

It’s readily available in pharmacies and costs around €20.

Please do consult your pharmacist for advice, as im neither a pharmacist or health care professional just a satisfied Mamma. For more information on Eskimo-3 products see here

 

Take Care

~Mamma F

Mamma Reviews

Mamma Fairy October Favourites

Where does time go its hard to believe Octobers gone and we are heading towards the end of the year. As I mentioned before im no beauty blogger or expert but I do like products which useful or treats for us hard working mamma’s, here are my October favourites.

 

1 –Nima Foundation brush

First up is my Nima foundation brush. I have used a couple of different brands over the years with mixed success. I love the texture of this brush, it doesn’t shed! I purchased a foundation brush a few months back and it was terrible which to be honest put me off brushes but having attended Nima brush 3rd birthday celebrations I thought why not give them a go for myself so treated myself to this on the night.

Another thing I like is that it doesn’t use and soak up tonnes of product, like some of them do. Rightly or wrongly I wash it in baby shampoo and it’s as good as new.

Check out the full range of brushes here

The one I have is the “Georgie” and incredibly reasonable at €16

 oct

2 -Nivea Daily Essentials eye make-up remover

For my September favourites I talked about my love for mascara (see here), I never go out without it however I am guilty of not taking it off properly resulting in the infamous morning “panda eyes”. I have been using this Nivea eye makeup remover for the last few weeks and its doing a great job at removing eye make up, particularly stubborn mascara. As small bit on a cotton wool ball (what mamma doesn’t have a house full of these!!!) and it comes off gently no rubbing. I have quite sensitive eyes and this doesn’t irritate at all. This product is really readily available in supermarkets and pharmacies.

3 – Neo Strata Bionic Face Cream

Lastly for this month, I have just started using this face cream. I have finally accepted im 30+ and need something a little strong for those fine (very fine!!) lines on my forehead. I am not joking when I say the difference was visible after 2 days of night use. It’s quite a rich feeling cream and a little goes a really long way. The texture is almost velvety and goes on really well. I only use it going to bed as it’s a bit rich for under makeup I think. In the morning I just wear sun screen under my makeup (currently using Eucerin SPF30 face cream). Yes I know its winter and we live in Ireland but I wear it every day on my face.

Back to the bionic face cream, I just love that name! The packaging is quite clinical looking and pricewise is expensive around €42 but it works and works quite quickly. It’s definitely an investment as a little goes a long way. I never mind paying for something if it works and this does.

A list of stockists is available here

Take Care

~Mamma F