Autumn’s Here!

Since I last wrote, I’ve had a fun mini break in Cornwall with my parents and Baby Isabel – my poor husband has just started an MBA, alongside his full time job, and couldn’t join us due to essay deadlines. It was delicious to have a break away, and I found the sea air so refreshing. Such a lovely part of England – it reminded me of the charm of the Isle of Wight in parts, with beautiful rugged coves and quaint villages tucked away. There is definitely something about being by the sea too – my skin really benefited from the relaxing beach walks (and catching up on sleep!)

It reminded me of how pretty the autumn is on the Island – do come and visit us. There is a lot to do locally in Ryde if you fancy a day trip – we’re only 10 minutes away from Portsmouth on the hovercraft. (You may even catch some of our team on the hover – we’re the ones always laughing and talking!) As well as some great coffee spots on Union High Street, where our original store ‘Union’ sits amongst the pretty Victorian buildings, the beach is only a stone’s throw away and there’s more than a handful of pretty shops to browse in, if you have a relaxing day to spare. If you ever want any advice, do let us know and we can recommend the best places – most of our team are from the island and are proud to share more about our beautiful, tranquil world here. And of course our Union team would be delighted to welcome you and help make your day very special.

So, with autumn, comes the dreaded onslaught on our skin! The central heating, the nip in the air and the car heating all combine to quickly dehydrate and unbalance the skin’s subtle equilibrium. I really notice the weather now, just by looking at my hands as I walk in the park with my baby. I like to think of Hand Repair (UK, US, Ireland) as an extra pair of velvety gloves - the days that I forget to pop on a quick application, I quickly live to regret! I wash my hands like never before and have really found the new hand wash helps combat dryness… but it’s the hard-working combination of the hand wash and the hand cream that keeps you totally protected.

Last week, I was pleased to join Alison Keenan on QVC for a special Christmas gifting show. Alison is a huge fan of Cleanse & Polish (particularly after those dreaded late shows, when you fall into bed at 4am), but also raved about the effectiveness of our hand cream. As many of you tell us, it really is such a ‘treatment’ product, much more than just a cream. And of course you now have different sizes to choose from – perfect for dotting all over the place, as a reminder to look after the hands. Like our faces, the skin on the hands really is exposed all the time so do take heed of the change in weather, keep Hand Repair to hand and don’t forget your mitts!

Look forward to speaking to you again on tomorrow’s QVC show, or if you miss that, look out for me on the ‘Gift of Great Skin’ QVC show on the 26^th November……. and thank you for all your positive feedback about the aromatic, hard-working new Orange Flower Hand Wash. We love hearing your stories.

How to make your Christmas just that little bit greener…

Much of my time as the company’s environmental advisor is spent researching and implementing new ideas for the company to lessen the impact we have on our environment. It’s progress, not perfection, but every new, more environmentally friendly thing we do helps to make a difference.

This Christmas for example, I have worked closely with our design team to ensure that our beautiful and award winning Christmas boxes are not only totally fabulous and a delight to open, but are also a little kinder to our world. We made the boxes slightly smaller, so that less packaging is needed inside to protect the products, plus they’re made completely from environmentally friendly 100% recycled board and the Sea Holly design is printed on to paper from a sustainable, FSC accredited source and has a biodegradable matt laminate finish.

I’ve also shared some tips on how you can reuse or recycle any of our Christmas packaging on our website (UK, US, Ireland).

Whilst Christmas is a time when we traditionally consume more than at any other time of year, celebrating doesn’t have to mean we should forget about the extra waste we generate. There are some positive actions we can all take to make the season that little bit greener without getting in the way of the Christmas spirit:

Before Christmas…

Christmas cards
Up to 1 billion Christmas cards could end up in bins across the UK this Christmas (estimate from www.wasteonline.org.uk).

What can we do?
Why not email your Christmas wishes to some of your friends and family? Cancer Research UK have a great festive selection of e-cards and you can donate the money that you would have spent on cards to a good cause! (www.sendandgive.org)

Christmas wrapping paper
Over Christmas, enough wrapping paper will be used to cover an area larger than Guernsey (estimate from www.wasteonline.org.uk). However, wrapping presents is part of the festive ritual and admittedly, it wouldn't be as much fun if you could see what you'd got as soon as you looked under the tree.

What can we do?
Why not use more gift bags and boxes, they look fantastic and can easily be reused. 100% recycled Christmas paper is a great idea too (www.guardianecostore.co.uk). Finally, try to reuse or recycle the Christmas paper you receive this year. To find out how visit: www.recyclenow.com

After Christmas…

Christmas cards
In the 12 years that the Woodland recycling scheme has been running, 600 million cards have been recycled. This has enabled the Woodland Trust to plant 141,000 trees, save 12,000 tonnes of paper from landfill and stop 16,000 tonnes of CO2 from going into the atmosphere – the equivalent to taking more than 5,000 cars off the road for a year. So it a really worthwhile thing to do!

What can we do?
Try to recycle all your cards. A great idea is to use some of your favourite cards to create unique gift tags for next year. You can also take your cards to one of the Woodland Trust collection sites, who will recycle the cards to help raise money to plant new trees (www.woodland-trust.org.uk/cards).

Wasted food
Did you know? Almost a third of food bought at Christmas is wasted by the average family (Friends of the Earth – www.foe.co.uk).

What can we do?
Think carefully this Christmas about what food you will need over the festive season. Why not take a list with you when you go shopping? You are less likely to be tempted to add things you don’t really need into your basket. (This saves money too!)

I’d also recommend popping a Compost Crock onto your Christmas list. These decorative ceramic crocks are the smart new way to collect kitchen scraps for the compost heap and are custom-made for kitchen waste destined for your compost bin (we use them here in our office kitchen!) Find out more from www.naturalcollection.com. If you would like further information on composting visit www.recyclenow.com.

I hope you find these tips useful. If you have any other ideas for making Christmas a little bit ‘greener’, why not share them on this blog – I’m always looking for new ideas.

Traveller’s Tales

I’ve been in Dublin’s fair city to celebrate our arrival in the new Wilde & Green store. Founded earlier this year by Denise Begley and Carmel O’Callaghan, this special food-store-and-more is a real find, stocking delicious homemade delicacies as well as local and organic produce. Both Carmel and Denise are big fans of our range so we were really delighted when they invited us to be the only beauty brand stocked in-store. Since their opening on 27th June, our little area has gone from strength to strength, growing in size until it now feels like stepping into a Liz Earle store within a store. We’ve just put our beautiful new Sea Holly Christmas boxes (UK, US, Ireland) in their windows and they look really spectacular. If you haven’t yet seen these stunning gift boxes, I’ll be showing them in more detail on QVC later on today. Of course, if you live in or near by Dublin, do go along and say hello to the Wilde & Green team – they’d love to see you.

As usual, the team and I managed to pack a lot into a short space of time, starting with a (very) early morning TV appearance on Ireland’s national breakfast show, Ireland AM, with Alan Hughes. We took our lovely model Debbie with us for the slot (you may recognise her from our QVC shows) and despite having to get up before dawn, she actually enjoyed a little more sleep than usual as she’s a new mum and going through the rigours of night feeds. Getting up before daybreak reminded me of the many years I spent as a contributor to GMTV, when it was usual to leave for the studios at 5am and be back home in time to get the children up for breakfast. The most gruelling schedule I can remember was being sent to LA for the Oscars, filming segments for the show all day, then keeping myself awake on a potent blend of expresso and adrenaline until 3am, when I would do a live satellite link back to Lorraine Kelly in the UK studio - falling into bed for a few hours sleep before getting up and doing it all over again, and again. After our QVC shows today I’m actually heading back over to Los Angeles, this time to take part in a very special awards ceremony, not just report from it. Instead of walking down a red carpet for the Oscars I’ll be treading the green carpet for the Environmental Media Awards. I’ll bring you more news from tinsel-town next week. Until then, I hope you’ll be able to catch some of our shows on QVC, or you can watch our launch on Ireland AM.

Customer Satisfaction and Security Online

We all love to shop online because it’s fuss-free, there are no queues (especially important in the lead up to this festive season) and you can easily find what you are looking for.  Our online team’s mission is to make shopping online as easy and safe for you as possible. We were therefore really proud and delighted when we found out this week that our website came top in Which? magazine’s biggest online shopping survey. It was really amazing to receive a customer satisfaction score of 95% in addition to very high scores for delivery and ease of ordering!

As long as you take sensible precautions, online shopping can be just as safe as shopping over the phone, or in shops. However, for those of you who are a little concerned, here are a few of my top online shopping safety tips…

Never include valuable card or bank information in an email
Never give away your Personal Identification Number (PIN) or secure passwords in a response to an email. Sensitive information should never be requested via email, so although an email may look very convincing never give this information away.

Only shop at secure websites
Ensure that the security icon (this is usually a symbol of a locked padlock or unbroken key which appears in the bottom right hand corner of your web browser or on your address bar) has appeared, and look at the retailers web address which will change from ‘http’ to ‘https’ when you have reached a secure connection.

Consider setting up an internet only credit card
If you regularly shop online, you could consider opening an internet only credit card, allowing you to monitor transactions at a glance and set up additional consumer protection just in case something goes wrong.

And finally…..

Sign up to ‘MasterCard SecureCode’ when you are given the option whilst shopping online
Increasingly, when you go to make a purchase online, you will be given the option to sign up to a scheme that gives you extra security when you’re buying online.  This scheme is very similar to entering a PIN when you buy goods or services in person, but involves setting up a username and password that confirms your identity when you buy online.  Our own website uses ‘Mastercard SecureCode’ when using Maestro as a payment method online.

I hope you’ve found these tips useful and they make you feel more confident whilst shopping online and remember, if you ever have any questions about shopping on our own site, our friendly customer centre team are only a phone call away on 01983 813913.

The Secret of The Best Facial

Wow, what a day of bliss! This week, after the hectic rush and prep for the fun QVC show last Sunday (hope everyone managed to get their hands on the new hand wash kit?!), I booked myself in for an hour and a half of pampering in our Duke of York’s Square treatment rooms. Heavenly! My first beauty treatment since Baby Isabel made her entry into the world and, as expected, I found the ‘me’ time the best that I’ve experienced in months! The calmness of the beautiful rooms immediately hits you as you meander downstairs, away from the hustle and bustle of the Kings Road. The beautiful Isle of Wight imagery made me feel right at home and I almost fell onto the inviting couch, I was so full of anticipation! And I wasn’t disappointed, let me tell you……

Time literally seemed to stand still for the whole treatment. One of my big bugbears with treatments (and I have had many facials and treatments, all over the world, on my travels), is that they can seem sadly all too short. I find that one always starts to feel that you are almost anticipating the end, all too quickly! Not so with our wonderful signature facial – Emma’s calm hands worked their wonders for what felt like an eternity. (She even had to tell me to stop asking if it was nearly over, as I was so surprised each time she said, ‘Oh no, not for a long while yet!’). I found the whole experience from the thorough consultation beforehand (including the key question that one is so rarely asked – ‘what do you want to gain from your treatment today?’) to the actual facial and results, to be just what I had expected and hoped for during our long preparation period as we developed the treatments. Just like our product development, the end result has to be perfect before we can share it! There are so many personal touches too, to make it precisely what you want and not just a standard treatment adapted to you. It’s totally bespoke, such is the skill of our team.

I also love the way that our team of expert therapists use the products in new ways – for instance, Emma used Deep Cleansing Mask (UK, US, Ireland) on the tricky t-zone areas and Intensive Nourishing Treatment on my dry cheeks. Sounds logical but something that I rarely remember to do. It’s an incredibly holistic way that our special team work with your skin too – looking at the whole picture. I don’t want to give away too much, as I really invite you to try this wonderful escapism for yourselves, but we also use some clever little gadgets that work naturally alongside facial massage to help really tackle all sorts of skin issues. I found it a perfect balance between actual facial massage, treatment with our hard-working products (our Special Treatments range is perfect for zoning in on specific areas of need) and the little help from the magic gadgets.

Today, two days later, my skin is crystal clear and so matt, ‘plump’ and soft, that a stranger even commented on it today. This morning my husband also complimented me: ‘You must be sleeping deeply as you look great’ (music to my ears!) I think the girls will be seeing a lot more of me in the coming months! Do book up, as word is spreading and that waiting list is starting to grow. And then do come back and let us know what you think here, by posting your thoughts. We’d love to hear your experiences.

Well, now that my skin has had the best workout it has had in months, it’s time to work on the other bits of me that need trimming up! Running shoes, here I come!

Seasonal Treats & Diary Dates!

As Liz says below, it’s that exciting time again and we’ve already started the big countdown to Christmas, here at Liz Earle. I’m amazed at how this year has sped past – one counts every week of pregnancy so meticulously, and yet now that Baby Isabel is here, the seasons have just zipped past. Like many of you who have posted messages here, I too was really excited to watch this past weekend’s TSV and to start planning my Christmas gift list. As I’m still on maternity leave, it was the first time in years that I sat down to watch all the shows with my ‘customer hat’ on. I nearly ordered the TSV myself, I was so hooked. Unfortunately, I have a heavy cold and had to watch from bed (an interesting experience with a lively 7 months’ old baby!), but thoroughly enjoyed seeing all your messages & texts whizzing across the screen. It’s a real interactive experience, and I know many of you tune in with your skincare in front of you, to join in the demos! (I have to admit that I got so carried away watching Liz on the show, that I persuaded my husband to give Baby Izzy her daily bath early, after the 10am show, as I enjoyed the Orange Flower Body Wash baby discussions so much). Very exciting that we received three awards for Cleanse & Polish too last week – well done to our hero product.

Another product I foresee becoming one of our heroes is our new Orange Flower Hand Wash (UK, US, Ireland). I’ve only been using the hand wash for a few weeks but am amazed at how soft my hands are already (and I can tell you they are seriously under the kosh at the moment, with the changing season and cold weather biting into my buggy-clutching hands on daily walks, and the constant washing between nappy changes and feeds!). My other ‘mum’ friends are already pestering me for the secret of soft hands, but my hand wash has been - almost literally - glued to my basin to avoid it going walkabout! Even my husband is intrigued by the new addition to the Liz Earle family in our bathroom.

And my final ‘PS’, I am really excited to let you know that I am due back for a quick QVC show this coming Sunday morning (12th October). Part of the ‘Christmas Stocking Fillers’ show at 11am, I will be revealing a very special new kit with a new hero product! It will be the first time that we’ve aired this fab new product, so please join me on Sunday when I reveal our new kit and look out on the website for more brilliant gift ideas.

Christmas countdown

This week I started thinking about my Christmas list. Each Autumn, I retrieve the small notebook of festive jottings in which I write what I have given my nearest and dearest - partly to make sure I don’t repeat myself but also to keep track of the growing number of nephews, Godchildren and family friends I’d like to buy a little something special for over the next oh-so-short two months. I’ve also made a shopping list of the ingredients for our Christmas cake which I’ll make soon too, on an afternoon when all four children are home so they can all stir the fruity mixture and make a wish. Once made, I tightly wrap the cake in baking parchment and clingfilm (having first sprinkled liberally with brandy to soak in) and leave to ‘mature’ in the pantry until it’s iced. It’s a simple tradition, but one that, for me, marks the beginning of the Christmas countdown and I really enjoy the sense of anticipation for festivities yet to be enjoyed and presents soon to be wrapped (and with a bit of luck, unwrapped!).

This week has also been a busy one on the Island for the team as we get ready for one of the real highlights of the year on QVC, the shopping channel. This is our Christmas TSV and it is a hugely exciting 24-hour period of live broadcasting when we launch a very special offer (and lots more besides), live on-air. For those who have never been part of the experience, TSV stands for Today’s Special Value and QVC launch one every single day at midnight (yes, I know, but this is a very popular time of day for the QVC viewing family…). For one day only, we produce a beautiful set of skincare at an extremely ‘special’ price and promote this as our TSV. The exact contents have to remain a secret and so I’m afraid I’m absolutely not allowed to reveal the details, except to say that this year, the team have really excelled themselves and there’s something really very special that’s been included. Don’t say I didn’t tip you off in advance.

One of the best things for me about the event is the opportunity it gives me to chat live on-air to callers who ring into the studio – which always reminds me of the live phone-ins I used to do on Richard and Judy’s This Morning programme so very many years ago. I love it because it’s so real and inter-active – we also get lots of text messages and emails coming through, so do tune in and join me if you’ve not done so before, especially if you’ve any wonderful stories or skincare experiences to share.

One of the things I’ll be launching on Saturday is our brand new Christmas box range and this year they are all especially beautiful. We’ve spent almost the entire year working on these (our first planning meeting happens in January, just after we’ve taken the tinsel down). We’ve lots of shapes, colour and sizes but the overall theme features a beautiful beach botanical Eryngium maritimum, or Sea Holly. Up-close, the flower of this special, spikey plant looks just like an intricate snowflake but it’s actually an endangered species, found in very few places and one of them is on our very own Isle of Wight. I was fascinated by this unusual botanical, which is not only beautiful and rare, but also extremely useful as this coastal plant has an extensive root system that helps bind sand on our sea shore. This is especially important in areas where there has been much coastal development, as it can help preserve sand dunes and the unique wildlife habitat they attract. If you’re visiting the Island, watch out for this pretty plant which we’ve spotted growing wild in Yarmouth’s Norton Spit, St Helen’s Duver and Newtowns Creek, but don’t pick it as it’s on the Sussex Rare Species Inventory (and even has regional protection in Northern France).

I do hope you’ll be able to tune in over the weekend and join me – either at our live midnight launch, or for some of the many live shows being broadcast throughout Saturday, from mid-morning right the way through the day until late evening. And do let us know what you think of both the shows and our new Christmas boxes by leaving a comment here on the Blog – the team and I really hope you’ll be as dazzled and delighted as we all are.

Liz Earle Ladies Day

I’m down on the Island this week for the annual Skandia Cowes Week sailing regatta – a time when over eight thousand yachtsmen (and women!) converge in the tiny seaside town of Cowes to compete for a clutch of highly coveted trophies. Different types or ‘classes’ of boats race each day and the atmosphere in the town is a mixture of anticipation, jollity and highly charged competitive tension. Today is a highlight of the week for me as it is Ladies’ Day and this year we are the official sponsors, so the town is filled with banners and balloons to celebrate Liz Earle Ladies Day! Our bunting-clad stand on the seafront Parade is packed with people coming in to see us, trying out products and being treated to a free hand massage (with our famed Hand Repair – perfect for restoring seafaring fingers) and head, neck and shoulder massages. I treated myself to a quick ten-minute pressure-point shoulder massage and was totally rejuvenated – a fabulous fillip during a busy day! Do stop by and see us during these next few days if you’re on the Island.

Down at Cowes Yacht Haven I did a couple of quick radio interviews about our connection with Cowes week, and spoke about our long association of being based here on the beautiful Island shores as well as the affinity between ‘naturally active skincare’ and being naturally active on the water. We’ve given all of the one thousand competing boats a skincare survival pack to keep on-board, consisting of our mineral sunscreen (essential for the intensely reflected UV-rays from the sea) and our botanical after-sun to soothe and calm weather-worn skins. I then went on to be interviewed by the local TV station, Meridian, who are covering the whole of Cowes week, before heading off to the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club to announce the winner of the Ladies’ Day Trophy.

This prestigious annual award attracts a lot of nominees and this year was no exception. I was joined on the judging panel by Elaine Bunting from Yachting World, double Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson OBE,  and  Michelle Warner, the Sales and Marketing Director of Skandia Cowes Week. Our list of nominees included the following impressive finalists:

Louise Morton, who not only races herself but is also involved with the organisation of many international races. She is now a helmsman and came 3rd overall at Cowes last year, impressively winning her class at this year’s inaugural Ladies Championship.
Kerry Gruson, who was the first disabled woman helm to compete at Cowes. Her condition, termed Anoxia, has left her with paralysis in the legs and arms requiring her to use a wheelchair for mobility on land.  She started sailing in 1991 at Shake-A-Leg Miami, a charitable organization, and now teaches at the facility, working at a strategic level in the advancement of accessible sailing for people with disabilities.  Competing in her third Skandia Cowes Week this year, Kerry continues her focus on overcoming her own disabilities and the additional element of recovery from cancer.
Hilary Lister, who earned national acclaim when she became the first quadriplegic to solo sail across the English Channel. Now she has taken on the challenge of sailing solo around Britain. Sailing solo gives Hilary a chance to be in control of her own life: Hilary is rarely able to be independent, being reliant on other people, but out on the water, she is able to escape and spend time alone, in control of her own destiny.
Katie Miller, who is skippering one of the youngest average aged crews here.  The 21-year old’s first major achievement in sailing was her solo circumnavigation of the United Kingdom in 2006. She re-enacted Dame Ellen MacArthur’s own trip to raise money and awareness for The Ellen MacArthur Trust, raising £13,000 for the charity. She is now campaigning her Figaro II “Hot Socks” in the double and solo series on the south coast of England before making her debut transatlantic crossing next year. She is currently the youngest competitor on the confirmed entry list, and the only girl!
Sam Davies, who is one of the top five Open 60 female sailors in the world.  She has spent most of her life on the water in the offshore sailing world and now, at 33, she is running an amazing Open 60 campaign called Roxy Sailing.  Earlier this year, Sam competed in the Artemis Transat and was the first Brit and the first female home, despite sailing ‘blind’ without her radar.

As you can see, all are very worthy nominees but I’m delighted to announce that this year’s winner of the prestigious Ladies’ Day Trophy is Kerry Gruson - a living illustration of joy and courage in sailing and a highly deserving winner. Dame Ellen MacArthur joined me on the podium to present Kerry with a beautiful Isle of Wight blue glass trophy and I also presented her with a huge bottle of Mumm champagne and stylish white (waterproof!) Corum watch. A very special moment for us all. For further coverage and new stories, photos and chat, do take a look at our Cowes week special

Duke of York’s New Shop

What a treat today! My first day up in ‘the big smoke’ with Baby Isabel, and what a way to celebrate, walking into our wonderful new flagship store! I was full of anticipation as I walked through Eaton Square from Victoria station, and my excitement and expectations were more than satisfied. As well as a huge space to take in all that is our Liz Earle world, there are also many places to ‘escape’ into and play to your heart’s content – from the library area, stocked with health & beauty books, to the fun ‘real botanicals’ bar where you can see what our ingredients actually look, feel and smell like… to the exciting theatrical wrapping area! I also sneaked a visit downstairs with my colleague Paula, to see the stunning new treatment rooms. Even Isabel squeaked with excitement as we stepped out of the busy 'work-day' Kings Road atmosphere outside, and down into a totally chilled-out haven downstairs. What a dream – I leave for you to discover for yourselves, but it felt like stepping into an oasis of calm, with a feeling of our Isle of Wight home, ahhh dreamy. Can’t wait for my first facial in a few weeks! (Note to self: book Grannie to babysit Isabel so I can totally indulge myself for once!)

It was quite an emotional experience for me, stepping into our new flagship store, on many levels. So much is growing in our world, but our company heart remains true to our first, founding principles. It is very reassuring, as a new mum with new life-changing experiences and millions of hormones flying around, to find that – despite exciting developments – our Liz Earle world and core remains the same as it always was. Whilst my new life as a Mummy is always in flux and never the same, the Liz Earle people and all we stand for is constant. It’s incredibly reassuring, and I know that our customers feel the same way. In our busy, modern world with so little time to stand still, a little luxury that can make a daily difference is priceless. So thank you to our wonderful team, from me as a ‘customer’ for once…..

Post-baby tips

Baby Isabel is now four months’ old and I am now finally sitting down for a proper blog session, whilst Izzy is happily cooing from her playmat. (She’s just learnt to roll over onto her tummy, highly amusing to watch the delight on her face when she accomplishes this successfully). Life is very full nowadays, and I have been totally relying on my Liz Earle favourites to get me through the past few months. Initially, baby and I were in and out of hospital for about two weeks and I found that, as well as the sleepless nights and emotional exhaustion of getting used to our new baby, my skin was also totally ‘stressed out’ - dry and dehydrated with the high heat that they use in maternity wards to keep the babies warm. Whilst I hardly had time to think of me when my husband called me each morning to ask what to bring in – breakfast, clean baby clothes, a cup of home-made coffee etc, I would always remember to add a mini Liz Earle product onto the wish list. The new star in my life became Superskin Moisturiser (UK, US) – not only did this rid me immediately of any dry, tight skin sensations from the hospital heating, but it was also my godsend during those first few crazy weeks of motherhood. Even if I didn’t manage to have my daily shower until 4pm, I would enjoy the 3 minutes of ‘me time’ that was my cleanse, tone and Superskin Moisturiser each morning.

Now, four months into our wonderful new life, I still have little time to indulge myself with the long baths and skincare luxuries of my pre-baby days. However, I have actually found that I am relying on the range more than ever for its ease and simplicity – to give me great, immediate results time after time. (I’m sure this has been why my ante natal friends always say that, despite tired eyes, my skin always looked healthy in those early months). Since Isabel was born, we have experienced all sorts of weather – from the heavy snow on her first Sunday trip to Mass, to the heat of last Saturday night as well as balmy evenings in France, where we holidayed last month; but my skincare has remained the same – our three essentials, with a touch of Superskin Concentrate on days when I needed a bit of TLC. Though my routine is much shorter than it used to be (I finally managed to find time to use our Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask (UK, US) for the first time on Tuesday evening!), I am still delighted with the amazing quick results.

I would particularly recommend our large size Instant Boost Skin Tonic Spritzer (UK, US) for anyone in hospital, or as a gift for friends in hospital – more original than a bunch of flowers, but the same uplifting effects! You also get to take it home after your stay. All the midwives kept asking what the gorgeous smell in our room was, as I enthusiastically sprayed mine around to calm Isabel and I during the relentless night feeds – and, to their delight, they all received our handy mini 30ml versions as thank you’s when we left. I wasn’t surprised to discover that many of the midwives already use the range – particular favourites are Energising Hip & Thigh Gel for sore feet, Hand Repair to soothe their hands after applying the anti-bacterial gel after visiting each patient, and Superbalm for tired, dry skin on the nails and for lips. Thank you to all of you who helped us – I know that many of you already read our blog…

And now, time for a quick application of Hand Repair (UK, US) (I keep one in the kitchen, one in the bathroom, one by the changing table, one under my bed, one in the car, one in the buggy…. my husband also uses it, to help combat the dryness after multiple hand washes, post nappy changing!) and then it’s time to go back to Baby Isabel….