Blog Archives

Facial piercings

Approaching forty – Is it time to take out my piercings?

It has been on my mind for a while that maybe it’s time to take out some of the piercings in my face, and as I’m turning forty in a couple of days, I thought now would be a good time to do so! Over the years two other piercings have fallen by the wayside – I took out my belly-button ring when I was pregnant with Jude as it was getting in the way, and (rightly so) I felt my days of showing off my tummy in a crop top were over. Then about four years ago the ball on the end of my tongue piercing came off, and as I didn’t know what size to replace it with, I just took it out. Now don’t get me wrong; I’m a firm believer in wearing whatever the f**k you want, regardless of age, but there are a couple of reasons that have led me to think that it’s time for a change….

British lifestyle blogger

Fourteen years of blogging – why do I do it?

Happy Birthday When I Grow Up blog! Yes, if you can be bothered, you can click on the ‘Archives’ button over there on the right and see my first feeble offerings beginning on the 7th April 2004. I don’t know anyone who’s been blogging that long! We didn’t even own a digital camera then, so none of the posts have photos to go with them for a while! Many people talk about needing a creative outlet as their reason why they started a blog. Well fourteen years ago I had recently done my A-level Art and was on my second year of a part-time degree in Creative Writing with a novel about to be published; so I can’t really site that as my reason. My kids were eight and five, but ‘Mummy blogging’ wasn’t yet a thing, let alone a thing that occurred to me to want to do, so talking about parenting wasn’t my impetus either. At the end of the day, I suppose it all boils down to the simple love of writing…..

Beauty blogger

Looking for the perfect base – Review of Boots No 7 day cream; Rimmel mattifying primer & Bare Minerals matt powder foundation

October 12, 2017

I’m sure I could be psycho-analysed about this; but I cannot run out of something unless I’ve already bought the thing I’m going to use next – even if I know that’s not for some time! During our recent trip to America, I planned on buying a few products that I regularly use so that I have them all set to go when I ‘hit pan’ on my current ones! The first of these is the No7 Protect and Perfect Day Cream. I stood in my local Boots a couple of months ago and couldn’t bring myself to spend £25 on the next one, so I thought I’d wait until I could get it slightly cheaper across the pond. The second item was Maybelline mineral powder foundation, but as they didn’t have that any more, I was tempted into buying the Bare Minerals matte powder foundation instead. The primer was an impulse purchase as I was drawn in by the ‘mattifying’ bit on the label. Yes, there is a theme here. And yes, if a matte moisturising day cream existed, I would buy that too!….