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When I was pregnant, I spent a lot of time browsing Instagram. There are a few lovely mama communities over on Instagram, and from following other expectant mamas or mamas with little ones already, I came across quite a few cool brands, including HELLOhenry. I swooned over the gorgeous range of storage solutions, especially with the monochrome range which fits perfectly with the current trend for monochrome nurseries.

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There are few things I love doing more when I have a spare few minutes than pampering with a face mask. Of course, I love having a proper facial, but you can pamper and treat your skin at home too, with face masks being a quick and fun way to treat your skin. Making sure I get the most out of my skincare is really important to me because I want my skincare products to be effective, and there are a few things I've tried over the years when it comes to face masks to ensure my skin gets the full benefits.

Growing up I gained quite a lot of 'experience' in looking after little ones, so I knew the basics of looking after babies, toddlers and children, thankfully helping me feel more prepared for becoming a Mother myself. Whenever we discussed having children with our friends or when we announced we were expecting, a lot of people would warn us about how hard parenting is, how your life changes forever and you'll forever be fighting against disobedient children and longing for your pre-baby days. For us, the opposite has been true - parenting isn't as hard as I thought it would be.

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Earlier this year I shared the exciting news that Willow had been selected as an Ambassador for Konfidence UK as one of their Swimologists. It's been such an exciting role for us because it finally spurred us on to get Willow swimming, something which she absolutely adores and has hugely aided her confidence in the water. Back in  March, I shared a feature about Willow's Splash Babies Loughborough swimming classes, but today I wanted to share our favourite Konfidence baby swimwear with you all because we couldn't be bigger fans!

We all know I love tea, but I'm also pretty picky about the tea I drink. I'm not the biggest fan of fruit or white teas, preferring a hearty cup of black tea (with milk and one sugar, please). Every now and then I get tempted to 'broaden my horizons' and so I decided to try out the Teapigs Pick N' Mix Sample Pack, to try a few different teas, in the hopes that I'd find one or two that I liked enough to purchase a full-size pack of.

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Last month I was absolutely thrilled with the June Birchbox UK, loving the variety of brands and products and super excited to see one of my favourite brands, Bobbi Brown, featuring in the box. When the July box came through my door I instantly fell in love with the box design - super bright, fun summer vibes, it made me want to jet off to Miami! The box is gorgeous, but what about the contents, do they live up to the fantastic products featured inside the June box?

Ever since I was a little girl, I've been a happily self-confessed bookworm. In fact, few things make me as happy as buying a new book and finding myself lost in a whole new world. I'm pretty open to the genres I read, everything from chick-lit to science fiction and true crime, biographies and anything which covers a current favourite interest.

Since becoming a Mother, I've found I have less and less time to devote to reading, but that's something I've changed since the beginning of this year and I'm steadily picking up my reading pace again, getting through books quicker and finding a few new favourites along the way.

1,924 days, that's how long I have been writing Tattooed Tealady, a blog I started out on April 3rd 2012, nothing serious, just somewhere for me to share my love for beauty products and share a few rambles. Who knew that over 5 years later, I would still be here, writing more than just beauty reviews, candidly sharing my life with the world to read. In that time I have seen the good, the bad and the downright wonderful that comes with blogging, and I've also realised that the majority of people still don't really understand it.

As soon as you share your happy news that you're expecting a baby, everyone gives you the same warning. Sleep. You'll never get a decent night's sleep again once you have a baby. Make sure you get all the sleep you can whilst your pregnant! Sleep when the baby sleeps, which is never! We're set up to expect a lifetime of sleepless nights, long days and constant exhaustion, but what if that isn't the case?

I'm a firm believer in exfoliating from top to toe. Not only does it help to remove dead skin cells and smooth skin, but I find exfoliating helps my moisturisers and treatments work better, whether that be facial exfoliators or body exfoliators. I've recently been using a solid exfoliator from Lush, The Rough With The Smooth Body Scrub, a product I find much quicker and easier to use than scooping exfoliators out of jars bit by bit - this is a simple product for exfoliating your entire body in one go.

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When I was pregnant, I came across a brand who was getting a lot of love over on Instagram for their baby coconut oil and it's a product I couldn't wait to use with our baby once they arrived. Kokoso Baby Coconut Oil ended up being one of our most used products in Willow's first year and I shared it as one of our Baby Bath Time Essentials. 17 months on Kokoso Baby is still one of our favourite baby skincare brands and I am thrilled to share the news that they have now extended their range to include a fabulously gentle hair and body wash collection!

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I've been a fan of Too Faced for quite a few years now, but this summer's collection has officially taken the top spot as my favourite release from Too Faced. I am absolutely smitten with the collection, which features a selection of highlighters and a limited edition 30-pan eyeshadow palette, which I think I would go so far as to say is my favourite Too Faced eyeshadow palette ever!

I recently shared my thoughts on the Ohh Deer Papergang Subscription Box, with a full review of the March, April and May boxes. My June box coincidentally arrived the very same day as I posted my Papergang feature and I was overjoyed with the contents inside. Funnily enough, I wasn't too sure whether to stay subscribed - I love the boxes but I am ending up with quite a pile of notebooks! -, but there's a nice little incentive with your 4th Papergang box which persuaded me to stay subscribed and I am so glad I did!

I am very vocal about my belief that positivity is the best way to improve our happiness and make our lives better. I am often the one who will give people advice on how to live more positively, recommending books and my favourite Buddhist monk Ajahn Brahm, as a way to release any negative energy and I try very, very hard to live by those rules myself, but I struggle. As someone who has suffered from depression from a very early age, as well as only just coming out of the other side of postnatal depression, I need to make changes to make my life better and the first thing I need to work on is changing my mindset.

Today is July 1st and with the start of a brand new month, I've decided the time has come for me to make a start on those positive changes, starting with a 100-day challenge in the form of the Gratitude Journal.