Playpennies

I have an unfortunate tendency to get headaches when I need them the least – when I’m stressed, tired or ill. Recently I was flattened for four days with a migraine that had me lying on my bed unable to eat. While utterly awesome for my diet (hahah) this wasn’t great for my work and then someone told me that the Sea-Bands I used for morning sickness when I was pregnant could work just as well for headaches.

Sceptical is the word I would use for my reaction. Very sceptical. The bands did work when I was suffering from hideous morning sickness for eight months. While not a constant cure, they did take enough of the edge off for me to function normally at work. Considering that I am not one for believing in pressure points and the such, I was coloured impressed.

So I felt it was only fair to test out these Sea-Bands on my headaches. I had to wait a bit for one. I don’t get them every day or week, so it was a bit of a hurry up and wait for the moment to arrive. It happened Mother’s Day. I’d had a wonderfully relaxing day and, as often happens, I got a headache. Apparently too much relaxing is a bad thing for me!

I popped the Sea-Bands on immediately as I didn’t want to affect the outcome by taking pills. I then went to lie down; sometimes these achy headaches can sidle up to full blown migraines. I have to say, psychosomatic or not, they actually worked. Not in a miracle cure kind of way, I still had a dull throb, but the pain was far more manageable.

Handy things, these Sea-Bands and not bad looking either. They cost around £8.95 on the official site, or you can get them cheaper from Amazon.

I don't know about you, but we've gone through loads of changing bags in the last 18 months. From the super-duper massive one from a leading pharmacy, which was simply too big and too heavy for a baby-wearing mum, to a tog bag, to simply shoving a nappy and some wipes into my handbag, we've seriously gone from bag to bag as we tested them all out, and tried out new nappy bags to suit our changing needs.

Now I'm more comfortable with going out with a baby, I realise that for a trip to the shops, lunch or a play date, I do not, in fact, need one of everything and the kitchen sink, you know... in case.

We now use the ZPM junior nappy bag. A spotty bit of fabulousness.

Although, to be honest, I'm not a fan of the spots, that is its singular drawback. For the rest, this nappy bag is perfect.

It is actually meant to be a bit of a weekender, overnight or on-the-go nappy bag, and I've tried it in all three those guises, as well as simply staying at home.

When we're home, it hangs on a hook next to the changing table (i.e. bed) and from there we can access everything we need.

An excellent feature of this nappy bag is the 360 degree swivel hook, great for public rest rooms, as well as a great changing mat. There are pouches on the side, I guess for bottles or jars, and the interior holds an entire small bag of nappies, or about six to nine reuseables.

The see-through zip pockets are great for such items as keys, cards and other would-be-in-the-handbag items, such as make-up. The second pocket I use for nappy cream and other travel sized baby toiletries.

The best part of these nappy bags, in my estimation, are the two waterproof, refillable dispenser pockets for wet wipes and nappy bags. I am chronically forgetful when it comes to wet wipes and more often than not go out without them, so having them already in the bag means I now rarely end up without.

All in, I think these are the best nappy bags around, especially since they now come with a shoulder strap for easier carrying, and cost under £25.

The ZPM Junior changing bag is a definite recommend from me!

We've reviewed quite a few items from the company Green People here on PlayPennies, because, well, they're brilliant. We wanted to see if it was just us that thought so, or if our PlayPennies mums agreed, so we sent a bundle of Green People's new Fair Trade products to Layla, mum to a two-year old boy.

“I started using Green People's Nappy Balm a while ago, after a review on PlayPennies, and loved it. I have meant to try out a few more of their products for a while now, so I was really happy when PlayPennies asked me to review these three for them.”

We sent Layla the Fair Trade Nappy Balm, Baby Salve and No Scent Baby Oil, all made with Fair Trade Shea Butter from a project in Ghana which employs 600 women to make the butter and their baskets for transport.

“The Nappy Balm comes in the same pot, and looks pretty identical, apart from the Fair Trade logo on the front. Inside the pot, it's really hard to compare – the Fair Trade Nappy Balm has a slightly sweeter, more citrus smell than the old one, which was much 'headier' as they would say about red wine, I think. The Fair Trade Nappy Balm also somehow looks smoother to me, but my partner gave me a very strange look when I asked him if he agreed.”

I couldn't find the full old list of ingredients to compare, but I'm pretty certain Layla is right – I dont remember the citrus undertone in the Nappy Balm I reviewed last year, but still the smell is lovely, and besides, its how it works that matters.

“In its application and use there's no difference, that I can tell. It still has a very marigold (calendula) aroma, and works extremely well on everything from nappy rash to cuts and scrapes – both on my son and myself. “

I know I'm not reviewing it this time, but I totally agree – this nappy balm goes on every cut and scrape in our home!

Next in line is the No Scent Baby Oil, which Green People say is perfect as a daily moisturiser, a massage oil and for cradle cap.

“The No Scent Baby Oil is something I wish I had when my boy was a newborn. He had really bad cradle cap and lost all his hair, and had dreadful milk spots too. We attended baby massage classes and the oil we used there was fine, but this just seems so 'purpose-built'.”

Green People also say that it would be a good oil for pregnant bellies. “In fact, I wish I had it when I was pregnant as they say it can improve mum's skin elasticity to reduce stretch marks. It does contain sesame seed oil though, so I'm not sure about people with nut allergies using it.

The No Scent Baby Oil spreads quite well, a small squirt can cover my hands, forearms and face, three squirts pretty much cover my son. Although it's an oil, it absorbs pretty well and doesn't leave Jody shaped stains on the sheets, so that's a good thing. It does leave you feeling moisturised too. I certainly haven't spotted a downside to it yet – but then we massage before bed rather than going out in the garden to play.”

Finally, Layla tested the  Soothing Baby Salve which is a non-aqueous cream, a relief to eczema sufferers, I'm sure. This cream can also be used as a nipple cream for mums.

“This is a lovely cream. It leaves my, I mean my son's, skin feeling really, really soft and silky. It absorbs quickly and like the other products, a little goes a long way.”

So, final thoughts from Layla about Green People's new range of Fair Trade products?

“I love the products I was sent, and yes, I will buy them for myself, especially since I know they're full of only good stuff, and have no skin irritants and harmful chemicals, and I think it's great that they've brought out a new fair trade range too and hope that they will continue to do so with the rest of their products too.”

Green People products can be bought directly from their website. They have regular specials and discounts in their newsletters and on their website which can be great value for money.

K Two have a gift for making really cute and interesting stationary. I am their ideal victim because I utterly adore anything to do with stationary and could happily spend hours looking at everything that’s available on their site. I was tempted by, and got, the School Memories diary.

The School Memories diary isn’t really a diary at all, in fact I am the one who gave it that moniker because it isn’t a personal organiser but it is a “keeper of memories”. This product is where you can store all your child’s school memories for years and years to come.

You will love leafing through it as they get older, and they will really appreciate it when they are of an age to appreciate such memories.

The School Memories book has a hard and sturdy cover with cute schoolific images on it. The pages are kept together in a ring binder format on the inside and are made from quality paper that doesn’t tear easily and can take quite a bit of strain.

It is important that they DO take strain, as they are to hold papers, notes, pictures, crafts and other such things that your child creates throughout the year. You have a choice of using a double-page spread per term or per year or per child.

Even though each set of pages has a slot of First Day At School, I have turned it into a term-based diary with each section saying how old she is, what educational advancements she made, and my favourite drawings neatly packed away in the provided folder.

The School Memories diary is a stunning idea that will hold treasured memories safe for years. My daughter and I love updating it together and it costs only £16.50 for the pleasure.

20% of the adult population are funtionally illiterate; a fifth of all grown-ups are unable to manage daily living and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level.

That is shocking and something that makes me wonder when, where and how literacy went so badly wrong for all these people.

Being able to read is not only a necessary skill for daily life, but the sheer enjoyment that comes from being able to immerse yourself in a good book is something too good to be missing out on.

Harper Collins have been publishing books in one form or another since 1819; they know what they're doing and have a fabulous range of books for children, so when they contacted us and asked if we'd like to review some of their titles, aimed at Key Stage 2 children, we didn't need to think twice.

We sent the books off to PlayPennies mum, Tanya, to read with her daughter.

Animals on the Move

Deborah Chancellor; paperback - £4.95

"This book came in just when my daughter was sent home with instrucitons for us to please read more non ficiton books," Tanya reveals.

Animals on the Move reveals the secrets and reasons behind why animals migrate; anyone reading it will find out about the journeys animals make in water, in the air and on land in this educational book.

I'm a huge fan of non-fiction books, I adore stories but there's something delicious about learning from non-fiction books that almost makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"The layout of the book is lovely and many of the photographs that accompany it are just stunning. I am particularly in love with the bird and elephant ones myself," continues Tanya, "The book encouraged a lot of questioning and chatting and was a lovely way to spend a couple of hours learning more about the world and involving her in the process."

The final verdict on Annimals on the Move is that it's well written and very concise without being patronising.

Gathering in the Days

Gareth Owen; paperback - £5.15

Gathering in the Days is a collection of poems written by Gareth Owen.

If you're not a lover of poetry please don't let you put this off, "I am not a fan of poems, never have been," admits Tanya, "but the descrptions were brilliant and so vivid they even had me laughing and nodding along."

Tanya wasn't alone, her daughter absoutely adored this book and some of the poems, particularly the Itch and the Pudding, had them both properly laughing out loud.

The poems explore both the humorous and more serious elements of childhood and it was a real hit with both Tanya and her daughter.

"I really like this book and my daughter has become very proficient at reading alongside me with these," she tells us, "For some reason they have really captured her attention; this book gets a resounding thumbs up."

Monster in the Mirror.

Jean Ure; paperback - £4.65

Monster in the Mirror was clearly the favourite of all the books from Harper Collins that we sent to Tanya.

"This story is genius; I love it!" enthuses Tanya.

This is a tale about Stretch the cat and Woffles the big woolly dog.  One day their People bring home a new cat, Muffy, who has sharp claws and the quiet life that Woffles has come to enjoy is SHATTERED, so Stretch comes up with a plan to to put a stop to Muffy's naughty games!

"I love the simple alliteration," Tanya says, "the clever use of words, the light story and text. It flows along like a river burbling over stones and my daughter loves it too.

We have this as a staple read for bed time now and it is very likely that it will remain a favourite for some time to come."

Sophie's Rules

Keith West; paperback - £5.30

Tanya wasn't sure about the writing style for Sophie's rules, apparently it's written like a script.

It's not a style I'm familiar with but despite her reservations about the style, Tanya found it didn't detract from the drama of the story, "This book covers the topic of bullying and how to remain true to yourself," Tanya explains.

"In spite of the fact that the script style put me off, I have to admit that when I first opened the book to read to my daughter I got so engrossed that I forgot to read out loud."

I had to laugh because this is something I AM familiar with and the ensuing cries of, "MUM! You've stopped reading!"

Tanya feels that this story is very VERY well told and get across an incredibly important message.

"I think Sophie's rules is sexcellent and would heartily recommend this to anyone who is worried about bullying or who want to help their children be sure of who they are and themselves," Tanya concludes.

And finally...

Tanya and her daughter enjoyed all of the books we sent them from Harper Collins.

Her daughter has increased her reading capacity and they've enjoyed lots of quality time together getting to know new characters and learning new facts.

As far as pricing goes, we think this selection of literary gems are pretty much spot on target when it comes to your reading budget.

www.harpercollins.co.uk

The Brother Max 4-in-1 cup is a weaning cup and you can buy it for £4.31 from Amazon.  I got one recently, so I'll do a mini review here.

You can use the cup in 4 different ways, as the title suggests!! Firstly, you can use it as a full weaning cup with teats and handles, which is the main way I tested it out. I tried it myself of course, I usually test most products before giving them to my baby.

I filled it with some blackcurrant juice and gave the  Brother Max 4-in-1 cup a try. I was surprised when nothing came out on tipping it up, until I realised the you needed to bite then suck on the teat area to make the juice flow. There must be some sort of release valve there, which also stops the cup from leaking when it's thrown about the place (which is always useful).

I gave it to baby in this form, and she wasn't very sure what to make of the cup, whether it was a juice dispensing device, or a toy! To date, she's been using a simple sippy cup, without a valve, so the juice just comes out when it is tipped up. I think the Brother Max cup was a bit confusing because of this, she didn't really realise she needed to bite the teat. I've been leaving the cup lying round while she's playing with her toys, and she's slowly realising how to use it.

The cup is dishwasher friendly which is perfect for me, and it's also microwave friendly. I won't use it in the microwave, but I was reading that it is recommended that you start to give baby their milk in a cup rather than a bottle from age 6 months onwards... I haven't done that though, baby is 11 months now and she's still taking proper bottles.

The handles are a good size and shape for baby's little hands, she can hold on to it really well.

I've used a few Brother Max baby products in the past such as the Brother Max thermometer, combi bibs and the powder dispenser, and I really love them. Every item I've used has been really useful, efficient, and perfect for me... until now. I wasn't as impressed with the weaning cup as I have been with other Brother Max products! I think if it had been the first cup that I ever gave to baby, she'd have gotten used to it, and would be able to use it well.

My daughter suffers from eczema and is very sensitive to most 'normal' baby products. With a family history of severe dermatitis and eczema, I am very cautious about what I use on her.

I discovered Green People at the allergy show in London last year and have been using their nappy balm and sunscreen for Kyra ever since. It was only natural then that I tried their shampoo and conditioner.

The Green People children's shampoo and conditioner are quite expensive, but are worth every penny and are actually great value. When they arrived, I used some on myself first, to test.

The shampoo is very watery and runs out quite quickly. I have very long hair, down to my waist, and while I normally require a good handful of product to lather my hair nicely, I only used about a tablespoon full of the Green People shampoo and ended up with way more foam than necessary. The shampoo is lavender scented, but it wasn't very strong at all, and I actually thought it smelled a little watered down, which is good if you aren't really a fan, I guess.

The conditioner is slightly thicker, but still a lot more watery than most, and doesn't require any squeezing on the tube - again a good thing as you're not going to be throwing out a lot of product you couldn't reach.

The conditioner stays in for 1 minute, and can then be rinsed out. I wasn't sure at first whether it was really an effective conditioner or not, because my hair didn't feel particularly smooth, but once it had dried I was really surprised at how soft it felt. I tried it again on my daughter's hair with the same result – beautiful, soft, bouncy, curls, and I'm sure it's given her hair a lot of body too.

The blurb on the back of the tube says a little goes a long way. In fact, according to Green People, the 200ml tube is equivalent to 600 – 800 ml of other product. I must say, I agree. It really lasts a long time.

Also, since it contains no SLS, parabens or other nasties, I have no worries that it could cause my daughter eczema or be harmful to her at all. The conditioner has more of a lavender scent, but with her hair dried it just smells pleasant, rather than overwhelming.

For children with sensitive skin or eczema, I think this is a brilliant shampoo and conditioner.

Also available in Citrus & Aloe Vera

Price: £7.75 each

As far as cloth nappies go, Bambino Mio are the closest to the old style Terry Nappies your mother used to use. They are square white bits of cloth, and are used with a liner and a nappy wrap.

Bambino Mio are, however, substantially less bulky than terry nappies, and actually have a fantastic design behind them. The square is separated into three sections, with the two outside rectangles being standard thickness and the inside panel thicker, making it more absorbent.

Preparing them for use is very simple. Fold them into three (perpendicular to the panels) so that the bulkier middle section is at the bottom and thinner sections are up the front and back of the baby. Cover with a liner and pop these into a wrap and you're ready to go.

Before purchasing the Bambino Mio nappies, we used disposables overnight as our reusables would be wet through by morning, but since we've been using these overnight, we've not had to use a single reuseable. They are very absorbent, and despite some stellar teething nappies, we've not had a single leak.

Washing is simple too. Dirty liners go in the loo, the rest goes in the nappy hamper and after bath time when we put the last nappy of the day on, everything goes in a 40 or 60 degree wash, depending on whether there are dirty nappies or not.

I think these are great for warmer weather too since they don't wrap around the body, leaving less area to get hot and sweaty and therefore minimising the risk of rash too.

Bambino Mio might not be the prettiest nappies on the market, although they do have some cute wraps, but they work superbly well.

Summer's on the way and here at PlayPennies we're busy getting ready for warm evenings and outdoor events – or so we hope.

I love the Barry M range of beauty products. They are fun, funky and different, reminding me of my younger days, and encouraging me to break out of the routine I've found myself in lately – a touch of mascara and one or other nude shade of lipstick.

We passed a great range of samples from Barry M on to PlayPennies mum Samantha to test out for us, and her findings have me even more excited to try something new and bring a little fun into my make-up bag this season.

First on her list was the Shimmering Body Crème (£2.99 - not currently available, but you can try the other shimmer powders) – which she loved. “The Shimmering Body crème is amazing stuff!” Samantha exclaimed when we asked her about it. “It comes in a tiny little pot and the one I chose (Golden Highlights) looks very pale, almost more silver with a tinge of yellow - I was a bit worried that it would look a bit odd on my skin as I'm rather tanned!  But it looks AWESOME!  You only need a tiny TINY bit of it to highlight your collar bones and shoulders which are left gently shimmering in the light, not like you've just covered yourself in glitter.”

Doesn't that sound just gorgeous for summer evenings? I think so!

The next item Samantha trialled was a very summery sounding Clear Coconut Lip Gloss (£4.49) This was another product Samantha gushed about. “Seriously,” according to Samantha, “Barry M have got everything right with this product!”

“First, I love anything coconut,” which definitely will help! “Second, it's one of the best lip glosses I've used.”

Samantha had a list of reasons for loving the Clear Coconut Lip Gloss too. “I'm not a fan of solid blocks of colour for lips so it's lip glosses all the way for me BUT (and here's where I get a bit picky) I don't like my lips to me super shiny and I can't stand it if they feel really slippery afterwards - I really loathe my hair sticking to glossy lips when the wind blows.

I don't know HOW Barry M have done it but this lip gloss really brings out the natural colour of your lips without drowning them in gloss.  They look glossy without looking OTT and it lasts a long time too.  The coconut smell isn't overpowering either.”

The Retractable Silver Eyeliner Pen (£3.99) was good too, it seems. Although Samantha prefers her silver to be a little darker (silver eyeliner makes your eyes look bright and bigger), she did like the fact that she would never need to hunt around for the always elusive pencil sharpener.

“You just have to twist a little and then carry on. Marvellous.”

Next up is eye shadow. Samantha chose the Golden Goddess Eye Shadow Trio (£5.99). She doesn't use much eye shadow, but thought the colours were great: “A pale creamy colour which is fabulous for making eyes look bright, a warm golden colour and a dark smokey chocolate colour, which was perfect for dramatic smokey evening eyes.”

The compact they are contained in is very sturdy, and Samantha doesn't think the lid's going to snap off and require being held on with an elastic band – something she has experienced herself, as I'm sure most of us have!

The Eye Shadow Trio also comes with a double-ended applicator - a brush on one end and a foam applicator on the other.

“I was very happy with these,” says Samantha, “they were nice to apply and didn't crease even after a fair few hours of wear.”

The only thing Samantha wasn't overly impressed with was the Nail Whitener Pencil (£2.99).

“It's simple to use but I really didn't find it that effective.”

The idea behind nail whitener pencils is to moisten the end and colour in the tips of your nails from underneath. This is supposed to make them look whiter, but Samantha wasn't convinced. “I'm sure if you already have super white tipped nails then this would make them look a little better, but with bare naked nails I really didn't notice that much of a difference at all.  It certainly didn't make them dazzle as per the description on the website. And it all dissapears with the first wash of your hands, too."

If you really want nice white tips for an evening out, Samantha recommends a good French or American manicure instead.

So, with one exception, really good reviews for the Barry M range – and in addition, the website has make-up tutorials, should you need a refresher.

I got the Tinga Tinga Tales 15cm plush monkey for my little baby daughter.It was the monkey model, which you can see here on Amazon, made by Bandai.

I've seen the cartoon a few times when I was at my sister's house, so I recognised the monkey character from the show.

When I gave the Tinga Tinga Tales toy to baby, she had a little giggle as she seemed to find the Monkey rather amusing. Every time she looked at his face, she laughed. I'll admit it's a pretty cute toy.

And when she got hold of the toy, Monkey went straight to her mouth, of course! She was particularly fond of chewing on his hands and tail.

Baby was also very fascinated by the pattern on the monkey's tail. It's a pattern of embroidered colours, kind of like you see on those famous aboriginal drawings from Australia. That attracted her attention and kept her occupied for quite a while.

When I picked him up again, he was pretty soggy so I just popped him on the radiator to warm up and dry out a bit. I won't pop him in the washing machine though, as he says "surface washable only" on his label. Monkey is suitable from ago zero onwards.

And I will finish up this review with a quick video of when I gave Monkey to my daughter.

I'm trying to think how best to describe Hampton Blue to you...

You know when you come across a little shop which sells things that are a little bit different to all the usual run-of-the-mill things, whether it be clothes, toys, gifts or little trinkets that are just for the sheer hell of it?  Well that, to me at least, is Hampton Blue.

Hampton Blue is a family run business set up by two sisters who were, and I quote, "... inspired to set up our own online boutique offering a treasure trove of desirable accessories and gifts at affordable prices."

The banner headline on their website reads 'Temptation at your fingertips' - it won't take a long browse around to realise that this is very true...you've been warned.

We were sent two toys from Hampton Blue to review - a Pirate Tap A Shape Box (£4.95) and a Lanka Kade Wooden Snail Jigsaw (£5.95) - which we sent off to PlayPennies mum, Laura, to try for us.

Pirate Tap A Shape Box

Laura and her six-year-old son were a little bemused with the Pirate Tap A Shape Box.  Firstly, there's not a box in sight as everything comes packaged in a round metal tin.

Secondly, Laura tells us that name on the tin caused some confusion too, "The name on the tin is Tap A Shape Pirate in a Tin Game. Except, there are no instructions in there for how you are meant to play with this as a game."

She goes on to say, "What you do get are lots of little pieces, beautifully crafted out of wood, that can be moved about to create all sorts of different types of pictures. At six, my son was soon quickly bored with it though, and he didn't really get it either."

Laura explains the age advice on the tin is from aged three years onwards which, whilst she understands due to the small pieces presenting a potential choking hazard, she feels is a bit of a shame as, in her opinion, it's more suited to younger children.

However, all was not lost with the Pirate Tap A Shape Box!

"The tin was a huge hit though, with it's see through lid and cute pirate graphics. I've since noticed that the contents have been emptied and substituted for some of his 'treasures', such as a foreign coin, a plastic spider, and a domino."

It sounds a bit like the well known 'cardboard box' syndrome to me - where the packaging is FAR more fun than its contents.

Lanka Kade Snail Jigsaw

The Lanka Kade Snail jigsaw is described as a educational wooden counting jigsaw in the shape of a snail and Laura loved it.

"This is a delightful toy," she says, "there are five parts to the snail, each numbered. It works as a puzzle, and as a counting toy. It's made of wood, in primary colours. The label on the back says it is hand made in Sri Lanka, and that it is made of rubber wood."

Laura also explained to us that Lanka Kade is an approved Fairtrade supplier and that the Snail jigsaw was suitable for littlies aged 18 months or over, "As I don't have a baby in that age range, I gave it to my best friend's son to play with (he's 20 months) and he loved it too."

Laura said it was fun showing him how it went together along  with helping him 'count' through the pieces, " He played with the body part of the snail as a toy too, and his mother tells me that he takes it about with him when they go out too.  She finds it is a great toy to keep him occupied if they're on the train."

You can't get a much better endorsement than that - a toddler who wants to take a toy with them whenever they go out.

Laura also told us that her friend's son was particularly interested in the individual shapes that make up the snail, "The pieces of the snail aren't just rounded parts of the shell spiral that fit together. The parts of the shell sort of interlock. This keeps the snail together more than it would if it all just sat together, and that's probably the intention."

The unusual interlocking shapes of the pieces proved utterly fascinating in their own right making the Lanka Kade Snail jigsaw a huge hit.

And finally...

If you're looking for original little toys or gifts that won't break the bank then it will be well worth paying a visit to Hampton Blue.

Both Laura and her friend felt that both items were perfectly priced and even though the Pirate Tap A Shape box seemed a bit 'random', the tin is still providing plenty of joy and storage for those special little things.

www.hamptonblue.co.uk

I don't know about you, but I probably end up in Boots about once a week. There's always something you need to pick up, and in the larger Boots a browse through the shelves is always educational. That's how I found the Lindam microwave steriliser plastic bags, a total space saver.

There's a stack of stuff all aimed at parents of babies. Which brings up some crucial questions. What's it like to use? How do I know if I'll need it - apart from buying a bottle? I still have bottles of stuff given to me when son was a baby that I've never used. And he's five years old now. I hated the idea of adding to that pile myself, and paying good money for the privilege!

So I got three of the Boots range products and gave them to Marie, whose daughter is 10 months old. This is how she got on.

Boots Dreamtime Calming Bath

Marie recieved a 400ml bottle of Boots Dreamtime Calming Bath (£2.03) to try out. This is, apparently, pH balanced to "gently cleanse delicate skin without drying, leaving baby's skin soft and clean". On the website it also says it has a lavender and chamomile scent to provide a soothing and calming aroma.

Interestingly though, it doesn't say that on the bottle. So the scent was a surprise for Marie. "There's nothing about a specific fragrance. I opened the top and gave it a sniff, and it had a slight smell of lavender, though nothing too over-powering." She also thought the fragrance of the bubble bath filled the room with a pleasing odour, not too strong.

Marie then put some in the bath while the water was running and was pleased with the result - a nice foamy bath. However, she thought she may have put a little too much in, because as her daughter started kicking, more and more bubbles seemed to spawn.

Still that did have a positive result. "The bubbles lasted the whole duration of the bath though, unlike some other products which dissipate fairly early on."

Marie did read the bottle carefully though, and it seems to meet with her high standards. "I am always quite concerned about using new products on baby as she has very sensitive skin, with bouts of eczema. I always make sure that the product is hypo-allergenic, which the bubble bath is."

Boots Baby Sensitive Moisturising Cream

Next Marie tried out the 100ml tube of Boots Baby Sensitive Moisturising Cream (£2.03). This promises a non-greasy formulation that suitable for the daily moisturising of sensitive and dry skin conditions, including eczema.

First, the 'opening the bottle experience'. Marie found that "the Boots Baby Sensitive Moisturising Cream doesn't smell of anything, even when I almost accidentally squirted it up my own nose. I think this is a good thing, that it is quite a natural moisturiser " While she didn't need to test it quite so closely or rigorously, it is always good to know that it is truly scent free!

She thought that the consistency of the cream was pretty much what you'd expect from a moisturiser. "I tried some on my own arm before going near baby. It dried in well, not leaving my skin greasy or flaky."

Marie used the moisturising cream on a patch of dry skin on her baby's leg, over the course of a week, with slightly disappointing results. "I restricted it to that area just in case there was a reaction, I'd hate to have used it all over her body and something irritated her. It moisturised her skin well, but I didn't see any particular improvement in the dry area."

Boots Baby Sensitive Bottom Balm

The final product I got for Marie to review was a 100ml tube of Boots Baby Sensitive Bottom Balm (£2.03). This cream is meant to soothe a wide variety of dry and irritable skin conditions, as well as providing a barrier on the bottom against the irritants that cause nappy rash.

Marie found the Boots Baby Sensitive Bottom Balm to be quite a thick cream, definitely thicker than the Boots moisturiser. "Again, it didn't really have much of a smell to it when I sniffed it in the tube, though it kind of has a slight hint of that "baby" smell."

When she rubbed it on the back of her hand, a more distinct smell emerged, but it was a fragrance could not put her finger on.

In use she thought that one left her skin feeling a bit greasier, but that it was to be expected as it is more like a barrier cream for baby's bum.

"When I first used it on baby's bum, I squirted far too much out of the tube. With this cream, a little goes quite a long way so that's something to take into consideration when applying."

Overall

It says on the packaging that they are consultant dermatologist and paediatrician approved. "I am always a bit wary of this though - who approved it? Was it one consultant dermatologist somewhere... or a team of respected ones? I usually don't pay much attention to that kind of statement on a product, as I have no idea of its origins."

Good for Marie for not simply trusting the marketing. I'm sure that Boots do all kinds of checks, but at the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding as they say. Either it works, or it doesn't.

And Finally ...

Although it didn't clear up her baby's dry skin patch as she'd have liked, all three products got a definite thumbs up in the end from Marie. Her final word? "I'd probably buy these products again, especially the bubble bath, as the smell was really gorgeous."

I hope this is helpful for someone. The other day I found a couple of really lovely little items that may make quite nice presents. It seemed relevant for this time of the year, having just grappled with Mother's Day and being in the middle of what I call the 'birthday season'. It seems like everyone in my family, and most of my friends have birthdays in April.

Both items come from a site called Hampton Blue.

Hampton Blue is a small business run by two sisters. They specialise in finding and selling accessories and gifts, which are that little bit different. The company tries to source Fairtrade items where ever possible.

I was quite impressed with the presentation when the items arrived, as both were wrapped nicely in tissue paper. All purchases from Hampton Blue are wrapped in blue tissue paper or come in a blue organza bag, with a Hampton Blue label attached.

We've already had a few warm spring evenings, and I am hoping that will be a sign of things to come. It is only fair that we get a good summer after that winter, surely? With that in mind, a wrap like this Fuchsia Cotton Scarf could be rather lovely. It is 100% cotton, and made in India. The scarf is lovely and soft, and has a small fringe along one edge. The scarf is on sale at the moment, for £8. It is normally £10.

An alternative sort of gift, especially for Mother's Day, is the Purple Sari Journal. This is simply gorgeous. I may be biased as it is completely my sort of thing. I am a total sucker for stationary, and I love purple. I obsessively write lists down, and take notes. And I find there's something so incredibly satisfying about closing a notebook shut with an elastic band around a button. But maybe that's just me!

This notebook has a fabric cover - this might be the sari of the product name. It doesn't make this clear on the website. There's 125 pages made of handmade paper inside. And a little note to let you know that "this handmade product is made by a small family run business in India. The paper, Khadda, is made from 100 percent recycled cotton left over from the massive garment industry."

The small version of the notebook, which I received, costs £6.95. What I like about it is that it is a girl's gift, without being girly, and not too mumsy. As much as I love getting the handmade flowers and cards, it is also rather nice to get something that's for me to use!

With Mother's Day just around the corner, mums up and down the country will be receiving lotions and potions for pampering. What better time to support a women's charity while treating mum then?

We asked mum and daughter duo Sandra and Kim to review another set of beauty products for us, this time from All For Eve. 100% of ‘All for Eve’s’ net profit goes to The Eve Appeal, a women’s charity which raises funds and awareness for Gynaecological Cancer Research. All the All For Eve products are paraben free, contain no nasties and are infused with organic cucumber and lightly fragranced with an allergen free scent.

We sent our tester-couple the hand cream, body scrub and body butter, and they gave us pretty mixed reviews. Here's what they had to say:

All For Eve Hand Cream £7.50

“The hand cream is fresh and light smelling, I really can't put my finger on any particular something it smells like; its not unpleasant though and its not overpowering,” says mum Sandra. “The cream itself is quite thick and almost has a translucency about it, it doesn't go watery when you start to rub it in but its definitely not greasy either.”

For daughter Kim, the hand cream is a winner too. The backs of her hands tend to get a bit dry in the winter, so she used the All For Eve Hand Cream.

“I like the smell a lot” Kim told us, “but because it smells a bit of sun cream and reminds me of my skiing holiday a year ago.”

A little goes a very long way so you really don't need to apply too much at all. She found it absorbed quickly but not so quickly that you end up feeling like you should put more on. Kim believes that the 100ml container will last a very long time and for £7.50 is good value for money.

Sandra agrees, “I'd happily pay the £7.50 for the hand cream (I've paid more for less) because it does a good job. I'm not sure if it would be up to the task of heavy duty hand protection in dry/cold weather, but if you want a decent hand cream that does all the things we've already mentioned then you could do far worse than this one.”

The Body Scrub £7.50

“Neither of us liked the smell of this, it was reminiscent of musty old waxed jackets!”said Sandra. They felt it was too creamy with not enough scrub, “but then I like to feel as if I've been sandpapered in the shower. So for me this just seemed a bit 'namby-pamby'.”

Kim, on the other hand, felt there was adequate 'scrubbing' going on and said it was very easy and quick to wash off.

“So, mixed reactions for the body scrub, but neither of us would buy it; the smell was a big influencing factor on this. We certainly didn't get the 'refreshing and uplifting scent' we were expecting after we'd read the blurb on the back.”

Hydrating and Refreshing Body Butter £10.50

“My daughter thought the body butter smelled very nice which was odd, because I thought it had the same musty waxed jacket smell that the body scrub had!”

Kim says it was very cool and smooth to apply, left her skin very lightly covered, nicely moisturised and not overly greasy and quick to absorb into the skin.

Sandra really didn't like it at all - the smell put her off again, and she had a bit of a reaction to it. “It left my skin feeling cold and clammy AND I came out in a non-itchy rash across my decollete. I've never had this happen before so I can only put it down to the All for Eve Body Butter, although quite why it should I have no idea. My daughter didn't suffer any adverse reactions to it at all.”

So what do our mother-daughter duo have to say for the finish?

“To sum up - the hand cream was a definite winner, the body scrub, NO because of the smell (or lack of) and the body butter another no from me, but a yes from my daughter.”

Wipes, I am not entirely sure how I survived without them. I was almost in mourning when my tot grew out of nappies and I no longer had an excuse to buy wipes.

Then I was shown some Elias Superwipes. The name implies that they are for sweaty men in car workshops, rubbing axle grease off their clothing, and it isn’t far wrong. These guys can clean. I have been testing them on pretty much everything.

These are wipes for stains and clothes, not little bums, by the way.

First it was the red wine that had been jostled on the table. It had managed to slide under my favourite tablecloth. I whipped out my Elias Superwipes, followed the instructions, and managed to remove the wine before it left a nasty stain.

Now I thought, perhaps, this was due to speed and efficiency and not necessarily the wipes themselves. So I waited, like a cat, for the next opportunity. Boom, there was the coffee all over the carpet. While these are not actually FOR carpets I didn’t think they would notice and started to wipe. The bulk of the liquid had been soaked up by a cloth and the Elias Superwipes did the rest.

There was a bit of a brownish stain left behind but it was a full cup of coffee on a cream carpet and at least it wasn’t half as bad as it would usually be.

I have managed to use the Elias Superwipes to get rid of cheesecake, coffee, red wine, pasta sauce, and honey stains very effectively. The only problems I have with them are that they are difficult to get out of the packaging. They sell for £2.49 and are very helpful for mums with kids who don’t want their clothes to look like they are owned by mums with kids.

When Eternal Spring got in touch with us and asked if anyone who'd like to review one of their Beauty Silk Pillowcases, we put the call out to our testing panel for a volunteer.

Sam replied with such enthusiasm we could almost see her arm shoot up into the air as she cried, "OOOH! ME! ME!!!! OOH OOOH!!!" so we sent it teh pillowcase to her to see what she thought of it.

"When I was young and used to muse over the things I'd have when I was 'grown up' and had my own house, one of the things on my list was silk bedding," Sam told us.

"To me, it just symbolised luxury and something that little extra special; but it had to be white or ivory in colour not black or red, as that just seemed a bit 'Hugh Heffner' if you know what I mean!"

The Beauty Silk Pillowcase from Eternal Spring comes with the claim that by sleeping on it you'll be able to kiss goodbye to irritated dry skin and bad hair days.

Really? Just by sleeping on a silk pillowcase?

"I've been 'grown up' and living away from home now for the best part of 20 years and I still haven't got round to those silk pillowcases and sheets," Sam confesses. "I told lots of people that I was going to be sleeping on a silk pillowcase," Sam tells us, "and the most common comment was, "Don't slide of it! Hahaha!".

Well whilst the silk pillowcase was beautiful, silky and shiny to touch it didn't seem to feel as slippery once my head was on it."

So there was no sliding off the Eternal Spring silk pillowcase, but what about the beauty effect, those sleep lines and waking up with hair that's a little 'interesting' looking?

"I slept uninterrupted for a total of 13 hours that first night!" Sam exclaims, "That's pretty much unheard of for me and whilst I can't prove that it had anything to do with the Eternal Spring silk pillowcase, it did seem rather a coincidence for there to be no link at all."

Silk is a natural protein fibre,  is naturally hypoallergenic and breathable, making it a good choice, and beneficial,  for people with sensitive skin or those who suffer from eczema and other similar skin complaints.

It's warm in winter and cool in summer which can help anyone suffering with menopausal night sweats; Sam told us that, on that basis alone, she'd be buying and sending her mum a couple of Eternal Spring Silk Pillowcases.

"I have to say I was rather intrigued as to HOW exactly it was going to stop bad hair days and make my skin look better," Sam noted.

Apparently, it's all to do with the smoothness of the silk that's spun by mulberry silk worms - they can spin up to a mile of thread in just two to three days (a little bit of silk worm trivia for you).

Your hair and skin glide across the Eternal Spring silk pillowcase rather than getting 'stuck' on cotton and, as a result, this can help prevent those rather 'attractive' sleep lines and creases that we've all woken up with before.

"I don't often wake up with those sorts of bedding patterns on my face anyway, but I can see how it would be difficult to get them sleeping on silk - it's just so soft and non-creasy and by that I mean that it doesn't wrinkle up under your skin, even though the pillowcase itself was lightly creased having been slept on."

Sam told us she slept on the pillowcase for a week and was very happy with it, it wasn't until she took it OFF her pillow that the differences really became very apparent.

"I was more than happy sleeping on the silk pillowcase," she said, "but can't say I noticed anything dramatic in terms of the condition of my hair until I put my usual cotton pillowcase back on, then I noticed a very big difference!"

Sam explained that her cotton pillowcases felt, almost, scratchy on her face in comparison.

She also has naturally curly hair that is regularly straightened; Sam told us if she gets too hot at night then the hair around the nape of her neck can start to frizz a little and begin to curl up again.

"I can say for sure that my hair did NOT go curly underneath whilst I was sleeping on the silk pillowcase, it's amazing how much of a difference I noticed by NOT sleeping on it!"

Sam also told us that it was easy to care for too.

"The instructions say that you should wash the silk pillowcase by hand for the first couple of washes and after that a gentle machine wash is fine."

And finally...

Sam says that she is now a confirmed fan of sleeping on silk and would recommend it to anyone, but would she recommend the price tag that comes with it?

"A single Eternal Spring silk pillowcase costs £19.95 and if I hadn't slept on one I'd think that was far too much to pay. But now, after sleeping on one and compared to my usual cotton pillowcases, I'd happily pay that price to sleep on silk pillowcases.

It's lovely and I'd recommend it everyone."

www.eternalspring.co.uk

The good news is, if you're looking for a present for Mother's Day (this Sunday!) it isn't too late to order online. Find Me A Gift is one of the websites I use a lot to find presents, particularly when looking for something inexpensive and nice. It is hard to tell from a website page what an item is really like. You could just end up with something cheap and nasty instead.

So I have grabbed three likely contenders from the Find Me A Gift pages, and gave them to one of our PlayPennies mum's to review. Something for the bath and me-time, something for fun and something that's practical (but soothing).

Even if you're sorted for Mother's day there will be other occasions, so bookmark this page in case you find yourself stuck in a present dilemma.

Bath Lights Show

Mum of a five year old, Tracy, was very excited about the Bath Lights Show (£4.99). "I rather liked the idea of being able to lie back in a sparkly bath and read a good book in my very own private bubbly disco." The Bath Lighs Show is a device that floats on the top of the bath water emmitting a mixture of flashing and still lights. It has five different display combinations, made up of red, green and blue lights.  It's dome shaped so that, according to the website, "the light can reach out expansively to illuminate your pool or bath." According to Tracy, the light shows "vary from intense flashes that would not be good for epileptics to soft lighting that shifts between different colour grades as you lie there".

Unfortunately, Tracey was disappointed with this gift. It takes three AAA batteries, and these are not included. Which means you have to insert them yourself. Tracey found that this required a lot of unscrewing and rescewing. Which is understandable given that it is waterproof, but still it "was a bit tedious".

Tracy tried it out in a variety of settings. "The device works beautifully in a dimly lit room with both bubbles and plain water. If the room is brighter, then it still looks fantastic in a bath without bubbles, but doesn't do much if you've used bubble bath." .

She also had a problem with the weight that slips into a crevice at the Bath Light's base. The weight ensures that the lights stay facing the right way up. After only three baths the weight no longer clicked into position on the base of the device and Tracy found it just fell out. "You still get a light show but if you move then it just falls over and the lights flash at the ceiling instead of into the water. Repeated tries to get the weight to slot back into the device have failed and the instructions clearly say that you must not glue it in."

Swarovski Crystal Rainbow Maker

The Swarovski Crystal Rainbow Maker (£23.99) didn't exactly bowl Tracy over with delight when she opened the box. "My first impression was, what an unprepossessing little sight - this tiny little thing with cogs and wheels and all sorts."

Accprdomg the blurb on the website, "when sunlight hits the rotating Swarovski Crystal, colourful rainbows are projected across your walls". The problem here, as Tracy found, is that this is Britain. There's not necessarily a lot of sunlight around, and the device appears to only work with direct sunlight. "At first I stuck it on the lounge window but it did nothing for about three days. It is not sensitive enough to work on transferred or muted light which is what was happening outside - the sensors are only responsive to direct bright sunlight. However, the sticker cup with which you attach it is excellent. It sticks really well and removes easily."

She tried it around the house until it finally worked its magic in her daughter's bedroom. "It is truly lovely, really it is. I liked the fact that the cogs and wheels were shelved in see-through plastic as then I could see them spinning. I love the rainbows dancing about the room, as does my little one." 

 However, overall Tracy felt the price was high. "I would recommend this at about £15 as a lovely present." The site has had them on sale for £18 before, so it might be worth keeping an eye out for a lower price.

Hot Rocks Gift Set With Candle And Incense

The final item, the Hot Rocks Gift Set with candle and incense (£14.99) recieved the seal of approval from Tracy. She thought it was excellent value, and the product lived up to expectations.

"I put them on my husband who has a bad shoulder and he really enjoyed them. They take quite a bit of preparation but they are just lovely. And you get an incense holder, incense, candles and an instruction manual included. To be fair, the manual isn't very instructive so you do have to do a bit of guess work as to where to place the stones precisely." Tracy found it easier to Google the stone placements, for better accuracy. Both she and her husband enjoyed the experience.

And Finally ...

There's no set delivery charge. Prices for standard delivery of 2 to 4 days start from 95p. The estimated delivery charge for the Bath Lights Show, for example, was £2.95.

I am totally in two minds about the Sangenic Hygiene Plus nappy disposal system. On the one hand it's great, and on the other, completely unnecessary.

We were given the Sangenic nappy disposal system as a babyshower gift, and used it until the cartridge it came with was empty. With a breastfed baby, the nappies don't have a particularly bad smell, so we popped supermarket bags in the bucket and used it as a normal nappy bin.

We changed to reusable nappies during the days and disposables throughout the night. We didn't leave them in the nappy disposal system, because the smell would become overpowering before the bin was full. Our washing machine broke and for a few weeks we returned to disposables full time, and by now, with a partially breast fed, partially weaned baby, the nappies weren't quite as pleasant smelling.

So, we bought a new cartridge for the nappy disposal system, and it definitely helped with the smell. To use it, you pop the nappies in the hole, turn the handle around a couple of times, and it twists the bag to 'seal' in the nappy and the smell and apparently the germs. Once the nappy is sealed, the easi-push plunger pushes the nappy into the tub, where the germ-seal film continues to kill bacteria, and for a day or so, contains the smell too.

It holds up to 28 nappies at a time, but for us that would be almost a month's worth, which is definitely not going to be hygienic, so we've never tested that claim.

Truth be told though, since our kitchen bin goes out every day, there's no reason the nappies can't go straight in there. So, is it a worthwhile purchase? I think that depends entirely on your circumstances. It was nice to have, and great to have been given as a gift, but it's certainly not on my list of essentials if I ever have another baby.

This is a quick Tidy Tray review, it's a sanitary high chair cover. I'd never heard of them before, but I think they're a pretty good idea.

Basically, it's a cover that you can pop over a high chair when you're out and about. If you're worried about cleanliness of high chairs other than your own, it's a nice counter-measure against icky bacteria! The Tidy Tray folds up into itself so you can easily pop it into your handbag or baby bag when you're on the go. The little pouch that you can see with the baby's bottle in it in the picture above is also the place where you can fold up the Tidy Tray.

I tried the Tidy Tray out at my local mothers and toddlers when we were having a snack break for the kids, as I don't have a high chair myself. It fitted easily over the high chair. I didn't use the bottle holder part, as my little one is drinking from a juice cup, and although it did fit in the pouch, it was kind of fiddly. The pouch is definitely more appropriate for a bottle.

I like the idea of the Tidy Tray as you can wash it yourself, and I know that it is clean enough for my little one to eat any food that is on it. I've seen some pretty disgusting high chairs in restaurants, so the Tidy Tray will be going in my baby bag any time I am planning on dining out.

At the minute, Tidy Trays are £14.99 with free postage, directly from their website. The Tidy Tray comes in blue or pink, if you want to be gender conscious when you're buying it.

In Asda's Little Angels range of baby products, they sell packets of organic ready-to-eat baby food. I got 3 flavours to try out with my little girl, she's 10 months old. It's the stage 3 food, which is suitable for 10 to 12 months. Here's what I tried:

• Chicken and Mango Curry
• Cottage Pie
• Tomato and vegetable pasta

I just gave her the food as normal at dinner time and I tasted them all myself too, for testing purposes.

Chicken and Mango Curry

As baby is only 10 months old, I've never given her any curry type products yet, as I have been making most of her baby food myself with fresh vegetables and meat. I was a bit worried as to what she was going to make of her first curry!

It is a rich sweet curry, with a nice texture for baby. It was quite smooth, not a lot of large lumps in it.

I liked this flavour a lot, and so did baby. She could not eat the curry fast enough! I was very surprised at her reaction, and I even had to decant some more of the food and keep on feeding, as baby started to cry when she had finished the small portion.

This product led to a conversation in my house about what babies in India and Asia eat when they're weaning. They must move straight on to spice-rich dishes like curries, rather than just the veg, meat and potatoes that we tend to wean with here. I'll be researching which curries will be good for my baby, when I am having one as a main meal.

The chicken and mango curry was such a hit with baby that I will be buying it again.

Tomato and vegetable pasta

I was a bit worried about trying this one. I've tried fresh chopped pasta and sauce with baby a few times, and she has never been enamoured. The first time I tried pasta, she was even gagging on it, and I had to stop feeding. So that led to a bit of apprehension when I opened that pack and saw the tiny bits of pasta. But I needn't have worried, it was chopped quite fine and the sauce was tasty, and baby enjoyed it a lot. There were a few larger lumps of carrot through the mix, but they were quite soft and easily palatable for baby. You can see a pic of the tomato pasta in the bowl, the photo is at the bottom of this review.

The flavour was quite herby, quite strong, but she liked it. I will be adding this flavour to my shopping list in the future.

Cottage Pie

The Cottage Pie was the last food that we tried, out of the above 3. This was by far the lumpiest of the 3 flavours, with full-size peas and soft cubes of potatoes through the mix. I was quite concerned about that as it is probably the lumpiest food I have ever given her. She managed fine though, there were no problems at all.

Flavour-wise, I did not love this particular taste. The cottage pie had quite a processed smell and taste, and I don't think I would buy this one again.

Stainage

One thing I really detest about shop-bought baby food is the potential for stainage on light coloured bibs. As I've been feeding baby with homemade food, I've never really had a huge problem with stains (except for persistent banana stains)! On seeing the colour of the Asda baby curry and the tomato pasta, the potential for stainage immediately entered my mind.

I dropped a bit of each on the white bibs, accidentally of course. Straight after feeding time was finished, I immediately hand-rinsed the worst of the stains, and left it to go in the wash. After washing, the curry bib in particular still had noticeable stains. I have a few bibs made from a darker material, so I will be using those when I next try the orange coloured baby foods.

Packaging

One annoying thing about the Asda Little Angels organic baby food range is the packaging. They come in sachets, which you have to cut the top off with scissors, and they are not re-sealable. There is 190g of food per portion, and my little one wouldn't eat as much as that in one sitting. This means I have to decant the remainder of the food into another dish, to store in the fridge.

I am comparing this to the likes of the Ella's Kitchen range of baby food which is quite similar, but they come in a pack with a little squeezy spout at the top. That means you can simply put the lid back on and pop it in the fridge - not so easy with some of the Asda products. Though, on looking on the Asda website, I see that some other flavours in the range have the squeezy tops, so it must depend on which flavour you choose.

Cost

At the time of writing, the cost of a 190g baby food pack is £1.34 on Asda's website. To compare that with the similar packages from Ella's kitchen, they're coming in at around £1.61. So I do think that the Asda Little Angels baby food is a good price.

Conclusion

All in all, I think the Asda Little Angels organic baby food range is well priced, very tasty for baby, with good flavours and variety. I will definitely be buying some of it again in the future.