One minute I was 25 and the next I am starting to see the dreaded 40 approach with alarming speed. Where did the time go? My skin is now (sadly) starting to show the dramas of the years and it was with great joy that I got a bottle of Dove VisibleCare Softening crème bodywash.

This stuff has been tested and checked by real women and experts in skincare and in the biggest ever bodywash trial, they had 8 out of 10 women saying that they could see a difference in their skin. And I have to agree.

I have very sensitive skin which really suffered when I lived in Bath. The hard water made my eczema flare up and my skin got dry, no matter how much moisturiser I applied. Now we live by the sea, my skin has undergone something of a transformation and, now that I use this stuff, it looks even better.

I know I sound like a beauty advert but this Dove VisibleCare body wash really works. It also poofs up nicely on my bath sponge. You have to be careful when you first start using it, though, when the bottle is full it tends to pour out and you get more than you need. Also, the bottle still feels heavy and full when there is barely anything left.

That’s quite annoying, actually, because I ran out without realising I needed supplies. Still, my skin did feel softer and my husband, completely unprompted, said, “Wow, your skin looks so much better since we’ve moved here.” I didn’t tell him that product helped...

I also have really damaged skin around my neck from when I lived in Africa and never applied sunblock. As a child I was crap at that. And this Dove VisibleCare Softening body wash has reduced the redness visibly. Which is nice, because I have a small complex about this area of my body.

So, there you go, I loved it. It's cheap, it lasts a month, and it works. They guarantee results in seven days but I didn’t count. Have you tried this out? Please let me know which woman you are – are you the two out of ten who saw no difference or, like me, are you one of those who loved it to death?

P.S. I also love their natural beauty campaign. It's about time companies stopped throwing stick insects at us in ad campaigns.

I first stumbled on Johnsons Baby Soothing Naturals cream when I got a free sample, alerted by this thread on our sister site Hotukdeals. I thought I would do a review to let you guys know what I think of the product, as I have been using it in my house for quite a while now. (There's a free sample link here)

When I first got the free sample of this cream, I tried it on my face and neck. And I liked it.

It doesn’t smell strong at all, which I really like – it’s unperfumed.

After application, it leaves my skin feeling moisturised, but not oily or greasy (as I have experienced with some other creams).

After trying the freebie of the Johnsons Baby Soothing Naturals cream, it led me to buy a jar of this cream when I saw it on offer at my local Tesco store. As I write this, the Tesco cost is £2.47 for a 250ml tub, so I think it’s pretty good value for money too.

As I have a new baby girl, it’s probably the kind of product I will use on her too when she is a wee bit older. Now, I use the Johnsons body cream on my face and neck, and also on my post-pregnancy flabby belly!

The only thing that annoys me about this cream is the foil cover that was inside the tub. When I first opened the tub, I just peeled back the corner of the foil and started using the cream. As time went by, I didn’t bother to remove the foil, I just kept peeling back a little more... and now it has become covered in cream and I don’t want to make a mess by removing it - you can see this in the picture above. This is probably my fault though, for not removing the foil in the first place.

I’m nearly finished that first tub, and I will definitely be buying more when it runs out!

Have you used this particular body cream? Do you like it too? Or is there another brand which you prefer? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

A few days ago, I wrote a little review with my opinion of Huggies baby wipes. Now, I’d like to share my thoughts by doing a Johnson’s baby wipes review.

Being a new mum, I’ve received lots of baby freebies and I’ve been comparing which products I like the best. For as long as I can remember, my family have been using Johnson’s baby wipes whenever a new baby comes along. I’ve got 7 nieces and nephews, so there’s been lots of trial and error with baby products!

I like the texture of these baby wipes, they’re nice and soft and they do really well when cleaning baby’s bum. They don’t seem to fall apart like the Huggies wipes do. They’re brilliant for cleaning all the little nooks and crannies.

Sometimes, when I don’t want to use a whole wipe, I would rip one in half. Because of whatever way the weave is arranged, you can do this quite easily – it tears right down the middle (but you cannot tear them across the grain).

Even though this is my first baby, I’ve been using Johnson’s wipes for years, mainly as a make-up remover. I find that they are very handy for getting all the sticky mascara off my lashes. And to be honest, these wipes have been applied to a lot of different surfaces in my house... from the cooker to the toilet!! One drawback of using them in places other than on your skin is that they sometimes leave a white residue – I am assuming this is the baby lotion which they are impregnated with.

Whenever I am looking for cheap baby wipes on offer (such as buy 1 get 1 free) in the supermarket, I usually stock up on Johnson’s. Stock-piling for the win!

What sort of baby wipes do you prefer to use?

When I had my baby girl 7 weeks ago, I got a free pack of Huggies baby wipes from somewhere... I think it was in the Bounty pack which you get in the hospital. I thought I would write a review on them, as I am sure there are a few mummies who are trying to decide whether to buy Huggies or Johnsons baby wipes, or perhaps a supermarket own brand.

I'm not one to turn my nose up at a freebie, but I have to say I really dislike these Huggies baby wipes!

I don't use baby wipes very much, as I use cotton wool and water on baby girl's botty when I am at home. I only use the baby wipes when I am out and about.

Smell-wise, the wipes seemed fine, I didn't have a problem with that at all.

My main issue with the baby wipes is that whenever I tried to get one out of the packet, I pulled off a really small bit of the wipe, rather than getting the entire wipe out. I don't know why this happened - whether it was due to their strange texture, or my slightly long nails. I eventually resorted to removing 3 or 4 wipes at once, so I could easily get at them when my hands were otherwise engaged with stinky bottoms.

I've got 2 or 3 packets of Huggies wipes to go through because of the freebies at the recent Cybermummy conference, so I will try and use them up, or give them away. But I will never willingly purchase Huggies baby wipes.  It will always be Johnsons baby wipes for me!

Which baby wipes are your weapon of choice?

Read on for a Sola pushchair review... the buggy I recently opted for with the birth of my first baby!

When I first started to look at purchasing a pushchair for my new addition to the family, I was kind of overwhelmed by the amount of choices there were available. Should I go for a pushchair, a travel system, separates... so much variety!

What Do I Want?!

I had a few pre-requisites in mind before making my purchase. I wanted a fairly lightweight pushchair, I wanted one that could fit a carseat on to the frame (not on top of the buggy part) and I wanted a car seat with isofix compatibility. I wasn't asking much, but it seemed quite hard to find a system that met my wants.

I do really like the Mamas and Papas baby equipment. A lot of my family have used various pieces from them in the past, and always have excellent opinions of them.

What is Isofix?

For those of you who don't know about isofix, it stands for "International Standards Organisation FIX." It's basically a standard for fitting car seats into cars, and most later models of cars now have isofix.

I have it in the back seats of my car, and it looks like 2 large metal hooks, where the base of the seat meets the back. If you want to read a bit more about isofix, there's some good info here on the childcarseats page.

Visiting A Store

I decided to visit a local store which sold various buggies and travel systems to see what felt good. When you are making this kind of purchase, I really believe that you should have a try of it before you buy, and not just buy it online. I spotted the Sola pushchair from Mamas and Papas, and I liked the feel of it. In store, they only had the green model, but the purple was more appealing to me.

Now, the matching car seat (The Cybex Aton) did not have isofix, so I didn't really want to go for it. But I was informed that other car seats in the Mamas and Papas range were compatible with the frame of this buggy, and other car seats were also isofix compatible. I was directed to the Primo Viaggio range of car seats, and I ended up going for this one. I just had to buy 2 little adapters from Mamas and Papas and the car seat now fits on to the buggy base.

The Sola Pushchair Review

I love the Sola pushchair! I just purchased the pushchair itself, and didn't bother with a carry cot. I already have a Moses basket for using at home, so I didn't really see the point in going for the Sola carry cot.

The Sola pushchair is really easy to use, it's light and versatile. I find it very easy to steer, whether I am walking down the street or flying round Tescos. The pushchair folds up nice and tight and fits well in the boot of my car. The handle is easily adjusted too, so we can put it higher when my taller partner is wheeling the pram.

I also like how the buggy can face both ways. I currently only have the baby pointing at me, but when she is a bit older, I am sure I will use the forward-facing option too.

The Primo Viaggio Car Seat Review

The Primo Viaggio car seat is also really handy. I love how I can just pop the baby in the car seat and then click it into the Isofix base. I don't have to become a contortionist and fuss around with trying to wrap a seatbelt around the car seat. The only problem I have with the setup is that it makes a little bit of a clicking noise when driving, but I can live with that.

Conclusion

Since I purchased the pushchair, I have since joined which online only to find that they also do comprehensive reviews of pushchairs and travel systems. I wish I had used that reference when making my decision!

I know you can buy a complete travel system for around £100 or £150. I spent quite a bit extra in buying the Sola pushchair and all the accoutrements, but I am more than pleased with my purchase. As it is my first baby, I wanted to get a specific type of pushchair, as I will be using it for a few years, and maybe even for a second child in the future...!

And I will finish off with a personal photo of mine, it's the Sola pushchair in action, holding my little baby Maya!

Today I'm treating you all to two reviews for the price of one! How's that for a bargain, eh?!

First up, which laundry detergent do you use? I know some folks who swear by one single brand and who would never dream of being disloyal, and others who prioritise price above all else and who shop around to get the best deal on their detergent, with little regard for who makes it or what the label looks like.

I was raised a Persil girl but I'm happy to shop around for whatever's on offer and have found that Asda's own brand of detergents are pretty good. It's amazing, isn't it, how brand loyalty changes when you become a parent and you find yourself doing a zillion more loads of laundry than ever before?! Having once suffered an allergic reaction to another brand, I do feel I can trust Persil's Non-Bio  version of detergent and if I'm buying Persil I usually opt for the squidgy caplets which seem to do the job.

But when someone recently asked me to sample Persil Small and Mighty for the purposes of this review, I'll admit I was a bit dubious.  I'm perfectly happy with my usual Persil caplets so couldn't really see the point in another Persil option. I've always thought the product seemed on the pricey side for what seems to amount to a smaller bottle, too. In other words it was with some reluctance that I tried out Small and Mighty but I admit; I'm a convert.

Persil Small and Mighty is 2 x concentrated. That means it's kinder to the environment as it uses half the water, half the packaging and half the lorries used to transport the product compared with regular non-concentrated washing detergents; supposedly without compromising on the quality of the wash.

I'm told (by Persil, of course) that since its launch, Small & Mighty has saved 91 million litres of water in Europe alone, enough to fill 605,000 bath tubs. The plastic saved is the equivalent to the amount that would be used to make 590 million plastic bags.

It's available in Biological, Non-Biological, and Colour Care varieties, and is made with pre-treating agents so you can still get good results at low temperatures.  The easy-to-use, no fuss measuring cap is also designed to help ensure correct dosages, to help keep your wash load efficient. I like that, and loathe cheaper alternatives which are impossible to use without dribbling wasted drops of detergent down the sides of the bottle.

I think Persil Small and Mighty actually lives up to all that hype, too. I tried it on a low temperature and a short, economical wash and even my son's grass-stained trackie bottoms came out looking clean, and smelling divine. It has that unmistakable Persil whiff of wonder that I associate with piles of deliciously fresh laundry. So if you're looking for an economical option when it comes to laundry detergent I can happily recommend giving Persil Small and Mighty a go.

I've revised my thinking on the price, too. I've just checked the price and it's currently £6.84 at Asda for the large 1.47 litre bottle which is enough for 42 washes. Compare that with the £5.98 you'd spend on Non-Bio liquid capsules which will stretch to 20 washes, and you can see that Small and Mighty is the more economical option of the two. The small bottle is deceptive and you need to remember that the concentrated formula means it goes further.

However there are cheaper detergents out there, it has to be said. Asda's own alternative is more than half the price at £3 (although it only promises 28 washes) but admittedly two bottles of Asda's version will set you back less moolah but get more washing done than Persil Small and Mighty. But whether it performs as well as Small and Mighty is another issue, and of course in buying two bottles you've got twice the packaging. I think I'll be inclined to stock up on Small and Mighty whenever I spot it on offer at my local supermarket. I probably wouldn't choose it over another brand if the other brand was on offer but as a reliable, eco-friendly and economical option, Persil Small and Mighty gets my vote.

Now talking of economical consumer choices, wouldn't it be brilliant if you could buy a single cup to take your baby from weaing right through to toddlerdom without having to shell out on several different cups for each stage of development. You know what I'm going to say, don't you: now you can.

Brother Max was created by Jonathon, a product designer and dad of two. The idea for the products came from his first hand experience of being a dad and wondering why there were so few products available that would make the family's life easier and quicker so that they could focus on the important things in life, like playing with the kids!

Cue an innovative range of products, including the 4-in-1 cup which strikes me as a revelation in baby cup design. It converts in 4 ways, cutting out the need for different staged cups, therefore saving money in the long run.

The RSP is £5.99 and it is available at John Lewis, Mothercare, Kiddicare.com, Amazon.co.uk, Blooming Marvellous, JoJo Maman Bébé and leading independent nursery retailers.

I'd never heard of PlayMais until a box of the stuff arrived for my sons and I to sample for this review.

In case you've never heard of it either, it's basically an eco-friendly fun new modelling material. You can play with it, build with it, create with it, and technically you can even eat it, although why anyone would want to do that us beyond me!

Here's what the PR blurb says: "PlayMais is a revolutionary craft toy using 100% natural ingredients.  Sweetcorn and plant dyes are moulded into colourful building material, which, using just a dab of water, stick to each other. Like all simple ideas, its brilliant! Once you start you can’t stop – this is THE ideal crafting toy for young artists!"

PlayMais is fully biodegradable and eco-friendly, as is all of the packaging and box contents too – even the cutting tool in each pack is made from the cornstarch. (Although mine arrived in swathes of bubble wrap which probably slightly undermined the eco-friendly nature of the contents!)

PlayMais has  won awards in its native country Germany, and has won acclaim from UK toy manufacturers too, including the NATLL Good Toy Awards, the ToyTalk Awards, Creative Play and Bizzie Baby Awards.

PlayMais is available in a variety of sizes and themes.  Generic boxes come in sizes M to XL, whilst the themed packs include Animal Farm, Pirates, Circus, African Jungle, Fantasy House, Castle and Sea World.  There are also two new Disney additions to complete the collection – Disney Princess and My Friends Tigger and Pooh.

It's ideal for mess-free modelling as no glue is required and just a small amount of water activates the natural starch in the maize to form a glue which will stick to many surfaces including paper, card, glass and other pieces of PlayMais. PlayMais is easily cut with a gentle sawing action using a serated picnic knife - so safety and learning is combined with creativity.

Here's what one PlayPennies parent had to say about her sample of PlayMais:

"I love PlayMais. I bought a very small packet last Autumn and we had a lot of fun back then. So when the opportunity arose for me to review some I knew we'd have a lot of fun and it's not too messy."

"The packaging isn't great - the design is very nice but the cardboard box is thin and not sealed well at the bottom and promptly fell open on me and I dropped a whole heap of them on the floor! Playmais are very similar to the packing materials you get when you get a parcel and they fill in the extra spaces. Except they are colourful and as they are made from Maize, semolina and water if you child decides they look tasty then you don't need to worry!"

You need a sponge which you wet, then you get some Playmais and dab it on the sponge and then stick to paper or one of the templates they come with. I had an ocean theme. It dries really quickly and within minutes you have award winning art, it's great for the ages of about 15 months to 10 years I would imagine! My children are 4 and nearly 2 and they love it."

"After we had created an ocean with grassy and coral reefs, we attempted to make an octopus, which was a good attempt  but looked nothing like the picture! The instructions are really easy to follow, it comes with a little serrated plastic knife which you can use to cut angles into the playmais, although personally I found scissors easier."

"We also got a massive sheet of paper about two feet and created a landscape picture with houses and trees. This was a lot of fun and your imagination is your only limit. This product is great value and really keeps the older children occupied for ages. My daughter happily played with it for an hour and then came back and did more later on. The next morning she was all 'PlayMais, PlayMais!'"

"Having had it in the past I can say that once playmais is stuck to the paper it's stuck for a long time and we still have a picture we made 6 months ago. But if by chance your tot decides to stick them to the kitchen cupboards don't fear they come off and wipe down easily!"

Personally I though the concept of PlayMais was brilliant but the  box we received was too complicated for my children, who are 3 and 5 years old. They absolutely adored playing with it and loved the thought of making a pirate ship complete with dastardly pirate crew, but there's no way they could make the models by themselves and having an adult do it for them defeated the purpose. Eventually they tired of the model making instructions and just started sticking the PlayMais onto pieces of paper, which made for hours of fun. I love that this is an  eco-friendly toy and that it doesn't matter if they decide to sample the taste of PlayMais but for younger children I'd recommend just buying a standard  box of PlayMais pieces instead of one of these model making kits - it'll be a cheaper alternative, and less stressful as you won't have little people pestering you to make them a pirate but can kick back and relax while thet let their imaginations run riot.

Nataliya's final thoughts on PlayMais are as follows:

Pros:-

• Hours of fun for you and your child
• Safe and environmentally friendly
• No glue required!
• You can learn your colours as you create
• It's a unique way to create arty pictures for family especially the grandparents!
• Easy to clean up

Cons

• Packaging a little thin
• If it gets to wet gets very sticky and will stick to anything!
• Hard to recreate the possible sculptures from the instruction book

Overall PlayMais is an unusual, innovative biodegradable and eco-friendly toy which we would recommend. Check out Amazon for prices and do let us know your verdict if you decide to try some out!

April is Crafty Parents month here at Play Pennies which means we are busy scouring the planet (well ok, the information superhighway) for clever schemes and ideas that will satisfy your little people's creative urges, and craftily (see what we did there?) buy you a little quiet time.

Paint Your Own Piggy Bank

This Paint Your Own Piggy Bank from www.gettingpersonal.co.uk is a brilliant idea. First your kidlets can get their creative juices flowing as they decorate their lpiggy bank, then you can teach them the benefits of being penny-wise by helping them learn to save. We thought you'd like that.

Everything needed to paint the Piggy Bank is included, all you need to do is add a little imagination. Inside the box you get a terracotta piggy bank,  six paints, a paint brush and the instructions. It's priced at £8.95 and you can buy your own here.

So what did our reviewer think?

Nickie liked the appearance and packaging and felt the design suggestions on the box offered some good ideas to help inspire little painters. However the strip of paints were difficult to use whilst joined together.

"When we tried to open two pots, one almost spilt and the caps were quite stiff.  I would recommend that they be separated in some way or, if being redesigned, then come as separate pots."

On the upside, the paint was easy to apply to the unglazed ceramic pig. "And because the paint soaked into the unglazed ceramic, it dried very quickly so there was no smudging and no waiting around to paint over the top of the original design."

Was she impressed?
"Yes!  My son, who painted the pig, is 10 years old and he sat for 45 minutes creating his design and then applying the paint.  This could easily be extended into an hour and a half or even longer with more kits and more children."

Nickie was also impressed with the durability of this item. "The ceramic pig appears to be very well designed and the pottery was quite thick, therefore robust.  The plastic stopper underneath fitted very well but was also easily removed."

Nickie's verdict in terms of value for money is that this is fairly average as a one-off craft activity or as a present for another child. "It's not too expensive and the price suggests that it isn't cheaply made."

As for the artist in question, Nickie tells us that he enjoyed the activity and has proudly displayed the piggy bank on the shelf. All that's needed now is some money to put in it! Nickie says; "I think that if he wants it to be displayed then he is definitely very proud of what he has done."

Nickie says she would definitely buy this as a present for another child's birthday present. "It's something a little bit different and could be incorporated into a craft afternoon.  However, the finished article will actually be used by my son, too."

If you want to encourage a love of all things crafty in your kids, this could be a winner, as Nickie found that the activity made my child ask for more of similar activities - painting, making actual plaster of paris models, and designing patterns.

Design Your Own T-Shirt

For older children or those with a flair for fashion, this Design Your Own T-Shirt Transfer also from www.gettingpersonal.co.uk is an innovative activity.

In addition to a large transfer measuring 21 x 15 cm, the Design Your Own T-Shirt kit includes everything you need to create your own stunning designs, including glitter crayons and a guide to the art of mirror writing.

Designs can then be transferred to a plain cotton T-Shirt of your choice. The item is priced at £4.95.

Our reviewer Salima was a bit unsure about this at first but says the real reviewer was her 3 year old and he LOVED it!

"Essentially, what your £5 is paying for with this is novelty, but I think it's worth it. My son loved the idea that he was "making" his own t-shirt and decided that this was the only t-shirt he would be wearing from now on. I've never seen him so proud!"

Salima reckons there are a few slightly annoying things about this product though. "Before you get started you have to find (or buy) a plain white t-shirt and then you've got to locate a sharpener for the crayons. Also, any wording needs to be done in mirror writing for which there is supposed to be a guide but that was missing from our pack. Each pack only comes with one transfer paper, so if you've got a few kids doing this, it does add up."

However, overall she was impressed. "For the simple fun of this it's definitely a good buy and, I think, would make a nice present - just remember to include a t-shirt!"

Are you getting enough DHA? Do you know your docosahexaenoic acid from your elbow? If not, fear not, because the number one brand of omega 3 fish oils has recently arrived in the UK, offering an easy route to incorporating healthy Omega-3 fatty acids into your diet.

Studies have shown that fish oils have a wide range of health benefits, enhancing brain power and memory and helping to reduce symptoms of all sorts of conditions including depression, dyslexia and arthritis.

The best way to up your Omega-3 levels is by eating oily fish on a regular basis although you’ve probably noticed that everything from eggs to breakfast cereals scream at you ‘Now with Omega 3! Obviously that’s a good thing but the easiest way to maintain a healthy intake of fish oils is probably to take a daily health supplement.

Norwegian-born Joar Opheim founded Nordic Naturals over a decade ago in the USA, after recognising a lack of omega-3 fish oils in the American marketplace.
Nordic Naturals offers a range of omega-3 fish oil products, specifically tailored to the very different dietary needs of children and adults.

Nordic Naturals manufactures all their fish oil products in Norway; where they adhere to the highest manufacturing standards, guaranteeing product purity and freshness levels that exceed the stringent Norwegian Medicinal Standard and European Pharmacopoeia Standard.

Nordic Naturals uses only wild fish (arctic cod, sardines, and anchovies), that are sustainably harvested, low on the food chain (to minimise potential environmental toxins), and naturally high in omega-3 essential fatty acids.

Once again the Play Pennies guinea pigs were only too happy to put these products to the test. Expectant Mum Catherine Jones sampled the strawberry-flavored Omega-3 DHA caplets which are concentrated for high intensity support. It is apparently great for expectant mums because DHA supports immune systems, learning and memory, positive mood, emotional wellbeing and the development of infants.

Here’s Catherine’s verdict:

“I opened the lid, pierced the seal and was immediately struck by the delicious smell wafting out of the bottle! These Omega-3 tablets are strawberry flavour, and the aroma was very distinctive when opened.

“I poured a few into my hand - they are the see-through gel caplets which many supplements seem to be. I raised my hand to my nose to give them a closer sniff, and I still loved the scent!

“The bottle recommends that you take 2 per day, with food. I had already prepared a glass of water, so I popped one in my mouth, and swallowed it down. I'm not particularly good at swallowing tablets, I've always had a funny thing about it since childhood, but these were very easy to swallow.

“I also am taking daily iron tablets, so I always make sure to put these strawberry smellies in my hand at the same time as taking the iron tablets, making it a little bit nicer too!

The Nordic Naturals range is carefully processed to ensure no fishy smell or aftertaste. They use 100% natural flavourings in lemon, orange and strawberry and the capsules can even be chewed.  They pride themselves on the purity of the products which are produced without the use of heavy metals, pesticides, dioxins or PCB’s, and the fish oil used is formed as triglycerides which stabilise the fish oil molecules in their natural form and ensures optimal absorption and utilisation by the body.

The Nordic Naturals range is available from Re-vital as well as from health food stores, pharmacies and Nutricentre.com. Alternatively you can call 0207 720 1441 for stockist details or check out Nordic Naturals for more information.

I am completely smitten with this product and, apparently, no emus were injured in its making either. Here you have a lush oil that does rather amazing things to your skin and has been marked down to only £7.95, just for Valentine’s month.

• Click here to discover the emu at Shop For Health

I got a teeny, tiny pot of this Golden Emu Oil lotion and it lasted, and lasted, and lasted. I am rather taken aback at this. Either the teensy tub was the Tardis or this stuff is a complete bargain for the price. It is also an extremely luxurious cream that does wonders for your skin.

Now, this definitely falls into the category of parent pampering for Valentine’s Day. Not only can you use this on your hands but it makes delightfully decadent body oil too. This is the one you want for a sensuous Valentine’s massage.

The ingredients that make this yummy lotion include apricot kernel oil, sweet almond oil, alpine lavender oil, orange and lemon oils, avocado oil, cedarwood oil and beeswax. It does smell kind of funny in the tin but once on your skin it takes on a lovely, light citrusy scent that even the boys enjoy.

We sent this across to some of our Parent Panel for review and this is what they said:

“The lotion was light, easily absorbed and left a subtle, yet sensual fragrance on the skin.”

“Emu oil doesn’t sound sexy but does tingly nicely on the skin.”

“I’m loving the effects on my hands, they’ve started to smooth out again!”

So, why not snatch up this discounted bottle with an element of glee and enjoy spreading some emu oil happiness around.

Winter may be very pretty, especially when the snow trickles down and covers the world in a white blanket, but the colds and flu that come with this season are not. Runny noses, damp foreheads and sore tummies are all part and parcel of parenting with germs.  However, I was fortunate to get in some new and interesting solutions for children, to ease their discomfort and help them sleep.

These products have all been reviewed by a panel of desperately tired mums who were willing to try anything to get their tots well and, most importantly, to sleep.

The first item on the agenda is from the Mum’s firm favourite, Calpol. There are few parents that haven’t heard of their syrup so you’ll be delighted to hear about their new saline nasal spray. Babies and young children get very grumpy when their noses clog up, they just don’t have the same sources of relief as we do! All of our mums liked this product.

It was easy to insert into baby’s nose and had a smooth control so you didn’t risk jerking it high and hurting the child. It was even used on a toddler that hates the idea of anything going near his nose and he loved it. He even asked to use it again when he was well.

The spray is non-medicated and so won’t affect any other medicines you may be using and is fine for babies from birth. It did work quite well, easing the little one’s discomfort to a recognisable degree. They retail for £3.99 which is really reasonable and should last you a while. Just make sure you wipe down the nasal injector after every use! 

The next lovely doodad to enter into our illness testing laboratory was the Baby Nose-Clear room vapour. I fell in love with this stuff, so much so I nearly didn’t let any of the other mums get a chance to review it. The smell is reminiscent of the days when we were looked after by our mums and is wonderfully easy to use.

Just throw a few drops onto a damp towel over the radiator or into a bowl of warm water and it starts working its magic. It also works with humidifiers and vaporizers. The vapour is made from essential oils that include lemon, tea-tree and pine oils.  I think it worked, my daughter loved the smell and it seemed to soothe her to sleep. I did notice a difference in her breathing and sleep once I introduced it.

It retails for £6.99 which is a fab price when you consider how long this one little bottle will last. You only need a few drops for it to completely permeate the air.

The final product that we examined was the Baby Nose Clear aspirator. This device is inserted into baby’s nose and is used to suck the snot out. Yes, the idea is horrifying. I have to tell you that it took some arm wrestling to get any of our review mums to try it out. It takes a stomach of iron to pick it up and start sucking.

Mums with active and fussy babies didn’t find it very easy to use as they constantly wriggled away from it. The others used it when their babies were asleep and said that it did work but they really struggled with the concept even though they saw a significant improvement in their child’s breathing.

The device itself was developed by a mum of premature triplets and retails for £6.99. I am not sure about this product. It definitely works, it removes the gunk and clears breathing, but the fact that it has a separate vacuum to catch the snot and that you have to do the sucking is a bit hard to overcome. Sturdier mums rated it highly though so, if you’re an earth mother in training, then this is definitely worth a look.

In all the fuss about baby we often forget about ourselves so here are some lovely products thatthat are just for mums and mums-to-be.

In the constantly flunctuating temperatures of winter as our skin is exposed to dry heating and cold air, it's always a good idea to add extra moisturising habits so you don't get dry and damaged skin. So here are some lush products I discovered in the world of organic skin care.

The first product I received was from the dr.organic range, the Vitamin E Super Hydrating Cream. The cream is fragrance-free and 100 percent organic with ingredients like Aloe Vera, Shea butter, Cocoa butter and sweet almond oil. I immediately applied this to my hands, and those of every mother I could find. It goes on beautifully and the oiliness doesn’t last for a long time, which is always a relief.

The cream is supposed to instantly hydrate your skin and leave it feeling very soft and moisturised.  I have to agree. The backs of my hands felt softer and I didn’t get that sweaty palm feeling you usually find with hand cream. You can use this on stretch marks, scars and even ageing skin to help limit and control the damage. I’ve been applying it to my pregnancy stretch marks and have actually seen a slight improvement.

The only downside is the smell (husband complained about it for ages) that is almost yummy but with a faint scent of something unpleasant.

You can grab some from Holland & Barrett for £6.99 which sounds costly for 50mls but a little bit really goes a long, long way so it will last for ages. Perfect for dry mummy hands or growing bellies.

My next task was to tackle the First Class Face Mask from Organic Surge. The entire range is new, launched only in July last year, and is a complete range of skincare products for women who prefer the organic way of life. The face mask is designed to be deep cleansing and nourishing, with rosemary and lemon essential oils to boost the skin.

I put some on my skin and it started tingling pretty fast, a lovely clean tingle that always bodes well. Just as a warning, though, don’t get too enthusiastic with the pump like I did. A tiny amount goes far and I ended up face masking my neck, chest and arms so I didn’t waste any.

After you’ve put the mask on you have to wait five minutes, rinse it off and then dry with a warm towel. It rinses off dreamily, none of that discovering weird blobs after copious rinsing here. My skin felt fantastic afterwards. I love this product.

It costs £6.99 which is cheap for the volume and the number of uses you can get for it. If you apply it twice a week as instructed I think it could last you at least two to three months, if used sparingly. Perfect for those brief breaks in our battered schedules for a skin and mood pick me up.

I liked this one so much I didn’t share it with anyone else.

The Blissful Daily moisturiser was my next victim, also from the Organic Surge range. This smells truly odd in the bottle, I must admit, and I wasn’t that enthused about smearing it on my face. The other mums who tested it also said that they weren't huge fans of the scent.

I applied this after the mask and my skin ate it all up with glee. Now I’m always very fussy about face moisturiser as some can dry your skin out or leave it feeling stretched and sticky.

Blissful Daily does leave a little bit of stickiness and didn’t quite moisturise me as much as I’d like  but it isn't for dry skin, as I'm prone to. It’s possibly not a winner for those of you who suffer from dry skin. However, the other mums who tested it said that they found it to be gorgeous on the skin, leaving it soft and moist.

Coming in at £7.99 and including soothing essential oils and antioxidants this is not a huge expense but I don’t feel it’s necessarily a bargain. That said, the mums with normal to oily skin that tried this out all said that they really loved the way it made their skin feel. The only downside is the smell, it may not appeal to everyone.

Overall both these ranges proved that organic need not mean pongy, brown sludge that costs a fortune. The dr.organic Vitamin E range made a notable difference to the condition of my skin that has had me hooked, and the Organic Surge range caters to a wide range of skin types. I would definitely recommend both to any mum, expectant or otherwise, looking for some “me” time on a budget.

Like most of the UK, we were caught short by the Arctic temperatures in our house this week.

No, we didn't get snowed in or have to be towed on the school run by a Mum in a 4x4. Worse: we lost the lids to our hot water bottles. And we didn't realise until we'd already made a song and dance about how we were going to dig out the hot water bottles and snuggle up with them in fleece blankets by the fire.

Oh, the woe. Kids of a certain age don't cope well with dashed expectations.  So we hunted high and we hunted low - and we even re-enacted the scene from the much-loved story-book 'We're going on a bear hunt' - but we could not find those hottie bottle lids. I'd rather have lost the actual bottles themselves than have to look at those darned things taunting me with their lidlessness.

Thankfully, just as it all descended into tear-streaked, teeth-chattering freezing misery, I remembered the Cherry Stone Thermal Neck Pillow that the lovely folks at Opal London had sent me for another feature I was writing before Christmas about products for pregnant mums.

100% natural, washable, dust-free and eco-friendly, it's a therapeutic thermal pillow, filled with over a litre of real cherry stones - a natural by-product of the jam and Kirsch industries. (I have to say I'm glad they mention that on the box, because until then I couldn't help wondering where the cherry stones had come from...)

Why cherry stones? Because they naturally retain heat, and the point of this pillow is that you pop it into a microwave or conventional oven and then use it to soothe away aches and pains, or just keep you from freezing to death in a lost-hot-water-bottle-tops crisis.

At £15.99 I think this is an affordable way to indulge in a little bit of luxury. Opal London also do a Relax & Repair gift set (£22.00) that includes the Cherry Stone pillow along with two of their most popular essential oils, lavender and eucalyptus to help sooth stuffy noses. I think this would make a lovely gift for an expectant mum. (Although if you're pregnant or breastfeeding always check the safety recommendations before using essential oils.)

The Cherry Stone pillow is apparently ideal as a localised heat treatment for sports injuries, and I first heard about it as a lovely treat for pregnant mums. Because of its bag-bean-like exterior you can mold it to fit around your body, nestling it into the small of your back or resting it under your baby bump when lying down.

But I think it's just brilliant for children as an alternative to a hot water bottle. My concern with conventional hot water bottles is the likelihood that my boys' curiosity will one day lead them to attempt to unscrew one. I also remember one leaking when I was a kid - fortunately it had gone cold by then but it wasn't cool at all to wake up in a make-shift water bed. The Cherry Stone Pillow retains heat for longer than a hot water bottle and best of all, it doesn't go cold and clammy when it cools down.

Carefully selected, the cherry stones have been washed, dried and packed in a woven 100% cotton pouch which will apparently last for years. It can be heated up endlessly, either for 15 minutes in a conventional oven or 3 minutes in a 700W microwave. If you pop it in a plastic bag in the freezer you can also use it as a cold compress, ideal for bumps, sprains and even hangovers. Not that Mummies ever get those, of course.

Because of the cherry stone filling, this pillow gives off a distinctive cherry scent as it heats up. And if you heat it in a conventional oven it makes the whole house smell like cherry pie. I love that about it but I have to confess that my 3 year old wasn't a fan of the scent. But because it's completely machine washable you can add a few drops of essential oil to change the fragrance - lavender is particularly soothing for little ones at bedtime and peppermint is good for headaches.

We absolutely love this. My boys love using it to heat up their beds before bedtime, and fight over who gets to  cuddle it first. My husband snaffles it to soothe his legs after a run, and I'm writing this with it wrapped  around my feet to fight impending frostbite. You're basically guaranteed a warm, fuzzy, cherry-scented glow, with change from £20. The only problem now is we need three more, plus one for the cat, who also tries to steal mine, as it's now the cosiest place in the house for a cat nap.

The Method Christmas Baby gift set is a delightful organic package for only £12. It’s always annoyed me that if I want to use products that are pure and organic with no nasty environmental side effects, I have to also be prepared to pay a fortune.

Fortunately,  when I sent out a call for organic products that delivered value for money the first package that arrived this one, costing a mere £12 for three enormous bottles of goodness.

In the Method Christmas Baby gift set you get body lotion, hair and body wash and bubble bath. All of the products are biodegradable, contain no parabens, ethoxylated compounds or animal by-products and have never been tested on animals.

When you first open the set you’ll be captivated by the smell. Oh man, it’s delicious. The ingredients include rice milk and mallow (yes, like marshmallow) and are 99% plant derived.

The hair and body wash come with a cleverly designed lid that you can use to rinse the soap from their heads. There’s a neat little hole on one side that narrows the water flow and makes your life a little bit easier. It isn't excessively foamy, limiting in-the-eyes syndrome, and one small squeeze comfortably cleaned an entire head of hair.

I adored the feet on the bubble bath as it meant I didn’t have to go through the usual rigmarole of trying to balance the bottle on the narrow shelf of my bath. I wish more companies would pay attention to details like this. Unfortunately, perhaps because we have very hard water, the bubbles weren’t great and my toddler was disappointed by them. Fortunately the scent more than made up for it.

The body lotion is wonderfully non-greasy and absorbs beautifully. Like the body and hair wash, a little goes a long way so these bottles will last you for quite some time. The body lotion also has a lockable lid so it can travel with you without leaking. I took it along on a roadtrip to Cornwall and not a drop escaped.

I was impressed with the size, the design and the ethics behind the Method gift set and would really recommend it. It’s a lovely Christmas present or just perfect for any soon-to-be mummy that you would like to spoil. The products sell individually for £5 so the price of £12 for three gets you £3 off when you buy the gift set as a whole.

You can grab Method products from Waitrose and most major supermarkets or just visit them online.