As a busy mother of 3 small sons aged 6, 4 and 16 months, I don’t have a great deal of time for pampering and preening, however, I do like to make sure I look well groomed and cannot leave the house without makeup on!

My daily pampering routine starts at night though, yes, I know that sounds strange, but it’s the way it is for me!  I dislike showering, and given that I have a young toddler and a husband who leaves for work before the family is awake, showering with him toddling about isn’t really the safest option, so bathing at nighttime is the answer!

I’m a bath junkie though, and I adore citrus and foody smells.  I love anything sweet and bubbly and as a devotee of the Bomb Cosmetics range, I was pleased to see that www.FindMeAGift.com had started to stock the products.  2 great companies pairing up!

But it doesn’t stop at languishing in a bath of bubbles, despite a desire to crack on with the latest James Patterson….  One must be clean and preened before the indulgence of a book and drink first!  And in this economic time, coupled with the fear of wax, grabbing a Gillette Venus Embrace and some L’Occitane Verbena Soap is a more affordable alternative.  There really are only pros to this method, it’s cheaper than a £30 wax, it leaves a really smooth finish, and for some reason, the combination I use, my legs are hair free for longer! Then with a scrub with a loofah and some more L’Occitane bathing treats leaves me time for my book!

Having cleansed, moisturised and treated my skin with Clinique products, and smoothed my fingers with some Burt’s Bees lemon butter cuticle cream, and a healthy dose of clinique All About Eyes eye cream, the next day awaits.

My day kick starts with the children, but I do build 30 minutes into my morning routine to wash my hair, and as the title of this article suggests, I am a drip dry Mum.  I’m very fortunate to have poker straight hair that literally drips dry in the time it takes to put coats and shoes on and drive to school.  But the aforementioned small child means that having my head under a shower attachment poses a danger (not least to my cat and his older brothers), so I’m very much a wash and go girl.  Literally!  I actually discovered this brand when my eldest son was born, and the sheer anxiety of leaving a (sleeping!) newborn to his own devices meant that I rushed my shampoo and conditioning routine, leaving residue (yuck) in my hair.  thinking it was dandruff, and my local corner shop only stocking wash and go anti-dandruff, that was what I bought. 

I’ve loved it ever since!  I’ve never had dandruff, I’m a lucky girl, and having dead straight dark hair, it’s quite a good thing, but the bonus to this oh-so straight hair has meant that the shine that Wash and Go gives is mirror like, but really does leave my hair soft and smooth, and I literally can, wash and go!!

But moving on, a few minutes later, having repeated my cleanse and clean routine with my ever faithful clinique, I get cracking on a speedy 15 minute makeup application.

Starting with clinique superbalanced liquid foundation, with superbalanced powder buffed over the top, I splash on 3 or 4 eyeshadows and blend like a crazed woman!  Eyeliner has to be Barry M liquid liner and underneath has to be MAC liquidlast liner.  After that, it’s a layer of Lancome L’Extreme, and always in black and brows are finished with Benefit Brows a GoGo, even with just a slick of mascara and liner, using that would make a face!

My cheeks are buffed with a bronzer, currently Too Faced Pink Leopard, and my lips are a signature red, either clinique Black Lily or my new best friend, Cosmetics A La Carte in Santa.

And that’s it!  The pampering routine of a drip dry mum!  Jacob, my lovely young son does delight in rummaging through my makeup box, and whilst he’s mastered removing lids off lipsticks, he hasn’t yet worked out how to click open an eyeshadow, but that day will come, and like his brothers before him, he’ll learn that eyeshadow actually doesn’t taste that nice…  And for my other sons?  Thank goodness for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!

Sam Donald

www.SamDonald.com