Operation Renovation - The Christmas Countdown (part 2)

[HelgatheHairy]

Our new home

Hope all is well at work big kids
Morning lucysmam I'm using L'Oreal shine and polish shampoo and conditioner at the moment and an oil-based product before I rough dry and use the Babyliss Big Hair. It's natural wavy but getting a bit fine and limp. I like the idea of using maybe just a lighter texture shampoo and upping the products afterwards. It feels cottonwoolly when I shampoo it generally and would turn into a bush if I left t to dry but the BBh knocks it into shape but leaves it a bit too flat. I can't win!!

Just got the cats back from the cattery.
Just had a spinach and goats cheese omelette and some berries, now having a decaf coffee.

I need to get onto the unpacking and washing :/

My hair's fluffy if left to its own devices too Try a less heavy shampoo and conditioner, with these Garnier ones I'm using until shopping day on Saturday my hair feels artificially tame and soft if that makes sense? before I put any other products on it. I don't think the serum/heat spray/argan oil would weigh it down so much because you use so little of the oil and the spray covers a large area in one spray iyswim? I did read years ago to straighten from an inch lower than your roots, so you keep some of the volume too....never tried it but might help

I only straighten from about my ears down.

I daren't straighten - I'd burn my ears/fingers/nose. Thanks for the tips lucysmam will look in the haircare aisle at Tescos.

I'm all dressed and made-up. It feels good :)

lucysmam it's these - not sure if they are what dili used, there are two or three items in their range. What serum do you use on your hair? I just apply my L'Oreal oil before and after drying, and again in the morning after brushing.

jemimam yay! That is a huge achievement. Photographs are so weird, we never look the way we think we look.

karbea your boil sounds... fun What a welcome home for you though - hope things are straightened out for you now. Good luck for the IVF, which protocol are you on? Your omlette sounds lush.

closet When my hair went through a really greasy phase, I found applying the conditioner to just the lengths and ends made a huge difference.

bigkids aww poor you. Have you read your email yet? My mum used to say what ever it is, it can't be as bad as you are imagining but I never really found that helpful. Well done on being down another pound!

Shredded last night, and it's feeling pretty comfortable so going to go up to level 2 at the weekend. Forgot to straighten my hair after drying it last night, so woke up this morning looking like Anthea Turner's wild-woman alter ego. Popped into Primark this lunchtime and they finally have size 12 short skinnies - yay! Picked up three pairs, a faded black, a dark grey and a light blue. Fab It's a fasting day today and the whole world is against me. I came in to work this morning to find someone did the baguette run so I had to give away a sausage baguette with brown sauce. Then another colleague brought in a mahooooosive box of samosas, and had the veg ones done extra mild just for me . Then I popped into the canteen for some water on my way back from lunch to see that my favourite lasagne was on, which is normally on on a Monday so I switched my fasting day from Monday this week so I could have it, and this week Monday's food was some crappy stew and I've still missed my lasagne. I've also just had to turn down the offer of chocolate raisins

I grew a pair (of ovaries) and read it. Your mum was right control it wasn't that bad. Phew.

Day of cleaning for me today so no makeup. Really must do finger and toenails tonight.

Nails filed and buffed. Had a new soap & glory buffer but didn't think it was great. My Leighton Denny one is much better.

I'm so fed up with my skin & hair. They've always been oily but really improved when I was pregnant. I could actually get 2, almost 3 days without washing my hair. Now I shower/wash hair at 7pm and it's greasy the next morning. I have dry shampoo but my scalp is sensitive and doesn't really like the dry shampoo. And I can't change my shampoo as I have dermatitis and the Loreal one I'm using is the best ever.

My skin is the same except its worse since I had the baby. Now I wash it in the morning, no moisturiser and it FEELS oily by about 3pm. Before i might look shiny but now it actually feels horrible.

Any idea of good skin care for oily skin? I was using Eve lom but it's too rich, as is Liz earl. Found a soap & glory hot cloth cleanser in my stash and am using that for now.

I'm having an 'act as if day'

Act as if you like shopping at Tescos
Act as if choosing a bin for your bathroom is important and interesting
Act as if you like housework
Act as if you look gorgeous

It's working you know, I've had a fab day doing mundane things. :)

Helga Have you used Elemis? I love their pro-collagen marine cream because of the light cream.gel texture.

Found you!!!

Hello everybody, welcome to the ladies that just joined us.

No, those are not the socks I am using.

Sorry, meant to go and fund a link.

*find a link these are the ones
Got mine in tkmaxx, nowhere near £30!!!!

I exercised. Loads. I really really ache.
But I kept at my hot water with lemon and vitamins. Last night I was so tired I didn't bother with face cream, judt fell like a log.
I have got a list of things to do till christmas

I need to sort out my eyes. I need contacts and a new pair of glasses.
I need some new shoes. For going out/walking for miles/slip on and off/some slippers.
I need to sleep more. Hahaha!

I'll keep thinking about it and see what else I come up with.

Evening all

Just got sat down dd2 is in a non sleeping mood....could be a loooooooooong night!

Usual routine done, am half wishing I'd re-done my nails last night....have chipped THREE of them this afternoon doing not much at all with dd2 . Have removed the polish but replacing will have to wait for tomorrow now, I'm ready for a mooch about on here & bed .

Karbea did you try the toothpaste on your boil? I'm going to put some on before bed so dp can laugh at me I seem to have developed a whole heap of spots with no head over the course of the day

Control ty for the link, they're different ones (am compiling a list for dp for Christmas and my birthday which is two weeks after....it features a large number of beauty products ). will add them to it. My local Primark still hasn't had any short leg skinnies in ....am destined to take up every pair I buy

bigkids glad the work email wasn't as bad as you thought... ?

Helga I have no idea about skincare products these days but sympathise about the oily feeling skin; mine was like that for years as a teen Maybe worth an ask on s&b itself maybe, I've learned all sorts the past few weeks....never really ventured into s&b either until I spotted this thread!

Dilidali ty for your link too, I think you linked them from amazon before so will have a search on there & add to my wishlist for dp

(poor fella won't know what's hit him when I hand over my Christmas 'letter' )

closetcat I burn myself every time I use my straighteners....always on the same spot of my head, end up with a weird kink on the bottom layer because I jerk them away...every sodding night! surprisingly, I haven't burned my hands or nose yet ....did once catch the top of one ear though

(sorry if I missed anything, I will fire up the dinosaur laptop eventually so I can scroll back & type...it's just sooooo easy to pick up my phone & mn rather than wait for it to gurgle sloooooowwwwwwlllllyyyy to life)

*epic post again I bet

epic strikeout fails too

82 days to go

Morning

I've just given my nails a quick coat of pale pink polish with glittery bits & heart glitter....no idea how the ?'s are meant to come out of the bottle though . It shouldn't stain my nails & I'll properly manicure them tonight.

Taking dd2 to soft play for a bit now dp has finally gone to work....he overslept....oops....and I shot out of bed at half five this morning to tell him...missed his lift by then though so had to wait until now.

Got an old chunky knit on with my dark skinnies and boots. Will try and remember to pop a pic on fb later.

Right , off to get the small one ready to go Have a good day all

you lot are very quiet today

Just thought I'd tell you about a bargainous purchase in Poundland....Got2b play it straight....is meant to straighten hair for ten washes....no idea if it works but worth a play for a quid

Aren't we though!

Let us know how you get on lucysmam, can't really knock a quid though, even if it just works for a couple of washes.

Going out for a meal this evening, DP is in his suit so I've dressed in colours to complement - pale grey primark dress, drop pearl earrings, smoky purple/grey makeup and still the same nail varnish as the other day. Forgot to mention I got my bikini salon-waxed on Wednesday, so that can be forgotten about for another three weeks.

Hair is very Anthea Turner again today. Will probably not bother straightening it again until Sunday though as I am working on my own all weekend so being relaxed about that is about the only thing I can do to feel like I've had a bit of a break in my week.

Have you all abandoned me apart from Control....

or do I spend an unreasonable amount of time on MN? (don't answer that....MN is my 'go to' for soft play, bus rides etc )

Just in case anyone is still around.....

Control you should have stuck a pic on fb of your going out outfit, it sounded lovely!

Helga did you find a miracle product for oily skin? (think I spied a thread earlier that might have been you?)

I am having a lazy lazy night, been in the shower, done the basics....debating mud mask on spots to try and reduce them.....haven't even blow dried my hair .....will more than likely straighten in the morning though, not that anyone will care round here but I try

Just cracking open the weekend

Karbea -nightmare on the dog and cream carpet front! And I thought I was having a tough week :-)
so the first week of the new job went very well, thank you-very nice people and very interesting work. The princessing piece has been a bit hard as I try to get into a routine for work/ children home etc, but it has worked so far as keeping away from sweets and chocolate. I really need to work on getting the exercise in. Will try and get on the treadmill this weekend and also sort out toenail painting.
Control geek-what are the gel foot socks that you are wearing? I am intrigued.

Oooh I'll do a quickie update .....

Got my L'Occitane Almond set a couple of days ago, so in a minute I'm going to make the bed (washed the bedlinen today) and run a nice long bath with the Almond Oil (I use it in the shower normally but it'll be lush in the bath)

Soap and Glory No Clogs Allowed mask
Phillip Kingsley Elasticiser

A book

lucysmam that was me. Got recommended cephasil (that's not the correct name but I know what I mean) which I think I might be good. Just need to get to boots now.

Brief update from me....
Have shredded today but have not done it religiously the last few days as my knees started to ache bouncing around so took it a bit easier, dunno if it's the extra weight or just not doing exercise for ever that's the cause so taking it slow for now.

Still keeping up with defuz and moisturising routines, need to redo nails but that's a job for tomorrow night now. Have been lacking in fruit today but doing a "big shop" tomorrow so will stock up the fridge again

Toying with the idea of potty training my toddler too bigkids how's it going?