Swears By: Mumsnet recommends - January 2018

[AliceDMumsnet]

Hello,

Some of you may already receive our weekly Swears By newsletter, which is a round-up of products that Mumsnetters have been recommending to each other, but we thought we'd also collate them here.

You can take a look at your best buys of 2017 here and last month's Swears By thread here.

If you want to be first to know about the next cult product, you can sign up to the newsletter here and you can also check out the Swears By page here.

Mumsnet Swears By is free and independent from advertising but if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale. You can find out more here.

Here’s what MNers have been swearing by this month:

Babyliss Big Hair Rotating Hot Air Styling Brush, £41.99 (was £45)

An easy-to-use brush for smooth, voluminous hair

"Babyliss big hair is AMAZING. I love it. I look like I’ve had a salon blow dry – achieved at home on a Wednesday morning with two small children under my feet." Longhairmightcare

Superga Leopard Print Trainers, £38.50 (were £55)

Update your day-to-day look with leopard print trainers

"These are absolutely gorgeous on! Superga are Kate Middleton’s shoes of choice; they are so comfy and they're on sale – bargain." bitofabelly

Glossier Boy Brow, £14

A brow mascara that thickens, fills in and grooms brows

"The Glossier one is great. My brows aren't as luxuriant as they once were but the Boy Brow makes them look thicker but in a very natural way.” Housewife2010

"I've been using Glossier Boy Brow for the last few weeks and I love it – it's really easy to apply and gives a great natural look." Bingohandjob

F&F Padded Hooded Shower Resistant Parka, £49

A lightly padded parka with faux fur trim – available in khaki and navy

"This parka is really lovely on and looks much more expensive than it is." sammy891

Dior Nail Glow Top Coat, £20

Swipe on for an instant French manicure

"It makes your nails look really healthy and groomed and doesn't chip. I used to get my nails shellaced but it cost a fortune and wrecked my nails – I'm on to my fourth bottle of Nail Glow now." DameDoom

I love Nail Glow! It’s one of the few products that I’d definitely recommend

Bloody hell. What nonsense.

What’s nonsense?

"What’s nonsense?"

Probably MN pedaling beauty products. Looks like Alice got a few free gifts ...

If you popped over to the Style And Beauty Forum you’d see that these were all recommendations from posters. I don’t think this is as bad as the humongous advertising hoarding for some roast potatoes being advertised as ‘recommended by mumsnet’. I forget which brand so clearly not a very effective advert!

However MNHQ I do think if you’re quoting posters than a name-check is in order.

It was Aunt Bessies. I remember thinking that roast potatoes you cook yourself must just be potatoes. I guess that same people buy them as buy the pancake batter which just needs egg and milk added i.e. flour.

"If you popped over to the Style And Beauty Forum"

I'd rather try my luck in /Feminism or /Vegan

I'd rather try my luck in /Feminism or /Vegan

Ah, you’re that person.

Ah, you’re that person.

God knows what that means?

I don’t think this is as bad as the humongous advertising hoarding for some roast potatoes being advertised as ‘recommended by mumsnet’. I forget which brand so clearly not a very effective advert!

I remember too - it was Aunt Bessies. I remember being embarrassed that Mnet had stooped that low. What next, Poundland?

Skarossinkplunger

Why the face RadioGaGa?

Hi everyone,

Thanks for pointing out this mistake, we've updated the posts to include usernames.

Swears By remains a MN group effort - alas, no freebies for me

Thanks MNHQ!

I need to defend the users of Aunt Bessie’s roast potatoes. If you buy a bag of spuds au naturel then you need to peel them, parboil them from cold, drain, shake, preheat the roasting oil in the oven and then cook for an hour. Start to finish takes an hour and a half. To cook Aunt Bessie’s requires you to turn on the oven, open the packet, put them on a tray and cook for half an hour. The cook from scratch option is much cheaper and is great if you’re cooking a proper roast and have the luxury of time but on a cold Tuesday evening when I’ve got home at 6pm and I need to feed the DC, supervise their homework and get them bathed and into bed by 8 then Aunt Bessie’s alongside some roast chicken thighs and veg will give you a perfectly acceptable result in the time available.

What's the problem? I love mn swears by

But aunt Bessie's roast potatoes that mumsnet loves so much aren't ant different than any of the other roast potatoes. Apart from your paying for the advert that says on the hour every hour that mumsnet users cream themselves over them.

It's just more rampant consumerism. More personal debt. More pollution. More use of natural resources.

Yes other brands are available (although MN testers have vouched for this particular brand being decent quality). But consumerism and advertising is what keeps the lights on on MN.

Anyway, I only wanted to defend myself and other users of ready-to-roast potatoes against an accusation of idiocy. It’s not a stupid decision if you’ve got a spare pound to spend on convenience and speed.