Beauty

I have been a faithful follower of Jess & Caroline’s blog, Not Such a Model Mum since they launched about a year ago. It has grown from strength to strength over the year and become a go to fashion & beauty blog for a vast number of school run mums. With both a career in modelling, you know that their posts on fashion and beauty are written with solid experience and authority – and most importantly without being patronising to us mere mortals!

Jess and Caroline met in 2003 as they were both signed to the same model agency, and have been friends ever since, despite not liking eachother when they first met!

The strength of their friendship also shines through in the beautiful photos that they use too.

Fast forward to 2010 and they thought we knew what we were doing – until they had children.

 

Coming back to work after having our kids, we realised how much the fashion industry had changed, and how much social media had changed the landscape of the fashion world. Like it or not, social media is here to stay, and if we wanted to stay part of the fashion world, we would have to embrace the change.

They had always spoken about setting something together, and with over three decades of modelling and fashion experience between them, they decided to set up a blog about all the tips they learnt from the fashion professionals, and the idea of NotSuchAModelMum developed from there – a fashion, mother and beauty blog with friendship at the heart.

THEIR 5 SCHOOL RUN MUM MAKE UP TIPS

Iridescent powder.

This neat little trick both brightens and opens the eyes and adds a little glow to otherwise shattered peepers – it works both on camera and most importantly, in real
life, off camera. Using your finger if you are in a rush, or a brush if you have more than two seconds, grab some MAC Mineralise Skinfinish Powder in the Soft and Gentle colour, or some Benefit High Beam and dab it in the inner eye around the tear duct and up slightly in the inner eye lid.

The trick here is to blend, blend, blend and blend some more so that only a subtle trace of the iridescence is left. Illuminating and highlighting this area serves to subtly conceal darkness around the eyes and adds a natural radiance that makes you look like you had at least five hours sleep! Blog post is here

By terry concealer and foundation stick

Covering under eye bags from sleepless nights and giving dull, tired skin an all over, even glow, these two products literally take a minute to apply and can be done whilst running out the front door with the kids in tow. I carry them with me all the time. In fact, they are, thanks to that catalogue shoot, part of my nappy bag essentials. Nappies; wipes; By Terry Light Expert Click Brush foundation; and By Terry Touch Expert Advanced Concealer.

Both products have complicated sounding names when they actually do something really simple. They work. Blog post is here.

The Eve Lom Rescue Mask

This has been around for ages. In the beauty industry, this longevity is the sign of a great product, and a winner in our book.

The clay based formula of this particular mask is packed with natural ingredients, from honey to almonds. The Camphor brightens the complexion and draws out toxins. The mask can be used as part of a weekly routine or for emergency breakouts, which, frankly, when dealing with unhygienic children, are part and parcel of our lives! For more, our blog post is here here

Paula’s Choice Intensive Wrinkle Repair Serum

This is a great night time moisturiser, with a little added punch of Retinol. Retinol sounds like a scary chemical, but is , in fact the chemical name for Vitamin A. Just adding Retinol to your skincare routine has been proven to reduce wrinkles, increase collagen, improve skin tone, texture and dark spots.

All this can be done with minimal effort- just cleanse as always and then add the serum and then slap on your nighttime moisturizer. For more info, our blog post is here

The Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess

This is a bronzer comes in a multitude of colours to suit every skin tone. Blog post is here.

Jessica’s Favourites

Hotel : Ham Yard Hotel, London. I am obsessed with Kit Kemp.

Restaurant : Le Gavroche – old school fine dining at its best.

Website : TheBlondeSalad, Southmoltonstreetstyle, thefashionguitar and London’s Little Thinkers on Instagram.

Shop : Anthropologie, anywhere in the world…an Aladdin’s Cave of fun.

Holiday destination : North Germany- stunning, off the beaten track and paradise in the summer.

Parenting Tip : “Don’t be afraid to cut corners, and don’t beat yourself up. You are doing great. And make time for a manicure and pedicure- this will make you feel amazing.”

Caroline’s Favourites

Hotel : The Treetop apartments at Chewton Glen.

Restaurant : El Nacional in Barcelona

Website : TKMAXX.COM

Shop : Sign of the Times.a little second hand store in Chelsea with the most incredible designer finds.

Holiday Destination : anywhere that has a kids club!

Parenting tip : Don’t forget to get some time for yourself to get a bit of balance back.

Sign up to follow the girls here

Have a fab day xx