Beauty boxes have long been a favourite indulgence of mine.

As a make-up junkie, the idea of a surprise box full of beauty treats popping through the letterbox each month is too good to resist. I love to make new discoveries and also to have and endless supply of minis to take on holiday with me!

Skin, hair and nails are all essential elements in making us look and feel good, but we face a daily battle from the outside environment, UV rays and pollutants when it comes to keeping them in good condition.

You may think that unless you have a hefty budget, great personal care routines are out of reach, but that couldn't be further from the truth. A few simple routines will keep your skin glowing and your hair well conditioned, and they don't have to cost the earth.

The changes below are easy to make - and they've all been scientifically proven to help you look your best.

So let's talk all things make-up.

It feels like quite a while since I did a post purely focused on the new products which are rocking my world, and there's a few things I've been trying lately that I've really enjoyed and come to rely on.

As a mum of two, I'm short on time but still quite fussy, so I tend to like products that offer multiple benefits in one hit.

Getting my glam on has always been a part of my identity and motherhood hasn't changed that. I still love to make new discoveries when it comes to skincare, hair and makeup but equally, I know what I like.

There's a word I learned recently that I love. I had never heard it until a couple of months ago, but instantly, instinctively, it made sense to me.

That word is ‘matrescence’, and what it refers to is the process of becoming a mother - like the birth equivalent of ‘adolescence’. There are a lot of parallels, really - both emotionally stormy times when your life (and your body) is transforming beyond recognition.

I believe this word should be more widely known, because it acknowledges the journey that you have to go through to earn your motherhood crown.

Being a mama is more than just the biological accident of reproduction. It's a hard earned process of growth, a story of sacrifice, ingenuity and learning to love harder than you ever thought possible.

It's time for a little personal update, and I wanted to do a post about the milestones that my daughter, Romilly Hero, has reached.

I've never been good at filling out baby books, so it seems a nice way to record how she is now she's reached six months old.

The last six months have been the quickest of my life. Having two kids to take care of is a game changer because every minute of the day is pretty busy! So much has changed already and I'm actually now thinking about going back to work in a few months.

It's made me determined to really enjoy the rest of my maternity leave, and I've been lucky enough to make some really lovely mama friends along the way - people I know I would be friends with even if there weren't kids in common.