Birchbox is something I often go back and forth with – falling in and out of love.

My recent approach has been to re-subscribe when I see something I’d like to try in the spoilers and then discontinue it afterwards.

I’ve been getting on better with the Latest in Beauty box – where you select the products yourself from a list – but I missed the element of surprise a little too. When I saw that Birchbox were offering a Smith & Cult lip gloss plus the new Benefit mascara in the March box, I resubbed.

But first came the February box…

Each box was themed after a decade this month, and you had the option to select 70s, 80s or 90s. I went for the 80s box but they sent me the 70s flower-patterned one instead. I don’t know if the contents were different or just the box design.

When it comes to beauty,  like a lot of things in life, I’m a person of two extremes. I either buy nothing for ages, or I get lots of stuff all at once. I’m either fresh-faced or in full-on war paint. And I’m just as happy doing drugstore or luxury.

Both ends of the spectrum have amazing products, and both provide a different kind of pleasure to me.

This month, I’ve ended up with some gorgeous luxury beauty items- a couple of Christmas gifts that I hadn’t got around to using yet, and then a couple of orders with Cult Beauty and Space NK and here we are!

There’s never enough time for everything. That’s my overwhelming feeling about combining motherhood and full-time work, like I do. Something is always falling behind. It's a constant process of playing catch-up and trying to find compromises and solutions.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it's that there is such a thing as ‘work-life balance’ - but that it isn’t a steady state that you reach one day, like the summit of a mountain. It's a constant, ongoing back-and-forth shuffle of micro-adjustments and trying things that don’t work - or sometimes do.

Some days you feel like you’ve got it nailed. Other days everything is a failure. And learning to accept that ebb and flow can be a significant challenge when we’re all fixed on this mythos of ‘having it all’.  You can have it all - just not all the time.

Take the fleeting moments of victory when the tides are in your favour and block out the days when you missed that report deadline, your toddler point-blank refused to get dressed and there’s yoghurt smeared all over the sofa. It's the only way.

Having said that, there are some practical tips that work for me - and perhaps will work for you too. These I’ve come across through a combination of internet research, asking other mums who seem to have their act together, and trial and error myself.

So I’ve decided to run a mini series of posts on some aspects of it that are interesting - how to keep up some kind of beauty routine, a half-decent wardrobe and a house that isn’t total chaos while also catering to the demands of two CEOs - the one in the boardroom and the one in the highchair at home.

Kiehl’s is one of those skincare super-brands beloved by makeup; artists and celebrities, that you constantly hear great things about and yet...I've never tried a single one of their products.

I know, I know...bad beauty blogger, right? Somehow, I’ve just never worked my way around to it, despite my nearest city being blessed with a shiny Kiehl’s store. I didn’t really know much about the brand, but I had the perfect opportunity to find out when I got invited along to a blogger’s evening they’d kindly arranged.