Jul 21 2014

Natures Purest Eton Review

Posted on July 21, 2014 by admin

In the pretty and historic town of Eton, on the cobbled High Street nestled within a quintessentially English, Tudor beamed building, you’ll find a beautiful little baby shop. If you’re a mummy and baby brand addict (like moi) you’ll have heard the name before - Natures Purest (Eton).

There’s something so utterly soothing about shopping for baby. It’s a tactile and sensory experience. You’ll want to stroke every single babygrow, cuddle their first soft toy, and smell that first blanket. Baby shops should therefore look like your burgeoning nursery; immaculate, cosy and calming. Natures Purest in Eton is the absolute epitome of this. Every single nook and cranny has something beautiful and soft to fawn over. I defy any mum-to-be to walk in and not have to be prised away by their partner, shopping bags in hand.

The Natures Purest brand is synonymous with just that - nature’s purest. Every single one of their special products is born in Sri Lanka and all boast a reassuring garments without guilt certification proving that they are made to the highest ethical labour standards. But the crystal in the crown is the fact that every single thing in that dreamy little store is as pure and as soft as your babies skin.

No dyes. No bleach. No chemical pesticides. No heavy metals. No formaldehyde. No chlorinated phenols. No chloro-organic carriers. No biologically active finishes. Just 100% Natural and Pure

The first thing you’ll notice is the muted colours - expect creams and hues of brown and green. This is the colour of untouched unaltered cotton and it’s absolutely perfect for a breathtaking nursery to house a little boy or girl.

I was sent the sweetest and softest presents for Heidi by curator and director of Natures Purest Eton, the lovely Harina. Now I’m simply hooked. I love every single item of clothing, every single impossibly soft blanket, every single pair dinky of booties, all their wonderfully textured toys… everything.

First up Heidi received a beautiful heart adorned bamboo pram blanket in soft cream. Taking it out from its pretty little giftbox, it felt like silk and slipped through my fingers. This is so soft, and so lightweight it is the perfect blanket for this warm weather we’re experiencing.

Where babies can’t regulate their skin, Heidi-Bum was sleeping lighter than usual, waking for feeds and cuddles at 2am and sometimes again at 5am. We were so careful not to pile on layers and make her cot as unfussy as possible, that she was getting a little chilly in the wee hours.

Her new blanket has given us such peace of mind. We can lay her down in a little vest top and wrap her up in her pretty blanket. The natural cotton is entirely breathable and allows complete freedom of movement. She’s so comfortable in it that her sleep has been deeper and she’s perfectly still when she sleeps.

Bamboo has heaps of great properties. It’s antibacterial, offers UV protection and is 100% sustainable. For the quality alone, it’s worth every penny of its £28 price tag and I’d recommend it wholeheartedly. It’s simply the best blanket I’ve ever owned for either child.

Next, Heidi was sent an adorable sleepy sheepy sleepsuit in super soft organically grown naturally coloured cotton. This is a little big for her right now (3-6 months) but I couldn’t resist having her model it.

There’s gorgeous detailing on this sleepsuit and the little sheep with his furry ears and tuft of hair peeks through from Heidi’s tummy. Despite this, there are no rough inside seams and the suit is perfectly soft against Heidi’s skin. With tiny integrated feet, it will eventually fit snugly against her skin and give her warmth in the winter months, and allow her skin to breath if we’re still in the grips of this heatwave.

The cotton also washes beautifully with no bobbling, and holds its shape beautifully. I really believe you get what you pay for with babygrows, and investing in 3 or 4 quality pieces per clothing stage will fare miles better than dozens of packs from a supermarket. At £18, this sleepsuit is expensive, but it is the purest and most natural sleepsuit your baby will own and there’s a notable difference in quality.

Finally we were sent this adorable velour summer jacket for the cooler evenings. There’s no fastenings, it’s just a simple shrug to keep baby warm in the night air. This is slightly too big for her at the moment but will be the perfect size for taking away with us to Egypt over the Christmas period.

It’s so supremely soft and the muted colour will look perfect with any outfit. There’s subtle branding but otherwise it’s simple, understated and unfussy so Heidi can fall asleep in it comfortably without starchy collars and cuffs.

At £20, this is reasonable for such a versatile jacket that will last your baby all throughout the summer months.

If you want to see more of the products available at Natures Purest Eton, you can check out all the products online at www.naturespurest.co.uk - If you see anything you like, you can contact Harina to place a mail order:

Tel: 01753 868724
Email: eton@natures-purest.co.uk

Or pop into the store: 98 High Street, Eton, Berkshire, SL4 6AF

Fancy a 10% discount, and free delivery?

Quote MMB10 when you place any order with the Eton store (either by phone or email, or in-store)*

Finally, for more inspiration (as if you needed any!) give the store a like and follow on Facebook and Twitter!

*not available on the Natures Purest website

Jul 17 2014

Getting it Right: The Canvas Prints Review

Posted on July 17, 2014 by admin

I love taking photos of my little people. To me, they’re the most beautiful children in the world and when I catch them just right they take my breath away. Everyday they seem to change so taking photos is my way of preserving the memory of them in that moment, on that day, and at that stage in their lives.

Whenever I get a really special photo, I can’t resist getting it made into a canvas. We have them in every room of the house and Dexter even has his own vanity wall in his bedroom. It’s very rare however that we get a picture worthy of canvassing with mummy or daddy in. We just can’t compete with our beautiful kids! So a few weeks back, when I managed to take the perfect selfie of Heidi and I, I went for it.

We used a new printer this time - The Canvas Prints. They contacted me over email to see if I’d like to trial their services and it turned out to be perfect timing.

I was pretty impressed with their website. It’s slick and very user-friendly. There was none of the usual fussy options and the upload function was fast and uncomplicated. You can pull images from Instagram, Facebook, G+ or your computer so you don’t need to save to your desktop in order to get them to the editing suite. Simple.

The editing suite is simplicity itself. You pick your size, fiddle with the effects (optional) then preview it. If you opted for a solid block colour wrap, you also have the option of which colour you want (big plus here as this is very often limited to black and white). I was also pleased to see that the price is always clearly displayed throughout your session.

But this is why you should really choose them

Delivery is within 2-5 days after your order is submitted
The quality is astounding
The prices are the best I’ve seen

I couldn’t believe it when my canvas arrived so quickly. It was incredibly well packaged in a snug cardboard box, with corner inserts and a plastic cover to keep it pristine during delivery.

The quality is also unrivaled in my opinion. I’ve used so many different canvas businesses in my time and I just can’t fault this one. It’s tightly wrapped and incredibly neat on the underside. The staples are perfectly aligned and covered with masking tape to protect your walls, and there’s a picture hook so you’re ready to hang it immediately.

The image itself is crisp and high res, and there’s no colour fading or blurring. Okay, the picture was taken on my Canon so you’d expect nothing less, but it’s surprising how many canvasses I receive with minor imperfections. Not so with The Canvas Prints, it’s just so well executed.

My print (16″x16″) is just £32.00. Comparing this to sites such as Photobox (£74.99), Picanova (£37.40), and Your Image on Canvas (£44.99), that’s a significant saving, even without taking into account the superior quality.

If you’d like to check them out for yourself the website is www.thecanvasprints.co.uk - you won’t find anywhere better.

Jul 16 2014

Tommee Tippee Electric Steam Steriliser Review

Posted on July 16, 2014 by admin

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Let’s face it, sterilising bottles is one of the biggest faffs you have to contend with as a new parent. With guidelines changing every five minutes, bottle-feeding mamas don’t seem to stand a chance of keeping up. As if it wasn’t stressful enough getting to know your new baby and trying to piece together a routine, feeding times involve a punishing ritual of washing up, sterilising, boiling water, and mixing feeds.

Even if you’re breastfeeding, there’s still a surprising amount of baby paraphernalia that will require the bacteria-zapping treatment (think dummies, breast pump parts, medicine spoons… the list is endless). Milton steriliser tabs are great short term solution for hospital stays or holidays, but for day-to-day sterilising you need the convenience of an electric steriliser or you’re likely to lose the will to live.

Tommee Tippee Electric Steam Steriliser

I’ve had dozens of electric sterilisers in my time but none come close to the Tommee Tippee Electric Steam Steriliser. I’m not just saying this because I’m a TT Mumb@ssador, I’m perfectly brave enough to call a spade a spade. I’m saying it because it’s absolutely true. And to prove it, I’m going against the grain and am going to share exactly why it kicks butt… against its two biggest rivals; The Philips Avent 3-in-1 Electric Steam Steriliser and Dr Brown’s Deluxe Electric Steriliser.

It’s HUGE

Not huge as in ‘takes over’ your kitchen, it’s actually far more slimline than the Dr Brown’s. No, by huge I mean you’re able to sterilise 6x chunky bottles (of virtually any brand) in one hit. Other sterilisers will claim to do the same thing, but as their own-brand bottles are smaller than Tommee Tippee’s, you might not be able to sterilise all your bottles if you have various makes.

Sterilising 6 bottles in one go is a godsend. You might be following the guidelines of your preferred formula to the letter, but your baby is bound to have other ideas. For example, Heidi is supposed to have 5x 180mls feeds per day, but she’ll often decline a bottle halfway through. This means she can make her way through 8x bottles easily in one 24 hour period. The more I can sterilise in one go, the better.

Tommee Tippee Electric Steam Steriliser

It’s SPEEDY

With the above in mind, you might be thinking you’d have to be incredibly disorganised to get caught short with no clean bottles. Well, I’m incredibly disorganised.

There is nothing worse in this life than being woken up by a hungry baby at 4am, making your way downstairs in the pitch black, changing a nappy with your finger in your little one’s mouth to stop the screaming, rushing into the kitchen to grab a bottle, and… there’s no clean bottles.

The Tommee Tippee Electric Steam Steriliser can sterilise 6 bottles in just 5 minutes (as a quick comparison, Dr Brown’s takes a whopping 12 minutes). So a quick dunk and scrub in the washing up bowl, a speedy rinse with cold water, then plopping them into the steriliser, and you could have the whole lot done in under 15 minutes. Trust me, this is important when your baby is hysterical in the dead of the night.

Bottles stay sterilised for 24 HOURS

No explanation needed on this one. I bet you a fiver you can’t make 6 bottles last a full day anyway.

Easy to use with no gimmicks

The Dr Brown’s sterilser is highly rated, but in my opinion, is a massive faff. You don’t need trays galore to sterilise bottles, you just need something that works.

Tommee Tippee Electric Steam Steriliser

The Tommee Tippee Electric Steam Steriliser couldn’t be simpler. Bottles go upside down, a tray goes on top, the lids and teats sit on the top shelf. Simple.

Fine, the Philips Avent props is intriguing as it’s adjustable in height and width, but I can’t see why this is so great. You have to face facts that when you have a baby, your steriliser is a tool of the trade. It should have pride of place in the kitchen and you will be using it regularly. Why would you bother reducing its size purely to sterilise soothers?

There are extras!

Included inside you get a Closer to Nature Easi-Vent 150ml Baby Bottle, a 0-3m Pure Soother, and some teat tongs. This means you’re ready to go the second you whip it out of the box.

Best of all… Price

Not just price, but value for money. Tommee Tippee just blows its competitor out of the water.

Philips Avent 3-in-1 Electric Steam Steriliser = £60.00

Dr Brown’s Deluxe Electric Steriliser = £52.20

Tommee Tippee Electric Steam Steriliser = £46.99 (…and the bottles are cheaper too!)

Need I say more…?

To find out more visit tommee.tippee.co.uk or connect with the brand on Facebook and Twitter

This Tommee Tippee Electric Steam Steriliser review, is brought to you as part of a series of reviews as brought about by our involvement in the TT Mumb@ssador scheme. This product was provided to me free of charge in exchange for my opinion.