Littles Magazine

Long pampering skincare routines and careful make-up applications became a thing of the past when I became a mum. When you have a baby to look after, spending time with him or her naturally takes priority over superficial things and beauty routines become a lot more minimalistic. It’s still important to look after yourself and to pamper yourself if that’s something you enjoy and there are some things that I’ve found make a big difference to the way my skin looks that I can still manage to fit in around looking after my toddler, being pregnant and tired, looking after the house and working from home. 

My Skincare Tips & Essential Products 

1.  Use Eye Cream – I’ve always loved using good quality eye creams as wrinkles around your eyes can age you so much. We can all fit in dabbing a little bit of eye cream on at night before going to bed and see the difference it makes. My absolute favourite eye cream is All About Eyes by Clinique but it’s really expensive at £26.50 so I very rarely buy it. L'Oréal and Olay make great alternatives that are more purse friendly. 
2. The Power of Serums – Using a serum can make a big difference to the quality of your skin and the few seconds it takes to apply it are so worth it. There are even some night creams with serum built in that don’t require any extra time. I’m dreaming of trying Estée Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair serum but that’s way out of my budget. I might treat myself to it when I turn 30 in a couple of years. One of my favourites is a serum and cream duo - Garnier’s UltraLift Swirl 2 in 1 Serum + Cream. It makes my skin so silky and is very affordable around £12 and often on offer in Boots. 
3. Daily SPF – Another thing that keeps skin looking young is using a cream with SPF every day, all year round. My favourite is the Super City Block SPF 40 from Clinique. The tube lasts ages and the formula is tinted but sheer and adds a beautiful glow to your skin. This replaces a tinted moisturiser and I find that I never need to wear foundation when I use this because it improves the look of my skin so much. It’s like a BB cream but better and it’s been on the market for much longer. 
4. Quick Cleanse – If you wear make-up, you need to take it off before going to bed. It can feel like such a huge task at night when you are exhausted and just want to sleep but clean skin is good skin. If you can’t be bothered to do a full cleanse, use a good quality facial wipe like B. Pure Sensitive Micellar Cleansing Wipes (currently only £1 per packet) or a liquid cleanser on cotton wool pads. 
5. Overnight Repair – Some products work magic overnight without much effort like overnight moisturising facial masks that you don’t even have to wash off (like The Body Shop’s Drops Of Youth Bouncy Sleeping Mask). Applying a thick cream to your hands and feet and popping on cotton gloves and socks before going to bed is a great way to pamper your hands and feet while you sleep. I love Skin Food by Weleda – it’s good for everything!

My Make-Up Tips & Essential Products 

Most days, I go without make-up as I think it’s good for my skin and I also think it’s important to be comfortable with your bare face. But on some days when sleep has been particularly bad or if I’m going out to do something exciting, I will apply a little bit of minimal make-up.

1. Base – The first multitasking trick is to use the Super City Block SPF 40 from Clinique mentioned above as it protects my skin from the sun but also evens my skin tone and adds a healthy glow. I’ve been using this product for so many years and I love it. It’s not very tinted at all so you don’t need to worry about blending it like a foundation. Just put it on like a moisturiser. The sheer colour goes with most skin tones too, even really fair ones. 
2. Conceal – Some days, the under eye area requires some help and then I reach for my favourite concealer which is Viva la Diva’s 3 in 1 Cover Concealer. Other brands make trio concealers similar to this one too. A concealer with several shades will allow you to blend them to match your skin colour perfectly which hides dark circles much better. 
3. Blush & Highlight – A little bit of colour to your cheeks and some simple highlighting will make you look healthy and more awake. No7’s Pop & Glow Duo Blush & Shimmer is a product that does both and is really quick and easy to use without any need for brushes. 
4. Tinted Lip Balms – Lipstick is time consuming to apply and you have to keep checking it and reapplying it throughout the day but a tinted lip balm will add a bit of colour without all the hassle. The Body Shop’s Born Lippy stick lip balms are great!
5. Quick Nails – I used to paint my nails in fun colours all the time but when you have a baby you need your hands available at all times and can often not find the time needed for nail polish to dry properly. The only way I can have my nails painted is by using quick dry nail polish. Rimmel London 60 Seconds Super Shine Nail Polish dries in a minute and some shades only need one coat. If you go for a nude shade, chips will not be as noticeable either.

The concept of having it all, is in my opinion a strange one. It's the idea that the woman, the Mother should strive to have an excellent career and a contented family life and that these things should exist in harmonious balance with one another. It's the idea that this is what all women want or at least should want, because its now (apparently) all available to us. 

Ugh. How patronising. 

I'm a full time working mother of one, with a husband who also works full time and co-parents with me in equal measures. Whilst I am not particularly qualified or financially well off, I would go as far as to call my vocation a career because it is specialised and I've been working on it for a long time. Sounds like I've got it sorted doesn't it? Well some days I do, some days we get up, we get ready, I've made lunches the night before and everyone has clean underwear. Some days the toddler fully co-operates, he actually brushes his teeth and he lets us dress him without kicking Daddy in the balls. He's excited to see his Nanny or his friend Lily at nursery and he's bowling out the door with a huge grin on his face. On these days I've straightened my hair, I'm on time, I'm wearing that dress with the little brown belt and there are no ladders in my tights. These are the days that I, by definition look like I 'have it all'. 

Then there are those other days. The ones where I've already bitched at my husband before 7am. The ones where the toddler doesn't have any clean socks and I have to fish some out from under the sofa. When he wants me to give him breakfast and he sets his little table up in the lounge, waiting expectantly only to be told he has to wait until someone else can do it. These are the days when he deliberately wipes his snot up my dress because I didn't find a tissue quick enough. There's no time to make lunches or apply make up or do anything but feel incredibly overwhelmed and inadequate. These are the days that I do not 'have it all'. All I have is a migraine and a crusty bogey stuck to my skirt. 

So I'm redefining this concept of 'having it all' because the current definition doesn't work for me. No one can exist in a constant state of happiness and contentment. You cannot 'have it all', all the time. It's just not realistic. Real life isn't a Disney movie, it's more like The Hunger Games. I think to 'have it all', whether you are the Mother or Father, the man or the woman you need to be, on the whole satisfied with your work, life balance. Whether that means you work full or part time or you stay at home with ​ your children. You've got to ask yourself, am I lucky? Am I doing ok? Are my kids alright, is my family unit generally content and happy? And if you can answer yes to those questions, then my dear, you already have everything you need. You already have it all.

About the author: 

Sarah Aslett 
Admissions of a Working Mother
www.admissionsofaworkingmother.com 

Words by Lucy Sutton-Johanson

Photo credit: Pinterest

I'm at a wedding.

It's the usual predicament of being sat at a table with, mostly, people I don't know.

Small talk is inevitable. _That_ question is inevitable. I can sense it's fast approach…

“So, what do you _do_?”

 I do a lot. I do yoga. I meditate. I write. I paint. I watch clouds. I grow flowers.

And I live with Psoriatic Arthritis.

It started in my right hand. I'm right handed. I was 12. Over the past 20 years it's spread considerably, that's why, if you ask me what I “do” for a living the answer is: nothing. Of course there are jobs I could do, but they are so rare that for most of the past five years, since the arthritis progressed, the answer has been the same. It won't always be the same, but for now it is. And I hate that bloody question.

Except now, my lack of employment has become acceptable, because in October 2014, I became a mum. Oshan Bear was born and at last, I had a job that I was qualified for better than anyone.

The morning he was born, by planned c-section, the surgeon lay him on my chest and we had a long look at each other. “Hey kiddo” I said. “Don't worry, I got this.” He lay his tiny wet head on my breast as if to say “Course you do, Mama. I know you do.”

You might wonder how that works, which mum tasks I struggle with and the honest answer is everything. Almost all my joints are affected, worst are my fingers, toes, jaw, elbow and right knee. And the tiredness. The exhaustion. I often see quotes online about “you don't know tiredness till you have a baby...” and I always want to cross out baby and write in arthritis. My immune system uses up so much energy attacking things that should be left alone that sometimes it's like the strength has been sucked out of my limbs and replaced with pain. My fingers swell up like sausages till they can't bend. The weight of my head is too much for my neck. And this was before baby. Now I have to use those limbs to pick up a two stone toddler (who didn't sleep for the first six months of his life...) That strength doesn't come from my limbs, it comes from my heart. Arthritis doesn't mean I can't do all [most of] the things a little person requires, but it does make them that much harder. Every day is a battle. There's a reason the hash tag for psoriatic arthritis is #PaWarrior.

Of course I have help - not that often, but enough so I don't get totally burnt out. I also have an amazing man by my side, but the reality is one of us has to work, so it's mainly me and Osh, muddling through together, like a little team. If the game has to be “mummy lays on the floor and Oshi pokes things up her nose” then that's the game for an hour.

And just like what people do for a living doesn't define them, arthritis doesn't define me.

People are pretty good at adapting, kids are amazing at it. Oshi won't know any different and I won't be any less of a mum. He will be as played with, as well fed, as loved as any child to a fully able parent.

And as for what I “do”?

Just like all less-able parents - I'm a warrior.

N  a  m  e    c  h  a  n  g  e  ? 

As you may have noticed, we've had a little name change. Instead oh Oh Lilla Magazine, we are now Littles magazine. There were several reasons behind the name change with the main reason being that Oh Lilla just wasn't heading towards the direction we wanted it to go in. Whilst editing Oh Lilla together I focused too much on the little details. It was too cluttered. The name, the content, everything. And so the passion for it seemed to slowly fade and with the new year and fresh start fever we decided it was time to up our game and turn Oh Lilla completely around. A major revamp! So hello and welcome to Littles Magazine. Littles is simple. It's beautifully designed with clean and clear graphics. It focuses a lot on travel and family life as apposed to parenting tips.

T  h  e    n  e  x  t    i  s  s  u  e  ?

So with this change comes issue three. Issue three has been 99% complete for a good month or so now. It's finally 100% finished and has made it's way to the printers. It's being delivered on Monday and we're so excited to share it with you all. As you may have noticed, we have a set theme for each issue - this one being 'FRESH'. In the fresh edition we take a lot at birth stories, newborn photography, fresh recipes, fresh interior and more. It's just generally very.. 'fresh'. 

F  r  e  q  u  e  n  c  y  ?

We've decided to go for quality over quantity. Instead of juggling kids, part time jobs, families and the magazine being published every two months we've decided to publish only four times this year instead. Here are the vague dates: February 1st, May 1st, August 20th, December 1st. Each magazine will be larger in volume but still the same A5 handbag sized - handy! Below is a tiny little preview of what issue three holds. You'll be able to get your hands on it very soon. You can pre-order next Monday 1st February. We're also in the process of redirecting our blog url and changing everything over so do excuse us if we disappear for a day or so.

Firstly we'd like to wish you all a (little late) Happy New Year! We hope 2016 brings you everything you could ever want from the year. We had a small break over the Christmas and New year period but now it's back to work and back to getting everything in place for the release of Issue three. We now have an official release date. February 1st. You'll be able to pre-order before this date so keep an eye out for when that goes live. This issue is entitled 'The Fresh Issue'. Mostly because we had originally planned it's release for Jan 1st, but also because we wanted to focus a lot more on that fresh newborn feeling. We've worked this issue's content around pregnancy, childbirth and that lovely little fresh feeling we all know and love. 

In the mean time we are looking for guest bloggers. We'd like to fill our little space on the internet with fun tips and interesting stories for mums and dads alike to read. If you'd be interested in writing something then please get in touch via: hello@ohlilla.com We'd love to hear from you.