Bloom & Blossom Mother & Baby products

With the announcement yesterday that yet another old girlfriend is happily pregnant, I have barely a friend left in London or New York who isn't in possession of a bump or babies. On the plus side, it also means I have an army of willing volunteers to try out mother & baby products for LLG. That's because I won't run any beauty product on here unless it's been used but, given my resolutely single & child free status, there's not much point in me using stretch mark cream & nipple balm.

So a few weeks ago I arranged for the hero products from the lovely looking new mother & baby range Bloom & Blossom to be dropped off at my friend Ayla's London house. She's due to drop her second infant at the end of the month, so is perfectly placed for massaging unguents into her skin in between stopping her firstborn massaging carrots into her hair.

The background:
The Bloom & Blossom collection's USP is that it uses only the absolute essential number of ingredients in each product - no filling out their jars with cheap mystery ingredients with unpronouncable names - to reassure mothers that the products are completely safe for babies. For complete transparency, each product has a description of what each ingredient is, why it has been selected and what it delivers. The makers claim that with an active ingredient inclusion level of between 5-10%, their products are some of the most effective on the market. For mothers looking to keep both their pregnancy and their baby as clean as possible, there are no parabens, SLS, petrochemicals, synthetic fragrances or colourants in any of the range.

ANTI STRETCH MARK CREAM £18.00 (150ml) Total number of ingredients =12
Omega rich shea butter & cocoa butter help restore skin tone and provide a protective barrier to lock in skin’s moisture.There's a 10% blend of the active ingredients horsetail leaf extract and chasteberry

Ayla's thoughts: This has a strong expensively natural herbal smell. It has a nice texture, although it left my skin feeling a bit sticky whilst the product absorbed for about half an hour. There's a noticeable moisturising effect, and it contains exactly the natural products you would look for in a stretch mark cream.

SOOTHING NIPPLE BALM £11.00 (30ml) Total number of ingredients =5
This will help heal and protect sore nipples. It contains a 5% blend of the active ingredient organic passionflower extract and is safe to use during breast feeding. It can also be used to help treat other sore skin conditions, such as dry and chapped skin and lips

Ayla's thoughts: The packaging is gorgeous and it looks and smells really good. I tested it out as a lip balm too and it was very effective.

REVITALISING LEG & FOOT SPRAY £9.00 (100ml) Total number of ingredients = 11
Formulated to alleviate water retention and to refresh tired and heavy legs, swollen ankles and feet. The collagen boosting properties of aloe vera and tangerine leaf oil also improve skin tone. It contains a 10% blend of the active ingredients horse chestnut seed and yellow sweet clover extracts.

Ayla's thoughts: If you like a strong herbal-y, citrus-y, wood-y smell to revive tired limbs, then the Leg/Foot Revive Spray is perfect. It is very moisturizing so it does leave your legs a little tacky afterwards. I used a spray all through my last pregnancy which was invaluable and I recommend them.

Ayla's summary: The products all do exactly what they promise. They seem very natural and well thought out and I think the packaging and presentation is gorgeous. The whole range ( & I notice they do gift sets) would make wonderful presents for first time mothers who have a bit more time to spend pampering themselves than harrassed second timers! The price point is less than other premium ranges on the market, which makes it very attractive but obviously it is more expensive than the basic products out there. If this had been on the market during my first pregnancy I would have bought it all.

www.bloomandblossom.com