​With Valentine's Day and Mother's Day coming up soon, I thought it would be perfect time to mention a fab local business that is both unique and ideal for busy Marylebone Mums. 

Au sujet De Vert (http://ausujetdevert.com) is a new online natural & organic beauty boutique with a personalised touch -  free hand delivery in London W1 (Marylebone, Soho & Mayfair).  They stock niche natural &organic beauty brands, which include: CÎME skincare, Lyonsleaf, Tabitha James Kraan, Vedani Botanicals, Hairy Jayne Handmade, Carishea, Ermana Natural Skincare, Rossi Uvema.

Shubana, who runs the site, started a beauty blog, berries beauty, a couple of years ago mostly based on natural and organic products.  She suffered from sensitive skin and allergies so says the blog helped her to understand how to control and treat her skin better the natural and organic way.  A couple of years later and having discovered lots of lovely brands she decided to start a shop. She is based in Marylebone so can offer free hand delivery in London W1.
The brands she has chosen are mostly by small, niche companies that have amazing products and are relatively yet undiscovered and she will be adding more brands in the coming months.

There are brand bios on the website so you can learn more about what makes each of them unique. A great example is Cime Skincare for which they are the only UK stockist - the l'huile by Cime product sounds amazing and might creep onto my wishlist soon.  

One of the brands, Rossi Uvena, kindly sent over a sample of the Rice Bran & Borage Face Cleansing Oil for me to try.

It was perfect timing as the recent cold snap has meant my skin was getting quite dry and flaky in places so I thought a change of cleanser would be a good idea. I had heard of oil cleansing but had never tried it as the concept of cleansing with an oil seemed... wrong! But of course, I was wrong. Not only does this cleanser do a great job as a cleanser (obviously), but it also made my skin feel a lot less "stripped" compared to my usual products, yet clean at the same time. It has also made my skin feel softer. I was worried about using a oil as I can get blocked pores and congestion but the lightness of the oil has meant no issues for me so far. The smell is lovely - just a natural light natural smell, and of course no nasty parabens, SLS, SLES, petroleum derivatives and other nasties that are in most mass market products and that we really should be trying to avoid putting in/on our bodies.

I'm not a beauty blogger, but I do like to sometimes treat myself and I have already spotted Lyonsleaf Calendula Cream (I love calendula cream - normally from Ainsworths Homeopathic pharmacy as I use it on the little one's skin too - as it calms and soothes any skin blemish or rash), some lovely soaps from various brands that would be great both for the home and also as gifts, Hairy Jayne hair perfume (my bad habit is brushing perfume through my hair which I am sure is not good for it), and the Rossi Uvema face masks (I love a good face mask and a great excuse for a quiet lie down). The price points across the website are also very reasonable. 

Marylebone Library is holding an open day event this Saturday with some fun activities for children to participate in.

Saturday 30th January – Marylebone Library Open Day
 
10.30am          National Story Telling Week Celebration. A children’s craft activity
11am               Dr Bike Free bike checks
12.30pm          Football Fun. Toddler football activity session.
2pm                 Understanding our Friendly Cat: Why do cats hunt for fun? Do cats need friends? An interactive talk for everyone, and a craft activity for children. Free goodies. Session led by the Cats Protection League
 
For more information contact the library; telephone 020 7641 1300; email marylebonelibrary@westminster.gov.uk ; address Marylebone Library, Macintosh House, 54 Beaumont Street, W1G 6DW.
 

A reminder that the next meet-up will be on Wednesday 20th January from 10am until 12pm at Reform Social on Mandeville Place, London W1U 2BE. 

​See you there!

aA local mum has passed on a couple of surveys that are running and could be of interest to residents in the Marylebone and surrounding areas. 
The first survey is about rough sleeping in the area SURVEY

• The second is about shish smoking SURVEY

Reminder 1 - don't forget our coffee morning from 10am till 12 on Wednesday 20th January at Reform Social. Mums, dads, carers, mums to be all welcome (and kids, of course!)

Reminder 2 - the fabulous Amanda's Action Club is starting on Wednesday 27th January at 3.30pm at St Paul's Church, Rossmore Road. Sign up on Amanda's website ​http://amandasactionclub.co.uk in the London section to get a free trial. 

Reminder 3 - if there is info that you'd find useful that isn't on the website, please get in touch!

The next meet-up will be on Wednesday 20th January from 10am until 12pm at Reform Social on Mandeville Place, London W1U 2BE. 

This year I am hoping to be able to run the meet-ups in some more interesting locations than Costa (no offence Costa, you are great!), and Reform very kindly encouraged us to come along and try their space. 

Remember you can join our Whatsapp group to keep in touch with what's going on - email me at marylebonemums@gmail.com to join

Marylebone Community Choir, and I would like to invite all Marylebone mums and dads to the first rehearsal of the term, on Tuesday 12th January 2016.

Marylebone Community Choir are a non-auditioned choir who love to have fun through singing! Whether you're a seasoned show singer or an enthusiastic shower singer, everyone is welcome at MCC! They perform a mixture of Pop and Gospel music, from artists such as John Legend, Kirk Franklin and Coldplay.

Rehearsals are from 7-9pm on Tuesdays at:
St Marylebone Church of England School
64 Marylebone High Street
London
W1U 5BA
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