Happy New Year - My First Blog Post Of 2024

 

Welcome back and Happy New Year! 

This is my first blog post of 2024. I was going to post one of my "Accessible Adventures" blog posts following on from my last post, but it didn't feel right not saying Happy New Year to you all. 

I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas, however you spend it and celebrate it, and a good new year so far too, here's hoping for a happy, healthy 2024 for us all. 

I don't really make resolutions, I do have some things I'd like to do/change in 2024 and I might do a post on those if that's something you'd be interested in me doing? I have a new planner on the way too, I've not had this style of planner before so once it arrives, if it's good, I'll let you know. 

2023 was the hardest year of my life and the best year of my life, so I feel rather strange about it. 

Moving Forward With Mammafulzo

I have some ideas for my blog in 2024, some topics I'd like to cover and certain types of blog posts I'd like to include, but most important to me, is your opinion, those of you who read my blog. So I would love to know, what would you like to see on my blog in 2024? 

Also, I do upload video content to my Instagram account, and I would like to add some different content there too, I am going to pop a question box up on my Instagram stories when this post goes live, but if you prefer, you can leave your suggestions in the comments below, or contact me on social media I'm @mammafulzo on everything, or please feel free to email me. 

I'm not going to ramble, shock I know!! I just wanted to say Happy New Year and for you to let me know what you'd like to see on Mammafulzo in 2024. 

Thank you for all your support and kindness in 2023, you helped me when you didn't know you were and I appreciate it so much more than you know. 

Thank you for reading

Zoë x

I Have Some News: Unveiling My Latest Blog Series!

Hello, welcome back to those who are regular readers of my blog, and welcome if it's your first time reading my blog, it's lovely to have you here. 

Today I have some news, I am going to be writing a series "Accessible Adventures" all about accessibility within venues, tourist attractions and basically anywhere I visit.  I feel there is definitely a need for honest reviews surrounding accessibility, especially from those who require it. 

If you are new around here, or if you're not but aren't aware, I'll explain a little about me and why this series is important to me. 

A Bit About Me

I won't go into mass detail but just to give you a bit of background, I suffer from some extremely serious, incurable and life-changing medical conditions. These medical conditions affect both my physical and mental well-being and have a debilitating effect on me daily, because of this when I go out,  I rely on crutches and a wheelchair as mobility aids and I use several other adaptations and equipment to help me day to day. My wheelchair was specially designed for me by Wheelchair Services after being referred to them by my Neurologist and is a self-propelled type of wheelchair. While the wheelchair is a self-propelled wheelchair, the effects of my medical conditions, unfortunately, prevent me from being able to self-propel it, meaning I need the assistance of someone to push me, this is usually my youngest daughter or my partner.

When I visited Wheelchair Services, they explained that it is much easier for the person pushing the wheelchair to push a self-propelled wheelchair than it is to push one that isn't, it is something to do with the wheels being much bigger making it easier for the person pushing and more comfortable for the wheelchair user, I thought this was worth mentioning in case anyone reading is looking to get a wheelchair or someone you know is. 

Why The New Blog Series?

Since being disabled, I have noticed so much that the world isn't always as suitable for wheelchair users and other mobility aid users as it should be. This said I have been making notes when I have been attending anything from events and tourist attractions to going away for a weekend or on holiday and even disabled toilet facilities.

This is where my new blog series, "Accessible Adventures", was born, I decided that being a blogger, I could write about my experiences, and it would hopefully be useful for others.  I always search to find out what the accessibility is like at places I am going to visit, and sometimes I'll read good reviews, and then it's completely different when I visit, I had that recently at one of our family Christmas trips out, and that really spurred me on to start my series.

Any Requests Or Questions?

If there are any specific requests you have or questions, please feel free to either leave them below in the comments section, or email me at mammaful@gmail.com, my social media accounts are all @mammafulzo too if that's easier for you,  but please do let me know, I want to be as helpful as I possibly can. 

 Thank you for reading

Zoë x

Fall Fabulous: Autumn Lip Care with Blistex Infusions

AD - PR Products

Welcome back, 

The weather has definitely gotten colder recently and with the colder climate usually comes cracked, sore and dry lips. So when I was asked if I would like to try out the Blistex Infusions lip care range I didn't need asking twice. 

Who Are Blistex? 

Blistex was founded in 1947 as a small, family-run company in the business of developing and marketing lip care products, primarily in the United States. The brand existed to create quality products, achieve consistent growth and become an innovative leader in lip care and is now available in over 80 countries worldwide and is today run by the third generation of the founding family. 

Blistex Lip Infusions.

The Blistex Lip Infusions were launched a couple of years ago but have recently revamped their packaging to make it more sustainable by removing all plastics and replacing them with sustainably sourced cardboard.  

There are 4 different types of the Blistex Infusions, they are:

Hydration

Nourish

Restore

Soothing

Blistex Infusions L-R: Restore, Soothing, Hydration & Nourish

Each of the lip infusions is aimed at a different need and comes in bright coloured packaging which I love.  They don't feel sticky or tacky, they are all comfortable to wear and are affordable with prices ranging from £1.99 - £2.99.

Hydration:

Hydration offers 24-hr hydration and has been clinically tested for its long-lasting effects.

• Infused with Hyaluronic spheres to lock in moisture.
• Fortified with Vitamins E & F to soften and smooth.
• Contains SPF 15 to protect against the sun’s harmful UVB rays.  

Hydration has a subtle citrus/zesty kind of scent and feels very light but moisturising on the lips, it lasts really well and is brilliant to keep in your handbag or pocket to use throughout the day when needed. 

Nourish: 

Nourish has been created using nutrient- enriched botanical oils and vitamin E, to deliver concentrated nourishment for luxuriously smooth lips.

• The ceramide enhanced formula helps retain moisture leaving lips supple and smooth.
• With natural beeswax and coconut oil to moisturise and protect lips.
• Contains SPF 15 to protect against the sun’s harmful UVB rays.

Nourish has a sweet scent and feels very nice on the lips, the name speaks for itself, it is nourishing and perfect if your lips are feeling dry or chapped, I love the added SPF too. 

Restore:

Infused with ‘squalane’, a hydrator known to help replenish the skin’s moisture barrier.

Fortified with ‘allantoin’, known to provide gentle and nonabrasive exfoliation that softens and smooths lips.

Dermatologist approved.

Another sweet scent and feels lovely on the lips, this is great if your lips have been particularly sore or chapped, as it contains allantoin a natural exfoliator so it smooths them as well as repairing the moisture barrier.  

Soothing:

 Soothing has been designed to be gentle on lips but tough on dryness.

• Infused with Cucumber seed oil and calendula, known for their soothing properties.
• With natural beeswax and coconut oil to moisturise and protect lips.
• Dermatologically approved.

This has a lovely fresh scent with a hint of fruit, it's lovely and feels so nice on the lips, it's brilliant if your lips are sore as it feels lovely and definitely sooths them but also moisturises them too so is brilliant for dryness. 

Overall Thoughts & Where To Buy: 

I really enjoyed using all 4 of the lip infusions, they all feel very comfortable on the lips, not sticky or tacky, I wore them all under and over lip sticks and all were fine, but my favourite for under lipstick has to be the Soothing lip balm, it is really nice under the matte liquid lipsticks I have that can feel really drying. 

All the balms last really well and kept my lips feeling soft and moisturised for a long time before I felt I needed to re apply. I am lucky that I don't suffer from dry or sore lips often but after starting a new medication, my skin including my lips have been dry, and the balms have been brilliant. I thought my girls and Simon would be my guinea pigs and I'd ask them to try these for me, but I have used them all and really like them.   

It's hard to pick a favourite as I like them all, but if forced to choose, I think I would go for Nourish, or maybe Soothing, thats 2 but I did say it would be hard to pick one. 

Overall, I really liked all of the Blistex Infusions and think they'd be a great addition for the Autumn/Winter months or anytime depending on your preferences. Mine are already ready to go and I will no doubt be making good use out of them over the next few months and under certain lipsticks I have too. 

If you suffer from dry, sore or chapped lips and if like me you like to apply a lip balm under a more drying liquid lipstick, give these a whirl, you wont regret it I promise. 

You can buy the Blistex Infusions at Boots HERE or Superdrug HERE and also at Sainsbury's  HERE, they are also sold in Tesco, Ocado and Morrisons. 

Do you suffer from sore, cracked or chapped lips? Have you tried the Blistex Infusions range? If not, do you think you might?

Thank you for reading

Zoë x

Unless otherwise specified in the post, please note that the products featured on Mammafulzo are provided as PR products. Additionally, some of the links used may be affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission, but it won't incur any additional cost to you or affect your purchase in any way.

Christmas in October: Kickstart Your Christmas Shopping with Must-Have Deals at the Argos Toy Sale

 

All the images in todays post apart from the one above are taken from the Argos website. 

Welcome back, 

Today I have a blog post about the Argos toy sale, there are some brilliant deals, some half price, some 25% or 30% and some other deals such as 2 for £15.00 amongst others, there really are some brilliant deals to be had. I thought I would share 10 toys that I saw with you today,  I could have shared so many more,  but I thought 10 would be enough, but you can check out all the deals on the toys yourself by clicking HERE.

Baby Annabel Doll - WAS £65.00 now £48.75  

My youngest daughter loved Baby Annabel when she was a little girl and she got so many years of fun with hers, she adored her. I thought this was a good saving of 25% off, especially when they are £65.00 full price.

If you would like to pick one up, you can get yours by clicking HERE.

Chad Valley Lights & Sound Construction Playset - WAS £40.00 now £26.50

I thought this was a good price, theres a third off and this would make a brilliant gift, it has lights and sounds and comes with a mat to protect your surfaces or floor too. 

If you would like one, you can pick one up by clicking HERE.

Chad Valley Stacking Ball Drop - WAS £10.00 now £5.00

This is a cute gift if you have a baby to buy for this Christmas or for any occasion and it's half price too which is a great deal. 

If you would like to purchase one, you can do so by clicking HERE.

Baby Born Walk In Dolls Shower - WAS £57.00 now £28.50

How cute is this? I love how the shower works and water comes out, you don't have to use a baby born dolly with this, any dolly that is hard bodied and can get wet would be suitable to play with this, and at half price it's a good time to buy.

If you would like to buy the Baby Born walk in shower, you can do so by clicking HERE.

Chad Valley Deluxe 5 Level Garage & Cars Set - WAS £60.00 now £30.00

This is another half price bargain and comes with 10 cars too, the lift is a working lift and theres a car wash, petrol pump, ramp, road and lots of other things that make this a great gift idea for any child who loves to play cars, and at half price it's a brilliant time to buy. 

If you have someone who'd love this, you can buy it by clicking HERE.

Chad Valley Discovery Ball & Giraffe - WAS £11.00 now £5.50

This cute little two pack of baby toys for babies aged 6 months and older is another half price deal, two toys for £5.50 I think is a good price and things like this can be split if you have two babies to buy gifts for. These type of toys are good to develop hand eye coordination and brain stimulation and keep little ones amused. 

If you would like to pick them up, you can do so by clicking HERE.

Bluey S7 Adventure School Exclusive Playset - WAS £60.00 now £30.00 

This Bluey toy is an Exclusive Pack and includes the transforming School Playset and the Brisbane Adventure Bus. Plus six figures, they are Bluey, Bingo, Chloe, Snickers, Coco and their teacher Calypso, plus you get some accessories and it opens out into 3 play areas. This is one of the half price offers and to be honest I was surprised at the original price, and think if this is on a wishlist of a child you buy gifts for, I'd get it whilst it's half price. 

If you want to pick the Bluey school adventure set up, you can do by clicking HERE.

Playmobil 71233 City Action Fire Engine WAS £30.00 now £20.00

My friends little one would love this, she loves trucks, buses anything like that, she reads my blog so I would imagine she'll be thrilled to see this! Theres a third off making a £10.00 discount, Playmobil is a little expensive in my humble opinion so to have that money off makes it a better price. The fire engine has working lights and sirens and the water pump on the roof works too, there are two figures with the set and some accessories too. I did notice there were some smaller sets that would go well with this in the two for £15.00 range too you can find those HERE and HERE, these were £10 and £11 each previously. 

You can pick the Playmobil fire engine up by clicking HERE.

Bluey Table Top Easel - WAS £15.00 now £7.50 

This is a great little gift idea and is half price too, the easel has clips on one side to use as an easel and on the other side is a chalk board, it includes crayons, chalk, stickers and colouring sheets which can be stored inside the easel, making it easy to take anywhere with you and it has a cute little carry handle too. 

Bluey seems to be quite popular at the moment, so this is a brilliant gift at a good price too, don't miss out! 

To pick one up, click HERE.

Playmobil 71251 Country Alpaca Walk - WAS £18.00 now £13.50

As soon as I saw this NEW Playmobil alpaca playset, I had to include it, how cute is it? This has 25% off but still not a bad saving. Alpacas are very popular and I know my eldest would have loved this, she adores alpacas and this set comes with 3 of them, plus 3 figures and some accessories. It's such a sweet little set and one I think would go down well with any child. 

If you have alpaca mad children to buy for like I have had for many years, you can buy this by clicking HERE.

So that's the 10 toys I chose from the Argos toy sale, I hope they have given you some inspiration for your christmas list, or any occasion you buy toys for. Like I said, there are some incredible deals, and I could have included so many more things, but I thought it best just to share these 10 and let you take a look too. Let me know if you pick anything up, and please share this post with anyone who you think would find it helpful. 

Happy shopping! and thank you for reading

Zoë x