"Mornings might be hectic, but I NEVER skip one part of my routine.”

As any mum would know, mornings can be chaos.

Ok, you could probably delete the words ‘can be’ there. Because more often than not, getting out of the house in time for whatever activity you have on is a mission once you become a parent – let alone getting out of the house looking half decent.

Pre-baby, I used to spend at least an hour getting ready each morning – hair washed and blow dried, full makeup on, and corporate power-suited up. I loved to dress up, had a great handbag collection and always had my nails done.

These days, and particularly since my baby (now toddler) became very, very mobile, my morning beauty regime has died a long, slow death.

He’s a busy bee, a climber and always into everything he shouldn’t be. The bathroom is number one on his list of forbidden fruit to explore, and he refuses to play by himself. A quick one or two minute shower is all I get before I have to rescue him from some precarious situation. Just yesterday he climbed the couch, onto the windowsill and then leapt off, tumbling to the ground. Not even The Wiggles on repeat will make this guy stay still.

So, slowly but surely, steps in my daily routine have been skipped out of necessity. First, foundation was replaced by tinted moisturiser, then eyeliner and eyeshadow bit the dust and finally dry shampoo became my best friend – if I have to actually wash my hair, that’s done at night or when my little man is down for his midday nap.

The problem is, I don’t want to pack it in completely. I know how much better I feel when I actually look more presentable, and taking care of myself is important too.

And so the one thing I won’t skip is moisturising. I hate that dry skin feeling, and have always believed that good skin is the first thing people notice about you.

With my son, it’s important that the products I use on him are natural. Since he had a bad reaction to a particular range of products early in his life, we’ve gone organic and preservative free as much as possible. And it’s no different with my skin.

Now that I’m a mum, and expecting baby number two, my skin is super sensitive and dry (thanks very much, pregnancy and exhaustion). So I was pretty happy when I found Avène’s new Skin Recovery Cream - because it’s completely preservative free, without any hidden nasties like alcohol or essential oils.

The key ingredient in this product is Avène Thermal Spring Water, which gives the cream scientifically-proven soothing and softening properties. It’s recommended by dermatologists and perfect for sensitive and intolerant skin – which is a big tick in my book.

It’s a great all round daily moisturiser. I also love that it has been developed using only a short list of essential ingredients – which makes it an easy product for me to slap on as I run out of the bathroom to rescue my little man from his latest adventures.

Knowing my skin is well taken care of makes it a little bit easier to get on with those chaotic, crazy mornings.

How do you handle crazy mornings?

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