Housework, yes a mundane and boring task that unfortunately most women have to get on with. I’m not all going to get politically correct about this as it is a fact that women does most of the household chores, unless you are lucky enough to have a husband who doesn’t mind loading up the dishwasher and hanging up the washing when his mood allows him to.
All that polishing, scrubbing and tidying up is enough to make me want to hold my hands up and say ‘That’s it! I give up!”.
It doesn’t help that I have an 18 month old to re-tidy the house as soon as I finish job. But somehow it’s also highly addictive (well in my case) as I am house proud and I love my house to be clean and in order. It makes me feel a lot happier and generally content that I have tackled my daily routine.
It drives my husband crazy when I constantly whine that the house needs to be in order, in his eyes his house had been quickly transformed into a clinical show home as the smell of bleach and polish lingers in the air he can’t help but think I that have become just a little too obsessed with neatness.
It’s even worse when people are due to visit, I usually go in the industrial cleaner mode, everything that can be scrubbed WILL be scrubbed. My floor would be mopped numerous times with anti bacterial solutions that my husband would comment that my 18 month old can eat his dinner on it.
I would love to have a cat or a dog, but the thought of hairs, drool and other unseen bacteria leaves me feeling cold. And what about the doggy smell that stays in the air? I would constantly have the vacuum permanently attached to my back, chasing all the unsavory bits that falls off the poor animal.
There are times though when I constantly threaten to hire a cleaner, but then I realise that I wouldn’t get that personal satisfaction as it would be somebody else that would be doing my ‘job’.
I remember a time when a friend came over and she commented that my house is surprisingly in order considering I have 3 children. Maybe, I have gone too far? Doesn’t a house need to be a home too? I know what you’re thinking, I might have OCD right? No I don’t think so, I think really I’m just a sad case who secretly like housework! Or maybe I’m in denial.
A few weeks ago the lovely people behind Fuel My Blog have asked me to review a few products from the Aveeno® range. To be honest I have never heard of them before, but hey, I’m willing to try anything.
One thing that impressed me about Aveeno® was that it is made from natural ingredients such as colloidal oatmeal and shea butter and if you are passionate about your beauty products as I am, you would know that these ingredients really have great benefits for the condition of your skin.
I have been blessed with combination skin and have never really had problems when it comes to using different lotions, bath stuffs and moisturisers, but I have also suffered from eczema in the past and unfortunately have passed it on to my 8 year old son.
At the moment he suffers quite badly on his joints, especially in the cold weather. So, when I read that Aveeno® can be beneficial to this condition I was more eager to give it a go to see whether it would really make any difference.
The first product I tried was the bath powder, my son is usually particular in using new products and took a bit of persuading to try this one out, he didn’t seem to like the idea of bathing in ‘oatmeal’, but after running the powder in warm water and seeing that it didn’t really resemble a thick gooey substance he soon came round, I also found that the fragrance was mild and pleasant.
I let him soak in it for half an hour or so, I did hear him complain that there wasn’t any bubbles, but that’s kids for you!
After his bath, I have noticed that his skin seemed softer to the touch and he commented that it didn’t irritate his eczema.
Before I used to use Oilatum Bath Formula, but I find that Aveeno® does the job maybe just a little bit better as it’s not as slippery.
After his bath we tried the Aveeno® Daily Moisturising Lotion, I found that it was easily absorbed and it didn’t leave a sticky residue. I would recommend to use this after showering or bathing to lock the moisture in your skin, thus having a silky smooth feeling to it after.
We tried the lotion a few days of trying out Aveeno®, I was really surprised how it has left my sons skin feeling and looking moisturised and nourished. He seemed to scratch less and thus leaving his eczema to heal more quickly along with the use of his normal eczema cream.
Now, I’m not saying that I have found a miracle cure for eczema, but because it’s so mild it’s suitable for children and most of all it does not contain any steroids.
Last but not least, I saved the Aveeno® Cream for myself, I decided to keep it in my handbag, just the right size for carrying it around. After a few days of religiously applying it on my hands, I did find my hands less dry. Its also great to use as a base for applying make up as its easily absorbed without any oiliness.
If you’re usually skeptical about new products like me, I would suggest you should give it a try, Aveeno® offers some free samples on their website, so what do you have to lose?
In 2008 Aveeno teamed up with NetDoctor.co.uk2 and surveyed people with very dry skin or conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis. Before the trial, many of the participants revealed having dry skin conditions had a huge impact on their lives: 94% said dry skin affects their confidence and 71% said their dry skin can stop them from carrying out their usual routine. After trialling Aveeno® Cream for three weeks, 94% felt more confident, and 98% felt there had been a change in their dry skin. The full results can be found here.
