A few weeks ago I was invited to experience a professional makeup lesson with talented makeup artist Joanne Morgan, who runs Make-Up Artists 4 TV, an agency specialising in the supply of makeup artists to the media. Joanne Morgan is a BAFTA nominated makeup artist who works with a professional team of TV, film and editorial makeup artists, hair designers and stylists. Hugely experienced and in high demand, Joanne has led a fast paced and exciting life but a cancer diagnosis in 2017 has resulted in a need to reassess her life and slow down a little bit.  Although still running her successful agency, her personal life has undergone a bit of an overhaul to enable her to lead a quieter, calmer, more stress free life with less travel.  

Make-Up Artists 4 You is her exciting new venture, based in Beaconsfield, so she can be close to her three children and two fur babies! She has also just turned 50 and we bonded over midlife chatter! Make-Up Artists 4 You offers one-to-one makeup tutorials either online or in person. 

Have you ever really mastered the perfect makeup look that you love? I know I haven't!  Do you feel like need a bit of a midlife and post-menopause confidence boost?  Or maybe you have a special occasion coming up ... read on to find out more!

This is a gifted blog post and contains affiliate links.

Oh spring how I love you ... full of promise, the blossom, the wild flowers in the hedgerows, less mud, lighter evenings, the feeling of warm sun on your skin, a time to plan to see friends, embrace a new start and look forward to more time outdoors, holidays and outings.  But most importantly to peel off the winter layers, get a wax, apply some fake tan and buy some new spring dresses!

​Here are four of my new spring dresses ...

​This blog post contains gifted items and affiliate links.

A couple of weeks ago my daughter and I headed down to Portsmouth for the weekend, we drove down on Saturday morning and headed straight to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard (PR invite) to enjoy lunch and explore a little.  You might have seen my photos on my Instagram.  We had been invited to share our experience of the visit and we had such a super-fabulous weekend that I decided it was one to write about on my blog too and share a little bit of 'what I wore'!

My daughter and I love doing things together and Portsmouth wasn't somewhere that we had considered before.  We did look at getting the train from London where she is currently living but it is such an easy drive that we settled on taking the car.

This was a PR invite.  My post includes some affiliate links.

HRT can be life changing for so many of us, but it can also be challenging to navigate and does not work for everyone.  One of the difficulties of taking hormone replacement therapy can come from the progesterone element causing progesterone intolerance.  It is a subject discussed on many of the menopause support groups I belong to and I am still trying to overcome it myself.  Some of my most read blog posts are about HRT, many of you are looking for good quality advice, a little bit of support and understanding and above all a listening ear that can relate to the difficulties you are facing, real stories can make us feel less alone.

I understand!  And I've done the research for you.  When I realised I was intolerant to progesterone (both the Mirena Coil and Utrogestan - a micronised body-identical progesterone) I spent many many hours trying to find a solution and the best advice.  I did not want to come off oestrogen as it was helping me so much. My story is unique and I am fortunate to be able to see a private menopause specialist who is supporting me but understanding progesterone intolerance is often the first step towards getting the right help so you can continue on your HRT journey.

Adele Johnston is a Certified Menopause Coach, a qualified Nutritionist, a Positive Psychology Coach and a Breathwork Facilitator.  She had to navigate her own early menopause at the age of 37 and she is deeply passionate about empowering women to reclaim who they are inside and out.  She left her 20 year corporate career due to her menopause symptoms and she now helps other women reclaim their identify, their body and their confidence.  Adele holds nothing back with her mission to 'Make Menopause Mainstream' by educating others and is making waves in helping other coaches up-level their client approach.

I 'met' Adele online, via her informative Instagram account @the.menopausecoach and loved her content so I asked Adele to write a guest post for me to explain exactly what progesterone is, why we need it and how we can deal with progesterone intolerance should it happen to us.

This is a guest blog post.