Melissa | Cool Mom Picks

To maternity and beyond: Fourth Love looks chic even after your 9 months are up.

The idea of a stylish maternity clothing line that still fits after your nine months are up is a relatively new thing. And a welcome one. While some creative (and super fit) moms can get away with buying their normal designer faves a few sizes up to compensate for...

Time to ditch the antibacterial hand soaps in favor of these 5 safe soaps for babies and kids.

by Melissa | Baby

If you’ve been following the recent news (and our own posts for the last few years), it turns out that antibacterial soaps are not the safe soaps for babies and kids they’ve claimed to be. The FDA recently issued a statement saying that after 40 years of...

The best lip balms for those cold weather chapped lips (darn them).

by Melissa | Beauty + Cosmetics

Chapped and cracked lips are no fun. First of all, ouch. Secondly? They make your lip gloss and lipstick look terrible. Third of all, they’re no fun to kiss. So in the hopes of a smooth-lipped winter, I’ve been slathering on some great lip balms. I found...

Glow on: 3 natural skincare oils worth the splurge

by Melissa | Beauty + Cosmetics

Motherhood has definitely taken a toll on my skin–especially the chronic lack of sleep. Remember that gorgeous glow of youth? Sigh. Me too. Which is why I am such a huge fan of skincare oils. Ready to glow? Skincare oils hydrate and protect the skin amazingly...

4 of our fave makeup removers in every price range, whether you need to wipe off a little mascara or a whole vampire face.

by Melissa | Beauty + Cosmetics

Um, I’ve seen what I look like in the morning if I haven’t washed off my makeup…and it’s downright scary. So I’m always on the lookout for awesome (and affordable) makeup removers. Here are four of our faves–just in time for...

Awesome food storage labels that won’t come off in the dishwasher

by Melissa | Kitchen + Dining

I have become a label whore. Nope, not designer jeans. I’m talking about the sticky variety. I’m using a different sticky name label for virtually every sippy cup, water bottle, food container and lunchbox for my two kids, and the bane of my existence has...

Unwanted dark spots? 2 great color correctors without the scary ingredients

by Melissa | Beauty + Cosmetics

My beauty dream would be to never have to wear foundation again. I would loooove to have perfectly even-toned skin, without a brown or red spot in sight. Sadly, that ship has sailed. I usually wear foundation and concealer to cover up unpleasant reminders of sun...

Moisturize like you mean it: 3 of our favorite skin-soothers for fall

by Melissa | Beauty + Cosmetics

Helloooo, fall and winter skin. We meet again…sigh. It’s always around this time of year that my poor face starts to look–and feel–like it’s going to flake off completely. I’ve experimented with a ton of different products (and I...

Fall nail trends: Grey and pink are gorgeously in season

by Melissa | Beauty + Cosmetics

If the living is easy in the summertime, autumn calls for a bit more sophistication in the nail polish department. I’m pretty low-maintenance with my beauty routine, but in the fall I make a weekly effort with my manicure. And my favorite colors for the fall are...

Chevrons: Yep, still in.

by Melissa | Baby

Winter is just around the corner whether we like it or not, and with the chilly weather comes all of those extra layers for baby (and the extra hours to get out the door!). When it comes to combining style with warmth for the littlest ones, no one does it better than...