Michelle and Nicola spot a menopause shower gel on TV and tumble down a rabbit hole of menopause-branded everything. From £74 sleep candles to menopause chocolate (now discontinued), they ask: are these products genuinely helpful, or just a cynical cash grab riding the menopause conversation?

In this episode:

• Open banter: cat fantasies, ADHD tangents, and whether Nicola should vary her intro delivery (0:00)
• Michelle's renovation saga — the boudoir, the divan that won't fit, and the 10mm that ruined everything (2:34)
• Nicola's chaotic award-season schedule, forgotten dinner parties, and a pasta-bake rescue (5:20)
• A salad-storage tip that Michelle can't explain scientifically (6:44)
• The menopause shower gel that started it all (7:28)
• "We see you" or "We see your bank card?" — the explosion of menopause marketing (10:10)
• Vegan water, menopause shampoo, and why Michelle's hair looks like Aslan (12:10)
• Menopause chocolate — yes, it was real, and yes, it's been discontinued (13:58)
• A £74 menopause sleep candle — a fire hazard and a health hazard (15:50)
• Menopause tea, green tea, and a consultant's cancer-prevention advice (20:15)
• Hormone-balancing room mist — imagine your partner spraying it at you (23:14)
• "Would you rather" — menopause adverts everywhere vs. advertisers pretending women over 45 don't exist (29:20)
• Friends in menopause denial, and whether social media makes us over-identify with symptoms (30:40)
• What actually helps: lion's mane, magnesium, HRT, and doing what works for you (31:40)
• Final takeaway: you don't have to buy a whole new identity to get through menopause (34:50)
• Listener call to action (35:20)

Get in touch:

• Email: studio@thereinventiondiaries.co.uk
• Instagram: @thereinventiondiariespodcast
• Website: thereinventiondiaries.co.uk, nicolauacklandphotography.co.uk, mrsstylewright.com

Listener challenge: What's the most ridiculous menopause product you've spotted? And what has genuinely earned a place in your life? Michelle and Nicola want to hear from you.

Hosts: Michelle & Nicola Guest: Karolyn Gamble (Carolyn with a K!)

Episode Summary Karolyn Gamble joins Michelle and Nicola to share her decade-long journey from corporate marketing executive to self-determined entrepreneur. After 15 years working with major brands like McDonald's, Starbucks, and Boots, the arrival of her daughter made her question the trade-off between time and money that the 9-to-5 demands. Rather than quitting overnight, Karolyn built a gradual exit plan — starting with a single buy-to-let property and growing into a portfolio of four properties plus an Airbnb business. Along the way, she discovered that the hardest part wasn't the logistics — it was the mindset shift required to stop measuring her worth by hours sat at a desk.

Key Topics & Timestamps

• The wake-up call: When having a daughter changed everything about how Karolyn viewed work and time (approx. 5:00–6:30)
• "You're expected to work as if you're not a parent, and parent as if you don't have a job" — the impossible juggling act working mums face (approx. 9:30–10:30)
• How Audible turned car journeys into a "mobile library" for mindset growth (approx. 12:30–14:00)
• The loss of Karolyn's father-in-law — he gave 45 years to teaching, retired at 65, and passed away within 18 months, never enjoying the retirement he'd planned for (approx. 15:00–17:00)
• Building an exit plan: starting a side hustle alongside the day job rather than burning bridges (approx. 18:00–19:00)
• Why it took three full years to shake the 9-to-5 employee mindset (approx. 19:30–20:00)
• Life now: four properties, an Airbnb, and income that isn't tied to working hours (approx. 20:00–21:30)
• Karolyn's two passions today: proactive health for women in perimenopause and advocating for accessible residual income (approx. 22:30–26:00)

Free Resource from Karolyn Karolyn's free e-book: "The Universal Dilemma of Parenting — How Parenting Impacts Your Life, Work, and Relationships, and What You Can Actually Do About It." It's not a parenting tips book — it's about understanding the impact parenting has on you and giving yourself permission to want more. Link available via Karolyn's socials (see below).

Connect with Karolyn

• Website: karolinjgamble.co.uk
• Facebook: Karolyn J Gamble
• LinkedIn: Karolyn J Gamble
• TikTok: Karolyn J Gamble
• Instagram: Karolyn J Gamble

Guest Quick-Fire

• Favourite colours: Purple (always) and bright pink (to wear) — also her brand colours alongside blue and yellow
• Random act of kindness: Booked and paid for her solo-parent best friend to go to a spa while her son was away at camp

Connect with The Reinvention Diaries

• Email: studio@thereinventiondiaries.co.uk
• Instagram: @thereinventiondiariespodcast
• Website: thereinventiondiaries.co.uk, www.nicolaaucklandphotography.co.uk, www.mrsstylewright.com
• Want to be a guest? Visit the website to submit your application!

Reinvention Diaries — "I Swear My Brain Didn't Use to Work Like This"

Michelle and Nicola dive into how their brains seem to be working differently these days — from procrastination and deadline panic to losing words and walking into rooms with no idea why. They explore how perimenopause may be reshaping their mental strategies, what ADHD actually looks like in women (it wasn't even recognized in women until 2018), and why so many women are receiving late diagnoses in midlife.

Topics covered:

• Recording at 3pm instead of 9am — when brains stop cooperating
• Michelle's business retreat in Corfu (not a holiday!) and a lightbulb moment about her photography business
• Transitioning away from wedding photography due to physical strain — "my back can't take it anymore"
• The "busy fool" feeling: knowing what needs doing but not doing it
• Tips from a neurodivergence/menopausal brain coach: identify the boring part of a task, and stop shaming yourself for last-minute work — lean into it and plan for it
• Masking: how fitting in to feel "normal" erodes your identity over time
• Different learning styles — "elephants can't climb trees, so why ask them to?"
• ADHD in women: hereditary, lifelong, and often masked until perimenopause shakes coping strategies apart
• Michelle's two children with ADHD and what she's learned about the wide range of symptoms — internal hyperactivity, avoidance, eye-wandering, fidgeting
• The debate: is a formal diagnosis worth it if you don't plan to medicate?
• Men's vs women's brains: linear thinking vs. mental plate-spinning — learned behaviour or biology? (They'd love to find an expert to weigh in)
• Random act of kindness: rescuing a stranger's dropped noodles in Lidl

Listener question: Has your brain been less helpful lately? Have you looked into ADHD or neurodivergence as a possible explanation? Would you get diagnosed, or skip it?

Get in touch:

• Email: studio@thereinventiondiaries.co.uk
• Instagram: @thereinventiondiariespodcast
• Website: thereinventiondiaries.co.uk, Nicolaaucklandphotography.co.uk, mrsstylewright.com
• Want to share your story on the show? Visit the website for info on becoming a guest.