Falling pregnant can be a joyful, albeit super anxious time. One minute you’re on your own and the next, you have an exciting new tenant in your uterus hotel that requires a lot of looking after...
Honestly though, life was smooth sailing until I had my tenant, because as soon as I did I was thrown into a Google vortex of researching things that I’d never had to think about before. Pregnancy beauty was one of them. And while I can’t help but think that a lot of the beauty provisions that get thrown at pregnant women are a little excessive, while I was pregnant I did want to switch up a lot of my products to put my mind at ease. Plus, with my changing hormones and ‘once clear, turned crap skin’ – I pretty much had to. However, second time around I didn’t seem to be as overly cautious. In fact, I think it made me a savvier beauty shopper and I knew that my mornings would be spent changing nappies, feeding and crying while I tried to understand what my screaming baby was trying to say. Because of this, the products I invested in during pregnancy needed to carry me through the first few months of post baby life as well, as this was the period I knew my beauty routine was likely to change…and drastically. You see, pre-babies, time is plentiful and so is sleep. However, when you cut those two vital things out of a beauty equation and throw in a bunch of added stress, the likelihood of ageing rapidly is high. Hence why investing in multi-tasking beauty products for this period in time is important. Plus, beauty products tend to motivate and carry me through the torture that is leaving the house with a newborn and toddler in tow, which often leaves me feeling like a dishevelled mess anyway (however at least they make me look like a respectable member of society.)
TANNING – YOU CAN QUICKLY DO AT HOME
Both Eco Tan Winter Skin, which is a gradual tanner, as well as the Eco Tan Cacao Tanning Mousse carried me through both of my pregnancies and beyond. The gradual tanner works exactly like a moisturiser to give your body a natural glow, however, if your wanting to look a few shades darker OR you’re in your third trimester and need a tan to spruce up the last three outfits you have on rotation, these tanners are both pregnancy and breastfeeding safe. The Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Shimmering Dry Oil is also a great bronzing perk me up for the warmer months and it washes off straight away.
MORNING MASKS
Mornings are my sacred ‘me time’ now so if I’ve had a bad night’s sleep, I’ll always do a morning mask. The more hydrating the better. They make me look more awake and somehow give me the encouragement to get on with the day. For morning masks Go-To Skincare are my favourite. Their Transformazing Sheet Mask are so hydrating and plumping I sometimes wonder if I have slept and I’m just forgetting that I did, because my face feels and looks so fresh after using one. Plus you can pop it on while you deal with other important duties – like making coffee or drinking The Beauty Chef Glow Inner Beauty Powder, which sans sleep, will do your body a world of good. I also live for the Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Detox Hydra-Gel Eye Patches and leave them in the fridge to put on after a bad night.
FACE MISTS
Face mists always do wonders at perking me up and I especially loved them when it was summer and I was feeding around the clock. La Roche Posay’s Thermal Spring Water was one of my favourites. It was hydrating but also helped calm slight irritations – which I needed as my skin during pregnancy and post birth was super sensitive. The mist is just pure thermal water and gentle enough to mist on babies too. I used to use it on my baby girl every night after her shower in place of creams or lotions.
HOLY GRAIL BITS OF MAKEUP
Once my babies arrived on the scene, the further makeup seemed to move down my priority list. However IT Cosmetics CC Cream will forever remain a holy grail everyday base of mine. It blends out all imperfections, isn’t heavy and now comes in three formulas with added SPF. It’s also helped breathe life back into what used to be my supple, youthful skin. Benefit Boi-ing Airbrush Concealer is one of my favourite heavy duty concealers too. It doesn’t crease, has heavy dark circle coverage (much needed!) although still remains quite light and non-cakey. And if you want to treat yourself Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat is a luxe staple to have on hand. Finally, bronzer. What would I do without thee? La Roche Posay’s Tolereine Teint’s Bronzine Powder is amazing. It’s a bronzer and blush in one, designed for every skin type (including sensitive) and worked well through my skin’s hormonal breakout period and beyond. The shades can also be used on the eyes. And a swipe of Benefit’s Gimme Brow would often make my face – and my day.
NEVER FORGET TO WASH YOUR FACE
So yes, having babies did force me to cut back on my ten step skincare routine to often just: washing my face. But at least Sodashi Clay Cleanser with Lime didn’t make me skimp on that. Plus, it’s deeply purifying and is so good at removing all makeup without disrupting the PH balance of the skin. And sometimes when I felt like I needed a few hours in a day spa I’d just use Ole Henriksen’s Pore-Balance Facial Sauna Scrub in the shower instead. It’s both warming and cooling on the skin and is infused with both glycolic and lactic acids which will deeply cleanse your face. It’s gentle enough to be used during both pregnancy and while you’re breastfeeding too. I also opted for face oils while pregnant to help soothe my angry, hormonal skin and kept using them post birth. Plus, when you have no ounce of energy left at the end of the day they’re easy to use. The Jojoba Company do a beautiful natural Jojoba + Rosehip Oil which can also be used to prevent stretch marks!