Let's talk skincare... Finally!
I last spoke about my skincare routine a year or so ago when I returned from St Lucia and I was so happy with the progress my skin had made. I'm SO buzzing to say that since then my skin is good as new. It really has come back to life and I'm not entirely, entirely sure what's done the trick for it. Whether it was a consistent skincare routine like the one discussed here or whether it was Alumier MD giving it a good head start with their incredible products and just two skin peels. It may have only been two peels but they are rather potent and my skin really did seem to react well to them... Once the redness and the peeling had stopped that is.
And then we have pregnancy.
Pregnancy can work wonders or wreak havoc on our skin and for some reason pregnancy has blessed me with that sought after "glow" when I really, truly believed I would be going in the opposite direction, particularly after the last 3 years of adult acne.
But anyway, as is with most glorious things in life, you have to cut them out when pregnant, so it was farewell to red wine, to ~too much~ raw fish (miss you sushi) and to the majority of my skincare routine...
It was a sad state of affairs when I had to bid farewell to my faves from La Roche Posay, REN and Dr Barbara Sturm, but it did give me a good excuse for mixing things up and trying some new products, which I hadn't done in years since I started to crack down on what my skin was and was not enjoying.
So with that rather meaty introduction, I thought I'd share the products both myself and my skin have been loving using for the last 6 months. As well as looking after my skin, I want my skincare routine to feel luxurious, like a real routine that allows me to pamper, to switch off from the real world and have a moment or two for myself, and I feel that this little selection has given me just that!
But before I get started I think it's important to say that I really wouldn't worry too much if you weren't aware that skincare could be "not safe" for pregnancy or for nursing. I'm just simply the kind of person who's a little bit paranoid and so I did my research in order to be super duper safe. However, every now and again when I need to use a bit of spot cream for example, I'm going to use it. I think it's important to take things like "pregnancy safe' skincare with a pinch of salt, 'cause when you think of the things our grandparents were up to back in the sixties whilst pregnant, a bit of skincare here and there isn't the worst thing you can do.
If you're in doubt, I've found this website to be truly incredible for answering any of my beauty queries regarding them being pregnancy safe, which I'll continue to refer to as I hopefully move on to nursing. Simply type in any beauty brand you can think of and chances are it's listed on here as to whether it's "safe" or not. It's been my bible from day one.
Okay so lets start with cleansers, I've been LOVING two from CeraVe for a while, but I'm currently using the hydrating cream-to-foam formula which is a really great first cleanse. As it's a foam formula it completely takes off my make up really easily but isn't at all stripping on the skin like foam cleansers can often be. It's a simple cleanser so I guess it is lacking in that luxury factor that I like from my skincare, but my skin has been LOVING it and it does exactly what it needs to do, so it's top marks from me!
I then go in with the Glossier Milk Jelly Cleanser, a cleanser I've loved for many-a-year but have somewhat neglected in recent years. It was only when I was kindly sent over a top up that I thought I'd give it a go after reading it was pregnancy safe. This feels that little more luxurious and for me is the perfect second cleanse for really ensuring my face is clean, not stripped and therefore hydrated and fresh, it's up there in my top 5 cleansers of all time.
When it comes to exfoliators I've always loved a really gritty texture that really does feel like it's scratching away the first layer of skin and impurities. However, I found it tricky to find the texture I love in a formula that was safe, and whilst the Fresh Sugar Strawberry Exfoliating Face Wash isn't ~quite~ the texture I crave, it truly is beautiful. First of all it smells good enough to eat, I think it might be the best smelling beauty product out there, it's delicious! And secondly, it's a really gorgeous scrub that isn't too abrasive so mild enough to use daily if you so wish. The exfoliating sugar crystals seem to dissolve away, leaving you with this gorgeous thick, jelly like cleanser which in itself is a beautiful way to start the day. I certainly think this will be remaining in my routine after pregnancy.
If I'm in need of a bit of a detox I go for another product from Fresh, a product that was already a part of my routine and therefore I was thrilled to learn was pregnancy safe, it is the Fresh Umbrian Clay Face Mask, a truly remarkable mask that is really great for drawing impurities to the surface and just generally giving your skin the spring clean it deserves.
When my skin needs a good dose of extra hydration it's got to be a job for the glorious Summer Fridays Jetlag Mask which, once again has been a firm fave of mine for a while. It's a mask I use every weekend when I'm having a make up free day as it's completely clear in colour and one that just soaks into the skin with no need for water or wiping off. I love nothing more than popping on a thick layer of this stuff on a Sunday morning whilst drinking my first cup of coffee of the day, it's a heavenly ritual!
When it comes to daily hydration I have been totally OBSESSED with the Chanel Hydra Beauty range that I was ever so kindly sent to try out earlier this year. Since then I've repurchased both the eye gel and the Micro Serum as my skin quite literally drinks them up! They're both such truly beautiful products that have that luxury factor, they smell divine, they react beautifully with my skin for bringing all the hydration and giving me that glow. I use one or two pumps of the Micro Serum and then go in with a jade roller which has been my ultimate daily luxury since being pregnant. Spending a couple of minutes every day rolling my skin and working the serum into my skin is such a beautiful part of my day and I feel it's helping to keep me slightly more relaxed, I cannot recommend this combination enough.
For the evening I'll then follow up the serum with the Skin Food Light from Weleda, a skin guru favourite and one I've heard such rave reviews about. It has quite a potent smell which isn't my favourite, but I'm finding that it's working wonders for my skin, particularly at this time of year when my skin would usually be having a meltdown and becoming oh so dry and flaky. So far *touch wood* this hasn't happened yet this year and I'm reckoning that it has a lot to do with this moisturiser right here. A* to you Weleda.
Last but not least we have my Mama Mio Tummy Rub Butter, my favourite thing in the world right now!
I've been using this from really early on in my pregnancy after I learnt that all the body butters I loved to use weren't "safe" whilst pregnant. For me, a body butter is one of the best, most important steps to any pamper night, I want to feel slippery after my bath and I want to smell sensational as I get into fresh pyjamas and I was concerned I wouldn't find one that met my high body butter standards (lol)
Mama Mio did just that, particularly the Lavender and Mint scent which is just the most beautiful fragrance ever, I get SO excited to use it and find I'm moisturising my body more than ever before which can only be a good thing as I continue to grow.
I mentioned this body butter on my Instagram stories and so many of you got in touch to say you used and loved it too and if that wasn't good enough you came out of the other side of pregnancy stretch mark free, so here's hoping it does the same for me. I'm also LOVING the cooling leg gel from Mama Mio too, particularly after a day on my feet whether thats out of the house or in the house cleaning, it's such a glorious sensation to have a cooling sensation across your legs and feet after a day on my feet, 'cause boy do they ache!
So there we have it, my pregnancy beauty saviours! I'm such a huge fan of skincare so I'm grateful to have found my jam with pregnancy safe skincare, as I must admit I was worried my skin wouldn't be happy about it. I'll most definitely be continuing this routine into post pregnancy life but as I said, I will certainly be throwing in a few old faves from my skincare saviours of the past.
I hope you found this useful 🙂
Take care.
x M
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