My Beauty Favorites

I decided to share my beauty regime now that I am pregnant because I know it can be difficult to first, feel pretty while pregnant and second, to find products you can still use while pregnant. Since I’ve been off the pill for a year, my skin has tapered off in terms of severe breakouts, but I can still suffer from occasional mild acne. This caused an issue since you cannot use any products with salicylic acid while pregnant. This basically includes all acne fighting cleansers and creams. What is a hormonal girl to do? Easy. Check out my favorites that I cannot live a day without below – they have worked like a charm for me and I’ve even achieved that “pregnancy glow” some days. Hope this helps, fellow expectant moms!

I am not afraid to admit it: I’m a Lushie. They just opened a store only about 15-20 minutes away from me so it’s kind of been dangerous. I can’t recommend their bath bombs enough, especially after stressful days (they have become my replacement for a bottle glass of wine), but their beauty products are the real winners here. I use Ocean Salt about twice a week as my main facial cleanser. It smells absolutely amazing and is an extremely rough scrub that will remove all those pesky blackheads leaving your skin feeling like a baby’s bottom (no joke – sometimes I just stroke my face afterwards). About once a week, I use Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner before finishing my shower. This smells even MORE amazing than the scrub and leaves your entire skin silky smooth for the entire day. Sometimes I leave this for when I’m going to wear something that exposes a lot of skin.  It also helps soothe those frequent belly itches!

 

On the days I don’t use Ocean Salt, I use Beaute de Maman’s facial scrub. It is especially formulated for the pregnant woman and is definitely more tender to the skin than the Lush alternative. I think it’s a great every day scrub for a woman that doesn’t suffer from too many blemishes, but personally, I like to supplement it with a more deep wash, such as Ocean Salt. This weekly combination has worked wonders for my skin. I’ve only broken out randomly, and it was mostly during the first trimester. Otherwise, my skin feels soft and flawless.

I have very sensitive skin, so it’s hard to find the perfect body wash to meet my needs. Especially now that I am pregnant and getting random bouts of eczema (very annoying), I haven’t wanted to just use any soap. Cue my amazing tattoo artist and friend, Pooka. She uses this to rinse the area before tattooing and it smells of delicious peppermint. I’ve always loved it, so I decided to buy a bottle while at Target. I haven’t looked back since. Dr. Bronner’s magic soap truly is magical. It can be used for a variety of purposes, but I use it as my every day body wash. It’s a genuinely ecological and simple soap – not a complex blend of detergents with a higher ecological impact due to the waste stream created during manufacturing and the detergents’ slower biodegradability. It’s good for the Earth, and for your body!

Little fun fact: every time you shop at Lush, they allow you to take home a free sampler of your choosing. I had heard some great things about the Eau Roma Water toner, especially for pregnant women (it’s even a “in labor” favorite), so I took some home with me last time. I absolutely LOVE it. I don’t use it daily but when I’m feeling a little more fatigued than usual after a morning shower and need to feel refreshed. It, of course, smells great and gives you such a fantastic pick me up. I’ll definitely be getting the full sized spray the next time I visit the store.

And, of course, I have to finish the list with the gold standard of pregnancy products: Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Lotion. They say stretch marks are genetic (& I hope that’s the case because neither my mother or sister got them), but I’m not taking any chances. I lather myself in this nightly before bed, and not only does it keep me stretch-mark-free, but it also relieves belly itching like none other – and man, has my belly been itching lately. Important tip: don’t scratch! I often just rub myself like a little Buddha. 😉

I know with the exception of the Palmer’s, none of these products are very affordable, but if used right, they will last you an eternity. I’ve been using all these products since beginning my pregnancy and I’ve only had to buy a new Palmer’s in the past 17 weeks. And honestly, to me it’s worth it to spend a little more money if it means that I will look good and feel better about myself during this bumpy 9 month ride.

Hope this helped pump up your daily beauty routine (whether pregnant or not, honestly)!