babyurbeautiful

 

Whether you're a preggo mum like me or just a worn out mum there are inevitably days (more often that not I find) where you look in the mirror and just think "urgh!".

 

So what can you do to make yourself feel and look a little brighter?

 

Tan

 

A tan makes us all feel better, especially when you wake up and your phone helpfully tells you it's -2C outside.

 

I'm a fan of St Moriz self tan.  It's one of the cheapest on the market, at £4.00 for 200ml from Boots but it gets top reviews and I think it's just as good as St Tropez and other more expensive brands.  It comes in medium or dark and you can choose from lotion or mousse.  I personally prefer the lotion but that's just because I'm messy and tend to end up flicking the mousse round the room.

 

St Moriz £4.99 from Boots

 

At the moment I'm tending to use this on my face and then use a gradual tanner on the rest of my body as it's more moisturising.

 

I like Garnier Summer Body as it smells nice and fruity, and not like biscuits.  It's light and easily absorbed meaning you don't need to worry too much about waiting to get dressed. 

Again, this comes in a few shades depending on your skin type and is £5.49 from Boots.

 

Garnier Summer Body £5.49 from Boots

Nails

 

Bright nails are bound to make us feel a little less dull, so whether it's your trotters or fingers, a splash of colour is a quick and cheap fix.

I really like Rosie Fortescue's Nailed range which is available from Harvey Nicholls or or online at The Beauty Store.  Most polishes are around £7 each and I totally recommend using their base and top coat as this really does help it last.  I just took my polish off after nearly a week and that was with daily washing up and cleaning.

 

My favourite shade- Rosie's Red

 

Lippy

 

Finally a slick of colourful lippy will brighten your face.  If your lips are a little dry I recommend Soap & Glory's Mighty Mouth which is a fab combo of hydrating and plumping ingredients with an added glossy pink finish.

 

Mighty Mouth is available from Boots at £8.00

 

Pretty pink colour and ultra hydrating

 

 

*Boots currently have 3 for 2 across their skincare range, so an ideal opportunity to treat themselves... and no I'm not being paid to say this!

 Fabulous Elemis Total Glow Bronzing     Body Lotion

I'll give full credit to Greece for its balmy climes, complimented by soft breeze (erring on gail force from time to time!) The pleasant weather enabled me to tan slowly and effectively and protect my bump (always cover with a towel or in keep in shade please, ladies).

My recent winter hol to Thailand (where I discovered I was pregnant) left me red-faced, puffing and a little dizzy - I thought it was mainly baking myself in the high temps, but nope, it was little bubba making himself known! It was the holiday of a lifetime but for me the nausea combined with aversion to the sun really made it hard work (not to mention the motion sickness!)

So with caution on my last summer hol as a couple with no kids, I packed various levels of SPF varying from 15 (for daddy) up to 30 for me. I know many dermatologists implore you to slap on SPF50 but I dont want to come home paler than when I left, and I do have a decent amount of melanin production I want to enhance!

First of all a little science lesson to you mummies...

UVA rays can age us by penetrating deep into the dermis, while UVB are the ones that cause burning on the top of the skin and these are the ones you find on hols, and when the sun is blazing, whereas UVA are prevalent every day - even winter. You think you can't get damage on a cloudy day - think again. They even penetrate glass. Which is why specialists are always drumming into us wear SPF every day - ideally in your make-up. 

So here we go:

Nivea Sun SPF30 Protect and Refresh 200ml, £7.48, Superdrug.com

This light mist provides immediate protection and has a lovely cooling effect that definitely leaves you refreshed on the beach.It's quickly absorbed, and leaves no gloopy residue or marks on your skin. Plus its ergonimically designed nozzle helps work from all angles so you don't have to keep re-pumping and applying - just spray and go. I didn't burn with this, and I was sad it was used up so quickly - the only problem I find is you'd probably need 2 bottles for a week hol and you want t o provide adequate protection - and the cooling effect is quite addictive!

Piz Buin Tan and Protect Oil SPF30 £8.98, Superdrug.com

As a beauty insiders CEW (cosmetic executive women UK) finalist - I'm honestly not suprised. 

This high protection oil keeps legs (this is the only place I use it) highly hydrated and it contains melitan - which enhances natural tanning (in vitro test). Ticks every box and helps provide the moisture you lose through tanning. I like to use this in the garden - but my temperature rockets up so it's usually a legs out on the table jobby!

Nivea Sun Moisturising Spray SPF20, £6.28, Superdrug.com

Daddy-to-be mainly used this one, but on the last few days when we had run out of everything else I agreed to give it a go. I always trust Nivea's tanning lotions so it wasn't like I had to be coerced into using it, it's just I prefer sprays, oils and mists for ease. I needn't have worried as it applied with ease and sank in effortlessly - you're more susceptible to burning when preggers, so I would always opt to use SPF30. You WILL still tan, and if you are dipping in and out of water you must re-apply.

Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Protective Sun Lotion SPF 30, £7.47 for 180ml, Superdrug.com

Usually eye wincingly expensive in comparison to the others (£14.99 from Boots) - but you'll often find an offer on - like we did at Superdrug, so we got this (plus an SPF oil (15) that Dad-to-be caked himself with - and inevitably burnt to a crisp). As delicately as it's described with 'moisturising ribbons', the came in the form of recommendation from my little cousin, who was sporting a rather luscious deep brown tan (she had been for 2 weeks in Greece though!) The ribbons are designed to hydrate your skin in the sun for up to 12 hours, and has advanced UVA (long wave) UVB (short wave) protection. You should use 3 tablespoons per full body application - and its a great combination of daily moisturiser and excellent SPF protection - it comes in higher factors so just opt for a 30 - and away you go.

I can't criticise any of these as I tanned effectively, I only wish I had taken another bottle of the NIVEA spray - as that definitely wins my mummy vote.

LN