Get Your Glow On: Part II

Milan Maternity has your fashion for pregnancy and beyond covered, keeping you and your your bump looking super chic while comfortable. Well, comfortable in your clothes anyway. We all know that getting comfy while pregnant, especially in the third trimester, is a feat that rivals climbing Everest [often requiring a Picasso assembly of pillows]
Last fall we covered "Get Your Glow On: Pregnancy Skin Care". In that article we talked about what is safe to use, great for your skin and suggested some amazing products that fall within those guidelines. I think it's time to tackle part two of the pregnancy glow: FAKING IT. This is also referred to as makeup. For those who even with an awesome skin care regimen can't seem to get that infamous gestational glow, relax. I got you covered. Blame the hormones that are taking over your mood and body without care to their effect on your beautiful skin. So the first thing you need to know is that it is safe to use makeup as long as it does not contain : retinoids or salicylic acids. Your skin absorbs what you put on it so keep it safe.

Check Your Labels For No-Nos:
-Differin (adapelene)
-Retin-A, Renova (tretinoin)
-Retinoic acid
-Retinol
-Retinyl linoleate
-Retinyl palmitate
-Tazorac and avage (Tazarotene)
-Tretinoin

Majority of your typical over-the-counter cosmetics are going to be generally safe, just check the ingredients label. Some of the safest choices are mineral makeups. My favorite mineral line is Afterglow Cosmetics and I have used that for a little over a year now. Completely organic and vegan line of products. And for the first time ever for this mix girl : A COLOR MATCH. You can actually call or email them the color of foundation you currently use and they will match it. Other mineral brands that are pretty good and safe are: Physician's Formula [they have a mineral line] and Sonia Kashuk's line. Those latter two brands can be bought from Target, Wal-Mart, drugstores and online.

NARS blush/highlight duo

  Ok, so now you got your makeup and you need to fake the glow. Here's what you do:
1. Start with a clean face. Exfoliate for a smoother skin surface & then moisturize. You can use a tinted moisturizer and it is both safe and a really good idea to use something with an SPF.
2. Use a stippling brush to put on a liquid foundation or a kabuki brush to put on powder foundation.  This helps to get a more airbrushed look that a sponge or your fingers can't really achieve. Apply concealer afterward if you need it to cover dark circles and/or blemishes.

3. There are two ways to go about the next step: Combine this step with step 2 if using liquid foundation: Mix a highlighter with foundation [one to two small pumps is good]. Or lightly sweep a powder highlighter over cheek bones [good for powder or liquid foundation].
4. Blusher. It brings some color back to your face. I lightly stipple on a powder blush on the apples of my cheeks, cream blushes are also very effective.
5. Smooth some highlighter across your brow bone and in the corner of your eyes to open them up.

Physicians Formula Mascara

6. Eye makeup, eye liner and/or mascara can be applied now if you wish to wear it! I tend to opt for a neutral look with taupes and browns. It looks great with all eye colors and blends well into the highlighter.
7. Lips! I love using a nice, non-sticky lip gloss in a pink/peach/coral neutral like the NARS lip gloss in Chihuahua. Another great option is the Sonia Kashuk luxury lip color in truffle or soft pink.

  That should be all you need to fake the glow! Even with two kiddos, I can apply this all in about 5 minutes. I call it my "5 minute-fake-like-I-actually-got-sleep-last-night look." This will come in handy when I'm back in the throws of post-partum sleep deprivation.