The first proper pregnancy feature! I imagine that there will be lots of cheers, because so many of you have asked for updates and posts, but also a few little groans, because some would prefer all pregnancy stuff to be as far away from here as is humanly possible. I’ll let you into a little secret that should hopefully please everyone; I’ve been beavering away at another blog, recording all of my random thoughts and feelings in an online pregnancy journal. It’s not quite ready to look at yet, but there are a good few posts up so I just need to do some final adjustments and hit the “on” button. All of my informal, diary-style stuff will be over there and all of the big, proper pregnancy posts (or ones that are fashion or beauty related) will stay here.

And so, pregnancy skin care video: some skin changes, an overview of the products that I’ve been using since September and a couple of things that my skin has decided not to tolerate. The main gist of this video is that a) my skin has got drier, b) I can no longer abide the smell of Sunday Riley’s Good Genes, c) my skin doesn’t like glycolic acid at the moment and d), I seem to have gravitated towards using quite a lot of “natural” and organic brands. (Note that not all of the products shown are “natural” or organic, just that there seems to be something of a trend going on.) (Note, also, that I use inverted commas around the “natural” – I do this only because it is such a ridiculously vague term. But it suits my purposes for now, so it stays.)

My skin wasn’t too great for the first trimester; I think it was mostly just a reflection of how terrible I was feeling in general; tired, sick and miserable! I also struggled to eat healthily, because I developed an aversion to most foods apart from Coco Pops and bananas and Jacob’s Cream Crackers topped with Davidstow cheese, and that definitely did my skin in a bit. But a few weeks into the second trimester – it must have been at around Christmastime – everything seemed to perk up and now my skin, I have to say, is just about the best that it has ever been. This week, at least!

I’m still using my Olay Regenerist Luminous serum, alternated with the Vichy Aqualia and the odd touch of something completely new, because I can’t resist trying the launches that come my way, but my most-used pregnancy product has to be the MV Organic Skincare moisturiser that I’ve harped on about for months. It just has a very calming, soothing effect on my skin, though it perhaps doesn’t provide quite enough moisture if used without a hydrating serum first. I must experiment with the MV boosters that I have to mix into it – I keep meaning to, but it slips my mind. Like just about everything else these days!

OK, onto the vid – products are listed below it, if you want to cheat and skip to the info part, and if you missed my Affordable Skincare Routine one at the weekend, you can catch up on that here.