All natural beauty: things I've experimented with this pregnancy.

There we go! One day shy of 30 weeks! I really wish I could live in skirts these days, and I would but I'm slightly clumsy and I find myself tripping in them a lot. haha And a pregnant lady who trips all the time really is hazardous.

Since it's been warmer I realized my dull, white legs will be showing soon. ;) As usual, I've been on my pinterest boards looking through all natural beauty tricks for fun. I've used this trick twice now, and I really like it. Although, I did just finish cleaning our bathroom and found all the coconut and olive oil very tricky to get off. Any suggestions? Haha It's quite comical to watch me and my belly curve around the toilet to clean behind it, and get in the tub to scrub, scrub, scrub.

About two weeks ago I noticed my cheeks finally started to become very, very dry. I've used half apple cider vinegar and half water as a toner through most of my pregnancy. My skin freaked out a bit as I entered into my second trimester, but this stuff seriously cleared it right up. I think after allllll these weeks of using it with really no moisturizer (shhh...I know that's probably terrible for my skin, but I really do drink tons and tons of water and the skin on my face doesn't seem to need much else most of the year) it may have started to dry me out a bit, but I found this moisturizing facial cleanser last week and I really, really love it!! I was super worried it would make my face extra oily, but it didn't at all!! I love using all natural beauty recipes that only have a few ingredients because I remember how to do them easier, making it so that I actually use them. I started looking for a new cleanser because I recently read that they are trying to get rid of all exfoliants with plastic scrubbies in them (something about fish and landfills?), and since I've used the same one for literally years, I started looking for natural alternatives when mine goes off the market. I love that the baking soda actually makes your face feel scrubbed and cleaned, and it really does get all your make up off. I switched to using the ACV toner only once a day or so, and I've really noticed a difference. I swear, the day after I used the coconut and baking soda mixture, my cheeks were already brighter and rosy.

My other favorite natural winter skin repair that I started about this time last year was mixing one egg white with some fresh squeezed lemon juice. You make the paste and let it sit as a mask on your skin for about 20 minutes. The protein from the egg helps rebuild your chapped winter skin. I ONLY use real lemon juice because you just never know what's in the store bought, prepackaged kind, and I don't what who-knows-what sitting on my skin.

At first I started doing these weird experiments when B wasn't home, but I don't care anymore. He knows I'm a weirdo. haha I don't think he was home the one time I experimented with tumeric, turning my face orange. (It was a good thing I try these at night, or else I would have had to go out looking like an Oompa Loompa.) Honey is the ONLY natural ingredient that doesn't work well with my skin. Any other thing I've put on my skin has really done fine, some things just work better than others for me.

I really want to try this all-natural mascara sometime. I've used the same Clinique one for ages because I'm allergic to all other ones. I used to use mineral veil, but it's just too expensive for me to keep buying, so I want to try to make this one sometime. I could go on, and on... ;) I really find this stuff interesting and it's always a fun challenge to try something new, especially if it saves money. The one product I do buy and haven't been able to bring myself to experiment with making on my own is my foundation. I have again used the same thing for years. It's Naked Minerals Pressed Mineral Foundation. My mom is an esthetician and actually sold this stuff back when I was in junior high I think. I like it because it's not a powder. With powder you seem to waste more than you actually use. It also doesn't make my face oily. Other loose or even pressed mineral foundations I've tried make my face oily very quickly. They've done all sorts of fancy tests with this stuff that I can't remember right now (thank you pregnancy brain). I do remember they tested being able to sleep in this stuff and it doesn't harm your skin. Also, there was something about being able to put it in an open wound (not that you would really want to, right?) and it didn't cause any extra harm. Being a pre-school teacher means the people I spend the most time with during the day don't really give a hoot what I look like, as long as I know how to put the puzzle back together. But my basic beauty routine that I stick to most days includes this foundation and a tiny bit of mascara, if I even get that far. haha Anyways, enough about Naked Minerals. I love the stuff. :)

Sidenote: Any things you guys did around the house that were very helpful for when you came home with a new baby? I actually have time to be home today and get caught up on cleaning and organizing, which is ALWAYS energizing to me for some reason, so I sat down and made a very, very basic grocery list in case anyone has to do that for us while we're in the hospital. I figured it's nicer to have a stocked fridge when you first come home so you don't have to figure out who has more energy to go out and grab the basics to get by for that first week. Any other suggestions? The only other thing (besides trying this natural carpet cleaner today) that I really want to have done before baby gets here is getting my blinds cleaned. I HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE doing this. I always did as a kid, and I STILL do. That's why they are dusty pretty much all the time. I don't know how to do it well, and they are white plantation shutter type blinds, so they show dust, and the black streaks from cleaning the dust. Sigh Anyways, again...what other things were helpful to you to have done at home when baby came home? :)

xoxo