I suppose it's a mixture of pregnancy hormones along with my ever changing body that leaves me feeling less than attractive these days. While I am embracing my bump from all angles, for some reason I cannot seem to mesh my face/hair/makeup etc. with my body.  This is something somewhat familiar to me, as I have struggled for awhile to find a hair and makeup style that I feel really suits me and best compliments my features.

I am very pale by nature and up until the pregnancy, have done my best to stay as tan as possible either via self-tanner, laying out in the summer, or the tanning bed in the winter. And although I can use self-tanner safely while pregnant, I've just not been feeling it. I have thought about getting a professional airbrush tan and probably will here very shortly, but as of now I've not been happy with the results of what I've tried. I normally use the Jergen's Natural Glow and it works brilliantly. I assume it's my body chemistry that is throwing it off, because since the pregnancy, it doesn't "take" like it should. It takes DAYS for it to work and when it does it's very faint and uneven. You could say it's user error, but I'm not doing anything differently than I used to and it used to work like a charm.

So, with that being the case I decided to check out beauty tips for people with fare skin. I found several good suggestions and tried a few things. The only think I can really attest to is my new foundation by Calvin Klein. I usually use a moisturizer and then just drugstore makeup, but on a recent visit to Ulta, I allowed myself to be made-over by one of the reps and ended up loving the product they were pitching. It's a moisturizer, serum and foundation in one that requires no powder or any type of finisher after it's application. LOVE IT! I highly suggest you try it if you're in the market for a new one. It's more expensive than the drugstores, but not quite up there with the department store brands (roughly $30.)

But other than that, nothing that I've tried has really given me the "fresh and awake/alive" look I'm going for. My skin is not that type of pale that lacks pigment. In fact I have a good bit of pigment, but it creates rosacea type cheeks and horrible dark under-eye circles. So even with good foundation, without a tan I look somewhat dead especially in natural lighting. I've tried contouring, bronzer, blush, every possible type of highlighter, nothing works.

Then we have my hair. While I love my perm that I got a few weeks ago, I'm finding it very difficult to replicate the look that the stylist gave me when she put on the finishing touches. Granted, she round-brushed it which is CRAZY hard to do on your own and she also used a hot tool. Well, unbeknownst to her, she actually fried the ends of a good chunk of my hair in the front and I had to go in and cut off the split ends. For whatever reason, no matter what protector I use and no matter how expensive the hot tool, these days they all fry my hair. ALL of them, flat irons, curling irons, etc. The only thing I can do with out frying the ends is blow dry it.  Also, she didn't really shape my hair when she cut it after the perm, so I ended up going to my regular stylist and having him shape it up for me. But for some reason, when it's down in it's natural perm state, it still looks like a massive helmet is on my head to me. I have to use product to bring out the curl and since I usually sleep with it damp, I have to dry it some otherwise I wake up with it looking crazy wonkey (that's a new word, yes I just made it up.)

So, put all of that together and I'm a total wreck. I feel good about myself from the face down, funny enough with the exception of my crazy pale legs. I plan on parking it by the pool in my cute maternity bathing suit as soon as the weather permits, but I doubt that does much. I just don't know what to do! I've considered cutting my hair even shorter (everyone in my family and some of my friends just gasped), but seriously, I am at a loss as to what to do. I can't wear my hair "down" and it look right. The only way I can somewhat be happy with it is when it's up or pulled back and the whole reason I got the perm was to be able to wear it down! UGH!!!!!!

Can someone just put me in solitary confinement until I have this child and these hormones go away? Or until summer and I can get tan? K, thanks. 29 Weeks!
P.S. The ONLY reason I look decent in this picture is because of the lighting!
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