Monday, 18 September 2017

nspa Your Special Time - First Impressions

During pregnancy it's recommended that you get yourself some "specially formulated" products to keep you looking and feeling fab - any excuse for a pamper, right? There's tons of choices out there and after a lot of umming and ahhing I finally decided on the nspa Mum-to-be gift pack. Mostly because it seemed to be the most cost-effective option.


Products Included:
- Stretch Mark Oil
- Moisturising Bump Butter
- Dead Sea Mineral Mud Mask
- Nipple Balm

Even though I got the pack quite early on in the pregnancy, I didn't start to use them until I was 29 weeks pregnant. I hadn't noticed any stretchmarks yet but as I really didn't want to gain any more stripes, I decided to finally start using the bump butter. Honestly, I wasn't impressed. It looked like super cheap vanilla ice cream, it was so yellow. I wasn't overly keen on the smell either, which may have been the shea butter. 


It felt really weird to touch as well. Like a tub of cold custard is really the only way to explain it. And it felt tacky/sticky but actually seemed to absorb into my skin pretty well, and left me feeling soft. Overall I'd rate it a solid 3/10. You can actually use it all over your body, but I just stuck to my bump and hips as I didn't like the tacky feeling.

The same night I decided to use the stretch mark oil on my breasts and thighs. It was meant to do basically the same thing as the butter, so I don't really understand why they do both? I accidentally applied way too much so it took a while for my skin to soak it in properly, but my skin felt so soft immediately after applying. I didn't really expect to like it, as it's basically bio oil, and I hate bio oil. It wasn't quite so bad, as either the bio oil or the bump butter, but it still wasn't great. 


I was so excited to try the dead sea mineral mud mask! I generally use tea tree oil or bamboo and charcoal face masks, so this was a first for me. Although my skin is pretty good, I couldn't resist a pamper before my sisters wedding! Except that once I read the sachet, it actually says not to use on sensitive skin. Damn it. So back in the box that went! I really didn't want to risk a reaction just days before I had to stand in front of a photographer, so waited until the week after my sisters wedding to use it. As soon as I opened the sachet, all I could smell was this powerful, floral scent. Never a good sign, as the last time I used a perfumed mask my face burned for hours. 
Unsurprisingly, just minutes after applying the dead sea mask, my face started to sting. I stuck it out for the full 15 minutes though, as I wanted to get the full effect. Apart from the stinging, it actually felt quite nice on my face, and the scent wasn't too overpowering either. However, 30 minutes after taking it off, my face was extremely dry, and I actually had to moisturise, which is something I almost never do. So yeah, if you have sensitive skin, absolutely do not use this mask.

I wasn't expecting to need to use the nipple balm during pregnancy but by week 31 my nipples were becoming really quite sore and itchy. Thankfully, the balm seemed to soothe them really quickly, and is easily my favourite of these products! I actually expected it to be more like a lotion, but it came out the tube looking and smelling like honey - without the stickiness! I didn't need to use too much either; one squeeze was enough for both nipples. I didn't really need it too much more throughout the rest of the pregnancy, and it spent most of it's time in my hospital bag!

Towards the end of my pregnancy, my sister surprised me with another Mum-to-be gift pack, this time from Sanctuary Spa. The only two products the same were the butter and the oil. I compared the two brands and...nspa ended up in the bin. I had barely been using the products anyway, and as the niceness and quality of SS was 10x better, it was a no-brainer. So, long story short, if you're expecting, do not use nspa. Just going by quality alone, it's not worth your money. 

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