Retinol is OUT when you’re pregnant so what skincare products are safe for us to use during these 9 months? Sharing my favorites and what I use to double-check that I can use it. Plus what I learned from a recent facial at Rationale.

After two weeks of testing a handful of items that were gifted to us during the trip, I’ve narrowed down the top 10 favorites that I will be restocking on (once I’m out).

I never really shared my day and night skincare routine, which takes a mere 5-minutes. I tailored the routine to my pure laziness and the fact that I’m usually traveling, so a quick 5-minute routine is perfect for on the plane, in the hotel, and when I’m running late or am exhausted and just want to go straight to bed. Seriously, it takes me longer to fill in my brows every morning, hah.

If you don’t already know, OSEA is my favorite skincare brand and has been for the last two years. There is no other brand I trust more especially after battling cystic acne. Not only is OSEA located in California, they are also family own and is committed to non-toxic beauty by using only plant-based, vegan ingredients. You can literally just feel the difference with OSEA and as much as I rave about it, there is no better way to say it than to prove it. Therefore, I decided to treat KSOLE to his first ever facial and of course, it had to be with OSEA.

I woke up one morning, walked into the bathroom and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I looked myself dead in the eyes and started crying. I grazed my right hand across my cheek, feeling the bumps underneath my skin, before moving my hand across my chin. Nothing but bumps. My smooth skin was no where to be found and in its place was redness, irritation, acne that had slowly taken over my face. I couldn't recognize myself anymore and the only thing I could rely on was the abusive amount of foundation to partially cover up this ugliness. I woke up every morning for the next three months, utterly depressed and in fear that this was permanent.

All of these products above replaced all my prior beauty go-to's from Tarte to Nars. I didn't realize that the things I was using before was making my skin worse, attributing to the problem and not resolving it. As soon as I threw out all the other items and started using just these 6 items, my skin started getting better. Of course, in addition to the resurfx treatments. The key to clear skin is to truly watch what you're putting on, along with what you're putting into your body as well but that's for another time.

Everything you find at Credo is clean, from the ingredients in the products they carry, to the transparency between the brands, them, and the consumers. I've been using the below combination for the last month and have seen the difference in my skin. Not only me, but my boyfriend, friends, and family have noticed the significant difference this switch has done for me. I threw out all my previous make-up, including my all-time favorite Tarte foundation, and once I stopped using those products, my skin started getting better. I was shocked and surprised what a difference a minor change in routine can make.