What They Say: "A targeted treatment for existing stretchmarks that features darutoside-- a healing plant molecule recently shown in a clinical research study to decrease the appearance of a stretchmark's length and irregular surface area by over fifty percent. The luxurious formula also moisturizes while restoring the skin's firmness.

Use on stretchmarks of any age, and from any cause (pregnancy or weight gain). Apply to affected areas morning and evening for 4 weeks, then once daily until desired results are achieved."

Polina’s Experience: I have some very old stretchmarks on my thighs, pre-dating my pregnancies by several years, so they are quite faded already. I used Belli’s Stretchmark Minimizing Cream on the affected areas, wondering if this product could really reduce the skin damage by any degree. As I said, the stretchmarks are quite old and frankly after four months of daily use, I did not see much difference in my skin. I hope that more “raw” stretchmarks would respond noticeably and enthusiastically to the regular application of this cream.

As a plain moisturizer, this cream is a pleasure to use; emollient, smooth in texture, it absorbs quickly yet has great staying power as I could still feel it on my skin some 12 hours later, while showering. It doesn’t have the lavender aroma that I’m so fanatical about, but still has a very pleasing scent that makes application even more enjoyable. But obviously for the money you’d want this to be more than just a great moisturizer.

Overall, a quality moisturizer, but the stretchmark reduction claim remains unproven – at least on my skin. I would really love to hear from readers who have seen dramatic results from the use of this product.

Retail Price: 177ml $60.00 (bellicosmetics.com
or find a retail location near you here_

DeLush Rating:

What They Say: Belli Elasticity Belly Oil is an advanced blend of pure plant extracts that prepares skin for stretching. Tocopherol (Vitamin E) and Go-To-Kola extract have been shown in medical research to help prevent stretchmarks. Lavender and sweet almond oil soothe and calm the senses while nourishing and moisturizing to help skin stretch without the damage.

Use morning and night throughout pregnancy. Rubbing in a circular motion, apply to stomach, breasts, hips, and buttocks.

Polina’s Experience: I love everything about the Belli Elasticity Belly Oil! The scent, the packaging, the feel of the product on my skin and it’s effect! Now I know that scents are a highly subjective thing, but if you are a fan of lavender, you will love the way this stuff smells. Over the years I have used a variety of products – lotions, body washes, soaps, shampoos – that had lavender as the predominant aroma. Let me just say that some manufacturers out there clearly have no idea what lavender smells like! Belli’s oil captures the essence of lavender in the most wonderful way. It’s easy to tell that they use high quality essential oils in the product and they don’t skimp. A good 50% of my enjoyment of this product and why I would buy it again has been it’s intoxicating aroma.

The packaging is great. I love the dispenser pump. It makes it so easy to control how much of the oil comes out and minimizes spills and unnecessary waste.

Because this is an oil, of course initially, things are a little more greasy than if you were to use a lotion. But this is not a bad thing. Hopefully, some of you ladies who are pregnant or can recall being pregnant can relate, but it’s kind of fun and enjoyable to rub oil on that ever expanding belly and other parts of your weary pregnant body. It’s just so, dare I say, decadent?? And the truth in, this oil is not like Baby Oil – it actually sinks in and is absorbed within 5-7 minutes of application, leaving behind soft, supple and fragrant skin. Ahh!

But what of its purported ability to minimize/prevent stretchmarks? Well, here’s the honest truth: I don’t know! I did not use this oil with my first pregnancy and did not develop any stretchmarks. I have been using it with this pregnancy and still do not have any stretchmarks. What to make of this? I’d say that ultimately things like genetics, the rate at which you gain your pregnancy weight and the extent to which your belly grows and probably a few other factors, including your moisturizing routine, all play into whether you develop the dreaded striations or not. So am I proposing that you just leave things to chance? Not at all, just cautioning you to be realistic is all.

The bottom line is this: If you are looking for a great moisturizer to use during and post pregnancy, you enjoy the smell of lavender and the feel of luxurious oil on your skin, then Belli’s Elasticity Belly Oil is absolutely the way to go. The odds are very good that if you baby your skin through your pregnancy that it’ll be kind to you in return and I can’t think of a better way to do that than with this product.

Retail Price: 1.7oz - $48.00; 3.4oz - $26.00 (at bellicosmetics.com or go here to find other retail locations)
*Or, buy it in the DeLush Delights store now!

DeLush Rating:

What They Say: As your hormones change during pregnancy, your skin is naturally affected. While you need an effective cleanser for break outs and blemishes, many contain ingredients that should be avoided during pregnancy. Basq created this whipped cleanser with micro exfoliators, rich emollients, ylang ylang and imported oak root extract to rebalance and refine the appearance of your skin. It cleans and gently moisturizes the face to leave skin looking clear and smooth. The exotic ylang ylang flower blossoms also give this scrub a wonderfully calming scent. Use mornings and evenings to gently clarify your skin.

Polina’s Experience: Frankly, I have not been a big user of scrubs since my teen days. Back then, I used what I would now consider some pretty rough stuff – huge granules of ground apricot kernels…yikes!! Rather quickly I figured out that maybe I was being a little too abrasive on my face and began using a variety of drug store facial cleansers instead most of which have served me well. I’d say that it’s been a good 10-12 years since my last experience with a facial scrub so I was definitely curious to see how Basq Rebalancing Face Cleanser would agree with me.

If I had been concerned about the scrub being too rough on my skin, I needn’t have worried. The tiny granules buried in the thick, white creamy cleanser felt really good against my face. At first, I was using the product at my bathroom sink, but noticed that when I would rinse my face, some of the granules would invariably make their way down my neck and I’d have to spend extra time rinsing them off. Not a big deal, but I thrive on practicality and time management so I began using the product in the shower – it made for a quicker, cleaner rinse.

I enjoyed the creamy texture of this cleanser while using it, but I was a bit nervous at first because it didn’t leave me with that squeaky clean feeling like the “soapy” cleansers. My nose and the area around it are somewhat oily and prone to breakouts and I wasn’t sure if this product was just too rich for my skin. I needn’t have worried. After cleansing, my skin felt smooth and soft – not squeaky, but still clean and refreshed. I did not have any strange breakouts while using this product. I can’t say that there was any noticeable improvements to my skin either, but I have quite decent skin, so I wasn’t really battling any issues other than the day’s grime.

As far as scrub cleansers go, this is definitely a very gentle product. If you tend to have dry skin, yet would like to incorporate a “scrub” into your regimen, this may well be the answer. If you tend towards the oily spectrum, I’d say that this is still a worthwhile product, especially if you follow it up with a lighter moisturizer than you would typically use.

Retail Price: $34 for 2.0oz (at basqnyc.com or go here for retail locations)

DeLush Rating:

What They Say: "Now more than ever your tired, swollen legs and feet need relief! With its cooling, soothing feel, this lotion provides the perfect lift after a long day. Basq blends green tea, eucalyptus, cucumber, lavender, aloe vera and menthol to energize and soothe fatigued feet and legs during pregnancy. Perfect after a long walk or gentle workout. The refreshing lavender aromatherapy and gentle tingling make putting your feet up a pleasure. Smooth it on and relax, you’ll feel the difference immediately!"

Polina’s Experience: I love the fresh fragrance of this lotion! It is both refreshing and soothing . Application is easy – the lotion is light with an almost gel-like quality and glides onto feet and legs with a delicious, cool tingle. It absorbs quickly and leaves no residue, just soft, fragrant skin. Very, very nice! Slather your tootsies, elevate and aaahhh!

Retail Price: $19.50 (basqnyc.com or go here for retail locations)

DeLush Rating:

What They Say: "A blend of nine different oils and waxes, this product is super-targeted moisture. Designed to rid you of those obscure little dry patches (a weird side-effect of pregnancy), our Wonder-Full Balm soon became an obsession with all of us – it is the handiest product to keep in a handbag and rub on anything that needs a bit of glow or a hit of super-moisture.

Use on lips, cuticles, hands, elbows, heels, knees; pretty much anywhere that moisture is needed.

The ingredients are so lovely:
Gold of Pleasure Oil
Meadowfoam Seed Oil
Avocado Oil
Evening Primrose Oil
Carrot Oil
Sweet Almond Oil
Manuka Oil
Carnauba Wax and Beeswax

It is the dream team to have on your side when you and your skin are parched."

Polina's Experience: When I reviewed another one of Mama Mio's products here earlier, I forgot to give you the scoop on the talent behind the products. Here's a little background info:

Mama Mio was conceived in London by three friends (Kathy, Sian and Tanya) who have worked in skincare for ten years. In that time they have had 7 babies between them and realized a need for specific, luxurious and safe creams that help skin with the nine month s-t-r-e-t-c-h! They have worked with their favourite chemists and aromatherapists to create perfect pregnancy salvation products.

I gotta give these ladies the props! Wonderf-Full Balm is indeed wonderful! Packaged in a fun container and easy to dispense, this super moisturizer is a pleasure to use. It comes out thick, almost Vaseiline-like and sinks in with some gentle coaxing as you massage it into whatever feels dry. All you're left with is touchable, soft skin. And like the other products from this line, this one, too, smells great! Ahhh!

One complaint: At 1 fluid ounce, there is not a whole lot of balm to go around, so I certainly wouldn't use it daily on any large part of my body, ie. legs or belly or arms, at least not if I want the stuff to last more than two weeks. So yes, hands, elbows, knees - the places where you need an extra dose of moisture - this product does the job and does it with style.

Retail Price: $25.00 (at www.mamamio.com or go here to find retail locations near you)

DeLush Rating:

What They say: "Enjoy a little TLC for your gently expanding belly. Basq stretch mark oil hydrates and nourishes the skin to help soothe itchiness and prevent stretch marks. Formulated to promote skin elasticity and resiliency during and after pregnancy, it leaves itchy skin feeling soft, smooth and replenished. This rich golden aromatherapy blend perfect for caring for stretch marks includes Hazelnut, Rosehip, Grapeseed, Wheatgerm and Sweet Almond oils plus Vitamin E, all known to help tone and regenerate the skin. Perfect for the needs of your growing belly during pregnancy. These hand-picked essential oils absorb quickly leaving skin feeling wonderfully silky and smooth. Using the traditions of aromatherapy, essential oils have been carefully blended for your delicate nose to soothe your body and mind during pregnancy. Massage this rich, fast absorbing stretch mark oil onto your belly, chest and thighs morning and evening."

Polina's Experience: I've always been a fan of essential oils and aromatherapy. And where some women crave certain foods during their pregnancies, I have discovered that I crave smells. Yes, I know - quite weird! I have yet to meet another woman who has been stricken with the same pregnancy affliction, but I know you gals are out there somewhere. Anyway, apart from craving the smell of leather and industrial items such as rubber and gasoline, I practically swoon at the mere hint of either euculyptus or lavender. Basq Resilient Belly Oil has a proprietary blend of aromas including euculyptus, geranium and patchouli, so you can imagine that just opening the sophisticated, glass bottle and sniffing it endears this product to me.

The wonderful aroma aside, I do have one bone to pick. The presentation is nice but Basq should have come up with a better way to dispense this product. The bottle has a screw top that when removed leaves nothing between you and the very runny substance within. During my first attempt to use the product, I spilled a bunch of it all over the sink and floor as it came gushing out. I've gotten better at dosing, but it would be nice to have either a smaller opening or some kind of a pump mechanism to get that stuff out. Nuff said.

I started using the oil and enjoyed the texture, the smell and the soft, smooth skin I got as a result of using it. Only problem is that about a week into it, my belly broke out in a mutlitude of small pimples. I'm guessing that the combination of oil, hot weather, sweat and a t-shirt rubbing on my bump produced the unsightly blemishes. I stopped using the oil and the pimples went away. Bummer. Still, I loved the product enough to continue using it on other parts of my body like by butt and thighs and it has been wonderful with no breakouts or other weird side effects.

Overall, a quality product that probably works flawlessly in the colder months when the skin tends to be much dryer and the sweating is at a minimum. Basq just needs to rethink packaging to make the use more convenient and less wasteful.

Retail Price: $36.00 (at basqnyc.com or go here to find retail locations)

DeLush Rating:

What They Say: "Boob Tube is a leave-on moisture mask for the very delicate skin in the bust area. This skin does not take well to large size changes and however much you wish your fantastic pregnant profile was permanent, it isn’t. It is on loan and the rent is high if you don’t take care of your skin. Trust us, you will be paying for years to come! So keep rubbing in our Boob Tube – an EFA-rich blend of the following oils:

Evening Primrose Oil, Avocado Oil, Olive Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Nature’s perfect Shea Butter (the most potent and healing of all butters) and the AMAZING CoQ10 – a heavy-duty anti-oxidant. CoQ10 is incredibly powerful at skin defence. It helps strengthen cell vitality and helps prevent collagen degradation so your skin can stretch and retract maintaining its tone and elasticity. CoQ10 can actually make your skin look and feel firmer, softer and more toned.

The combination of all these ingredients, blended with our gentle Gravida fragrance, give you a gravity-defying team."

Polina's Experience: First things first: I love the packaging of this, and other Mama Mio products. If nothing else, it looks cute on your vanity and is fun to dispense. But I know you wouldn't want to buy this just to be a decoration. The lotion bottle reads "deluxe pampering for mamas to be" and I have to agree that this lotion does feel very luxe. First, it has a great fragrance; all that we are told is that the unique Gravida fragrance is a "heavenly blend of 10 pregnancy-specific pure essential oils". I agree. The stuff smells wonderful. I thoroughly relish rubbing it into my "boobs"! Smooth and easily absorbed, the lotion had a very pleasing texture and I enjoy using it on a daily basis because it does make my "girls' feel spoilt - a special potion just for them!

One thing that I can't yet address is whether Boob Tube does indeed have gravity defying qualities. It's a nice thought to think that a lotion can help keep us perky, but there's more at play in staying firm than just skin moisture, and lotions, by and large, are only skin deep. I believe that this product may be helpful with reducing stretch mark as I have yet to see any develop on myself and I love the pampering sensation that I get from using this product. As far as defying gravity, ladies, I think push-ups and other pec-enhancing exercises are a necessary addition to any boob skin-care regimen if you want to see any real results in that department. (Oh, and there's always plastic surgery!) ;-)

Retail Price: $35 (at mamamio.com)

DeLush Rating:

What They Say: "With a high concentration of natural ingredients, prevents and relieves the sensation of discomfort during pregnancy in two ways: i immediate: from the moment of application, the legs feel pleasantly refreshed and relaxed; Long-term: the uniqu association of the Elastoregulator and other natural active ingredients tones skin and provides long-lasting relief of tired legs. The moisturizing effect of hyaluronic acid helps restore and maintain the quality of the skin.

To use: Apply to the legs morning and evening, massaging gently from ankle to knee."

Polina's Experience: (A little background) - ahhh!! The joys of being pregnant! Not! This is my second (and unquestionably last) time being pregnant and I have to say, it has been a less than stellar experience. I hear that there are women out there who are happier being pregnant than not; let it be said that I am not one of those women, not by a long shot. My hormones are raging, my body is out of whack, my skin is itchy, my face is breaking out, I don't sleep well and I feel like a whale...and that's on a good day! So you can imagine that finding small comforts where I can is definitely a welcome break from feeling like I'm being squeezed out of my own body. Then there's the small fact that I am about to become what the medical community likes to term as "advanced maternal age" (35 - BAH!!) and you can see that I am more than a little worried about things like skin elasticity and making sure that there's still something left of the "old" non-advanced me, when this baby comes along.

Mustela's Instant Comfort Legs promised the one thing that I have been craving lately: relaxation and a feeling of refreshment. After taking a shower, I pulled out the unassuming tube and massaged the potion into my legs, from ankle to knee as instructed. The product has a lovely, light herbal aroma though I couldn't assign a particular scent to it. The lotion was light, absorbing very quickly into my skin and leaving virtually no residue. As I was massaging it in, I felt a refreshing tingle. I was a little surprised by how insubstancial the product felt - I am used to slathering some very thick, intensive stuff onto my dry body - I wondered whether any moisturizing benefits could be gained.

After using Instant Comfort for over a week, I noticed that my legs did in fact appear to be less dry and scaly looking. Cool! And I liked the refreshing "tingle" especially when i had freshly shaved legs!

As far as the touted benefits of relaxation for tired legs, truthfully, my legs are perhaps the least tired of me - I wish Mustela would come out with something that would work on my lower back or my shoulders where I'm feeling the effects of pregnancy more readily. I think this product is worth a shot if you are feeling a lot of pregnancy-associated stress in your legs - I have heard other users swear by it. If your legs are feeling fine and you are just looking for a great moisturizer, I wouldn't necessarily make this a first choice for the money.

I will continue to use this for the rest of my pregnancy and will let you know if I feel any differently at month nine.

Retail Price: $19.00 (mustelausa.com)

DeLush Rating:

What They Say: "A targeted treatment for existing stretchmarks that features darutoside-- a healing plant molecule recently shown in a clinical research study to decrease the appearance of a stretchmark's length and irregular surface area by over fifty percent. The luxurious formula also moisturizes while restoring the skin's firmness.

Use on stretchmarks of any age, and from any cause (pregnancy or weight gain). Apply to affected areas morning and evening for 4 weeks, then once daily until desired results are achieved."

Polina’s Experience: I have some very old stretchmarks on my thighs, pre-dating my pregnancies by several years, so they are quite faded already. I used Belli’s Stretchmark Minimizing Cream on the affected areas, wondering if this product could really reduce the skin damage by any degree. As I said, the stretchmarks are quite old and frankly after four months of daily use, I did not see much difference in my skin. I hope that more “raw” stretchmarks would respond noticeably and enthusiastically to the regular application of this cream.

As a plain moisturizer, this cream is a pleasure to use; emollient, smooth in texture, it absorbs quickly yet has great staying power as I could still feel it on my skin some 12 hours later, while showering. It doesn’t have the lavender aroma that I’m so fanatical about, but still has a very pleasing scent that makes application even more enjoyable. But obviously for the money you’d want this to be more than just a great moisturizer.

Overall, a quality moisturizer, but the stretchmark reduction claim remains unproven – at least on my skin. I would really love to hear from readers who have seen dramatic results from the use of this product.

Retail Price: 177ml $60.00 (bellicosmetics.com
or find a retail location near you here_

DeLush Rating: