Sunbathing exposes you to ultraviolet rays which are dangerous for everyone obviously, but more so when pregnant. Because of the increased hormone levels, the skin become more sensitive and develop more sun spots. My mom always told me she had some brown pregnancy spots mainly in her face, around upper lip and cheeks so I did my best to avoid sun exposure during pregnancy until I moved to Los Angeles.

Sun spots are not the “real” reason to avoid sunbathing during pregnancy. Excessive exposure to the sun can cause dehydration and overheating, not to mention increasing chances of cancer developing. Therefore creating a smart sunscreen routine is essential and here you can find some tips I followed during my first pregnancy.

1.Avoid the sun between 11am and 4pm :

The suns rays are at their strongest so you don’t want to take that risk. Better be safe than sorry.

2.Choose a smart sunscreen :

I love Lierac Sunissime series. I apply SPF50 to the bump and to my face and use SPF30 for the rest of my body. Reminder : reapply every 2-3 hours for maximum protection.

3.Drink plenty of fluids :

Staying hydrated with lots of plain water will keep the body cool and prevent overheating and dehydration.

4.Dress accordingly :

You may want to hide the bump in one-piece swimsuit or wear appropriate beach dress on top of your bikinis. I prefer to use white cotton boyfriend shirt all the time which can protect my shoulders and the bump while tanning my legs.

5.Add sun protection accessories :

A hat and sunglasses while outdoors will help reduce the exposure to the UV rays. The large hat will provide protection to the face and neck area. And sunglasses can help to reduce the damage to the eyes.

 Robin Piccone Bikinis

La Poudre Hat

Cartier Love Bracelets with Iris Ivy Necklace 

Here is our first workshop with Mitza as we organised the second one on last Sunday in our Akatlar Store.

Such a perfect way to welcome spring and bring some happiness home with you.

For more info or  to register for our next workshops, you can follow us on instagram or e-mail us :

@mitza.biz

@maritsastore

mitza@maritsa.co

Today, I want to talk about my pregnancy skincare routine, although there was no pregnancy glow for me in the beginning and my face is covered in spots for the first 5 to 6 months no matter what I did or which product I tried. But, the products I’ve been using for the last 3 months are great to remember to keep things simple when it comes to irritated skin and it’s time to share my oh-not-so-glory beauty regime from the beginning. First months, I blamed my oily skin turning me something super slippery and shiny instead of making me gorgeously glowing. And then my face is covered in acne and some red scars after that for another month which made me missing my first slippery months. Acne scars in oily skin were impossible to hide, or cover with make-up. And I was supposed to be happy with my new body when it was impossible to love myself in the mirror like creating a human life inside me was not challenging enough. Anyways, not the best way to learn, but here is what I ended up with, during pregnancy, every woman’s skin and body reacts differently. You may get that pregnancy glow or you may develop more oily skin and look like a teenager with a bump.

Obviously, I was feeling ugly and helpless and I called a friend, whom gave birth couple of months ago at that time and asked her advice. Next day, I scheduled a pregnancy safe facial – which I was avoiding for the first 6 months because I thought it can irritate my skin and left more scars like I needed. To be honest, it was the best thing I’ve done for myself during my pregnancy and I left the spa feeling like a princess. I wish I had it before or never stop having my monthly facials in the first place. And,on the recommendation of the esthetician, I decided to change my beauty regime and get rid of all the products I’ve been using. She was kind of shocked when she heard I was putting 7 different products on my face before I go to bed.

She convinced me to use less products and keep my beauty regime simple. Using so many products to fix my problem was doing more harm than good. My skin was tired of absorbing so many ingredients and they sit on top and clogs my pores instead of traveling into the deep cellular tissue.

As you can guess, only thing I needed for my irritated skin to calm down was a perfect combination of a light moisturizer and serum. After almost 3 weeks with my new beauty routine, my skin was much more radiant and less irritated.

This hydragenist series of Lierac designed for normal/combination to oily skin. If you are just not ready to take the leap to anti-aging but are looking for a moisturizing skincare that goes even further, it’s perfect for you as well. Your skin’s freshness will be completely restored.

MAMA M!

As many of you might have noticed, I am not so good at sharing my personal moments in life. I couldn’t share anything on social media during my wedding because no photo could describe how I was feeling on that special day. Same for the baby, it took 6 months to tell you that we are expecting our first child. This time my baby shower, another beautiful day that I still can’t believe when I call it “my” day and here I am, trying to organise photos and make up my mind to put those right words together. You might have seen on Instagram, it was more than a month ago and all I can say is WOW!

I have to admit, I’ve never been a baby shower type of girl who always dream about pink balloons or baby face cookies. But when we decided to spend our last 3 months in Los Angeles, baby shower was a good idea to see all of my girl friends and welcome our little baby girl since none of them will be with us when she opens her little eyes for the first time. I’ve decided to host a baby shower or lunch or whatever you call it but was so busy with the last minute arrangements before leaving town and my work and my husband’s health problems so two of my best friends, Nil and Amber, were amazing and generous enough to take all the responsibility and organise my baby shower! From balloons to the cake, decoration details and flower arrangements, everything was well-thought out and exactly how I dreamt of. Nothing too pink, nothing too girly, nothing boring! I am so thankful to these two amazing women and everyone who helped them make the day so incredible and special!

Without you, this would never happen!

We.eat.love did an amazing job with their super delicious , super pretty and super healthy cake – some of us needs to eat clean right?

My Mitza did all the flower decor! I’m not talking about flower arrangements only, my flower crown was also very beautiful which I will hang on our nursery wall in future!

Ko.ka Photography stayed with us all day long and took these amazing photos for us!

Fairmont Quasar Hotel Istanbul was our host on that day and they welcomed us and our guests so warmly. The catering, their super professional service, our terrace suit was everything  we could ask for.

I felt so loved and supported and there are many people who already love this baby so much and it’s so-beautifully-overwhelming!

Thank you!

Dress : Elizabeth & James

Earrings : Vanina

]]> http://blog.maritsa.co/2017/05/14/my-baby-shower/feed/ 0 http://blog.maritsa.co/2017/04/23/maternal-mornings/ http://blog.maritsa.co/2017/04/23/maternal-mornings/#respond Sun, 23 Apr 2017 20:35:57 +0000 http://maritsa.co/?p=15539 Read More...

Ve geçen 6 ayı anlatacak doğru kelimeleri bulmak neredeyse imkansız. Hadi diyelim denedim, muhtemelen şu kelimeleri yüzlerce kere tekrar ederek anlamlı bir bütün oluşturmaya çalışırım; değişik, mucizevi, heyecanlı, garip, korkutucu, aşırı derecede güzel ve çok acayip!

İnsanın içinde, evet tam olarak göbeğinin altında bir yerlerde atan ikinci bir kalp olması öyle kolay anlaşılabilecek, hazmedilebilecek bir duygu değil.

O büyüdükçe büyüyen, olgunlaştıkça değişen, zamanla daha tanıdık gelen bu yeni duygu ile tanışalı 6 aydan biraz fazla oldu. Kimi zaman zorlandığımız olsa da çoğunlukla oldukça keyifli bir 6 ay geçirdik. Ve bugün, bebeğimizin çok yakında aramızda olacağının haberini sizlerle paylaşmak istedik.

Sevgilim ve ben, küçük kızımızla tanışmak için sabırsızlanıyoruz.

Ve her günümüz birbirinden değişik, mucizevi, heyecanlı, garip, korkutucu, aşırı derecede güzel ve çok acayip!

Fotoğraf : Gaye Yön

Sevgili Four Seasons Istanbul ekibine ev sahipliği için çok teşekkürler!

Siz dinlemeyi bilin..

Sadece rengi, biçimi veya kokusuyla değil, her seferinde bizi büründürdüğü güzel hislerle de herkes için bambaşka duygular konuşur çiçekler. Anlarımızı süsler, anılarımızı renklendirirler. Sevmeyeni de yoktur. Kimi dalında görmek ister, kimi kucağında tatlı bir bukette, kimi de sevdiği bir vazonun içinde, her daim yanı başında.

Adının esin kaynağı bütün bitkilerin doğduğu toprak olan Mitza, taze mevsim çiçekleri, kuru çiçekler ve bitkilerle hazırladığı, ihtiyaca yönelik, hikayeler anlatan, zevkli ve özgün tasarımlarda her bir çiçeği doğallık ve bütünlüklerini koruyarak bir araya getir. Mitza, 2016 Aralık ayından beri de bu çalışmaları Maritsa Store’da Mitza&Maritsa işbirliği ile sürdürmeye devam ediyor.

Bundan böyle, tasarımın moda yüzünü sizlerle buluşturan Maritsa, doğallığın tasarımla harmanlandığı en yeni köşesi,”Fresh Corner” ile Mitza’yı sizlerle buluşturuyor. Mağazadaki Mitza köşesinden günlük taze çiçeklerinizi alabilir, özel günleriniz için sipariş verebilir, haftalık size ve evinize özel hazırlanan aranjmanlar ile mekan algınıza tazelik katabilirsiniz.

Aslında aklınıza gelmeyecek binbir türlü yolu var çiçeği hayatınıza katmanın. Nasıl yapacağınızı bilmiyorsanız da önemli değil, bir kahveye buyrun..

Mitza size anlatsın.

@mitza.biz

Maritsa Store

Meydan Cad. Edin & Suner Plaza 

No:14 / A Akatlar / Beşiktaş

Istanbul

0-212-984-0105

Coccinelle San Valentine Mini Bag / Zara Shoes / Network Oversize Coat

with

Cartier Love Bracelets 

It seems like just the other day I was wearing midi dresses, open toe mules and spring trench coats and for almost two weeks now winter is back in town. It’s so chilly and rainy which make it so impossible to post any good pictures on the blog, even on instagram and so hard to dress up accordingly.

Anyway, it’s good to remember how happy I was and how cute my little Coccinelle San Valentine bag from their spring-summer collection is.

If I’m going to talk about LOVE on Valentine’s Day, it has to be a certain form of love – the love of two. Every form of love requires someone or something other than yourself, an object of affection. Even trying to love yourself completely, including both your good and oh-not-so-good sides,  is all about one part of you loving the other. Also, how about loving a significant other which makes the world an infinitely better place, a place worth living?

I have always believed in power of two. I think it starts with mom whose love is the foundation for feeling secure and confident about life. There is also a sibling or a friend who might challenge us to fight for what we believe in and encourage us to stand against the world if need be, and become part of our extended family we build in this world with friends we love and cherish.  It can also be a childhood pet which is a living proof that love does not require common background, language or understanding. With time, it teaches us what kind of a person we want to be, how much we can sacrifice for one another, and how deeply we can love without expecting anything in return. Then in good time, it might be a child, whose love shows us how willingly we would give up everything in a blink and how strongly we can hold on to life at the same time.

The list may differ from one person to another but there is always someone who brings love to life. I don’t know how to thank each and every person who walked beside me through thick and thin, helped me make it to today and made me believe in the power of two.

I feel blessed that I’ve found the half of the power I need early in my life and can’t stop smiling about it. Loving someone so much, to the extent that you can’t express with just words, is beautiful.

These were my thoughts when I saw the new slimmer Cartier Love Bracelets which are meant to be worn together, forever. They remind me how we share life, face disasters, create memories and enrich each other with people who touch our lives. I hope that  you feel the same today for someone or something, or even a part of yourself, and believe in the power of two.

Happy Valentine’s Day.