Before becoming pregnant, I had imagined I would be resting bowls of ice-cream on my big belly and wearing cute outfits. I never thought about the actual delivery or how my body would react to growing a life. Needless to say, it wasn't what I had imagined and although my pregnancy was difficult due to the constant nausea (yep I am talking 20 times a day for the first 3 months and then eventually less and less until just once a day in the last couple of weeks before Romeo was due), I still wanted to document this time in my life. Jordan and I thought it would be something nice to show our babies when they are older too.
I was about 6 months pregnant and I was going to do the shoot with a photographer friend. I was on pinterest getting some inspiration for the styling etc when I received an email from an Australian Organic Skincare brand. I was lucky enough to be invited to participate in a photoshoot to find the new brand ambassador's for Vanessa Megan Skincare. Just before I became pregnant Jordan and I made the switch in our lifestyle starting with going vegetarian and using organic products.
Once I become aware of all the chemicals used in everyday products there was no way I was putting that kind of stuff on my skin. My baby's health was my number one priority and I wanted to give my baby the healthiest start to life. Some common chemicals such as parabens, Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA), Triethanolamine (TEA)/Diethanolamine (DEA), DMDM Hydrantoin are carcenogenics, cause cancer, organ failure and allergic reactions.
A little bit about Vanessa Megan and why I wanted to represent the brand. Vanessa Megan is an Australian skin care brand. Her products smell, look and feel delicious and are chemical free, organic, natural, some are vegan and they are never tested on animals yay. All her products are manufactured in Australia by hand as well. Some of her products I use on the daily and some I buy to treat myself. If you would like a product review on what I use please let me know. Vanessa was in the studio with her beautiful family on the day of the shoot and she was just so lovely and approachable.
There were about 20 or so other people of various ages, occupations and nationalities who participated. The shoot was in a studio in Alexandria and they had a makeup and hair artist to glam the contestants. The idea behind the shoot was 'love the skin you're in'.
The makeup was meant to be quite natural and kept minimal (although for some reason I was the only one that had black eyeshadow and a lot of eyeliner which is definitly not how I would have styled myself) and the final images were left raw and free from photoshop and editing.
I loved the opportunity and walked away with a wide range of free goodies as well as a USB full of professional images of Romeo in my belly as well as some with Jordan.
Of course they saw Jordan and they HAD to photograph his face too (obvz). Hope you like the pictures!
