Shine On

Subtle sparkle can enhance your pregnancy glow

By Olessa Pindak

Shimmer is the perfect complement to pregnant skin: It's effortlessly glamorous, flatters every skin type and can boost that expectant glow. Plus, what better way to celebrate the holidays than with a touch of sparkle? Traditionally made from finely ground rocks that reflect the light, such as mica, shimmer can be used on brows and cheekbones and eyelids or swept across your decolletage. "The key to shimmer is to be strategic," says Maureen Kelly, the founder of New York-based Tarte cosmetics who is expecting her second child. "If you've put it on your eyes, it should be nowhere else on your face." In other words, less is more. "Just a dot of shimmer in the corners of your eyes can wake up your whole face," Kelly says. She advises looking for shimmer products that are micronized or finely milled.

Some of our favorites: Tarte Rest Assured Brightening Wand ($22) features a cream highlighter on one end that can be used on cheek or brow bones or dabbed on at the corners of your eyes; the palette of colors in the Bobbi Brown Pink Quartz Shimmer Brick ($38) can be used individually on eyes or swept together and brushed across your chest; and, for sparkling lips, try Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer ($4).

From December/January 2008