The Perfect Gifts For Expectant Mothers, According To PURE MAMA’s Lara Christie

With the launch of Family Wellness at MECCA, we’re putting the focus on self-care and celebration at every stage of life. One of the most exciting (and terrifying, and stress-inducing)? Pregnancy, which PURE MAMA Founder Lara Christie calls “a real and raw journey”.

 

“Pregnancy is such an incredible time in one’s life, but it’s also unique in the sense that you really need to live it to truly understand, not just physically but emotionally, too,” Christie reveals.

“Conception and pregnancy can be a bumpy road. There’s this huge idea around pregnancy being a beautiful journey, which in essence it is, but the reality of the day-to-day can be far from that for women going through it.”

The mum-of-two was inspired to create PURE MAMA while expecting her first child in 2018. “I was both surprised and really frustrated by the lack of pregnancy-specific body products available, especially as our skin changes so much during this time and needs extra support,” she tells The MECCA Memo.

 

“It was clear that beautiful, design-led, plant-derived and effective products for modern mothers did not exist. After speaking to thousands of pregnant women and new mothers (yes, literally thousands!) it became clear I was not alone, and PURE MAMA was born in June 2021.”

The Aotearoa (New Zealand) body and skincare brand quickly earned legions of fans, with its “liquid gold” Belly Oil and Magnesium Body Rub – which Christie calls “a first-of-its-kind lotion specifically designed to help relieve discomfort during the later stages of pregnancy” – quickly selling out.

With her wealth of knowledge and personal experience, Christie was the first person we asked to find out the best ways to support a pregnant friend, partner or family member. Read on to discover more about the PURE MAMA range and other beautiful gifts to show your care and support for the new mums in your life.

LC: “We understand our customer both physically and mentally. We know first-hand what she is looking for during pregnancy and where the friction points are, alongside how she might feel. Our team’s experiences very much play into our decisions, alongside our very honest and engaged social community @puremama_skincare.

“From a product point of view, we are very much guided by the highest calibre ingredients for skincare. Our body care range harnesses the powerful ingredients often used in facial skincare, such as pomegranate and raspberry seed oil and concentrated levels of vitamin E, which are miracle workers for skin hydration and elasticity. We’ve then married these with tried-and-trusted base blends of coconut and almond oils which have been used for centuries all over the world, to create a new, more nourishing range of skincare for pregnant women and new mothers.

“PURE MAMA really is my third baby, besides my two actual children! It encompasses a part of my life that was so important to me and that allows me to connect with our customer community in a very real way. I get to show up as I am, live and breathe a brand I love, and work on creating beautiful, effective products. The journey has been an absolute labour of love and it truly is an honour to be a part of the MECCA family.”

LC: “I would absolutely recommend every pregnant woman start with our cult favourite Belly Oil from around 12 – 18 weeks pregnant. Using this regularly will intensely hydrate and soothe growing, stretching, tight skin. The customer feedback and photos we have been sent around this product continues to blow us away daily, especially around stretch marks and scarring.

“While this is not the core of what we are about, we know some women are self-conscious about them and this product helps support skin elasticity to help reduce the severity of them. Also, we love that fact that women use the Belly Oil as their daily ritual to connect with their body and baby, which is so important. Life gets busy, and it is important to take a moment to appreciate this journey that you are on and just how incredible your growing body is!

“We encourage pregnant women to integrate the Magnesium Body Rub into their nightly routine with massage before bed, especially if they are suffering from cramping at night, fluid build-up in the ankles and broken sleep.

“The physical toll pregnancy takes on the body is both incredible and extreme, and pregnant women need all the support they can get. The Magnesium Body Rub is also great for massage postpartum, when women may experience shoulder and/or neck discomfort from breastfeeding or start to get carpal tunnel in their wrists. It’s designed for at-home massage, so it’s easy for you or another to administer.”

LC: “The PURE MAMA Pregnancy Care Set is a great place to start. This has our signature Belly Oil and the much-needed Magnesium Body Rub, plus a beautiful and luxuriously creamy Bump Scrub  to gently exfoliate your growing body in the bath or shower.

“Another great gift for a mama-to-be is our Nipple Butter – while it may take some people a little while to get around the concept of this being a product they might need, I desperately needed this when I was breastfeeding as I suffered cracked, bleeding, raw skin, and there was truly nothing like it around for new mothers like me. It will come in super handy during those early days of breastfeeding, plus it doubles down as a great lip moisturiser or for dry skin on baby!

“Also, you cannot go wrong with a beautiful candle. A mother-to-be is often too busy buying new things in preparation for baby’s arrival that buying something just for her can make all the difference. I love the Bibliotheque Candle from Byredo. The fragrance is simply beautiful. Very subtle and calming, which is the energy you need during pregnancy.”