Domain: Grooming - Skin Care / Make-up

Ideal Scenario:

To look photoshopped, every single day

Haha, I wonder if that's possible. But essentially, regarding skin care...

Goal: Improve skin tone. Have check-ups with a dermatologist.

Tasks:

1. Apply appropriate night cream.

2. Apply sunscreen in the morning.

3. Follow rules in Lifestyle / Daily Routine domain on Diet, Exercise, Sleep.

Next-Actions:
4. Find a dermatologist. Explore need for cosmetic procedures.

Regarding make-up, my guiding video is this:

Goal: To have the tools to experiment make-up with.

Next-Actions:

1. Purchase
a. MAC Fix+
b. MAC pen eyeliner
c. MAC 187
c. Bare Escentuals Faux Tan (original)
All from Sephora.
2. Find out from Sis where to get a kabuki brush (I'm assuming Daiso)

Actually there might be other things related to this domain of Skin Care / Make-up such as maintaining the kit, having a routine for putting masks etc. But I have a system for most things in this domain already. Maybe I'll share them next time.

More Haste, Less Speed

In implementing this week's challenge to "moisturise my life" today, I gained an unexpected insight into goal-setting.

I learnt that in spite of one's eagerness to move ahead, if you don't figure out what's the right way forward, you'll just end up crashing head-first into a wall. In short, not only do you fail to meet your goals, you also end up making things worse.

Which reminds me of a second, related, lesson. It doesn't matter even if you actually already "tried your best". The wrong way forward is still the wrong way forward, even if you had the best intentions in the world. I learnt this lesson the hard way when I finally confided in a friend some months back about how hurt I was that some guys kept picking on me, the way I dressed, my clothes, my make-up etc back in university (and in some ways, now). I felt that I had already done my best. I don't think my clothes are the worst in the world, and I didn't understand why they had to pick on me when other girls around me were also in a t-shirt and jeans get-up.  When I started working, I started wearing make-up on a daily basis. But even then, on the random occasions that we met up, there were often comments about this. I pretended not to care, not to even hear when they laughed at this. But I'm only human, and I often asked myself, what I was doing wrong.

I finally told a mutual friend about this, and used the "but I'm already doing my best, why are they still picking on me?" line. And he gently told me, "well, maybe you're just not doing it the right way".

Point taken.

Not that it takes away the hurt. But I guess I'll just have to do a further analysis on how to make things better. Because ultimately, I'm doing this for myself. And not for anyone else.

But coming back to today's point. In my haste to over-hydrate my skin, I was putting products that were too nourishing, hence causing some breakouts (can't pinpoint the exact product, but a good guess I think would be the laneige sleep mask, something I've been applying a bit too liberally these few days). I visited the FANCL counter for a skin check this evening and picked up some products from the AC range. Was also given strict orders NOT to put anything else on my skin until my skin clears up.

Just back to basics. Because sometimes when things are all messed up, that's just what we need.

1. Take small steps.
2. Be consistent.

But also be alert to the signs around you when things are not going the way you think they should, and be ready to change course. 

This Week's Challenge: Moisturise My Life!

And so, since my last post, I've been thinking quite seriously about how to include more water in my daily life. No point just whining, this project is about taking action!

So after my bath this evening, I had an epiphany! Why not list down the ways to add water in my life?

Here's the list:

1. Drink one cup of plain water first thing in the morning. 
2. Drink at least 1 litre of water daily. 
3. Eliminate drinks that dehydrate (e.g., soft drinks, alcohol, tea). 
4. Carry a water bottle with me at all times when out (so I don't dehydrate when on the streets).
5. Have cold showers (see here for an explanation).
6. Use the cold air function on my hair dryer (instead of the hot air one).
7. Apply my Laneige water sleeping pack mask nightly.
8. Use a hydrating paper mask of choice once weekly (Wednesday).
9. Condition my hair daily after shampoo (am already doing this).
10. Use my hair mask twice a week (Wednesday and Saturday).
11. Use my ellips hair vitamin daily after bath (serum that comes in capsules, my friend swears by it, I just bought a bottle today). 
12. Use Refresh Eye-drops daily.
13. Slather on body cream (after bath in the morning, and before bed). 
14. Apply hand cream excessively (on route to work and every few hours at work).
15. Eat the medicine from the TCM physician for my throat. 
16. Bring my hair serum to work and leave it at my desk for after-lunch top up of moisture (it's my old one, with a bit left and I might as well try to finish it).
17. To try the FANCL Hyaluronic Premium moisture supplement (More info here. Was recommended this by the beauty advisor in HK after a skin check and am so tempted to try it but it's also quite pricey. Maybe I'll get it as a reward to myself later).

Ok so here's the thing. Am going to start an extreme challenge following #1 - #16 in the list that begins tomorrow and will last a week. After which, I will review, and possibly make changes to the list, if necessary. 

Any other tips to share? :)

Fish Out of Water

I'm a piscean (double fish) who lacks water. The irony of it all is not lost on me.

Whether it is the nice skincare consultant who checks my skin using one of those newfangled facial scanner or the fortune teller selling lucky charms in Taiwan, everyone keeps telling me that I lack water.

Your skin is dehydrated, says the FANCL skin consultant.
Your hair is so dry, says the hairstylist at Shunji Matsuo.
Your skin is so dry, says the masseur at Qi Mantra.
Your throat is so dry, says the TCM Physician (when I saw him about my nagging throat infection).

I'm so tired of being so parched. How do I even begin to trap water? It's not as if I don't drink water. I do. But how can I make myself a container of water, rather than a leaking dam?

I'm trying my best to moisturise, but I guess I could be more consistent.
I'm trying my best to use my hair mask more regularly and to leave it on for a while so it's absorbed in my hair before I wash it off.

But I guess I need to include water in a more systematic way in my regime/routine. The question is how.

Repeat after me. 

1. Take small steps.
2. Be consistent.
3. Show up. 



  

加。减。修

Am back from Hong Kong and amongst all the other things I did in my short stay there, one of my take-aways was interestingly from visiting an outlet of FANCL there. FANCL incidentally, is my favourite skincare brand.

But why am I talking about this on the blog?

Because I had an epiphany that the philosophy of the brand actually aligns quite closely to what I hope I can practise in my daily life. 

Not only is it preservative-free, its other tagline in HK is also "Less Is More" and a slogan I stumbled upon "加。减。修" just sounds quite good to me.

What do I want to "add" to my life and daily routine that is good for me? What do I want to "take away" (or unclutter, if you will)? How am I going to go about with "maintenance" or self-care (both for my body and mind)?

Three little words that encapsulate so much.

I'll be thinking about this one.