I have been very stressed lately trying to juggle my jobless life and also the anxiety of starting a new job. It is very stressful anticipating something that is only going to come in another month's time. Stress is not doing me a favour at all. I start to have mini breakout (hopefully will not turn into big ones) and it is not helping that the time of the month is approaching (supposed to come last week but I guess my aunty missed her bus and she is still not here yet). The fact that I am missing my period is stressing me out because I need to time myself properly so that I will not have my period during my trip to Korea. I hate this late menstrual thingy. So yea, I am now ugly, greasy and cranky.
Due to my ugliness, I have to come up with ways to make me less ugly. I managed to find a few things and I have started on few of these regime and I must say, they work quite well. Not to say I am super beautified now but I think I look less haggard.
1. How to make my eyebrow pencil/powder stay on?
Whether or not you have thin eyebrows or superbly thick and bushy eyebrows, we cannot run away from filling them in to make them look better. However, there are some make up products out there nowadays that (unfortunately) are not water/oil proof. Having said that, you will end up with no eyebrows or only one eyebrow at the end of the day. So, I have been using Nude by Nature Mineral Primer, a product of Australia every time after my daily skin routine before putting on make up. I would say it helps my eyebrow powder stays on longer than usual. However, it doesn't help in preventing oil productivity. You will still need to do some blotting and powdering after 8 hours.
2. How to prevent creases/fine lines on your under eye make up?
It is usual to get creases or fine lines under eye after a long day at work or a hard night of partying. This happens usually when the concealer cakes up and the weather is humid. It is especially obvious if you were laughing and squinting a lot. Not a pretty sight if your date moves in closer for a kiss only to find that you look older than you are supposed to. Yikes! My solution is to again apply primer after skin routine before applying make up. You can do it in one pump per eye for the under eye, eyelids and eyebrows as well. This will save up on the amount of product you use per eye. The primer enables the under eye concealer to spread out smoothly and evenly with just gentle pats. I am personally happy with the result but am not sure if this would work with other brand of primer. I am currently using Nude by Nature. Will definitely try
Two Faced Absolutely Flawless Concealer when my current tube runs out.
3. How to smoothen and fill up wrinkles on the face?
I have been switching brands in between but I have yet to find something that will smoothen my face effectively.
Love the scent. First application was smooth and easy. Spreads out evenly on my skin. It really smoothen lines and even out my skin tone given that it has this pink shade to it. It gives this matte finish that feels smooth to the touch. However, on my 4th time using it, the mousse dries up a little and the application was not as smooth and even anymore. The mousse clumps up as it touches the skin after a few gentle rubs. I did not finish this tub and I've only used it a few times. I think it costed me bout RM60+
Love love love the scent. It stays on throughout the day and you would smell so good. The cream is a little on the thick side but it is not pore-clogging or heavy. It does not make your skin feels oily which is a plus point for me because I have a combination of oily and dry skin. It moisturizes but I am not too sure on the wrinkle smoothing effect as I have only been using it for 5 days. I think I have noticed some of the lines being filled up but it might only be psychological effect on me. I will wait for a full 14 days to give another review. I do feel that I look younger though LOL! This costed me RM99.90.
4. How to minimize breakouts?
I have read that breakouts are very often caused by clogged pores or over-drying skin. Some people may over wash their face to remove the greasiness or dirt. Because of this, the sebum will automatically produce oil as a protective layer to moisturize the skin. Over washing of face will lead to over productivity of oil which in turn will cause acne or breakouts. For women who wears make up everyday, the over productivity of oil will clog pores as the skin has no room to breathe (the oil is suppressed by layer of make up and cause pore-clogging). Therefore, it is very important to double cleanse and scrub. I have learnt that it doesn't help at all to only scrub every few days a week because living in this humidity, my face is clogged almost everyday. I have been using the following items to cleanse my face and some of these are on a rotation basis.
I like that it is oil-based - suitable for light and heavy make up. It can also be used on the eyes and it doesn't sting. I have tried the Biore one which stings even though it is specifically for the eyes. This is formulated with Olive Oil and is super gentle on the eyes and skin. Though might sound gentle but it can even remove mascara and eyeliner in a sweep. It is alcohol and fragrant free which does not irritate skin. I prefer this over the water-based one because this can be used on all face, eyes and lips.
This is a daily scrub and facial foam in one. The price is very reasonable for 100g tube. It is drying due its foam nature but not over-drying. It contains microbeads for the scrubbing purpose which is not too harsh on the skin and good enough to unclog pores and remove dirt and impurities off the skin. I have been using this for close to 10 years since they first launch this product.
This cleanser does not dries up skin because it does not completely strip off oil from the skin. This is especially good if you are double cleansing or triple cleansing because it keeps skin hydrated without removing the natural oil off one's skin. It is very mild and fragrant free. A big tube of 150ml can last you for 2 months depending on the frequency of usage.
5. How to pamper your skin without overdoing it?
I have been on the lookout for non oily serum and I have finally found a few of them! They are not greasy and not pore-clogging. So happy! I have been switching in between these 2 brands - drugstore and over the counter.
Got this as a sample from one of the local drugstore when I purchased one of the Olay products and I got hooked. But I couldn't find it anywhere after because they only carry it at a bigger drugstore in Malaysia. I need to get my hands on this soon! It is so lightweight, the scent is good and it gives your skin this smooth finish that is so easy for the application of foundation. It works better than any primer in my opinion. This is to be applied after toner before moisturizer. It doesn't promote breakout because it is fast absorbing and doesn't leave you with greasiness even on humid days.
As I couldn't find the Regenerating Serum anywhere, I have to make do with the Revitalising Serum. In my opinion, this is slightly slow in absorbency in comparison to the Regenerating Serum and it leaves your skin with a wetter finish. I cannot differentiate whether it is greasy or wet finish but it definitely doesn't grease out my skin - not immediately though. It also has the similar fruity scent which I love because I like smelling good throughout the day. Sometimes, make up makes you smell funky when it's humid. Would still prefer the Regenerating Serum.
Living in a tropical country with sun shining down your skin all year long can create a lot of unnecessary problems in one's life - dark spots, acne/breakouts, wrinkles/fine lines, uneven skin tone due to partial tanning. I am currently in my second bottle of this baby and I am finishing. I do not know if I will continue getting this because I feel that I have been putting a lot of things on my face. Sometimes it is good to give it a break. But this spot corrector is mainly for acne scarring or other dark spots. Not so much as a daily serum I would say but it is said to also help even out skin tone. I am not too sure. It is slightly on the expensive side and I don't see that it is effective. I might consider stop using this.
Next, is to think of what to do with my hairloss :(
