Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Here we are again...
Well, I'm all alone in the office again today.
OSR came back from his conference trip and, being the extrovert that he is, wanted to talk and tell stories. Me being me, I wanted some quiet. But, I try to be a good boss so I listened and made the appropriate noises at the appropriate places. He was really pleased by the end of our second hour long meeting this morning. He felt we'd never had a better one! I'm glad he felt it was instructive and inspirational but I don't think I can do that every single week! OSR was so jazzed that he left about an hour later to cold call and make sales. I have no doubt he'll be successful, but boy was I glad to be left to my computer!
My other employee left about an hour ago and OSR hasn't returned yet, so, once again, I have the office to myself! This does make bathroom trips a bit tricky though.
With my "free" time today I've been doing more blog-searchin'. I read my favorite blogs and follow any links or look up other bloggers they mention. It's amazing to me how many "fashion" bloggers look and dress the same! And why do they all post 15-20 pictures of themselves smiling shyly from behind their hands!?! I'm not looking for your Instagram page, I want fashion advice and inspiration! I guess they haven't figured out how to edit yet, which is understandable. I mean, if I had that many good photos of myself, I suppose I'd have a hard time picking the cream of the crop.
I'm really just trying to kill time by writing an entry here. Things I've already done today:
OSR came back from his conference trip and, being the extrovert that he is, wanted to talk and tell stories. Me being me, I wanted some quiet. But, I try to be a good boss so I listened and made the appropriate noises at the appropriate places. He was really pleased by the end of our second hour long meeting this morning. He felt we'd never had a better one! I'm glad he felt it was instructive and inspirational but I don't think I can do that every single week! OSR was so jazzed that he left about an hour later to cold call and make sales. I have no doubt he'll be successful, but boy was I glad to be left to my computer!
My other employee left about an hour ago and OSR hasn't returned yet, so, once again, I have the office to myself! This does make bathroom trips a bit tricky though.
With my "free" time today I've been doing more blog-searchin'. I read my favorite blogs and follow any links or look up other bloggers they mention. It's amazing to me how many "fashion" bloggers look and dress the same! And why do they all post 15-20 pictures of themselves smiling shyly from behind their hands!?! I'm not looking for your Instagram page, I want fashion advice and inspiration! I guess they haven't figured out how to edit yet, which is understandable. I mean, if I had that many good photos of myself, I suppose I'd have a hard time picking the cream of the crop.
I'm really just trying to kill time by writing an entry here. Things I've already done today:
- Take notes on building the perfect Bug Out Vehicle
- Check Imgur
- Check Reddit
- Check Pinterest
- Check Temptalia
- Check GoFugYourself
- Read some blogs
- Search out new blogs
- Check out my favorite clothing retailers online
I guess the only thing I have yet to do is fire up Netflix! Walk-ins and callers are too frequent for that today though, so I'll save it for home.
If only I had a knitting project! I like to keep my hands busy, otherwise I feel well and truly bored and then the real shenanigans begin!
Friday, August 22, 2014
Skincare
I've had acne since middle school. It baffled me and evaded everything I threw at it. I know now that I was never that educated about skincare. I really just threw products at my skin, hoping something would eventually work. Even my dermatologist, who spent less than 5 minutes with me each visit, just threw prescriptions at me without really explaining anything or attempting to educate.
Today, thanks to simplification of my routine (a basic cleanser, thick moisturizer, and the Clarisonic), my skin looks better than it ever has. Which, ironically, has spurred me to to try and finally get that perfect, spot-free skin I've always desired.
To start off with, I stumbled across the subreddit SkincareAddiction. They have a great breakdown for beginner routines, different ingredients, what those ingredients do, and a multitude of various and sundry information.
I'm scarred and skeptical, but I think I'm going to try some new things and mix up my basic routine based on what my research has turned up!
Here's my current routine:
Today, thanks to simplification of my routine (a basic cleanser, thick moisturizer, and the Clarisonic), my skin looks better than it ever has. Which, ironically, has spurred me to to try and finally get that perfect, spot-free skin I've always desired.
To start off with, I stumbled across the subreddit SkincareAddiction. They have a great breakdown for beginner routines, different ingredients, what those ingredients do, and a multitude of various and sundry information.
I'm scarred and skeptical, but I think I'm going to try some new things and mix up my basic routine based on what my research has turned up!
Here's my current routine:
- AM
- I used to have a morning skincare routine, but boy did that dry me out. It also felt totally unnecessary. So, nothing here except brushing my teeth and applying my makeup!
- PM
- Remove makeup using Neutrogena's makeup removing wipes in the purple packaging
- Cleanse with Philosophy's Purity cleanser
- If it's an exfoliating night, I'll use my Clarisonic to cleanse with Purity
- Moisturize with Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream (thick stuff in the tub)
Here's my proposed routine, to be eased into:
- AM
- Splash with water
- Moisturize
- Sunscreen
- PM
- Remove makeup
- Here's where I'll ease into using oil. Once every other night, instead of using my usual wipes, I'll use Mineral Oil to remove the schmutz of the day, then remove with damp cotton pads. Eventually, this will replace the makeup removing wipes entirely.
- The reason behind using oil instead of wipes, is that it's not only gentler (less scrubbing), but it's also an occlusive, which means it helps retain moisture in the skin. It doesn't help much as a makeup remover since we'll be cleansing in the next step, but you can always reapply a thin layer overtop of your moisturizer.
- Cleanse
- I'm not planning on switching up my cleanser as I really really love Purity. I've had fantastic results with it, so why change, right?
- Exfoliate
- I've already started easing my way into this. I've decreased my usage of the Clarisonic to 2 times per week (in the shower). Instead, I've started using Stridex in the blue box (Not the most recommended one. SCA prefers the red box as it's the highest concentration of salicylic acid, but I wanted to ease into it really slowly since I have a history of sensitive skin). I use the Stridex every other night.
- Let me talk a little about BHA's (salicylic acid) and AHA's. Since these things both exfoliate, but do slightly different things, I think I'm going to alternate using a BHA one night and an AHA the next.
- Eventually I'll work up the Red Box of Stridex, which will be my BHA (pore degunker, exfoliant, mild antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory).
- I'll also slowly introduce an AHA (exfoliant and humectant) in the form of St Ives Scrub Free Exfoliating Pads
- Moisturize
- I'm pretty happy with my current moisturizer so I'll continue to use that.
- I'll top it off with a bit of Mineral Oil, just to increase the efficacy of the moisturizer!
I know it looks like a lot, but I'm only adding three products: Mineral Oil, Stridex, and St Ives Scrub Free Exfoliating Pads.
Hopefully my skin won't freak out too badly at the change!
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