The Skincare Routine That Cleared Up My Skin

Let me preface this entry by saying that as wonderful as the skincare products I’ve found are and how helpful they have been in clearing up my skin, I doubt that they would have been as highly effective from the very beginning had it not been for several trips to an aesthetician for an acne-clearing facial that involved a lot of deep cleansing and extractions. Also, I am not a dermatologist nor do I know anything that you can’t research on the Internet about acne or skincare. These products, in combination with the aforementioned facials, are what worked to clear up my skin. (And no, I am not paid or compensated for writing about any this.) Plus, the power that fruits and veggies (particularly dark, leafy green veggies) have on clearing up problematic skin is not to be underestimated.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to business.

For the better half of the last year, I have struggled with acne-prone skin. A combination of a lot of factors, both internal and external, triggered a lot of hormonal and stress-related acne. That, combined with either ineffective products or ones that made my skin react poorly, meant that I was constantly battling breakouts in some form or another. After a certain point, I resigned myself to the fact that breakouts would most likely always be a part of my life. I might not be able to eliminate them completely, but at the very least I wanted to find a skincare routine that would reduce my acne.

I tried a lot of things, some of which worked better than others, and some which didn’t work for me at all. I saw an aesthetician when I was in Hong Kong last December and she advised me to switch whatever products I used for my “base” when putting on makeup, as it was clogging my pores. That helped immensely. I used Clinique 3-Step for a while but came to the conclusion that while it might not have been harming my skin, it wasn’t helping. The aesthetician I saw in DC confirmed that, so after my first trip to see her I headed to Sephora to seek out the assistance of a sales associate.

That Sephora salesgirl knew her stuff, let me tell you. After asking me about my skin and my skincare habits, she pointed me in the direction of the products that, with regular use and the remaining acne-clearing facials I received, have done wonders in clearing up my skin and eliminating my acne altogether.

Morning Skincare

Morning
In the morning, I cleanse my face with Murad Time Release Acne Cleanser. I follow up with Boscia Clear Complexion Treatment and Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. For my eyes, I swipe some of Simple Revitalizing Eye Roll-On and dab some of Neutrogena Clear Face Sunscreen in SPF 30 all over.

Night Skincare

Night
I use LUSH Ultrabland cleanser to break down both face and eye makeup. With my Clarisonic and the acne brush head, I use Murad Clarifying Cleanser to wash my face. I follow up with Murad Exfoliating Acne Treatment Gel. I moisturize with Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief. My night eye cream is Shiseido White Lucent Anti-Dark Circles Eye Cream. For spot treatment, I either use Neutrogena On-the-Spot Acne Treatment, The Body Shop tea tree blemish gel, or Murad acne spot treatment.

I also like to rotate through face masks and use them once or twice a week depending on my mood and what my skin is like on a particular given day. However, that’s for a whole other post!

5 Tips for a Less Stressful Move

In light of being officially 100% unpacked in my new apartment, I thought I’d compile some of my best “less stress” (because no move is ever “stress-free”) moving tips. I’m no stranger to moving, having done it WAY more times than I care to count, but I’m not as good at it as one would think. However, this particular move was less stressful than previous ones, and I can pretty much attribute that fact to these following tips:

  • Hoard boxes ahead of time.
    People generally have some kind of advance notice as to when they will need to move, so use that time to hoard boxes. If you’re an online shopping addict, save all the boxes your items get shipped in. Ask around to see if anyone’s got some boxes to spare. Maybe your office has some flattened storage boxes that you could use!
  • Pack all of your daily necessities, a spare change of clothes, and extra pairs of clean underwear in a small, separate bag.
    If you’re like me and it might take you several days (at least!) to get fully unpacked, have everything you will need in the interim in a separate bag. I packed a small rollie suitcase with a couple change of clothes, lots of clean underwear, and my toiletries. This way, even if I hadn’t gotten to unpacking all of my clothes or shower stuff, I had what I needed for the next couple of days on hand and could feel like a human being even if the rest of my stuff was yet to be unpacked.
  • Invest in a measuring tape.
    Measuring tapes aren’t expensive and can make a world of difference when you’re trying to figure out how to arrange your furniture. Is there anything more frustrating than lugging a heavy dresser into a corner of your apartment that you were convinced would fit but is too big by just 2-3 inches? I didn’t think so. Measure your furniture and your living space prior to moving in – and then get creative with pen and paper (plus some math).
  • Pack boxes by category.
    Unpacking and locating your stuff will be much easier when you’ve packed by category. A box for clothes, a box for cookware, a box for toiletries… you get the picture. It will be much easier to organize your stuff in your new place when you haven’t got books, shampoo, utensils, and picture frames all in the same box.
  • Trash bags are cheap, useful and convenient. Take advantage of them.
    I ran out of good-sized boxes so I turned to my suitcases and trashbags to store my clothes and bedding. Obviously, items like my dinner plates had to go in a box so they wouldn’t get smashed during the move. But bundling up my bedding in a trash bag saved me a box or two and nothing was worse for wear because of it.

Link Love, Vol. 20

Why is it that I can only rarely sleep in? Not as in I don’t have the time to, but as in my body won’t let me. I find that on nights that I go to bed much later than I should I still wake up around 8:30 a.m., which really sucks. The last time I slept in was when my body was recovering from crazy work hours; I managed to sleep for 12 hours straight then. But today? No such luck.

Still, tired or not my plan for today is to tackle the last of my unpacking and to get my apartment in tip top shape. Considering my feelings towards unpacking and my (extremely lackluster) record with unpacking in a timely manner, I’ve impressed myself with how much unpacking I’ve done in the week or so I’ve been in my new apartment. What I have left to unpack is going to pose more of a challenge than what I’ve already sorted because now I need to figure out where these last few items should go. But once I have that figured out, my next steps will be hanging up my photos and pictures!

Family
Pear’s empty nest syndrome mother made me LOL.

Life
In light of her upcoming transatlantic move, Aisy talks about familiarity.

Leslie talks about what it’s like after a year of not having Facebook or a smartphone.

In light of the recent June 4 anniversary, Yu Hua writes about the spirit of May 35th.

Relationships
I love Peter’s Future Wife series, and this kick butt version is no different.

When writing their wedding vows, Jordann and her fiance vowed not to love each other unconditionally – something that definitely made me consider a new perspective!

Travel
Coming home after going away for travel is usually harder than anticipated.

Because Hong Kong is, and always will be, the city that has captured my heart. (Thanks Chantelle for linking me to this!)

On Eating Alone in a Restaurant

In college, I always avoided eating alone in the cafeteria/dining room. More often than not I’d grab something to go and eat it at work or in the comfort of my dorm room. Eating alone in a public setting always placed me slightly out of my comfort zone, even though I know that no one cares whether or not I’m eating with someone. To me, it just feels like something personal is happening on full public display.

When I was in San Francisco last month for work, I had a free evening. I relished the opportunity this presented for me to explore the city on my own (and to shop at Uniqlo!) but this also posed a challenge for me when it came to my evening meal. Undaunted, I decided to embrace the opportunity and treat myself to a nice meal for my first proper experience eating alone in a restaurant.

I picked Puccini and Pinetti as my restaurant of choice and ordered the following:

My complimentary starter was bread with a side of olive oil, sundried tomato and capers, all of which was delicious.

P&P Bread

My drink was a glass of prosecco.

P&P prosecco

My appetizer was a butter lettuce salad with herb vinaigrette, strawberries, toasted almonds and feta cheese.

P&P butter lettuce

My main course was grilled salmon California, served on a bed of whole grain wild rice and alongside grilled asparagus. (Ignore the fact that I took a knife to my salmon before I realized I hadn’t yet taken a photo. Clearly I’m not very good at food photography.)

P&P salmon

My dessert was valrhona truffle cake with a warm chocolate truffle center topped with vanilla gelato. Unfortunately I forgot to snap a pic as I wanted to make sure I had a chance to eat the gelato before it all melted into the gooey cake! It looked pretty much just like this photo, though.

Ultimately I think eating alone at a restaurant was a rewarding experience for me simply because it was a novelty. There’s something to be said to for being seated in a corner of a restaurant right before rush and see how the place transforms as diners will the room and orders start flooding in. I’m always fascinated by stories G tells me from his days as a waiter, so my experience on dining alone allowed me to feel like a fly on the wall during a bustling Saturday evening dinner rush.

The Family You Choose

My loved ones are approximately a 15+ hour flight away from me. Needless to say, it gets a little lonely for me sometimes living so far away in DC.

I’ve always been told that friends are the family you choose and that’s true in many respects. I made lifelong friends at university and in my abroad program, with some of my closest ones people I would consider to be my brothers or sisters. It’s a logical step because during my four years of my degree, I spent far more time with my friends than I did with my family since I moved to a different city for university and lived on campus (or off-campus with friends in shared housing).

Now, though, I work full-time. Like with any full-time job, I’m spending a minimum of 40 hours a week in the office, although it’s usually more than that since that’s the nature of public relations. This means that since starting to work full-time, the people I spend most of my time with are no longer family or friends but instead are my colleagues.

This past year has been a trying year, with the last month of May more so than the rest. Since working for my current employer, I’ve had to adjust to being in a long-distance relationship and plan and save for trips to Asia to visit my mom and G. I’ve had to cope with the heartache and sadness and jet lag that comes with the return of a vacation to see loved ones. In the past month alone, I’ve had to juggle coordinating moving apartments, adjusting to jet lag and the emptiness in my heart after returning from Taiwan, and doing my part in the office for the various tasks and projects we had going on in the office in addition to traveling to San Francisco for work. Needless to say, that’s meant that the month of May did a real number on me, mentally and physically.

I know that I am incredibly fortunate to have a supportive workplace and colleagues who are there for me to reach out to in times of need. It hasn’t been lost on me that during my most trying month yet, my colleagues stepped up their support and offered their help and advice for both work-related and personal issues. Which leads me to think that in addition to friends, colleagues are also the family you inadvertently choose.