Monday, January 31, 2011

Face Time

I've decided that I am going to start taking on a few new challenges in the next couple months. In the interest of having something else to write about another day, I'm just going to share one for now. It's a Beauty Challenge! Gotta love that!

So I got the idea for this "challenge" while reading a blog posted by Bethany Joy Galeotti (of One Tree Hill fame). She talked about an issue that I think a lot of us deal with every single day, and that's oily skin. I don't know about you, but that's something that drives me crazy. Now, I don't have extremely oily skin, I'm a little bit more of combination-skinned myself, but I do get breakouts/blackheads that my normal skin care routine just never seems to be able to really take care of. And honey, lemme tell ya, I've tried everything from the usual drugstore remedies, like Neutragena/Noxema/Clearasil/etc., to ProActive, to perscription Benzacline. Nothing really did the job. So, I'm trying something new.

What's crazy is this skin care regimen is ridiculously simple, and sort of breaks the "rules" of what I thought  was proper skin care.

First of all, I'm starting my mornings with simply splashing my face with cold water. Like, icy cold! (Not so fun considering it's so damn cold outside!) But it really does help wake me up in the morning. Plus, it helps reduce any swelling or puffiness, and (according to my grandma, who told me this several years ago) it helps shrink your pores and make them less visible. That's it! No soap. No cleansers. No toners. No exfoliating. Just...cold water.

At night, I am using a cleansing oil. I know, oil, crazy right?! But so far, I really like it, and my skin is absolutely NOT oily! Bethany's blog lists a few recommended cleansing oils, but some of them aren't available in the states anymore, so I did some looking around online and found one that could be found at my local Sephora. Its called Boscia called MakeUp-BreakUp Cool Cleansing Oil, and bonus! It meets Sephora's standard of being a natural product. What's nice about having their natural seal vs. one from a government regulated agency is that they actually have standards for what it means to be "natural." Learn more about Sephora's policy for natural products here.

Now, I've stopped using my usual moisturizer because it has SPF in it, and Bethany's blog recommended avoiding using one with SPF in it for the first four-or-so weeks of this new routine. I've yet to get a new one...and I need it! What's surprising is that my skin actually feels dryer than it used to with my old routine--crazy, considering I'm using a cleansing oil on my face daily! But I MIGHT go out for a new/recommended one today (it's iffy...there's ice outside today!!). One of the recommendations for a nighttime moisturizer is actually Extra Virgin Coconut Oil! Sounds crazy again, but hey, I may try that one out, too!

I'll let you know how it goes for me. So far (and its been about 4 days), I've noticed my face gets less oily throughout the day. Plus, the Boscia Cleansing Oil is really great at getting off my waterproof eye make-up AND getting my face clean without having to add multiple products to my routine.

Check out Bethany's blog to learn a little more about the reason why you should get rid of your stripping cleansers and switch to something like a cleansing oil. Here is another blog recommended by Bethany to read for further information. Follow Bethany on twitter, too @BethanyGaleotti

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Oh, hello again :)

So I guess I've been a little absent from this lately...but I just haven't had anything that's really pushed my buttons a whole lot lately. At least not enough to write about :) But there was something the other day that just annoyed the crap out of me, and it's not the first time this particular pet peeve has gotten the best of me.

During periods of my life when I'm single, I tend to talk to just about anybody (well I do that all the time, I'm a friendly person lol), and I don't necessarily mind giving my number to a guy at the end of a conversation...I mean, just cuz I did doesn't mean I even want to even go on a date with them. Honestly, it means I can say no through a text versus face-to-face (I  know, lame, but whatever). Anyways! Two of my biggest pet peeves come from new guys trying to talk me up....

#1: I HATE when I get this text: "hi."
Um...hi? WTF do you want me to say? Don't waste my time by sending me a one-word salutation. If I had a limited number of texts per month, that would be such a huge waste and I would be even more annoyed than I am with my unlimited texting plan. And, if you are wanting to strike up a conversation with me, START A FREAKIN CONVERSATION!! "Hi" says nothing to me. "Hi" tells me you don't have the balls to get straight to the point, or enough motivation to direct a conversation with me. If that's all left up to me, I'm already uninterested. You might as well stop trying. If all you say is "hi," all you're going to get as a "hello" back. And probably five hours later. There's probably a reason you are a single man in your 30's, and it's because you have the maturity level of a high-schooler and the conversation skills of a retarded monkey.



#2: When said guys text me and try to get me to meet up with them and I can't, or I haven't saved their number yet because A) I don't care to or B) I just forgot to and I can't remember who it is, so I have to ask who it is, their replies are: "I guess I'm not that important," or "I guess you're not that interested." My reply: "Well, if you say so!!" I seriously have had that said to me a few times by different guys already in this new year! When you sound like my high school boyfriend or start throwing yourself a pity party before we even hit it off...I don't like you. You might as well quit trying, again. It's especially annoying when you're 6 years older than me and you sound like you're 16. Barf. Don't tell me how I feel or what I think. I'm obviously still forming my opinions of you...and you just made it that much more easy for me to decide that you're not worth my time.

What's sad is when I see one guy do BOTH of those things...and they do!! I can think of two guys right now that have done that in the past two weeks, and three in the last few months. It. Is. Ri.Dic.U.Lous. I just want to say, "Grow some balls!!" That, and lose my number, haha. I'm sorry if that seems harsh, but I'm not wasting my time on some guys that are going to play games like that. I'm not into somebody who needs a girl to be sympathetic and give them pity attention. Go to your mommy for that. That's not the approach I am attracted to. Be confident, but not cocky. Pursue me, but not stalkerish. Don't even mention stalker-like qualities, or act like one (yes, two separate guys have each done one of those), it takes you from annoying- to creeper-status. Be fun. Be relaxed. Be open to going out with me and my friends, and probably taking a semi-back seat to dancing with them for awhile. I'll come around if you hang in there, haha. And if you don't see me responding to your "moves," take a hint and back off. You will know if I like you. If I do, I will be more forward myself. But, if I'm shying away/giving you a cold shoulder....I'm probably not interested!

Ok, that's my little rant for the week. :) Hopefully I will get back in the swing of things and start writing a little more often.

xo-k