It’s been a while since I’ve felt the urge to write down my thoughts. I just finished watching a film which has brought on a flurry of what if type thoughts. It is October and… More
Face Mask Journey
I started 2020 in Korea. While in Korea, I decided to pick up a slew of different masks. I had already been using masks occasionally back home and had some favourites, but decided to try more out and see what the hype was about using masks daily. After I returned home, I started using masks at least two to three a week. There are a few very notable things that I have discovered about face masks now that I’ve tried a variety of them.
First off, you know how people always share photos of happy people doing masks? How are they doing it? Whatever medium of mask (clay, sheet, mud, etc), I find it extremely difficult to engage in something that requires movement of any part of my face. Especially when I am doing a clay type mask that hardens the longer it sits on my face. How are these photos real? My only conclusion is that they must have paint on their faces rather than actual masks or maybe they were willing to ruin the mask for the sake of a spark joy type photo.
Secondly, when it comes to sheet masks, I have decided to stop feeling insecure about the shape of my face and just continue the search for a sheet mask that fits better instead. I find that majority of sheet masks I use leave the tip of my nose exposed, have holes that are extremely small for my wide Chinese eyes (I didn’t even think they were that wide tbh), and a small slit for a perfect heart-shaped kissable pair of lips (which I apparently don’t have). Watching vloggers doesn’t particularly help in all instances either because a lot of the popular mask vloggers either actually have face shapes that fit the masks or they’re using super expensive masks that I’m not prepared to spend the money on (yet). As a result of all of this, I have discovered a love for 2-piece masks which seem to fit way more smoothly on my face and feel a lot more comfortable.
Thirdly, I am still unable to really tell the difference of what these masks are doing or not doing for my skin. I love that they make my skin feel moist and supple after finishing the mask, but I don’t think there has been any mask that hasn’t made my skin feel more moist than before doing the mask. I probably just need to trial run specific masks for a more extended period of time in order to actually tell any lasting difference, but the only masks I have for that purpose are the sheet-a-day type masks, which are quite handy.
Lastly, I’ve learned to treat my masking time as dedicated time to relax my face, mind, and body. After I jot down my initial notes on the mask, I lie back and relax. After all, isn’t this also meant to be a pampering activity? I know there are lots of people who include sheet masks as part of their skincare prep prior to applying makeup, but I am not motivated to wake up early enough before work to delve into a complex beauty routine like that. My preference is for it to be a treat at the end of the day before I doze off to la la land.
Building a Beauty Routine (of sorts)
I am the first to admit that I was terrible with keeping any sort of skincare routine while growing up, but I’ve kind of fallen into something akin to one over the past two years. Most of this is attributable to my increasing use of makeup and the need to make sure I am able to clear my face of all remnants of it properly. Part of it is me realizing that as I age, my body is starting to show signs of it. This is where I flashback to when I was in high school and my wise mother told my siblings and I that we would regret not following rigid face-washing practices and keeping a good skincare routine. Lo and behold, I am now in my 30s and starting to see fine lines on my forehead, take more notice of the pores across my cheeks, and just feel a need to make sure my face isn’t dry like sandpaper through all the seasons that I experience living in Canada.
Over the past two to three years, I have actually learned (slowly, but surely) to use a number of makeup tools with the help of my sister, some girlfriends, and YouTube videos. I am by no means an expert and I will most definitely look for the easy way to do something. Less is more is my mantra and finding that balance between natural makeup and overdoing it is something that takes practice. I have probably looked a little too bold with my lipstick on some days or maybe went too heavy with the brow pencil, but this too, is a personal preference and all that matters is that you are happy with the way you look. It’s quite the oxymoron, actually, to have a natural makeup look. But now that I have spent so much time looking into how to achieve this, I understand the fascination. The basics of natural makeup look is really just making all your blemishes disappear! It’s quite magical and I haven’t perfected it yet, but there are parts that I think I have right enough that I’m happy with it. The last few weeks of working from home because of COVID-19 are the longest I have taken from makeup since I started experimenting more with it two years ago. It’s a nice break for my skin for sure, but I’m considering using this time to practice more skills without looking ghastly with my learning process. More on my progress with this another time.
My routine has grown since 2018 for sure. It started off with:
- makeup remover / micellar water / facial wipes
- a gel or foam type cleanser
- toner
- spot treatment
- moisturizer/cream
Now, my night-time routine looks like this and I have to say that a few of these are products are ones I’ve purchased more than once):
- oil cleanser (Franklin & Whitman Chestnut Hill Cleansing Serum)
- gel cleanser (Nuxe Reve De Miel Face Gentle Cleansing Gel)
- toner (Son & Park Beauty Water)
- eye serum (Hylamide SubQ Eyes)
- spot treatment (Oxy Deep Poor Acne Vanishing Treatment)
- serum (Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate)
- cream (alternating between Tatcha The Dewy Skin Cream and Garnier SkinActive Moisture Bomb The Antioxidant Super Moisturizer depending on how dry/oily my skin felt that day)
As an added step to my night-time routine, I also do a face mask right after I use the my toner. I’ve learned to steer clear of certain types of masks when I have more active acne on my face as they irritate / burn more than others. In general, I find that I really like the cooling sensation and moisturizing effects it gives my skin. I’m not a huge fan of thicker and stickier serums because I feel like my face feels more tacky, but I understand that people use them for the longer term gain (i.e. plumper and smoother skin).
These days, even my lazy days consist of using gel cleanser, toner, and cream. Slowly building up habits. I’m currently doing a charcoal mask (Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Face Mask) as I write this entry. This is one of my favourites and I’m probably on my third jar of this already over the past 3 years.
2019 in a Nutshell
So it seems that 2019 flew by, with me flying more often than not. Thinking about it now, I probably ended up spending almost half the year away from Toronto between work and personal travels.
Work travels weren’t particularly exciting, but it exposed me to the east coast of the country I grew up in for the first time. Again, it made me realize how much of a city girl I really am. As much as I enjoy the outdoors and the serenity of nature, I am still very much a city girl and the thoroughly enjoy being able to see the city lights at night, find (decent) food at all hours of day and night, and easily surround myself in the diversity that Toronto offers. The more I travel, the more settled I feel that Toronto is home.
Another thought that has been creeping up on me over the past year or two is that the older I get, the less I feel a need to jam everything into my schedule when I travel. Maybe I don’t need to see this museum, or that tower. Giving myself some R&R opportunity while I travel isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I mean, while I do enjoy occasionally being in the midst of the hustle and bustle of a new city if I don’t need to be rushing anywhere just to soak in the environment (whatever that means), I also find the quiet of the night on a city street can be eerily serene and soothing as well.
All in all, 2019 brought me on some surprising but very memorable adventures. Traveling to Moncton for work allowed me to visit Halifax and Alma for the first time. Seeing Italy in the summer meant beautiful (and busy) coastal drives on the Amalfi, gorgeous train rides through Italy to Lake Como, Milan, Florence, and even up across the border to Switzerland. The winding roads of Tuscany were also a joy. Conquering Mount Kilimanjaro in October with friends was the most difficult thing I have ever done (more on that in another post). Making it that far to Tanzania also meant I couldn’t just leave without going on a safari tour or hitting up surprisingly little known Zanzibar. Closing out the year with a bang, I finished up the work assignment that had me traveling out to Moncton throughout the year and found myself spending Christmas in Taiwan and New Years in Korea. 2020 is a clean slate right now, but I’m sure things will start popping up in no time. Cheers!
Comfortable
That feeling of being home and doing nothing is actually quite comfortable after having to make sure you catch your flights for work and get everything done. I totally get it now. I mean, I was always the type to want to cram things into my schedule. I have 2 hours free here? What can I do? These days, I find myself just being okay without doing that. I have the afternoon free today? Maybe I’ll just start a new book or continue reading the one I started last week!
Is this me being comfortable? Is it me getting older? Perhaps I’m settling in? Or maybe it’s just me realizing I don’t need to be constantly on the move. It’s okay if I don’t want to do anything.
A friend messaged me recently and asked if I wanted to go rock climbing. And then he said after trying to guilt trip me that we’re still cool even if I don’t want to go. That’s how it should be. I’ve never felt like I had to give into peer pressure to join in on things or do things. I have always felt like I can say no to the people around me because they would understand. I think that I am fortunate to see that and to have fostered those relationships with people because I’ve come to realize that there are a lot of people who don’t feel like they can say no. There are a lot of people who feel lonely if they need to sit in a coffee shop on their own. There are a lot of people who feel a need to be with people in order to kill a few hours.
Perhaps this is comfortable. Comfortable with the way my life is right now. Until the next idea or ambition pops along then?
Your Flight Has Been Cancelled
These are words that I do not want to hear. Twice in the past month I’ve heard this now. Let’s rewind a bit. About a month ago, I took my first work trip for a project I’m currently working on. Both the origin and destination cities were deep in the throes of winter wonderland, with snow blowing through one city then the other. This makes traveling between the two a bit tricky and uncertain.
I don’t think I’ve ever had this problem before because I was usually not travelling from one winter city to another, especially not so close to each other. I used to want to travel for work, but this experience and possibly the fact that I was already almost past the hump of wanting to travel for work in general is definitely making me yearn for my own bed and not having to travel. I can’t say I’m discouraged from traveling for leisure though. Finally starting to look at what my traveling will be like for 2019 and I’m excited. I am definitely also excited to learn a new language for my travels this year. Maybe I’ll reconsider the amount of time I spend working so that I can spend more time learning this new language!
nemo travels 