Skin update

yay I'm mostly clear!!! Aside from some random pimples (that time...) I'm all clear! Yay Retin-A! I've also changed cleansers... I'm using the gentlest cleanser I know of: One Love Organic's Easy Does It Cleanser. It's an all-natural gentle cleanser that's really concentrated. I also use their Skin Savior multi balm to double cleanse when I feel really congested and grimy. And that's it! I don't need as much of the Olay moisturizer now that my skin is used to the Retin-A. So aside from cleansing, I just use the Retin-A and Latisse. I should be expecting to see some results from the Latisse soon. It's been around 2 weeks. Right??

Time is flying by so I don't have an accurate sense of time. Like I can't believe it's the weekend already. And we're at 28 days. Holy bajesus, I SWEAR I just looked yesterday at the countdown and it said 39. What happened??? Who's messing with the time?!?!?   0.0

Creating memories

Scent is able to trigger memories. How many times have you gone through a thrift store and suddenly something smells like grandma's house? Or that one lotion that you wore in middle school? Everytime I smell Juniper Breeze my mind instantly takes me back to 8th grade listening to the radio and painting my nails a bright color.

I want to be able to remember these years and our wedding day. Shopping for perfume is VERY intimidating, especially if you are sensitive to smells, like me. I highly recommend if you are going to look for a scent to ask for help. These perfume specialists smell these perfumes all day, and it's their job to know about each one.

We went to Macy's not realizing just how many perfumes are out there. The sales lady asked if we needed help, and we did. She started with asking what scents I like best; floral, fruity, musky, fresh, crisp, etc. I said floral. She has me smell 3. I say yes to 2 and no to 1 and say why. She gets 2 more. I like the first best, and don't like the second. One more, that's it! I chose Chanel Chance eau Tendre. (the pink chance). I got the small bottle of eau de toilette, and it smells heavenly. I love it. And it changes as I wear it. Not many people realize perfume interacts with body chemistry and actually changes for each person. That's why you need to actually wear it for at least an hour to really get an idea of what it will smell like.

Now, after the initial smelling and deciding on Chance, I developed itchy watery eyes that night. I was worried it was a reaction to the Chance. So after showering and waiting till the next day, I applied the Chance and prepared for the worst. Nothing. YAY!!! I had tried on 2 other perfumes, and I think I was way sensitive to one or the interaction of the two. The smell of that one got sickly sweet and gave me a mondo headache. After all, perfumes are technically chemicals that can interact with each other, so you have to be careful when mixing them. But all in all, it was worth it. I'm programming my brain to be able to remember these happy days, and they smell heavenly.

Fighting with my face

I've never had pretty skin. Not since I was put on Plaquenil. It makes me allergic to the sun and kinda "thickens" my skin. It's hard to describe. My skin is much tougher than you would think. Phlebotomists always tell me my skin is hard to pierce. And it's bipolar as to when it decides to like lotion. It either makes me itch or it doesn't help much at all. And the skin on my face is the worst. I have my dad's oily Italian skin and my mom's fair Irish complexion. So it's the perfect recipe for acne-ish bumps and marks that take weeks to heal. I've been on prescription creams, but they would stop working or make things worse. I've spend a small fortune on my skin trying to find the right cleanser, toner, cream, serum, etc.

Right now I may have found something that works- for now at least. I use Clarins cleansing milk for oily skin along with the Clarisonic Mia with sensitive cleansing head. Then when my skin is mostly dry, I use Olay Regenerist Night Recovery Cream. If I apply it when my skin is damp it makes me oily. Weird. But, despite being a night cream, my skin never gets greasy, and I actually am able to use a fair bit compared to other moisturizers. I use this morning and night. The only difference is at night, about a half hour after cleansing and moisturizing, I use the lowest dose Retin-A. I wish that back in high school someone had told me to wait a half hour after applying all skincare to apply the Retin-A. Damp skin absorbs much more, so it is more prone to irritation. By waiting, the Retin-A doesn't irritate or dry out my skin. And it's actually working this time around.

The only thing I'm watching for right now is that my skin doesn't naturally shed as well due to the toughness. So every few days I scrub in the shower with a BABY washcloth. Regular washcloths are way too abrasive for the skin on your face.

I'm also starting Latisse in hopes it speeds the regrowth rate. I want long pretty lashes for the wedding photos.