The DIY and TLC for my face: beauty tips

This past weekend I felt that I really needed to give my face a DIY, as well as some consistent TLC and serious attention.  Between the shampoo system that went awry and the newly-developed hypothyroidism, I felt it was time to take charge.  Furthermore, the skin problems associated with hypothyroidism often first manifest themselves in the face (NOT THE FACE!  NOT THE FACE! - see this link if you'd like to see me poke fun at myself!) and though my skin has suddenly developed an occasional yellowish cast to it, a definite thickening and puffiness can be seen, it's also become a bit bumpy and severely dehydrated, and I've experienced a couple instances of sudden unexplained "wounds," which are taking their sweet time healing.  I've not gotten to the acne stage nor the flaky stage and I'd like to keep these and other problems as far away as possible - in fact, to work hard on reversing the damage.  I also do NOT want/need other added complications - I have enough problems I'm dealing with already, thank you very much.  I'm determined that my year of "looking human" WILL succeed!  (Semi-joking.)

The following are the products I had incredible results within just three days - whew!  I chose well! - just as I started my thyroid medication.  My skin is still not where it should be, but I AM fighting many fronts at the moment, problems I've never seen before on my visage!  The regiment I followed this weekend is as follows:

• Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant.  A powdery substance that activates as you add water and work into the palm of your hand, I like to use this as a mini-cleanser and exfoliator.  In MY case, it starts the job of evening out the rough pores I have on my nose especially well. 
• Dermalogica Skin Resurfacing Cleanser.  This may seem like over-kill, and in most instances I would agree, but we're talking really bad skin problems and I was quite gentle with this cleanser.  I liked the lactic acid, Vitamin E and Rose Flower oil combo.  It really did a nice job combined with the microexfoliant, though I didn't care for what was left over, so I used a...
• Muslin cloth, very, very gently, and then splashing my face with water over and over again as well.  I wanted those dead skin cells as far gone as possible in order to really take in the next treatment, the...
• Omorovicza Deep Cleansing Mask.  OK.  I admit I was overdoing it at this point, but we're talking about desperate skin conditions!  I really liked this new product quite a bit - and I only used it once since it is not the sort of product used every day.
• La Mer hydrating serum was added at this point.  I loved it.  

OK.  I admit it: by the time I got to this stage I was so tired and fibro-brained that I do NOT even remember which moisturizer it was that I used and am quite disappointed as whatever it was, it worked a treat!  It will hopefully come back to me, but I can't begin to pretend I remember something in order to save face (ha! get it?) and advise willy-nilly. I may have a lousy memory but at least I'm honest about it!  (Dead serious!)

And I'd also like to add that I do always prefer to do a double cleanse, be it starting with my beloved Dove beauty bar (the original), a micellar water (I still have best results with Bioderma) or a new product of some sort.  Perhaps I also do this to make up for the fact that I'm so rarely able to wash my face twice a day....though remember, my life is basically limited to my bedroom and a few hours at the computer after I've done as much as possible on my iPad, so cell turn-over and getting rid of dead skin cells are more a factor than cleanliness most of the time: when I do go back to a big city such as NYC, I'm always shocked to see what my skin endured when I lived there!

After an initial "wash," I get into a cleanser that is serious business (exfoliation and/or a muslin cloth) in order to get rid of all the dead skin cells so that any further treatment will be able to soak into my face really well.  If I use a mask, I often put on a thin layer, then a few minutes later, add a good layer to it, a really successful way for me to go with some types, such as Sisley's.

There you have it: perhaps a record in the short post category, but hopefully, long in the helpful one?

In the meanwhile, I hope everyone's feeling the best they can be, only better.  Ciao and paka!

Trying To Be Productive As Well As Amused

Birchbox on the left and Beauty Bar on the right: love the earphones, the Jouer and the Sisley!

I know that signing up for beauty subscription services may be rather passé but even though others may be bored with them, I'm absolutely thrilled to have signed up for a couple.  Color me easily amused and quite bored - even desperate if you must - but I think that they're a bit of fun - perhaps because I need a life?  (I'll not take that bet - it's too easily lost!)  


At any rate, when I signed up for Birchbox and BeautyBar three months ago, I didn't realize that receiving four or five beauty samples twice a month (one from each company) would turn into something I would look forward to like a young, budding, in-training, teenaged prima donna at Christmas.  Yes, color me easily entertained too; however, I also recognize the fortuitous timing as I'm supposed to be on strict bed rest for the next month. (Yes, I still sound like a seal when I cough!)


I can see myself eventually becoming bored with the concept but for the moment they serve my purposes.  Both companies send out boxes that are somewhat tailored to one's tastes. They wanted my approximate age (good since that increases the chances of anti-aging products and decreases the teeny-bopper products I have no one to pass along to), they know I'm not especially into hair products (I've given up on experimentation with my hair as a lost cause, product-wise: I stick to a few must-have's and call it a day) and they're aware of a few other "facts" about me, such as I tend to like a conservative look and not cutting edge, though I must admit to a surprising fondness for the turquoise nail polish that came in the other day.


Thank goodness I have this bit of "fluff" in my life because whenever I go through a bad spell (understatement of the decade) I tend to go a bit off track with my entire life (is this a post for understatements or what???) and that all adds to my spiraling downward until I can finally say "enough!" and figure out some sort of mind game that will force me back on track.  This week I've tried quite a few things with no luck, so I'm putting it out there via this blog in order to shame myself back into "order."  Here is how I'm starting "back," if I can keep myself at the level I am right now and not get even a smidgen worse.   If I can get through five days of this, I'll have a good chance of succeeding:


1. Weigh myself each day and RECORD the number on my calendar. My 20-lb. weight gain is downright depressing but the worst is over, I hope, since I DID finally force myself onto the darn scale, a huge move.  And, BTW, I record my weight in code...I'm NOT crazy!


2. Cut out all sugar. That includes fruit and that honey I don't even like!


3. Go back to "food combining," or my version of it. I'm convinced that all of us do best on some foods and worse on others and it's up to us to see which work best for our individual selves.  That is, don't listen to the so-called experts - after all, they change their minds as often as Seattle changes its weather, about every ten minutes from what I've heard.  You know your body best, so listen to it and learn from it.  Food fads come and go why?  Because a certain percent of the population can be always be found to be successful with any kind of diet. (A topic for another day!)


4. Go back to taking my vitamins religiously. (More later on this too!)


5. Start back to what is over-the-top hygiene for me, a person with CFIDS/ME, fibromyalgia, pain, sleep problems and migraines, crazy temperature fluctuations several times a day accompanied by sweats.  For some reason this really helps, though paradoxically I have to be careful and not over-do it.  Overdoing anything at all can accelerate the pain and insomnia for heaven-knows-what reason(s).  So, it's all a rather bizarre balancing act.


6. Drink tons of water. Yes, it sounds so pathetic to say that I've been too weak to even drink enough water, but it's true nonetheless.  In fact, all these "goals" are so easily obtained for the "normal" person but feel like bucket list items for "us."


So, I'll let you know how things come along. I have GOT to get myself in gear.   Summer's almost over and I've accomplished almost nothing!  Worse, the remodeling has stalled because of my being too sick to have anyone in the house, which puts me into another downward spiral.  If we don't get our walls painted soon, I may have to go jump off the nearest cliff as I can't bare the thought of another holiday with scarred walls, little furniture and certain rooms filled to the rafters so yet other rooms can be worked on.


What a truly crazy life I lead: I haven't been to our local mall in at least five years but shopped at the Petronas Towers just a few weeks ago.  Surely there must be a happy medium!  (Huge goal: TJ Maxx and Michael's, which I've never even been to!)  Perhaps the subscription service is one easy possibility that will lead to more.  At this point I must keep in mind that thing I sooo hate to say to myself: baby steps.  Annoying?  You betcha! I was never a baby-step person, not even as a baby, but it'd be great if I could get myself to feel just a tad human again and start getting some feelings of accomplishment!


Here's to all feeling their best, only better!


Have you tried a subscription service and if so, what did/do you think of them?

Trying To Look and Act Human Even When Sick.

Bioderma, Clarins, the Omorovicza "mitt," the Sisley face mask, and the Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel

I'm afraid I'm pretty ill at the moment. In fact, worried hubby stayed home to keep an eye on me in the AM - a rare occurrence - and I kept asking him for cups of tea with honey. Saying that I am not a huge fan of honey qualifies as an understatement: the last time I had tea with honey was when I came down with the bug that led to the CFIDS/ME/fibro - when my mom flew down to my university to "nurse me back to good health" - so my request for tea with honey pretty much scared the bejeebees out of hubby. I certainly hope the tea and honey work better now than it did back in 1975!

At any rate, when flying home, I came up with a few ideas that I think will be successful for me if I ever have to fly again, which I sincerely hope not, given the unsettling experiences I had coming back.  One day I may write about them, but for now I'm too "verklempt," as Mike Myers used to say on SNL.  I'm just glad I'm home, where I should be, recovering from it all.  (Lawdy! How DO I Manage to sound like such a drama queen!)
So, getting back to my thoughts and ideas. 

• A surprising and successful way to find use for something I didn't care for before:

I was just about to pop a mitt-like washcloth into my checked-in baggage, when I experienced a flashback to the skimpy warm washcloths on the plane that are occasionally passed around before meals.  I received said washcloth "mitt" in one of those trial-sized kits (Omorovicza )which, at the time I thought was a total waste of money.   Now, however, that said "mitt" has found its "calling," I'm more than thrilled that I have it.  
I simply wet it, wrung out all the water I could and popped the thing into a ziplock bag and slid it into the top - and thus easily accessible - compartment of my carry-on.  Every time I needed to wash off my face or hands, I turned to a clean area of the mitt.  

And good grief. This is not a germaphobe talking, just a relatively clean person: those planes are absolutely filthy! Even though business was much nicer (read "cleaner") than economy, still....  And since I try to stay away from the bathrooms as much as possible because of the germ factor, this damp washcloth turned out to be an inspired move. I liked that there was no stickiness after I used the "mitt." I find that any kind of wipes leave behind an unpleasant stickiness.  I can actually see myself using this trick even for a trip by car or train.

• The Bioderma worked out so well that next time I'm going to double the amount I take.  

(Did I say "next time"?  Excuse me while I take my temperature.  Yes, I'm quite delirious!)  I just need to put more cotton pads into the skincare and makeup bag I brought on board with me (hypothetically speaking, of course!)  In fact, I was so obsessed with the 3-1-1 rule of liquid contents taken on board that I kept getting completely confused and kept thinking I needed to take as few items on board as possible.  Fibro-fog really had a field-day with me!

• Skincare masks turned out to be a huge "face-saver."  

My skin was actually in better shape getting off the plane than it had been before getting on, thanks to constant hydration and fooling around with different products.  It made the time go by more quickly (well, almost) and kept me busy.  And yes, I'll be doing a review of the masks I've loved so far, as soon as I can get myself together and run a couple more experiments.  But I do love them completely!

So, there you have it: three ideas that really worked. I'm sure more will come up as soon as I can wrap my head around all that's happened, as well as once my fevers stop torturing me!

In the meanwhile, I hope everyone is doing as well as can be, "only better"!   


NOTE: I've corrected some of the content. Sorry about the errors. It appears that I was indeed a tiny bit delirious when I wrote this post: I've come down with croup, of all things. I sound just like a seal when I cough!

Priorities in family, health and beauty...

My "little boy" is getting married!

I seem to keep putting off the completion of my eyebrow miniseries but really, it ended up having too many loose ends for me to publish it just yet.  I am, however, surprised that these posts appear to have a high readership and I'd like to thank you all.  However, there's so much I have for the subsequent eyebrow post(s) that I'm trying to cut it back a bit and chop it into smaller posts.  And, of course, what further complicates getting the series done - with no other posts breaking up the series - is that I keep getting sidetracked by other CFIDS/ME/fibro issues...or just life!


On Saturday I'm planning to get my hair done again and was (selfishly) disappointed that Lan's away.  I'm concerned that the new person won't be able to do my brows and lashes successfully and of all times to not get the person who knows you???  You see - and oh how much I'm afraid of jinxing myself (KNOCK ON WOOD!) - but I'm about to go on a HUGE trip, something I would never in a million years have imagined doing at this point in my life. 

There's been a hurt and sadness deeply rooted in the last few years.  I, at some point, really and truly suddenly realized, more or less out of the blue, that traveling will no longer be in the cards for me: that I'd never get to climb to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, that I'd never get to Alice Springs, nor would I be visiting St. Petersburg, or my cousins, for that matter, when the 2014 Olympics in Sochi start, so close to where my cousins live.  To show you how badly I do when traveling: hubby and I decided to do the simplest of vacations a few years back at a resort in Arizona that even had horse-back riding.  Well, it was a disastrous seven days, with me as sick as the proverbial dog, with one health problem after another: I broke out in angry red hives, I broke a tooth biting into my room service hamburger, and I've long ago suppressed all the other things that went wrong.


And yet, just as I had, in the last few weeks, resigned myself to the fact that there wouldn't be any more "exotic" vacations/trips for me, I was told by my middle child that he's getting married and soon AND in Kuala Lumpur.  And though he never expected me to be able to be there, worried about my health, I, in turn, couldn't imagine NOT being there.  So, in a frenzy, hubby spent a few days trying to locate my passport (remodeling strikes again!) as I tried to figure out which route to take, the dates involved, which airline(s) to use, how to swing it all financially. Finally, after a couple of days and nights of no sleep (what else is new, right?) my brain finally gave in, turned off the malfunctioning sleep switch and I was able to take a nap.  When I woke up, hubby had found the missing passport (it was exactly where I told him it would be!) and had booked a flight for me for my trip.  We both knew that every bit of damage done to me in this latest adventure of mine will well be worth it.  Besides, I would never be able to live with myself if I didn't do this.


And this SHOULD be quite interesting.  I'm traveling alone, since there are a few serious family crises/issues that need addressing (Murphy's Law!) plus hubby is not able to leave work at the moment.  Consequently, I'll have to rely on the airport people to meet me at each gate with a wheelchair and to get me to the connecting flight in time (with no time at duty-free shopping?  Just kill me right now!).  Hubby bought me business class tickets because we know that this will be a major shock to my system (I'll be running on adrenaline, which has not kicked in yet for the packing...). I'm just so weak and lethargic, my voice a croak, my muscles aching and so forth, but hopefully business class will make things go a bit more smoothly.


In general, CFIDS'ers shouldn't even be flying much at all and I have long wanted to post on this topic alone, but I'm still doing research.  Going by past experiences I know that this trip will keep me in bed for a couple of years since each time I've done this sort of insane thing, I've returned home with some new sort of nasty "thing" that no one could have foreseen and run down beyond comprehension.  But I don't really mind: it's always wonderful to spend time with my children, no matter where they may be in the world! (That sounds as sappy as an answer in a beauty contest!  Sorry!)


So, my boy is getting married and I cannot imagine not being there!  (I just had to repeat that because I'm still trying to get used to the idea!)


In order to get my engines revved up, yesterday and today I've been reading as much as possible on making travel easier, as well as "stalking" YouTube.  I'm following advice from Ruth the model, Sali Hughes of The Guardian, makeup artist Lisa Eldridge, as well as others: they are now my guides, my inspiration in all things packing and beauty.  And perhaps the best of their tips: how to do a great DIY beauty routine on long-haul flights!   Considering I have twelve time zones to get through, I have a feeling I'll be able to do several treatments.  But packing?  That is going to be a challenge since I freely admit to the universe: I am an awful packer.  My son immediately notified me that I can buy anything and everything I want/need in KL...having traveled with me too often and knowing just how much luggage I can lug around, often borrowing parts of others' suitcases. (Sadly, true!)


And there are so many things to take care of, as a person with a chronic illness.  Although I have an almost pathological fear of flying, for the first time ever, I'm actually looking forward to the flying part of the trip because I look forward to the DIY beauty routines.  I may even get adventurous and fool around with makeup, who knows? (Joke at my expense!)  Though I am a bookworm, I've never been able to read on a plane, not even the truly awful magazines my daughter seems to buy in bulk for travel, which take very few brain cells to comprehend. I feel as if I'm in a straitjacket when flying so I have high hopes for the DIY spa experience to make the time go by faster.  And I'm now carefully selecting/packing/agonizing over what should be in my carry-on (all meds, of course, but which skincare products, which cosmetics?), what is the proper size of the check-in bag and its weight, questions like "do I actually lock my suitcases since they need to be inspected along the way," yet it's scary not to lock them?  I'm also trying to figure out exactly what the restrictions for carry-ons in general are all about.  And I must not forget to pick up the letter from my doctor explaining to customs which medications I'm on and why, in order to not get thrown into a prison, never to be seen again. I also have to figure out how to give myself the HGH shots.  Eek!  I've never done the whole process myself: the few times I did the injections, the needles were already loaded. Plus I need to figure out how to carry my meds refrigerated for such a long time and distance. Finally, I have to make sure that I have enough meds to get me through the time away: some prescriptions will most likely end on a day I'm away, so we need to work with those concerned in order to insure that I have the doses needed.


So, getting back to hair, lashes and brows.  Although I don't have an appointment with Lan, I do have an appointment with someone else to do my brows and lashes.... And I truly need this: a) to deflect from my age spots (hyperpigmentation)  and b) I don't know how much makeup I'll be able to handle in KL - it must be murder wearing full warpaint in an area where the temps hover around the 100 degrees mark (we ARE at the equator, after all) with very high humidity to boot. I most certainly need those brows and lashes darkened in order to not scare any child unfortunate enough to cross my path.


I have a week before I'm off, so if anyone has any brilliant ideas to make this trip safer, easier, even feasible (!) please let me know.  The airlines change policies so often that it's hard to keep up. I worry about the water factor. I used to bring an entire carry-on with water and when I finished that, I'd then start asking the flight attendant for water. I actually had one refuse me water, saying I'd had two people's quotas!   So, there's a concern for you!  CFIDS/ME and water, after all, go hand in hand!


Another part of me fears a repeat of what happened at my daughter's college graduation.  Just as the class was coming in, accompanied by absolutely beautiful and stirring music -  I was being carried out because I kept sliding off the chair and "semi-passing out" (the HGH approval was moving very slowly though "the systems," the "t's" not yet crossed the "i" not yet dotted, so I was basically dying at that point and had to be hospitalized as soon as we got home).  I remember thinking the whole time, "at least it's just a graduation ceremony and not her wedding!"


Because of this fear, I'm arriving in Kuala Lumpur almost a week ahead of the wedding so that my long-haul plane ride will have been forgotten and my witty, charming self will shine through! ;)


If I can figure out how to blog from KL, I hope to give tips on traveling, or keep you up on events as they happen.  And I cannot believe I'll actually be in Communist China for layovers...in Shanghai and Beijing.  How I'd love to run out of the airport building and just take in the atmosphere for an hour or so, remembering very well when Nixon and Kissinger made the monumental steps of "opening" China.

Even when you're extremely sick with whatever kind of illness, it's difficult to give up those activities that you loved and learned as a child and have developed marvelous muscle memory for.  I love adventure, I love learning, I love people watching and I love my family.  It's difficult to come to terms with the fact that your can't do all the things you love any longer, just because of a lousy illness, or if doing them, doing them only in "heavy" moderation.  


But you know what?  Sometimes it just gets to be too much, all this hyper-vigilance over ourselves.  It gets to be a pain having to factor in what was eaten, what was said, monitoring anxiety levels, predicting pain levels, noticing every bit of minutiae which, as it so often turns out, is NOT minutiae at all but can often be the most important part/factor of your life, the one worth living for.  Because as I wrote in my previous post, I don't want to live in a cage, even if the cage is gilded.  To me, if the event is humongous enough and if it's well worth the price, I'll gladly pay later for all I've gone through.  And for me, my son's wedding is definitely worth the price, even halfway around the world.


Help???!!??


P.S.  I went back and made a few changes to the original post.  My brain was definitely way too fogged up this morning when I typed it out.  Apologies to all.



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