Spread the Love

My dearest husband surprised me for my birthday last year by going to a beauty store in Korea Town, Los Angeles to buy me skin care. He says he finally figured it out. Skincare for me is like records and CDs are to him. I feel seen. Thanks to the advice of some clearly knowledgeable sales clerks in Korea Town, he got me some truly delightful products. But for me to blog about a product I have to be madly in love. For the record I am currently out of my Huxley Oil Essence and it is frankly affecting my self esteem. This is not an exaggeration. Therefore it occurs to me that I really do need to spread the love on this one. From what I understand Huxley is a favorite among flight attendants. Air travel is very dehydrating, I can see why they love it. Is it an oil? Is it an essence? Is it a serum? I don't know. What is called a lotion in the US is not what is called a lotion in Korea. I have found that what I call a serum may or may not be described as an ampoule by someone el

Never in my life have I been able to wear mascara on my lower lashes. The shape of my eye pretty much ensures a very grave raccoon eye situation. I can't say I experience much angst about this condition. Such is life. I honestly didn't know I cared until I got Thrive Causemetics Liquid Lash Extensions Mascara. So this is one of those Facebook ad stalker situations. I was getting the ad for this mascara constantly until I finally caved and made the purchase. There is a sucker born every minute and when it comes to mascara, I'm a sucker. Of course I had to get past the name. It's forgivable, but the word Causemetics makes me itch and I'm not thrilled about typing it out right now. But this mascara is something. My inferiority complex about my eyelashes is well documented on this blog and yet my willingness to apply fake lashes has been steadily waning. Because I inevitably lose one or two of the few lashes I have during the fake lash, glue removal process and

So recently I dealt with a difficult loss. I was in pretty bad shape and after a week or so found myself looking at a truly messed up stranger in the mirror. Facebook must have known I needed a distraction because I found myself part of this new group about all things The Ordinary along with another group called FOREVER 35 . Lord did I go down the rabbit hole. These were my people. Just as obsessed with skincare as I normally am. I dare say even worse. The concept of The Ordinary is right up my alley. Individual ingredients sold separately for shockingly low prices. I'm the person who at times has purchased ingredients wholesale in bulk to make my own moisturizer. So this of course intrigued me. Now I want to preface this by saying you really do need to do your research before buying all of The Ordinary products and slapping them on your face. This is pretty potent stuff. One poor soul posted a photo today of a nasty chemical burn on her cheek from putting a high concentrate

Like everyone else, I fell down the rabbit hole of the infamous Korean 10 step skincare regime. I was already dabbling in Korean and Japanese skincare for a while as evidenced by this blog. The 10 step regime however was daunting. In reality, we’re not talking about 10 steps every time you wash your face. More on that later. There is some debate out there about what exactly is included in this legendary regime. I would posit there should also be some debate about who, at what age group, should partake in each step. That said here is a basic list:               Eye makeup remover (at night)               Oil based cleanser               Foam based cleanser               Exfoliating cleanser              Toner              Essence              Serums, also known as ampoules              Eye mask or face mask              Eye cream              Moisturizer              Sunscreen (in the morning) As I mentioned, some things drop in and out on a daily basis or even depend

You have already seen me mention Japanese paper lotion masks on this blog. I love them very much. My DIY directions can be found here: Japanese Lotion Mask . It's a beautiful thing I promise. That said, I have found a pre-made version that is literally sent from heaven. Well maybe not literally, but pretty darn close. It truly is a miracle worker. I get most of my imports from Amazon and you can find it there under the name  Rohto Hada-Labo Goku-jun Hyaluronic Facial Mask 20ml x 4 sheets (Japan Import).   So here's the thing. I had a difficult birthday to face this month. So I broke out my  Special Night Tricks & Tips (except sleep, I didn't get enough sleep) and this mask during my prep for a Dolly Parton themed birthday party. Take a good look at my skin in this picture folks (forgive the gigantic fake eyelashes & crazy, costume wig). Thanks to this hyaluronic mask from Hado-Lobo this 44 year old birthday girl felt a little less like Methuselah. I swea

I am completely guilty of the worst 'do as I say and not as I do,' crime when it comes to skin care. I rarely wash my face before I go to bed at night. Or at least I used to be guilty of this crime before I discovered another fabulous secret from my sisters in France, micellar water. French women cannot be bothered to wash their face. Actually, the common wisdom is that the water in France was infamously harsh, so really out of necessity they needed an alternative. I prefer however to imagine Marlene Dietrich as the Laziest Girl In Town. Many people confuse this with makeup remover. Don't do that. This is not going to remove your water proof shellac. If you typically require an eye makeup remover, do not skip it. Micellar water simply replaces the step of water and cleanser in your routine. Which for some reason I cannot manage to do at night otherwise. I must have been a fabulous french woman in a past life.     Anyway, oil molecules (micelles) suspended in so