new Jurlique buys -- an unfinished post 1:23 AM

Wow, I really need to start writing in this blog again. I guess having Facebook and Twitter these days got me feeling super lazy to write something longer. My last unfinished blog draft (see below) was written back in November 2010. A whole year gone unwritten. Hope I find the time to blog again.
Why? Why can't I seem to drag myself away from the temptation of buying new stuff for my skin? This is an evil, evil addiction.

Just last Wednesday evening, I wandered into Jurlique, with the innocent intention of just checking out their hand creams. Then I happened to try Jurlique's Lavender Hydrating Mist and, well, I ended up reaching for my wallet to buy this product. Which is basically herbal-scented water to hydrate the face. Or to describe it in Jurlique terms: "A replenishing mist, rich in the living energy of lavender and marshmallow to hydrate, tone and soothe. Leaves the skin refreshed. Ideal for rebalancing dryness."

Not sure exactly how marshmallow root extract helps moisturize the face, but the nice thing about Jurlique products is that their stuff really works. It may just be lavender-scented water to non-believers of Jurlique, but this Lavender Hydrating Mist works like a charm.

Because I have very dry skin, I need to moisturize my face and body religiously. When I'm outdoors, I need to re-hydrate my skin by spritzing Evian or even just plain water; otherwise, the skin on my face would really feel dry and tight. But water and even the Evian spritz tend to evaporate quickly on my face, so I have to keep at it. But the Lavender

vanilla girl 10:49 PM

I'm known as the vanilla girl in the office.

People would kind of joke and say that they'd know it was me who had just passed by just because of the scent of vanilla in the air.

I think it's a compliment. I love all things vanilla. I have body sprays, a basketful of lotions, several bottles of body wash, and even a hand sanitizer that all have that fragrant smell.

So, not surprisingly, this is one of my new moisturizers (I have 3 more lotions in my bag). A yummy Boots product and now an official favorite amongst my teammates, who help themselves to it regularly.

Now that 1/4 of it is consumed after only 2 weeks, I realize I have to find a way to stock up again on this.

And next time I'm in Bangkok, I'm getting the same body butter in the larger pint-looking size.


***

On a different note, I really have to start on my Paris and Cambodia entries soon. Wrote a couple of notes while I was traveling at that time, and I hope I can properly reconstruct the memorable bits of those summer vacation trips. :)

This is real love. 12:25 AM

Oh, yes it is.

I requested a kind officemate of mine to buy a pot of Boots Original Beauty Formula Cold Cream for me while she was in Bangkok last week for vacation.

I've been trying this for cold cream three nights in a row already, and seriously, my skin looks and feels healthier and more supple. (Of course, my mom and sisters think I'm unhealthily obsessed with my skin. Sorry, I'm a skin care junkie.)

The product also has a vintage feel to it, and looks like something my grandmama would use. Well, older generations of women did use cold cream to remove skin impurities and retain that youthful look. When Kylie Minogue was asked about her ageless look, she revealed that her beauty secret was Pond's Cold Cream--and sales of that product in the UK soared in the next few days.

Well, I'm not a Pond's fan, so I'd rather go for something like Boots' Cold Cream. It's a bit heavy on the skin, but I don't mind; I have really dry skin, so I kind of feel that my skin is 'drinking' in all that cold cream. Heavenly.

Every time I'm in a Boots store in Bangkok, I always feel this mad urge to stock up. So whenever I get back to Manila, I have a load of Boots products in my luggage; I'm always afraid of running out of my precious supplies.

The skin balm and the lavender hand cream from the same Original Beauty Formula line are nice on my skin as well (perfect hand moisturizers while I'm working inside a deathly cold office), but this cold cream is turning out to be my favorite. Next time I'm in Thailand, I'm going to lug back some of that skin tonic and cleansing milk.

I suggested to my fundraising teammate Tintin (another Boots fan) that the next time our regional manager Yas comes over to Manila, we can ask him to bring our pabilin (purchase requests) from Boots. She said I was dead crazy, as she couldn't imagine our no-nonsense Japanese boss lugging around a bunch of beauty products for us.

Okay, maybe that was too much. It was just a suggestion, though...!

solution to rosacea 10:42 PM

Just a little break time from all those travel entries I've been posting--although I'm so happy and grateful that several people have come up to me to say they love my little posts on my Europe trip, and that these are well-written and super interesting to them. (Wow, I'm overwhelmed, because I honestly think my writing's pretty rusty and the stuff I write about are rather mundane, but thanks everyone for the love. Will post more about my Europe trip when I have the time. It's Paris up next, by the way!)

On to a bit of frivolity.

Well, not really. It was a necessary purchase, but a bit costly on the pocket.

I've had mild rosacea all my life, and I recently discovered Jurlique's Calendula Lotion, which is excellent in soothing sensitive skin. I checked a website dedicated to people with diagnosed rosacea (ranging from mild to serious rosacea), and Jurlique's product was recommended for those with a condition like mine.

Actually if you know me and see me everyday, you wouldn't really notice the rosacea. Like I said, it's pretty mild. At most, people think I have a rosy tinge on my cheeks (so yeah, this blogger obviously doesn't need any blusher--ever). It only flares up during extreme heat, or when I'm encountering a rapid change in temperature, like going from a warm place to a cold one, and vice versa. It also shows up at the most inopportune moments, like when I'm laughing real hard or when I get embarrassed--so please don't tease me, because I do end up blushing!

And the redness is most apparent after I'm done with a workout or a run. Whenever I get out of my bikram yoga class, for example, my face feels like a glowing tomato, which is so not sexy. One of the reasons why my rosacea manifests itself is because I love, love, love spicy food, and I cannot live without that.

But on most days, my cheeks just exhibit the slightest tinge of rosiness, and other people think it's cute and all--but it's the vain, hypochondriac side of me that really fusses over this condition in the most paranoid of ways.

I ended up buying Jurlique Calendula Lotion because it promised that the soothing properties of calendula would help decrease the redness. Tried it, and my first reaction was: "Oh, f#$%! It smells like soy sauce!" Definitely not something you'd want to put on while you're with a bunch of people. It's not the cream kind of lotion that one slathers on--it's more like toner actually, so the "lotion" on the product box may actually be misleading.

Like toner, I just apply several drops on a cotton pad and pat my face, compressing the pad into the problem area, just like what the instructions on the box say. The "lotion" does have a cooling, soothing effect and lo and behold, it really did dramatically reduce the flaring up.

The lotion still stinks to the highest heavens, like other Jurlique products, but people really swear by this brand. I'd used to pass by the Greenbelt 5 branch of Jurlique and wonder why the prices of their hand creams and such were ridiculously expensive, but I guess as long as the product works for me, I'm good. Even if my face smells a tad like soy sauce--despite the facial night cream slathered on top--before I go to sleep.

buttermilk 11:04 AM

My current favorite lotion. It must be the baby scent of buttermilk and coconut that makes me fall asleep at night.

I used to like floral-scented stuff but as I get older, I'm leaning towards skincare products that include vanilla, buttermilk, almond, basmati rice, and coconut scents. Ah, the smell of childhood.

The Delinquent Runner 12:47 AM

Yes, I can go by that name too! Haha.

I haven't run since last Tuesday's 11.33K, mainly because of work. Had to catch up on some backlog paperwork now that I can spend more time reading and writing with my new glasses. I was supposed to do a tempo run of 8K on Thursday and an easy-paced 5K on Friday, but I had to give those up. Sigh.

Well, abandoning Friday's 5K wasn't really an excuse, because I went shopping in Rockwell that night. Shame on me. Went with Ryan to check out the Rockwell Urban Bazaar, where my dear friend Neva currently has a booth for her fab Leyende bath & beauty products. I'm such a big fan and believer of Leyende, and it's wonderful to see how the brand has grown since Neva started her business some 3 years ago. I get a little nostalgic, just thinking about a few of those times when the poker group would gather in Neva's place for our usual 20-peso-buy-in games, and Neva would dab a bit of her latest concoction on our arms. Of course, us girls would love testing the products and giving feedback before the final versions go out, but the boys were such a good sport about the whole thing and treated it seriously. Real men use Leyende, and that's that.

Ryan bought his usual favorite, the Norte variant of No Rumple Silk Skin Butter and I was excited about my purchase of Place in the Sun Sunblock. (Will use this in the Condura Run and for summer outings. Hooray!) I've tried and used all Leyende products (except perhaps the Hair's End Shaving Oil) and because I'm such a skincare addict, I love the Leyende stuff to pieces--especially the Mother Butter Cocoa Butter Lotion. Ahh, I feel delicious every time I slather this on.

Okay, back to the bazaar. After Leyende, I went and looked around at the rest of the booths. It was an assault on the senses. Too many beautiful summer dresses and bikinis. I wanted to buy something, but I had to restrain myself. I'm under a tight budget these days.

However, I was wearing killer (literally!) black pumps that night (to go with my skinny jeans)--and I kept complaining to Ryan that I could barely keep up with him as we walked. Death by pencil-thin heels was not as worthy as, say, death by 11K, so I ended up buying a pair of slim Havaianas to give my poor feet a break.

I have such terrible self-control; every time summer kicks in (or even a holiday, for that matter), I have this ugly compulsion to buy a new pair of Havaianas. I have so many pairs that I've actually lost track of the actual count. But my feet were in such agony Friday night that I went inside Moana (the first shop in Power Plant that I saw with a stock of Havaianas) and actually felt justified in buying the pretty blue-and-gold slippers with the peacock design. Hay. Adik.

Dropped by Fully Booked with Ry to browse--but again, I had to restrain myself because I still have a reading backlog that's longer than my arm. My friend was able to buy some reference materials on digital photography, so at least one of us came out of the bookstore completely happy.

Next Friday, I am sticking to the park. The mall is a dangerous, dangerous place.