LATEST IN SKINCARE

It's been a hot minute since I talked about any new makeup or skin products since I didn't do much exploring over the summer or spring. I did a little digging around on the blog, and I found an old skincare routine post from almost exactly a year ago. It remained the same for a solid part of 2018, but I decided to switch it up this past autumn once I noticed a significant difference in my skin after the summer.

I'm not really sure why my skin changed so much after I came back from California, but it was a lot drier and acne-prone than before. Even after switching back to a more regular diet, things just weren't the same. I thought this was a good opportunity to try something new and buy products actually targeted towards my skin type.

Day Routine

Each morning, I wash my face with water and tap the Time Revolution Missha Essence into my skin. My Korean friends swear by essence, so I started using it back in Spring. If I'm being honest, I'm not 100% sure what it does, but it does make my skin feel more hydrated. Afterwards, I give my face a few spritzes of a toner my sister and her fiancé sent me to try.

I also heard a lot of good things about the Drunk Elephant skincare brand, so I picked up a few of their travel-sized options at Sephora to sample. In the palm of my hand, I mix together the C-Firma Day Serum with the Virgin Marula Facial Oil and B-Hydra Serum.

The combination of these products have been really effective for my combination skin, and they seem to keep my face hydrated while keeping the shine to a minimum. When I used to use a thicker moisturizer, I found myself having to blot multiple times a day, which isn't the case when I use these products together. They work well underneath my makeup.

Night Routine

At the end of the day, I typically use a proper eye makeup remover with a makeup wipe, but recently I've been skipping that altogether and just jumping to this Heimish All Clean Balm. It's an oil-based cleanser that my friend Stefanie recommended to me, and I understand why. This stuff gets all the makeup off my face, including my stubborn waterproof mascara. It also smells really, really good.

In the shower, I'll cleanse again with the Clinique Foaming Cleanser and my Luna cleansing brush. When I hop out of the shower, I'll spritz a little bit of toner and apply a mixture of the Virgin Marula Facial Oil and B-Hydra Serum, along with the TLC Framboos Night Serum, which is an AHA/BHA exfoliating serum that makes my skin feel so smooth when I wake up.

One ingredient I used to have in my routine was salicylic acid, and since I've cut it out, my acne-prone skin has been breaking out a bit, particularly due to hormones and on the spots where I often touch my face (oops). So while this skincare routine is partially incomplete and I need something to control acne, I've been pretty impressed otherwise with how the texture of my skin has generally improved since the beginning of the season! 

STAYING SANE

I'm breathing a sigh of relief as we end the eighth week of autumn quarter, where we had a short little three-day week wedged before Thanksgiving. It's been a busy past two months, frantically trying to complete the appropriate credits that I need to graduate in the spring. While it's been a bit mentally and physically tough on me, I like to think I'm a lot more self-aware this time around and have been taking slightly better care of myself. There's not much I can do about the workload or commute, but I just wanted to share two things that I've realized this season that have helped keep me grounded.

It's Not That Big of a Deal

Admittedly, I used to overthink everything. Situations used to escalate uncontrollably in my head, and before I knew it, I'd be in a mood over something that never even happened. Or I'd run scenarios over and over again in my mind and obsess over what-ifs. What if I got a better grade on this exam? What if I had said the wrong thing in a social situation?

Overthinking got tiring. Quickly. It reached a point earlier this autumn quarter where I was constantly stressing about everything, so I took a step back and asked myself why I was stressing out. In the grand scheme of things, life will work itself out. I can't change the past, and many of the things I was worrying about were things that were relatively out of my control. In other words, that's just how it be sometimes. Sometimes you just have to let things be, and worrying won't change anything.

Aware of Assumptions

As a user experience designer, I like to think that I'm doing a decent job of being aware of my assumptions. I'm quick to recognize my assumptions about users in my work, and I have no trouble applying this to my professional life. But somehow, I still have a tendency to jump to conclusions and make too many assumptions about how the people around me feel.

I'm working on more openly communicating my thoughts to my friends and making fewer guesses about their thoughts. You don't really know what people are thinking until you ask. Similarly, I have to be honest with them about how I feel and be more open in communicating what I need. 

NEW DIRECTION

It always comes as a surprise to people when I tell them that the photography on my Instagram isn’t really the style of photography I want to pursue. If people interpreted my life the way I conveyed it on my social media, they’d think I lived in a pastel-colored world with bright lights and eternal daytime. 

My professional (paid) experience as a photographer has always been a bit darker (as restaurant photography depends largely on the mood of the establishment), and my project ideas are often darker in themes that reflect modern societal issues. My posts are often just fun little exercises where I get to play with fun colors and update my friends about what’s going on in my life.

Still, social media has been time-consuming lately, so I’m taking an intentional hiatus from Instagram. Adjusting back to school hasn’t ben easy for me (Week 0 hit me hard), and my body seems to have forgotten how tiresome commuting is. Battling a cold, I found myself laying in bed on a Week 1 evening, just wondering how I’m going to make it through the quarter. 

With my time away from social media, I’m planning to focus on my more serious photography projects, as well as polishing my portfolio in preparation for full-time job applications. I really feel like I’ve made more progress towards discovering a personal brand / identity, and discovering what types of themes I would like to explore more. My creative work is moving in a new direction, and I’m excited to see how these projects grow.

Realistically, I think it’ll be difficult to carve out time for these projects. My two-hour commute to work doesn’t do anyone any favors, and the quarter will only grow tougher as the homework load increases. 

SUMMER IN FILM

With the first week of autumn quarter out of the way, I’ve been back in the Seattle area for a little over three weeks now. While it’s technically fall, I’m posting my last set of summer photos before I forget about them. These were taken on my last roll of film over the summer.

I somehow found myself with the opportunity to spend nearly all summer in San Francisco, living a walking distance from downtown. With the size of the tech industry in the bay, I was curious to see what life would be like in the city. California living sounded like a dream from everyone who’s lived there, so it was nice to have an opportunity to find out for myself.

Alone in an unfamiliar city, I often found myself taking long walks around the various neighborhoods, snapping photos, reading in parks, and eating overwhelming amounts of dim sum and Mexican food. 

This was my first experience really living on my own, and without school, I found myself with copious amounts of free time. Luckily, I made a few new friends from work and had a few visitors from Seattle, so I wasn’t entirely without company. Still, this “alone time” was valuable. It was a great opportunity to focus on myself and really reflect on what I want to do after graduation. I learned a lot about myself this summer.

If I’m being honest, I didn’t find San Francisco to be as appealing as I thought I would. While the unique neighborhoods offered character and a certain level of charm, I also found it dirty and overwhelming. The views of the bay and bridges were beautiful, but I didn’t like the state of the city itself. 

Luckily, I enjoyed my internship and found it very helpful in deciding where I want to steer the beginning of my career, so I left the city with a little more direction than when I first landed. I’m so grateful to have been given this opportunity, and I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned during this upcoming school year. 

SOUTH BAY

While I spent 99% of my time in San Francisco, I did spend some time in South Bay over this past summer. I have a friend whose family is from the bay area, so we met up and drove around Santa Cruz on the search for some quality lighthouses and good coffee. We spent some time on Capitola Beach, walking through the colorful houses and enjoying the sunny beaches that you can't find in the city.

San Francisco is apparently the coldest part of the bay, and my morning commute was often marked by overcast skies and a layer of fog covering the tall buildings in the Financial District. While driving through the cloudless skies of Santa Cruz, I realized that this must be the 'sunny California' weather that everybody describes.

The coffee in the bay is no good (an objective statement). While I wouldn't consider myself a coffee snob, I think that Seattle just set the bar for coffee too high. However, Verve Coffee was really good, and we stayed there for a little bit before grabbing some tacos at a local spot.

Overall, I really enjoyed South Bay and being able to catch up with a good friend. I didn't spend too much time outside of the city over the summer, so I'm glad I had these opportunities to venture out here and there.

DESSERT STORY

This past summer has been one marked with amazing food. I think I've had enough sugar this past month for the rest of the calendar year, and most of it from this cute dessert place called Dessert Story in the Mission neighborhood. My sisters and aunt came to visit in the city a few weeks ago, and we definitely indulged...

I haven't been keeping up quite as much with this blog as I would have liked, but I promise I've been taking photos (which are unorganizedly strewn across my Desktop) and will try to post them when I can!