MAKE-UP for When You Feel Like a Haggard Mess.

The first few days of school are always the hardest. I'm not exactly talking about the academic side of things, because at this point of the semester, syllabi are geared towards introductions more than actual hard stuff. I say that the first few days of school are like this because it's usually at this point in time wherein we have to train ourselves to get used to new routines, new policies, new schedules and other stuff.

I'm really okay with change. The adjustment part is just a little bit tricky.

Speaking of change, I'm trying my best to start my day earlier. I'm really not a morning person, so yes, this is a challenge. I also haven't been sleeping very well since school started, for reasons that I really don't know. It's only been like, what, four days(?), but the sleeping hours reduction has been taking its toll on my body, in a sense that my digestion hasn't been at its best, my brain has been feeling foggy, my skin has been horrible, and I'm not as emotionally resilient as I should be, especially when my patients can't make their appointments. I FEEL LIKE A ZOMBIE, REALLY.

You know how they say that beauty should come from the inside? Well, is there anything really wrong with fixing up the outside, when the inside is a haggard mess?

I used to do my make-up before leaving the house, but now, since I'm trying to get to school as early as I can, I've been foregoing make-up, and just leave it for when I have free time (at school). The thing is, I put make-up on to feel better about myself, especially when I need a little bit of internal cheering up-- and yes, today was one of those days.

My patient wasn't able to make it, because something came up. I didn't book a patient for the afternoon, and with my morning suddenly freeing up, I really didn't have anything to do.

I've been developing these really ugly eye bags. This isn't the first time I've had fewer-than-normal hours of sleep, but it is one of the first few times that I've actually had legit eye bags, in spite of my eyes puffing up every now and then. Now, I actually have the bags.

NEW RULE-- Look like be a haggard mess all you want,
but never stop looking for reasons to smile.

The worst part is that the bags are more obvious when I smile. Goodness.

I know you've seen these products time and time again, but the reason why I reach for these over and over is that they're really good. The products here are geared more towards skin care than actual beautifying. In this look, it's more about looking more awake, while nourishing the skin with all the good stuff.

very basic, really.

At this point, I'm really trying not to overload my face.

The real hero of my make-up is the NYX Full Coverage Concealer in the shade Yellow. Yes, really yellow. Yellow, because usually eye bags exhibit blue to purple pigmentation, and by virtue of the color wheel, yellow would neutralize the purple eye bags.

I look.. Traumatized.

I've never looked back since I've started applying under-eye concealer in an inverted triangle. It really beats applying it in curved streaks, or even dots. You can't really see the inverted triangle on my skin because the concealer color blends too much into the natural color my skin, but if you look closely over to where my purple eyebags should be, they actually look a little bit better.

--but obviously, you need to set it.

"ready to face the world", yo.

Make-up is such an awesome thing. It's not always about concealing what you really look like, and creating false beauty. Make-up enhances. It's, like, covering up the ugly that distracts from what's naturally beautiful. I started the day looking like a haggard mess, feeling really down about my patient not being able to make it, and after "putting my face on", and finally seeing the girl whom I actually like, I felt so much better. I felt amazing, and yes, feeling amazing just made the rest of my day fall into place. Positivity does wonders, I'm telling you.

Lots of love,

Corine Magenta

Oh wait, if you're wondering about my clinic day, considering that the patient I had scheduled for the day cancelled on the last minute-- I still didn't get my original patient to come, but I did find a new one.. A single CD + RPD patient. See? Everything works out.:)

Lots of love,

Clinician Corine Magenta

MASK PARTY! (PART 1)

Last Saturday, I attended a Mask Party hosted by Liz Lanuzo's projectvanity.com and Origins Philippines. I feel a bit bad about writing this a little bit too late, but.. (okay, I'm out of excuses). Oh my goodness, this post is going to have so many pictures, I really hope you would like what you're about to see!:) --by the way, this is a skin post, so please expect unfiltered and unadjusted photos.



I was one of the few lucky girls who got to join the Mix & Mask Workshop, and when I say "lucky", I really mean lucky. Not only did I get the chance to sample some of the most amazing and natural skin care products ever, but I got to spend time with the Project Vanity ladies, as well as other girls who love Project Vanity the same way I do.



I volunteered as the first tribute during the presentation-- and I'm really glad I did! I had three masks applied on to my skin. On my T-zone, I had the ORIGINS Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask, which has an insanely smooth and velvety texture.



It's actually known as a worldwide best-seller. Truth be told, if you get the chance to have this slathered on to your skin, you will understand why!

I was asked what my primary skin concern was, and truly, I told Sam, the resident beauty expert, that it was breakouts. Seriously, breakouts! I get really crazy breakouts along my beard area, and yes, I know-- it's a clinical sign of endocrine disorders (because #TEAMendocrinedisorders). Sam helped me through it by applying ORIGINS Out of Trouble 10 minute mask.



The Out of Trouble mask might as well be my best friend because of how bad my breakouts get. My acne goes by a "When it rains, it pours" motto. Since it only takes 10 minutes for the mask to work its magic, it won't eat up much of your time. Fantastic, right?



It's also made with zinc oxide. --which makes me love it more, because we actually use zinc oxide at school. --HAHAHA.

On my cheeks, I got a generous slater of ORIGINS GinZing, which is a nice gel-like mask made with ginseng and caffeine, which play a part in giving that extra glow, especially on tired skin.



GinZing was actually my favorite, having it on my cheeks brought about a very interesting cooling and tingling sensation. It could be because of the caffeine, which is really cool.

After a few minutes, I got everything wiped off, and to my surprise, I looked like I was glowing! Sam said that my skin would look glowy, but I didn't think that it would look that glowy.



Sure, I was still stuck with my gigantic pores, a few remnants from former breakouts, blackheads and uneven skin texture, but I saw improvement after just ten minutes. If that doesn't account for something, I really don't know what does!



It took a lot of courage to even think about posting a zoomed-in unfiltered picture of my skin, but if I can't be honest about my skin issues on my own blog, where else could I? If I can't be real with you, who actually take time to read about the things that I have to say, who can I be real with? I'm letting you see my pores-- I declare that we have reached a whole new level of friendship (while we're at it, you might want to say hello on the chatbox on the right hand of the blog page).

I have so much to work on, when it comes to skin care. I have really large and open pores, blackheads, and white heads here and there, but just knowing that there are good products out there is already a huge takeaway for me, and for that, I'm already really blessed.

Would I purchase ORIGINS products? Oh my goodness, you know I want to! Unfortunately, the only thing that's holding me back is that all these products come with a hefty price tag. Sure, it's fun to shop every now and then, but sometimes, we really need to be realistic in assessing how much money we can spend on skin care. I know I seem like an absolute scatterbrain, but I believe in budgets. I can't say that I adhere firmly to budgeting, but I know it's something I have to work on. Okay, let me summarize this paragraph for you-- I have no money.

Would I purchase ORIGINS products if I had an unlimited supply of money? The answer is simple-- Yes, I would. Their products are effective, natural, and just downright fantastic. If financial circumstances were different, I'd buy all the pretty masks I could get my hands on!:) Then again, I keep telling myself that ORIGINS masks are something to look forward to, and sometimes, the waiting makes the purchase extra special.:)

Yours in brokeness,
Corine Magenta with the large pores.:)