Under Construction

Mabuhay!

It feels like a long time ago when I last posted an entry, but it has only been 3 weeks. I did write tons of listings in between, but it all went to my drafts cause it has been nothing but random musings that may not make sense to anyone but me so yes, I guess I saved you from a big yawn. Anyway, as my title goes, in between work, school & adulting, I did try to make an effort to tweak and re-organise this blog starting off with my new header which is an old doodle (2014) of my nickname and my new picture (vain much? hahah) So to my 1 and only follower (charaught!), please bear with the site construction. Naks! Taaaa!

Aca-rtehan

Aca-artehan: New & old finds

Aca-artehan is finally back on regular programming! I haven’t posted anything in a while but for that period since my last entry (Aca-artehan: Current faves) & Aca-artehan: My Skincare routine (eh ano bang alam ko?), I finally found my staple products- well at least for now.

My criteria still stands: I want to be in A.W.E (pucha, ang arte ng paandar ko dito ha! hahaha). A – Affordable | W – Works for me | E – Easily accessible.

I’ve talked about the Garnier PureActive charcoal (£3.33) previously and I still use it up to now (I’ve got extra stash all the time, that’s how I love it!). I get too lazy at times so I try to look for products that are multi-functional (wash, scrub and mask) so pasok sa vanga! The only downside for me is that it can get a bit messy cause obviously, it’s charcoal but it definitely helped me and my oversized pores. Alternatively and/or subsequently, I also use the Cetaphil Oily skin cleanser (£5.99) which is a joy for my oily skin and the huge pores that come with it. In addition, I use the Foreo Luna PlayPlus (£39) to massage it all over my face and believe me, it unclogs my pores quite excellently.

I did rave about Etude House’s Wonderpore in my previous entry but since I wanted something within arms reach, I had to improvise. Luckily, I stumbled upon Garnier’s Pure Active Clarifying toner (£4.99) which I felt helped to manage my biggest issue – pores – plus, because of it’s salicylic acid component it helps with pimples too! Of course, Mario Badescu facial spray (£7) is still part of the routine and one that I may have forgotten to mention before, Mario B’s drying lotion (£16) which I use for spot treatment.

(1) Lucas Pawpaw in clear plus tints in red and pink (I saw this on TK Maxx and was around £10 for all 3 tubes). I’ve always been curious what the hype was about and I could say it does the job but I’m not it in love with it yet. I’m mainly using these for my lips and so far, it feels quite similar to Vaseline. I’m still waiting to have a change of heart, we’ll see.

(2) Neutrogena Hydro Boost body gel cream (£4.99). This is a new find and I am extremely impressed! A few weeks into using it, I could already see a difference. I wish I’ve discovered this earlier though (would be very useful in winter) but I can see myself using this for the long haul. I think I might also try to explore this hydro boost range.

(3) Finishing Touch Flawless brows (£19.99). Bought this because I’ve been so lazy and the online ads seemed so appealing. I’ve used it twice and it does save me from the pain of plucking or threading.

(4) Hycosan Extra (£8.65). I have a gland dysfunction which causes redness, pain and dry ever so quickly so this is my new essential. Reminds me so much of Eye-mo but it did help improve my symptoms plus it’s also compatible with contact lenses.

Random Snippets

Random Snippets #19

Thought block. My brain is dry. I am currently trying to finish another round of essays and I think I’ve exhausted everything I have for today hence, the random entry. Maybe this will allow me to reset my neurons. So, watsap por yu?

Last Tuesday, we went to watch Lany at O2 Academy Brixton. I’m not the biggest fan but I do like and sing along to most of their songs plus tickets were cheap! In fairness, they’ve impressed me. Paul Jason Klein’s (Kelangan whole name talaga?) voice was exactly the same and if not better live and his energy on stage is quite infectious. Kitang-kita mo talaga na he’s enjoying and todo-bigay with all the kadyot-kadyot moves niya on top of the piano lol. I did enjoy the feel-good vibes the whole night.

We just finished watching After Life on Netflix last night and I’ve got to admit I didn’t expect to be so moved by Ricky Gervais’ acting. I guess I was just so used to seeing him doing comedy but this series (which he also wrote and directed) was just superb and I was tearin’ up each episode kasi damang-dama ko talaga siya. I am nothing but grateful for the life I have now despite how hard it is at times. There’s also a lot of powerful lines to live by and one that struck me was ”Happiness is amazing. It’s so amazing it doesn’t matter if it’s yours or not”.

During one of my heart to heart talks with one of my closest friends here, it was brought up about how sometimes you just get so caught up with work all the time that even on days off you don’t even have the energy to do anything because you would rather rest and conserve what is left of your katawang lupa for the another day at work. It’s a vicious cycle, one that we can never escape but, as I reminded him, we can always find ways (wow BDO ba itey?) to make it worthwile di ba? Find a hobby or experience something new just to break the monotony. We can’t allow ourselves to be enslaved by our jobs because reality is, we’ll never know when our time is up or when our body suddenly decides it just can’t function anymore. Kalma din minsan sa kayod beh. Aanhin mo pa yung madami kang pera pero di mo din naman nagamit sa mga bagay bibigyan ka ng saya. Thanks for coming to my TED talk, charot!

In line with this, siyempre di pwedeng hanggang advice lang ako. I also have to apply it sa totoong buhay. Little by little, I tried to recall things that I’ve always wanted to experience, something that is more achievable and short term and arranged for it to happen. So far, I have 3 pending ganaps and I can’t wait to tell you more about it (once it happens siyempre). I’ve also been thinking of hibernating on social media again – mainly Facebook ( I’ve completed 7 months last year, wooot!) and Instagram just so I have more time to be in the moment. April perhaps?

Also, thanks to all my avid readers a.k.a my future self. I hope one day when you’re 50 or so, you won’t roll your eyes so much reading all the randomness your present self has been writing here. Pasensya nadin kung may wrong spelling or grammar, I’m not perfect hahaha charot!