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Tiny Story: the dread of loss almost killed me

June 8, 2020 Leave a Comment

Three months of waiting—waiting for you to leave. Every step of the process took time and effort. But you had to go.

You wanted to find yourself.

If only you had that hair cut or the tailored dress or this life experience—something always promised happiness.

You counted the days and so did I.

While you saw a cage door, opening, I caught a glimpse of the bars you flew towards. The dread of loss almost killed me, but then, it didn’t.

Your opened cage door swung shut, and I was the one uncaged—free.

June 2020 Inspiration

June 1, 2020 Leave a Comment

I blinked, and it was summer. The last few months have been a blur. When I ask friends how they’re doing, the answer is almost always the same, “Every day runs into the next.” And I think we all feel that, even as we’re slowly moving to being more “open.”

But isn’t it so weird not to be able to see people smiling anymore? I miss that. I miss YOUR faces.

However, it’s fun to look for clues of smiling. A big smile includes eye twinkles and corner wrinkles. So I’m looking at eyes more than ever before. But it’s still so odd to interact in a society where I only get to see most people without most of their faces.

I’m so grateful for the season of summer.

What I’m Being Inspired By

Current Jam:

I have a YouTube playlist called “Fierce Female,” and it’s a list of 160 songs. nbd. I’ve been building this list of music for five years or something ridiculous like that. And I rarely make it through the list in one day, but the music is surely a journey of its own. So if you’re looking for some Fierce Female music to listen to, my list can be a start place. 😉

Current Food:

I’ve been obsessed with cinnamon for the past year or more. I love dumping it into my cereal, ice cream, and well–everything. Recently, a friend made up some divine Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes, and I’m pretty sure my eyes rolled back into my head. They were SO GOOD.

Current Read:

Usually, I’m a pretty big reader, but this past season of time, I wasn’t reading as much as I would have thought. Megan McLachlan’s Loan Some was a delightful novella with a snappy heroine and a quirky premise. I’m sad that I’ve finished it already. Yes, I know, it’s not my current current read, but it was so fun that I had to share it here!

Current Obsession:

Fiona the Fierce joined my life in February. And you know, though I was super nervous about becoming responsible for another creature, she’s been such a treasure in my life. Her favorite hobbies include sleeping, rolling in poop, and sassing me when I try to snag a photo of her.

Current Quote:

I wrote this line to a friend in an email, and in her response, she told me that this needed to be my quote for June because it was just so good? beautiful? heart emoji? Anyway, I reread those words, and I couldn’t help but agree. I hope that this quote continues to be true in my life for the coming seasons.

What’s Inspiring YOU?

3 Korean Skincare Products I Bought in Seoul, South Korea

May 25, 2020 Leave a Comment

When I prepared to visit Seoul, South Korea, I was told over and over to make sure that I explored the Korean skincare options. Now, let me be honest here: I don’t do skincare. Other than the normal zit situation of teenagehood, my skin has been pretty self-managing. This means I’m terribly lazy when it comes to my skin. My older, wiser, and more skin-savvy friends caution me about this behavior.

So while I was in Seoul, South Korea, I asked my friends to hook me up with The Stuff. But let me give you a quick snippet of a conversation that happened a few times between me and Koreans.

New friend: “So what’s your skincare routine?”
Me: “I wash my face sometimes…?”
NF: Blinks at me. “Sometimes?”
Me: “Yeah, my skin seems okay, and I noticed that when I washed it too much it got dried out. So I figured it was doing a good job on its own.”
NF: Stares hard. “You need to moisturize after washing your face.”
Me: Shrug

Let’s just say, I like to keep my skincare routine as simple as possible. And maybe, one could say…nonexistent?

But, while in Korea, a friend helped me choose a 3-step process with products she could recommend that met my criteria of low maintenance and low scent. (Of course I like to smell pretty but here’s the thing. I don’t like to get distracted by my own flowery scent)

I’ve been home from my great Asian Escapade (oooooh, i like that. i’m keeping that name) for nearly 6 months now, and I’ve been using these Korean skincare products as consistently as I can…I mean, come on, I leveled up from washing my face sometimes to washing my face sometimes with the right skincare routine. That’s got to win points SOMEWHERE. Anyway, I like these products, and I’m already hoping I’ll be able to replace them with the same stuff when that time comes…but considering how often I wash my face…

3 Korean Skincare Products I Bought in Seoul, South Korea

South Korea has a WHOLE WORLD of skincare products, and I’m sure that there are many options that would fit your lifestyle. The cool thing about shipping is that you can probably get all the everything wherever you are. But my favorite suggestion for getting your skincare products is visiting South Korea. 😉

NEOGEN DERMALOGY: Real Fresh Cleansing Stick

On the wall of many products, my friend plucked this stick from the masses. As a stick, it’s a bit easier to apply, and the scent is very light. I like to leave it in the shower so I can grab it and use it while washing my face. No weird residue. It promises to remove makeup and skin dirt, and I think it lives up to that promise for me — though I tend to remove my makeup before showers (if I remember).

Check it out here!

Dear, Klairs: Supple Preparation Facial Toner

Now, this step in the process of caring for my skin kind of made me scratch my head. But, it’s easy enough with a few drops to my fingertips and then patted across my face after getting out of the shower. I’m still not sure what it does for my face though people say it’s good for me. What I can tell you is that it doesn’t make my face feel greasy or gross, and it’s not heavily scented either so I just feel FRESH!

Check it out here!

COSRX: Aloe Vera Oil-free Moisture Cream

Okay, so this was the biggest deal to me, right? It’s the last thing that goes onto my skin, and I really didn’t want to have greasy feeling skin because of that last step. This voluminous cream smooths over my skin easily and soaks in rapidly. Best yet, hardly any scent and absolutely no oiliness. It does retain a certain residue for about an hour, but it doesn’t bother me because I don’t touch my face much. To me, it’s an absolute keeper.

Check it out here!

BONUS:

NEOGEN DEMALOGY: Serum in Oil Drop White Truffle

After purchasing all these fancy products, the store gifted me with this fancy bottle of serum that I had absolutely no idea what to do with it. And after a quick poll of Instagram, I learned that the right course of action was a couple of drops to the fingertips to transfer to the face after the toner. I didn’t want an extra step, but it did make me feel extra fancy for the short period that I used it.

Check it out here!

While I’m certainly not a pro on skincare, this new and short routine — I’m willing to include in my day-to-day routine. In fact, I’m proud to say that I used these products just today, and I’m now leisurely drinking a favorite hot beverage in my favorite robe and feeling like the Queen Seondeok of Silla.