Woe Is G

I had a bit of a face-mergency this week. The added stress of my injury has my face breaking out something awful and I decided to try out some new face products for acne prone sensitive skin...terrible idea! (Picture someone who has fallen asleep in the sun for hours without any form of sun protection on their face. Yup.)

When I was in high school, around grade 11, I developed make up allergies. My eyelids would sting, swell up and on occasion split open. Fact: walking around with scabs on your eyelids is not a confidence booster. As a make up junkie and music theatre student at the time, I felt betrayed by my skin. I ended up switching everything I used to hypo-allergenic products; which seemed to work for a while.

A few years ago, my skin started reacting to just about anything I would put on it. I went from a teenager with perfect looking skin to a twenty year old with acne and redness. Every time I applied make up, my face would react worse and worse until I gave up on wearing any. Then even my cleansers and lotions started flare ups. I learned that acne fighting products are too harsh for me and most 'sensitive skin' products are filled with all natural things like lavender and rosehip (known for their soothing properties) which I am very allergic to. Enter two different brands that would give me hope: Cover FX Make Up ( which I will save my praises for a different post) and Avène Face Products.

Normally I use a combination of Avène products which have very little ingredients and are designed for hypersensitive skin. Currently I am using the Cleanance Soap-Free Gel Cleanser for oily blemish prone sensitive skin, the Thermal Spring Water Soothing Serum for sensitive skin, and the Gentle Purifying Scrub.**

I have never had a negative reaction to any of their products that I've tried. Though recently I found that my normal face routine just hasn't been standing up to my acne. You would think, with all my past knowledge and my positive experience with my current cleansers, I would've gone and picked up some acne treatment from their line. Of course not! I decided I wanted to try something new positive that it would be all the answers to my face problems. Lets just say four days of a major face burn/rash/allergic reaction and many DUH moments later I am back to my tried and true brand.

Lesson learned.

*Please note that I am neither endorsing or recommending these or any other products I mention on here. They are simply what I like and what works for me.*

G.

Accessory Gallery - Watch Necklace

I wanted to take a second and share my new favourite accessory with you...

This necklace is made up of two gold heart rings that I wore as a child and a wind up watch pendant that used to be my grandmothers.

I found them in my Mothers jewelry box the other day while frantically searching for something that would go with my outfit. I decided to put them together on a gold chain and have been wearing it every day since.

J'adore.

G.

Thoughts Of A Couped Up Gal

I'm going a little stir crazy from inactivity right now. My winter is usually filled with gym visits, indoor sports and dancing at the clubs. This year none of those things are happening. Back in November I partially dislocated my hip playing volleyball. At the time I thought the injury was minor and what I thought would be a week or two on crutches ended up being much longer.

Normally, I live alone in a downtown apartment with my two cats and value my independence and alone time. Currently I have been living back with my parents in the suburbs with visitation to my apartment on the weekends (don't worry my neighbor is taking good care of my cats). I keep trying to remind myself of how much improvement I've made since November. I use a cane when I'm out instead of crutches, I can drive myself to work and bend my leg down, I can put on my own socks and get into the bathtub without assistance. Despite the fact that I'm no longer constantly uncomfortable and in pain all I can think about is how much I'm missing out on.

Alas, what else is there to do but grin and bear it, do my physiotherapy exercises and hope I'm in shape for baseball season. Well perhaps I could buy a new nail polish or two.


G.

Girl I Used To Be

I used to be one of those girls. You know who I'm talking about; the ones with the FTW attitude, who spent most of her money on mesh and black liquid liner and expressed her loathing for everything with melodramatic poetry and disdain for any music that wasn't obscurely foreign and landed in the categories of Goth/Metal/Industrial/Darkwave/Misc. Everyone called me Goth, even when I steadfastly refused to be 'labeled' as such. What I was, was lost.

Most people who look at me now would never be able to guess that I ever donned such a persona and trudged around in combat boots with a coffin purse daring people to give me a snotty look. So what happened to that girl? Well she grew up, got a job, started to tone down her wardrobe to make it more 'work appropriate', and realized that the chip on her shoulder was mighty heavy to have to lug around all the time. Simply put: she got over herself.

That's not to say that I totally abandoned my need to express myself or stick out from a crowd. I just go about it differently. I exchanged my monochrome wardrobe of black for bright colours and fun prints. I decided it was okay to express my girly side with floral prints, soft makeup and flouncy dresses. I like to go dancing and gossip with the girls and do all sorts of things that the Old me would've scoffed at. Yeah I might look much more 'normal' (whatever that word really means anyways) but I'm happy. Plus, as an added bonus, it's much more shocking when the girl in the purple baby doll dress decides to headbang to some Metal music while perusing the latest and most gore-filled movie selection.

There's some things that never change. I like that.

G.