Skincare products for winter and random thoughts

It's starting to get pretty chilly now and my skin gets pretty dry and itchy around this time of the year. Moisturizing is a must for me and my go to facial moisturizer is Olay's Active Hydrating Beauty Fluid - Original.

I have dry flaky patches around my face because of my acne and I find that this moisturizer makes the flakiness disappear. It doesn't leave a greasy or oily feel to my face either.

My all time favorite moisturizer is the Rice Face Lotion from Bath and Body Works, but they discontinued this line. I just got done using my last back-up bottle of this lotion a few days ago and I was soooo sad =[. This lotion is for Normal to Combination skin types, so it suited my skin perfectly. I got the right amount of moisture and it felt so light on my face. After I put it on, I my face feels so smooth and this lotion doesn't make my skin more oily throughout the day. *sigh* Maybe I'll get lucky at a Bath and Body Works outlet store and find it again.

Another skincare product I've been loving is the Neutrogena Wave. A lot of people have been raving about the Clarisonic Mia and I've been itching to try it but I just can't bring myself to spend that much money on a tool that requires you to buy replacement heads (which aren't cheap) every three to four months. So for now, unless I hit the lottery jackpot or something, I'm pretty content with the Wave. I've used the regular cleansing pads and I'm currently using the exfoliating pads which are amazing! This stuff takes off my foundation so well and afterwards, my skin feels smooth, clean, and refreshed. If you're like me and can't afford to get the Clarisonic, try the Wave out and see if you like it. I'm not saying that they're the same thing, but I feel that it's a cheaper alternative that will help you to exfoliate your skin and remove makeup. I also noticed that after several weeks of use, this product helps make my skin look brighter and more refreshed.

Despite the beating that my skin is taking from the rapid change in weather, I really love the Fall and Winter season. Whenever I think about this time of year, I think of these things:

Lord of the Rings marathon

a bowl of hot, steaming Thai noodle soup (guay tiew)

Pho

Christmas

Turkey

presents

family

love

Black Friday

movie nights/drama marathons

hot tea

pumpkin pie

apple pie

books

shopping (lots of shopping)

scarfs and gloves

SNOW!!

I love this time of year =] What do you think about when fall/winter rolls around? I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us all.

Monolids and Double Eyelids

This past year, my cousin had surgery on her eyes to change her monolids to double eyelids in Thailand. I've thought about getting the surgery done on my eyelids as well, but I have a very low tolerance for pain so I always balked at the thought of actually getting them done. Another thing that concerns me about the surgery is the fear that I won't like the way my eyes look afterwards or that something could go seriously wrong. After all, you only have one pair of eyes and you can't exactly change it back to the way it was before. I've discussed the surgery with my mother and she told me that if I really wanted to get it done, she didn't have a problem with it. My mother had her eyelids changed when she was younger so she understands the inner conflict I have about my eyes.

This is a before and after pick of a person using double eyelid tape.

My recent trip to Thailand this past summer made me think about eyelid surgery even more. Big eyes are the trend in Asia so it's no surprise that almost everywhere I looked, I saw products advertising big doll-like eyes. Sure, there are things out there such as circle lenses and double eyelid tape/glue that help to create the illusion that you have double eyelids instead of single lids, but my experience with eyelid tape has been frustrating. It's hard to put on and I've also heard that it's not good for your eyelids in the long run.

Many people use circle lenses to help make their eyes seem bigger. The down side to these lenses are that they irritate the eyes because not enough oxygen is passing through the lens and into the eye.

I've never tried circle lenses because I need to be able to wear them all day. I currently wear clear prescription contact lenses and I knew that circle lenses are not meant for all-day wear, so I just didn't bother.

I know a lot of people wonder why people would want to change their eyelids. I personally think big eyes are more attractive than small eyes. Whenever I smile in pictures, you can barely see my eyes. It's also frustrating when I try to put on eye makeup. When I line my eyes, I have to use a lot of eyeliner so that the line would be visible whenever my eyes are open. I also find that because I need to thickly line my eyelid, most of my eye shadow color is barely visible. I'd be lying if I said that a part of me doesn't want double eyelids because I do want them. On the other hand, a part of me thinks that I should be happy with the way my eyes are now and just be grateful that I can see through them. I've gone back and forth on this issue many times in my head and for now, I'm just going to try to be happy with my monolids. I'd love to hear other peoples' thoughts on this as well so feel free to comment below.