Yes, it is that time of the year again. A time when I would try not to remind myself that I am a year older. In fact, after my 25th birthday, I just basically lost count of how old I am. And when asked, I would have to do some basic calculations in my head subtracting my birth year by the current year. That is how much I dread birthdays.
Recalling just a year ago, I looked in the mirror on the day before my birthday and said to myself, "Gosh, I really ought to be better to myself and start going to bed early. My eyes really look the age.". No sooner said that, I started buying over-the-counter eye creams for my eyes. At that time, I had little idea the importance of moisturizers; all I had been doing since then was washing my face with a very drying cleanser at the end of the night, because I thought a squeaky clean face is the cleanest. Boy was I wrong. I also used a great deal of scrubs, especially on my oily T-zone, but never did I realize the importance of using toner. I did buy toner, at least I think that was toner (it was a Neutrogena brand), but I just didn't use it more than twice a month. In short, that was a very depressing time; I had two choices: to accept the "gift" that mother nature had left on my face, or to turn back time. I chose the latter, even though I would appear as vain to a lot of people. Sometimes when I read comments posted by others on Yahoo regarding Skincare articles, I find that a lot of people thinks that Skincare products are a waste of money and that people should just accept their wrinkles and age marks with grace. These people think that it is extremely vain to spend time during the day to pamper yourself in hopes to erase or prevent any signs of aging. But what is the problem of looking better when you have the means and know how to do it? I think the process of making yourself look good is not all for outer appearances; through this process of loving yourself, you also feel good about yourself. Ultimately, the people around you benefit from your improved attitude towards life too.
Exactly a year ago, I was looking at the mirror feeling depressed about how much I've aged. I blamed it on almost anything: kids, dull life as a housewife, late nights watching TV after the kids are in bed (I needed that after a whole day running after them and telling them to stop fighting; that is my "me-time" of the day). The counter eye creams I tried turned out to be 'hit-and-miss'es, as even within the same brand, I found that some made my eyes feel more swollen than others the next day. Eventually, I turned to the internet and researched how others take care of their skin. At that time, I was (still am, I guess) very into Korean dramas. I always wondered how Korean girls have such pretty skin. Thanks to all the forums, I found my answer! I decided to embark on a 6-steps cleansing system, consisting of cleanser, toner, mask, eye cream, serum, and moisturizer... the things I call "basics" from now on. It could very well be the Korean dramas that gave me the encouragement to do such a diligent cleansing ritual daily (twice a day actually), but I did it... I kept at it for months and I'm still doing this twice a day. And one year after my last birthday, I look into the mirror... I am actually happy with what I see. With a more disciplined diet, I lost a bit of weight too (yay); and the nightly facial massage also seemed to help slim down my face, giving me a better "V" shape. There are still lots to do, but I don't see myself much older than my early to mid-20s (a time when I paid little attention to skincare).
And what did I learn after all these years of "mistreating" my skin? "Moisturizers are a girl's best friend!" This is why I now help my 7-yr-old put on water based creams day and night. I don't want to turn her into a vain person obsessed only with outer appearance; no, that is not my goal... but I want to get her started to take care of her skin so that she will not have to go through all those obstacles that I went through. It's true how a lot of people said it, "There are no ugly women, just lazy ones."
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