I Dream of a Blue Summer

For the sake of both vanity and sheer necessity, I've finally given in and took a visit to a dermatologist to address the following woes that's been afflicting my skin for the past few years...

(1) Rashes or pimples that are prevalent in my upper arms. It makes wearing sleeveless difficult and embarrassing, and frankly acne, a lot of acne mind you, anywhere in the body can be a concern. I've had them as long as I can remember but I've been noting that the skin was getting inflamed and the pimples were frankly spreading as far as my elbow. This includes rashes that appeared on my feet that causes my skin to start peeling, some sort of skin asthma apparently. Both are genetic apparently and was told that no amount of alcohol or cleaning would have prevented it from happening. Treatment including medication are roughly around Php 4k.

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February again and my birthday has just passed me by. I've just turned 27, a good number as any, last February 12 and decided to actually go shopping for myself with my beloved's help.

My first purchase was practical enough. I was looking for a new pore minimizer. My previous pore minimizer did an average job and I was willing to invest on something good. So I dropped by Rustans to have a look-see and found Estèe Lauder. Now I wanted to try Clarins but their staff wasn't exactly helpful. They were not rude, just passive and given my lack of knowledge in all things cosmetic (learned late in life) I went to the Estèe Lauder kiosk and was assisted by very helpful ladies who had no qualms actually putting stuff on my skin to let me see for myself the results, while explaining what it does, how to use it, when to use it.

Impressed at actually seeing visible results, I rang up Estèe Lauder's Idealist which cost me around Php 2,000 (double Clarin's price).



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What Makes Me Kikay?

People who have known me, would never consider me 'kikay'. I hang out mostly with the men (including my boyfriend) in my gaming group, my work which is at home (and in the past in a gaming company with very lax office attire), give me little to no opportunity to get 'girly.' However, my opinions of being 'kikay' to the rest of the population is vastly different.

Kikay is a term mostly to describe the "girly" personal grooming habits of a female, at its worst, it's also used to describe a shallow female obsessed with physical beauty or appearance or someone so very vain.

But for me, being kikay is more than just buying every single facial scrub and moisturizer in the market, beyond than the latest lipstick and eyeshadow combination. It is more than just being L'Oreal/insert-your-favorite-cosmetic-brand-here fan girl. Being 'Kikay' is a lifestyle.

Kikay-ness isn't just about applying the right moisturizer or sunblock or even how many minutes or hours is spent fussing infront of the mirror. It's also about eating right, exercising and over-all good health. No amount of cosmetic, both topical and surgical would do anything if the body is weak, sick and unhealthy. What you put on your skin, even something a simple as that luscious butter lotion from The Body Shop, can only enhance what is there. No amount of expensive paint job is going to hide a busted car.

Part of a Kikay girl's lifestyle includes not just good health but also a good dose of self-esteem. You are beautiful and unique, and never forget that. Too often, society has forced on us on what beautiful should be: fair skin, a size 8 figure, long flawless super straight hair and double D breasts, most of which isn't possible without the use of expensive and dangerous surgery or good Photoshop skills. It doesn't matter if you're less than five feet high, morena, your nose is pango and you wear a size 18 dress (no matter how much you exercise or diet); love yourself, and confidence--not to mention sexiness--will surely follow.

Love yourself. There is no better beauty regimen than accepting and loving who you are, inside and outside, all your faults and your attributes. It opens your heart and mind to the beauty of those around you.

Courage is another important aspect of a being Kikay. Don't be afraid to dare, to try new things. Don't be afraid of what others will think of you. If you believe that your 'style' doesn't conform with the masses--don't be afraid to showcase it, just flip them the bird and be on your way. Express yourself, be creative. Being Kikay means not being afraid to experiment, to learn that trying something is much better than not doing anything at all.

This is what it means for me to be Kikay: a healthy body, heart and soul.

I'm sneaking a little bit of office time to type this up, so pardon the tendency of the post to sound like I'm doing multiple things at the same time as typing this, which of course happens 90% of the time whether or not I'm at home or at the office which makes my statement moot.

Now this is going to be more of a product endorsement than an actual beauty 'tip' kind of thing, being in the office for some reason has made me forget all the tips I've been wanting so share. I'm not sure but I think the office is rigged with a device that sucks out energy and creativity leaving only a hollow cynical shell. Anyway enouh ranting and lets get to the topic...

Hair Care for Damaged Hair - Some people don't realize that your hair, is actually made up of dead cells and no amount of shampoo or conditioner will ever 'fix' them, or that blowdrying, styling, ironing actually damages hair. You want to have silky hair? Then shave your already damaged hair, eat the right foods, don't style abuse your hair and pray your hair grows back with a healthier sheen. Now since a lot of you folks, including myself, don't want that option, then we'll have settle on taking care and making the most of the hair you have now.

Permed, colored, rebonded hair anything that uses chemicals to style hair will most guarantee that you're hair will end up dry, brittle, very prone to split ends, and frizzy in the next 2 or 3 months. Now to protect your hair from further damage (like me I can't live without blowdrying my rebonded hair), or at least slowing down the process, here are some tips to take note of.

Use a Conditioner: I can't stress this enough. Styled or not, keeping your hair conditioned is a must. Shampooing strips your hair from essential oils and makes your hair dry and even frizzy.

Blow Drying: First make sure your hair has been sufficiently towel dried before you turn on the torch. This is both practical and beautifying since it saves you the time in blow drying, and lessens the hair's exposure to heat, hence less damage. Try blowdrying your hair using an electric fan if you want to speed things along.

Second, apply a spray-on leave-on conditioner/or any other styling product that protects hair from styling before you begin the actual process of blowdrying. I'd suggest you start visiting salons like David's and Going Straight for product ideas. After you're done blowdrying, apply an anti-frizz or another layer of leave on conditioner. If you have those leave on conditioner creams, apply a dab on your hand, rub your hands together and then finger comb your hair to spread it evenly.

Please note to use only enough. Too much oil or leave on conditioner will leave you with hair that suggested you went swimming in an oil spill. Not to mention that oily hair makes dust and other airborne dirt to stick to you hair a lot easier. If you think you applied too much, get a damp towel (the one you used earlier to dry your hair) and rub down your hair to get rid of the excess oil.

An alternative to expensive leave ons, try using Baby Oil Lite or Virgin Coconut Oil. But please under no circumstance do you apply these products on your hair before blowdrying, only after. Unless you enjoy having hair that resembles and even smells like french fries, then you would know better than to use oil or oil based creams on your hair before blow drying.

Hot Oil: At least once a week. I suggest visiting Watsons as they have these small bottles of conditioners that you can buy to allow you to hot oil yourself at home. Just shampoo as usual, rinse with warm water, squeeze out excess water, and apply liberal amounts of conditioner. Leave it on for 5-15 minutes. Added bonus if you're in a gym, take this time to go to the sauna or the steam room.

Split Ends: Just go to a parlor and have your favorite hair stylist trim your hair. I'm sorry but no amount of glue, magical shampoo will repair split-ends. That shampoo commercial that claims to have the cure for split ends is a lying fart.

Oops! Gotta cut this segment short, my boss is lurking just outside my door. But not to worry, on my next segement we'll be discussing the finer points of skin care and other stuff that I might remember, but for now lunch beckons.