Favourites in a Flash

 

Thanks, Beckie

Now Beckie, I have promised a blog post just for you, so here it is

Birthday present from Beckie, with the sweetest (and the longest) card

Just randomly – I like her new hair

Cards are one of the best parts about birthdays, in my opinion

The No-Brainer Yoga Mat Strap from Lululemon!! I am totally in love with this coral rose pink colour I have never seen this shade in stores before either, so I’m really stoked about this. I have a hot pink portable yoga mat from Lululemon, so I think it will look cute with it (it won’t be too matchy-matchy like a hot pink strap would have been).

Thank you so much, Beckie

 xxx

Asuma.

My Current Skin & Hair Care Products

Hello people

Okay, so I’ve been meaning to do this post for a while now and I’m just getting around to it.

This post is just going to be about the products I use on my face and hair right now, so if you’re not interested in such a topic, go ahead and skip this post, and I’ll see you again in the next one!

My skin used to break out a lot back when I was in middle and high school so I used to use ProActiv and it actually did work pretty well for me.

I know it’s too harsh for some people’s skin, but I think mine was compatible with it.

Although, when I stopped using it after a while, I noticed that I begun to break out again so then I had to go back to using it again.

This seems to be a problem with a lot of people when it comes to ProActiv – it’s like you have to keep using it for good once you start.

The idea kind of horrified me, but then again, when I stopped using it for the second time after about a year this time, I did not get any more acne back so I don’t think it’s literally like you have to keep using it for ages.

Anyway, my skin really does not break out at all anymore, and this routine that I’m going to show you today is what I follow at the moment.

Disclaimer – I am not a professional regarding skincare or haircare, and this is only a post regarding what I like to do for myself. So please just consider this as my personal opinion only

So first up, these are what I use for my daily make up removal.

Both products of Nivea Visage Daily Essentials range, Extra Gentle Eye Make-up Remover (for all skin types) and Refreshing Cleansing Lotion (for normal and combination skin).

For daily basics like make-up removers, I tend not to spend too much money and just go for something cheap that I can use in liberal amounts until all cosmetic residues have been removed.

And these two get the job done just fine for me.

Some people use very little of the product when they remove make-up, and effectively rub the skin with too much friction.

That could be quite damaging, especially around the sensitive eye area!

So I make sure to use enough product every time so I don’t rub my skin too hard or pull out eye lashes.

I use cotton pads for the eye make-up remover, but for the lotion I just slather it on with my hands and sort of rub it in gently to let the make-up come floating up.

I usually just jump into the shower after that and remove it with warm water.

Note here – warm or tepid water and not hot water – I used to use hot water when I was younger, though I knew it was bad for my face, just because it felt good

But I try not to do that anymore because it really dehydrates the skin.

I use this St Ives Whitening Apricot Scrub to exfoliate my skin after that, from once to twice a week.

Some people exfoliate their skin a lot more often than that, but even if you has super oily skin, you shouldn’t be exfoliating more than thrice a week because it could then be quite damaging for your skin.

I also try not to use too much pressure and not massage it in for too long when I use this product, because the granules in it are pretty rough and I really don’t want to be breaking any capillaries near the skin surface or damage the pores.

This is just a classic Biore Moisturising Foaming Facewash.

I have tried various products in the past from inexpensive ones to a little more higher end ones, from acne care ranges like Neutrogena and ProActiv to Clinique Cleansing Bars, but this one is my favourite at the moment because it just lathers up so well.

I love it when a facewash lathers up well because I’ve read and heard from years and years of research (I started having bad acne at the age of 12, hence the enthusiasm regarding skincare) that  we shouldn’t be touching the face at all with out fingers when we wash our face.

The lather should be thick, voluminous and bouncy enough to act as a rolling cushion between the face and the fingers.

It might be a little difficult for beginners to lather up facewashes at first, because a lot of facewashes are not manufactured to lather up so well.

But once you get it right, it leaves the skin clean but not taught, and it should feel well hydrated when you touch it with your palms after patting it dry gently with a clean towel.

I’d been hearing about this Witch Hazel Toner so I decided to give it a try.

Super cheap, so I knew I wasn’t going to regret it too much even if I didn’t like it so much anyway.

I find it okay, but obviously not the best toner I’ve encountered.

I especially don’t like the alcoholic smell.

It’s not that bad though, so I still do use it anyway.

Sorry, this isn’t a really constructive advice

I’ve been using this Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist for quite a while now and totally loving it as a toner!

This is actually my second bottle…I might go get it again when I’m done with this one as well (depends on the health of my wallet, actually ).

This Clinique Dramatically Different Moisurizing Gel (I love reading it’s French name written underneath ) is oil free yet very hydrating and I’m loving how my skin does not feel oily after I use it.

However, I am actually looking for something a little more moisturising for the night, especially because I am not using an eye cream right now (I’ve been advised to start using one…dermalogica has a good one but does anybody have any other recomemndations?)

Speaking of Dermalogica, I’ve been given this sample of Active Moist Moisturiser by an aesthetician and oh my gosh it is so…moisturising!!! (Duh, there is a reason why these things are called “moisturisers”…but it’s just really good and I don’t know how else to elaborate upon it.)

I didn’t even know a moisturiser could feel this good without containing any oil in it.

It’s price is a bit steep though, so I’m thinking of waiting till my mum comes over to Sydney to go and get it

This Seaweed Mattifying Moisture Lotion SPF 15 from The Body Shop is what I use as a sunscreen after moisturising in the morning (I also sometimes mix it up with the BB cream).

I do like the way it feels on my skin, but now I feel like I need a little higher SPF to protect my skin from the harsh Australian sun, probably like SPF 30.

These are the lip balms I am using at home right now – the Paul Frank Lip Smacker is in honey flavour, and I use that or the Spiced Vanilla Lip Balm from The Body Shop when I’m at my desk.

The Peach Lip Balm from Bloom stays in the medicine cabinet in my bathroom, and the Rituelle Lemon Cheesecake Lip Balm on top of my bedside drawer.

I’m quite a lip balm hoarder so I have a lot more…but a girl can never have too many lip balms, right? No? Oh well. I use them like a hundred times in a day anyway so it’s not like I’m wasting them…yeah that’s my justification

Now these guys are the regulars in my purse at all times – an eyedrop, L’Occitane Lavender Hand Cream and Jurlique Love Balm.

I have super dry eyes so I cannot go anywhere without an eyedrop. And I don’t even wear contacts (my vision is impeccable ).

The L’Occitane hand cream is a popular all time favourite amongst many, so I’m not going to comment much about that apart from the fact that I love it’s scent!

Now the Jurlique Love Balm. What I like the most about this product it that I can apply it anywhere I feel like it needs a bit of moisture, like my nail cuticles, knuckles, and of course, lips as well. It’s small and portable so it’s convenient for carrying around everywhere, even when I sometimes have a small purse and don’t want to carry my hand cream with me.

Now finally on to haircare.

I bought this MoroccanOil Moisture Repair Shampoo when I got my Keratin Hair Treatment done.

Until then I was in love with the Kerastase shampoo from the orange range (sorry can’t recall the name of the range, but it was basically for dry hair), so I was skeptical as to how I would feel about this shampoo in the beginning.

I think it definitely feels a lot less moisturising during the wash, but after a couple of washes I noticed that it actually was equally as moisturising as  Kerastase so I’d say it’s definitely worth it if you have done the Keratin Treatment as well (I just miss the smell of the Kerastase shampoo!).

I’ve written about this L’Oreal Moisture Deep Restorative Hair Masque from the Sulfate-Free Ever Pure range in February as well, but I decided to get this only because it was on sale and I had a voucher from Priceline

I am currently using this every time I shampoo my hair instead of using a conditioner, and oh my god it just smells so divine, I’d use it even just for its awesome fragrance!

I think it was peppermint and jojoba or something like that. I’d even want this as a perfume

Aaaaaand, the last but not the least, this is the only hair product I am using on my hair at the moment - MoroccanOil Oil Treatment.

I use the one for all hair types and not the one for light hair; I used to use the light one before because I didn’t want something too greasy.

But this leaves the hair feeling more moisturised than the light version without making it feel too heavy so I prefer this one better (also since my hair is pretty thick and dry, and I have tonnes of it).

I would be using a heat protectant if I were to use more heat on my hair like I used to before, but now I’m trying to refrain from that so this is just good enough (I still do use my hair dryer love Parlux 3800 but only just for drying and not blow drying so the oil suffices for now, I think).

Wow, that was a pretty damn lengthy post!

I just don’t know when to shut up when it comes to these things.

Okay, I should stop writing before this becomes a novel and let you guys go now.

But do let me know if you have any products that you love, or any recommendations for what I should try out next!!

Bye!

Love,

Asuma.

Birthday Recap [Bad, I'm Bad]

Singing to the tune of MJ’s bad. Yeah I’m bad. For taking 4 whole days until I actually sat down to do this post.

For those of you who don’t know, 15th was my birthday and I finally turned 20!!! The feeling hasn’t kicked in yet, and I’m probably almost going to say that I’m 19 if someone asks me my age today. Not only am I bad, I’m pretty slow like that….

Anyway, the 15th really was a day I could feel the warmth of people around me in my life. This may come off as me just being a cold person, but to be entirely honest, I never really used to give any significance to facebook birthday wishes from people I barely knew (though of course I thanked them; I do think it is nice of them after all because they could have just ignored the whole idea and not wished me at all). Though I don’t know why but this year, I sort of felt warm from the inside for every acknowledgement I got, whether I received it on a social networking websites or face-to-face from that person. Maybe it’s one of the effects of me becoming “softer” these days – as I’ve written about pretty often in this blog as well, I have been trying to be kinder to both myself and those around me. I have been trying to go back to the core of our being; remembering that nothing else matters if there is no kindness and love. Cheesy, I know. I’m not saying that everything is rosy and peachy perfect in this world, but I am trying out a non-cynical approach, and it has been doing me good so far. The fact that I literally felt “loveful” that day itself is a proof. One of the biggest things I can be thankful for today. So thank you, to all my friends, family, and everyone for acknowledging me and making me feel that way. I wish you all the happiness you deserve!!

Okay, so this post was supposed to be an actual “recap” of the activities of my birthday; sorry I went off the track.

Birthday breakfast…nothing special, the usual oatmeal.

Wore my bracelet that says “mum” in different languages. Love you, Mum!!!

The SGS members at uni surprised me with a present and a birthday card!!!! Thank you so much, Beckie, Shiny, Bronwyn, Austin, Dush, Divya, Cecilia, Daniel, Nithya, Chris and Darran,  you guys are awesome

Pink roses from Cecilia. So sweet of you Cecilia, thank you so much!! Getting inspired to incorporate more flowers into my life.

Leaves are turning red and falling already….

‘Tis the season for sweaters!

Thanks to Austvina for organising such a fitting dinner! “Fitting”, because 20 = legal age you can start drinking in Japan and “izakaya” is like a pub/bar traditional Japanese style

Thanks to all of you, Julz, Kelly, Des, Lachlan and Shaun for coming!!!!

Despite being in an izakaya, I did not order any alcoholic drinks, as usual…just hot water for me

Kara-age (Japanese style fried chicken).

Sashimi.

What I ordered – grilled mackerel with radish.

The extensive bar.

Hi

The Wagyu.

I tried a bit of this dessert. These popcorns on top? The best thing EVER. They were sugar crusted with bits of lavender. AMAZING!!!!

Hello again

The wall art was pretty cool…sad I couldn’t take a better photo of it

Oh, and this dessert too Also, unpictured was Lachlan’s ice cream with Japanese vinegar (whatever that is…maybe rice vinegar?), and that was awesome too

Shaun gave me this cool cookbook that consists of 200 recipes of JUST SALADS!!! Need to make it a project of mine to try out every single one of them Thank you so much for such a thoughtful present, Shaun

And this card was from Shaun as well

And this awesome gift was from Lachlan! Thanks so much!! So thoughtful too – headphones, so I can listen to music and keep my ears warm when I run outside I tried them out and they are super light, comfortable yet fitting and obviously so much of a better sound quality than my old earphones!!!

All in all, it was an amazing day and I’m happy got to spend such a fun time with my friends! Thank you all so much for such a lovely day

Love,

Asuma.

Weekend & The-Monday-After Photo Log

Here goes…

…wholemeal pasta on cooked spinach, topped with tomato relish…

…apartment hunting; still nothing…

…breakfast on the go – cooked oat bran, chia, lsa, cinnamon, egg whites, milk, vanilla with stevia…

…trying out types of fruit i typically don’t buy…

…refreshing…

…my usual peppermint tea…

…indulging in wholemeal sourdough with fig cinnamon jam….

Some thoughts residing in my head right now:

• These simple iphoneography tips on fat mum slim are easy enough to incorporate into daily snap shots, even for someone like me! Thanks Chantelle, for sharing with us
• I don’t mean to sound like an obnoxious smartpants by correcting other people’s grammar, because I’m sure I certainly make tonnes of them myself, but it bothers me that so many people use the term “awhile” in place of “a while”. In short, “awhile” literally means “for a while“, so when people say “for awhile”, they’re saying “for for a while”. Get it? When you’re not using the word “for”, simply say “a while”, for example, “it will be a while until she gets here”. You get the idea.
• 4.5 good days were followed by a day and a half’s failure. I don’t feel miserable though, and I am not going to call that 1.5 blah day a failure anymore. Looking up and moving on.
• I haven’t been to yoga or pilates for a while (and not “for awhile” ), since I’ve been more into weights lately. Maybe I’ll go back when I feel like it on rest days.

 

Sorry for the incoherent post! Wait, “incoherent”, or “incohesive”? Now I’m getting paranoid about my language

Anyway, tomorrow’s my birthday so I want to be excited!! Hope this blah mood will just go away.

Love you all

Asuma

 

I-Love-You-Mum Day

Happy Mother’s Day!

I’d like to call it I-Love-You-Mum Day though, because that’s the most honest way in which I can honour my mum right now.

The biggest I-Love-You I could ever give, and here’s one to you, Okaasan.

お母さん

いつも本当にありがとう。

わがままな私、へそ曲がりの私。

保育園に通っていた頃の、たまにちょっと泣き虫な「あっちゃん」。

今も弱い所のある私。

こうやって、涙を流しながらもお母さんにこの文を書いている私。

どんな私も受けとめてくれるお母さんがいるから、たとえ一歩ずつでも前に進もうと思える。

私を生んでくれてありがとう。

生まれて来て、お母さんに遇えて良かった。

お母さんの娘で、本当に良かった。

明日麻

And with my respect to all mother’s out there.

They say parents’ love is unconditional.

But children’s love is too.

We will always love you.

- Asuma

Avengers + All-Heavy-Grocery

Hello, hi

It’s finally Saturday! How is your weekend going? This week has been a small success for me on the emotional front, thanks to the amazing people in my life. And by my life, I mean both in reality and the interweb community. Thank you so much for reminding me constantly that I am not alone. It sounds simple, “I am not alone”, and pretty obvious too. It’s something I do know intellectually but not always aware of.

Last night, I went out to watch the Avengers (finally!!!) with the girls I was really looking forward to getting together with them yesterday as it had been pretty damn long since I last saw them. Seeing their faces reminded me of how much I was actually missing them! As for the movie though, I ended up missing a major part of it…I can’t believe I slept through the loudest scenes (Okay, I was only half asleep, but even then, I had never fallen asleep in a cinema before so I was a little surprised at myself despite the fact that I was sort of yawning from earlier). Thanks to Julz, I did wake up at certain points so I got the gist of the story…but still bummed about it. I want more Tony Stark moments! Oh well. No regrets though, because I still got to see my awesome gurls and hang out with them

On a totally different note, I was able to go on an all-heavy-grocery haul today, thanks to my uncle who drove me to the store and back! I usually take a bus when I go to Randwick Coles/Woolworths on my own, but cars are so much more convenient when I’m buying heavy stuff I wasn’t expecting this but he paid for the whole thing too…thanks, Uncle T Also, I always bump into people from uni when I’m at Coles…does this happen to everyone? Oh, and I take a peek at what they’re buying while having a short chat with them Yes I am a creep like that, I know. But just in case I am not alone in this grocery-creeper department and you’re like me too, here’s what I bought today.

• Apple cider vinegar, all natural, preservatives free
• Canned hand picked artichoke hearts (this is new to me and I’m excited to open it!)
• Tuna in springwater (I’m glad I found this “responsibly fished and hand caught” version)
• Canned organic butter beans, chick peas, red kidney beans and four bean mix
• Mentos chewing gums (new-to-me flavours!)

• Almond Breeze, unsweetened x6
• Hot chocolate
• Vanilla Chai

• Lentil burgers, all natural (I have been buying the syndian brand frozen food repeatedly – so convenient yet yum and bonus of good nutrient stats too)
• Chicken deli slices, free range x2

By the way, my uncle didn’t come all the way just to accompany me in my shopping…we actually went to see an apartment together, because I sort of need to move out of my current place, preferably as soon as possible. My apartment gets so damp because it’s an old building and there are tonnes of cracks within the structure. So damp in fact, that I get moulds on my clothes if I don’t take them out of the wardrobe every week. It’s not just my clothes, but my purses, shoes, books, you name it it’s a fungi wonderland. It is insane!!!! Hopefully I will be able to decide on a place within the next week, because I need to give a 21 days’ notice before I can terminate the tenancy of my current flat and move out. And of course, I need to finalise on where to move out to before I can actually move on with the formalities.  Keeping my fingers crossed that it will all go well.

Okay then, I’m off to enjoy my cup of chai now (one I made with the can I bought today!). Have a great weekend everyone

- Asuma

Noms!

Tribute to Audrey Hepburn

Good morning everyone.

It’s the 4th of May…and 83 years ago on this date, our most dearly beloved Audrey Hepburn was born.

She did not always have an easy life, but she was an inspiration to many of us during her days, and still continue to be one even today, despite having had left us for almost two decades now.

I would like to present this post as a tribute to Audrey, whom we all so dearly miss, as a show of gratitude for inspiring us about thoughts on kindness, love and grace.

Thank you, Audrey.

May your soul ever rest in peace.

Love,

Asuma

How I Feel About My Fitness Routine

Greetings, people of the internet world

How is your week going? Thank god it’s finally Thursday over here. Thursday = almost weekend, because I only have one practical class tomorrow

So I’m almost done with the first week of this current course at uni. At the moment we’re basically studying about pregnant women’s health, children’s eating habits and diet, etc. and it seems like I am going to be able to enjoy this course a lot more than I thought I would! I love studying about women’s health and nutrition…well, at least over a lot of other topics that I cannot relate to or feel a connection with.

However, uni life is tiring no matter what. I wasn’t being able to have a good quality sleep for a while again these days, but I think my body finally caught up with the cues from my brain that I needed some rest last night, because I just could not keep my eyes open after the clock struck 9pm. Had a good 9-hour sleep, and I’m a lot peachier today. I do feel like I have seen better days in terms of physical wellness and peace of mind though, but I’m not feeling too bad either.

Speaking of physical fitness, I had been leaning toward yoga and pilates as my mode of exercising lately. I felt like that was what my body needed when I made this shift from being more cardio-oriented several weeks ago, and I do believe that the calm and relaxing stretching and core-strengthening were exactly what I needed at that time.

I was quite stressed out emotionally, so they really did help me keep less insane (note – I was actually going pretty damn crazy, but I’m sure it would have been even worse without the tiny morsels of peace that yoga and pilates provided).

Yet again, I begun to feel like it was time for a bit of variation in my fitness routine. Trust me, I’d never get bored of yoga or pilates, but I was still beginning to miss that boost of endorphins that cardio could give me. The idea of getting sweaty, hot and worked up excited me.

So today, I decided to go back to one of my favourite group sessions at the uni gym – Body Attack! The thought of it seemed appealing at first. But after my class ended at 5pm, spent some time at the library and as I walked down toward the gym, I started getting mixed thoughts about it. “You have stayed away from cardio for quite a while, Asuma, what if you get worn out in the middle and have no energy to stay until the end?” “Are you sure this is what you want to do today? Or would you rather just go back home?” “Maybe weights would be a better idea? What about Body Pump?” All these thoughts ran across my mind as I walked down. This happens to me all the time; millions of thoughts shooting around in my head, creating havoc, making me doubt my decisions and often making me change my mind in the end. These thoughts never ceased firing even when I got to the locker room. But today, despite all these distracting voices in my head, I ended up standing in my gym clothes, hair all tied back, in the middle of the group fitness studio, ready for the class. I was kind of proud of myself that I got there in one piece.

This is my blog, and I want to be honest with all of you who kindly read my very cohesive (*not) posts. So I am going to tell you what. I did not stay until the end of the session. No, I did not get short of breath. It wasn’t an abdominal cramp either. But I just felt uncomfortable – yes, get this, I just left the session only after 20 minutes today, simply out of discomfort. I usually don’t leave in the middle of any group fitness classes, but today, I left without much contemplation.

I don’t even know why I did that. Am I getting too easy on myself? Why couldn’t I at least put a little bit more effort? I really don’t know how to answer these questions. I feel like I should regret what I did…but at the same time, I don’t. I don’t want to beat myself up for something I can’t do anything about anymore. What’s done is done.

And what’s more, this isn’t even a crucial issue that I should be debating about with myself right now. At the moment, I don’t have a specific fitness goal, and I don’t plan to have a strict fitness regime like I used to before. I used to believe I needed to have a specific fitness routine that I needed to follow. But with all the emotional turmoil that I’ve been facing, I don’t want to force myself into putting effort into exercising right now. I’m just not in a place to be able to put in my 100% effort into every single aspect of my life right now.

I know, this is me being lazy. And I am not saying this to justify my actions, but honestly, I don’t want exercising to be something to stress out about. I want to exercise because I enjoy it. If a certain type of exercise doesn’t feel good at the moment, maybe I’ll try it again later. But I don’t have to, if I don’t want to right now. I will put more focus into my fitness routine when the time is right. But right now is just not it.

I have been working to learn to be kinder to myself. After talking to my psychiatrist, dietician, counsellor and reading books written by great authors like Geneen Roth and Elizabeth Gilbert, I am trying to redirect my thoughts into what is right for both my mind and my body right now. I am still struggling, but I want to be able to love myself, find myself again.

I am going to regard what happened today as a lesson, and try to feel how I really think about myself. (If that makes any sense…sorry, I could be horrible at trying to explain these stuff!)

Okay well, this post is getting pretty long and wordy now, so I think I’ll stop about here.

Good night folks

- Asuma