Feb for me, was yet again, surprise surprise: transitional ! I actually even forgot Valentine’s Day was approaching (I’m currently trying my hand at the start up life for a company coprised of four sisters, a really cool project but it absorbs majority of my mental capacity)... So excuse me if I sound a little jaded (; With all of the moving pieces and transitions happening in my outward life, Valentine’s Day presented itself as another opportunity to turn inward and reflect— and this time through a rose tinted lense.
First off, what is the actual meaning of the buzz phrase on everyone’s timeline: ~*SELF CARE*~ ? The majority of our feeds tell us this can be defined by face masks and indulgent bathing regimines. I even was able to ask you guys, my followers, how you practiced self care and your answers somewhat echoed the same (we’ll review your guys’ input in the shop guide below). ~~SeLf CaRe~~ seems to apply naturally to the average sephora-going girl. For this edition of #BEARSTAN let’s dive into other ways to practice self love, because what if you’re not that average unicorn driven consumer?
As someone who is actually not naturally a self indulgent person (shocker I know), it has become important for me to integrate self love in to my everyday life in more than one way or another. We had a viewer respond that they make sure to meditate everyday— If you have mastered how to successfully mediate that is 100% a form of self love/care. The endorphins and seratonin released when you actually reach peak mediatation is something that deserves a separate posting in itself, but I’ll let you guys know when I reach that level of consciousness. For now, I attend a guided meditation that usually takes place during yoga or Pilates classes I enjoy frequenting. My brain is usually running a million miles a minute, so actually attending a class where someone walks me though how to disconnect is what works for me currently! It’s wild how elementary it seems to need someone to tell you to turn off, but you’d be surprised what you don’t know you’re missing out on. Try shutting down in one way or another DAILY. *Headspace is my favorite introductory ap
Practicing self love for me also gets as basic as my daily diet, or my water intake. I know I have weaker kidneys due to outside factors, so hydration is a personal focus. I also know it annoys the shit out of me always having to injest the amount of water it takes a normal human being to opperate. Add that to someone who enjoys going full speed eleven hours out of the fourteen that I’m on foot AND managing to fit in some from of exercise and water begins to look like a nucesnse. So I make sure I enjoy every part of my water. If the $50 water bottle trend isn’t for you (I thought it was for me— who doesn’t love sparkles and marble in any assortment you could imagine? Turns out I’m less mellenial and more of an idfk I’m rambling) as it most definitely is not for everyone, I tell myself it’s ok to splurge when picking up a bottle outside the house. Also a glass bottle somehow drives me to actually want to take my recycling I’ve been avoiding for two months and hoarding in the garage because it’s really only worth $4 (glass always has a higher return).
The Mountain Valley is my current favorite brand of water. I like finding deals at Whole Foods (2 1L bottles for $4)~
I also had a viewer tell us they enjoyed CBD oil and “the most expensive face care I can find”. CBD is still a very new product for me, I wish I could write more about my favorite brands and ways that I use CBD but so far I am only frequenting putting it in every drink possible and medicated bathbombs (of which are most likely more THC than CBD focused (; ). But your girl does know skincare. Again, practicing self care daily means keeping up with a skin regimine that may be more quality focused than budget friendly but if there’s one thing we all wear daily, its our faces. Everyone’s skin is so different. I personally have the most sensitive, pink based complexion. Yet I grew up only ever using dove soap as both my makeup remover and cleanser. I think a lot of Hispanic girls grow up thinking this is all we need! I think this stopped working for me after age 21. It can be overwhelming as working adults fresh out of college/grad school to think about getting the best face wash, plus toner, plus serum, the list goes on and on! I find establishing the right regimen that works for you and splurging on the lux additions, like serums and eye creams create the healthy security blanket our faces actually need.
My favorite no fuss face wash and sunscreen currently are by ELTA MD, products can be ordered on amazon or through your local dermatologist (I pay $22 for my face wash at mine)
So the gentle reminder here being, price doesn’t always guarantee a worthwhile purchase. At the same time, I’ve been seeing a lot of sass on Twitter clowning certain youtubers for purchasing La Mer products. I will say, as someone who refuses to pay full price for anything anymore, La Mer’s Renewal Oil IS worth the purchase ($130 at Sephora)
As is their soft fluid long wear foundation. This sounds repetitive but 13 hour days mean 11 hours of (personally preferred) full coverage makeup. I grew up loving MAC and Makeup Forever Ultra HD full coverage foundations— we’ll do a post regarding make up next month, my point is La Mer can be resevered for its niche. At the same time I’ve saved special coveted SK-II Treatment masks (retailing $135 at Sephora) that have been gifted to me for much needed recovery weekends and no matter how much I feel I’ve tried to relax in them, something felt off about about a sheet mask costing that much and had to pass the rest of them on to my mother whose skin would show much more gratitude than my own. La Mer as a brand, on the other hand, I can get behind. Secret hack here is every time I purchase my $120 foundation (lasting me aprox 2 months for wearing 5 out of the 7 days a week) I make sure it is from a luxury department store, in person instead of ordering online from Sephora, and I am usually gifted a mini travel size of restoration oil and that brand we’re saving about $100 on serum now— gotta get it where we can (; And that way everyday feels like Valentine’s Day <3
Hopefully I’ve triggered a different way of viewing self care since this actually is not a trend but a skill we all crucially need. If you’re ever stuck on how you can practice or implement similar habits in your own personal life, shoot me a DM :) Talking to someone as extra as me is always good for a laugh if not anything else <3
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