Updated Skincare Routine (2016)

16:53 Cyndi 0 Comments

(Left to right): Etude House: Baking Powder Cleanser and Wonder Pore Freshner, The Body Shop: Aloe Soothing Cream Mask, Banila co: Clean it Zero Balm, The Face Shop: Natural Sun sunscreen, Etude House: Wonder Pore Serum, The Body Shop: Seaweed Mattifying Moisturiser and Seaweed Pore Cleansing Exfoliator


Recently I've been investing heaps into my skincare routine as my skin has been breaking out heaps and is super bumpy due to millions of whiteheads and blackheads popping up everywhere. I've developed my own 'Korean' 8-step-skincare routine with these products!

Cleanser

I just use the Etude House Baking Powder cleanser and to be honest, I'm not in love with it but it gets the job done and it smells quite nice. It leaves my face feeling clean.

Double Cleanser

I used to use the JUJU AQUAMOIST Cleansing Oil which I absolutely love but decided to try out the Banila Co. Clean it Zero cleansing balm as I heard a lot of good reviews about it. Didn't realise it came in such a huge tub and is totally worth the money as I've had it for a couple of months and barely made a dent. I use it to double cleanse and it smells amazing but I'm not sure if it's because I'm not using it right but it still leaves a lot of balm residue on my face even when I've washed it off.

Toner

The Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner is an absolute favourite and I'm so sad it's nearly all gone as they don't stock it in stores over here and I absolutely hate waiting for packages when I online shop. This toner does a lot - not only does it balance your pH levels after you've washed your face but it reduces the size of your pores! My pores definitely have noticeably gone smaller after using the freshner and the serum.

Serum

The Etude House Serum is amaziiiinnngggg!!! It does such a great job and definitely locks in the pores to make them smaller.

Moisturiser

For the longest time ever, I've had so much trouble looking for a good moisturiser for my skin. My family has been recommending me these moisturisers when I go back to Hong Kong but then I can never find them when I go back to Perth so I'm always left with a really sucky moisturiser as I don't know which moisturiser here does the same job as the Hong Kong brand moisturisers. Then I discovered the Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying moisturiser and IT IS SO GOOD!

Not only does it moisturise my face and leaves it feeling smooth and supple but it takes care of my oily T-zone so I don't wake up in the morning feeling an oily mess (which most moisturisers I used did). It also has a slight tingling sensation as well which the sales assistant told me was normal.

Exfoliator

The sales assistant at the Body Shop also recommended I purchase the exfoliator as I told her I had a lot of whiteheads and she said it was probably from the build up from my dry skin and dead skin cells as I wasn't exfoliating my face and getting rid of the dead skin cells. After using the exfoliator I noticed that a lot of the bumps started disappearing and they would come up to the surface and form pimples and then disappear! I was so glad as the bumps were so unappealing. 

Mask

Still in the process of looking for more masks to try as I absolutely love masks! Recently purchased the Body Shop's Aloe Vera Soothing Cream Overnight Mask as Winter is coming and my skin gets more dry during the winter time. This mask smoothes my sensitive cheek area which is really dry and I can leave it on overnight and my skin feels absolutely amazing in the morning. 

Sunscreen

Last but not least, SUNSCREEN!

My friend gave me this sunscreen spray puff from the Face Shop where you pump the sunscreen onto the puff and pat it onto the skin like a cushion foundation. It also has a cooling sensation and has 50 SPF and PA++++ which is so good! I love it/would repurchase again.




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Water, H2O -- BLUE GOLD

19:10 Cyndi 0 Comments

You ever just watch a documentary that completely changes your mind and thoroughly provokes your thoughts. I've been watching environmental documentaries lately and I highly recommend Blue Gold.


Wars of the future will be fought over water as they are over oil today, as the source of human survival enters the global marketplace and political arena. Corporate giants, private investors, and corrupt governments vie for control of our dwindling supply, prompting protests, lawsuits, and revolutions from citizens fighting for the right to survive. Past civilizations have collapsed from poor water management. Can the human race survive?
(taken from IMDB) 

The environment has always been a stressing issue and a huge reason why I love the Lorax by Dr. Seuss. There's a good quote from a Chinese film I watched recently, The Mermaid, and one of the characters asks the main character a really good question:

'Hypothetically, if you had only one minute left in your life. Hypothetically, if the earth didn't have a single drop of clean water left or a single breath of clean oxygen left. What do you want to do most?' 

- The Mermaid (2016)

We're depleting the Earth of oxygen and water all for the sake of money. What happens once we've gotten our money? Money isn't important anymore when the Earth is damaged because of it. You won't be able to breath or drink clean water and then your health suffers and making money was for nothing because of it. 

We are a circle of life and so is the environment. We are born, we grow up and die and turn into soil. The trees grow from the soil, then give out clean oxygen for us to breathe. We all learn about where water comes from right? Water comes from rain water, then it falls to the ground, the soil soaks it up and the water goes back into the ocean and the clouds evaporate it and then the clouds make it rain. 

BUT HOW CAN WE HAVE WATER WHEN WE'RE AFFECTING THE CYCLE?

1. We're destroying forests
2. We're building dams
3. We're polluting rivers

The reason why there is less rain water is because the clouds are taking less in less water from the oceans! The reason why there is less water in the oceans is because there isn't enough water in the ground. The reason why there isn'ts enough water in the ground is because the roots of the trees aren't there anymore to push the water into the ground. The roots of the trees are getting removed because we're removing the forests to build houses and infrastructure established by big companies that care more about money than the environment! They don't care about us - they're rich and they can just buy bottled water. 

The only ones at stake are lower and middle class people. We can't afford to pay bottled water every day. We need to protect the environment from huge companies that will (in the future) make us buy water because water is and will run out. 

I highly, HIGHLY recommend this documentary and urge you to watch this. It is eye opening. 

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What I Learnt Last Year/ New Years Resolution

15:04 Cyndi 0 Comments

I know it's pretty late into the 'new' year (it's March already..what) but instead of creating a New Years Resolution I wanted to create a post about the many things I learnt last year and wanted to reflect on the many things that have moulded me into the person I am as of right now and have a mini resolution at the same time.

Coming back from travelling, I always tend to learn something new and exciting - culturally mostly and geographically - but this year it really opened up my eyes.

 1. Chinese Identity

E.g. America, where everyone seemed to idolise and see as the 'Great American United States wow land of the free and celebrities.' However, I saw it differently when I came back. I learnt to really appreciate how so many immigrants and families sacrificed their life in their hometown for their children's future and for a better life even though the first couple of years moving to this new and foreign country were probably the worst years of their lives. They can't speak English, they don't know anyone, they're struggling financially and they have to look after their children. Who are they supposed to rely on?

So many people moved over to America for a better life and before, I never learnt to appreciate those kinds of things. I actually felt kind of embarrassed ~ like why can't my parents act more westernised? We're living in Australia - learn to adapt to the Australian life. But it's difficult for them. Their sense of belonging and identity belongs to a certain group and they feel like they belong to this group and thats why having a Chinatown in San Francisco was so important to them. It was a place where they belonged and they'd honestly be lost without a community like that.

My Aunty, who can't speak English but is the most outgoing person I know, blended in so well with the people in Chinatown even though she was so worried about not speaking English well in America. She just talked to strangers on the buses, trains, planes and even learnt about someone's background in San Francisco. Everyone's just kind of blending in and living their life - everyone is the main character in their life.

Coming back from America has made me realised that there are so many people whom I share a similar identity and position with and I think that was a really big eye opener for me.

2. Australia is the best
Honestly, Australia is the best. I take back whatever I said about moving to America when I grow up. I'm staying in Australia until I find a better place to call home. The houses are nice, the transportation is OK - but the public transport is easy to navigate through, the weather and beaches are nice. NO TAXES. NO TIPPING. No severe traffic. Whatever, screw you all Australia's the best in my eyes.

3. Skincare and Health first
Never thought I'd be so envious of so many people until I went to Hong Kong and everywhere I went all the girls had such nice skin and beautiful, crystal clear complexions. I am in awe. This year, I am going to focus on improving my skin complexion and less on purchasing makeup which will just make my skin worse than it already is. Even though I'm a makeup junkie :(

Another aspect is that I need to improve my overall health and fitness. I need to exercise more and stop eating so much unhealthy food. My cousin in San Francisco walks everywhere and their roads are so steep and slopey! I was out of breath already not even halfway through and we had to take the bus back because I couldn't deal. Australia's roads are so flat so it's not even that difficult and yet I still drive everywhere!

4. So many people on this planet
There are honestly so many people on this Earth it's unbelievable. Every single person is a main character in their life. Especially when I went to China and around just the California state. There are so many people on this Earth and I can't believe that there are enough resources for so many people. Does it ever occur to you that water, food, air will run out? Where are all these resources coming from? I went to so many buffet places this year and each time I just thought - the sashimi, the oysters, the fruit, the poultry - it's all going to run out someday right? How in the world do they have such an unlimited supply of fresh seafood and fruit?

Some people earn their income from working, some earn it from their own business and just everybody is working hard to make a living and it made me think about the type of life I want to have in the future more.

5. Time is precious
You honestly only live once and there is no going back. You can't rewind time you can only look onwards that's why choices and the decisions you make are so important. I have always known this but I never understood the importance behind this aspect but now I know the true, utter importance of time. There is absolutely no way I can go back to last week to change whatever I wanted to do. Each second is important and I could've been spending it working and earning money or studying but I didn't - I don't and I really should this year. Instead of staying at home - I can volunteer, go out and catch up with friends, join a club or class or work on my health. Each second and minute is valuable time and we all only have a limited lifespan and I'm going to spend each second like it's truly my last.





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