TALK: Acne Chronicles Entry 1

My name is Jessica and I am a 24 year old college graduate who still suffers with acne on a daily basis. 2 words to sum up the experience that I have been plagued with for 8+ years, IT SUCKS. I remember being 15 years old and having perfect skin, the kind people had to constantly comment on because it was in such good condition. Then I started to get into makeup more. Prior to this I just heavily relied on a Maybelline Mineral Powder Foundation and some drugstore eyeshadow people. It all started to go downhill from there. I started heavily buying and using MAC Cosmetics believing that it was the best of the best. All in all it ended up contributing to my currently destroyed skin. Age 16 hit and my skin was atrocious. My cheeks and forehead were covered in painful and embarrassing lesions. Not just lightly clogged pores but big bumps that unfortunately most of the time were poppable. After overloading my face with any products I could afford (and squeezing), I was left with damaged and scarred skin. The acne settled but my skin was forever changed to look like the aftermath of a meteor shower (in theory). I took care of my skin from the beginning. Always cleaned and toned, and never went to bed with makeup, but it did not save me. I now know that it all had to do with hormones and not just with makeup.

Today I find myself still suffering with new breakouts on a daily basis. I went a while able to be acne-free when using all natural products but once my skin settled, it was back. My hormones have been out of whack for years and unfortunately I don't see that changing anytime soon. They contribute to my stress and anxiety, which triggers all of the breakouts. I still take care of my skin but when the acne is a result of your malfunctioning brain, dealing with it becomes 10x more difficult. As exhausted as I am from dealing with my issues, I still continue to fight them daily for my own mental health. Most days I am too ashamed to leave the house because of how bad it looks but I try to fight on in order to eradicate the fear of being judged because of my skin. I think I have done a decent job at shocking my skin back to normalcy from time to time by switching up my routine. I have been on a routine for about 6 months so I think it is time to pack up and get the ball rolling. Any suggestions for favorite acne products?

My current skincare routine is:
Cleanser: Derma E Purifying Gel Cleanser and Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel
Toner: Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Toner (High School Vibes)
Moisturizer: Pond's Crema S Nurturing Moisturizer
Spot Treatment: Clean & Clear Persa-Gel 10
Mask: Queen Helene Mint Julep
Scrub: Purifying Daily Detox Scrub and Queen Helene Mint Julep Natural Scrub

xoxo,
Jessica

TALK: Bonjour! I'm Back!

Hello, hello, HELLO! If you are wondering what the heck this blog is doing in your feed (if you still follow blogs) fear not it is just I! A beauty blogger who has gone by mane names over the years but the content has remained the same, honest and entertaining. I like to tell stories with my words and try to relate to every person out there reading my posts. I had a major love for blogging when I started this and I have recently discovered how much I missed it. I went off to college, lived a little, died a little, and now I am back and ready to get back into the swing of things. I recently purchased a DSLR so I am super excited to put it to good use by providing some HQ shots for the blog.


I started this blog in October of 2008 and I really wish I had been able to stick with it, I feel like I would be in a completely different place in life if I had. But best not to regret the past and instead make new decisions to better the future. I look forward to getting some good to review and photograph for you. If Instagram has proved anything it's that we like looking at pretty pictures, no matter what they are of. The IG world has blown up and it is full of beauty influencers who use their position to sell you everything, the marketing of it all is genius. But at this point I am not looking to sell you anything, I just want to entertain. Whether you are reading every word I type or you just like to look at pictures, I appreciate you for taking the time to look at my work. I will always remain grateful. I hope to have content up on the blog in the next coming weeks and definitely over the next few months. I will be posting lengthy reviews on here and short summaries on my Instagram if you wanna go ahead and follow me.

xoxo,

Jessica

TALK: Life Underestimated.

I'm so sorry I've been MIA guys, school is kicking my butt right now! I promise to be back in full force for winter break. I'll only be taking one class during that time, so I'll be able to bust out some posts. Then after that I'm not sure because I'm starting my law program and I have literally NO idea what to expect or what my schedule will be like. But then again nobody reads my blog anymore so I guess it doesn't matter :( *forever alone* Well anyways if anyone cares I'll be updating more often. I'm writing up draft posts as I type this. I'm gonna queue them up and maybe it can automatically post 1-2 a day. It might be news to my blog, but this year has been really rough on me. My family has faced 2 tragedies this year losing loved ones. I lost my baby niece earlier in the year, and then my baby cousin passed away last month. It's been tough trying to adjust with them gone, it's a day by day process. I've been doing things to keep me busy like going to school full time, and hanging out with my mom more. I would be completely lost without her, and I don't know what I would do if she wasn't here to help me get through the tough time. But I don't want to ruin your guys day with my sob story, so just know that your support on my blog means the world to me. Blogging really does make me happy, and it keeps my mind off of all the stressful things I deal with in my everyday life. Anyways look out for my posts that are pretty much reviews products that I've been using over the last couple of months. Have a wonderful day.

Talk: Beauty Acronyms and Phrases

Hey guys so this is gonna be a compilation post that I'm gonna be editing as I go when I acquire new acronyms and phrases. I've had questions/comments about shortened words I use in my posts that some people don't get. So this is gonna be a list with explanations to those words. If you've been in the beauty community for a while you probably know these already. But a lot of the newcomers are clueless to the popular lingo we beauty enthusiasts use. So this is the guide for the newbies who are eager to know more. If you guys know of any that are not on here feel free to let me know in the comments so that I can add them. Many thanks and I hope you can learn from this post and pass the knowledge on. 

SMH- Stars Makeup Haven
BE- Bare Escentuals
BM- Bare Minerals
CG- China Glaze or Cover Girl
CS- Coastal Scents

HG- Holy Grail

MAC- Makeup Art Cosmetics

MUFE- Make Up For Ever

UD- Urban Decay

UDPP- Urban Decay Primer Potion
VS- Victoria's Secret