April/May/June Faves

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How I clean my makeup brushes

Quite simply, it's just:

The theory is that the bristles on the brushes are made of hair, and what does one use to clean hair? Shampoo!

The shampoo is $3.50 for 32 oz from any drugstore or supermarket. One bottle can last my hair for 1/2 year. And that includes shampoo for cleaning my brushes too. That's pretty good!

Before...

After...

Not bad huh?

Summer means sunscreen galore...

Summer is in full swing and that means major sunscreen time. This year, this is especially important to me since basically for summer in med school after 1st year, we only have 1 month off (the month of July). I don't want to get skin cancer and personally don't like tanning either. Thus, here's my regiment so far:



Origins A Perfect World SPF 25 - I'm trying to actually use this sunscreen up (has basically just a little bit left). I had 2 bottles of this but I'm down to the last bit of my second bottle. Yay for finishing products!





Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen for Face, SPF 30+ - This is a sunscreen I've also had for awhile. I'm almost done with my first bottle of this. This is actually a very effective inorganic sunscreen with very full broad-spectrum coverage. I've already gone ahead and purchased 2 other bottles of this sunscreen just in case. I alternate between the Origins and this product in order to try to compare their effects.




Eucerin Daily Protection SPF 15 Moisturizing Body Lotion - I am generally not consistent about putting on sunscreen on my body. However, this summer, especially during my Cali vacation, I want to make an extra effort to take better care of my skin, and by this I don't mean just the skin on my face. Thus, I really wanted to find a product that would be lightweight, have some SPF protection but not be too cakey, and also would be rather nice-smelling. Eucerin has always been a good, reliable brand that's known for its generally non-comedogenic, hypoallergenic skincare products. Thus when I saw a chance to grab this product I decided to go for it. This product does not have very complete UVA ray coverage (using titanium dioxide as the main UVA-ray ingredient). This is probably my only qualm about the product. However, I'm willing to gamble for it as it has very good UVB ray coverage, has rave reviews. and is lightweight as well. Thank goodness.


Shiseido Refreshing Sun Protection Spray for Body & Hair Broad Spectrum SPF 16 - I purposefully bought this product for an upcoming vacation to California. Throughout all of my years in the States, my hair has gotten lighter and lighter (from a dark black to a brown). I can definitely attribute this sunbleaching to sun damage and not properly taking care of my hair. I've actually never used a spray sunscreen before (the studies on their efficacy have been inconclusive for the most part) but I think this will be an excellent product to use on my hair on the beach. This product was actually quite pricey ($30 for 5.2 fl oz) but it was the only hair sunscreen product that I found that had at least semi-good reviews. Thus I just bit my lip and bought it. We'll see what happens!


ChapStick LipShield 365 in SPF 50+ - this is a product I've used throughout this past semester at school and beyond. So far I've used up about 2/5 of the product and I look forward to getting many more uses out of it. I really appreciate the fact that this product provides broad-spectrum sun protection and has a nice, sweet-smelling coconut scent. My only (slight) qualm about this product is that it easily comes off. However, so far I have not found any other product that provides this much sun protection at this price range, especially. Thus, I think this is one compromise that is okay for now.

Of course, in the middle, I'll be reviewing other sunscreen-containing products and talking about other products. This especially includes SPF-containing products on this list that I haven't reviewed yet. Overall, these products will be my main staples.

Have a great day ya'll!

Photo sources: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Review: Murad Time-Release Retinol Concentrate for Deep Wrinkles

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FTC: I received a sample of this product from Sephora. I am not compensated for any reviews.

Retinols are definitely looked at as products that actually do have anti-aging properties. I personally think they're pretty awesome. Thus, when the nice skincare expert lady at Sephora gave me some samples of this new product from Murad, I decided to go for it.

Ingredients:

Water (Aqua), Cyclopentasiloxane, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Glycine Soja (Soybean ) Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Lauryl Lactate, Cetearyl Alcohol, PEG-100 Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Butylene Glycol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Retinol, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38, Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin, Urea, Yeast Amino Acids, Trehalose, Inositol, Taurine, Betaine, Beeswax (Cera Alba), Laureth-23, Trideceth-6 Phosphate, Triethanolamine, Ceramide-3, Punica Granatum Extract, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Zinc Gluconate, Ascorbic Acid, Chitosan, Propyl Gallate, Dissolvine Na2P, Carbomer, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Aminomethyl Propanol, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Chlorphenesin, Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Yellow 5 (CI 19140)

Lots of nice things such as silicones and humectants (glycerin) as well as moisturizing products (soybean oil, fatty alcohols, etc). Interesting use of inostitol and taurine as well. I think this ingredients list is actually pretty good.

The instructions stated to apply this product after washing your skin with a cleanser and before applying moisturizer. Thus, I did it for awhile.

Results?

• Pros:
• Made my skin firmer, smoother
• Did seem to renew my skin
• No break-out of skin
• No allergic effects

• Cons:
• 5 for 0.5 oz. Ridiculous. I've found retinols that work well for much lower prices.

Overall, what do I think? I think it's a good product for a person who can afford it. As for me, this was definitely a novel substance but it's not helpful for the price.

Get ready for the day with me~

Get ready for the day with me~ by luciaz168 featuring thick tights

Lacy dress
aeropostale.com

Bench jacket
$53 - houseoffraser.co.uk

Oasis thick tight
$15 - houseoffraser.co.uk

Tory Burch patent flat
$250 - harveynichols.com

Mulberry satchel
mytheresa.com

Deux lux backpack
barneyswarehouse.com

Whitney Stern pendant jewelry
nordstrom.com

Amrita singh earrings
amritasingh.com

Wet Seal imitation jewelry
wetseal.com

Vintage jewelry
ebay.co.uk

Starbucks' UK coffee will be strongest yet
$75,635 - thesun.co.uk

Review: Philosophy Full of Promise Dual-Action Restoring Cream

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FTC: I received a sample of this product. I am not compensated for this review.

When I recently purchased a Sephora product (using a gift card from a friend), one of the samples I received was this cream thing from Philosophy. Philosophy is one of the most popular, touted brands in Sephora's stores. Since I have been looking for a follow-up to my Garnier Moisture Rescue Gel, I decided to give this product a try.

Ingredients (from Sephora's website):

Water, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Cyclopentasiloxane, Steareth-2, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cyclohexasiloxane, Steareth-21, Butylene Glycol, Phenyl Trimethicone, Cetyl Alcohol, Myristoyl Pentapeptide-9, Secale Cereale (Rye) Seed Extract, Kigelia Africana Fruit Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Glutathione, Tropolone, Resveratrol, Cocoyl Pentapeptide-9, Tocopherol, Phaeodactylum Tricornutum, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Stearyl Alcohol, Behenyl Alcohol, Polyacrylamide, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Bis-Ethylhexyl Hydroxydimethoxy Benzylmalonate, Laureth-7, Disodium Edta, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Lysolecithin, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Triethanolamine, Sodium Benzoate, Alcohol Denat., Parfum/Fragrance, Limonene, Linalool, Bht, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol.

A cursory glance from the above list reveals very moisturizing, emollient ingredients such as glycerin and shea butter as well as skin protectants and silicones like the dimethicone, cyclopentasiloxane, cyclohexasiloxane, etc. There are a lot of other ingredients in the list but, as always, only the relative, not absolute, concentrations of these ingredients are known. In addition though, this product has resveratrol and fruit extracts, which are a definite bonus in skin protection.

Pros:

• Really rich for dry skin
• Super emollient
• Didn't make me break out (non-comedogenic, for my specific combination-oily skin type)

Cons:

• Ridiculous price ($65 for 2 fl oz)

Bottom line, I really do like the product. It was super moisturizing for night time use. Sadly, it is quite out of my budget....

The Sunscreen Diaries, Part 28: Shiseido Urban Environment Tinted UV Protector Broad Spectrum, SPF 43

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This nifty little 1 oz thing is something that is quite interesting.

After my experiences with the EltaMD SPF 41 Tinted Moisturizer, I decided to actually reach into the realm of tinted moisturizers. Thus, I went to Sephora and asked the nice skincare specialist lady to give me a recommendation. Hence, she gave me samples of this product!

The product only comes in 3 shades - 1, 2, and 3. The saleslady gave me 1 and 2, telling me that I was probably shade 1. Thus, I tried both shades, and she was right! Shade 1 fit my skin very well, whereas Shade 2 made it turn a bit orange. Ech.

Anyway, according to Sephora, the ingredients are:

-SuperVeil-UV360™: Provides optimal sunscreen application over these contours. 

-Thiotaruine and Rose Apple Leaf Extract: Effective in inhibiting oxidation caused by external environmental factors. 

-Hydro-Wrap Vitalizing DE: Works at skin’s surface to promote the penetration of other moisturizing ingredients below the surface. 

-Xylitol and Glycerin: Restore skin’s barrier function and improve skin roughness.

According to Futurederm, the ingredients are:

ENSULIZOLE 2.0% Sunscreen
OCTINOXATE 7.4% Sunscreen
TITANIUM DIOXIDE 7.2% Sunscreen

WATER, DIMETHICONE, SD ALCOHOL 40-B, PENTAERYTHRITYL TETRAETHYLHEXANOATE, PEG-9 POLYDIMETHYLSILOXYETHYL DIMETHICONE, POLYMETHYL METHACRYLATE, GLYCERIN, DIPROPYLENE GLYCOL, DISTEARDIMONIUM HECTORITE, HYDROGENATED POLYDECENE, TRIMETHYLSILOXYSILICATE, SILICA, XYLITOL, PEG-6, PEG-32, PEG/PPG-14/7 DIMETHYL ETHER, THIOTAURINE, SAXIFRAGA SARMENTOSA EXTRACT, ARGININE HCl, ONONIS SPINOSA ROOT EXTRACT, SODIUM PCA, SOPHORA ANGUSTIFOLIA ROOT EXTRACT, PPG-17, ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE, AMINOMETHYL PROPANOL, ALUMINUM DISTEARATE, ISOSTEARIC ACID, STEARIC ACID, TRISODIUM EDTA, POLYMETHYLSILSESQUIOXANE, TALC, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, ALCOHOL, ALUMINA, POLYSILICONE-2, TRIETHOXYCAPRYLYLSILANE, POLYBUTYLENE GLYCOL/PPG-9/1 COPOLYMER, BHT, SYZYGIUM JAMBOS LEAF EXTRACT, TOCOPHEROL, PHENOXYETHANOL, FRAGRANCE, IRON OXIDES, TITANIUM DIOXIDE

I couldn't find out much more about it other than the fact that its main sunscreen ingredient is titanium dioxide. Granted, titanium dioxide only provides partial UVA ray coverage, although the ensulizole and octinoxate do provide UVB ray coverage.

Thus, what did I think of it?

Pros:

• Light hydration
• Light coverage
• Moisturizing
• Non-comedogenic
• Did not show my dry skin/dry spots/flake off
• Did not "melt off" in 80-90 degree F weather
• Very silky and smooth finish
• Provides partial UVA and (more) complete UVB ray coverage

Cons:

• Provides only partial UVA ray coverage
• Price ($30 for 1 fl oz)

I truly might actually consider purchasing this product if I were looking for a tinted moisturizer. I do like the fact that it hides some of my freckles and stuff!

Skin type changes

Ever since I started med school, changes have been the norm, and skin is no exception. During the progression of this school year (2012-2013) my skin type has gone from acne-prone, oily-combination to more of (less) acne-prone, dry-normal combination. 

Reasons for this?

1. I'm indoors a lot more. I have to be - I can't study outside in the Houston heat. It's crazy. Air conditioned rooms = dry rooms. The dichotomy between outside humid Houston weather and inside (relatively) dry weather really makes a difference.
2. My diet has changed. During college, the food I ate was often greasy and buffet-style. Now that I'm in med school, I cook for myself, and the way I naturally eat (basically when I'm hungry) has changed my life. I eat less greasy food, don't ever eat lard/butter, cook with canola and/or olive oil, don't eat bad stuff (usually), etc.
3. Weight changes. From high school to college, I lost about 10 pounds. The transition dramatically decreased my oil/sebum production (perhaps because I was becoming less sedentary, or eating less, or something?). Then, from college to med school, I lost another 5 pounds (net). This transition further decreased my oil/sebum production. Nevertheless, this has to do with diet and lifestyle changes.
4. My hair has changed. I know this may sound silly, but the hair's oils can cause a lot of acne as well, as hair in your face may help trap oil on your forehead and cause acne there. My hair is a lot less oily and (perhaps) weaker, due to changes in diet and not eating as rich stuff. Nevertheless, it has made a comeback with my use of hair serum and leave-in conditioner. Whenever I don't put it in now, it feels slightly straw-like, stiff, less rich or soft. During my younger, teenage years, it was just naturally soft and rich. Is it diet? Is it aging? Yes, I am past my early twenties now (sort-of? 23 y/o) and definitely my teenage years, but I am not that old.
5. All of the coffee I drink. Coffee is a diuretic - it causes you to, for lack of a better word, pee a lot more. Micturition happens a lot more frequently. Since water hydrates the skin and renews the body, one must replenish the body with lots of water to prevent dehydration. I must say that I am not very good at keeping up with this. I drink coffee almost like water (at least in the morning) to stay awake. Of course this is terrible - it's a terrible habit to have and maintain. I've never drunk this much coffee in my life.

Results of these changes?

• Whenever I look at sunscreens, I have to look for ones with many more emollient ingredients. This applies to facial moisturizers as well. The light, gel ones don't really hydrate my skin anymore - I just wake up with dry patches on my skin. Even the retinol I use has to be super moisturizing.
• Stuff doesn't break me out as much. Only about 1x/month I get a few acne spots. They are very light and then just go away.
• Less need for acne-driven products. I now use less products to "get rid of acne" and more products that are targeted toward hydrating the skin. Nevertheless acne still does pop up from time to time, so I have to look at that.

Bottom line, my shifts on views of products may change so people who have skin types similar to my old skin type may have different views of certain products I use/review/etc. On the other hand, people who have the skin type I currently have may find similar viewpoints. We'll see what happens!

Review: Eucerin Smoothing Repair Dry Skin Lotion

Photo source
FTC: I received a sample of this product from a school dermatology fair. I am not compensated for any reviews.

From my earliest experiences that I can recall with skincare products, Eucerin has always made products that are well-suited for sensitive or sensitized skin types. There are very few extra fragrances, ingredients are usually chosen to be non-comedogenic for most skin types, and the labels advertise exactly what they mean and no more.

Thus, when I received this product during a dermatology fair held by my school, I was really estatic to try it. I had been looking for a successor body lotion to my Nivea and Olay Quenching Lotions and this seemed really excellent.

Ingredients:

Water, Glycerin, Urea, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Glucoside, Cyclomethicone, Sodium Lactate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Methylpropanediol, Octyldodecanol, Dicaprylyl Ether, Tapioca Starch, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Hydrogenated Coco Glycerides, Arginine HCl, Sodium PCA, Dimethiconol, Lactic Acid, Chondrus Crispus (Carrageenan), Carnitine, Ceramide 3, Mannitol, Serine, Sucrose, Citrulline, Glycogen, Histidine HCL, Alanine, Threonine, Glutamic Acid, Lysine HCL, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, 1,2 Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol

A cursory glance reveals a lot of info. Glycerin - a humectant - is listed as a major ingredient. The product is clearly water-based, and shea butter and methicone serve as skin protectants. A lot of amino acids are also present, although I am not exactly sure of their concentrations and efficacies. A fatty alcohol (cetearyl alcohol) is also present for emollient purposes.

Pros:

• Super emollient and moisturizing
• Did not make my skin break out
• No itchiness
• No sticky residue
• Felt like "milk for my skin"

Cons:

• $9.19 for 16.9 fl oz, a bit on the expensive side for drugstore body lotions

I definitely approve of this product! The pros are definitely worth the price!

Review: bareMinerals Multi-Wrinkle Repair

Photo source
FTC: I received a sample of this from a Sephora order. I am not compensated for this review.

I've been constantly looking for an awesome nighttime moisturizer for my skin. Lately my skin has become very dry, despite the constant outdoor humidity, because in the summer here it's literally too hot to be outside a lot. Indoors, A/C means that there's a lot of dryness. Thus, hence the nighttime dryness.

Hence when I saw this during a Sephora order, I thought it'd be a good idea to try it.

Ingredients:

Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Behenyl Alcohol, Pentylene Glycol, Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, Tribehenin, Isohexadecane, Batyl Alcohol, Peg-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Polysorbate 60, Hydrolyzed Rice Protein, Alpinia Galanga Leaf Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Polyquaternium-51, Polysorbate 80, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Soil Minerals, Potassium Hydroxide, Ceramide 2, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Lavandula Hybrida Oil, Peg-10 Rapeseed Sterol, Trisodium Edta, Caprylic/ Capric Triglyceride, Xanthan Gum, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Prunus Persica (Peach) Kernel Extract, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Leaf Extract, Maltodextrin, Edta, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Limonene, Linalool.

Initial response: there's a lot of ingredients, a lot of oils, a lot of whatevers. There's a lot of skin protectants - the glycerins, dimethicones, glycols, etc. Interesting.

My reaction when I actually used it? It felt like I was putting milk on my skin.

It was quite nice.

Pros:

• Soft, milky consistency
• Did not break me out
• Half-way between a liquid and a gel
• Lots of skin protectants
• Smoothed my skin out

Cons:

• Price! $50 for 1 fl oz. That's crazy.

Bottom line, if I had money, I think I would probably buy this. I think it's worth the price. However, I don't have that kind of cash to deal out. Thus, we'll have to move onto the next product....

The Sunscreen Project, Part 27: Eucerin Daily Protection Moisturizing Face Lotion, SPF 30

Photo source

At a recent fundraiser where my school's Dermatology Club participated, one of the sponsoring companies was handing out a bunch of samples of skincare products. One of the ones was this!

Eucerin is known generally for being a good skincare brand. It focuses on ingredients that are non-comedogenic and fragrance-free. It is especially tailored toward sensitive and sensitized skin types.

Coming from this background knowledge of the brand, I had a pretty good initial opinion of the product.

Now that I've tested this product for awhile, I figured it was time to give it a review!

Ingredients:

Active Ingredients (sunscreens): Ensulizole 2.0%, Octinoxate 7.5%, Octisalate 4.5%, Titanium Dioxide 2.38%,  Zinc Oxide 4.85%. 

Other Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Sodium Lactate, Lactic Acid, Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, VP/Hexadecene Copolymer, PEG-40 Castor Oil, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, Xanthan Gum, Trisodium EDTA, Sodium Hydroxide, Alumina, Simethicone, Phenoxyethanol, DMDM Hydantoin.

A look at the ingredients shows us that this is an organic-inorganic combo sunscreen. It covers both UVA and UVB rays. There are relatively few extra emollient ingredients in this sunscreen.

Pros:

• Very light, non-greasy feeling
• Did not make me break out
• SPF 30+ (meets current US FDA recommendations)
• Covers UVA and UVB ray spectrums
• Does not have oxybenzone or retinyl palmitate
• Price: $10 for 4 fl oz (good price for a good sunscreen) in drugstores, $7.19 on drugstore.com

Cons:

• Some people may dislike the organic-inorganic sunscreen combo

Overall, I think this is a great sunscreen. Great for the price too. It is definitely a big recommendation for a product choice of the ideal sunscreen!

Did I find a HG sunscreen? Perhaps!

Urban Decay on Hautelook NOW

Urban Decay is having a huge sale on Hautelook right now! Go take a look!

Link for this

Have a great day!!!

Review: MilitaryTownAdvisor

Hey Everyone,

I just want to give a shout-out to http://www.militarytownadvisor.com for showing Military Families how to find apartments, houses, and schools. I have had many friends who are "army brats" who definitely would've liked this site. If you are a military family, please go check it out - it's a great resource!

The site is also giving away a $100 Sephora gift card! w00t!

Heart to Heart: Body Hair

Note: This is a post geared toward both ladies and gents!

Photo source

One of the modern-day expectations of discrepancies of the sexes lies solely in body hair. In general, it seems that for men, more body hair is better: hairy armpits, hairy chests, rugged beards - all are signs of manliness and masculinity.

For women, however, it is the opposite. No armpit hair! Eyebrows perfectly tweezed! Not even a hint of a unibrow! The modern erotic industry (he-hem, porn), along with many ads channeled through various means of media have channeled the mindset that the less, the better. Hairless pubic areas and hairless armpits, perfectly smooth legs, everything shapely and smooth - that is in.

What does this mean for people? Well, for men, it means going au naturale or even applying Rogaine (minoxidil) on previously unpredicted areas. 

For women, this means:

• Shaving
• Tweezing
• Waxing/Sugaring
• Chemical depilation
• Electrolysis
• Oral contraceptives to reduce hormonal effects (especially if one has polycystic ovarian syndrome, PCOS, which may cause women to become hirsute)

Some women have revolted against this norm and definitely have gone back to being au naturale. Balpreet Kaur, a Sikh woman who took a religious stance on this via a Reddit incident, is once such person. Other ladies have revolted due to the downsides of such hair removal mechanisms: increases in incidences of contracting Molluscum contagiosum (a virus that affects the epithelium), increases in the incidences of contracting STDs, pain during the removal process, bumpy skin afterward, prickly skin due to shaving, etc etc etc.

I personally am amazed by these ladies. I am proud of the way they want to defy societal standards, not only because of health reasons, but also because of spiritual reasons, defying the influence of the media, loving oneself from the inside and not from what others want, and much much more.

Now...

Here's my own experience with hair removal.

Leg hair:

Truth: I've never shaved my legs before. Back when I was in middle school and high school, I was so embarrassed that I had (a tiny amount of) leg hair and that my legs were not "perfectly smooth" like all of the other girls on the teams. My mom did not let me shave; she said that later on in life I would thank her. And truthfully, I do thank her. I am a woman of East Asian descent who does not have thick hair. Over the years, my leg hair has actually fallen off in places. To this day, I do not shave. However, my legs are still smooth and, from perhaps 1 foot of distance away from me, no person can see that I have any leg hair at all.  And I do not have to deal with any leg razor burns or anything like that.

Armpit hair: 

I started trying to remove my armpit hair when I started college. While in high school, my mother did not let me use any hair-removal devices (see post on leg hair above) but when I actually started college, I noticed that my armpit hair did not recede like my leg hair did.

I started using chemical depilatory creams (think Nair), but those really irritated my skin. I was terrified of razors but, after talking to my roommates and suitemates, I started using a razor and shaving cream. I shaved my armpits for the next 3 years, and it actually worked!

During my senior year in college, though, I started noticing the sad part about shaving: once you start, you can't stop. It seemed that the hair would grow back almost instantaneously, thicker (or at least as thick as the original "stalk") and it was really quite annoying. I thought about other options: waxing, sugaring, electrolysis (waaayyy too expensive) and tweezing. Waxing didn't seem to work (at least with the cheap waxes I actually had access to), sugaring seemed a bit out of my league to understand to make, so I ended up with tweezing. At first, it definitely was painful, but after the first time I seemed to get used to it. The hairs grow back finer and finer and some of them eventually even stopped growing all together.

I continued doing this in medical school as well. Tweezing does definitely take time and patience but with practice one gets better at it. Also, tweezing to maintain (lack of) hair is much easier and takes much less time to do than just tweezing for the first time (think 3 min every day).

Eyebrows:

The summer before my senior year of college I went to a Shiseido makeup stand at a mall. I asked the lady (literally) if she could teach me how to pull off a smoky eye. Literally, what ensued was her showing me how to do it but also commenting on the horrendous state of my eyebrows. How unruly they were! How badly I needed an eyebrow waxing! I did not know anything about it beforehand. Thinking that she was an expert, I was quite horrified myself by my own eyebrows after that. Why hadn't I ever thought of this beforehand? Why did I never bother to clean myself up before?

Thus, after that, I started looking into waxes and stuff like that more. I bought my first kit from Target - a Sally Hansen item, I believe. The wax strips did not work so well. I tried SLOABN's sugaring wax strip techniques, and I could not get the wax to heat/melt properly due to the weird type of microwave I had.  I tried tweezing and all sorts of things. All of them worked but only to a certain degree. I guess you can say that I just sort of gave up. All of them took too long, and after med school started I got too lazy to continue them. Thus, now, I just tweeze them every once in awhile if I see something glaringly obvious that is out of place or something. Otherwise I just leave them alone. To the lady at the Shiseido counter: Thank you for your advice, but I'll start waxing normally when I actually have the time and money to do it.

Lip hair:

I actually didn't think about lip hair until one of my friends mentioned it during my first year of medical school. She told me about how she would use a cream depilatory system and how it worked. Curiously I decided to use the sugaring wax strip technique on my own later, and it did work a bit. However, I did not notice, truly, much difference from when I used it and when I didn't, so thus, in the interest of saving time, I just stopped.

Pubic hair:

I think my interest in this type of hair removal didn't spike until senior year of college. I had never really thought about it before. Then, due to various factors, I realized that perhaps pubic hair was part of the whole "shebang" about all of the hair removal trends in total. Hmm. I didn't have a bikini or anything, but I somehow just decided to start. Remembering my bad experiences from shaving before, I knew I did not want to shave, but at the same time I knew that I couldn't dish out $90 for a Brazilian wax either. Thus, I did it using the method I knew that worked - tweezing. Yes, tweezing. Do you think this is painful? Well, let's just say I had a high pain tolerance. I worked my way a bit every day and did a bit more every day. The rest of it I just trimmed. Well, now it's a lot easier to maintain and everything, and showering is much easier as well!

Overall, what do I think of the system? I am quite disappointed in the way that the media has influenced society in this. I do fervently wish that it could be a system where I did not have to worry about body hair and images of it in certain situations. Sleeveless dresses and bikinis have definitely contributed to the trend. However, I do like the clean feel of smooth skin. I will probably never shave my legs, but I do hope that someday I can actually go to places to do eyebrow waxes regularly and stuff like that. Until then though, I'll stick with what I can do without breaking the (already broken) bank.

Products I've used up recently (pics only)

Sorry ya'll - I'm having lots of trouble with connecting my camera to my computer (software malfunctions) so  no personal photos.

FTC: I bought all of these products/received from Sephora for birthday gifts! Not compensated for any reviewz.

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Yup, I use a lot of toothpaste.

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