Profractional Laser Treatment

Been a delinquent patient with my dermatologist for quite some time now. I only go to her whenever there is a case of emergency - big pimples and many pimples due for cleaning and kenacort. This year, part of my resolution was to take good care of my skin. Albeit late, I visited her last July and the last time I visited her was about 2 years ago. I asked what could be done to improve my skin texture due to acne scars, she recommended that I take the Profractional Laser Treatment after a month.

Since I trust my dermatologist so much, I was very confident to take the treatment. I was worried on the day of my scheduled procedure since I had lots of little pimple. I asked if it is alright to clean my face first prior to undergoing the treatment. She agreed and I went to the dermatology center after she cleaned my face in her clinic.

I was prepped and a topical anesthesia was applied in my face. I was asked to wait for 45 minutes for the medicine to take effect. After which the procedure began. This was my first time to undergo laser treatment. The first time it touched my face, I let out a shrill cry. I thought it hurt but it didn't. I only felt a few stinging sensation.

After the procedure, there was a few burning sensation but what relieved it was the cool air placed near my face to ease the redness. I was told to apply a few ointment for the pain, moisturizer and sunblock afterwards. I was also advised that redness in the face might occur for 3-5 days. I became a little conscious of my face but was also delighted that I haven't gotten any curious stares from strangers yet.

Fashion Makeover

I don't know what got into me but I immediately obliged when someone asked me if I'm willing to be one of the subjects for a magazine's fashion makeover. I almost chickened out to do such thing as I have always been a fashionista introvert. I asked for a sign that if my sister in law will accompany me to the shoot the moment I ask her to, then it was meant to be. 

Surprisingly, she said yes and so I tried to be an extrovert for a day and went to the studio for the makeover.

My wish list: to look more polished at work.

My dilemma: I tend to dress casually at the office previously but now with the bigger responsibilities that I handle, I feel I need to establish more credibility in terms of how I look relative to my function. 

The solution: office dresses that I absolutely loved! I am planning to buy exactly the same dress that I wore to my first fashion shoot. 

I was glad I took this challenge. I got a few clothing style solutions and tricks for my body type. Not only that, I recently discovered that I look better in a new hairdo: curls.

I'm still contemplating though if I would change my previously straightened hair to a more natural curly look. Maybe in the future, I will go out again of my comfort zone to have a hairstyle makeover. For the meantime, I still need to gather enough courage to do so.

Mission: Closet Clean Up

I wanted to upgrade my wardrobe for the past few months but since I'm stuck with my basic salary until November (read: no extra money for clothes shopping), I decided to rearrange my clothes hoping to rediscover great stuffs buried inside my closet.

I took out clothes not worn for 2 years and held a mini-garage sale with my house help's friends in the condominium as customers. I managed to sell my stuff for 10-50 pesos and earned almost a thousand pesos as a reward. I gave a few bucks to our house help as her sales commission. 

I then managed to rearrange and pile my clothes according to use: office wear, house wear, sleep wear, gym clothes, casual clothes, dresses and jackets. Afterwards, I grouped those with similar colors altogether for easy reference.

I realized that I do not need to buy new set of clothes yet. I've got office wear that could last me for almost 2 months without repeating them and about a year's worth of casual clothes.

I had a fun time realizing that most of my clothes withstood the trends and times. I still wear at home shirts from my university years. Majority of my casual clothes were purchased long before my husband and I were an item! My oldest shirt has been with me for about 12 years now while I've enjoyed occasionally on weekends wearing my Mango jeans (my oldest pair of pants) for 6 years.

The practical side rather than the fashionista side of me always kicks in. I've learned how to update my wardrobe recently by these 2 simple techniques: mix and match and bring back the basics.