Lovely Mornings

One of the biggest changes this year has heralded for me was my transition from being a nocturnal being to a morning person. Anybody who's known me for the past five years would know I am alive and ultra-creative at night when the world sleeps.

Nowadays, I find myself sleepy so early even if at exciting places such as this --- we were waiting for Mamma Mia to start at CCP.

I don't know if its a hankering for change that brought it on but suddenly, I have become a morning person. It's been more than a month since I've been waking up regularly on or before 6 AM, even 4 AM sometimes, which is not funny come 4 PM in the afternoon. While I am loving this new found facet of my persona, I miss being able to come up with numerous projects at night, tinkering with design and codes and generally just being the happy-go-lucky girl I used to be when I slept late.

Being a morning person made me very structured and organized and by the book.

I am not quite sure how much I like this change.

One thing I like about it though is that I get to pay attention more on my morning skincare. I used to give more time to applying more makeup ---- because I had to cover a lot of imperfections. Ever since I have sort of gotten a cleaner slate, I have devoted ample time to making sure my skin is prepared for a day of being exposed to vehicular smoke, to air conditioning and to stress.

I'm pretty sure that every girl changes her skincare routine every now and then so I'm going to show you what I am currently using --- until further notice. One day, I'll probably discover a new line and would be mixing and matching things:

But for now, here is my Morning Skincare, February 2012 Edition:

Pond's Clear Balance Smooth Pores Facial Wash with Glacial Clay. I wash my face every morning with this. It's a bit reminiscent of an old Pond's variant but smells less manly. It's a bit sticky, too, which I'd chalk up to the clay. The best thing about is that my face feels squeaky clean after, no breakouts so far {been using this for two months now} and non-drying.
Celeteque Acne Solutions Oil Control Toner. I was never a Celeteque user until I discovered their Dermoscience line which is works for me well. This is about my second bottle {the first one being the Hydrating variant} and it's effective in removing oil in the morning. Sometimes, it mortifies me how a the cotton pad looks a bit bronze/brown after wiping my face with this. But then that only means that excess oil and dirt is removed from the pores.
Acne Clearing Solutions by House of Obagi. This is one of the two heroes I love from HOO. When I had my chemical peel last year, Dr. Stephen Lacson advised me to apply this every morning. I had been doing precisely that ever since and I can't remember sporting a pimple ever since. True story.
Pond's Gold Radiance Serum. This little bottle is my 'for good measure' tool. Since I work inside an air-conditioned building most days, I feel that my skin is going to be all dried up come 2 PM. Since it's in serum form, the moisture is easier to absorb and is an added layer of softness and quenching power to last through the day.
Pond's White Beauty Pinkish White Day Cream. To seal off the serum, I use this little Pond's day cream, which I think is a creamier version of its day cream released last year. I love using this, to be honest, because of its fluffy consistency, soft smell, so girly. It is in fact, I think the brand in 'experience' format. I love its gentle moisturizing capabilities and I'd recommend this to anyone with normal moisturizing needs.
House of Obagi Obagi C Sunblock SPF 30. Not oily, no white cast, easily absorbed by the skin and completely serves its purpose of protecting the skin from the sun's harsh rays. This is the perfect sunblock, if not its price tag {at Php3K++} but who said quality came cheap?

So there! There's my a little longer-than-normal morning skincare routine, reason why I need two hours before I can leave home at 8:30 AM. That and I allot a bit of time for my mini-concert in front of my vanity dresser every single morning.

Happy Monday, my lovely readers!
xx