I'm Back! Life Updates, Skin Updates & Recommitting to this Blog

I know I've been a bit dodgy about publishing regular content on this blog. First it was university & equestrian competition that prevented me from being consistent - then the world went all topsy turvy when COVID-19 erupted in March, and this blog fell totally to the wayside. I've spent the last month and a half adjusting to a new normal while trying to stay up to date with school, run my skincare Instagram, and continue improving in my riding. My problems are small compared to those of so many others whose livelihoods have been lost or severely impacted, or those who've lost loved ones to the pandemic that still rages. So, I don't mean to complain, but rather explain why I've been a bit absent. However, now that I'm settling a little bit more into this new normal, I've decided to make a commitment to sharing blog articles more frequently.

With that being said, I'm going to use this post to provide updates in two areas: Life in general, and my skin. I'm just about to complete my sophomore year at Georgetown University, which, although the last few weeks have been online, has been nonetheless a great year. I've gotten to take some fascinating courses, such as Problem of God, Advanced Spanish for Business and Quantitative Statistics. I've declared my major and am officially studying International Politics, with a double minor in Spanish and Psychology. I've found out that due to the coronavirus and no longer planning to study abroad, I will be able to graduate a semester early, which I'm looking forward to.

Outside of school, I've spent the vast majority of my time pursuing my true passion: riding (and horses in general). This season at the Winter Equestrian Festival went far better than I could have imagined. I won an Ariat Adult Medal class with my equitation horse and placed in the top five in many other equitation classes. With my two jumpers I moved up to the Low Adult Jumpers (1m-1.05m) and had quite a few top 10 placings. Before the pandemic threw a wrench in everyone's plans, I was looking forward to a busy summer season and moving up to the High Adult Jumpers. Now, we're staying at home and continuing to train while waiting for competition to resume. In a way, it has been a blessing in disguise, because while school has been online I've been able to ride every day and continue to improve.

I hope you found that bit interesting, but since this blog is focused primarily on skincare, I'm also going to share what my skin has been up to. Since staying at home all the time, I've been working on shopping my stash and have been on a successful no-buy since April 1st (which I broke this morning by placing a Sephora sale order). I've had loads of extra time to mask. I've been particularly focused on working through my sheet mask collection.

My skin has been pretty decent, with some congestion and the occasional cystic spot around that time of the month. Most of my breakouts stem from the fact that I sweat a lot while riding, so I've come to terms with the fact that it will never be perfectly clear. I am focusing more on hydration and maintaining a healthy moisture barrier.

My routines currently look like this:

 Morning: Gentle cleanser (ex: HoliFrog Tashmoo Milky Wash,  Indie Lee Brightening Cleanser)

                Toner: Indie Lee COQ-10 Toner

                Hydrating Serum: Drunk Elephant B Hydra

                some mornings I reach for my cocktail of Ubuna Beauty serums (Brighten, Drench and Resist)

                   Moisturizer: Youth to the People Kale Whip Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizer

                   SPF: Paula's Choice Clear SPF 30+ Fluid

 Evening: Double cleanse with Deviant Cleansing Concentrate & some second cleanser (IS Clinicals Cleansing Complex, Holifrog Omega Wash, or something else)

               Masks (usually 1 or 2 wash off)

               Toner: Indie Lee COQ-10 Toner

               Essence: Amorepacific Single Extract Vintage Essence

              Treatments: PC Azaelic Acid, Niacinamide, etc.

              Hydrating Serum: Drunk Elephant B Hydra, or another hydrating option

              Moisturizer: Youth to the People Adaptogen Moisturizer

              Facial Oil: SBAEK beauty globe trotter, YTTP Superglow oil or SJO Skin Happy Honey Oil

            Sleeping Mask (sometimes): Laneige Cica mask or YTTP Dream Mask

I've been grateful for the extra time to focus on my skin and my skincare instagram and am excited about placing more emphasis on this blog in the coming months. Hopefully you'll join me as I continue to test out products and share what I'm learning along the way.