Seasoned with Salt and Speaking to Strangers

If you have ever read my blog, you know that I have never made a secret of my struggle with acne and the resulting hyper-pigmentation; however, I'm not sure if I have told about the many times I've been approached about it by friends and strangers alike. 

As you can see, the hyper-pigmentation is pretty obvious. 

I was at Lowe's with my family. The purpose was to take my 2-year-old niece to get some pink flowers so she'd have her own garden (she's been claiming gardens as her own and picking the pink flowers.) Anyway, as we headed to the register, I was waylaid by a black lady I would guess to be in her 50s. Since I had a camera hanging around my neck, I assumed she was going to ask about it. Instead, she simply said, "Your face, what do you use on it?" 

I groaned inwardly. I've had too many of these experiences to be shocked, and yet I worked at Chick-Fil-A long enough to feel I have to be polite to everyone. I opened my mouth to answer. 

"My grandson has that same problem." she stated.

I again took a moment, and thinking a little more of her now that I knew she had a point besides selling some products or nosiness, I replied, "It was worse than this. I have a hormone imbalance, and it causes acne, but once the acne is gone it leave these marks behind. They take awhile to go away."

 "You should try cocoa butter." She said.

"I haven't tried that," I answered "but I'm supposed to be wearing sunscreen, and I didn't all summer. Almost everything that helps the marks makes your skin sensitive to the sun." I admitted. 

She thanked me for that tip, because black people still neglect sun protection for the most part.We were settling into the conversation, and she started asking if I knew anything about eczema and when I told her yes, she wanted me to write down what I suggested for it. 

 Somehow, this lady managed to make me feel chastened (for not doing what I know to do for my face), and yet uplifted. This is a rarity when it come to discussions about my face, it is a very tender subject for me! With that being said, I would suggest that she start off the conversation in a different way next time, And I won't lie about wanting to go straight home and slather on sunscreen and makeup or just hide under my covers... but I could tell that her heart was in the right place and I'm gonna try that cocoa butter! 

We are so quick (me included) to get upset because we think we know where someone is coming from, but sometimes grace and a hearing ear are called for. My verse of the week is from Colossians 4:6 and says "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." 

It's okay, I'm "flawsome" and so are you. 

What experiences have you had with strangers approaching you? Have they been mostly negative or positive? Tell me below in the comments!

Foundation, concealer, and cleanser, oh my!

Today I'm going to talk about something that I'm far from an expert on, but that I learned by necessity. You are probably aware that I have PCOS; although it does not define me, it is a part of my life that I have to acknowledge exists in more ways than I want. I love eye makeup, but I started wearing foundation and concealer because of my hyper-pigmentation left from acne breakouts. Also for another post, will be the comments that I get sometimes just walking around without makeup. My first concealer was Kat Von D concealer and I loved it! It didn't take me long to realize that it was causing breakouts, and I found out later that it is not the best for those who are prone to acne or have picky skin like me. Always google the customer reviews of things you're not sure about if you have sensitive skin. 

Fast forward to about a year ago, my friend (who is a makeup artist) suggested I try NARS foundation. Y'all, I'm not even gonna lie, $50 is expensive to this thrift store shoppin' and yard sale lovin' girl...SO I bought their concealer and found a cheap foundation elsewhere. The concealer is good, but it's not gonna work all by itself if you're trying to cover up some hard core marks like I was! I wanted to put concealer on the more recent marks, and then cover the fading ones all over with a good foundation.

Without makeup

A few months ago I went back and had one of Sephora's special skin match tests done. These things are so embarrassing for me, because I feel like they can't get a proper reading with the dark marks! I was brought two possible matches for the "full-coverage" that I had requested. One was NARS. I slathered each side of my face with a different brand, asked a few random passersby for their opinions, and settled on the NARS foundation. I can't even describe how much I love it and find it worthy of my hard-earned money! It is unique in that the instructions tell you to rub it between your hands and apply-WITH YOUR HANDS-but it does go on very nicely. I like that it isn't weird colored, you know all the shades and undertones that become even more obvious with black girl skin and brown foundations! I wanted one that had more gold undertones instead of the pink or sometimes greyish look makeup gives me. It is very light feeling and almost watery in comparison to some, but that makes layering an option if you're extra funny about every any flaws being invisible. I find that one layer works and I can wear it all day without worrying about needing to reapply.

The only problem I ran into was getting it off. It seemed like the usual cleansers weren't working, so at Sally's one day, I asked a sales associate what she had that would help. She picked up a tub of Queen Helene cleansing creme and said "This will get anything off, and it's what I use."

Dear Sally's associate, thank you for saving my skin. I love you.

Sincerely,

Elisabeth

With a quick application of my new foundation just to run out the house.

Does that describe well enough how I feel about it? Little tip: it leaves your skin soft and supple, but I think you should consider washing it off before you jump your butt into bed...Also sometimes I don't if I'm feeling lazy, and it hasn't caused any breakouts. So that's my makeup story. I hope that it has helped you some! If you have any tips for blush or (more) eyeshadow that you love, tell me about it in the comments! 

So I am told...

I am told that if you're having a block, and can't think of anything to write in your blog, write anyway, because the longer you take a break from it all the worse off you'll be. I didn't listen to this advice, and turns out, it was correct.
I don't have much to say, so I will show you two things that I was given or bought lately that I'm super happy about:

My birthday earrings:

Rita, from Sammysgrammy made the earrings I'm wearing in this picture. I love them to death! Check out her shop by clicking the link-or the picture-and maybe you can find something almost as cool :-) 

I have a problem with hyper pigmentation on my face from an acne problem (which I am now diligently working against.) Now that I've found all these cool natural ways to lessen the break-outs, I still needed something that I knew worked for the marks left behind. I asked a friend Diane, from lusciouslathers because I LOVE this chapstick that I bought from her, and she said she had something for me with AHA somethin' or another. I was like "aha!!" (yeah I know, lame) and went straight to her shop to "heart" it, so I could buy it on payday. I really hate drawing extra attention to it, so let me just give you the link.

This stuff is partially organic too! Hallelujah! I would ask if you want before and after pictures, but you can forget that...you WILL see after pictures though :-) 

That's all for today folks...

Elisabeth Arona