Life Update: Self Care & the Essentials

March was a disaster for me. Sleepless nights, nonstop incoming job orders, pimples everywhere, unhealthy eating. I was such a mess. Last year my co-artists said I'd be baptized as a real artist if I get by the peak season. I thought they were just exaggerating with their memory recollection of their experiences before but boy was I wrong. It was a hundred percent true story. Graduation month is the toughest month in the printing industry.

Anyway, April's almost over, and here I am trying to fix my life the way it was before March, like a reset. I'm so happy! Peaceful nights, watching movies, reading books, writing poems, journal writing, catching sunrise and sunset, quality time, healthy eating, cleaner face!

Because I can finally organize my life, here are some of my self-care routines and products I use to feel and look good. 

I started getting up early again 

I'll be out of my dorm this Sunday, by the way. I'll be moving to an apartment owned by the company. Free-rent, can cook and do laundry, and live with some cool people, sure! So I started forcing myself to get out of bed once the first alarm goes on. I make my own breakfast sandwich now, and give time allowance to do other stuff like picking out what clothes to wear for the day. 

I pick out my groceries

I barely get groceries because I always eat out and I can buy other stuff at the nearby sari-sari store. But my mind decided to be healthy, so I had tuna and bread, Tupperware, eggs, and other body essentials. It's actually satisfying, and it makes me feel like I'm going somewhere stable.

I'm obsessed with bananas

Obsessions are bad unless it's banana. You already know the benefits of banana and it helped a lot with my mental health. So replace your snacks with any other fruits or yep, banana!

I clean my room

Okay, this might be surprising for a lot of people HAHAHA but yes, I am cleaning my room now. Although it's not in it's best state right now, at least I can roll around the floor.

I apply stuff on my face

There are just so many facial and body essentials out there but few make it to the top of my list! In skincare, you always need to find the one that works wonders!

Routine (Day & Night)

I use Dr. Alvin's Kojic Acid Soap for the whole body, yes. You can see the magic right away! I had sunburn and when I started using Dr. Alvin's, the skin on my leg started peeling off. Not that much, but it's a good start! So now, I have a brown ombre design on my legs.

Then I use Celeteque (Hydration Exfoliating Wash). This one's really nice. It makes me feel like I grew a new face made of soft and thick rubber. Hahaha.

Then after all the facial wash, I go on with my Snow Pore Minimizer Toner. Ahhh mint! It gives that rosy finishing glow with minty feel so it's really refreshing to go to bed.

As for the body, I always apply the Sunflower Body Oil from Watsons. It's around 200 PHP. I forgot the name but it's there! Hahaha. Then I apply Nivea lotion also. Although it's both for moisturizing, I enjoy applying both because the lotion kinda negates the oily feeling.

And as for my daily routine, I apply the following in chronological order after the toner:

💛Dove Beauty Cream
💛Primer
💛Dr. Alvin Press Powder
💛Ever Bilena Eyebrow Liner
💛HUDA Monochrome Eyeshadow Palette
💛Any lipstick/lip tint I want to use depending on my mood, and the mood I want to set throughout the day 🌻

I started reading again before sleeping

Unlike before where I try to finish the whole book in one go, I try to read chapter by chapter daily. One chapter per night is a good start, then I'll be moving to two chapters per night, until I read to my heart's content again.

I'm currently reading The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami. It's like a slice of life genre but I don't know. I just started to read the book. But I feel the warmth of it already!

I'm planning on making an art fair in my hometown

It's actually in my bucket list: make and attend events. So together with the calligraphy artists in Daet, I decided to make one. I'm taking advantage of my free time so I hope for it to be a success!

I'm in love with someone and myself

Yes, I am :)


"Embrace your limitations, then improve it." - Nikko 💛

So far, I'm contented with where my life is going. I'm still a work in progress, and I've been dealing with it pretty well. Actually, we're all a work in progress and I guess it never stops because we just keep on aiming for the better. So whatever your pace in life is, keep it up! Don't give up okay? Like this is a hundred percent real, there's more to life than our pain and regrets. I hope you find it within you, the will to live happily, and whatever you hope for.


Love lots,
Sam