7 Things I Learned After Writing About Beauty for 7 Years

1. You can skip all of the ~stuff~ except for a good double-cleansing routine, sunscreen, and moisturizer. Makeup is always optional but basic skincare will help you maintain your looks long-term. So, cleanse thoroughly but mildly, use moisturizer religiously, and never, ever skip sunscreen during the day. You might not notice how important it is right now when you're in your early 20s, but I swear to you that it will decelerate your skin's natural deterioration when used regularly. 

Read more on about this in The lazy girl's guide to good skin! However, on top of basic skincare, I would still advise you to use eye cream, serum, exfoliating gels, and face masks to really get bright, improved skin. There's maintenance, and then there's going for the glow.

2. The new things that come out are just slightly better than the last ones in terms of formulation and packaging. You don't HAVE to buy everything because you don't really need them, honestly, but of course limited edition items and new colors you love are worth the spend. Every so often though brands come out with new technology that's a leap from the last, so this is what you have to watch out for! In the last year for example, I'd say foundations and liquid lipsticks have come a long way from previous iterations. They are lighter and a lot more pigmented these days. Cheaper too.

3. There is a product for every skin type, problem, and budget. I mean just look at a drugstore like Watsons or a Beauty by SM Store. Options abound for everyone with a beauty chip on their shoulder! Don't like lipstick because it feels like wax and smells bad? Don't like to spend on expensive bases? Well honey, you just haven't looked around enough. Or read Project Vanity enough hahaha.

Bottomline: there is no reason for you to put up with anything that doesn't work for you!

4. Those tutorials you see on Pinterest and YouTube are useful, but not always realistic. Learn what you can but be prepared to alter that knowledge to suit your own facial features and social context. Like for example, you can't get away with a Kim K contour on a normal day out. You'd look like someone slapped chocolate mush on the sides of your face. On camera though, it'd be fabulous!

5. Don't be miserly about spending on a good dermatologist. I know how tempting it is to believe in a new miracle product touted by the television or online influencers, but it's always still better to check with a licensed derma to know what your skin really needs. Wag matigas ang ulo! And can I just say, do not inject yourself with anything you buy on the internet. I think injectable gluta, collagen, and cocktails of other similar "insta-beautifiers" are popular locally. Just don't. There's no clear regulation of that online.

6. You have to learn how to like yourself and how you look like. Forget about love at this stage - you have to like the person you see in the mirror every morning. Beauty products help to create or restore self-confidence. They are powerful tools in helping to project the image you want to the world. But if you can manage it, you have to know how to be comfortable and happy in your own skin. This is often not found in the best moisturizer or concealer, but inside yourself. 

This sounds cheesy I know, but this is perhaps the best advice I can give you if you want to be truly beautiful: seek mentors, learn new things, go out in the world i.e. travel if you can afford to, make things with your mind and/or your hands, don't expect validation from other people, and just be as awesome as you can make yourself to be. After a while you'll realize that makeup isn't really necessary, but still fun to play with whenever you feel like.

7. This is more of a personal takeaway and will not apply to everyone as it's about blogging. It's painfully easy to be jaded and entitled as a blogger - oh, this happens to me every so often - which is why it's important to remember why I love doing this. Products, events, and payouts are fun to have, but I hate the feeling of coming up with substandard content just so I can have something up every weekday.

I don't want this to be a thing I do automatically. I want my blog to be honest and sincere and useful for everyone who visits looking for beauty advice and recommendations. So whenever I feel like I'm not holding up my end here, I try to slap myself into wakefulness (I guess that's the best word). Like now. 

And that is that. ^_^ How's your week so far? Got anything planned for the long weekend?