The other day I went to the coffee shop near my house with some magazines. I sat in my favourite couch by the window, with a sandwich and a cup of coffee. I only spent about 2-3 hours there reading but it was really refreshing for me. That was exactly what I needed.
I only work 3 days a week. I used to work full-time at the company where I'm currently working at but I worked like crazy at the beginning because they didn't have enough staff and I just couldn't finish my tasks. Because my office is pretty far from my house -3.5 hours journey in crowded trains a day is not fun- and also because I had the "history", I got sick and I switched my contract to part time. But even now I'm in charge of the sales department, and we don't have enough staff still and I just have to work overtime. That's OK when I'm able to be juggling 50 tasks at the same time, but when I run out of energy -mentally and physically- my brain stops functioning. I just don't understand what my boss is saying, I can't talk properly, I don't get to get things done. Basically I become a big lump taking space at the tiny office.
So I need some time to empty my mind on my day off. I realized that I would start blogging when I'm staying home on a weekend, and once I start blogging I'm doing it all day long. So I end up using my brain although I'm supposed to be relaxing and chilling. That is why I go to the coffee shop to relax, without getting disturbed by PC and TV. I just sit, read, read and read. I finished 2 magazines the other day. Sometimes you force yourself to do something to make a change, and actually it could be really good for you.
<Best ways to empty your mind...in my opinion>
*Meditate - I even bought a book about meditation, but I've never tried it yet. Just because it seems difficult. Does any of you guys meditate?
*YOGA - I loved YOGA until I got collapsed from the lack of blood right after the lesson.
*Walk a dog - I liked it when I had a dog long time ago. It's refreshing.
*Aromatherapy - It kind of takes me to La-La-Land...
*Go experience the nature - Even a park near your house is fine. But ideally I want to go to Kamakura to enjoy the nature and the traditional side of Japan.
*Read - Reading doesn't sound relaxing much, but it really is. I love reading magazines so much but I also like reading self-help / business related books.
*Watch beauty videos - Fleur, Estee, Annie, Sammi, Zoe, Anna...I'm subscribing to more than 100 beauty gurus! While watching their videos I don't feel anything but joy.
So hopefully I can empty my mind tomorrow as it's Saturday. I might go to the coffee shop again and read, because it's pretty warm and cozy there. I wish I had a couch here in my room, but if I bought a couch I would have to give up on my bed. That's how tiny my room is. Anyway, hope you all have a lovely weekend! Let me know how you relax!
P.S. I cannto believe it's December. How did it happen?
I finally got a new makeup bag the other day, I picked up this cute little one from Pylones. I wanted a new makeup bag for so long, but I had never found a perfect one. This bag caught my eyes while shopping with my friend, and it was pretty cheap so I decided to buy it. Plus, it was the last one!
It looks so pretty inside too!
And these are the things I carry around. As you can see I don't carry many makeup items as I don't fix makeup outside of my house just because my makeup stays as it is all day. And also I just don't have time to fix my makeup at work.
Here are the moisturizer and stuff. First of all hand cream is an essential in this colder season. I love my Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream as it moisturizes my hands well without making them sticky and greasy. It also smells really nice, like an orange / grapefruit candy! I also love Pai Skincare Bergamont Lip Balm although I use it as nail cream because my lips get drier when I apply this, just because my lips are pretty sensitive and it happens often. It smells of pure bargamot essential oil which is also amazing. Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment is something I started carrying around recently because my hair gets so dry in daytime and it gets tangled and make a huge hair-ball around my neck! This oil is light but moisturizing, so I just apply a little bit of the oil on my lunch time to prevent tangles. And also to enjoy the smell. I also carry a small-sized balance me moisture-rich face cream just in case I find dry patches on my face which is embarrassing!
And I carry 6 lip products! That's crazy! Obviously I don't use them all a day, but I just love having choices. I've been wearing Revlon Lip Butter a lot, I think I was wearing it every day last week at work. I just love the colour Peach Parfait so much, and I also love the glossy finish it gives. I don't like Burt's Bees tinted lip balm as much as I did at the beginning because I realized that it looks patchy when my lips are dry which looks very uncool! I like the colour but I only use it when I'm confident about the condition of my lips.
Here is my essential item, uka nail oil 7:15. I get really upset and sad when I've left it in my room. I usually apply it 5-6 times a day at least, mainly to enjoy the aromatic scent....and of course, to take care of my nails. I also carry at least 2 different flavour of chewing gum.
What's in your makeup bag? Do you carry many items around?
Ruam Ruam Herbal Fresh Soap - Lavender 1,575yen
This unique looking soap developed and made in Japan caught my eyes immediately after its launch, although I didn't have a chance to buy it until when a friend of mine gave it to me as a gift. It really does look like a glue stick, I wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't told so!
Basically you rub it against the net type of thing (it's called washing net here, you know the one looks like a bath lily for your face!) and foam it with a bit of warm water. I usually hate foaming soap because it's a bother and I just don't feel like my face is washed and completely clean after washing with foam. But it's quite fun to foam this soap because of the relaxing scent first of all, it smells of natural Lavender which is absolutely soothing. And another big reason is that the foam is much thicker and bouncy if that make sense. I'm going to show you what foam looks like!
How exciting it is to create this much foam!
And I only used a tiny bit of the soap, now you can imagine how much of a long-lasting soap it would be. It feels so good on my skin while washing and it doesn't leave that uncomfortable feeling after rinsing my face like it normally does with other soap.
My skin feels really fresh afterwords but it doesn't feel dry at all. It contains 17 herbs to hydrate and smooth out your skin and also to prevent blemishes. There are other scents as well such as Grapefruits, Bargamot Orange, Citrus, Original which is the blend of some different essential oils and Patchouli. I love Lavender the most because the scent is subtle and not too heavy, and of course it's relaxing.
The only reason why I might not buy it myself once it runs out is that I would like just one cleanser which removes makeup because I'm really lazy :P Other than that, I love this soap! Do you use soap to wash your face? Are you interested in this soap? Let me know!
