Aspirin mask: part 2

In the previous blog I wrote about the aspirin mask. Since then I have tried it twice and the results are pretty amazing! It dried up my existing blemishes and made my face soft and glowy. Word of advice: do not pour water into whatever bowl your aspirins are sitting in, instead, add the water drop by drop with a teaspoon. I made the mistake of pouring in wayy too much water and although my tablets dissolved nicely.... it became a massive pool of milky water. I then went and tried to fix the problem by adding more than 1 tsp of honey... I think I had 1 tbsp by the end of it and it didn't make it any better, I ended up with a milky yellow pool of watery... stuff. I gave it a go anyway (avoid the eye area when applying the mask!) and spent the entire time lying down with tissues in my hand to wipe off the excess mask that kept dribbling down my neck... not a comfortable feeling. But thankfully the effects were still there and I was pretty pleased with the result. The moment I washed my face clean I couldn't wait to try it again. I gave it two days inbetween and this time being super careful with the water - it was even better. When washing the mask off it's best to dampen it with a little warm water and give the face a good massage to exfoliate using the aspirin bits - be gentle! the aspirin bits can be a bit rough. And if you're a bit clumsy like me and get honey in your hair and all over your neck, it's best to do it just before your shower.  Also be careful if you have any history of aspirin allergy, if you're unsure, test a bit on your arm first!

jjoee x

Feeling like a sardine & losing your phone

The hustle and bustle of HK life can definitely be something hard to get used to... I'm actually struggling quite a bit. I've never like spending time in places with too many people. I find it mentally draining. Take boxing day sales for example, I love shopping in the sales, but the sheer amount of people really puts me off, so I end up browsing around half-heartedly. This is where my mum comes in handy. She has a really good eye whilst shopping in the sales, she always manages to find the best sale items around, and at super speed too!

So I usually do my shopping whenever I can during the weekdays after work. Weekends I usually want to stay in and away from the packed streets. It really does make you feel like a sardine out there! Especially around the more popular areas such as Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui. On the rare occasions that I do decide to go out and venture these places over the weekend I end up getting annoyed, frustrated and mentally drained, and so I just end up as a tired slop. And most of the time this annoyance and frustration is caused by people being too engrossed into their phones. People gaming as they walk and even watching dramas! There's often an elderly or pregnant woman standing on the mtr because those sitting down are too busy with their phones to look up and realise a seat needs to be offered. I am guilty too of being attached to my phone. I check it all too often in case I miss a call or didn't here the message tone go off (I can never hear my phone ring or feel it vibrate when I'm out and about and end up with 10 missed calls, usually from my mum). I also find it super handy that whenever I need, I have google in my hands.

I came across this article on BBC and couldn't agree more with it: 'Lose the phone reclaim your life'. We're certainly missing out on a lot because of our phones, most of all the opportunity to enjoy our surroundings as it is. I'd sometimes wish that mobile phone companies would stop coming up with great ideas to make us more attracted and more attached to our phones. And on that note, here's a meme that's really funny but so true:

jjoee x

Aspirin mask

When I first moved to Hong Kong, my skin took a turn for the worse.. after a few stressful weeks, I came to decision to let it wear out, surely my skin will adapt? But after more than half a year here, it seems as if my skin has made up its mind that it didn't like HK and stubbornly refused to settle in. I am lucky enough to be blessed with a mother who is a beauty therapist and she has given me all her knowledge in dealing with sensitive skin (sometimes through constant nagging that I shouldn't touch my face when I'm out and about - which I am guilty of...). I have a pretty strict skin regime that I stick faithfully to but this was apparently no use in fighting the hot and humid weather. I was still having the all-too occasional outbreaks :(

So here I am sitting in front of a jar of Manuka honey and some aspirin pills. I vaguely remembered watching youtube videos and reading articles on the benefits of aspirin against acne. Aspirin is an anti-inflammatory and also acts as an exfoliator, getting rid of dead skin cells and allow the unclogging of pores (hence reducing blackheads). Having remembered, I did a bit more research before rushing off to the supermarket and local pharmacy after work. I actually had no idea there were so many types of honey. I ended up squatting in the supermarket aisle, staring at the lower shelf which was filled with a dozen or so of different honey. There were some honeydew honey, clover honey, orange blossom honey and a few others that I can't remember the name of. I wasn't really sure what would do better on my skin but I went for Manuka honey in the end. Manuka honey has anti-bacterial properties so I thought that would be a plus, besides it would come in handy if I were to ever go down with a cold or sore throat. It says online that organic would have been best but it's pretty hard to find organic products in HK without going great lengths. 

What seems to be the general recipe for an aspirin mask is: 5-6 uncoated aspirin pills plus 1 tsp of honey.  Dissolve the aspirin into a little bit of water and mix with the honey, spread onto face and leave on for 15-20 mins before rinsing off. 

Well, after all that typing it's time to give my face some TLC! 

jjoee x