ONE MONTH OF MORNING PAGES

One month ago my sister told me about this writing practice called "morning pages." It is three pages of stream of consciousness writing, with absolutely no topic or real effort. Whatever comes into your head goes onto the paper. Her and I ran off to target, picked up new notebooks and headed to a cafe to get started. I doubted that either of us could keep this up for more than a week. Sitting down for the first time, affogato in hand, I started my entry. This was less confessional and more observational. I wrote about being annoyed with this twenty-something talking about how she's "not like the other girls" at full volume, the oxidized copper table we were sitting at, the ornate lights constructed from old maps that hung above us. Everything just flowed with ease. I didn't feel pressured to write anything profound, I was just writing. I was shocked by how calm I was once the three pages were finished. I vowed to continue writing the next day. I couldn't believe how enjoyable such a simple task could be. Now that I'm a month in, I can see myself keeping up this practice for a long time.

FRONKOREO RETURNS

I feel like I owe people this post after leaving this blog untouched for two months unannounced. I didn't mean for it to happen, but it did. I had tried three times during that break to write a post similar to this but every time I ended up shutting laptop and curling into a ball part of the way through. I'm a very open person, but that doesn't mean I'm comfortable with being vulnerable. Over the past few years I've started talking more about my struggle with depression because I think it's important. That doesn't mean it's easy. I haven't been in the right head space to post about makeup, music or much of anything for awhile. If you look at previous post dates you can see the time between them slowly start to grow. When I'm low everything feels more difficult. I end up being so exhausted by the mental war going on inside that I have to start being very careful about what tasks I choose to do because everything drains me. There's not always a reason for it either. I'm not looking for pity, I just want understanding.

THE PRODUCT THAT GOT RID OF MY ACNE

I have had acne since 2004. I feel like I've tried nearly every product and method for clearing my skin with little to no success. I've used proactiv, epiduo, a ridiculous amount of drugstore acne kits, all natural products, harsh cleansers, gentle cleaners, diy recipes, raw african black soap, oil cleansing and even just plain old water. A little over a year ago I discovered the SkincareAddiction subreddit and it changed my life. There was a slew of posts on there documenting their success with Curology (then named PocketDerm). Before I rave about it know that I am not sponsored. I just absolutely love this. I went from having a face covered in acne to about 1-4 active breakouts at the worst and only some discoloration. I never thought my skin would be this clear. Curology offers the first month completely free if you have a referral link and you're able to cancel any time. If you want to try it for free use: https://curology.com/invite/ASNXSEH

BEGINNING MAKEUP REHAB

At the start of the new year I set a goal for myself to cut back on consumerism. In early December I purchased a new vanity as my makeup collection had outgrown my set up at the time. By the end of the month the even the new organization system couldn't accommodate it. That's when I realized how out of control my collection was. It was rare for me to go to the store without coming back with a new product to test. Since early High School, I have been sent products to test from brands in exchange for review. I've also had a plethora of subscription boxes over time which all adds up. I love reviewing which is why I've been so drawn to the excess. Repurchasing makeup is rare for me because even if I love something, I feel the need to try a new product so I have more in my arsenal of comparisons. Items like eyeshadow and lipstick make sense for me to have a wide variety of, as my look varies from day to day. Foundation and other base products are a lot less justifiable. I had about 25 bottles of foundation sitting in my drawer at the start of the new year. I only liked about 5 of them and the other 20 just sat there. I knew I needed to make a change. I've been watching beauty gurus since 2006 and I feel like I've bought into the youtube mentality too much. I'm discovering this more is more mantra is deeply flawed. Having a ton of products is not better than having a select few you love. This may seem quite obvious to some, but to those of us with a stack of palettes all with the same shades it may be a bit harder to recognize. I'm not trying to insinuate that this makeup "addiction" is as serious as subsistence abuse, but the name of this potential series is pulled from a subreddit I've been frequenting throughout this process. I felt the need to clarify that.

UDXGWEN STEFANI EYESHADOW PALETTE | REVIEW

Growing up I was a big fan of Gwen Stefani. I had always loved No Doubt but when she broke off to do her solo album "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." I became obsessed. I only wore G perfume and rocked my Harajuku Lovers brand purse and high tops on the regular. I've since come to realize how odd her whole Harajuku phase was and in particular her song "Harajuku Girls." Needless to say, my love for her has faded. I do love her style though and the packing of the line is straight out of my dreams. The palette was designed by Gwen Stefani and the colours are what she actually wears. This is a 15 shadow palette that retails $58 available at Ulta, Sephora and Macy's. 12 out of the 15 shades are exclusive to this palette. She usually keeps her makeup pretty neutral with a bold red lip and her line delivers just that. Most of the items seem to really only cater to someone with Gwen's skintone. The blushes are very fair with a few exceptions, some shadows may only show up on light skin tones and the brow box only comes in her blonde shade. I really think this collection works for those with fair to light medium skintones. Everyone else seems to be out of luck. I'm ghostly so I figured this would be the palette made for me, but after having it for almost a month I have a lot of mixed feelings.

TOP MUSIC PICKS | JANUARY

Elizavecca Milky Piggy Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask | Review

I've never been more excited to try out a mask than I was for this one. I've seen photos of this floating around the internet for awhile because of it's odd foaming qualities, I believe Elizavecca is a Korean brand so the majority of packing is also in Korean. It's a clay mask with charcoal so it's meant to deep clean the skin while the carbonated bubbles gently exfoliate leaving your skin glowing. The prices varies by retailer but you can get it for $11 from MemeBox (Buy here). It's unlike any clay or charcoal mask I've ever seen before because it bubbles up on the skin.