Pale Products and More

So...I have had my eyebrows waxed twice in my life, and that's all the waxing experience I have. I have extremely pale skin prone to showing every little bump, red mark, you name it. Pair that with moderately sensitive skin in my pits and my bikini area and well, it's not pretty. Growing up I was always extremely self conscious about the black dots all over my armpits even on my first day post shave. Same thing with my bikini area, so I'm actually surprised it took me this long to take the plunge. I was fed up and decided to go all in with a Brazilian. This post is going to be detailed and talk about all the things I was hoping all the posts I read on Brazilians before going said. This post will also contain my armpit waxing experience as well. Apologies for the wall of text, there's not many pictures I could break it up with, lmao.

The waxing bar I went to used soft wax just fyi. Starting with prepping, I followed the instructions on the website of the waxing bar I was planning to go to, and let my hair grow 3-4 weeks (or like 5-7 but I digress). I wanted to mention that I have plucked my bikini area before so I was aware of just how sensitive it is to that kind of hair removal, although by no means am I used to it at all.

Just so everyone knows, I accidentally drank an iced coffee the morning of my appointment, although you are supposed to avoid caffeine the day of. I also didn't have any of the recommended ibuprofen to take 30 minutes beforehand. It was also a little less than a week before my period was going to come, and its recommended to not get waxed near your period. So I'm basically going into this in the worst way possible.

Now I was nervous about several things, those being: sweating/smelling down there/armpit sweat after the wax was done (I get mad anxious sweats), pain, awkwardness. And I'll be getting into all that!

When I got there my waxing specialist brought me into the room and let me know we would be doing the underarms first. I laid down on the table sort of like a doctors table and got my shirt up around my neck, with my arms out of the sleeves. She had me raise one of my arms and hold my boob away from the armpit with my other hand, to get the skin taut. She applied the wax in small sections, applying a muslin cloth, pressing down in the direction of hair growth, then ripping it away against the direction of growth, and immediately pressing firmly on the area with her hand. It stung for about a second as it was ripped off, but I would call it mild to moderate stinging at worst. The area closer to my boobs/the middle of my armpit hurt more than the top but not a significant amount. I wasn't really worried about the pain on my pits, and rightfully so.

Once the pits were done she left the room so I could take my pants and undies off, and she also informed me there were unscented baby wipes to "freshen up", god bless. So that ticks one of my worry boxes. She came back in and starting talking about the procedure and that since it was my first Brazilian it was for sure going to hurt, etc etc. She did my bikini line first, which honestly was comparable to my armpits as far as pain, maybe a little sharper. Once we started on the front area (pubic mound but I hate that fucking term), the pain was getting there. At this point she had me breathe in as she pressed the wax with the cloth, then sharply breathe out as she ripped. The pressing afterwards really helped here. The labia were as painful as the top, I'd call it moderate to light high. It definitely wasn't a pleasant feeling, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. So pain overall? Not fun, but not the worst. Check.

Once we were done with the front/labia, she had me lift both my knees up to my chest (or one at a time I just preferred both) to do the "back". This part was a piece of cake, hurt even less than pits, wouldn't even say it hurt.

The entire time we were talking casually, lighthearted things about her work, vacations, etc. It felt very natural and I'm literally the most awkward person when it comes to small talk, so that's saying something. It actually didn't feel weird to be bottom down naked either. Felt like when you're at the gyno, but more welcoming and nice.

I was really tense and sweating during the Brazilian, luckily I didn't sweat enough for my pits to stink, as she had wiped off my deo before we began. Another plus was that when she left the room for me to get dressed, I could apply deo before I left just in case (deo review on what I used coming soon!), so that ticks off my last worry box.

I did have slight bleeding since it was my first time, but that's to be expected. My crotch felt super warm for about 15 minutes afterwards, and both areas stung just a teeny tiny bit for the same amount of time. For the first couple hours afterwards my skin was inflammed and red, but that subdued by that night. I was a bit tacky from the wax residue for the first day or so, and I was definitely sore for about 1 to 2 days. I was more sore in my pits, weirdly enough. I think that was because I had to return to work the next day when its advised not to sweat for 24 hours following the wax.

At about four days after I was noticing a teeny tiny but of regrowth in my pits, but not all over in the same way hair grows back after you shave, just like two or three hairs scattered around. Its been about two week since my appointment, and at one week there was hair growing back (in my pits more so), but its for sure growing in sparser. You couldn't even see the hairs unless you were up close, whereas with shaving you can see the hair from far away like a day after. Now at two weeks there is definitely noticable hair, but it is still sparser for sure. I wasn't expecting to stay hairless for weeks, as it was my very first time getting waxed the follicles are still strong and all that.

Overall I had a positive experience and I do plan on getting waxed again. The pain was moderate but definitely tolerable, and so far I'm impressed by the results, especially on the Brazilian. I'm excited to see the results from continued waxing.

Summer in Florida means 90+ degrees at like 9am. Its truly something else. My face was feeling so heavy and weighed down and my sunscreen was taking ages to dry, so I decided its finally time to switch it up a bit. (You can see my last skincare post here, holy shit its from over a year ago!). I actually still use most of the same products.

The significant changes I've made for the summer are doing the "7 skins method" which is applying a toner 7 (give or take) times to really boost the hydration of the skin. It leaves the skin hydrated while not being sticky or weighing it down with heavy creams. I've also swapped out any heavier creams in lieu of lighter ones.(I forgot to include sunscreens in my pic oh well)

AM Routine 

• Cleanser: Cosrx Low pH Daily cleanser OR Cosrx Salicylic Acid Daily Gentle Cleanser (I only apply cleanser to my t zone in the morning, and rinse the rest of my face with water only)
• Hydrating Toner: Hada Labo Gokujyun Lotion in Moist (I do 3-7 skins of this depending on how much time I have/how my skin is feeling) 
• Light Moisturizer: Goodal Moisture Barrier Liquid Light (I previously listed this as an essence but it really isn't one. Its almost a thicker toner? I'm not sure what to classify it as. I usually do 1 or 2 skins of this)
• Medium Moisturizer: Goodal Moisture Barrier Liquid (one layer only, usually)
• Sunscreen: Biore Watery Essence/Can Make Mermaid Skin Gel (for face) Skin Aqua Super Moisture Gel SPF 50+ PA++++ (for body)

Awhile ago I picked up several Nudestix products and one of them was the All Over Face Color Matte in the shade Bondi Bae. I was leaning towards cream products more often and had wanted to get a bronzer that wouldn't be too orange, as I find most powder bronzers are. The premise of this product being variations of "nude" was very promising.

This retails for $30 for .25 oz., while the Milk Makeup Bronzer goes for $24 for 1 oz., and the Nars The Multiple are $39 for .50 oz (if you get the regular ones), and .26 oz (if you get the matte one, what the fuck? idk if this is wrong but that's what is listed on Sephora). This is supposed to be long wearing and have a soft matte finish.

It is described as a "bronzed nude". I find that if I over apply this can look ever so slightly orangey, but not if I go in with a light hand. It does have a soft matte finish, and sets down so that you don't have to worry about it rubbing off. That said, it is a cream product so it does not wear as long as powders, but it does wear longer than creams that don't set down.



It gives a natural looking bronze to my skin. I find the best way to apply it is to dab the stick directly onto my sponge, then pat the product onto my face. Applying directly to the face results in a harsher line that is harder to blend.



I really do like this product. 9 times out of 10 these days I'm wearing cream products, and this is definitely an every day product for me. It applies easy, wears well throughout the day, and is overall very flattering, which is hard to find in a bronzer for my skin tone.  As of right now I will definitely repurchase when I run out.

When Milk released this I knew I wanted to try it. Its gimmicky and all that, but hey...I still wanted to try it. I was hesitant to buy the full size without knowing how I felt about it, so lucky for me Sephora was doing deluxe samples with a code or something.

The full size retails for $24 for .34 oz. Its got cannabis oil for nourishment, "heart shaped fibers" (whatever that means), and is supposed to give a clump free, intense black finish. Its supposed to be very voluminous. The packaging (of the full size) is like.....really nice. Its so luxurious feeling!

I always wipe my mascara wands off on the rim of the bottle, as well as usually wiping the tip of on a paper towel, so I did the same when applying this. I found that with one coat my lashes were coated much more than with one coat of other mascaras. I do a couple of layers depending on how my lashes are looking.

applied to left eye

It does not clump and does give a lot of volume! My coworker even mentioned how voluminous my lashes looked without me even bringing it up. The thing I really like about this is that if I get any smudges on my eye lid, they wipe away without leaving any smears. I have long lashes naturally, so I always get a little bit of smudging when applying. This mascara doesn't ruin the shadow look when I wipe it off, which is a big thing for me. I find this lasts all day and does not smudge or flake. Oh and its really easy to remove with cleansing oil, it all comes off which I find is rare with mascaras unless I really scrub my eyes.

left only

both eyes applied

I actually was really pleasantly surprised by this, it gives great volume and length, doesn't smudge or flake, is all around great. I'm planning on buying the full version when I run out. Its pretty much everything I want in a mascara!