Look good, feel good

This past Wednesday, Project Wedding sent me their daily email (where they count down every. single. day. - gotta give 'em credit) with the title "Start Building Your Immunity Now." At first I laughed - this? thrown in among the reasons buttercream tastes better than fondant and what to gift your bridesmaids and how to find a photographer? - but a second thought made me stifle that laugh. We all focus on wanting to look our best for the big day, but what about feeling our best, physically? I'd say that should rank pretty high, as well.

Image via Project Wedding

Of course I was extra sensitive to this whole immunity/feel-your-best stuff since I just went through a pretty terrible bought of food poisoning on Monday (fabulous way to lose 5 pounds, by the way). I distinctly remember a moment, in the midst of all the grossness, that I thought "god HELP me if I get food poisoning the night before the wedding", or heck - even the week of the wedding. There was no way in hell I could have smiled and faked it and made it through.. anything. Now of course food poisoning is rather severe and random and doesn't have much to do with immunity per se, but a quick look back at these last few years made me realize how much more often I've been sick lately as compared to my younger years. I blame it on stress.

I rarely used to get sick - cold, flu, or otherwise - and if I did, I recovered in a heartbeat. Not so much the case anymore; I believe I've gotten some form of the flu every winter for the last three years, and have had several terrible cold attacks. My migraines have come more frequently (you know.. those debilitating ones) and I have developed the worst springtime allergies (although I hear that's a DC thing). I don't have an explanation for all of this, except for the aforementioned stress. You know, the kind that comes from being an adult and having loads more responsibility. Whether or not this is truly the case, I've found that self-care is becoming increasingly important as I get older. I like to think that I usually take relatively good care of myself, but I definitely feel the need to do more - for the wedding, but also just for myself. Just to feel better, overall.

The article talked a lot about eating the right foods and getting your nutrients from either fruits and veggies or supplements. I'm already aboard this train - I take my B12  and vitamin C supplements daily and am currently looking for another multivitamin to add to the mix. However, I personally find that there is also a mental and physical piece to my well being; I try and do some form of yoga at least once week, and stretch daily. I also try and get a massage at least once a month as a part of my wellness routine - I can honestly tell a huge difference in my body and my state of mind after I've had one (and that's not just because I'm a massage therapist!).

Hard at work, doing my thang.

While this all sounds well and good on paper, the trick is being consistent and finding time, which I kind of suck at. I am always telling people about the importance of self-care when I really should be taking my own advice a bit more. I know for a fact that my body - and my immunity - gets a huge boost from proper self-care. So one of my resolutions for the next five months (and beyond) is to be and continue to stay healthy. No runny nose or digestive issues for this girl on the big day. I hope.

What kind of self-care works best for you? Do you find some things work better than others?

Clear skin, please

Wedding countdown time has clearly begun, thus prompting all sorts of beauty preparations.

Grow hair longer: I'm trying (whyy won't it grow faster?!).
Whiten teeth: eventually.
Work out, get fit, lose arm fat: ehhh we'll see.
Get clear skin: totally very much almost there!

See, when I was a teen, I was blessed with very good skin. I was (am) pale as heck and couldn't (still can't) get a tan to save my life, but my skin was clear 99% of the time. Which, naturally, I took for granted at my young age. I never wore a ton of makeup because I just didn't have to. And then I reached my 20's and went on birth control. Cue breakouts. Constant, terrible breakouts for the past 4 years or so.

No matter what I've tried - different birth control, an array of face cleansing products, cutting back on alcohol (hey, I love my wine) - nothing helped. My skin would get slightly better for a few days each month (take a guess when), but it's been consistently.. not nice. While I hate it in general, I specifically hate it because of the upcoming wedding. Makeup can only do so much. HD cameras do more.

Foxy has mentioned Proactive a couple times - he used to use it when he was in college, but said that after some time it stopped working for him, which made me nervous. Plus, I hate their commercials, with their gorgeous celebrities with "skin problems". Maybe they really do (did) have skin problems, but they also have makeup artists and photoshop and airbrushing at their disposal. Either way, I found myself irrationally skeptical. Intrigued, but still skeptical.

So when I found myself at Sephora a few weeks before Christmas, I noticed the small Clinique Acne Solutions kit. You know, the one Miss Doe talked about a while back?

Image via Acne.org

I showed it to my shopping partner, brideslady G, who promptly said "Merry Christmas!" and bought for me. Thus is the story behind the best Christmas present ever.


I started using it that very night, and now, about 3 weeks later, my skin is honestly *glowing* (knock on wood). It hasn't been this clear and I haven't had pores this small in years. I'm kind of in utter shock. It is, without a doubt, fantastic.

The kit recommends doing all three steps twice a day, but I found that this tends to dry up my skin rather quickly. Also, I'm super lazy and hate washing my face with the cleanser at night before bed, so I created my own little regimen that happens to still work quite nicely:

Morning: I do all three steps (wash, toner, lotion) - easy peasy since I shower in the morning and can just do the face wash in the shower!

Evening: First I clean my face with Neutrogena Makeup Remover Wipes.

Image via Daily Glow

Then I proceed with the Clinique toner and lotion as usual. Occasionally I'll also use Neutrogena Oil Free Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin on my drier spots, or will use it instead of the Clinique lotion.

Image via Drugstore.com

This little regimen has worked out wonderfully so far. I've gone from using 5 different types of concealer on my face to just a light coat of sheer powder to reduce shine.. really! (Well, not counting what I use to cover my under eye circles - that's a different story entirely.)

Proudly sporting very minimal makeup on a recent night out with brideslady G!

Ooooh. Aaaaah.

At this rate, my skin should hopefully be soft, clear, and radiant for the big day. Granted I didn't just jinx myself ten times over.

How far out did you start any of your beauty regimens? Any other good skin tips?