What is happiness to you?
Everyone has their own definition of “happiness”, and I think there’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ definition.
Happiness is happiness, as long as you feel it, even if everyone else doesn’t find happiness the same way you do, it’s still there. The feelings which make you smile, laugh or even cry out of sheer happiness.
In my life, I’ve found happiness in so many ways. Chatting and sharing a laugh with my best friends, reading an amazing story with intriguing storyline and great characters, writing a story of my own and being appreciated of it, meeting new people and visiting new places, trying new products (especially make up and skin care, teehee), and many more. I can even feel happy just from doodling silly characters on my note books (believe me, there’s none book of mine which isn’t spoiled by my doodles, from elementary school till I was graduated from college till I work as a teacher, the back side of my books always have some crappy doodles on it). I really treasure those moments and I love to go on ‘nostalgia’ mode, in which I look at my old photographs, old books, or old things. I even don’t delete the texts or chatt in my phone just so that I can scroll back to the old conversations I had with my friends on messenger applications. I only delete them if I really have to (cough-not enough memory-cough).
Maybe in Bahasa Indonesia you can say that I’m a “gagal move on” kind of person, lol
I believe that happiness is a key to our inner AND outer beauty.
Maybe you’ve read in so many articles that stress causes our skin to lose its radiance. When we are stressed out, our body produces cortisol, making our skin look dull and not-so-nice-to-look-at. You could wear full make up to hide it, but it would just cover the dullness temporary, and the moment you remove all of those make ups, all you’ll see is a troubled skin and a frown between your brows. Not a lovely sight, right? So today I’ll share with you my ‘beauty secret’ :) (except it’s not actually a secret since everyone already knows it, but calling it a ‘secret’ makes it sound more interesting and mysterious right? Hahaha)
I just realized when I looked at my old photo that my skin condition was better back then than now. It looked smooth, radiant, and quite flawless in my opinion. No pimples, no acne scars, no (or maybe just a little) dark circles. I can say that I was satisfied and proud of my own skin, and wouldn’t be daunted to walk out of my house in my bare skin (of course with a help of tinted lip balm to give some color to my face haha). I’m sorry I can’t put the picture here since in those photos I didn’t wear hijab. I just have this pic when I wore hijab and I admit I put on make up there (obviously!), but under the layers of make up, I got that “smooth” skin I talked about (sorry for sounding ‘narcissist’ :p ).
So what’s my secret?
The answer is ... *drum rolls*
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A happy life.
Okay, please don’t throw things at me yet. OF COURSE I do some skin care regime, and I will talk about it later, but first thing first, a happy life contributes to happy skin. And happy skin is amazing, you know. Moreover, you can choose to be happy rather than waiting for happiness to come knocking at your door. Based on my experience, these steps help me minimize my stress level and thus making me feel happier.
1. Make use of your creativity. Because you know deep down that everyone is creative and can be creative if they want. You don’t have to create something so amazing at first (though it’s wonderful if you do!). Just look at the things around you and think what you can do with them. Or look at the things inside you and try to make something out of it. Feeling sad and frustrated because of bad things? Pour it out in a self-journal. Write a story, poem, or a song based on what you feel. It doesn’t matter if it turns out to be embarrassing. The most important thing is you create something. And believe me you’ll laugh it out later, when you already feel better. I do this a lot anyway. If I feel like I want to be even more creative with my hands, I create something like this.
Or this.
Yeah, I use my creativity to either write a self journal or story, making a DIY wall decoration, or bake some cookies. Are the results always good? Not really. But I’m satisfied that I use my energy to create something rather than wallowing in sadness in the corner of my bed.
Don’t be afraid to use your creativity to make something too!
2. Go meet your (best) friends. There’s nothing better than laughing on your own silly jokes that only you and your best friends can understand. Ima (my bff) and I have a lot of our own inside jokes which can make us laugh out loud when other people wonder what’s so funny about it.
Planning a pajama party is nice too. You can share your dirty secrets or your worries to your best friend. Having someone who is willing to listen to your stories without judging you is really nice.
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3. Be grateful of what you have. This seems simple, but in reality it’s really so hard to do with all of those medias and social medias feeding us of people with better life, better wealth, better face, better achievement than us. It feels like our own life isn’t good enough. But in fact, our life which we despise may actually be the life that other people dream of. Just think about it. How many people in this world should live in poverty and/or anxiety in almost their entire life?
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We can still eat decent foods, have a house as our shelter, have a family, do our hobbies, and so on. We can see with our eyes, hear with our ears, talk with our mouth, walk with our feet. We really can’t count how many good things that God has given to us. So, focus on the good things, and don’t hate your own life just because you think others have a better one. Everyone has their own problem, maybe they just don’t show it and instead trying to fix it.
Close your eyes and be grateful for everything that you have up until now. :)
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Done? Okay. That was my take on the ‘spiritual’ side. Now let’s move on to the skin care regime I’ve done to maintain the beauty of my skin.
1. Always hydrate your skin. Don’t let it be dehydrated because it’s a nightmare for both oily and dry skin type. Always use a moisturizer before you put on any make up, and make sure your moisturizer suits your skin type. People with oily skin are better with gel or water based moisturizer, while those with dry skin are better with cream and oil based moisturizer. Check out the ingredients too to know what works best for you and what doesn’t.
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2. Drink plenty of water every day. I know you’ve read it everywhere and maybe you’re bored of it already, but this point popping out in any skin care posts just prove how essential water is to our body and our skin. Water helps us flush out the toxin in our body and smoothen our blood circulation. It also helps our skin to be hydrated. Just don’t overdo it if you don’t want to experience inconvenient urge to go to toilet every five minutes or bloating stomach. A glass of water every few hours is enough.
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3. Scrub your face to remove dead skin cells once a week. There’re many scrubbing products out there but I’ve tried a DIY tomato + sugar scrub, and it’s actually quite good, plus it’s cheap and the things you need should be ready in your kitchen. Just don’t scrub too hard so your skin won’t be scratched or hurt. Be gentle with your skin :)
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4. Putting on a night cream does a wonder job for me. My skin feels smooth, bouncy, and a lil brighter in the morning, though it usually looks a bit oily on T-area. It’s not a problem for me though. After I wash my face with facial foam, the shine is gone, and my skin won’t feel as dry as when I don’t use night cream. Caution: always use safe night cream from reputable brands, don’t ever use dangerous or ‘abal-abal’ night cream that promises a flawless skin in a week. You can thank me later!
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5. Always prepare an acne treatment product in your skin care stash. You don’t know when a pimple will suddenly sprout on your face. In that case, treating it faster will make it go away quicker. Even better if you treat it before it becomes that red, throbbing acne. You don’t have time to run all the way to a supermarket, so just buying an acne treatment product and putting it in your reach when you need it is more efficient, even if currently you have an okay skin.
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I think that’s all I can share to you. I like to keep my skin care regime simple. Even with this simple regime, as long as you don’t let yourself be stressed out too much, it will do.
Remember that beauty comes not only from a bunch of skin care products, but it also comes from the inside—a positive mind that’s filled with happy thoughts. (I kinda feel like my skin conditions isn’t in its greatest after I work as a teacher but better be stressed from a job rather than be stressed of being jobless lol)
Phew, it’s quite a long post right? And it’s my first time using full English in my post, I hope you don’t find too much mistakes here, and if you do, please pardon me. It’s midnight when I’m writing this and I’m quite sleepy so ... yeah. Lol
I hope to see you on my future posts! See ya! Don’t forget to follow my blog too by clicking "Join this site" on my side bar, ok? ;)
