The Case for Another Great Day

Well, friends, I'll say it: Today is my birthday. YAY! And to celebrate, I will not only go out tonight, but I will make this entire month my Birthday Month, so a celebration is in order.

This comes at the heels of another great day last weekend, when I went out snorkeling with my friends. It was fantastic - you should've seen all the wild dolphins and colorful reef fish - but like everyone else, I went home with a massive sunburn.

See, here's the thing: As much as I love the ocean (and, living in O`ahu, how could I not?) I hate, hate, HATE being in the sun, because I burn easily. It doesn't matter that I'm naturally dark; despite my Filipino-Chinese blood I have yet to develop a resistance to nasty sunburns after prolonged exposure - especially on my back and cleavage, two parts that often go covered for the rest of the week (and remain milky pale under clothes, as a result). And the worst part is that, as much as I love the natural bronzed glow on my cheeks, I also come out of the sun with major wrinkles, which in turn gives me major paranoia about whether or not I should go to the dermatologist for Botox and sandblasting. (See: Rosenzweig, Rachel Zoe.)

Now that I'm back on land, I'm currently alleviating the situation with an entire barrage of moisturizers and skin-calming ingredients. Curently I'm using my own combination of cocoa butter lotion with Banana Boat Sooth-a-Caine (aloe and lidocaine), which keeps the burnt parts of my body moisturized, and Aveeno Ultra Calming lotion on my face for the days when I can't be bothered with makeup. In the shower, I use Cetaphil to wash up so as not to get everything too irritated.

Last night I also got the chance to use my sample of Dove Regenerating Night Lotion, which has honey (though it smells more like a sweet floral than a piece of candy) and tiny chunks of shea butter. The lotion itself is so creamy going on that it's a surprise when the whole mixture does sink into the skin, and the scent is very calming. What a pleasant surprise!

And there's going to be more shopping-related stuff on Birthday Month as we go along... stay tuned!