fighting off a summer cold

i caught something over the weekend and i'm still recovering.  i have a lingering cough which necessitates nyquil. which makes me sleepy.  so i'm fighting off sleep at this. very. moment.

in other news (as i try to keep my eyes open), i have started running again.  you don't realize how out of shape you are until you attempt something that you've always been good at.  for me, that was running the mile out on the track.  in the past, it was never a problem.  i always pulled it off without breaks in decent time.  but today, wow.  i took so many breaks and my heart was working extra hard.  i took an extra 5 minutes or so than i had in the past.  it made me a bit depressed.  oh well, gotta suck it up and try to do better.  i'll attempt it again on friday and hopefully this cold will be completely gone by then.

onto more girly topics...my skin has gotten back to normal.  i experienced a week of extremely dry patches on my face.  i had to go buy softener (something I had never used) in hopes of helping out my thirsty/dehydrated skin.  but it's better now. i don't think it's the softener itself.  more so my skin recovering.  i think it might have been the sekkisei sun protector because i experienced it right after i started using that. hopefully there won't be any other problems.

i spent more money i didn't have tuesday.  after buying the softener over the weekend, i bought myself a cute summer tod baker bag from nordstroms.  it was so cute and it looked even better as a crossbody.  i couldn't resist. i contemplated returning it but decided i might as well keep it.  i would have spent the money somewhere else anyway? yes, this is me justifying my shopaholic problem. 

i really would like to purchase a decent blush sometime soon.  but i've without the cash.  :(

i'm thinking of either nars orgasm, bobby brown multi shade tint, or a shiseido face color.  i guess i'll hold off on it until there is some major discount available.  which could be never? :(

update?

so after much searching, i found the new kose sekkisei sun protector online and bought. it came a few days ago and it feels almost exactly like the shiseido sunblock that i've been using!  i hope it doesn't break me out and actually works at preventing hyperpigmentation.

cosmetics and skincare combine to make a multi-billion dollar industry that suck young girls and women into finding ways to look "beautiful", a term everyone understands is subjective. despite this, we grow up trying to live up to some version of it.  hopefully, it manages to make us FEEL beautiful.

iope sunblock white spf47

I have been searching for a powerful sunblock with whitening power to prevent pigmentation (freckles and sun spots) for a while now.  My sister recently bought the Laneige Star White Multi-protector and it has what I want in it...BUT it's so darn sticky on the skin.

I've gotten so used to Shiseido's super liquidy sunblock that I cannot stand the sticky residue the Laneige sunblock leaves behind.  One of my coworkers says she uses the Iope Sunblock white and she really likes it.  I tried it on in the store on my arm and it does feel LESS sticky than the laneige sunblock. However, it is still a cream.  I have yet to find a different whitening sunblock that is affordable.  The Iope one is around $35 for only 2 fl.oz. so that's already gosh darn expensive for a sunblock.  I heard the Dior Snow sunblock is good but it's around $50 (more than I'm willing to spend).

I've been searching online for reviews of the Iope sunblock but alas, to no avail!  Has anyone tried this sunblock besides my coworker??? Is it even suitable for younger skin? *SIGH*  I wish they gave out samples so I could try it on my face for a few days.  This really stinks.