Bitesize #19
Hormonal breakouts, seasonal confusion and a happy f*cking Friday
Happy Friday!
Are you happy? I wouldn’t exactly say I am. The day started in a stressful manner due to a frustrating discussion with my partner that was nonetheless very needed. We’re both okay now and hugged it out before he left for work but, you know, not the most fun start to the weekend. I’m tired. I’m feeling a sense of stress about the weeks to come when I will be doing my internship for school. I have an essay due on Tuesday that I really need to get going with. And I need to do some grocery shopping.
What’s up with you?
I recently went back to hormonal birth control after being off it for a while and man has it taken my skin on a roller coaster ride. My skin feels dry when I wake up, oily during the day, my pores have expanded to what feels like an unreal size and painful un-poppable pimples are showing up literally left and right. I’m doing my best not to freak out and go crazy on the exfoliation but this is probably one of my number one things to take a blow at my self-confidence. After dealing with acne as a teenager and *young adult* I’m immediately thrown back to a sense of wanting to shrink back into a wall, wondering if everyone is thinking about my huge chin-pimple.
To combat this I’m trying to wear less makeup, cleanse thoroughly, hydrate properly and take magnesium at night – which all feels like it isn’t helping quickly enough. Definitely not the end of the world but if you’ve ever struggled with skin issues I’m sure you can relate.
Continuing on this negativity spiral I’m feeling a little lost when it comes to fall fashion. I don’t know what it is but I think it started somewhere around the time the weather started changing. Suddenly I was wearing summer outfits (think sarong + blouse + flip-flop) with some strange fall jacket. Okay, maybe that sounds like a good Leandra-mix but trust me when I say it all just felt our of place and random. Another noteworthy aspect is that when I swapped my mini summer capsule for my mini fall capsule (an idea from the one and only Anna Newton of
) I felt… underwhelmed. It’s more or less all the same colours and fabrics, as well as very similar silhouettes. What I could do is start pulling out my most extravagant pieces and mix-n-match to my heart’s desire. But I’m not interested in that either, because that feels like confusion and insecurity.
Instead I’m trying to reaaally think about what I could add to make everything feel exciting and creative again. In a weak moment I went on the Zara website (don’t come at me, I’m fragile at the moment) and found amongst other things a good-looking red cardigan in wool, a striped lilac shirt and a green army-style shirt with a drawstring in the waist. They would all go really well with the brown/beige theme I seem to have going on. I have yet to actually buy anything since I want to make “smart” purchases that will last me a long time, but it did spark something. If you have any other tips on not fast fashion great pieces to add that are student-budget friendly then please share!
Something I always look forward to is when
drops a new short story. I might be repeating myself in sharing this but honestly it’s good enough to share twice in that case. If you haven’t yet read her bizarre and insanely funny stories then you’re in for a treat. Oh and if you were ever wondering, this is my favourite type of humor.I highly recommend starting with Primitive Survival Skills.
Connecting back to the top of this post where I shared how I’m currently in a physical altercation with my skin, I posted a rather vulnerable question in
’s chat (because she’s been kind enough to share a lot about her skin routine et cetera, so I thought there would be like-minded people there). I wrote:“I'm 29, I'm starting to look tired, I have occasional hormonal breakouts but I'm not particularly unhappy with my face... What should I or shouldn't I be doing? Which treatments really work/set me up for success for the future? What should I avoid? I already know about sunscreen, I want the insider info!! :)”
Spoiler: no one gave me the inside info. Yes, people were so kind and shared all sorts of tips – mostly vitamin C, retinol and sunscreen – but I want the *inside info*. Like, are we still doing fillers? Is botox the way to go? What’s the go-to microneedling/laser treatment we’re secretly doing? Do we smear our faces with blood like Kim K back in the day? You know what to do aka drop a comment with your secrets ladies. No more gate-keeping!
Doo I have any fellow interior design-freaks up in here? Just in case, I’ll throw in what I’m currently feeling inspired by since my usual place (the wardrobe) isn’t delivering. Fo the past year I’ve been obsessed with a more rustic, homey, handmade, artisanal, light and Scandinavian feel. Well, I’ve probably always leaned Scandi in my home decor but I’m taking it to the next level with pine furniture, hanging tapestries, linens and Swedish Modern. Can’t get enough of it, especially combined with a sort of Laura Ashely 80s vibe, like plexiglass, iron sconces, floral fabrics and sharp corners on furniture. Does that make sense?
Okay – time to get cracking on this essay about writing development in children ages 6–9. Sounds like a blast, right? But it’s Friday, the sun is shining and writing this put me in a bette mood. Thank you for being here, I truly appreciate each and every single one of you!
Until next time,
Julia
Hi Julia, I feel your pain on the hormonal breakouts. :( I experienced shocking cystic pimples when I went off the pill to try to conceive and it was so demoralising. I work in a very professional, public-facing job too so I was mortified going into work everyday trying to look serious in my suit while I had pre-pubescent pustules erupting on my face. So, what did I do? Vanity got the better of me and I took desperate measures and resorted to a mild antibiotic until my hormones settled down (about a year later). Of course, back then, people weren't banging on about gut health and how terrible antibiotics are for our microbiome etc. So who knows if I gave myself IBS or what. BUT, frankly, I don't care. It's vain to say, but it's true. Anyway, nowadays, my skin is the best it's been even though I'm in my early 40s. I put that down to good genes mostly (a mix of Indian/European) so I don't really wrinkle (pigmentation is more my issue), but also just very basic skincare: Vit C (CE Ferulic by Skinceuticals is the best I've tried) and sunscreen everyday. Retinol a few nights a week. Strangely, my moisturiser is the cheapest thing I use. It's crazy, I've bought everything from Augustinus Bader to Chanel and I now find that cheap Cerave stuff from the chemist is the best! It creates this barrier that stays put for ages. Oh, and I always cleanse every night (gentle miscellar, nothing drying), but not in the morning. I find doing it twice a day is too stripping of the skin's natural oils. Water is enough. I never exfoliate or do masks. Less is more. And who has the time anyway? Lifestyle helps too: I've never smoked or drank (no particular reason, just never acquired the taste). And I eat pretty well. Lots of fats really helps my skin I find - even when you're breaking out because fats are essential for hormone health. I don't do any fillers etc as it's exxy and I want to look "good for my age" like Sofia Coppola, not "40 pretending to be 25 (but really just looks plain weird)". Good luck and keep us posted!! :)
Here’s my magic secret—Spirolactone! Get a script from your doctor, it’s seriously a game changer for hormonal acne.