Bitter, It Goes Down My Throat

In 1963, the Moscow-Washington hotline was installed to let the two countries talk quickly without the usual delay of diplomatic channels. To test the line, the first message sent was “THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPED OVER THE LAZY DOG’S BACK 1234567890.” It quite confused the English translators in Moscow!

I’m going to give you the best piece of Adult Life Is Hard advice I’ve ever learned:

Talk to people when things go to shit.

I don’t just mean get it off your chest, although that’s good. I mean: Something’s wrong with your paycheck/you lost your job/you had unexpected emergency car repairs and now you’re broke so your credit card payment is late. Like, not just 15 days late. We’re talking, shit got crazy and now you’re 90 days late with compounded interest and late fees and the Minimum Payment Due is, like, $390, and you’ve got about $3.90 in your bank account. Call the credit card company. 

I know it’s scary. I know you feel like you’re going to get in trouble, like you’re gong to get yelled at or scolded for not having your life together. But the credit card company isn’t your parents; they’re just interested in getting money from you. And you can’t squeeze blood from a stone or money from someone who doesn’t have any. So what you do is you call them. You explain you’re experiencing temporary financial hardships, and you’re currently unable to bring your account up to date, but you don’t want to just let it get worse. Can you maybe talk to someone about a payment plan so you can work something out? Nine times out of ten you’ll be able to negotiate something so that at least it’s not just taking a constant, giant shit on your credit score.

- Can’t pay your power bill? Call the power company.

- Can’t pay your full rent? Talk to your landlord.

- Had to go to the hospital without insurance and have giant medical bills looming in your place? Call the hospital and ask if they have someone who helps people with financial hardships. Many do.

- Got super sick and missed half a semester of class because flu/pneumonia/auto-immune problems/depressive episode? Talk to your professor. If that doesn’t help, talk to your advisor.

You may not be able to fix everything, but you’ll likely be able to make improvements. At the very least, it’s possible that they have a list of people you can contact to help you with things. (Also, don’t be afraid to google things like, “I can’t pay my power bill [state you live in]” because you’d be surprised at what turns up on Google!) But the thing is, people in these positions gain nothing if you fail. There’s no emotional satisfaction for them if your attempts at having your life together completely bite the dust. In fact, they stand to benefit if things work out for you! And chances are, they’ll be completely happy to take $20 a month from you over getting $0 a month from you, your account will be considered current because you’ve talked to them and made an agreement, you won’t get reported to a collections agency, and your credit score won’t completely tank.

Here’s some helpful tips to keep in mind:

1. Be polite. Don’t demand things; request them. Let me tell you about how customer service people hold your life in their hands and how many extra miles they’ll go for someone who is nice to them.

2. Stick to the facts, and keep them minimal unless asked for them. Chances are they’re not really interested in the details. “We had several family emergencies in a row, and now I’m having trouble making the payments” is better than “Well, two months ago my husband wrecked his bike, and then he had a reaction to the muscle relaxer they gave him, and then our dog swallowed a shoestring and we had to take him to the emergency clinic, and just last week MY car broke down, and now my account’s in the negatives and I don’t know how I’m gonna get it back out.” The person you’re talking to is aware shit happens to everyone; they don’t need the details to prove you’re somehow “worthy” of being helped. They may ask you for details at a certain point if they have to fill out any kind of request form, but let them do that.

3. Ask questions. “Is there anything we can do about X?” “Would it be possible to move my payment date to Y day instead so it’s not coming out of the same paycheck as my rent?” The answer may be “no.” That’s not a failure on your part. But a good customer service person may have an alternate solution. 

Anyway! I hope that helps! Don’t just assume the answer is “no” before you’ve even begun. There is more help out there than you ever imagined.

Non-dysphoric trans people are more powerful than any tru//scum. Die mad.

THE BARE BASICS

1. CLEANSING

This step can literally make or break your routine tbh, if you get a cleanser that’s too drying, it will cause major damage to your skin. Your skin has a pH of 4.5-5.5 and most of the popular cleansers recommended on skincare threads you might see on say twitter etc such as Castile soap is actually too alkalic for your skin! It strips your skin of moisture and leaves it super dry. I know most of y'all love that squeaky clean feeling these kind of cleansers give your skin but that’s not necessarily the case. (side note: if you use makeup I’d highly recommend double cleansing where you remove your makeup with an oil based cleanser followed by washing your face with a water based cleanser)

Some good oil based cleansers ;

Neutrogena ultra light cleansing oil

Tatcha one step Camellia cleansing oil

Banila Co clean it zero

Heimish all clean balm

The Face Shop rice water bright rich cleansing oil

DHC deep cleansing oil

Low pH water based cleansers;

Cosrx low pH good morning gel cleanser

SebaMed clear face foaming cleanser

CeraVe foaming facial cleanser

Su:m37 miracle rose cleansing stick

Cleaning waters (optional, can be used to remove residue of dirt and debris after cleansing and also as a quick cleanse if you’re in a rush) ;

Bioderma hydrabio H2O micelle solution

Thayers witch hazel (alcohol free version )

Caudalie micellar cleansing water

Garnier skin micellar cleansing water

2. MOISTURIZING

Moisturizing is a crucial step in skincare (yes, even for oily skin!) to help keep your your skin youthful and it hold water in the outermost layer of your skin to act as a barrier. It protects your skin and helps improve texture. Studies have shown that people who moisturize their skin accumulate wrinkles at just a fraction of the rate of their dry skin counterparts.

Moisturizers for oily skin;

Keihl’s ultra facial oil free gel cream

The Ordinary moisturizing factors + HA (tbh good for combo/normal skin too)

Cosrx oil free ultra moisturizing lotion

La Roche-Posay tolerian ultra Soin de Nuit

Pure aloe vera gel

Moisturizers for dry skin;

Dr. Jart+ ceramidin cream

Belif the true cream-moisturizing bomb

Benton snail bee high content steam cream

Clinique moisture surge intense

Moisturizers for combination skin;

LA Roche-Posay Toleriane double repair moisturizer UV

Neutrogena naturals multivitamin nourishing moisturizer

Belif the true cream-moisturizing bomb

Paula’s Choice SKIN BALANCING invisible finish moisture gel moisturizer

3. SUNSCREEN

Do I really need to explain why this is super important? If you’re not wearing sunscreen, especially if you’re outdoors (side note: please reapply every two hours), you’re more prone to forming age spots, wrinkles, blemishes and we’ll ask hyperpigmentation meaning this can also cause any acne scarring etc you might have to get darker, making it harder to get rid of.

Sunscreen recs for oily skin;

Julep no excuses invisible sunscreen gel spf 40

Clinique super city block ultra protection spf 40

La Roche-Posay anthelion clear skin face sunscreen for oily skin spf 60

Etude House sunprise mild airy finish spf 50

Australian Gold Botanical spf 50 sunscreen

Sunscreen recs for dry skin;

Lakme Sun Expert with Spf 30

L'Oreal Age Perfect Facial Oil SPF 30

CeraVe Skin Renewing Day Cream spf 30

Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer With SPF 30

Sunscreens recs for combination skin;

Suntegrity 5-in-1 sunscreen spf 30

Perricone MD photo plasma moisturizer broad spectrum spf 30

Kate Somerville daily deflector moisturizer spf 50

THAT’S ALL FOR THIS POST! I’LL BE MAKING ANOTHER SEPARATE POST ON TOPICAL SUPPLEMENTS FOR INDIVIDUAL SKIN NEEDS. HOPE Y'ALL LEARN A THING OR TWO FROM THIS POST AND FEEL FREE TO SEND ME AN ASK IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ♡

(side note: as a POC myself, I am aware of the whitecast most sunscreens leave but I couldn’t reccomend many that don’t since I have yet to properly research good products in that category. I will do my homework on this and make a separate post on that for you guys)

you will succeed at every goal you’ve set for yourself, it just takes patience and consistency.

ɪᴄʜ ᴡᴇʀᴅᴇ ᴅᴀs ʜɪᴇʀ ᴀᴜsᴋᴏᴛᴇɴ.

🔪 🔪 🔪 - 🔪 🔪 - 🔪 🔪 🔪

Has it been a hot minute since you took a shit?

Did you binge recently and your tummy is looking for relief?

Are you considering fucking up your whole ass body with laxatives-seriously dont fucking take laxatives-because regularly suggested substitutes like coffee, fiber, and peppermint tea aren’t helping?

I offer you Bang Keto Coffee

By now you’ve probably heard of the bang energy drinks which are zero cal and come in a variety of flavors, I personally find them too sweet , but did you know they also have a small line of coffee energy drinks!

I don’t know what it is about these drinks but they send me to the bathroom sometimes multiple times a can Bonus they taste great and definitely supply energy shaking!!

I shit you not, you will shit!

Strawberry “Grandma” Candies

reminder !!

❤️ you are loved

💜 you are appreciated

💛 you are valid

💙 you are amazing

💓 you are wanted

💞 you are beautiful

💕 you are smart

💖 you deserve to be alive

💝 you deserve to eat

💘 you deserve to be loved

💗 people want you alive

Ana songs~

(Songs that help me cope or maybe trigger me to restrict?)

~ Weightless by Mia&Debbie

~ Gala Girl by Rory Webley

~ Skinny by Edith Backlund

~ Cherry Wine by Hozier

~ Breathe Me by Sia

~ No Time To Die by Billie Eilish

~ Midnight Run by ElysianSoul

~ Ribs by Lorde

~ Skinny Love by Bon Iver

~ Strawberry Shortcake by Melanie Martinez

~ Paper Bag by Fiona Apple

~ Run by Joji

~ Cause and Effect by Maria Mena

~ Starving For Attention by Geri Karlstrom

~ Live Happy, Live with Anorexia by Stage

~ My Bestfriend Ana by Daisy Phillips

~ Orange Juice by Melanie Martinez

~ Sugar and Ice by ElysianSoul

~ Please Eat by Nightcore

~ Just a Little bit by NibbyKinzz

~ Dear Friend by Stacie Orrico

~ Ugly by Nicole Dollanger

~ Rosyln by Bon Iver

~ Plastic Taste by Joji

~ She’s falling apart by Lisa Loeb

~ We need to eat by Kent

~ The Doctor Said by Chloe Adams

~ Habits by Maria Mena

~ The Smile Underneath by ElysianSoul

~ There’s a Ghost by Fleurie

Stay safe lovelies, and feel free to reblog and add more :)