Greetings! It’s the short, tan, eczema-prone Hong sister here (thanks to Jane for that glowing introduction!). Nothing like sisterly love to keep it real.
In all earnestness, we are ecstatic to be writing again and taking you on our respective skincare journeys as we attempt to do the proverbial “graceful” maturing thing. And you, lucky reader, get two perspectives from two very different skin types.
While Jane’s full-time job concerns skincare and skin health, my day job has nothing to do with beauty, but I love studying ingredients and learning about what new developments are in the market, whether it’s topical or physical (e.g., face yoga, gua sha).
For those who were on our incipient blogging journey from 2009 to 2013 (I see you OG Dos Coquetas followers!!!), you’ll recall that we talked mostly about clothes. We still love clothes, so I’m sure the topic will wiggle its way into many posts, but this is more meant to be a therapeutic outlet to discuss beauty trends, skincare, and our lives.
We decided to name the blog “Surface” because obviously skin is on the surface, but in French, the preposition “sûr” means “on.” So in kind of a fun Anglo-Franco hybrid, “sur / face” translates to “on the face.” The Francophile roots still run deep here!
Ok, so I think that’s enough of an intro now. The good stuff comes next…what we’re trying, what we’re learning. Also, goes without saying, skincare is like diet – what works for one may not work for another. My Instagram feed says paleo is where it’s at, and others would say it’s a cholesterol bomb in the making. We’re not derms, and we definitely don’t purport to know it all…in fact, if we did, I don’t think we’d be writing this blog. So as Gene Wilder says in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory: “Hold your breath / Make a wish / Count to Three / Come with me / And you’ll be / In a world of [beauty and] imagination.”
Let’s begin.