it's like the eye of a duck

Mostly I'm doing well. D. got a fancy new bathroom scale that uses an electrical scan of some sort to check BMI and both it and my weight are within healthy bounds. I'm maintaining the buff wiriness that comes with frequent fencing, even if supplementing with weights has kinda fallen by the wayside.

So maybe I shouldn't complain, but while I was out and about yesterday I stopped in the local makeup shop and windowlicked the pretty lipsticks, blushes, etc. and I was reminded why I don't wear much makeup anymore: my skin is kinda trainwrecked :/

It's not the extent - I only have a few spots - its that they don't heal up quickly or well. The fencing mask rubs my chin and what zits I do have get irritated. My habit of scratching them when they itch doesn't help :(

No lipstick 'cos I tend to bite my lips when I concentrate. It's silly to put MAC on when it's just going to get gnawed off :P

I've tried moisturizer, glutamine, antibiotic cream and none of these make much difference. What I really need to do is keep my hands off my face.

Ideas for breaking bad habits welcome.

Pandagon's expansion on a post at Alley Rat about the sad state of men who so media-saturated that they can't find normal women attractive got me thinking about how much of human desire is our own, and how much is just overexposure to Photoshopped models. I know what constant visions of rail-thin women to do other women - makes us feel bad enough about how we look that we will shell out for the latest makeup/snake oil/gym membership to firm up/shave off/cover up where we think we're lacking or have too much. Even though I've seen models in person and know, definitely, that even they don't look like their photos, I have to admit it still sometimes gets to me that my skin isn't perfect or that my tummy isn't perfectly flat.

But I never considered the guy's perspective - there are some guys getting really bothered by the fact that they can't get turned on by normal sized/shaped women because all they've ever seen are models and actresses, and heavily Photoshopped ones at that. If the comments on these two posts are any indication, those who do fancy someone other than the advertising standards of young and thin are mocked by their male peers or considered fetishists for liking a woman of perfectly normal proportions.

I also have to wonder if this isn't affecting women too - after all, billboards aren't chock full of balding guys with beer guts. And much as Hugh Jackman's arms are a joy to behold, I DO know that there is an infinite variety of male beauty out there. At least, I hope I do.

IMHO this is a downright freakish state of affairs! I know that some of us have overcome Hollywood/Madison Avenue well enough to develop our own tastes; did we all stop watching tv? Personally I think it's helpful to see lots of ordinary people naked to get a more realistic idea of, well, reality, but somehow I don't think that most people will really go for nationally encouraged nudity :P

Yes, this is an incoherent rambling post, and the links above discuss the issues of media, body image, and selling stuff far better than I can here. Read & discuss amongst yourselves....