#like i dont understand anything at all except for basic stuff. but anything for ray and alec. ray my science loving nerd of an oc

[aria0fgold]

Maybe I should start micro-dosing on science and math stuff to get used to it and also to get rid of my fear of seeing anything science and math.

[fieldbears]

It seems like you know a lot about skin care. I'm 28 now and honestly dont really bother with it (except to take off make up and using sunscreen). I'm 28 now and feel like my skin's fine but wonder if there's stuff it actually needs. With skincare being such a huge industry it's hard to understand what ingredients skin actually needs bc I feel companies (& influencers) try to sell you a lot of shit you don't need and maybe even makes your skin worse. Any tips where to start? Thank u

Hey friend! I love helping newbies. I absolutely do have tips. And a two-product two-step regimen. You can get it for under $40 and it should last you 6 months or more.

First off, there is ABSOLUTELY a ton of shit you don’t need. That is a good instinct. You can always pay more for a product and you can always add more steps to your routine, but that doesn’t mean that you’re actually getting more out of it. The first thing you should ask yourself is, what do you want out of your skincare?

SUNSCREEN: For someone who isn’t sure what they want or what they should do, my first question is how much time you spend in the sun. The one thing you can do to really permanently damage your skin is to spend a lot of time in the sun without any sunscreen. Basically: blah blah rays of sun blah blah destroys the collagen, aka squishy bouncy bonds between cells, blah blah, destroyed collagen means the skin sags more, meaning wrinkles.

(It is also, I hope I don’t need to say, dangerous for Cancer Reasons to get a ton of non-screened sun exposure. But I’m assuming that’s a given here.)

Like I said in the last post, southeast Asian sunscreen options are a huge improvement on what you find on the shelves here in the States because they have more stringent laws on what chemicals are okay to put in a product. But if you stick with what you can grab at CVS, that’s fine too - just make sure you google the brand and type and make sure the SPF is for real. (Some products marketed at, say, SPF 45 are actually proven to only be SPF 15. It’s like the olive oil bullshit all over again!)

There are also a lot of moisturizers available with SPF protection in them.

WHICH LEADS ME TO MY AMAZING TWO-STEP SYSTEMMMMM...

CLEANSE AND MOISTURIZE: There are seven-step processes out there, but what you really need to start with, and will get a ton out of if you aren’t doing anything right now, is cleansing and moisturizing.

The science explanation for doing this: blah blah your skin generates oils from your pores in order to create a protective barrier between your flesh and the elements, but said oils can get gunky once they’ve accumulated all the particulates from the air, and there can even be backups and miscommunications and over-oilage if you have dead skin cells sitting on top of your new skin, or stuff gets all the way into your pores, blocking the system, causing breakouts. So skincare is about removing everything on top of your skin, maybe adding fancy stuff in the middle, but absolutely creating a new barrier for your skin at the end, to replace the one you took off. I liken it to varnish on a painting - it’s meant to sit on top, collect all the dust, and get removed and replaced over time. But don’t just wash your face every 20-80 years. The metaphor only goes so far. Anyway.

Here is how to get into my absolutely bare minimum regimen:

PICK A CLEANSER: If you wear/remove makeup a lot, and/or have a very oily complexion, pick an oil-based cleanser. Oil-based means it’s good at removing makeuppy things  and your natural oil. Otherwise, pick a water-based cleanser. CeraVe cleansers are available at Walgreens and they are affordable. It is available, affordable, clinically gentle on various skin types, and by god, it does indeed wash all the shit off your face.I have tried a lot of expensive water-based cleansers and I still come back to this one. That $16 pump bottle will last you a long time, too.

PICK A MOISTURIZER:  I’m back on my CeraVe shit here because if you’re overwhelmed and don’t know what to pick, I’m gonna push you to the easy-to-pay-for, easy-to-find product that won’t make you break out. And it’s got SPF! If you want to get fancier, check out some options here. I currently use Laneige moisturizers, which are at Sephora and... other places. Idk. (And to repeat my last post: if you can’t stand having things sitting on your skin, even a moisturizer that will absorb over a minute or so, Laneige Cream Skin Toner & Moisturizer essentially feels like water.)

SHOWER STEP: You have both your products. Now. Put your cleanser in your shower. When you shower, use it to wash your face. In the shower, you can splash and splash to your heart’s content. Get your neck, your cleavage, any extra places you feel have an oiliness problem. But remember them for later, because you want to moisturize all spots you cleansed. (Also, if you’ve been using soap or anything else to wash your face up until now... stop that. Cleanser is much better.)

AFTER SHOWER STEP: Dry off and pat on that moisturizer. Make sure you apply it with clean hands. Rub it in gently and make sure all cleansed areas are now moisturized.

That’s it.

No, really, that’s my advice for beginners. Two products, one done in the shower. You have to do them in order. That’s it.

If you have the spoons to do this routine twice a day, around when you get up and right before bed, you’ll get even better results. But if you’re just starting out and get anxious about new routines, don’t sweat it. Your face’s cells turn over every 30 days or so, so if you keep this up every day for about two weeks, you’ll start seeing improvements by then.

Bonus newb tips:

About once a week, use a COMPLETELY CLEAN terrycloth washcloth to apply your cleanser. Get your (gentle) scrub on. Mechanical exfoliation basically means you’re using a brush, a cloth, something physical to remove everything from your face, including things like dead skin, which gentle cleansing may not have gotten. Doing it too often isn’t helpful, as you can only build up so much stuff to remove over time, and scrubbing too hard or too frequently can lead to frightening your skin, causing redness. So once a week is likely plenty. If you like the battery-operated brushes, go for it, but they cost way more than the clean washcloth.

You will see options for chemical exfoliation too. If you identify as a newb, I don’t recommend this. Chemical exfoliations aren’t bad per se, but are one of the few skincare things that can be done wrong, and in a way that can really upset your skin. Washcloth!

Are you replacing your pillowcases on a regular basis? I try to do once a week but I probably end up with closer to two weeks. Nobody’s perfect. But remembering to do this is a very easy way to help your skin out.

If you get your cleanse-and-moisturize routine down pat, 2x a day, and you want the next step, look into toners. They help your skin absorb the moisturizer more efficiently... science reasons. The toner goes on before the moisturizer, but again, your skin should be dry before you start.

There are ampoules, essences, treatments, and other fancy names for... very specific shit. Basically, if you have a specific problem, especially in a specific area of your face, chances are there is a specific tiny expensive bottle you can integrate into the middle of your routine to help with that. But there is a lot of snake oil out there and I don’t want anybody buying these solutions if they aren’t already managing the daily wash-and-protect, because you’d be surprised how many things that can fix.

If you have problems with breakouts or other bad reactions to some skin products, do your best to only introduce one new product at a time. That way if you start having a reaction, you don’t have to guess what caused it.

No matter what is or isn’t going on with your skin, your worth is not affected one iota. Whether I have three pimples and incredible redness around my cheekbone and nose area, making me look like a character mug of a drunken sailor, or whether or my skin is the cool, poreless ivory of Grecian marble, I am still the exact same perfect bitch. And so are you.

[cometcrystal]

I feel bad for repeating that other anon, but if you could do the exact same in-depth detail for monster high, that would be "clawsome". Also, no pressure, but if you have free time, I'm sure literally everyone in the monster high fandom would love it

don’t feel bad, i love infodumping about my special interests!! if i can help more people get into them then i feel accomplished

monster high was created by garrett sander, and introduced in 2010! it’s probably pretty obvious but all the characters are the children of different iconic/legendary monsters, and they all go to high school together and have slice of life adventures. and there’s lots and lots and lots of terrible monster puns so if you dont like puns then just give up now

these are the main 6 characters + a few more core people and some backstory if they have any! (bc some of them do not have backstory but thats ok it just means more headcanoning)

frankie stein - frankenstein’s daughter, and also the MAIN main character, and usually one of the two faces that people think of when they think “monster high”. she is probably one of the sweetest characters in the entire show and has relentless optimism, and would die (and has died) for her friends before. she had only been alive for 15 days before MH canon started, and thus hasn’t been exposed to many things yet, so she loves trying new things. she’s adorable and i cannot believe some people don’t like her/call her boring, because she is a ray of sunshine

draculaura - dracula’s daughter, and is the OTHER face ppl think of. she wears almost exclusively the colors pink and black (with some exceptions for blue or yellow sometimes). she’s very peppy and uses a lot of words like “totes!” in speech. she’s 1600 years old and her biological parents are both dead now, she was adopted + turned to a vampire by dracula himself because he was in love with her mother. she is the main character in the reboot instead of frankie

clawdeen wolf - a werewolf and the resident fashionista (well, they all kind of are but she’s the one that wants to go into the fashion industry). she’s got SEVERAL siblings, and we only saw 3 of them in the preboot but we know there are many more; growing up with them has made her develop an attitude. but she’s SUPER loyal and would do anything for the people she loves. she’s ride or die and i love her

lagoona blue - a sea monster, BEYOND chill and friendly, seriously she is the kind of person to make you feel like you’ve been friends with her for years even if you’ve only known her a couple days. she’s on the swim team and she got way way too many bad plots with her boyfriend gil later on in the series so i feel like she didn’t get as well-rounded as the other mains, but i still love her to bits

cleo de nile - a mummy and also the HBIC of monster high. she’s the fearleading captain and she takes a little bit to warm up to, but once you get on her good side she is a wonderful friend. and it doesn’t take much to get on her good side, just be a decent person to her. she’s been through a LOT like her dad is straight-up abusive and manipulative, and her sister terrorizes her and her friends, and she was separated from her loving mother for most of her life so honestly i cannot blame her for being a rude person. she’s my favorite i love her so much

ghoulia yelps - a zombie and the brains of the group (ha ha), she is literally a superhero or something i think because she can do anything, she literally hacked the mh version of youtube a few times. she doesn’t speak english, only zombie (which sounds like a series of groans), her favorite thing in the world is the comic series called Dead Fast, and the whole fandom loves her and for good reason. she doesn’t get enough screentime OR dolls, and she hasn’t shown up in the reboot media yet. she deserves so much

deuce gorgon - medusa’s son, and one of the most popular dudes at school, cause he’s super friendly and nice. he’s quiet sometimes but when he does talk his sentences usually have the word “dude” in them. he sees good in everyone, and he was dating cleo before canon began and she had developed as a character/became less mean, so to me that shows how genuine both of them are with their feelings. i love him too but people often write him wrong, they write him as all stoic/annoyed by everything but he’s honestly a dork and probably the most genuinely nice boy in the series

abbey bominable - a yeti who has trouble understanding non-yeti societal norms. she can come across as cold (ha ha) but she doesn’t mean to, she’s just not good at emoting or communicating, and speaks very literally. the others understand this after getting to know her and accept her and love her just as she is, which is part of why i love monster high so much. she is also very strong and can lift a car. i thought that was worth mentioning

heath burns - a fire elemental and very, very impulsive and reckless. he gets himself injured a lot; the hospital even has a seat in the waiting room with his name on it. he’s also super flirty and speaks without thinking, but honestly? he means well. i love him and also at one point he wore a skirt/heels and OWNED it and nobody laughed at him

there are several more characters that i could write more paragraphs on, but this is getting long enough as it is so if you wanna know more about more characters shoot me another ask and i’ll be glad to tell you!

this IS a merch-driven franchise, but that isn’t a bad thing! the dolls themselves are SO cute. just look them up (i dont wanna include images in this long post) but they’re so cute oh my god. there’s nearly 700 of them now i think? and you can use this website to help you get started on your collection/help you keep track of it! i honestly use it like…every single day https://mh-merch.com/

as for the media itself, i have already written a big thing about it and how to go about watching it in [this post], but i will now talk about my favorite movies in chronological order in case you want recommendations. these wont be in-depth analysises

new ghoul at school - this 20min special gets a lot of flack but honestly? the plot itself is so so good. it avoids the typical “protag girl steals jock bf from mean girl” cliche and turns it on its HEAD. REVOLUTIONARY. this special is on youtube but not netflix i dont think!

scaris: city of frights - i think part of why i like this one is that most of the core characters are present for it, and it’s centered around clawdeen and she is SO good in this movie

13 wishes - everyone pretty much agrees this is the best mh movie period. it also has a lot of core people, the plot itself is SO beyond clever and unique, and i can’t think of anything bad about it?? this is what i always recc to people for their 1st mh movie

boo york, boo york - ok listen this movie is OBJECTIVELY a mess because there are 2 entire singing voices and the pacing is weird but i love it anyway it holds a very special place in my heart. also i think this is the preboot movie with the best animation, it’s gorgeous and please watch it and embrace its campiness and jam to pharaoh’s (w)rapping

the reboot does merit mentioning; it started in 2016 and began with the movie welcome to monster high, and the two movies out for it so far are honestly fun but they are nothing like the pre-reboot. you have to watch the reboot with the mindset that it is an alternate timeline to the preboot universe, instead of having it completely erase the preboot! they exist in side-by-side universes in my head

in the reboot, instead of monster high being an already-established school/having monsters live in big communities and towns, monsters are in hiding because the humans are scared of them. draculaura and dracula lived in their mansion for several years to hide, but through a series of events which i will not summarize here bc its a lot, they build monster high in their mansion, and get other monsters there to be students!

but that’s all the basic stuff i can think to mention right now, there is SO much more to talk about since there are 70+ characters and SEVERAL plots and also my numerous headcanons. if you have any more questions about anything, don’t be afraid to ask me!! i love talking about monster high so much