Jennifer Chiu
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I wasn't ready to see this photo of me 🫣

I wasn't ready to see this photo of me 🫣

My milky skin secrets, what I do once the kids are down, and a photo I almost hid

Jennifer Chiu
October 07, 2026

Hi beautiful, ☕️

Ever find an old photo of yourself and instantly cringe? 😬

This week, I was decluttering my iCloud…

And came across my very first YouTube profile pic from 2012… 👀

Just like that, I was back in that awkward feeling of not being enough.

But then I realized: we don't see our growth while we're living it.

So I'm finally learning to slow down and take care of me, my skin, my health, and actually invest in my life.

Here's what I'm spilling today:

🥛 5 things giving me calm, hydrated and milky looking skin
🌙 How I’m rewarding myself at night (it's not shopping)
📸 An old photo that made me cringe but taught me everything

In my milky skin era… 🥛

In my milky skin era…

Right now I'm all about milky skin.

Soft. Dewy. Glowing from the inside.

Here's what's getting me there:

The Korean glow combo 🥛
Ever finish your makeup and your skin still looks flat and tired? 🙋‍♀️ This milky rice toner floods thirsty skin with hydration and gives you that soft, lit from within look. Then I layer this PDRN bounce serum for plumpness you can actually see. I wake up looking rested even when I'm not, and I haven't skipped a night since.
Tip: Pat, don't rub. Let it sink in.

For the lines that stay ✨
Those little fine lines that used to fade by lunch? Now they stay all day. 😩 This firming longevity serum is made for fine lines and loss of firmness, so my skin looks smoother and more youthful. I seal it in with this plumping collagen peptide cream and wake up looking filled in, not crepey. If my sister asked where to start, it's this duo.
Tip: Serum first. Cream on top.

My mom knew first 👩‍👧
If your skin drinks up moisturizer and still feels tight, you might be missing the softener step. My mom used this plumping skin softener long before it was trendy. It hydrates and preps skin so everything after works harder. Then her favorite barrier strengthening serum goes on, and my skin looks plump and calm all day. Turns out mom was right. Again. 😅
Tip: Steal from your mom's shelf.

Waves that last 3 days 🌊
Spend 30 minutes on your hair and it's flat by noon? 🙄 This air styler gives me bouncy waves that last 3+ days without frying my hair. I mist this detangling heat spray on first, so brushing out is easy and my ends stay soft and protected. Day 3 and I'm still getting compliments. If you hate doing your hair, this is the one.
Tip: Spray before heat. Every time.

Glow under everything 💡
Want full coverage without that cakey mask look? This full coverage foundation stick covers redness and dark spots but still looks like real skin. The secret is this glow fluid underneath. It makes skin look lit from within right through your makeup. Even on no sleep days, people ask what I'm wearing.
Tip: Glow first. Coverage second.

Once the kids are down…

In a perfect world? I'd have the full setup going every night. 😆

Real life? Some days you set priorities first.

Here's what made the cut:

Before I ever see a bald spot 💡
Hair thinning runs in my family, and I don't want to see bald spots first and THEN do something about it. Prevention is everything. That's why this LED hair growth helmet is on my head so much lately. I've been using it a lot.
Tip: Start before you need it.

My new 10:30 bedtime 😴
When a good series is on, Jeff and I are up till 12:30am. (We were watching MobLand, which is insane, highly recommend.) Now we’ve watched it all, I'm in bed by 10:30pm with my muscle and mind magnesium drink. Honestly? I wake up so much more rested.
Tip: No good show on? Take the early night.

The class that kicked my butt 🔥
On the days between tennis, I do hot infrared yoga. I did one today and it totally kicked my butt. For recovery I mix creatine into my favorite hydration mix and sip it during class while I'm dripping sweat. It tastes like lemonade, not fake like the others I've tried. I bought two bottles the second it came out.
Tip: Sip it while you sweat.

The mask I waited weeks for 💆‍♀️
The #1 Korean hair mask was sold out, so I ordered online and waited weeks for it to show up. Worth it. My hair feels so much nicer, and I bought so many backups. If you haven't tried it, your hair is going to change.
Tip: Grab a backup. It sells out.

The 2012 photo that made me cringe
(and why I'm grateful for her)

From cringe to credit….

This week I scrolled way back in my iCloud.

Not the cute baby photos. The other ones.

My very first YouTube profile pic. 2012.

Long wavy hair, teal nails, finger on my chin, that playful pout. 😬

….like who even IS that girl?

I remember taking it over and over.
Picking the "right" one.
Hoping it looked like someone people would actually want to watch.

And even now, I could still feel that girl trying so hard to be enough.

But here's the thing. She hit record anyway.

Every awkward video, every pout, every time she tried again… all of it built me.

It's why I can show up today with both confidence and softness.

❝

The girl who tried so hard to be enough… is the woman who finally knows she is.

And when I look at my kids, 6 and 4, I know they'll have their own cringe photos one day.

I can't save them from it.

But I can remind them: cringe doesn't mean wrong.

It means you were brave enough to start.

So if there's an old photo you keep scrolling past, stop on it.

Not to relive the cringe.

But to see just how far you've come.

Because who you are now is because of her.

Until next week,

xo Jen
💛