I recommend this body wash because it is affordable, pleasantly scented, lathers well, and hydrating. There’s nothing more to ask for right? Plus, this brand is cruelty-free and vegan. The smell is rose-like and not overpowering or chemical scented.
I love body scrubs from this Mer-Sea & Co. line. The Coconut Sugar body scrub is just as lovely as Vanilla Sugar, though I prefer the Vanilla scent this coconut scent is more mellow. This scrub is perfect for those who favor coconut scents and scents that are not loud. The scrub lathers well in my hands, and the scrub itself is balanced in texture, not too hard or too soft. I recommend this scrub to bring on the summery coconut vibes.
I’ve tried out four Peter Thomas Roth products: the Potent-C Face Lotion, Vita-E Eye Cream, and Thermal Therapy Duo. Here are my thoughts on the products:
I think Peter Thomas Roth excels in eye creams. Though the reviews for Vita-E Eye Cream, pictured in the pink bottle below, are low on many sites due to the product’s texture, I love it!
See butter-like texture here
This eye cream MUST get melted down between your fingers before applying it. This is due to the product’s cold butter texture. I want to continue using this eye cream because I’ve noticed a difference in the sides of the eyes. In the past, there was a faint wrinkle on the side when I smiled wide and now I’ve noticed that wrinkle is gone. I know this is due in part to diligence overall in my skincare routine but I really think this eye cream helped make a major stride in the youthful appearance of my eyes.
Though I favor this eye cream, my mother loves the collagen eye cream from this brand and believes it has helped create a firmer look under her eyes.
Lastly, what I love about this eye cream is that it is formulated to protect your eyes from screen use on your laptop and phone that can cause premature aging. I definitely think it is a great product to look into as a student or someone working from home with a laptop or computer.
Moving on to the Potent-C Face lotion, pictured in an orange-silver container, this orange-colored face lotion formulated with excellent ingredients like collagen, ginger root extract, and turmeric. The key ingredients listed on Dermstore are ferulic acid, which is an antioxidant, Vitamin E, and THD ascorbate, which is a strong form of Vitamin C used primarily on aging skin. Potent-C has 20% THD making this one of the strongest products on the market.
Overall, I like how this face lotion brightened my appearance, but I do not consider it a favorite because I prefer DHC collagen cream (which I’ve previously blogged about). However, I know I can reach for this product in the future.
The Anti-Aging face wash is an exfoliating gel that effectively cleanses my skin without drying it out. I love it and think it is on par or maybe even better than Le Mieux Exfoliating Gel. I highly recommend looking into this face wash because it has helped minimize the congestion of my skin. Some reviewers with sensitive skin claim this face wash broke them out so be sure to check out the ingredient list and those reviews if your skin is sensitive. My skin is sensitive but this product did not irritate my face.
The Thermal Therapy Duo makes a lovely gift. Both products work wonderfully. The facial scrub is layered onto your clean dry face and then activated after 3 minutes with wet fingers. The water on your fingers will make the mask warm as it gently exfoliates your skin. The face lotion is standard and moisturizing without a strong scent and formulated with Hungarian thermal water. I like using these products to cleanse and moisturize my skin when it feels congested.
What are your thoughts on the brand Peter Thomas Roth? ❤
Bliss Mighty Marshmallow Mask – This fluffy pink mask almost looks like the stuff Teletubbies used to drink. It feels soft on my skin and it did not burn when I applied it to my face after waxing. The key ingredients are Marshmallow Root Extract, Vitamin C Powerhouse Blend, Olive Leaf Extract, Lime, Lemon, Pine and Eucalyptus Oils, and Zinc PCA.
It appears it is sold cheaper by ULTA but it is currently out of stock. The Bliss site itself has email sign up discounts.
Matcha Mood Mask – With key ingredients green tea extract and aloe vera this vegan mask both soothes and strengthens your skin with the antioxidant green tea. The texture is like green tea ice cream. It has no strong scent or irritants. It is also formulated with vitamin B3. Vitamin B3 helps with skin water loss and can lessen the appearance of wrinkles by smoothing out your skin texture. What I enjoy about this mask is that it does not leave my skin feeling dry afterwards like most clay masks or clarifying masks do.
Jeju Green Tea Mask – These sheet masks are formulated with green tea jelly. The green tea extracts help soothe irritated or red skin, and it helps prevent breakouts with antimicrobial properties! I used this mask while taking a bath and it felt like the ultimate expression of self-care.
**I will link these masks at a later time, for some reason they disappeared off Amazon, this is where I bought them from – https://amzn.to/2Va8Z5l
This lip mask has key ingredients honey, cherry essence, and coenzyme. What coenzyme does is diminish damage to your lips created by environmental factors like sun exposure. I love that the mask does not feel greasy on my lips. It has a light and pleasant cherry scent. ❤
Bring the beach home with these summer body care products.
Senorita Margarita Body Wash – The scent of this body wash is hard to describe it is lime-like but mellow smelling at the same time. There is no strong citrus smell but rather a soft clean fresh scent. It does not irritate my sensitive skin.
Tee Hut Tahitian Vanilla Bean Body Scrub – Honestly, any body scrub from the Tee Hut line is fantastic and affordable. I think this brand has the best non-greasy body scrubs for under $7. The thing that makes this body scrub summer worthy is the sand-like texture. The scent is also pleasant and not overpowering.
CoCo Glow Coconut Body Oil – I love this body oil’s summery coconut scent with notes of pineapple. It is formulated with coconut oil, sweet almond oil, rice bran oil, and jojoba seed oil. An affordable alternative to using this body oil is to just use sweet almond oil on your skin instead. Nonetheless, this oil is non-greasy, nourishing, and it smells like sunny skies and palm trees in a bottle.
Vanilla Milk Foaming Body Scrub – Heaven in a bottle, the ultimate treat, I love this delicious smelling vanilla body scrub! This brand is influenced by the ocean, so it is the perfect summer body product to bring the beach home. The scent of this body scrub is strong, in the best possible way, and lasting yet powdery, and it makes my skin and the whole bathroom for the matter smell like an expensive spa! The texture is bouncy and non-abrasive. The foaming action happens when the product is massaged in your hands or on your body. ❤
We ordered the Spices Satay Beef Wok at the Fashion Wok restaurant for takeout. The prices are incredibly reasonable with a range of about $12-20 total for two people. The ingredients tasted fresh and the flavors were balanced. Additionally, all of the spices and sauces were packed separately from the food so that we could add as much or at little as we wanted.
KonjoeBurger
I’ve ordered from Konjoe twice and both experiences were amazing. I recommend trying the Galbi burger or Spicy Chicken sandwich with seasoned fries. I like eating here on a cheat day and it’s also a great idea to split a burger to taste something different without over-indulging. The other burger we tried here is the Konjoe Burger but, Galbi beats the Konjoe burger by a landslide flavor-wise in my opinion and the Spicy Chicken Sandwich is a close second!
Grub Burger Bar
This restaurant offers to-go cocktails in addition to food. The customer service is always excellent and the chicken sandwiches we ordered tasted very satisfying and flavorful with varied ingredients and dipping sauces! They offer a chickpea vegetarian burger as well.
Hey everyone! I thought I’d share some photos of a beach in Northern California on my blog that I took in January before lockdown. I love to look at my pictures and videos of the ocean while I do skincare to create a relaxing atmosphere.
I love the ocean because it conjures within me a feeling of completion, letting it all go, and a sensation of inner peace.
I urge that you take a few deep breaths today, in for 4 seconds, hold, and out for 4 seconds, and think of something that brings you inner peace.
I send you all peace and light today — take care ❤
I’m happy to have discovered the Art of Skin Care business because they sell Le Mieux face wash (which I also blogged about too, check out my skincare tag).
The key ingredients listed on site are banana pulp and peel added for their antioxidants, turmerones from turmeric oil to brighten the complexion, echinacea purpurea, which is a flowering plant, to prevent sagging skin, and bentonite and illite clays to clarify the skin.
Detailed Ingredients List: “Water/Eau, Pumice, Glycerin, Kaolin, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Musa Pardisiaca (Banana) Fruit Powder, Echinacea Purpurea Extract, Parfum*, Corn Starch, Musa Sapientum (Banana) Fruit Flakes, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Illite, Decyl Glucoside, Xantham Gum, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzoic Acid, Sorbic Acid, Citric Acid. *Natural fragrance derived from 100% natural sources”
This Turmeric and Banana tightening mask is so awesome to use before dermaplaning. I love to use an ice cube from my freezer on my face to de-puff and then dry my skin and layer this active mask on. My routine is I wait for the mask to dry and then wash it off as a tightening pre-treatment before dermaplaning. The results are stunning, my face is super tight, clear, and bright afterward!
This mask is active so it does cause a little bit of a burning sensation and it leaves my nose slightly red afterward. However, the burning feeling is tolerable and it decreases as it dries. This is the reason why I always use it before dermaplaning because I imagine it would burn too much after exfoliation.
I recommend giving this mask a go if you’re in the market for an affordable skin tightening treatment, the sticker tag is $30.00. ❤
Hey all & happy Friday! I thought I’d share my chicken sandwich recipe I made for my mother this past mother’s day. *MUST* added to ingredients I think are the cornerstone of flavor for this sandwich and not replaceable. I eyeball ingredients, so feel free to add as much or as little of anything except for the salt.
Ingredients:
Chicken Breasts
Olive Oil
Fresh Basil (just a little)*MUST*
1 Tomato *MUST*
1 Bell Pepper *MUST*
Mayo (a sweet tasting one, I used Kraft ‘real mayo’ – 2-3 teaspoons) *MUST*
Pickles (I used Bread and Butterchips style sandwich pickles)
Provolone cheese
Irish Butter *MUST*
Radishoots
Another bitter green of your choice (because I do not remember which one I used lol, anything works so long as it is leafy)
1 ginger root *MUST*
Ciabatta Bread *MUST*
Honey Mustard
Minced Garlic – two teaspoons
Salt (just a dash)
Paprika
Hak’s BBQ Sauce – Smoked Maple Mustard *MUST*
(optional – Any kind of simple salt-free assorted chicken seasoning of your choice)
I cleaned my chicken breasts with lemon and rinsed it well and then boiled the chicken, cut into pieces, with ginger root pieces until it was cooked but not overdone. I added the chicken alone into a lightly oiled baking pan and seasoned it with garlic, paprika, salt, and Hak’s BBQ Sauce, Smoked Maple Mustard. I added the chicken into the oven on broil to let it gain color (500 temp.).
I made a salad of chopped fresh basil, tomato, and a yellow bell pepper, and mixed it together with mayo.
I washed the radishoots and the other leafy greens that will top off the sandwich and placed it to the side. These greens will act as the bitter greens necessary to balance out the sweetness of the sandwich.
I set up the ciabatta bread by adding a little Irish butter and honey mustard to each slice of the bread. I then added a slice of provolone cheese to each slice of the bread and I put the bread into the oven on broil (500 temp.) to warm and brown.
Next, I took out the chicken and bread from the oven. I added chicken breasts to one side of the sandwich and pickles to the other side. I then added the tomato, basil, bell pepper salad to the chicken and topped it off with the bitter greens. That’s all, done! ❤
MSM update – I finished the bag of MSM I had many moons ago. I mainly drank it because using it topically was slightly labor-intensive ~ melting it and waiting for it to cool. I did not notice any major growth difference and I got sick of the headaches. I also think it broke me out a little.
What I’m Currently Doing:
1.) Hair Steam
2.) Deep Treatments
3. Collagen Gummies (for hair and skin health)
I figured out what my hair was missing; that is the consistent use of hair steam. I’m doing deep treatments each week and I routinely massage my scalp with diluted peppermint oil.
I recommend hair steaming because steam is necessary for moisture and growth as it can open the hair shaft. If you don’t steam, products may just sit on top of your hair.
I also am using castor oil and aloe vera juice as a leave-in. Aloe vera juice works wonders for my hair, it makes it incredibly soft. However, it does not work for every hair type.
I have low porosity transitioning hair and I plan to either continue to stretch out my relaxer during my hair growth challenge and get another relaxer or become a heat trained natural and regularly do silk presses. Aloe vera juice makes my roots soft, hydrated, and ready for detangling. I highly recommend trying it out if you have dry roots that expel water like mine.
I’ve also used Rosemary Mint Cleansing Shampoo and the Coconut leave-in from the Renpure line. I like both products because the cleansing shampoo helps maintain moisture as does the leave-in. However, I think aloe vera juice makes the biggest difference when compared to the Renpure line in terms of maintined hydration.
Recently, I picked up a mint conditioner and Honey leave-in from Camille Rose from Whole Foods. The mint conditioner is just okay at moisturizing my hair but the leave-in is fantastic, but it smells like cupcakes rather than honey. ❤
My Experience: I found that changing aligners only hurt slightly on the first day for an hour or two. Additionally, my teeth were sensitive to hard foods on the first day I switched to a new set of aligners but besides that, I never experienced that much pain. Overall, it was a very easy and smooth process. I changed my aligners as advised every week to two weeks as scheduled for my plan. Smile Direct emailed me to remind me when I had to change aligners and online I could track my progress and see how many aligners were left to use.
Now that the process is over, I’m glad I went with Smile Direct because the remote nature of the treatment plan worked out well given the current lockdown. Also, the five-month process was extremely fast. ❤
