Happy Easter! Water Marbling with MAC Ice Cream Cake and Mischievous Mint

Hi everyone!  Good news is that it's Friday, bad news for me is that I have to go in to work on Sunday.  But seeing as how I'm not really religious in any way I'm fine with it.

Cosmetic

Now I decided to do an Easter manicure since It would allow me to use shades I haven't worn yet and it's been a while since I've done some good ol' water marbling.  Overall I'm really satisfied with the results.  One thumb landed in an especially polish dense zone and looks a lot more vibrant than the other nails, however I'm not sure how I was able to accomplish this.

Water Marbling of MAC Ice Cream Cake and Mischievous Mint.  Base color was China Glaze Something Sweet.

 I love how the pastel shades look.  Perfect for Easter and it puts me in a very Spring-time mood.  I used Orly Nail Bonder as a base coat and Seche Vite as a top coat.  MAC polishes normally have good wear on me so I'm sure this will last me until the weekend is over.

Maybe when I have time I can try to water marble a flame design.  Sorry for such a short post but it's Friday and I have a few things to get in order for my weekend.

Confection

I got this as a farewell cake, but turns out this cake is amazing!  If you're a fan of Tres Leches cake and are in San Jose then you have to try this one.

Slice of Tres Leches cake from Pink Elephant Bakery

It's the perfect amount of milk that allows the cake to be soft and moist but not runny.  The best part is that I got a beautifully decorated 1/4 sheet cake for less than $30.  Might seem like a lot for cake but given how expensive cupcakes are here this is a bargain.

Mini Post: Kiehls Super Fluid SPF 50+

So this week was a little hectic to say the least.

The lab had a 2-Day inspection, and while I was not active for much of it the pain of having inspectors in the same building was indeed felt.

I'm really ready for the weekend to come already......

But enough whining...... this review is for those who are afraid of the sun's damaging rays (like me).

Cosmetic

As the title states, this review is on Kiehl's Super Fluid UV Defense SPF 50+.  

sample size of Kiehl's Super Fluid

For everyone who is looking for a lightweight sunblock with a high SPF you may have just found your holy grail formula.

Now as for me and how I feel about the brand, let's just say that everything I have ever bought from Kiehl's was awful for my face.  The pineapple scrub was blah, the algae mask did nothing for my face and the color preserving shampoo did not preserve my color.

So let's just say I was a bit disenchanted by the brand.  But I trip to Barneys during the beauty event led me to acquire a bag full of goodies including this tiny tube of what I would later find to be the best sunblock I have ever used on my face.

I currently have Natura Bisse SPF 30 Oil Free Fluid.  When I first got it I have to admit it worked pretty good, but I would have to pat this lotion on or else my moisturizer underneath would rub off and I would get all these grey rolled-up bits everywhere.

Also the price is crazy expensive.  $95 for 3.5 ounces!  What was I thinking?  Well I know, I thought if it worked great on my skin then it would be worth it.  However,  I find myself using this more on my arms and body rather than my face.  It's a bit rich and I've had some issues with breaking out while using this if I use too much.

So I take this little sample and decide to try it out one day.  I figure if anything it has 20 more SPF than what I currently use (btw Natura Bisse has a SPF 50 for $125).  First thing to note is that you're suppose to shake well.  Second thing, it's super runny and is very fluid and looks like milk.

It smells like sunscreen, but well.... it's suncreen so I don't really mind.  It kind of applies like an oil but after a couple of minutes it had totally absorbed into my face.  Subsequent uses revealed that if I only used a little at a time to go over my face in sections and build coverage, it absorbed almost immediately.

Throughout the day, my skin felt a bit oily like it would had I used nothing.  But remarkable thing is that it wasn't super oily or shiny.

After a week of constant use I am in love.  Supple skin, UV protection and no breakouts!  This is something I think I'm going to have to invest in.

So my ratings:

Value : 3 - Although I have yet to buy the full size, price per ounce this is cheaper than the Natura Bisse I currently have.  However, it's not cheap by any means.  A 1.7 ounce will set you back $34.  But Kiehl's is a brand that is sold in many places so if you have points or rewards that could be used towards merchandise, it would take a bit of the sting out of buying it.

Ease of Use : 5 - All you have to do is make sure you don't put on too much at a time and you're golden.

Quality : 5 - While everything from Kiehl's sucks monkey butt as far as I'm concerned, this one product might make me think the brand as a whole sucks a little less.

Repurchase : 5 - Well this isn't so much a repurchase as it is purchase.  Once I can get some spare change for sunblock I'm totally picking this up.

Overall : 4.5 - This is a great sunblock for the face but the price makes it's harder for me to justify buying.  Now if the price were at say $20- $25 or the size were 2.5 to 3 ounces then this would be perfect for me in every way.

Confection

It was warm once in the Bay Area so I got me a tasty treat.

Rice Dream Vanilla Nutty Bar

This is really great for those who can't hang with the dairy.  The ?rice cream? is not too sweet and creamy but still very light.  The dark chocolate isn't sweetened so be fore-warned that it 's a little bitter.  The peanuts were only okay, they kept falling off and they didn't taste as peanutty as I hoped.  Still,  when the days are hot and you're lactose intolerant, you can still look like a normal person and enjoy in a icy treat that won't give you the runs.

Helpful Skincare Tools Benefit B.right and Silk Cocoons

So today I am home sick and feeling like a bunch of crap.  What better time to blog right?

Cosmetic

Today I will be reviewing a couple of items I bought about 2 weeks ago.

First up, Benefit b.right! Radiant Skincare Intro Kit

This kit consists of introductory sized products and consisted of the 3 following products:

Refined Finish Facial Polish, Total Moisture Facial Cream and Triple Performance Facial Emulsion with SPF 15 PA++

The facial polish was the one that I was most interested in.  Unlike TLC, I love me a scrub.  When I saw the ingredients I was a bit turned off by the use of exfoliating beads.  I have a deep hatred for them.  For me, I find that they do not scrub hard enough to make my skin feel exfoliated and they do not dissolve in water so I get these weird rubbery beads along my hairline that look like dandruff.

However, as the SA put some on the back of my hand, I realized I had been wrong to so quickly judge this scrub.  It felt scrubby!  Very much so that I was tempted to get a full size.

When I got this home and tried it out, the scrubbing beads did not disappoint.  Another major plus is that once I rinsed my face clean, my face felt clean.  No residue like what I would normally find with other scrubs.  Just clean brighter skin.  

My one con for this is that in order to lock in that softness you do have to act quick with the moisturizer.  Other than that this scrub is pretty awesome.

The total moisture facial cream is a dense moisturizing cream that goes on surprisingly light and doesn't feel heavy.  However, after I put in on my boyfriend did ask me why my face was so greasy.  It kept my face moisturized and didn't cause me to break out.  Once I washed my face I felt residual softness from the cream.  If you have normal skin with no major skin concerns this would be a great cream.

The triple performance facial emulsion with SPF 15 PA++ is super light and absorbs quickly into the skin.  The added SPF is a definite plus for times you want to just moisturize and head out the door without fussing or wearing an additional spf.  The PA++ is suppose to be the highest quality spf that is used (or so the SA tells me).  I found this lotion to be a very suitable daytime moisturizer and it didn't make me break out either so I was very pleased.

All in all this is a great kit.  I wish they would have included a cleanser in lieu of one of the moisturizers but I found the kit to be great nonetheless.

Now, in terms of rankings (from 1 to 5)..... 

Value : 5 - This is a great way to introduce yourself to Benefit's new skincare line.  The price for the kit is $12 and you get enough product to try it out for at least a week, depending on how product stingy you are.  This gives you time to see if the products will work for you and if you will have any adverse reactions.

Ease of Use : 5 - Very easy to use, out of the container and onto your face.

Quality : 5 - I found the products to be effective in what they were meant to do and they also smelled great which was a plus.  Usually fragranced skincare irritates my skin, but not in this case.  Plus the lotions are housed in glass containers which give such an elegant touch.

Repurchase : 4 - As far as the kit goes,  I'm glad I bought it.  I also would not hesitate to buy it for someone else who I knew was looking for a new skincare line.  But the purpose of this kit is to introduce you to the line, and it worked.  If I do purchase these products again it will be at full size.

Overall : 4.8 - The fact that my skin did not react badly is a major plus.  The kit is set at a great price and allows you to try the product line without commitment.  I would probably be convinced to buy the entire line, but my major skin issues aren't really addressed with this line.  If I had the same skin I did back in college I think I would be all over this line.

Second beauty enhancing item..... Silk Cocoons!

Seems a bit creepy huh?  But lo and behold, on my latest trip to Daiso I found these.  Now I'm not 100% sure if they were $1.50 or $2.00 but they weren't expensive at all.  

Now I don't know how these were processed, so I can't tell you if the silk moths were allowed to eat through the cocoon if they were boiled alive ( I know, the silk industry is just cruel).  You start off by soaking a cocoon in hot water for a few minutes to soften it up.  The cocoons have one end sliced off at an angle where you place your finger in.  You then rub the cocoon allover your wet face paying special attention to clogged pore areas (i.e. sides of the nose).  Once you are done rubbing, you rinse your face with water and apply a moisturizer afterwards to help seal in the softness.

The package says it's best to do this when you take a bath or shower since the skin is softer.  It also warns against rubbing too hard.  Each cocoon can be used 3 to 5 times which makes it fairly economical if you consider that the average person exfoliates about a couple times a week.  

The cocoon does help to smooth out the skin and I find that right after I rinse my skin I must put on moisturizer or else my skin will start to feel tight.  The silk will unravel a bit and you will have to pull the loose fibers out to maintain a smooth exfoliating surface but it's no big deal.

And while I don't find that this give a deep pore cleaning, this is a great overall exfoliator to get rid of skin cell build up or flakiness.  However, I don't know how different this would be from using a washcloth.

Rankings:

Value : 4 - I don't know how the market is for silk cocoons, but given that these come up to about $2 a pack and they are indeed real silk, I have to say for me that they are worth it.

Ease of Use : 4 - Although needing to soak the cocoons is a bit troublesome, one you have that out of the way all you do is rub.  Pretty easy, but I wish there was a diagram of some sort to tell you where to rub to increase circulation or reduce wrinkles.  But then again, they are from Daiso so I should just be happy the instructions were in English.

Quality : 4 - Again, I'm not an expert on silk cocoons for use as scrubbing tools and I have no other experiences to compare to.  But, the fact that they did not fully unravel after the first use makes the quality for me above average.  I have used one 3 times already and have noticed that it is still good to use.  Another plus is that these are natural silk cocoons so the likelihood of skin reactions to fragrance or chemicals isn't so much a factor.  Granted if you are allergic to silk or silk worms then maybe you shouldn't use this. 

Repurchase : 5 - This is an item that I will repurchase for myself as long as I can get it.  It's so simple yet so effective for giving me a good clean scrub that I don't think I would want to be without it.  Plus you really can't beat the price.

Overall : 4.3 - This product works and it's natural.  However, with my lack of knowledge I prefer to be more conservative with my review.  If you're looking for a portable exfoliator that only uses water and have the time to spend scrubbing away with your finger then you will like this.  If you lack the time though, I don't see why you couldn't just use a washcloth for similar results.  I just happen to hate using washcloths for some unknown reason.

Confection

Nanao Golusia Vanilla Wafer Cookies

I found these at my local Japanese Supermarket and before I knew it I had amost finished the entire box.

Granted there are only 8 cookies in the box but that's still a box of cookies.

The wafer has a texture similar to that of an ice cream cone but it's crunchier and the flavor is slightly eggy (at least to me).  It is filled with a vanilla cream with a texture that is between whipped cream and meringue.  And it looks like shaving cream.......

These are perfect for when you want a small treat but don't want the usual chocolate or candy.