Neutrogena Skin Clearing Makeup and Mineral Powder

I'm not sure if I should give Neutrogena Skin Clearing Blemish Treatment with Salicylic Acid (Soft Beige #50) a thumbs up or down. It definitely has it's pros and cons so I'm just going to express my experience with using it.

First of all, it's kind of expensive if it's not on sale, but then again all liquid makeup is. The #1 reason I decided to buy it was because of the salicylic acid in it. I haven't seen any other liquid makeup that has "pimple zapping" medicine in it. Have you? If so, please tell me! I use Proactiv from time to time (usually around that special time of the month when my skin breaks out) and I feel so horrible putting on liquid makeup or concealer on top of it because I think it will completely undo the good things that Proactiv does to my skin. (Proactiv review coming very soon fyi!)

I really don't think the Neutrogena alone will clean anyone's skin, but I believe it may give you an extra boost, when using a skin clearing product. If you think it's not giving you a boost, then it might just not be doing anything--which is a good thing, because other products will clog your pores and undo the healing that your acne ointments have done.

This product is pretty creamy and goes on smooth. The color is not quite right for me. I wish it was a little lighter, bu the next lightest color might be too light. It doesn't come with a sponge or anything, so I've taken a little sponge from another product that I don't use anymore. I don't think you should use your hands. It wont be smooth on your face, and it might streak. Also when using this, try to blend it in quickly, otherwise it might streak.

Sorry the Mineral Powder is kind of old

It say it is oil-free, but my nose becomes pretty oily during the day and I have to re-apply. I don't mind all that much because after I apply it, my face looks nice and fresh. I use Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation on top of the makeup and it really locks the liquid in place, and makes my face looks smooth and clean. I believe the color for that is Medium to Natural # 40 and it suits me.

So yeah, in conclusion, this makeup is nice because of the salicylic acid in it, but then again it's not really "oil-free". You will need to re-apply it a few time a day, or put on a bunch of powder.

TRESemmé Naturals Volume Shampoo & Conditioner

So I decided to give TRESemmé Naturals Shampoo a try. I've been using Head & Shoulders (Ocean lift or Silky and Smooth) for a few years because it's the only thing that didn't give me dandruff. I've tried many dandruff shampoos during high school but nothing worked. And I've also tried many brands of regular shampoos such as Garnier Fructis, Suave, Pantene, Aussie--and they all made my scalp full of dandruff, and the hair oily and gross after the second wash. I decided to give TRESemmé a try because now being 22, my puberty teenage days are over and maybe my scalp is not so sensitive anymore. After reading reviews on MakeupAlley I was a little disappointed in it already. I tend to read the worst and middle ground reviews on that site on basically anything from shampoos to makeup, and hair styling products. I recommend it! But make sure you don't just look at the rating or read the worst reviews because some people just try the products once and give up on them and jump online to comment on how awful it was.

I bought TRESemmé anyway (it was on sale for 2/$7 so I bought the conditioner too). The bottle is pretty big (but smaller then the non-natural--and costs more at regular price). Oh yeah, it's the "volume" version of the Naturals by the way. For the record I have long, dark, semi-thick hair which is pretty straight when blow-dried with a brush--otherwise it creates random waves and is a bit frizzy.
The reason the shampoo is called "natural" is because the use less sulfates then their regular shampoo. It is not sulfate free! Some girls reviewing this product on the mentioned web site didn't know this--I believe they say so in the commercials, and definitely on their bottles.

Anyway, the shampoo is clear and has a very pleasant smell. I don't recommend just using the shampoo without any conditioner if you have hair like mine or thicker. It surely gives you the "squeaky clean" feeling. I wasn't sure what that meant from the other reviews but after using it, I understand. It really cleans the hair, and because it doesn't have a lot of sulfates, it feels like your hair is um...kind of wiry, and tough. So using a bit of conditioner is necessary, at least of the ends.

I used the TRESemmé Naturals Volume conditioner that is paired with the shampoo. It is not as thick, and creamy as I would like, but again it has very nice smell and does the job well. I put a quarter size in my palms and run it through my hair from the middle to the ends. Whatever is left on my hands I put in on my roots (that's what the directions say). For my type of hair (it gets really greasy on the roots and dry at the ends) from now on I will put less on the roots, or none at all because the next day if I don't wash it (sometimes I just don't have time) it will seem a little greasy (but nothing compared to Pantene of Garnier).  After you use the conditioner, the hair is very soft and not tangled at all. That's another problem I have. If I don't use conditioner, or not enough I cannot comb my wet hair after I get out of the shower! I pull, and tug, until I pull a bunch of it out and my head hurts like hell! I have to use some kind of leave in conditioner, or smoothing serum just to comb it! It's really crazy, and I regret putting that stuff in because then it makes my hair too greasy and weighed down.
However, with this shampoo and conditioner, the comb magically runs through my hair with little problems! It's great not having to put other crap in my hair just to comp it. =)

I like washing my hair at night just because I don't want to wake up extra early in the morning--and drying my hair takes forever! So in the morning, after having slept on it wet, it's a bit messy, but I just brush it, and it's very soft and pretty straight and manageable! I really like this brand. I've used it for about 2 weeks now and no dandruff! I really hope it stays this way.

In conclusion--I recommend it!

Here are some photos. Sorry for the lack of face and artistry (I'm doing this at work since I don't have anything to do...I know I'm bad)

Ups and Downs of Diets

Staying on a healthy, balanced diet is so fricken hard when everyone around you is a stick figure who can eat anything they want. My best friend looks like a model (but of course she still complains that her tummy is too fat) and my boyfriend is thin and tall. Ugh! For the past two years since I started dating him I put on about 30 pounds! I told myself I'll never go back to this weight before...but I did. He has developed a little cute belly, but nothing close to 30 lbs.

I've gotten the text "Wanna go out to Applebees?" at 9 o'clock on a Friday or Saturday too many times. And of course I tell myself I won't eat much, just appetizers. Appetizers consist of deep fries mozzarella and juice boneless buffalo wings which I share with my boyfriend while my best friends get other cheesy dishes or burgers. God forbid we decided to go to T.G.I. Fridays! Recently they have a deal where you get an appetizer, entree, and dessert all for $12.99! How can you beat that? Being a college student I decide that's an awesome deal because if I would get all those 3 things at their regular price, it would come out to over $20! (don't forget the drink at average 3 bucks a pop) And of course we can't all decide on an appetizer to share if it's 3-4 of us, so we all get the same deal. At least half of the desert remains on the plate because we're too full to eat it. Also, good thing Fridays puts ice cream on most of their desserts so we can't take it in a doggy bag to eat at midnight as a snack. Thank you for that, thank you dearly.

A couple of days ago I went shopping for clothes since the new school year is approaching way too quickly (senior in college, yay!!!). Of course I realized that I need to buy a jeans in a bigger size and same for shirts. Hurray. I came home and hung out with my boyfriend that day. We finished Prison Break season 3! =) I told him about my shopping experience and we decided to make a change. Oh, I forgot to say that after shopping we went out to lunch at the local gelato place where we got a huge sandwich with mozzarella sticks, meatballs and chicken. Yeah....apparently that's how I make myself feel better after a horrible shopping experience where I barely found clothes that fit me well....I eat. Great. Anyway, so my boyfriend and I made a sort of pact about our eating habits. I told him that I've tried to eat right for years now. Let me get something straight first, I'm not a McDolands fanatic or anything like that. I love fruit and vegetables, and I don't go crazy with candy and chocolate. The only thing is that I eat late, and I eat a lot because I'm starving after work or school, and after that I'm tired to exercise. There just aren't enough hours in the day to get enough rest, to go work/school, study, go grocery shopping for something healthy, cook it, eat it, and then get another 8 hours of sleep. I'm sure there's plenty of you out there who do this on a day-to-day basis, but I haven't made a habit out of it yet. I hope I will soon. So to continue--I told my boyfriend that I can't do this alone. I need his support and I need him to stop eating crap in front of me. He's always been thin, but as I said since we started dating 2 years ago, he's developed a little belly which he really doesn't like. (I don't mind it, it's cute but he's too shy to go shirtless at the beach...so it's a problem).

We decided to drink water--no more Strawberry Banana Juicy Juice, or Cherry, or whatever else his mom always buys. No more eating after 7pm. This will be really hard because we do still live at home with the parents (we live 15 min from college so there's no point to pay for room and board), and they come home late also...by the time they cook something it's 8 or later. I really don't like that...but they insist on having "family dinners". Oh and they put butter on everything. Even broccoli. Oy. I always try to get whatever vegetables they have on the table before they put a spoon full of butter on it...but it's hard. So eating late is going to be tough...unless of course we buy groceries and cook ourselves, but having no money will make that pretty impossible. What we can do is not go out late on weekends with our friends. Everyone is busy with their seconds jobs and things like that, and most of the time that's the only time we have to hang out. So we're gonna have to either go out without eating late, or not go out at all. Something's gatta give.

I'm not saying either of us is going to be perfect. That's never going to happen. We're going to slip, but we have to start small, not drastic because then we wont stick with it. For example to day for lunch I packed some good chicken breast and potatoes that my mom cooked with salad instead of getting Quick Check hoggies. And I didn't put any chocolate or anything like that as a snack. Instead I got 2 peaches (which I always have) and a yogurt. Hopefully tonight when we go to the beach we won't pig out afterward. Keep your fingers crossed.

Nestea Iced Tea

This stuff if good. I drink the diet kind, but by mistake someone bought an entire case of regular iced tea! From the first sip I noticed something oddly different about it. To my surprise the regular is a lot more lemony and less sweet then the diet. What is up with that? I think the diet has a more pleasant taste and seems sweeter and definitely less lemon. The only thing I don't like about it is that on the diet Nutrition Facts, sugar isn't listed! I've never seen that before. It doesn't say it's sugar free either. I'm really suspicious because products are usually very proud to be sugar free, or light, or whatever. This one just says "diet" and underneath the nutrition facts they say: "Not a significant source of fat cal., sat. fat, trans fat, cholest., fiber, sugars.....etc."

Even if it has 0.0001 grams of sugar, they should put it because they would get more people to buy them. I didn't buy this personally so I didn't check...I usually do check since the regular has 20+ grams of sugar in it. Really odd....I don't like it. Really tired of it since I drink at least two 16.9 bottles each day at work. Gonna buy some crystal light packets, really like those. =)

Yoplait Whips Frozen!

Have you ever seen the Yoplait Whips yogurt commercials where they tell you to freeze the yogurt for a nice treat? (It's even on the package) Well it's a great idea! Not that the idea is very new and innovative (ever heard of frozen yogurt?). As I'm typing (well, in between breaks) I'm eating Peaches 'n Cream Whips Light & Fluffy yogurt. I put in the freezer yesterday and I brought it to work in my little lunchbox/cooler. It has partly thawed since this morning, but the texture is still really nice.


For breakfast I had a completely frozen one and it was also delicious.
I prefer it frozen, and suprisingly because of its fluffy texture, even if it's in the freezer over night it will still be easy to scoop it with a spoon. (Not suggested for those with sensitive teeth) :)

Yum! Bon appetit!