zia ultimate deep pore cleanser, citrus night reversal (top), papayz facial mask (bottom), suki lemongrass cleanser (front), zia sea tonic and aloe toner (back), and zia everyday moisturizer

yesterday i got in the mail the skin medical vitamin c complex and a sample of the retinal complex. i was super excited! i wanted to try the vitamin c because it’s suppose to be good at diminishing brown spots – or at least make them much lighter.

i also received from a swap on MUA the suki lemongrass cleanser and zia everyday moisturizer. i couldn’t wait to try them either! the sample trial of the suki is actualy 1.6? oz so it’s a good size and you only need a little. the zia moisturizer comes in a pump bottle and i love the simple green and white bottle.

i couldn’t wait so i tried the lemongrass cleanser last night. the smell is absolutely divine! almost like a lemon cake. yum! the product consist of tiny little grains that you message onto your face and let it foam. they practicular disappeared (melt?) before your eyes as you message them onto your face. then you wash it off. simply super! my face feel clean without the drying effect i sometimes get from cleansers. i would love to continue using it and cannot wait to use it again! this will be my night time exfoliant.

after washing, i applied the zia toner i already have. then i tried on the skin medica retinol complex – it’s to be use at night. it feels fine and i woke up this morning without any break outs. will continue to use and see.

this morning after washing with zia moisturizing cleanser and toner, i opened a sample of the vitamin c and apply it on my face. it doesn’t have a fragrance that i can tell and is not sticky. i’ve never use a vit. c before so i don’t know how they’re suppose to feel like. this one went on like a layer of silk and feels wonderful! it does sting for a minute or two but that is normal. i love the way this feel too! again, i hope none of these break me out. i can certainly get use to this – clear, bright complexion.

then i follow it with a thin layer of everyday moisturizer and mychelle spf sunscreen.

i wonder if your skin get immune to whatever it is you’re using after a while. i sure hope not.

and yes i got a new layout!

a while back i was trying out all these mineral make up brands with their samples. i finally settled on lauress’.

then i stopped using it after a few weeks because one morning, i took a very very close look at my face and saw that my laugh lines are more pronounced – i mean they’re there but i don’t want them to stick out so much! i’m only 25! lol

anyway, i stopped. i saw a post by ladytee on the make up talk board and her suggestion was to soak a make up sponge and squeeze the excess water out. sprinkle the loose foundation onto the sponge and apply it that way.

i tried that method this morning and i LOVE it! my goodness! the powder totally blended in and gave me a soft airbrushed look without accentuating my lines! hahahaha and it look very natural. applying mmu (mineral make up) wet gives a lighter coverage and that is perfect. i don’t need heavy coverage.

i’m back to using lauress. i need to use it since i spent money on the full size. needless to say, it’s going to take me years to finish this powder since a little goes a long way and the container is topped full! now it’s got a place in my overstuffed handbag. ^^

i was able to tried the ecco bella face powder in fair by swapping one of my product for it at MUA. i thought “fair” was going to be too light for me but it was a perfect match. the fair has yellow undertones while the light has pink. i like it a lot and use it everyday. it is very light in coverage – almost non-existent but i like it. i can already see the bottom of the pan so i’ll need to get something else soon. i also received gabriel’s apricot blush in the swap and really like it. it’s more peachy than pink which was fine for me.

 i just did 2 more swaps. i am going to get to try zia’s everyday moisturizer, zia deep moisturizer serum, and suki’s lemongrass cleanser. i’m reading lotsa raves on these items, especially the suki’s – it’s supposely more of an exfoliant with natural aha’s an bha’s.

 

last weekend i spent the last of my montly allowance and bought zia’s to go trial kit for dry skin. i am loving their products. it came with a moisturing cleanser, aloe toner, nourishing creme, papaya enzyme facial mask, super moisturizing mask and citrus night reversal cream. the only thing i’m not using much is the super moisturizing mask. everything else i use either every day or every other day. my skin is purging from the night reversal but it is so much clearer and not as dull. these are trial sizes but really, a little bit is all need. it’s been a week and i have not use even half of the products yet. so far i’m impress.

from my october’s allowance, i got skin medica’s vitamin c to try out. it’s supposedly excellent at diminishing age (brown) spots and i seriously need to get rid of the ones i have. i also ordered more samples of zia’s skincare products. my excuse? they have a new formulation without parabens.

 my eyes are looking at suki’s bright complexion moisture mask with vitamin c. my allowance is almost half gone already and it’s not october yet.

 i tried shikai’s color reflect warm shampoo and i LOVE it! it brings out the auburn and red tones in your hair. this doesn’t dry my hair out. i also got the everyday conditioner and while not as heavy of a cream as other conditioners, it leaves the hair soft to the touch. i swear my hair is such a bright deep reddish auburn shade when the sun hits. they are my new favorite hair products!

on a side note, i’m almost out of ecover’s dishwashing tablets so i joined a frontier coop again. i’m going to stock up on those. love them. and a few other household items – separate from my budget thankgoodness.

maybe i shouldn’t titled it “house cleaning” since i only re-organized and clean most of the kitchen area.

so what do you use to clean your house?

at the moment, i use only vinegar and baking soda. i bought a huge bottle of distilled vinegar from albertson’s (save mart) and a huge bag of baking soda from costco that i use for everything – laundry, cleaning and deodorizing.

i’ve become more conscious of other cleaning products, especially since i have kids. no matter what you use to clean with, they’ll touch it later. and the smells are not the most pleasing either (think open windows). that was when i started thinking i needed to use something else since my kids touch everything and i didn’t want my house to smell like a chemistry lab.

i’ve been using vinegar and baking soda for almost a year now and i love it. for when i can’t or don’t use these ingredients, i have other biodegradable products, ie: method dishwashing soap.

once upon a time, i never use my dishwasher. until my coworker said i should try it because it’s there and give you time to do something else. so i gave it a try and was surprised it clean well. it was just weird not having to wash them yourself so you know they’re clean. i used the cascade brand and so although they look and feel clean, i hated the smell. i wanted to rinse them all over because of that smell – like chemical and strong. i didn’t like the thought of that smell on my dishes.

so i stopped for a while; until i joined a frontier co-op and bought some ecover dishwashing tablets and rinse aid. i love their container colors. very catching. so i was skeptical but ohmygoodness! they work just as well as the cascade and my dishes smell clean, not dangerous. i love it! and now i’m using my dishwasher whenever i want though i still wash them by hands if there aren’t that many dishes. i feel better knowing the ecover is earth-friendly. i am looking forward to trying more of their products, such as the dishwashing soap, bleach, and stain remover. in fact, i have the bleach on my next frontier order.

back to my kitchen, i re-organized all my cabinets and got rid of things to make more space on my counter tops. i’m trying to get rid of some of my crappy dishes, pots, and pans (non-stick, etc). i have a set of stainless steel cookware from lnt coming, with a free 15pc cutlery set, 4 sets of corelle livingware winter frost 5 pc bowl set (we love to eat noodles (pho) and these bowls will be perfect!), and 2 of the corelle winter frost set; you get $20 off for ordering 2 or more sets. i really like the simple white design.

my next step is to replace our lousy plastic dish rack with something stainless steel and our microwave (had it before faith) that is starting to peel off inside.