Posts Tagged ‘pictures’

AVEENO® POSITIVELY RADIANT® Intensive Night Cream

laelene Posted in reviews，Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
27 April 2013
1

My very first Influenster VoxBox was this lovely AVEENO Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream, which I’m loving!

influenster voxbox with aveeno positively radiant intensive night cream and eye mask

It even came with a matching eye mask! How cute and considerate.

Just a quick background: Influenster is a site where you share your opinions and get to help influence brands. They send out VoxBoxes, which are filled with FREE products that they send out based on the brands’ target audience. We, as the members of Influenster, get to try out products and give feedback to the brands. If you want more information, their About page covers it pretty well. Want to join? Just let me know and I’ll invite you! 🙂

tub of aveeno positively radiant night cream openOk, so back to the product that has changed my nighttime routine and improved how my skin feels when I wake up. To be honest, when I first got the complimentary product to try, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to notice any results. A night cream’s just something you put on your face so it doesn’t dry, right? Well, happily, I can report that I’ve felt so great that I’ve used it every night (which is no small feat for me, since I usually forget to use skincare products).

Let’s review some facts about AVEENO Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream:

“The AVEENO® POSITIVELY RADIANT® Intensive Night Cream, formulated with ACTIVE NATURALS® Total Soy Complex and vitamin B3, helps to reduce the appearance of discoloration, uneven tone and blotchiness, revealing healthier-looking skin.”

~Contains a proven concentration of ACTIVE NATURALS® Total Soy Complex boosted with vitamin B3 to help visibly diminish the appearance of dullness, blotchiness and brown spots

~Oil-free, hydrating formula penetrates deep within skin’s surface while you sleep revealing an even, more radiant complexion

~In a clinical study, women saw improvement in tone and discoloration

~Gentle enough for everyday use

AVEENO Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream addresses the 5 factors of radiance (tone, dullness, brown spots, texture, blotchiness) to brighten tired and dull-looking skin.

Upon opening the night cream, I got a whiff of a really nice, subtle scent. It’s a little bit sweet and very fresh, which I love. The cream is a nice consistency that’s rich and thick but not clumpy. It smooths on really well and leaves your skin feeling softer and hydrated. When I apply it right after washing my face, I get a little warming, tingling sensation that makes me feel like the product is really working on my skin. Maybe that’s the Active Naturals Total Soy Complex doing its thing!

aveeno positively radiant night cream on fingerI’m really fascinated by this product because it’s the first time I’ve seen a skincare product with soy as an active ingredient. I’ve heard of the health benefits from consuming soy and soy products, but I hadn’t ever considered it for skincare. In my search to learn more about it, I found an article from LiveStrong detailing how soy is great for combination skin (hey that’s me!) and evening out skin tone. There’s even a portion about reversing skin damage, which touches on blotchiness and discoloration. Totally lines up with what the AVEENO Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream is meant to do for us!

The morning after my first night using my new night cream, I was surprised at how refreshed my skin felt! Usually my face feels grimy or oily in the morning, but the night cream worked some magic to prevent that from happening. Since it’s oil-free, it is great for oily skin and not only does it not make your skin feel more greasy, it somehow manages to reduce the oil your face produces. Amazing! Overall I do feel like my skin has improved and my appearance is more radiant, though I suck at pinpointing exactly what improved. I’d love to say my skin tone and texture improved, but truthfully, I don’t even know what that means. All I can say is that my skin feels much better in the mornings now and that’s all that matters. 😛 Also, I love how the tub will last me a really long time too – I’ve used it every night and barely made a dent!

If you want to get in on the conversation about AVEENO Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream, just jump on your favorite social media channel and use #RadiantWithAVEENO, or search for it to see what others are saying.

applying aveeno positively radiant night cream with cat

I apply Aveeno Positively Radiant Night Cream “war paint” to battle dullness as my cat Missy shows me how positively radiant she is. 🙂

365great Day 43: books

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , ,
26 April 2013
0

Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 43: booksSo since I haven’t had internet access since yesterday morning, I’ve spent much of the past two days engulfed in some books I borrowed from the library. It was a nice break from all the technology-driven things I usually do and I was reminded of my childhood, which I spent buried in books. My tastes started off with fictional stories full of wonderful characters and unbelievable scenarios. As I grew older, I took a break from reading and have since leaned towards non-fiction that I can learn from and apply towards my life. Whatever your preferences may be, there are a vast number of books available for just about any subject your heart desires. What a great way to share and spread information or anecdotes or memories.

365great Day 42: the interwebs

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , ,
25 April 2013
2

Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 42: the interwebsSince about 11:30 am, our house has been internetless. This was not a big deal until the AT&T technician came in at 7:30 pm to say that while he had done all he could, a different tech had to come fix an issue out in the street. So tonight we have no internet for our laptops and it makes me appreciate all the time I spend on there and everything it allows me to accomplish. Luckily, I’ve still got my phone, but it’s more of a “skeleton crew” kinda thing where I’m only doing the basics and nothing else. So here’s to the internet! It connects in ways we sometimes forget and is a great tool.

365great Day 41: facial wipes

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , , , ,
24 April 2013
0

Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 41: facial wipesI only recently started using facial wipes and I wish I had gotten into them sooner! They are a fantastic way to refresh your face during the day or even help wipe off everything at the end of the night. I’ve always hated the “water dribbling down your arms” part of washing my face, so this is a great way to “wash” my face without all that messiness. Plus, you can use it on the go – even better. For me, it started with the samples of La Fresh wipes that I got in a Yuzen box. I probably wouldn’t have tried them otherwise, but hey, I had samples already… and so I did, and loved how refreshing it felt. I then went on the buy the full packs, which I pull out every now and then when the day’s really been wearing on me. A simple, easy, effective way to freshen up? That’s great. 🙂

Rationing control

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
24 April 2013
0

Perhaps you associate rationing with wartime, like I generally do. Did you know that in China they still do it? Well, at least in terms of the [centralized] heating supply. Every year, as fall fades away, the citizens await the day that their heating will get turned on. It’s earliest in the northern cities (like my hometown of Shenyang) and later in areas like Beijing. For those in the south – forget about it. No matter how cold it gets, they have no heat unless you purchase a special air conditioning/heating unit for your home. Then, as spring approaches, as soon as the government deems it warm enough, the heat is taken away again. And so year after year, the Chinese get to deal with bundling up in their homes because they don’t have enough heat.

chinese granddaughter and grandfather standing outside doorway in winter

Maybe that’s why winter wear looks like this and usually includes 5-7 layers, even indoors.

Back when I was born in the 1980’s, there was a lot of food rationing too. My mom always told me how eggs were a valued commodity in the cities and when she was pregnant, she got to enjoy the one egg per household (per month I think, though maybe it was per week). I had a cousin who was a year older than me and when I was born, I turned out to be a big eater. Or drinker, I guess. I gobbled up milk like nobody’s business (which meant that my cousin’s milk rations often went to me too). Maybe that’s why I grew up so big and strong.

Even housing in the old days was “rationed” – you were given a place to live and that was that, pretty much. If you wanted to move (within the same city), you could apply to be “given” a different apartment that might be newer and/or in a better location. I believe there was some sort of lottery system to help determine who got to live where. Certainly unlike the American buying experience I’m used to, where any house anywhere is fair game if it’s in your price range.

And then there’s the One Child Policy, which is kind of like rationing children to families. Except in this case, rather than waiting to be given what you want, you have what you want (once) and that’s it. Still, it’s similar to getting handed rations since you are allowed a limited supply, which has nothing to do with your personal situation. Rather, it’s an “everybody gets the same restriction” kind of thing.

Each of these in their own ways take control away from you the individual. You do not have the power to decide that you want to heat your home earlier in the year, or that you want to eat half a dozen eggs in one sitting, or that you want to move clear across town to that beautiful new complex, or that you want to have another child. Granted, things have eased up over the years and many of these rules have gone away or at least become more flexible. Still, sometimes it amazes me what sort of uber-controlling environment some cultures grow up in. And how the act of rationing itself is a rationing of control: Here, this is how much control we’ll give you over your own life. All’s fair in communism, right?

Zoya Earth Day Nail Polish Exchange

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , ,
22 April 2013
2

Happy Earth Day! I hope you all are a little more mindful of how you can be less wasteful these days. 🙂

And I’ve spent the day contemplating and struggling over that very issue. See, I came across a really cool offer for a nail polish “exchange” by Zoya. Zoya makes 5-free nail polish (aka they don’t use 5 toxic ingredients that have commonly been in nail polish before people started taking note). They’ve got a ton of designs and colors, which are pretty awesome! For this week, they’re offering to help you swap your old toxin-laden nail polishes with their lovely 5-free nail polishes (excluding the PixieDust collection).

zoya earth day nail polish exchange offer 2013

Here’s the deal: you can pick anywhere from 6-24 bottles of nail polish to get at half off, which would make them $4 apiece. Then you’re supposed to gather up that same number of bottles of non-5-free brands from your collection to mail in to them. They’ll help you dispose of them appropriately. So for something like $35, you can get 6 bottles of Zoya nail polish and send off 6 bottles of your old nail polish. That’s 6x$4+$6.95 shipping+$4 shipping to them. I’m not sure exactly how much it would cost to mail your nail polish since you have to do ground shipping and that might have different rates from “standard” shipping, but my estimate should be close enough.

Now I don’t know about you, but a $4 bottle of nail polish is still kind of expensive. Factor in the shipping costs you’d have to pay and you’re paying around $6 per bottle. While I love the thought of my old, mostly unused polish getting properly disposed of, I’m struggling to decide if this is the best option. In a way, I still feel bad that that polish would get trashed rather than used and enjoyed. But then again, if something’s not good for your health or the environment, should you be enjoying it?

Dilemmas, dilemmas.

collection of nail polishes in shoebox top view

Some of my current collection.


Oh, and let’s not forget the economic aspect too – from that perspective, this is NOT a good deal since you’re not really gaining any new polish yet you end up paying $35! All in the name of “green”(er)? Well, there is a caveat here – you don’t have to return your old polish. That’s right, you are not obligated to send them anything and they will honor the deal! So basically you can look at this as a 50% off sale. In which case you should either get the nail polishes because you want them and this is a good deal (comparatively) or you should not get the nail polishes because you could just use your old ones.

However, I can’t just ignore the moral concern about doing good for the planet and being more responsible. Here is a chance for me to ensure that my nail polish with toxic chemicals is not left to leak into a landfill, but be treated however it’s supposed to be in order to safely dispose of it. Well, as safe as nail polish can get anyway. Unfortunately I don’t know if nail polish will ever be *that* green. So I could just try giving up on using nail polish, but I’m not that noble. I like having fun painting my nails! The best I can do is try to minimize the negative effects of it.

If I knew of a place I could drop off my nail polish to have it properly disposed of, I could go there and donate my “bad” polish. I’m not aware of such a service though and Zoya’s offer is the only way I know how to get that done at this point. So I think I’ve just talked myself into taking the offer. Can $35 buy me less guilt? Maybe for awhile. At the least I want to feel like I did better.

Target Earth Day Haul

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
21 April 2013
1

peek inside target earth day bag with samples from eco-friendly brandsThis morning, we had a little family outing to Target to get the free reusable bags for Earth Day! The good thing about my town is that store traffic is pretty light, so we didn’t have to worry about them running out. Also, ours came with samples! I’m sure plenty of other Targets only passed out bags mostly, especially if they’re in a concentrated area where a ton of people would come running for free snacks/skincare/cleaning products. That’s the one good thing about living in a quiet suburban area – we may not always have the most things in stock or the best sales, but on offers like this we tend to get a sweeter deal (and an easier time getting it). On the right you can see a sneak peek of the goodies we got from our 3 bags.

And here’s a look at everything laid out:

target earth day haul with reusable bag and samples from eco-friendly brands

target bit tote small reusable bag given on earth dayYou can see on average each bag had 4 samples, plus the coupon book. There might have been other samples available, but here’s what we got in our bags, which I think is pretty representative of what was available: 2 Method Smarty Dish Plus dishwasher tablets, 3 Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent samples (good for one large load of laundry each), 3 bags of Annie’s Bunny Grahams (with honey, chocolate, & chocolate chip) made with whole grains, 3 Burt’s Bees Sensitive skincare Daily Moisturizing Cream samples, 1 Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid sample, and three Target coupon booklets with over $44 worth of savings on various eco-conscious brands like the ones shown. Sponsors this year that didn’t have products included were plantbottle, GE, and Neutrogena Naturals.

target bit tote small reusable bag with words made of tiny handprintsThe bags themselves are deemed a “bit tote” because they’re a smaller size and the messaging this year is “each bit counts.” I totally agree with this! People often dismiss efforts to be more green because they think “oh this one time won’t matter” or they wonder “can I really make such a difference?” While we may not see it, the sum of all our little “bits” can add up pretty fast, especially over time. So I hope people become more conscious of this and do a little more each day to conserve, repurpose, reuse, recycle, etc. In addition, with each action we take, we can change our way of thinking and doing so that we become more and more “green” – so I see every small step compounding into bigger and bigger steps for the future.

One final note – I loved that the words were composed of tiny little handprints! Very cute and it goes with the idea that each of us counts. Every bit.

The worrisome type (& a story about a golf club)

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
20 April 2013
0

I grew up rather carefree, with just a normal amount of teenage angst and self-doubt. My personality has always been the type to “smile first, figure it out later” – or sometimes I just laugh it off. While I am stubborn and can have a temper, I’m usually grinning or chuckling at something. I guess I take after my dad, who may not smile as much, but is pretty easygoing about things and not really one to worry too much. Meanwhile, my mother and boyfriend are completely different!

taylormade 7 iron golf club head with background of grass

The golf club.

Let me give you an example: recently, I found an offer for a free “Boccieri Secret Grip” for a golf club. I had no idea what that means, but my dad’s really into golf so I thought he might want it. Since he was busy, my mom and I went to Dick’s to redeem the offer. The coupon instructed us to bring a 7 Iron or driver in tow – we grabbed the 7 Iron because it’s lighter :-P. So we get into the store and are sent to the guy in the golf section, who takes the club behind the counter. My mom and I check out the two giant spaces they have for testing golf clubs, one which includes a projection of a videogame-like golf course.

Then we look back at the guy.

My dad’s golf club had been stripped into a sad-looking pole! Gone was the TaylorMade grip. The handle was exposed and he vigorously tore off some leftover tape still sticking to it. At this point, my mother and I are in shock. Ok, so call us clueless, but we had no idea that a free grip meant removing the one we had! We watched as he stuck this double-sided sticky paper to the pole, then wet the exposed surface and the interior of the new grip. This allowed the grip to slide on.

taylormade grip with cut splitting it down middle

RIP, old grip.

He handed it back to us as we stared, dazed. What just happened?? In a trash bin, on top of a pile of papers, lay the original grip. Sad, forlorn, floppy. We asked for it back. We were surprised to find that it had been sliced straight down the middle, but I guess that’s how you remove them. The guy explained to us that the Boccieri Secret Grip has a metal weight in it so the relative weight of the club head is lighter. Apparently that’s supposed to help with your golf game. He also showed us the TaylorMade grips they had in store, which we could always re-grip the club with. The patterning wasn’t the same as ours, but it was the same brand.

new boccieri secret grip on golf clubAnd so we left the store, my mom clinging to the ruined grip. We had some grocery shopping to do and throughout the entire time, she kept sighing and sort of melodramatically “wailing” in despair. She was sad, upset, even angry that the guy had so heartlessly cut up the old grip. To her, TaylorMade was a brand name and Boccieri was… not. And so she felt like the club had been downgraded. Plus, she wasn’t happy that the set no longer matched.

new boccieri secret grip on gold club with old taylormade grip laying on groundI, on the other hand, while certainly shocked at first, quickly recovered. Maybe it really is better and maybe it will help my dad’s golf swing or precision or something. Also, just because we hadn’t heard of the name didn’t mean that it wasn’t a brand name in itself. Who knows. But more important than the brand is the performance! And that’s pretty much exactly what my dad said when we got home. I don’t think he was thrilled that the grip was replaced, but he was open-minded and willing to give it a try. He also wasn’t so concerned about a perfectly matching set or any brand name.

Even then, my mom had a hard time letting it go. It was still a big deal to her! That’s just the type of person she is. I guess some people just get much more worked up over things. To me, they cause themselves a whole lot of unnecessary stress. But hey, that’s their prerogative! Are you the worrisome type too?

The Bloglovin’ Hop

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
20 April 2013
0

Bloglovin' Hop!

Woo hoo! What a great way to find some great blogs and connect with each other. Ever since I got the unexpected news that Google Reader was going away, I’d heard murmurs about where people would go next. BlogLovin’ was an alternative that came up and I had been using it for just about a week at that time, so I was still pretty new. It seems quite promising though and I love the clean layout! Gotta say, it’s my new reader of choice and I’m glad I stumbled upon this blog hop over at My Beautiful Crazy Life.

I’ll slowly work through all the blogs in the linkup and I’m sure I’ll come away with a few more daily reads. Maybe I’ll even make a friend or two! (Hello if you’re here from the linkup! Please do say hi.) 🙂

365great Day 36: plasma balls

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
19 April 2013
0

Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 36: plasma ballsThese are such fun toys! I mean, how trippy is it to put your finger on there and watch as it responds to your touch? Even without touching the plasma ball, the constantly moving “lightning bolts” extending out is pretty cool to watch. If you’ve never played with one of these, you’re definitely missing out. It’s like having a magic ball that follows your every move in beautiful hues of pinks, purple, blue, and white. It’s a fun scientific gadget that is sure to please! I’ve got one as a desk toy that actually operates as a USB splitter – practical and pretty in one! A cool gizmo that brings science alive in such a fun way is truly great.

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