Apple Cider Vinegar & Green Tea Toner

You’ll notice I didn’t write a brand on this toner. Well that because I didn’t buy it. I made it. That’s right, this an all natural, homemade toner. I was checking my email the other day and I always browse through Yahoo’s top stories stream thing they have going on, just to see what’s going on, and I stumbled across an article about natural treatments for acne. They listed such things as honey, tea tree oil, and lemon juice as good antibacterials and exfoliators, all while being gentle and natural. Not to mention cheap. They had various recipes for how to dilute them and told you exactly how they worked and recommended how to use them (such as whether to rinse it off or just to leave it on) and all of that stuff. The one that I decided to try was the apple cider vinegar as a toner. Just a word on toner before I go on. I have not had good luck with toner. I’ve used several different kinds and it inevitably stings, makes my face horribly red, and sometimes makes my acne worse. Even the non-alcohol containing ones that I’ve used haven’t turned out well. So I just don’t use it. But I’ve heard that it is good for getting whatever your face wash didn’t and preparing your skin for moisturizer so I have considered trying some different ones that have received good reviews. Back to the apple cider vinegar. So, I check my cupboard and I have white vinegar, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, and balsamic vinegar but not apple cider vinegar. Then I go to recheck the article I read to make sure I have the dilution right (I thought it was equal parts apple cider vinegar to water but wasn’t sure) and I couldn’t find the article. So I did a google search and found a recipe I decided to go with. According to the experts on About.com, you should use equal parts apple cider vinegar (the organic unfiltered kind) and water (I actually considered using distilled but I settle for filtered water out of my Brita pitcher). There was also an added tip to add green tea for extra antioxidants and to dial down the vinegary smell. It also said that vinegar obviously is very acidic so if you have sensitive skin to dilute the vinegar more. So I decided to add one part green tea as well (I made it regular strength). I did add a little bit less of the vinegar than the other two things just because I was afraid of it irritating my skin too much.

A few tips when you are mixing up your toner. The recipe I found said to use a glass bottle. I just washed out a glass juice bottle that I had and ripped the label off of it. I used organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar, filtered water, and organic green tea (make sure its just green tea with nothing else mixed in). Unfiltered apple cider vinegar settles so shake it up before you measure it out. I would also recommend making a very small amount at a time because it will last you a while and you don’t want anything to spoil or anything. I also keep mine in the refrigerator. It didn’t say anything about that but I figured it would be safest so I didn’t get any bacteria growing or anything.

So how is this supposed to actually work? Vinegar is a natural antibacterial to kill the bacteria that causes acne and apple cider vinegar contains natural alpha hydroxy and amino acids (ingredients that are in a lot of skin care products) that help remove the gross dead skin layer and reveal your lovely healthy skin underneath. It also increases blood circulation to make your complexion a lovely pink. This is all according to About.com.

In the interest of testing the acne fighting properties of this toner, I didn’t use any other acne treatments while testing this out. I just washed my face with my normal cleanser and used my normal moisturizer after toning. I shook the bottle again before dipping my cotton ball just to make sure nothing had settled. Then I just put some on a cotton ball and used it like a normal toner. It has a rather obnoxious vinegar smell (the green tea helped a little but not much) but it didn’t carry over once it had dried on my face (trust me, I made my fiance smell my face). It did sting a little on the actual pimples but didn’t make my face red and I didn’t notice any dryness. Later on I did notice a bit of a tingly, subtle itchiness, but my face didn’t feel dry or tight, and it wasn’t red or sore. I assume maybe its just the alpha hydroxy and amino acids doing their thing? I have no idea. Since I was afraid of this stuff irritating my skin I opted to try only using it once a day for the first two weeks. Just to be on the safe side. I figured I’d see how that did then maybe increase to twice a day depending on how it worked. After just a few days I noticed a difference in my skin. The little, almost microscopic red bumps that have always covered my face (I was actually starting to think I might have rosacea or something) are slowly disappearing. My face feels softer and smoother. I notice less of those little dry patches of skin that I usually pick at. It has not irritated my skin at all and actually after the first couple times it doesn’t sting even the pimples. I think it may have dried my skin out just a touch but not enough to make me stop using it. It also has been about two weeks and while this toner hasn’t done much to get rid of my pimples that were already there but it must be doing something because I haven’t noticed any new pimples since I started using it.

So bottom line, would I recommend this? Well, yes. But I would make super small batches. Like super small. I have noticed a big difference in the smoothness and evenness of my skin. It seems to have prevented new pimples from forming. It has dried my skin out (which is not necessarily a bad thing because it was horribly oily before) but I started using a more moisturizing cleanser with my bed time routine which helped a lot. I never used this more than once a day and if you have normal or dry skin I’m not sure I would recommend this at all but if you really want to try it I would start with every other day to see how your skin reacts. A HUGE thing this toner has going for it is the price. Its ingredients you can get at any grocery store and they are relatively inexpensive for the amount you use. I got my green tea for $4 for 20 bags. I only used one bag in my first batch and this toner will last me forever. The unfiltered apple cider vinegar was $3.59 for 16 oz. So you can do the math on that. I kept this toner in the refrigerator to keep bacteria from forming (although apple cider vinegar is an antibacterial but still) but after a couple weeks weird black sediment started forming it in. I think it was fine gratings from the inside of the metal lid. I don’t know if it would hurt anything but it grossed me out so I dumped it out. Since then I started just making a super small batch of two teaspoons of water and one tea spoon of apple cider vinegar. If I drank green tea I might at a tea spoon of that too but I don’t want to waste it. This small of a batch lasts me a few days and I feel better about the storage of it.

Beauty Army January- First Impressions

I don’t usually post twice in one day but I just got my January Beauty Army box! Yay! This month is Beauty Army’s birthday so we get an extra 7th pick! I was much happier overall with my picks this month than I was last month. I read somewhere that if you keep retaking the beauty profile quiz your choices will change until you get a mix you are happy with. I did that this time but honestly most of the things I ended up picking were in my first mix so I really didn’t need to. My one complaint is that every time I took quiz I continued to say I had oily skin and in every group of samples to pick from there were two moisturizers for dry skin. That doesn’t make much sense but whatever. Here are my choices.

Mark. Scanda-Lash Brown Mascara
Sample- full-sized- $6.50

This was the extra pick. You had a choice of black or brown. I chose brown for something different. I’ve always used black mascara but I figured the brown might be a little subtler. This is small for a full-sized mascara (actually really small) but mascara is always welcome. I’ve tried some other mark. products but not the mascara. I’ll write a full review after I’ve worn it for a full day.

Bath & Body Works Paris Amour Shower Gel
Sample- 3 oz
Full-sized- $11 for 10 oz

I wouldn’t really consider Bath & Body Works to be really high-end but I love their products. This is a decent sample sized shower gel. I use a lot of shower gel though so it will probably last me less than a week. We’ll see. I’ve never smelled this particular smell but its wonderful. Its kind of fruity which doesn’t really spring to mind Paris for me but oh well. I normally wouldn’t use this in the winter because my hair is super dry and my past experience with Bath & Body Works has been that the shower gels are not moisturizing but this says it is shea-enriched so I’m hoping it will be moisturizing.  A full-review will follow.

Ineke Hothouse Flower Perfume
Sample- 0.05 oz
Full-sized- $95 for 2.5 oz

I was not going to pick this because I have so much perfume already but I read gardenia and had to pick it. I love gardenia. This is a wonderfully bright and fresh gardenia. I love it. I know some people complain about getting little perfume samples in their boxes but I am not going to complain. I actually read a review of a sample box somewhere (I can’t remember where it was now or which box it was) where the person who was writing it said she used up a sample vial in two or three days. Two or three days! I would have to take a bath in the stuff for it to last me that long! I spray one spritz on one wrist and then dab my other wrist (not rub, dab) on it, then spray down my shirt. It sounds weird but I read it in a fashion magazine or something somewhere. The heat from the core of your body makes the perfume waft up to your face throughout the day. Plus if it gets on my bra it last longer because perfume sticks to cloth better than skin. Shut up it works for me! Okay anyway so one of these little vials lasts me for a few weeks. Which is worth it to me.  Alright that’s it for my tangent. Moving on.

Mark. Hook Up Lip Gloss in Blow Kisses
Sample- Full-sized- $6.50

I got one of these lip glosses in Honey last month and I love it. Blow Kisses is a bold red. it’s a little bold for my tastes but I decided to try it because I already know I love Mark. lip glosses. This red, once I’ve put it on, actually isn’t that bold. Its pretty sheer, which is good for me but for someone else who likes the bold red look, maybe not so much. I also have a lot of blemishes around my mouth right now and the red just makes them more obvious. So. . I don’t know if I like this. I’ll have to think on it or try it with some foundation and a lot of concealer.

Yes to Blueberries Firming Eye Treatment
Sample- foil packet
Full-sized- $19.99 for 0.5 oz

Another product I don’t really consider high-end but I am excited to try it. I’ve used some products from the Yes to Tomatoes line with mostly good results and I’m always looking for a good eye cream so I’m excited to use this. I’m not thrilled about the foil packet but an eye treatment will probably last me a while so I’ll overlook it.

Lash Card Mascara Shields
Sample- 2 shields
Full-sized- $13.98 for 20 shields

This is a brilliant idea. I don’t know how many times I’ve blinked a little or pushed the mascara back a little too far and gotten it on my eyelid. If I’ve already done my eye shadow I have to wipe it off and start all over. Its kind of frustrating. These shields are curved to fit your eye lid to protect your eye lid from the mascara. I’ll use these tomorrow so expect a review pretty quickly.

Whip Hand Cosmetics Special Forces Loose Pigment Eyeshadow
Sample- 0.03 oz
Full-sized- $14 for 0.1 oz

This is an exclusive color created for Beauty Army. It’s a peachy color with a little bit of shimmer. It looks like it would make an excellent lid color. I’ll review it fully after I’ve seen how it lasts.

Overall I’m thinking I’ll be much happier this month then I was last month. According to my calculations this box is worth $27.80. Even without the extra gift its worth a little more than last month so I am happy. We’ll see after I try all of my products though. And just an added note, the box everything came in was pink this month (last month it was white). I had been using last months box to store small samples in but I’ve transferred everything into the pretty pink one!

Beauty Army December Box- Was It Worth It?

To recap all the things I got from this box:

Fiafini Delicate Cleansing Emulsion- $28 for 4 oz at beatuyarmy.com (I found this as low as $11 at amazon.com)- A good cleanser from what I can tell. I would be interested to try it for a longer period of time but I have quite a back up stock of facial cleansers right now.

Mark Hook Up Lip Gloss in Honey- $6.50 at beautyarmy.com ($5 at amazon.com)- A nice neutral lip gloss that I will use plenty of. And full-sized!

Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque- $33 for 8.5 oz at beautyarmy.com ($11.99 at cosmeu.com)- I really couldn’t judge it from just one use but seemed to condition my hair well. A little expensive for my budget though.

Nelson J Argan Oil 7 Non-Foaming Shampoo- $36 for two 8 oz bottles at beautyarmy.com- Left my hair shiny and smooth but greasy and not particularly soft. I had to wash out the residue after using it. I don’t think I will be purchasing this.

Emani Minerals Foundation Primer and Hydrating Serum- $28 for 0.84 oz at beautyarmy.com- I loved this. This was the one thing I wasn’t even sure I was going to use and I ended up buying some for when I run out. It controls oil and feels like a baby angels bottom.

Ruddy Water Blushed Towelette- $22 for 24 towelettes at beautyarmy.com  (roller ball of unknown size $16.50 and blooming mist of unknown size $12 at shop.ruddywater.com)- The smell was okay but my towelette was dried out. And I would never use perfume towelettes.

So was it worth it? Hmm. I don’t know. I tally up two thumbs up, one thumbs down, two neutrals and one somewhere in between neutral and thumbs down. I do have a full-sized lip gloss to show for it and found a oil-controlling serum I love but other than that I wasn’t thrilled. However I have already picked my January box out and I am much happier with that (there’s only one foil packet!). Overall this box was barely worth my $12 but I’m hopeful things will improve.

Nelson J Argan Oil 7 Non-Foaming Shampoo- December Beauty Army

 $36 for two 8 oz bottles at beautyarmy.com

When I first got this in my Beauty Army box I was a little bummed I didn’t get the conditioner that goes with this but then as I was researching it, I found out there is no conditioner. This shampoo is supposedly shampoo, conditioner, detangler, shine serum, color protection, smoothing serum, and pre-styling lotion all in one. Its also sulfate and paraben free. IF it actually worked like it claims to it would be awesome. It would probably be my new holy grail hair product. I hate layering stuff in my hair because I feel like it weighs it down and makes it a little greasy sometimes. If one product could do all of the stuff this is supposed to in one application that would be amazing. But its not that amazing.

This shampoo is a white cream with little blue beads in it. I’m not really sure what the blue beads are supposed to do. Besides get stuck in my hair. Yeah, I was picking them out for hours after I shampooed. Maybe their supposed to exfoliate your scalp? I really don’t know. Anyway, the shampoo has a lovely sweet minty smell that’s reminiscent of candy canes. The directions say to work it through damp hair, starting at the roots. It says to comb it through with a wide-toothed comb and then rinse it out. It doesn’t foam up at all (obviously since its called non-foaming shampoo). I was a little skeptical because to me foaming up equates to cleaning (I have been brainwashed by the sulfates of modern beauty care) but I was pleasantly surprised by how clean and soft my hair felt as I was rinsing it out. Once it dried my hair certainly was shiny and soft but it also was a little limp and not as clean as it usually is. With the next few washes it got progressively more greasy. Either it left build up I my hair or it just didn’t shampoo out the oil or both. I finally got tired of looking like a grease monkey and broke out my regular shampoo. I did use the Argan Oil 7 as a conditioner of sorts and it worked really well for that. My hair was probably shinier and smoother than its ever been without using a flat iron. Despite that I will probably not be buying this. I read some reviews of it online that seemed positive so I’m not sure what my problem was. Either my hair is super oily or I was using too much of it.

So bottom line, it smells delicious and as long as I used another shampoo it works well to make my hair super shiny and smooth but does not work alone as a shampoo. It does not clean well and leaves a greasy residue. Plus the annoying little beads. So I'm not buying it.

Kiss My Face Lip Balm

$3.49 at drugstore.com

I’m not hugely picky about having natural products but I think its nice when possible. Kiss My Face is a great line of all natural beauty products. This lip balm is something I had not tried before but I got it as a Christmas gift from a co-worker. It comes in six flavors (coconut pineapple, strawberry, sliced peach, vanilla honey, treat mint, and cranberry orange). I got cranberry orange, which is much more orange than cranberry. The woman I’m working with got treat mint, which she says tastes like slightly sweet mint. This lip balm has SPF 15 which I like. Its sort of waxy in texture (which comes from both beeswax and organic beeswax as the second and fourth most common ingredients) and doesn’t moisturize that well. I have to reapply it much more often than my other lip balm. I’ll certainly use up the tube I have but I’m not sure I would buy it again.

Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque- Beauty Army December

Sample was a dinky foil packet
 $33 for 8.5 oz at beautyarmy.com ($11.99 at cosmeu.com)

This hair masque uses macadamia oil and argan oil to condition and nourish hair. The directions say to comb it through hair after its been shampooed and let is soak on for 7 minutes. It’s a very, very thick cream but it goes into hair very well. It almost felt like my hair just soaked it in immediately. It smells wonderful too. Its bright and fruity but warm and earthy at the same time. I’m not sure if I left this on for exactly 7 minutes because I didn’t actually keep track. I just put it on in the shower after I’d washed my hair and then put my hair up in a bun to let it soak in while I finished my shower. As I was rinsing it out my hair felt so soft and silky. I did this on a morning when I had a day off (not to mention that it was nasty and snowy outside) so I just let my hair air dry and didn’t do anything special with it but I did notice that my hair was softer, shinier, and healthier looking. This would be a great weekly deep condition treatment. With that being said, it doesn't condition any better than other (and cheaper) masques I have used. So thats kind of a toss up as to whether I'll buy it again. I'm reviewing another mask right now that I'm kind of falling in love with so we'll see (look for that review).

Opensky

I have mentioned Opensky in several posts so let me take a minute to tell you exactly what it is. It’s a website where “experts” (although I’m not sure how they determine who an expert is) handpick products and items that they love and offer them at sometimes slightly discounted prices. These “experts” can be anything from celebrities telling you about the facial cleanser they use or a celebrity chef telling you which frying pan they use or a celebrity stylist or fashion designer touting the laurels of a brand or item of clothing. They have a wide range of products from electronics, to food items, to jewelry, picked out by a wide range of people. Molly Sims, Kristen Cavalleri, Dr. Phil’s wife, and Bobby Flay are just a few of the recognizable people who list things, along with a bunch of people I don’t know. Now the idea behind this caught my attention. You assume these products are good since experts in their field use them. If some celebrity with perfect skin is recommending this great anti-aging moisturizer that she has used for years, I’m going to tend to believe that it works. If some guy who has a cooking show is saying that this certain brand of frying pan heats more evenly and lasts longer than any other one, I’m going to believe him. You also accumulate points with every purchase that you make and depending on the amount of points you have, you get credits towards your purchases. You receive 10 points per $1 that you spend (and 20 points per dollar for Must Haves), 50 points for every item that you “love” (sort of the equivalent of liking something on Facebook) and there are other various rewards such as inviting a friend and sharing a product on Facebook. Right now I’m at Aqua level and I get a $10 credit twice a month.

Now all of this sounds great but there are some cons. First of all, the credits you get need to be on a minimum of $50. Like I have said before, I hate it when they do that to me. That tends to make me impulse buy things that I don’t need just to get the credit because I feel like I’ve thrown away $10 otherwise. If I can find something useful that I might have bought anyway then its worth it. The next con is the price. Most of these products are very pricey. Its true that some of them are discounted, but not by that much. I haven’t really found much that was worthwhile. I also don’t like the organization of the website. Its organized by categories and subcategories but then its just all thrown together. You can sort by price but you still have to kind of browse through everything to see what’s there. I would prefer sub-subcategories to further narrow down what I’m looking for. And my last and final gripe is the availability of items. They have a certain number of most items. So you go and find something you like but you don’t need it right now or you don’t have the money right now. When you go back to look for it, its probably gone. There are a limited number of everything and then its gone.

So is this worth it? Not really. Since I’m already going to get my credits and stuff I’ll probably keep at least looking around for some stuff and maybe it will give me an idea of things I might like so I can see if I can find it cheaper. And of course, just because some miracle skin cream works for Alicia Silverstone, it might not necessarily work for me.