Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts

First Impressions: Starting my 14 Day YourTea.com Tiny Tea TeaTox

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Hi gems! :) Recently, I was contacted by Yourtea.com to see if I would be interested in doing one of their TeaTox programs. Of course, I said yes because I've never tried one of these programs before and I'm also on the lookout for new and different ways to add healthy fixes to my life! I just received the box of tea yesterday and wanted to give you a first impressions of what I think of the tea so far. Officially, this is my second day, so I'm just giving a brief explanation of what my goals are and what I think of the tea so far :)

Disclaimer: I was sent the product, but the views and opinions I express are completely my own. I am, in no way, influenced by the company to post in a particular way. Just to let you know :)


So first off, they sent me their 14 Day Tiny Tea Teatox. This program costs $35 on their website. Here's a quick breakdown of what this is specifically supposed to do.

Ingredientsoolong tea, jue ming zi, he ye, shan zha, lai fu zi (Chinese herbal ingredients)

Directions: My teatox came with 42 packets of tea bags. Since this is a 14 day program, you're supposed to drink the tea 3 times a day, 30 minutes before or after a meal. 

What it's supposed to do:
 In a nutshell, what this teatox is supposed to do is aid digestion, balance the body, and restore digestion. On the website, it does say that it will can help you lose weight, but technically this is not what the tea is designed to do. Essentially, this would be good for someone who is looking to reboot and restore your body. 

What makes this tea unique: According to the website, the main difference between this teatox and other teatox is it doesn't have a laxative effect. Therefore, you can confidently complete this program without having to worry about it inhibiting your daily lifestyle (aka no running to the bathroom every 5 seconds!)



For any other questions or information, please be sure to check out their website! They have a very thorough explanation of how the teatox works and how it can affect your body. 



Sorry for the blurry photo -_-


Now, I want to discuss my experience with the teatox so far! 

Taste: Ok, this is where I'm a little "if-y". I do like tea, but I actually prefer coffee over tea (If that's any implication as to what my tastes are like). And this tea does have a very "herbal" taste to it. If you have any experience with Chinese or Korean herbal medicines, I would liken the taste to that except very mild. So if you don't like that "natural" taste, I would definitely drink this with lemon or honey. If you don't like tea.... then why are you reading this?? (haha I'm kidding of course.. )


Smell: Again, it has a very natural smell. If you've ever smelled any type of Asian herbal medicine, or gone into a store that has natural asian medicine, it smells just like that!


Side Effects: So far, I've drank 4 of these teas (I started yesterday). I did experience a headache last night, but that's gone away. I don't know if this has anything to do with the teatox specifically, but I haven't experienced much yet (Hey, it's still the 2nd day!)


Anyways, let me know if you've ever done a tea tox! I'll keep you updated on my experience so please check back or check my Youtube Channel, The Beauty Breakdown, as I will be doing a video about it when I finish!


xoxo, Morgan   


Wanna see the final results??

  

  

Korean Bites: Lunch of Japchae, Kimchi, and Squid Kimchi

Thursday, June 12, 2014

I'm out of food at my house... well at least food I'm willing to eat. Because of this, I decided to venture up the street and visit Market World (Han Nam Market)! I love Market World because they carry all of my favorite Korean and asian dishes. I also love that they freshly prepare the dishes, so they are very authentic and have that "my Korean mom made it" taste. Anyways, I decided to take a couple pictures and should you what I decided to have for lunch!

First off, got to have the kimchi if this is going to be a proper Korean lunch. Market World is great because they offer different kinds of kimchi...everything from whole cabbage kimchi to radish kimchi to cucumber kimchi (my fave!). They also offer them in different sizes! This size in particular is the medium size. They have a smaller jar and a larger jar as well!

market world han nam market hannam korean lunch korea food kimchi squid potato noodles glass


market world han nam market hannam korean lunch korea food kimchi squid potato noodles glass
Yummy! Love my kimchi :) 
Next up is "seasoned squid". I'm not sure what the proper Korean name is for this dish, but that what the label says! They charge by the pound also! This has to be one of my all-time favorite ways to eat squid!

market world han nam market hannam korean lunch korea food kimchi squid potato noodles glass
Look at that tentacle! 
For my carbs, I picked out the "seasoned potato noodles". These are glass noodles that are made from potato starch! I chose this dish because it's been pretty hot where I live and you can eat these cold (I actually prefer them cold!) 

market world han nam market hannam korean lunch korea food kimchi squid potato noodles glass
I love that this dish comes loaded with vegetables!
I know what you're thinking...where's the rice?! This was more than enough food for me without the rice :) I know this was a random post but I thought I'd include some more "lifestyle" type of posts! Let me know what you think and what you're favorite Korean/asian dish is! :)

xoxo, Morgan

Daiso Japan Cosmetic Makeup and Skincare Haul May 2014 + Review

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Yay! So I went to Daiso Japan for the first time....FINALLY! If you're not familiar with Daiso Japan, it's a store that sells items for $1.50 (unless marked otherwise). I've seen a couple hauls from Daiso, so I knew I had to go and check it out for myself! So many goodies :) Watch the video below to see all the items I bought! :)


After trying out a couple of the products I bought, I decided to do a quick review! I noticed these products got a lot of hype, so I was excited to pick them up and see if they are worth the money (Hey, a $1.50 is still $1.50!)

So let's check out the BREAKDOWN of all the products I bought at Daiso Japan :)

daiso japan cosmetic makeup and skincare haul may 2014 review sheet masks mascara base coat eyebrow pencil thebeautybreakdown the beauty breakdown morgansbbd


First, let's look at the PORE CARE PACK...


daiso japan cosmetic makeup and skincare haul may 2014 review sheet masks mascara base coat eyebrow pencil thebeautybreakdown the beauty breakdown morgansbbd

As you can see, the packaging shows a dramatic difference between the "before" and "after" picture. Yuck! This package also came with 4 nose strips.
daiso japan cosmetic makeup and skincare haul may 2014 review sheet masks mascara base coat eyebrow pencil thebeautybreakdown the beauty breakdown morgansbbd

As instructions describe on the back, I clean the my skin around my nose and got it slightly damp. I then removed the strip from the transparent sheet and placed it on my nose. The strip did stick to my nose securely, and I did not feel like it was going to fall off.
daiso japan cosmetic makeup and skincare haul may 2014 review sheet masks mascara base coat eyebrow pencil thebeautybreakdown the beauty breakdown morgansbbd
After 15 minutes, I removed the strip like the instruction said to. This thing hurt a little! It was similar to taking off a band-aid. Because of this I was hopeful and was confident that it would remove my blackheads.
daiso japan cosmetic makeup and skincare haul may 2014 review sheet masks mascara base coat eyebrow pencil thebeautybreakdown the beauty breakdown morgansbbd
 WRONG! As you can see, there is literally NOTHING on the strip (the little white dots you see were actually there originally.) I was hoping to see a dramatic difference in the appearance of my skin, but it looked exactly the same as before. Wah :(
daiso japan cosmetic makeup and skincare haul may 2014 review sheet masks mascara base coat eyebrow pencil thebeautybreakdown the beauty breakdown morgansbbd
I did try these strips a second time and thought maybe I had to get my nose wetter. That didn't help and the results were completely the same. I even forced my boyfriend to try the strips because his pores are a little bigger than mine and we couldn't seem to get these things to work for us! 

Pros: 
- well... it did stick to my nose! 

Cons: 
- didn't remove any black/white heads
- smelled funny
- skin looked exactly the same after 

Next, let's look at the breakdown of the Collagen Face Mask... 
daiso japan cosmetic makeup and skincare haul may 2014 review sheet masks mascara base coat eyebrow pencil thebeautybreakdown the beauty breakdown morgansbbd

Because I can't read Japanese, I'm not actually sure what the benefits of using this product are (if you can read Japanese, feel free to enlighten me in the comments below! :) ). I'm assuming since it's a collagen mask there would be firming, tightening, anti-aging, etc. This pack came with 3 sheets. As the directions stated, I cleansed my face while showering and applied the mask to my face for 20 minutes. Simple enough!  
daiso japan cosmetic makeup and skincare haul may 2014 review sheet masks mascara base coat eyebrow pencil thebeautybreakdown the beauty breakdown morgansbbd
This thing looks so scary!
After removing it, my face did have a little bit more of a glow and felt refreshed. I didn't see anything dramatic but I enjoyed the fresh feeling it gave my face! 

Pros:
- left my skin feeling refreshed
- relaxing 
- cooled my skin down 

Cons: 
- didn't fit my face well (you can see in the picture how it's almost falling into my eyes!)
- no long term benefits

Next, the Cosmetic Paper "Heart"...

daiso japan cosmetic makeup and skincare haul may 2014 review sheet masks mascara base coat eyebrow pencil thebeautybreakdown the beauty breakdown morgansbbd

While shopping at Daiso Japan, I was overwhelmed by all the blotting tissues they had! They had so many to choose from! I ended up picking this one because I liked the design on the box and because it came with 250 sheets!! I feel like it's pretty difficult to mess up blotting tissues so these get an "A" from me!
Pros:
- cheap
- blots excess oil
- will last FOREVER

Cons:
- not travel friendly (box is too flimsy)
- slightly bulky

Alright, on the the Mascara Base Coat...
daiso japan cosmetic makeup and skincare haul may 2014 review sheet masks mascara base coat eyebrow pencil thebeautybreakdown the beauty breakdown morgansbbd
I LOVE this packaging! It's so cute :)
 I was really excited to try this because anything that makes my lashes look nicer is awesome to me. I tried this 2 ways: 1) I applied it before my normal mascara, let it dry and then applied mascara on top 2) I applied this base and before it dried, I applied my normal mascara. However, this sadly flaked on me :( It did build my lashes and make them look fuller, however, it just didn't look that nice. A little too clumpy for my liking :( Below, I got a close up so you can see what the brush looks like!

daiso japan cosmetic makeup and skincare haul may 2014 review sheet masks mascara base coat eyebrow pencil thebeautybreakdown the beauty breakdown morgansbbd
I actually really like the brush!

Pros:
- nice brush
- super cute packaging!

Cons:
- flaky
- clumpy
- doesn't lengthen 

Finally, the Eyebrow Pencil...

daiso japan cosmetic makeup and skincare haul may 2014 review sheet masks mascara base coat eyebrow pencil thebeautybreakdown the beauty breakdown morgansbbd

This is something I also saw on other Youtube channels a lot! I'm big on making sure my eyebrows look perfect so I was very interested in this pencil. It has a slated pencil on one side (picture below) and a spoolie on the other side (sorry, I forgot to take a picture of it :( haha )
daiso japan cosmetic makeup and skincare haul may 2014 review sheet masks mascara base coat eyebrow pencil thebeautybreakdown the beauty breakdown morgansbbd
 For me, this was ok. It's a little difficult for me to work with because it's very light so I have to kind of "layer" it on to get the desired eyebrow shade. Also, once the slant has worn away, I also had a hard time filling in my eyebrows neatly. It's just not precise enough for my liking... I also don't like that I had to press hard to get it to work.
daiso japan cosmetic makeup and skincare haul may 2014 review sheet masks mascara base coat eyebrow pencil thebeautybreakdown the beauty breakdown morgansbbd
The top swatch is just one swipe on the pencil and the bottom swatch is FOUR swipes.

Pros:
- comes with a spoolie
- a natural looking color
- slanted edge

Cons:
- you have to press hard
- not precise after you wear the slant down
- takes multiple swipes to get it dark enough 

Conclusion: Unfortunately, I didn't fall in love with anything :( Although, the packaging of all the products are super cute and girly and make me happy :) It's also fun to try new things, even if they're not all winners. 

But Morgan... is it worth the money?

daiso japan cosmetic makeup and skincare haul may 2014 review sheet masks mascara base coat eyebrow pencil thebeautybreakdown the beauty breakdown morgansbbdKinda. I mean, all the items were only a $1.50 each but that still $1.50 I could've spent elsewhere. The only thing I would repurchase would be the blotting tissue because they're effective and you get so many! 

Well that's my review :) Let me know if you tried anything from Daiso Japan you love because I want to check them out!! 

xoxo, Morgan