Top 10 health/beauty foods

Got this quick list from http://free-beauty-tips.glam.com/ Any added links are from my personal experience, opinion, and preference.

1; APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
Has great healing properties, keeps skin supple. It's heavy concentration of enzymes peel off dead skin cells. It breaks down fat and helps to digest food properly.TRY THIS: Shiny Hair Recipe (for brunettes & redheads)

2; CARROTS
Maintains the outer layer of skin to prevent premature aging. Also good for your eyes!
TRY THIS: Burt's Bees Garden Carrot Complexion Soap

3; CHEESE
A slice or two of swiss, cheddar, or gouda added to your daily diet will help block bacteria in the mouth and prevent cavities.

4; CITRUS FRUITS
Holds the skin together by forming collagen. This is important because collagen cannot be added to skin topically. Cleanses and purifies.
TRY THIS: Burt's Bees Orange Essense Facial Cleanser

5; CRANBERRIES
Keep urinary tract lining healthy. Advised to drink if you have a UTI. Good anti-oxidant.

6; GARLIC
Helps combat wrinkles and restores tissue.

7; NON-FAT YOGURT
High in calcium, may help maintain a healthy digestive system.
TRY THIS: Plain Yogurt Facial Mask Recipe

8; SWEET POTATOES
Sweet potatoes are full of vitamin A, known to be a remarkable anti-wrinkle agent. The result is clearer, smoother skin.

9; TOMATOES
Rich in vitamin A, C, and potassium.
TRY THIS: Burt's Bees Garden Tomato Complexion Soap

10; WHEAT GERM
Add 2-3 tablespoons to your daily diet (in cereal, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc) to help get rid of pimples quickliy and effectively.

Eating Do's and Don'ts

Although I try to eat healthy, I don't always eat the best kind of foods lol :P Anyway, here's a quick list of some eating do's and dont's when it comes to the food groups you should be eating daily.

1; VEGETALBES

Eat 3-5 servings per day.

DO: Include atleast one serving of raw, leafy greens.

DON'T: Overload a salad with dressing, croutons, bacon bits, etc. This detracts the nutritional value of the actual salad.

2; FRUITS

Eat 2-3 servings per day.

DO: Eat atleast 1/2 cup of chopped or sliced fruits; this is one serving.

DON'T: Eat only jello with fruits in it, or fruit cups, etc. These are often full of added ingredients that make it taste better, but do not constitute a serving.

3; MEAT

Eat THREE 3-ounce servings a day, try to make 2 servings turkey or chicken. One serving of fish per day is ideal.

DO: Cut off ALL fat!

DON'T: Eat MORE than THREE 3-ounce servings of meat per day.

4; DAIRY

Eat 2 servings daily.

DO: Have 8-ounces of milk or yogurt; this is one serving.

DON'T: Eat ONLY icecream, cheese, flavored yogurt, or flavored milk! These are often full of added ingredients that are sweet but fattening.

5; FATS
Eat sparingly.

DO: Eat ONLY 2 servings a day (things like salad dressing, cooking oil, butter, mayonaisse, etc).

DON'T: Over-eat junk food, fast food, sweets, or desserts! These are full of fats and oils and may taste good, but are not always good for you.

Neutrogena triple moisture products review

I went to Walmart today to check out the Neutrogena products... I still REALLY want to try out the Pink Grapefruit and Stress Control lines. I also need new spot treatment products :P I also think the acne line should be pretty good, so that's something I'm keeping in mind to take a look at. This prompted me to write a review about some products from their hair care line.

Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner and
Neutrogena Triple Moisture Silk Touch Leave-in Cream

The three main components in this line are naturally derived extracts that penetrate to help moisturize each layer of the hair strand:

Olive: penetrates to the center
Meadowfoam Seed: helps moisturize the middle
Sweet Almond: wraps the surface

Since I love most of Neutrogena's skin care products, it's a give-in that I would also like their hair products. So here's my low-down on these two products!

TRIPLE MOISTURE DAILY DEEP CONDITIONER

Here's what Neutrogena had to say about it:
Combines the restorative power of a deep treatment with the ease of a quick conditioning rinse. Dramatically improve your hair's softness, smoothness and manageability with this daily conditioner that acts like a deep conditioner. Even extra dry or over-processed hair feels soft and smooth all day after just a single use. Olive, Meadowfoam and Sweet Almond extracts penetrate the hair strand to defy dryness. Just a little of this rich, creamy formula goes a long way to condition, detangle and add shine.

Here's what I have to say about it:
I used this every day for a period of time, and it worked extremely well for me. I started using it after realizing how damaged my hair was from bleaching and dying it constantly. The conditioner is thick & heavy and sets in hair easily, unlike thinner and more liquidy conditioners. Plus, it smells great (: I usually leave in conditioner for as long as it takes me to read the entire conditioner bottle (at a moderate pace). After washing it out, I immediately felt the difference. My hair was silky, soft, smooth, shiny, and completely tangle-free. The dryness/"crunchyness" was gone. It kept this consistency even when and after I blow dried it. However, I haven't been using this conditioner lately because my hair began to tolerate it. So nowadays, everytime I need a healthy hair boost, I use this conditioner to treat my hair. It also kind of runs out sooner than you think it will, but still has enough for a month or so.

TRIPLE MOISTURE SILK TOUCH LEAVE-IN CONDITIONER

Here's what Neutrogena had to say about it:
Moisturizes for instant and lasting improvements to hair texture and manageability. The ideal consistency for medium to thick hair textures, this silky leave-in cream melts effortlessly into strands, moisturizing while diminishing flyaways and frizz. Hair stays naturally soft and touchable all day - no flaking, heaviness, or stickiness. The advanced formula helps improve hair quality with every use. Contains UV filters.

Here's what I have to say about it:
This is similar to the daily conditioner except you can leave it in throughout the day. It is a little more liquidy than the conditioner, but it's still easy to apply and quick to absorb. It also smells great (: I use it as a heat protectant after I blow dry and before I flat iron my hair. It keeps the hair moisturized, soft, shiny, and smooth. It works well as a de-tangler and can be used on wet (If you didn't condition and want to de-tangle) or dry hair (if you want to protect and de-tangle). After I blow dry my hair, it's usually a little more volumized than I'd like it to be, so after applying the leave-in conditioner on my hair, it helped flatten out and reduce frizz and treat the heat damage. It also made my hair sleeker for straightening and maintained the softness.

ALL IN ALL, I really have nothing negative to comment on about these products. I have yet to try the other products from this line, but I'll be thinking about that soon.

So, here's the highlights of these products:
• Relatively inexpensive (~$8)
• Thick, rich, creamy formula sets easily
• Ultra moisturizing for soft, smooth, silky, shiny hair
• Renews damaged & over processed hair (made specifically for dry hair)
• Smells great: olive, meadowfoam seed, sweet almond
• Can be used daily or on occasionI bought mine from Long's Drugs but you can order from neutrogena.com or drugstore.com, etc.

Eyeko beauty review

So, I figured I'd post some pics and do a review of my teeny tiny little haul from Eyeko. I'm so excited it came in :D Shipping took about a week and the only complaint I have about it is that when I got my package, the boxes the items in were a little smashed. But everything else was great (:

Sorry for the semi-grainy pictures, my screencap app destroyed the quality lol. I haven't tried everything thoroughly yet, but I did a quick swipe apply and swatches. At first glance, these Eyeko products are everything that they're cracked up to be.

The packaging is super cute, girly, and PINK (: For some reason, I thought the Fat Balm would be HUGE, but it is pretty tiny. Still adorable though, perfect purse size. The Eyeko Cream comes in a nice-sized tub that looks like it'll last super long. The only thing about this though (like a lot of reviews mentioned) is contamination. No one wants to be dipping their fingers into a tub of product. So make sure you wash your hands before you use! Oh, and my free gift! I got a Beauty Rehab lipgloss tube.

Here's some shots of the ingredients (click to enlarge) and their accompanying reviews (:

Beauty Rehab Lipgloss

Product Description: Commit your lips to Beauty Rehab Spearmint Lip Balm. Treats chapped, dry and flaky lips in 3 steps: Provides Instant Relief, Soothes, Smoothes & Protects, Locks in Moisture. Alleviate symptoms of dryness with an intensive treatment of Sweet Almond Oil and Shea Butter. Lemon and Spearmint Oil freshen breath. Recovery is hydrated lips that are repaired and cared for. PETROLEUM, PRESERVATIVE AND CHEMICAL FREE FOR A NATURAL HIGH. Beauty Rehab Spearmint Lip Balm features nothing but the best quality natural ingredients.

Pros: smells nice, no minty feeling, instant moisture and softness, gives a nice shine

Cons: a little grainy at first, melts easily (will explain)

What I thought about it: Overall, I really like this lipgloss... grateful it was a free gift, it retails for $10 from Liparazzi. It's very smooth, not sticky at all, and doesn't have a minty tingly feeling when applied. It's clear and gives a nice shine which is good for everday wear or whenever you lips are dry; it provides instant moisture and softens and smooths on contact. However, I keep this in my makeup drawer and after a few months of not using it, when I began using it again, it seems melted. It still smells fine and looks fine, but it's just a lot more liquidy than it used to be; which is strange because it hasn't been hot or anything lately. Other than that, I still like this.

Minty Fat Balm

Product Description: Berry-liscious tints with light reflecting particles and added moisture for softer, sexier lips. Smooth on to cheeks too for a fruity flush. Available in 3 sheer shades.

Pros: soft, shimmery, nude pink color, smells nice, minty feeling when applied, goes on smooth, not sticky, super cute packaging, small size

Cons: not too moisturizing on its own

What I thought about it: I'm totally in love with this lip balm (: The color is so soft and nice... perfect for a nude lip with just the amount of iridescent pink color. It smells great and is the perfect size for keeping in your purse or makeup back. I like that fact that it is, well, Fat. A lot more product can be applied without having to go over your lips a lot. The only thing I didn't like was that it didn't seem very moisturizing to me, but that is easily remedied by applying a moisturizing lip balm before the fat balm.

Eyeko Cream

Product Description: Create a flawless base with Eyeko's 3-in-1 Cream: MOISTURISER, HIGHLIGHTER & EYE CREAM in 1! Infused with skin perfecting light reflectors and antioxidant Vitamins A & E plus a Vitamin C boost for a radiant, clear complexion. Eyeko says: "To get that A-list glow skip foundation and use Eyeko Cream all over focusing on the eye and cheek area for lit from within skin."

Pros: Soft, pink shimmery color, goes on sheer for a healthy glow, great as an eye and foundation primer, not sticky, goes on smooth, LOTS of product.

Cons: it's in a tub jar :( was a little "stiff" at first, if you apply too much, it's a little too shimmery and whitish, doesn't seem TOO moisturizing.

What I thought about it: I'm also really satisfied with this cream. It works super well as a primer for face and lids and when you apply foundation or e/s over it, it gives a nice healthy glow. I've found that it works better for me when I mix it with a bit of my moisturizer before applying, which makes it much more creamy and easier to smooth on. The first time I applied it, it was "stiff" and didn't go on too smooth. It might help to hold it under a blowdryer before application to prep the product, but I haven't tried that yet. I don't really use this on my entire face, just as a cheek and eye highlight. It works really well and there's so much product, it'll last me a long time. However, it is in a tub jar, which is unhygenic... wouldn't want to contaminate the whole tub :( So make sure to wash your hands before you dip your fingers in it or use a little spatula to get the product out.

And here's my swatches (in order from left to right:

Eyeko Cream, Minty Fat Balm, Beauty Rehab gloss)

Neutrogena Fresh Foaming cleanser review

So, I figured since I did one Neutrogena review, I'd do another. This was the other "foaming" cleanser that I talked about in my last post.

NEUTROGENA FRESH FOAMING CLEANSER

Product description: Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser is a cleanser and makeup remover in one. Removing makeup before you go to bed has never been easier. This dermatologist-tested formula effectively removes dirt, oil and makeup. It even removes eye makeup, without soaps or oils that can sting or irritate the sensitive eye area. No more raccoon eyes! It rinses completely and wont leave any pore-clogging residue. Forget the excuses and get refreshingly clean skin and complete makeup removal in one step.

Ingredients: Purified Water, Glycerin, Lauryl Glucoside, Decyl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cocamide DEA, Glycereth-7, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate, Glycol Stearate, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Tetrasodium EDTA, DMDM Hydantoin, Citric Acid, Fragrance.

Pros: Hygenic pump bottle, very light cleanser.

Cons: Did not remove my makeup very well, smell can be bothersome, did not foam, somewhat drying.

What I thought about it: So, this product is supposed to be a makeup remover. My mom says it works pretty well for her, but for me, it didn't cut it. It did not remove my eyemakeup well, rather smeared it around... and it stayed there. I had to take it off additionally. Also, the cleanser does not foam, as advertised on the bottle. It barely even creates a lather, imo. No matter how much I used (dime sized to quarter sized amount), it did not seem to lather up well, neither take off any more of my makeup. T0 me, the smell was a bit strong; so I didn't like that either. As for the results on my face after using this product, it made my skin seem a bit tight and dried out (nothing that can't be fixed with moisturizer).

I guess the real downside for this product imo is that it didn't remove my makeup as well as I'd expected it would. Atleast it didn't irritate my skin or cause any breakouts. Overall, I'd have to say that I would only reccomend this product if you want a quick face wash, like in the morning. It's not something I would use daily or purchase again.