Quimica Alemana Esmalte Endurecedor de Unas

*Update below

My animal claws have been breaking at the corners lately and I am pissed. I had to glue them to keep them from breaking any further and my nails look like a mess. I'm currently in the process of growing them out and would like them to have a particular shape. The only thing that has kept my nails from falling apart when I did a horrible stint with UV nails is this.  

 Quimica Alemana Esmalte Endurecedor de Unas is what I got from my mom and this is the best nail hardener ever. I got this written in a different language, but all I know is that this helped return my animal claws to its former glory from being soft, babyish, and vulnerable. Now know that I can go back to cutting and torturing people with my nails.

Most of it is written in a different language and I managed to get the ingredients in English but the shot of it is horrible. Had a bit** of a time focusing this.

Is it wrong that one of the ingredients is formaldehyde? Anyway this is my second bottle of this stuff and it's the only nail hardener that truly works on me. I don't use anything else, and it looks like a shiny top coat so I don't put on any other nail polishes. The only weird thing is the side effects. Now this is where it gets strange. My mother told me that if I start to get nightmares, it's because of this. I don't know what in the world would cause it to give me nightmares as a side effect, but luckily, this didn't happen to me. However, it has happened to several people that have tried it. Creepy.

*I heard that some people were using this daily. No. *slap* Use a light coat and apply once every week or every other week. Once your nails become hard, stop usage until you feel your nails getting weak again. This is not an everyday application. I should have been more precise with my review and I apologize. *

My diet for my vacation has been failing miserably. This is what I eat as a snack. Hershey pie and Midnight Moon goat cheese. Addictive.

Nature Republic Whitening Collagen Mask review

I've heard of Nature Republic but it's a brand that I've never tried before. I know that the Korean singer Rain used to endorse it, but after that I know nothing. I usually just end up using Missha, Face Shop, Innisfree along with Etude House, but rarely do I use any other. However, I may need to change my mind. I've used this once and I love it. Mys sister used one pack each and my gosh, I wish that this was easier to find. I've only seen it in G market but not this exact one. I've never tried G market but I'm sorely tempted to try it now. 

 The mask comes in a JYJ endorsed packaging and these boys look too good and pretty. Too pretty that they threaten my femininity... as well as a small part of my inner dormant masculinity. Either way, this mask is shaped like any other, with a creepy cutout moth, nose and eye holes; it seems to match my face pretty well. I was a bit worried because most Koreans boast about having a small face and thought that my unusually large head wouldn't fit, but no problems. After washing your face leave it on for 10-15 min before removing and patting the leftover serum onto your face.

The smell is pleasant, and not very overpowering. It smells like ...fresh cosmetics. Can't describe it but it smells like a cosmetic counter. Not offensive, but I loved the smell. The serum is not runny and didn't let my mask slide all over. The serum absorbed fairly well, and I felt pretty moisturized so I didn't apply a lotion or anything afterwards. My sister, who has dry skin didn't complain nor apply moisturizer afterwards, so I believe that this pack works well for the entire spectrum of the oily and dry skin line. My overall skin looks so much brighter and clearer the next day without being oily. The weird thing is that it didn't do anything for my acne scars, so my acne scars look redder because my skin looks brighter. Does that make sense? I think that this would be perfect for when my skin is blemish free and would love to keep this as a usual routine thing.

One more thing that I have been using like Crazy is this Meyer's Room Freshener spray. Bought it at a Korean market for ~$4 and it's been so useful. I hate it when I cook something delicious in the morning and come back later the smell of what I had cooked still lingers. Especially if it was something stanky but delicious. So I spray this all over and the smell disappears and all I'm left with is the smell of Geraniums. It works so well.

For instance, my mother manged to spill fish sauce all over the kitchen floor, and while I was cleaning it up, I almost vomited with the bile coming up to my neck. After spritzing some of this, the smell was masked so well, that I didn't have any problems cleaning up. Unlike Febreeze, this stuff gets rid of the odor instead of mixing in with it and forming a hybrid of laundry + bacon scent. Don't I sound like an ad? Lol but I'm putting this out there just in case someone might find need of it.

One of my most hated smells is the odor of reconstituted mushrooms, especially fried with garlic and onions. Gives me an awful headache. I hate the smell of it cooking but love the taste. Weird huh.

Packing for Traveling

When looking at which makeup to bring traveling, I always have these three things in mind. Disposable, versatile and necessary. I try to bring not only makeup but also clothes that fit into these three categories. I don't want to worry about losing something that I can't replace nor do I want to bog myself down with extra items that I'm not going to use. I've always been the type to pack months worth of clothing for a week long trip but I've managed to outgrow the habit. Last time I went on a trip to Maine, I managed not to wear a lick of makeup and I have a feeling that this time won't be much different.

 I am packing the elf neutral Beauty Encyclopedia, Co Bigelow lipgloss, Smashbox Luminizing Lotion, Burt Bee's eye cream, Benefit's concealer, Stila Convertible in lilium, Benefit's Lemonaide and my Etude House Powder. Fairly basic and the only items that I'd regret losing is the Etude House powder and the Stila color.

I swatched from L to R: Etude House Powder, Lemonaide, Lilium, Luminizor and the concealer. 

This is the beauty palette. A good mix of neutrals. I'm not the type to wear really bright makeup, so this is perfect. If I need anything else I know that my sister will pack the rest. She tends to go crazy with the lip stains. Crazy.

I'll only be gone for the week and I promised myself to take a lot of pictures. I took a good amount of pictures for all my other trip but never put them up because I feel uncomfortable putting up our faces, so it'll mostly be scenery and food. Plus, this blog really isn't that big, so I shouldn't really worry. I also have samples from Nature's Republic that I got from my mom's friend who went to Korea. We asked for nothing but she brought us face masks and samples. My sister ended up with the masks and I with the samples. Ass end of the deal. Rather than rebelling and getting an ass whooping, am very excited to try the brand, because I've never tried it before. Don't know if I can comfortably do reviews since they are sample sizes and I won't be able to try them out long. Oh well, I've done reviews based on worse.

Body Shop's Tea Tree Line

I bitch and moan about my skin constantly and today is no different. The new lotion is keeping my face the same texture, meaning no dry patches but it still hasn't done much for the acne problem nor do I expect it to. It never billed itself as one so I won't dislike it because of that. So, I use other products to help with the acne. I posted a review a while back on the Body Shop's Tea Tree toner, and like a dog with its tail between its legs, I am back. Along with it is the Tea Tree Gel and the Face mask. I wanted to get everything since it was a but 2 get 1 free sale but I don't need an another lotion or face wash. I have about 4 face washes that I rotate on. 

 The toner is a bit different with some thing setting on the bottom but still seems to work the same. So unless there is a big change, no need for a review.

The gel stick is something new and just in time to greet it was a massive, red and tender to the touch zit in between my eyebrows.Yeah, I get zits in the weirdest places along with the typical places. Lucky me. I've used this three times, and with each swipe after my nightly skincare routine,  my zit seems to have gone down. Not saying that it's a miracle cure to have instantaneous results, but it does seem to work and decreased the size of my pimple.

 But the problem is the applicator; while I make sure to apply on a clean face, I worry that I'm contaminating the bottle because of the applicator. I don't know why, but the some of the zit-be-goners are some of the horribly packaged products I own. Look at the elf's zit stick and tell me that the roller ball is sanitary.

Last product in the bunch was the face mask. I used it just once so no full review yet. But for that one time, my face tingled like crazy. I liked it.

I've also applied lemon juice to my acne scars because I heard that the juice would lighten it, so I'm testing that out. All of this cost about $30, so it better make my skin acne free. LOL, such unrealistic dreams.

As many of you know Thanksgiving is coming up and like the previous years, I was going to chronicle my culinary disasters, but the family has been making a big push for a store bought meal. What is the world coming to when they reject free homemade food and labor, especially on thanksgiving? So this year I may not be able to post the food. I'll try to blackmail and weasel out a yes but it's going to require a lot of begging, tears and a hefty swallowing of bitter pride.

Has anyone gone crazy at the Sephora Sale?

Honestly, I held myself back by unnecessarily violent force. I was tempted by a couple of pretty baubbles but felt that othing was really worth getting. I really didn't need anymore eyeshadow (Urban Decay Rollergirl and Nars duos excluded), lip products or any other makeup. What I did spend on was a bit of skin. My face has been crazy with the change in weather and the tea tree oil isn't helping. I'm oily on the T zone and dry everywhere else. I also started to break out horribly on the cheeks and chin. Nothing short of a miracle is going to save me now. 

I got the First Aid beauty cream to apply to my face. The name itself drew me in and I need some first aid for my face. Used this for the first time today and it looks pretty good.  My skin tends to be a real diva and if it doesn't like it, it will let you know overnight. No real dry spots and no new pimples, so far so good.

Feels light and has a siliconeish feel because Dimethicone is one of the ingredients but it states that it has no parabens or harsh chemicals. Meh. I'll use it and see if I see a difference.

If this doesn't work, I can always use this as a hand lotion so I really have nothing to lose here.

Don't ever follow my skincare routine. I am a creature of whimsical change and will try out new products without a care. Just thought that I'd warn you incase you complain about all of the different products I use. I also got a Murad eye cream that seems promising

UPDATE: This product did not work and broke the heck out of my skin. It's now a decent hand moisturizer but doesn't compare to my HG Kose Urea hand cream.