Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Drying Lotion from Mario Badescu



everyone has pimples and whiteheads and just wishes they go away quickly. well have no fear!! mario badescu's new product is simply marvelous!! i fell inlove with his products and planning on buying more of his products. his products and affordable. as i looked at his websites, a lot of celebrities use his products.
this product is perfect for pimples and whiteheads. it will shrink those babies quickly in a few nights. this is good for all skin types. it's $17.00 for the bottle and it's not that bad of a price compared to the others that are over $20.00. i seriously love it!! after washing, toning, and moisturizing my face i use a cotton swab and dip it into the pink sediment in the bottle. then, dab it on unwanted whiteheads and let it dry. don't rub it on since it needs a good concentration of that pink sediment on it. sleep with it on and wash it off the morning. give it a few days and it will be gone. i also love how they give y0u beauty tips so that you can use this product in several ways.
thought i'd share this product with you since i honestly do not like pimples and whiteheads. give it a try by purchasing this item. who knows you might like it too and share it with a friend.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

beauty: banana facial mask

i went to see my esthnetician the other day and we were talking about facial masks to use when staying at home and not spending too much money. she mentioned banana facial mask and well i thought it was a great idea and tried it. then, she went off talking about adding more things to the banana facial mask and i was just like wow i'll definitely try that. so today i definitely decided to try it w/ my sister-in-law and our skin felt great.
first, we all know that bananas are fruits and good for eating, but it also benefit our skin when applied in a facial mask. they are high in vitamin c, a, b6 and b12, plus they contain potassium and magnesium. so therefore, the fruit acids in bananas will help shed off dead skin and energize the complexion.
Banana Facial Mask
you need:
  • 1 banana
  • 1 tsp honey
instructions:
  • mash the banana in a bowl and add the honey
  • apply the facial mask to your clean face, neck and make sure you avoid the eye area
  • leave on for 15 minutes and wash off w/ warm water.

these two items will give your skin a firmer and the moisturizing effect as well as exfoliating your dead skin cells. you'll love the outcome of it. meanwhile, while you try that? i'll try using other facial masks for you to try at home to save money. there are more homemade facial mask on the way.

Monday, June 22, 2009

food: baked white sweet potato fries



a couple of months ago i was watching cook yourself thin on the lifetime channel. i learned that if you have bake sweet potato fries that it has less calories than regular french fries. so of course i was curious and decided to give it a shot. instead of using the regular sweet potato fries, i used the white ones intead since it bakes better than the others. i'm pretty sure you will love it too. so here's the recipe so you can try it at home and share it w/ your family. there are different flavors that you could put on it. some people make it sweet or spicy or just plain.



ingredients:



  • 2 or 3 white sweet potatoes (cut 1/2 in. thick)

  • 2 tbsp of olive oil

  • 3 tsp of salt

  • 2 tsp of black pepper

  • 2 tsp of paprika


directions:

  1. preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C)

  2. in a large bowl or plastic bag you can mix all of the ingredients together. shake the plastic bag or mix the large bowl whichever you prefer. make sure all of the sweet potatoes are evenly coated. spread the fries out in single layers on a large baking sheet.

  3. bake for 30 minutes or wait til it gets brown and crispy. i just left mine in the oven for that long w/o flipping it. you are more than welcome to flip it every 10 minutes. serve hot.

well, i hoped that you enjoyed that recipe. now, if you want it to be sweet, substitute sugar or cinnamon with the paprika, as for spicy? substitute it w/ cayenne pepper. you are more than welcome to modifying the ingredients. so feel free to leave me a comment if you would like to let me know what you did w/ your recipe. thanks. =)

Sunday, June 21, 2009

korean food - bulgogi (grilled marinated beef)

a week ago i decided to check out the korean dishes and found a couple of recipes that i would make instead of going to the restaurant. i found this recipe called bulgogi in korean meaning grilled marinated beef. i had to try this since the grill was available. i made 2 batches and it was a success. well somewhat. i certainly did some experimenting with it when it came to marinating it.
the first batch
in the recipe it mentioned marinate for 30 minutes or 2-3 hours and so i followed the directions. the sauce was sweet and the beef was delicious! what i did was the i took the left over sauce, boiled it and used it to dip the beef in it. it was so good!!
the second batch
this time i marinated it overnight thinking that it would taste even better for the beef. i was wrong since the sauce wasn't as sweet as the first batch. other than that? the beef still tastes liked the first batch. it was just the sauce.

Bulgogi (Grilled marinated Beef) Recipe

Ingredients:
  • 2 lb beef (loin tip steak)*, thin slice
  • 3 green onions, sliced in a bias
  • 4 button mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds ( i didn't use this)
  • 1-2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp juice of ginger ( i boiled ginger instead for the juice)
  • 1/2 onion, grind in a food processor ( i didn't do this since you already had it in the beginning)
directions:
  1. have sliced beef very thin.
  2. combine all ingredients in a big bowl.
  3. marinade beef and vegetables for at least 30 minutes.1-2 hours is the best, after more than several hours it will taste too salty.
  4. grill the beef.
  5. serve with rice. (optional)

well i hope you enjoyed making that dish and let me know what you did different this time. enjoy and please update me. i would love to hear more from you.

Friday, June 19, 2009

beauty, cosmetics, and food

i decided to write about three important things that i love to do, beauty, cosmetics and food. i will add pictures and review them for you. perhaps, give you a couple of tips too for either one of them. who knows you may find some things you might like as you continue to read through my blog.

cosmetics and beauty are a girl's bestfriend when it comes to looking good and being presentable to the public. cosmetics can be an addiction most especially if you are just beginning to learn how to apply make-up. beauty, on the other hand is another way to take care of your skin so you can look healthy and younger as you age. i know when i learned about these things, i looked for a guru to help me get into the right path to learning about them. what's a guru? according to wikipedia, a guru is a person who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and uses it to guide others.

food is something we all love. cooking and eating food are my favorite and my husband loves it too. i search for recipes and basically modify it if i do not have the ingredients for it. sometimes, they come out awful and sometimes they come out delicious. i love cooking international dishes! i think that is one way to explore it and use it for future travelling references.

this is my first day to keep track of things, so as each day passes i'm exploring more of it!! you'll probably see more food than the two other categories. who knows?? i could be wrong. until next time and don't forget to keep exploring.