Indianapolis, IN, USA
11 November 2017

Hold on a minute there. Before you lose your mind thinking I washed my face with matcha latte, I'd like to tell you that I did not. But what I did do was wash my face with the star ingredient of that earthy flavoured drink that some people find utterly delicious while others think they're drinking grass.

Today, however, we're not going to launch into a talk about matcha lattes. Instead, we're going to have a lovely chat about Wishtrend's latest product, the Green Tea & Enzyme Powder Wash!


The product and concept...

As the name implies, this wash comes as a powder. The granules are pretty big; they're not small and fine like matcha. They're little clusters of matcha exfoliating goodness! The wash comes in a muted pastel green bottle with white text and a flip top cap with a wide opening to make pouring the product out easy. 



The idea behind this product is that it's a gentle, moisturising, low pH scrub. It was made for all skin types, but is especially beneficial for oily and acne prone skin. It's perfect for those who want a gentle exfoliator since it isn't too abrasive in comparison to the dear Klair's scrub.

Note that not only is it a physical scrub, it's also a chemical scrub since it's slightly acidic with a pH of 5.5 These clusters will help get rid of those stubborn blackheads!

What's in it...

Ingredient listSodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Powder(2%), Lysine HCL, Proline, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Acetyl Methionine, Theanine, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Sorbitol, Papain, Betaine, Cellulose Gum, Citric Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate


You can copy and paste the list into cosdna.com or follow the link here for my analysis! In a nutshell, this product is extremely safe to use. In the end, it all comes down to you and your skin and how it reacts to it.

Let's break this list down...

...by the notable ingredients, starting with green tea powder (a.k.a, matcha). We already know that green tea is great for our bodies because it contains powerful antioxidants (we're talking vitamins A, C, and E) that detox our systems. The same goes for our skin! The biggest organ we have is abused daily when it's exposed to pollution. We can help cleanse our skin using matcha because it contains these powerful antioxidants.

The second notable ingredient is papain, an enzyme extracted from papaya that is extremely popular in Asian skincare (not just Korea!) This enzyme breaks down protein bonds that bind dead skin cells along with whatever waste material is accompanying them to your skin. Yuck

Sodium bicarbonate, a.k.a baking soda, is the third ingredient and a tried and true one in skincare. This ingredient can go north or south for people, so make sure to do a patch test with this product before committing. This ingredient works as the scrub in this particular wash.

And, finally, the last noteworthy ingredient is an amino acid sufractant derived from coconut! An amino acid sufractant is the cleanser in the wash. An amino acid sufractant's pH is close to skin, making it the ideal cleanser. 

Fun note, the word sufractant is a short term for surface active agent. They work by "degreas[ing] and emulsify[ing] oils and fats and suspend[ing] soil" so that they can be easily washed away (thank you, Paula's Choice!)

Please note that you shouldn't use this with other chemical exfoliants (such as retinols, AHA/BHA, etc.) since this product is one itself.

How to use it?

If you're new to using powder washes, then all you need to know is that it's super easy. Don't over think it. Just pour some product onto your hand, I use about the size of a quarter, and add a few drops of water. It'll be a little clumpy, but that's fine since you want those clumps to exfoliate your skin. It starts to foam as you keep massaging it into your skin.



My thoughts...

When I was asked if I wanted to review this product, I pretty much jumped with joy and knocked a table over in the process. I was sent the ingredient list and the papaya extract spoke to me since that's a popular skin whitening ingredient in the Philippines.

Yes, I'm aware skin whitening is frowned upon (and I agree with it), but as a girl composed of four different shades of tan, I was eager to see if I could lighten my face since it's the darkest part of my body. This does include my hands -- as in, my hands are lighter than my face. Don't ask me how that is, but it is. I dunno. It's weird.

Having green tea as the headlining product was a plus (haha, I know -- where are my priorities?) since your girl loves her matcha frapp or latte!

So what about the product itself?

This product reminded me of Tatcha's Rice Enzyme Powder Wash except Tatcha's is a finer powder in comparison to Wishtrend's. In terms of physical exfoliation, I didn't notice that much of a difference between the two products. What I did notice is that I felt like I needed more of Tatcha's product in order to have enough to exfoliate my skin. Also, it didn't seem like Tatcha's had a lot of foaming action in comparison to Wishtrend's, but that's probably because I didn't grab enough. (I was trying to be frugal with my Sephora sample!)

While massaging it onto your face, your nose is immersed in the smell of matcha. It's matcha heaven, but on your face. Because of it's earthy scent, I felt somewhat grounded. I know, weird, but for some people, skincare is a ritual, and I totally felt that way when using this face wash. It's the perfect scrub to use in the evening when you want to scrub away the day's stressors.

After rinsing it off, I noticed that my skin didn't feel dry or tight. I believe that's because of the amino acid sufractants since they help retain moisture. (If not, please comment down below. I'm a new student in the world of skincare.) My skin definitely felt a lot smoother and looked better overall due to the superstars of the wash, papain and green tea. The next day, however, I noticed that the skin on my nose was flaking, so I would be careful with this wash. Definitely go by the recommended usage on the box which is 2-3 times a week especially for those with thin, sensitive skin. This amount, though, is the typical amount for any scrub anyway!

As for the whitening aspect of this wash (really, papain is to help with skin tone, let me make this clear), I didn't notice that much but I haven't used it for long! We shall see how this works out after continued usage.

Final verdict.

All in all, I really like this product! I love the idea of using a powder that turns into a foam wash especially in terms of transportation. I don't have to bring a full sized pump bottle if I'm travelling. Instead, I can bring a little packet of this powder and I'm good to go! (Although, I might bring the bottle in order to avoid odd looks at the airport.) I also LOVE that it has the detoxifying properties of green tea, moisturiser from coconut-derived sufractant, and enzymes that rid the face of blackheads and dead skin cells. It's such a triple threat, and I love that!

And the final kicker is that it's a fraction of the cost of a popular powder wash (*cough cough*look above*cough cough*), so you're not kicking yourself after going on a shopping spree!


TAKE MY MONEY!

Starting yesterday, Friday, 10 November up until Thursday, 16 November, 2017, you can get this wash on Wishtrend at a special price of $17.60 USD instead of $22 USD (click the first image below for the wash only.) 

Yes, it's an affiliate link (the first image, not the last two)! It would be a great help to my blog and channel if you use it since any revenue from it goes back to them which in turn goes to creating awesome content for you.

If you want to go the extra mile, you can always opt for one of the sets that Wishtrend came up with composed of products that work well with this wash (click the second or third image below).

[BY WISHTREND] Green Tea & Enzyme Powder Wash
Special launch price $17.60 USD (original $22)

[BY WISHTREND] Green Tea & Enzyme Powder Wash + Vitamin 75 Maximizing Cream
Special launch price: $37.49 USD (original $49.99)

BY WISHTREND] Green Tea & Enzyme Powder Wash + Vitamin 75 Cream + 21.5 Enhancing Mask
Special launch price: $55.29 USD (original $78.99)



Disclosure: I was sent the product in exchange for an honest review. If I don't like a product, I will tell you straight up, and if I love it, I'll do the same. Just bear in mind, everyone is different and that's why I will still post the affiliate link(s) because it's up to your discretion if you want to try the product or not. 💙
Indianapolis, IN, USA
03 November 2017


I can't take mirror selfies, but samsung selfie cam sucks so...

Hallo!


I hope you're doing well and staying warm now that it's fall! It's that time of year again where we all love to layer up -- the perfect time to show off as many fashionable items we can put on without being thrown off balance just so that we can post an envy worthy photo to the 'gram.

I joke, I joke!

No, really...

BUT if you're in Indiana, then you know that we had fall weather for about a week or so before returning to summer-like weather and then plummeting into winter. That was a wonderful shock to my immune system. (Yes, I am rolling my eyes.) Despite this, I'm still chugging along thanks to the miracles of vitamins and hydration.

Sort of.

For the past few days, it's been raining and gloomy which means I'm pretty much alive as a zombie. I'm honestly dead. Gloomy weather is my kryptonite. It drains me and puts me to sleep, so the past few days haven't been productive. Actually, when you put it into perspective, the past month wasn't productive in terms of keeping my social medias up to date but that's because I started volunteering at the hospital again and that was a completely different shock to the system.

This coffee from Dunkin is also giving me life.
Anyway, I thought I would post about a lippy that gave me life yesterday. Before I ran out the door, I managed to grab Nyx's soft matte lip cream in Ibiza. If you're familiar with this color, then you know that it doesn't exactly scream fall. Being a rosy-coral color, it's very much a spring shade. Despite not being a fall hue, this was the perfect pop of color to bring my sickly face to life in a pinch. That and moisturising my lips with EOS lip balm prior to putting it on and whenever my lips needed some TLC throughout the day.

Lemme know down below what's giving you life these days whenever you're a little under the weather! 💙



EOS lip balm (mint), Nyx soft matte lip cream (Ibiza), and stains.

02 August 2017


Naturally, after spending many nights staying up late studying (emphasis on dying), my immune system took a hit. I started coughing a bit here and there accompanied with sniffling. So when I was did my grocery shopping a few days ago in the produce section, the juices called out to me. I wandered over to them and saw Suja's display, something I've been eyeing for a while. I remember I looked them up a while back and discovered that they were a juice cleanse, and that piqued my interest. Anything and everything "healthy" piqued my interest when I started taking care of myself better!!

The thing is, though, I didn't remember that it was a juice cleanse a few days ago.

That said, when I was figuring out which one to get, I decided that I needed one with a lot of vitamin C, one that would cleanse my system. The fact that it has probiotics and the all natural cleanser, lemon, called out to me. I grabbed a bottle of "Pucker Up" and a bottle of a sweet one to chase it with since it has cayenne pepper in it. (Although, I haven't touched the sweet one yet!)

This drink contains water, pineapple, lemon, maple syrup, and cayenne. I love the fact that the naturally acidic fruits didn't cause my stomach to act up! (Especially since the day before I had two-thirds of a litre of lemon water that did a number on my system.) And it wasn't overly sweet; you could taste the sweetness of the maple syrup as it balanced out the acidity in the drink. The cayenne pepper, on the other hand, burned as if it were cleansing my esophagus! Oh my gulay, it was intense and worrisome since I was on the rebound after drinking too much lemon water. In the end, I had to drink it little by little until I finished it.

I'm glad I picked it up and tried it! I definitely feel a wee bit better after drinking it, but I think I would have to drink it consistently in order to stay better in the short-long run. Would I buy this again? I don't think so. A bottle of this cost $3 -- THREE DOLLARS. I could use that money towards my ultimate baeverage, coffee! Yes, it's a baeverage because it keeps me running.

Anyway, have any of you tried this? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!
Wisconsin Dells, WI, USA
01 August 2017

Hey hey, everyone!

I know I'm supposed to come back with a follow up on my graduation skincare, but the thing is that I can't find the pictures that I took! I've honestly searched through all of my folders multiple times and I cannot find them. This saddens me, but we've gotta move on. (Just know that my skin started healing after I reduced the amount of acne products I was using to just one and combining that with moisturising products.)

As the title says, my family and I spent 24 hours in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. It was a spur of the moment family trip so nothing was planned to us prior to arriving -- not even our hotel was booked. We did the booking when we were halfway to Wisconsin and found an awesome condo at Tamarack Resorts. The condo was a short 5 minute drive from all of the waterparks and had everything and more that we needed for our two night and one day stay. (Except for proper AC in my room, but I was able to go without it since all I did was sleep in there.)

So if you watch my vlog about our 24 hours, you'll see that we did two activities minus eating. The morning was rough since it took us half a day to get up there due to traffic. Our day didn't start until 10 am. We took a two hour boat tour (none of the crazy ones) of the Dells. It was extremely relaxing although just a little chilly, but that was remedied with two stops where we would walk on land to see some points of interest. That and buy food, drinks, and souvenirs.

Let me tell you, water never tasted so good after being on a boat for a while.

Anyways, check out the video down below!


14 May 2017

Oh my gulay, it's been a hot minute since I last posted. Cue the moment of silence for my dead New Year's resolution every single year to make a post on this blog.

Anyway, graduation is around the corner for me -- okay, she's coming in hot and fast in the next 39 hours according to a countdown app I found on Google. That said, your girl needs to look somewhat decent the day of graduation since it's a day of pictures and walking on a stage while praying to God you don't trip since you're a klutz that can trip on anything. Bottom line, your girl needs to have decent looking skin and that means lightening as many dark spots from acne scars as possible.

So I started on a skincare journey last week two weeks ago, telling myself that I will religiously abide by the routine. A little more than a week later, I have broken that routine by not following through at night. Thankfully, I didn't wear makeup last week. The downside, though, is that since my skin is a bit troubled at the moment, that didn't help either. But, ever since I cut back on makeup, my skin has been looking healthier. Let's take a look at my check-ins, shall we?


Morning Routine
+ Klairs Rich Moist Foaming Cleanser
+ Klairs Supple Preparation Facial Toner
+ Valentia True Glow Eye Cream
+ Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop Serum (Vitamin C)
+ Simple Protecting Light Moisturizer w/ SPF 15
+ Eyebrows


Evening Routine
+ Heimish All Clean Blam
+ Shea Moisture African Black Soap Problem Skin Facial Wash & Scrub
+ Klairs Supple Prep Facial Toner
+ Valentia True Glow Eye Cream
+ Peter Thomas Roth AHA/BHA gel
+ L'Oreal Revitalift cream


 First Day: 30 April 2017







Check in #2: 01 May 2017




I decided to add a hyaluronic acid sheet mask since I was feeling it for some reason? I can't remember, it's been a while.



This mask was so thin and saturated with solution that I was so surprised! Definitely loved it and would use it again. (I think I have another on in the refrigerator...)



Check in #3: 02 May 2017




I'm honestly not sure if anything has lightened... This set of pictures was taken with my DSLR -- the same goes for the first set of pictures. The second were taken with my phone camera. (Stupid Samsung and their cursed beauty filter that even though is on 0 still does some correcting. Amirite?)

That said, the following set was taken with my Samsung so there's some correction due to the camera in order to make my camera look a little flawless -- just a little.



Check in #4: 05 May 2017




See? It looks corrected. Anyway, I'll be back with more recent pictures and hopefully some from graduation!

22 August 2016

No, really, my burger from Blind Owl Brewery looked extremely mad when I picked it up off the plate.

Such an angry looking burger...
Side view of my angry Viking Ranch lamb burger.

Look at it's bloodshot eyes! It looks like it when through hell and back. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm sure that's something Sarah would say since she stared at me coolly across the table whilst commenting that I killed a baby lamb. Honestly, I didn't kill the baby lamb for my lamb burger -- but I was eating it. 

Anyway, we're getting off topic. I got the Viking Ranch lamb burger, Jere (brobro) got a crab cake burger, Sarah got the Early Riser with tomato aioli, and Whitney got the classic mushroom and Swiss. Jere's had some pretty good seasoning and overall a great crabby taste -- as in nothing artificial. On the other hand, mine was seasoned rather oddly that I found myself forcing my burger down. I couldn't place what they used to season it with, but whatever it was, it wasn't my cup of tea.

Would I order it again? No. Would I recommend it? Yes only if one is craving lamb that much. Really, I wouldn't though.

Whitney and Sarah's burgers looked splendid in comparison to mine. I don't know if I would pay the price tag for them when I could something similar to them elsewhere at other local restaurants for cheaper. 

On the plus side, the service was fairly good since our server helped us as best as he could. I also received a deduction from my receipt -- a deduction none of us figured out why it was made. Looking back now, maybe they realised I didn't like my burger and knocked a few dollars off our total. I probably should have tipped more....

Anyway, enjoy the rest of the pictures below, and check out their website here for their menu and prices!


View from outside.

I love how the set the brewery up in the restaurant.

The bar.

Overhead view of our food.



16 August 2016

Hello, lovelies!

I'm sorry for being MIA. It's a learning process with Youtube and Blogspot -- as in, learning how to balance the two. I'm trying my best to keep up in my studies as well as creating quality content, but I'm lacking when it comes to blogging --  my first love. I love writing since I can get my thoughts down easily through this method, but I've lost touch since I've been trying to build my YouTube channel. Sometimes, we can't win everything, right? But I'll try better especially since I keep referencing my blog in my videos for further details. (Hehe!)

However, if you guys want to keep up with me or whatever I find interesting, I do have two tumblr accounts that I'm actively on! Look for samijoielikes and caffeinated-silly when you're on Tumblr. The first one is more like an everything goes blog while the second is geared towards anything and everything related to the beautiful hashtags #studyblr and #studyspo. The studyblr is a beautiful community in small doses that reminds you to freaking study your arse off as well as motivates you during hard times. Not everyone who studies is perfect. We all have our low points.

But this is not the topic for today's post! No, no, no!! I'm back with my favourite outfits of July. Let's start with the first outfit of last month!




 



 



Outfit #1
Top: American Rag / Pants: Macy's / Shoes: Converse / Bag: Michael Kors

Outfit #2
Cardigan & Tee: H&M / Pants: Macy's / Shoes: DSW / Bag: Mom's closet before she had me :P

Outfit #3
Top: H&M / Pants: Macy's / Shoes: Converse / Sunnies: Adrienne Vittadini (I think?)

Outfit #4
Top: H&M / Skirt: Macy's / Shoes: Jessica Simpson / Necklace: Macy's / Bag: Michael Kors

Outfit #5
Jersey: Thrift store / Bag: Sakroots / Shoes: Nike

Outfit #6
Shorts: Macy's / Bag: Michael Kors backpack (not pictured)



I'll get better at these over time! Hopefully? Coming up with names for looks (including makeup looks) is proving to be harder than I thought... I hope you guys enjoyed either way! Can you tell which blouse is my favourite? Lol! I'm loving the off the shoulder look with easy going waves and how you can dress it up or down.

Anyway, see you guys soon!