As you can tell from my previous posts, I love starting the day with some sort of warm beverage, especially a warm, caffeinated beverage. (Check out my green tea latte and beaten coffee recipes!)
However, I recently realized just how much caffeine I was consuming with almost a daily cup of coffee and multiple rounds of green teas, black teas, etc. Thus, I've been trying really really hard these last couple weeks to decrease my caffeine consumption. Instead, I've taken to drinking more caffeine-free teas like mint tea or what I'm focusing on today: Dandelion Root Tea with Hibiscus & Cinnamon.
I've never had dandelion root tea before. However, the packaging suggests that this tea helps support healthy digestion and aids in liver and kidney detox, and of course to go along with what I was talking about earlier, caffeine free. Some basic research revealed many benefits:
Although I can't say I've noticed a significant difference in my digestion, this tea is nevertheless a calming and flavorful way to escape the grasps of caffeine. Plus, with all of the herbal ingredients, it's a great source of many vitamins and nutrients.
A quick disclaimer before I start. This is a sponsored post. BUT although I am sponsored by InstaNatural to write this post, I have tried some of their products before this one! Furthermore, these are my own personal and truthful opinions regarding their products. InstaNatural is not in any way requiring me to write a positive review!
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The last few months, I've been getting into natural skincare products. I realized that a lot of our everyday daily products like cleansers, shampoos, and even nail polish have a lot of harmful chemicals that in the long run can be really harmful to my body. As I started doing more research on natural skincare products, I stumbled upon InstaNatural on Amazon.
For a newer and not as well known brand, InstaNatural has incredible reviews for all of their products! Thus, I decided to give them a try. The two that I've tried are their Vitamin C Serum and Advanced Action Retinol Moisturizer, both of which I have enjoyed immensely! I'll do a review on these products in another post.
Anyhow, I recently received a sample of InstaNatural's Argan Oil Hair Mask, and I was super excited because I had previous positive experiences with their other products.
The Review:
First Impression!
My first impression of the Argan Oil Hair Mask was IT SMELLS AMAZING and looks pretty delicious too haha.
Let's start with the cons...
In my humble opinion, the mask kind of let me down, granted that both times I've used it so far, I've left it on way longer than the suggested 10-15 minutes. I kept the mask on for almost three hours the first time and 30 minutes the second time--oops! In the end, my hair looked more like second day unwashed hair. Thus, I admit I still need to try the mask for the recommended time before I can form a really conclusive opinion on the product.
Now for the pros!
However, since these two uses, I do believe that my hair has become somewhat smoother and softer then I remembered it to be at the beginning of the school year. These changes are consistent even on days when I wash my hair and don't used the mask, which suggests that the mask may actually have the potential to treat dry, damaged hair! Yesss!!
The future...
Anyhow, I'll continue using this product at the moment because I've been complaining about my hair feeling dry for the longest time. (Blame my bitter sweet memories of soft, lush hair in middle school and high school. Arggg~).
I've read some reviews on Amazon where people have said they use it as a regular hair conditioner, so I'll give that a try as well!
I can't believe it's already been a week into 2015. So much is happening for me this year. I'm finishing my undergraduate degree, going to grad school, moving to Texas, and biggest change of all, separating from my twin sister who I've lived with for the entirety of my 22 years (including undergrad). Thus, there's going to be a lot of changes, but I guess that keeps life exciting, right?
On another note, for this new year, my resolutions are to be healthier and for me, that means to...
Sleep more,
Eat better, and...
Exercise more
Remember my Bikram yoga post? Well... I haven't gone for maybe two weeks? Eeks! But I do have a reason for that (family vacation, and then I had no car afterwards). HOWEVER... I did go yesterday and today, hehe.
So... in my efforts to start the year off healthy (and to use my mom's new Vitamix before I go back to school), I decided to make a nice frozen treat for myself, using my organic matcha from Kiss Me Organics.
The ingredients list was super short and simple. All I used for 2 servings worth was...
1 cup ice
1.5 cup fresh pineapple
1 TBSP honey
2 tsp matcha
Bam! That was it; simple as that. Delicious and healthy, although a little cold for the winter--lol, I had to warm myself up with some hot chocolate afterwards, haha.
So the main item I want to focus on in this post is the incredible Kiss Me Organics: Culinary Grade Organic Matcha. I love it! It tastes so good and gives me a boost of energy and metabolism!!
Now what's so great about matcha? Well, below are just a few of the many benefits of matcha! Read on~
1 tsp of matcha powder has the equivalent in nutritional and antioxidant benefits to 10 cups of green tea
Increasesmetabolism and assists in weight loss
Contains 20x moreantioxidants than pomegranates or blueberries
Contains the amino acidL-theanine, which promotes relaxation as well as alertnessand energy without jitteriness that coffee can cause in some people
Contains the catechin EGCg, which has potent cancer-fighting properties
I don't know about you, but all of these benefits definitely make me want to make green tea somethings every day for the rest of life, haha. Anyhow, if I find any other matcha recipes I really like, I'll let you all know! Love you all and wish you all the best 2015!
By the way, you can find order this matcha powder form the following sites:
Hey guys! Today, instead of a food-related post today, I wanted to share with you all a new hair curler I’ve been using! It’s called the KISS InstaWave, and it’s super fun and easy to use.
At first I was kind of skeptical about the InstaWave because I’ve always been the kind of person who was too lazy to curl her hair, even when I was using the relatively easier straightening-iron-method. However, the KISS InstaWave sported a really good rating on Amazon (13 out of 14 raters gave it a 5 star rating), so I was like okay! Let’s try this out~
About the product:
According to the website, the KISS InstaWave is a "fully automatic tangle-free curler that instantly creates beautiful, long-lasting curls with ease.” There are:
Two temperature settings (high and low),
A right/left directional switch, and
A 1” ceramic ionic barrel with prongs at the end that catch and hold your hair around the barrel
Another feature that I thought was really cool about the InstaWave is that it automatically shuts off after 90 minutes. That way, if I’m ever in a rush, I’ll never have to worry about whether I forgot to turn out my curler, which being the forgetful person I am, I’m very prone to doing.
What I liked about the product:
In my opinion, the InstaWave is very innovative, especially with the automatic curling action and the left/right directional switch.
After some getting used to, the InstaWave makes curling hardly any work at all! All of the rotating is controlled by the two buttons, which allows me to use either hand when curling. Basically the only work I had to do was hold the curler close to my head and it does all the work!
What I thought could be improved:
The first thing is that the InstaWave does take some time to get used to. The first time I used it, I found it really confusing which direction I was supposed to place my hair in relation to the barrel and when I was used to use the left verses right directional switches.
Another thing is that there is some minor buzzing noise that comes from the iron. The company did say that the noise was normal and nothing to worry about. However, you do have to hold it next to your head for the entirely of the curling process, so if that does irritate you... that's something else to consider when buying the product.
Overall...
Overall, I really liked the KISS InstaWave. I thought it was really convenient and easy to use (after the initial learning-process). Because I didn't have to do any physical labor, the InstaWave makes curling my hair super easy and fast. I don’t have to know what’s going on behind my head, and I can just let the curler do all of the work!
Rating: 4.5/5
How to use:
Hold the InstaWave vertically and place a small section of hair on the curling rod between the barrel and the prongs.
Press either the left or right directional switch. The InstaWave will automatically catch and wrap the hair around the barrel.
If you want to curl your hair away form your face, then start your hair in front of the barrel and push the arrow that points away from your face.
If you want to curl your hair towards your face, then start your hair behind the barrel and push the arrow that points toward your face.
Hold the hair against the barrel for 5-10 seconds depending on how tight you want your curls to be.
Pull the Instawave down for beautiful curls!
Note: If you’re interested in purchasing the product, you can go to http://KISSInstaWave.com, which will direct you to different locations/websites that you can purchase the product! Enjoy~
