I Love Graphic Design

Yes.  I know its been a while since I've posted.

I could make lots of excuses about how I've been wrapped up in being a pastor's wife, stay at home mom, homeschool teacher, etc.; but I won't.

Today I was given the opportunity to begin a little project to help out the boss at my hubby's other job.  It's a simple graphic design job.  But it reminded me.....I REALLY LOVE playing around with images on the computer.  I LOVE how I can imagine a design and then through the wonders of the internet find the necessary tools to complete it.  It is still in the initial phase right now, but I'll share it when I have the go-ahead.

Adeline Skin Care Review - Part 3 of 3

Referral links are included. I received these products at no cost in exchange for an honest review.  All of the thoughts are my own though. 

I have recently fallen in love...with a skin care line!  It's called Adeline Skin Care.  It is a small, family run business focused on producing great skin care products without a lot of nasty chemicals.

Adeline Skin Care sent me their three currently available products to try at no cost:  Hyaluronic Acid Serum, Anti-Aging Moisturizer Face Cream, and Organic Eye Serum.  This is the last review of these great products.  I can honestly say that I have enjoyed using all of them. So without further adieu...the Organic Eye Serum.

 check out my review of the Hyaluronic Acid Serum here
and my review of the Anti-Aging Moisturizer here

About the Serum

Adeline Skin Care's Organic Eye Serum contains Cucumber extract, Chamomile extract, Aloe Vera juice,  Sunflower oil (with antioxidant vitamins A, C, & E), and Urvi leaf. 

It comes in a .5 oz pump bottle and retails for $35.25.  

This eye serum helps to minimize fine lines and wrinkles, reduce dark eye circles, eliminate brown spots and discoloration, reduce inflammation, and improve clarity and tone in your under-eye skin.

How to Use It

All you have to do is apply it under your eyes after other serums and before your night-time moisturizer.  Then just let it do its magic while you sleep.

What I Thought About It

I have always been wary of eye serums (or anything else to use around the eyes); but this one was so gentle that I had no problems with it.

Just as with Adeline's Hyaluronic Acid Serum, this is a product that I had previously not used any version of; but now its a key member in my beauty arsenal.

BTW you can buy it on Amazon here :)

Adeline Skin Care Review - Part 2 of 3

Referral links are included. I received these products at no cost in exchange for an honest review.  All of the thoughts are my own though. 

I have recently fallen in love...with a skin care line!  It's called Adeline Skin Care.  It is a small, family run business focused on producing great skin care products without a lot of nasty chemicals.

Adeline Skin Care sent me their three currently available products to try at no cost:  Hyaluronic Acid Serum, Anti-Aging Moisturizer Face Cream, and Organic Eye Serum.  This is review #2 of their AMAZING products; and today we get to check out the Anti-Aging Moisturizer Face Cream!! (*squeal) 

 check out my review of the Hyaluronic Acid Serum here

About the Moisturizer

Adeline Skin Care's Anti-Aging Moisturizer contains Matrixyl, Witch Hazel, Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin C & Vitamin E . 

It comes in a 1.7 oz pump bottle and retails for $37.50.  Like with the Serum, that may seem like a lot of moolah, but believe me, a little of this stuff goes a long way!  (further reason for me to believe in these products!!)  For me, it takes one good pump to cover my entire face-neck area, especially if I'm using it after the Hyaluronic Acid Serum.

How to Use It

Use this moisturizer just as you would any other facial moisturizer (i.e. after toners, serums, eye treatments, etc.).  Remember to apply it in an upward, circular motion from the neck up to discourage skin sagging.

What I Thought About It

The first thing that struck me was the scent.  While peppermint oil isn't one of the "main" ingredients, it is definitely noticeable.  I have fairly sensitive skin and the only time the peppermint oil content has bothered me was when I had used a facial scrub before using the moisturizer.  With my normal cleansers and after the hyaluronic acid serum, I have had no further problems.  I have opted to only use this moisturizer in the morning also, because the times I used it in the evening, I was a little too "refreshed" to fall asleep easily.  
It seems to do a really great job of moisturizing and tightening my skin.  I  My face seems hydrated for fairly long stretches.  I have even been able to start going makeup free because of the confidence I have gained through using Adeline products!

This has completely replaced my normal day-time moisturizer.  Like I said, I don't prefer to use it at night because the peppermint scent is fairly invigorating. 

BTW if the price tag scares you, check it out on Amazon :)

Adeline Skin Care Review - Part 1 of 3

Referral links are included. All of the thoughts are my own though. 

I have recently fallen in love...with a skin care line!  It's called Adeline Skin Care.  It is a small, family run business focused on producing great skin care products without a lot of nasty chemicals.

Adeline Skin Care sent me their three currently available products to try at no cost:  Hyaluronic Acid Serum, Anti-Aging Moisturizer Face Cream, and Organic Eye Serum.  I will have three separate reviews of the products; and this is post 1!! So let's get started.

About the Serum

Adeline Skin Care's Hyaluronic Acid Serum contains Retinol, Aloe Juice, Vitamins A,C,D,&E, and Witch Hazel.  

It comes in a 1.7 oz pump bottle and retails for $59.99.  That may seem like a lot of moolah, but believe me, a little of this stuff goes a long way!  For me, it takes two tiny pumps (about a pea sized drop) to cover my entire face-neck area.

How to Use It

To use this serum, after washing and patting dry your face/neck, all you have to do is apply a small amount all over your face/neck area and let it dry (usually within 1-2 minutes).  Then you go about business as usual with your moisturizers, makeup, etc.

What I Thought About It

Several things that I initially noticed and loved about this serum were its lightly herbal scent and how my face immediately felt tightened.  I have noticed also after using it for a few weeks now that my moisturizer seems to work better.  My face seems hydrated for longer stretches.  I have even been able to start going makeup free!

I can safely say that I LOVE this serum. Before trying this product out, I didn't have a serum in my beauty regimen; but now I don't know what I'd do without it!

BTW if the $59.99 price tag scares you, check it out on Amazon :)

Cassani Fogless Shower Mirror Review

I have always thought that it would be nice to have a mirror in the shower.  Just think about it...the posibilites are endless with what you could use it for...brushing teeth, shaving (for men), making sure you get just the right amount of lather in your hair to make it stand up straight.... So I was ecstatic when I was given the opportunity to try out the Cassani Fogless Shower Mirror.

BTW, this is the only product photo you'll be getting from me in this review because, let's face it, any others would just border on inappropriate :)

Since using this mirror for over a week now, I can say that it definitely holds up to its claims.  

I am known in my household for taking unbearably hot showers; and this mirror has remained fogless through all of them.  Also, this mirror isn't flimsy and doesn't distort your reflection. 

It comes with two hooks that can be attached to your shower wall:  one for the mirror and one to hold a razor.  I didn't use either of these because the adhesive is permanent.  Instead, I just hung the mirror on a waterproof Command hook and it seems to be working out just fine.

This mirror definitely gets my vote and will get tested out for the long haul in our household.

*Disclaimer:  I received this product at no cost for me to try.  But I would not mislead you about my experiences with it.

Fesch Design Lightning Cable Review

This week I had the opportunity to try out a brand-new lightning cable for my iPhone 5s. The previous one I had gotten from my mobile phone service provider was starting to charge inconsistently.  

Using this charger is just as simple as taking it out of the package and pluging in it.  It is 1 yard for 3 feet long, which is the standard length for most charging cables. It seems well-made; and it has done a great job all week of charging my phone.

*Disclaimer:  I received this product at no cost for me to try.  But I would not mislead you about my experiences with it.

La Lune Naturals Organic Lip Balm Review

 

 I was so excited today to receive a package containing my 4-pack of La Lune Naturals Organic Lip Balm. Both my daughter and I have very sensitive skin so we have to be careful what beauty products we use. It's specially hard for my 8-year old daughter who can't use cute girly products. As soon as we got the package we tore into it to check out our new goodies.

This four pack of lip balm comes with four very yummy flavors: peppermint, raspberry, Asian pear, and vanilla bean. 

My daughter tried the raspberry and absolutely loved it. My son even got in on the action and tried out the vanilla bean and gave it rave reviews. I tried out the peppermint and Asian pear and really liked them both. The raspberry,  peppermint, and vanilla bean ones I'll have fragrances like you would expect. The Asian pear let balm had a slightly minty flavor, so I checked the ingredients and sure enough it has spearmint oil in it. These lip balms feel great going on. They are very smooth with no grittiness. And they leave your lips moisturized for a really long time. I think we found a new favorite brand of lip balm in our house!

*Disclaimer:  I received this product at no cost for me to try.  But I would not mislead you about my experiences with it.

One Organic Matcha Review

I was so excited when the great folks at One Organic contacted me about trying some of their Superfood products for free. All I had to do is give my honest review in exchange for free products...um that's a no brainier. 

They sent me a package containing a full size bag of their Organic Matcha powder and a full size pack of their Organic Seaweed Premium Sushi Nori (which I plan to review very soon also). Having recently became a daily green tea drinker, I was super excited about trying the matcha first!!

First, for those of you who don't know what Matcha is, let me give you a little course in matcha-ness (yes I just coined that word).

Matcha is is finely milled green tea. It gained its origins in Japanese tea ceremonies. The Japanese tea ceremony focuses on the preparation, serving, and drinking of matcha. Nowdays, matcha has come to be used to flavorand dye foods such as mochi, noodles, ice creams, and confections. Matcha became popular stateside when cafes like Starbucks started introducing drinks like iced green tea and green tea lattes. 

And now that you know everything I know about matcha...

I decided to try this first as just a warm cup of matcha. I started by adding 1/2 tsp of matcha powder to 4 oz of hot (but not quite boiling) water.  

Matcha doesn't completely dissolve in water but it does suspend itself so I stirred it really well.  I knew that I had stirred it enough when it looked like something that the Hulk wouldn't mind drinking. 

I added 4 more in of hot water to it to make a delicious warm cup of matcha. 

Then the thought hit me...I could make a glass of cold matcha since I like cold green tea so much. So I dumped my freshly made warm matcha in my favorite reusable mug. 

Then I filled the cup up the rest of the way with cold water. This is definitely my preferred way of drinking matcha!  I am looking forward to trying some of the culinary applications of this match since it's so yummy to drink...I may even make some matcha ice cream this summer.  Yum!  You can get some for yourself to try here.

Starting the blog thing....again...

So here I sit, as I did many months ago.  Finally having decided to blog again.  To give others a little glimpse into our world.  I can't promise it will be excessively often.  I can't promise that I'll always be talking about something you want to hear.  But I can promise to be genuine in everything I post.  I look forward to the time we'll be sharing together in the coming weeks, months, and hopefully years.  Bon aventure!!