Hello, everyone! So, I've switched myself off the green bean coffee extract as I believe it is a bit of a snake oil, and I've decided to do the eight hour diet instead.
You probably wouldn't know it based on the random fad diets I've been trying, but I'm usually pretty good about avoiding marketing hype, and I definitely learned my lesson the green bean coffee extract. However, the eight hour diet was something that I did in high school unknowingly. I didn't have time to eat breakfast, I was embarrassed to eat in front of friends so I naturally didn't have lunch. So, when I got home around 5 PM, I'd eat like three meals between then and about midnight. That's seven hours. I stayed a trim during my first three years of high school, and I gained about 5 pounds when my mother harangued me about not eating breakfast and that seven hour window crept to, like.... 16 hours, although I didn't make that connection at the time.
So, week one on this diet - I've lost five pounds. Not joking. It does suck feeling hungry, I'm not going to lie. Water does usually solve that problem, though, or exercise. And I can tell already that my stomach has shrunk A LOT. I have exercised as much as I usually do. I've eaten as well as I normally do - rice, curry, etc. I did eat a few slices of pizza about this time last week, but I still lost a pound that day, so I'm not complaining.
I did check, and I have lost all body fat, no muscle. And I can definitely tell on my body that I've lost a lot of fat. My waist has shrunk - unfortunately, I didn't bother to measure my waist when it started, so I can't give you numbers, but it is a noticeable difference.
I will weigh in again next week and let you know if this trend continues. I will be completely psyched if I lose all this excess weight in the span of a month or two.
On the green bean coffee extract diet, I actually gained some weight after my initial five pounds off. So... I am at 7 pounds down, 23 more to go!
Thank you for reading!
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Friday, May 24, 2013
Green Bean Coffee Extract Trial - Week Four
Hello, everyone!
So, I've actually stayed at the same weight for the last week. I am starting to believe that this green bean coffee extract thing really is a snake oil. I am going to continue taking it until the bottle is over, but I will not be repurchasing as I really don't think that there is much to this thing. I do think it works, just not as well as it claims to, so it's not worth it for me.
Instead, I will be starting the eight-hour diet. Basically, the idea is that you eat everything within an eight hour period to give your body time to digest. The reason I'm doing this is because this is essentially how I ate in high school - I started eating at around 5 PM and finished around midnight - and I stayed quite tiny in that time period. Combined with exercise, I think that this one might actually work. I will keep you updated again, every week.
Thank you very much for reading!!
So, I've actually stayed at the same weight for the last week. I am starting to believe that this green bean coffee extract thing really is a snake oil. I am going to continue taking it until the bottle is over, but I will not be repurchasing as I really don't think that there is much to this thing. I do think it works, just not as well as it claims to, so it's not worth it for me.
Instead, I will be starting the eight-hour diet. Basically, the idea is that you eat everything within an eight hour period to give your body time to digest. The reason I'm doing this is because this is essentially how I ate in high school - I started eating at around 5 PM and finished around midnight - and I stayed quite tiny in that time period. Combined with exercise, I think that this one might actually work. I will keep you updated again, every week.
Thank you very much for reading!!
Sunday, May 19, 2013
MAC Cremesheen Lipsticks - Creme In Your Coffee
Hello, everyone!
So, the entire beauty world seems to rave about MAC lipsticks. I can definitely see why just because of the color selection. There are a LOT of colors and textures to choose from, and this is really great for somebody like me that has really, really tricky coloring. I have dark skin, but I also have a dark brown top lip and a pink bottom lip. It's just about impossible for me to find a lipstick that will actually suit me, so it's really lovely to get the entire MAC color range to choose from.
I mentioned this before, but I have really horrible dry lips. I am always putting Vaseline on them (unless I'm lazy, in which case I wait far too long and then apply my Tropic Skin Care Lip Love). So, when I was at MAC after finally deciding to buy a MAC lipstick, I mainly looked at the Cremesheen texture because I read so many reviews on how it was "super moisturizing!" and things like that. And, on the few occasions prior to my venture into beauty when I had worn lipstick (for a play and for being a bridesmaid at a wedding), my lips had turned horribly dry by the end. It took a few weeks of Vaseline both times for my lips to return to normal - and I figured that if I bought a lipstick and wore it on a regular basis, it couldn't be like that!
I've had this lipstick for about six months now and wear it quite frequently. And I can say with absolute certainty that I don't think the Cremesheen formulas are moisturizing. At all. They do still dry out my lips, although I will say that they are not nearly as bad as the other lipsticks that I've worn in the past. But the fact remains that if I want to wear it comfortably, I do have to put a thin layer of Vaseline or some other lip balm underneath it. This is mildly irritating, and I am not sure that I will repurchase the Cremesheen because I have found a different lipstick that actually is hydrating (more on that later).
I will say, however, that the color I bought, Creme in your Coffee, is lovely. It's a dark pink rose color, perfect to slightly brighten my bottom lip color (I bought it as my evening lip color). I can lightly pat the lipstick onto my top lip and blend it so that it looks natural. The effect is not at all chalky. Here is swatch on my hand so that dark-skinned people can see what it looks like against a dark background:
And then against white skin so that you can see the "true" color:
So, I realize that if the entire beauty world is saying that something is moisturizing when it's not, it could just be because I have incredibly dry lips. It's definitely not as bad as a lot of lipsticks with regards to that, but it's not good, either.
I hope this was helpful, especially to those with dark skin and for those with super-dry lips. Thank you for reading!
So, the entire beauty world seems to rave about MAC lipsticks. I can definitely see why just because of the color selection. There are a LOT of colors and textures to choose from, and this is really great for somebody like me that has really, really tricky coloring. I have dark skin, but I also have a dark brown top lip and a pink bottom lip. It's just about impossible for me to find a lipstick that will actually suit me, so it's really lovely to get the entire MAC color range to choose from.
I mentioned this before, but I have really horrible dry lips. I am always putting Vaseline on them (unless I'm lazy, in which case I wait far too long and then apply my Tropic Skin Care Lip Love). So, when I was at MAC after finally deciding to buy a MAC lipstick, I mainly looked at the Cremesheen texture because I read so many reviews on how it was "super moisturizing!" and things like that. And, on the few occasions prior to my venture into beauty when I had worn lipstick (for a play and for being a bridesmaid at a wedding), my lips had turned horribly dry by the end. It took a few weeks of Vaseline both times for my lips to return to normal - and I figured that if I bought a lipstick and wore it on a regular basis, it couldn't be like that!
I've had this lipstick for about six months now and wear it quite frequently. And I can say with absolute certainty that I don't think the Cremesheen formulas are moisturizing. At all. They do still dry out my lips, although I will say that they are not nearly as bad as the other lipsticks that I've worn in the past. But the fact remains that if I want to wear it comfortably, I do have to put a thin layer of Vaseline or some other lip balm underneath it. This is mildly irritating, and I am not sure that I will repurchase the Cremesheen because I have found a different lipstick that actually is hydrating (more on that later).
I will say, however, that the color I bought, Creme in your Coffee, is lovely. It's a dark pink rose color, perfect to slightly brighten my bottom lip color (I bought it as my evening lip color). I can lightly pat the lipstick onto my top lip and blend it so that it looks natural. The effect is not at all chalky. Here is swatch on my hand so that dark-skinned people can see what it looks like against a dark background:
And then against white skin so that you can see the "true" color:
So, I realize that if the entire beauty world is saying that something is moisturizing when it's not, it could just be because I have incredibly dry lips. It's definitely not as bad as a lot of lipsticks with regards to that, but it's not good, either.
I hope this was helpful, especially to those with dark skin and for those with super-dry lips. Thank you for reading!
Friday, May 17, 2013
Green Bean Coffee Extract - Week Three
Hello, everyone!
So, I've decided that my scale at the gym is officially completely wacked up, mainly because before and after a workout, I managed to gain five pounds. Not possible. I'm now going with my home one. Even though it's wrong, it's at least calibrated to the point where the weight difference is fairly consistent. According to that scale, I've lost two pounds this week. Not terrible at all considering I only really worked out hard for a few days. I will keep you posted on how this thing continues to go!
So, we are at... 7 down, 23 more to go!
So, I've decided that my scale at the gym is officially completely wacked up, mainly because before and after a workout, I managed to gain five pounds. Not possible. I'm now going with my home one. Even though it's wrong, it's at least calibrated to the point where the weight difference is fairly consistent. According to that scale, I've lost two pounds this week. Not terrible at all considering I only really worked out hard for a few days. I will keep you posted on how this thing continues to go!
So, we are at... 7 down, 23 more to go!
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow in Nutmeg
Hello, everyone!
I thought I'd do a post on my staple eyeshadow. This is actually the first eyeshadow I ever owned. I am dark skinned, so it really evens out the skin tone on my eyes and makes it look a little darker and a little more polished.
As it says on the back, it is a matte shadow. I am a no-makeup makeup kind of girl, so I'm really not into shimmers unless it's for a special occasion of some sort. This eyeshadow looks natural, but at the same time, does make me look better - it's just very subtle.
Also on the back, though, it says that it's an all-day, crease proof shadow. This claim could not be more wrong. I will mention that I have fairly oily eyelids, but after wearing this every day for six years, I can tell you that after about three hours, it creases really, really badly. Of course, because I was very uninformed about makeup until about a year ago, I didn't know that these things called primers existed, so I just dealt with the creasing for years! When I finally learned that they existed, I.... waited until about four weeks ago to buy one. I'll do a post on my primer later this week.
What I used to do until about a week ago was take a sponge applicator and apply it on my eyelid. Now, I use a MAC 217 brush, which is very, very new to me, and apply the shadow with it. I don't like sponge applicators, but I didn't have enough money to get a good brush until recently.
This eyeshadow definitely blends well. I have tried it against some higher end ones, and I actually like this texture a lot better than some more high-end brands. It is quite well pigmented as well, so a little goes a long way. It's definitely good for someone like me on a college budget!
Sorry about the bad lighting - it's very hard to capture exact shades on camera, but you get the general idea. It's a deep, dark, very matte brown. For people with fairer skin than I - which is most of the world's population - it's a very good crease color. I used it on a fair-skinned friend in her crease, and it worked beautifully. Although the eyeshadow is very pigmented, you can take a lot of it off on the back of your hand if you just want to apply a sheer wash. I did this on a blue-eyed girl, and the effect was gorgeous - her blue eyes really popped out as a result of this eyeshadow.
So, overall, this range of eyeshadows is very good texture and pigment wise. If you have oily lids... you're going to need a primer, unfortunately. I have no idea how well this works on non-oily lids. I've used it on myself, my sister, and two friends, and all of us have oily lids so we used a primer. I would recommend it because it is not very expensive - I believe I paid something like $5 at most, and this particular one has lasted me a year. It's recommended that you change your eyeshadows about every two years, so this will definitely last me the duration of that time if not slightly longer.
Thank you very much for reading!
I thought I'd do a post on my staple eyeshadow. This is actually the first eyeshadow I ever owned. I am dark skinned, so it really evens out the skin tone on my eyes and makes it look a little darker and a little more polished.
As it says on the back, it is a matte shadow. I am a no-makeup makeup kind of girl, so I'm really not into shimmers unless it's for a special occasion of some sort. This eyeshadow looks natural, but at the same time, does make me look better - it's just very subtle.
Also on the back, though, it says that it's an all-day, crease proof shadow. This claim could not be more wrong. I will mention that I have fairly oily eyelids, but after wearing this every day for six years, I can tell you that after about three hours, it creases really, really badly. Of course, because I was very uninformed about makeup until about a year ago, I didn't know that these things called primers existed, so I just dealt with the creasing for years! When I finally learned that they existed, I.... waited until about four weeks ago to buy one. I'll do a post on my primer later this week.
What I used to do until about a week ago was take a sponge applicator and apply it on my eyelid. Now, I use a MAC 217 brush, which is very, very new to me, and apply the shadow with it. I don't like sponge applicators, but I didn't have enough money to get a good brush until recently.
This eyeshadow definitely blends well. I have tried it against some higher end ones, and I actually like this texture a lot better than some more high-end brands. It is quite well pigmented as well, so a little goes a long way. It's definitely good for someone like me on a college budget!
Sorry about the bad lighting - it's very hard to capture exact shades on camera, but you get the general idea. It's a deep, dark, very matte brown. For people with fairer skin than I - which is most of the world's population - it's a very good crease color. I used it on a fair-skinned friend in her crease, and it worked beautifully. Although the eyeshadow is very pigmented, you can take a lot of it off on the back of your hand if you just want to apply a sheer wash. I did this on a blue-eyed girl, and the effect was gorgeous - her blue eyes really popped out as a result of this eyeshadow.
So, overall, this range of eyeshadows is very good texture and pigment wise. If you have oily lids... you're going to need a primer, unfortunately. I have no idea how well this works on non-oily lids. I've used it on myself, my sister, and two friends, and all of us have oily lids so we used a primer. I would recommend it because it is not very expensive - I believe I paid something like $5 at most, and this particular one has lasted me a year. It's recommended that you change your eyeshadows about every two years, so this will definitely last me the duration of that time if not slightly longer.
Thank you very much for reading!
Friday, May 10, 2013
Green Bean Coffee Extract Trial - Excluding This Week
Hi, everyone!
So, I actually haven't taken the extract at all this week. This is because I had my period and couldn't exercise properly, and I really want to only combine the extract with exercise to keep the results consistent. I started exercising again today, though, so I will be continuing the trial starting.... later today, as it's really early morning on Friday. Thank you very much, and my apologies!
So, I actually haven't taken the extract at all this week. This is because I had my period and couldn't exercise properly, and I really want to only combine the extract with exercise to keep the results consistent. I started exercising again today, though, so I will be continuing the trial starting.... later today, as it's really early morning on Friday. Thank you very much, and my apologies!
Monday, May 6, 2013
Birth Control Withdrawal
Hello, everyone!
I think I've figured out another reason why I gained weight last week - I was about to get my period. Two weeks after my last one - ugh. What a nightmare! This has NEVER happened to me before, so I can only assume that it is the result of getting off birth control - my body is still trying to get back to normal with regards to hormones.
I've been told that odd periods are normal for those that are trying to get off birth control, so if this is happening to you, don't be worried. It apparently takes about three to four months for your body to get back to normal post-birth control - it really is like your body getting off pregnancy mode. That often means that weight loss will be difficult until after that time period (annoying for someone like me trying to get back to normal with regards to that), periods can be sporadic, you can feel get headaches and the random vomiting. Not to mention the horrible mood swings. Don't be scared! Things are going to happen when you mess around with your body chemistry - just tough it out and know that everything will be okay in the long run!
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Tropic Skin Care - Lip Love Balm
Hello, everyone!
I already did a post on Tropic Skin Care's amazing and fabulous cleanser, and there, I mentioned that I had bought two more bottles of cleanser on eBay. I bought one cleanser independent of any other item, but with the second cleanser came the Skin Revive Firming Nourishing Cream, the Vitamin Toner, and the Lip Love Balm and as a result cost a lot more. To be honest, I wasn't too crazy about spending more than I had to, but I figured that I'd never get the cleanser that cheaply ever again and that I might like the other products as well.
Up to now, I haven't really used the cream or the toner all that much. However, I have used the Lip Love Balm. And it is lovely.
It retails for £5. That's $7.78 (USD) - in my opinion, a heck of a lot for a 10 mL pot of lip balm. So, when I received the package about two weeks ago, I chucked the lip balm along with everything else in that package into my skincare box in my bathroom. I wasn't expecting amazing things from the lip balm - I mean, honestly, lip balm is lip balm, right? They all perform about the same - or so I thought.
Normally, I use Vaseline on my lips because it's very easy and cheap (and, I might add, a big pot costs about $3 at most). However, I had become a bit on the lazy side about putting on Vaseline for about a week, so my lips had gotten a bit more chapped than usual. I decided that, as I had it, I might as well try the Tropic Skin Care balm that I had gotten.
Within the first few hours, my lips had gotten a LOT softer - not unchapped, but they had become a lot softer, and when I rubbed my lips together, some of the excess skin came away very easily. I was quite impressed. Then I put it for two more days (one application per day). On the end of the second day, my lips were completely back to normal. COMPLETELY back to normal, and actually, they were softer than than usually were. By this time, I was EXTREMELY impressed. Three applications took my lips from quite chapped to wonderfully smooth? WOW!
This product has forced me to come to the conclusion that not all lip balms are the same - it was an absolute revelation, I can assure you, because I had tried a LOT of lip balms before deciding to just stick with Vaseline.
Although I'd love to use it every day, the balm is still rather expensive in my eyes, and it is very difficult for me to get. So, I've decided to only use this product when I really need it - when my lips really need help because they are chapped due to my laziness. Vaseline is still great at maintaining what the Lip Love Balm has done (I've tried this for the past week, and my lips have maintained that smoothness), but it doesn't do lip repair-work quite as well or as fast as this balm.
So, if you can get hold of it or if you live in the UK, go get the Lip Love Balm! It's really, really nice. Yes, it is £5, which is a lot for a lip balm, but it is definitely, definitely worth it (especially if you earn in sterling pounds and not the USD!).
I am not being paid by Tropic Skin Care to write this review - I bought the product with my own money, and these are my own pure, honest thoughts.
I already did a post on Tropic Skin Care's amazing and fabulous cleanser, and there, I mentioned that I had bought two more bottles of cleanser on eBay. I bought one cleanser independent of any other item, but with the second cleanser came the Skin Revive Firming Nourishing Cream, the Vitamin Toner, and the Lip Love Balm and as a result cost a lot more. To be honest, I wasn't too crazy about spending more than I had to, but I figured that I'd never get the cleanser that cheaply ever again and that I might like the other products as well.
Up to now, I haven't really used the cream or the toner all that much. However, I have used the Lip Love Balm. And it is lovely.
It retails for £5. That's $7.78 (USD) - in my opinion, a heck of a lot for a 10 mL pot of lip balm. So, when I received the package about two weeks ago, I chucked the lip balm along with everything else in that package into my skincare box in my bathroom. I wasn't expecting amazing things from the lip balm - I mean, honestly, lip balm is lip balm, right? They all perform about the same - or so I thought.
Normally, I use Vaseline on my lips because it's very easy and cheap (and, I might add, a big pot costs about $3 at most). However, I had become a bit on the lazy side about putting on Vaseline for about a week, so my lips had gotten a bit more chapped than usual. I decided that, as I had it, I might as well try the Tropic Skin Care balm that I had gotten.
Within the first few hours, my lips had gotten a LOT softer - not unchapped, but they had become a lot softer, and when I rubbed my lips together, some of the excess skin came away very easily. I was quite impressed. Then I put it for two more days (one application per day). On the end of the second day, my lips were completely back to normal. COMPLETELY back to normal, and actually, they were softer than than usually were. By this time, I was EXTREMELY impressed. Three applications took my lips from quite chapped to wonderfully smooth? WOW!
This product has forced me to come to the conclusion that not all lip balms are the same - it was an absolute revelation, I can assure you, because I had tried a LOT of lip balms before deciding to just stick with Vaseline.
Although I'd love to use it every day, the balm is still rather expensive in my eyes, and it is very difficult for me to get. So, I've decided to only use this product when I really need it - when my lips really need help because they are chapped due to my laziness. Vaseline is still great at maintaining what the Lip Love Balm has done (I've tried this for the past week, and my lips have maintained that smoothness), but it doesn't do lip repair-work quite as well or as fast as this balm.
So, if you can get hold of it or if you live in the UK, go get the Lip Love Balm! It's really, really nice. Yes, it is £5, which is a lot for a lip balm, but it is definitely, definitely worth it (especially if you earn in sterling pounds and not the USD!).
I am not being paid by Tropic Skin Care to write this review - I bought the product with my own money, and these are my own pure, honest thoughts.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Green Bean Coffee Extract - Week Two
Hello, everyone!
This my second week update of being on the green bean coffee extract.
So, according to the scale at the pool, I've gained a pound. I'm quite willing to believe that as I believe that I gained quite a bit of muscle this week due to exercising a lot, so I'm not too fussed about it. I have noticed a lot of fat come off of my abdominal and inner thigh areas, so I do believe that the extract is working despite the weight gain (leading me to believe that the weight gain is due to muscle gain). I am hopeful that this increased muscle will lead to even more rapid calorie burning, so we'll see how it goes.
Thank you very much for reading!! 26 pounds to go!
This my second week update of being on the green bean coffee extract.
So, according to the scale at the pool, I've gained a pound. I'm quite willing to believe that as I believe that I gained quite a bit of muscle this week due to exercising a lot, so I'm not too fussed about it. I have noticed a lot of fat come off of my abdominal and inner thigh areas, so I do believe that the extract is working despite the weight gain (leading me to believe that the weight gain is due to muscle gain). I am hopeful that this increased muscle will lead to even more rapid calorie burning, so we'll see how it goes.
Thank you very much for reading!! 26 pounds to go!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)