Borghese Revitalizing Face Serum review

While shopping in Costco, this caught my eye... Borghese Revitalizing Face Serum... I thought, why would Borghese be in Costco?

In North America, Borghese does not seem to be as popular as compared to Asia, so after being "brainwashed" in Asia about Borghese, and learning about it's linked to Princess Marcella Borghese and looking at the price tag of this, I had to get a bottle to try for myself.

I haven't had a lot of chances to try serums since I am pretty new to skincare. I would say this is a "mild" serum, suitable for climates/weather which are not extremely dry or harsh on skin.

It has an oily feel when you apply the serum on your face, but after it has been absorbed it becomes matte. The oiliness is good since you can spread the product on your face easier, unfortunately, I find the pump it not very durable, after using it for over a month, it needs to be pulled back up before pumping again, or you can't get enough product.

Mrs. Fields semi-sweet chocolate chip cookie review

After having given up on Mrs. Field's for years because of the high amount of sugar they put into their cookie. I came across their semi-sweet chocolate chip and I decided to grab a box.

It is surely less sweet thank the original chocolate chip cookie. However don't have too much expectation if you want something much "less-sweet". And if you plan to get a box please, for the sake of your taste buds remember to follow the microwave/oven instructions. These cookies taste so SO much better (I'm not exaggerating) when they are hot. Unlike most cookies which taste weird (due to sugar substitutes) or less tasty (due to some missed sugar ingredients) I think they managed to keep tasting good... (just remember you MUST heat them up).

Korean chocolate cookie snack review

This is the first time I have tried these, and I think they taste very similar to the Japanese Koala Chocolate snack I have had in the past (コアラのマ－チby Lotte).

I thought this Korean chocolate would be similar, but it actually doesn't taste very good. In fact, it is next to being tasteless! Perhaps this is good for kids who have sensitive taste-buds  but for me... it hardly tastes like anything. Both the "cookie" part and the "chocolate" part are very mild in taste. I didn't really like it too much.

I liked the creative prints on these though as they are quite cute, I am not sure if there is a theme as I recall one showing an image of a hand, the mascot, a  heart and other random objects.

For those who can write/read Korean please give me the name of them in English in the comments below! Thanks!

Regent Golden Sweet Corn snack review

It is almost one of my first times trying Filipino Snacks, so I was very excited to give this a try after picking it up at a grocery store.

The appearance of these are like "Corn Pops" roughly the same size and colour, but texture wise they are a little harder and less crispier than "Corn Pops". But taste is very different. They surely gave it a right name to call them "sweet corn" as it literally tastes like CORN! Very Corny huh? (excuse the pun).

If you are a corn fan I am sure you will be addicted to these.

VS Vidal Sassoon Pro Series Shampoo review

I have decided to grab this image straight from Vidal Sassoon's official site since the pictures I took of it didn't seem to look good at all (not appealing), let alone posting them on Instagram.

The name of this product is long! VS Vidal Sassoon Pro Series - Perfected by Experts, Shampoo Boost and Lift. For the weightless look of pumped up hair

Though the name is long, it is definitely one of my favourite shampoos I have recently used.

This review will be about the Shampoo and Conditioner only, since these are the only products I have used from this collection.

Vidal Sassoon has branded itself quite well in Asia. So after my trip to Asia I decided to look for Vidal Sassoon products. To my luck, Vidal Sassoon (or VS) has started to rebuild itself in America, so I was introduced to different types of VS products while I was shopping around. The Volume version of this shampoo seemed to match well with what I wanted in my shampoo so I decided to get both the shampoo and conditioner.

The reasons why I love this Shampoo so much: it literally cleans your hair, and after your hair drys it smells REALLY nice (not the artificial weird strong smelling shampoo smell... but a very nice gentle smell that makes you feel like you have a very clean head).

The Cons of this shampoo is that you MUST use conditioner, due to it cleaning your hair so well, it causes your hair to dry and if you don't use conditioner, your hair feels so dull. I think that is how shampoos which are "professional" or "perfected by experts" usually are though, they usually dry up your hair and making it so dull... this is based on my experience. So REMEMBER get the conditioner too if you plan to try this product.

I have used this product for about a month already, and I feel that my hair is getting stronger, when I take a strand (?) of hair that has already fallen out, I find that it is harder to "break" into little pieces.

Shake Weight workout review

Out of curiosity, I bought the Shake Weight. Most reviews online claim that it doesn't work, I think I can prove them wrong.

After using this, I felt my arms are firmer, so it does work! Just remember to follow the 6 minute exercise provided by the DVD (which is included in the package) - by the way... I think their DVD lied... it seems way longer than 6 minutes... maybe 8 minutes?

First day using this: my arms felt... tired!!!!! In the middle of the night, my arms were sore to the point I think they literally swelled up, I was in so much pain I thought my arms were breaking apart

Second day: My arms recovered by the time I tried this the second time... it was tiring, I did manage to finish the full routine.

third day: just like the second day, except I couldn't finish the full routine, my arms were sore and tired, however, I did notice my arms firming up... which is good!

fourth - tenth day: it took a lot more effort to complete the full routine

I think this product is very effective it does tone your arms (and helps them loose a few inches off!)

___________________________________________
UPDATE:

I think after using this Shake Weight for a while, I feel my chest area firming up as well :P

Crest 3D White Whitestrips teeth whitening review

Who wants whiter teeth? I definitely do! After hearing lots of reviews and feedback about this product, I am bound to give this product a try.

Unlike most people, unfortunately, this had definitely made my teeth more sensitive than I thought. After the third day trying this, I would wake up in the middle of the night in pain! Who knew your teeth can feel so much pain? I just tell myself "beauty is pain, beauty is pain".

Luckily, my teeth were less sensitive in the morning, afternoon and evening so I was able to eat and drink. I avoided sour and any food with high acidity just in case it will hurt.

The second night trying this, I was awaken by the pain again, I feel my teeth were so sensitive to the point, swallowing saliva (ok that sounded weird, but we do swallow our saliva... k?) made me feel I was swallowing some "teeth residue" (I don't think that's true, but it felt like that).

And just like the first day, the pain was pretty much gone in the morning and day/evening to follow. Again, there was a little funny feeling like my teeth were bound to hurt if I chewed too hard, but the sensation didn't bother me too much.

The third day: my teeth actually felt much better... HOWEVER, after putting these on... my teeth started to feel so much pain later that night... and the length is much longer... it lasted till morning :(...

I think these have helped my teeth turn a bit whiter (after wearing them consecutively for 3 days) However, I think I need to take a break from them for a while because the sensitivity of my teeth became nearly unbearable.

Some of my friends suggested I try a lower number (the current one is #4), use Sensodyne toothpaste, and other suggested I wear it for less than 30 mins (cut down the duration to only 15-20 mins). I will do that and let you know if that is better either in a future post or an updated version of this post.

Thanks for reading!

Tears Naturale Free artificial tear by Alcon reviews

I cannot understand... I have practically lived in North America for quite a while now... but after returning from a trip to Asia for a few months, I discovered North American climate is making my eyes terribly dry. My eyes are dry to the point if I didn't blink for a while my vision would go blurry. Isn't that sad? And for cosmetic reasons, I do not think having red eyes is considered attractive in any way.

I have never been a fan of putting in eye drops as I have sensitive SENSITIVE eyes (I hope the double word can describe how severely sensitive my eyes are), But I honestly have no choice other than using eye drops.

I wanted drops which were preservative free so I can "cure" the dryness without having to worry about unnecessary chemicals and stuff remaining in my eyes. Voila! Tears Naturale Free is the answer!

Tears Naturale Free contains little vials which must be used within 24 hours after opening as they will go bad and become contaminated (since there are no preservatives).

photo source: http://firstaidsupplystores.com

I do feel a tiny "discomfort" when I use them however they have definitely cured my eyes' dryness. Usually I need about 2 drops per eye, good thing the vials contain enough (more than enough) for me to use (I usually have left overs, but better more than not enough right?)

I highly recommend Tears Naturale Free to anyone who has dry eyes as it does cure your eyes without leaving any preservatives in your eyes. They are a little pricey compared to the other eye drops with preservatives but I think it is definitely worth it.

These can be found at most drug stores near you.

website: http://www.tearsnaturale.com/tears-naturale-free.asp

Green Grotto at McNicoll review - cold drinks edition

I have always been a fan of bubble tea cafes because you can enjoy various types of drinks (which range from green teas, black teas, red teas, coffee, fruit juices, etc) and like most "traditional" cafes they usually provide magazines and a perfect environment to sit, chat, surf web (most places provide free wifi) and just relax.

I have recently been acquainted to Green Grotto which is located at McNicoll and Midland Road. Like most Green Grotto's I have been to, the place is small and cozy. But unlike most Green Grotto's I have been to (and thank goodness!) it is not packed, so it is a lovely environment to hang out with friends and chat and relax.

One thing I like about Green Grotto is that they provide complementary free popcorn, it's nice to chew on something light while you are at a bubble tea place. Usually I am a fan of popcorn chicken, but sometimes, that can be too heavy if you just want to chill-ax with some friends after a heavy meal.

Overall, I think Green Grotto's drinks are well made, at this particular visit, I ordered Fuji Apple Yogurt while my friend ordered Green Apple Yogurt (a frequent visitor of this place recommended their yogurt drinks so we decided to order that). It tasted quite good, it wasn't too sweet or sour just easy to drink.

If you are looking for a place to go for your next friend reunion or simply just a place to sit down and chat, this is the place for you!

To see the review for "hot tea drinks" at Green Grotto please click here

EDIT
my friend asked me about hours of this place, so I thought I would post them here (forgot to ask them about opening time... I think it is around 1PM each day):
closing time:
Sunday - Thursday: 12:00AM
Friday - Saturday: 1:00AM

Olive Garden Review

I have heard many MANY positive reviews about Olive Garden, so out of curiosity  I decided to try it. I only have 2 things to say about this place: Great Service and Delicious food! I have found one of the best Italian restaurants I have and ever will encounter. The prices are extremely reasonable, the food is in large portions, the staff are extremely friendly and  the most important thing, the food is very delicious!

Zuppa Toscana

They had a meal combo available, so it was much easier to choose from the various choices they had. We were a company of three, so we ordered three meal combos, that way we can share and try different foods. The first we ordered was Zuppa Toscana and salad. Since I am not a huge fan of salads, I cannot comment much other than to say the salad was fresh and had a lot of ingredients inside (e.g. various lettuces, olives, peppers, etc). The soup, Zuppa Toscana was my surprise, it is one of the best Italian soups I have ever had! Either I have not really had a chance to try different types of Italian soups (other than the "basic" ones such as Italian Wedding and other various types of tomato based "Italian soups", come to think of that, I am not even sure if the soups I have tried were authentic, or just fusions of the original) nonetheless, I enjoyed EVERY sip of that soup, it was cream based and contained Italian Sausage, Kale/Spinach, bacon, etc. each ingredient played it's part well. 

complementary garlic bread sticks

Olive Garden was very considerate to providing us with complementary garlic bread sticks. It was very fresh and buttery, they even let us bring it home after, which was very nice and thoughtful of them. And, of course, this way, no food is wasted!

Grilled Chicken Toscana

We ordered Grilled Chicken Toscana as one of the combos. It was very tasty, the chicken had a wonderful grilled tasted and it was seasoned so well! They paired it with a kind of cheese Risotto  and some spinach on top. Most importantly, the dish was served very hot. The Chicken was very tender and smooth. 

Parmesan potato crusted chicken

The next thing which came was Parmesan Potato crusted Chicken. I was very impressed with the quality of this dish, just like the grilled Chicken the 

Penne di mare 

Experience tells me to never order seafood at any Italian restaurant, however, I am glad I decided to order ONE dish which contained seafood. Unlike most Italian restaurants I have been to, Olive Garden's seafood dish (Penne Di Mare) had large quantities of seafood (as described on their menu) and the seafood was FRESH!

Chocolate moouse cake

For our combo, we order 2 chocolate moouse cakes and one caramel hazelnut macchiato. I am so glad we ordered these two choices because they were really good. The chocolate moouse cake was delicious, unlike most "Caucasian" places, it's cake was not very sweet (which is good). I liked the presentation too. Though it doesn't look like a lot in the picture, it was more than enough after such a heavy meal.

caramel hazelnut macchiato

For our other choice of "dessert" we ordered Caramel Hazelnut Macchiato. Never in my life have I heard of Macchiato, so out of their selection of Lattes, Cappuccinos, Expressos, etc. I decided to take my chances and try this Macchiato. I do not know coffees enough, but this is one coffee I would definitely try again (when I get the chance to). If I had to describe this drink, I would say it is a cross between a latte, cappuccino and some other type of coffee, but the mix is so well blended that it tastes far better than Cappuccino and Latte.

I would give Olive Garden a rating of 10/10!