Trouble Sleeping? Try aromatherapy!

This is a bottle of Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Sleep Pillow Mist.

I must say that I used to be an insomniac, and this helped me when I had trouble falling asleep. Lavender is my "it's time to sleep scent" along with Chamomile tea. Having trigger cues such as the flavor of tea or the scent surrounding you helps you sleep by constant association, along with the natural properties of the substance.

When you want to go to sleep, make sure that:

1. your lights are off
2. your tv is off
3. you haven't exercised recently
4. you aren't thinking about anything

I only use extras such as this when I had more trouble than normal. Of course, I've been having the opposite problem recently: I've been sleeping way too much.

It's better that you don't associate your sleeping area with other activities. I end up sleeping while studying when I do it on the bed T_T

This product may irritate you, so check before buying. For me, the only real con of this product is it's smell: it's so good! It makes me want to smush my face into my pillow. It's bad because I might suffocate myself and the pillow could be dirty and contribue to my zits.

Still, I keep this at my bedside table for when I want to remind myself, that it's time to snooze again :)

Edit: my nails are one layer of Jade is the New Black by OPI with China Glaze's Atlantis at the edges: the product of too much goopy quick dry top coat (I get the same results with Seche Vite and Orly Won't Chip :|).

Review: Seche Restore

Unlike it's hard to use relative (Seche Vite), I actually like Seche Restore. With Seche Vite, I get awful goopy results, along with any other quick dry top coats.

Use Seche Restore to thin out your old polishes and resurrect them from their old, dried, clumpy state. Unfortunately, this comes with a couple of cons.

1. The packaging is horrible.

Look at the picture. To the right is the pipette for the Restore. I have no place to put it, so I keep the original packaging since I don't want it out in the open.

2. If you look at the ingredients list or the warning label, you will see that it contains toluene. It says that this product may "cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm." A quick search on the internet shows that toluene can cause neurological damage. Also, due to schoolwork, I have found that substances such as toluene can cause taste and smell disorders. It may not seem like much compared to the others, but it IS a valid concern, and the one I'm most worried about right now.

I will not repurchase this product, though it does work (though I have been doing worse, what with my constant exposure to formaldehyde :( ). It's not worth the risk. Hopefully, they will find something better to replace it. Good bye old polishes. At least until something better comes out.


TIP: DO NOT over expose yourself to your nail stuff. Once a month will do and be sure to have open air circulation.

On that note, given the love of air conditioning, how many nail technicians have been overexposed to toluene and the like?

Patch testing

I often do not patch test for allergic reactions. It's bad, I know! I want to do this for box dyes but I don't know HOW am I supposed to patch test these products.

For those that have separate bottle for the peroxide and a tube of dye, you can put a little of both in a separate container, mix them, then test on yourself. Unfortunately, the boxes I've bought have a non-sealable container for the peroxide. Then I think to myself: this stuff will decompose pretty quickly and I need to keep this on for 48 hours (H2O2 -> H2O). So I end up putting it on anyway without a patch test :( I take it all off if it itches, but it's not a good way to do it.

I do patch test for facial products (because it's really easy!). However, recently, I patch tested a product on my jaw line for 7 hours. It was fine. However, when I used it the next day, it seems I had an allergic reaction after 5 hours on my face! It was horrible :| I'm still paying for it right now.

Urgh. I don't know how to explain it. Maybe my face is just weird.

Mouthwash

Although I know that mouthwash isn't strictly necessary, there's just something about it that I love. Maybe it's because:

1) It freshens breath
2) It wakes you up

I don't really care that much about the germ-killing effect (with possible temporary dryness), though I hope it helps since I'm horrible at flossing (how do you floss your molars? I've never been able to do it :( ).

Although, you still have to be careful that the mouthwash you use doesn't stain your teeth (Chlorohexedine). I use mouthwash only 3x max a week because I drink a lot of coffee and tea.

What does make me curious is how come most people prefer to use a dilute version of mouthwash versus a concentrate. The concentrated solution is just a bit more expensive, but you get at least 3x more of the product. Sure, the diluted version is good for kids (who cannot be trusted NOT to check the label before swilling a mouthful of concentrate) and for travel, but the concentrate does it's job longer. I love the fact that you can control how hot your mouth will get by changing the amount of water you use. I just don't see why diluted mouthwash is more popular than concentrate.