Tarragon Tea

Today was my first time at Sonya's Garden! Sonya's Garden is a popular garden/inn in Tagaytay, Philippines. I was fortunate as the flowers were in bloom at this time, so I recommend that you go there before the flowers fall. Aside from the garden and inn, there is a restaurant, spa and panaderia (bakery).

I was able to take a look at a room at the inn with my family, and it looked amazing (go to the site for pictures). Unfortunately, I coudn't possibly afford the rates if I were to go with my friends. :(

I didn't end up in either the spa or restaurant, but at the panaderia: the cheese hopia and scones are a must try.

What I did end up buying was a pack of tarragon leaves. As soon as I went home, I made this:



Tarragon Tea!

1. Pick 5-6 leaves and put them in the bottom of a cup. Mine came in a bunch so I dumped the entire thing without checking how many leaves there were.

2. Add enough boiling water to cover the leaves and swirl for a few seconds.

3. Discard the water and add enough water to fill the cup.

4. Steep for 5 minutes

Tarragon tea smells like rootbeer :O

Natural or Not?

So, I've done it: I've spent one month of my life without using many "unnatural products" on my face aside from my cleanser. For the past month, I've been using:

1. The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner
2. Zen Zest Tea Tree Oil (as spot treatment)
3. Calamansi (as a mask)
4. Honey (as a mask)

I may review these better in the future. However, I have found that they are not suitable to my needs. Though some of them seemed helpful, they were not very effective at stopping zits with my stressful lifestyle.

So, I'm going back and adding tretinoin to the mix. Also, going to the derma as soon as I can. :) Hopefully, my face will fare better (I'm too ashamed to post pics).

Review: Lioncity Dermatograph

Have you heard of a dermatograph? It's a wax (I think? at least this brand) stick wrapped around paper. They say you can use it to write on different media, but I use it as a replacement highliter for words written in newsprint. This is because normal highlighters are too thick and tend to stain the other side of the paper.


Pros
-cheap (Less than P15 or around $0.50)
-come in a variety of colors
-convenient (no need to sharpen)
-fun (I love the unrolling process)
-allows you to track usage (unlike highlighters that will run out unexpectedly)


Cons
-lighter than highlighters (you'll have to use a heavier hand)
-like a pencil: it can break unexpectedly, and you'll never be able to use the stub when it's about an inch long
-string may give out


The Lioncity Dermatograph tends to be variable in quality: some sticks are definitely better than others. I can work around some of them by using my fingernails to remove the paper if the string breaks, but it gets really annoying.

Review: Cutex Instant Nail Whitener

Sometimes, it's best to hide your sin of keeping nail polish for too long on your nails! As it is something I do occasionally, I try to keep a concealer for my nails. I've been using Cutex Instant Nail Whitener. These coat your nails white to hide those yellow stains. It makes your nails look french tipped, so I also use this instead of doing a french tip which I have trouble doing.


Pros
-cheap
- no DBP, Toluene or Formaldehyde
- dries quickly

Cons
-hard to maneuver brush, can streak if not well done.

I still consider nail brighteners to be polishes, just one you don't need to use a base or top coat for :))




Last 3 fingernails have 1 coat on. Ring and thumb sans nail whitener. Looks just like a basecoat, which is why the instructions are to have 2 coats.



You can see the difference now. Last 3 fingernails have 2 coats on. Ring and thumb with 1 coat whitener.

Buy again? No, this bottle will last me a while and I'd like to avoid getting yellow nails in the future.