Thursday, August 5, 2010

New Fun & Easy Drink Recipe!

Like any normal girl, I enjoy a fun, fruity frozen drink every once in a while, especially on a hot summer day! I love trying new drink recipes but sometimes they can include a lot of ingrediants which can be expensive! The other day I visited First Energy Stadium in Reading, PA for the first time. I love baseball and am trying to visit as many ballparks as I can. This being my first time at this stadium, I wanted to walk around and explore everything they had to offer as well as try some specialty food and drinks they had to offer. In our wandering around the stadium, my friend and I walked by this sign:


Being a huge fan of mango, pomegranate and slushies I was sold! It was very hot outside and these drinks sounded extra appealing! The biggest decision I had to make was which flavor I wanted. Because I'd already had some ice cream that night, I decided to go with Pomegranate as Mango can sometimes be a little too sweet.

Mike's Slushie

While I'm sure either choice would have been fabulous, the pomegranate definitely didn't disappoint! It was delicious and refreshing. A little pricey for what it was ($6.50) but not bad for ballpark prices where a bottled beer is $5.25. It also came complete with an umbrella and lei so that's always fun!


Now here's the exciting part: this drink is super easy to make at home!

Drink: Mike's Pomegranate Punch Slushy (can easily be made in other flavors)

Ingrediants:

1 bottle of Mike's Pomegranate Punch (or any Mike's flavored drink)
Ice
Blender or Margarita Machine

Directions:
1) Pour bottle of Mike's into blender
2) Add Ice
3) Blend until smooth
4) Pour into cup, add straw, umbrella and enjoy!

As stated in the title of this blog, fun and easy but quite tasty! I'm not a big fan of the Mike's/Smirnoff Ice type drink by itself but as a frozen drink they're quite refreshing!

Sample-icious: The Search for the Perfect Moisturizer Part 2

In review of my first blog searching for the perfect moisturizer: My current moisturizer doesn't include an SPF which I’ve read is an important component to have in a daily face cream so I decided I wanted to test the waters to see if there was something else out there. That way if you’re not at an outdoor event where you would consciously put sunscreen on such as the beach or a picnic, you still have some protection. Along with some various free samples I’ve stocked up on, I also bought a Moisturizer Sampler from Sephora that had sample tubes of various best sellers. I’m starting to try them one by one to see if I am ready to make the leap into changing my daily moisturizer. The first one I tried was Korres Wild-Rose 24 Hour Moisturizer. I really liked it although I felt it was a little pricey at $35 for 1.4 oz and it also the full size product comes in a pot where I prefer a tube or pump. I liked it enough though that it's definitely on my list of possibilities. Once I finished my sample tube of that, I decided to try a Bliss product next.



Moisturizer # 2:

Bliss Best of Skintentions® Daily Moisturizer SPF 15, price $35 for 1.7 oz

Looking completely from a product information standpoint, Bliss's Best of Skintentions® Moisturizer is an imporvement upon the Korres Wild Rose Moisturizer. While both products are $35, the Bliss one does include a little more for the money (a whole .2 oz more), comes in a tube as opposed to a pot and has a higher SPF at 15 compared to SPF 6. While all of these "improvements" are fine and dandy, that's also where they end.

Similar to wine tasting, aside from the description, the first impression you get of a moisturizer is smell and Bliss fails immediately. It has a strange scent to it, not sure how to describe it but it's definitely more simlar to a sunscreen than a moisturizer. One of those smells you would put up with on the beach so your face won't fry off but wouldn't want to experience on a daily basis. It's a smell you'd expect with SPF 50 but definitely too strong for a SPF 15. The next thing you notice about a moisturizer is the texture and feel of it on your fingers first and then how smoothly it applies to your face. This one felt a little thicker than I would like for a moisturizer inbetween my fingers and felt almost griddy when applying it to my face. Everytime I put it on I had to check in the mirror five times to make sure I had rubbed it in all the way. It wasn't crazy thick, but just enough that I know it's not right for me.

The description on Sephora's website reads:

"Bliss Best of Skintentions® is a moisturizer on a mission to provide beautifully healthy skin—today, tomorrow, and beyond. Invest in your complexion with this formula's powerful sun and antioxidant protection, essential illuminating phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids that work together to keep your skin safe and smooth"

While this description sounds appealing and may have encouraged me to buy the product blindly, after using the sample, I definitely don't think it fits. My skin definitely does not feel healthier by using it and honestly the smell alone probably would keep me away from every buying it. I have only used it a few times so I can't say for sure that it wouldn't improve your skin over time but my initial experiences with it were all negative. I honestly can't tell much of a difference feeling my face before and after using the product which to me means it doesn't do much as a moisturizer.

Final say: While it might be right for someone else, this product is not right for me! It will not go on my list of possibilites for the perfect moisturizer. Korres Wild-Rose 24 Hour Moisturizer is still in the lead!