Poor Feet :(

I like to walk, I like to walk a lot and I'm a power walker.

My power walking comes from my grandmother. She lives in Japan and I remember almost having to jog to keep up with her when we walked to the train station several years ago.

When I went to school in Cleveland, I would power walk my way to class -especially in the snow & cold) so I could 1) make it to class on time even if I left last minute from my room 2)I don't like wasting time walking :P

I also love to walk- when I was in Paris last time I walked from Notre Dame all the way to Champs Elysees. I don't remember how long it took me- over an hour for sure- but it was great. I also walked around the Louvre museum for over 7 hours and I think I saw practically everything the Louvre had to offer (minus the closed exhibits) at least once.

ANYWAY…I also have a bad right ankle. How bad you ask?
An ankle I effed up from wearing platform shoes (remember Bongo's platform shoes back in the day) and would twist my ankle from trying to run in them :P

So every once in a while my right foot just hates me- especially my ankle and I have a difficult time walking (I limp a bit) in the morning. On really bad days I wrap it up- but I like ballet flats so that rarely happens :P


Recently instead of my right ankle hurting its the back of my feet thats been in pain. And by pain I don't just mean "ouch it hurts to walk a bit" but "AHHHHHH I CANT WALK ANYMORE!" and making me limp and walk awkwardly not just in the morning but alllllll day.
According to webmd and looking at the symptoms it seems like its a case of plantar fasciititis (I know I should go to an actual podiatrist).

Anyway I needed something to ease the pain of my right foot (I'm not a big fan of OTC pain medication unless necessary since I take Advil every so often for my migraines) so I started using peppermint oil to massage my feet at the end of the night. Its not a complete cure but I love the smell of peppermint and the tingly feeling of peppermint.



Massaging it with peppermint oil is great but I wanted to see what beauty stores offered so I went on a mission…. Here's a review of one of them:


C.O Bigelow's Mentha Foot Tingling Foot Cream available at Bath and Body Works for $14.00
(By the way right now Bath and Body Works is offering a buy 2 get 1 free for C.O Bigelow products!)



The cream itself is pretty light- and when it touches your fingers, it leaves a slight tingle. It also smells great and just like peppermint! I massaged it on my feet and I sadly have to say- it did not give me the tingle feeling that I had hoped from it. Again- smells great, leaves my hand tingly, leaves my feet nicely moisturized and a great way to massage my poor feet- but not tingly as I hoped.

So I give this product 3 stars- its a great foot cream to massage on your feet at the end of the night to moisturize it and rub out all those aches and pains. But if you're looking for something to give you that "tingly" feel on your feet- this is not it.

What is your favorite foot moisturizer/cream?

XOXO

S

Mean Reds Mean Reds Mean Reds Go Away

Holly Golightly: You know those days when you get the mean reds?
Paul Varjak: The mean reds. You mean like the blues?
Holly Golightly: No. The blues are because you're getting fat, and maybe it's been raining too long. You're just sad, that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid, and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?
- Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's 

I'm just not feeling today- I woke up pretty fine, started my morning schedule, was pretty happy go lucky until  one minute I'm in a pretty bad place. As Holly Golightly said, "Suddenly you're afraid, and you don't know what you're afraid of." 

If my bed was nearby I would just curl up in my bed and just sleep- its depressing, its bad, I need to get out of this. 

What do you do when you're in a bad mood to help you get out of it?

This is what I need this morning :P 

21 Ways You Should Take Advantage Of Your 20s | Thought Catalog

I stumbled across this from a friend's Facebook and wanted to share it with everyone :)

21 Ways You Should Take Advantage Of Your 20s | Thought Catalog

And here are some of my favorites:

2. Ask for what’s owed to you. Half the time, you’re not getting your needs met because you’re not making them known. Your employers, romantic interests, and friends are not going to read your mind and give you what you need unless you speak up.
              People CAN'T read your mind- so tell them, straight up. I've always known this in the back of my head but have only recently started to actually understand and practice it. 

11. Stay up late. In your 20s, you’re all, “Let’s go to another bar!” “Who wants to eat at a diner?” “Have you guys seen the sun rise from the High Line?” “In this moment I swear we were infinite!” When you get older, this becomes, “What are you doing? Go home. Watch Parks and Rec and go to sleep. What is wrong with you, staying up all night? Who has time for that?” If you’re in your 20s, you do. You have all the time. Do it now and take advantage of how not tired you are. You think you’re crabby now when you stay up too late? You’ll never believe how terrible you feel when you do it in your 30s.                                                                         

             I wish I stayed out later when I was in college- I honestly do. I turned down a lot of invitations to go out since I was already in my dorm and just wanted to "chill". I really regret that. I do like my sleep- but as they say, "sleep when you're dead." 

14. STOP PROCRASTINATING YOUR TRIP ABROAD. YOUR CHANCES OF TAKING A LONG VACATION ABROAD DIMINISH AS YOU BECOME MORE SET IN YOUR WAYS AND AS YOU GAIN MORE RESPONSIBILITY.
                ONE OF MY FAVORITE ADVICES!!!! I WANT TO TRAVEL THE WORLLLLDDD. (however I hate plans with a burning passion) 
      
17. Sit down, unplug, and read non-fiction. Do this daily. None of your peers are doing it. They’re playing video games and refreshing Facebook and Gmail chatting about nothing in particular. After a month you’ll be smarter than all of them.
            This is something I would like to do :) The only non-fiction things I usually read are either my textbooks/books for school or the newspaper. I've always been a history nerd- reading some good non-fiction history books sound like fun :) 

18. Walk into Forever 21 and grab every single crappily-made floral dress available. Is every other girl on the street wearing it? Is it literally falling apart at the seams? Is it also actually five dollars? BUY IT IMMEDIATELY. When you get older, your clothing becomes all expensive blazers and tailored khakis and other pieces that won’t break while on your body. That will be a great day — the day when your closet starts to look respectable. Though those outfits are more expensive, they also last longer and look better on you. You will be a classy human ready to take on the future. But as long as you’re still in your 20s? You know — the demographic of Forever 21? Game on, stretchy black dress with pockets that lasts about a week. Game on.
           Haha- don't get me wrong I like Forever 21 and I have some clothes from there that I've worn a while and haven't fallen apart yet nevertheless they aren't the best in quality :P. Also this gave me an excuse to go shopping- I like that :) 



Did you have a favorite? 
Do you have a bucket list to do before you turn 30?

XOXO, 
-S 

My Favorite Drugstore Finds: HAIR edition!

Hello all!

So I grew up on drugstore beauty products but when I entered junior high and high school I became a Sephora addict (thank you mother for the allowance!). It was great but then I became a college student and learned the importance of being frugal and went back to my drugstore beauty regimen.

Here are my TOP FAVORITE DRUGSTORE FINDS: HAIR EDITION!

Garnier Fructis Shampoo & Conditioner
Although I currently use Dove shampoo for my hair since you can get the big huge family size at Costco and my current Costco doesn't have any Garnier Fructis products. Garnier Fructis's Shampoo and Conditioner is my favorite shampoo. It smells fruity and it does the job! I love how fruity and fresh my hair smells after I shampoo & condition my hair with Garnier.



Dove Heat Defense Therapy Heat Activated Protect & Shine Mist 
I rarely ever blow dry my hair- but when I lived in Cleveland it was a necessity to blow dry during the winter months whenever I showered in the morning since it usually snowed and if I didnt my hair would freeze. Its about $8 a bottle and it worked great for my hair. Reviews tend to be mixed- but I used this for my hair and it always turned smooth and silky soft whenever I blow dried my hair. Friends and my sorority sisters would always comment on nice my hair looked and asked what I did differently- just actually took the time to blow dry my hair :P.

Neutrogena's Triple Moisture Silk Touch Leave-In Cream  

I like to grow out my hair and I hate to trim it- whenever I go to the salon and actually get my hair cut I like to get it cut-cut I mean go all out and get a bob kinda thing. Thus I usually go about a year without getting my hair trimmed- which means I get into the problem of getting a bit of not so happy ends and a bit of frizz. Meet my rescue! 

Its easy to use- both for damp and dry hair. It has a UV shield so perfect for the summer days when you're out in the sun a lot. Its easy to use and leaves your hair feeling smooth and soft. Its only $6.99 a bottle on Neutrogena.com. It has a pretty good review on multiple sites- and its definitely one of my favorite products!

Johnson's No More Tangles Detangling Spray

Detangling spray is a must for anyone with short-medium-long hair and this is a simple, no fuss, no weird smelling, perfect detangling spray. 

I grew up on this as a little girl and I stopped using it when I entered junior high and I have no idea why. I tried several other companies' detangling spray but this is spot on the best! Its also under $4 at most places. It not only detangles your hair but leaves it soft as well! 

What are your favorite Drugstore Beauty finds for hair?

Lemony Fresh!

So after trying out Peter Thomas Roth's Max Complexion Correction Pads I was recommended Ole Henriksen's Lemon Strip Flash Peel.

















I tried it on Saturday night after a nice relaxing shower and I hate to say it…it stung and itched worse than Peter Thomas Roth's Max Complexion Correction Pads.

I was a fool  and kept the mask on the 10 minutes as the direction said and the tingling feeling died down around minute 5…but still it was really uncomfortable and I was more than happy to rinse my face afterwards. I didn't notice a benefit from it the next morning only 2 red areas on my cheeks that get dry easily (even after moisturizing my face after the peel).

I did read the reviews on Sephora.com and it has a higher average rating than the PTR's Max Complexion Pads. Many of the reviews do note that they had a "tingling" feeling when they first put it on- but the feeling I had wasn't just tingling- it was itching and burning.

Also some of the reviews on the site include personal pictures from users and you can definitely notice a difference! Several users say that they have sensitive & dry skin and that it didn't irritate their skin. Users do say that it works for acne scars, current acne problems and with dark spots.

It's $48 a jar and from my personal experience a little definitely goes a looooong way- so it seems expensive but don't worry you wont be using a jar a month or anything :P Also this isn't something you want to do nightly- it seems that most users just use it weekly. According to the comments on Sephora.com people have used it for a month (so a total of 4 usages) and "it doesn't look like I've used any of it."

So…this is something I would highly recommend to first ask a sample from Sephora and see how you like it on your face. Sephora is amazing when it comes to giving out samples (most places are) and see how it works on your skin!

Have you tried Ole Henriksen's Lemon Flash Peel? How did you like it?
Is there a product that you use thats similar to it?

XOXO

- S

UPDATE:
When I went into Sephora next to see what else would be better- the SA there told me that Ole Henriksen's Lemon Flash Peel would be more irritating than PTR'S Max Complexion Pads- so I would NOT recommend this for people with sensitive skin!

Coffee, Coffee, Coffeeeee!

I'm a loud and proud Starbucks addict.

I started young when it came to my coffee addiction as my mother would treat me to Starbucks when she would study there when she went back to school when I was in my later years of elementary school. I quickly fell in love with this: Caramel Frappuccino I also made sure to order it decaf :)

Of course that extra "decaf" soon left my tongue when I entered high school and my Starbucks addiction followed me to Cleveland when I attended school there for several years.

When people asked me where I lived prior to coming to Ohio, I would proudly tell them "Seattle!" And usually the next words that left their lips were either "Oh where Starbucks started?!" or "OMG does it rain a lot there?!" (Btw it doesn't rain that much here- I believe our total amount of rainfall isn't that bad, although we do have quite a lot of days where rain is expected/seen in our forecast).

ANYWAY…as I entered college and realized that Starbucks really isn't 'college budget friendly' when it comes to drinks like Caramel Frappuccino, White Chocolate Mocha and the like I started to drink things like Cafe Misto (and thankfully I started this trend when Starbucks still offered free syrup shots to their gold card members :P) and soon enough I even started to enjoy the taste of just plain old coffee (with cream and sugar of course :P)

And to justify my daily dosage of coffee here are some health benefits of coffee :)


Now I'm not sure how true these all are- for example the one about caffeine during pregnancy- the problem with that one is what is "moderate consumption?
And I'm sure there are other factors that add things such as dementia and alzheimer's- I don't think just drinking coffee is going to keep you "alzheimer's and dementia" free- (but as I do have a family member who had alzheimer's- this will be my new excuse :) )
Also I should add this is COFFEE not peppermint mochas, or caramel frappuccinos or the other sugary drinks- this is just plain old coffee and remember it says "cups" not grande or ventis :P


Now time for more coffee! :) 

DIY home made hair mask

So I've been trying to grow my hair out since I cut it pretty short February 2012 and by pretty short I mean close to pixie but not that short, but shorter than a bob.

 I then went to get my hair cut when I visited my grandparents since my grandmother is bffs with a salon owner there and its "recommended" to get your hair cut while you're there in other words unless you're only in town for a day or two its guaranteed that you'll have a reason or two to visit it. It was just a trim but they still took off more than an inch :P

ANYWAY….fast forward to the beginning of this year and OMG my hair is dry and crisp at the ends. I know I need to get my hair trimmed but I'm the kinda gal that when I sit in that hair salon chair and have to shell out at least 40 dollars to get my hair cut- I'm ready to chop off my hair and I'm not ready to do that yet. So…I needed a fix for my dry hair.

And look what I stumbled upon!

DIY home made hair mask

Its a simple recipe of a honey & olive oil hair mask. I also used a bit of canola oil with the olive oil and let me tell you- even in just one usage my hair became smooth! Even the ends!

Some of you might be a bit weary about the honey in your hair (I was one of them)- but I didn't have a  problem about washing out the honey. I did make sure to stick to the ends/middle of my hair and to stay away from the scalp since the last thing I wanted was to have honey hanging out in my scalp :P

I did also leave it in for about an hour…maybe more :P I was watching an episode of Suits and then spent a bit of time on Tumblr & Socialbliss a bit longer than I expected :P

Its an inexpensive and simple DIY homemade hair mask that I recommend for anyone!

XOXO
-S

Peach Bellini Please :)

 I grew up with horrible acne. My mother had horrible acne when she was growing up and my grandfather had horrible acne when he was growing up (luckily for him, his was only bacne :P) And thus I'm sure that one day when I eventually have kids- they will also have horrible acne (and blame me :P)

Luckily my acne seems to be under control right now…but now I'm stuck with horrible acne scars that plague my cheeks :(

So…in the beginning of this year I walked into my favorite beauty store; Sephora and asked…

"What do you recommend to treat acne scarring?"

The sales associate (SA) there recommended these:  Peter Thomas Roth's Max Complexion Correction Pads

(Photo from Sephora.com)




He explained to me how they will cleanse and exfoliate my skin, help prevent acne (as they have salicylic acid) and overall help with my past acne scars.
I asked for a sample and the SA gave me a pack of 5 to take home to try :)

And so I did! After a nice relaxing shower on a Friday night I used a pad and gently wiped my face with it. It smelled great, it cooled my skin but it also really tingled and burned my skin. The burning sensation wasn't too bad- it was something I was able to withstand and the next day my skin looked  brighter, clearer and most importantly not red or irritated.

I used a pad about once a week till my samples ran out and I have to say- they worked great…but I wasn't completely sold on having to spend $36 dollars for 60 pads and I also want something that isn't going to make my skin say, "AHHHHHHHHHHH that tinnnngggllllesssssssssss".

For those who are interested in the Peter Thomas Roth Max Complexion Pads- the reviews I've read of it on Sephora are all great. It does say to only use them two or three times a week- not every day. Some do report tingling/burning sensation but most seem to be okay with it/say that it "shows" that its working. Also one pad goes a long way- I used one for my face, my neck and then my back.

Check back soon for a report on what Sephora recommended next! :)

XOXO
-S

Bonjour! Je M'appelle

Hi Everyone!

I'm Sayako, I reside in the amazing Pacific Northwest.

I'm a 20 something that aspires to have same medical skills as Addison Montgomery-Forbes on Grey's Anatomy & Private Practice but have hit several road blocks in the way :P

Here you'll find my posts on beauty products, DIY projects, life, places I've been and the likes…in other words ramblings from yours truly :)

XOXO

S