I have recently decided to try the Vichy Normaderm line after my skin decided to act very crazy and breakout everywhere. Feeling very frustrated about my skin, I remembered about Vichy and the 7-day face miracle fix from their TV commercials.

So, having had success with their other products, I decided to give this line a try. I bought the NORMADERM Tri-Activ Anti-Imperfection Hydrating Care, the NORMADERM Active Anti-Imperfection Concentrate, and the NORMADERM Micellar Cleansing Solution for imperfection prone skin.

I have never been happier about a product line before. I works so well! Just 3 or 4 days into it, I noticed immediate improvement. My blemishes were disappearing, and the redness was  almost gone.

Every morning and every night, I use the Micellar Cleansing Solution, which is water-based and doesn’t need to be rinsed off. I just use my Shiseido cotton pads, it removes all my make-up and leaves my face feeling very fresh. I then use the Tri-Activ cream, which comes in a nice pump. It’s a very light cream, and you really don’t need a lot. It moisturizes very nicely, although you cannot use it anywhere near your eyes, so I use a separate cream on my eyes. This makes sense since it is targeting acne.

The last step is to use the anti-imperfection concentrate, which is essentially a zit killer. It’s a small tube with a blue gel-like solution that you dab on your problem spots. You immediately feel it working, it’s great.

I am very satisfied with Vichy’s Normaderm line, and feel that the cost of around $20-$25 for each bottle is highly worth the results. I will continue to use this line, and highly recommend it to anyone facing skin problems, whether hormonal or otherwise.

~Darleya~

Have you seen the commercials for the Resolve Deep Clean Powder? I have.

Basically, it looks like you sprinkle the powder everywhere on your carpet, then vacuum it up for some awesome stain-free results.

It doesn’t quite work like that.

The powder is actually moist and clumpy. You first have to shake it before sprinkling it on your problem areas. Then you have to find a cleaning bristle brush. I didn’t have one, so I used one of my vacuum parts then cleaned itafterwards. You have to take the brush, and really scrub in the powder deep into your carpet.

It smells quite strongly. Once you’ve brushed it in as best you can, you then leave for at least 20 minutes so that it dries up and the dampness is out. My carpet is berber, so that’s maybe why I had to brush it in much harder. I also wanted to really clean my whole carpets, but because of the process, I spot cleaned the areas that were really bad, including my stairs(damn parties where people came in with their dirty shoes).

It was actually a lot more work than I’d anticipated, and I had troubles breathing afterwards. The product is apparently non-toxic though.

After I vacuumed the carpet, it was overall less stained. It was not a miracle worker, given the fact that these stains were old, but it still lightened my stairs which now have an overall cleaner appearance.

The product is not bad, but I find the commercial to be highly misleading. I’ve used other carpet deodorizers that you just sprinkle around then vacuum. I thought that this Resolve Deep Clean Powder would work similarly based on what I saw on TV.

It doesn’t. Be prepared to be on your hands and knees scrubbing it in wherever you put it, and be prepared to inhale that shit.

~Darleya~

Since some readers were curious when I mentioned our boardgame hoardollection, here is the grand list.  The tally now stands at 121 games listed below in no particular order. Not all of them are good, and we do plan on getting rid of some shortly. Oh, and there are a few that we haven’t even played yet.

Side note: I am fully aware that it is the month of May, I just haven’t gotten around to making the banner just yet. Sorry!

~Darleya~

Colosseum is a 3 to 5 player board game by Days of Wonder (makers of Ticket to Ride). Your best game will be played with the full 5 players.

Colosseum is a very fun strategy game. It is not difficult to learn, but only with experience will you know which strategies to use in order to win. This game is of top quality, with wooden pieces, and very colourful tokens, and a detailed board.

The premise behind this game is simple. Each player (or, a Roman impresario) produces events at the Colosseum. You each have an arena space that you can expand at a cost. At the start, every player receives tokens representing animals, or other elemental participants(event asset tokens). They also receive three different event programs, which show the required elements to produce the events in question.

As the game progresses, you earn money for successful events, and points to move you ahead. You have the chance to purchase more costly events that can earn you greater points, which may require the purchase of expansions to your arenas. There are a lot of additional rules and bonuses along the way, for instance, emperors and nobles regularly pass through everyone’s events, and a player may garner extra points if these peons are there when the points are tabulated. While this came may sound highly complex, the rule book is very straightforward, in an appropriate step-wise progression. Anyone can read the rules, and fully understand, unlike some other poorly translated board game instructions.

I love playing this game, it is an excellent family game, for ages 10 and up, and is no longer than between 60 and 90 minutes. Even newcomers will enjoy this game, and have an equal chance at winning. Your opponents will not know your plans for your future events, and since this game is progressive, as in, the points earned in previous rounds are not cumulative; any one event can earn you enough points to be the winner.

What is also noteworthy, is that pretty much everyone thinks that they will be the winner in this game. It is of top quality, and definitely a game that I will keep forever.

~Darleya~

New to the line of snacks that you can feel good about eating are the line of granola bars by Nature’s Path. Nature’s Path is an organic food company from British Columbia, Canada. They specialize in grains, offering various cereals, pastries, and granola among some other things.

I’ve tried two varieties of their organic granola bars, the Sunny Hemp, and the Pumpkin-N-Spice flavours. Both are a source of Omega-3 Polyunsaturates, and both are good sources of fibre. Based on my own dietary issues, I have not tried the bars drizzled with yogurt, but I imagine them to be of the same quality as these ones.

The Pumpkin-N-Spice is a fresh change from the flavours you normally get for granola bars. Full of healthy grains and flax, you don’t notice that you’re eating a health foods product because they taste delicious. The Sunny Hemp (I know, weird name – includes image of THAT leaf) granola bars contain ‘organic hemp seeds’ among lots of other seeds and raisins. While I have no idea what hemp seeds really are, these granola bars are also delicious, while being a bit sweeter than the pumpkin ones.

All of their granola bars contain brown rice flower, tapioca syrup, and invert cane syrup, instead of non organic sweeteners or white flour.

The full list of ingredients for the Sunny Hemp bars is as follows: Granola, tapioca syrup, brown rice flour, invert cane syrup, raisins, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, hemp seeds, acacia gum, granulated sugar cane juice, sea salt, natural flavour, and molasses.

Their line of granola bars are typically found in the organics aisles of most Canadian and American grocery stores. They taste delicious, are healthy, and kids will enjoy them.

~Darleya~

The Bamboo Pen & Touch is a new gadget that allows you to use touch screen tools on your desktop computer. For browsing, you can use your hand as a mouse by simply moving it around the smooth surface of the bamboo. You just use simple hand gestures and finger taps to move around your desktop and can easily zoom in and out of pages, rotate images, go back and forth between browsers, in addition to a whole lot more. Scrolling through documents is so quick, just picture your iPhone capabilities for navigating the web,that is pretty much how the hand tool function of the bamboo works.

Using the pen tool as your mouse is totally different. To move your cursor around the screen, you don’t have to touch the pen to the bamboo pad, you just hover it across. With the pen tool, your bamboo pad becomes a replica of your screen, but on a smaller scale, and so moving around is much different than with a mouse, or the hand tool. The top left corner of your bamboo pad is always the top left corner of your computer screen.

The pressure-sensitive pen tool is designed for editing, writing, and sketching. With the precise pen, you can draw as you would on paper, sign your name perfectly, and create images that you’d never be able to make using a regular mouse and keyboard. If you press hard, it would be like an ink pen, where you would draw more ink out. If you draw lightly, your image reflects this.

The Bamboo Pen & Touch comes with a whole variety of complimentary applications, games, and Adobe Photo-shop Elements. It combines the benefits of Multi-Touch with the comfort and precision of an ergonomically-designed pen that has little buttons on it for additional scrolling capabilities. And because the active area is larger than traditional mobile devices and laptop trackpads, it’s comfortable and natural to use.

Using the Bamboo is easy even if you’re new to the touch experience because it comes with a very detailed tutorial which takes you through each and every tool you can use, while making you try everything for yourself and succeeding before moving on. Both the hand tool and the pen tool are fully covered.

The Bamboo can certainly replace the need for a mouse. That being said, if you’re a gamer like me, then you’ll want to keep your mouse for obvious reasons. If you’re really really talented, then check out what you can do in this video.

My favourite application from the Bamboo’s lineup of mini-aps is Sumo Paint. It’s a much fancier application than Microsoft Paint, but isn’t complicated like some of the other illustrator or photoshop type programs. The symmetry function in Sumo is simply awesome! You can make the prettiest flowers with such ease. The one I made was done using the symmetry function in Sumo.

Wacom’s bamboo is only $99 which I think is very reasonable considering all the features and tools it has and comes with. My husband bought it for me as a surprise, I’d never even heard of it, but am so glad I have it now! I’ll be able to make much cooler Stuffed Ashes banners.

~Darleya~

I needed a new toner on the same day I bought my 360 Dior Mascara, so instead of going all the way to Shoppers Drug Mart, I decided to give the Dior toner a try.
 
Dior’s Purifying Toning Lotion is for normal to combination skin, and it’s supposed to “complete your makeup removal and awaken the skin with its invigorating and regulating freshness while providing a shield against irritation and dryness”.
 
I used it that very night after I washed my face. While it felt nice on my skin, and may indeed do all that it claims above; it is way too perfumed.
 
I couldn’t sleep! All I could smell was the perfumed toner on my face. It was very very annoying. I’m highly disappointed in this product. I don’t know why they needed to add perfume to it. Dior, we know you make perfumes(most of which I dislike), but why couldn’t you leave the scents out of the skin care?
 
No scents makes sense in this case. Ugh.
 
I’m still going to finish the bottle, but will only use it in the mornings before I apply my makeup. At around $32, I will definitely not buy it again, even though it has Cristal Iris Extract in it. Pfft. Whatever that is.
 
I’m going to go back to using La Roche-Posay Effaclar which I’ve never had any issues with, and it costs less. Laziness is a bad thing, it can cause bad choices relating to purchases. Note to self.  
 
~Darleya~

Loves.

My secret is now out (well to those that don’t know me ha ha). I am a huge Britney Spears fan, and I always make sure to buy her albums. I can’t help it, I have always liked her, her music, and her positive attitude despite her public struggles. Unlike how I feel about some other artists who do not write their own music, or less powerful vocals; when it comes to Britney it just doesn’t matter. I find her voice truly unique and very sexy. I will keep supporting her because I’m always routing for her to do well. I pre-ordered Femme Fatale’s duluxe version, because I really enjoyed Hold it Against Me and was excited for her new sound.

I finally received my CD yesterday, and I think that Femme Fatale shows a Britney who’s back to herself. Circus was an improvement, but she still hadn’t regained independence in her life. I’d say she’s back on track, but who really knows.

In Femme Fatale’s album she looks beautiful, fresh, and happy. Her hair also looks much better. I’ve found her locks to be lacking these past few years. More importantly, here is my take on her songs from this wicked album (spelled as on the back of the DC):

1. till the world ends: This is one of those tracks that makes you want to go on a long road trip with the sun shining bright. So happy and fun.

2. hold it against me: I often don’t agree with what songs get released off Britney’s albums, but I definitely agree with this one. It’s perfect, and I love the beat. The video doesn’t really match the song though, and I don’t understand why there’s brand promoting in it.

3. inside out: This song is about breaking up, but wanting to get it on one last time. Her voice sounds really pretty.

4. i wanna go: This dance song is awesome. She sounds a little bit like Nicole Scherzinger when she goes: “Shame on Me to need release” I like it.

5. how i roll: This song has a very different beat for britney, and is very ‘au courant’. A little slower than the other tracks so far. I also like this one. It sounds like she says: ‘you can be my fuck tonight’. I think she does, lol.

6.(drop dead) beautiful feat. sabi: This one sounds a little Lady Gaga-esque (not that I dislike Gaga). It’s good, but not one of my favourite on this album.

7. seal it with a kiss: This one is one of the weaker tracks as well. I hope it doesn’t get released. It sounds very similar to the song hot as ice from Blackout.

8. big fat bass feat will.i.am: LOVE this track. I listened to it at work for the first time and I was dancing at my desk. I had to stop myself just in case someone walked by. You can definitely hear the will.i.am influence in it.

9. trouble for me: I know her voice is being tweaked quite a bit but I definitely love her singing in this song. It’s different than her former albums. Definitely one of my favourites as well lol.

10. trip to my heart: This track has a pinch of a latin beat, and would be perfect for running.

11. gasoline: I don’t feel like there’s enough variety as far as tonality  in this song. It’s a bit monotone, but it’s still fun while you’re driving.

12. criminal: This song makes me think she’s referring to K-Fed haha. More of a ballad compared to the rest of the tunes on this album.

13. up ‘n down: I like the harmonic sounds in this song. “keep on watching me go down and up and down” The lyrics are pretty much referring to her status in the limelight and how it fluctuates.

14. he about to lose me: She sounds great singing in this song too. I feel as though either she’s trained up her voice or it’s being altered more than usual. It doesn’t sound altered though, I like it.

15. selfish: Meh. A bit boring compared to some of the other dance tracks. Still has you bob your head though.

16. don’t keep me waiting: This song has a rock undertone, but sounds very much like an afterthought to the album just to make it longer.

Overall the album is a dance album with varying beats and sounds, it is perfect for working out and driving, or mixing in at a party. Typically there’ll be songs on Britney’s album that I do have to skip through, but not this one. I really love it all.

One thing I will criticize about it is that the CD cover is the soft paper type which seams cheap to me. At least there’s still an inserted pamphlet with more pictures, but she has not provided her lyrics as she normally does. I hope I didn’t just get jipped because I bought it ahead of time.  Love you Britney!

~Darleya~

GreenPan is a Belgian Eco friendly cookware company that specializes in non-stick cookware that does not add harmful toxins to your food. In addition, their factories follow earth-friendly processes, which release 60% less C02 emissions than other manufacturers. While I’m still on the fence regarding the link between human C02 emissions and global warming, the PTFE-free aspect of this cookware and its price tag, are what drove me to try their products. I’d prefer not to be eating all those chemicals, you know?

That, and the fact that these frying pans are the most stick-free frying pans I have ever seen or used. Ever. They simply amaze both myself and my husband every time weI use them. Raw chicken, eggs, you name it! It’s sliding around on that pan with ease. These ceramic-based pans require very minimal grease.

In addition to the above, the cookware heats things faster. I was grilling my chicken, and had to double check the temperature a few times because it was sizzling much quicker than any T-Fal or Lagostina I’d ever used. Low and behold it was only just below medium. The results I’ve had speak for themselves. When the below sale is back on, I will go back and buy the bigger version of the two smaller pans I have. The regular price for GreenPan is also incredibly reasonable given their quality and results.

Since I still really enjoy my GreenPan cookware for baking (which are still in mint condition), I jumped when I saw the  Bali series frying pans on an early sale, which will be on again soon. Exclusively for Earth Day, (or rather between April 15th and 30th) a set of two Thermolon™ coated non-stick frying pans will cost just $39.99 compared to the regular price of around $80 if they were sold separately. GreenPan products are sold at Sears, London Drugs and gourmet shops across Canada, and are also sold in the the US among other International locations.

Last Friday evening was supposed to be a pleasant affair of shopping following by a nice healthy dinner and wine with my very good friend to relax after our very busy and annoying work week.

All was indeed pleasant until about a third way through our meal. I’ll get to that in a bit.

Milestones is a set of chain restaurants that are found in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. They pride themselves on being ‘au courant’ and modern. They usually have a bar with very exotic drink choices. Their menu offers a wide variety of choices for every taste or craving.

Friday I went to the trendy Milestones Ottawa on Sussex. This place is always busy. It being a Friday night, there was no room in the dining area, so we sat in the bar area. This didn’t phase us as we got one of the lower tables. I don’t really enjoy sitting in high chairs for eating, so that was good.

We each received our 10 oz wine glasses (I had my red Zinfandel), then selected our meals. The service was received at an acceptable pace given the day of the week and amount of people. I ordered the Grilled Mediterranean Chicken’, which is a grilled chicken breast, layered with Goat cheese, on a bed of Asian greens, chickpeas, roasted grape tomatoes, and pomegranate molasses. $17.99. My friend ordered the ‘Grilled Chicken Salad’, which is a hand-shaved chicken breast, crispy red corn tortilla strips and cilantro, tossed with honey-lime vinaigrette and drizzled with peanut sauce. $14.79.

My meal was absolutely delicious. It was a welcome change from the foods I’ve been eating, while not being too far away from what I should be eating. All was well, until I looked down to find this:

A curly black hair, that I grabbed, and found that I kept pulling, and pulling, it was so long and very intertwined in my chicken and goat cheese. I finally I got the whole thing, but at the end of it? Was a gross, gross chunk. Of what? We have NO idea. It looked like a hair that came out of your drain and had a chunk with it.

I wish we took a pictures. Both of us immediately lost our appetites. It was that gross. The waitress came, we showed her our treasure, and she too had a look of disgust on her face. She took away both our meals as there was no way my friend was going to be able to keep eating after that either. The manager came over, apologized, and told us that we would not be paying our meals. He offered us complimentary desserts, but we really wanted nothing to do with their kitchen.

We finished our glasses of wine, and were not impressed with the fact that we still had to pay. The manager had insisted that he could take care of anything we wanted, so we didn’t  even think we’d have to pay for our wine. But then when she brought us our bills for the wine, I decided I would write this review. Neither my friend or myself are good at confrontation.

Milestones Ottawa on Sussex is not the quality establishment it makes itself out to be. I would strongly urge you to stay away, or eat there at your own risk.

~Darleya~

Since I’ve been staying away from dairy recently, I’ve been trying new things. Never having liked soy milk in the past, I’ve yet again convinced myself to try it again; for the sake of getting some calcium. I tried the chocolate soy milk, and it really just doesn’t do it for me.

Luckily, soy milk is not the only alternative anymore. Walking through the organics aisle, I came across these Almond Breeze beverages.

Not having any expectations, I was very pleasantly surprised. My gosh, the chocolate Almond Breeze drink is so delicious! It also has 20% of your daily calcium, and 1 g of fibre. I was very impressed. I also tried the Vanilla Almond Breeze as it is perfect for adding to my morning coffees. I’ve been forced to drink black coffee with a pinch of sugar, but not that I have the vanilla almond breeze, I don’t need either! It’s quite perfect. It is soy free, and lactose free. I am very happy that I’ve tried Almond Breeze. I can taste that it is not milk(not ever actually liking the taste of plain milk), but the chocolaty almond flavour is just so delicious, I feel like I’m drinking a fancy dessert.

The ingredients are: Almondmilk (filtered water, almonds), evaporated cane juice, cocoa (dutch process, calcium carbonate, sea salt, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, natural vitamin E.

Purified water, evaporated cane juice, almonds, cocoa (Dutch Process), tricalcium phosphate, sea salt, potassium citrate, carrageenan, natural flavors, soy lecithin, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, and natural vitamin E.
While I don’t know what ALL the ingredients are, I still feel that the Amond Breeze beverages, are very healthy for you. You can also buy the calorie free and no-sugar added versions, but at this point, I can use the calories.

My next attempt will be to buy the plain Almond Breeze and add it to my morning fruit shakes as a close friend has suggested. Should be delicious, and will added some extra protein and carbs.

I also like to have a glass of chocolate almond breeze right before bed as it actually relaxes me quite nicely.

Almond Breeze is made by Blue Diamond, and comes in refrigerated versions and shelf versions found in the organics aisles. I’ve been buying the shelf versions for now.

Try it out!

Darleya

 

No, Nutella’s not some new crazy food product. It has been around for years. What IS new?

My enjoyment of it.

I always thought of Nutella as junk food that tried to be in the healthy breakfast category. I’d tried it once or twice when I was a kid, but never decided to buy it myself. Nutella has been around since 1949 and is originally from Italy.

I blame my husband for this new addiction since he came home with it one day recently.

That, and the fact that I’m so restricted on food right now.

Why have I allowed myself to indulge in Nutella by the, ahem, spoonfuls at times?

It contains no preservatives, no artificial food colorants, and is filled with hazelnuts. I’m allowed hazelnuts, maybe not chocolate, but hazelnuts; yes. Due to this, it contains fiber.

And HELL yes is Nutella ever delicious. It only has 100 calories per tablespoon for the calorie conscious. Its ingredients are sugar, modified palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skim milk powder, whey powder, soy lecithin, and vanillin. Skim milk and soy. Both very healthy. I would totally feed my future children this for breakfasts on toast, say once per week.

I love the stuff, and totally recommend it if you’ve never tried it. It is delicious topped on ice cream, toast, and especially bananas.

I typically eat it alone(hey it’s THAT fantastic) since I’m not allowed any of the above-mentioned accompaniments.

Try it!

~Darleya~

Alright ladies (and some gents), Have you seen the commercial for this mascara? When I saw the commercial for the Dior 360 mascara for the first time a few weeks ago, I chuckled, and thought: ‘what a gimmick, but I’ve got to try it!’ (Providing it wasn’t TOO much out of my budget.)

As some of you may know, I already use Dior’s Blackout Dior Show mascara, and I love the quality of it. At the Dior counter at The Bay, my regular mascara costs me $35.00. Last week, I decided to go and check it out. I was already determined to buy it, but not if it was over $50. To my luck, it was actually only $39.00 so 4 dollars more.

This mascara, is essentially a mascara for the lazy. How perfect for me! The tube comes in two parts. The lid and wand, and the mascara with a little lid. It came with a whole booklet with instructions, but I didn’t pay them any attention.

Instead, I looked at the mechanism, and turn the little dial. It rotates and a fairly slow speed, and can go in either direction.  I turned it off to dip it into the mascara, and will continue to do it this way. I don’t want to waste the batteries on this sucker.

So anyways, it’s a treat to use. Making sure that the rotation is proper for the eye you’re going to do first, you just bring the wand up as you normally would. All you have to do is brush it sideways and thanks to the rotation it gives you a perfect application every time. When I’m finished with the top lid of one eye, I keep the same rotation going then do the bottom lash of my other eye. Then I turn it off, re-dip, and rotate it the opposite way for the top last of the other eye, then the bottom lash of the first eye. Simple!

Overall, my mascara is applied quicker, and has less chance of clumping. My lashes have never looked more full, open, and pretty. I can definitely tell the difference with this tool. Although it is definitely a luxury item, and not a necessity, I think I’m prepared to continue paying $4.00 more for it. It sort of amuses me, and with me not being a morning person, I’ll take all the pleasantries I can get!

~Darleya~