Updated Acne Regimen

This is an update to my earlier entry about my personal skin care regimen. Back then, I was using 5 different products, and I added a sixth shortly after. I'm using 4 for acne and the rest for spots. It's been working quite well. Most of the time, I have no pimples, and when I do get some, it's only a few.

This cream is the first step in the process, when I remember to use it. I wrote an entry about it when I first started using it. It still burns as much now as it did then. I actually tried exfoliating before applying the cream; it doesn't cause more intense burning, but it does cause peeling. Yeah, don't do that. Aside from that, this stuff has really been helping my face. I'm almost out, which saddens me. I'm looking for something else new to try, but I might just buy more of this.

This scrub is currently the second step in the process. I've used it before and I remember positive results. I haven't had any problems with dry skin since I started using it, and I have noticed brighter skin. The microbeads are much gentler than the ones in apricot scrubs, and since I haven't experienced any irritation, I don't think this scrub contains harsh chemicals. There are no active ingredients, but that's fine because I use so many different things.

Third step. I haven't quite finished the bottle of L'oreal cleanser, but I'll be using this one next. I've been extremely stressed, and I'd like to keep that from busting out of my face. If washing my face with this stuff can help prevent that, then I'll try it. Active ingredient: salicylic acid 2%

Fourth step. I always use a cleanser with benzoyl peroxide for this step. This one has a whopping 10%. Before this, I'd never seen one with such a high concentration. I love the way it makes my skin tingle.

Fifth step. I was always afraid of lightening products because I don't want to end up with an abnormally pale face. Fortunately, this one isn't doing much. Sure, my skin is brighter, but that could also be from the scrub, and I'm not satisfied with how this cream treats the spots. Since the container is pretty much empty, I can move on to something else. It was too expensive, anyway. $20 is too much for only 1 oz, especially if it doesn't work.

Future fifth step. I've been waiting to use this No Marks stuff until I finished with the dark spot corrector. It came with a sample of face wash, which was nice. I really have no idea what to expect with this, so I'll just have to use it for a few weeks and see.

I like this astringent because it isn't as harsh as most others, but I feel like it cleans just as well. It claims to reduce the appearance of spots, but I haven't been seeing that. However, it definitely reduces breakouts quickly and does so without causing irritation. In my experience, that's very rare. Active ingredient: salicylic acid 2%

Seventh step. Yes, there are seven steps. Yes, I know it's crazy. I always try to use a cream with 10% benzoyl peroxide for the last step. I've found that any time I omit this step, I break out horribly. It's more than my skin reacting to a change in the regimen; my skin needs this stuff to be kept in line, kinda the same way my hair needs oil-based products. I'm just weird, I guess.

For a long time, I only used Terminator 10 by Acne Free, and it worked great. I always saw Persa-Gel by Clean and Clear commercials on tv and thought the stuff was garbage. Well, one problem with the Terminator 10 is I can't always find it when I need a refill, or I can only find it in a lower concentration. Obviously that's not helpful. The last time I need a refill, I decided to try the Persa-Gel. It's the same concentration and it's been around longer, so why not? Turns out it actually works better, so I decided to try the generic brand to save a little money. And that might be why I'm breaking out a little now. The CVS brand cream is great, but I just need something stronger. I'll be going back to the Persa-Gel as soon as possible. As far as the spots go, maybe I'll be shelling out a lot of money to try that Clinique stuff.

New Haircut!

I know I keep saying I'll get my bangs fixed and then I keep not doing it. Well, I finally did it. I decided the best time to get my hair cut is before my roots start growing out, so I treated myself to a wash and set before the cut. For those of you who are unfamiliar with a wash and set, here's a quick summary. Wash hair and rinse, condition hair and rinse, add deep conditioner and sit under the dryer, rinse, put rollers in hair with some sort of moisturizer, get back under the dryer until hair is completely dry, comb or blow dry to get desired style.

This was my first time under one of the big dryers. My rollers were so big that my head could hardly fit in there. Then I could hardly get out. I've found I don't like the big dryers because it's way too hot under there.  The little metal clips used to secure the rollers got really hot, and I had a nasty burn on my scalp. From now on, regular dryers for me.

Here's the end result. Honestly, I'm not completely satisfied with the bangs. They need to be shorter next time and less to the side, but they're definitely better than last time. Also, there's some nice face framing stuff happening. Of course, there's now way I'm going through all the work of putting rollers in my hair.

I borrowed my mom's InStyler just to see how it would turn out. It's nice, but I'll probably use a curling iron a little if I'm going out.

Thanksgiving Pies - Part 2

 I wanted to make a pumpkin pie, but I knew the oven would be occupied by the apple pie. Then I discovered the world of no-bake pumpkin pies. I'm not making it up. This really exists. I chose a double-layer recipe with cream cheese on the bottom and pumpkin on the top.

In a large bowl, whisk together 4 oz cream cheese, 1 tablespoon of milk, and 1 tbsp sugar until smooth.

Gently stir in 1 1/2 cups whipped topping.

Spread into bottom of crust.

 First layer finished. Time for some pumpkin-y awesomeness.

Pour 1 cup of milk into large bowl, and thoroughly mix in 7 oz instant vanilla pudding mix, 15 oz pumpkin, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, and 1/4 tsp cloves.

When thickened, spread over cream cheese layer.

Refrigerate 4 hours, or until set.

This pie was so heavy. My arms got so tired carrying it to the party. It's too bad I didn't get to taste it. I guess I'll have to make it again.

Thanksgiving Pies - Part 1

I actually made these pies a couple weeks ago for an early Thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of co-workers. I didn't have a good time and ended up leaving early, so I didn't actually get to try any of these pies. I've still got almost an entire bottle of tequila from when I made the trifle, so I wanted to make something that would help me get rid of it. I found this list of alcoholic pie recipes and made two black russian pies and one whiskey apple pie.

Melt 24 lg. marshmallows (or 2 ½ cups small marshmallows) with milk in microwave, stirring occasionally. Place in freezer to thicken.

These marshmallows are more like medium size, so I just estimated how much I would need.

Stir in 1/3 cup Kahlua.

Beat 1 cup whipping cream until stiff and fold into mixture.

Pour into pie crust.
Chill 30 minutes. Freeze, if need be.

That one turned out pretty well, I think. I'm not so sure about the apple pie, especially since I haven't made one in about 10 years.

First, I used the wrong kind of apples. These were labeled as Golden Delicious, but they're definitely Red Delicious. I know everyone says to use Granny Smiths, but those are kinda nasty. The recipe says to use 6-7 apples, but I only did 4 before I got tired of peeling and cutting.

In a saucepan, mix 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tbsp flour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp salt.
Add the 1/2 cup bourbon and 2 tbsp lemon juice, and whisk until evenly blended.
Cook over medium-high heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture boils and thickens slightly.

Add the apples and stir and toss them until evenly coated with the mixture.
Set aside for about 20 minutes, stirring twice.

Pour the apple mixture into the pie crust, mounding slightly in the center.
Cover with top crust and seal the edges.  Cut several steam vents.
Bake for 25 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 45 minutes.

I remember I was in the grocery store looking at the deep dish pie crusts and thinking "I don't need all that drama!" Well, apparently I did need it. I didn't even use all the apples. I forgot to take a picture of the finished pie with the top and everything, but that's probably a good thing since it was kinda ugly, all lumpy and creepy-looking. I think maybe apple pie just isn't my thing. Maybe I'll try again at Christmas.

Death By Chocolate Trifle! Finally!

I've been waiting months to make death by chocolate trifle. I needed a large gathering of people to make sure it would all get eaten, but it had to be outside of work because there's alcohol. I ended up serving it near the end of work. Whatever. No one minded having alcohol-laced dessert in the office while there was still work to be done.

After baking the brownies, I poked a LOT of holes so I could pour in the Kahlua.

This recipe didn't say how much Kahlua to use, so I looked at a few other recipes that use alcohol. Most of them used around 1/3 cup. I ended up using around 1 1/3 cups. After I used the first 1/3 cup, I felt like the brownies could hold more. I was right. I just kept pouring until the Kahlua started to leak out.

Then I cut the soaked brownies into very small squares while trying not to eat too much of it.

The recipe says to use Heath or Skor bar bits, but I don't want to kill any nut allergy folks. I decided to try out these nifty things instead. Obviously, the dairy free doesn't matter since I'll be using chocolate mousse and Cool Whip, but I might keep using these in the future. I know vegan cheese doesn't melt well, so I'm not sure how I feel about vegan chocolate, but I'll just have to wait and see.

I didn't feel like making chocolate mousse, so I just bought a couple packs for these. It turned out not to be enough. I should have gotten 4 packs. Next time I'll probably just make the mousse myself.

Fat free Cool Whip. This thing seems like it'll have plenty of calories and fat, so I thought it would be a good idea to try and cut down on that wherever possible.

First, a layer of brownie clumps on the bottom, and then a layer of chocolate mousse on top of that. Spreading the mousse was a lot harder than I anticipated. I really have no idea what I can do to make it easier. I'm open to suggestions.

Then layers of Cool Whip and chocolate chips. I considered using chocolate Cool Whip, but I thought that might be too much. I also considered making Kahlua-flavored Cool Whip, but I was afraid of over-beating it.

Keep layering.

I ran out of the chocolate mousse, but I found a few of these things in the fridge. They're strawberry flavored, so it made the trifle less chocolate chocolate chocolate.

Finished product. Everyone said they loved it, and that always makes me feel good. The next time I make trifle, it'll be one with fruit, and maybe pound cake or angel food cake. I just have to find people to eat it.

Yucatan Mexican Restaurant

I find the best restaurants during my lunch breaks. I think the Bronx has the best Mexican food, and this Yucatan place had really nice decor. Of course, I didn't take a picture of that because I wasn't thinking.

At least I got an address, right?

As with any Mexican restaurant, there were free chips with awesome sauce. Seriously, I wanted to take the sauce home with me.

Ah, the good stuff. I think it's a masterpiece, but this was a few weeks ago and I don't remember exactly what it was. Chicken mole something. And the mole sauce had chocolate in it. That's really the only reason I ordered it. That and I'll eat anything with avocado. This restaurant also has tacos and burritos and those kinds of things, but that's boring. If I want American Mexican food, I'll go to Taco Bell. If I go to a Mexican restaurant, it's because I want something interesting. And chips with yummy salsa verde.

Baked Corn Casserole

I absolutely love corn, and I've always thought cornbread is better with actual corn in it. I'd never heard of corn casserole before, but it sounds like heaven.

1 can cream-style corn, 1 can whole kernel corn

So much corn! It took at lot of will power to keep from eating it all.

1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 8 oz sour cream

I was planning to substitute plain yogurt for the sour cream, but I just happened to pass by a grocery store on my way home to make this. I don't normally like sour cream, though, so I'll probably use yogurt next time. A lot of people add a little baking soda to the yogurt in baking recipes.

Add 1 box corn muffin mix

It kinda looks like oatmeal now. I wonder if I could put corn in oatmeal? No, that's probably not a good idea. Let's skip that one.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes

I used an 11x7 pan instead of a 9x9, but I still had to bake it for the full 35 minutes. Actually, I think I should have left it in a little longer. The middle was a little mushy.

I originally planned to make other stuff to go with this, like some sort of protein maybe, but then I just kept eating and eating. I think I ate more than a third of the pan today. I feel like such a fatty. I've seen similar recipes including pork, so I'll probably do that next time just to balance it out a little.

Sky Restaurant

On Friday, I spent most of the day in Astoria, Queens. I'd never been there before, but it turns out they have great food. I found one called Sky; I think the food is Ecuadoran.

For once, I got an address. They weren't that crowded for lunch, but I think they get really crowded at night. They have a great selection of alcohol and good music. I might go back on a Friday night to have a good time.

I love when places have cool cups. It shows imagination and keeps things interesting.

Free stuff is always a good thing. I wasn't sure about the creepy unidentified sauce, though.

It was spicy and onion-y, but really good. It only made my nose run a little.

The menu said panini, so I was not expecting this thing. I don't know what it is, but it was fantastic. Mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, roasted peppers.... other stuff. Oh, blood orange vinaigrette. Most of the "paninis" had that dressing. I guess someone who runs this place really likes it.

Any restaurant that offers fried plantains is my kind of restaurant. I'm used to seeing them cut up, but they were still good. Unfortunately, I was so full that I could only get halfway through. In the future, I'll have to make sure there's someone who can finish my food with me.