Mask of Magnaminty - Lush Review

I'm not familiar with face masks.  Until now I've always used the gloopy cloth masks from Korean and Japanese super markets.  They hydrate the hell out of my face and make it really soft, but the hydrating factor is not always a good thing because my skin is so damn oily.

Reviews on Lush's Mask of Magnaminty are all over beauty blogs and youtube.  It's pretty expensive... $22.95 for a 11.1oz pot.  But reviewers claim that its effects on skin are extremely noticable.  It cleanses well and improves skin texture with powerful minty-ness!

I opted for the 4.4oz size which comes to about ~$13 plus tax.  It didn't make sense to pay for a giant pot when it's shelf-life is four months, mine expires in November).

I don't spend a lot on skincare products.  My skin is naturally extremely soft, spa technicians always comment on this as well...and  I don't apply lotion regularly.  This is because my skin produces so much oil.  The only place where I experience problems is my face.  It's super acne-prone, gets oily only hours after I wash it, needs to be exfoliated often, huge pain in the butt.

Therefore, it was my first time at the Lush store.  *skincare noob*  I need to comment on who helped me though... because she was so pushy! I asked her if I could have a sample of the mask and she said "OK sure sure~" and proceeded to test about six different products on my skin and hands. However, she was very knowledgable about the products.  I give her kudos.  After she cleaned off my hands she said, "So can I also ring up *product 1* and *product 2* along with that mask?"  Eh!?  No sorry, I'm only here to buy one thing haha.  Not to mention she wanted to sell me Herbalism which rings up to $28.75.

In the end I got what I came for.

Lush - Mask of Magnaminty

This had a very strong mint sensation!  It's like putting toothpaste on your face.  At first it's alarming, but within 10 minutes the mask dries up completely and the cooling sensation stops.  After washing this off my face felt soft and refreshed.  The next morning my blemishes and reddened acne spots were completely brightened.  My face looks super clear, which it normally doesn't without foundation.  I'm excited to keep using this product.  Yay

Lush - Herbalism

I applied Herbalism before the mask, it was okay.  It's meant for oily/acne prone skin but it didn't feel much different from any other exfoliant.  

Do you recommend any great clay masks? 

Matcha Bubble Tea and Korean Food

I love having a blender .  I've been using it mostly for soju cocktails and smoothies, today I decided to try making bubble tea!

Green Tea bubble tea with Green Tea tapioca, to be specific.

It looks YUMMMY right !? The nice thing was I used all pantry items for this.  I had a bag leftover of Starbucks Matcha powder that a friend gave me for my birthday and green tea tapioca.

I didn't really follow a recipe... I threw in a good handful of ice cubes, a few splashes of milk, a spoonful of non-dairy creamer to make it creamier and the matcha powder.  Keep in mind that the Starbucks matcha I used has added sweetener & vanilla bean flavor... so add some sugar to taste and a few drops of vanilla if you wish.

I added a packet of equal to save 50 calories haha... Then blend it up!

I also prepared a Korean-style dinner the other day.

I have a Zojirushi indoor grill that cooks meat  efficiently.  Almost too efficient.  I turn the heat off often while cooking because it heats up fast .

And here's a peek of a korean lunch I had last week at Da Rae Jung.  Dolsot Bibimbap is my favorite.  I love how the hot stone bowl cooks the rice and turns it into a crispy cake. (‘∀’●)♡

たこ焼き (Takoyaki)!

I completed one of my summer goals~!  Takoyaki!!

Takoyaki or たこ焼き is the ultimate street food in Japan, it's a ball-shaped savory pancake with octopus, green onion and pickled ginger filling.  I have not had it fresh since my visit to Vancouver in 2008, so this was the ultimate treat to make! <3

Phase one... chopping the ingredients.

Toasting the baby shrimp.

Slicing the boiled octopus.

All ready to go!

First step is to ladle the batter about an eighth full into each socket of the pan.

I thought the batter was too wet at first~ but then I learned this is normal.

After this, drop a piece of sliced octopus into each socket and then sprinkle a generous amount of pickled ginger and chopped green onion.

I did not fill the pan enough on the first batch. ^^;

Kenny and I kept poking at it, we weren't sure when to begin turning the takoyaki over...

I learned that the best way to do this is to not be afraid of overflowing the pan.  And don't hesitate to top it off with more batter!  This is actually a good thing, you will produce rounder and fuller takoyaki.  Our first batch turned into half-spheres because I didn't overflow the molds enough.

Our first turnover was a bit of a mess!

But the first batch was still gorgeous.

Tasted very good with some beer!

Now our second batch... we were much more experienced.
It was much easier to make with two people turning them over.

...Overflowing is key!!  And swift hands.

So light and fluffy!  I wonder if you can make donut holes with this pan?  

Success.

Oooh.

Perfect and a beautiful color!

Takoyaki is extremely hot fresh off the griddle. I let it sit for a few minutes so that my mouth doesn't burn from the hot batter, it's very juicy inside due to the thinness of the batter.

Plugging my new songs.

I wanted to share some of the new things I've uploaded to my soundcloud, this one is titled "Makers" and it's an original.  I wrote this with my boyfriend and recorded/arranged it through my midi composition class.
 


This one is "Time Machine", it's an acoustic remix of an original by Andrew David.  He's a good friend of mine and I had a lot of fun recording it over the Winter.

 

TJ's Pizza--home made!

Today's my first day off after a long month of grueling school work. I've been recording recitals throughout the weekends and spending my weekdays doing general school work and mixing audio.

Initially I was going to spend the day working and mixing but... I decided today's my day off. What better way to spend it than cook something new?

This pizza was made mostly from scratch.  The dough was bought from Trader Joe's and the rest of the ingredients are from the produce section. It was delicious, as if I ordered it fresh from a pizza joint but it wasn't greasy at all.  My only mistake was that I didn't oil the pan enough, the dough stuck to the foil.

Garlic and herb dough from Trader Joe's.  Fresh basil, pizza sauce, baby bella mushrooms, pepperoni and mozzarella cheese all from Trader Joe's.  Under $10!