Queen Helene Oatmeal and Honey Scrub Review

I bought this a few months ago to replace my precious Dr. Dover exfoliating scrub, which I loved oh-so-much because it saved my skin. Before I bought it, I had no idea that I was supposed to exfoliate (so dumb!) and couldn't understand why my skin was still breaking out even though I was cleansing enough. Then when my cousin told me I was supposed to exfoliate the dead skin cells off, I immediately went out and bought Dr. Dover, which was the most amazing thing I had ever used. Then it got discontinued. Just my luck.

To save what little I had left, I decided to buy one from a brand that I trusted - Queen Helene. I had been using their Mint Julep Masque for over a year as a spot treatment and thought it would be equally as good. Boy, was I wrong.

When I first used it, I didn't think that it was that bad. Up until that point I had been using regular oatmeal at night to exfoliate, but after a while I didn't want to waste any more food, so I thought the scrub would be a good replacement. It made my skin soft, smooth, and glowing. It was gentle enough that it didn't pop any of my pimples while I was using it. But it didn't help with my excess sebum and I was still as shiny as ever. However, I kept using it because I needed an exfoliator anyway.

Then I started getting more acne. In comparison with my Dr. Dover, it was definitely rougher and more scrub-like than my sensitive skin was used to. They weren't big pimples, but a ton of little ones, all over my forehead. My skin was getting red and it didn't even help with the blackheads I had on my nose. What a waste! It's not as bad as my St. Ives exfoliator, but I still don't like it.

I still have to use this exfoliator because there's a ton left and I don't want to waste it or my Dr. Dover, which I am alternating it with once in a while. It's going to take a long time, but my skin is just gonna have to endure it so my money isn't wasted.

Witch Hazel Review

I heard a long time ago that witch hazel was an amazing toner, and, as someone who really needed some toner, I decided to buy a bottle and try it out. At that point in time I had the best skin I've ever had in a long time. My only problems were some acne scars (which I don't mind all that much anymore) and enlarged pores on my nose and cheeks. The pores on my nose were so large that I didn't even need Biore strips to get rid of them - all I had to do was take two fingers and squeeze and everything would just shoot out (graphic, but disgusting and true).

I was really excited to use witch hazel. In the distilled form, it was supposed to clean up any dirt even after washing your face, shrink pores, and help with acne. I only wanted it because I thought it would help with my monstrously - large pores...and it did, for a while.

At first, I really liked it. After I washed my face I would put some witch hazel on a cotton ball and swipe it all over my face. It smells TERRIBLE - like something pickled - but I loved seeing the yellowish dirt on the ball after I was done and the clean feeling. My nose stopped being so oily although my forehead stayed the same, and my pores were definitely smaller. I started using it religiously, day and night, for about two weeks.

Then the bad part came.

I started getting acne all over my face! My clear skin is now covered in infected pimples, lots of excess sebum, whiteheads, blackheads, and lots of acne on my forehead. I started getting a lot of redness and my skin actually got pretty itchy - skin allergy, perhaps? Either way, I knew I had to stop using it.

It's been about three days since I've last used witch hazel. My skin hasn't gotten any better, but it also hasn't gotten any worse. I really hate how it's messed up my skin! I'm gonna give this bottle to my little cousin, since her skin is a lot tougher than mine and probably won't react to it (with a disclaimer, of course - I'm not that mean). In the meantime, I'm gonna have to nurse my skin back to health...hopefully, it won't take long, because I have to start my two jobs soon, and I'm not going to either of them looking like this.

Crave by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz

Hi everyone, gonna make this a quick post, then I have to go back to studying! L

I haven’t been reading very much lately (unless you count school books) so I apologize for the lack of posts. I know I promised I would branch out from just doing book reviews, but at the moment I’m in the middle of two tests for skincare (which seem to be working, yay!), and I hope that I can get them at least one of them up soon.

The used bookstore near me was closing, which was sad because it’s the only place where I can afford books and keep them. My sister went during the closing when they were having a massive sale and got me a bunch of books (many of which I saw before and didn’t buy because I didn’t think they were interesting, but I appreciated the gesture very much), including this one.

Crave by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz

Paperback: 278 pages

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Price: less than $5!

Source: bookstore

The Cover: The thing that annoyed me about this cover was that the portrayal of Gabriel on the front wasn’t completely accurate. I don’t believe that the book described Gabriel to have purple eyes. It also kept talking about his long curly hair, which the man on the cover doesn’t even have! The only thing that’s really right is the phoenix tattoo on his neck. The guy’s good looking, but not Gabriel.

The Good: I really liked the middle of the book, when Shay finally meets Gabriel. Everything just went uphill from there! It got so exciting that I couldn’t put it down while I was waiting for my hair to dry, and I ended up staying up until 1:30 AM! It’s a good thing I don’t get sleepy in school! I liked how Shay started to mature at that point because she’d honestly been an annoying little twit in the beginning – so much so that I had no motivation to read on except that I wanted to know what happens in the end. Gabriel is a pretty complex character, not in the mysterious way, but because when the story is being told from Gabriel’s POV, it is obvious that he is just as confused and conflicted as Shay is. The second half of the book was full of adventure and suspense. Since the narration was switched between Shay and Gabriel throughout, it was great to see what each character was thinking, because it was easier to see how they were supposed to develop in regards to each other’s actions. Plus, it was just plain nice to see what they were thinking and it made the characters much more real.

The Bad: The book was just so boring in the beginning! Not only that, but Shay was so irritating. I understand that she wanted to take every opportunity of being strong to do something she’s never done before, but some of the things she did were just plain stupid and reckless and made her such an unlikable character to the point where I dreaded turning the pages. It took a long time for Gabriel to truly enter the story, and believe me, he saved it. All I could think about while I was reading was how stupid and selfish Shay was and how boring the book was since nothing was really happening except for Shay’s stupid adventures. Thanks, Gabriel!

Overall: I would have given this book a better rating if the beginning was just as interesting as the middle and end. I really wanted to like the book because Melinda Metz co-wrote it, and I loved her Roswell series. However, the fact that I didn’t even want to read any more until I got to half the book is a huge disadvantage for its rating. Hence, I would have to give it:

Rating: 3/5