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

To be honest, I'm getting too bored to keep blogging about books (especially since the last few I've read were CRAPPY). I'm gonna branch out as soon as this week is over :D

More General Reviews

Sorry for what seems to be pure laziness ): It's just that in the time that I could be writing a post, I could also be reading, so I choose to read. Because of this I will have to write some more general reviews than what I usually do (maybe I should just do them like this from now on to save time and up my motivation). I can't get all the info I usually put too since I already returned them.

Matched by Ally Condie

Hardcover: 369 pages

Publisher: Penguin Group USA

Price: $17.99

Source: Library

This book started off a bit slow for me, but it was a good foundation for the rest of the book. It's set in a dystopian-but-supposed-to-be-utopian generation. Cassia was obedient to the system, which is how everyone is in the beginning, and her match Xander was my favorite character from the start. He reminds me of Lucas from the International Kissing Club a little - charming, funny, romantic. However, he got some stiff competition from Ky. One thing that I liked about this book was actually the names she chose for her male characters: Ky (which I'm not sure how to pronounce, but both 'Key' and 'Kai' sound nice) and Xander. Ky was mysterious, mature, and overall very smart and likeable. His actions weren't typical of male leads in romance novels - in fact, a lot of the things he DIDN'T do were totally unexpected for someone who's supposed to be one of the two males vying for Cassia's attention. The society itself didn't sound that bad to me until they began taking too much control of Cassia's life. Unlike The Giver and Gathering Blue (both of which I recommend reading, by the way) the controllers of the society weren't very power-hungry, but they were cautious. I kept getting caught between wanting Xander and Cassia together and Ky and Cassia together. The author made it so hard! I don't know how Cassia will end up choosing in the third book, but I have the second copy with me and will be starting on that as soon as I have the time.
Rating: 4.5/5

Entwined by Heather Dixon

Hardcover: 480 pages

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Price: $17.99

Source: Library

The cover of this book is beautiful. I especially love the silvery leaves! This book was surprising because there were many male characters that kept popping up so I was constantly confused with who was the main character's love interest. She did have eleven other sisters though, so I suppose the author wanted to give the other girls a chance for a relationship as well. A problem I had with this book was that although the setting for the Pavilion was described with amazing diction and gave me a great image of just how beautiful it really was, I felt that Dixon was using a lot of the same words over and over again in her writing. There weren't a whole lot of romance in this book for me, either, because I was so confused at who Azalea was interesting. The story itself was pretty slow. It took me a few days to get through it just because I kept falling asleep or putting it down to do something else more exciting. The constant dancing didn't bother me, but I think it was just how every event was dragged out so much more than necessary. There were a lot of twists that I didn't expect which brought some excitement. I enjoyed the climax to the end of the book more than anything else, which was unfortunate because at that point I had already decided my rating of it and it wasn't enough to dramatically change my opinion. If it hadn't been for my determination to finish any book I read, I wouldn't even have had enough willpower to reach the climax and just put it down. Sadly, the book has a beautiful cover, but the content just doesn't deliver.
Rating: 3/5

A Million Suns by Beth Revis

Hardcover: 480 pages

Publisher: Razorbill

Price: $17.99

Source: Library

OH. MY. GOD.
I LOVE THIS SERIES, I LOVE THIS BOOK, I LOVE THIS AUTHOR.
I cannot begin to express the entire extent of my love for this book. I thought Across the Universe was good, but this...my goodness, this was SO MUCH BETTER. I was enraptured the ENTIRE time!! The cover is gorgeous, all the chapters end with cliffhangers so I can't put it down EVER...if it weren't for the necessary duties of eating and sleeping I would have spent my entire day reading. I love Amy and Elder so much. They're both such strong characters with fully developed minds and personalities. They're very sensible because they know that they shouldn't love each other just because they're the only two teenagers on the ship, so they have to develop very authentic feelings. I felt like I was right beside them in Godspeed watching them try to get off the ship. There were so many twists and shocking events that had me screaming things like, "WHY, BETH, WHY DID YOU DO THIS?" and "OMG, I KNEW IT!"....Yeah. I was so disappointed when the book ended at such an exciting part. The next one doesn't come out for MONTHS (January 2013, I believe). I really really can't wait. When I get some money this and Across the Universe are going to be two things I'm gonna buy first. I'm actually not at all into Sci-Fi, but this book was amazing. If you think you can tolerate science and romance mixed into one book of awesome, I would definitely recommend this one.
Rating: 5/5 

I just opened my copy of Crossed by Ally Condie, but the person who borrowed it previously was obviously a heavy smoker, because that's all I can smell. As soon as I cracked the spine I literally just started choking and getting nauseous...will have to let this air out.

The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen

The Mephisto Covenant: The Redemption of Ajax by Trinity Faegen

Publisher: Egmont USA

Hardcover: 434 Pages

Source: Library

Date Started: 3/30/12

Date Finished: 3/31/12

The Cover: The concept of this cover is really beautiful, but I feel like it could have been done better. The girl doesn’t fit into the background – it’s like they just cut and pasted her from a stock photo and didn’t try to edit her in. The glittery stars, trees, and bridge were well done. It looks very mysterious and dark, so it matches the theme of the book very well. However, the bright blue in the sky is really unsettling. It’s too bright and doesn’t blend into the darkness very well. It should have been more of a gradient, or at least not have such rough edges when they were trying to blend it. Overall, concept’s good, editing’s bad.

The Good: I love that the relationship between Sasha and Jax wasn’t rushed. In a lot of books that I read, the two main characters fall in love within, like, a day. Because Jax is a son of Hell and Sasha is an Anabo, meaning she’s completely pure and innocent, they find it hard to fall in love with each other even though both their fates depend on it. Although I think the book only spans through about two weeks to less than a month, their inability to be completely sure that they loved each other without having the influence of the fact that they weren’t able to have a normal relationship made them seem very realistic to me. And for some reason, I love jealous male characters. They just prove that they do like their love interests a lot (though it might not be very healthy…). The ending was satisfying. However, I do feel like many things were left open-ended and unfinished. Maybe the sequel will address everything.

I really liked the suspense from Eryx and the Ravens. Not really sure why they’re called the Ravens, since the origin of the name was never mentioned in the book. I liked the environment Faegen created for us, with almost everyone being or becoming Ravens, and the desperation and determination that emerged from Sasha and Jax when they were basically getting closed in by their enemies. She really knows how to create terror and anticipation.

The Bad: I just wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone under fifteen. Many scenes were talking about sex, and they were pretty graphic. I didn't mind them at all -blush- but read at your own risk, you innocent-minded teens! Also, it usually bothers me when the male protagonist has had intercourse with other girls, just because I’m a purist J However, the way the author explains why Jax had to was a valid excuse, in my opinion. If you’re even more extreme, you might have a hard time trying to read this book without burning with anger for the female protagonist.

Overall: Very satisfied! I wish I owned a copy of it. I will definitely be looking out for the sequel. Although it has to do with the next Mephisto brother, I hope Faegen includes some snippets of Sasha and Jax.

Rating: 4/5

Next will be Ally Condie's Matched. Sorry for the wait!

3 Reviews, 1 Apology

Hi everyone!
So sorry for not being active the past couple months...I didn't have enough time to post (or read, or sleep, or eat regularly...) so please excuse my absence. On Wednesday I did manage to go to the library in search of a book for school and ended up borrowing only five nice big books for my own pleasure...and had a nice chat with a stranger, but that's another story for another day. I also received one in the mail from the wonderful Ivy Adams :) So far I've finished that book and three out of the five from the library in three days! I had to stop myself from going through the rest of the pile before my next trip which would probably be later today. Because there's too many books to write thorough reviews like I did before, I'll have to make them brief (sorry!) but I'll try to cover all my points. So, without further ado...

The International Kissing Club by Ivy Adams
Publisher: Walker & Company
Paperback: 400 Pages
Cost: $9.99
Source: Ivy Adams! (:
Date Started: 3/27/12
Date Finished: 3/28/12

This one was a real shocker. At first when I read the blurb on the back of the book, I was really skeptical about the idea of a club where girls tally up how many kisses they've gotten and make a competition of it.  It didn't sound like anything I would have picked up in the bookstore. However, I LOVED Tracy Deebs's last book, so I felt the need to pick up this one. Plus, I'd been following the updates on it for a while, and it didn't sound at all like a bunch of superficial/shallow girls vying for the attention of boys all over the world. When I won a copy of it I was really excited to read it and waited months to get it in the mail. After a while before my despair that it would never arrive almost consumed me I received it in the mail and immediately started to read.

Boy, this book is really, really, really GOOD. I couldn't stop reading despite the fact that I had a couple tests the next two days (not very smart) but it was worth it. I probably would've not paid attention to my studying and think about the books instead, sitting on my desk, mocking me, whispering that they wanted to be read...I hate that feeling ): Anyway. 

The characters develop really well throughout the story. If I had to say which pairing was my favorite, it would DEFINITELY be Cassidy and Lucas. I found Lucas extremely charming and had an easy time imagining him in Australia being the handsome sun god doing what he does best. Cassidy was also very realistic in her thinking, saving us some unneeded strife later on in the book. Their romance was very sweet. I had to stop myself from flipping through the pages whenever another character popped up - but the other characters didn't have bad stories! I liked them all. 

Another good thing about this book was that there were a lot of questions that I had in my head that were answered, which was good - things like 'Don't they think this idea is a bit skanky?' etc. It really helped the characters not look shallow, which I was afraid of. On the contrary, they were all very believable and even admirable in the way they thought.

The only problem I had with this book was that it sounded like it supported things kids shouldn't be doing, like underage drinking. It seemed like it was a normal thing to do in the book. Even Mei - the supposed 'smart one' - was drinking. I also wouldn't give this book to a 7th grader, which is the age group targeted, because it involves talk about sex. I know kids aren't ignorant these days (how many of them still believe in the stork), so 

I really recommend this book for anyone really deprived of good, modern romance to read. It has not one, but FOUR amazing stories, and none of them will disappoint! If you've already read it and want more from Ivy Adams, check out the three writers who write under that name - Tracy Deebs, Emily McKay, and Shellee Roberts. I really hope they're going to write a sequel, too - I would love to hear more about the girls!

Rating: 4.5/5

A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

Publisher: HarperTeen

Hardcover: 390 Pages

Cost: $17.99

Source: Library

Date Started: 3/28/12

Date Finished: 3/29/12

Yep, I picked this one up to read as soon as I finished the first book. (:

To be honest, I thought the beginning was extremely slow. Again, there's drinking, and they're not getting in trouble for it, but they're teens, that's what they do. If I were to say everyone at my school didn't have a sip at least once in their life, I would be lying. 

Skye was a great character. She wasn't dumb or naiive, and she didn't get unreasonably angry like a lot of other characters. Ian could've been a bit better. He liked her so much in the beginning of the book, and then -SPOILER ALERT- his feelings just disappeared. It sounded like he went through all that trouble of trying to get her attention even though he didn't like her THAT much. Out of Devin and Asher, I have to say I actually liked Devin more until the end. Devin was just an innocent sweetheart. When Asher and Skye's relationship develops later on, I started to prefer him a bit over Devin. Then it was revealed that he'd never really had fun before until Skye came in to fix it, and it added to his appeal. Asher was a bit annoying because he was kind of a player, with girls clinging on to him every second, but he changes later on (well, he said the girls weren't anything to him). 

Most readers would choose the 'bad boy', but I'll go and say straight out that Devin was, for a while, my choice. When it came to the climax, it went back to Asher, where it has stayed since. I do feel bad for Devin, but we'll see what happens in the next book - I was jumping for joy when I heard there was a sequel. It comes out later this year, I can't wait! (:

Rating: 4/5

Onwards!

A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

Publisher: HarperTeen

Hardcover: 390 Pages

Cost: $17.99

Source: Library

Date Started: 3/29/12

Date Finished: 3/30/12

Am I a robot? 

No, I just like to read THAT much.

I really like historical fiction, especially when there's romance in it (but I like ANYTHING with romance in it. It's hard for me to get motivated to read a book if there isn't any). This book had a good balance of history, from the jousts to Queen Elizabeth to the prejudice against the Catholics, but was also a good love story. The pages of the book was formatted to look uneven and old, which was nice! 

The relationship between Ellie and her father was very loving. Even though he was a constant failure trying to get iron to turn to gold, and they were poor and shunned, she stayed with him through thick and thin. I really admired her character for being so loyal, even when she was getting annoyed with him. 

I wish people in those days could have married for love, but it was just too tough back then for them to be able to. Ellie and Will were one such couple that, even though they were crazy for each other, it was hard for them to be able to pursue their relationship while she was poor and while he was trying to get his family out of poverty. His hatred towards her father wasn't unreasonable, but it was annoying how he blamed her at first for being the alchemist's daughter. 

What surprised me about this book was that the antagonist wasn't the girl he was pursuing for money, Jane. In fact, she was one of my favorite characters. Although I thought I should hate her in the beginning, I really liked her afterward. She was so sweet, caring, and selfless. The next book is all about her, and I'm really looking forward to reading it!

Ellie and Will had a cute relationship. They were awkward with each other at times which was ADORABLE, and I was rooting for them the whole time. Will was torn between duty and love, and Ellie was having a hard time trying to control her love for Will when her friend was going to be engaged to him. Because of Will's lack of money, he wasn't a pompous brat, making him a lot more likable to both the poor Ellie and me.

I have to applaud this book for its use of language. The way other historical fiction is told is EXTREMELY fake-sounding to me, like they're trying too hard to make it sound like a story told way back when. There was another novel I read involving Raleigh and Elizabeth, just like this one, but if I had to choose between books I would soooo choose this one. It sounds much more mature in the way it's told, and a lot less strained. 

Can't wait for the sequel, all about the darling Jane (: I hope Will and Ellie make another appearance, too. I would love to see how they're doing.

Rating: 4/5

I was gonna review one more book here, but I'm pretty drained from writing all of that. I promise to get that review and the review I was supposed to do for Matched done by Friday. If you have any books you want me to read, please suggest them. I'm down to my last two ):