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My Favorite Face Masks to Banish Common Skin Problems

July 7, 2017 Filed Under: beauty

After several nights of indulging, including a drink or two on America’s birthday, my skin was feeling and looking a little lackluster. My favorite skincare remedy is to do face masks so that’s exactly what I did a few days ago. I thought this was a perfect chance to share some of my favorite face masks in case any of you have these common skin problems too. Undoubtedly, diet and lifestyle changes play a big role in having healthy skin. However I have always been a big fan of face masks because a good one can give you a quick fix for cheap. If you don’t have weeks to re-set your diet or don’t want to spend hundreds on a spa treatment, I highly recommend these masks below!

Breakouts

Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay Mask (You can get 1 pound from Amazon. That will last you forever!)

This is my favorite heavy duty mask because of how powerful the clay and apple cider vinegar combination is. I have to warn you that this can be very drying if you don’t properly moisturize afterwards. If you have sensitive skin, please try a spot test or just use it as a spot treatment like I do sometimes! I never break out on my cheeks so I usually only apply the mask to my nose and use it as needed on my forehead and chin. You’ll feel your face pulsating as it dries and you may experience temporary redness afterwards. (I read it’s just from blood flow, it’s definitely not a “burn” in my experience.) I do wish the mask was already mixed for you but this does increase the longevity of the product. The mask comes as a powder which can be a little messy but you get the hang of it quickly. I now use a little spoon to get some powder into the palm of my hand and I just mix in the ACV with my finger! Very minimal cleanup this way :)

Bottom line: this stuff really works to shrink and dry out any active breakouts. Even the under the skin kind aka the worst type of breakout.

Dryness

PAPA RECIPE Bombee Black Honey Facial Mask Pack (Pack of 4)

I found out I’m allergic to Benzoyl Peroxide the hard way a few months ago. Intense flaking and dryness combined with the recycled air on my flight to London was not pretty. Enter: this magical sheet mask. My mom got this mask in Asia but you can find it online in a few places – including Amazon. The mask is black and a little scary but I wore it shamelessly on the plane and I’m so glad I did. I left it on for almost an hour to make sure my skin drank up all the moisture. Afterwards, my skin felt extremely nourished and finally the itchiness and burning sensation calmed down. I have also loved using this during the past few months as I have been testing Tretinoin in my skincare routine. This is an absolute must try for anyone with severe dry skin or if you are reacting to a medication, sunburn, etc.

Clogged Pores

review aesop primrose mask

Aesop Primrose Facial Cleansing Masque*

You know those days when your pores just feel clogged but you’re not necessarily breaking out? I tend to feel this way after I’ve been traveling or if I had a lazy night and just used a makeup wipe. (Rather than my long AF skincare routine.) This is my absolute favorite mask to tackle clogged pores. You could definitely use the Aztec Secret clay mask for clogged pores but it’s such an intensive mask that I use it sparingly. This mask immediately feels soothing, yet powerful, as it works to suck out anything in your pores. One reason I prefer this to the Aztec Secret is it’s much easier to wash off. It is more pricey however, so if you’re on a budget I would stick with the first mask.

Dullness

Too Cool for School Egg Mousse Pack*

This mousse mask is so fun to use because of the texture. (Embarrassing picture of me wearing the mask here.) I also love the fresh scent unlike the others mentioned which are either sweet smelling or very medicinal. In between any skin problems like breakouts, I love to use this because it just gives your skin a nice refresh in just a few minutes. After a few uses, I can definitely tell my skin is more glowy and supple. This is a great option for aging skin or anyone that is recovering from other skin issues but doesn’t have any active issues like dryness or acne.

Shop the masks in this post below:

I have a few other masks that I rotate but these are definitely my favorites. I’m always open to trying new masks so please share your recommendations!

Hope you all have a great weekend too! I’m heading down to my parents’ house again this weekend to celebrate my brother’s birthday a little early. I can’t believe he’s turning 16 and will be driving now. Lucky for him, it’s now his turn to drive me around when I’m home. After years of big sister duties, I am pretty excited to be chauffeured around. If you missed my last post then you’ll want to check out some of the yummy PDX food that I had just two weekends ago. (Portland Food Guide here.) Can you guess which spot I’m definitely heading back to with my family this weekend??

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Products marked with an asterisk were gifted to me for PR consideration, however all opinions are my own.

Portland Food Guide: Where to Eat during a Weekend Trip

July 5, 2017 Filed Under: travel

I grew up just miles from Portland, Oregon so I used to consider myself familiar with the city. (To be honest, I never thought Portland was cool.) Then I moved away and started hearing everyone raving about Portland which had suddenly became very trendy. I would see so many cool Portland spots on Instagram which were foreign to me. After a weekend trip to the Rose city with two of my girlfriends, I discovered some of these awesome Portland food offerings myself. Keep on reading to see where (and what) we ate in Portland during our weekend trip!

Produce Row Cafe – 204 SE Oak St
The neighborhood is very industrial and a tad sketchy but that aside…this place is pretty great! There are plenty of tables outside that can even accommodate large groups. Unfortunately we missed happy hour because of traffic but we still liked this spot. The portions aren’t huge so if you’re really hungry, you may want to order a few extras to share. I highly recommend the beer mac and cheese. They have an expansive list of drinks as well so it was hard to choose! I settled for a local Oregon cider by Wildcraft Cider which was really refreshing. beer mac and cheese produce row cafe

Pip’s Original Doughnuts – 4759 NE Fremont St
Everyone and their mom has been here so I know I’m super late to the game. I’ve been to Voodoo many times and Blue Star was a little out of our way, so my friends and I decided to try Pip’s. Luckily the line was fast moving when we went on Saturday morning. For the three of us, the dozen was perfect because we got to try four different flavors and not get too stuffed. My favorites were the simple cinnamon and sugar/maple bacon flavors. The chai flights look really interesting, so if I ever come back in the fall or winter I’m going to try that! Be sure to come within 7 days of your birthday for a free birthday dozen. pips original doughnuts where to eat in portland

Small Pharaoh’s – 340 SW 5th St
Portland is known for their food trucks so I think every trip requires at least one food truck meal. I’ve been to several over the years but nothing has blown me away. Until now. Small Pharaoh’s is a food truck on 5th street that actually has seating, which is rare. The side of the food truck has a long row of bar stools and a counter! The $5 lamb gyro is a must! It was filled with soooo much meat, it was slightly overwhelming. The unique part about these gyros was they used some sort of pickled veggie mix – it even had cauliflower! They also take credit cards which is nice. small pharaohs food truck portland oregon review

I snapped these pictures on our walk to the food trucks – can you spot the guy in the hotel? hi-lo hotel in portland oregon murals in portland oregon

Saburo’s Sushi House – 1667 SE Bybee Blvd
FINALLLLLLY! I’ve actually been wanting to go here for years because so many of my friends have raved about this spot. There is always a line it seems but now that I’ve tasted the food, I absolutely think it’s worth it. The salmon sashimi is super fresh and so big, it’s probably 4 bites total. I can’t remember what rolls we ordered but they were all really good and also large pieces. I will say that we witnessed some very poor customer service unfortunately. Another inconvenience is that you can only have 2 cards per table and they only let you order food once. portland food guide saburos sushi saburos sushi portland oregon food guide

Portland Saturday Market – 2 SW Naito Pkwy
We didn’t eat at the Saturday Market but we walked around here because it’s always a must see in Portland. Most of the goods you can buy are things you wouldn’t ever need but if you like trinkets or souvenirs, this is a fun spot for those things. They also have some food vendors so you can get anything from Chinese food to homemade kombucha! The waterfront is always nice to walk or bike along as well. portland saturday market blog what to do in portland oregon

Pine Street Market – 126 SW 2nd Ave
We didn’t eat here either because our stomachs can only hold so much food (tragic, I know). It was a definite contender though because it’s right next to the Saturday Market. Basically it’s just an indoor market with several different food vendors. A huge plus is there’s air conditioning and seating inside the market. You can get coffee, ramen, ice cream, and even gourmet hot dogs. I really want to go back for Wiz Bang Bar which is soft serve ice cream by Salt & Straw! As you can tell, the seating area was full so we didn’t eat here pine street market portland oregon

Screen Door – 2337 E Burnside St
Alright y’all, this place is no joke. The food is intense and the line is basically a Disneyland line without the switchbacks. We got here a little after 10 on a Sunday (whoops) and we had to wait outside for over an hour and 15 minutes. Don’t make the same mistake as us and go right at opening if possible! While the food was delicious, I’m not sure I would want to wait in that kind of line again. Everything on the menu looked good to me but I went with the classic friend chicken and waffles. For $14.50, you get three giant pieces of fried chicken on top of a sweet potato waffle. It resembled carrot cake to me, which I love, so I was a fan of the waffle. I could only finish one piece of chicken! screen door review portland food guide

Now my mouth is watering! Let me know your Portland food recommendations and I’ll definitely add them to my growing food bucket list. As you can tell, we packed quite a bit into a short weekend trip. Considering we only had one full day in Portland I think we did a good job eating our way through the city :) Looking forward to going back soon!

By the way, I’ve written a post on where to eat in San Francisco if you’re interested! Check it out here. If you want me to do more food posts please let me know!

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Life Lately: Events and a Few June Favorites

June 29, 2017 Filed Under: favorites, life

Happy Thursday!! I’m ecstatic that it’s almost the weekend. After several busy weekends and being out of town I’m looking forward to one with little on the agenda. Since nothing too exciting should be happening this weekend, I figured I’d give you guys a life update from the past weeks. After all, I think you’d rather not hear about me going to Costco and doing all the adult things one must do after weeks of slacking.

Visiting Molly Moon’s HQ

gold letter balloons seattle summer

Anyone who knows me or just follows me on social media knows that I’m an ice cream lover. My favorite local Seattle ice cream shop, Molly Moon’s, is so gracious to have invited me to their shop openings in the past. (I recapped the Redmond store opening here.) When they invited me to their newly designed headquarters in Capitol Hill to preview the new seasonal summer flavors, I was like DUH!!! Cocktails made with ice cream, delicious small bites, and tasting all the ice cream was just as fun as it sounds. There are some exciting and unique flavors coming involving ingredients like cheesecake and goat milk so get excited!

As you can tell, the inside of the HQ space is gorgeous. Just ask Jared, I literally could not stop saying “it’s so CUTE!”. The exposed brick, tall white walls, and pops of pastel everywhere were just perfect. I already pitched the idea of me moving into the space. Stay tuned on whether that happens ;)

Afterwards we had a triple blogger+significant others dinner date at Soi. I can’t wait to go back and try brunch sometime because everything was soo yummy. If you like curry, I recommend the Peek Gai Panang. If you like spice make sure to ask for the spice rack! I practically licked my plate clean.

Rooftop Launch Party for First Glance lashes

I wish I had saved more photos on my phone but if you follow me on Instagram you probably saw a lot on my story. The view was amazing! My friend Sheila brought me along with her to this event and although we just had ice cream the day before, we had more at this party. We also indulged in tacos and the strongest cocktails. Definitely a welcome treat after we both have been having busy work days! Sheila and I are actually both going to another event this Friday :) So fun to experience things with one of my blogger besties!

These lashes by First Glance are gorgeous and feel really quality. They’re supposed to be good for up to 30 wears which is awesome! I’m not a seasoned falsies wearer so it’ll take me a few tries to put them on I’m sure. I’ll be sure to report back and share photos when I do wear them. By the way, these mink lashes were created by a local Seattle entrepreneur! Check out her website here.

June Favorites

–Kat Von D Lock-It Tattoo Foundation: This foundation has intense coverage but if you apply in thin layers with a makeup sponge, it goes on naturally. At first I didn’t like how tacky it felt but I find that baking with loose powder helps set the foundation just fine. I do start getting oily at the end of the day when wearing this but for the most part it has good oil control. I would recommend getting color matched at Sephora due to the overwhelming shade selection! For $35, I think this is super reasonable. And that’s coming from someone who loves drugstore stuff! kat von d lock it foundation review

–Bralettes: Alright, time to get kind of personal here. I hate wearing bras and underwire is straight up torture in my opinion. For months I’ve been considering getting bralettes but they would always be 1) overpriced or 2) lacking support. Recently I went to Victoria’s Secret during their Semi-Annual sale and went nuts. I ended up keeping 8 bras because they were only $5 each! My favorite style that I got has a front clasp (yasss) and has removable cups. Finally a bralette that is comfortable and provides support, without losing the cute factor. These are so comfortable I can’t believe that they can replace my normal bras. (Get them here in multiple colors.)

And here I am, posting my undergarments on the Internet. Eh, oh well. victorias secret front clasping bralettes

–Cheese platters: If you read my favorites posts then you’re probably not phased by this one. (Throwback to when I wrote about cauliflower as a monthly favorite.) For some reason, Jared and I have been obsessed with cheese platters recently. Every grocery run now includes a quick browse through the cheese section. When Williams Sonoma let me pick out some goodies for a project the first thing I picked out was a marble cheese board! Now our cheese platters are extra classy. (See the Williams Sonoma post here.)
williams sonoma seattle food blogger

Over Father’s Day weekend, I drove down to visit my family and I actually left my car there. My little brother is about to turn 16 and needs a car so for now he’s going to be driving mine! So life lately consists of being flexible and strategic with my transportation. Luckily Jared and I can carpool a lot with his car and we’re blessed with great public transportation and car services in the Seattle area. It’ll be an interesting challenge looking ahead!

You might be wondering why I haven’t shared any photos from my Portland trip last weekend. Well we all know I love to ramble, especially when it comes to food. Since our short trip was basically a food tour of Portland, I’m going to save that for a separate post. Keep an eye out for that – it’ll probably be up next week! Hope you all have a fun and safe weekend!

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