Skin Food's Fresh Juice Whitening Toner

I've been using Skin Food's Fresh Juice Whitening Toner twice a day for 4 weeks now, and I wanted to share my review~

 This is the first toner I've ever used, and I have to say that I really love it.  In keeping with my goal of taking better care of my skin, I wanted to try something with all-natural ingredients.

Skin Food is a Korean brand that uses the natural goodness of food ingredients as beauty aids to soothe and comfort skin ailments.  Skin Food products can be found on Yesstyle.com and E-bay for relatively cheap.

Using a toner was something completely new to me.  Let me tell you - you do not know clean skin until you've used a toner!  Toners help to pick up any leftover makeup or dirt left behind even after cleansing.  The toner works deep into your pores, tightening them to control oiliness & keep dirt from getting in.

I love the way my skin feels after using this toner, I just can't stop touching my face!  It's so smooth, clean, and refreshed.  I actually really look forward to washing my face everyday because it feels so nice (totally keeps me from being lazy).   It also provides a perfect canvas for applying my makeup. 

It really keeps my skin from getting oily throughout the day as well, which is a miracle for my combination skin.  I was worried about my skin getting dry from using this, but that hasn't happened at all!  My skin is perfectly balanced!

As for whitening, I've only noticed short-term results.  It seems that this toner soothes redness due to inflammation or irritation, causing the skin to appear brighter.  I was hoping that it might help with my acne scars, but it really hasn't.  Apparently Skin Food has a whole line of Fresh Juice products, including a 30-day skin whitening program.  Maybe that would be more effective for my purposes.

Overall: 4/5

I'm really happy with this product.  I'm so glad I started using a toner, I'll never go back to not using one now!  This was a really good first impression of Skin Food's products too.

I'd really like to try some of their other toners and skincare products~

Neutrogena's Pink Grapefruit Acne Facial Cleanser

I wanna tell you about my current daily cleanser~

I picked up Neutrogena's Oil-Free Pink Grapefruit Acne Cleanser a while ago, and I really like it!  It's really cheap and can be found in most drugstores.

It has a yummy & invigorating scent, and cleans deep into pores leaving skin feeling super clean & refreshed.  It also lathers up really nicely...in the mornings when I'm still half asleep I just stand around massaging my face for a few minutes with this cleanser.  It feels so nice, and really wakes me up!

On top of all that, this cleanser fights & treats breakouts - even blackheads!

Now, the main reason for me making this blog post is that my mom picked up a Walgreens-brand knockoff of this product for me.  It has pretty much the same ingredients as Neutrogena's cleanser, it's just a little cheaper. 

I've been using it for a few days now, and I really hate it.

It has the same nice scent as Neutrogena's...but the similarities pretty much end there.  It doesn't lather up as nicely, and it has a kind of sticky feeling to it.  Even after rinsing my face a few times, I can't get rid of its sticky residue.  I feel like it's clogging my pores and hindering my face creams & moisturizers from working.  I've even gotten a few breakouts since I started using this one!

I hate to waste my mom's money, but I'm really about to toss this one right into the trash.  Honestly, Neutrogena's cleanser is cheap enough already...this knockoff totally isn't worth saving a couple of bucks.

I just like to warn you guys when I try a horrendous product~ no one should have to go through using something so bad!

So the final verdict - Neutrogena's Pink Grapefruit Acne Facial Cleanser is a-okay!  Pink Grapefruit knockoffs, stay away!

The Gyaru Manifesto

Ever since meeting up with Bulaklak Tribe, I've been really inspired to try harder with my style.

This meme has been floating around the gyaru blogosphere, thought I'd do it too!  Copied from Happykiss blog~

Gyaru Manifesto Meme

Name: Lynnette / Hachi
Location: Long Island, NY
Occupation: Full-time student, Part-time driver
Height: 5'3" / 160cm
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue-ish green
Birthday: January 4, 1990

First discovery of Gyaru:
The summer of 2007 before my senior year of high school, when I went to Japan.  I loved all of the amazing clothes that I saw on Takeshita-dori in Harajuku, and once I came home I started researching all of the brands that I liked.  That's how I learned about all of the different styles of Japanese fashion.

I also learned from playing Poupee Girl.  Dressing my poupee up in outfits complete with jewelry and hair accessories made me more conscious of my outfits in real life.  When I went shopping, I really started to pay attention to what I was buying and how it would go together with the things I already owned.

Your Gyaru Style:
It changes all the time!  I absolutely adore pink, frilly, casual hime styles.  I also like fun, bright, haady styles.  Recently I've been into some of the more mature & sexy styles, and I've been trying to buy some pieces that I can work into that.

Your Top 5 Gyaru Model Inspirations:

Kumiko Funayama

Romihi

Kanako Kawabata

Yumachi

Aina Tanaka

Your Top 5 Gyaru Non-model Inspirations:
Monica - She is one of my top inspirations. I love her coordinates, and her hair is always styled impeccably! It was actually her tutorial that taught me how to curl hair~
Shawna - Shawna is one of the first Western gyaru that I came across. I've always liked her hair styles and cute coordinates, but meeting her in person was a huge inspiration!

Eden - This girl is so good with makeup. I've learned so much from her and I'm still not even close to having her skills!

Ain - I'm really inspired by Ain's coordinates! I also love how whenever I see her, she's almost always wearing heels & lashes~

Xiaxue Okay so she's not quite gyaru but she's awesome! She inspired me to go blonde!

Your 3 Favorite Gyaru Magazines:
Egg

Popteen
Ranzuki

The Top 6 Gyaru Brands you like best:
Tralala

Liz Lisa

Golds Infinity

Cocolulu

JSG
Delyle

3 of Your Favorite Coordinates:

  

Your 7 Favorite Fashion Items That You Own:
Tralala Pink Leopard Print Camisole

Chanel Pink Quilted Flap Bag

Coach Pink & White Stripe Tote

JSG Leopard Print Zip Hoodie

JSG Black & Pink Star Print One Piece
Black Ankle Boots from Zipia.net

Golds Infinity Pink & Black Striped One Piece 
(this is the dress that inspired this blog layout!)

Top 10 Gyaru Fashion Goals:
Get a better job that pays more & allows me to be fashionable

Take better care of my skin

Learn to walk in heels

Fix my eyebrows

Practice makeup

Buy cheaper clothes, not spend so much on expensive brands

Buy a full-length mirror so I can blog about my coordinates

Wear lashes more often

Expand my makeup collection

Make more gyaru friends online and in real life

Top 5 Gyaru Achievements:
Going blonde!!!
Having a keener eye when I go shopping

Learning how to apply eyelashes

Creating my blog

Meeting all of the wonderful NY gals

What a fun meme!  Feel free to do this yourself & send me a link.  It's really interesting to read everyone's thoughts and experiences~