Sephora Sample Review: Algenist Complete Eye Renewal Balm

It's not like me to select eye cream samples from Sephora, but I think I selected this without really looking at what it was. Nevertheless, I do like eye creams when I remember to use them. They usually feel good in the morning and do seem to help with puffiness or bags under the eyes. I have been using a Sephora brand product that I like a lot, but even when I could really use eye balm or cream, I tend to forget that I have it.

Algenist Complete Eye Renewal Balm from Sephora.com

This eye cream was good. I wouldn't say it was anything special or has any magic powers. At $65 for the full size product, I certainly won't be purchasing it any time soon. But, I did use up the sample and I had no problems with it. The smell was neutral and the cream was soft and smooth and felt nice going on. It wasn't sticky or greasy at all.

The description on Sephora's website states that it used a microalgae-based ingredient called alguronic acid that "fights visible signs of aging." Using just a small sample of the product, I couldn't confirm or deny that it works to combat the signs of aging, but I have no doubt that it would work just as well if not better than some of the other anti-aging eye creams out there. It's one of Sephora's greener products, formulated without a synthetic dyes or fragrances and without sulfates, so that is a major plus in my book.

Overall, this seems like a pretty good product. If I used eye cream more frequently I might be tempted to get it, but until then, I do just fine with the cheaper one that I use once in a blue moon.

Sephora Sample Review: bareMinerals Purely Nourishing Moisturizer (Combination Skin)

Time for another sample review! Today, I tried a sample of bareMinerals Purely Nourishing Moisturizer for combination skin. bareMinerals comes from an esteemed line of products from the Bare Escentuals cosmetics company. People who use Bare Escentuals makeup seem to love it, but I have never been much of a fan. I've tried to like it many times, but something about mineral makeup, though it is healthier for the skin, just doesn't work for me. I love that the products are natural and don't contain most of the harmful chemicals that are in a lot of skincare products.

Anyway, I wasn't expecting much from this product since I haven't had luck with Bare Escentuals cosmetics, but I was in for a surprise. This moisturizer is one of my new favorites. It has a lightweight, yet creamy texture and feels great and refreshing on the skin. The smell is perfect too...light and clean but not overbearing; and it didn't linger, which I like. A lot of moisturizers tend to feel too oily on my skin, but this did not. I was able to put my foundation on soon afterwards without any smearing or smudging. Even though I used it a few hours ago now, my skin still feels smoother and softer than it usually does. And at $28 for the full-size (1.7 oz) product, this is an affordable product that I can definitely see myself buying when I run out of my Stella McCartney Care moisturizer (which has been discontinued).

After trying this product, I am definitely interested in the rest of the bareMinerals skincare line. With a reasonable price and a chemical-free product that feels good and works well, I highly recommend it!

bareMinerals Purely Nourishing Moisturizer - $28 at Sephora.com

Sephora Sample Review: Jurlique Herbal Recovery Gel

I am always ordering things from Sephora. It's one of my favorite stores and always a fun place to get a treat for myself. I love playing around with different looks and colors in my makeup routine. With at least 3 free samples with every order, I have built up a large stockpile of trial size products that I rarely use. I figured it was time to give some of them a try and blog about the results.

First up is a .06 fl. oz. package of Herbal Recovery Gel from Jurlique.

Full-Size Jurlique Herbal recovery Gel - $48 from Sephora.com

I got this sample just last week and was unsure of what it was when I picked it out. The package states that it is "A restorative botanical concentrate to help renew skin vitality." Sounds good...though I still don't know what it's supposed to do particularly. The longer description on the back says it should restore, hydrate, and revitalize the skin. So it's basically an anti-aging moisturizer that uses natural ingredients derived from plants.

I opened the package and squeezed a small drop of the product onto my fingertips. It is very thin and much more watery than a regular cream moisturizer. It still have a slightly oily texture so it goes on smoothly and you don't need to use a lot. It smells pretty nice at first, a light flowery scent; however, I put it on a few hours ago and the smell is a little bit annoying now. I almost feel like I have an open jar of Play-Doh somewhere near me that I can't see. I just got a new glass of water because I thought my water smelled until I realized it was the moisturizer on my face.

Besides the annoying smell, the product itself felt little oily on my fingers, but it feels great on my face. It was refreshing to smooth on and my face feels smoother and softer than usual. I think that with regular use, this product would definitely help to reduce wrinkles and keep the skin feeling and looking fresh, but at $48 for a 1 oz bottle, it's hard to justify purchasing this one. There are plenty of less expensive products that also use natural ingredients to do the same thing. I will use the rest of my sample, but will not be buying the product.

Davy Jones

I could hardly believe it when I saw the news that Davy Jones had passed away today, at age 66 of a heart attack. It came from out of the blue.

Davy was my first 'celebrity crush.' It didn't matter that he was 48 years older than me or that The Monkees were a band from before my time. I listened to The Monkees in the car, on the way to school and day camp, and at the swim club in the summertime. Friends in school made fun of me for liking such an "old" band, so I hid my musical taste from people at school. Only my closest friends knew I was a "closeted Monkees fan." When the show started airing on Nick at Nite for Monkee Mondays, I was more than excited. I watched every episode and tapes them on VHS so I could watch them any time. For my birthday, my parents bought me the ever-coveted Monkees VHS box set...every single episode plus the 33 1/3rd Revolutions Per Monkee special! It was the biggest box of VHS tapes I've ever seen. It was a prized item in my collection.

I would listen to Monkees albums constantly, throughout Junior High and the beginning of High School. I pretended to be part of the band, and would sing with them. I knew all the words to Goin' Down and the scripts to every episode. My Monkees obsession culminated in 10th grade when I learned they were playing live in Atlantic City. I bought tickets as soon as possible and went to see my favorite band - my first ever concert. They were incredible to see live, so I bought tickets for one more show a few months later, this time in Holmdel, New Jersey. It was at that show where I met Renee, Davy's soon-to-be-girlfriend. She was sitting next to me at the show and met him that night, beginning their love affair. I kept in touch with Renee for a few years, but I'm sad to say I've lost touch with her now.

The Monkees led me to realize that there actually was music that I could enjoy. Before them, I believed I just wasn't in to music. They made me realize that I may not have liked popular music at the time, but there was such a thing as music that I could enjoy. From The Monkees, I was led to The Beatles...the band that I have identified with the most for the past 10-15 years. The Beatles would be come my new obsession, and lead me in to even more incredible music. But, I'll always have a special place in my heart for The Monkees. I will miss Davy for his wonderful sense of humor....his "I have 4 daughters...all girls" joke, his unique swaying dance (stolen by Alex Rose, as he mentioned often - "Been there, did that, got the tee-shirt" ;) ) and his wonderful songs.

                                           

Anything Goes

Last weekend my wonderful boyfriend and I were lucky enough to get tickets to the first Broadway show we've been to in a long time. We saw Anything Goes at the Stephen Sondheim Theater, and it was really fabulous.

Thanks to a very thoughtful Christmas gift, we spent a night in a hotel very close to Times Square. This gave us the opportunity to take advantage of the famous discount tickets booth, just a few blocks away. Sunday morning, we were in line at 10:30am, and the booth opened at 11. By 11:15ish, we had great seats for the matinee performance of Anything Goes. The show won the Tony for Best Musical Revival, and had a great cast, including the incredible Joel Grey.

The plot of the show doesn't really make a ton of sense. It's a case of a lot of mistaken identities, silly old-time-y jokes, and convenient coincidences in the plot to make the songs fit the story, bit none of this mattered. The songs, all written by Cole Porter, were wonderful, especially since they were performed by such an incredible cast. It was exactly what we were looking for - a true Broadway musical complete with big dance numbers and amazing singing. It felt like we went back in time, to the heyday of Broadway.

The show was surprisingly funny and even a little racy. There were a lot of little jokes in there that would go over younger viewers heads, but were definitely shocking, especially knowing the show's first run was in 1937!

My favorite numbers were the show-stopping "Anything Goes" which really had it all, and "The Gypsy in Me," which I thought was the funniest number in the show. "Anything Goes" included almost the whole cast in a long and very impressive tap dancing break. "The Gypsy in Me," was a hilarious look at the fuddy-duddy englishman character, who all of a sudden becomes a deeper character. One other song I wanted to mention was "Friendship" where the characters break the third wall at the end and acknowledge the audience, pretending to mess up the end of the song and argue about it. That part caught me off guard and was a really funny surprise.

I didn't know any of these songs prior to seeing the show except "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "De-Lovely." It was really fun to go to a show, not knowing the plot or the songs in advance. I was definitely really impressed with this show, and I think we will be seeing more of Broadway this year.

Review - EP002 by thenewno2

I have been meaning to write a review of thenewno2's second EP, which came out last September, for a while now. This is the third official release from the band, following their first EP (EP 001) which came out in 2006, and their full length album, You Are Here, from 2008. The band is currently working on their next full length album, The Fear of Missing Out, which fans are hoping will be out this year. According to thenewno2's facebook and twitter pages, they are in the process of mixing the album.

While fans have been waiting for the new album, the band put out EP002 to tide us over until the new album is released. EP002 features 4 tracks, with an impressive array of guest appearances by Regina Spektor, Jessy Greene, and members of the Wu Tang Clan. Thenewno2's lineup on this EP include vocals, guitar, and programming by Dhani Harrison, and drumming from the band's original drummer Oli Hecks. Other band members include guitarist Jeremy Faccone, keyboardist Jonathan Sadoff, and bassist Nick Fyffe. Paul Hicks joins the band on this release, as an additional programmer.

Wide Awake: The EP opens with a signature thenewno2 sound - an electronic melody that sounds like a cross between Lord Lord from EP001 and Another John Doe from You Are Here. This ambient intro builds for about a minute, and a strong drum beat is introduced, with drummer Oli Heck's characteristic sound. Dhani starts singing lyrics that tell the story of someone who is extremely exhausted, and yet, cannot fall asleep, laying in bed late at night. Throughout the song, there is a chorus of the phrase "Get Away," emphasizing that the singer just wants to get these feelings away so he can fall asleep. The song sounds like the lyrics, feeling draggy but without being boring or too slow. Jessy Green, who played with Dhani when he was on tour with Fistful of Mercy, adds an accompanying string part on violin, that adds greatly to the feeling of this song. Towards the end, there is an interesting guitar solo with a cool effect. The song ends the ambient feel of the intro, which begins to fade down before coming to a stop.

Mr. President: Credited to Bennett, Block, Diggs, Harrison, and Sadoff, this song is an amazing collaboration between thenewno2 and the Wu Tang Clan. This song begins with a fast paced beat and an electronica intro. The keyboard in the song reminds me a lot of the song So Vain from You Are Here. It is another signature thenewno2 sound. Dhani begins the first verse of the song, singing against war and greed and how crazy it is that someone can just push a button and wipe out an entire nation. This verse ends with Dhani singing "Here come the Americans." At this point, the song becomes a rap, where Wu Tang Clan members RZA, Crisis, and Sir Eyes take turns rapping about the good and the bad. The rap sections thank the President for good things that have happened, while also condemning the war and economic policies of greed. Each verse ends with the line "I love you Mr. President," while one verse states clearly, "I'm talkin' Bush, not Obama." The song is a great reflection of the country today, of both the good and the bad. The song ends with the Pledge of Allegiance, with the words "Under God" replaced with "Oh God help us."

Live a Lie: This is the first thenewno2 song to be composed by Dhani Harrison and the band's guitarist, Jeremy Faccone. It is more of a guitar-based song than the rest, and begins with an acoustic intro. The song has a slower, more calm feeling, and also features Regina Spektor, whose voice complements Dhani's very well. The song begins to build into the second verse, which sounds harder and more forceful. The third verse begins with a focus on the vocals and a breakdown of the instruments, but builds back up again quickly. The song seems to be talking about trying to stop living a lie, even though it can be cool and tempting. The ending is saying "so long" to living a lie.  The song ends with some more signature thenewno2 vocal effects, which become distorted into an electronic haze.

Mr. President (pHd 'One Nation' remix): This is a remix of Mr. President, and is a cool and different take on the song. It was remixed by pHd, which is a collaboration between Paul Hicks and Dhani Harrison, according to thenewno2's facebook page. This version of the song begins with a series of electronic beeps that sound like an old computer. It then goes into a sort-of dance-beat mix until the vocals begin. It then goes right into the song, with the music in the background sounding almost like white noise in the background. There seems to be more of a focus on the vocals on this track. The rap section seems much faster than the other version of the song and is a lot of fun to sing along to when you know all the lyrics. The song still ends with the Pledge of Allegiance and gradually fades out.

This EP is a lot of fun for fans of thenewno2. It features a nice selection of new songs and has so many exciting guests. Thenewno2 is continuing to develop new sounds and timely, meaningful songs, while staying true to their signature sound and feel. The special guests on this EP give the tracks each their own feel, yet thenewno2's style shines through. After listening to this EP many times, I know that when The Fear of Missing Out is finally released, fans will certainly not be disappointed.

Check out thenewno2's music at www.thenewno2.com ... !!

Two Ducks

I read this in A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle today and I enjoyed it a lot. When ducks get into a fight, they use their energy and battle it out in a pond. When the fight is over, each duck glides away across the pond in opposite directions and they shake their feathers out, releasing any extra pent-up energy from the fight. After that, the ducks continue on. If those ducks were like humans, with human brains, they would continue playing out that fight in their mind. They would be thinking "how dare he get up in my face" and "I'll get back at him someday," etc. The fight would continue on in the duck's mind...maybe for days, months, or even years. Humans tend to do this. They keep the fight going on in their minds. They don't just shake it off like a duck and forget about it. Holding on to this resentment and anger is harmful, morso to ourselves than to the object of the anger. Going forward, I hope to be more like the duck, that shakes it off and moves on, focusing on now rather than continuing to carry anger from the past.