June 2019 - Reviews and Other Stuff

Month: June 2019

How to Grow New Plants from Cuttings

June 20, 2019 / HOME & GARDEN / 0 comments

Hello everyone! Summer is just around the corner and I’ve been busy working on my garden. I have a few plants that have grown a lot and they needed to be trimmed or split into two so that I could transfer the other half into the patchy areas of my yard. One of these plants is my ever-growing vintage peony. I like it a lot and it leaves a nice fragrance around my yard. I’m not sure if I could find this plant again nowadays. It’s really the old-world type, and I suspected that this plant was planted probably by the first owners of my house, back in the 19forgottens. Since I like it a lot, I decided to grow more of this plant by using a rooting hormone.

I use rooting hormones quite often especially when I want to multiply my Roses. The process is fast, easy, and it works with a lot of plants, especially Peonies. The growing process might be slow which does require a bit of patience, but it’s a rewarding one.

So, for this review, I’ll show you how I grow new plants from cuttings using the Miracle-Gro FastRoot Dry Powder Rooting Hormone ($5.99).

See the steps below.

Materials:

*seedling pots are from Lowes, but are also available via Amazon. Make sure it’s filled with gardening soil or potting mix. I like this ONE.

*gloves are from Digz, similar style HERE. I’ve been using it for a long time and it’s still holding up pretty well.

*rooting hormone powder, I like the ones from Miracle-Gro.

*cutting/s from the new growth of a plant, choose the one with a branch. You may or may not cut the leaves.

Step 1. Cut a small part of a plant’s new growth (Cutting). Make sure that it has a tiny branch/branches.

Step 2. Prepare biodegradable seedling pots by filling it up with gardening soil or potting mix.

Step 3. Pour a bit of dry powder rooting hormone into a piece of paper (which I formed into a box/container).

Step 4. Dip the bottom of the cutting into the rooting powder and tap off excess.

Step 5. Stick the bottom of the cutting into the seedling pot filled with soil, and carefully press the soil around it, to make it more stable.

Step 6. Spray the cutting inside the pot with water. This waters the cutting softly and prevents it from moving around the soil, as opposed to normal watering using a hose.

Step 7. Place the pot in a sunny area and keep it moist.

The cutting will develop new growth in approximately 3-4 weeks. Take a look at this peony cutting I did 3.5 weeks ago. Once the cutting has grown, you may transfer it into a larger pot.

I tend to have a high success rate by using the Miracle-Gro FastRoot Rooting Hormone, but just to be on the sure side, it’s better to have a few cuttings to grow rather than one when doing this plant-cloning technique.

Happy gardening everybody!

The Miracle-Gro FastRoot Dry Powder Rooting Hormone is currently available at Amazon or at any gardening and home improvement stores.

Drunk Elephant Summer Skincare Faves

June 13, 2019 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hey there! Summer’s almost here and I’ve got some Drunk Elephant favorites to feature in this review. When it comes to finding quality skincare products, Drunk Elephant is probably one of those brands that’s at the top of my list. I like most of their products because they work and they make such a difference in my skin. It all started when I first discovered their Lippe Balm which I will be reviewing again below. That said lip balm repaired my dry chapped lips in several instances. From then on, I’ve tried other Drunk Elephant products and they never disappoint. I don’t think I’ve tried all their products already just because they can be quite pricey.

Another thing I like about DE is the fact that they support the IEF (International Elephant Foundation) and their products are cruelty-free.

I feel like this Summer is all about the glow and clean skincare. So, for this review, there are a few Drunk Elephant products I’m currently loving and is also recommending for this coming warm season. Check them out below.

D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops (1 oz: 36 USD) – True to what DE stated, this product is literally sunshine in a bottle without the damage. Out of all the fake tanners I’ve tried, this probably is the best because this goes on soft and light, and it feels nice on the skin. It contains Virgin Marula, Black Currant Seed Oils, fatty acids, raw unrefined cocoa powder, as well as antioxidants to boost the skin. The effect is a post-vacation glow that resembles a sunshiney bronzy shade sans any UV damage. To apply, just mix this (1 drop) with your favorite serum, moisturizer, or even foundation. A drop of this can look very concentrated or too pigmented, but once spread, it becomes very wearable yet buildable as well. I tried wearing this alone without mixing it with anything and I thought I would look ridiculous on it, but I think it still looks very wearable on me, and it does seem to flatter any skintone. You can also use this product on the chest, legs, or arms, etc.

Lippe Balm (0.13 oz: 18 USD) – This is definitely my favorite moisturizing lip balm. It’s plain and simple without any strong fragrance etc, and it works really well at delivering, maintaining, and restoring hydration on the lips. This is perfect for traveling and for the dry Winter season. It’s pricey and you may find that there’s not enough product in it even if its whole packaging/diameter looks larger than most lip balms, but this does a good job at conditioning the lips.

C-Firma Vitamin C Day Serum (1 oz: 80 USD) – I’ve always wanted to incorporate a Vitamin C product in my daily skincare regimen, I was just not sure which one. Enter this Drunk Elephant C-Firma Serum, and it works really well for my skin. I love that this never caused me any irritations and my skin looks even more glowing since using this regularly. This serum has a bit of an oily feel but it’s neither sticky nor super oily at all, and it is yellow-tinged. It contains 15% L-Ascorbic Acid, 1/2% Ferulic Acid, and 1 % Vitamin E, plus powerful antioxidants. It also stays active on the skin for up to 72 hours and has a tolerable pH. I use this in the morning as a serum, and this helps with brightening my dark spots from zits, and it gives a nice healthy inner glow.

There is one Drunk Elephant product not photographed here, and it’s the C-Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream (0.5 oz: 64 USD) which I’m currently using as my eye cream and it helps in managing dark circles, tired undereyes, as well as lightening any dark spots. Further reviewed HERE.

Have you ever tried any of these products before? What’s your favorite Drunk Elephant product/s? and What skincare items do you recommend this Summer?

The Drunk Elephant Skincare is currently available at Sephora

(Disclosure: Product samples sent by Drunk Elephant. The reviews, photos, and opinions herein are solely mine)

Charlotte Tilbury Glowgasm Face Palette Review + Swatch

June 10, 2019 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

I’ve been looking into some face palettes lately and the Charlotte Tilbury Glowgasm (4 shades: 75 USD) is probably one of the most beautiful face palettes released this year, so far. I was really stoked the first time I saw it, both by the packaging and the shade of each pan. It has a very luxe and elegant appeal, along with some quirky embossment of each shade. Speaking of shades, there 4 shades on this palette. Two of them are highlighters, there’s one bronzer, and a somewhat shimmery rose lilac (unicorn-ish) blush.

At first, I wasn’t quite sure whether Glowgasm palette I should get, either the Lightgasm or the Lovegasm? A lot of folks find the Lightgasm palette to be too light and too subtle for them. So when I went to Norstrom, I had the palette for warm-dark skin tone in mind, which is the Lovegasm. Upon swatching the two palettes, I find the Lovegasm to be too pigmented for me. Its blush shade made me look like I got sunburned, it was definitely too much for my face. However, I find the shades to be really pretty. When I tried the Lightgasm palette, I felt like it somehow suited well on my face.

Since then, I’ve been incorporating the Lightgasm palette for most of my makeup routine. I did find it to be a little too subtle on my face. Indoor, it’s almost unnoticeable on my skin, but it’s quite buildable enough to pack the colors on the cheeks, as well as all over the face. I really love the rosy unicorn blush (#3) of this particular palette, and it’s really stunning to look at. At first swipe, it kinda appears like a light shimmer on my cheeks, but I can pack it with a couple more swipes using my Ulta itbrush in #101

Once outdoor, I could see the effect of this palette on my face. It’s subtle but noticeable enough to emphasize and highlight the bony prominences of my face. The nice thing is that you can always use this wet if ever you’d prefer to add more blush and glow on the face.

This palette is also good as eyeshadows, and probably much better if applied wet. So, if you’re looking for a subtle face palette with an au-naturel effect and you have a very-fair to light skintone then you might like the Lightgasm one. You might also be able to pull it off if you have a light-medium skintone. If you’re medium, then you might be better off with the Lovegasm palette. Overall, the new Glowgasm palette is so pretty and definitely a head-turner, however, it’s pricey, so you may wanna carefully examine the swatches online or in-store to find out which palette would suit you best if ever you’re planning to buy one.

The Charlotte Tilbury Glowgasm Palette is currently available at Nordstrom, charlottetilbury.com, Sephora, and Bergdorf Goodman

Do you own this palette? What’s your first impression?