************************************* Vegan chickpea burger *************************************

I'm not vegan, but vegetarian for many years and I'm trying to eat more healthy, which isn’t that easy in this hectic world. But I try. No one is perfect and more times than not know I should eat better.

I'm currently recovering from surgery and as I'm not at work I get to experiment in the kitchen. 2 things turned up I love and id like to share.

The first is a vegan chickpea burger. Its tasty. And easy. And doesn’t fall apart. And in a bun with veggies, pesto and ketchup its heaven. I myself was surprised it was that good. Its not the sexiest burger as its baked, but its yummy and good for you. Yay!

For 4 patties

ingredients

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/4 onion

2 minced peeled garlic cloves

1/4 tea spoon dried chili –if you like

1/4 tea spoon cumin

1 table spoon barbeque or chili/sweet chili sauce

1 peeled carrot

1 can of preserved chickpea or  1 cup of frozen cooked chickpea

Instructions

Preheat oven to 210 Celsius

In a food processer blend for about 2 minutes all the ingredients other than the chickpeas. Then add chickpeas for another 2-3 minutes, make sure to mix in,with a spoon,  the edges of the batter once in a while so you get a well blended mix.

Create patties and lay on slightly oiled baking paper and cook in a preheated oven  for 30 minutes – don’t forget to turn the patties after 15 minutes. Serve in a bun with all your favorite toppings

Be kind

Karyn

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * A review of a few face masks i got on IHERB * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 I'm an addict. I'm addicted to face masks and I'm addicted to online shopping. So I'm gonna use these two addictions in this post to review some face masks I used and tried from Iherb ( almost a third addiction :). I Love face masks. They are a means to relax after a long day (and they are mostly long) and pamper your skin and try to get a bit of a better complexion despite this stressful life. I love high end masks also, REN, Aesop, antipodes and so and ill review you them in a coming post, but im realy glad I found some good, affordable, effective and mostly natural masks on iherb.

I use a mask 2-3 times a week and try to use at least once a week an exfoliating mask  and once a week a purifying mask. Once in a while I also use a moisturizing mask.

My skin Is combination with the occasional breakout or dehydration.

So here we go

Alba Botanica, Facial Mask, Papaya Enzyme

This is one of my favorites. Alba cosmetics in general is one of my favorite natural brands as they are effective, pampering and affordable. This is a great exfoliating mask , it might be a bit tingly the first time you use it but nothing bad. It has a nice cool jell texture which is lovely in summer and it doesn’t dry.  it leaves skin amazingly soft and glowing. I love it

Total ranking  4.5/5

Reviva Labs, Oxygen Mask, Green Papaya & Hydrogen Peroxide

This was a disappointing mask. It did leave skin nice afterwards but it was very unpleasant to put on and take off. It has a very thick and sticky consistency and water itself doesn’t take it off, you need soap and to scrub it off and I don’t like scrubbing my face after an exfoliating mask…. I wonder if the skin felt smooth after ward because of the scrub or the mask

Total ranking 2/5

Andalou Naturals, Glycolic Mask, Pumpkin Honey, Brightening

Another favorite and im eager to try other Andalou products. Its an orange mask, looks a bit like pumpkin puree. It is an exfoliating mask. People say its comparable to Michael Todd's pumpkin mask but I cant compar. It doesn’t dry. It leaves skin glowing and smooth. I would buy again,

Total tanking 4/5

Alba Botanica, Even Advanced Deep Sea Facial Mask

This is my newest mask and im still trying it out. It has a nice pasty/creamy texture and it dries on your face but not in the cement, cant move your face, way that other clay based maskes do (it’s a purifying mask) . So  far it’s a nice mask that clear skins and brightens, I still don’t know if it even outs skin tone.

iits also gentle so i think you can use it often.

Total tanking- not final 3.5/5

There are many masks I still want to try like the Aztec clay mask and Sea Minerals, Black Mud. Would love to hear what you think and get some recommendations to feed my addiction

Until the end of july 2014 there is free international shipping on Iherb so take advantage. Use discount code 

GTT535 for a 10USD dollar discount on your first order.

 http://www.iherb.com?rcode=GTT535 

Stay kind

x

Karyn

 

favourite blogger of may 2014 - pretty shiny sparkly

Kristina is my first favourite blogger of the month. I wanted to start by giving credit to less 

known blogger/vloggers but she is really one of my first loves and she truly deserves it.

Kristina is a beautiful woman, there is no argument about that. But most of all she seems like the sweetest and most  gentle person, I never met her but would love to. She has great beauty taste and she allows herself to have fun with it . she is the main inspiration for me to start my blog ("still baby blog"). She, like me, is a physician and found some refugee in beauty and pretty shiny sparkly things http://prettyshinysparkly.com in her time of despair. I can totally relate with that, that’s exactly why Im trying with this blog thing. 

Trying to escape and enjoy what's pretty and maybe even meet new nice people.

I guess as both physicians and people that went through a lot we know that there are more important things in life than makeup, but oh, the joy they bring and how important it is to grab on to any piece of joy or beauty you can find.

So thank you Kristina for the inspiration you are, for your beauty inside and out and for making me a bit stronger.

 Check Kristina out on her

 blog http://prettyshinysparkly.com

Vlog https://www.youtube.com/user/prettyshinysparkly

Korres wild rose skin care series

 I Started wearing makeup regularly only in the last 6 month. I still have days of makeup mistakes (my drag queen daysJ ) but I like playing with color. But just in the last 4 month, I realized that if ii also take good care of my skin, the makeup up looks so much better and I need so much less foundation. It also llasts much longer.

In the last few month I tried a lot of products and have kind of a routine, all which I hope to share with you lately.

One set of products is the Korres wild rose series. Korres is a Greek company that is supposed to be more natural ( I say supposed because their soaps have SLS) based on natural products and cruelty free. For me a product from Greece is a turn on, I like to support companies from less known "beauty" capitals, and the fact that its paraben and cruelty free sealed the deal and I decided to try it. Ill add that I have also a thing for 

Roses and rose scent.

I tried 3 products – the face wash, the serum and the moisturizer.

Wild Rose 24-Hour Moisturizing & Brightening Cream – it’s a nice moisturizer, glides nicely on the skin and leaves it soft for many hours. I cant really tell if it brightens because I've been using a lot of different products. I think this would be good for combo to dry skin, on oily skin it might be too greasy. The bad about it – comes in a small container-only 40 ml (most moisturizers are 50ml) and only has  SPF 6. But all in all a good moisturizer for women in their 20-early 30.

Wild Rose Daily Brightening & Refining Buff Cleanser – it’s a very very gentle scrub with tiny grains and leaves my skin nice and soft. There is no drying affect and I really like it. I bought it cause one of my favorite vlogger (essie) recommended it. If you want a nice daily cleanser this would do a great job.

 

Wild Rose Face and Eye Serum – I have an obsession with serums. I love them and the promise of miracles they provide. Miracles hardly happen but they are a nice addition to my skin care routine, and I especially like vitamin C serums as I do believe they brighten my skin. Wild rose is supposed to have a nice amount of vitamin c. I like this serum. Not sure its better then other vitamin c serums that ive tried but it gives my skin a nice feeling and I believe it does improve my skins texture and color over time in addition to my other skin care routine.

 

All in all a nice cruelty free, paraben free cosmetic series that I would give it a 7/10 and would probably buy again. Ah, and they hardly smell like roses

 

Stay kind

 

K

5 NUXE PRODUCTS - A REVIEW

I have a new fetish ( oh well, a few new fetishes) on of them being French pharmacy. Lets make it clear. I've never been to France and have no relation to France or its culture except my love for macaroons.

Still, there is something alluring in French pharmacy, the idea of iconic French beauty and class, the simple but elegant  packaging and the Frenchness of it all.

I started by trying 5 products from NUXE.

I love the fact that they are paraben free and or on the cheaper side of French pharmacy. they are also easly 

bought online so people from around the world can enjoy them.

So lets start the review:

NUXE Lotion Tonique Douce Gentle Toning Lotion – this is a simple toner, that has a great and gentle rose scent that I use every morning. I don’t wash my face in the morning  as I find it drying, so I just tone and continue with my skin care. It is nice, gentle , refreshing and non drying. It doesn’t do much in terms of tightening my pores but I didn’t expect it to. I would buy again although I do want to experiment with other toners as I'm new to the toner world

NUXE Crème Fraiche 24hr Moisturizing Cream  - a nice basic moisturizer, it keep my skin soft and supple but it is has way too much perfume in it (I prefer face creams with no perfume) and it isn’t anything special. It also sadly doesn’t have SPF that in Israel (where I live) is needed. It was ok, but I wont repurchase

 

NUXE Masque Purifiant Doux Clarifying Cream-Mask – I heard rave reviews on this mask and I have to say I was a bit disappointing. It’s a good mask by all means, it feels luxurious and leaves the skin soft and supple but it isn’t anything special , not something that you cant get with other masks, some much cheaper. I might buy it again but it isn’t a holy grail.

 

NUXE BODY Déodorant Longue Durée Long-Lasting Deodorant – I bought this deodorant as I am trying to use more natural deodorants, and this was is paraben free. However, it does contain aluminum which is a shame cause I loved it. All in all its a great deodorant and if you don’t mind aluminum in your deodorant I would recommend. I currently will stay away.

 

NUXE Reve de Miel Gel Nettoyant et Demaquillant Visage Face Cleansing and Make-Up Removing Gel – A very very gentle face cleanser that is surprisingly effective in removing makeup and leaving your skin soft and clean. It's great for sensitive skin or anyone needing a bit of a more gentle cleanser. I love it and I don’t have sensitive skin

I can say I was generally happy with the Nuxe Products; they are all good, even If some aren’t outstanding, and it gives a sense that it is a reliable company. Im defiantly looking forward to trying new products once I get my hands on them

 

Hugs and have a great weekend

 

K