Rubbing Alcohol

Family Brand Rubbing Alcohol

Hello again smiley faces!

I hope you are all well.

Today I would like to talk about Rubbing Alcohol. I have recently learnt that this not-so-expensive product is actually very versatile and useful.

Before that though, I want to say that there are cheaper rubbing alcohols around rather than the Isocol brand (the one with the dinosaur on it) they sell at most pharmacies and grocery stores. Though that one is probably the most convenient one to get. However, I don’t know about you but I refuse to pay AUD$10 for one bottle of this stuff.

I actually wanted to get some rubbing alcohol since a while ago but I thought that I still had some at home. Being quite unfamiliar with the stuff, I had no idea that they have an expiry date nor did I know much use of them other than cleaning cuts (which I never do) and to clean walls before you stick things (like hooks) on it. So, long story short, my supply at home was “expired” and I had to throw it out (I searched online whether they can still be used for general cleaning around the house but they all said that the chemicals have somehow changed or something – sorry not a chemist). But again, I didn’t want to spend another $10 to get the bottle which most of its contents will probably end up in the bin again like the last one.

Luckily enough, I held out buying it long enough to come across this particular brand at the asian grocery store at Canning Valle (Perth) which costed me around $5 a bottle. The bottle looks pretty similar if you ask me. Green, same size. Just different brand/sticker and a different lid (click here to see what the Isocol rubbing alcohol looks like).

So what “other uses” did I manage to find for rubbing alcohol?

Personally, I used it to fix my broken blush like one of the many tutorials around on YouTube. The easiest (and laziest, but in a good way) is probably Kandee Johnson’s tutorial. But you can search many others on the internet or if you prefer, a video version on YouTube.

But I also found all these other ways to use it which I have yet to try (but I’d imagine it’d be useful). Here are some of them:

• Clean your phone (wipe down)
• Erase permanent markers
• Clean white boards
• Make shape-able ice-packs
• Clean bathroom fixtures (chromes)
• Clean hairspray off mirrors (although I don’t even own a hairspray right now)

So I hope this post will benefit at least ONE person out there and I’ll post another post soon!

Lots of smiles,

Sita

Nerada Organic, Fair Trade Green Tea

I have always been a tea person (if you didn’t see my crazy tea haul from last time… still working on the reviews on those…) and many of you would probably have heard the many different benefits of Green Tea.

Here’s a list of some of its amazing benefits — benefits that you may not have been aware of. Some of these benefits are still being debated, so please do your own research if you want to use green tea for medicinal purposes.

1. Weight Loss. Green tea increases the metabolism. The polyphenol found in green tea works to intensify levels of fat oxidation and the rate at which your body turns food into calories.
2. Diabetes. Green tea apparently helps regulate glucose levels slowing the rise of blood sugar after eating. This can prevent high insulin spikes and resulting fat storage.
3. Heart Disease. Scientists think, green tea works on the lining of blood vessels, helping keep them stay relaxed and better able to withstand changes in blood pressure. It may also protect against the formation of clots, which are the primary cause of heart attacks.
4. Esophageal Cancer. It can reduce the risk of esophageal cancer, but it is also widely thought to kill cancer cells in general without damaging the healthy tissue around them.
5. Cholesterol. Green tea reduces bad cholesterol in the blood and improves the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol.
6. Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. It is said to delay the deterioration caused by Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Studies carried out on mice showed that green tea protected brain cells from dying and restored damaged brain cells.
7. Tooth Decay. Studies suggests that the chemical antioxidant “catechin” in tea can destroy bacteria and viruses that cause throat infections, dental caries and other dental conditions
8. Blood Pressure. Regular consumption of green tea is thought to reduce the risk of high blood pressure.
9. Depression. Theanine is an amino acid naturally found in tea leaves. It is this substance that is thought to provide a relaxing and tranquilizing effect and be a great benefit to tea drinkers.
10. Anti-viral and Anti-bacterial. Tea catechins are strong antibacterial and antiviral agents which make them effective for treating everything from influenza to cancer. In some studies green tea has been shown to inhibit the spread of many diseases.
11. Skincare. Green tea can apparently also help with wrinkles and the signs of aging, This is because of their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Both animal and human studies have demonstrated that green tea applied topically can reduce sun damage.

Source:http://chinesefood.about.com/library/weekly/aa011400a.htm

Pretty great huh? I’ve also heard that drinking green tea could decrease your chance of getting cancer in general due to its antioxidant properties. Say whaaaat?

The other day, I saw a box of Organic, Fair Trade Green Tea by Nerada on sale at my local supermarket for $3 for 50 tea bags! I didn’t hesitate to grab it.

I had my first cup of it today and I would like to do a quick review of this.

Nerada Fair Trade, Organic Green Tea

Scent: 4/5 — I love the smell of the teabags straight out of the box! Though it’s not as fragrant as jasmine tea but I wouldn’t mind if my room smelt like that. It smells slightly sweet but still “plain” and fresh. Sorry if I suck at describing things.

Taste: 4/5 — I wouldn’t classify this as having a strong taste or anything. I quite like it, though I still prefer a jasmine and slightly sweetened tea but hey for all those health benefits, I’d drink this any day – it was quite pleasant tasting anyway.

Packaging: 2/5 — As you can see, it came in a green box and for $3, I was not surprised that the tea bags weren’t individually packaged. However, I was a little disappointed with how flimsy the bags were. I actually made a couple of cups today for my parents (might as well, while I was at it…). ONE, I accidentally dropped the paper handle of one of the tea bags into the boiling water and when I pulled it out, it fell off the string. Now, this was not the first time I’ve done this (I’m pretty clumsy) and none of the other ones have fallen off like this, so I was a little sad to see this. TWO, I was gently ripping off the paper handle off the bag on the 2nd tea bag and it ripped the top of the tea bag. Now I thought that the tea were going to float out of the bags everywhere so I had to dunk the tea bags carefully – none came out in the end.

Colour: 3/5 — Average. It’s not as green as a few other green teas I’ve had but it’s not ugly either.

More Comments: As an added bonus to all the health benefits listed above, this tea is cheap, organic AND fair trade! Plus, as suggested by BubzBeauty and MichellePhan on youtube, you can make a facemasks and scrubs with the used teabags!

I hope you found this haul/review useful and if you have tried this tea before, do comment below and share what you think about this tea!

Lots of Smiles,

Sita

DIY Toner for Acne Prone Skin – Dupe for Proactiv Toner?

So I mentioned in my last post that I am using a DIY toner to replace my Proactiv toner. I was inspried by an older video by SecretLifeOfABionerd (a.k.a. K.L.) on Youtube about this easy and extremely cheap DIY toner.

Ingridients: Aspirin + Witch Hazel.

The ingridients are easy to find at my local supermarket – Witch Hazel and Aspirin. Though the prices here in Australia is CRAZY compared to the U.S. prices mentioned by K.L. in her video. I bought a bottle of Witch Hazel for about AUD$6.67 and a box of Aspirin for AUD$4.49. I wasn’t sure if the generic supermarket brand (which only costs AUD$0.95 for the same amount) will dissolve well. Maybe next time I will venture out and try it and I will update you on that.

My bottle of Toner.

Since the aspirin here looks way different to that shown by K.L. in her video, I had to make an “educated guess” as to how much aspirin/witch hazel to mix to  make my toner. I don’t think exact measurements would matter here, but correct me if I’m wrong.

What I did was I snapped 5 of the aspirin tablets into quarter pieces or smaller and chucked it into the squeezy bottle I had laying around (cleaned in boiling water to sanitise). I then filled it up (slowly, since the aspirin I bought fizzes) with Witch Hazel until the bottle is about 7/8 full.

I have been using this toner for about 3 weeks now and I don’t see much difference with my skin compared to when I was using the Proactiv toner. Yay for me? This DIY version not only costed me only a fraction of what Proactiv costed me but I don’t notice much of a difference in their results.

The only downside was the scent. I intend to add a few drops of Lavender oil into my next batch of Toner and hopefully that will be a successful experiment. Again, I will do another blog post updating you on this.

Here is K.L.’s Video:

Thank you for joining me in this journey of clearer, better skin!

Lots of Smiles,

Sita.

Review: Proactiv Skincare – Deluxe pack

I have been using the Proactiv skincare range (Deluxe pack) since mid-January this year. So that makes it about 4 months now. I had been considering this skincare brand for a long while though I have been put off by all the reviews saying that the range is very abrasive and harsh. After going through many different skincare systems and going to several GPs and a Dermatologist (which costs so much… both the service and prescriptions), I decided to give Proactiv a try. I looked around online for a while and almost bought a set from their website. However, I ended up buying the Deluxe pack from their stand at Melbourne Central since I wanted to get the most out of the product – you know, when to use what, which pack I should get for my skin type, etc.

My Proactiv Products

The lady at the Melbourne Central Proactiv counter suggested that I use the Proactiv Deluxe pack along with the Green Tea Moisturiser. She also suggested a regimen/routine that was tailored for me which I thought was great! (I didn’t see this information on the website)

The downside was that this turned out to be a lot more pricier than I thought (the kit contains more product than the one you can buy online… though the price/mL is still lower online) and unlike buying online, there were no bonuses. I’ve been thinking if I’d gotten ripped off haha. Though in my opinion, the extra money was worth the instructions and I can always buy the stuff online next time.

Do I love it? Hate it?

I love it! My skin has been pretty much clear except for one or two breakouts which healed nicer and faster than ever before. The kit also lasted me longer than the 3 months that it suggested for some reason… I’m pretty sure I didn’t use less product or anything. The toner was the first to run out about 2-3 weeks ago. I still have yet to run out of anything else though I suspect the next thing that will go would either be the deep cleanser or the green tea moisturiser.

Though this solution is a lot cheaper than those suggested by doctors, I’m still not very happy with the price. I feel like there should be dupes or cheaper ways to do this. The lady at the counter said that the only things that are “medicated” were the cleansers and the “repair” lotion. I am looking for dupes and alternatives for the rest. I have been trying out a DIY toner to replace my Proactiv toner and I will share with you about it in the next couple of days.

Do let me know if you know any dupes or alternatives to any of the products! I would be forever thankful.

I guess that would be all for today’s post and wishing you a great week!

Lots of Smiles,

Sita.

P.S. All opinions are my own, I bought the products mentioned on my own and none were sponsored.

Way back to exercising (3): Fitness Evolved 2012 [X-Box 360 + Kinect]

For the past few weeks, I have been using the Fitness Evolved 2012 game on X-Box 360 + Kinect to exercise. I just would like to share with you my thoughts on this.

I started about a week into my beginner yoga program on the free phone app I mentioned in my previous Way Back to exercising post. The activities and workouts on this game is definitely interesting – especially they have yoga and dance “classes” too! 2 of my favourite form of exercise. For the first week or so, I felt muscle pain! The good kind! I used to get this back in my ballet days – every Sunday, without fail, since I had 5 hour classes every Saturday. I knew better not to stop exercising though and the games have definitely motivated me to come back and work out on it almost everyday since.

The game has 4 components: “My Zone”, “Activities”, “Workouts” and “Classes”. My Zone is where your profile, progress, goals, etc are and activities include things like warm-up games, a game simmilar to Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) minus the mat, a running game, skipping rope game, etc. The workouts section is more focused on body parts – like arms, glutes, legs, back, stomach, etc. Classes is what I spend most of my time with – here they have Yoga,

If you know me, you probably know I can not stand running and working out on my own on the machines. Even with a friend next to me, I still feel very bored… These kind of activities on this game does exist but I don’t mind them as much as they tell you what to do, how many reps to go and they set challenges – for example, 20 seconds of high knee running, etc. But I do still prefer doing stuff from their “classes” section. Dancing is more of my forte.

Though I feel a little silly doing this (and so I wouldn’t do this in front of anyone with the exception of family and maaaaybe a few close friends), I love the African Rythm and Bollywood the best! They are so different to any form of dancing I’ve done in the past (well, I did do a little tiny bit of Bollywood for college performances), they are fast paced, works the whole body and I just looooove dancing. The hip-hop however, I was a little disappointed with. The songs are slow and the movements I found to be a little weird – maybe it’s just not my style.

The calorie counter I feel is not at all accurate. I guess this is expected since they didn’t weigh me or even asked me how heavy I was, etc. So I don’t take the counter seriously – I just use it as a guide to measure how much I’ve done that day relative to other days playing it. Anyways, I’m not the type to count calories.

The great thing about this game is that it’s in the comfort of your own home. If you have enough room, you could even do it in your bedroom out of sight of anybody to save yourself some embarrassment (especially for a recently-came-back me). Plus, it’s nowhere as expensive as a gym membership! Especially, if you got this game on a discount. You can find one nowadays for about $40 or even less.

One of the biggest con to this game is that it requires quite a bit of space. I don’t live in a very big house so I do bump into things (or people) sometimes. It is also not protable (well, technically, you could bring the X-Box and Kinnect system with you wherever you go – but that’s such a hassle and waste of space/kilos).

Now it’s been about 2 or 3 weeks since I started. I just play about 4 days a week until the calorie counter says I’ve burnt 100+ calories, depending on how I feel and how much time I had that day. My soreness is gone, my knees and legs are a lot stronger and I feel healthier in general. I like to believe that the exercise is “enhanced” by the giggles me and my family get when I dance. I will definitely continue on using this game.

I know people who have laughed at me when I told them I work out using X-Box. They say I won’t be able to push myself, etc. But I found this to have worked for me better than going to the gym and working out on the machines. I simply found this game motivates me more. So don’t let people get to you! Definitely check this out – maybe try it out? If you have an X-Box, I know you can download a free demo version.

I saw Fitness Evolved 2013 for Wii-U at shops but I have yet to see the X-Box version. When that goes on sale (because I can not justify spending more than $70 on a piece of disc) I will surely try it out.

PS. none of the images in this post are my own nor do they belong to me.

 

Lots of Smiles,

-Sita

Happy Thought: @disneywords

Good morning from the land down under!

I’ve been following “Disney Words” or @disneywords for a while now on twitter. They post random quotes from Disney movies, books, etc. I love it! I love Disney, I love Quotes so what more can I ever want?

Although I am no longer a child or a teen, I am not ashamed to say that I love Disney and I will forever love Disney. The quotes they post makes me realise why Disney is so wonderful for all audiences. The little kids will get the light childish humor and the cute cartoon characters. The older audiences will realise that there’s so much more meaning to Disney movies than what we got from when we were kids. No wonder all the Disney classics are still being re-played here in Australia a good 50 years after their first release. They are just that good.

Disney Words on Twitter

The feeling I get from reading quotes from @disneywords on my Android Twitter app is difficult to explain. Though I’ll tell you this, I always look forward to more quotes from them!

Here are a few of my favourite tweets:

If you focus on what you have left behind, you will never be able to see what lies ahead. –Gusteau (Ratatouille)

— Disney Words (@disneywords) April 10, 2013

Everybody’s got a laughing place. The trouble is, most folks won’t take time to go look for it. –Uncle Remus (Song of the South)

— Disney Words (@disneywords) April 10, 2013

I’d rather die tomorrow than live a hundred years without knowing you. –John Smith (Pocahontas)

— Disney Words (@disneywords) April 9, 2013

If you get scared, just be scarier than whatever’s scaring you. –Thumper (Bambi II)

— Disney Words (@disneywords) April 9, 2013

So if you love Disney and you have a twitter account and you want to read Disney quotes, this Twitter is a must to follow.

What’s your favourite Disney quote?

Lots of Smiles,

Sita

P.S. I am not affiliated with Disney Words and gain nothing but pleasure from writing this post.

Way back to exercising (2): free “Daily Yoga” app

Welcome to another Sprinkle O’Rainbow post. Today I would like to share with you a free “Daily Yoga” app I used since about 3 weeks ago to kick start my “way back to exercise” mission.

If you missed my last post on health & fitness and if you want to know my history (injuries) and why I am on this mission then click here!

The app is literally called “Daily Yoga” and is available on both Android and Apple devices ranging from smartphones to tablets. I personally installed this on my Android Samsung S3 (smartphone) so I have it accessible at all times, wherever I am. That way I have no excuses not to at least do yoga once a day.

Daily Yoga

What you need to do to get this app is to download the main app: “Daily Yoga (All-In-One)“, and then you can download individual “plugins” which feeds into the plugin so in the end, all you need to open is the plugin app and you have all your modules accessible from there. The app also includes a few training programs so you can follow a schedule if you prefer that (they give you reminders on your phone to do the scheduled yoga session) though there’s only one free program which is the beginners program.

Home Screen of Daily Yoga App

The plugins (which most are free) vary from beginner to advanced and are titled very clearly so you can choose which part of your body you would like to work on for the day. There’s also sequence plugins like “Yoga Sequence for Beginners“, “Sun Salutation“, “Yoga for Weight Loss” and “Yoga for Body Toning” where it doesn’t concentrate only on particular bodyparts. If you get days like me where I feel like I can’t be bothered standing up or I feel like exercising so I’d prefer standing up, they also have plugins for that.

Personally, I downloaded all the free plugins – because I’m a horder like that. Jokes. But really, it’s because I want to have the choice there depending on my mood that day but at the same time I don’t want to spend money.

The concept of using this app is very simple. Just spend 10-15 minutes of your day to do Yoga. No excuses right? everyone has a 15minute break in their day? Also doing these really wakes me up in the calmest but fastest way in the morning. So I like to do it just after I wake up in the morning next to my bed. Now I really have no excuse not to do it.

Though I am not really a beginner in Yoga, I started by doing the beginner program which went for 2 weeks. There is one session everyday with a 2 day break in the middle. I thought this would be a good light start to ease myself back into exercising. I loved it! About half of the sessions went for 10 minutes and the other half went for 15 minutes each. It wakes me up, loosens me up and gets my body moving in the morning. Oh and a tip – you can change the scheduled times for your sessions in the program to match your desired schedule.

This is definitely not enough of  an exercise but in my opinion, it’s a great start nonetheless. Plus, it’s FREE!

::Links to the app::

Android App – PLUGINS
(all the ones with the blue-icon)

Apple App

Definitely check this out! it’s definitely worth trying!

Thank you for reading and happy exercising!

Follow me on Bloglovin:

Lots of Smiles,

Sita

Way back to exercising (1): my injuries

Right now, I have 2 injured knees and I am trying to get back into exercising again. I want to exercise to keep my body weight balanced and to maintain a healthy life. You  know, better than being a couch potato. This post will contain the story of my 2 injuries.

The Knee

I used to dance A LOT. Ever since I can remember, I’ve always idolised ballerinas. When I was 4 years old, mum put me in to a ballet school and started a pre-primary class with a ballet school which follows the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) syllabus and grading system (known world wide). By the time I was 13 or 14 years old, I was dancing more than 10 hours a week. Add the compulsory school “Physical Education” periods (sports), and Tae Kwon Do classes I started when I was 14, I was doing 15 hours of exercises/week.

When I was 16, I injured myself. The story is very lame and silly. I jumped (while doing a jumping Tae Kwon Do kick) and landed funny on my leg, ripping a ligament on the right knee (ACL). I of course would still LOVE to continue with Ballet and Tae Kwon Do so we decided to do the ACL reconstruction surgery.

Unfortunately, the next year was my final year at school. My knee was not getting as strong as I would like it to be before I started a few classes again so I decided to take a break that year.

Knee Cartilage

First year of uni came and I started dancing again – for fun. I went to a few beginner classes (because I don’t know how much I could do) and did a few performances for my residential college. I did the same in 2nd year and had planned to do the same in third year. However, during one of the quality checks of one of the performances in third year, I, again, did a jump during one of my dance pieces, fell and hurt my knee yet again. But this time, it was the cartilage on my left knee. Lets just say, A LOT of money went into physiotherapist fees.

It’s been a year since then and my left knee is still weak and I am terrified to hurt it again when I jump on it. However, I am determined to slowly get back into dancing and exercising again like I used to. Don’t worry, I put extra attention into my knees and don’t do anything that would make them feel like they’d be hurt again.

What am I doing right now? I am following a Yoga app on my phone and X-Box 360 + Kinnect fitness games. I will do reviews on things I come across. Though keep in mind of my needs – slowly getting back into exercise with emphasis on keeping my knee un-injured.

That is all for today and I hope you can benefit from this new series on my blog! Don’t forget to follow my blog, favourite this post and give me feedback!

Lots of Smiles,

Sita