How to eat cacao fruit - Grow plants

how to prepare cacao fruit

how to prepare cacao fruit - win

Exercise to Train Your Coffee Tasting (Without Drinking Coffee)

TL;DR (it's a looong one): Eat your fruits.
I see a good number of people on this sub asking questions like, "How do I learn to describe tasting notes?" or even before that, "How do I learn to taste tasting notes?"
I've seen lots of solid advice, like "Do side-by-side comparisons," "Try cupping," etc. Very good ideas and well worth your time, especially for the initial process of learning to distinguish one coffee from another. However, there came a time when I could easily tell two different coffees apart but still was no nearer to applying the type of exotic labels (pineapple! caramel!) that they throw on the side of bags.
To develop this really niche and unnecessary (but cool) skill, I was led through a series of exercises designed to connect the physical sensation of a flavor to the mental response of a description; this type of exercise, done properly, ensures that you form the "correct" connections, "correct" meaning by the SCAA and CQI standards (not to deify "the man" like that, but it does help to have a standardized language so one person’s baking chocolate isn't another’s blood orange).
In another age, you could go to SCAA Skills Building workshops and pay to get your hands dirty with the pros and their pro equipment like Le Nez du Café, a box of 36 bottled aromas that appear in coffee. Now you can’t, and you definitely don’t want to drop $300 on a box of liquid smells, but fortunately you can replicate the essence of the exercises at home. It can be tough without a teacher to pummel with questions, but here’s an exercise you can try that’s meant to open your understanding of the Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel, the magical hoop from which all the fun words are derived (see below). You don’t even need to buy any fancy coffee.
​
Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel; or, The Magical Hoop, Root of All Pretension (source: SCAA)
  1. Go to the super market. Here’s your shopping list:
· 1 papaya (all these fruits can be whole or pre-cut. I recommend whole for maximum freshness and minimum salmonella)
· 1 mango
· 1 yellow banana
· 1 red banana
· 1 each of Red Delicious, Pink Lady, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Fuji apples (that’s 5 apples)
· 1 pink grapefruit
· 1 lime
· 1 normal orange (sweet or Valencia or navel, doesn’t really matter)
· 1 blood orange
· 1 lemon
· More than 1 blackberry
· Raspberries
· Strawberries
· Blueberries
· 1 or more dark chocolate bars (≥65% cacao)
· 1 small bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
· 1 Hershey’s milk chocolate bar
· A bag of mixed nuts with almonds, hazelnut, walnut, etc. (skip this if you’re allergic)
  1. Cut up the fruits and lay out all your foods in groups: the tropicals together, the apples together, the citrus, the berries, the chocolates, the nuts. You can set out toothpicks and cocktail napkins if you’re feeling dainty. Smell everything. Focus on the smells. This smorgasbord is your makeshift Le Nez du Café.
  2. At this point I hope you’re not keto cause you’re about to house all this food. Each group will serve as an exercise for a different element of coffee tasting, and can be tackled in any order. Descriptions of each activity and my recommendation for order is as follows:
a. Malic Acidity with Apples: Taste each variety of apple and rank them from least to greatest in “intensity of acidity.”Intensity of acidity is the strength or presence of both sweet and tart acids in a flavor. Though you are focusing on acidity, take note of the distinct flavor of each apple. Here I must emphasize the distinction between eating and tasting. Same physical actions, but in tasting you must be highly focused on the sensation of flavor. For you meditators, this is one of the finest real-world applications of meditative awareness. You must direct all your focus on the flavor you are tasting. Flavor is a fleeting thing, and early on, without full awareness, I found myself missing it entirely. Try, but if you miss it at first, try again. Train yourself to get “in the zone;” it becomes essential in cupping where things move fairly quickly.
b. Citric Acidity with Citrus Fruits: Rank the citrus fruits from least to greatest in intensity of acidity. The difference between this type of acidity and the sweeter, malic acidity of apples is very apparent in the fruits themselves, but is tougher to distinguish in the context of coffee. Noting the unique flavors of each citrus fruit and comparing them with the flavors of the apples will help prepare you to detect, and more importantly distinguish, malic and citric acids in a cup of coffee. The citrus fruits are also helpful because they appear on the Flavor Wheel (tasting note words). I know you know what an orange tastes like. But you need to really know. This exercise combined with proper awareness trains your ability to mentally conjure the exact sensation of “tasting an orange,” which you can then detect in a cup of coffee.
c. Body with Tropical Fruits: Taste each tropical fruit, ranking them from least to greatest in “body.” Body is the sensation of weight or thickness in the mouth, determined mostly by lipid (fat) content, and is a major factor in evaluating coffee. Compare each fruit to milk. Which has a thickness like skim milk, which like whole, and which like heavy cream? Again, while you’re focusing primarily on body, spend some time really tasting the flavor of these fruits; they show up on the Flavor Wheel and their sensations should be memorized. You can also focus on “mouthfeel,” the texture of the fruits. Are they creamy, chalky, silky? Something else?
d. Layered Flavor with Berries: This one is challenging. Tasting each berry, focus as intensely as you can on its flavor and try to go beyond your pre-conceived “blackberry” or “raspberry” answer as your verbal response. What else is there in the flavor of a raspberry? Chocolate? Herbs? Flowers? Nuts? See what you can find when you really look. You may also choose to rank the berries by intensity of acidity, body, or even how complex you find their flavors (by how complex, I mean how many other flavors you can detect that constitute the entire flavor). Berry flavors are an essential part of the Flavor Wheel. Become extremely familiar with the sensation of tasting each berry.
e. Bitterness with Chocolate: Melt a piece of each chocolate on your tongue. Focus on everything discussed above (flavor, body, acidity) as well as bitterness, and notice how the level bitterness changes with the type of chocolate. Decide which levels of bitterness are most pleasant to you. Also focus on the lingering sensation in the mouth after eating chocolate. This sensation becomes important when trying to identify chocolate notes in a coffee.
f. Flavor with Nuts: With the nuts, mostly the same deal. Focus on their flavor. Know an almond from a peanut from a hazelnut on a deep level. They all appear on the Flavor Wheel.
Thus concludes the exercise. Write your rankings and thoughts down as you go. Be confident in them but do not be afraid to be wrong; the ability to rank fruits based on certain qualities is not natural or instinctual in the human. You’re not made to be good at it. It must be trained.
Now you may ask: how do I effectively apply this to coffee tasting? Coffee is evaluated on its aroma, flavor, aftertaste, acidity, and body, all very jargonized ideas to which your brain can only prescribe “sensational” definitions to through experience. Now that you have experience
Remember the berries, and how you focused on moving beyond the pre-conceived notion of “xberry.” This is what a roaster or cupper is doing when they ascribe tasting notes to a coffee. Coffee with blueberry notes isn’t going to taste like a blueberry smoothie; coffee is always gonna taste like coffee. They get “blueberry” because they have trained their brain to be so familiar with the sensation of tasting blueberry that they can also get that sensation from things that are not blueberries but carry some similarities. Finding tasting notes in coffee is much like the instinctual phenomenon of finding “faces” in things that don’t really have faces, like a wall outlet. Our brain knows faces, and a cupper’s brain knows flavors in the same way.
A good way to practice with coffee is to look at the Flavor Wheel while tasting. Start general, like in a game of 20 Questions. Are you sensing Chocolates, Fruits, Spices, or Something Bad? Ok, fruit. Is it tropical, citrus, berry? And so on. You don’t need to land on a specific food in the beginning. “This coffee is chocolatey and fruity” is a fine step from, “This is coffee.” Let, "This coffee has the aroma of brown sugar and strong notes of almond and vanilla," come later.
Here is an "answer key" to the rankings of the fruits. Don’t look at it until you’ve done the exercise, please. When training the senses, it’s so important to rely on the senses alone. It is very easy for suggestion and bias to get in the way and limit your learning.
Hope you enjoy, and let me know if you tried it. Keep learning and keep drinking coffee.
submitted by _hanif to Coffee [link] [comments]

I'm 35 years old with a joint income of $490k, live in New York, and work as a program manager

0️⃣Section Zero: Background
Hello, MD! I hope you're all doing well, and are safe and healthy. I've gone back and forth for a while about whether I should share my money diary. I signed up to do one last year to chronicle our home buying process but chickened out (I'm so sorry mods!). I was worried I'd be judged for what I spent money on, not having a college education, or what might be perceived as frivolous habits. I don't know. Internet strangers terrify me. But I'm finally sharing this money diary because I want this to be a data point: you can have a career (or two!) without a college degree.
Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I moved to the US right before entering elementary school. I spent half my childhood in a simple four room shack with no running water or electricity (mom's side of the family) and the other half in a large house with a nanny and domestic help (dad's side of the family). From a young age I was told that college was chance at a better life and I believed it -- not going to college wasn't an option. My mom completed a healthcare related degree in our home country but she couldn't practice in the US. My dad dropped out of college in our home country due to his work as a student protester. Both of them worked blue-collar jobs to support our family and were always working. As with just about every parent, they wanted more for me.
I was accepted to a top ranked private university but didn't get a sizable scholarship so my parents and I took out loans, separately, to fund my tuition. I dropped out halfway through my sophomore year due to poor mental health stemming from an assault. No one knows (except for my fiancé and now, internet strangers) the real reason why I left school.
Did you worry about money growing up?
Yes. My parents never talked about their money struggles with me, but I knew money was always tight. After my youngest brother was born, I remember how excited I was to find a jar of peanut butter in our cupboard. We hadn't had any for a while. It had a "WIC" sticker on it and I didn't know what it meant at the time. My parents never talked about receiving government support but I'm thankful that we had a safety net available to us when we needed it most.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I started paying my parents rent to stay in my childhood bedroom when I moved back home. I didn't pay for groceries or to use one of their cars, which was nice. I was about 21 when I was completely on my own. My parents and I had a falling out over me dating a much older man who I'd come to learn was very abusive. There were a few months where I slept on a friend's couch because I barely had money to feed myself. My early 20's were rough. But if I were to go completely broke now, my parents would be there to help me. They're doing much better financially.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
No. I've never received an inheritance or any other passive income.
Finally, a note on Erik: he also doesn't come from money or finish his college degree. He immigrated to the US less than a decade ago and does not receive or provide monetary support to his mom or dad.
1️⃣Section One: Assets and Debt
Combined net worth: $3.7M
Combined brokerage balance: $2.14M $317,587 (mine) + $1.82M (Erik)
Combined retirement balance: $195k $116,300 (mine) + $78,700Erik). We're behind on funding our 401ks. I finally convinced Erik to take advantage of his employer match program two years ago. He was concerned about the ease of withdrawing funds since we plan on living outside of the US when we retire.
Joint checking account balance: $111k We have a lot of cash on hand right now because we need to prepay income taxes, and will be furnishing our place.
Equity: $1.42M We put 40% down on a 2 bedroom/2.5 bath condo (<1,200 ft2) in a new construction last summer. Our down payment came from the sale of some of Erik's RSUs.
Mortgage: $1.61M For our financial situation, an interest-only mortgage made sense. We have a 2.35% APR 7/1 ARM since we don't intend to stay in NYC longterm. Our plan is to pay off the remaining mortgage in full after five years and either sell the condo or hold onto it as rental property.
Combined credit card debt: $0 We pay off our credit cards in full every month. We put between $6k - 20k on our cards every month in a typical year. He's also the authorized user on my credit cards; I added him to my accounts about six years ago to help him build his credit file since we knew we'd eventually buy a place together.
Combined student loan debt: $0 I finished paying my student loans two years ago. Erik received free tuition as an EU resident but had some cost-of-living loans which he's paid off.
2️⃣Section Two: Income My fiancé and I ended 2020 with a total cash compensation (base + bonus) of $493,750 but with last year's vested RSUs, our overall compensation is:
Mine Erik
Base $131,250 $268,750
Bonus ~$13,125 ~$80,625
Vested RSUs $121,500 $835,500
Total Compensation $265,875 $1.18M
Income Progression I don't recall my salary increases so I'm listing my starting base salary for each role. I'm also not including additional compensation such as bonus or RSUs.
Main Job Monthly Take Home
Deductions Mine Erik
Retirement 15% of paycheck to Roth 401k 7% of paycheck to 401k
M/D/V under Erik's employer; my employer also provides free M/D/V but we would have different providers covered by his employer + $~250 for mine
Life insurance and AD&D covered by my employer covered by his employer
Short & long term disability covered by my employer covered by his employer
Net monthly take home $7,000 $10,00
3️⃣Section Three: Expenses This is what our YNAB budget roughly looks like (for annual expenses, I set aside an amount per month towards the expense):
Housing
Transportation These would be significantly higher in normal times. We rarely leave our place and if we do, we walk.
Entertainment
Donations: $10,000 annual We donate to Children International on a monthly basis. The remaining amount is donated throughout the year to different causes. Last year, we supported AIDS research, mental health and addiction support, food banks, and international food programs.
Hobbies:
Fields
Savings & Finance
Food & Drink Pre-COVID, we'd budget $3,000 to a "Restaurant", increase "Cafes & Bars" to $1,500, and decrease "Delivery & Takeout" to $1,000.
Wedding: TBD Our original budget was $75,000 (international, <50 people). We've had to reschedule it twice now and have already spent $10k in lost deposits and rescheduling fees. We'll re-evaluate our budget later this year when we start planning again.
4️⃣Section 4: The Diary
Day 1: Monday | Total: $111.84
8:00am - First day back from holiday break for both Erik and me. He's still snoozing so I turn on the bedroom TV to see if our dog is still sleeping too. We adopted a senior dog, Fields, over the summer and quickly became one of those dog owners that installed cameras everywhere so we can watch him anytime, anywhere. Fields is still asleep so I check my work accounts and respond to anything urgent.
8:30am - Normally, this is when I'd take Fields for his morning walk while Erik makes our coffee. But our espresso machine is broken so we can't use it until the replacement parts arrive next week. Erik and I both start getting dressed to take Fields for a walk together. Before that happens, I take the dog outside to relieve himself and we quickly head back to the apartment for his breakfast.
9:30am - We walk to our favorite coffee spot in our neighborhood and get our usual: cortado with whole milk for Erik, cold brew with a splash of oat milk for me, and a breakfast BLT to share. We walk back to our apartment and get to work. $23.69
12:30pm - I take Fields with me to pick up our lunch at Sweetgreen: a kale caesar salad (hold the tomato and swap for the blackened chicken) for me, and a hot honey chicken plate for Erik. $27.71
4:30pm - Erik and I are dire need of coffee. We take the dog for another walk, this time to our other favorite coffee shop. The decor is very IG-friendly and their coffee is fantastic. I get their matcha latte with oat milk, Erik gets a cortado with whole milk, we split an avocado toast with smoked salmon, and Fields get a whole lot of snacks for being a good boy while he waits for our order to be ready. $29.95
4:45pm - We walk past a cute mochi ice cream shop that I've been meaning to try. I pick up eight mochi ice creams: ube, chocolate hazelnut, passion fruit, mango, and some seasonal flavors. $30.48
5:00pm - We get home just in time to feed the dog. His food is laughably expensive but we think it's worth it and most importantly, Fields is worth it! He's the best dog and we want to spoil him during his final years. Especially since the poor pup was returned to the shelter twice within a year. I can't imagine giving up this sweet old guy.
9:00pm - I log off work and head down to our building's gym to workout. I've been working with a trainer through the app, Future, and like it so far. Pre-pandemic, I was in really good shape as I was training for a half marathon and our now-postponed wedding. Since the lockdowns started, my healthy eating habits and will to workout has gone down a very messy spiral. I do a mile run on the treadmill followed by a set that includes split squats and deadlifts. Ouch.
10:15pm - I walk into the apartment to find Erik's made dinner from yesterday's leftovers: tacos! I quickly eat two tacos, then tidy up the kitchen while Erik takes Fields out for his last potty break before bed.
10:45pm - I rinse off in the shower and start my nighttime routine. Erik won't see me for another 45 minutes, at least. Tonight, I use a dermaroller on my arms and legs before rubbing in vitamin C lotion. While the lotion dries, I start on my face: facewash, essence, serum, niacinamide and azaleic acid, eye serum, and all topped off with a nighttime cream cream. This is a typical nighttime routine for me.
11:30pm - Finally in bed. We put on a Netflix comedy special while I finish my routine in bed: foot cream, hand cream, and cuticle oil. Erik is browsing on the iPad looking for pots and planters. We call it a night just after midnight.
Day 2: Tuesday | Total: $199.41
8:30am - We're both really tired. I want to lay in bed a little longer but Erik has a call at 10am and we need coffee. Since his pants are on first, I convince him to take the dog outside so I can get ready. He agrees. I put on sweats and prepare Fields' breakfast.
9:15am - We walk to a cute Australian coffee shop and order: a cortado with whole milk for Erik (it's the only thing he drinks), a cold brew with oat milk for me, and share one of my favorite breakfast sandwiches. It's got prosciutto on it and a perfectly runny egg! $23.58
12:45pm - I lost track of time and forgot to order lunch. I place an order at Chop't: avoketo chicken club salad sans tomatoes for me and a kebab cobb wrap for Erik. Once it's ready, I take Fields with me to pick it up. $25.67
1:15pm - While eating lunch, I order Ess-A-Bagels to be sent to two girlfriends across the country as very belated Christmas gifts. I meant to send them their gifts earlier but they've had family visiting them and I wanted to make sure they got to enjoy their gift. I know they both really love Ess-A-Bagels and wouldn't be too keen to share. $213.90 - $100.00 AMEX offers credit = $113.90
3:00pm - That salad was not enough. I pull a Daily Harvest mint + cacao smoothie from our freezer to make a smoothie with oat milk and split it with Erik.
4:30pm - Ok, we really need coffee. We head back to cute IG-friendly coffee shop we went to yesterday and order the same drinks but skip the sandwich. $12.74
4:45pm - On the way home, I tell Erik that I need to eat something more substantial. I was feeling hangry. We stop by our favorite mediterranean cafe. I order a kebab bowl and Erik gets the kebab sandwich. $23.52
5:15pm - We get home just in time for me to get ready for my last meeting of the day and feed Fields his dinner. Today, he gets lamb and red quinoa.
8:45pm - My trainer has a run scheduled for me today but I'm so tired; I don't think I slept well. I message my trainer to tell her I'm taking the day off but will make up the run tomorrow!
9:30pm - I catch up with some girlfriends on the west coast over text while watching an old Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode. I remember we have mochi ice cream and eat two of them. This is a great night.
10:30pm - I need to sleep earlier tonight since I need to get a run in tomorrow morning. I have a Morpheus8 appointment at 11am and I can't workout after that.
Day 3: Wednesday | Total: $290.44
8:00am - The alarm goes off and I yell at Siri to stop. I roll back over and snuggle Erik. The run isn't happening.
9:00am - I receive a call from the clinic where I get my Morpheus8 done. My esthetician has a family emergency and can't make the appointment. I'm secretly excited to reschedule for a later date since I have a face lipo, neck lipo and buccal fat removal procedure in exactly a week. I know, I know. Scheduling procedures so close to each other isn't the smartest idea, but I wanted to finish my Morpheus8 series before more invasive procedures. To get the kind of results I wanted, I needed three Morpheus8 sessions booked about a month apart. Today was supposed to be my last one.
9:20am - Walk Fields with Erik to get our usual coffee order and split a bagel with smoked salmon, alfalfa sprouts, picked red onions, chili and dill. $27.85
3:00pm - During our team meeting, my director asks me if I've seen the news. I grab my phone to look at the news and feel my anxiety spike as I learn that the Capital is actively being breached. I know my mental health is going to take another hit after this. Instead of working, I doom scroll the rest of the day. I also realize that salad isn't going to cut it for lunch. Not today. I need something more comforting and warm. We decide on Chinese food: ma po tofu and black pepper beef with a lot of fluffy white rice. $64.52
4:45pm - It's time for my sort-of monthly nail appointment. I go every three weeks to this amazing salon that specializes in nail art but they're also superb at taking care of your nails. I pick a sunny yellow color to offset the shit that happened this afternoon. They're pricey ($75 + $20 tip) but my nails and cuticle beds have never looked healthier. I also buy a ceramic cuticle pusher tool ($15). $114.40
7:15pm - I convince Erik to meet me at our neighborhood pizza spot to pick up dinner. We order: a pepperoni Sicilian slice, Hawaiian slice, ham and cheese calzone, and four slices of cheese, root beer and diet soda. $46.65
8:30pm - While scrolling through IG, I see a dermatologist use snail extract for her NuFace. I've been meaning to buy more NuFace gel and this seems like a good cost-effective replacement. I find the same bottle on Ulta and add an eyeshadow brush to get free shipping. I'm project panning my eyeshadow palettes so this will be a fun new tool to play with. $37.02
12:00am - Bedtime.
Day 4: Thursday | Total: $112.13
8:00am - Same routine as the days before: get dressed, take Fields out, give him breakfast, and head out for our family walk.
9:00am - Another day, a new cafe. We order our usual coffees, and split a breakfast sandwiche: herb omelette on a toasted baguette slathered with spicy aioli and topped with bacon. $27.22
9:15am - I realize that I dropped Erik's credit card somewhere between the cafe and our apartment (I didn't bring my wallet so I asked Erik for his card at the cafe). I call the cafe and ask if they'd seen it; they hadn't. And just as I'm about to call the bank to cancel the card, the cafe calls back -- someone found it on the sidewalk and turned it in! We thank them for following up and tell them we'll pick it up tomorrow.
1:00pm - I wake Fields up from his nap so we can walk to get our usual Sweetgreens order. $27.71
7:00pm - Erik and I take Fields on a walk to pick up Thai food for dinner. We order beef pad kee mao, shrimp tom kha soup, chicken pad thai, and mango with sticky rice. $51.75
9:00pm - While reconciling this week's expenses, I see that my Sephora credit card payment was returned and I was charged not only a late fee, but a finance charge! I signed up for the Sephora card over the holidays to take advantage of their cash back program and this was my first payment to them. I go on the website to investigate what happened and find that I missed entering a "0" to my linked bank account. I call their customer service rep to explain everything. I ask her if she could waive the late payment fee ($35) and the finance charge ($5.45) if I paid the balance in full. She said she's able to waive the late payment fee but not the finance charge. I thank her for her help and hope this doesn't affect my credit score too much. $5.45
12:00am - Zzzzzzz.
Day 5: Friday | Total: $245.56
8:00am - Same morning routine as yesterday.
9:00am - Same breakfast routine as yesterday but add additional tip since they held onto Erik's card. $28.67
12:00pm - Wake Fields up from his nap for a quick walk to Just Salad. I get a chicken caesar salad while Erik gets a chicken poblano salad. $23.70
7:10pm dinner - Friday's are our date nights. Before the pandemic, we'd get dressed up and go out for a nice meal and spend quality one-on-one time. These days, we usually order in fancy sushi and watch a movie. Between us, we order 19 pieces of sashimi and nigiri like uni (my favorite), zuke, wagyu, and tamago. $193.19
10:30pm - As soon as Erik gets back from taking Fields out, we pile onto the couch to watch Jurassic Park.
1:00am - Sleep.
Day 6: Saturday | Total: $375.24
9:00am - It's a late start to the morning. After feeding Fields, we walk to pick up breakfast. We get our usual coffee order, a bagel with smoked salmon and a chocolate croissant. $34.12
1:20pm - I saw someone post in a cooking subreddit about seasoning that a local restaurant uses on their wings. Of course I google the restaurant and get hungry from looking at their photos. I end up ordering lunch from them: wings (of course), coconut crab curry, shrimp chips and chili jam, thai iced tea, and khua kling. It was all delicious but holy cow everything was so spicy. Definitely will order from them again though! $93.40
3:45pm - I see a notification pop up for a charge on our card. I assume it's something for Erik's current house project (building our custom closets). I ask him about it and it's actually a router extender. $125.85
8:00pm - We've been missing Mission-style burritos lately and haven't found a good replacement in New York yet. But we did find a restaurant that makes delicious Mexican food. I get two spicy pork tacos and one al pastor taco, Erik gets a spicy pork burrito and a mandarin Jarritos, and we split a large chips and guacamole. $49.87
10:00pm - While browsing Reddit), I see someone post decants for sale of fragrances I've been meaning to try. Fragrances were a serious hobby of mine for a while, to the point that I hired a fragrance "fixer" on a Paris trip to take me around the local shops. I've since scaled back my collecting and have been focusing on learning to differentiate scents better. $72.00
11:00pm - Goodnight!
Day 7: Sunday | Total: $134.57
9:00am - Another late start to the morning. We do our morning routine with Fields and walk to get breakfast. This time, we head back to the cafe that found Erik's credit card. We get our coffees along with the herb omelette baguette with bacon. $27.56
12:00pm - There's some leftovers from yesterday's very spicy lunch so we eat that for lunch. I think the food might actually be spicier today.
6:00pm - I FaceTime with a girlfriend on the west coast who shares some amazing life news. Her and her husband are moving from the west coast! While I'm sad they're not moving to New York, I'm thrilled that they'll be closer to us and that she has an amazing new role. This is a huge win for her career and I'm really proud of her.
9:40pm - We realize we haven't had dinner. We both want something much less spicy so we order in Italian: caesar salad, pasta alla gricia, and a spicy vodka pasta. $107.07
11:00pm - We owe a response to our wedding planners about our wedding date. Do we move forward with a summer 2021 (originally summer 2020) wedding or do we postpone another year? I have strong feelings about trying to hold a destination wedding in the middle of a pandemic. I don't want to put our friends and family at risk since we won't know when vaccines will be widely available. But Erik is worried that his dad won't make it to 2022 since his dad already isn't in the greatest health. We agree on a new game plan: we hold off on our wedding celebration until 2022. In the meantime, we'll travel to his dad as soon as it's safe and get married with him in attendance. I email the wedding planners our decision to postpone (again) and go to bed.
5️⃣Section 5: This Week's Total & A Brief Reflection
Food & Drink $1,000.57
Fun & Entertainment $0.00
Home & Health $125.85
Clothes & Beauty $223.42
Transport $0.00
Other $119.35
GRAND TOTAL $1,469.19
This was a pretty normal spending week (during the pandemic) for us, minus all the coffee trips due to our broken espresso machine. I know we spend a lot on food and we're okay with our level of spend, for now. It gets us out of the house, gives us a reason to take Fields out for a walk and explore the neighborhood, and allows us to support our favorite spots. My goals for this year are to increase the amount we put into investments and learn more about tax-efficient strategies.
Apologies for any and all typos!
EDIT: typos and a few words
submitted by tyrannosauruscub to MoneyDiariesACTIVE [link] [comments]

Green Arrow #13 - Strive to Become

Edited by u/AdamantAce

Green Arrow

Arc: Rise and Rise Again

Issue 13 - Strive to Become

“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien
The third year on the island. Oliver Queen and Freddie Tuck had become masters of their individual tasks. Oliver was a hunter — using spears, traps and stealth he could capture any prey. His aim was impeccable. It had to be, after all. Sometimes they had to rely on the small critters of the forests and the beach, so he had to be precise and quick about killing. Freddie was a builder — he built the traps, repaired their homes, crafted weaponry and pieces of furniture for comfort. The man had lost quite a bit of weight at that point and had built some muscle to replace it.
It was their third anniversary of arriving on the island. And the two friends proposed a toast to new beginnings. They had just expanded quite a bit deeper into the jungles. Their homes were larger. They had paths and systems of coverings in place for ease of guidance to and from their abodes, whether it was to the beach or deeper into the trees. They had systems of pulleys and makeshift buckets for ease of access to sources of fresh water on the island. Additionally they had constructed a way of purifying any water they retrieved from the ocean as well as large containers to gather rainwater.
The night was cold but they sat in a warm aura of a fireplace between their homes, where they had cleared away some trees in the center. They had finished setting up their traps and had weapons at the ready for any wild animals that may smell the delicious cooking fish and rodent that rested over the flames. One of the greatest discoveries of this island was cacao. They had saved much of it as a delicacy and with various berries they created some delicious warm fruity drink to go along with it. Something they didn’t do much. But tonight was a night of celebration. An honoring of how far they’ve come.
Oliver rose his makeshift cup, smiling at Freddie across the fire pit.
“To life,” Freddie said.
“And to hope,” Oliver said. “It’s what has kept us going this far. And we’re still here.”
They both drank deeply of the pulpy, warm berry flavored drink. They each had a bowl of cacao fruit to snack on while they prepared their main meal. They would eat much in celebration with some left over for breakfast tomorrow. And they decided they would share their plans for when they got off the island. It wasn’t something they discussed much, but it was something they held onto tightly. Despite their contentedness on the island, that was only due to misfortune. They had no choice. But to survive with purpose is what kept them getting up in the cold early hours each morning to put in the enormous amounts of work it required to live.
“God damn,” Freddie said, looking at his cup. “We really perfected this I think.”
“Reducing the blackberries was a good choice,” Oliver admitted. “We have plenty more in the jug, my friend.”
“Of course. Tonight we feast, buddy. And I’m just going to go ahead and pretend there’s alcohol in this.”
Oliver laughed. “Alcohol… wow, remember that?”
“How could I ever forget? Maple whiskey on the rocks during a cold winter’s day… A nice, classic hoppy beer while my pals enjoyed their fancy drinks at some expensive bar.” He chuckled. “I want to go back to it. And I don’t at the same time.”
“I know how you feel.” Oliver drank and thought of his father’s legacy. His life among endless money and zero cares back in Star City. He squeezed the cup, recalling all the times he had taken advantage of others because of his influence. “You still thinking about traveling, then?”
Freddie nodded and stretched. “Oh, you know it.” He sniffed and poured himself more of the fruity beverage. “Even if I have to go it alone.” He paused for a while. “My girl wouldn’t join me. Hell, even I wouldn’t join me if I went back to the world and met who I was a few years ago. But that’s okay.” He spat to the side. “Fuck money, man. I don’t want it. Everything we’ve done here… everything you and I have been through. God, how many people have been through this right under my nose in the city?” He shook his head. “If we get out of this —”
“When,” Oliver reminded him.
Freddie looked up at him and smiled slowly. “That’s right. When. When we get out of this I’m using my money to help others. I’ll use what’s left over to travel and help whoever I can wherever I go. When I run out I’ll settle down. Countryside. Farm. Gotta tell you, I’ve gotten used to this whole manual labor thing.”
They both laughed and poured themselves more to drink. Some of the fish was ready so Oliver got up to pull some off the stick onto some large leaves they would eat off of.
“And you,” Freddie said. “You’re still thinking of taking over your father’s business.”
Oliver nodded. “But not for the reasons I wanted to before.” He handed Freddie some food and sat down with his own. “I want to take this wealth and keep it. But use it for others.” Oliver shook his head and took a bite of the hot food. “I’m scared I might fall back into old habits. But I need to try. Because this world requires money to live. So as long as I have the resources… I can do the most good.”
Freddie nodded. “Makes sense, Ollie. Makes sense.”
 
They heard a loud snap from within the deep jungle, beyond the shadows, hidden from the moonlight. Oliver straightened up and looked.
“Probably just a branch falling,” Freddie said.
But that was when the arrows started to fly.
⬨⬦ ➣ ⬦⬨

PRESENT DAY

⬨⬦ ➣ ⬦⬨
Oliver Queen had many things to take care of. Such was the burden of all heroes. But right now, there was the girl and he could take care of that. He hoped.
Hope was all he could carry in his heart these days. Hope that he would see his sister again. Hope that he would reunite with his mother. Hope that Queen Industries could do some real good and make some real change in Star City — and hopefully, from there, the rest of the world.
He tumbled and took a rest at a rooftop. But what good could he really do? He asked himself that sometimes. He unhooked his bow and looked down at it. There were real powerhouses in this world. Real metahumans who could save hundreds in a single swoop — who could destroy anyone with a single flick of their wrist. Oliver Queen was just some guy with a bow and arrow, who happened to also have way too much money at his disposal. That was his real power and he knew it, no matter how much he wished it weren’t so. It wasn’t his fighting prowess or his skill at marksmanship — it was his wealth.
He closed his eyes and breathed slowly. It was an unfortunate reality but he had to make the most of it. For this city. For Dinah. For Freddie. And… well, for himself and his family. The world was unfair and, to some, Oliver Queen was as powerful as Superman. To the impoverished of this city, people with the wealth of the Queen family could do whatever they wanted.
“That’s right,” Oliver said at that realization. “I can do whatever I want.” He hooked his bow to his back and continued on his way, running fast. “I can change things. I can change myself.” He was born with a power, just like these metahumans were. He could use it for selfishness — or he could use it for others. The choice was obvious. The only hard part was fulfilling the mission in his heart.
 
Dinah Lance, suited up as Black Canary, delivered a powerful kick to the mugger who promptly dropped the purse and fell to grovel and cry like a frightened child. She swiped the purse and tossed it to the woman who stood timidly behind her. She winked and gave a thumbs up as the woman laughed nervously and rushed off.
Dinah knelt down and secured the thief’s wrists with some rope and moved him to lean against the side of the building, calling up the police on her flip phone so they could take care of him.
As she waited, her thoughts were fixed on the rise of criminals with strange tech in the city. The man she and Ollie had fought earlier had seemingly come out of nowhere. Equipped like nothing she or Ollie with all his connections had ever seen before. And he wasn’t the only one. Police had been dealing with these kinds of people over and over again. High tech armor, weaponry and acting as if they’ve been dropped somewhere to cause some mayhem. All of them are inexperienced and only a challenge because of what they carried with them… which was most certainly given to them.
She crossed her arms and knew Ollie was about to stumble upon this secretive, elusive organization. It wouldn’t put an end to them and she feared for his safety. But perhaps they would get a little further in their hunt and investigation.
“Excuse me.” The voice came from behind and Dinah looked over her shoulder. She saw a figure, cloaked in black. A young woman’s voice came from within the hood. And where it didn’t cover her face, there was a dark mask to conceal her features.
“Hello,” Dinah said carefully, ready to counter anything this stranger planned to do to her.
“You’re Black Canary,” the young, disguised woman said. “Which means you know Green Arrow.” She spoke steadily. Sure of herself. “I have information for you. If you’d like to hear what I have to say.”
Dinah turned around and tilted her head, eyeing this person with suspicion and slight amusement. “I do love to learn,” she said. “Do you have a name?”
The stranger’s head rose a bit and she placed her hands into the deep pockets of her cloak. “You can call me Gadget. My Father worked for the criminal underground you and all the police are so desperately trying to apprehend.”
Dinah lowered her arms and paid much more attention to her. “What do you have for me, Gadget?”
She stepped forward and Dinah backed away an inch. “I have names. It’s the best I can give to you. But perhaps with your and Mr. Arrow’s connections you can do something more with them.” A cold wind gusted past them and Dinah nodded. “The man in charge calls himself Richard Dragon. Not his real name, of course.” She looked down. “He is a powerful, ruthless man. Don’t assume he wants anything more than power. He will kill anyone in his way. He will do whatever it takes to gain more power in this city.” She looked up and Dinah saw her eyes for a moment. A deep green. Full of sadness. “I only know two others. One who goes by Brick… I do not know his name. But the last I do know.” She took another step forward and said it with deep, deep distaste and hatred. “Emiko Queen.”
Dinah reeled back but did her best to catch herself. Queen? She had never heard of anyone named Emiko in Ollie’s life. There couldn’t have been a relation there… but she also didn’t know of many other Queens besides Oliver’s, admittedly mysterious, family.
The stranger tilted her head. “You seem to be struck even more silent by that final name.”
Dinah collected herself and smiled. “I’m just impressed you have a real name for me… that is if you’re telling me the truth.”
“I have no reason to lie to you, Black Canary. I want these criminals stopped. And I will help however I can. But… I can’t stay in one place for too long.” She seemed to glance to the side, down an alleyway for a moment before looking back to Dinah. From within her cloak she produced two small orbs. “I have to go now. I will find you again. Please relay this information to Green Arrow.” She dropped the devices and Dinah prepared to defend herself.
In the next blink, the entire area was filled with smoke as the orbs burst. Dinah flipped backward and raised her fists, preparing herself. Waiting.
When the smoke cleared, she was alone with the mugger she had intercepted moments before.
She lowered her arms and heard sirens approaching. After a few final looks around her, to make sure that girl was really gone, she rushed off and used her grappling hook to get out of the area and up onto a nearby building.
⬨⬦ ➣ ⬦⬨
Oliver followed the information he and Dinah were given by the police and rushed to where this young Arrowette had gone to. For ease of travel, he ran to a private garage in the city and leaped into one of his many… dare he call it… Arrowcars that he had hidden away in the city. It was fast, sleek and got him to the abandoned, dark police station where the tragedy of one Officer Marcy Money occurred not very long ago.
He got out of the vehicle, equipped his bow and eased his way up the path, through the woods and toward the warehouse up ahead where these criminals were once held out in… until it exploded and left no more clues to follow.
Hope was what Oliver held onto as he ran. He wasn’t far behind this girl so he knew he would find her. He shouted her name for good measure. Through the trees — as he ran across an open field — as he explored the empty, vast remnants of the warehouse. And he entered the next patch of trees, calling for the amateur hero, hoping to see her alive. Hoping to meet her. Hoping to learn more about her and put an end to her dangerous goals.
As he slowly entered the trees he could clearly see the aftermath of a battle. Arrows were lodged into tree trunks, snapped and restless on the forest floor. Some of them professionally made. Many of them were clearly made by hand but well crafted. He lifted one and nodded, impressed. Well, if anything he could probably give the kid one thing — she seemed to be pretty skilled for as far as that compliment could go.
Much to his horror he found blood on the ground among the grass and dirt. Rope that had been cut away, wrapped loosely around a tree. Was someone restrained here? He did his best to find some leads as to where this fight could have gone to…
…and he quickly received an answer.
An explosion echoed across the sky, shaking his bones. He whirled around and through the gaps in the trees he saw something bright rise up in the distance. Far but powerful enough to be heard and felt from this distance. He rushed through the trees and at the treeline he could see beyond the hills and the next neighborhood over, a large fire on the horizon, spreading and growing high into the sky.
What on Earth…?
Hope, he reminded himself. It was all he had. Even among that mysterious destruction, whatever caused it, and whoever might have been within its vicinity… he had to hold onto hope. It was all that separated a life of potential from a life of desperation on an island made of pain and loss.

Catch Green Arrow in the next issue of Arrowette!

~ Releasing January 20th ~
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NEW Meal Plan (26/09) > ~2500 calories/day > ~150 protein > 120 mins total prep (5 days)

Good morning fitmeals,
A meal prep for you to try this week.
Consisting of - Goji & blueberry overnight oats, chicken and rice (tasty), chilli lime salmon & coconut rice and cacao energy balls.
This week has a slightly higher fat content but calories remain equated. No real reason for this other than to include some variety in my food choices. Weight, performance etc are maintained.
Macronutrients
RESOURCES
FAQ's (based on previous weeks)
  1. Do I eat the same thing every day for the week? - Yes, although you can substitute fruits and vegetables as you wish. Whilst eating the same thing every day isn't the perfect approach, I am happy to make a small sacrifice for convenience.
  2. Am I supposed to prepare the same thing every day? - No, this approach encourages you to cook 5 portions in one session, saving on time and washing up.
  3. How does the shopping list work? - The shopping list provides all of the ingredients for 5 days worth of food at the macronutrients mentioned. You can adjust the volumes +/- dependant on your own requirements.
Had some good feedback on this one, I'm sure you'll enjoy.
Toby
P.S. If you wanted to check out the previous weeks, here are a few links: Week 01 - Week 02 - Week 03 - Week 04 - Week 05 - Week 06 - Week 07
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Hexennacht Reviews (Ajevie Round Six: 19 Scents)

This is the last batch of samples I had waiting to review from Hexennacht. I'm super excited to place a full-size order to upgrade a bunch of what I've fallen in love with in my Ajevie sampling when Caroline returns from hiatus!
Ambre Blanc – White amber
Whoa, okay! I figured I wouldn’t care for this because of my very neutral reaction to Loup-Garou, but I like it quite a bit on first impression. It’s as if a thick sticky resin has been distilled down to something ethereal, nearly all the complexity somehow retained. It’s still got a very soft and delicate overall feel like LG did, but this also has a presence to it that I didn’t expect. It’s quietly assertive. There’s a hidden weight to it, like a fist wrapped in velvet. Very interesting indeed. Is this one of those elusive my-skin-but-better scents that will work for me? My general problem with those types of scents is that I want to smell like something if I’m spending money on a perfume! It has my attention though. Unfortunately, that potential revelation doesn’t last long. I can’t smell much of anything after 10-15 minutes on me. A few more minutes pass and it smells identical to how LG smelled on me. It’s basically just my skin… like I put my skin scent on top of my skin scent in some sort of awkward perfume inception experiment. It’s so weird. There’s a little strangely fresh/ green/ aquatic (?!) thing hovering on the edge (that I don’t really like). It’s reminding me of my least favorite aspect of Moonstone. That one is an anomaly because I ended up full sizing it, yet I don’t think I would buy it again. Idk. This is a clear pass. I guess silvery wispy ambers aren’t for me!
Ambre d'Or – Thick, resinous, rich golden amber
So, I like this a lot on first sniff. It’s gorgeous, drippy, resiny amber. This is hands-down my favorite kind so I’m like SCORE… but my immediate follow-up thought is that I already have Baltic Amber… and that one takes this exact base feel and twists it into something magnificent. I would repurchase that over this in a head-to-head comparison with no question. I would highly recommend this one to anyone who wants less of a “sexy tree nymph story” (BA) and more straight amber resin though. It’s got the beautiful sweetness that this type of amber brings without going gourmand. That aspect makes it a particularly great layering note because it can bridge to just about any kind of perfume, from foodie to woodsy. The dry down leans a little more into the sweetness because it doesn’t have any other notes to guide it somewhere else. That’s neither bad nor good inherently, but it is my experience. And again, it’s not sweet like food; it’s that unique amber sweetness you must smell on your skin to see how it plays. With that in mind, this would probably be slightly better than BA for sugary layering since it’s missing the other outdoorsy notes. I can’t complain about this soli-note at all. I simply prefer the scent journey and mastery that is BA. This is great too, but I personally don’t need both.
Blue Moon – Blue musk, grapefruit, neroli, night air accord, lime peel
First whiff, this is all about that citrus. It’s grapefruit-forward but backed by the lime and neroli (reading deep and viscous orange). So, it’s nuanced and that’s interesting. It’s a cascade of sour citrus fruit. Sorta reminds me of Guten Morgen, but a bit darke heavier. I liked GM but found it somewhat boring, so I’m interested to see where this one goes… until the musk and night air come through on my skin. Oof. This is kind of like ultra-fancy Clorox wipes on me now. Totally not what I want to smell like… it’s the best version of a cleaning product I’ve smelled, I guess? Like seriously, I would be happy to have this be the default “citrus” smell of all my cleaners. I don’t know what else to say. This is 100% not for me. That blue musk is spectacularly not jiving with my nose the longer it sits. It’s almost a little skunky… with cleaners applied to hide it. It’s vaguely reminding me of when people try to douse Febreze on their clothes to cover B.O. Yikes. That association in my brain kills it completely. The extreme dry down trends back towards grapefruit. It’s less offensive, but I can’t deal with the other phases. Still a big nope, nope, nope from me.
Café Noir – Black coffee accord, coffee bean CO2, Coffea arabica L essential oil
Mmmmmm. Oh, yes. This is coffee factorial. It reminds me of Freddy Loves Nancy without the bitterness. If you want pure coffee, this is it. This is the one. It’s So. Damn. Good! I can smell it wafting off my arm too. I don’t even have to get in close to get a full sense of the fragrance. Awesome. I’m just left trying to decide if I want to smell like straight coffee. I love the smell in theory. I also love drinking black coffee, so there’s that. On a related note, I have a weakness for Basic Bitch despite it being a faithful representation of specialty coffee I don’t even drink. I wear that all the time in the fall. This one though… it doesn’t have the seasonal niche, so when would I wear it? That’s the million-dollar question. I think this would be perfect for a kitchen oil diffuser. I like the idea of always having the smell of freshly brewed coffee whether I’ve made it or not. I’m beyond impressed with the perfection of the note here; I’m just unconvinced that I would reach for it if it were in my collection. So, 100% yes on the execution and up for serious consideration on upgrade for me personally. Bona fide coffee perfume lovers, however, you NEED this. Don’t think about it; just do it!
Chocolat Blanc – Cocoa butter, sugar, milk solids
Yoooo, I am blown away and immediately drooling as soon as I crack the seal on this. WOW. It’s so rich and sweet and creamy, but not in a scary milk note way. It’s smooth personified. And to my utter delight, it stays true on my skin. I never put much thought into how white chocolate smells tbh. I like my chocolate dark typically. I mean I’ve HAD white chocolate but sniffing this is like experiencing eating it for the first time. You know how when you eat something scrumptious, it’s an inextricable sensory combination between taste and smell and texture? That’s what’s happening here. It’s all up in my face engaging my senses, and I am so very okay with it! It reminds me of opening the wrapper on one of those Hershey’s cookies and cream bars and then letting it melt on my tongue so just the little cookie balls are left (and now I want one of those very badly too). My gut reaction is that I want this immediately. I don’t know if I need it based on what I currently own foodie-wise, but I have an intense desire. The dry down becomes more simplistic, but it retains its smooth sugary greatness all the way through. This is GOOD, you guys! I might even wear it alone. Like hot damn. I’m a sucker for alternates to vanilla for base sweetness and this scratches that itch precisely. Body oil or perfume, I’m down. Love!
Fleurs Blanches – Tuberose, iris, tiaré, paperwhite narcissus, night-blooming jasmine
Self-proclaimed floral hater here, sampling a pure white floral. Hold on to your hats (do people still say that?). It’s a little overbearing for me at first. There’re too many things assaulting my nose and vying for attention. I’m prepared to hate it. On my skin though, the jasmine becomes dominant with the rest playing supporting roles… and it’s kinda okay! It’s like the bold, extroverted cousin to Moonstone, which was one that weirdly grew on me despite it not being anywhere near my wheelhouse (because of the jasmine). This is much more traditional than I usually go for, but I can’t help acknowledging it anyway. It’s got an appreciable straightforwardness, yet it’s also a little unexpected in the execution. I enjoy the full wear too. The dry down gives me a fresh-cut flower smell that is so authentic and doesn’t once make me feel like sneezing. Then it goes just slightly sweet on my skin against the now barely-there florals, fading out gracefully. This is what floral perfume should do! I don’t think I’ve ever smelled one that made me question my stance on them before, so there’s that. I also don’t think I’ll upgrade it though (don’t quote me on this). I do think anyone who marginally likes florals should check it out though. It’s a pretty darn good one.
Fumer – Bonfire, embers, woodsmoke
Campfire in a bottle. That’s what I was promised and that is what’s been delivered in spades. It’s beautiful. Warm and woody, with just enough clean, billowy smoke to round it all out. I love how it tricks my brain into “feeling” heat. The blend is very much like All Soul’s Night but without the marshmallow goo woven through it. I was blown away by the realism in that blend and this is the same feeling but condensed and purified. I dig it, but would I ever wear it alone? Probably not… then again, the layering options are practically infinite. It’s already proven to work with sweet/ foodie blends (a la ASN) and I can imagine it also being great for more classic/ outdoorsy/ floral stuff. I can’t think of anything in my collection that would be a definite no for trying. I don’t typically buy scents if I ONLY think I’ll layer them, but this is a likely exception. It’s absolute perfection for what it is. The dry down is to-die-for too. I still feel heat emanating from it, but the smoke subsides ever-so-slightly to allow more wood to poke through. I’m huffing my inner elbow like a crazy person. Highly recommend for those searching for straight bonfire. It’s so good, I’m committed to buying it for layering purposes only. Winner.
Laundromat – Laundry soap, fabric softener, ozone, and coin-op washing machines
Yup, this smells like laundry detergent. Okay, check. But… then there’s more as it blossoms on my skin. There is a strange movie-like, dreamy quality to it, as if I’m stepping through a cut scene. Now I’m smelling the abundance of clean, hard water and the thinly metallic scent of washing machines and quarters… that’s just as the description says, so I shouldn’t be surprised. Still am. It’s not something I would imagine captured this way. It’s not even something I would have thought to attempt to capture at all, if I’m being honest. The “fabric softener” aspect is coming through now but as airy dryer sheets, sort of floating through the atmosphere. If you’ve been in a laundromat, you’re going to recognize this. It’s so accurate! Unreal. Huh. I don’t really know what I think. I’m impressed. I like it more than I thought I would because it’s such a snapshot of real life. I still don’t want to smell like this on my body, so it’s a pass for upgrading. But wow. Total artistry.
Myrrhe – Spicy (almost cola-clove-y), resinous, warm, premium myrrh accord
Inhaling this note on its own makes me appreciate why I’m drawn to blends with a myrrh component. I already knew I liked it, but experiencing it singled out helps me define why. It’s warm and herby in the exact right ways. It doesn’t radiate heat like fire/ ember notes can. It’s like a cozy skin warmth. It is resiny, but not in the way I usually think of it… not like a golden amber where it’s all oozy and thick. Here it’s a coy spicy and ever-so-slightly reserved resin, maybe a little on the drier side. A bit of crackle to it. I do see how it’s described as “cola-clove-y” too. It’s not the bold clove I also love, but it has a bit of that dark spice feel that clove has, a little bit of bite, while still maintaining its own identity. Sort of elusive, just like describing the smell of cola. I’m a little surprised that this isn’t stronger on me though. The bottle smell is intense, but on my skin it instantly melds. It’s relatively short-lasting too. I can still smell it after a few hours, but it’s very faint. It strikes me as an element of a whole, not one I want to wear alone. That’s totally fine with me. I love it, but I wholeheartedly want it IN more blends. So, the debate then is whether I want to own it so I can add this element to my other perfumes. I’m neutral/ negative on that. Could happen, but not a priority. Sign me up for more Caroline blends with myrrh though!
Nanaimo Bar – Graham cracker crumbs, cocoa powder, flaked coconut, butter, heavy cream, custard powder, sugar, cacao absolute, chopped walnuts
Ohhhh yum!!! My first impression of this is a chocolate-y, graham cracker-y s’more… but with custard instead of marshmallow? How would one do such a thing?! That’s a messy mental picture... Anyway, it is so freaking buttery when it gets on my skin I’m amazed. It’s floating around me in heavenly waves. I don’t even need to get near the spot where I tested it. The flaked coconut aspect here is intriguing because it doesn’t have the fake beachy overload that turns me off from typical coconut in scents. It smells like the real flakes, sweetened and just barely coconut-y, more like how the flesh of a coconut smells when you cut into it. Idk why this note is so hard for me to enjoy, but this version is one of the closest to perfection goes for my nose. Go figure. Dried and sweetened and shredded lol… I’m picking up a tiny tinge of bitterness in the blend that I assume is the walnut and it totally works to cut the sugar bomb sweetness and buttery richness a little. This makes me want to find a recipe for these! I’ve never had one and had never even heard of them before. We need to remedy that situation. I love this throughout the wear, and it lasts FOREVER. I can smell it hours later at about the same strength. There are traces left the next morning too. Impressive. This is going on my yes list of foodies (that’s a long list). It is too damn delicious!
Overlook Hotel – White spruce, sugared vanilla, buttermint candies
There’s a moment in the bottle that I think I might be able to hang with this one. The sugared vanilla comes through all crisp and bright with sweetness. I’m hopeful. When it first hits my skin, I breathe that in, and I quite like it. The refreshing mint combined with that is delightful. Then on comes the spruce. Now I’m a minty Christmas tree. It’s not offensive or astringent, so there’s that. It’s just very “winter holiday party with a giant bushy tree in the center of the room” now. I think the mint keeps it fresh and doesn’t quite let it go floor cleaner, so that’s a good pairing. I totally expected not to like this, and I don’t. The foodie parts are great though! The dry down eases more and more into sweet peppermint. It’s nice. I gave this a shot in the name of catalog completeness so I can check it off the list. I can say that spruce is infinitely better than pine for Christmas tree vibes. I just don’t want to smell like this type of tree. Ever. Very easy pass. If you like smelling like a Christmas tree, go all in. You won’t be disappointed. If you are like me and you enjoy the minty vanilla aspect specifically, go with Mallowmint, all day.
Pamplemousse – White grapefruit, bitter grapefruit rind, ruby red grapefruit
Huh. I don’t think I like this (and I expected to). I wanted fresh and clean and delicious. It’s astringent and bitter without any juiciness or freshness. Weird. It’s the same on my skin too. Sort of dried out grapefruit rind? I get that that’s in the notes, but I really expected some gorgeously drippy grapefruit to go along with it. I don’t understand this one at all. I’m at a loss for words. I don’t want to smell like this. I don’t really want anything to smell like this. After it settles for maybe 30 minutes, the bitterness recedes to a (still strong) counterpoint, and I get a slightly soft sweetness trying to nudge its way in. Still grapefruit all the way, but this is at least pleasant now. Even so, I’m left confused and I know this simply isn’t for me. I miss a juicy component. I miss a sugar aspect to balance it out. I’m not digging the dominance of the bitter. Easy pass.
Poivre Vanille – Vanilla, pink peppercorn, black pepper, amber, cedar, conifers, clove
Whoa, this one engages my senses as soon as it hits me. There’s a lot going on in the bottle and I’m having to concentrate to pick out individual pieces. When I put it on, I get sweetness at the get-go, but it’s quickly joined by a pepper-y and woodsy foil. There’s nothing dusty about it! I’m thrilled with that. Pink peppercorn as a note is exciting me with possibility now. I can feel the amber grounding this and giving it resiny depth, but it’s subdued. There’s just a breath of clove rounding out the pepper spices. I was a little worried about the “conifers”, but I don’t really detect anything tree-y in this. It’s spicy-sweet woods with softened resin. It’s… rather nice. I can’t compare it to anything else. Maybe a complex version of Vanilla Clove? It’s far superior to my nose. As I go back to sniff it as it dries down, I sometimes get a hit of vanilla and sometimes a hit of spices and wood. Towards the middle/ end, it’s vanilla and amber with some spices hanging about. Very, very interesting. I like it. It has neat transitions and then the final dry down is almost straight vanilla. It has tremendous staying power too. This is a body oil candidate for sure. I love blends that have a lot of aspects to build from in different directions. This is perfect for that. The longevity is just a bonus. Love.
Purple Rain – Violet, grape, rain
Yikes. Giant smack of powdery floral violets and what I guess is rain in the bottle. It smells like liquid fabric softener maybe. It’s not airy like I would associate with dryer sheets. It’s much heavier and sort of cloying. I almost feel it physically pawing at me. It’s way too aggressive and I’m nervous. I get the same impression on skin. The rain aspect is even stronger now, giving me the dreaded Febreze vibe. It’s like I’m in a cliché commercial desperately frolicking through a field of purple flowers to demonstrate how clean and fresh I smell, then cut to an old school clothesline filled with nothing but whites. Oof. I don’t think this is going to work out. I’m desperately searching for some grape, which is why I wanted to try this one. I struggle hard and I get nothing. There’s some extra powdery stuff coming from the violet the longer it sits… and I like it even less. Yeah… no. This one is a total catastrophe on me. Extra mega pass.
Santal – Sandalwood incense, golden sandalwood, Mysore wood accord, vanilla sandalwood
Yesss, all the sandalwood! I’m even more excited for this after my first whiff. The bottle is straight-up rich woody goodness. It’s the same on my skin, but now I get a tinge of sweetness. I had to recheck the notes and ah yes, there’s vanilla here too. So, this reads as a wood-heavy vanilla sandalwood blend on me, exactly what it claims to be in the notes. I like it a lot. The vanilla is a nice, subtle counterpart. It really sets off and showcases the exquisite sandalwoods. Overall, it’s not as strong as I would have expected, more nestling into my skin and chilling in a present, yet shimmery way. I get the incense impression after a few minutes… this is magnificent. Now it’s reminding me of huffing a new bag of sandalwood incense. You know when you get some of the incense powder on your fingers? How that smells? That’s this. Yum. It’s gorgeously straightforward. I can get behind this. I’m not really craving more complexity, which surprises me. It has just enough. I could be totally happy wearing this all by its lonesome. It could be layered sure, and if I owned it, I imagine that would happen at some point. It just doesn’t need it. I feel like a self-assured, elegant hippie right now and I’m all about the vibe. I was nervous about the lack of strength once it settled on my skin, but it lasts a super long time, so I’ve forgiven it! Count this as a winner. A very cool, complete winner. Want!
Spectre – Vanilla, vanilla, and more vanilla. NO bakery/caramel notes
This is very, very sweet and true vanilla in the bottle and on my skin. No change or morphing whatsoever. I must agree with prior reviews in that it smells a lot like Vanilla Bean Noel from B&BW. It’s not the same, but it has a recognizable similarity. If anything, it’s a filtered version of it (which I’ll classify as a good thing because it reads as a chicer and more refined vanilla perfume). Still reminds me of baking though. Haha… vanilla is a central component of baking sweet treats, so I don’t understand the desire to separate them! I get that the smell of something after it’s baked is not the same as vanilla, so maybe that’s the distinction…? Anyway! There’s nothing wrong with this. I like it better than I liked FLICK. It reminds me of Tihota as I sit with it, like vanilla extract has had the alcohol component stripped out. I want more complexity from it personally. I could see it being a great base in a perfume, but I don’t really see myself wearing it alone. It’s somewhat boring, despite its impressive authenticity. It smells great, but it’s not grabbing me in any way. I do like it more as it fades. It softens and melts deep into my skin; I smell like I just magically sweat vanilla. It’s coming across as a vanilla skin musk scent now. Great longevity too. Very cool ending. Vanilla fiends come on down. Otherwise this is a soft no for me. I wouldn’t pass up a good deal on it in a trade/ swap, but otherwise probably not going to seek it out.
Sucre – Sugar
This smells so weird in the bottle, sort of a thin chemical smell. I have no idea. It’s not sweet. I’m a little nervous. It has a little of that remaining when I get it on skin but is improved. I get a slight sweetness now. I guess it smells like sugar… like the white granulated sugar I bake with, but not a fresh bag. The problem is that smell quickly becomes faint in real life. So, it follows that a recreation of it would be too. I’m not into this one at the start at all. After it settles for several minutes, the chemical impression is gone (phew). It’s really, really, really faint sweet. I can’t decide if my skin is eating it or if it’s just that weak. I was not prepared for this! After about 30 minutes, it smells like sugar recognizably. It’s a searing white sugar, faithfully represented. It’s now middle ground on strength. After a couple hours, this is suddenly revitalized and gorgeous. I have no words for the difference between this scent and the beginning stages. Now it smells like real sugar crystals sparkling in the sun like jewels, almost liquid in its smooth profile against my skin. It’s clear and present. This was a peculiar journey. I don’t know if I can put the start aside to stick around and enjoy the finish. But wow, this ending is superb. I’m bewildered.
Thé Noir – Black tea
Yeah, it’s black tea. This is a steadfast representation of the smell of plain black tea leaves, both in the bottle and on skin. It has a nice calm herbal feel, so it occurs to me that it could be classified as a sleep scent. It’s an interesting experiment to sniff this without any cream or sugar, since that’s the common theme for tea perfume. I feel like I’m in an olfactory alchemist’s shop smelling a component they work with. My impression is very much that this isn’t a finished product though. It’s not bad; it’s also not doing anything for me. I need it as an aspect within something else, for sure. Now I know. I’m not even sure I would have much use for this as a layering note, if I’m being honest. I’m worried I would need a lot of it to make its presence known, so I’d rather just buy a tea blend that a professional has concocted. Easy pass. If you specifically want to smell like black tea and nothing else, this is it. Your search is over.
Whitechapel 1888 – Christmas rice pudding with a drizzle of maple syrup
Oh wow! That maple syrup though!!! In the bottle and initially on my skin, that’s the star. Old-fashioned, real maple. Delicious. I get an obvious rice note supporting it, so they’re probably about 60/40 maple/ rice at the start. It absolutely smells like rice pudding. Neat. I don’t feel like it’s screaming holiday or winte fall at me though, so it could be worn year-round easily. The rice creeps forward more as it wears on me. I lose the maple glory I was digging to start with, but it’s still nice. I feel like there’s a light cinnamon dusting, though that isn’t a note listed so I could be wrong. I’m less enthusiastic about the blend as it dries down. There’s more and more rice with less maple. It’s still good, but I liked the opening much better. That’s a bit of a flip for me with Hex. I’m almost always a fan of the dry downs! I will give it extra credit for staying power. I could smell it at the same strength for hours. Sweet rice pudding. Ultimately this isn’t something I’m going to upgrade. Still a solid foodie, but there are more in the catalog that I like more. Rice note fans should check it out though!
Favorites: Chocolat Blanc, Fumer, Nanaimo Bar, Poivre Vanille, Santal
Honorable mentions: Ambre d’Or, Café Noir, Fleurs Blanches, Myrrhe, Spectre, Whitechapel 1888
submitted by dragonverses to Indiemakeupandmore [link] [comments]

ep05

“How the hell did you do that?”
​
Koola ran to Burinake and said to Faust with a glance of respect.
Koola didn't intend. Koola's body on Faust's arm
As he talked closely, Faust's mind was focused only on that place.
Jaguar's arm has long since disappeared. Because of her close contact
The fragrant smell tickled my nose.
​
“Hmm, hmm, do you speak from a distance?”
"What is it? Don't just know, let me know! Let's do some partial mutations too! Wow, I heard that I can use the power of Jaguar at will. I think it's worth trying even with the best warriors?”
​
When the mana flowing in the body feels like it is gathering in a wrong place.
It was Tata who saved him.
​
“Ko-la, you go out to help people get back on track. They take care of those who are injured.”
"Ah! Why are you leaving me alone again? What are you two doing, so why don't you keep looking at me?”
​
Tata said, sending the fat koola back.
“What were you originally doing?”
​
Faust, with a slightly regrettable expression, said, looking at Tata.
“I was originally an untouchable person in a country called Burg. However, he died from the betrayal of his disciples who invaded during a duel with the demons.”
“Are you trying to revenge?”
“Of course, but I did the revenge of a man named Quitla who gave me his body.”
​
Tata sighed, looking at the determined Faust.
​
“You will have to go back very far. Just killing the Iberians will not relieve Quitla's resentment.”
'Are you very altruistic? I gave my body, but in the end, it’s someone else.’
​
He didn't know Tata, nor did Faust himself. It was natural to not know.
Who might have different minds and bodies?
Other than dominating with mental magic.
The mind and body that naturally fit into the body of Quitla
The remaining feelings of the dead are also mistaken for Faust's will.
The grudge of the dead warrior on this continent eventually became Faust's.
Tata decided to see Faust with a determined expression. In the middle of the jungle
To take him to him.
​
“If your will is right, then there is someone to help you.”
“Help is always welcome.”
“Go into the jungle with me. You may be the one He was waiting for.”
​
That just had to be reorganized for a small war
They promise to go into the jungle the next day
I decided to tour the village.
Huakhan was different from the continent where Faust lived.
Like Faust's most amazed architecture,
The Huakan people were born farmers.
Most of the houses had large gardens, with tropical flowers and cacao trees open.
Faust, who first tasted cacao fruit, was surprised by the bitter taste.
​
"Huh! What is it?"
​
Koola laughed out loud at his ridiculous look.
​
“Why so refreshingly. It's cacao.”
​
Faust with a frowned eye as he looked at the koola squirting cacao casually
I saw her, but I was surprised at the moment. Eating cacao
This is because it felt as if mana was being rapidly charged to the body.
​
'What is this?'
​
The effect was amazing. A feeling of overflowing mana flowing through the body and a feeling of increasing stamina.
​
“Cacao is a fruit. When we get hurt, we chew cacao and it's good for recovery. And here, cacao fruit acts as a currency, making it the most important economic tool and food in Huakan.”
​
You can feel the heel and mana potion at the same time, and even play the role of money. It was a series of surprises.
​
'If you take kakao to burg, you can become a rich man. Even one potion has a huge price”
​
There is a huge difference between going through the jungle and going to the center of the jungle.
They are the Huakan people who make their way through the jungle, but no one is at the center of the jungle.
did not go. Tata began to bring corn and potatoes in the luggage compartment, giving information about the jungle.
​
“Going to the center of the jungle is very dangerous. There are a lot of beasts and a lot of beings that you shouldn't meet.”
​
Faust was more interested in the corn and potatoes that Tata now has than what Tata said.
Tata, noticed, threw steamed corn and potatoes at Faust.
​
“Try it. These are the foods we enjoy.”
​
I thought the long field spreading around the castle was this long yellow food.
Exciting Tata gave something else to Faust, who was eating deliciously.
​
"It looks a little right in your mouth, so try this too."
"What is this?"
“Popcorn is fried in sun-dried corn. It’s good to have a meal at Huakan with nothing to eat.”
Nothing to eat, in a village covered with potato and corn?
There was a question, but the popcorn in front of me was so delicious. The crunchy food
It was several times more crunchy than Burg's cookies, and there was a flavor that wasn't felt in my mouth.
​
“You can give this to Iscaliot.”
“It seems that the bird has always been carried around from the last time. What kind of bird is it? I don’t think it’s a bird here.”
“I am a disciple. Died together. It seems that we have not recovered our energy yet, so we are feeding.”
The little red bird, the popcorn in Faust's hand
I was barely filthy. Even Faust knows when to recover
I couldn't guess.
​
Around that time, Cortes' troops ran into obstacles they had never thought of.
It was not the resistance of the two continental races. It was because of Diago, the governor of Cuba. In the first place
The problem was that he tricked Diago and Cortes borrowed a magic squad,
The army of desire, blinded by gold, has already forgotten their master
It was a long time.
​
"Huh, heck, I didn't know he'd be tracking us from Cuba to here."
“The governor has seen a lot of scammers like you since before. There are many ways to pursue even a single shadow of yours, so it's better to throw away your thoughts of running away. I should have dried up the governor when reaping the bum who wandered in Iberia! I will take your neck for sin here.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Although I am a scammer, I made an unreasonable move as a loyalty for the governor. I was never trying to run away.”
​
It was unreasonable to look at it with an apologetic attitude, but Cortes and his troops were struggling.
“How long must I run away? Leader?"
“If you go a little more, you will know.”
​
Cortes himself was the first to be surprised to hear that Diago's chase was coming.
Besides, there have been reports of over a thousand troops in the pursuit.
Cortes' men were terrified and wanted to run away, and begged him earnestly.
Cortes was already a golden slave.
He couldn't hand over his treasure to a finely bred noble like Diago.
​
'In the end, you will serve the same master as me.'
​
Fernando, the captain of the chase, felt a strange feeling.
The Cortes troops are running away while keeping a certain distance from themselves.
​
“It sounds like you're writing an incentive book, so be prepared!”
​
Hearing him from a distance, Cortes smiled.
Obviously, Fernando was a talented knight. However, this situation is unlikely to be expected.
Cortes gave a signal to his unit.
​
“All scattered everywhere!”
​
Soldiers being chased now have a clear idea of ​​what they are doing.
Cortes and his commander Alvarado exchanged eyes and hid themselves.
On the other hand, the chase team lost their temper at the sight in front of them.
“It's golden! Gold!"
​
The dazzlingly piled golden trinkets have nothing to do with the chase
I got off the horse and put the treasures in my pocket. Commander Fernando was confused.
​
“You children! It's never too late to wake up and take care of your targets!”
​
No way. Even if you kill Cortes and his men,
This gold will be Governor Diago's. Fernando has to take some rice cakes
It would be fortunate when the degree is over.
Suddenly run away from the gold war
Cortes stood alone before them.
​
“The soldiers listen! I will become a slave of gold and go to get bigger treasures now. Do you think Fernando, who is with your captain Diago, will give you gold? No!”
“You guys! Where do you make fun of your tongue! Get the author quickly!”
​
Fernando ordered with open face, but the soldiers pursued gold with their eyes
I listened to Cortes.
​
“I will now have more gold in my hand than gold in front of my eyes and share it with you! Won't you go on an expedition with me? Soldiers of Diago!”
​
When Cortes' cry was over,
Cortes' soldiers returned and cheered and flirted.
​
"Wow! Wow! Long live Cortes!”
​
The trend was slanted. Soldiers who hold gold in their hands will never go back to Diago
Fernando drew his sword and shouted to the soldiers.
“Do you all want to be slaughtered? Go get those guys! Are you thinking of damaging the knight's honor!”
“Honor is for noble knights, as you say.”
​
Behind her back came a word against Fernando's cries.
Fernando turned to a sudden appearance.
​
'At what time! I didn't feel it. Is it hiding?’
​
"pose!"
​
It was then. The magic of Cortes that freezes Fernando's body looking back.
I can resist this light magic against the usual intermediate expert level Fernando,
A beast that is stunned can stop breathing even with a light arrow.
​
“Wealth is the best for people like us. After that, it is not too late to buy honor for money.”
​
When Alvarado had finished speaking, Fernando's neck was held in his hand.
And Fernando's blood spilled over their weapon and greed gold.
As such, the Cortes army, which had only three hundred people, became an army of over a thousand predators.
​
The jungle was an unfamiliar place to Faust, who lived in the plains.
It was the most humid and shaded place in the wet terrain of Huakhan
It was much tacky than in Burg in arid climate.
Air circle magic that operates the flow of air to remove unpleasant feelings
Until I cast it.
“It looks like a mysterious wind is blowing around your body.”
​
It was just a mysterious scene for Koola who didn't know that it was magic.
​
"Yeah? How does it feel cool?”
​
Faust was annoying to explain. If it ends in a way that you don't even know
The judgment that I'd be curious was nicely wrong.
​
"Ah! What..... what are you doing?”
“Hey, stay still. Cool."
​
It's sticking. Faust's body like a cicada on an old tree
Hanging Koola enjoyed the flow of Faust's mana. no matter how
I got used to it, but I hate the heat. The embarrassing thing
Rather, it was Faust.
​
“Is there no such thing as shame?”
​
Koola, who showed unimaginable behavior in Burg etiquette,
Specially harassed Faust. Back
The soft and fresh scent of a young woman
Besides, Uakan's clothes were thin enough to show the insides to match the heat.
It was difficult to maintain composure.
​
"what. Cool but hot”
​
Said the hanging Koola.
​
'Of course it's hot. It’s this woman.’
​
Walking through the jungle, towards the Koola hanging from behind
It was Faust who resented not resentment.
I don’t know the atmosphere of Huakhan, but the problem between men and women
It seemed to be thought naturally. Walking together
Even in the sexual contact between Koola and Quitla,
I didn't care much. It was then. Koola's hand complaining about being hot
Stuttering and coveting Quitla's body.
​
"What?! What are you doing?"
“It’s the hottest here!”
​
Koola's hand is so casual
I gripped the place where all the blood of Quitla was gathered.
​
"Ahh! This isn't it!”
"Huh? What about”
​
Faust and Koola were looking around
Tata raised her hand to remind her of her surroundings.
​
"Shh! Now you are at the beginning of the jungle center. Koola later and come down first.”
submitted by chul2d to u/chul2d [link] [comments]

Reviews from Quarantine: Arcana (incl. Craves), NAVA (again), Baby's First BPAL, and some others

Hi again! I've fallen behind (again) in actually writing up my reviews, so I'm playing catch-up.
Arcana Frisk Green cucumber, coconut milk, sun-baked bergamot, and Barbados sugar. It goes on green and almost boozy—I’m assuming my brain is reading the sugar as rum. Dry, it retains the same feel, kind of like a green cocktail in the sun. After it’s been on for a few hours, it’s mostly bergamot softened with coconut milk.
Arcana Strawberries Crave Terror Deep red strawberries and Holy Terror (burning frankincense, sandalwood, deep myrrh, and dusty beeswax candles) I received this one by mistake (I’d ordered Vanilla Craves Terror), and when I reached out to Julia she told me to keep it. I do love the Holy Terror blends I’ve tried so far (Witches Crave Chocolate and Terror, Pumpkins Crave Terror), but I was not sure how it would work with a bright, juicy strawberry. Wet, it’s a slightly underripe strawberry and HT on alternate sniffs. When it dries, it’s still largely HT, with a sweet fruity note that isn’t exactly strawberry. However, the strawberry strengthens and seems to ripen over time, and it works surprisingly well. Want a strawberry for fall? This might be it.
Arcana Strawberries Crave Cacao Bitter chocolate, German cocoa CO2, golden amber, brown musk, vodka, and strawberry roots. Or maybe it’s this. It’s definitely chocolatey. Sometimes it reminds me of cocoa powder, and sometimes it’s a chocolatey cocktail of some kind, but it’s never quite edible. I mostly get dark chocolate and musk, and the strawberry roots note. I’m quite enchanted by it, for some reason. It’s earthy and pale, only a little fruity, but definitely identifiable as strawberry. Eventually it fades down to a soft, slightly fuzzy/powdery cocoa note (though sometimes the vodka peeks through). This one’s not terribly strong on me, unfortunately, but I do enjoy it.
NAVA Eternal Egypt Ambre Bastet’s Amber Absolute, Labdanum, Cedar essential, Palo Santo essential, Black Patchouli, Benzoin, Heliotrope, Smoked Balsam of Peru, Italian Lavandin, Black Pepper and White Amber Absolute. Eternal Egypt doesn’t always work on me. It just smells like light, dry but kind of flat vanilla/amber. In the bottle, this variant smells rather like all the other EE variations, maybe with some heliotrope. Wet on the skin, it’s that flat, dry vanilla, but mixed with woody and peppery notes. When it’s dry, I get cedar, amber and that dry vanilla. It’s essentially EE with some subtle resin-y notes and pepper. It might improve with age, although this is from the original release so it’s had nearly a year. Then again, NAVA is a fickle beast sometimes, so I will leave it for a while longer. It has potential...
NAVA Candied Rose Damascus Rose Absolute, White Rose Petals, organic Egyptian Geranium Essential Oil and Candied Accord (Victorian-style Sugar-Candied perfumes infused with Lime Zest, aged Orange slices, Raspberry Essence, Pear Essence, Sugar Accord, Lemon Zest, Vanilla Extract, Pink Sugar, Bourbon Vanille Absolute, Crystalline Absolute and Vanilla Bean). I don’t like rose necessarily, but I do like gourmand-y rose. In the bottle, it smells like a nice balance between the fruit (sweet with tart notes from the raspberry, lime and lemon), the vanillas and the rose. On the skin, it’s mostly a fruity (pearaspberry) rose. The candied accord comes out as it dries (I can pick out the pear, orange, raspberry and vanilla), but then it morphs back into a white rose with some fruit and vanilla. Eventually, it ends up returning to something similar the wet/in-the-bottle scent (I couldn’t decide which one it resembled more), which surprised me.
NAVA Ajna (Third Eye Chakra) California Desert Sage, Sweetgrass, Lavender, \eNVie saphir, California Cedar* This one starts out heavy on the cedar and sage, and it’s kind of sharp to the point of being unpleasant. Dry, it smoothes out a bit, with that eNVie saphir (I think it smells like a pale, clean but slightly creamy amber) though still heavy on the cedar-sage combo. The sweetgrass and perhaps a hint of a camphorous lavender hide in the background. This shares a lot of notes in common with NAVA Dream Time (I reviewed it in my last batch), and I’m kind of surprised at how different they feel. This is feels clean woody/herbal, with the sweetgrass and lavender as supporting notes, whereas in Dream Time I feel like the sweetgrass and lavender are the stars, and it has a meditative/comforting feel. I do amp certain cedars, though, so they may be more similar for you than they were for me.
NAVA Sheut Buttercream accord, Vanilla Cookie accord, Santalum White Absolute and Rice Milk accord. I was both excited and nervous about trying this one. Excited because I love buttercream! Nervous because my skin tends to eat buttercream, and because white sandalwood is not my friend. In the bottle, it’s buttercream. Then it kind of goes south. Wet on the skin, it’s still buttercream, but I smell some tart/sour notes in there. Not quite sour milk, more like a cross between the buttercream and cream cheese frosting. Those sour notes fade as it dries, and the predominant note is that vanilla cookie accord. It smells like a vanilla wafer or maybe a sugar cookie. That disappears once the sandalwood and rice milk come out. The result is a creamy, soft sandalwood with a hint of vanilla. The buttercream notes do eventually come back, though what I get is mostly the cream cheese-like smell rather than buttercream. It does last quite well (overnight and into the next day), but it’s not very strong. I think it may need some time to age.
BPAL Coyote The warmth of doeskin, dry plains grasses and soft, dusty woods warmed by amber and a downy, gentle coat of deep musk. My first foray into BPAL. Gulp. Wet, this reminds me of public restroom soap somehow. Solstice Scents’ High Desert (which has a similar vibe) did the same thing to me when I first got it (and now I love it), so I don’t find it as off-putting as I might have otherwise. Dry, it’s soft and suede-y, and I get a whiff of something like cinnamon from it, which is weird, but I might put it down to the age of the sample (I got it from a swap; I have no idea how old it is). It feels like a more cozy, cuddly take on the high desert/plains-type scent.
BPAL Cathode Ambergris, Spanish Moss, oakmoss and three electric mints. I was prepared to hate this, since I don’t like oakmoss, or mint. I…don’t hate this at all. It smells mostly like “men’s soap”, you know, that vaguely aquatic clean smell. But this is dirtied up somehow, maybe the ambergris (not a note I have much experience with). I don’t get much mint. It’s surprisingly pleasant, actually.
Moonalisa Grapefruit Haven Pure and simple, mix of sugars and powdered salts blended with a tart and juicy pure blend of various Grapefruit essential oils. This one goes on frustratingly bathroom cleanecitrus degreaser-ish. I worked in a bicycle shop once upon a time, so while I associate that degreaser smell with some good times and some good people, I do not want to smell like it. What makes it particularly annoying is that underneath it, close to the skin, there’s a lovely salty-sweet pink/red grapefruit scent longing to be free of that bathroom cleaner smell. I’m assuming that one of the grapefruit EOs doesn’t play nice with my skin.
Andromeda’s Curse Call of the Void An irresistible blend of French Lavender, Nag Champa, Egyptian Amber, Sandalwood, Cedarwood & Vanilla Nag champa. Just nag champa until it’s been on for like 12 hours, and that’s too much time to wait for the rest of the perfume to show up.
submitted by rynzle9 to Indiemakeupandmore [link] [comments]

[Let's build] 100 candies or confections made specifically for nonhumans

  1. Berry Cicadas: Kenkus will dip cicadas in a berry flavored candy coating in this summertime tradition. There a many fruit flavors of Berry Cicadas, but most Kenku will tell you they're blackberry flavored.
  2. Sugar Eggs: A Yuan-Ti treat with a hard candy shell filled with syrup meant to mimic eggs. Inside the outer shell is a layer of syrup then another shell and another layer of syrup all the way down to four layers of candy. each layer has a different flavor.
  3. Living Rocks: Earth Elementals make Living Rocks on New Years Day by painting quartz crystals with sweet white lead paint. Secretly, one Living Rock is actually a red agate. If you find the red one, then you'll have good luck for a whole year.
  4. Honeyed Molecheese: A favourite of dwarves. The milk of a giant mole fermented with honey.
  5. Bloodcakes: For this traditional Orcish delicacy the fresh hot blood of a goat or cow is slathered onto a simple flour flatcake. In wealthy orc communities the blood might be sweetened with sugar or honey traded or stolen from their neighbours.
  6. Candied Sweetfruit: This Elvish delicacy is considered ghastly to most humans simply because of how sweet it is, with sweet fruit already being unsurprisingly sweet, the fruit is further fermented for months and then cured in sugar to create a sickenly sweet dish enjoyed by Elvish nobility.
  7. Yolk-Stuffed Breaded Ham: A traditional Halfling dish, of rolled honey-ham stuffed with savoury egg yolk then covered in breadcrumbs.
  8. Prima Lux: A very expensive hard candy made only for those of fiendish or celestial heritage. To the former, it's sweet, spicy, and slightly sour, like a guilty pleasure. To the latter, it's sweet, savory, and just a hint of bitterness, like a nostalgic memory. To everyone else, it's overwhelmingly spicy, bitter, and sour. (My idea from here.
  9. Cattail Pops: A sweet, catnip flavored lollipop that’s incredibly popular among Tabaxi. To everyone else, it tastes horribly bitter and way too spicy to eat but to a Tabaxi it tastes very sweet yet slightly spicy and maybe a tad bitter. (Not mine, but was on the same list. Credit goes to u/Foxymemes)
  10. Dreamflesh Soup- When a beholder kills a beholder they accidently created, or were created by, they often make it into a soup they find delicious, thinking it near perfect from being related to them, though only a soup made from themselves could be truly perfect. Regardless every beholder believes themselves to be the original creator of this kind of soup, and despises other beholders for stealing their recipe and even altering it with inferior ingredients. Other creatures that eat dreamflesh soup tend to be mentally and physically warped, if they survive the experience.
  11. Forge-Dipped Mushrooms- A dwarven treat made by dipping a certain kind of mushroom into a forges embers. Dwarves say they're like smores, best to eat them fresh from the forge, though most other races can't eat them without getting severe and possibly fatal burns. Originally discovered by dwarven smiths getting bored of plain mushrooms, they can be made with other kinds of fires but most dwarves prefer ones from forges saying the bits of metal and such mixed in make it taste better.
  12. Stick of rock - you thought it was like candy rock? Like that stuff you get on the beach? But no. It’s a traditional drow treat that’s literally a stick of rock with flavoured sugar crystals growing on it. Earth elementals tend to eat the stick too ...
  13. Reeses Pieces - just be careful if you’re offered this orcish/ giant/ ogre sweet. It’s pieces of an unfortunate man named Reese Shellstrop, dipped in an admittedly tasty concoction of crushed peanuts, butter, syrup, mead, various spices and horse blood.
  14. Soul cake, passed down through generations, with each new recipe adding an extra ingredient or preparation method, soul cake is a traditional eleven cake that can take many forms and varies between each family who’ll have their own (ever evolving) soul cake recipe.
  15. Dweluman - it’s a Dwarf stuffed inside an Elf stuffed inside a Human! Giants, trolls and all sorts of monsterous creatures love it.
  16. Silicon: It's just silicon. Earth elementals and trolls like to eat it, don't ask me why
  17. Adramale: a dwarven ale spiked with the blood of a green dragon. It's somewhat toxic to most humanoids, but dwarves are resistant enough that it isn't an issue. It's considered a desert or treat of sorts, due to its rarity and expensivity. It gets its name from the adamantine mugs the drink traditionally was served in.
  18. Tülnagt: made by kobolds, Tülnagt are small pastries, somewhat chewier than cake. They contain bits of meat from recent hunts; the most desirable and fancy being owlbear.
  19. Zwirvnai: an illithid-exclusive! Made of brain stems and eyeballs, which have fermented in a strange and undesirable inky-black brew. It smells, looks and probably tastes exactly like how you'd imagine it.
  20. century cakes - these cakes are baked at low heat over decades. This lets the sugars crystallize in elaborate and unique patterns that are too strong to be bitten through, they must be licked with the patience of elves to get to the taramel center.
  21. Kender Eggs - chocolate eggs that are tasty, but while you are eating them someone nicks your toys.
  22. Fig mentillusions - gnomes confectioners produce purely olfactory and gustatory illusions cast directly into the mouth of the gourmand. Elaborate stories unfold on the tastebuds, and then vanish without a tummyache.
  23. Orceos - two chocolate cookies sandwiching candied entrails. Some orcs dunk them, some orcs twist off the top cookie.
  24. Shattersweets: Candy from the mountainhomes, honey is mixed with spices and left to harden in pans out in the freezing cold. Children take great delight in whacking the sheet with their parents' forgehammers to break off chunks.
  25. This one is a real life thing, but would be perfect for tieflings: Snapdragon! Raisins are laid in a dish and soaked in brandy or rum, and then lit on fire! You have to reach in and toss the flaming morsels into your mouth.
  26. Gnomes: Candied treenuts of any variety, rolled in sugar or honey and left to dry. Delicious and simple.
  27. Duergar: Mushroom cake! Dried mushrooms ground down for flour, and sweetened with imported (or stolen) dwarven sugar. Especially prominent among Duergar occupying former dwarven settlements
  28. Underdark Chocolate: made with mushrooms not cacao beans but otherwise tastes like chocolate.
  29. Bituminous Coal: Fire Elementals love it.
  30. Candied Souls: mortal souls trapped in sugar Crystal's, a favorite of fiends.
  31. Jellied fish: a favorite of locathah.
  32. Rumors say treated like sinking their roots into soil seeded with powdered dragon dung and that mycanoids sink their mycrlis into rotting birch wood.
  33. Rat Corndogs. The tail is the stick.
  34. Rat Funnel Cake
  35. Bananaspiders Foster: A favorite of satyrs and other woodland fey, these sweet sticky confections are only slightly toxic and cause vivid hallucinations that can last hours. Made from the extracted venom glands of certain spiders fermented in the honey of a rare bee that only forages mushroom spores.
submitted by sanorace to d100 [link] [comments]

Keto: Thoughts from a Relative Newbie

I started keto about a month and a half ago. I made note of my starting weight & measurements, but I haven't weighed or measured myself since then. This is mainly because I don't want to get obsessive over the numbers, which I have a tendency to do.
What I do know is that my shirts are starting to get baggy, and I no longer have to squeeze into my too-tight pants. Even my shoes fit more loosely. Oh and my phone and keys now have enough room in my pockets! And there’s now room for one more person under my sheets!… Oh wait. Just kidding on that one. But yeah, for the moment that's good enough for me.
A few other things I've noticed:
I no longer dread feeding myself, and I no longer stress about where my next meal/snack is going to come from. Let me explain:
Xarama’s World of Food used to be a relentless cycle of cravings or hanger, pigging out, and guilt. I constantly felt bad for eating too much, eating things I shouldn’t, being fat, “knowing” that people were judging me, eating at the wrong time, eating out all the time when I can’t afford to, eating more than everyone else at the table combined, or just eating, period. I couldn’t help noticing that I was that greedy pig who takes half the cookies at the office party and hoovers up an extra slice of wedding cake before the last guests in line have been handed their first plate. I hated parties, because in my mind, a party was a place where you spend an evening plotting how to get more food without anyone noticing (or, god forbid, forcing you to have a conversation you can’t focus on because THERE’S STILL FOOD LEFT AT THE BUFFET). I felt unable to drive from one place to another without stopping at a donut store or coffeeshop, because in my mind it made total sense to pick up something sweet to feel bad about later. I beat the summer heat by eating nothing but ice cream and watermelon for weeks on end, growing more blubber and ending up even hotter and sweatier and less motivated to do anything but eat another bucket of ice cream. Maybe with a helping of sweet liquor, to take the edge off, just a little longer before remorse kicks in once more.
Every day I suffered knowing I was the fat person at the table. You know, the one who’s still shoveling a mountain of food in their face, seemingly oblivious to the fact that everyone else is long done eating, yet more painfully aware of said fact than anyone else would ever know yet UNABLE TO STOP AND LOOK PEOPLE IN THE EYES… Oh the humiliation. The dreadfully bitter, caustic, swirling cocktail mixed up from self-hate, self-pity, and childish defiance. I justified my bad “choices” to myself and others, fully knowing that my arguments didn’t make any sense and that I wasn’t really making “choices” to begin with.
I was incensed by the fact that people treated me like I was stupid, because I know I’m not stupid. But precisely because I’m not stupid, I also realized that I objectively looked pretty damn stupid from the outside. I mean, come on! I clearly hadn’t even managed to stop eating before I turned into a whale, which definitely seems like a Smart People 101 level concept. But I hated the lectures from people who deemed themselves smarter or more educated or more disciplined than I was, the ones who knew all about my heart attack risk and how I should try harder and oh, aren’t I getting a little chubby? and The Diet That Will Work For All People Because It Worked For Me. How dared they assume that I lacked insight into my all-consuming problem, or the desire to change, or the right facts, when I had been trying my entire life to stop being fat, and yes of course I have read about your magic diet and in fact I tried it years ago, thankyouvermuch-but-please-stop-talking-about-my-weight-I’m-so-uncomfortable.
I was never satisfied. I never stopped obsessing. I never stopped beating myself up for being so out of control. I was thinking about food 24/7, and feeling bad about all of it literally all day long. So exhausting.
Nowadays, I plan a quick and easy breakfast before I go to bed. Things like perfectly cooked, fatty, salty, crunchy, uncured bacon (a new discovery of mine!) with poached or scrambled farmer’s market eggs and a fresh garden tomato. Or smoked salmon with capers (cream cheese optional), served on a bed of intensely flavored greens and/or asparagus, with a drizzle of lemon juice and a hard-boiled egg. Or some of that leftover lamb shoulder soup from last night: succulent meat with Brussels sprouts, zucchini, cauliflower, onion, tomatoes in a richly flavored, hot, oily broth. Such satisfying flavors and textures, yum. Such variety. Such vibrancy. And none of it takes more than 10 minutes to make from scratch (or re-heat leftovers from a more elaborate dinner). Oh and most days I like to drink black or green tea with a generous shot of cream… cold or hot, depending on the day’s temperatures. Or a nice refreshing glass of water. I eat a quick lunch: a crunchy salad, or a steamed veggie, or some greens; paired with creamy cheese and olives and nuts, or a hard-boiled egg, or last night’s leftover steak, or a juicy thigh from a rotisserie chicken I grabbed to take home with me and use in tomorrow’s green beans & chicken salad with mayo and toasted almonds.
When I get home from work, I cook a proper meal and sit down and enjoy it. These are not complicated affairs, unless of course I feel like making an elaborate guest-worthy dish, which pretty much never happened in the past and happens quite frequently now. But really, most nights it takes me 20 minutes tops to put something delicious on the table. I eat out significantly less often, and when I do, I usually find it easy to order a dish that I know I will enjoy, all without food shortage panic or regrets. And if I don’t find anything I can eat? Well, then I wait until I can eat something decent later, no big deal. And that’s it. The rest of the time, I truly don't think about eating in between meals. Food doesn’t even enter my thoughts nowadays, except when I fondly think back to the amazing meal I ate last (something that used to NEVER happen, but which happens a lot now), when I’m grateful for how much better I feel thanks to keto (another thing that happens a lot now), or when I go buy more groceries.
Boy do I enjoy what I eat. It is delicious, and it keeps me full. I eat way more veggies than I used to eat for the majority of my life, and not the sugary ones from the Hollywood prop box. (You will learn about this in the next paragraph, have patience.) I even have dessert after dinner: cheese and nuts, berries and cream with bits of dark chocolate, creamy yogurt with cacao nibs, or perhaps a sip (no really, just a sip, think a thimbleful) of red wine, or all of the above if I’m feeling really noshy while ready a book on a lazy late weekend night. Or maybe I’ll enjoy some fine chocolate I had to order online (oh it’s worth the extra time and money), or Greek yogurt drizzled with thick, creamy, what-wonderful-things-are-happening-in-my-mouth-I-think-I’ve-died-and-gone-to-heaven peach-balsamic vinegar. Yes, I said it: Greek yogurt and peach balsamic vinegar for dessert. This is a combination for the inventing of which I probably deserve to be burned at the stake, or perhaps impaled on a stake, take your pick, yes I’ve been reading too much fantasy lately and please don’t burn me to death. But yeah, it’s a wicked good flavor combo: try it, if you don’t mind springing for expensive vinegar. I have dessert every day, and it’s incredibly delicious and 100% guilt-free, and even with all this decadence, my blubber is just melting away with zero effort or forced restraint. That’s right, I don’t force myself to stop at the end of a meal… because I don’t need to. I just stop eating when I’m done. Did you know what that feels like? Because I sure didn’t. But “finished and satisfied” is a thing now. It’s when I feel like I don’t want or need anything else, when I feel rich and spoiled and pleased with I have and what I am allowed to do. What a world to live in for the rest of my life!
Speaking of food: grocery shopping is infinitely faster and easier. Walking through a grocery store now means passing by entire shelves filled with stuff I no longer buy, or even look at. You know... cereal, chips, rice, pasta, beans, baked goods, most canned goods, prepared foods, the entire drinks section, the "sugary dairy" case, the candy aisle, the fruit displays in the produce section... they all feel like some kind of plasticky, dusty relic from the past. Like a thing that used to be magnetic and magical until I saw behind the veil, and now they're OBVIOUSLY just cheap Hollywood props, and I’m tearing down that veil so you can know it too, if indeed you so choose. You know, we gotta spread the love. And the cream cheese. (cue conspiracy theme music)
Anyway, uh… right, grocery store. So nowadays, I hit the cheese section, grab some yogurt, eggs, salmon, and bacon on my way across the store, and end my round by choosing the best-looking veggies (whatever is green plus cauliflower, eggplant, mushrooms, and tomatoes; that’s the rule more or less, when in doubt Google is just a couple swipes away). Pay, boom, done. Time to go home and cook and eat that stuff. I also frequent the farmers' market for locally-grown produce and humanely raised fresh meat and eggs. To think that I used to literally spend hours in the grocery store each week, pondering my choice of sickly colored cereals, picking the “healthiest” type of candy and fattening ice cream out of the many brands that were even worse (gasp), and waffling over which kind of bread or noodles I should buy. And then guiltily returning that ice cream or candy to its spot on the shelf on my way to the register because, come on, I really shouldn't be buying this. And then going back to throw it in the cart at the last moment, after all. Ugh.
I’m convinced now that grocery stores are places of great evil, places that only exists to suck up the precious moments of our lives that we should be spending doing fun things. Like writing a longwinded letter to random internet strangers, just because if it weren’t for other random internet strangers, precisely those who shared their thoughts with me in the past, I wouldn’t be where I am now :)
But wait, there’s more! Cooking is so much less complicated, too. Where there used to be three components (meat/protein, veggies, and starch) there are now only two. That’s a 33% savings, err, reduction in time, effort, and cookery. It’s just one less thing I have to deal with, you know? Yes this sounds silly, but hear me out! I no longer need to spend any of my already-depleted mental energy on trying to decide which kind of noodles/rice/potato/bread/… goes best with the meal I’m making. I don’t need to pick them out in the store, have room to store them in my kitchen, prep/cook them or provide and later wash a pot/dish to cook and serve them in. I have so much breathing room and storage room and workspace now where I used to store pasta, grains, beans, jam, alcohol, sugar, flour, milk, candy, chips, cookies, yadda yadda yadda. Clutter begone! I need the space for fancy chocolate and vinegar, haha.
I’m so much more clear-headed. I’ve struggled a lot with anxiety and obsessive & negative thoughts. Now I just get stuff done: instead of endlessly agonizing over how exactly I should do something, I just do it and move on. I’m not spinning in circles, mentally speaking. I’m more cheerful and less tired. I arrive to work on time (most days). I have more focus. I think I sleep better? (But who knows, I’m not watching myself sleep. That would be weird.) Umm… oh right, more focus. And yeah, you know? I’m happy. I feel like a human being again, after decades of being a junkie. My self-confidence is much stronger, and not because the weight loss is starting to show. To me, keto goes deeper, it goes to the heart of who I am, who I have been all along inside that fat suit. Watch out world, I’m ready to step out.
Thanks to my best friend for introducing me to keto, just by living the example, without pressure or guilt-tripping. And thanks to all of you here who encourage each other, and me. May we all have good food, good friends, and happiness always.
Edit: Formatting
submitted by Xarama to keto [link] [comments]

[Spoiler] The future of current arc

Recently this theory came to my mind, and I don't know if somebody already posted something like this but I still give it a shot :
I believe that the Luffy/Katakuri fight will end up with Luffy's defeat, but we won't see it. Instead, action will be centered on BM chasing Bege's ship to get the cake while straw hats are escaping from Smoothicc. Tension will be present and when BM will be reaching the cake, Peros will try to destruct it, but BM will kill him before. After that, BM will eat the cake and faint. Bege won't do anythin to BM and will use her unconscious body to trade it against straw hats freedom. Wisely, Smoothicc will see that BM isn't hurt, and accept the deal.
As promised, Straw Hats will land on Cacao island, but Oven won't let them leave like this. I'll take the easy path here and say that Germa will come and defeat Oven and co while straw hats take the mirror and escape on boat.
While on boat, straw hats will desperately wait for the winner out of the mirror, hoping that it's luffy. But first, Katakuri's head will pop off the mirror, to see if where he landed is secure. Straw hats will be affraid and try to menace him. He won't give any dam about their threats, and deduct he is on their ship. So, he will slowly come out the mirror, and reveal he is carrying luffy on his shoulder, unconscious. After that, he will fall unconscious too, and while part of the straw hats will want to throw him in the sea, Chopper will "Sanji-like" say that he can't let go off someone badly wounded as Kata is.
So they will install them in a room and Chopper will cure them. Kata will wake up first, because of sanji's food odor. He will show up on the deck, and straw hats will prepare themselves to fight. At this moment, luffy will show up and tell them not to do anything, will offer to Kata the best meal he ever had thanks to Sanji.
After eating, Kata will reveal that he cannot go back to BM territory, as he will now be seen either as a monster (Flambe), either as dead (if luffy is alive), either a traitor (if both are alive). Luffy will ask him if he wants to be his Nakama, at the biggest surprise of the crew (typical "EHHHHHHHHH" moment). Katakuri will decline the offer, but will say that he respects him a lot, and will go on on hiw own for the moment (foreshadowing his entrance or collaboration with grand fleet). Luffy will accept, and as a lot of people say, a WB/Roger relation will appear between them.
At this moment they'll receive a newspaper announcing what they did in BM Terrotory, and what is currently happening in Reverie, while Revolutionnaries are sieging the place, and Marines trying to defend.
Luffy will hesitate so much between going to help Sabo (and his father), and go to Wano. They'll stop on a small island to rest and decide what's next. In this time, Kata will reveal to Luffy how he did to awake his fruit, and luffy will start training.
They'll finally decide to go to Wano ("I believe in Sabo, he'll live" says luffy), letting Kata on the island.
That's the end of my seeing, so I hope it wasn't so painful to read, as I'm not english native speaker x)
Tell me how you feel about it !!
submitted by Naupy to OnePiece [link] [comments]

How to Massage Stretch Marks Away Using Essential Oils?

How to Massage Stretch Marks Away Using Essential Oils?
Since most of us, women and men, are susceptible to getting stretch marks at some time in our lives, the market for stretch mark creams and treatments is a large and abundant one. But while this market is large and the products numerous, it is quite difficult and challenging to say which is a real cure and which a hoax, since most of these stretch marks removal creams claim to be the most effective ones.
​
Before you go and try all the different available products, it is relevant to look at home remedies to get rid of stretch marks. These remedies are cheap just as they can be useful. Below are a couple of recipes for home remedies for stretch marks.
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https://preview.redd.it/qfyzfsf2ef241.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d180dd05331672c9c2bc98a8b8e343d86e866665

MASSAGING STRETCH MARKS AWAY

Massage is considered by many to be very effective in dealing with stretch marks. Not only does massage relax the muscles and body, easing away aches and pains, but it also serves the vital purpose of stimulating blood circulation, making it a vital part of one's daily activity for the care of the body. Making massage oil as a home remedy for stretch marks can also be an easy and inexpensive thing to do. Below is a sampler of stretch mark massage oil:
Oil for stretch marks; Half a cup of good olive oil, four capsules of vital vitamin E, and three capsules of vital vitamin A and half cup of Aloe Vera can be used in producing the good home remedies to get rid of stretch marks and scars. As soon as these ingredients are gotten, they can be mixed using a blender and then placed in a jar, making use of the mixture whenever needed. This mixture contains essential ingredients that are renowned for being very advantageous to the skin and assist in skin repair.
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How to use oil for stretch marks? Stretch mark massage oil; Such massage oils that are easy to prepare and known to be effective are an excellent home remedy for stretch marks and scars. Not only do they allow for a relaxing experience by stimulating blood circulation through the entire body, but more importantly, they reduce the appearance of these unsightly scars wherever they have appeared. The overall texture and tone of the skin also improve because of the oil's ingredients and the stimulation to the skin.
Generally, If you are experiencing ugly stretch marks and skin scars, then carefully massaging your skin with the essential oil for stretch marks and procedures discussed above with indeed go a long way in preventing or minimizing the visibility of these stretch marks.
What is the effective way to get rid of stretch marks completely?
But if you think you need something more effective and active, then you can invest in a top stretch mark removal cream like the StretcHeal Revolutionary Stretch Mark.
This cream is formulated with active stretch mark preventative ingredients like Shea butter, Squalane, Panthenol, Avocado Oil, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa seed butter), Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary Essential Oil), Lycium Barbarum (Goji Berry Fruit Extract), AloeBarbadensis (Aloe Vera Leaf Juice), Sweet almond oil, Aloe Vera, licorice extract, Emblica fruit extract, and Phyllanthus Emblica fruit extract. These ingredients have powerful healing and moisturizing properties.
https://www.stretcheal.com/
submitted by StretcHeal-US to u/StretcHeal-US [link] [comments]

Some healthy, weight-loss-friendly snacks to add to your diet

Some healthy, weight-loss-friendly snacks to add to your diet
When the munchies creep up, it can be tempting to reach for a bag of crispy, salty, greasy — and unhealthy — chips. Or how about that chocolate bar that's been teasing you since last night? When our energy levels are low, and our cravings are high, it's easy to take comfort in a quick fix.
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https://preview.redd.it/jbb21a28lq841.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e6880c98207c6514993b847b1a4e9d63f0183a4
You may wonder if it’s possible to lose weight while not giving up snacks. If you choose healthy, whole-food options with a lot of protein and nutrients, snacks can be integral to weight loss. Some can even help keep you full throughout the day and limit your cravings for unhealthy foods.
a-balanced-diet-model
Why fruit and veg are great
Fresh fruit and vegetables are always the best snack choice for your kids – they contain vitamins and minerals, are a good source of fibre and count towards their 5 A Day. Plus, they're easy to eat on the go!
Hummus & Veggies Mason Jars
What You'll Need: Peppers, celery, carrots, hummus
Using a tiny jar for hummus is great for perfecting portion control—and creating healthy snacks! Simply divide up your portioned servings of hummus and dip fiber-rich vegetables into the protein-packed puree. Together, this combo makes an awesome flat-belly-friendly bite.
Energy Balls. My healthy snacking secret weapon. I have created a plethora of energy balls, so you can find your favorite flavor: Oatmeal Energy Balls, No Bake Cookie Dough Protein Balls, Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Balls, Pumpkin Energy Balls, Ginger Cookie Healthy Energy Balls, Golden Raisin Energy Bites, and Fig Almond Energy Bites.
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https://preview.redd.it/pjklzfwelq841.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f620adfa40c571aca94e66a895f546dd1e98185f
Apple slices with peanut butter
Apples and peanut butter taste fantastic together.
Apples are high in fiber and polyphenol antioxidants that improve gut health and reduce heart disease risk (10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source).
Peanut butter may have additional benefits for heart health. It has been shown to increase HDL (good) cholesterol and reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides (12Trusted Source).
That said, peanut butter is fairly high in calories. Although it generally hasn't been linked to weight gain, it's best consumed in moderation.
A medium apple with 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of natural peanut butter provides a nice balance of sweet flavor with crisp and creamy textures at under 200 calories.
No-Bake Granola Bars {gluten-free, vegan}
These scrumptious snacks are easy to make and make a great addition to your child’s lunchbox, your own personal picnic basket, and your healthy diet as a regular mid-morning snack!
Ingredients: Gluten-free rolled oats, peanut butter, dried tart cherries, pistachios, flaxseed meal, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, agave syrup. unsweetened applesauce, melted cacao nibs or dark chocolate.
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https://preview.redd.it/wqzsepfilq841.jpg?width=510&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=97444c41da62f8e5ffddb0a0ccaed1dab843b88b
Almonds
Dark Chocolate Trail Mix
Nuts are a great healthy snack. And even though they're high in fat, you don't need to avoid them if you're trying to lose weight. One study found that people who chewed almonds thoroughly (up to 40 chews) felt full longer than those who chewed the same amount of nuts fewer times. Plus, almonds deliver filling fiber, protein and healthy fats.
A serving of almonds, one ounce or 23 almonds, has 164 calories, 4 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein.
Top tips for snack time
  1. Keep it in easy reach – have a fruit bowl in the house so fruity snacks are nearby when your kids are peckish.
  2. Fill the fridge – have ready-to-eat fruit and veg, like carrot, cucumber, celery and peppers, pre-prepared for an easy snack kids can eat with their fingers.
  3. Pack a snack – save money, and time, when you're out and about by taking bananas, apples or chopped up vegetables with you.
  4. Get the kids involved – try making snack time exciting and more hands-on. Get your child involved by getting them to chop up the fruit and vegetables they're going to eat, they'll love chopping it up themselves!
submitted by Salemziba to u/Salemziba [link] [comments]

[Sell][US][US/INTL] Over 300 items including Decants, Sheet Masks & Samples! Brands include Beauty of Joseon, Benton, Cosrx, Dr Jart, Glossier, Glow Recipe, Hada Labo, Holy Snails, Huxley, Innisfree, Isntree, Kiku, Klairs, Krave, Leegeeham, Pyunkang Yul, SK-II, Stratia, Sulwhasoo, Whamisa & MORE!

I'M ALWAYS SELLING DECANTS, BUT I AM NO LONGER UPDATING THIS PARTICULAR POST. PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT MY NEWEST SALE THREAD FOR MORE CURRENT ITEMS, PRICING, SIZES, AND AVAILABILITY. THANK YOU!
Thanks for checking out my sale post!
Payment: I accept PayPal, Square Cash, and Venmo - or I can send a PayPal invoice so you can pay via credit or debit card. Orders are held for 24 hours before moving on to the next buyer, please let me know if you need more time. All orders ship within 4 days of payment.
Shipping: All orders include a USPS tracking number, so international orders please keep in mind that tracking may not be exact. US orders have a flat rate shipping charge of $3 per order. APO orders have a $7 shipping charge because they must be shipped priority. International orders include actual shipping costs and must be paid in USD. Shipping for packages outside the US begin between $10 and $14, but increases depending on the country of destination and package weight.
Feedback: I have been offering decants on Reddit since August 2015 and can provide links to past flair threads if requested, as well as eBay feedback as far back as 2010. I have current feedback on my NEW FLAIR THREAD from purchases on ABE.
Special Notes: Decant products are clean, and only decanted from a pump, dropper, or with a clean spatula. Containers, spatulas, funnels, and syringes are sanitized (though imperfections in containers are a possibility). Pad-style decants come in a zip-top baggie. Sunscreen, retinol, and vitamin c products will come with opaque tape around the bottle due to the photosensitivity of the products. All orders will receive a random freebie with their purchase - usually a random sheet mask or foil samples. Liquid items come in 5ml, 15ml, or 30ml bottles - creamy items come in 5ml, 10ml, or 20ml jars. If you see something only available in small sizes, but are looking for more, just ask! I have item sizes listed in accordance to how large the original packaging is, but I'm happy to try to accommodate larger requests if possible.
Requests are welcome =) I'm currently in the process of cleaning up my decant stash, and am hoping to add a few new items as unpopular ones are moved out. *** = newly added If you're using a mobile browser: You may need to scroll to the right to see pricing in the spreadsheet format.
Dollar Decants - $1 each & not being restocked Size
Elizavecca Hell Pore Clean Up AHA Fruit Toner 10ml
Natural Pacific Fresh Herb Calendula Tincture Toner 10ml
Natural Pacific Fresh Herb Calendula Tincture Toner 10ml
DECANTS / Full Size Items Not For Sale Size=Price Size=Price Size=Price
***A.true Spring Green Tea Watery Calming Cream 5ml=$3 10ml=$6
***A.true Sweet Song Black Tea Energy Cleansing Gel 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$5
A'pieu Madecassoside Cream 5ml=$3 10ml=$5
Acwell Licorice pH Balancing Cleansing Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Aippo Expert Hydrating Ampoule 5ml=$8 15ml=$16
AtoClassic Real Tonic Soothing Origin Essence 5ml=$8 10ml=$15
AtoPalm Real Barrier Cicarelief Cream 5ml=$6
AtoPalm Real Barrier Eye Contour Cream 5ml=$8
Banila Co Clean It Zero - Original 5ml=$2 10ml=$4 20ml=$6
Banila Co Clean It Zero - Purity 5ml=$3 10ml=$5 20ml=$7
Banila Co Miss Flower & Mr Honey Essence Oil 5ml=$8
***Beauty of Joseon Apricot Peeling Gel 5ml=$3 15ml=$6
Beauty of Joseon Cream 5ml=$4 10ml=$7
**Beauty of Joseon Revitalize Sleeping Mask 5ml-$3 10ml=$6
Benton Aloe BHA Skin Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$5
Benton Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel 5ml=$2 10ml=$4 20ml=$6
Benton Cacao Moist and Mild Cream 5ml=$3 10ml=$5
Benton Fermentation Essence 5ml=$3 15ml=$6
Benton Fermentation Eye Cream 5ml=$6
Benton Snail Bee High Content Essence - Niacinamide 5ml=$3 15ml=$7
Benton Snail Bee High Content Lotion 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$7
Benton Snail Bee High Content Skin Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Benton Snail Bee High Content Steam Cream 5ml=$3 10ml=$6
Benton Tea Tree Cleansing Water 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF50+/PA++++ -2017 5ml=$3 15ml=$8
Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Gel SPF50+/PA++++ -2017 5ml=$3 15ml=$6
Blanc Doux Pinot Noir Spray Serum 5ml=$3 15ml=$8
Blanc Doux Pinot Noir Spray Serum - spray 5ml=$4 10ml=$7
Blanc Doux Rose Chrome Brightening Peel-off Mask 5ml=$3 10ml=$6
Blithe Patting Water Pack - Soothing & Healing Green Tea 5ml=$3 15ml=$6 30ml=$9
***Blithe Vital Treatment Essence - 8 Nourishing Beans 5ml=$3 15ml=$7 30ml=$12
***Blithe Vital Treatment Essence - 9 Essential Seeds 5ml=$3 15ml=$6 30ml=$11
Bonajour Bio Active Night Cream 5ml=$4 10ml=$7
Bonajour Deep Cleansing Oil 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$5
Bonajour Eggplant Daily BHA Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$5
Bonajour Extreme Spot Serum 5ml=$5 15ml=$13
Bonajour Propolis Serum 5ml=$3 15ml=$8
Botanic Farm Grain Ferment Cleansing Water 5ml=$2 15ml=$3 30ml=$5
Botanic Farm Rice Ferment First Essence 5ml=$3 15ml=$6 30ml=$9
By Wishtrend Green Tea & Enzyme Powder Wash 5ml=$3 10ml=$5
By Wishtrend Mandelic Acid 5% Skin Prep Water 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$8
***By Wishtrend TECA 1% Barrier Cream 5ml=$6
Canmake Mermaid Skin Gel UV SPF50+/PA++++ 5ml=$4 15ml=$9
Cezanne Skin Conditioner High Moist 5ml=$1 15ml=$3 30ml=$4
Cicago Cica Double Effect Ampoule 5ml=$8
Commleaf Rose Sleeping Mask 5ml=$5 10ml=$9
Cosrx Advanced Snail 92 All in one Cream 5ml=$3 10ml=$5 20ml=$7
Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence 5ml=$3 15ml=$6
Cosrx AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid 5ml=$2 15ml=$5
Cosrx AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Cosrx Aloe Soothing Sun Cream SPF50 PA+++ 5ml=$3 15ml=$6
Cosrx Aloe Vera Oil free Moisture Cream 5ml=$2 10ml=$4 20ml=$6
Cosrx BHA Blackhead Power Liquid 5ml=$2 15ml=$5
Cosrx Centella Blemish Ampoule 5ml=$8
Cosrx Centella Blemish Cream 5ml=$5
Cosrx Centella Water Alcohol Free Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Cosrx Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence 5ml=$3 15ml=$6
Cosrx Galactomyces Alcohol Free Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Cosrx Honey Ceramide Eye Cream 5ml=$5
Cosrx Honey Ceramide Full Moisture Cream 5ml=$4 10ml=$7
Cosrx Hyaluronic Acid Hydra Power Essence 5ml=$2 15ml=$5
Cosrx Hyaluronic Acid Intensive Cream 5ml=$2 10ml=$4 20ml=$6
Cosrx Low pH BHA Overnight Mask 5ml=$4 10ml=$7
Cosrx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$5
Cosrx Low pH PHA Barrier Mist 5ml=$3 15ml=$6
Cosrx Low pH PHA Barrier Mist - spray 5ml=$4 10ml=$6
Cosrx Mela 14 White Ampule 5ml=$8
Cosrx Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol 5ml=$2 15ml=$5
Cosrx Oil-Free Ultra Moisturizing Lotion 5ml=$3 15ml=$6
Cosrx One Step Moisture Up Pad 7ct= $3 14ct=$6 21ct=$10
Cosrx One Step Pimple Clear Pad 7ct= $3 14ct=$6 21ct=$10
Cosrx PHA Moisture Renewal Power Cream 5ml=$4 10ml=$7
Cosrx Propolis Light Ampoule 5ml=$8
Cosrx Salicylic Acid Daily Gentle Cleanser 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$5
***Cosrx Two in One Poreless Power Liquid 5ml=$3 15ml=$6
Cosrx Ultimate Moisturizing Honey Overnight Mask 5ml=$3 10ml=$6
Cosrx Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Mask 5ml=$3 10ml=$6
Cure Natural Aqua Gel 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Dessert Table Very Moist Berry Recipe Lotion 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$7
Dessert Table Very Moist Berry Recipe Skin 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$7
Dr Jart+ Ceramidin Cream - 2017 5ml=$6 10ml=$12
Dr Jart+ Ceramidin Liquid - 2017 5ml=$3 15ml=$6 30ml=$10
Dr Jart+ Cicapair Cream 5ml=$6 10ml=$12
Elizavecca EGF Elastic Retinol Cream 5ml=$2 10ml-$4 20ml=$6
Elizavecca Hell Pore EGF Special Ample 5ml=$3 15ml=$6
Elizavecca Kangsi Pack 5ml=$2 10ml=$3 20ml=$5
Elizavecca Hell Pore Control Hyaluronic Acid 97% Serum 5ml=$3 15ml=$6
Elizavecca Vitamin C 21% Ample Mask 5ml=$2 10ml=$4 20ml=$5
Glossier Balm Dotcom 5ml=$5
Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Glossier Priming Moisturizer 5ml=$4 10ml=$7
Glossier Solution Exfoliating Skin Perfector 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$8
Glossier Soothing Face Mist 5ml=$2 15ml=$5
Glossier Soothing Face Mist - spray 5ml=$3 10ml=$5
Glow Recipe Blueberry Bounce Gentle Cleanser 5ml=$3 15ml=$7
Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Pink Juice Moisturizer 5ml=$5 15ml=$12
Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask 5ml=$4 10ml=$8
Goodal Mild Protect Natural Filter Sunscreen SPF50+/PA+++ 5ml=$3 15ml=$9
Goodal Moisture Barrier Cream 5ml=$5 10ml=$9
Goodal Moisture Barrier Fresh Liquid 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$8
Guerisson 9 Complex Cream 5ml=$3 10ml=$5
Hada Labo Alpha Lotion 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Hada Labo Hyaluronic Acid Lotion Light 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Hada Labo Hyaluronic Acid Lotion Moist 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Hada Labo Hyaluronic Acid Milk (Milky Lotion) 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Hada Labo Hyaluronic Acid Perfect Gel 5ml=$3 10ml=$5 20ml=$7
Hada Labo Premium Hyaluronic Acid Lotion 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Hada Labo Premium Hyaluronic Acid Milk (Milky Lotion) 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
***Hada Labo Skin Plumping Gel Cream 5ml=$3 10ml=$6
Hada Labo Whitening Lotion 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Heimish All Clean Balm 5ml=$2 10ml=$4 20ml=$6
Heimish All Clean White Clay Foam 5ml=$2 15ml=$3 30ml=$5
Heimish Artless Glow Base SPF50+/PA+++ 5ml=$4 15ml=$11
Holy Snails Niacinamide-Free Sunfish 5ml=$6
Holy Snails Shark Sauce 5ml=$6 15ml=$16
Holy Snails Snowbang Essence 5ml=$5 15ml=$14
Holy Snails Snowbang Essence - spray 5ml=$6 10ml=$11
Huxley Be Clean Be Moist Cleansing Gel 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$7
Huxley Good Night Sleep Mask 5ml=$3 10ml=$5 20ml=$8
I'm From Ginseng Serum 5ml=$7
I'm From Magnolia Sleep Mask 5ml=$3 10ml=$5 20ml=$8
***Innisfree Bija Trouble Cleansing Gel 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$5
Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Lotion 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Skin 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$5
Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum 5ml=$3 15ml=$7
Innisfree Green Tea Sleeping Pack - 2018 5ml=$3 10ml=$5
Innisfree Orchid Enriched Cream 5ml=$4 10ml=$8
Innisfree Orchid Enriched Essence 5ml=$4 15ml=$12
Innisfree Orchid Eye Cream 5ml=$6
Innisfree Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask 5ml=$2 10ml=$4 20ml=$6
IOPE Bio Essence Mist 5ml=$3
IOPE Bio Essence Mist - spray 5ml=$4
Isntree 8% Alpha Hydroxy Acid Gel 5ml=$2 15ml=$4
Isntree Aloe Soothing Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Isntree Green Tea Fresh Facial Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
ISOI Bulgarian Rose Waterfull Cream 5ml=$5 10ml=$9
ISOI Bulgarian Rose Intensive Energizing Lotion 5ml=$7 15ml=$15
Kikumasamune High Moist Lotion 5ml=$1 15ml=$3 30ml=$4
Kikumasamune Lotion 5ml=$1 15ml=$3 30ml=$4
Kikumasamune Sake Milk -Emulsion 5ml=$1 15ml=$3 30ml=$4
Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin C Drop 5ml=$5
Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin E Mask 5ml=$3 10ml=$5
Klairs Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$7
Klairs Illuminating Supple Blemish Cream 5ml=$4 15ml=$12
Klairs Mid-day Blue Sun Lotion SPF40/PA++ 5ml=$3 15ml=$8
Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream 5ml=$6
Klairs Midnight Blue Youth Activating Drop 5ml=$9
Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Cream 5ml=$3 10ml=$6
Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Serum 5ml=$3 15ml=$7
Klairs Supple Preparation Facial Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$7
Klairs Supple Preparation Unscented Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$7
Kohakuhada Facial Lotion Moist -Amber 5ml=$2 15ml=$3 30ml=$5
Kose Softymo Deep Cleansing Oil 5ml=$1 15ml=$3 30ml=$4
Kose Softymo Speedy Cleansing Oil 5ml=$1 15ml=$3 30ml=$4
Krave Beauty Kale-lalu-yAHA 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$7
Krave Beauty Matcha Hemp Hydrating Cleanser 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$8
LJH Probiotics Sleeping Cream 5ml=$6 10ml=$12
LJH TeaTree 30 Cleansing Foam 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$8
LJH TeaTree 90 Essence 5ml=$6 15ml=$15
LJH Vita-Propolis Ampoule 5ml=$11
***Make P:rem Blue Ray Sun Gel SPF50+/PA++++ 5ml=$3 15ml=$9
***Make P:rem Capsule Sun Gel SPF50+/PA++++ 5ml=$3 15ml=$9
Manyo Factory 4GF Eye Cream 5ml=$7
Manyo Factory Active Refresh Herb Peel 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$8
Manyo Factory Bifida Ferment Complex 5ml=$5 15ml=$12
Manyo Factory Galactomyces Niacin Starting Treatment Essence 5ml=$4 15ml=$10
Manyo Factory Herb Green Cleansing Oil 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Manyo Factory Pure Cleansing Oil 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Manyo Factory Rosehip Oil Mist 5ml=$2 15ml=$5
Manyo Factory Rosehip Oil Mist - spray 5ml=$3 10ml=$5
Manyo Factory Ultra Moist Radiance Oil 5ml=$1 15ml=$2
Manyo Factory Ultra Moist Rebirth Ampoule 5ml=$4 15ml=$9
***May Coop Raw Sauce 5ml=$3 15ml=$7 30ml=$11
Mebika Moist Lotion 5ml=$2 15ml=$3 30ml=$5
Melano CC Lotion 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Missha Night Repair Science Activator Borabit Ampoule 5ml=$6 15ml=$15
Missha The First Treatment Essence Intensive 5ml=$3 15ml=$7 30ml=$12
Missha The First Treatment Essence Intensive Moist 5ml=$3 15ml=$7 30ml=$12
Mizon AHA & BHA Daily Clean Toner 5ml=$3 15ml=$6
Mizon AIO Snail Repair Cream 5ml=$3 10ml=$5
Mizon Black Snail AIO Cream 5ml=$2 10ml=$4
Mizon Snail Recovery Gel Cream 5ml=$2 10ml=$4
Mizon Snail Repair Eye Cream 5ml=$5
Mizon Snail Repair Intensive Ampoule 5ml=$4
***Neogen Bio-Peel Gauze Peeling Green Tea 3ct= $4 7ct=$9 10ct=$11
***Neogen Bio-Peel Gauze Peeling Lemon 3ct= $4 7ct=$9 10ct=$11
***Neogen Bio-Peel Gauze Peeling Wine 3ct= $4 7ct=$9 10ct=$11
***Neogen Real Ferment Micro Essence 5ml=$3 15ml=$6 30ml=$10
Nivea Sun Protect Water Gel SPF50/PA+++ 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Nots 28 Remedy Balancing Day Moisturizer 5ml=$5 15ml=$12
OintLab Vital Renatured Repair Ointment 5ml=$5 10ml=$10
Purebess Galactomyces 80 Eye Cream 5ml=$2 10ml=$4
Pyunkang Yul Cleansing Foam 5ml=$2 15ml=$3 30ml=$4
Pyunkang Yul Essence Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$5
Pyunkang Yul Essential Oil 5ml=$3 15ml=$7
Pyunkang Yul Mist Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$5
Pyunkang Yul Mist Toner - spray 5ml=$3 10ml=$4
Pyunkang Yul Moisture Cream 5ml=$3 10ml=$5 20ml=$9
Pyunkang Yul Moisture Serum 5ml=$3 15ml=$6
Pyunkang Yul Nutrition Cream 5ml=$3 10ml=$6 20ml=$9
Reddy More Moisturizing Cream 5ml=$3 10ml=$5 20ml=$7
Rosette Ceramide Gel 5ml=$3 10ml=$5
Scinic Aqua AIO Ampoule 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Scinic Honey AIO Ampoule 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Scinic Snail AIO Ampoule 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$6
Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$7
SK-II Facial Treatment Essence 5ml=$8 15ml=$22
SKinFood Black Sesame Hot Mask 5ml=$2 10ml=$3 20ml=$5
SkinFood Black Sugar Honey Mask 5ml=$2 10ml=$3 20ml=$5
SkinFood Black Sugar Mask 5ml=$2 10ml=$3 20ml=$5
SkinFood Egg White Pore Mask 5ml=$2 10ml=$3 20ml=$5
SkinFood Freshmade Watermelon Mask 5ml=$2 10ml=$4
SkinFood Rice Mask 5ml=$2 10ml=$3 20ml=$5
SkinFood Strawberry Black Sugar Mask 5ml=$2 10ml=$3 20ml=$5
SN-T Plant Stem Cell Cream 5ml=$5 10ml=$9
Son & Park Beauty Water 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$5
Stratia Fortify 5ml=$4
Stratia Liquid Gold 5ml=$4 15ml=$9
Stratia Rewind 5ml=$4
Stratia Soft Touch AHA 5ml=$3 15ml=$6
Stratia Velvet Cleansing Milk 5ml=$2 15ml=$5
***Sulwhasoo Gentle Cleansing Foam EX 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$5
Sulwhasoo Gentle Cleansing Oil EX 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$8
Sulwhasoo Overnight Vitalizing Mask EX 5ml=$4 10ml=$7 20ml=$12
Sulwhasoo Skin Clarifying Mask EX 5ml=$3 10ml=$5 20ml=$8
The Creme Shop Snail Repair Overnight Gel Mask 5ml=$2 10ml=$4
The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Light Cleansing Oil 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$5
The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Rich Cleansing Oil 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$5
The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution 5ml=$3
The Ordinary Ascorbyl Glucoside Solution 12% - LAST ONE 5ml=$4
The Ordinary Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate Solution 20% in Vitamin F 5ml=$4
The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution 5ml=$1 15ml=$3 30ml=$4
The Ordinary Matrixyl 10% + HA 5ml=$3
The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% 5ml=$2
The Yeon Refining Calamine Cream 5ml=$5 10ml=$10
TonyMoly Banana Sleeping Pack 5ml=$2 10ml=$4
***TonyMoly Wonder Rice Smoothing Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$3 30ml=$4
Tosowoong Enzyme Powder Cleanser 5ml=$2 10ml=$4
Tosowoong Propolis Sparkle Ampoule 5ml=$3 15ml=$7
UKA Scalp Cleansing Deep & Light 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$8
Ure Cosmetic Eggplant Master AIO Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$4 30ml=$7
Whamisa by Glow Recipe Chai Tea Eye Cream 5ml=$8
Whamisa by Glow Recipe Chai Tea Serum-in-Cream 5ml=$4 15ml=$10
Whamisa by Glow Recipe Green Tea Foaming Cleansing Gel 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$7
Whamisa by Glow Recipe Green Tea Moisturizer 5ml=$4 15ml=$10
Whamisa by Glow Recipe Green Tea Serum Toner 5ml=$2 15ml=$5 30ml=$8
Whamisa Organic Flowers Apple Sebum Treatment 5ml=$3 15ml=$6 30ml=$10
Whamisa Organic Flowers Cleansing Oil 5ml=$3 15ml=$6 30ml=$10
Whamisa Organic Flowers Deep Rich Toner 5ml=$3 15ml=$7 30ml=$12
Whamisa Organic Flowers Water Cream with Natto 5ml=$5 10ml=$9
Wonjin Effect Water Bomb Cream 5ml=$5 10ml=$9
DELUXE SAMPLES & FULL SIZES / all new! Exp/Man Size Price Each Qty Avail.
107 Premium White Facial Soap man 03/2016 40g $1 1
Cremorlab Fresh Water Gel exp 2019 10ml $2 0
Cremorlab Triple Bright White Bloom Foam Cleanser exp 2019 15ml $1 1
Hyggee Fresh One Step Facial Essence - 4ml $1 0
Manyo Factory Ultra Moist Radiance Oil exp 11/2018 40ml $5 1
Melano CC Intensive Anti-Spot Essence - 20ml $15 3
Simplistic Wonder Essence - 5ml $1 1
Skin Inc Hyaluronic Acid Serum - 5ml $2 1
Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Serum EX exp 2020 4ml $3 0
Sulwhasoo TimeTreasure Renovating Water EX exp 2020 5ml $1 1
FOIL SAMPLES Exp/Man Size Price Each Qty Avail.
Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Eye Cream exp 2021 1ml $2 18
Sulwhasoo Snowise Brightening Spot Treatment exp 03/2019 1ml $1 11
Sulwhasoo Snowise EX Whitening Serum - 1ml $1 0
SHEET MASKS & ETC / all new Exp/Man Price Each Qty Avail.
green italy towel - $1 7
red italy towel - $1 2
Peach & Lily "Don't Forget Your Sheet Masks" Bag - $5 1
Grey Cat Ear Facial Headband - $2 0
Daiso Two-Way Mint Green Silicone Mask - $4 0
A'pieu Fruit Vinegar Sheet Mask - Lemon exp 2020 $2 1
A'pieu Real Big Yogurt One Bottle - Blueberry exp 2020 $3 1
A'pieu Slice Cucumber Sheet Mask exp 2020 $3 1
Aritaum Mugwort Essence Pouch exp 2020 $3 1
Beaucros Rose Mask Pack exp 2019 $3 1
Benton Snail Bee High Content Mask Pack exp 2019 $3 4
Blossom Jeju Red Camellia Soombi 2 Step Deep Nourishing Petal Mask exp 2019 $6 1
BRTC Blue Phyto Complex Gold Foil Mask exp 2020 $8 1
Cosrx Acne Pimple Master Patch - upgraded - $5 3
Cosrx Blackhead Remover Mr RX Kit exp 2020 $6 1
Cosrx Clear Fit Master Patch - $5 1
Cosrx Holy Moly Snail Mask exp 2019 $4 4
CosW My Real Skin Green Tea Mask exp 2021 $2 1
CosW My Real Skin Vitamin C Mask exp 2021 $2 1
Eunyul Coenzyme Q10 Natural Moisture Mask Pack exp 2021 $5 1
Etude House Damask Rose Mask exp 2020 $2 1
Healing Bird Botanical Face Mask Ultra Moisture Coconut exp 2020 $3 0
HiddenCos Americano Coffee Mask exp 2020 $2 1
Laneige Two Tone Sheet Mask Brightening & Hydrating exp 2019 $6 1
Leegeehaam Tea Tree Soothing Mask exp 2020 $5 0
Mizon Vital Up Time Anti Wrinkle Mask exp 2020 $3 1
My Beauty Diary Aloe Vera Soothing Mask exp 2020 $2 1
My Beauty Diary Black Pearl Brightening Mask exp 2020 $2 0
My Beauty Diary Damask Rose Mask exp 2020 $2 0
My Beauty Diary Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Mask exp 2020 $2 1
My Beauty Diary Imperial Bird's Nest Emolliating Mask exp 2020 $2 1
My Beauty Diary Mexico Cactus Mask exp 2020 $2 1
My Beauty Diary Natto Fermented Moisturizing Mask exp 2020 $2 1
My Beauty Diary Red Vine Revitalizing Mask exp 2020 $2 1
My Beauty Diary Royal Pearl Radiance Mask exp 2020 $2 0
My Beauty Diary Squalene Restorative Hydrating Mask exp 2020 $2 0
Natural Pacific Premium Metal Aqua Glossy Aqua Mask exp 2020 $3 1
Natural Pacific Premium Metal Snow Whitening Infusion Mask exp 2020 $3 1
Neogen Ocean Feeding Fiber Mask exp 2019 $4 1
No:hj Deep Cleansing Bubble Mask exp 2020 $4 1
Papa Recipe Bombee Black Honey Mask exp 11/2018 $3 0
Papa Recipe Bombee Ginseng Red Honey Mask exp 2019 $5 2
Papa Recipe Bombee Honey Butter Cream Mask exp 2019 $5 1
Papa Recipe Bombee Honey Mask exp 2019 $3 0
Papa Recipe Bombee Rose Gold Honey Mask exp 2019 $5 0
Papa Recipe Bombee Whitening Honey Mask exp 2019 $3 0
Peach & Lily Peach Slices Acne Spot Dots exp 2020 $5 5
Peach & Lily Chubby Cheeks Lift + Plump Mask - $6 1
Purederm Moisture & Nourish Fingernail Mask exp 2020 $3 1
Sooryehan Houttuynia Cordata Mask exp 2020 $4 1
Ultru I'm Sorry For My Skin Black Mud Mask - Tightening exp 2019 $5 1
Ultru I'm Sorry For My Skin Jelly Mask - Revitalizing exp 2021 $4 1
Urban Dollkiss 3 Step Elephant Nose Pack man 11/2016 $5 1
Urban Dollkiss Grape Juicy Mask exp 2021 $2 1
Urban Dollkiss My Panda Synergy Up Collagen Mask exp 2020 $4 1
Yadah Brightening Jelly Pack exp 2019 $4 1
Yadah Revitaling Jelly Pack exp 2020 $4 1
Surprise/Beginner Bundles I'd like to help you if you're unsure what products you'd like to try! Just let me know your skin type, concerns, what type of products or steps you're looking to try, and a price you're wanting to spend, and I'll pick a mystery selection for you. This selection includes a mixture of decanted samples (sizes and items based on bundle price), deluxe samples, foil samples, and sheet masks - depending on what your preferences and requests are. Just let me know if this is something you're interested in and I'll be more than happy to help!
Coming Soon!
submitted by gothickornchic to asianbeautyexchange [link] [comments]

how to prepare cacao fruit video

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We hope you enjoyed Part 1 of our Chocolate Origin blog series, 'Before It Becomes Chocolate, There's a Tree'. Now we want to take you through the steps to get from the cacao pod to the chocolate we know and love: Harvesting A cacao pod will begin to ripen 5-6 months after it flowers. Image Source: https://cocoanibs.files.wordpress.com Each pod contains beans, the seeds of the fruit that are Next, spread the cacao beans on a cookie sheet and oven roast at 250 degrees for 25 minutes. Let cool. Separate the cacao nibs from the shells (we tried several different methods- shelling with our fingers, twisting the bean and then shelling, pressing a rolling pin on the beans to crack the shells first- all of those worked). Grind the cacao beans. We did a round in the food processor and then small batches in the coffee grinder (we actually ran it through the coffee grinder Pour cuisiner, vous devez prendre 500 grammes de fèves de cacao, environ 150 grammes de beurre de cacao, autant de miel, quelques gousses de vanille et un peu de cannelle. Pour un remplissage, le pavot, le sésame et la pelure d'orange feront l'affaire. Maintenant, vous pouvez commencer à cuisiner. La première étape consiste à laver les fèves de cacao et à les peler. Ensuite, mettez un. Ce qu'on appelle fèves de cacao ce sont Salt to taste. With a very sharp knife, slice the prepared cacao fruit as thinly as you can. In a small, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil until it’s very hot; 350-375 degrees Fahrenheit. Drop the cacao slices, a few at a time, into the hot oil and fry them until they turn golden brown, about 1-3 minutes per batch. Dec 1, 2019 - Explore Cathy Karras's board "Cacao fruit" on Pinterest. See more ideas about cacao fruit, cacao, chocolate tree. How do those brightly coloured cacao pods get turned into your delicious chocolate bar? There are many stages along the way and there’s no doubt that the chocolatier plays a crucial role (especially in bean-to-bar chocolate).But the first important steps i s harvesting and processing the cacao.. Just like in specialty coffee, harvesting and processing are crucial for high-quality fine cacao. If you’re interested in the making of chocolate, read on to learn how to process cacao pods. About Cacao Bean Preparation. Proper processing of cacao beans is as important as that of coffee beans, and just as time consuming and complex. The first order of business is harvesting. Cocoa trees bear fruit when they are 3-4 years old. The pods Cacao pod on tree Cacao pod growing on a cacao tree cacao fruit stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images Cocoa fruit - Foodstuff "Brazilian cocoa pods and beans, reddish-skinned cocoa fruit, tropical exotic fruit on a wooden background, cocoa plantations are located in south region of state of Bahia, Brazil." How to prepare a cacao. What you need: chopping board, sharp knife, ripe cacao. To prepare a cacao fruit place it on a chopping board and carefully slice it lengthways. If you want to keep the seeds intact, so that they can be re-planted or used to make chocolate, then don’t cut the fruit all the way through. This may inadvertently damage them. Eat cacao fruit – the fruit is pulp in white cream color and hairy remove the white pulp and eat it, some cultivars the pulp stuck on the beans (seeds) Edible part in cacao fruit it’s the pulp and seeds, the fruit is pulp white hairy, and the seeds edible after drying and make them powder

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What is Jackfruit and how to eat it - YouTube

This is a quick tutorial on what is jackfruit and how to eat it! Hope you all enjoy this, please leave me a comment, I would love to hear from you! A quick video on making chocolate homemade from scratch. I show the cacao tree, cacao pods, fermented beans, nibs and the final process in making chocolate. ... Did you know that you can eat the membrane surrounding a cocoa bean? Ha! me neither. So here we go, opening and tasting the contents of a cacao pod on this... In this video I show every step to making dark chocolate from cacao tree to chocolate bar. There is roughly 7 step to making chocolate so sit back and enjoy.... The process of Banana Tree germination is quite simple in the video. I use banana stump to germinate for trees by cutting the them in to pieces. all they pie... Please watch: "KaraiKuddi Pepper Chicken - Easy Chettinad Pepper Chicken Recipe" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjCmOJqxZjQ --~--How to open Jackfruit. Ama... Many of you ask me a lot to make HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE. So, Today i make it for you. You don't believe how much easy is this to make. It'll need only 4 ingredie... How to make a home-made hot chocolate. 1 glass of milk, 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder ( you can buy in a bakery department). Mix it well in a saucepan, put o... How to fertilize the banana plant to grow it to produce fruit [ agri cambo ]When we place the banana seeds in, we need to cover it closely so that it grows f... Just an overall vid. of me opening and plating some cacao seeds from montoso gardens in Puerto Rico. These are theobroma cacao seeds which will one day give ...

how to prepare cacao fruit

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