First time Macarons!

Two days ago, I made macarons for the first time!! I think they came out pretty good, but there's always room for improvement.

I adapted the recipe from My Food Geek's Almost Foolproof Macaron recipe.

First, I weighed out all of the ingredients. 

Since I was making salted caramel macarons, I made the filling first: the salted caramel buttercream :D Mmmmm... yummy caramel...

After the caramel cooled, I transferred the caramel into another bowl, added the pieces of butter, and whipped them with a hand mixer

Next, I mixed the freshly ground almond meal, powdered sugar, and the first container of aged egg whites together in a bowl with some food coloring to get a caramel-like color for the shells (sorry! I forgot to take a picture of that). Then I started to whip the other container of egg whites. As they were whipping, I made the sugar syrup. When the syrup reached to about 240 °F and the whites had formed soft peaks, I slowly added the syrup to the beating egg whites. I probably should've added it a bit slower... hence all of the syrup sticking to the side of the bowl... X_X

Stop beating the egg whites and sugar syrup mixture once it starts to cool down. It look nice and marshmallow-y... and be really tasty! :D

Then, take all of the meringue out and mix it with the almond paste mixture.

Next, pipe the macaron shells on baking sheets with a regular round tip. Each shell should be about 3cm in diameter. I found a template online... just to make things more uniform and easier. :D 

Note: make sure to let these rest. I had them rest for almost an hour.

In a 320 °F oven, bake each batch one at a time for about 15 minutes... then.... VOILA!

Take the caramel buttercream out of the fridge, add the salt, and whip until combined. Put the buttercream in a piping bag and start filling the shells!

Overall, they came out better than expected. I read so many comments on other blogs about how some people couldn't get the feet to form, meringues falling flat, and shell cracking, which lead me to be super cautious. I guess it paid off!! I can't wait to make these again!

Review: Trader Joe's Spa Gentle Cleanser and Regenerating Face Lotion

I went to Trader Joe's about a week ago and saw these two products in the cleaning/skincare/non-food aisle.

The cleanser claims that it "Combines the antioxidant benefits of vitamin C & E and orange fruit extract" and says that "Vitamin C, vitamin E, orange extract make this cleanser gentle yet powerful, as refreshing and rejuvenating as a day at the spa. It gently cleans all skin types, removing makeup and surface oil without drying out your skin." The cleanser that I've been using, the St. Ives Green Tea Cleanser, started drying out my skin, so I figured I wanted to try something else.

The lotion claims that it "Combines the antioxidant Ester C, a collagen-stimulating and cell renewing formula. May help reverse sun damage and reduce appearance of fine lines" and says that "Vitamin C make this lotion gentle, yet powerful, as refreshing and rejuvenating as a a day at the spa. It's a lean, light lotion that will leave your skin feeling smooth and refined, day or night". I really don't have a problem with sun damage or fine lines, but I figured that it would be good to pair the cleanser and the lotion for optimal benefits (I know it's not true all the time, but... it gave me an excuse to try something new).

They were both $2.99, so I thought, "Heck, why not try them?" My skin was in pretty bad condition at the time... probably related to stress and diet issues. So I brought both the cleanser and the lotion and it ended up being less than $7 including tax.

First Impression
My first impression of the cleanser was that it had a faint orange smell, which was nice and pleasant. The cleanser has a gel consistency that doesn't really create a whole lot of lather when mixed with water (the St. Ives lathered up quite a bit). It wasn't really that alarming since the main thing I wanted this to do was clean my skin without drying it. And guess what? It did just that. My face felt really soft and clean. The real test would be whether or not this soft and clean feeling would last. The St. Ives cleanser would make my face feel clean and soft at first, but then my skin would become tight and dry, which is a no no for my oily skin.
Tight and dry = excess oil production = oilier skin X_X

My first impression of the lotion wasn't as favorable. When I pumped the lotion onto my hand, the first thing I thought was that the scent was VERY strong with a tropical, floral, citrus, coconut sort of smell. It's hard to describe. Regardless it was STRONG. I used it after I cleansed and toned my face. Initially, it feels really good on the skin. But after an hour, it made my face feel oily, which is not something I want my skin to feel after I applied a moisturizer.

Recommend?
Of the two products, I would recommend the cleanser. I've been using it for about a week now. No breakouts and it still performs as it did the first time I used it. As for the lotion, I use it on my body at night so the scent is no where near my nose. It's still strong, but it's not as bad when it's farther from your nose.