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.
Yesterday, I baked some strawberry scones since I had some strawberries that I needed to use up. I got the recipe from a blog called Confessions of a Tart. I followed the recipe as close as I could, but I didn't have cream or buttermilk on hand, so I used whatever milk I had in the fridge. I also added a little bit more strawberries since I needed to use them up. The result? It tasted pretty good, but it could've used the extra fat from cream or richness from buttermilk and just a little more sugar. Overall, it's a very good and easy recipe.
(makes 6 large scones or 12 minis) 
Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to incorporate dry ingredients. Be gentle so you don't break up the berries and don't overwork the dough. Sprinkle dough with flour if it gets sticky. 
Of course, I had to buy a few things myself. We stopped by at a mall in the area, Westfield Garden State Plaza, and I picked up a scented candle from Bath & Body Works, two cookbooks from Borders (there was a giant clearance sale on everything in the store, so I couldn't pass this up), and some foundation from Bed, Bath and Beyond. This mall was really nice and really big; I'm not even sure if we walked through out the whole place and we were there for a good four to five hours. It had all your basic stores plus some stores that I rarely see in malls that I've been to, such as Superdry (
We also managed to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was really funny. We got to Universal Studios about an hour or so before it opened. Guests staying at hotels In Universal were able to enter the park early and many of them were heading to the Harry Potter area. Once we were able to get into the park, you see all of these people sprinting towards Harry Potter land. To make matters worse, the short route to that particular area was closed off and only hotel guests were able to enter through the shorter route. Let me tell you... it took a good amount of time walking to Harry Potter. My family and I were speed walking and everyone else was doing pretty much the same thing. It was like a race. People were cutting corners and strategically speeding up and trying to find any possible way to make it before anyone else could. Once there, it was like we were transported to Hogsmede. 
