Drinks and Nail Polish

Description: "MAXIM Cafe Menu" Instant Matcha Latte
Cost: $2.99 for a pack of 4 at Mitsuwa

Ajinomoto General Foods' MAXIM Cafe Menu Instant Matcha Latte is a delightful product find I made yesterday while waiting for our table at Newport Seafood Restaurant. The taste is great and compares to what you'd order in an Asian boba house. The powder fizzes and dissolves completely when you add water, so there is no annoying leftover residue at the bottom of your cup. Skip the tea shop next time - At $0.75 per serving, the quality and convenience of this product wins out. There are also many other flavors available that I will now be open to trying as well (Cafe latte and matcha latte shown above).

Gatorade's G2 is an awful low calorie version of the real thing and should be avoided. The taste was unpleasant enough that I disposed of the beverage during my workout and had water instead. I am not a fan of any low calorie beverages; since I don't often have soda or energy drinks anyway, I prefer the full-flavored thing when I do!

Description: Sally Hansen Insta-dri Nail Color
Cost: $4.99 at Target

New to drugstores is Sally Hansen Insta-dri Nail Color. It features a large, flat brush that lends itself to a one-stroke application. Color applies evenly and dries quickly. I've gone through many different brands of nail polish looking for one that would apply light, milky colors evenly and this is the first that's delivered. I've always been frustrated with other formulas that streak, apply unevenly, or don't dry quickly and need many coats. I will get rid of the rest and only buy this product when at drugstores from now on. With 24 shades available, my fingers and toes will have plenty to choose from. (Note: I don't know how this compares to the professional brands unavailable at most drugstores: OPI, Essie, China Glaze, Orly, etc.)

Logitech V220 Cordless Optical Mouse

Description: Logitech V220 Cordless Optical Mouse for Notebooks
Cost: Currently $19.99 from Target, marked down from $26.89

After owning a laptop for 2 years, I finally bought myself a cordless optical notebook mouse. I checked its review on Amazon after I got home and was satisfied with the 4.5 star rating from 121 users. It comes in several colors, but I went with the black since the other colors have a metallic sheen to them, which I find tacky. Target's current special is cheaper than Amazon's price of $25.42, so it's a pretty good deal. It comes with a mouse, wireless receiver, and 1 AA battery. I thought I'd have to deal with trying not to cut myself on the clam shell packaging, but it's perforated and broke open easily. Set-up was a snap. I'm still trying to get used to a smaller mouse, but everything's working great so far. This was an inexpensive purchase I probably should have made sooner rather than later for the sheer sake of my computing convenience!

Wilton Silicone Baking Cups

Image from Kaboodle
Description: Wilton UltraFlex™ Silicone Non-stick Reusable Baking Cups
Cost: $7.99 for a set of 12

I bake a lot, especially cupcakes and muffins, and nothing annoys me more than to liberally grease the muffin tins, only to have my baked goods STILL stick to the pan. These baking cups are so easy to use and clean-up is very easy. I like the idea of not having to add extra butter or cooking spray to my pans either! I used it this past weekend and the baking cups produced very lovely and evenly baked cupcakes.

Here's a more official description:
Flexible silicone bakeware cooks evenly and quickly while being non-stick and incredibly easy to clean. No muffin pan needed! Silicone resists stains and odors and is heat resistant up to 500° Fahrenheit. For easy storage,... See more »Flexible silicone bakeware cooks evenly and quickly while being non-stick and incredibly easy to clean. No muffin pan needed! Silicone resists stains and odors and is heat resistant up to 500° Fahrenheit. For easy storage, bakeware can be folded. Oven, microwave, refrigerator, freezer and dishwasher safe. Limited lifetime warranty. (Not to be used on gas or electric stovetops, on hotplates or under broilers.)

I think I'm getting a silicon baking sheet for Christmas so I can't wait to use that on my cookies as well!

Any kitchen tools you can't live w/o?

Nikon 50mm f/1.4 D

Description: AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 D
Cost: less than $300 brand new

DSLRs are heavy to begin with, and having heavy lenses make it worse! While I love our 17-55mm f/2.8 Nikkor lens, sometimes it's just way too cumbersome to schlep around. We recently picked up the 50mm and I'd have to say that it's a very useful lens to have.

I love taking pictures in low light but hate using flash. This camera does wonders in capturing high quality images in low light situations b/c it's so freaking fast. Here are some examples of pictures taken with this lens. Also if you love playing around with bokeh, you'll find it so much easier with the 50mm. Also, it's great for portrait photography. And the best part?? My arm doesn't feel like it's falling off when I've been snapping away shot after shot.

I'd recommend browsing photography forums and boards such as Fred Miranda for good deals. We didn't find it necessary to buy brand new, so a wedding photographer looking to unload it gave us a good deal- the lens was practically brand new! Hint- my bf pretended he was a poor (cheap) college student and bargained down to $260. :)

L'Oreal Feria Hair Colour

Description: "Starry Night" Bright Black
Cost: $10.59 @ Target

I admit it, I picked this brand based on the edgy-looking model, and shiny, holographic packaging. What I'd forgotten was that I'd used this brand before and was none too pleased with the experience. Well, I remembered today when I used it again, and it gave me good reason to start this blog. There are tons of product reviews elsewhere online, but I don't bother consulting reviews on small ticket items, and it's more fun to listen to what your friends have to say!

Back to the review, Feria comes with the usual colour gel, developer creme, conditioner, as well as a special "aromatic shimmer serum." I don't know what the serum did, because although I was expecting it all to smell something like the fruitiness of Garnier Nutrisse, the chemical smell was actually very harsh. Not only were my nostrils burning, so where my eyes. Instead of watching an entire episode of the Colbert Report and waiting the recommended 25 minutes for the color to develop, I decided to rinse it out at 15. The conditioner that's recommended for immediate use after the initial rinse doesn't smell pleasant either, which matters because I won't care to use it in the upcoming weeks as recommended. End result: Don't be taken in by the sexy packaging. My black is not as dramatic looking as that of the model on the box, and I can still see some of the reddish undertones I was trying to get rid of. If this wasn't so unpleasant to use, I might have gotten a better result! I'd use something from Garnier the next time I decide to color.