Health Review: Amazing Grass Chocolate Green Superfood

When I first started to change my eating habits back in January, I took note of how little vegetables I ate. That's when I remembered a review my nutritionist friend, Adeline, did a while back (her site is here and follow her on twitter!). She mentioned this product, Green Superfood in Chocolate Infusion and all the benefits she experienced while consuming it consistently: healthier hair, skin, regulated system and also the ability to get the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables. Another bonus was the taste. She stated she mixed the powder with unsweetened almond milk and it tasted relatively close to regular chocolate milk. I was sold. I purchased the smaller tub of powder to try it out first to see if I would like it. Well I'm on my second tub and I've even gotten the Mister to take it as well!

So what does this product claim? According to the website it states:

• Helps achieve your 5 to 9 daily servings of fruits & vegetables

• Naturally detoxifies & boosts your immune system

• The added benefits & great taste of cacao

• Complete raw food with powerful phytonutrients

• Alkaline green plant foods balance acidic pH levels

• Whole Food nutrition, no fractionated vitamins

• More organic whole leaf greens per gram than other green superfoods - not from juice

• Probiotics & Enzymes to aid digestion & absorption

• Featuring Sambazon organic pure açaí powder

• No soy lecithin fillers

• Nitrogen packed for freshness

Does it live up to all the claims? Let's start with the taste. I'm not going to lie, the first time I tried it, it seemed a little chalky to me and it smelled like a combination of chocolate and crushed greens, but I mixed it with water. The next time I tried it, I used almond milk and it tasted much better. Now I add a scoop of my greens to my protein shakes for the nutritional benefits and to give it a chocolate boost (my shakes are mixed with water). So the taste is something that grew on me rather than me loving it right away.

What I really like about this is the amount of vitamins and minerals it provides. If you are a person who hates eating vegetables and fruits, or if you're just picky about food in general, you may want to try this out. Unlike juices or other forms of bars this contains no sugar and a very small amount of carbs. I do think that this has helped me with staying healthy during the winter. The Mister got a really sick in March and usually I get sick right as he gets better. This time around, I only had about two days where I felt fatigued with a slight sore throat. So I do think this does help boost the immune system a bit, especially when taken consistently. 

Here is the nutritional information from the website:

As for my hair and skin, I don't really notice a difference, but then again I began using this when I changed my diet. Perhaps the only thing I do notice is that my hair seems shinier than what it used to be, but I may just be imagining it, haha. The overall improvement and benefits of additional nutrition is the main reason of me repurchasing another tub.

Overall, I think this is a helpful product especially for people who do not get all the nutrients they need due to poor diet or living a on-the-go lifestyle. This is an easy way to incorporate the daily servings of fruits and veggies without taking a ton of time to prep and eat. Remember that this may not work for you or it may work better for you compared to others. Everyone is different and each body has different needs. This review is just my take on the Superfood and the results it gave me.

Have any of you tried this out? Or a product similar? Please let me know your thoughts! 

Review: Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss in Nude Candy

I took a stop by Ulta yesterday after a two month hiatus just to browse. Of course one never goes into Ulta and leaves empty handed. In the end, I left the store with some nail polishes and this little stunner of a lipgloss.

From what I've seen, Essence is pretty budget friendly, this gloss only cost me $2.49.  I had heard a bunch of awesome reviews about XXXL Shine Lipgloss in Nude Candy and being a nude pinky lip lover I knew this was one I would like. So I had been keeping an eye out for this to purchase but the last few times I visited Ulta this particular gloss was always sold out. Until yesterday that is!

Nude Candy is a pale milky pink that is quite similar to NARS Turkish Delight. When it's on my lips, I can't tell the difference in color. In the tubes, Turkish Delight has no shimmer while Nude Candy has some silver shimmer (sparkle) but when applied it's not visible. The color is pretty opaque and the smell is similar to fruit candy with a texture that is not sticky or very tacky. Perhaps the only issue I have with this as with most milky pink glosses is that the product does settle a bit into lip lines. You can't tell from far away but if you get uncomfortably close you'll be able to see the settling. The wear time is about two hours if I don't eat since the consistency is not tacky but that really doesn't bother me all that much. Some people may not enjoy the constant reapplication.

For those of you who love Turkish Delight but hate the smell and price of NARS glosses, you should give this a shot. I mean for $2.49 at least you won't feel guilty if you hate it!

Overall it's a lovely gloss. I definitely would try other colors from the line. With such an appealing price and quality product wrapped up into one, it's hard to not love these!

Pros:

-Budget friendly

-Not sticky
-Can wear as a stand alone lip product
-Can be considered a dupe for NARS Turkish Delight

-Pretty packaging

Cons:

-May be hard to find (I can only find Essence brand products in Ulta)

-Settles into lines
-Constant reapplication