Since Fall is rapidly approaching, also known as #thotumn, I thought it was about time to share a recipe— especially because it’s been so long! I got into this recipe last fall and it’s now my new go-to pumpkin bread. I don’t know about you, but I am a huuuuuuge pumpkin spice person, so it’s pretty much a staple the entire last quarter of the year for me. The thing I love most about this recipe is that it is so easy and doesn’t require any special equipment, so I hope you guys give it a try! All you need is to pick up my favorite loaf pan, a couple of bowls and a whisk and you’re ready to rock.

Want to get into some more iconic fall recipes? Try my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!

I loooove using little eye patches in the AM for a morning pick me up. Pacifica recently sent me their new Vegan Collagen Hydrating Masks for undereye & smile lines— we love multimasking! I don’t know how many times I have to say I love hydrogel masks, they’re so much better than cotton fiber sheet and eye masks.

These biodegradable biocellulose masks feature vegan collagen, hyaluronic acid, and cucumber extract to address both aging and fine lines (hence why it works great for both under eyes and smile lines!). I’ve only used these under my eyes, and I really liked ’em and appreciate the clean ingredients.

I love bringing these single use packaged masks on trips with me (not that that’s happening anytime soon…). They’re $6 for a single mask, so I wish they’d make a set of several of these for a little savings.

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Growing up in the 626, the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles, I have always been lucky to have access to some of the best boba in the city (among countless other things).  

A few years back, I started making my own boba— and while they’ll never compare to my favorite hot honey boba, it sure is fun to experiment with! I use Torani Passionfruit Puremade Syrup to create a refreshing springtime sipper, Passionfruit Black Tea with Boba, which is both easy to make and delicious. 

Torani Puremade Syrups deliver amazing flavor with the ingredients you love. No artificial flavors, no artificial colors and no artificial preservatives. GMO Free. They make the perfect addition to tea, coffee, soda, lemonade, etc. One flavor can create endless recipes!

If you’ve never tried to make boba at home, I highly recommend you to try it out! I’m going to be sipping on this all spring & summer long. Get your own Torani Puremade Syrups online at Torani.com and get to mixing! I plan on making this with my Torani Lychee & Peach Syrups next.

**This post is sponsored by Torani— for more information, please read my Disclosure Policy**

NOTE: Since I’m sharing a Taiwanese inspired recipe amid an uptick in anti Asian hate crimes, I have donated a portion of my sponsorship proceeds to Gold House, a non-profit which aims to accelerate the inclusive representation and empowerment of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to benefit all of society. I hope my post inspires you to visit, support and uplift your local Asian owned businesses, whether it’s an Asian market to pick up some boba to make yourself, a restaurant, or a boba shop in your area.

I just received a few products from ZitSticka— a brand I’ve been wanting to try for a few years now since hearing about their microdart patches for acne (and now dark spots!). I don’t struggle with acne nearly as much as I used to growing up, so I picked out their PRESS REFRESH Exfoliating Hydrogel Mask & HYPERFADE Dark Spot Patches to try out.

PRESS REFRESH is a hydrogel exfoliating sheet mask that features chemical exfoliating acids (salicylic, glycolic, and lactic) and graphene technology that syncs with your body heat, increasing your skin’s ability to absorb ingredients.

I love chemical exfoliants, so having that in a sheet mask is a really fun weekly treatment mask. Hydrogel masks have been my holy grail for years, since they feel like a second skin and stick to your face so well. The two piece mask is easy to apply, doesn’t burn (it actually feels cooling!), and makes for the perfect #maskie.

I have fairly reactive skin, especially when using chemical exfoliants, and this mask left my skin bright (no redness!) and baby soft. This set includes 5 masks for $36— a bit pricier, but the effects are immediate. I think this might be my current favorite sheet mask!

HYPERFADE is a self-dissolving microdart patch that targets dark spots from post-zit damage. I thought these would be more up my alley since I don’t have a ton of active breakouts anymore. I only tried these once, so I’ll give my first impressions.

This was my first microdart patch experience, surprisingly enough, and I really liked it! The patch is larger & stays on very well. I forgot I had it on! The microdarts dissolve after ~2 hours, and release brightening ingredients including hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, vitamin c, and arbutin. These are $34 for a pack of 12 patches. I really do think I noticed a change with just one use on an older dark spot, but since I haven’t broken out since receiving these I can’t speak on how they work for a new post-zit dark spot. I’ll keep you posted!

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I was majorly influenced by a ton of people I follow to get back into energy drinks…I had a real Monster energy phase in high school (while everyone else was underage drinking I was Unleashing The Beast), that graduated into a brief stint with vodka redbulls once I turned 21 due to not knowing what to order at bars (phew, I’m glad I graduated to actual cocktails)…and now, a decade later I’m back into energy drinks. Now, I prefer to use them as a preworkout, or to get over that midafternoon slump when I’m not in the mood for coffee.

I like Celsius energy drinks and dabbled in those a bit since they were more readily available, but now that I once I found Alani Nu Energy Drinks at my grocery store, Target, and online— there’s no going back. Their fun flavors and branding really sucked me in, and thankfully— the drinks are so. damn. good. and effective too!

The Alani Nu Energy Drink features 200mg of caffeine, 0 sugar, 10 calories, and Vitamin B + Biotin to support your natural glow. I have been curious about their pre-workouts for a while, but always resisted because I haven’t done well with pre-workout in the past…I hate the itchy feeling. But after trying these…now I’m tempted!

The flavors I’ve tried so far (kinda in order of favorites) are Hawaiian Shaved Ice, Blue Slush, Tropsicle, Breezeberry, Cosmic Stardust, Mimosa, and Watermelon Wave. I think that’s actually all of their flavors except for Arctic White, but I haven’t seen that one in store anywhere quite yet.

I like these because they’re the right amount of sweet, sweetened with sucralose, the same compound used in Splenda— my favorite alternative sweetener. It’s no wonder I like these. These can be pretty sweet for someone who mostly drinks water, coffee, and LaCroix, but I love these flavors so they don’t bother me. If you don’t have a sweet tooth, dilute them with some sparkling water!

These give me the extra boost I need to accomplish my tasks for the day, or get the motivation to hop on my elliptical at home. I don’t use them daily, as I don’t want to become too caffeine dependent more than I already am with my morning coffee, but when I’m feeling a bit “meh” at any point throughout the day— these really do the trick. You can find these online as a 12 pack for $27.99, but I recommend popping into a Target, GNC, or Vitamin Shoppe instead to try all the flavors before committing to 12 of them. I’ll take 12 packs of all of the above, though…any day.

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I recently started dabbling in teeth whitening again after at least 5 years without. I have suuuuper sensitive teeth, so the last time I tried a white strip and it felt like electrocution within 2 minutes, I was too scared to ever dabble again. I tested a whitening kit my mom gifted me, but during my 2nd use I don’t think I rinsed my mouth out of all the harsh chemicals enough. And boy have I learned my lesson the hard way.

After a few days I noticed my gums, under my tongue, and inside of my bottom lip & left side of my cheek in major pain, and the only thing I could think caused it was my teeth whitening. The inside of my cheek was even forming an oral sore or ulcer of some sort. The only positive side effect was a swollen bottom lip…hello, free faux lip injections!

From there, I noticed that both my diet and oral care routine were just making matters worse. So, I took a few steps to try to heal my burn as fast as possible and the results were almost immediate (fully healed in 5 days). Here they are, in case you find yourself in a similar predicament!

FOOD & DIET

Reduce acidic foods: Unsurprisingly, acidic foods will further irritate your mouth burn, by…literally burning it. I cut out my snack time tangerines & stopped eating my salads with balsamic vinaigrette. I did keep my daily coffee in my routine, but figured enough milk made it okay.

Limit alcoholic beverages: alcohol obviously also burns, so I’d avoid at all costs. I had 2 cocktails while healing and it wasn’t the most pleasant experience…straws might help.

Eliminate spice & reduce salt: sorry to the seasoning police, but any sort of spicy foods and increased salt are NOT IT in this instance. I cut out my current TJ’s chili lime rolled corn tortilla chips obsession and stopped using pepper on my roasted vegetables. I still salted and seasoned, but tried to use less.

Cut out hard and crunchy snacks: Eating any chips or “sharp” foods that could poke and prod at your oral burn is a solid choice. I switched my chips for popcorn or trail mix. Nothing hurts more than a tortilla chip shard.

ORAL CARE PRODUCTS

Natural Toothpaste: if you’re using a traditional toothpaste, the SLS (and surely, other ingredients) can reallllly burn while brushing. I used to be a big fan of Hello Products, but they discontinued my favorite toothpaste and I reverted back to my old ways. I bought the Hello Hemp Seed Oil Fluoride Toothpaste and love it. I’m officially making the switch back, and now I want to try *all* of their flavors and products, especially the mouthwash!

Speaking of mouthwash, I’ve recently gotten into using TheraBreath a few months ago & I really like it. I was already using the TheraBreath Healthy Gum rinse, but thought it would be worth recommending. They have so many options, I don’t know which to try next! I’ve tried and liked the TheraBreath Fresh Breath rinse (recommended for tonsil stones) as well.

Manual toothbrush: I’ve used an electric toothbrush for 2 years now, but went back to using a soft bristled manual toothbrush until my mouth healed. I feel like the oscillating bristles just stabbed my poor irritated gums too much, so it’s worth a shot.

And last, the most obvious tip, is to take a break from teeth whitening. I was only just getting started with teeth whitening, but was doing it once per week for 2 weeks. I will be waiting at least 2 weeks after healing until I whiten again to make sure my mouth has fully had time to heal. Every time I whiten my teeth hereon out I will be super adamant about getting all of the whitener out so this never happens again.

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One of my first quarantine purchases last year (YEAR…) was a Shrine Monogram Candle. I was getting served up ads on IG for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so one day I just decided to take the plunge…because hey, I’d probably burn through a couple of candles real quick during our 2 week quarantine. If only she knew.

Shrine Candles is a non-seasonal female founded candle company hand poured in Los Angeles since February 2020. Their candles are an apricot-coconut wax blend, and they’re known for great branding, color coordinated candles— plus, they package their candles in a compostable and biodegradable arch packaging made from mushrooms, hemp, and other good stuff. I picked up Monogram, which totally seemed up my alley. I couldn’t forget to add one of their matchbooks because I’m a match collecting fiend. Peep my side instagram, Matches in LA, to bare witness.

Monogram is scented with italian leather, violet leaves, galbanum, ambrette, and sandalwood. I loooove more woody, masculine scents, and this seemed like the perfect balance of masculine and feminine to me, like my favorite brand, Boy Smells.

I was so excited to receive my candle in the mail, and upon my first smell, I instantly hated it. The olfactory system is fascinating, and while I’ve always known that scents can spark up some nostalgia, Monogram reminded me of a strange memory that took me a few burns to piece together.

Middle school church party fog machine. No, I’m not joking. So, I hid my new pretty candle with shame and would burn it in other rooms so I didn’t have to smell it. But with fragrance being so personal, my middle school church party fog machine could be your literal heaven. So, let’s talk about the actual candle, because I haven’t written off Shrine Candles yet— and neither should you!

These candles burn fairly well and have a great scent throw. Mine doesn’t always have a full wax pool to the edge, but it’s not tunneled. The matte/painted vessels always tend to hold onto a lot of soot, so make sure to wipe them before burning again. Since my favorite brand has black vessels, I think the soot surprises me more than it should. That’s to be expected when lighting a small fire in your house every day for some serotonin.

They’re a bit pricier, at $38, but I feel good spending it because it’s a small, new, business. And they do it well. I much prefer Shrine over my FORVR Mood Candles I reviewed last August. While Monogram wasn’t for me, I think some of their future drops might suit my nose a bit more. Fingers crossed!

Shop the original 3 Shrine Candles available at Nordstrom online:

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I am suuuuch a creative and been all over the place the last few months dabbling in instagram reels & tiktok, vlogging on YouTube again, etc. that my blog kind of gets lost (mostly due to the fact that I don’t LOVE writing…I’m so visual!). But, this year I’d like to get better at having my content live on multiple platforms, at least when it’s relevant.

Anyways, let’s get into the beauty…my gal Thu (@lazygirlglam), who I’ve known for yeeeeeeears, recently moved back to LA to work at Summer Fridays. She kindly hooked me up with some goodies that I’ve been dying to try, one of which being the coveted Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm.

I’ve been hearing amazing things about this balm ever since it came out. I’m such a loyal LANEIGE balm & sleeping mask user, that I have been literally sleeping on this one— but now, I’m sleeping with it.

This vegan balm totally reminds me of everyone’s past holy grail, the Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask (which I reviewed in 2014, before it was reformulated to be vegan). It has the same vanilla scent, and similar packaging (compared to Bite’s initial formula). But, I actually like this one better than what I remember of the Bite Beauty Mask. The consistency is so much more rich and luxurious, and it gives your lips a beautiful shine.

I favor using the lip butter balm as a sleeping mask, since it’s pretty thick & has a large opening, making it easy to overdo it— which is fine by me (at bedtime at least!). Apply the excess to cuticles, cracked elbows— you name it.

It has a combination of vegan waxes, shea butter, and murumuru seed butter to both heal & condition dry, chapped lips. It’s scented with vanillin, a natural vanilla compound— I’d prefer vanilla extract, for more depth of flavor, but that’s just the baker in me. When I wake up in the morning, I can still feel a light residue that lingers after all my tossing and turning— which I love!

A lot of folks seem unhappy with the packaging, but since it’s a metal tube I know to be careful with it and haven’t had any issues— I baby my products, so keep this one on the nightstand instead of in your purse on the go kids.

You can grab the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm at Sephora for $22, which some people find expensive, but I think it’s a small price to pay for smooth, kissable lips. My lips break out in bumps from the cheap stuff, so I am always down to invest in this category— and SF’s clean ingredients are just the cherry on top.

**This post includes products I’ve received for free and affiliate links— for more information, please read my Disclosure Policy**

Since I bake using a lot of other people’s recipes, I wanted to find a good way to share my experience with these recipes while still crediting the recipe creator— so, introducing recipe reviews . Today I’m baking A Cozy Kitchen’s Overnight Cinnamon Rolls, which, spoiler alert, are my new go-to cinny rolls. And, because I’m an overachiever, I baked them in one day, and vlogged while doing so!

These cinnamon rolls are the epitome of what you think when someone mentions “cinnamon rolls” — they are so soft, fluffy, and delicious! Plus, the cream cheese icing is a must. Follow along in the video below to watch me make this recipe, or, just use the recipe below to make these yourself! If you want something that’s more of a showstopper— check out my Giant Cinnamon Roll recipe from last year!

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Dough

• 1/4 cup lukewarm milk
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 large eggs (beaten)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (cubed, room temperature)

Cinnamon Roll Filling

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1/3 cup ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• Pinch kosher salt

Cream Cheese Glaze

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 4 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream (or milk)

For Dough

1. In the bowl of your stand-up mixer, add lukewarm milk (~100℉). Mix in active dry yeast and allow to activate 8-10 minutes, until foamy.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. To the bowl with the milk & yeast mixture, add the beaten eggs and vanilla. Then, add all of the flour mixture at once.

3. Attach the dough hook to your mixer and mix on low until dough becomes cohesive. Add cubes of butter slowly with mixer still on low.

4. Beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes until the dough is completely cohesive, smooth, and not sticky. The dough will start unsticking from the sides of the bowl. Remove the dough from the hook and the bowl and form it into a ball.

5. Transfer the ball of dough to a large, lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and transfer to the fridge to rise for at least 2 hours or overnight.

For Filling:

1. Mix and mash butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, and salt until completely smooth. You can use the mixer with a paddle attachment, or by hand using a spatula like I did.

To Assemble Rolls

1. After two hours or the next day, remove the dough from the fridge. Dump dough out ibti a floured surface and roll the dough into a 1/8-inch thick rectangle that measures 15“ x 22.

2. Add the filling to the dough and spread into a thin layer, using an offset spatula. Spread the filling pretty close to the edges. Starting from the edge away from you, roll the dough towards you, horizontally, into a firm log.

3. Slice the dough into two and carefully transfer to a cutting board or sheet pan. Place them in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes. Slicing cold dough is way easier!

4. Remove from the freezer and slice the rolls into 12 1 1/2-inch rolls.

5. Transfer to a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Cover with a kitchen towel and allow to rise for an additional 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake in center rack for 18 to 20 minutes.

For Cream Cheese Icing

1. Using your stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugars, vanilla paste, salt and heavy cream/milk. Beat until smooth.

To Serve

1. When the cinnamon rolls come out of the oven, pour the icing over the cinnamon rolls and smother them with icing and enjoy!

I’d consider myself a decent home baker, so I made this recipe in one day instead of letting the dough rise overnight. You could either rise the full dough before forming the rolls overnight, or cut your rolls and let them do the 2nd rise in the fridge overnight. Splitting up the work definitely would make this recipe easier if you consider yourself a baking novice.

Some of the main tips I’d have for this recipe is to make sure your milk is heated correctly, around 100℉, so you activate the yeast without killing it with too high of heat. If you don’t have a thermometer, test by dipping your finger in, and if you can barely feel any heat you’re there, since our bodies are 98.6℉ usually!

The rolls are pretty forgiving— I accidentally cut a few too small and they all baked up fine. Just make sure you let them double in size during the second rise! Overall the recipe is amazing— I love how the filling is super cinnamon heavy— it really tastes just like you’d get at a bakery. Just check out those layers! You guys need to try this recipe out, I’d give it an A for sure. It’d make a delicious breakfast treat for your family this holiday season!

Part of the candle’s allure was the mysterious fragrance notes— none of which are actual decipherable scents! But, basically…it’s supposed to smell like space.

Top: Cosmic dust, Antimatter particles 

Heart: Starlight, The scent of Supernova 

Base: Atmospheric vapour, Dark nebulae

I was hoping for a more masculine scent, but it’s more of a fruity/fresh/woody scent to me. Some notes I’ve heard thrown around include grapefruit, plum, bergamot, and fig— which to me could all make sense, but I’m not a fragrance expert so it’s hard to decipher with nothing to go off of.

As far as the burn goes, I was fairly disappointed. The first burn didn’t get all the way to the edges after 5 hours, so I decided to tent it with foil to get the rest to melt. It’s been burning alright since, but this seems to be a common problem with Byredo candles, and this is only my first one!

I asked their customer service what the wax was, and they told me it’s a blend of soy and synthetic waxes. It’s funny to me how these expensive brands get away with using synthetic or paraffin waxes…still gonna buy them anyway though!

The scent throw with this is pretty medium— not too strong and not too soft. It’s fragrant enough to fill a small/medium sized bedroom though!

Overall I’d give this candle a B-, the first burn really put a bad taste in my mouth, so while I’m glad to have this candle for the limited edition factor (and I’ll definitely be reusing the glass as a cup!), I won’t exactly be running to buy another Byredo candle unfortunately.