One area of food that I lack the most knowledge in is with fruits. Yes, the sweet and juicy, vitamin packed produce that mostly grows on trees. Why? Because I grew up eating a very limited variety of them all-year round. Thanks, uncommon allergies! Fruit seasons might as well not exist for me; otherwise, I would miss out on the chance to fill my daily sugar allowance with preferably natural ones.
This doesn't mean that the opportunity to go fruit picking doesn't still excite me. As long as it isn't pollination season and not departing for the farm at 6:30 AM on a hot summery day, I am far more willing to be outside in nature and farmland than just a few years earlier. I might not be able to consume the fresh fruits but my allergies aren't so bad so I could still touch them and be fine.
Mid to late summer is, apparently, the perfect time for peaches and nectarines. I saw them more often in our fruit basket throughout July and August but didn't know if my mom had sudden cravings or sales were too good to resist, usually meaning it's their season and time to shine. It only clicked after the parentals said we were going on a peach picking day-trip. We joined a bus tour that brought everyone from New York City to Lyman Orchards in Middlefield, Connecticut.
The orchard must be doing something right since they are celebrating their 276th year anniversary this year, 2017. Even though we went with a tour group, there were many families who drove to enjoy the day outdoors as well. It seems to be quite popular amongst the local state residents nearby.
Seeing the rows and rows, acres upon acres of the orchard is just breathtaking. Our bus only allotted enough time for peach picking, but the orchard had PYO peach, apple, and pears the day we went. Lyman's also has a nearby marketplace that sells fruits, baked goods, pantry items as well as BBQ sandwiches. For those looking for activities, the orchard has a golf course and sunflower/corn maze nearby. The maze seemed fun but the day we visited was a little too cloudless to bear the thought of potentially getting lost inside.
The director said that all picked fruit should be paid for first but I would say a majority of visitors had very generous samplings as they went on their picking frenzy. Staff weighs everyone's loot by the entrance/exit and the bags are paid per pound. I believe all peaches were ~$1.50/lb. (give or take) when we visited.
Lyman's has both white- and yellow-flesh peaches (furry) and the same for nectarines (smooth). Since I couldn't eat them, the differences between the variations that I knew were all superficial. Wiki does say the white ones are less acidic and sweeter. My mom recommended us to only pick and purchase firmer ones since these fruits ripen and soften even after picking. It is also wise to keep the peaches and nectarines well protected in the car ride home as any sudden thrashes will surely cause it to bruise.
My biggest regret is not purchasing one of their apple pies and peach crisps/cobblers. It is supposedly an award winning recipe. I got to taste their peach crisp a la mode at the marketplace and it was delish! If only I didn't buy it at the last minute and the bus wasn't on a schedule to leave. Bummer... Perhaps next time?
I may have unintentionally started a foot peeling mask series, well it was unintentional until the RoseRoseShop haul. The quest was never to try every version available on the market; my target was just to buy the most affordable yet effective version. It just so happened that I would find cheaper ones that were from a different brand. Even though they should theoretically all work the same, there is always the possibility that it might not...right?
the SAEM's Dear My Foot Power Peeling mask looks exactly like The Face Shop's and Etude House's peeling products: from where it is made, to the way everything is packaged, down to the directions. The only variance is in the ingredients list, yet even that is extremely similar. I had high expectations since I've seen success with something that is practically identical to it.
the SAEM's description:
A foot peeling mask infused with hero exfoliants like Salicylic Acid and cell turnover catalyst Lactic Acid. This foot mask powerfully peels away all your dead skin cells, revealing baby soft feet. Its citrus ingredients relax and rejuvenate your tired, stressed feet, while Olive and Argan oils moisturize ’til your soles are silky smooth.
Directions
1. Wear the foot sheet.
2. Cut the pouch along the dotted line and pour the contents (20 ml) along the lateral side of each foot sheet.
3. Tie the ankle area, fix the top of the ankle with the enclosed sticker, and wait until the contents are absorbed into the soles of the feet. (Recommended Time: 60~90 minutes.)
4. After the recommended time, take off the sheet, wash off any residue with water, and towel-dry the feet.
5. After 4~6 days of use, dead skin cells will naturally start to fall off. For softer, smoother feet, wait for the dead skin cells to peel off naturally.
Ingredients
SD ALCOHOL 40-B, WATER, LACTIC ACID, GLYCOLIC ACID, GLYCERIN, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, BETAINE, UREA, PEG-60 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL, SALICYLIC ACID, DISODIUM EDTA, ARGININE, CITRUS PARADISI (GRAPEFRUIT) FRUIT EXTRACT, ARGANIA SPINOSA KERNEL OIL, CHAMAECYPARIS OBTUSA WATER, OLEA EUROPAEA (OLIVE) FRUIT OIL, CITRUS AURANTIFOLIA (LIME) FRUIT EXTRACT, CITRUS AURANTIUM DULCIS (ORANGE) FRUIT EXTRACT, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, CITRUS LIMON (LEMON) FRUIT EXTRACT, FRAGRANCE
the SAEM (USA): USD $11.49
the SAEM (Korean retail): ₩7,000
YesStyle: USD $8.90
Jolse: USD $10.48
With this kind of a result, a foot peeling mask series might be very redundant...At least I can gladly say the Dear My Foot Power Peeling works! (I saw that there were some Amazon reviewers who saw no results. I wonder what that could have been due to?)
Packaging
Like I mentioned earlier, the SAEM's version looks identical to the other road shop brands. The mask is sold with a pair of serum-filled pouches and two plastic booties packaged in a box.
the SAEM, unlike the TFS and Etude House, includes an extra pair of stickers to help tape down excess plastic bag. I found it to be very weak. Since I know the booties without a sticker works fine for me, I didn't bother to fix it. I would suggest using regular tape if your feet are on the smaller side.
Ingredients
Again, the ingredients in this formulation are very very similar to the previous foot peels I have written about. The only things that are different are the order of ingredients and plus or minus some essential oils and extracts.
Color & Scent
The serum is colorless and relatively odorless (maybe slightly artificially fruity). I didn't experience any sensitivity to all the acids.
Before
Soaked my feet for 30 minutes in water prior to soaking it for 90 minutes in the peeling serum.
Day 1-3
Saw no changes. Didn't do any extra soaking.
Day 4-6
Still did not do extra feet soaking. Started to see some peeling around the toes, then the balls of my feet.
Day 7-8
Started to get a little impatient and took extended showers (a night of shaving, a night of exfoliating, and a night or two of extra hair washes, etc.) to keep my feet wet a little longer—the skin peeling process sped up a lot as a result.
Day 9
Was pressed for time (had to go on an overnight trip with friends the next day). Soaked my feet for about an hour. When the peeling layer of skin got very soft, I pushed the tip of my nails to scrape/shovel the skin off. Most of it came off without any issues, but then there were stubborn patches and flakey bits that were very much still attached to my soles despite everything.
Thoughts & Recommendations
I can't remember the last time I did a foot peel without having (accidentally) heavily soaking and rubbing my feet with water shortly after beginning the exfoliation process. I forgot how slow it was for the skin to naturally detach itself just from daily showers alone. While the box says dead skin falls off naturally in 4-6 days, it took about 6-7 for the skin to very noticeably flake. When the skin is constantly soaked for a long time, dead skin starts to fall off around the earlier predicted date. It also completely finishes peeling a lot sooner. The whole process takes can take about 9-11 days depending on how much extra help is given, whether intentional or not.
Even though shoveling the skin off with my nails sped up the process, it definitely wasn't a definitive solution. Not everything wanted to come off. What was underneath the scraped areas wasn't as clean and smooth as places where the skin fell off on its own. But hey, it works in a pinch. I would only recommend doing this towards the end of the peeling cycle.
The most important conclusion is this stuff works. It isn't a miracle in the sense that ALL callouses and thicker skin are removed, but it gets pretty darn close! (HG status worthy. Is HG still a thing in the beauty blogging world?)
If bought in Korea, it costs the same as other brands so there is no debating or guessing—just get whatever is on sale or whatever shop you first see it in. If bought outside of Korea, pick whatever is cheapest.
It is difficult to not try and experience it myself when everyone hypes up the solar eclipse. New York City might not have been graced with the marvel of totality, but seeing what was the moon covering 70% of the sun was plenty spectacular. Standing outside while being surrounded by a large group of people all trying to catch a glimpse of something we normally cannot see and stare at an extraterrestrial object which we typically wouldn't dare look at—it was surreal.
I hadn't planned the actual viewing part of the solar eclipse. Even though I knew it would be extremely dangerous to look at with my bare eyeballs, I did not pre-purchase eclipse glasses or make a DIY contraption. I mostly went outside with the hope that some nice person could let me borrow their viewing device for a hot second.
Thankfully, the phone's camera could catch the lens flares from the bright sunlight to give an indirect view of the eclipse. I heard someone say that even pointing the camera straight at the sun could potentially be harmful to both the phone and human eyes; whether I see any side effects remains unknown. It was still incredibly difficult to view through the mobile camera, let alone take a clear photo of it. (This involved max zooming, constant focus tapping, and speedy picture taking.)
Wonders of nature tends to bring humankind together—it isn't about you, me, him, or her specifically for that short period of time—just the sky, the clouds, the sun, and the moon. Complete strangers gather together. Selflessness and sharing spread in the air as a few pair of eclipse glasses passed around a sizeable group of people. Jaws dropped and admirable wows escaped, no matter young or old, as soon as the solar filters covered the eyes.
It felt completely different from the time I saw the super blood moon/lunar eclipse; I was not alone, it was not dark, and there was no chance of not being able to witness this natural event. I hear the next total solar eclipse viewable in the USA will be in 2024 (April 8th to be exact). I also hear parts of New York (far upstate) will get a chance to witness totality. Perhaps I should consider it as a bucket list item?
