Funny scientist explains "chemicals" and "natural" shit

Okay, this one is about food, not makeup, but it's still a really funny takedown of the idea that "chemicals" are always bad and "natural" things are always good, written by a chemist. It looks a little dry at first glance, but it's actually very entertaining. Give it a read.

If you don't have time (ohh, you're sooo fucking busy), just read this excerpt:

"As I've emphasized in passing above, there are plenty of natural substances, made by healthy creatures in beautiful, unpolluted environments, that will nonetheless kill you in agony. Plants, fungi, bacteria, and animals produce poisons, wide varieties of intricate poisons, and they're not doing it for fun.

And on the other side of the imaginary fence, there are plenty of man-made substances that really won't do much of anything to people at all. You cannot assume anything about the effects of a chemical compound based on whether it came from a lovely rainforest orchid or out of a crusty Erlenmeyer flask. The world is not set up that way. Here's a corollary to this: if I isolate a beneficial chemical compound from some natural source (vitamin C from oranges, for example, although sauerkraut would be a good source, too), that molecule is identical to a copy of it I make in my lab. There is no essence, no vital spirit. A compound is what it is, no matter where it came from.

Another assumption that seems common to this mindset is that when something is poisonous at some concentration, it is therefore poisonous at all concentrations. It has some poisonous character to it that cannot be expunged nor diluted. This, though, is more often false than true. Paracelsus was right: the dose makes the poison. You can illustrate that in both directions: a beneficial substance, taken to excess, can kill you. A poisonous one, taken in very small amounts, can be harmless. And you have cases like selenium, which is simultaneously an essential trace element in the human diet and an inarguable poison. It depends on the dose."

Don't you know that not buying a latte every day is the key to saving money? (from The Hairpin)

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link.
No, but really, if you don't already make your own iced coffee or iced tea, here's a tutorial, and you don't even need to buy a French press r any other fancy equipment. I recommend Tea Forte Cucumber Mint tea. It's not the cheapest tea ever (about $6.50 for 16 bags), and it won't improve your skin or whatever nonsense it claims to do, but it's fucking delicious, hot or cold.

I still have a shitload of those Nescafe instant things left, so I should probably see how they are over ice.

How not to waste food

Okay, a break from the usual beauty shit around here. How do you decide when to throw out food? Instinct? Smell? Date on the package? Still Tasty is a useful resource to help you avoid tossing shit that's still perfectly good - and to avoid eating things that you probably shouldn't.

BzzAgent Review: Nescafe Memento Specialty Coffee

Disclosure: I got this product free from BzzAgent.

Nescafe Memento Cappuccino flavor

Okay, so a few people expressed interest in a review of these Nescafe Memento instant coffee drinks. Let me start with the caveat that, while I have done a fair amount of research about makeup and skin care, I don't know shit about nutrition or food ingredients. That means that my review of this product is going to be based only on my experience with its preparation and taste.

Here's what Nescafe has to say about it (because with products like this that I am sent for review, I evaluate them against their marketing claims and my own expectations):

NESCAFÉ^® MEMENTO™ transforms your house (or car, or desk or a random stretch of sidewalk) into the best coffee shop on the block. How so? Well, because you’re there, obviously. But also because with only hot water and a mug you’ll be stylishly sipping a delicious, frothy café beverage anywhere you please.

Made with real coffee, milk and sugar, NESCAFÉ^®MEMENTO™ turns you into a barista without the training. Available in Caramel Latte, Mocha and Cappuccino you can find NESCAFÉ^® MEMENTO™ in the coffee aisle at your local Kroger.

Here's where I think Nescafe is going to lose some points from me: these are not comparable to traditional espresso coffee drinks (elsewhere, scattered through the marketing materials, they use the phrase "coffeehouse quality"). How can they be? If you set them up in competition with that sort of thing, they are going to lose. But what they are comparable to are other mixed coffee drinks from places like donut shops that use a syrup or powder base for their drinks - here they are just as good, but cheaper and more convenient.