6/19/2013

Backlog of Food Adventures in Melbourne

Back with another food-related post!

Prepare to be hungry hehe

Kitsune Udon from Uzu (Caulfield)
Love Kitsune! Although I prefer Soba, kitsune udon still satisfies my craving and warms me up when it's winter in Melbourne.

Salmon Roses
Raw salmon is on my top 5 list of things I wouldn't mind eating everyday for the rest of my life, so it's no surprise that these Salmon Roses were delightful. Inside the roses are sushi rice, tempura flakes and mayo and fish roe. Yum :)

2012 Shiraz for my Birthday!

This was a gift for my Birthday back in March, but it was one hell of a good bottle! I liked how it didn't have any overwhelming bitter aftertaste and wasn't too dry.

Brunch in South Yarra

And of course - my favorite meal - Sunday brunch! This one was from a cafe in South Yarra. Rocket greens, potato 'hash brown', avocado mash, smoked salmon, a poached egg and hollandaise sauce. Great, but not life-changing.

Big Breakfast @ Degraves St

This was a big power-up breakfast right before a long day of work at the Town Hall. Poached Eggs, Toast, Sauteed Mushrooms, Baked Tomatoes and Bacon. Need I say more? Still can't get used to the bacon they have here in Australia - I prefer the crispy ones in Canada way more!

Favorite snack = Knoppers

Knoppers remains one of my absolute favorite snacks. I always have it with coffee (Long Black or Long Macchiato - no sugar of course)! I go through these like crazy haha they're not always available in Aldi either, so if I see them I tend to buy two packs of six - just in case.

Enough food pics for the time being - more to come later ^_^
xoxo

6/17/2013

Back from my hiatus :) Mini beauty haul + review of Sally Hansen Sheer Cream Blush

I certainly missed this blog! An entire 4.5 months has gone by so fast I barely got to catch my breath.  I am finally done with my Masters Degree!! Woo hooooooooooo :D There has been many ups and downs both in my professional, university and personal life, but I am still hopeful for that silver lining behind the cloud.

So to celebrate my completing the degree and also to cheer myself up from a rough time this past weekend, I decided to go on a mini shopping spree. Retail therapy teehee!

There's currently a 50% off promotion for the entire Rimmel range in My Chemist, so I decided to take advantage of it and went to test out the oh-so-famous-on-youtube "Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation".

After testing it out on my hands though, I must say that it's not for me. There are obvious shimmers in the foundation, which may suit skin that is more dry and perhaps smaller pores. Personally though, I don't quite like shimmer all over the face, but rather in specific locations - which is why I am particularly fond of highlighting my cheekbones and the inner corners of my eyes. My pores are relatively large and because of this I fear that the shimmers/glitter will only accentuate them. I also have oily skin, so I don't see this working for me.

I was rather disappointed, but then I turned to play around with other Rimmel foundations and fell in love with the texture and finish of their Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation! It's a light perfecting foundation, which give a satin finish - a perfect balance between glowy/dewy and completely matte.

The shade that I have is called Ivory 100!

Rimmel Match Perfection in 100 Ivory & Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Sheer Cream Blush in  01- Beaming

Ivory 100 is the lightest shade in the yellow undertone side of the range, which fits my skin tone perfectly. I have yet to actually try it on my face, but I think this might be one of my soon-to-be-favorites this next month!

The other beauty item I got today was the Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Sheer Cream Blush in 01-Beaming. I purchased its sister in 05-Bloom a few months ago (I think this was in a previous haul) and ended up loving it so much that I decided to get this shade as well.

The texture is not too creamy or sticky and blends in with the skin very nicely. It dries to a satin-finish which is very natural on the face.

In terms of longevity, because of my oily skin, it does tend to fade a bit, but I find that it works best as a base for other powder blushes as well! If I want the exact color, then I would powder very lightly. Otherwise, I layer another blush on top and it stays on all day for me.



Here are the pictures of the two shades and also the swatches!

Left - 01-Beaming// Right - 05-Bloom   



Left 05-Bloom// Right 01-Beaming

Bloom is more of a medium pink, whilst Beaming has more of a peach undertone. The swatches on my wrist are more true to color than how they look in the pan in the pictures above.

Top - 01-Beaming// Bottom 05-Bloom

I highly recommend the cream blush as they are generally low-maintenance, appear very natural and are especially great when you're pressed for time.

xoxo