First entry of 2012

I can't believe 2011 is over and in addition to that, how I've completely neglected this blog. I guess one of my resolutions is to blog more this year. There were so many times that I took pictures of products to review on and was just too lazy to write. Hopefully by the end of 2012 I will have lots of entries to look back on. At least I've finally gotten to posting up my blog sale. Please check it out on the link to the right of my page...more stuff to come....

Mac Warehouse Sale/ Charity Bag Swap: March 11, 2011

This time at the warehouse sale I was MUCH more sensible than the last. I only ended up buying a lipstick (Shy Girl) and blush (Stark Naked). I was quite happy about my purchases and not going overboard as I did last time. The sale this time around was more or less the same as the last. I did see the MAC naked honey salve but at $15, it's still a little pricey so I didn't get one.

So I picked up 3 charity bags and all were the same...if anyone would like to swap, please leave me a message ^-^

here's what is in it:

• False Lashes #41 (criss-cross)
• Mineralize foundation in Medium
• Cremesheen Lipgloss in "Boy Bait"
• Lipmix in Burgundy

Been quite busy lately w/ the bridal shower for my best friend and baking orders. Things have calmed down at the moment but will get a little hectic in the next couple of months. Here's what I've been up to the last 2 weeks:

Birthday Mini Cupcakes in Vanilla w/ Choco Fudge Icing

 

 

Wedding Favour samples

Restaurant Review: Maroli - Indian and Malabari Cuisine

Maroli

630 Bloor St West Bloor & Bathurst Toronto , Ontario Tel : 416 483 5393 Cell : 647 897 5821
info@maroli.ca

Total with tax+tip: $67

On Thursday night the BF and I had dinner plans with a friend. We originally planned on grabbing Korean food and for some reason I brought up an Indian restaurant I had seen on DineTO . It was on their list of "2010 best restaurants in Toronto" so I was curious and checked out what was the choice under the Best Indian category. Being a vegetarian, I eat a lot of bland food all the time and when I eat out, I crave spicy flavourful food. Indian food is usually a safe bet because there are always vegetarian choices and all their foods are so deliciously aromatic. 

Anyways we got talking about this restaurant and being the adventurous foodies, we decided to venture there. It was about 8:30ish and my BF thought it would be a good idea to call and make a reservation/ check to see when they close (this was the "Best Indian Restaurant in TO" afterall). After he hung up, he said that he got a weird vibe from the woman on the phone because we said we wanted to reserve a table. When we got there we realized why, there was only one other table in the restaurant :D . The place was quite small and quiet, approximately 7 tables I'd say in the whole restaurant. 

MAC Charity Bag Swap

I've been quite busy lately and have been meaning to thank Ludmila and Charlene for the swap. In bag #3 I got an eyeshadow from the Tartan collection - "Golden Crown", Lipstick in "Surprise me", Rodarte Pigment and brow pencil. Ludmila was nice enough to give me 3 more brow pencils :) . In bag #4 I got the Rodarte Pigment, Prep + Prime and 2 brow pencils. Charlene was so kind as to throw in 2 little baggies of pigments, a nail file and a little note (so sweet.. I know!). I brought the charity bags to work and had a little draw with my co-workers (I secretly wanted bag #3). We lined up the bags and respectively numbered them 1,2 and so on. Had little pieces of paper with the numbers thrown into a bag and drew....I got #3! We all squealed with delight he..he..and swapped some items with each other. Fun day...now I can't wait for the next warehouse sale to do this again <3

Bag #1

Bag #2

Bag #3

Bag #4

Mac Warehouse Sale Haul: December 3, 2010

Came home not too long ago from the Estee Lauder warehouse sale. This was the first day of the sale and I went in the afternoon around 1pm - no line-up (yay). For those of you that have never been to one of these sales, there are 3 different rooms to go through. The sample products are taped down onto tables with an associated "item number". You can swatch the samples and what ever you want, you write down onto your little piece of paper. You then bring your piece of paper to runners who will gather your products together and bag them. Brands I saw: MAC, Estee Lauder (lipsticks/lipglosses, skincare, fragrance), Clinique (eye shadows, lipsticks/ lipglosses, foundation, mascara), Prescriptives, Origins, Bobbi Brown (mainly foundation, concealer), Coach and DKNY.

Review: Etude House

So I bought a couple of things from Etude House a while ago and have been meaning to do a review on them. I wanted to try a few things ever since Catalina gave a positive review on their Moistfull cream (coincidentally I did not get that). I like that the prices are not overly high and there's a good range of skincare and makeup products. So here's what I got....

Brightening Sleeping Facial Pack
"Sleeping Facial Pack promotes improved complexion overnight with 10 hour energized sleep efficacy."

The sleeping pack comes in 3 different formulas: brightening, moisturizing and pore tightening. For those who don't know what a sleeping pack is, it's like a mask you leave on overnight and wash off in the morning. In the description it says "Brightening for Bright and Vitalized complexion" but I have to say I didn't notice any brightening effect after the 2 weeks I had been using it. I do like it however because of it's light texture, almost like a lotion. Some people may like a thicker consistency but because I have oily skin, this was perfect for me. I also use the Laneige Water Sleep Pack and in comparison, this is wayyy lighter in texture. I find that the Laneige breaks me out sometimes and I suspect because it is so thick and heavy that it clogs my pores. I can only use the Laneige once or twice a week whereas the Etude I can use nightly without any problems. It has a slight cooling sensation when applied on the face and another plus, it's in a squeeze tube! I don't like dipping my fingers into a jar/ scooping it out with a spoon thingy.

Tear Drop Liner

"Eye makeup that brightens eyes and brings out their sparkle.  Now with three options for color!"

Pearl

For this I chose the "Pearl" finish because I wanted something that was more natural looking as opposed to the "White" and "Silver". I have to say that i'm glad I chose that because the other two finishes would've been too bright for my liking. I used the product to line the inner tear duct of my eyes and I think it's nice for an evening/ party look but too distracting for everyday. The tip of the wand is very sharp and is good for maneuvering around the inner corner of the eye. I actually didn't like having a fine line and instead just wanted sparkle in the area so I tried smudging it, but darn, the product dries so fast!

Peach Cheek Blusher
"Stamp blusher creates vivid cheek expression with lovely colors for oil absorbing and long lasting blush. One step application of bright and colorful pigments infuse dull cheeks with peachy blush. Cheek makeup withstands oil and perspiration for long lasting expression without fading. Comes with a unique one-touch sponge applicator for easy application without flaking."

Smile Peach

 The blush comes in 4 shades: Smile Pink, Happy Pink, Smile Peach (that's the one I got) and Happy Peach. I have to say that the colour that comes out compared to the one in the pan is a lot pinker and not very peach-y. This packaging/ design of the product is very interesting, you unscrew the jar and the lid becomes a sponge applicator. The sponge has a spring on it and when you screw the cap back on, the sponge is swirling in the pan and picking up the product. You're supposed to "stamp" the sponge applicator onto wherever you want the product on your cheek and you'll definitely need to blend it out w/ a brush. It's a little scary at first when you stamp it on your face because the colour looks so pigmented but when you blend it out, the colour is actually very faint. The consistency is very velvety, smooth and matte which I like because my skin is oily and gets shiny throughout the day. I can't say that the shades will work for everyone because it tends to lean towards the pink side and not peach as stated in the name. Other than that, I really like the precise application of the product and the texture.

I also got some samples - baking powder pore scrub, yogurt peel cleanser and i'm not sure what the last one is. The baking powder pore scrub was nice and not harsh but didn't really notice that it cleaned out my pores. The yogurt peel cleanser was very nice smelling and cleaned very well, a little too well I think because it left my skin squeaky clean (literally) and dry afterwards :( 

First Post!

yay! very first post...hmmm...so this may be the end of my xanga account. It seems like every blog I read is on this blogger.com and that's why I'm switching over. Definitely more professional looking and easy to use than xanga. Where did the name come from??...I decided to use my old AA (asianavenue) username lol, except it's not bLuSprinklZ (bluesprinkles was taken).

So it's going to be the same as what i've been doing on xanga - i'll try to post about reviews, thoughts on things i'm interested in such as food, makeup, music and cleaning (yes, as in vacumming and laundry O_o ).

Stay tuned...