Soirette: Macarons & Tea

So earlier this morning, I went with my friend to Downtown Vancouver for some shopping and we stopped macaron place that I've seen many reviews on. I've read some pretty good reviews, and some pretty bad. But like how I usually pick which restaurants to go to, I chose to go here because it looked cute (and clean). haha.

So, one difference I noticed between my visit and the pictures I've seen in other reviews is their decor and how it changes seasonally (or I would assume). I thought it was a pretty cute idea so thumbs up for you, Soirette.

If you go on their website (here), you'll find a list of hours, menu, prices, all the typical stuff. I realized though that their macaron list isn't very updated. The pictures they have are just of one season, I'm assuming and they're missing the photos and excluded many other flavours.

If you don't feel like going on the website, I'll just let you know the prices here:
1 for $2, 6 for $11.50, 12 for $22, 30 for $55 (and yes, people do actually buy 30. The woman lining up behind me decided that she wanted 30 macarons lol)

I ended up getting the 6-pack because if you think about it, it seems to be the best deal.... (other than the box of 30 which I'm definitely not going to get)
So in order, the flavours are: Lavender, Rose, Crème Brûlée, Jasmine, Earl Grey Cassis, and White Truffle.
How I picked these flavours? I was just looking for the best colour combinations (hehe. guilty)

the crème brûlée looks like it has a mustache 

 Below is another really cool photo of their display case. They have a pretty big selection to choose from but I kind of wish they completely just stuck with macarons. As you can see in the panorama photo up top, they have a bit of other sweets on the side (which is totally fine, but they probably could have maybe taken some more macaron flavours and put them there since the other side looks kind of plain)

Regarding taste, I wasn't expecting too much since I've read so many "bad" reviews from people saying how it's not fresh or too sweet, or how everything tastes the same.
I'm going to be completely honest, I've only eaten one so far and that would be the Crème Brûlée. The taste wasn't that bad but most reviews are right. If Soirette could just tone down the sweetness a bit, it would be perfect. I thought the texture was fine but hey, I'm no macaron expert so don't take me for my word.

I'll probably fit in a random restaurant review here and then so keep updated.

Update (8:21pm): I tried the Lavender macaron and it is absolutely delicious (still a little bit sweet but not as bad as the creme brulee) You can't really smell anything if you just sniff the macaron but you can definitely smell the lavender when you're eating the macaron

Update (9:17pm): WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS ;__; I'm going to cry. The pink streak on the White Truffle is NOT sugar so....don't lick it thinking it is. It's sea salt. And my mouth is crying right now. Why would you put that there? It just weirded up the whole treat. On a side note though, I tried the Earl Grey Cassis to take the taste of White Truffle away and I was pleasantly surprised. The Earl Grey smell is very strong (which I absolutely love)

~nyappy

January Products

Herro everyone. Thought I'd do another review collaboration of products I've been using a lot  . (I don't like doing one post per product cuz that would be too short hehe)

Product 1: Adidas Action 3 - Fresh (Anti-Antiperspirant)
So once again, I bought this product at a Sasa in Hong Kong for $31.9HKD (around $4CAD)
Maybe I haven't been paying attention but I haven't seemed to see this anywhere around where I live. I definitely want to repurchase though because I'm almost out.

Well as you can see, this is a spray anti-antiperspirant. It comes in a little aerosol can so don't be holding this near any flames (I'm funny... not.) I'm sorry but I can't really describe the smell. It just smells really clean and maybe a little bit like baby powder? Smells like any typical deodorant to be honest. It sprays out a bit wet (as expected of a mist) and it dries very fast. It doesn't leave any marks on clothes and it doesn't turn into a powdery substance kind of like other spray deodorants.

Onto the more important part, I feel like this spray wouldn't work if you're the type to sweat a lot. It's good at masking over any odours but I don't think it would help with lessening any sweat. I'm not the type of person to sweat that much (fortunately) so this is pretty good for when I work out.

Product 2: Clinique Blush (#101: Aglow)
Does Clinique have other types of blush? I don't know the name of this blush line....if that makes any sense lol. Well anyway. This is a pretty decent blush (granted that I've only tried 2 different kinds of blush). It comes in a box with a small brush applicator

So I just went to Sephora and checked it out (here) and LOL they call it "Blushing Blush Powder Blush". I prefer to just stick with the original "blush" haha.

I felt that with my skintone, I should probably go with something more coral than pink. I've come to realize that baby pinks or hot pinks don't really look that good on me (maybe because I'm so tan). I did buy this product at Sephora for about $25CAD which I thought was pretty reasonable. I was looking for something that wasn't too expensive and I guess I thought this would be ok.

When it comes with this product, less is definitely more. Warning to anyone that tries this: don't pick up too much with your brush on the first go. One swipe goes a long way.
Would I repurchase this? Maybe. It has lasted me for almost a year and a half and It doesn't even look used (as you can probably tell by the photo) I don't think I'll be needing to buy another one for a long time.

Product 3: Laneige Pore Deep Clearing Foam
Yay. More Laneige products! I wanted to try out a different cleanser since I've been using their Multicleanser for the past 3 years. To be honest, this product doesn't feel any different at all. It gets the job done just like Laneige's other cleansers and I dunno. I don't notice any particular difference with my pores. They're still as huge as ever haha.

I got this cleanser (coincidentally) at another store called Sasa that we have here in Vancouver and it was about $25CAD. I'm kind of glad I stocked up on Laneige cleanser when I went to Hong Kong too. I can't even think about what I would do when I run out haha. I've gone through like 4 bottles already.

This is pretty much it for honourary products of January. Once again, comment if I missed out any vital information and I will post soon again :)

~nyappy

Skin Food Product Reviews

Hey everyone. Time for some more reviews (be prepared, I might go on a review spree now that I can take nicer photos). 

The first one is the Skin Food Aloe Sun Essence SPF 27 PA++:

So this product is supposed to be a waterproof sunscreen that doesn't irritate skin (probably because of the aloe)
What I thought: Less is more? I felt like this product was really oily to be honest. I definitely do not want to try this product during the summer as my own oils + this sunscreen will probably result in an oil drip-fest (gross). However, I do feel like this product would be appropriate during the winter when the air is really dry (and yes, UV is just as strong in the winter so you need sunscreen no matter what season). 

My final take would be to be mindful of how much product you put on your face as it does get pretty oily. This sunscreen would be perfect for dry skin though. I have combination to oily skin so it doesn't work out as well as I would hope.

 So before I get started on the next product, I'd like to explain a little backstory of how I got this product. The past summer (Jul-Aug 2012) I went to Hong Kong as a summer/grad trip and I got really tan teaching at the pool. It was an outdoor pool and as many people know, Hong Kong has a higher UV index than usual (therefore, more tan). And I don't know why I'm still in this "the whiter the better"-phase, as is with most Asian women.  So I kind of went crazy buying whitening products
resulting in a bunch of sheet masks, body washes/lotions, face serums/creams.

This next product, Skin Food Fresh Juice C Serum, I feel like worked a bit. Though it may be because of other whitening products (and the fact that I exfoliated like crazy). It has a non-sticky consistency and comes with a dropper which I feel is pretty hygienic. You can drip some on the palm of your hand and then press it onto your face.

 To be honest, I didn't do much research before buying this. I just saw the word "whitening" and I just bought it haha. Luckily, Skin Food happens to be a pretty effective brand for my skin type. Sorry if there's any vital information that I missed out. Clearly, I'm not too good at doing reviews so let me know in the comments if there's anything else you want to know about this product.

Other than that, I don't have much more to say about these two products. I will write again soon

~nyappy

Kenny Bear

muahaha I have finally made myself a lightbox. Now I can take decent pictures instead of laying out products on my bedsheet and trying to adjust angles to prevent shadows from getting in the way.

Anyway, in December, I bought a pair of Kenny Bear earrings.
A little bit about this brand, Kenny & Co. is a Hong Kong based brand founded in 2003 so when you go to their website everything is in HKD. I tried looking for Kenny Bear in Hong Kong but I actually found that it wasn't that much cheaper than if I bought it here so I saved myself the trouble and bought it back in Canada. Here's their website if you're wondering:

http://kennycojewelry.com/home.php

I've honestly wanted their necklaces for the longest time but its way too $$$ for me so this one time when their earrings were 50% off I finally decided to buy a pair. Isn't it slightly ridiculous how they sell earrings in singles instead of pairs? I peed myself laughing when I found out that it was $50 CAD for ONE earring. Not a pair.

So here is my review of the earrings (in rose gold colour):
Size-wise, it's pretty good. Approximately 1cm in length and 0.7 in width (from arm to arm)
The material (according to the website) is steel... The type that doesn't rot in your ear either. I tend to have this problem with earrings cuz I'm a lazy bum and I don't take off my earrings every day so anything made with cheap material just changes colour and...like molds in my ear. Yeah. Sounds gross. 

What's also good about Kenny & Co. is that they give these Guarantee Cards with every purchase. It is good for up to 12 months and it's for if you find any manufacturing errors with your product. I think this mostly applies for other jewellery such as their necklaces/bracelets because if you go take a look at their website, most things actually have a very complicated design with lots of hinges and charms.

The only thing I don't like about these earrings is that the backing isn't very good (I'm sure the problem is the same with all of their earrings with a backing). You know how most earrings have that little groove on the on the part of the earring that you stick through your ear? Well these earrings don't have that so the backing can slide back and forth freely. This has already happened once but when I was lying on the couch (on my side), the backing just completely fell off without me even realizing. Luckily I realized and managed to find it again.

Kenny & Co. If you read this, please change your backing. I don't want to lose it again. Your guarantee card doesn't cover it ;_;

Anyway, this post turned out to be a bit longer than I expected. It was supposed to be a combination review post with other products as well but I guess I'll just split in two. I'll probably do the post tomorrow (or sometime soon... I already have the photos for it) I'll see everyone later :)

~nyappy

 

Lychee Essence Mist

Time for another random post!

  

 So I'm not sure how popular Daiso is in other places but I got the cutest sticky tabs the other day. It's exactly the type of thing I'd fall for haha. 

That aside though.
I wanted to mention the Skin Food Lychee Essence Mist which I got as a Christmas present from my supervisor at work.

It's supposed to be a hair product and up until now, I'm still not too sure what it's supposed to do. According to the bottle, It's supposed to help moisturize hair and prevent further "dryness". The thing is though, it doesn't have instructions so I've just been trying it out right after I get out of the shower and my hair is still wet. It doesn't really make my hair oily (luckily) but I really don't notice any difference. It smells really good though... hm. Let me know if you've tried this product or not haha I'm kinda curious. I haven't really that many reviews either so yeah :)

LOL sorry I had to include my friend's baby in this post. I'm finally meeting his son sometime later this week and just look at those cheeks! My friend's a professional photographer so he gets this little guy to do photoshoots every other day haha...

Sorry I haven't gotten a chance to make the post about my contacts yet but I keep forgetting to take pictures when the sun is still up so I don't have any pictures to provide yet. I'll try to do it soon though so yeah. Hope everyone has a good weekend

~nyappy

We'll all stick it through

.... our New Year's Resolutions! Bring it on

Happy 2013 everyone.

I'm sure it can't be just me but I love the start of  a new year. Maybe everything still feels crazy from the holiday but I totally see the upcoming year as such a fresh start haha. Well anyway. I'm a bit late for this post but hey, I was on holiday lol.
This year, my brother came back for the holidays and the whole family stayed home a lot more than we normally do...

 ...occupied with things like this

 ...and this. (yes, we are eating dinner around the monopoly board)

Anyway, I'm sure most of you can see that I've changed my layout. Quite satisfied with how it looks now but I went through quite a bit to get it to look like this haha. I don't think I'll be changing it anytime soon. 

I think I'll be ending off the post now but I'll let you guys know what is to come. I've noticed that one of my most viewed posts is the one about the Mimi Cafe Contact Lens and I guess most of you guys like reading about that kind of thing. Therefore, I shall make a post about all the contacts I own and give a small review about all of them : )

Write again soon

~nyappy