It's Stuart's 30th birthday today! It's our first celebrated birthday as a married couple. In order to commemorate the occassion, I organized a small birthday dinner for him at Osaka Teppanyaki Steak House on Broadway. (Re: the food. I remember it tasting better, but it was still good steak.) I also bought him a really nice winter coat from Banana Republic. Thank God BR was having a 30% off sale, otherwise, I'd definitely be in the poor house. Today, because it's a Wednesday and not a Friday or Saturday or Sunday, we just had dinner at Red Robin and then I bought him a cupcake (because you have to have cake on your birthday).

Now that only thing I need to worry about is, how am I going to top it next year?
:D

It's been a long long time since my last post! So far in 2009....

... I got married (duh) to my bestest friend ever
... both my grandmothers passed away. So I now have no more grandparents. (Both my grandfathers passed away in 1991.)
... my coworker passed away within a week of my grandma in May (I had the privilege of going to two funerals in one day.)
... I moved back to the Joyce Collingwood area
... I conquered my makeup addiction (mostly)
... I am finally learning to cook/bake although I've had fewer hits than misses (poor Stu)

Also, my brother & sister-in-law are expecting any day now! Yay!

What: An Aspirin Mask is a do-it-yourself face mask which supposedly clears up your acne, calms the redness, efoliates and softens the skin. A vertible miracle in your medicine cabinet. My skin has always been oily and acne prone, especially in my teens-early twenties. As of the last few years, there's also noticeable redness around my face. With the summer coming, my skin has also been breaking out like crazy, especially around my chin.

The Recipe:
The Ingredients:
-4-5 tablets of uncoated Acetylsalicylic Acid (eg: Aspirin)
-A few drops of water
*optional*
-A tiny dollop of honey/moisturizer (binding agent)

1) Put the Aspirin tablets in a small bowl. Add in a couple drops of water.
2) With a fork, crush up the tablets, adding a drop of water at a time until the tablets are fully dissolved and becomes a thick paste.
3) *optional* Add in the binding agent in place of a few drops of water

The Procedure:
1) Apply the mask to the face all over, avoiding the eyes.
2) Leave on for 10 minutes or until dry. (If the aspirin crusts off, try using less water next time and more of the binding agent)
3) With a splash of water, rub the mask in tiny circles around your face to exfoliate.
4) Wash off thoroughly.
5) Apply toner and moisturizer.
6) Repeat twice a week.

The Results:
Day One:
Immediately upon washing, my face was instantly smoother, which is expected from the exfoliation. My skin was a bit tight though because of the salicylic acid. After applying my moisturizer, I was amazed at how remarkably soft my skin was. Fifteen minutes later, I noticed that most of the redness on my cheeks has dissipated somewhat, although my chin was still red. My pimples are still there. However, (and this could be wishful thinking) they did look a little, little bit less red.

Today's the first day, I've used it but so far the immediate results are good. It's cheap and easy so I don't mind doing this twice a week either. I'll continue this regime for a bit to see if there are any marked improvements in my skin.

Another month,... another makeup review

The background info: I do not consider myself a makeup expert by any means - more or less, I am a makeup enthuisiast at best and a makeup fanatic at worst. This review is based on my own personal experience; thus don't blame me if nothing works for you. That said, I have tried many different brands of mascara from high end brands such as Lancome, Christian Dior to mid-range brands such Kiss Me and Clinique to drugstore brands such as L'Oreal, Rimmel and Maybelline. All this to transform my puny straight and short Asian lashes to the long lush ones I saw in the magazines.

The problem: I'm a bit of a paradox when it comes to makeup. I'll plunk down $30 for a Nars blush at Holt Renfrew without blinking. Yet, I'll gasp at an $11 L'Oreal mascara at Shoppers Drug Mart. I can be quite a cheapass when it comes to mascara - especially when it should be thrown out three to six months later. While admittedly, there are quite a few adequate drugstore brands out there (L'Oreal Voluminous for instance - hurry, they're only $5.99 at London Drugs right now!), the ones that really make the dramatic differences, I have found, have been the high end ones. However, the hefty price tag of high end department store brand mascaras just aren't worth it to me when I'll probably end up buying around 4 or 5 of them each year. Take for instance, the much hyped about Diorshow mascara: at $29 a tube (at least in 2004 when I last bought one), and four tubes a year, that's $120!! No, there must be better alternatives out there.

( The Solution )
Summary: Shiseido The Mascara Base really works and it's quite cost effective. Run out and buy it. And send me a Thank You card later!

Details:
Prices are in Canadian Dollars
Payment can be cash if in we're meeting up locally, non-CC paypal otherwise.
I can meet you up locally, preferrably downtown, Metrotown or Joyce station.
I can ship, but you're going to have to pay for the shipping prices.
Feel free to haggle, but I may not take you up on that offer.
Multiple item purchases preferred.
No swapping.



( Clothes )( Purses and Bags )( Make Up )Thanks for looking!

Disclaimer: I do not consider myself an expert on makeup in any way. The views expressed are my personal opinions based on my own experience with makeup. I found out what works best for me through trial and error. And as with most other opinions, mine will constantly change as well as my needs change, as my skin changes and as new products come out.

About Me:
Skin type: Combination-oily with mild hormonal breakouts. Dry patches on the cheekbones. Redness on the cheeks and chin area.

Eye MakeUp Primers:
One of the biggest make up problems I've had as a girl with oily skin is how to make sure my eye makeup stays. Whether that be 9-5 at my job where I can get stressed out or at the clubs dancing up a storm. In other words, I wanted a product that would prevent my makeup from creasing and fading throughout the day.

The answer: Eye Makeup Primers.
They not only help your makeup last longer and prevent creasing, but they can also enhance a colour and help loose eyeshadows stick better. These days, there are plenty of primers available and plenty of products that could be substituted for one. Some of these are probably already in your makeup bag.

( Reviews )