Dior Rosy Glow Blush

Even when I decide to go out without makeup on, I would never leave without applying blush on my cheeks. There are times that I would omit foundation or bb/cc cream but not blush - it's a must step for me as an attempt to at least add a healthy glow. However, when I have a bare face, it is easy to over apply blush and look tipsy instead of looking glowy.  For this reason, I think it is important to choose a blush that would give you a natural glow and not a hot flush! 

Dior's Rosy Glow in 001 Petal(C$45) has a nickname of 'Healthy Glow Awakening Blush' and is perfect for daily makeup. 

The description on Sephora says that it effortlessly recreates a natural, flushed look with finely-milled light-pink blush. 

Photowalk: Fort Langley

Fort Langley is one of my favorite places to go; it has fun shops, trendy cafes, huge antique stores, and a beautiful trail. 

Today was an unusually warm (and not rainy!) winter day in Vancouver so Ryan and I decided to go photowalking in Fort Langley. Most of the pictures are taken by Ryan. Hope you enjoy his work! 

xoxo

Ryan & Vivian

Hot Chocolate Festival: Bel Cafe

Along with the Dine Out Festival, Hot Chocolate Festival has returned to Vancouver. They will be in town from Jan 17th to Feb 14th - perfect timing for some chocolaty sweetness! These events are always a delight to explore since I get a chance to experience fun and creative dishes made by Vancouver's very loved cafes and restaurants.

Below is the list of the participants: 

• 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters + Lucky’s Doughnuts
• Bel Cafe
• Bella Gelateria + To Die For Banana Bread
• Butter Baked Goods 
• Chez Christophe 
• Chocolate Arts
• Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France
• Diva at the Met 
• East Van Roasters
• French Made Baking
• Gem Chocolates
• Glenburn Soda Fountain & Cafe 
• Koko Monk Chocolates
• Last Crumb Cafe
• Mink Chocolates & Cafe
• Schokolade Artisan Chocolate
• Soirette Macarons & Tea
• Terra Breads 
• Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe
• Thomas Haas 
• Uva Wine Bar + Bittered Sling

This year, I have chosen Bel Cafe since it is the place that pops up in my head first when I have sweet tooth. I also wondered how the awards winning chef  David Hawksworth's hot chocolate would look and taste like.

Langley Foodie: Fat Cow & Oyster Bar

As a newbie to Langley, I still haven't discovered a lot of restaurants that I would like to visit regularly. It's especially hard to find a place to go for when I crave fresh oysters and seafood. Langley has all the franchise restaurants such as Cactus Club, Olive Garden, Moxies, etc but it's difficult to spot a local hot spot and most of the places in Fort Langley closes early:( So when I first found out about The Fat Cow and Oyster Bar, I couldn't wait to try out! 

Their main dishes seem to be seafood related but they also have wide selection if steaks and burgers. They also serve fresh oysters which I love but unfortunately I am not allowed to have them due to pregnancy. Oh well, just another 7 more months to go and I can have as many as I want! 

Honey Butter Chip

There has been a craze going on over a bag of potatoe chips lately in South Korea. It's been on the mainstream news and all the Korean idols and celebs been buzzing about it. Haitai's "Honey Butter Chip" is what it is called and it claims to be flavoured with French gourmet butter and real honey.

So-You

SNSD 

Since its debut, as soon as it hits the shelves, it gets sold out in an instant. Some people who were lucky enough to stock up on them even sell them for $30-$50 on ebay - such a clever way to grow their money eh? I honestly cannot understand people's reaction over a bag of chips. I mean, how good can it be? 

I was only allowed to wonder about this so called "golden potatoe chip" because I live in Canada, however, my mother who has maintained good relationships with the supermarket clerk sent me a bag of Honey Butter Chip as a surprise gift in my parcel.

Ordinary Romance: Breakfast in bed

Can you guess what this is? 

This is a scrambled egg my husband Ryan made for me suffering from morning sickness.

The colour of it is so wrong because he burnt the butter but my 11 weeks old fetus and I truly enjoyed his dish. 

As you can see there is a reason why Ryan doesn't cook. For his entire life I believe he has only cooked four times: two of them working at a burger franchise flipping patties during his university years, and the other two, for me(but failed lol). 

This scrambled egg which he brought to me to the bed looked dreadful but I have to say it was the best thing I have ever had. It was a dish made with love and I could feel it.

xoxo 

Vivian

p.s. Did I mention he brought a teaspoon instead of a fork to eat it? teehee :p

My cute cute Ryan..

...OMG....

What have I done to my hair.........

Vancity Foodie: Marutama Ramen

A few years back, I never knew that downtown Vancouver would be the place to go for Japanese ra-men craving. 

Now, it seems like Robson street has become the hub of ra-men ya's.

Marutama Ramen is just around the corner of Bidwell and Robson St. Because of its slightly hidden location it isn't as busy as the ones on Robson/Denman. I got to know this place on a day when I was very hungry and grumpy; Santouka(1690 Robson St.) had especially long lineup that particular day and I wasn't in the mood for 30 minute wait. 😡

As I started to head back to our car, there it was just off Robson Street, Marutama Ra-men, oh, and no lineup!

At first I was hesitant to step in thinking there might be a reason why there aren't as busy as Santouka but again, I was very hungry. Ever since then, I became a regular customer of Marutama's. 

All of their ra-men are chicken broth based which is very rich in taste. Most of the places I know serve tonkotsu(pork bone broth) based ramen so Marutama's is quite different.

M.U.F.E. Star Powder 947

"The Star Powder is a silky powder that catches the light and gives the skin an intense sparkle and unparalleled shine. Its extremely fine, yet dense texture makes it easy to apply. Only a small amount is needed for visible results. The Star Powders can be used alone or blended together, applied over eyeshadow or mixed with any texture to highlight areas of the face."

Makeup Forever's Star Powder Iridescent Pale Peach 947($24) has been a steady seller in S. Korea being called as 'tear effect eye glitter.' 

A famous S. Korean actress, Kim Hye-Soo contributed to its fame by showing off her beautiful makeup years ago revealing its MUFE's star powder that helped create the look. Since then the product always comes up when you search for shimmery eye shadow on Korean search engines. 

M.A.C 5-Alarm

I noticed that other then YSL's tint in oil, I have been posting my old lipstick collection. Today, I finally added a fresh new product to my lipstick stand - actually 2.

The Red, Red, Red collection from MAC has been out for several months now but I haven'tbeen going out lately and wasn't able to see it until yesterday. They are in fact almost sold out now in stores and I was quite lucky to buy it. You can still get them online though! 

I bought 5-Alarm ($19) which is described as a soft orange-red lustre lipstick.

Rouge Dior 766 Fuchsia Star

Rouge Dior 766 Fuchsia star is the first hot pink lipstick I have ever owned. Last summer I walked in to Hudson's Bay and was passing buy Christian Dior's beauty stand. I wasn't planning to buy a lipstick that day, but when I saw the elegant design of the lipstick and the sexy colour of it, I had to bring it home. 

The pattern reminded me of Dior's Lady Dior which I really admired. Are you reading this Ryan??? LOL

Vancity Foodie: Vera's Burger Shack

If you think about it, a burger is actually a pretty well-balanced meal unlike its "junk food" image. You get carbs, vitamins, protein, fibre, etc from bread, patty, and veggies like onion, tamato, and lettuce.  What makes a burger is how and what you eat it with; soda, heavily salted french fries, and hormone-full meat patty are the criminals that makes it unhealthy and high calorie/sodium food. 

Well, that is just my thought. I might be just justifying my cravings for a hamburger :P

Ryan and I occasionally go to Vera's Burger Shack which we think provides decent burgers compared to McDonald's. 

My Favorite Lipstick Combo!

Sometimes I get bored with the lipstick shades I have or sometimes the colour I bought simply doesn't seems to suit me any more. That is when I experiment with mixing lipsticks I have and today, I'd like to introduce you my most sccessful combination!

This is M.A.C's Myth. I have been using this fellow for about five-six years now and it's been my number one nude lipstick. However, I found myself looking a bit pale wearing Myth lately. Maybe the tone of my skin changed? Or perhaps my taste in makeup changed? I haven't figured it out yet but I just stopped wearing it by itself and started to use it as lip concealer. 

It has a peachy under tone and is opaque enough to cover my lip colour. 

This is M.A.C's Korean Candy. As a Korean, when I first heard the name of it, I couldn't help but buy this girl. If it's named Korean Candy, it can't look bad on a Korean girl, eh? 

The formula of Korean Candy is very creamy compared to Myth which is a satin line lipstick. It is a orangy red colour which is a similar shade as kimchi. And yes, it suited my typical Korean skin tone! However, because of its very vibrant colour, it isn't suitable for me as a daily lipstick and I often got bored of it.

Missing the Sunshine..

Hi all,

the weather hasn't been nice in Vancouver lately and I am wishing the sun to come out soon! I wonder what it's like to live in places where there is only sunshine. Would I miss the cloud and rain? Just a random thought on a gloomy day in Vancouver. 

xoxo

Vivian

Mary Poppins

We've got to race back to our childhood hearts to diagnose our worldliness once in a while. For me, and probably to most of us, Disney's animations and movies are where our childhood memories are kept. I used to dance and sing after the sing-a-longs of the films. I especially enjoyed Mary Poppins and I still remember most of the songs to this day.

Every year during Christmas and New Years season, Mary Poppins returns to Vancouver. I've always wanted to go but was never able to due to other engagements or another reason that pops up... :-( Plus, I guess I never really spent Christmas in Vancouver all that much. For that reason, I was super determined to go see the musical where Natalie and her Ryan were also able to join us. Yey! 

We bought a $79.99 voucher from CostCo which included two $50 credits to purchase tickets. Then we simply called their Ticket Office helpline to reserve seats, which usually requires extra payments depending on the seats of your choice.

My seat was right in the middle of row 4 which usually is considered the best seat for live musical shows. However, since the theatre isn't too big and also the set consisted of a two storey home, I actually think the seats in the second floor might have been great too. 

Very very close to the stage! This is the only picture I took at the theatre since taking photos during the show is (of course) strictly prohibited.