L'opera Parisian bakery

There always is room for pastry in my stomach. Even though I try to stay away from gluten French bakery is my weakness. My love for pastry is probably as strong as my love for make up.
In Vancouver there are few reputable bakeries I like to visit: Tomas Haas, Bel Cafe, Thierry and Fabourgeou and Beaucoup.
In recent Internet search found that there is a new Parisian bakery opened just a few streets from me and today went to grab a few goodies. Picked up 3 macarons at $2 each,  a croissant $2.75 and a mille feuille $5.80.
The croissant was amazingly light and buttery and flakey all at once. It was crunch on the outside with soft almost pillowy middle. I enjoyed this so much (and with homemade strawberry jam no less). 
The flavors of the macarons I got were black sesame and blueberry cheesecake  (sweet and creamy) and passion fruit (tangy and sweet).  The cookies were a bit softer than I was used to but figured it's because was made today. Would be perfect the day after - as would with all macarons.
Oh so yummy can't wait to try other baked goods! 
Apparently this bakery is run by a mother daughter team - the daughter seemed very young and both were very nice. I appreciate the little things like the sticker on the bag and the beautiful embossed bag.
It's open Wednesday to Sunday 9-6. They also have high tea for $25 that you can reserve 48 hours in advance. Gotta try that soon too. Yummy in my tummy!

LORAC & Kat Von D foundation review

LORAC performance foundation:
Bought on a whim as was looking for a long lasting foundation. The SA at Sephora swore by it and unlike my usual self bought it without any research.
The bottle is a clear plastic with pump and air free which I like. And the color matched me very well but that's where the love ended. It applied pretty easily with my fingers but felt tacky and wet for a while until it set. The foundation did not last on my T zone and made my whole face super greasy. Also it settled into my already visible pores making them look worse. It clung to any dry parches which was not attractive. And the foundation did not last any longer than other ones I own. Definitely not keeping it.

Kat Von D Lock it foundation:
Now I am not a fan of Kat Von D nor do I desire to look like her. When I heard she has a make up line I was very skeptical. Then I started watching and reading all these amazing reviews of her foundation. Since was disappointed with Lorac one I was a little weary of getting this one. I am happy to report I love this. It again is in a plastic bottle with a pump which I like. The shade I got is L48 (medium with beige undertone). Thought M5 (medium with warm beige undertone) may be a better match for me but this foundation runs a little darker than in the bottle and seems to match well.
This foundation is very thick almost like a cream. Instead of my usual fingers I use a damp Beauty Blender to tap this on. The lasting power is over 12 hours (minus my nose which needs blotting in about 4 hours) even without setting power and the color does not oxidize. And since its long lasting it makes the blush stay on my face longer as well. This is a definite repurchase worthy. I am going to have to try the concealer which I have also been hearing is very good.
Note: due to its popularity the stock is scarce at Sephora and Sephora.com. If you find your shade in stock you better pick it up. $34 usd or $41cdn

Beauty Blender:
I really thought that it was a crazy hype to buy a $19 sponge. But happy to say it really works to blend the foundation on skin beautifully. It removes the cake and heavy look that can result from foundation not being blended well.
You run the sponge under running water, squeeze out the water then squeeze with a dry towel to use it. The sponge almost doubles in size and is very bouncy. I use the round bottom for most of the face and the pointed end for under the eyes and sides of the nose. I am not sure how long this is to last. Hoping with care it will last at least a year. Sephora sells it for $19 but have seen it in Amazon.com for much cheaper.

Sana Tonyu skin care

Before my trip to Japan I. December I did some research on affordable skincare. Came across the Sana Tonyu (soy) line and have been pleasantly surprised. The line I bought is the original one - a soy toner and a cream (a decent sample of cleanser came with it). Both the toner and the cream were about 1000 yen each, approximately $12 CAD.

This line doesn't seem to contain any fragrance which I really enjoy. The cleanser produces thick foam that cleanses the face without drying it. The toner is light milk color and leaves the skin feeling hydrated. The cream is what I enjoy the most. It is more like a thick gel-cream hybrid that blends into skin rather quickly. I can feel that my skin is moisturized and feels plump in the morning. I have not had any issues with this line at all such as break outs or rashes.

This line is called Nameraka Honpo on Sasa.com and the whole range is available.

PS. Sasa is a large cosmetic retailer in Hong Kong that sells many Asian lines, especially Japanese brands at affordable prices. They ship all over the world and offer free shipping with certain purchase amount.

New reviews to come

I won a $250 gift card to Sephora!  I entered their monthly survey sweepstakes in early January and was so happy to hear I won.
Went to look for a new long lasting foundation as the ones I have were too dark for the paler me in the winter.
The sales girl suggested Lorac performance foundation. Also picked up Kat Von D setting spray to try.
Will update in a couple of weeks!

Hair care routine

As a true beauty junky, my love for products is not just limited to make up but goes to skincare, body and hair products.
I have a very thick, resilient hair and I don't recall its natural colour or state as have been colouring and perming/straightening it since I was 15. Currently it is coloured and straightened (ionic straightening, aka. Magic perm). It is very processed and thus dry and brittle.

My goal is to make my hair as soft as possible. Initially I thought I need to use reconstructive shampoo and conditioners. The products I was trying were from Dove Nourishing oil line and Garnier Fructis. 

 The Dove shampoo and conditioner seemed to be working as it had heavier conditioning agents. However after a few weeks I noticed my hair seemed more brittle than before. From my research I see that any shampoo/conditioner with protein should not be used for a long time as it adds to the brittleness (amino acid build up?).
Garnier shampoo I used for a week and a half and threw away - it was stripping my hair and have to say was one of the worst shampoos I have tried.

I went on another quest to look for shampoos and found L'oreal Evercreme intense nourishing sulfate free shampoo. I had read that sulfate is a culprit in drying out the hair and was excited to find this. Even though it is sulfate free, it lathers wonderfully with thick foam (which I enjoy). The smell is of vanilla scent which doesn't linger too long. I do notice that my hair is feeling softer and tad more moisturized.

The game changer for me was the L'oreal Vitamino color conditioner, which I mentioned my my 2012 hits post. With the first use, I saw a huge difference. The conditioner is not as thick as some other moisturizing products yet hydrates wonderfully. My hair is so much softer.I plan to use this as long as I can.

Another line that I found that is good is Clear (same maker as Dove line - Unilever). I first heard about this though YouTube where people rave about it. These shampoos and conditioners are supposed treat your scalp as well as the hair. They are usually about $7 per bottle but I saw them on sale for $4 (and -$2 coupon) at Superstore so I had to buy them.
Just used it once and I am impressed! It made my hair super soft and almost fluffy (sign of my hair when it is hydrated). I kept on touching my hair all day long as it was noticeably different.
The shampoo I bought is Total Care and the conditioner is Damage & Colour repair. I am planning to alternate these with the L'oreal shampoo and conditioner.