It's that time of the year again...

... when I need to put my cooking hat on and creativity level to the max. Erm, maybe not to the max, since I cheated on presentation aspect by purchasing some uberly cute disposable lunch containers for my project.

Anyways, what kind of project? It's my 1/2heart's birthday. Let's just say he's 30 something year old man who still look and *sometimes* act like a kid (well, who would blame him. I do too). I did not feel like baking cakes, so I made him a lunch bento box instead.

And wow, what would I do without GMarket where I could find all these incredible shops selling awesomely cutesy bento box' peripherals.

All disposable containers, stickers, and utensils bought from the following shops: One, Two, and Three

NomNom: Jean's Chilli Chicken, Eastwood.

Have you guys noticed that rather than ' Every Other Day', I blog a new post 'Every Other Month'. Haha.... . BUT! This is mainly because I like to blog about cosmetics or skincare, and I usually only post reviews on stuffs that I have used for a considerable amount of time.

Yes, I use myself as guinea pig. For the better of the *ahem* me world!

Anyways, I think I will start blogging about my gluttony adventures as well. After all, it is included in the sub-title :D

I & 1/2heart went to Jean's Chilli Chicken, Eastwood on Saturday, being our virgin visit to this premise (and because I could not stand my colleagues raving about this place Every Single Day). So I succumbed to my curiosity and there we were.

We ordered:

Egg Roll - A$18

The Egg Roll is massive! And it is not just a plain egg roll. It contains chicken bits. And you see the weird balls thingy at the side? Those are sticky rice balls made by the friendly staff (since we were a newcomer at his place and he gracefully taught us how to eat the food), containing ginseng fried chicken bits (pic below), topped with grilled eel (pic below as well). Those tiny morsels are better (and fattier and definitely tons more calories) than your average nigiri eel sushi.

Ginseng Fried Chicken - A$32 

Crispy oily KFC (Korean Fried Chicken). Hmmmmmm... calories.... . So anyways, more in-depth about the romance between the rice balls and the fried chicken:

We were given (as a complimentary) two massive bowls of sticky rice mix (we were told: about 20% sticky rice, then the rest of regular rice and special (??) rice). The staff crushed the fried chicken with a cool 5 bladed scissors and mixed them with the rice, then shaped the rice into small balls. 

Topped with the eel, I quickly elevated to glutton heaven where pants size doesn't matter.

Grilled Spicy Eel - A$30

Spicy? SPICY? Ohoho, you don't know yours truly. I am a self-proclaimed chilli queen. There is nothing spicy about this dish at all, but hey, who cares? It's grilled eel. And I shall haz them, spicy or not.

(But then again, my friends have been constantly telling me that there must be something wrong with my chilli-receptor tastebuds. So, whatever I consider not spicy might send you rocketing off the toilet bowl).

The portions are huge, so it is best to share the meal with your friends. When me & 1/2 heart placed our order, "OK, we would like the Ginseng Fried Chicken,..... , and then the Grilled Spicy Eel,....", we were cut off by the staff, "Yes, that is enough! Too much."

:D

".... and Egg Roll...."

Of course, we ended up taking away some leftover home... . We always overestimate our bellies' capacity.

Jean's Chilli Chicken

Eastwood Hotel

115 Rowe St, Eastwood, NSW 2122

review: IOPE Air Cushion Sun Block Ex-Cover

My good friend who resides in Singapore texted me about a month ago, bringing my attention to a quite recent addition of Laneige BB Cream - Laneige Snow BB Soothing Cushion.

They claim to be anti-sweat and provide long-lasting shine-free make up.

With that alone, I'm sold.

Alas, unlike Singapore, Laneige selection in Australia is exteremely limited; and I could not find one to buy from GMarket either.
After a bit of research, apparently Laneige's new addition is not too new for the brain behind the brand. The mother company (Amore Pacific) carries quite a range of cosmetic and skin-care brands - some of which I am using and absolutely loving (e.g. Sulwhasoo and Etude). And one of the brands under their wing has been carrying the same/similar Air Cushion BB foundation type for a while.

And yay, GMarket has it: IOPE Air Cushion Sun Block Ex-Cover  (I bought tone no. 21)

Note that there are 2 kinds of this item: the EX, and the EX-COVER. As you might have guessed from the name, the Ex-Cover provides more coverage (thicker and more even application) on the skin.

I compared the result with my long-lasting BB cream friend - BRTC Blemish Recover Balm.

The above was after 8 hours of windy but extremely sunny Australia autumn day. No blotting, no touch ups.

Verdict:
Shine-Proof: IOPE > BRTC
Sweat-resistance: IOPE > BRTC
Brighter complexion: IOPE > BRTC
Value for Money: IOPE < BRTC

Summary:


I actually have a kind of love and hate relationship with the sponge/cushion-thingy applicator of the IOPE. The cushion is velvety and kinda moist upon application and - granted - the cream glides evenly on the face. In fact, in the end, it creates almost of an air-brush look. It took several layers of the BRTC to reach the coverage that I got from one swipe of IOPE.
However, it seems that a lot of the cream actually were left inside the sponge, which is wasteful. I know this, because when I cleaned the sponge, I could squeeze out a lot of the cream out of it.
So now I ditch the cushion applicator altogether - unless if I have special occasions where I really need to be airbrushed :D - and just use my usual foundation brush.

For users of BRTC Blemish Recover Balm, perhaps you already notice that your complexion tone would change somewhat after a few hours of application - slightly darkens the tone. I was glad that the difference was not too obvious (though you could see it somewhat from the direct comparison above), otherwise, I'd already be walking around with half of my face darker than the other.

review: Mizon Snail Cream

Back in December 2011, I received a small sample of Mizon Snail Cream from this GMarket shop. I have not really had the chance to review it, even though I have dabbed a bit of the cream every now and then as a moisturizer. And may I just say: I hate it as a moisturizer. I think it is a bit too rich for my oily combo skin, and I hate the way it makes my face feel kinda greasy and sticky after application.

But oh boy, do I have the change of heart now. 

Two weeks ago, clumsy me managed to burn a small patch of my skin when I was cooking. So I had been having this angry small red/brownish patch on the top of my hand, with no indication of it getting better anytime soon. (What the hell is wrong with my regenerative cells.)

So a week ago, I started putting whatever left of the snail cream sample on the burnt patch. And man, am I impressed.

Snail creams have repair function for your skin and claim to prevent wrinkles (no idea about this one as I have given up using it on my face), acnes, and improve stretch mark appearance. Now you may tell me, this improvement is just merely my skin finally decided to repair itself, even without the cream; but I dare to think otherwise. The burn patch stayed dark, broken and ugly until the night I dabbed the cream over it. The next morning, the patch started peeling. 

2 days after, fresh skin peeked over the peel, not raw pink (from forced peeling), but healthy looking new skin.

Now perhaps I shall buy a full tube for those stubborn stretch marks.... .

GMarket Haul 08/03/12

Oh Goody! Another one of my GMarket order arrived today :D. *dance of joy
This time, it is pretty much fashion haul. I ordered quite a few bit from quite a few different sellers. Overall, it took 13 days for all the orders to be completed and to reach me >_<

But nevertheless, I am happy. My lust for new clothes have been satiated. Let's open the box :D. These are the clothes that I have purchased: (my apologies for the somewhat blurry and grainy pictures. 1/2heart is usually the camera expert, not moi. I am hopeless in taking pictures)

Shop HERE

For the beige long sweater - design and workmanship are good, unfortunately I could not say so for the material. It is kinda itchy >_< I have to wear a slip underneath.
For the blouse - I love the fabric and the workmanship. Nuff said :)

Shop HERE

Very light and comfortable shirt. Good quality too and it is cheap! (converted to AUD around A$10)

Shop HERE

Oh yes, I have wanted to buy another checker shirt for quite some time but have never really found anything that pique my interest (my other checker shirt in my wardrobe has hoodie, so you kinda know what I meant, I want something more than the usual ordinary checker shirt). 

When I saw this, I fell in love with the back detail (look at those buttons. Hmmm buttons...). So I just had to get it. When I received it, I was kinda... hrmmmm.... . Fits nice, design nice, but the quality.... hrmmmmmmm. Maybe the shop has to find another tailor/factory to produce their clothes. 

I noticed the hang tag declares that the shirt is 'designed in Korea', but I have a feeling that it was not actually manufactured/made in Korea (*cough*madeinchina?*cough*)

Shop HERE

 Good quality, decent price :) and lots of cute design. Another great backside top.... mmmmm....

Shop HERE

They sell very very nice sweater and unusual designs too. The one I purchased here is on the loose side (it is the design) and very comfy to wear.

Shop HERE

Can I just say I am most disappointed with this purchase. The fabric quality is great, the design is great, the workmanship is great-- but damn! When the listing says 'free size', does the seller mean teenager standard? I am a size 8 AU/ 4 US, but these run a little tight, especially on the chest. Well okay, I guess my chest is not exactly a size 8 (I am not exactly a plane landing in that area), but still. T T 

If you are a small girl, please, don't hesitate to purchase from this shop. Their items are beautiful.