Poached Breakfast Bistro, Saskatoon SK

I went here on a whim on a Sunday morning. It was the only breakfast place we could really find that was open on a Sunday morning in the downtown area. We were told a 40 minute wait... I was starting to assume it might just be one of those "current" restaurants that don't actually have food worth waiting for. We were all pretty hungry and didn't feel like waiting forty minutes.. especially since there was no where to wait except a open Starbucks a couple blocks down. I do wish they were able to put a bench out or something, but I guess that's up to the city.

We decided to go to drive around Saskatoon in search of another open restaurant but actually ended up getting lost and ended up close to downtown. By that time, the forty minutes would have been up by the time we parked and walked back to Poached so we decided on that. One thing is, I do appreciate they call the wait list customers when their table is ready. I've been to a couple popular breakfast joints in Calgary where they just take your name and they expect you to wait around in the crowd outside the door for your name to be called... many asian restaurants follow that concept as well. 

They have good food set at a pretty reasonably price. We had the Blueberry Bagel French Toast which was served with whipped yogurt, I believe. Rhubarb crepe with whipped yogurt and poached eggs on crab cakes with a side of Potato Croquettes. Don't quote me on these dishes, I couldn't find their latest menu online.. I do believe it changes per season!

Overall each dish was pretty good, all very well balance! The potato Croquette's were delicious, it had a nice crunchy outside with a creamy potato center.
The Blueberry Bagel french toast was an alright dish... nothing special personally. The whipped yogurt was a good touch, with some fresh blackberries on top. Good balanced plate, nice tartness with the fresh blackberries and sweetness with the whipped yogurt.
If you like crab, the poached eggs on top of the crab cakes with a side salad, I'm sure you will enjoy. Like the potato corquette's it has a nice crunchy outside and the side salad provides a good balance to the seafood. 

I am glad we ended up getting lost and got a chance to try this bistro. Expect a long wait time especially the later you arrive (While we were dining around 10:30 there was around an hour wait time), it is a small restaurant with really only three front of house staff. One host, one server for the front of the restaurant and one of the back. The service itself is alright, not really sociable or attentive but not unpleasant either. 

I would highly recommend this as a breakfast choice for anyone in the area to give it a try. I wouldn't mind eating here again and try many of there other appetizing items on their menu. Just got to be ready for the wait time and not mad hungry.

SKINNY TEATOX - 7 Day Review

I've been curious about these tea detoxes for a while and have been researching the many companies out there. I kept a relatively good diet for the week to see if it helped the results at all.
I must say, this fad on tea detoxes is just a fad. One of those diet fads like those who are straying from gluten in their diet because they believe it will help them lose weight.
I weighed myself before and after the 7 days and there was no change. I personally purchased the 7 days for around $35/cad because I knew I wouldn't stick to a 14 day commitment. It came in a simple white bubbled mailing envelope. I took the tea mainly for the detox purposes, to see if there was a difference in my body that I would notice with detoxing. And I was hoping there would be some weight loss benefits since I'm hitting a wall at the moment.

 I worked out the same amount as I normally would, 3-5 days a week for around 40-60 mins a day (depending on my work schedule). Side note, I have two serving jobs at busy restaurants, so basically each shift is a work out. My appetite was honestly the same, I didn't feel any less hungry then I normally would. One thing I did notice was that I did have a boost in energy, but I can get that with almost any tea. Taste wise, it was alright. I usually drink green tea or black teas which can be on the bitter side. This loose tea (the detoxing tea) tasted a bit bitter but not as strong as green tea or not overly bitter to the point where I hated drinking it. The packed tea, basically a laxative tea (Colon cleanser), tasted alright - personally I thought it tasted worse than the loose tea. I read reviews saying how the laxative aspect had a huge affect on many of them. You only take it every other day I believe and personally only one of those times I've taken it did i actually find it having an affect on my bowels.


 To conclude, I did not notice any benefits that were listed with the skinny teatox. I most likely will not be repurchasing Skinny Teatox, they do have some new products I am curious a bit about.. but for now I'll stick to my regular green tea or my juicer.

Burt's Bees : Anti-Blemish Targeted Spot Treatment

Back with a review with Burt Bee's : Anti-Blemish Targeted Spot Treatment, you can find this in store for around $15/CAD. This is basically the herbal blemish stick, except not in stick form. It has the same liquid consistency as the liquid in the blemish stick. Same overpowering scent, same burning sensation, same ineffectiveness.
I've been using it for a month consistently, it has not reduced any blemishes or prevented any blemishes nor has it reduced any pimples. It does sink into the skin pretty quick...
Not a big fan of the packaging either... I dislike these droptops packaging, it only works for essential oils when you only need one or two drops for control. This, its hard to control.

Overall, this product did not work for my skin and i will not be repurchasing this.

THE BODY SHOP - All In One Instablur Perfector Primer

I've tried many Body Shop make up Products.. most of them wasn't a big hit with me.  They came out with this new "ALL-IN-ONE™ INSTABLUR 5-ACTION PERFECTOR" recently and I decided to try it out. One this great about the Body Shop is their return policy... easy to make returns if it doesn't work out for you. You can purchase this for $22/Cad at your local Body Shop.. I would wait for a sale to come on , which they come out quite often.

I'm always on hunt for a good affordable primer, one that can keep your making up fresh looking all day, everyday. This primer... it was alright.

This primer strives itself on being a
"Five action perfector:

• Shine Controlling 12h
• Reduces appearance of pores
• Blemish Hiding
• Complexion Unifying
• Make-up Extending"

It kept my make up/face matte for most of the day, I wouldn't go

to as far to say for 12 hours (I do work in the restaurant industry so a lot of heat/sweat is involved). I didn't notice the blurring effect that is part of its name, not saying I have huge craters for pores (yet) but I still did not notice a reduction in the appearance of my pores when using this primer. As for blemish hiding and complexion unifying, I don't think any un tinted primer would be able to do that by itself? 

Overall, it didn't do anything special, it did mattify my face and made my make up last longer... but any drugstore primer can do that. It didn't make my make up look fresh for any extra amount of time vs competing brand primers..
I will not repurchase this primer and its not on my recommendation list.

OLAY Pore Minimizing Cleanser + Scrub Review

I bought two bottles while on sale retails for around $8-9/CAD, and I have finished one and am almost done the second which calls to share my opinion on the Olay Pore minimizing Cleanser + Scrub.

This product does nothing except wash off most of the make up on your face, even then you would need a couple pumps. This has no minimized my pores and honestly wasn't that good of a face wash.
The scrub part is not too rough on the skin if you want something gentle... I mainly use this with my olay pro x cleanser since I prefer to use something gentle with that machine. It doesn't dry out the skin and does not have an overpowering scent to it.

I've used this cleanser for a couple months now, it hasn't done anything to my skin. Same amount of breakouts/ same pores / same black heads. I'd rather buy a cleanser that I know has an effect on my skin.

TARTE Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage Foundation SPF 15 in Medium

Canadian winters. My skin hates them, I hate them, everyone i know hates them yet we still stay here.

There was a VIB sale back in november, i took this chance to try out a new foundation. I love my MUFE HD but just wanted to see what else is on the market. And since it's rising in price, i don't really want to use it as much.

Found this Tarte full coverage foundation in .08 oz (which is more then plenty) in a little kit. The kit costs $41/CAD, comes with a rollerball of maracuja oil and a full size mascara.

This is the first Tarte Product i've ever tried. And I love it. This is a great foundation, i think its a bit light for my skin but its not too noticeable unless i'm in bright light or in photos.




One thing that's been bugging me about MUFE HD is that sometimes it gets a little hard to blend out, if I look closely at times I notice I didn't blend too well on my chin or cheek and can see the foundation vs my skin. And since its dries pretty fast it can be hard by that time to blend it out. Whereas this Tarte product is very easy to blend into my skin.

It provides great coverage up for almost 12 hours without touch up. You don't need that much product for your face. It goes on very smooth, I've used it with a stippling brush and a flat top brush. I've heard the Tarte airbrush finish brush does make a difference for application. But since its such a steep price, at the moment i'm content with my flat top or stippling brush...
I have pretty dry skin and it didn't dry my face out anymore, look cakey (unless i cake my face) or cause those little darn flakes.

I have yet to try out the maracuja oil or mascara but I think this kit is great! So far I am loving this foundation almost over my MUFE hd... almost.

After

Before

8 hrs later. Noticeable wear off in forehead, a little shine / fade

NYC Cream Blush in Berry Newyorker

 HELLO!!!! Happy Canada Day!!!

Back with my opinion on these NYC creme blush sticks. These things range for around $3-4/cad in "Berry Newyorker", great bang for its buck. I love the convience of these, swipe it on and the quickly blend it out. The only thing is that im a bit tan and it doesnt show up as pigmented on my skin. It is very buildable with a few quick swipes of product. It seems to hold up for about 4 hours.

These are very affordable blushes, great for anyone starting out in make up and want to try cream blushes.

Heads up.. sorry for my displacement of photos.. I have the worst time centering/placing photos on here :S Cant seem to figure it out smoothly...

unblended

blended

Burts Bee's Herbal Blemish Stick vs Saje's Zap Blend

I love these herbal blemish sticks! I first discovered it from Saje and fell in love with their blend, recently I was shopping around and saw that Burts Bee's offers one for a bit cheaper. I ran out of the one from Saje so i thought might as well give Burts Bee's a try, since most of their products are a hit with me!

Saje on Left, Burts Bees on right

Burt's Bees Herbal Blemish Stick clocks in at 12.99 / cad at most retail stores. Saje's Zap blend comes in at 19.95/ cad. It has a more potent scent, much more stronger / lasts longer then Saje's Zap blend. The scent is so much more stronger, If i put it on my cheek or around my nose I really have to watch how much i put on or the ecualyptus/tea tree scent hits my eyes and makes them water. Blemish/zit diminishing power wise, i found it took longer with Burts Bees vs Saje's Zap. It does diminish blemishes and clears up zits but not that fast. maybe a week or so to get rid of a significantly large zit. Simple packaging, glass roll on with white lid where as Saje has a more sleeker apealing Packaging. Dark Brown glass.
Saje clock is at .30 oz while Burts Bees at .26 oz

Overall, I prefer Saje's Zap Blend. It clears blemishes much more faster I found then Burt's Bees. As well as the scent wasn't as potent. I would have to put it right under my eye for the tea tree/eucalyptus blend to make my eyes water. It's more expensive but in the long run you'd use less product making it be worth the price.

Burts Bee's Herbal Blemish Stick:
alcohol denat., calendula officinalis (calendula) flower oil, borago officinalis (borage) seed oil, achillea millefolium (yarrow) oil, carum petroselinum (parsley) seed oil, aqua (water, eau), salix nigra (willow) bark extract, melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) leaf oil, citrus medica limonum (lemon) peel oil, foeniculum vulgare (fennel) oil, juniperus communis (juniper) fruit oil, eucalyptus globulus (eucalyptus) leaf oil, citral, geraniol, limonene, linalool
Reference: Ingredient List

Saje's Zap Blendingredients: essential oils of lavandula angustifola (lavender), melaleuca alternifolia leaf (tea tree), anthemis nobilis (roman chamomile), pogostemon cablin (patchouli), myrtus communis (myrtle), eucalyptus globulus (eucalyptus), pelargonium graveolens (geranium) and thymus zygis (white thyme).
Reference

The Body Shop - Vitamin C Cleansing Polish Review

Been watching wayyy too much tv when i should be studying. This is how lazy i have become.
Well back to a review, i love the smell of citrus. Wakes me up. And i do enjoy this Vitamin C -  Cleansing Polish by the Body Shop. It costs around $16/cad for this product... but the body shop always has great deals going on.
Its a gel like face wash with beads (not too many) inside for exfoliating. I really like the texture and consistency of this face wash, it isnt too harsh so you can use this everyday. Your face feels so refreshed afterwards. It lathers extremely well and does a great job of getting rid of your make up. I don't think this improved the brightness of my skin at all.. but when does that actually happen?
I really like this product by The Body Shop and will repurchase it. 

Shiseido - Translucent Loose Powder Review

I thought I liked loose powders because its usually the better bang for the buck. But after this product, I realized my big dislike for loose powders and will not continue to purchase pressed powder.
I've heard many good things about this Loose Powder by Shieseido, I've been trying to find something comparable or similar to MUFE's HD finishing powder. You can find this usually around 40/cad at a local beauty counter comes with .63 oz of product... which is a lot! This will last you a good while.

Personally, I am not a big fan of this product. It has very sheer coverage, and was not long lasting because of that fact. You really have to pack this onto your skin to make it last most of the day, which I'm not really use to doing. And i found it wasn't really mattifying because it was so sheer. I have fairy dry skin, never really oily. But even after 12+ hour days a girl will produce oil with a full make up face, unlike MUFE's HD powder, this one would only last maybe 1-3 hours before you start seeing a shine or your make up isn't looking as fresh.

It can be a little bit messy, it being a loose powder and all. I usually just tip it upside down, give it a few shakes and then just use the power on the lid. More even pick up of product on brush that way. It being white/translucent it does not have any color effect on your skin.. that is unless you put a big glob of white powder on your face... it'll be a bit hard to blend out. I didn't notice a difference in my pores either as the product says it would keep it concealed.

Overall, not impressed with the performance of this product. I have moderately dry skin, producing oil after a lonnnng day of work and this product did not help the shine or lasting power of my make up. You can't see in the photos but there was no significant difference between the two sides of my face, with or without powder.
Would not recommend this nor repurchase.

Pointing at the side with powder
4 hrs into wear

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right after application, left side is with powder.

Oh Customer Service Pt1

I decided to document my experiences with what I think are some crazy ass people. Good way to get out the frustration. Seems like these past couple of months, I just keep randomly getting angry people.
Maybe its the weather....

1) Boiling Water Lady
There were two of them that night, two old ladies. And i swear they are off their rockers. They weren't friendly to begin with, one of those people that never return a smile...
It started with the tea... let me start with that for hot water dispenser. Hooked up to the wall, automatically dispenses boiling hot water. Sorta like one of those coffee makers you see at a restaurant, and they have a red little switch above where you put the coffee filter and it dispenses hot water...
So they asked for tea, I proceeded to bring out two cups of hot water, tea bags on the side.
When i come back a few minutes later to take their order, one of the old ladies asked if I could bring her new water and to make sure it's boiling. I looked at her and had to keep my face straight. When I poured that water, i remember seeing steam.
I asked her friend if her water was hot enough since it came from the same dispenser, and she replied "Oh yes, mine was boiling"
What the frack you old cracker?
They had ordered spring rolls. First off, i've never have heard of anyone saying spring rolls being spicy unless it says so in the name. Nor have i ever had spring rolls that were spicy.. anywhere. And being asian, i have had my fair share of eating spring rolls.
Anyways, the lady with the normal hot water told me it was so spicy, she could not handle it.
Long story semi short, I pretty much just gave up on them.

2) The I'm Changing my Story Lady
At the till, I was taking a payment for another customer who had a unfortunate experience with his food, great guy. I gave him a discount on behalf of his bad experience.
The lady behind him, whom was my customer, overheard. I had checked on her party throughout the meal, and they all said everything was great... no complaints whatsoever. After the man left that I discounted for, the lady started complaining about her food.. evidently expecting a discount as well.
If there was a problem, you should have addressed it when I checked on your party multiple times so I could have found a solution, not at the end.
Sadly, there are always people like this that just try and get a deal.

Urban decay Deluxe Palette

Before this I've never tried anything from the highly raved line, urban decay! So when i saw this deluxe palette floating around on sephora for around $15 CAD i picked it up to try it out. It came with a very small sample size of the urban decay primer potion for eyeshadows (not much product in it) and this palette! While reading online, apparently this palette offers the "deluxe" shadow.. which are suppose to be more pigmented vs their regular ones.
Its a neat packaging, usually urban decay has some fun snazzy packaging for their palettes and products. This one has this sort of silvery chain mesh product, which is pretty neat and on there securely.
It has a nice sized mirror in it, i don't understand why some palettes include a mirror the size on my pupil in them.. why bother?
Personally, im more of a neutral eyeshadow gal... can't give me enough of those brown shades!
But i thought it would be fun to have some funky colors in my collection... you never know ;)
Urban decay has about five colors in this palette that

will most likely not use... can you guess which ones? ;)

I honestly rarely use this palette but I don't regret buying it.

Overall, this is a great palette to get if you are starting off your collection or just want to try out urban decay products. The eyeshadows are smooth, well pigmented and do last a while without any primer. This palette has been floating around for a couple years!

Make Up Forever - HD Invisible Coverage Foundation in 128 Almond

Start of the day make up! 

The highly coveted MUFE HD foundation!  There's a reason why its so popular, its amazing. I'm on my second bottle and my sister (who i converted to this) in on her third!

Its a flawless coverage foundation with medium to heavy coverage. At first i was a bit skeptical because i've read its not that great for dry skin and meant more for oily skin... but i saw pictures of the finish and just had to try it out.
I have really dry skin and usually have to lather my face with some moisturizer. This foundation doesn't dry my skin, sure it's not moisturizing and it is a matifying foundation but it doesn't dry out my skin. As long as you have a good moisturizer on it'll still look great on your skin. If you do have flakey skin, it does show up with this foundation but it in no way enhances it like it has happened to me with other foundations....

They have an extensive line of colors, so you're most likely to find a very close match to your skin tone. It photographs pretty well and doesn't have any white cast that I've noticed. It's extremely long lasting. I've worn it for over 12+ hours, at work and then out at night and it still looks basically flawless...

Four/five hours of wear

You can find it for around $50 dollars CAD in shade 128 almond. Its about the average price for any high end foundation these days. A little goes a long way for this foundation and the price is worth it.

In the photos, i had class for half the day, then work later at night for around six hours serving. And with serving, most of the time you are running around from the kitchen to the dining area. Your make up does get a little runny from all the heat in the kitchen and the mini workout. You can notice in the photos, around my nose and forehead after a couple hours from class it was getting a little shiny. And and the end of the day it has dried up/caked up around my nose a bit and not that you can really tell in the lighting but my t-zone was a bit shiny. No finishing powder was used nor touch ups! And no primer!

The only flaw i have noticed is that it dries quiet quickly and sometimes i do not blend it out evenly enough and if you look closely enough you can see it be a little patchy/uneven however when i say look closely enough in my terms it means basically having your nose to the mirror... but other then that it's my HG foundation. I see myself having a back up of this foundation at all times. Everyone must try this foundation at some point! I think it lives up to its hype!

End of the day, around 14 hrs of wear

End of the day after school + work!

Shu Uemura - Almost 30% off + 4% Cash Back + Free shipping

Not sure if others knew but I just found out:
You can stack coupons online at www.ShuUemura.ca !
Good deal if you like their products or want to try them out.. They don't carry this brand anymore at sephora. But I believe Holt Renfrew does.

Found two coupon codes that you can apply and you can get 4% cash back with ebates!
If you don't have ebates, get it!! You earn money back for just shopping! You can check it out and if you want use my referral link below :D
http://www.ebates.ca/

Use Lightpurse for 15% off + Free shipping
Use Horse for 15% + Free shipping

You won't get exactly 30% off since the next 15% off is taken off your discounted total, but its pretty close! 
You are only able to apply two coupon codes to your order, most of the codes out there are 15% off that i could find.

Nivea Soft Face Cream

Hey there,

Back here with a review for my new holy grail moisturizer! The Nivea Creme line! Love the scent of it, reminds me of my childhood since my mom would always use that cream.With this product, you get your bang for the buck! A tub lasts for a very long time!
I love the original version, Nivea Creme (around $10 CAD / 200ml) which is extremely moisturizing. It was perfect for those Canadian winters when your skin takes a beating! Especially with my eczema its harder to keep my dry skin contained, this works perfectly!
For the summer I was looking for something a little lighter. I decided with Nivea Soft Moisturizing Creme for around $10 CAD/200ml. Was super happy with my decision, it was still moisturizing and had that signature scent! As well as it was easier to moisturize into my skin and was not as thick as the original.
Light weight, non greasy, sinks in easily, moisturizing and smells wonderful? HG summer item!

I love Nivea Cremes and how it hasn't changed throughout the years. My mom has used the product, and now I do... I think this shows what a consistent wonderful product this is in the market.

http://www.en.nivea.ca/products/NIVEA-Soft

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Too Faced - Lashgasm Mascara

I got this in a little Too Faced Kit which had a couple of items to try out. I didn't like it at first, i found the formula too wet. But after a few weeks after the formula dried I liked it a bit better. A full size one would be around $28/cad

So i hated it at first, it was too wet. Didn't hold the curl, didn't really voluminize or thicken my lashes. But after a few weeks when the formula did dry, it held the curl better. Was easier to apply on, before while it was wet it would easily smudge.

This mascara doesn't clump my lashes at all. The plastic bristles made it easy to seperate my lashes.

But overall this mascara didn't do an amazing job at lengthening or voluminizing my mascara and i would not repurchase this.

without mascara ( I use this photo multiple times)

Sephora - Makeup Made Simple Palette

Was eyeing this "Makeup Made Simple" Palette when it came out but passed. Recently went to Sephora and it was on sale for $18 CAD from $34.

You basically get three mini palettes which are portable, they include a little travel case for a palette which is super handy. 27 eyeshadows, .028 grams each. 6 blushes/bronzers. No eye catching colors though. Super sleek packaging.

Most of these eyeshadows are pretty pigmented, comes with a variety of colors. Comes with a couple face charts that show you a couple looks.

The removable palettes that you can snap onto the compact case is a huge seller for me!
If you find it on sale I would definitely recommend you pick one up!

Side note: has anyone else seen Captain Phillips? Tom Hanks = amazing actor.