Nagoya Japanese Restaurant - Saskatoon, SK

Sorry for the lack of photos... was hangry!

I was craving sushi for a while and nothing beats all you can eat. There are actually quite a few choices for all you can eat sushi in this city and I no doubt, before I move, will try them all. At Nagoya Japanese Restaurant, they provide a chinese buffet part of the included price, which I found interesting and loved the concept. Foodwise on the buffet wasn't the freshest, you can tell its been sitting there all day.. most of the food tasted very dry - don't blame them though since I went at around 8pm and they close at 9 or 9.30 (Bad memory).

Buffet was around $26 and it included sashimi. In the past when i've been to all you can eat (Calgary + Red Deer), the usually don't include sashimi so I was happy they did here... but wasn't happy with the quality of it.

Its known for restaurants to freeze salmon etc to keep it from going bad/getting parasites but here you could tell it was definitely not fresh, it tasted still frozen... it just tasted like eating a cold half frozen piece of rubber. I was very disappointed.

The all you can eat menu was an adequate amount, they had desserts (Deep fried bananas + ice cream), appetizers, rolls, udon, etc. Their special rolls were pretty taste, dragon roll... I only tried a few. No regrets there.
Service was below average, we went too close to closing so they were pretty obvious in letting us know we should leave.

Overall, I think you can tell if a sushi restaurant is good dependent on their sashimi served. Sashimi is so simple yet so delicate. They lacked in that department and since there are a abundance of japanese restaurants in the city, I highly doubt I'd come back to this place.

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.

Famoso - Red Deer, AB

Oh Famoso, everyone in town was super excited when you were opening a year ago. A year later and I'm still not a fan.  I've had a few bad experiences, chalked up to the first month or so they were open and no business will run smoothly without any mistakes when they first open.

In the beginning, I found that they were overstaffed and there was a lack of communication between the staff. I have many examples of what i find demonstrates this but that was then.. this is now. And the most important aspect of a business is of course, the food.
Everytime I go here, I always find my pizza a little burnt... I understand that its flat bread and its pretty hard to cook/keep it consistent. But because of the couple burnt pizza's I've had, I'm not really a big fan. Overall, the apps, the pizzas and the dessert's I've had aren't anything special to me...
The desserts, most of them are overwhelming sweet. Definitely can only handle a couple bites, but they are pretty good to look at and good to share... especially with other women when its a certain time of the month ;)

Overall, I'm not a big fan of Famoso, on a recent trip there was hair in the pizza. Working in the restaurant industry, I know these things happen but personally just from when they first opened and the mishaps I've had with them... it's not a place I frequent when I'm dining out. Side note, other then the first month or so of opening, the service is consistently friendly and the owner is usually always there and is very genuine in knowing how your meal went.

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.

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.

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!

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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One Eleven Grill - Red Deer

I remember the days when it was the Med and I didn't mind it. Looked to me they kept the same contemporary deco from the Med. Checked this place out for a friend's birthday on a friday night and it was pretty packed. Overall great atmosphere and they do offer live jazz music on Friday and Saturday nights.

But on to the more important part, the food....

I've heard many good things about their blueberry ribs but I knew i would never be able to finish a main dish of them. Luckily they do offer an app of mini ribs that have blueberry sauce on them. Honestly I'm one of those people that prefer traditional dishes and usually dislike any meat mixed with fruit sauces/purees or even the classic combo of chocolate and fruit...
But I'm glad i tried these mini ribs. Huge serving, I ordered it with the soup and salad and thought i might have to be wheeled out of there.
The pork ribs were succulent, very tender and the blueberry sauce was not over powering at all. You'd get the hint of fruity sweetness, not over powering at all! I loved it!

We ordered the red velvet cake for desert since they were all out of the cheesecakes. Wasn't a huge fan of the cake, it was a bit too dry for me and .. the desert wasn't really anything special nor really that tasty, just tasted like a dry flour cake with cream cheese icing.

Everyone else at our party enjoyed their mains. No complaints. Great atmosphere, an interesting menu - always something to try, tasty food and decent service. A place worth trying.

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)

Mr.Watch Shopping Review

Hihi,

I recently made a purchase on Mr.Watch (www.mrwatch.com) i found they had pretty decent prices for good quality watches. At first i thought this website may be fake because of how sketchy it looks but after a bit of googling, i did find a couple reviews about this site and decided to give it a go. The website itself is pretty easy to navigate.

 I purchased a sports watch of my dad this christmas on there and thought I might as well purchase a watch for myself since I have to pay $10 for shipping (no free shipping to Canada :( ) With shipping my purchase came to be around 120 USD.

It took about three weeks for it to come, which was faster then i thought it would be because of the holidays. There was a fee i had to pay upon pickup, around $15 cad so in total my purchase was $140 CAD which is still a pretty decent deal for the two watches i bought.

Not sure how the fees work... if it depends on how much the items are worth, etc... but I could see myself making another purchase in the future if its a really good deal after adding on around $40 to the price. Maybe one day there will be free shipping to Canada :P
They do have some decent deals on purchases and now i know the items are legit....

The Body Shop - Hemp Products

Back with a review on a couple products from the Hemp line by The Body Shop.
This line is popular for people with eczema or psoriasis, or just super dry skin! First off, i've had pretty bad eczema throughout my life. I'm slowly growing out of it as I get older but my skin is still dry and sensitive. For me, a good moisturizer is one where i only have to apply once or twice and I'll feel comfortable in my own skin. Most moisturizers I have to layer it up a couple times and then top it off with other products in order for that to happen :(
I finally tried this line out since there has been some buzz for it.
I dislike the smell of all the hemp products, smells like... plastic mixed with random incense.

Hemp Body Butter:
$20/cad per body butter.
Repurchase: No
I've used a bunch of body butters' from The Body Shop before. None are really moisturizing but i was suggest to try the hemp and that it will be more soothing and comforting.
Sadly, it was a no go for me. It wasn't any more moisturizing then the other body butters nor was it any help to my rashes or irritated skin. Didn't like the scent. Didn't like the price. Didn't like the moisturizer it provided (which is bare minimum by itself)

Hemp Moisture High Balm
$15/cad (not sure since it is not for sale anymore?)
Repurchase: No
This item is kinda like vaseline petroleum jelly except not as bad. Sadly I did not like this product, its very greasy - does not absorb into the skin easily. I thought it would help and dry flakey areas but it didn't do much. Preferably i would use an actual body oil for the dry patches since it would be more effective then this product. Another weird thing is that, I didn't touch the product for a few weeks and then when i went to try it again it developed a weird .. skin like film on top. Equivalent to if you left pudding out, you'd have to break through the skin to actually get to the pudding.

Hemp Hand Protector
$20/cad for regular size, $10/small
Repurchase: Most Likely Not
One of the Body Shops Best sellers! Its actually a pretty good hand moisturizer, doesn't take too long to soak in. But the smell puts me off, its different for body products since I usually can't smell whats on my arm. But i do smell my hands often (leaning my face against them, rubbing my nose etc) and the smell of this hemp line just isn't worth it. There are other good hand moisturizers for a lesser value that smell better.

Overall I've tried enough of the Hemp products in that line, to know I will not like any of the others....
None of the products really worked for me even if they did, the smell of the products would turn me off from using it.

http://www.thebodyshop.ca/en/shop-by-line/hemp.aspx#/hemp.aspx