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Curiously Carmen

Nice Vice 0% Dairy Creamery

July 3, 2016

This review is long overdue, especially since I went to Nice Vice in May! Nice Vice has been buzzing around town for being Vancouver’s first ever 0% dairy creamery shop. To me, this is like heaven and especially important because I can’t have dairy anymore.

I was really excited to try this place out and see if it would satisfy my ice cream cravings!
Nice Vice Yaletown VancouverNice Vice is located in Yaletown, a quick walk from the Canada Line station. It is pretty small, so it is easy to miss.

Inside, the store is pretty bare and basic, and there are also no washrooms for customers. It is an open space, with bar seats on one side of the wall but I found the seating to not be that comfortable. I would recommend grabbing your dessert to go and walking around Yaletown instead.
Nice Vice Yaletown VancouverVegan Buddy and I came on a Tuesday evening. It was cloudy,  but not cold or rainy that day. Due to the weather and seeing how it was a weekday, the store was empty except for us! Luckily, this meant we could sample more flavours.
Nice Vice Yaletown VancouverI wasn’t particularly in love with any of the flavours, but they weren’t bad either. In the end, I ordered strawberry fiends forever and mango. I ordered the one scoop for $5.00, but you can get two flavours for an additional price – I don’t remember exactly, but it was either 50 cents or $1.00 extra.

Both tasted like sorbet, and weren’t that creamy. They both had a very sweet fruity taste, which was good! The mango reminded me of exactly of the Asian mango pudding.
Nice Vice Yaletown VancouverVB ordered one scoop of the matcha and vanilla strawberry swirl. The matcha had a medium matcha taste, not too strong or subtle. I didn’t really like the vanilla strawberry swirl because I found it a bit bland and just icy.
Nice Vice Yaletown VancouverThey also have a bunch of assorted salts that you can top off your dessert with! We tried a bunch of salt flavours. Some went well and brought the flavour out, while some did not pair well at all. I recommend you sprinkle a super, tiny bit of salt – I’m talking about like 4 or 5 grains tiny, because we found that even just a pinch was too much!

Overall, I don’t think Nice Vice compares to real dairy ice cream at all, it was just okay. I was a bit disappointed because I had heard such great things about this place. Or maybe, my expectations were too high.

Their desserts taste more like sorbets and aren’t super creamy. I prefer the vegan ice creams at Earnest and Rain or Shine because they are richer and creamier. But if you like sorbets, you would like this place!
yay-nay-or-meh

Meh…

Nice Vice Creamery Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato


Filed Under: dessert, food & drink, vegetarian/vegan Tagged: dairy free, dessert, food blogger, foodie, gluten free, nice cream, nice vice, organic, sorbet, soy free, vancouver, vegan, vegetarian

Caprina Goat Milk Skincare Line

June 30, 2016

Funny enough, I first came across Caprina from the boyfriend! Last year, he was suffering from dry and itchy skin and got so fed up with it that he looked up ways to make his skin less dry. The internet suggested Caprina, and seeing that it was widely available at the supermarket, he gave it a try.

Caprina has been our go-to soap brand and we have purchased this product well over five times in the past year. When I told him that Caprina was going to send me some products, he was very excited to try more of the line out!
CaprinaThe products I received were the body wash, body lotion, and bar soap. Up until now, the only Caprina product we had purchased were the bar soap in original and olive oil. I didn’t like the olive oil one because of the scent, and I found it wasn’t as creamy as the original.

The basis of Caprina products is that everything is made with goat’s milk. Goat’s milk is super hydrating for your skin, along with other ingredients in the products. As well, Caprina is a Canadian brand based in Quebec, so that’s a plus!
Caprina3Starting off with the original bar soap, I have been using this regularly for the past year before Caprina reached out to me. I really like this soap because it cleans very well, and has a creamy lather to it. It is also richly moisturizing, which you can tell once the soap becomes wet.

I always feel super clean after using this soap, and it leaves a nice, light scent on my skin. I have nothing but good words to say about the bar soap!
Caprina2The body wash was new to me, as I had only tried the bar soap. However, I was very pleased when I found out that this product works just as well as the bar soap!

It is also richly moisturizing, and makes your skin feel quenched and clean afterwards. This one has a light feminine, floral scent due to the orchid oil.
Caprina1The third and final product I got to try was the body lotion. The body lotion felt light, and absorbed quickly into my skin without being sticky. Compared to the other two products that have a lighter scent, the lotion smelled more fragrant so I wasn’t expecting that.

Overall, I really love Caprina’s products and am glad that I was able to try two more of their products out! They are also very affordable and great quality. You seriously can’t beat the price for how great these products are! We usually pick ours up at Pricesmart during our weekly grocery trips.

The bar soap retails for $2.50 CAD each, body wash $6.99 CAD each, and body lotion $3.99.

yay-nay-or-mehYay!

Thanks for reading!
Carmen


Filed Under: body Tagged: body, body wash, caprina, goat, goat's milk, soap

Coppertone Clearly Sheer Sunscreen

June 26, 2016

We are approaching the end of June already, yet it feels like November here in Vancouver. I’ve officially been starting to call this month June-uary, seeing the amount of rainfall and clouds we have been getting! Nonetheless, sunscreen is very important even in cloudy weather.
Coppertone Clearly Sheer Sunscreen ReviewThe new Coppertone Clearly Sheer line recently saw a new packaging design. As I’m writing this, I realized the logo with the girl and her dog is not on the packaging anymore!

As a kid, I remember wanting to use Coppertone because of the girl logo, yet my mom always bought other brands so I was disappointed. Looking back, it seems very silly but it shows you that marketing is very important!

The Clearly Sheer line boasts itself on products that feel clean, hydrating and light weight. I’ve tried sunscreens in the past where they feel so oily and heavy, which is the last thing you want on a hot summer day.

Let’s see how these two products worked for me!

Coppertone Clearly Sheer Sunscreen ReviewThe first product I tried was the lotion. I found it pretty average, nothing spectacular or horrible. It wasn’t TOO heavy, but it wasn’t exactly lightweight either.

It is described as having a fresh citrus scent with floral notes, but all I detected was the typical SPF scent. I also found it did not absorb quickly.
Coppertone Clearly Sheer Sunscreen ReviewUnlike the lotion, I liked the spray a lot more! The spray absorbed very quickly, with a dry finish and felt lightweight on my skin. As well, it felt very breathable and fresh with a pleasant scent.

Out of the two, the spray is definitely my preferred choice. I liked how light and matte it dried, while the lotion had a thicker and slight residual stickiness to it.

Both are water resistant, but they recommend reapplying after 80 minutes in the water because it washes off after that. They are available in SPF 30 & 80.

You can find these products at any mass drugstores in Canada, I’m sure you have all seen Coppertone in stores before! Prices range from $8-$10 for each bottle.Whytecliff Park

On that note, let’s hope for some sunshine to come back in Vancouver! Here is a photo of one of the only 30 degree weekends we had in the first week of June. Photo taken at Whytecliff Park!

yay-nay-or-meh

Yay!

Thanks for reading,

Carmen


Filed Under: body

The Estee Edit Lip Flip Shade Transformer

June 23, 2016

I talked about the new lip flips from the Estee Edit launch post, and now I am back to review them in detail! Out of the whole Estee Edit line, I was the most excited for the lip flips as I thought the concept was so awesome.

Who wouldn’t want to triple their lipstick collection by only having two extra shades?!
Estee Edit Lip Flip Shade Transformer ReviewOn its own, turn down is a true black, while turn up is a bright yellow. The concept is that the black, aka turn down, will darken the shade your lipstick. In contrast, turn up will brighten the shade.

I decided to be a daredevil and tried the black on its own, but trust me, that did not look good AT ALL on me. LOL. In fact, the boyfriend gave me a weird look before I proceeded to take it off right away haha! Because of that, I did not swatch the two individually as I don’t think many people would wear the shades out on their own.

As for the packaging, I found it more to be on the heavier side due to the metal casing. As well, the tube was a bit cold to the touch due to the metal.
Estee Edit Lip Flip Shade Transformer ReviewNow, here comes the fun part: the transformations! I didn’t use any matte lipsticks, because matte lipsticks obviously dry matte, which means they don’t mix or budge once they dry. I don’t see these working out well with matte lipsticks, but my collection consists mainly of cream lipsticks so it’s all good!

The original shade is MAC’s ladybug.
Estee Edit Lip Flip Shade Transformer ReviewSecondly, the original shade here is The Face Shop’s creamy matte lipstick in PK101. With turn down, it completely changed into a beautiful purple shade!

Normally, I wouldn’t buy such a plum shade – yet another reason why I liked the concept of the lip flips so much!
Estee Edit Lip Flip Shade Transformer ReviewThe third and final swatch I tested the lip flips on was Smashbox’s Be Legendary Cream lipstick in witchy. Turn down made it even more dark and gave it more of a plum shade. Meanwhile, turn up gave it more of a pink base.

—-

To apply, it is recommended that you dab your finger on the lip flips first and they slowly mixing it into the lip colour. I found it pretty easy and fast to mix the colours. I dabbed the lip flip about three times to achieve the swatched looks above.

I always apply some sort of lip balm or Vaseline before wearing lipstick. With Vaseline, I found the lip flips very comfortable to wear and I couldn’t feel any drying on my lips. Without, I felt a slight dryness but nothing super uncomfortable or drying like matte lipsticks. So, I would recommend moisturizing your lips before wearing.

Overall, I really like the lip flips and am so excited to keep wearing them! It’s so fun because I don’t know what shade I’ll end up with, AND I can keep ‘adding’ shades to my collection without taking up any storage room!

The Estee Edit line is exclusively sold at Sephora and retails for $26 CAD each. Not a bad price considering the possibilities for shades are practically endless!

yay-nay-or-meh

Yay!

Thanks for reading!

Carmen

Press samples featured. Opinions are own. 

PS. I am hosting a giveaway with Palmer’s again until June 27th! To enter and for more details, you can read that post here!


Filed Under: lips Tagged: beauty blogger, estee edit, lips, lipstick

Tasty Hand-Pulled Lanzhou Noodle, New York City

June 19, 2016

Since I’ve gotten back from New York, people have asked what my favourite moments there was. Undeniably, the Empire State Building, Matilda the musical, and visiting all the urban parks were at the top of the list!

But what about food? Would you believe me if I told you it was this small, dingy, hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Chinatown called Tasty Handpulled Noodle? Perhaps it’s the noodle crazed fanatic in me talking, but I still constantly think about this place and how delicious their hand-pulled noodles were.

Tasty1House special noodle soup, $8.50: For $8.50, this bowl was definitely worth the price and so filling.
Tasty2Beef noodle soup, $7.25: I ordered the beef noodle soup because I don’t really like tendon.

The star of the show here is definitely the hand made and hand pulled noodles. Each noodle bowl is made fresh to order. Your noodles start from a lump of dough, and once you specify the type of noodle you want, you can see the worker in the kitchen pulling and cutting the noodles before throwing it in the boiling hot water.

The noodles had a great chewy texture, and were pretty thick too. The slightly ribbed edges of the noodles allowed for the beef broth to soak inside, which led to a very delicious taste in your mouth!
Tasty3Roast duck noodle soup, $7.75: We both loved this place so much and couldn’t stop thinking about it after lunch, so we came back for dinner the same day. Yup, we loved the noodles that much and the price made it even better!

Instead of ordering the beef noodle soup again, we decided on trying the roast duck noodle soup. The base and noodles were the same, the only difference is that it came with duck instead of beef. I actually liked the duck more than the beef because it was more tender and had more flavour.
Tasty4Here is a photo of the chef pulling the dough to create the delicious noodles!

Tasty noodle, you were DEFINITELY tasty! Don’t judge a book by its cover or you’ll miss out on some delicious noodles. Give this place a try if you’re ever in New York City’s Chinatown neighbourhood!

yay-nay-or-meh

Yay!

Thanks for reading,

Carmen


Filed Under: chinese, food & drink, New York City, travel Tagged: asian, asian food, chinatown, chinese, chinese food, food, food blogger, food lover, foodie, new york city, noodles, nyc, travel, travel blog

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Hi and welcome to Curiously Carmen! I am Carmen, the girl behind the blog. You can read more about me here!

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