Curiously Carmen

Beefy Beef Noodle House

December 2, 2014

Asian restaurants have the most creatively absurd restaurant names, don’t you think? I’ve always had a good chuckle reading the sign whenever we drove by. I came here back in high school but don’t really recall much, I just remembered it was pretty average. My friends and I decided to come here late one night, as we didn’t want to stay in Richmond anymore and wanted to be back in Vancouver. I had a decent experience, but my friends? Not so much. Read on to find out why.

Walking in around 11pm with six of us (soon to be eight, other two were running a bit late), the restaurant looked about 75% full and was mostly preoccupied with groups around the same size. We asked them for a table of eight, the servers looked very confused and told us it would be a bit of a wait. Guess we should have seen that as a warning sign. Which was weird, because right in front of us were two tables that fit 4 people each. We asked them if they could just move the two tables together and they looked very puzzled… so we kind of motioned with our hands what we meant and they understood. Even when they were moving the tables, they looked very confused, which confused us because moving two tables together shouldn’t be that hard?

I had a hard time deciding on what to order, but decided to get the noodles in soup with Taiwanese chicken nuggets to share with the boyfriend. The noodles were cooked al dente and had a perfect bounce to it, they were delicious. The broth was very flavourful and clear, we’re still debating if it was canned stock or not but either way, it was very satisfying on a cold night. The veggies in the soup were also washed clean, and were fresh and crunchy. The Taiwanese chicken nuggets had a nice crispiness and the usual seasonings, nothing new there but they do cook it well and it tasted authentic. My food also came at least 15 minutes before all the other orders, by the time that I finished my food, some of my friends had just received theirs while our other friend was still waiting for her food.

We all ordered drinks, and disappointingly, they were out of pearls. I ordered the passion fruit calpis juice, but received a peach calpis juice instead (pictured here). My friend ordered a peach calpis slush, so we weren’t sure whose drink they messed up on LOL. Turns out we were right, they had messed up and gave me peach, which I didn’t really mind. The peach calpis was very syrupy and overwhelmingly sweet, I felt that if I drank this in one sitting my chances of getting diabetes would increase dramatically. So I tried to ration myself (even though it was so delicious!) and brought it home for the next day. Just like the food, my drink came first (even though they messed up) and my friends ended up waiting at least 15 minutes after mine for their drinks. We weren’t sure why the drinks weren’t coming out all at once, since we all ordered at the same time. At this point, my friends were not impressed with the wait time, seeing that the restaurant had died down a bit.

So, after waiting around fifteen minutes between my bowl of noodles AND the other main courses (which were just like mine and stir fry dishes), we ended up waiting another fifteen minutes for the buttery condensed milk toast. My friends had asked the servers if they had forgot it, but they apologized and just said it was “on the way”. When it finally came, everyone dug in and man, was the toast heavenly. The bread was extremely soft, fresh, and sweet, covered in a rich layer of thick condensed milk.

Even though our food (when it actually came) was delicious, Beefy Beef was very disorganized and I’m not sure how they operate their restaurant in that manner. We received our food and drinks in long, staggered periods even though we all ordered at the same time. My soup noodles and drinks came first, then a couple dishes and drinks came out after fifteen minutes, followed by the next and so on. Why couldn’t we just receive all our food at the same time when we all ordered together? I felt bad for my friend, who waited almost a hour for her food. She ended up packing her meal to go, since all seven of us were done eating by the time her food came. That was also when she had checked on her food, if she didn’t check, who knows how long the wait would have been.

If their food was average, I probably would not have come back due to how disorganized the restaurant seemed. But since I enjoyed their noodles a lot and it is a convenient location to go to if I crave Taiwanese food, I wouldn’t mind coming back- my hopes would be that they have some kind of standard concept of organization going on.

Black Friday Sephora Mini Haul!

December 1, 2014

It’s funny that I’m doing this post, because I wasn’t planning or even wanting to go Black Friday/Black Friday weekend shopping. My friend and I had planned a girls day out, and only on Thursday did we realize that we accidentally planned it on Black Friday weekend. Ahhh! I really did not want to step inside a mall during Black Friday weekend, dealing with crowds and swarms of people fighting each other to get the cheapest prices. Anyways, since we had been planning our shopping trip for a few weeks, we didn’t want to reschedule so decided to just suck it up, and pray for the best. If it got cray cray, we figured we would just leave and find something else to do LOL.
I am happy to say though, that it didn’t turn out as crazy as we thought it would be. We went shopping on Saturday instead of the actual Black Friday, which probably really helped. Most of the stuff I bought was at Sephora (no surprise there hah), so I’ll just be focusing on what I bought there. Please keep in mind that I didn’t try any of these products fully yet, I may write a detailed review on some of these products after I’ve used them for longer.

Walking into Sephora, the first thing that caught my eyes at on the Black Friday exclusive shelf was the Kat Von D Lip Love Set. Admittedly, I tried to buy this from the safety of my laptop on Friday but just as I was about to check out my purchases, all of the items I wanted were sold out! So you can imagine my happiness when I found this in store, I grabbed one right away! This set is a Sephora exclusive and limited edition. I’ve always wanted to try Kat Von D lip products because I absolutely love their tattoo liner. It came in a lip gloss and lip stick duo, with pre-selected shades. Right after we left Sephora, I tried on the lip gloss. My first impression was that it was very pigmented, and the shade was a lot brighter and lighter than it looked in the tube. For the first few seconds, my friend and I were absolutely horrified at how bright it was but after applying it all over my lips, it didn’t look as bad and I actually ended up really liking the colour on my skin LOL. It stayed on for a few hours until I took it off at dinner. At $12CA for both, the lip love set was an amazing deal and I’m glad I was able to pick one up.

Just like the KVD lip love set, I was also hoping to buy this online on Friday, but it was sold out by the time I went to the online check out. Lesson learned, do your online shopping quick during huge sales. I’ve been looking for a new face wash, and read pretty good reviews on this. This was the Bliss fabulous foaming face wash, a 2-in-1 cleanser & exfoliator. From first glance, the formula looked very thick and gel-like. A lot of reviews that I read said that this does an amazing job of removing face make up immediately, and that was exactly what I was looking for. An amazing cleanser that will remove foundation right away, because let’s face it- after a long night out, there is nothing better than changing into cozy pajamas and letting your skin breathe and be makeup free. I know that when you sleep with makeup on, or get makeup trapped in your pillow cases (so gross), it is really bad for your skin so I don’t take any chances when I’m already susceptible to breaking out. Which is why I also don’t wear foundation on a daily basis. This was half price for their Black Friday sale, I got it for $12CA!

As I was about to leave the Black Friday shelf, the Buxom Power Players set caught my eye. Darnit, haha! Considering that it came with a full sized Buxom sculpted lash mascara, which retailed for $24 Canadian, AND a waterproof eyeliner, for $12 Canadian, I knew that it was a sale opportunity that I could simply not pass up. My friend gave me a gel pot liner from Buxom last year, which I really liked. I’m hoping that I’ll like these two products as well.

Time just disappears when I’m in Sephora, and before us girls knew it, almost one hour had passed by… we decided to finally go and pay for our things, but we had another tempting obstacle to overcome… the last minute product shelves they have while you’re waiting in line to pay. I was really wanting a darker lip colour ever since my possibly haunted experience with the Too Faced melted lip stick, and the colour in the Make Up Forever Redefining Red caught my eye. The duo also came with a colourless lip liner, known as their lip line perfector and claimed to prevent lipstick from smudging. And at $17 for two MUFE products, I thought it was a good deal.

As a bonus, I also received my birthday gift from Sephora! It was also MUFE, but with their mascara and other lipstick instead. I forgot to pick my gift up last year, which I’m still mad at myself for, so I’m glad that the cashier was able to give it to me even though my birthday isn’t for awhile. Since I’m a late December baby, did anyone pick this up already? How did you like it?

I am quite happy that I bought all these products on sale. And before you judge, let me just say this. If there wasn’t a sale, I probably wouldn’t have bought anything. Most the time I go into Sephora, I browse and end up walking out without anything. It may not look like it because my blog focuses on a lot of purchased beauty products, but I only buy products that are on sale and know are a good value for what you receive. You only see half the picture, and don’t know what else goes on which is completely okay because I like to keep some things personal. I usually don’t buy this much in one visit, but I wanted to take advantage of their sale because deals this great don’t come around often. I don’t want you guys to think that I have a habit of consistently blowing money for no apparent reason, because I am quite the opposite. I think carefully about my choices before I buy and am conscious of how much I spend (which is one of the reasons why I spend so long in Sephora, debating if I should actually get the products or not haha!). I know, and can distinguish when I can or should spend money, versus times that I shouldn’t. Okay that’s all, thanks for reading that blurb 🙂

-Carmen

Amie Morning Clear Facial Wash

November 26, 2014

After being introduced to a few Amie products in September, I have quite liked all the products in the line so far. If you haven’t read my previous post on Amie products, Amie is a UK-based skincare company that has recently launched products in Canada. For now, Amie products are exclusively available at Shoppers Drug Mart locations, but I haven’t been able to find any of the Shoppers locations that I go to. I think maybe because they have just recently launched, they are slowly bringing it to all the stores? Also, am I the only one that finds the Shoppers website hard to use? I tried to search up which locations sell Amie products but it was giving me a difficult time like always… I guess I’ll just try my luck by visiting the stores in person, hopefully each Shoppers will carry Amie products soon!

Amie’s morning clear purifying facial wash claims to be a “moisturising facial wash that removes all dirt, oil, and makeup leaving skin beautifully soft and refreshed. Mayblossom and elderflower help control oiliness and prevent blemishes while orange blossom and raspberry tone and refresh. Natural moisturisers ensure skin is not dried out.”

unnamed (4) — Looks the same as the facial wash, amirite?!

First impression: The packaging and design of the bottle was the same as the previous Amie products I tried, so nothing new there. The colours of this tube are also the exact same as their hydrating daily moisturizer which added to the confusion. It may not seem that confusing but trust me, when you are half awake at 7 am on a Monday morning, things can get tricky (that or I need more sleep).

Compared to Amie’s exfoliating daily wash, this facial wash had a very creamy texture. In fact, the first couple of times using this was a bit strange to me because the texture was exactly like moisturizer, and I felt like I should just be applying this on my face as a cream rather than washing it off with water.

My favourite part of this facial wash, and what made it stand out for me was the scent! My goodness, if Amie ever came out with a perfume that smelled like this facial wash, I would be their first customer. The facial wash had a very flowery and girly scent to it. After washing my face, the scent stayed on for awhile and was quite noticeable, the boyfriend could smell it as well.

This product was also purposely sent to me in the upcoming winter season, as it is supposed to protect your skin against the cold. After a few days of usage, I noticed that my skin was a bit softer. I’ve been suffering from very dry skin lately, which was very surprising because my skin tends to be the opposite- very oily!! I’m pretty sure this facial wash played a vital role in moisturizing my skin, it doesn’t feel as dry and look as flaky anymore. One of the main ingredients in this face wash is cacao seed butter (no, I don’t mean cocoa) which contains a very high amount of antioxidants and is really moisturizing as well. I probably wouldn’t use this when it starts to get warm again because it’ll just make my face extra oily. But in the current weather, it brings a good balance to my skin. Yay!

unnamed — My Amie haul from September- Click to read!

Another great thing about this product is that it is free from parabens, sulphates, mineral oils, petrochemicals, products that have been genetically modified, and animal extracts. Amie also does not test on animals. All products are suitable for vegetarians and vegans, and their formulas contain high-quality plant and botanical ingredients. No, they did not pay me to write that! 🙂 It is also 100% soap free but to be honest, I’m not sure what kind of pros are involved in that so I’ll have to contact Amie and get back to you LOL. If you know, please leave a comment and enlighten us all.

Well, another great and moisturizing product from Amie! Have you seen any Amie products in your local Shoppers Drug Mart? Please let me know in the comments down below!

Thanks for reading!
-Carmen

This product was sent free of charge in exchange for a product review. Opinions are my own and are not altered by the requests of Amie.

Update (12/2/2014): After asking Amie what the benefits of a soap-free product are, it means that the ingredients in soap (Sodium Laureth Sulphate and Sodium Lauryl Sulphate) have a high pH level since it is an alkaline/base (remember your high school chemistry? haha). Therefore, it can disrupt your skin’s natural acid balance due to it’s high alkalinity, which can leave skin feeling dry and taught (I personally hate that feeling). In case you didn’t know, acid and base are opposites. For example, Tums stomach pills are high in alkalinity because when you have a stomachache or heartburn, the acid in your stomach increases, so the Tums balances out the acidity. Hm, the things you learn beauty blogging!

Kamamarui Ramen – Metrotown Location

November 23, 2014

After going shopping, it was one of those nights where we didn’t feel like cooking at home. Since we don’t eat in the Metrotown area much except for Cattle Cafe, we spent the next 5 minutes shivering in the cold trying to think of a backup place to eat after seeing that they were closed. Warm, soupy noodles… Oooh! Kamamarui! We spared no time shivering in the cold, ran back to the car and made our way to Kamamarui.

After walking in, we were greeted and told to sit down at the waiting chairs. The guy spent a pretty long time (well, longer than necessary), to clean everything and have us seated even though it wasn’t busy. He was just hanging out, walking back and forth slowly, while we sat there waiting for him to seat us… eventually, he finished wiping the table and went back and was doing some other stuff.
The menus were tacked on the wall, which was more convenient for both the servers and customers I guess? The walls looked like cement but they actually weren’t. Menu was pretty straightforward, they mostly served ramen and small sides such as gyoza/rice/or these rice balls known as “bombs”.

My favourite type of ramen is shio because it’s usually very rich and creamy, something I crave in ramen broth. Since they didn’t have shio, I ordered the tonkotsu ($9) because that seemed like the next closest thing to the richest broth there was. The broth was very creamy, rich, and flavourful.

The noodles were cooked al dente and had a great bounce to it. In addition, the cha shu was very tender and sweet since it was covered in some sort of marinade. As I was enjoying the noodles, I realized that the broth was so thick that I ended up asking for some hot water (which the server microwaved, I was confused) to dilute it.
The boyfriend ordered the cha shu ramen with extra noodles. The cha shu ramen didn’t specify which broth it was, but it tasted like mine. The meat was also the same as the one in my bowl, so I guess the only difference with his was that he received a lot of extra cha shu. He also thoroughly enjoyed his noodles and cha shu.

Our bowls of ramen were very satisfying and delicious. From the reviews and positive things I have heard about Kamamarui, I personally that it really does live up to the type. I had my doubts that this place would be on par with Kintaro Ramen or Santouka Ramen in the Great Authentic Ramen District (fyi, I just made up the name of the district lolol), but it really is a great substitute if you don’t want to commute down to the Denman area.

Throwback: Favourite bowl of shio ramen at Kintaro

I know that it’s not authentic and is Korean owned, and I’m not sure if they slow cook their broth like the others, but I do know that it’s pretty decent here. I think we will be back!

If I had a million dollars… (Fall 2014 Beauty Wishlist)

November 21, 2014

It’s holiday season again, my favourite time to buy and stock up on makeup products. Every time this year, I love going into Sephora and seeing what type of holiday gift sets or products they have. Of course, this year is no different and there are so many beautiful products already released/being released. I just wanted to share my top three dreamy picks this holiday season so we can all marvel and stare longingly at their beauty while wishing we all had these. I probably won’t be buying all of these because I don’t have that much money, but a girl can dream and virtually share their beauty….

3. La Belle Carousel – Too Faced

I first saw this in my one too many visits to Sephora and fell in love with the packaging. To be honest, when I first saw this, I didn’t even know what type of products were in here… I was just very captivated by the packaging and the way it was marketed. I loved the romantic and classical look of the packaging…and come on, who doesn’t like carousels? Too Faced made the packaging so dreamy and beautiful. Upon further glance and investigation, I found out that it contains a variety of stunning eyeshadow shades, bronzers, blushes, and their Better Than Sex mascara.

Realistically speaking, I wonder if it is hard to re-package it to its original carousel shape after opening. Because of this reason, the carousel doesn’t seem too practical but it is certainly perfect to marvel at. But at $59 Canadian, you pay a hefty price for something that is just a pretty, novelty piece of decoration. Even if you used it everyday, I highly doubt that you’ll have the time and patience to restore it to its original beauty and should probably stick with their regular makeup palettes. Which is why when I rationally think about it, I know I’m better off without it and probably won’t get it… but it is so pretty to look at!

2. Naked on the Run – Urban Decay

Number two on my list is the new Naked palette, Naked on the Run by Urban Decay. Each holiday season, Urban Decay releases a makeup palette and this year, it is the Naked on the Run. I guess they got tired of releasing Naked 1, Naked 2, Naked 3…haha! It hasn’t even been released yet but every time Urban Decay posts a picture of this on Instagram, my face looks like the heart eyes emoji. I love the shades and vibrancy in my Naked palettes, and I’m sure these will not disappoint as well. I also love their eyeliner, and have yet to open the perversion mascara. This palette would be perfect to bring around as it holds an eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, eye shadow, blush, and bronzer! This product is more practical than the carousel. Can’t wait for the release!

1. Modern Muse – Estee Lauder

To be honest, I fell in love with Estee Lauder’s new Aerin fragrance first but after I was told that it was only sold in one exclusive location in all of Vancouver, I walked around the Estee Lauder counter and saw this. I remember being introduced to this at the 2014 fall media preview event but it didn’t have that much of an effect on me as the Aerin fragrance did, I still really liked the scent of Modern Muse though. Fast forward two months, we were united again and as I sprayed the tester on the piece of fancy cardstock paper, I found myself slowly forgetting about the Aerin fragrance and liking this one a lot. It is described as “lush floral woody” and I would be lying if I said I knew what that smelled like. In my own words instead, it had a very light, floral scent to it that I could see myself wearing quite often. My favourite part of the scent was the jasmine notes in it. I love jasmine tea more than any other green tea, so naturally I was drawn to the strong jasmine and flowery smell. I’ve been thinking about getting is for a few weeks now, and I’m probably going to buy this very soon because I can’t stop thinking about it.

There you have it! The top three beauty products I am currently lusting over right now. I probably won’t be getting the Too Faced carousel because it’s pretty impractical, it’s just nice to look at! What are your top 3 wants right now?

-Carmen