review Archives - Curiously Carmen

Totto Ramen, New York City (Hell’s Kitchen location)

May 12, 2016

Totto Ramen and Ippudo Ramen were both on my ‘want to try’ lists during my visit to the Big Apple. We made it to Ippudo Ramen on the first night, and also was able to try Totto Ramen a few days later! Both places are extremely popular in New York, making the wait times pretty long.

After going on the Circle Line sightseeing cruise (click link for my experience with them!), we walked over to Totto Ramen to their Hell’s Kitchen location around 9:30 pm on a Friday night. Since it was already late, we didn’t think it would be busy so we were a bit shocked to see a big crowd outside the tiny noodle joint!

We had to wait a total of 30 minutes, I can’t imagine how long you would have to wait during peak hours. If you don’t want to wait during peak hours, I suggest coming on a weekday around 5pm or something like that. Luckily, I met a couple in line who were visiting from Israel so the line went by quickly.
I love Japanese culture because of how efficient everything is. While we were waiting, one of the workers went around and we all placed our order in line. As you can see, the restaurant is really crowded and small. We shared a four person table with two other customers against the wall, and there was no room for us to really move around.

So, don’t come here if you are claustrophobic! There is also really loud metal/screamo music playing.. my theory is that it makes people eat faster because of the intense music. I definitely found myself eating pretty fast, partly due to the music and because I was hungry.
Chicken paitan, $10: Totto Ramen’s original straight noodles in a rich and creamy chicken broth. This was immensely delicious, and super warm and comforting. It was raining in New York that night, so it was the perfect bowl to have. The pulled pork was also really delicious and really tender.

I found the chicken to be slightly bland, it tasted like it was just boiled but it’s still good to have some protein regardless.

There was also lots of fresh chopped onions in the broth as well. 10/10 would recommend. So good.
Miso Paitan, $12: The miso paitan has the same chicken base as mine, but with miso added to it. Again, this bowl was very delicious and flavourful. The pork was very tender and melted in my mouth, I wish we had also ordered pork on the other bowl as well!

In addition, the onions, scallions, and bean sprouts were very fresh and crunchy as well.
Here’s a closeup of the ramen noodles in the chicken paitan. They were cooked perfectly and were slightly chewy. This was my first time trying the thin ramen noodles and I really liked it!
The noodles in the miso paitan were a bit different, and were more like the ramen noodles I was used to eating back in Vancouver. Again, these were cooked perfectly and had a lovely bounce to it.

All in all, Totto Ramen was really good and worth the wait. The broth is rich and flavourful, while the noodles are bouncy and cooked perfectly. I can definitely see why there are such long waits for this place. Coming from Vancouver where ramen is already plentiful, I have high expectations for ramen and Totto definitely surpassed my expectations!

Yay!

Thanks for reading,
Carmen

L’Oreal True Match Foundation

March 2, 2015

Hi everyone,

I’ve had the L’Oreal True Match foundation for awhile now, but didn’t really like it at first so it was kept at the back of my makeup storage. I decided to bring it out and give it another chance, here is how that went!
This foundation claims to be super blendable, and is the first of its kind as it matches your skin’s texture and tone.

Since I am more knowledgeable about makeup now, I decided to give it a try again but wearing a base and setting powder which might support and enhance this foundation.
I started off with The Face Shop’s beauty balm, which you can read about here. Then, I put on the foundation using my fingertips. As I mentioned earlier, the foundation was more watery than I expected but it blended very nicely. It became almost like a powdery, soft texture after you blend it out.

I then finished off with my Maybelline Mineral Powder foundation which I talked about last week, and my ELF blush. Yep, I was trying to use all drug store that day (on my skin at least, I don’t have any drugstore eyeliners).

With the addition of the primer and setting foundation, I liked the L’Oreal True Match a lot more. I’m glad that I gave it a second try! My foundation lasted the whole day, but that might have been with the help of the primer and setting foundation.

I was browsing around Shoppers Drug Mart on my lunch break, and my jaw almost dropped when I saw that they were selling this foundation for $20. That is pretty pricey for a drugstore foundation! Or maybe it’s because I haven’t looked at drugstore foundation for awhile and that’s the standard price now? Let me know how much you pay for your drugstore foundation down below =)
I probably won’t buy this again since there are a lot of other foundations I like much more, but I don’t mind using this up. I would recommend this product to those who are looking for a daily light coverage foundation.

Have you tried this product? What did you think of it?

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

Maybelline Mineral Powder Review

February 20, 2015

I miss writing drugstore makeup reviews so much! Did you miss reading them? =)

Most cases, I find that drugstore makeup isn’t as good as high end makeup… well obviously, that is a given as you pay what you get right? But there are some times where these cheaply priced products shine! (or not, if you’re choosing matte makeup..ha ha ha… get it…) This next product is one of those, in my opinion. I love using this product as a finishing powder and it has become a regular in my face makeup routine, on days where I actually wear foundation!

Announcing… the amazing Maybelline Mineral Power foundation! This has been around for quite a few years now, and you can probably find this at almost every drugstore. I know that I always see this product every time I’m at Target, Shoppers, London Drugs, or Wal-Mart.

Funny thing was that when I first bought this in high school, I really hated it and threw it out. Back then, the product had just been released and came with a free makeup brush. Except that makeup brush was absolutely terrible. Looking back, I realize how important a good makeup brush is because that one made your foundation go on uneven, looked cakey, and was very stiff so it felt a bit unpleasant putting it on.

Anyways, I re-discovered this product after my friend gave me hers. She had bought it and realized that it was the wrong shade, and couldn’t return it. I have the shade 3 – light.

mineral-power-powder-foundation_classic-ivory_pack-shot-crop — Picture from Maybelline.ca

Oh, nevermind, I think it still comes with the brush after checking Maybelline’s website. Has anyone else used this brush? I’m curious to see if it’s really that much of a crappy brush or if I just got a bad batch.

You can use this just by itself for a light coverage, but I prefer medium – heavy coverage so I use this as a finishing powder. I use The Face Shop’s pore balm which smooths the look of my skin, but this is really the cherry on top to a flawless and poreless face. The two combined along with my Urban Decay Naked foundation will never disappoint me.

One con that I should mention about this product is that it can get really messy when you’re applying it. It also doesn’t help that I used to carry this around in my luggage or make up bag, and it doesn’t contain a “stopper” so the foundation will spill out through the holes when it’s being moved. By the time you open it, a lot of the foundation has already fallen out and it can get messy.

Now, I try to just leave this at home or I know I’ll be faced with a messy counter the next time I use it.

Here is the back, which includes the information and further description if you’re interested! I’m not too sure how much this costs since my friend gave it to me and I can’t remember when I first bought it. I would say probably around $8-$10? Leave me a comment if you know and I’ll update this =)

This is the most recent picture I have wearing this foundation! I’m wearing The Face Shop pore balm, Urban Decay Naked foundation, and this to finish off as well as a Lancome blush.

If you have the same skin type as me (oily/combination) then I recommend trying this. I can’t say how it will work for other skin types! Keep an eye out for more drugstore makeup posts =)

Have you tried this product? What are your favourite drugstore foundations?

-Carmen