Differences Between Base Coat and Top Coat (Nail Polish)

photo credit: www.kaydeecosmetics.co.uk

I was talking with a friend who has just developed an interest in nail polish. However, she was concerned about the differences between Base Coats and Top Coats. I explained to her the differences and think it is a good idea to share it here, if there is anyone who might want to know.


First, you cannot use them interchangeably. They are different, they may appear to be clear but , base and top coats can come in different colours and different transparency levels too, some can even be matte.

photo source: www.drugstore.com

Base Coat:

• makes your nails feel rough and dull
• makes it easier to apply nail polish and design 
• optional, but if you really want your nail polish to last longer then you should use this

base coats are more watery, very easy to smooth out. They are less smelly.

Base Coats create a protection between your nails and the nail polish.

It is meant to be used as a "base" (thus the name) you need to apply nail polish over this base coat, as a foundation.

photo source: amazon.com

Top Coat:

• makes your nails feel shiny
• creates a finish
• must be used as a last step...

top coats dry faster than nail polishes and bases. They are hard and seals everything together. Some top coats have sparkles in them. (You cannot use them as a sparkle nail polish, if you want a sparkly nail polish, get a nail polish...)

elaborations:

My friend said she just used base coat on her nails and that made her cuticles all dry. That's because it is not meant to be used alone, but with other nail polishes on top.

If you just use top coat on your nails, they will peel off within 1 hour simply because there is nothing to hold it down.

If you want clear shiny looking nails, I suggest you either get a nail buffer or a "clear" nail polish. (yes, clear nail polishes are different from base/top coats... again. they SHOULD NOT BE USED AS BASE COAT OR TOP COAT.)

Happy Nail polishing!

Juju Aquamoist Moisture Foam Cleanser review

I have heard many great reviews about this product, so I had to get my hands on this and give it a try. I consider myself quite lucky when it comes to foam moisturizers, I always randomly select good products!

Aquamoist has always been one of my favourite brands because it is so effective and treats our skin so well, so I was very excited to give this foam cleanser a try.

I threw away my wrapper before I took a picture... photo credits: http://www.evecare.com



thoughts:

• mild clean
• good for dry and sensitive skin (suitable for all skin types)
• no scent/fragrance
• absorbs water like crazy
• makes skin feels so soft and smooth

formula and other information

Ingredients: 
Hyaluronic acid helps the skin adjust its moisture absorption rate based on humidity, relative to season and climate. This is very important because as we age, our skin's moisture drops significantly (causing us to lose elasticity and show signs of aging.) Hyaluronic acid maintains our skins health by helping it hold moisture.

Other major Ingredients:
Water, glycerin, water

The formula is mild acidity and contains no artificial colouring, mineral oils or animal origin ingredients.

consistency of foam product, sorry for the blurriness of this image

The steps are really simple:
pump some product on your hands (I only use 1 pump, most instructions call for 3-4 pumps...not sure why they need THAT MUCH) and massage it over your face, rinse immediately. Rinsing immediately is extremely important! I have made the mistake of leaving it on for more than I should (like 10 secs more) next morning, my face started having weird bumps... and producing oil and being dry ... I had a horrible week "fixing this mess".

It is a thirsty foam:
make sure you put enough water on your face, this cleanser drinks up water like one thirsty... foam. (I'm not very descriptive), every time I do not use enough, I feel the foam drying on my face and I can no longer spread it... applying water to it after it has dried up does not help either. So REMEMBER... WET and DRENCH YOUR FACE!

That being said though, it does not "dry out your face" like most foam cleansers, it drinks the water from your face but it does not make your skin feel "squeaky clean" (as if all oil has been striped off) and most important there is no tight feeling.

Benefits:
After using this product for a few months I have discovered that my face felt more smooth (keep in mind the harsh cold winter we have this year). I also noticed that it is much easier for my skin to absorb serums, moisturizers and gels.

Score: 9/10

website: http://www.juju.co.jp/eng/catalog/aquamoist/

Tipiak French Macarons review

Macarons straight from France!

Happy Macarons Day!!! How do you celebrate? I celebrate with some good Macaron and write a review about an amazing Macaron product I found in Costco's frozen aisle! These Macarons were a great deal, they were imported from France, the birthplace of Macarons! They tasted so authentic and amazingly good!

package of Tipiak Macarons

Impressions:

• Tastes delicious (not too sweet or plain, just right)
• Easy to prepare
• Each flavor is unique from the rest
• Melts in your mouth
• Tastes very authentic

There are 4 flavors: Raspberry, Chocolate, Vanilla and Coffee. All of them are surrounded with fresh crushed almonds.

ingredients and preparation instructions

The Ingredients are quite "natural" hardly, if any, chemicals or artificial flavouring were used. However, looking at the nutrition chart had slightly scared me.. do not eat too many of these at once! I know they are very addictive but try to resist! ;)

a tray of Tipiak French Macaroons

Please remember to keep these in a frozen state in your fridge!! (This is really important!)

The instructions are very simple, just take a frozen tray out (these are sold frozen and must be kept in your fridge) and leave it in the refrigerator for 30 mins. After 30 mins they will be ready! Please make sure you don't refreeze the "extra" ones though, the instructions specifically ask that you do not thaw and refreeze.

Macarons!

Each flavours' impression

Raspberry:

• contained real raspberry jam
• very rich "fruit flavour"
• to be honest, I didn't realize it was raspberry, my taste buds kept telling me "strawberry"
• was not too sweet

Chocolate

• very rich chocolate flavour
• very thick chocolate paste
• prepare to be "blasted" with French chocolateness

Vanilla

• very creamy
• Cream-based
• Very light, I loved it but it didn't appear to have a strong vanilla flavour

Coffee

• Cream-based
• very creamy
• not very strong Coffee taste, but it tasted really good
• if you like strong coffee, this Macaroon might not be "strong" enough for you

I really loved these Macarons, not only are they affordable but they taste very authentic (after all, they ARE from France), these were extremely easy to prepare and tasted fresh, it was hard to tell they were frozen. I felt the Vanilla and Coffee could have a stronger taste to them though

rating: 9.8/10
website: http://www.tipiak.com/products/products-list/rayon/macarons.html

if you are interested, please check out my personal blog and follow me around Tokyo :)

Tony Wong Patisserie review Wan Chai Location

1. Tiramisu 2. Chocolate Truffle

Who here has heard of or watched the popular dessert show called "Sweet Corner", "Mr. Sweet" (in Chinese 甜心先生) on TVB's 為食台? If you have and are a big fan, you cannot miss this place...

Tony Wong's Patisserie is own by their original "Mr Sweet". You can watch the first episode here--> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFdCyt8CLTw

Now after watching it, what do you think? Do you want some? well.... you can,

Shown in the picture, I got a Tiramisu and Chocolate Truffle

I liked this place so much that I actually went to their Kowloon City place too...  (will do a separate review)

Wan Chai Location: Atmosphere:

• Nice, drop in environment
• service can be quicker
• needs better seating
• needs MORE seating

Not good if you plan to eat there, the chairs were extremely uncomfortable and it was extremely difficult to find a place to put my purse. The seats were all tall chairs, so it was extremely hard to move over. We had to eat next to a garbage can, which ruined our experience. There needs to be more seating too, going back to my earlier point of "hard to move over" I find that when people are eating then leaving, we needed to make room for others. with the tall chairs, it was hard to do that. I suggest they get cafe style tables and chairs to replace their

1. Tiramisu:

main ingredients:

• Mascarpone Cream 
• Lady Finger Soaked With Coffee Syrup

I am sure at one point or another, we have all tried Tiramisu. But you can't say you have had Tiramisu without trying this one. There were 5 layers and each layer was different, the layers were stacked wet, dry, wet dry, etc. One layer consisted of a creamy hazelnut filling, another with a heavily wine drenched biscuit filling, another with a creamy chocolate, etc. .... It is just good!


2. Chocolate Truffle
main ingredients:

• Chocolate Truffle
• Chocolate Glazing 
• Truffle Cream 
• Hazelnut crunchy Flake 
• Cocoa Sponge

This Chocolate Truffle was really delicious. You haven't had Chocolate Truffle till you have tried this cake. I'm serious! Besides tasting really "chocolatey", and being very creamy and literally melting in your mouth, it adds surprises as you work your way though the cake.  In the core of the cake there are Hazelnut crunchy flakes, this was definitely a surprise for my taste buds and mouth. The crunchiness made the cake so much more interesting and the rich hazelnut taste made my taste buds really happy.  The bottom of the cake is held by a cocoa sponge cake.

ratings:
cakes: 10/10
shop environment: 6/10

location:
399 G/F., Lockhart Road, Golden Jubilee, Wai Chai, Hong Kong. (灣仔駱克道399號)

website: http://www.patisserietonywong.com/
phone #: 2575-8993 (Wan Chai)

Freshlook Color Dailies contact lenses review

box of Freshlook Colour Dailies contact Lenses

These were the first colour contacts I have ever purchased or tried, so my review might be slightly biased. I have always wanted to try colour contacts because having a different eye colour definitely enhances your overall look. It makes you look very "exotic" and special. 

contact lenses with container

This brand was recommended to me by my optical shop. I have heard countless stories of colour contacts going wrong and ruining someone's vision so I decided to look for a professional to get their opinion so at least, I know what I put on my eyes are safe and won't ruin my eyes' health.

see how much smaller it is compared to "normal" contact lenses? (sorry, my camera wouldn't focus no matter what)

I chose these because I felt they gave me a very nice natural look. (This was the first time I have worn colour contacts). The optician gave me a chart to choose from, I asked for grey and blue. I choose these "blue" ones because my eyes looked different (in a good way).

You can see how the colours look in this picture. they do not look very dramatic or vivid. The black/brown outline will outline your iris making your eyes look more defined.

me with the colour contacts in "artificial lighting" (please excuse my huge eyebags DX)

pros:

- easy to wear

- comfortable (as in no dry eyes)

- contours my Iris

- natural look

cons:

- moved a lot (not enough for people to notice, but enough to blur partial parts of my vision)

- not very obvious colour 

Lenses Info:

Parameters: Base Curve 8.6. Diameter 13.8.

Manufacturer: CIBA VISION

Packaging: 10 lenses per box.

normal "eye" with no contact lenses (my eyes do not normally look so "big" I had to stretch my lids for this picture)

I have always been told that colour contact lenses are much bigger than normal contact lenses so they tend to be harder to put in your eyes and dry your eyes out more (because there was more surface area of your eye being covered). I was extremely shocked when I saw how small they were when I opened the container. Since this was extremely "small" (even compared to normal contact lenses), it was very easy to put in my eyes... in fact it was a little "too easy". They just slipped into my eyes.

with contact lenses (my eyes do not normally look so "big" I had to stretch my lids for this picture)

Contrary to most people's complaints (about colour contacts) I was really happy that they did not dry my eyes out (I wore these for 6 hours and my eyes didn't feel dry).  I didn't feel them much, I only "saw" them since they kept moving (which is really annoying...) and constantly blurred parts of my vision.

with contacts in different lighting (natural lighting)

Overall, I think these lenses are great if you want a subtle effect, not so if you are going for a dramatic look. I really liked how small they were, less eye surface area was being covered means it does not dry my eyes out at much. I really annoyed at how they moved so easily though especially when I can "see" the lenses.

I will give these 7/10

website: http://www.freshlookcontacts.com/

Kiina キイナ Japanese Drama review

LOVE this DRAMA! Seriously, it is really good...

Synopsis:

The drama is about a 29-year-old girl named Kiina. She has talented gifts by having the ability to solve difficult problems. She uses these skills to solve crimes. Because of her talents, the Metropolitan Police (Tokyo Police) force has recruited her and she is promoted to be the head of a special investigation department nicknamed as "Beppan" (which deals with strange cases that require special "skills" to be solved). Kiina uses her special talents and skills to solve those crimes with her exceptional memory and strong observation skills (she can read really fast). She usually forgets to eat and sleep until she can solve the mysteries of those crimes, she forgets to because she cannot leave the case alone, she needs to help those victims. Her motivation for solving crimes is to punish those who have taken the happiness and the right to live from the victims.

character chart

Won't give out too much of the plot away, the first episode talks about a women, who after a heart transplant starts to act weird, it was as if the heart is trying to ask her to solve a crime. In the end, Kiina solves the case (I don't want to give the plot away). The criminal insists that what he did was right (to kill the original owner of the heart). But Kiina says "Yes, you are right, you might be able to save many MANY lives from now to the future, BUT, you have already stolen the rights for this person to live and love. You have taken away the happiness ("幸福")  from this family already and that is wrong."

Cast:

• Kanno Miho (菅野美穂) as Haruse Kiina
• Hiraoka Yuta (平岡祐太) as Yamazaki Takeru
• Tsukaji Muga (塚地武雅) as Kudo Shinichiro

What I love about this drama:
Kiina's dedication to solving criminal activity. The way she is humble and even when she is laughed at, she insists on helping the vicims and solving the problems. I especially like the statements she makes when she catches the criminals.

each episode's story is really unique... I literally cried towards the end of 3 of them.

I also like the format of the drama, every episode follows a similar pattern and routine, yet, you learn something new

Reflections:

• if you have a skill or ability, it is your responsibility to use it to help others
• love is really powerful
• it feels good knowing you can help someone
• if you don't understand something, it is worth the effort to find out
• believe in things that do not make sense
• nothing is impossible

ratings: 8.5/10
Production: Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV)
year: 2009
website: http://www.ntv.co.jp/kiina/story/index.html

please check out my personal blog and follow me around Tokyo :)

Kenzo Ramen @ Bloor review

Kenzo Ramen

impressions:

• seating is very uncomfortable
• casual atmosphere
• not suitable for "long lengthy conversations" 
• service is so-so

The King of Kings Ramen with extra noodles

What this is: 
Spicy Netsu ramen with five toppings of roasted pork, sliced egg, fish cake, fresh seaweed and dried seaweed. Season topping: marianted bamboo shoot.

Tastes:
I haven't tried this but my friend likes it. He thought it was a bit pricey... but he thought it was extremely delicious. My friend did comment that he thought the $1.50 for extra noodles was extremely reasonable.

Tonkotsu Ramen

What this is:

Tonkotsu Ramen, Hakata style pork bone soup ramen

Tastes:

Every time I'm here, I usually get this Tonkotsu Ramen because it seems to be the most basic, simple and . Simplicity is always what I like to get. The pork bone soup is really good, it is milky and savoury.

 I found myself thinking about heading over to Kenzo's to get this Ramen every time it gets cold. I love the authentic ramen taste they have, topped with pork slices and fish cake. However, I think they can ease up on the green onions though. I literally had green onion breath (apparently it exists) after this. I was impressed and thought it was really nice they served seasoning with the ramen. It was no needed but nice to have.

The bowls don't look big, but there is a lot... my friend and I are always so full after (of course, he got extra noodles, but he says it is extremely filling) and I always struggle to finish one bowl.

7.5/10

website: http://www.kenzoramen.ca/index.php

The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector review

Photo source: www.bodyshop.ca

I have always wanted to give Body Shop hand creams a try, I have always liked their other products (e.g. Shampoo, fragrances, etc.)

I especially like Body Shop's fair Community Trade policies.

the official website describes this product:

BEST IF YOU WANT TO: Soften and protect hands, even after washing. Our best-selling Hemp Hand Protector is dermatologically tested for very dry skin and contains Community Trade hemp seed oil.
BEST FOR: dry to extremely dry skin 

How it works:Community Trade hemp seed oil has an unusually high concentration of essential fatty acids that help to repair skin's moisture barrier, so skin is smooth and supple. 

Community Trade organic beeswax moisturizes and conditions; acts as a barrier to seal in moisture.

impressions:

• leaves hands feeling "creamy"
• my hands do not absorb the product well
• natural "hemp" scent
• thick and creamy product

When I first squeezed the product out, the cream felt really hard. My skin had a problem absorbing all of this cream. I didn't put a lot on and my hands were dry. It seems that the "molecules" of this cream were a bit too big for the skin on my hands to absorb. (I feel like a scientist saying this). After a few minutes of trying to rub the cream on my hands, I was left with oily looking hands. I think that's why it is called "hand protector" as it leaves a layer of protection on my hands. It was not very fun when I had to use my cell phone though. I felt the product getting onto the screen.

rating: 6.5/10

website: http://www.thebodyshop.ca/en/whats-new/top-rated-products/hemp-hand-protector.aspx