MODIFACE Beautiful Me App review

by MODIFACE

Hey everyone, I am so sorry for the delay... I literally JUST realized it is already Thursday!!! Time Flies!!

I hope you will like my review on this Beauty App called "Beautiful Me" by MODIFACE.

While browsing for beauty apps, I came across this app called "Beautiful Me" by MODIFACE.

how app looks like, please excuse the awkward looking shape

Beautiful Me is an app which detects our skin profile.

You can upload several close ups or connect to Facebook for the app to analyze the changes to your skin. Facial features, makeup, aging and hair to let you understand your own skin. The app will then  suggest products to you which will best suit your condition of your skin and hair.

look at all the recommendations

There were A LOT of recommendations available: from hair colour, foundation shades to lip colours, blush,... etc

I also liked a feature which calculates how much your skin has aged (based on the upload/capture date of your images). The App looks at your true skin tone and undertone to determine the healthiness and age of your skin. 

hair product recommendations

The app also provides a thorough hair report, based on your hair shade (as show above). It analyzes which hair colours you could use to enhance your appearance.

The App provides a detailed skin analysis based on the photos you upload and whether you should use a specific foundation over the other.

You can also customize product recommendations (choosing specific brands and types of product)

lip colour recommendations

Verdict:

I think there is lots of potential for this app, I hope they continue to improve... I noticed that they still need to improve (especially when you have different lighting and applied different filters, they cannot correctly determine your conditions and give you a correct analysis). The App is definitely using technology to do something amazing... I hope it continues to improve and hopefully be beneficial in newer versions.

score: 7/10

website: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/beautiful-me/id875035349?mt=8

Song Cook Korean restaurant review

There are so many great Korean restaurants at Yonge and Steeles, one of my good friends introduced me to this place...

Service was fair, the waiter was nice and provided enough utensils for us but the kitchen was quite slow. (I actually thought the waiter looks a bit like Lee Min-Ho ^____^).

The interior was very "Korean". There were 2 sides: one side where you had to remove your shoes and sit in "booths" and another where you sat in normal chairs... since we were a large group, we were escorted to a room which looked like a small hut.

The food was generally good. Below is my 2 cents (with some description) of the food items we ordered.

HaeMulPaJan Seafood pancake $17.99

A Seafood and green onion pancake with vegetables is a bit expensive compared to other Korean places but it was really good.

Impressions:

• Very crispy
• Thick
• Large
• Lots of octopus
• Octopus/squid was slightly over cooked

see the thickness of the HaeMulPaJan

This picture does not show exactly how much more thick this pancake (HaeMulPaJan) actually is (I tried to take a better picture but I was at an awkward angle).

I enjoyed taking a bite out of the crispy outer layer and getting the savoury chewy inner layer. The inner was very well moistened... there was a lot of seafood!! My only complaint is that the squid and octopus was slightly overcooked... so it made them a bit hard to chew through....

SamGehTang (Full) $17.99

details:
SamGehTang

(Full) $17.99

Ginseng chicken soup with dates, chestnuts, yellow root and pine nuts with rice

This was a very disappointing dish.... for $17.99 (full), the serving size was very small... we shared it among 6 people... we each barely got a bowl full of this.... (as shown in the picture... this is what my "full" bowl looked like).

Impressions

• Very plain
• Tasted like water
• Largely any ingredients
• Contained pine nuts and dates
• No ginseng 
• Small amount
• Not worth

If that was not bad enough, the soup was practically tasteless, almost like water... none of the ingredients' flavours came out... (If we didn't find the ingredients like: dates, chestnuts and pine nuts at the bottom of the bowl, we wouldn't have known they were really there). There was also no ginseng... or any ginseng flavour... this was extremely disappointing.

KalBiJim (s) $13.99

Details:

This is a dish which is delicately marinated fall-off-the-bone steamed beef ribs with carrots and radish

These KalbiJim braised ribs were so tasty (especially after that horrible ginseng chicken soup). These ribs were stewed to perfection, the meat falls off the bone by just touching it with your chopsticks.

impressions:

• Very savoury
• Meat was well marinated slightly sweet and salty
• Very tender my chopsticks tried to pick the meat up and it all fell apart

The meat was very tender and infused with all the ingredients... the carrots and radishes were so well done too... they were soaked in the broth. It tasted really home made too!

Jajang Myun $7.99

details:

This is one of their popular noodle dishes made with ground beef, veggies and black bean sauce

impressions:

• Lots of black pepper
• Lots of sauce
• Sweet tasting

There is definitely a reason why this is such a popular dish... it is so good! The black pepper empowers the experience of the taste so well, the noodles are cooked to a perfect chewy texture. The bean paste sauce is infused with lots of sweetness and the black pepper's "spiciness" makes it a really great experience to eat. 

wasabi sauce

There was a complimentary Wasabi sauce... I'm not sure which dish is this for... but we were all interested in it... (it is quite good)

Five Spices Jokbal $23.00

Description
Five Spices Jokbal

Tender seasoned pork hock, served with sliced garlic, peppers and dipping sauce $23.99

Impressions:

• Large amount
• Made very well

By the end of all those items, we were already full... so when this came, we were absolutely shocked at how huge the dish looked. The serving size of this dish was really huge! There were garlic clove slices and green hot peppers to complement this dish.

We didn't try to pair this with garlic clove slices or the green hot peppers, instead, we tried to pair it with the wasabi sauce, and it tasted quite good (we weren't sure if they were supposed to be paired together, but we tried dipping in what other sauces on the table).

One thing is, if you are dining at this restaurant, they give you all the sauces you need for your entire meal before hand, so what we had to do each time was experiment and guess which should be dipped in what.

The meat was really well made, they gave us different types of the pork feet.

radish

Loved this radish, it was complementary, and it was really tasty.

Verdict:
This was quite a good dining experience, I thought the food was a little pricey compared to other Korean places though... I would avoid the Ginseng Chicken soup (SamGehTang) next time for sure, but will definitely order the other items, especially the JaJang Myun!

score: 8/10

address: 72 Steeles Avenue West #6 Thornhill, Ontario 

phone number: (647) 678-8000

website: http://www.songcooks.com/

It' s Skin Snail moisture mask sheet review

It's SKIN

contains 22g per package

(this does not seem like a lot, but there was a lot of essence in the package)

It's Skin Snail Moisture Mask Sheet:

Snail slime filtrate consists of a main ingredient that is characterized by mucin called sticky snail snail Moisturizer mask sheet, the dullness of the skin care haejugo feeling of giving back the clear and clean skin of the original moist mask sheet. - source: It's Skin

Ingredients:
Snail Slime Filtered-Water, Rice Extract, Baobab Seed Extract.

Snail Secretion Filtrate: 1000ppm, EGF (this is quite high) 

Made in Korea

directions and info

Impressions

• Smells delicious
• Difficult to unfold mask
• Very hard to fit on facial features
• makes skin feels soft and smooth for days (as in 3 days)
• density is very thin and light

how mask looks out of the package

Directions

1. After washing, adjust skin with toner and apply mask

2. Take mask off after 25-30 mins

3. Let skin absorb excess by tapping softly to easily absorb remaining essence

mask does not fit well on features

Smell:

The fragrant of this mask is very appealing, I couldn't stop smelling my finger tips (after I removed the mask from my face). It smells like a floral/fruity combination... it's not overwhelming, it smells very light good.

Mask Fitting:

I was a bit disappointed that the mask did not have a backing, it made it so hard to take the mask out and fixing it on my face was frustrating. The mask did not fit well with my features too, so there was some frustration when applying this mask to my face.

Consistency:
I was really surprised with the consistency, since it was "snail slim" I expected the mask to be very gooey.... but to my surprise, it was very think and watery. There was also a lot of remaining essence in the package, so I washed out the mask after, and decided to save some essence for next time.

how I looked right after removing the mask "REFRESHING"

A clean, soft and smooth face makes me a very happy Stephanie ;)

score: 9.5/10
website (not exact product though): http://www.itsskin.com/eng/htm/02_product/product_07.asp?activem=2&actives=1 

Ottie Green Tea Emulsion review

200mL of Ottie Green Tea Emulsion

While I was in Bonjour, a sales associate recommended this product to me, it was not only affordable but it made my skin feel so soft.

Prior to being introduced to this product, I have never heard of the company "Ottie" Their website describes their brand name as

the compound word of French “Hauteur”, which means elegance, highclass, pride and arrogance, and English “Pretty”.

impressions:

• long lasting
• makes skin feels soft
• milky (as it is a Emulsion)
• no scent
• skin absorbs this product
• does not work in harsh N America climates

The websites promotes this product as:

Forming oil&water barrier on the surface of skin to protect from harmful circumstance/ water-oil balancing.


According to the website, there are several features of this product: 

Anti-inflammation, Astringent, Poreless, Calm, Soothing, Moiturizing, Balancing water and oil level of your skin.

1) Green Tea Extract / Grapefruit,Sophora Root,Neem / Portulaca Oleacea : Anti-inflammation,
Allantoin / Hyaluronic acid / Aloe Vera : Soothing & Moisturizing

Vita. E : Nourishing

2) Clean, Clear, Light, Refreshing, non sticky3) For early skin ( woman&men), troubled skin from pimple, acne

Like using other emulsion/moisturizers, this product is no different, after applying serum, take a small amount and apply it all over your face. It takes really good care of your skin!

Verdict:
While I was in Hong Kong, this product did wonders for my skin, it prevented my skin from cracking and gave it enough moisture and it does exactly what it claims (in its features) however, taking it back to N. America, I was sad that it was less useful, I think the weather over here damages our skin too much and this emulsion simply is not enough...  I'm waiting for a stronger formula suited for N. Americans. (and those who live in harsher weather conditions)

score: 9/10
website: http://ottie.co.kr/product/green-tea-emulsion/

Clinique rinse-off foaming cleanser review

what the product looks like

In French it is called mousse hydro-demaquillante. Clinique has always advertised themselves as "Allergy Tested. 100% Fragrance Free"

info

Impressions

• Light & mild
• product feels like whipped cream
• does not foam up
• No squeaky clean feeling
• no fragrance
• a little goes a long way

Packaging: 
The packaging is ok, but it can be a bit difficult to get the last 10% of the product out.

Product:
The actual product feels very light and mild, sort of like whipped cream. It had a silky feeling and no real foam formed. It did not irritate my sensitive skin (so this is good for those who have sensitive skin).

I did not encounter any squeaky clean feeling and my skin did not feel tight either. HOWEVER, Remember that you must apply toner --> serum --> moisturizer after!!!

score: 9/10
website: http://www.clinique.com/product/1673/6254/Skin-Care/Cleansers-Makeup-Removers/Rinse-Off-Foaming-Cleanser

St. Ives fresh Skin Apricot Scrub exfoliant review

St. Ives Apricot Scrub

So, a little while ago, I posted on my Facebook (add me if you haven't already ;)) the negative effects that exfoliate micro plastic beads have on our environment. 

I have been using St. Ives' Apricot Scrub for over 10 years now, so I can confidently recommend this product to you! It uses walnut shell powder to exfoliate and it does wonders to your skin.

this is what the product looks like

The Tagline is: Exfoliates toreveal smooth, radiant skin.

It also advertises as non-irrirating, dermatologist tested and uses 100% Natural Extracts

Product Benefits (according to St. Ives)

• 100% Naturally Derived Exfoliants 
• No Sulfate Cleansers 
• Paraben Free 
• Oil Free 
• Dermatologist Tested 
• Hypoallergenic

Impressions:

• Smells really nice and natural
• Made of natural ingredients
• Very creamy
• Perfectly exfoliate dead skin cells

Directions: 

1. Moisten face with water
2. Dispense product onto fingertips and massage over face
3. Rinse with water
4. Avoid direct contact with eyes*

*in case of contact with eyes, flush thoroughly with water.

INGREDIENTS:

AQUA, JUGLANS REGIA (WALNUT) SHELL POWDER, GLYCERYL STEARATE, GLYCERIN, SODIUM LAURYL SULFOACETATE, ZEA MAYS (CORN) KERNEL MEAL, COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, CETYL ALCOHOL, PEG-100 STEARATE, PRUNUS ARMENIACA (APRICOT) FRUIT EXTRACT, CETYL ACETATE, POLYSORBATE 60, CETEARETH-20, ACETYLATED LANOLIN ALCOHOL, CARBOMER, PPG-2 METHYL ETHER, PHENETHYL ALCOHOL, TRIETHANOLAMINE, METHYLISOTHIAZOLINONE, PARFUM, TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891).

Where to buy

Honestly, I have been to drug stores in different parts of the world and have found them, this product is affordable (CAD $7; USD $5-6; HKD $45)

This is my always-go-to product because it works, it gently exfoliates all dead skin cells from my face leaving is nice and smooth (remember to apply moisturizer, serum on after though). This product is one of the best, I have sensitive skin and had absolutely no problem using it ever and to put things into perspective, I have tried the $50 Mary Kay exfoliating products and they do not work as well as this one. To date, I have not found another product I can use other than this one (for exfoliating). 

Score: 10/10

Website: http://www.stives.ca/product/detail/775907/exfoliating-apricot-scrub

Santouka Ramen review

photo credits: www.torontolife.com

The ramen craze continues in Toronto despite the hot weather we are getting. I was introduced to this Ramen place by a friend. Outside the shop, they advertise themselves as an Authentic Hokkaido ramen shop. When I went to do some research, I discovered that this place is huge... there are more than 50 Santouka Ramen shops around the world.

The service was amazing... One of the best in Toronto, however, I was a bit disappointed in the ramen...

Shio Ramen (salt flavour Ramen)

Impressions

• Shop has a very nice environment
• Ramen had fresh ingredients
• Ramen is extremely salty and oily
• Ramen portion is too small (compared to other ramen places)

Shoyu Ramen (Soy Sauce Flavour)

Both were so salty and oily and the portions were too small... (compared to other ramen places).

Shio Ramen (Salt Flavour)

This ramen had an extremely creamy soup with salt flavour (hence the name). It had a tasty Japanese pickled plum on top. 

Shoyu Ramen (Soy Sauce Flavour)

This ramen tasted heavily of pork broth and soy sauce. The seaweed was a perfect match for this ramen because while you are indulging the seaweed, it helped keep the ramen less salty and giving my tastebuds a chance to savour the pork broth essence. The Cha-Shu tasted really good an authentic. 

Their $2.50 Green Tea

I cringed at the price of $2.50 per cup of tea... the most unfortunate part is this tea didn't taste good... and it was from a tea bag... so... if you don't want to feel ripped off, remember to just ask for water when you visit this place.

I do not see myself returning to this place in the near future as I feel their ramen needs to be improved. Their prices do not match their quantity and they need to make the soup less salty. It took my tongue about half an hour before it can "reset/calibrate" itself to taste again. 

service: 10/10

ramen: 6.5/10

Address: 91 Dundas St E, Toronto, ON M5B 1E1 

Phone: (647) 748 – 1717

website: http://www.santouka.co.jp/en/ 

TonyMoly Floria Nutra-Energy Mask Sheet with Argan Oil review

TonyMoly Floria Nutra-Energy Sheet mask

Tony Moly Floria nutra-energy mask sheet with Argan Oil has always been appealing to me because I have heard so much about Tony Moly and Argan Oil has always fascinated me because I always hear people talking about its superb moisturizing properties.

Directions

directions:

1. Cleanse face
2. Apply mask
3. Leave on for 15-20 minutes

how the mask looks like (there is no backing) and it is thicker than most sheet mask

Impressions

• Smells medicated
• Stinging sensation
• hated the size of the mask
• essence absorbs into skin really well

The mask did not fit with my features at all, and I hated the medicated scent. I also found the mask to be too thick.

Pros

• my face felt slightly lifted after
• mask stays on face quite well
• drenched with essence

Cons

• Mask is thicker than other sheet masks
• Does not fit my facial features (took a lot of time adjusting)
• Stinging sensation
• No backing to help you fit the product on
• irritation occurred (my face had slight bumps after using this mask)

I don't think I will be buying these as they not work for me, I enjoyed the firm and lifted feeling but it was not evidently enough for me to consider using them again.

score: 5/10
website: http://www.etonymoly.com/goods/submain.asp?cate=139#cate%3D139%26Listsize%3D5%26PriceRange%3D0%2C98000%26page%3D3