REVIEW: SEPHORA Smoothing Primer


I seldom take selfies , despite being a female, because of three reasons:

1) I have no idea how to pose. Others make it so easy to tilt their head, play with the hair , wink etc etc. I tried a few times, decided that I looked horrible and would probably not try again.

2) I do not look good without smiling AND I cannot smile properly without a reason. Haha. I realise that the few moments where  I like how I look in photos are when I am taking photos with my husby, friends, nephew or anyone / anything that I truly feel happy about that particular moment. Then , you will see the happy glow in my face and the light in my eyes. Other than that, I always look quite lifeless. 

3) Sometimes, I simply feel embarrassed to snap a shot of myself. Yup, I am shy like that. 


But you will see my closed-up face here because I just have to share something I discovered recently (It has been in the market for some time but I just managed to try it).

I have a 5-step beauty regime each morning before I put on my make-up. Make up to work has always been concealer, 2-way cake foundation, loose powder, eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss.

On days when I have slightly more time, I'll add on eyeshadow and blusher. However, that does not happen often because I often do not like how my face looks like after half a day with all that. They usually turn up slightly cakey by 12 noon, and colours do not stay on as strong as I want them to although most of my products are from MAC or Benefit , which are relatively good. It could, of course, just be my skin condition that does not allow my make up to have the finish that I hope for.

But I've found the magic potion.......

Smoothing Primer from SEPHORA



Why I did not try this out earlier despite its good reviews , I cannot fathom.

I never bothered to put on a face primer before make-up; I thought that my moisturiser and sunscreen would suffice. But this is a god-send! Now I always ensure I put it on as the last stage of my regime before making my face up.

(I am currently having my post-pimples period and this period is soooooo irritating... because I should not be putting on too much make up so as to let my skin breathe and not clog the pores further but at the same time, I need to cover the blemishes up!)

This Smoothing Primer from Sephora is the perfect make up base (for me, at least). It has a thick gel-like texture when pressed out from the bottle but penetrates almost immediately into your skin such that you will not get any sticky feeling - very light and smooth! I also use it on the areas under my eyes. 

Effect: Foundation glides on smoothly and remains so for many hours later. I only used the foundation sparingly  so yeah for that! If you are like me whose cheeks are slightly reddish due to post-pimples period, the primer eliminates that almost totally. I've put on blusher ever since I started using it as it doesn't cause my skin to break out (I always get breakouts with blusher so I tend to avoid putting on blusher). This is really much better than the BB creams I've tried before. It delivers its promise of being mattifying and make up really lasts longer !

Size: It comes only in this small size which is another PLUS because I can easily slot it into my make up pouch. Since I would need to wash off  all my make up when I do my prayers outside during the day, I can easily have this around when I need to re-make up:) 100 points for being travel-friendly!

Price: $20. Initially , I thought that's a little pricey for something so small but you really need only a tiny bit each time so I figure the $20 will last you for quite a while.


Here's a pic I took at 7:15am - at the workplace ! :P


You probably can spot 2 or 3 pimples as I do not like too much concealer but I am happy that at least, everything else looks smooth. ERrr....the one in the middle of my forehead is a mole , not a pimple. Just Fyi :P


5.5 hours later , after much talking and running around in mostly warm , outdoor weather...


No touch up of make up here... You would probably notice the pimples are slightly more obvious here but hey, this is WAY better than how it would have turned out before my discovery :)


I couldn't experiment and find out how it would be like hours later because it was soon time for my prayers...and that means, all would be cleaned off . For now, this is excellent enough for me.


Weirdly , I found out that the lighting at my desk is excellent for phototaking. I took the next one using my Galaxy Note 3 (which is fantastic for taking photos!) and without any filter, just like the previous 2.


Wah Wah Wah! How come skin looks flawless? 


I couldn't believe it so I checked that there really wasn't any filter applied and snapped another.


Ok, now I believe there is some magic light around my desk. Must take more photos here  in future! HAhah..


This has been a rather give-me-a weird-feeling kind of blog post because I am really not used to seeing myself in photos like that. 

Back to the main purpose ....if you are on the lookout for a primer or hoping to have a smooth finish for your dolling up, you may want to consider this primer from Sephora. 

Hope it will work just as great on you!

xoxo

REVIEW: Le Bistro Parisien



Last Thursday , I had a simple date with my best friend.

It was supposed to be some kind of a belated birthday celebration and thus, she refused to tell me where we were heading to. Very unfortunately for her, the cab driver had no idea where to allow us to alight either. We ended up pretty lost a few streets away from the destination.

After a call to the restaurant, another taxi cab ride , a walk down a lane , we finally reached Le Bistro Parisian! 



Remember I mentioned before that there was a French restaurant in Haji Lane that has since closed down? Well, this is the restaurant I meant, just that it did not close down but has relocated. The new bistro is located as part of the V Hotel at Bencoolen Street.

[There are some roadworks going on now for the new MRT line so taxis would not be able to drop you off right at the doorstep of the cafe. Lookout for 'Kopitiam' near Bras Basah train station. Just a 3-min walk down the lane]



We were there the day after Christmas and could see how cosy to it is to have a small gathering with your friends there.


I kinda like the simple wood furnishings however, I thought it would look better and cuter if they have red-white checkered tablecloths.

A little history of the restaurant's owner / founder / chef ....


Chef Jean Francois Nordin is a well-seasoned French-trained Hotelier and Restaurateur with over 38 years of experience. He has held various positions in the hotel industry , having risen in rank since 1975. As someone who is widely travelled and having managed and set up strings of successful bistros, cafes and restaurants, his creativity to conceptualise things and create delectable dishes are unlimited and boundless. Bistro Le Parisian is also the first Halal French Restaurant in the world.


We were so lucky to have met him in person. As we were devouring our entre dish, this very humble man came to our table to talk to us and asked if the food and service were alright. It's definitely a thoughtful extra step towards pleasing customers :)

Bestie and I were quite greedy that night... hahahhaa....well, to be fair, I skipped lunch so you can imagine how hungry I was. LOL.

We wanted to try the escargots under the Entres but was told the dish was unavailable that night. We must have looked really disappointed because later on, we were served their mushroom soup totally complimentary!


CREME AUX CHAMPIGNONS
Homemade cream of wild mushroom soup

More creamy than my usual like but not bad... The meaty chunks of mushrooms were nicely cut and so juicy that I finished it all up - that is not something very common when it comes to me and mushroom soup. 

Like I said earlier, we were a little greedy that night (not good!) and actually ordered an entre and 3 mains! The staff did give us a cheeky grin when she wanted to confirm if we were really having all that between the two of us.



BRANDADE DE MORUE
Baked bacalao salted cod fish with gruyere cheese 


I have always loved codfish for its dense , white flesh but I wasn't sure what to expect from this dish when I read the description. Salted fish ? With cheese? Was that going to be just a little too much?

I shouldn't have feared anything because I just kept on eating it once I started ( we were sharing though). The taste of the fish was pretty delicate yet very tasty as it mixed with the flavour of the melted cheese. I tried it out with bread halfway through and wished I had done that sooner! Yumms......
However, I found this dish extremely filling... I had to stop myself from continuing when I remembered we had not had the mains yet. 

We had three mains. I ordered the grilled salmon with linguine.



SAUMON GRILLE AUX EPINARDS EN SAUCE BEURRE BLANC
 Grilled salmon with lemon butter sauce, spinach & squid ink linguine 


I LOVE the perfectly grilled salmon and spinach ..so flavourful that I was kind of sad when I reached the last of them . Definitely recommended. The linguine was alright - I was wishing that it had been BLACK squid ink instead.



SAUTEE DE GROSSES CREVETTES A LA MOUTARD A LANCIENNE
 Sauteed large prawns with whole grain dijion mustard 


The name is quite a mouthful, isn't it?
Prawns were fresh and juicy .....and again , I attacked the absolutely yummy spinach. It wasn't overcooked and was just a perfect blend with the whole dish. My only complaint is there should have been a bigger serving of the vegetables (Did I really say that, not being a vege lover? Wonders never cease)



ENTRECOTE DE BOUEF
Australian Black Angus Ribeye Steak 200 days grain-fed(2-3marbling)



The restaurant has many varied versions of the steak ... I cannot recall and I was honestly, a little overwhelmed :P

I cannot really comment on this because this was Bestie's. However, the plate was squeaky clean when she was finally done. I guess it must have been good :)


We were so full by then that there was actually a moment of silence. I just felt like I could not talk or move.... hahhahaha....

Then , they surprised us with a complimentary Creme Brulee. Oh gawd, it looked really good but I knew I could not go on.

Crème brûlée


It wasn't too sweet so I like that but the stomach was signalling a red signal , indicating there really wasn't anymore space. 

It is extremely difficult to get a decent snapshot of Bestie. She would ALWAYS make some kind of weirdly funny faces that I just cannot bear to post it online . ALL THE TIME.

Le sigh.


Best shot of the day 

Ending of with a selfie... just because I like the way I draped my shawl..... hee hee....

Not sure if I could replicate it the next time ...anyhow wrapped it that night! 

Anyway, altogether, the meal cost us about $90. That is definitely value for money.

When we went, their NETS and Credit Card facilities were not in place yet since they just started at the new premise. Just in case, do bring cash if you are going there.

Thanks for reading, people! Have a good Sunday!


Le Bistro Parisien 
48 Bencoolen Street 
#01-02 
Singapore 189627
Contact no: 63331178 / 63333138