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Last weekend I went to the MAC/Estée Lauder Company Warehouse Sale.  I originally planned to just go on Saturday (thanks to Joyce), but I got some extra tickets for Friday and Sunday, thanks to Winnie, so I went for them and ended up going to all three days!  Funny how things worked out.

On Friday, I got to the sale at around 7pm with my friend.  We shopped around for a bit, didn't go too crazy, but here's what I got:

MAC pan eyeshadow ($4 ea.)
Top row, from L to R: Satin Taupe, Golden Rod, Prussian
Bottom row, from L to R: Phloof, Naked Lunch, Yogurt
This was too good of a deal to pass up.  With the price of two eye shadows, I got 6 eye shadows.  And they're not bad shades either.  Satin Taupe and Prussian are some of the popular shades in the current MAC permanent range.  I have always wanted to try Phloof.  Naked Lunch and Yogurt are two favourites of mine, so it's nice to have a back up (almost hitting pan for Naked Lunch).  Golden Rod was a total impulse buy, I guess I'll see how to work it out lol.


Bumble and Bumble Bumble South Surf Spray ($12)

I was very close to get this surf spray last summer, but I didn't because the price is quite steep and I usually don't spend much on hair product.  So when I saw this at the sale, it was a no brainer for me.  I'm looking forward to use it this spring and summer!


Origins Clean Energy Gentle cleansing oil ($12)


This is one of the best cleansing oil I've tried.  I have been waiting for it to appear in the sale, and it has made its comeback this time lol.

Sometimes giving feels just as good as taking... It was proved during the MAC Warehouse Sale March 2012

April 1, 2012 • 2 comments
Some of you might have noticed that I haven't been posting as often lately.  First of all, I'm sorry for the lack of posts in my blog recently.  March was a stressful month for me, mostly because of things happened in my personal life...

With only two months away from the end of my current lease, I had to find a new place to rent.  It was a long and stressful process (especially with the housemate situation going on, which I have already vented about on Twitter so I'll spare you the details).  I would have started searching earlier if there was any available.  Unfortunately, because the law only permits landlords/real estate agents to list the property 60 days before the current lease end date, I had to start in March.

Finding an apartment to rent is much different than finding a room when I was in university.  Searching for a room back then was easy, because the university make things easy for you with their listing site and off campus housing help.  But real life is more complicated, you have to do everything yourself, and people don't like making things easy for you.  Sometimes they list an apartment as 1 bedroom when, in actuality, it's a bachelor apartment.  There's not even a separator thingy to make it a "room" (sarcastically quoted).  Sometimes they don't like to tell you if parking is included, so you have to email/call to ask.  I could go on and on with my rant, but I guess I should stop here.  Anyway, I'm glad to report that we have found a place to live!

I also had the most terrible week of 2012 during the last week of March.  Let's recap: got into car accident on Monday, lost my Presto card (for commute) on Tuesday, missed my train on Wednesday, train broke down at my station on Thursday (huge line for bus so I had to go on the train instead), another accident on Friday and my lunch was too spicy so it was not edible, cut my finger on Saturday... I think I should be glad that this week is over.  I thought staying at home could help me avoid accidents, but I cut my finger at home... so maybe I should just sleep it off till the luck comes back to me... hopefully in April!

It's already the worst month of the year, but there're still some good things that have happened...

I had the chance to attend various events, including a few shows of the World Master Card Fashion Week in Toronto.  Rushing to show to and from work was definitely not fun, but regardless the shows themselves are great.  Maybe next time I should take half a day off on those days so that it'll be more relaxing for me.  The most important thing in making the shows enjoyable is to go with friends (aka Joyce, Emily, and Michele lol).

On March 18, I also went to the Toronto Beauty Bloggers Brunch with my TOBB ladies =D.  Milestone brunch was pretty great, and chatting with TOBB ladies is awesome!  They are so inspirational in a lot of different aspects, not just makeup.  I also finally get to meet Lelo (@leloartistry aka my Walmart buddy lol) in person, and met two new friends @Ellaprettyblog and @walkinthecloset.  These ladies have great sense of fashion, accessories, and home decor.  I definitely have a lot to learn from them!

I also went to the MAC warehouse sale last weekend (huge thanks to Joyce and Winnie!), which was pretty great comparing to the past few sales, especially the charity bag part!  I'll be doing a separate post on my haul and experience!

Anyway, March was very eventful, both in a good way and a bad way.  I'm glad that it's over though.  I really hope my luck gets better starting now...  I hope this blog post didn't bore you guys, but I want to give you guys an update with my life.  I haven't forgotten my blog.  I have been wanting to post more, but sometimes life catches up.  I'm sure many of you can relate.  Hopefully I would be able to post more than I did in March this month.  With moving coming up though, I'm not so sure how consistent I could keep up.  but I'll definitely try!

x Rica

P.S. I'm sorry that this post is not chic at all...

Chic Chat: A Month in Review - March 2012

4 comments
Nice weather is not the only thing that is taking over Downtown Toronto, so does World Mastercard Fashion Week!  Yesterday, Joyce invited me to go to Adrian Wu's Hierarchy of Needs Studio Catwalk.  It was my first Fashion Show ever!

The stage was decorated in a simple but cute way.  I can't get over how adorable the balloon trees are.


On to the collection, the theme can be summed up in three words: drapes, polka dots, and bubbles.  Everything is very bubble and cute.  So kudos to the Adrian Wu team who designed such a cute set up that suited the collection so well!

Photo Credit: Adrian Wu team's photographer 

Photo Credit: Adrian Wu team's photographer 
Photo Credit: Adrian Wu team's photographer 

Photo Credit: Adrian Wu team's photographer 

Photo Credit: Adrian Wu team's photographer 

Photo Credit: Adrian Wu team's photographer 

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Photo Credit: Adrian Wu team's photographer 

Photo Credit: Adrian Wu team's photographer 

Photo Credit: Adrian Wu team's photographer 

Photo Credit: Adrian Wu team's photographer 

Photo Credit: Adrian Wu team's photographer 

Photo Credit: Adrian Wu team's photographer 

All the models were wearing V for Vendetta masks, which means we didn't get to see what makeup, if any, they're wearing.  But the hair braid on all models look very polished and I wish I could braid like that!  See the back of one of the models:

Love the model's tattoo behind her ear.

Also worth noting are the shoes, which are all from town shoes.  This is a Fall/Winter collection, so the shoes are very winter-ish.  I am quite a fan of suede and tie up booties, already got two pairs in the past season, so I'm excited to be able to wear them again next year!

Oh, so my favourite look out of all the pieces will have to be the navy blue and mustard yellow mini dress:

An even better shot at the braid lol
 I personally like to pair mustard colour with navy a lot, in fact I was wearing that at the show lol.  So this has to be my favourite among the bunch!

I'm not going to talk about his Parisian-and-American-politicians underlying meaning of the collection, because that is kind of confusing, for me at least. Befuddling inspiration aside, there is no doubt that Adrian Wu is a very talented young man.   His signature draping, tucking and pinning dresses are very bubbly cute and full of life.  What people might not know is that he is also quite a cutie lol.

Photo Credit: Adrian Wu team's photographer
Anyhow, I have so much fun attending my first fashion show in the Toronto World Mastercard Fashion Week!  Even though we were in such hurry, it was worth the rush.

So what's next?  Mélissa Nepton show tomorrow at 8pm!  Everything from her previous collections are whispering "take me home..." in my ears lol.  I can't wait to see what's new for her in Fall/Winter 2012.  And I will definitely be back with more on that.

x Rica

As Bubbly as balloons! Adrian Wu Hierarchy of Needs FW 2012

March 14, 2012 • 4 comments
One thing about me is that eating is probably my second favourite "hobby", right after sleeping and followed closely by shopping.  So imagine me in a tasting event, needless to say, it's the best way of shed some stress after work!  The past Tuesday, Emily, Joyce, Michele (and her boyfriend) and I were invited to Kultra for their tasting event.


Kultra is different from other restaurants in town for the diversity in its menu, from Italian to Asian-fusion cuisine.  It distinguish themselves by offering small plates of food for sharing and tasting as oppose to the traditional 3 to 5 course meal.  They have also started catering services at their restaurant about a month ago.





Kultra is convenient located near King Street East and Jarvis Road in Toronto (169 King Street East, Toronto, ON M5A 1J4), just steps away from the Financial District and Distillery District.  This means it is perfect for after hours drinking or dining for those of you who work in downtown Toronto.  It is a three stories restaurant with  bars on the first and second floor, and a private room for gatherings on the third floor.    It was quite easy to spot the restaurant because of its neon-colour-changing sign.

Kultra Tasting Event: Good food and company can have more than a comforting effect!

March 13, 2012 • 0 comments

MARCELLE BB Cream in Light To Medium


Ever since it caught my eyes at the Beauty Premiere, I have been so intrigued by the MARCELLE BB Cream and so determined to test it out!  I was given a sample size at the event, and have been using it since then, so it has been about 4 months.  It might be the most exciting product launch by a Canadian company ever (to me at least)! Even though I got the lab sample from PR, I still purchased the actual one from, you know I'd like to show what you get from the store =D.

MACELLE BB Cream in Light to Medium packaging

MACELLE BB Cream in Light to Medium packaging

MACELLE BB Cream in Light to Medium packaging

MACELLE BB Cream in Light to Medium packaging

Like most BB Cream in the market (Asian or Western), it comes in a tube packaging with a pump.  I wish all foundations are like this because it is more sanitary and less messy.  But I don't know if it's because the fact that I store my MARCELLE BB Cream flat, sometimes it doesn't pump properly (sometimes too little, sometimes nothing comes out).  Since the packaging is designed for it to stand up, you might want to store it vertically as well =).



MACELLE BB Cream in Light to Medium - the tube


MACELLE BB Cream in Light to Medium - the pump

As for the actual product, I love the colour of this BB Cream because it matches me perfectly (I use the light-to-medium shade).  It is neutral, almost yellow toned, which is quite rare for BB Creams.  A lot of Korean ones I've tried are usuallyquite grey, and hence the "whitening" effect. To be frank, a grey undertone ones is not flattering on everyone. I've seen a lot of ghostly faces with yellowed neck A LOT in real life. In fact, I have done it too!  But this wouldn't give you such an effect.  I'd say it is way more natural and flattering for most people.  I personally wouldn't use the medium-to-dark shade, because it's too dark for me, but I wentto the store and did a swatches of both colour side by side:

MARCELLE BB Cream Light to Medium

From L to R: MARCELLE BB Cream Light to Medium, Medium to Dark

It's supposed to "match" a variety of skintones.  Since it has self-adjusting pigments, it'll fit a wider range of skin tone with the two shades.  They say even olive skin girl will able to wear the medium to dark shade, which is not that much darker than the light to medium shade.  Still, it's got two shades rather than one shade fits all, so it's definitely a plus!  But I would love to see a darker colour so that women of colour could also enjoy BB Creams.  As for coverage, I would say it's light but not extremely sheer. It has more coverage than most tinted moisturizer. It doesn't cover all my acne scaring, but it does even out my skin tone.I still need concealer here and there to cover active breakouts or acne scaring.  But on my good skin days, I would just use it and set with powder and I'll be done.

This is a rather dry BB Cream. Usually the ones I've tried are very moisturizing, but it could be too greasy sometimes. This one is drier and quite good at oil controlling. It doesn't make my skin oily by 10am when I put it on before 8am. By noon though, I start to see shine showing through. But with a good blotting paper and powder you will have another few hours of shine-freeness. I would definitely set it with a shine control powder since I have quite oily skin.  The only thing I really really wish it comes with is Sun protection.  But rumour has it that they're working on that.  So I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

MARCELLE BB Cream Light to Medium: Lab Sample and the Real Thing (lol)

Overall, this BB Cream is unlike any other BB Cream I've tried because of its oil controlling property.  As for the skincare effect, I haven't really seen any, so I can't comment on that. I think ladies (and gents) with combination to oily skin and/or minor skin problem (just a bit of uneven skin tone or redness) would enjoy really enjoy this product. If your skin is dry, you'll need to prep your skin by moisturizing it really well right before you apply this BB Cream.

This is definitely becoming one of their star products as I've seen them selling out in different stores, Walmart or Shoppers Drug Mart.  It retails for CA $19.95 ~ $22.95, depending where you get it.  I got mine from Walmart because I know they sell it for cheaper.  It is also available at Rexall and online,where US ladies can purchase it at their website as well.


I hope this helps some of you to decide whether or not should trythis product out. Anyway, please join me and welcome Canada's first BB Cream!

x Rica

Disclaimer: The full size packaging was purchased by me, and the labsample was provided by MARCELLE Cosmetics as a PR sample.  This post is not being sponsored, and I am not receiving compensation for reviewing this product.

I’m in a rush but let me put some MARCELLE BB Cream on first

March 1, 2012 • 6 comments