COSCOS Cosmetic Review Update [02.07.2016]

Hello everyone,

Hope you're all keeping & staying well!

It's definitely been a very long so lets get straight into it starting with an updated review.

So early last year around Feb-March of 2015 I did a review video for the COSCOS Cosmetic products which can be viewed here:

Since then, new products have been released from the cosmetic line and the kind people of Liberta Group, who is the manufacturer of the COSCOS cosmetics, watched my video and contacted me for a small collaboration to provide me the whole range of the cosmetic line to try out and review for you all :) 
Please note that my review will be 100% honest based on my opinion and usage which was a term the kind staffs agreed to.

So what is COSCOS?

COSCOS is a cosmetic brand manufactured by the Japanese company, Liberta Group, that is dedicated towards Cosplayers through the use of feedbacks from cosplayers themselves on their ideal type of products. 

So far the cosmetic line has released base products which claims to be:

• Photogenic
• Long Lasting
• Flawless
• Gentle & Comfortable for the skin

Makeup plays an important role in Cosplay and with most (if not all) makeup, it starts with the base.

Finding the ideal products to create that flawless base can be quite difficult especially when you need that perfect foundation shade (whether it is pale or deep shades, warm or pink tone etc.) that gives a flawless coverage whilst being comfortable on the skin.

What's new & updated since last?

• More foundations shades (total of 6) has been released from the original two
• Body Foundation

Lets get straight into it!

Products can be purchased from the COSCOS website at http://coscos.me/english.html through "BUYEE" which can be on the bottom of the page

• PERFECT HD FOUNDATION

• Now comes in 6 Shades in total

• F Natural (F for female - ideal for female characters) - Pink Undertone
• F Natural 01
• F Natural 02 (lighter than F01)
• M Natural (M for male - ideal for male characters) - Yellow Undertone
• M Natural 01
• M Natural 02 (lighter than M01)

• White Foundation WH01
• Can be used on its own for extreme pale or white shades
• As a mixing medium to brighten or lighten foundation shades
• As a highlight
• Deep Foundation BR01
• Can be used on its own to recreate deep coloured skin. 
• As a contour

• Contains 30 grams of product
• Comes in a plastic tube with a nozzle & easy twist screw cap
• Thick consistency liquid foundation
• Dewy finish
• Retails around 1728yen ~ around $25 AUD
• Made in Japan

• Claims (Taken from the http://coscos.me/items/english.php)
• All-in-1 foundation corrects uneven skin tones, dull skin colours without primers
• Soft focus foundation with a photogenic finish
• Immediate 3D effect foundation with special effects colour pigment powder which gives the impression of three-dimensionality (Basically not flat)
•  Enduring for long photo shoots, moisturizing, high perspiration resistance/sebum resistance (Long Lasting)

• PROs :
• Unscented
• Hygienic tube packaging
• More shades available
• Medium coverage that's buildable to full.
• Comfortable on the skin, not heavy
• Moisturising
• Not flat looking (Dewy finish)
• Long lasting (especially with aid of a setting powder)
• Withstand extreme heat condition pretty well with aid of a setting powder
• Deep foundation (BR01) doesn't oxidise - NO ORANGEY PUMPKIN LOOKING
• White foundation (WH01) works well as mixing medium to lighten shades

• CONs :
• Shades are light and on the ashy grey side (which gives that "brighter" complexion however can be ghostly or dead looking for some)
• Recommended to build foundation over flaws, not coating the whole face more layers as looks quite thick and cakey.
• Quite sticky, requires setting powder especially for combination to oily skin.
• Does not cover dry skin cracks despite being quite moisturising. 
• Thick consistency may require to use more product
• Transferrable
• Pores can still visible and may require a pore-diminishing primer prior to foundation application
• White foundation is quite patchy if used alone
• Foundation sets fast, recommend to apply as you go.

Verdict : 3.5 / 5

I use to think this foundation was just an alright foundation, nothing too flashy but strangely enough, it's the one foundation I always pick up whenever I'm cosplaying or for dramatic makeup looks.

However this wasn't always the case until I found a way to make it more suitable for my skin by mixing facial oils (such as Argan oil or Rosehip oil) in with the foundation to thin out the consistency and for that extra moisturising property since my skin is Combination where it's extremely dry in certain areas and just oily in others. This does affect the property of the foundation however in such that the coverage isn't high and gives an oily finish. But that doesn't really bother me since that method makes the product work for my skin and a little extra setting powder does the trick.
I actually also brought this foundation over to Singapore for AFA'15 and I was extremely surprised by how well it withstood the intense Singapore heat and with my face constantly sweating. Foundation held up strong and my pores wasn't visible however this was definitely with great aid to a setting powder as well.

Overall it's a great foundation especially for cosplay and dramatic makeup looks which may require a little playing around to get use to what's suitable for you.

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• CLEAR RANKUP POWDER

• Comes in 1 shade - clear/translucent
• Contains 11 grams of products
• Solid compact in a pan
• Slim plastic compact case with no mirror or sponge, and no sponge compartment
• Unscented
• Retails for 1620yen ~ approximately $22AUD
• Made in Japan

• Claims (Taken from the http://coscos.me/items/english.php)
• Melt-Free, long lasting powder
• Shine-Free, Moisturising powder (not drying)
• Soft focus powder with a photogenic finish
• high perspiration & sebum resistance

• PROs :
• Sets foundation really well.
• Blends quite nicely.
• Makes your skin feel and look really soft.
• Skin looks quite natural (if used a light amount)
• Soft Matte finish, doesn't make the face flat
• Absorbs oils and sweats really well and doesn't cake.
• Didn't really need to touch up (might need to in extreme conditions)
• Comfortable on the skin, didn't dry out the skin
• Can be for everyday use

• CONs :
• Kinda does whiten the face giving that ghastly look (especially if heavy handed and if there's excess amount on the skin)
• Chalky
• Very powdery. Recommend to use a sponge rather than a brush as brush will brush the powder off the compact and makes a really bad mess
• Packaging is horrible & cheap despite slim. WE NEED MIRRORS.
• NOT recommended for dry skin. - It will make dry skin/patches more visible
• Price a tad high for a compact

Verdict : 4/5

Out of all the COSCOS cosmetic range, I think the Clear Rankup Powder is probably my favourite from last time and also this time. Not because of the packaging, but the formula is just amazing that really holds my makeup really well whilst controlling the sebum and oils. 
I actually also use this to set my face when my face is just randomly feeling oily and it really does the job without reacting with my skin and also the best part was I didn't need to touch up because it help everything so well.
It has a really nice soft velvety finish which not only feels nice, but looks nice as if I have a beauty filter on. 
The reason why it's not a full 5/5 is because of the packaging and the price point is quite up there for a compact.

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• PERFECT LIP CONCEALER

• Comes in 1 shade: Warm tone light beige
• Contains 10 grams of products
• Thick liquid consistency like the foundation
• Small plastic squeeze tube with a slanted lip application nozzle and screw cap.
• Has a VERY feint scent similar to argan oil. Barely noticeable
• Retails for 1080yen ~approximately $15AUD
• Made in Japan

• Claims (Taken from the http://coscos.me/items/english.php)
• Lip balm base concealer, it is kind to your lips
• Easy application in a tube
• Good coverage with just one application
• Lots of skin-loving moisturizing ingredients
• Enduring for photoshoting, eating & drinking
• One application for "natural" looks; two applications for "full" coverage
• Can also be used as a concealer to cover redness

• PROs :
• Convenient packaging
• Lightens & Conceals natural lips pretty well
• Quite long lasting however does fade over time with eating & drinking
• A little goes a very long way

• CONs :
• Wasn't moisturising, sets in the cracks of your lips
• Slightly cakey thick feeling
• Quite patchy when used to conceal redness due to balm texture.
• Quite cakey/chalky look

Verdict : 1.5/5

I gave this product another go and I just couldn't seem to make it work or enjoy it. Even tried to use it to conceal my lips and then to apply a lip colour over it for true lip colours to show but unfortunately it was too drying on my lips.
Price is quite expensive for a lip product that gives the same effect as using the Perfect HD foundation on my lips which can save me 1000yen.

That being said though, a friend of mine (Aoki) who used the lip concealer and it worked for him really nicely as he has really nice smooth lips and it didn't look drying on him. 
So I think this product will depend on each person but unfortunately it just wasn't for me :(

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• BODY FOUNDATION

• Contains 100mL of product
• Comes in a convenient travel size semi-flat round bottle with a popup cap
• Very light scent similar to sunscreen
• White watery liquid
• Retails for 1296yen ~ approximately $17AUD
• Made in Japan

• Claims (Taken from the http://coscos.me/items/english.php)
• Light and non-sticky texture spreads easily over on your skin.
• The ultimate water-proof specially designed for cosplayer.
• Natural finish helping to cover up dull skin and uneven skin tones
• Soft focus formula for great photographs
• Trans-color powder formula can make your arms and legs look slimmer.
• Moisturizing ingredients prevent skin dryness

• PROs :
• Spreadable consistency
• lightens or "whitens" natural skin temporarily
• Easy convenient packaging
• non-shiny and not flat looking (not dewy either, more like soft matte)
• Light & Quite moisturizing on the skin. Doesn't dry the skin

• CONs :
• Very slight sticky feeling
• Smells like sunscreen
• Very little to no coverage

Verdict : 3/5

Definitely temporarily lightens your natural skin tone and works very similar to those temporarily whitening products. The consistency is quite nice and spreads very easily so a little does go a long way. I can't say too sure whether it's buildable as I felt that applying the second layer did my skin look even more lighter.
Wouldn't call it a foundation as it doesn't cover flaws or scars which I have alot due to a skin allergy infection when I was young. But it does lighten up the scars to try evening out the skin tone.
Not too sure if I'd use it on my face as I'd definitely have to check the ingredients if it'd be suitable for my skin.

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• MOIST CLEANSING WATER

• Contains 100mL of product
• Comes in a convenient travel size hard plastic bottle with a pop-up cap with a dropper nozzle
• Unscented
• Transparent watery consistency
• Retails for 972yen ~ approximately $13AUD
• Made in Japan

• Claims (Taken from the http://coscos.me/items/english.php)
• Gentle enough to remove make-up and apply the new make-up straight away with your skin feeling clean and hydrated
• Good size (100ml) for your bag
• Gentle cleanser to soothe and moisturize your skin
• You can use it as point make- up remover by dipping cotton buds into the cleanser
• Remove any residual lash glue left around your eyes easily
• Cleanses and tones the skin ready for the next makeup application immediately

• PROs :
• Removes makeup really well including waterproof eyeliner and also loosening lash glue when using a cotton-bud to gently remove it.
• Convenient travel size bottle
• Unscented
• Not drying or harsh on the skin
• Goes a long way

• CONs :
• Leaves the skin feeling very sticky due to the high contents of glycerin to keep the skin moisturised and being an effect cleanser.
• Stings the eye really badly - Recommended to use a cotton bud/Q-tip to remove eye makeup.
• Taste extremely bitter - Do not lick your lips
• Price quite expensive for 100mL

Verdict : 3.5/5

An effective cleanser that surprisingly I should be using more! But I think what holds me back from using it so freely is the price because it's quite expensive for 100mL. I guess travel size conveniency things tends to be more expensive.
It feels gentle like Micellar water however it's definitely a more effective cleanser than the Micellar water as I didn't really need to wipe the same spot more than 3 times as it literally removed 98% of my makeup after 3 swipes.

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That sums up the review for all of the products of the COSCOS Cosmetic line.
Would like to kindly thank Liberta Group once again for giving me this opportunity to try and review the products.

Once again these products can be purchased on their website at : http://coscos.me/english.html
Just scroll down all the way and click into the banner that has "Buyee" on it.

Please leave a comment below on your thoughts of COSCOS Cosmetics and which product(s) are you most eager to try out.

Stay safe & take care!

Inactivity for this year - back soon

Hi All,

Hope you're all well.

Terribly sorry for the inactivity this year.

Been pretty inactive in terms of YouTube, blogging, and cosplay.

Alot has happened this year and still sorting out some personal situations.

However I will be back into it soon for a surprise which should motivate me to get back into vlogging, blogging and cosplay.

The only social media platform I've been active on is instagram - so please do follow @dannchu 

Stay well & Take care

- Danny

What's in my makeup bag

Hello everyone! 
Hope you're all doing well!
ALSO! HAPPY NEW YEAR OF 2015! 
I know it's abit late but better late than never right? haha!

So I'm back in the new year with a new blogpost- What I carry in my makeup bag.

Majority of people are probably wondering "Why does a guy need a makeup bag?"
Simply because I am quite conscious with how I present myself and this bag contains the essentials I need to prep myself for the whole day. 

So I can actually prepare my face for a night out after work or if I'm at a friends house and need to go somewhere after etc. Also my position at work kind of requires us to present ourselves well so this bag has it :D

Does this mean I wear makeup on a daily basis? I wouldn't say daily but pretty much everytime I leave the house for a bit of time. Now when I say I wear makeup, this doesn't mean my face is completely makeup- the main things I do are my eyebrows, abit of eyeliner on the outer corners to define my eyes, lipbalm/tint. Voila 

Anyway! Let's get started on the post!

This is the makeup bag I carry around almost everywhere when I'm out. Despite it being quite bulky, it is still in my bag regardless. 

It's the Shu Uemura 6 Heart Princess limited holiday collection in 2013 and they gave this bag if you bought a certain amount of products from that line from what I remember. 

It's a super cute bag with 3 compartments/sections which is super convenient for organising certain things in different sections with a zipper to close up the whole bag.

Lets start off with my number 1 essentials - eyebrow pencils, eyeliners, mascaras and sharpener.

To me eyebrows are SUPER important as it frames the face and also can change up your look. Because my resting face makes me look as if I'm bored or angry all the time - I tend to sport for a straight brow shape and sometimes slightly slanted down like Makoto from FREE! what I like to call the "yasashii" brows. 
What I'm currently using to draw my brows is the Gorgeous Cosmetic brow pencil; I usually use this to draw the tails of my brows and fill in the outer third of my brows where it's sparse.  

To complete the brow- I use the ETUDE house Color my brows in the color natural to tint my brows (which are currently blonde) and also tint the skin in the middle blending in with the darker color of the drawn tail. This is also used to groom and tame the hairs on my brows so they're not pointing in all directions. 
Sometimes I also like to use the "Maybelline Sky Curves" mascara to tint my brows for days where I want dark brows (before I bleached my hair). I rarely wear mascara so they're mainly for my brows haha.

Lastly to soften up the brows - I use the spooly from the Kevyn Aucoin's brow precision crayon which is really nice and soft so when you soften the edges- it is not completely brushing off what you have drawn. I use to use this crayon to draw my brows as the color I bought was in ash blonde which was a really nice color that blended with my bleached blonde brows however since it ran out - I've just kept it for the spooly. 
I've decided not to repurchase the crayon only because it costed $70 AUD which killed me everytime it broke off because I was drawing too hard QAQ.

The nude eyeliner on the far left is for highlighting the under brows and also to highlight my nose bridge and cupids bow especially at night when I'm going out and I need a more kick in highlighting. Also use it to line my waterliner when my eyes are abit red especially when I wear contact lenses. By doing so - I look more awake and not tired or strained. This one here is the "Rimmel Exaggerate" in the color "In the Nude".

A brown eyeliner pencil is one of the most versatile thing where you can use it to do your eyeliner and contour for your nose and for the side of your cheeks. Here I use a cheap 2 dollar one I bought from the chinese dollar store which they don't have any more. It's super pigmented and creamy and very blendable which makes it even easier for other use.

And lastly a sharpener is a must especially when you do your brows- it's good to have a somewhat sharp tip for great precision especially on that arch.

Because I wear contact lenses on almost a daily basis- Contact lens compact consisting of contact lens case and tweezers along with eyedrops is a big must! 

The lens case is filled up with saline solution just incase a friend or myself forget or lose our lens case and we need to store out lenses when our eyes are getting irritating (especially a whole day of wearing lenses).

Eyedrops is a must for someone else or myself when our eyes are feeling dry. Usually I carry a 4-pack but as you can see, there's only 2 left soo they've been really useful haha.

Moving to the face- sunscreen/moisturiser and face primer.

Rather than carrying a bottle of sunscreen or moisturiser, I put them in these contact lens cases (which have been used before and cleaned out) which I cut up to make individual pots. You'll be surprised how much content one pot can hold and will last up to 3 applications on the face.

There are days where you just got to reapply your sunscreen especially when you're in the sun. For me - I use to walk back to the station and home from work when my car broken down and because the sun was blazing even in the afternoon - sunscreen was a must!

Why the primer? When I'm about to go out at night after work - I like to remove everything I had on my face beforehand and wash my face. Because I've removed everything - I still want my face to have a layer that separates the makeup and the skin/skincare at the same time keeping my makeup put and not make my face shiny.

Some makeup tools and a compact are very useful as well :D
I carry a compact that has a mirror to set my face so that it controls the oils and shine on my face while keeping the other layers on my face put. This compact has a tinge of color which gives me a very light coverage. 

Even though the compact comes with a sponge- I prefer to use a brush and hence I carry some of the travel size brushes. This is Shu Uemura 6 Heart Princess travel size brushes which comes with a powder brush, mini foundation/concealer brush, lip/eyeliner brush and a flat eyeshadow brush. All are versatile and great on the go.

I tend to keep the compact together in the brush case just because what I need to use the compact is there. Also because my makeup bag is quite bulky- I also keep other small things in the brush bag slot as well.

More products to complete the base for the face :D (Hey that rhymes) : Highlighting trio compact, Foundation stick, concealer.

Going from left to right:
The first thing is a trio highlighting compact/palette by Elizabeth Arden. Usually I highlight my features when I go out at night where photos will be taken. The trio is great as I can use different colors for different areas of my face to highlight for example the pink on my cupids bow and inner eye corner while the yellow on my nose bridge and cheek bones. It also comes with a small retractable brush next to it which isn't the best but It does the job.

Next is foundation and here is the Maybelline FIT me stick foundation. As I've mentioned this before in one of my previous blogpost - I have a love and hate relationship with this foundation. Overall it's a super convenient foundation in a stick form to take along where I can just draw on my face and blend with my clean hands or brush without making a mess and also it sets to a powder finish. However you still need to set it with a light dust of setting powder just so it doesn't move as this foundation transfers.

Lastly is concealer and this is one where I've tried recently and can see why so many bloggers and beauty experts/gurus recommend-  Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser. Super compact packaging and also easy application for days where I look extremely tired. It is slightly on the lighter side of my skin color in summer (more suitable for winter) so I also use this as a highlighter. 

To finish off the entire face - some lip products!
Lip balms are a big must for me as I like to keep my lips moisturised and hydrated. I'm too use to the feeling of lipbalm on my lips and just can't go without it. I'd keep touching my lips and pursing my lips if they were dry. So here I have the EOS lipbalm in Honeydew.

Because my natural lip color is on the purple side which makes me look kind of dead- I like to add a little bit of color to my lips. Here I have the VDL Triple Shot Tint bar which gives my lips a nice gradient tint like what the koreans have.

There are times where I need to remove makeup or made a mistake and need to clean up before reapplying and a small sample size makeup removing cleansing oil is perfect for on the go :)
Oils are more efficient at removing makeup and also last long as a little goes a very long way. This is the CLIO Makeup Away Cleansing Oil that I used in my night skincare regime video.

A small spray bottle filled with water, green tea or orange blossom water is super handy especially on hot weather where your face just needs to be hydrated or freshened up just with a few sprays onto the face. This not only freshens or hydrates the face, but also can set your makeup. 

Speaking of tools earlier, here are some that are very useful to have along: Tissues, Cotton buds, cotton pads, blotting paper, eyelid tape.

Tissues - self explanitory. You just need a pack of tissues no matter where you go (almost) haha!

Cotton buds/Q-tips are super great disposable tools for cleaning up makeup, for blending eyeshadow/eyeliner, for popping pimples without using your hands, etc.

I carry some cotton pads for when removing makeup or when I just need to swipe my face to tone the skin after spraying my face or just to simply dry my face.

Blotting paper is a big must must! Especially for my combination skin where I get pretty oily and shiny in summer. Also super great to blot the skin before doing touchup on makeup especially if you're going to fix your base makeup.

I like to carry some extra eyelid tape just for days where my eyes are uneven (pretty much everyday).

I am super duper conscious with me smelling bad. Maybe because whenever I am near someone who has a bad body odour and when the smell just hits me, I just can't overlook it. 
SO! I always must carry a small deodorant with me (here I have a roll-on one) and a small spray bottle filled with cologne to freshen up.
I guess this is why my friends says things like "it smells like Danny" LOLOL!

Lastly in my bag is this umm ... thing LOL! One side has a narrow mirror which is super handy and the other side is a lint brush which is surprisingly really good to have especially because my work pants attract dust so easily so yeah. It's portable and flat so no hassle carrying it in my makeup bag :D

So that's it for this post. Thank you so much for reading, sorry it was really long. Actually wanted to keep it simple but ... guess that failed LOL! Hope you do find it somewhat enjoying to read :)

Until then,
Stay well & Take care!
Ciao~

Relaxing afternoon : Shu Uemura's Shupette opinion + lunch with Inugami + Michelle Phan's book

Good evening everyone!
Hope you're all doing well!

This afternoon Inugami cos and I decided to meet up and have a late lunch and have some dessert and chill at a cafe. What we called "sibling date" because we cosplayed the siblings from Kyoukai no Kanata where I was Hiroomi Nase and she was Mitsuki Nase and so we're pretty much known as the siblings being gross to each other.

ANYWAY! College finished early today for me since it's the last week and so I decided to catch the train and head to the city early. 

Got to the city around 1pm and because I was 2 hours early, decided to browse around the city since it's been a while that I've been to the city to browse. 

Walked mainly towards the Westfields area and had a look around what's new. Definitely seeing the Christmas spirit coming strong with the decorations and tree all set up and with shops having christmas specials (especially the cosmetic counters). 

Speaking of cosmetic counters- I did drop by Shu Uemura's counter in David Jones and OH MY GOD- they finally stocked in the Shupette collection. 

Apparently it was stocked for 2 weeks now with their limited extravagant lashes all sold out since they only stocked 7 in Sydney. I don't even know why 7 considering last year's 6 Heart Princess stocked in 10 of their extravagant black princess feather lashes per store in Sydney (so 20 in total). 

ANYWAY rant aside - I did have a play with some of the products and I am very extremely tempted for the 3 glitter set. I should've taken pictures when the sales assistant asked me to but rather than glitter - it was more like loose shimmer pigments which was gorgeous. 3 bottles of different glitter colors for $65 AUD. So around $22 per bottle which I thought was quite reasonable considering it's a limited collection and the amount is pretty standard with what you get from La Femme or Mehrons which cost around $18. So I might come back to get that. 

Speaking of lashes earlier - they did have the limited edition top and bottom lashes which costed $35 which consist of a pair of 3 individual triangle top lashes and 3 individual triangle bottom lashes. The design is super cute that can be easily worn out to spice your look up both edgy and cute. Very tempted.

Another thing that really interested me was the cushion blush which came in two colors - pink and coral. The pink one stood out to me more as the coral was more on the tangerine orange side which isn't really my forte kind of colour (even though I don't wear blush almost at all but for people wise). I can't remember the exact price for one of it but I remember it ranged from $35 - $45 AUD. I'm not use to buying blushes with a price like that so for me personally it is on the higher side, but much tempted.

Last but not least is the cleansing oil. Shu Uemura does amazing cleansing oil removing makeup and hydrating your voice without that super greasy feeling that you would get from extra virgin olive oil or with some other cleansing oils. It's the same usual formula as their original just with a limited Shupette bottle aka there's the cat on it. $135 for the large bottle and there's a cat on it. Pretty reasonable.

There was a special that if you purchase 3 items from the Shupette collection you get the rectangular flat makeup bag with one of the side was super fluffy. I guess you could use it to clean your phone or tablet screen HAHAHA. 
The other was purchase 4 items and get a makeup bag which was more cylindrical but IT CAME WITH A POMPOM WHICH I WANT. OMG THE POMPOM QAQ. *calm down* yeah. 

So in saying the above - I may come back after I get my pay and after the Sephora launch on December 5th and may purchase something from the Shupette collection. *eyezooms that pompom*

Moving along, I did drop by Uniqlo and I have to say that I am really impressed compared to the pop up store. I felt the pop up store lacked alot but then again it's a pop up store for a reason (duh Danny). But when I say lacking - it just felt like things were overpriced to when I was in Japan. But hey this is Australia so can't be helped :( 

But yeah! I was quite amazed how big and organised the store was as it legit felt like I was in Japan's Uniqlo and the prices were quite reasonable such as men's all-purpose shorts being $10.00, men's cashmere v-neck sweater $30 (quality was really nice and light), and tailored slim fit busines pants $50.00. Sorry ladies - I only went to the men's section :O I will definitely drop by again and purchase things :D 

THE ONLY THING I WAS EYEZOOMING WAS THE DISPLAY MANNEQUINS. Australia is approaching- wait no, it's summer at the moment so it's been EXTREMELY hot lately with average of 38-40 degrees celsius weather. YET Uniqlo presents these mannequins that's dressed as if it was fall or winter! As if I'm going to layer a puffer jacket on a long sleeve checkered dress shirt paired with slim denim jeans. TOO HOT. I understand it's just suggestion to style but ITS TOO HOT, looking at it makes me sweat :O! LMAO

ANYWAY- killed time for an hour and had an hour left so decided to find somewhere a powerpoint was available and I can chill for an hour to charge for my phone. So I stopped by Tom n Toms cafe in Townhall, ordered a mint mocha ice blend and chilled for an hour until Inugami came (she had college till 3). Thank goodness for powerpoint being available because my phone charged from 15% to 65%. PHEW*

Met up with the retarded  Inugami and we made our way to Ramen-kan situated across the entertainment centre near Chinatown and Market City. Inu ordered tonkotsu ramen while I got the terriyaki hamburg with sashimi bentou set, with a salmon sashimi side for Inugami since she was craving salmon (this imouto).
Lunch was super yummy and very filling :D

After that we made our way to Tom n Toms cafe on George Street near Capitol Theatre to have dessert :D We ordered green tea latte blended ice and honey butter toast which was like the honey brick toast you get in cafes in Korea. Both was super good and complimented well.

That's all I really have to say about eating LOL! Was just super good having food. :D
Hilarious thing though THAT I'M NOT GOING TO FORGOT.  When our order at Tom n Toms was ready, I offered to carry the tray with our drinks and food down to our seats (since we say downstairs) and she offered to hold her phone and my phone which I was holding.  As soon as I bring the tray and start walking down the stairs - the genius drops both phones LOL! IMAGINE SHE WAS HOLDING THE TRAY. Aiyohhhhhh LMAO.

So that was the highlight of the day.

My friend Sera finished work and dropped by the cafe and met up with us to chill before we head home together. Sera had collected the book that she bought for me and gave it to me too QAQ <3

It was Michelle Phan's book that I've been searching everywhere online to ship it to Australia. Because I went on Michelle's website and she stated that her book is located internationally and I didn't see Australia being on the list so I was quite upset. Searched on Amazon in the states only to find that they don't ship to Australia. EVEN MORE DISAPPOINTING. AND THEN SERA TELLS ME THAT KINOKUNIYA STOCKS THEM. Oh my god ....... I do not even. LOL!

So yeah! I've been pretty occupied with the book and already have read 1/3 of the book. 

So far I am really enjoying the book as it is very inspiring to know Michelle's background and how she started off. It's also an amazing guide to life despite the book titled "Make Up". It consists of guides for makeup, skincare, styling tips, career, goals, overcoming difficulties. I have learnt alot even though I'm only 1/3 into the book as mentioned earlier and only reached the first segment of the makeup section. So I do hope to read more into it and just throw a quick thankyou to Michelle for putting this book together and sharing her background story and knowledge. Also super thanks to my friend Sera for getting me it <3 QURL I OWE YOU.

And that's pretty much it for today really, sorry that there's massive lack of image and huge amount of boring text. Will do my best to take more pictures.

Until then, stay well & take care!
Ciao!

Alysha's Birthday at The Winery

Howdy everyone! Hope you're all doing well!

Finally college and work etc has calmed down and I can get back in focus with blogging and everything else! :D

Had dinner at The Winery in Surry Hills with a couple of friends on Saturday 15th November 2014 for a friend's birthday and had an awesome fun night.

As much as I love my food, I actually don't know much about restaurants and ratings etc. All I know is that if it taste good combining with the right flavors and textures then it's all good. haha
So when my cousin suggested The Winery, I really didn't have much knowledge of it besides the fact alot of people go there soo... it must be good? hahaha But anyway our group of friends and I trust my cousin's taste (well at least 99% of the time) so she made a booking for this date to celebrate a birthday for our friend Alysha for her 24th. (Finally you're my age) LOL

Photo taken by Alysha (I KNOW YOU WANT ME TO CREDIT YOU WOMAN LOL <3)

The restaurant was located in the hearts of Surry Hills situated at the back of a close that had other restaurants, cafes and bars around. Very vintage and rustic looking with a two level indoor dining area and an outdoor dining area as well surrounded by plans and sculptures. As the name suggested, the restaurant definitely did have the winery appeal with its use of polished dark wood/timber. Very rustic just the way I like it.

Actually to be honest I just really like being in the Surry Hills-Paddington area. I rarely go to this area and it definitely reminded me of Melbourne after my recent trip there for PAX 2014. All the fashion and food~ such hipster <3. hahaha! So I do hope to go out in this area more :D

Anyway got side tracked there - apparently my cousin tried to book a table for us indoors upstairs however it was already booked out and occupied by a wedding which we did get to see the groom and the bride and everyone walking in. Which was great because everyone clapped and cheered them on as congrats :D

MOVING ON- FOOD. Not gonna be too critical, well nothing really to criticise since it everything was yummy hahaha.

We all ordered drinks to start off- I ordered the Pound for Pound cocktail which had Tanqueray Gin, earl grey, almond, lemon, and peach bitters. In all honesty it just tasted like a Mojito with more of a zest since the lemon and peach bitters really took over more and couldn't really taste the hints of the earl grey or almond. Overall a really satisfying quenching cocktail to start off. However starting before our meal came was kinda a bad idea since we kinda went hyper already all giggly LOL! 

So we all shared an appetizer and ordered two servings of their sausage roll consisting of veal and chorizo served with a fresh salsa as the tomato sauce.
Was really a good start as it is definitely not your typical sausage roll. The perfect amount of pastry that's light and puffed with a light crisp that holds together a generous filling. The part I liked most would probably be the slightly chunky sauce or the salsa. It has a perfect balance of sweetness to tartness that doesn't taste like your typical tomato sauce. Pairing the sauce with the sausage roll = simply delicious.

For mains - everyone ordered something different. I originally wanted the clam pasta which sounded really good BUT our really nice waiter told us about some specials and so I opted for the pasta special consisting of asparagus, creme fraiche, fresh caviar and fresh salmon. Sounds really good doesn't it especially the salmon part hahaha! I actually thought fresh salmon as in raw salmon pieces was gonna be in it but it was cooked- either way , YUMMMM.

We did order sides as well for the rest of us to share - a garden salad that was lightly tossed with sherry vinegar and a potato bake. The salad was probably the slight let down for me as it was slightly over seasoned with salt so it was on the saltier side but that could be just me since my palate is definitely on the sweet side. However the potato bake was just yum! It wasn't your typical chunk or thick slices of potato stacked or tossed with cheese sprinkled on top and then baked. It was more like a ratatouille with thinly sliced potatoes stacked on each other and then topped with cheese. Omg yknow what - it was like a potato stack. yeah LOL! That's what it was like - a potato stack that's bigger and stacked in a small square formation. Unfortunate I didn't take pics of this as it came out while we were all eating.

After yummy mains - we were quite indecisive for dessert tossing between whether to dine in and eat dessert OR to walk abit to our favorite gelato place - Messina's. Eventually the birthday girl made a decision which we were all pretty glad she did because even my cousin never had dessert there and we were all just blown away at how good it was.
There were three desserts to choose from which we decided to order one of each to share amongst 4 people. It was very nice to our waiter to allow us to get an extra scoop of ice cream so that we each get our own scoop of ice cream :D.
First dessert that came out was a hot chocolate walnut brownie with salted caramel ice cream and almond praline. It was sooo nice of the winery or our waiter to have this on the house as he found out we were dining here for the first time and for Alysha's birthday so they brought it out with a sparkler on it like a birthday cake. YAAAY ^_^)/
By far the best chocolate walnut brownie I ever had that even the home ones I make aren't this good LOL! Because it was hot-warm, the brownie was nice and moist along with being gooey with a soft crunch on it's exterier and from the generous amount of walnuts in it as well! The ice cream - I actually couldn't tell it was salted ice cream but together with the brownie AND with the almond praline. YUMMMM.

Second dessert that came out was what I called the de-constructed lemon tart consisting of lemon custard, chunks of shortbread biscuits, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and basil & flowers as garnish. Definitely a dessert that you must eat altogether as eating it alone (besides the ice cream, that can be eaten alone :D) may be too much as it's quite rich. The lemon custard was rich with just the right amount of tartness and sweetness but when paired with the shortbread which was more on the plain side (kinda reminded me of savoiardi biscuits also known as lady finger biscuits) it was just really delicious as if you're eating a lemon tart (hence I called it the de-constructed lemon tart). All of us enjoyed this dish surprisingly because we're all not really a big fan of lemon custard. Definitely changed our thoughts on that haha!

Lastly is The Winery's apple crumble pie with calvados ice cream. One of the most different apple crumble or apple pie I ever had and by different - I mean amazingly good different. I can't quite describe the apple pie itself because it felt like an apple lasagne being layers by layers but I am probably wrong. Not heavy on pastry and definitely not your typical apple filling where you have a balance of sweet, tartness and spice of cinnamon. The apple just seem like cooked apples but on the fresher side so there isn't much of a party in your mouth. My favorite part of the dish is the crumble. Super crunchy crumbs scattered on the plate and on top of the 'pie'. The ice cream definitely paired well with the apple pie with a good amount of sweetness with the calvados after taste.

Overall we had an amazing time there and would definitely come back :D It was unfortunate that I didn't take much pictures especially the surroundings T_T Definitely need to make the habit of taking more pictures.

Please ignore the fact my face is super ghostly white as if I caked too much makeup that was the wrong shade. Cos that was what happened and I didn't realise LOL!  Some "makeup-artist" I am

Once again Happy birthday to my fellow great friend Alysha! (if you like - you can wish her a happy birthday on her instagram at alyshaquach and just blame its me LOL )

Thanks for reading and until then,
take care and stay well!
ciao!