Vegas meals

On the first night I landed in Vegas, my friends and I walked along the streets to decide where to eat.  We ended up at Chipotle, Mexican Grill.  The food was great.  The proportions were LARGE for a $6.95 meal.  I mean you will NOT find a similar meal in similar size and price in Toronto.  Anyways, the food was delicious.  I ordered a burrito bowl with carnitas.  I asked for everything in it and I think it was the salsa that made the food extra spicy.  I could eat my meal, but had to drink water with every bite.  =\  Anyways, I think this baby here was one full day's worth of calories - but I'm sure I burnt off a few hundred after walking along the Strip for the rest of the night.

Next morning, we ate at Grand Lux Cafe in Palazzo Hotel.  We woke up for brunch and I had a Stacked Chicken Quesadilla.  Again the food was took much that I had to pack it away.  Food at Grand Lux Cafe was good and price is decent.  I think it was around $11 for my meal.  Then I ordered a Fresh Strawberry Cheesecake made by Cheesecake Factory - which was DE-LI-CIOUS!!! Yummm, I wish they opened up a Cheesecake Factory in Toronto.  The calorie count for it is probably sky high, but one slice isn't THAT bad considering the amount of walking around we did. 

By the way, the cheesecake isn't that small.  I was too into the cake that I forgot to take a picture BEFORE digging in.

We also ate at our hotel's Pho restaurant and it was very different from the Vietnamese food I have had in Toronto.  I got a curry chicken with rice meal and my friends got Pho.  I've got to say, it wasn't tasty, like the soup was diluted with water.  And sad to say, I forgot to take a picture of the curry chicken =(.

Later on that night, we walked along the Strip, took some pictures like how every tourist would and here's one of me trying to act as if I'm holding the Paris hotel air-balloon with my two fingers. =)

Vegas Haul #1

On this Vegas trip, I really didn't get much.  I did a bit of clothing shopping, but I'll post that in "vegas haul #2" since my clothes are in the wash.

The bracelet from Pandora is a gift I bought for my friend.  Her birthday is coming up and I always find it is a head-scratcher to decide what to get people.  I picked this gift up right before I boarded my plane back to Toronto.  I bought the bracelet and a charm so I would think this is a meaningful gift where she can slowly collect more charms.  Like if she goes on a trip, she can just get one and add on it.  The bracelet itself was $40 USD and the charm was $35 USD, totaling to $81.08 USD with tax.

As for the purse, I bought one because I forgot to bring a wristlet for our Vegas nightlife.  The flashlight washed out the colour, making it appear more greyish than it is.  It's actually a taupe colour.  I am pretty happy with this quick purchase.  I grabbed this from Forever21.  I think the price was $14.80 USD.
Now, I am happy to collect the last EOS lip balm - the lemon drop flavour with SPF 15.  I don't remember how much it was, but I think it was around $3 USD.  I'm still on my Summer Fruit and Honeysuckle Honeydew flavoured lip balms.  =)
The Blackberry Torch Otter case was something I picked up on my connecting flight back to Toronto.  It's a gift for a friend as well.  It cost me $39.99 USD.
Finally, I have decided to drop the money and pick up a MAC 219.  I've been wanting this brush for maybe over a year but was really contemplating on whether to pull out the cash for it.  Luckily, I found a MAC counter at the duty-free shop on my connecting flight back to Toronto and grabbed it.  So I didn't have to pay tax for it, and it cost me $24.50 USD.  =D Yay!

Latest Update

I just came back from a five-day vacation to Las Vegas with my friends.  It was my first time to Vegas and wow did I have an awesome time.  If you're like me, you enjoy night life and scenery, you'll definitely need at least one week to do everything.  I stayed 5 days but I still didn't get to do all the things I wanted to do.  =(  We drove to Grand Canyon and went hiking on a trail, which took one day but it was all definitely worth it.

In terms of what beauty products I packed on this trip, I only packed what I thought were essential needs.  And I was able to pack everything in my Shiseido makeup bag.  =)  I should have packed a more moisturizing cream because the weather there really dried out my skin.  =(

I will post my Vegas haul later.  ;)

2nd Haul: Cosme-de.com

Last week on July 26th, I placed an order on Cosme-De.com and they had a PayPal member promo going on where any purchase using your PayPal account will get you 10% off.  So I couldn't miss out on such an offer and decided to get some skincare and haircare products.  Shipping was super fast and I received it on August 2nd. 

Again, everything is individually bubble wrapped.  =)  

Here are the few products I got (Left to Right) along with the prices I paid:

1.  Skinceuticals Hydrating B5 Gel (1oz, 30mL) - $59.40 USD

2.  Hitachi Face Crie Ion Cleansing Machine NC-550 - $70.20 USD

3.  Shiseido Damage Care Treatment with Tsubaki Amino - $12.60 USD

Total: $142.20 USD
Free Shipping! =)

I've been waiting to try out these three products.  So I'm super excited to start using them.  I've read mixed reviews about the Shiseido hair treatment but there were many great reviews for the other two skincare products.  There definitely be reviews on them! =D
I came across Cosme-de.com because of Skinceuticals products.  I read a few great reviews on their products so I've been meaning to try them out but it's pretty pricey over here in North America, without tax too! So I googled websites that sold Skinceuticals and was glad I found it being sold on Cosme-de.  =D  But one thing that bothers me about this site and I probably mentioned this before but they run out of stock super fast on some products right after they restock.  So it is a little annoying.  =(

Review: Fusion Beauty Prime Results Anti-Redness Primer

Have you tried this primer? Before I bought this primer, I did a little research and looked up the reviews on it.  On average, people on Sephora rated the Fusion Beauty primers worthy of nearly 4 stars out of 5.  The idea that this product is not only makeup but also formulated like a skincare product, really convinced me to try it out.

The consistency:
Unfortunately my bottle of primer must have been sitting on the shelf for quite some time, because it squirts out quite runny.  Even after excessively shaking it, but since the packaging was assembled with pressure, I can't open it to manually mix it.  Basically I can see a layer of watery/oily clear solution and the green primer.  I read on plenty of reviews that it's thick but sad to say, mine isn't.  =(

The scent:
Errr. Not the nicest scent out there.  I wish it wasn't scented.  It's got a floral scent but one that reminds me of play-doh.  =(

Application:
After moisturizing and applying sunscreen, one pump of the primer is enough for my entire face.  I apply with fingers as it's easier that way.  Then let it settle on my face for around 30 seconds before continuing my makeup application.

What it claims to do:
"Immediate benefits: Extra gentle formula instantly blurs the appearance of skin imperfections.  Neutralizes the look of visible redness and irritation. Helps calm and soothe sensitive skin + restore a healthy, even complexion."

"Long-term benefits: Ultra-soothing peptides and mineral-rich algae strength skin + protect against skin stressors that trigger redness and irritation.  Recovers skin's natural protective barrier for a more even and comfortable complexion in just 28 days."

Thoughts/Results:
I remember back when I was in Sephora deciding between MUFE green primer and the Fusion Beauty Anti-Redness Primer, I really had a hard time.  Under the light in there, I felt both primers did neutralize the redness on the back of my hand.  Now, do I think this product does what it claims? Yes I do feel that it blurs out my skin imperfections - after the application of foundation.  I'm not too sure about the immediate neutralization of redness, though I do see it in long-run.  Though I don't expect it to completely cover the redness like what concealers are supposed to do.  And in terms of restoring a healthy, even complexion, I think this does what it claims.  On some lazy days, I only apply the primer and no foundation and I find my complexion is slightly nicer than not using primer.  Also, I find that the primer does hold up my foundation a little better and longer than the Smashbox PhotoFinish Light.

Left: With primer; Right: No primer

This picture on the right is my most accurate capture of the neutralizing effect of the green primer.  I find it's best to capture the effect with daylight as opposed to using my camera's flash.  Anyways, I find the neutralizing effect is very mild.  The left hand is slightly lighter or more pale than the right.

Product: Fusion Beauty Prime Results Anti-Redness Primer
Rating: 4 / 5

Pros:
- Allows smooth foundation application
- Slightly neutralizes the redness

Cons:
- Not the most pleasant scent