My 1st Blogger Meetup! Aquitaine rematch!

I normally like to mix up my restaurant posts but I seriously have to post this up asap to show that I am a dedicated blogger. Yes not too long ago I had a great sunday brunch at Aquitaine, I decided to try out their Restaurant Week menu with Mishi and her boyfriend Ray. Mishi and I started our blogs around the same time last year and we have been good friends ever since! She is always so sweet and loves to venture out into the city.

Aquitaine

569 Tremont Street,

Boston, MA 02118

It's our first time for Mishi and I to get together because she lives in SF and I live here in Boston but seriously after the 5 minutes of conversation, I felt like I had known her for years. Of course their amazing Cantonese made such a bonus too! I hope she had a blast during her trip in the East Coast though Hurrican Irene was taking place. Make sure you check out her blog for beauty reviews and other fun stuff.

Bloggers - I would love to meet all of you as well! muah

Sunday Brunch - Poached Eggs & French Toasts OR DimSum?

Hurrican Irene is coming this way for sure and we have packed to stay in the house for the weekend. It's definitely not a good feeling - it feels like death is coming or something bad is gonna happen and we are just sitting here hearing the wind blows wtf. I also can't go out for my usual routine for brunch wtfwtf. My top 2 favourite places in Boston for Sunday (or Saturday I guess) brunch...

Aquitaine
569 Tremont Street (South End),
Boston, MA 02118

STEAK & EGGS   Served with Perigord Black Truffle Vinaigrette, 2 Eggs & Brunch Potatoes
EGGS BENEDICT    with Canadian Bacon, Hollandaise & Parsley, and Brunch Potatoes
BRIOCHE FRENCH TOAST   with Crispy Bacon, Fresh Blueberries, Strawberries & Vanilla Whipped Cream

Shangri-La
149 Belmont Street,
Belmont, MA 02478

Shao Long Bao (Soup Dumblings)
Sticky Rice Stuffed Sausage
Marinated Seaweed
Taro Cake

I still cannot decide what style I like more after all these years. They are both cravings born within me that tear me apart wtf. Which one do you prefer? Last but not least if you live in the East Coast, get your torches ready and charge up all your devices. It's gonna a long day but stay safe!!

Black Hacks | Black eyeshadow comparisons

There are a few blacks that are kept in my makeup drawer no matter how many times of apartment moving I have to go through. They asked me if I could introduce them to you. Of course, it'd be my pleasure!

From left to right, 

Inglot amc 63 - MAC Black Cream Color Base - Chanel 69 Black Star Soft Touch Eyeshadow -  Majolica Majorca BK922 - Urban Decay Oil Slick -  Inglot amc 65

Inglot AMC 63 is a matte black.
Pigmentation is smooth and intense. It is very comparable to MAC Carbon but in a much cheaper price. Despite the fallout due to the 'wetter' formula, this color is intense while very buildable. It's perfect to use for dancing the night away.

MAC Cream Color Base in Black is a ink black eyeshadow cream.
Holy moly this is one intense, glossy blackest black cream thats perfect for doing smokey looks with. It can be worn alone or underneath shadows. It is easy to blend out and stays put nicely. However, it would crease easy without a primer or on oily eyelids.

Chanel Soft Touch eyeshadow in 69 Black Star is a dark grey with micro silver shimmers.
I always take this shadow with me when I go travel because it alone can create the perfect black smokey eyes. So buildable that it can transform from a dark grey to an intense black. The shimmers are so fine milled and blended so nicely with the dark grey color. So dimensional.

Majolica Majorca BK922 is a metallic gray with blue, silver and green sheen and silver shimmers.
Again, another shadow that I could use alone to pull off a smokey look (See my look Here). It's a tad lighter than Black Star but much more affordable. Downside? It does not last as long as other eyeshadows stated.

Urban Decay Oil Slick is a dark with silver shimmers.
This would be the color if you want shimmers to be seen. It has the biggest glitters among all the eyeshadows. From far away, the glitters stand out even more than the pigmentation of the eyeshadow.

Inglot AMC 65 is a black with micro silver shimmers.

This understated shimmery black is my favourite alternative when I am sick of using a matte black but still want that intense black color. It's smooth, pigmented and lasts a long time.

Do you constantly grab for black eyeshadows? What are your favourites? Please do share!

L'espalier & OOTD

One of the restaurants that I've always always wanted to try but never had a chance to while I still lived 5 mins away, and now on a casual weekday afternoon it was the perfect timing since I still have the resident sticker and am able to park anywhere I want in Back Bay, we (finally!) made up our mind and tried L'espalier for Restaurant Week to see if it really lives up its hype. 

Appetizers - 
1) Melon and champagne soup with poached shrimp
2) Apple Street Farm heirloom tomato salad with chèvre

Main Course -

3) Seared Scottish salmon with ratatouille and saffron couscous

4) Roast pork loin with sweet corn and red pepper relish

Overlooking one of the busiest streets in Boston, it is still much less crowded than majority of places in the rest of the world lol.

Desserts -

5) Sachertorte, mango fluid gel, amaretto Chantilly cream, chocolate crumbs
6) Wild strawberry-vanilla mousse, lychee foam, raspberry balsamic vinaigrette


While I was out, I snapped a few pictures for an OOTD post, corresponding video is on my youtube channel.

Dress - F21 (Similar from F21 Here, Here & Here) 
Heels - Target 
Purse - Gucci (Black stripes from Saks Fifth Here) 
Nails - Happy Birthday by Deborah Lippman (from Neiman Marcus Here)

And what did I think about this 'one of the best French restaurants in town'? I love the main courses but the rest are really so so-so. The appetizers are so common, watermelon-ish soup is basically seen in a lot of french fusion restaurants and look at that salad, crappiest than my homemade costco spinach strawberries blueberries salad lol. The desserts taste really artificial. I prefer cakes from Eldo from chinatown wtf. Overall I am so glad we paid $25 per person for this tasting menu because only the main courses deserve the rave reviews. 

It's not just me. A lot of my friends have been there not only to Restaurant Week (Read my 3 Boston Restaurant Week posts Here, Here & Here. Though most of my "Eats" restaurants participate in RW too!) did not enjoy their meal at L'espalier either. Overrated and overall not worth what you're paying for especially it costs about $150/person for a regular dinner. Glad I tried it for RW instead :)

How to Depot Eyeshadows into a Clutch Wallet

It looks good, I know. Just kidding! Depotting eyeshadows is actually so much easier than I thought. I stumbled up some random video on youtube years ago and decided to take on the challenge myself. 

What you need - 

Painting Spatula for digging up the eyeshadows from their own pans

Push Pins are great alternatives if you do not have a spatula

Rubbing Alcohol for rubbing off the glue + sipping underneath eyeshadows for easier depotting

Q-tips for applying rubbing alcohol on the bottom of the eyeshadows + to press down eyeshadows when 'accidents' happen that eyeshadows break during depotting 

School Glue for gluing eyeshadows down to the clutch wallet - I wanted something stable enough but not permanent for future rearrangements. You can pick a stronger glue if you are to make a permanent arrangement.

Clutch Wallet of your choice - Get them from F21/Target/Anywhere that sell cheap clothing for about $5-$15. Get mine from Claire's for $4!!

Tips -

1) The depth of the clutch wallet chose has to be deep enough on both side for eyeshadows to sit in 

2) Leave space on the opposite side for the metal part for closure 
3) Write down names of eyeshadows for future references

Easy Steps -
1) Cut useless extra compartments out from the wallet clutch
2) Use spatula or push pins to dig out eyeshadows. While most eyeshadows are pretty easier to be detached from their own pans, we might need to press alcohol wetted Q-tips on the corners of the eyeshadows for an easier removal process.
3) Make arrangement for fitting
4) Glue eyeshades down (don't forget about Tip #2)

Watch my video if you're lazy to read :P


Done!

The best feeling is to recycle all these chucky useless plastic containers! Hope you all like this simple tutorial and are having a great weekend!