Spring Skincare

Hello lovelies!

I can't believe I haven't blogged in ages! It's spring time and I think this is deserving of a post!! I've been contemplating for a while to change my skincare routine. My skin is currently doing very well but I thought I'd change it up a bit. Plus, gives me an excuse to shop!

The products I will be trying:

The products I am currently using are listed on the right hand side. I've been using Shiseido's brightening line for the longest time and I do see results (brighter skin, less breakouts, etc compared to JuiceBeauty's cleaner, another product I've been using concurrently. JuiceBeauty is organic, but my skin seems to find ways to disllike it, but that is another comparison for another time). I am going to switch to the Shiseido Pureness line for my cleanser to see if I see any additional improvements. I am also going to start using my Mia Clarisonic (thank you MrW!) and hopefully this will even out my skin tone. I will report my results once I've adjusted to these new products!

Another significant change is that I will start using eye products more often. I am going to try Shiseido's The Skincare Eye Moisture Recharge, which I picked up from the Shiseido warehouse sale for $30. Even though my skin still looks relatively youthful I think(?...people often mistakem me for a 12 year old), what can really give away your true age are your eyes' and hands' wrinkles. So, step one for me....protect my eyes! 

I have tons more to write (perhaps due to several month's of hiatus?!), but I need to take advantage of my long weekend and catch some sun! Leave a comment if you want me to review the specific items I've posted above!

xo Superwoolu

The Best Things...

There aren't many things that make me smile; they are hard to come by. So when I find something that truly makes my heart swoon and my smile beam like sunshine, I keep it close to my heart. This post is actually inspired by fellow Torontonian Cleone, who is a minimalist, a beauty queen and a very talented girl. Her post titled "最美好的事情" roughly translated to "The most beauty things..." has so many points that resonates bits and pieces of my life. 

So I share with you, 10 best things that make my life awesome the way it is:

1. When...my Tim Horton's rim says "you win a free coffee!"

2. When... I kindly let a random stranger merge in front of me and in receipt I get a little thank you hand gesture

3. When... friends and family think I am so musically talented, but the only song I can play is River Flows In You by muscle memory

4. When... I walk from 40 degrees humid weather into blasted AC at the mall (I think this is happiness for most people!)

5. When... ajummas speak to me in Korean 

6. When... Mr.W holds my hand on a crowded street

7. When... I am freed from the prison of my bra at the end of the day

8. When... served with a great piece of medium rare steak and a glass of wine

9. When... I am able to let go and forgive those who have wronged me

10. When... I find money in my pockets I've forgotten about

BONUS: (taken from Cleone and oh so true) - trying samples (at T&T) without the intentions of ever buying the product

What are some things that make your life complete? 

Please Help

The following photos are from various sources: Tumblr, LA times, National Geographics

I'm sure most of you have heard about the tsunami in Japan that took the lives of thousands of people. You may be thousands of miles away and not feel the impact, but please help. 

I am currently impacted by this catastrophe because one of my dear friends was in Miyagi, Sendai when this occurred. He is fortunate enough to have survive, but have lost all his belongs. However, he is so incredibly strong and is currently volunteering in one of the nearby schools, helping many of the elderlies and children adapt to their situation. I am so proud of him.

You can  help too. There are many non for profit organizations that are receiving donations and sending it as emergency relief funds to Japan. There are also bloggers who are selling items and donating 100% of the proceeds, such as Eki, Yasumi, and Asiyakei. I, myself, have pledged a donation to Red Cross. These people are without home, some have even lost their family, and are trying to survive on whatever resources are left in the area, so they really need our support and for us to be compassionate during this time. If you don't have the resources or finances, there are other ways to help. You can spread the word or volunteer to fund raise at a local charity or at a relief center.  

Remember, every little bit helps.

Stonegrill on Winchester

Note: All above photos belong to Superwoolu. Please notify the owner of the blog if photos are reused.

Stonegrill on Winchester is located in old Cabbagetown, a part of Toronto filled with rustic and interest buildings. I think this part of the city used to be filled with Spanish and Greek immigrants before they migrated to Danforth. I visited Stonegrill in the summer because it offered an interesting way of cooking food - on a heated stone! The restaurant actually offers two methods: you can grill your own meat on the heated stone or have the chef cook the meat on a stove (inside the kitchen). But obviously cooking your own meat sounds more thrilling.... Stonegrill is smart - they get you to pay a premium for the unique experience and have you cook/serve yourself!

The price is affordable but it is by no means cheap. The pricing is mid-range so it gets pushed into the fine dining category as prices start at $30 for the main course (if you want to grill the meat). If you visit during the promotional seasons (i.e. Summerlicious or Winterlicious), it would be worthwhile, but otherwise, I would consider it a splurge. I had a decent time but would have probably enjoyed my food more if I had better culinary skills....(I have to admit, grilling salmon to perfection is quite difficult)

If you ever decide to visit Stonegrill, let me know what you think of it! 

Ratings:

Food: ♥♥♥♥♥ (or more depending on your cooking skills :p)

Price: $$$

Service: ♥♥♥♥♥

Ambiance: ♥♥♥♥♥

Located at: 51B Winchester St. Toronto ON

just the way you are

Hello lovelies!

Yes, things look a little different..... I've decided to have a more minimalistic theme, perhaps an echo what I see my life as currently (or rather how I want to feel - any one caught in tax season would know what I mean). Hope each and every one of you are feeling the fabulous-ness of March because in several weeks it will be Spring (even though we just endured another snow storm yesterday)!

photo credit: tumblr

Lately, I've been listening to a lot of Bruno Mars, or rather, specifically that one song. Remember,  you're amazing just the way you are!

♥ happy photo bloggn' Monday! Don't forget to take your camera with you! 

Giveaway Results!

*Drum roll*.....

*cancel drum roll*

I forgot to mention that I loved how motivated you all sounded with your resolutions! I truly hope you may be able to exert your determination and new years energy in keeping your resolutions (: My resolution is to be more holistic and helpful to my community. I've put my name down at several volunteer organizations and will be spending some of my weekends helping those in need.

Okay, now the good stuff! In order to find a winner, I, or rather, I enlisted for some help... and finally determined the winner of my first giveaway! We did it the old fashion away, aka dropped the entries in a hat and drew out a number.

*Drum roll une deuxième fois...* The winner is.....

Miss Old Cow! Your resolution also hit the core of my soul (dramatic but oh so true)! I visited some vintage shops lately, but for some strange odd reason, I've seen some aged clothing that were more expensive than new clothing... *scratch head*. (Anyway I digress). Please send me your address to ehlee (dot) soompi (at) gmail (dot) com within the next two days! Merci beaucoup!

Thank you to all the girlies who participated! If you didn't win this time around, it's okay. Life goes on, but I will also be hosting more giveaways in the future ^__^

Giveaway Now Closed!

Thank you for all your entries, I loved reading all your resolutions! The giveaway is now closed; I will find a systematic way to draw the winner this week and the winner will be announced shortly at the beginning of next week.

Muchos gracias!

xxx miss superwoolu

Let the Film Roll.....

Happy Monday! (and you know what that means....)

This is one of my first dabble into film (lomo) photography. I received a Diana Mini for Christmas and have only finished my first roll of film.... my life is boring okay! Plus I don't get any sunlight and only see snow each day. I've only shared one photo because I don't have many choices.... :( The Diana Mini is really difficult to use! I took approximately 40 photos, but 80% of my film were black frames or could not be processed by the lab, haha! This is because not enough light was hitting my lens or the processors were just incompetent, oh well, lesson learned!

Don't forget to join my winter giveaway (if you haven't already)! There are currently 6 days left to join!

Have a fab week ladies!

xxx

Post Holiday/Winter Giveaway!

Hello my lovelies! Hope your Christmas was fabulous and festive!

My initial intentions was to put up this giveaway before the holidays but I had my wisdom teeth extracted this past week so I've been too swollen to do anything productive :( So... now it's just a winter giveaway ^__^

Simple mandatory rules in order to qualify! (read below):

• Giveaway will end January 30, 2011, winner will have 48 hours to contact me with information (please don't leave me your email address in the comments! I don't want you to get spammed!)
• Opened internationally, but please be 18 years of age or over.
• No entries from blogs made for the purpose of giveaways allowed (I will check!) 
• Must be a follower of this blog (I will check!)
• Answer the following questions in the comment box: What is your new years resolution for 2011 and how will you work on achieving it? 

Additional entries:

• Reblog this giveaway - provide me with the link in the same entry above
• Retweet this giveaway (@superwoolu) - provide me with the link in the same entry above

Now the prizes!

I grabbed an additional charity bag during the last MAC warehouse sale I attended and wanted to share the goodies! 

I love these mittens and just in time for winter! So obviously I have to share my Canadian pride! But... because this is opened internationally, I realize there may be no winter in some parts of the world... this prize can be exchange for another goody (which is a mystery right now!)

Free food, free booze....

I love Firm/Company events because it usually means lots of free stuff! I especially love it when it's open bar, but alas, it's difficult to provide free alcohol to 400 people..... *sad face*.

Anyway this is what I wore:

Ebay Cocktail dress; XXI tights; gmarket pink heels; aldo & toy watch jewelry 

earrings - ebay

close up of my connector ring... I lavvv it!... but my two fingers are pretty much rendered useless. On my nails is Midnight Mission - China Glaze

Okay, next post is Holiday Giveaway! (I promise since the holidays are coming which means no more procrastination!)

Tuesday Finds

Hellooo mon cheries! A quick update on a mundane Tuesday....

Went to Sephora today to help the Sister pick up her birthday gift and couldn't help but do some shopping...I'm such a nimble shopper!

I've also busied myself with crafting and packaging Christmas gifts =D My desk looks like the 5th day of WWII, but you're not a true crafter (which btw is NOT a real word...pffft) until you cannot find your crafting tools underneath all the mess!

Stay tuned for a holiday giveaway!

xoxo Miss Woolu

MAC Warehouse Sale - Dec 4, 2010

Hi lovelies!

This is not a true post but just to let those in the vicinity of Toronto know that the MAC/Estee Lauder Warehouse sale is ongoing from today (Friday) to Sunday. You will need a ticket to enter and are limited to a maximum of 4 items per each product available.

Late notice, but... I want to make one other blogger happy so I have one extra ticket for Saturday (December 4, 2010). 

Rules:
1. Please DM me on Twitter if you are interested (no emails - they will not be responded to)!
2. Bloggers only aka I will not release the ticket to someone I have not seen on the blogspere.
3. Please be 18+, I don't want to be responsible for having minors get lost in the rush of mad MAC shoppers, plus, it's fairly far and located in a remote warehouse in Richmond Hill

Wilfred in Taupe

Helloooo to Friday!

In an effort to get my mojo back up aka a la motivation to muster up some presentable post, I am sharing my OOTD. I'll be lying if I told you I wore this today because temperature is hovering the near negatives in Toronto, and unless my arms and legs were resistant to cold I'd never be able to survive wearing this outside now. But this outfit did keep me feeling pretty during the course of the summer.

What I wore: AE cardigan; Wilfred corsette dress; Gmarket sandals

I got the Wilfred corsette dress in taupe on sale at Aritzia at their summer blow out sale. The dress comes in another color (khaki or some shade of green) but did not have the cute pattern. Because of the corsette style, this dress makes you look really thin (but not starving skinny), though it also means you won't be able to breathe or eat until you strip out of the dress..... The size I purchased was 4 - I normally wear sizes 0-2 but Artizia sizes run small. But even in a size 4 I needed assistance in zipping this up because the material doesn't give any room since it's not stretchy fabric.

As a side note, I'd be weary of purchasing sandals with no soles from Gmarket (the flat ones)! They're worse than sandals from H&M, though really cute looking and cheap at $8. This pair was a miss for me because I've purchased sandals from Gmarket before and they were quite comfortable. But I mean, cost vs. feet pain. Your choice!

Happy Friday!

♥ Miss Woolu

Rimmel - English Rose

Hi my lovelies!

Yes I know I've been MIA for so long that I might as well have disappeared off the face of the earth (but the question is, would I then be floating in (cyber) space?).... apparently not blogging for several months have turned my jokes really lame as well! And what makes it worse is that even Mr.Woolu noticed the lazy cat was my only post since three months ago. But my real concern is that Mr.W reads this?! Well... if that's the case - /shout out - Mr.W, please slowly let your eyes wander to the right side of the page where it says WISHLIST /end shout out.

Anyway I am back (not with a vengeance though)! I've been nagged so much to post something  that I swatched a polish purchased over the summer (around the same time as Plum Seduction). I'm still on a conquest to find the perfect rose polish. With asian skin tone hands I find wearing any shade of red not as flattering. I think overall Rimmel's English Rose is mediocre.

I like the formula because its thick and not streaky. I also really like the brush, which is wide and flat so you an cover your nail in 1-2 strokes. Maybe I just made a poor color choice, because I've definitely left this collecting dust. You can find Rimmel polishes in most drug stores and will cost around $3-$5 depending if sale discounts are available.

I can't promise my next post will be soon.... but if you want to catch my daily rantings, you can find me on twitter under the ID: superwoolu. 


♥ the one who puts super in superwoolu

LaZY Monday

Hi lovelies! As you can probably tell, I've been quite lazy.... I haven't blogged at all! I have been catching up with blogs that have accumulated exponentially in my google reader, but I want to apologize if I have not been commenting. I will get back into my groove very soon!

Superwoolu is super lazy like this cat she saw on the weekend!

Stay clean, stay fresh, stay beautiful (:

Happy photo bloggn' Monday! ♥

Revlon's Plum Seduction

I am always on the hunt for a cute summer nail color and the other day I stopped by Rexall and picked up Revlon's 917 Plum Seduction. I can only describe it as a very flirtatious and color popping shade. The nail polish has a creme finish to it and is a mix of magenta, fuchsia and purple in a bottle.

(clumsy paint job... but nothing that a shower cannot fix! :p)

I've never been completely gaga in love with Revlon's nail polish formula and this one has not changed my opinion either. The formula is very watery so the first two coats will only leave your nail polish in streaks. The watery formula may be overlooked in pale shimmery shades but for nail polish with a creme finish.... *thumbs down* It took at least three coats for the shade to turn opaque, like in the photo.

I definitely really like this color and looks super cute in photos. The total damage was only really $5.99CAD and lots of patience.... so, has this plum shade seduced you at all?

NARIS UP Nose Pack Peeling Mask Review

What it claims: This nose pack peeling mask helps deeply loosen pores. Easily removes pore cloggers from loosen pores. The ingredients are gentle to your skin and can remove the dirt in your pores or the remains of your makeup without undue stimulation. As it is absorbed, it freshens your skin and restores it to a healthy condition.


I bought the 20ml sized tube and it's tiny!!! It's even smaller than a sample! This will not last more than a month if you use it twice a week. 

The mask leaves the tube in globs and sometimes it's difficult to control how much comes out because it's so dense. The texture is gooey to touch but will wash off with water, or you can wait until it dries and then peel it off. 


Caution.... disturbing photos ahead.....










warning..... 








More warning.....








Okay, you've been warned:

If you (dare) click to enlarge the photo, you can see that my nose harbours quite a lot of white and black heads. If you glance at the after photo (you don't even need to closely observe because it's so apparent), you will see that none of the blackheads left my nose. The mask simply ripped out the hair on my nose and got rid of some white heads. I already did this mask post a 30 minute steaming hot shower. 


I decided to be forgiving and try it a second time, 10 minutes after I ripped it off my nose. Observe the results below:

Both times it ripped out hair!! I've concluded that this mask will remove white heads but blackheads are too stubborn for it. 


The Good:
♥ cleans out white heads
♥ affordable, but not if you want to use it consistently
♥ can purchase easily online or asian beauty store


The Bad:
♥  rips out hair
♥ doesn't clean out blackheads
♥ there are probably other products out there that are more effective


Repurchase: Nah.....


I got this on sale for $5.99 on Sasa, but it is also available on Imomoko for $7.99. You can also try the NARIS UIP Eggshell & Charcoal Mask, which is a peeling face pack for removing blackheads, but I've seen bloggers use it on their nose too. 

This big mess is the damage from my last post and which the NARIS UP Nose pack was part of. I'll continue picking at this and review the items I've purchased (:


Have a lovely weekend all! ♥

Nothing Makes Me Happier Than....

The mailman knocking on my door at 8:30am in the morning.... and guess what he delivered?

purchases from ebay, Sasa and Gmarket

I had to withhold my glee for 8 hours while I was at work!! While I am typing I still have not unboxed these goodies yet! My shopping habits may look like it needs some control here but let me assure you that not everything is mine! =D I'll how you my goods in a future post ^__^

Let me leave you with the usual:

Green tea birthday cake from BNC (a Korean Cafe) courtesy of  le BF last month (:

I know there were tons of celebrated and to be celebrated birthdays in June and July for bloggers all over the world. I wish you guys a very happy belated/early birthday!

Happy photo bloggn' Monday! ♥

Korean Chiffon & Polka Dots

Hello lovelies! How is July treating you? It's super humid and hot here (about 40 degrees!)... not even which air conditioning can solve.... so I am going to avoid swatching anything since it will melt in 5 seconds! I'll just share what my outfit of the day is ^__^

cardigan - AE; chiffon shirt - gmarket; skirt - jacob

Oh the lighting's terrible! Wish I had a better photo but I was in a hurry. I think having chiffon material clothing in your wardrobe is a such a good idea! It's silky to the touch and I think is somewhat sweat resistant  :p

Hope there's nice weather where you are! Stay cool and fresh ~

♥ superwoolu

Shiseido - The Makeup Gloss and Shimmering Stick

Awhile ago I mentioned that I scored some good deals at the Shiseido annual warehouse sale. I've finally found the time to swatch it for you guys! At the sale I purchased the The Makeup Glosses in G1 - Champagne Sparkle and G4- Petal Pink; the Shimmering Stick in SL1 and the Perfecting lipstick in P8 (Shy Pink). I believe the glosses retail for $20 and the lipsticks for $30 but I purchased all for $10 a pop because I think these are from the 2008 line (don't think they are discontinued yet though). 

The glosses are very glossy (evident in the swatches below) and make a very good combination with the lipsticks or can be worn alone. The shimmer stick in SL1 is very moist and has a very glossy finish, but I think it works better with Champagne Sparkle on top. If you wear it alone, think of having frosty nude lips because of the glitter.... The Perfecting stick in Shy Pink is a matte coral pink (don't know why it's that red in the photo - refer below for a more representative shade). I love this lipstick because it's hydrating and glides on like butter - with no friction at all!

I'm off to prep for Canada Day! No work = lounging at the beach. Don't be too jealous =P

P.S. Just wanted to say hi to my new readers (: