Nature Republic Snail Therapy 80 Emulsion

Been using this Nature Republic Snail Therapy 80 Emulsion in the mornings for more than two weeks now, ever since we came home to visit my folks. 

I wasn't sure snail therapy entails what exactly because as you can see, Nature Republic is a Korean brand and, well, I can't read Korean ^.^ That said, a quick google yielded an entry from the U.S. National Library of Medicine for this very product! Interesting, no? Apparently it is considered an over-the-counter drug with 1.08% dimethicone as the main active ingredient, which means if you are sensitive to silicones, this product is not for you. And the snail therapy here involves "highly-concentrated snail mucus...harvested from clean ponds." Swear I'm getting braver by the year, venturing out to first placenta protein and now snail slime. What's next, I wonder?

This is a small sample jar (10mL may be?) I received from buying the newest Castledew Diacut Eyes 9 Colors E907 Pure Angelism last June. 

Komenuka Bijin Eye Moist Jell

Finished up Skyn Iceland Icelandic Relief Eye Cream and been using this generous sample of Komenuka Bijin Eye Moist Jell for the past 3 weeks. 

I was iffy using this at home in the states since I am now visiting with my folks where they live is super duper dry, especially in the winter with all the heat blasting. Usually, any eye "gel" is bound to be much lighter than an eye cream so I wasn't sure this would be adequate underneath sunscreen. And indeed this is a super light gel that's so viscous and runny I would mistake it for a Japanese toner if I didn't know any better!

Caudalie Deep Cleansing Exfoliator

Here's a short review for the several 0.10 fl oz./3 mL sample tubes of the Caudalie Deep Cleansing Exfoliator from my various Caudalie orders. I started using them in Taipei after having finished up the full size of The Body Shop Vitamin E Cream Exfoliator. 

My favorite samples from Caudalie. From left to right: Deep Cleansing Exfoliator, Pulpe Vitaminee Eye and Lip Cream, and VinoSource S.O.S Thirst-Quenching Serum. 

DHC Q10 Face Powder Part II

This review is way overdue because I have been using this DHC Q10 Face Powder in Transparent 00 (transparent matte) for, well, since I first bought it in 2008. Yes, you read that right. You know how mundane daily things gets forgotten? That was what happened to this powder. Both this Transparent 00 (transparent matte) and the Transparent 01 (transparent shimmer) went with me to Japan and Taiwan, and back! And here am I finally reviewing the former, some 4+ years after having reviewed the latter. Ha -.-'

Taipei Eats - Zhongxiao East Road area Part II (忠孝東路, Picture heavy!)

More food ^.^

Hotpot is a must-try in Taipei, especially spicy hotpot (麻辣火鍋). That said, surprisingly hubby and I weren't too thrilled. I like it enough and hubby does too, but for some reason the spice really bothers his stomach and so we didn't eat it as much. When my sister visited though, we did take her along with J., her old friend from high school, to a hotpot restaurant, Artisan Hotpot (火鍋世家). 

The place is a chain, and it's nothing fancy or "famous," but it's unique in serving "individual" hotpot, as in everyone gets their own hotpot and no sharing is required. If you ask me, it really defeats the purpose of hotpot but whatever, we weren't too picky and the place was packed, so we figured it couldn't have been that bad.

Taipei Eats - Heping East Road area Part II (和平東路, Picture heavy!)

Just a few more snack stands and a review for a couple of restaurants on Heping East Road (和平東路) here. 

This little cart selling fried scallion pancakes was at the mouth of my alley at the intersection of Heping East Road and Roosevelt Road (羅斯福路), right outside MRT Guting Station (古亭站) Exit 6. 

Adding an egg and/or spicy sauce and you have you'll have a yummy, satisfying, and filling snack. There were a couple of times when hubby and I had a huge lunch, so for dinner we each got one of these scallion pancakes and called it a night. Not the healthiest way to eat, but it worked for the time being. Better than instant noodles!

Canmake Whip Mousse Lip Part II

This is a quick review for Canmake Whip Mousse Lip in limited edition 04 Foggy Cherry. I got a hold of this early November via E(vil)bay as it was not available in Taipei. It probably will be eventually, but up until the day before I left it was still absent at Watson's, with some branches didn't even carry the item itself (they had, like, may be 4 colors of the Candy Wrap Lips -.-')! I have already described these in detail in my last post so I won't repeat it again here.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Only in Taiwan

Today I leave Taiwan, moving back to the US of A *sobs* To leave on a sunny note (forget that it's been raining 3 weeks straight, starting before Thanksgiving T.T), I thought I'd share some hilarious things I've ran into during my time here in Taipei. 

Is Forever 21 too young for you? Try Forever 26!

Mr. Onion (Steak house)

For hubby's bday I wanted to take him somewhere that doesn't serve Chinese food, because poor baby's gotten a bit homesick after having spent 3 birthdays in a row overseas (so did I, but I love *not* being home LOL!). So I told him to take a look at in the travel guidebook his Japanese colleague A-san had left behind for him. One of the recommendations was Mr. Onion, a steak house. I thought the name sounded familiar. Turns out I did hear of it before from another classmate of mine. He also thought this place served great steaks and had recommended to us a little while back.

There are several locations, but hubby and I went to the branch in Taini (台泥), which is accessible via MRT Red Line (淡水線) Mingquan West Road Station (民權西路站). 

Taipei Eats - Yongkang Street area Part II (永康街, Picture heavy!)

Just a brief revisit on the food joints at Yongkang Street area ^.^

Hubby and I were in line at Smoothie House one afternoon and saw that some people got strawberry smoothie shaved ice. Of course I got giddy, however to my surprise this wasn't on the menu. When it was our turn to order, I asked the gal manning the register if I could switch the mango smoothie shaved ice for the strawberry one instead. She nodded a chirpy yes, and I got my strawberry smoothie shaved ice ^.^ I didn't like it as much as I did the mango smoothy shaved ice though. I thought the strawberry smoothie was a tad too thick and creamy, thus tasted more like strawberry ice cream. But it was still yummy. Give it a try the next time you're there!

Yes, we also gave into our touristy urges and got ourselves a reservation at the original location of Din Tai Fung. It was packed with Japanese tourists, and I mean packed like sardines, with hordes of people waited outside. So when the hostess saw me, she (along with everyone else I met in Taipei) thought I was Japanese and started speaking Japanese to me. My Japanese sucks, but no language comes between me and my food of course, which doesn't exactly help clear up any misconceptions ^.^'