Eyeliner tutorial at Beauty Mark

I invited mum to come along with me to a free make-up tutorial at Beauty Mark, a beauty store in Yaletown. It was the first time that they had held an event like this, and they did a really good job of it. They served free wine as you entered, and then we were able to just walk around and browse for a bit. 

Eyebrow room! Every girl needs one of these. 

Exercise in a box... who knew!

Saxx. Enough said. 

Sneak peak of the loos and its supplies. 

Next, one of the makeup artists showed us the three simple steps to create the perfect cat eye using the Geisha Ink liquid liner.  It is one of their top-selling products. 

1. Make your mark, so you know where you want your flick to end up. 

2. Draw and fill in a small triangle to create a pointed wing.  

3. Draw the line to the inner part of your eye, making sure the liner becomes thinner the closer to the eye it gets. 

I bought the eyeliner, so I'll keep practicing! I also picked up a beauty blender, so I'll test that as well!

They have their next event on Wednesday the 18th of June, where they are going to demonstrate a smokey eye look. 

A weekend of Food

We had a particularly food-y weekend. It wasn't planned, but as always, during the week we eat so well and then the weekend comes, and we are hungry for something other than chicken and broccoli! 

On Friday afternoon, we met for lunch in Gastown at the Chill Winston. Some of Jose's work friends had told him about the 12 for $12 lunch menu which we wanted to try. Twelve options all at $12 makes it a great place for a quick lunch. They have plenty of options: meat, fish, vegetarian and vegan. I had the Arctic Char, Jose had the Bison Burger and then we shared the beet and mango salad. Considering the price, the food was excellent. The portions are on the smaller side, and I thought they were a little stingy on the mango!

In the evening, we went back to one of our favourite places - Fable. A restaurant on West 4th in Kitsilano, with a concept of Food to Table, hence Fable! The food is absolutely delicious.

The menu is quite small, but all the ingredients are local and so you really know you are eating fresh, good-quality ingredients. We ordered rye bread with whipped butter, 'canned' tuna, pate, the pork special, lemon meringue parfait and S'mores. A fairly indulgent evening washed down with a Bourbon Sour and a Kiss from a Rose.

The 'S'mores' is basically a... s'more! I had no idea what s'mores were when I first came to Canada, but for anyone else who might be wondering, it's a graham cracker with a layer of marshmallow and chocolate - a Canadian camping favourite. Definitely not one for the waistline, but oh so good!

A few Sundays ago - Adonia Tea House

On this particular Sunday, I had a huge urge in morning to go to Bean Brothers on 41st street in Kerrisdale. I wanted to wake José up to tell him about it, but I thought he might not have shared the same enthusiasm as me at 2 o'clock in the morning! We did end up going, and I did get my coffee. Unfortunately the only picture I have is of the dregs, or possibly a Rorschach Test?

We also stopped for lunch at a tea house called Adonia. It's like stepping back into the Victorian times, with 150 different teas to choose from. Mozart Piano concerto No. 18 in the B-flat was playing in the background (I Shazamed it) and the wallpaper was as English as it gets. 

We ordered the Mini Afternoon Tea, which included ham & cucumber sandwiches, and mini cakes on a tier cake stand; scones with jam and cream, and then your choice of tea. 

The tea menu is actually overwhelming, but as always I ordered according to the name. Typically, I chose a black tea called China Rose (Anything 'Rose' and I'm in) and Jose orderd 'Midnight in Paris' - I'm pretty sure he just liked the name too! 

The whole lunch was really... splendid! I know that's a bit hoity-toity, but it really was. I felt transported back to high tea on the Titanic.