Ricardo event

fter work I had the privilege to attend a launch party for Ricardo's new kitchenwares. It turns out that it wasn't a sit-down dinner that I thought it was going to be, but more of a cocktail party. That's ok. It was a lot of fun and I even got a chance to talk to Ricardo. He is SUPER nice and easy-going. Just a few days ago I was shooting a celebrity (I won't say who), but I didn't have such a good experience. I'm so glad that Ricardo was nice.

The event was a catered event, but Ricardo brought home-made chocolates filled with caramel that he had made. It was to die for!

Here I am posing with Ricardo. Sorry it's so dark.

I really loved all the packaging and design for all his kitchenwares. I wonder who did the packaging design...

The party was held inside an art gallery, but they really personalized it for this event. There was a tree made out of spatulas.

The gallery had bits of his kitchenwares displayed throughout.

Here's a wall of cooking utensils and pans. His pans are all lined with ceramic. It's is all affordable too. I think they are available in Sears across Canada and some specialty stores.

On one side of the wall there was a cool wall treatment.

His rolling pins were pretty neat because they are black. Doesn't it look like a piece of art?

Now on to the food...

They had waiters going around with hors d'oeuvres, but there were also stations where chefs were assembling amuse bouche. This one was the lobster ravioli station with caviar.

Isn't it pretty?

It was sooooo good.

This one was chicken stuffed with goat cheese on a crostini.

I found this to be a bit bland, but my colleague loved it.

Mingle time.

Near the end of the party Ricardo went behind the counter and started serving food himself. What a sweet guy. Love him!

It was a great event and we all got parting gifts.

Our gift bags had the press kit for his new wares as well as a metal and silicone muffin pan and rose-shaped silicone baking cups.

My favourite would have to be the rose-shaped cake cups because I can make this beautiful cake that he included a recipe for. It would make an impressive dessert without it being too difficult to make.

Here's a photo of my face after I got home. I was trying out my Darkness lashes (style is K.ma3) that I bought a few months ago for the first time. They looked amazing on. My colleague wasn't sure if I was wearing falsies and another one didn't even know I had falsies on. They made my eyes look doll-like and really intensified it without it looking obviously fake and unnatural.

Asian makeup haul

Creams have fascinated me ever since I first heard about them last year, but I had yet to purchase one... until now. I stopped by my local Korean supermarket and there happened to be a beauty store inside. I couldn't help, but look at BB Creams. I saw the Missha brand that's been talked about all over YouTube, so I swatched both colours on my hand- the #21 (lighter shade) and the #23 (darker shade). I thought for sure that I was a #23, but the lady said that I was most likely a #21. Then she asked me what skin type I had and I told her I was on the oilier side. She said that I should try the Dr. Jart line of BB Creams. I haven't heard of Dr. Jart yet, but the colour (it only came in one shade) seemed like it was a better match than both of the Missha ones. It was also a tad more expensive. Dr. Jart was $32.99 and the Missha one was $23.99. They also had a newer Missha line called 'M Signature Real Complete BB Cream' and that was $28.99. I know you can get BB Creams online for much cheaper, but I feel better buying makeup when I've seen it in person. Once I know what works for me then I will probably buy it online.

I decided to buy the Dr. Jart one. Hopefully I made the right decision!

Here's my little shopping bag.

I got the Dr. Jart Silver Label BB Cream. The sales woman said that this one was her best seller for her "older" clients. Keke. I guess I'm that target market now since I'm 30...

The package says "This unique professional formula containing innovative active ingredients aims at perfectly expressing flawless look, concealing blemishes, and activating skin rejuvenation. It soothes red, irritated skin while providing moisture to skin and controlling excess sebum." It came in 50 mL. It looks a lot smaller than the 50 mL Missha (with the pump), but it's actually both the same mL.

Here's a tiny swatch of the Dr. Jart BB Cream on my hand. It's a tad thicker than the Missha BB Cream.

It has a grayish cast when I first rubbed it around...

...but it looked ok when it was all blended in. It does look a tad light on me, but my hands are slightly darker than my face. The smell was quite subtle and pleasant too. It dried quickly and looked very matte. Let's see how it does on my face.

The sales lady gave me lots of samples. That's what I love about Korean beauty stores! She gave me a sample of the new Missha BB Cream. This one is in 10 g.

The colour I got in the sample was a #23. This one is a little darker than the Dr. Jart one and a little bit more runny.

I blended it out a little bit.

I feel like it doesn't cover as well as the Dr. Jart one, but we'll see. This one smells more perfume-y than the Dr. Jart one, but I don't mind the smell. Mind you, I don't really have a sensitive olfactory...

There was a whole shelf of Darkness lashes and I couldn't resist grabbing a couple.

I bought the ones that came in 2 pairs. It was $5.60 each. This one is the K.ma3 style and it looks very similar to my beloved Revlon Beyond Naturals false eyelashes. I think I use the natural style. I love this one because it looks so natural. At my age I can't go for the crazy dramatic lashes...

After saying I can't wear dramatic lashes, I bought a dramatic set of lashes! I couldn't resist. It's criss-cross, spikey lashes and I was curious to see how they would look on my eyes. I placed it on my eyes when I came home and it looks AMAZING! It's not as crazy as I thought it would look and it makes my eyes look sooooo pretty. I can't wait to try this. I wish I had a special event coming up!

The sales lady also gave me a sample of the Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in #21. If the Dr. Jart one doesn't work out I can always try this one.

The sales lady gave me a mini pack of BB Cream cleansing wipes. I'm sure they work like regular makeup wipes, but I'll try anything that's free!

She also gave me a whitening sheet mask. They were on sale for $3.80 each, but she said she would give me one for free because I was pretty. Haha, she probably says that to all of her paying customers.

I also got a couple of these TINY (size of the length of my thumb) moisturizers. She was explaining what they are in Korean, but I couldn't understand most of it. I think it comes with lots of great ingredients.

BTW, I want to wish all of you guys a belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!