Priceline Haul

Hello again!

We went back to Rundle Mall after lunch and I visited Priceline for the second time that day because there was a HUGE 40% off sale on all cosmetics! I had to really restrain myself though as I don't need any new makeup right now. If you know me however, you'll know that I'm a sucker for sales! I ended up purchasing a total of 5 products. I've done a very brief review on each product.

From left to right:

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze 

L'Oreal Caresse Lip Stain in Juliet

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof eye liner in 005 Nude

L'Oreal False Lash Telescopic Mascara in Waterproof Black

Garnier Clean Sensistive 2-in-1 Gentle Makeup Remover

The Maybelline Colour Tattoo is originally $11.95 but the sale took the price down to $7.17 .

This product is raved about so much on youtube and in beauty blogs so I've been meaning to try it for a very long time and only just got round to purchasing it. So far, I love the colour of it on my skin and it acts as a very nice base for eye shadows. However, I tend to get oily lids and so I will probably be using my Urban Decay Primer Potion under it just as a precaution! 

The L'Oreal Caresse Lip Stain is known to be a dupe for the YSL Glossy Lip Stain. It was originally $23.95 but today I got it for $14.37 . I think this is a great alternative for those who don't want to fork out a ridiculous amount for such a product. (L'Oreal and YSL are under the umbrella of one large company anyway, so these products could potentially be very similar!). From what I've seen in real life, the L'Oreal stain seems more pigmented the YSL stain, and is only a third of the price! The colour I got is really pretty and great for a statement, bold lip.

White eyeliner vs. Nude eyeliner
(Sorry my hand looks extra red - the lip stain was a bit of a pain to get off!)

The Rimmel eye liner was originally $9.95 but I got it for $5.97. It is a great product and is definitely waterproof. I would recommend using a nude eyeliner rather than a white eye liner on your waterline as it gives a much more natural 'awake' look in contrast to the harsh white eyeliner look. I have my eye on the Stila nude eyeliner, which is 4 times the price of this, but I think this is a fantastic alternative.

 

Top: New

Bottom: Original

The L'Oreal mascara was originally $26.95 but was reduced to $16.17 today. My holy grail mascara is the original waterproof Telescopic Mascara as it works wonders on my sparse, short and straight Asian lashes! I definitely recommend it. I bought this new version to try it out and see whether it would work as well. The plastic wand is slightly different in shape (the new version is slightly larger), but the length and width of the bristles are still the same. I can't say that I'm disappointed but I think I still prefer the original. This claims to give the 'false lash effect' but I honestly don't see it. However, it is still a good mascara.

I'm currently using the L'Oreal makeup remover and heard the Garnier makeup remover works just as well so I decided to give it a go. And I agree, it does the same job. The plus side with the Garnier makeup remover is that you get more product for a smaller price. 

Thank you so much for reading! I'm definitely no expert but I do love playing around and experimenting with make up :) 

Vy

xo

Citi Zen

Hello everyone,

Hope you're all having a fantastic day :)

Today, my best friends and I caught up with each other over yum cha at Citi Zen! This is a tradition which we started at the beginning of last year; we'd all go out to yum cha together every school holidays as a reward to ourselves. This is especially needed this year as we're all in our final years of high school!

I am in love with this light fixture. The colour is so gorgeous and it just looks very elegant! 

 The yum cha menu on weekdays. I believe that the menu system is only used on weekdays and the carts are wheeled around on weekends. (Please correct me if I'm wrong!)

Prawn Rice Roll

One of my favourites, and I definitely wasn't disappointed! 

Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

Nothing spectacular here. I only ordered this dish because I can't have a meal that doesn't contain any form of vegetable.

Prawn Dim Sim (Har Gao) 

Another favourite of mine, and it was just as delicious this time round! 

Savoury Dough Rice Roll 

This was my second time having this. I was a bit sceptical the first time I tried it because I thought it was a strange combination, but it definitely isn't! The crunchy fried rolls covered in the soy is so delicious.

 Mushroom and Chicken Roll

This was ordered for my friend who was allergic to seafood. I tried it but it definitely isn't as good as the prawn rice rolls! I also question if there were actually any mushrooms in it because all I could find was chicken.

Chinese Radish Cake 

A little soggy this time round. Usually, I like the contrast between the soft centre and the crunchy edges.

 BBQ Pork Bun

I don't usually eat these, but my friends ordered 2 and they loved them!

 Pan Fried Pork Dumpling

Again, ordered for a friend allergic to seafood. She enjoyed them but I didn't really like the filling. It was a bit 'heavy'. 

 Salt and Pepper Squid Tentacle

Another of my favourites! They were nicely seasoned and were delicious when they were hot. However, they were lacking crunch.

 Mango Pudding

I can't have yum cha without finishing off with a mango pudding! This was delicious and I loved how light it was compared to some of the other mango puddings I have tried.

Citi Zen is definitely my favourite place to have yum cha. The food and service is always great, and we were all very satisfied after our meal. However, I only have yum cha here and haven't tried anything else on their menu, so I can't present an opinion on the restaurant as a whole. For yum cha though, I definitely recommend it! The seven of us girls spent a total of $115, which we was great because we each ended up paying under $20 for our meals.

Overall, 9/10.

Vy

xo

Hotel Tivoli and Cocolat

Hi everyone!

My sister's sweet 16th was a few weeks ago and today, we spent the night out celebrating with her friends. Our first stop of the night was Hotel Tivoli, located on Pirie Street, where we dined in the restaurant.

Our table

VERY dimmed lighting! But this created quite a nice atmosphere, probably well suited for dates.

The bar. I'm in love with the elegant caged lantern!

I loved the decor of the restaurant. There was a gorgeous gold and charcoal wallpaper, draped curtains, very dimmed lights and dark wooden tables and chairs. 

I had a tough time deciding what I wanted to eat because to be honest, nothing sounded too appetising. I ended up choosing the Turkish Spiced Lamb, as I have been a little obsessed with lamb salads lately! 

Turkish Spiced Lamb $21

We also ended up ordering chilli fries and rocket salads as sides. I didn't get a photo of the salads because everyone had already dug in before I had the chance to pull out my phone!

Chilli Fries $9

Other dishes ordered down my end of the table were Crunchy Fried Lemon Pepper Squid, Tivoli Burger, Chinatown Duck, Golden Spiced Free Range Chicken Breast and Wild Mushroom & Goats Cheese Gozleme.

Firstly, with my dish, I was a little disappointed in the presentation. Honestly, it looked very unappetising. As the saying goes, we eat with our eyes, so I was unimpressed with the lack of colour from all the different elements. I was expecting more greens, but there was also a lack of salad. The menu description listed a herb and grain salad, but on the plate, this was the quinoa and minimal herbs served on top of the meat. The lamb was only reasonable. Some portions were perfectly cooked, whereas others were so raw I didn't even want to touch it. However, I was extremely impressed with the smokey eggplant puree which went very well with the flavour of the meat.

Everyone else enjoyed their meals, but there was nothing too spectacular about any of them. I heard comments that the burger was tasty and that the Chinatown Duck was way too smokey, but the duck meat was very well cooked. The chilli fries were shocking (in a bad way!). The fries weren't crunchy enough and the dipping sauce was terrible- it tasted like badly seasoned mayonnaise!

The staff who waited on us were very nice, friendly and attentive making our dinner rather enjoyable.

Hotel Tivoli only provided a place for us to get some food in our bellies! From what I saw and heard, there weren't any memorable dishes, so I don't think any of us will be visiting again any time soon.
Overall, 7/10.

We decided to pass on dessert at Hotel Tivoli and decided to go for a wander down to Rundle Street. Our original plan was to visit San Churro, but I talked everyone out of it due to my experiences there. Also, the line of people waiting was too long and we didn't want to be waiting outside in the cold! Instead, we decided on the next closest place: Cocolat!

The gelati looked amazing but it was way too cold!

Lemon and pistachio macarons $2.95 each

The WORST macarons I have ever had. Now, I'm fussy with my macarons, but these were pretty darn terrible. They were rock hard, the shells were lacking in flavour and crumbling all over the place! The filling was also disappointing. 

White hot chocolate in a mug $6.30

This was SO delicious! Perfect amount of chocolate-y goodness, not too overwhelmingly sweet and not too thick. I savoured every single drop of it!

Cocolat hot chocolate (small) $4.50

Just what a hot chocolate should be; warm, chocolatey and not too thick.

Chilli hot chocolate in a mug $6.30

I've saved the best for last! This was incredible. I was talking to a friend about how neither of us had ever had the courage to try chilli hot chocolate, so she decided to give it a go! I had a sip and it was delicious. I wasn't too sure what I was expecting, but this is way better than what I thought it would be. Sipping it gives you the warm, delicious hot chocolate taste before the spice kicks in as you swallow it, tickling your throat! Sounds odd, but that's how I can best describe it. I definitely recommend it!

Cocolat is one of those great places for a quick sweet fix and I love it for their delicious drinks!

Another place I would recommend. Just be sure to avoid the macarons! 

Overall, 8/10 (points deducted this time round due to the horrible macarons).

TGI Friday's!

To kickstart my blog, I thought I'd start with a post about one of my many loves in life; food!
(please excuse the quality of the photographs, I was only equipped with my trusty iPhone)

Yesterday was my Daddy's birthday! As a family, we went to Marion shopping centre and I convinced everyone to have dinner at TGI Friday's. Just a very brief history of this restaurant; TGI Friday's is an American restaurant chain which opened up in Marion in 2011/2012 (I think, don't quote me on it!). The restaurant is situated on the first floor of the shopping complex, by the carpark.

Above the entrance

Upon entry of the restaurant, the first thing I noticed was the decor. There were things adorning the walls such as surf boards, electric guitars, ukeleles, pictures of Elvis Presley, and even a bicycle! This really helped give a very casual and relaxed feel to the entire place. Adding to this atmosphere, rather than having tables like most ordinary restaurants, TGI's had booths of black wood (?) and red leather, which were very comfy to sit on! The place was packed, but we were lucky enough to be seated within 2-3 minutes of arriving by the lovely and very cheery staff. I also noticed that there was a bar, but being the still young 17 year old that I am, I wouldn't have been able to do much there!

Table arrangements

So, the menu. Let's just say I had the hardest time trying to decide what I wanted to have for dinner!
There were steaks, salads, pastas, burgers, Tex Mex and grill options.... and they all sounded so good! I ended up settling with the Championship BBQ Pork Cutlet and a side of the House Salad, and a Virgin Pina Colada to drink. Our food arrived about 15-20 minutes after ordering and smelt pretty spectacular!

Championship BBQ Pork Cutlet with onion rings, cheddar cheese mash and championship BBQ sauce $30.95

 [From the left] House salad $9.95 

Shanghai Chicken Salad $21.75 

Jack Daniels Half Rack Ribs & Shrimp $34.95

TGI Friday's Shrimp $28.95

[From the left] Virgin Pina Colada $6.95

Strawberry Surprise $6.95

My pork dish was delicious! The pork cutlet was cooked to perfection and the cheesy mash was oh so good. Would've loved it if it was a bit smoother as I found that there were chunks present, but that could just be my personal preference. The onion rings were also crunchy and nicely seasoned. However I am a bit suspicious about the 'championship BBQ sauce'. It tasted good, but it reminded me very much of the BBQ sauce you can get at McDonalds. Now, I haven't eaten fast food for a good 7 or 8 years now, but the flavour of that sauce isn't one which I can forget! 

All the other meals were pretty tasty, from what the rest of my family said. I tried a bit of Mum's salad, which was very refreshing and I quite enjoyed the dressing. I tasted the famous Jack Daniel's sauce on Dad's dish, and I loved it! Very rich and flavoursome, but (in my opinion) best enjoyed in small portions. My sister's shrimp dish was average. The shrimp was cooked nicely, but the 'cocktail sauce' that it came with tasted suspiciously of straight sweet chilli sauce. The House salad was simply salad veggies chopped up and thrown onto a plate. I would've loved a dressing to go with it. The mocktails were both lovely in flavour. However, my Virgin Pina Colada was probably 60% ice, so it was a bit annoying to drink!

By the time we'd finished our meals, food babies were already forming in our stomachs so we didn't even bother with desserts.

TGI Friday's gave me a very good first impression and I will definitely be back to sample more of their menu! I would definitely recommend it for people who enjoy casual dining.

Overall, 8.5/10.

Vy

xo

A Warm Welcome!

Hi everyone,

Welcome to Vy Says... 

My name is Vy. Pronounced 'v-ee'. Rhymes with 'me'.

I have a love of travelling, fashion, beauty, music and food.
I'm also secretly a bit of physics geek and just enjoy studying the subject so much! Particularly quantum physics.
I'm a proud Radelaidean (Adelaide born and bred!) and hope to be able to showcase the best that Adelaide has to offer!

Look forward to my future posts! I have lots and lots of ideas for this blog.

Vy
xo