Beauty Product Review : Burt's Bees Lip Balm w/ Pomegranate Oil

Burt's Bees : Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil [4.25g/0.15 oz]
Beauty Stars : 4.5

Review : The Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil is 100% natural and not tested on animals.  I love using this lip balm daily because it contains no petroleum or parabens like some other lip balms do.  We ingest a lot of lip product over years of application (as some of us use some form of lip product everyday) so it's best not to use anything with harmful chemicals in them.  I like the scent and it gives a slight tint of colour to your lips too. Pomegranate oil is also a great anti-oxidant. This lip balm helps to keep your lips moisturized for most of the day. I even use it in my makeup kit sometimes. 

Beauty Review : Maggie Ng
Note : For any beauty questions or product submissions, please email : maggie@maggieng.com

Beauty Product Review : MAC Blot Powder

MAC : Blot Powder [12g/0.42 oz]
Beauty Stars : 4.5

Review : The MAC Blot Powder is one of my makeup kit must-haves.  It’s a pressed powder that’s great for absorbing oil and mattifying the face without really adding extra layers or cakey-ness to the skin.  It typically does not add any noticeable texture or colour to the skin, even though it does currently come in 5 different shades.  I probably use “Medium” the most.  It’s great for touchups, especially in the summer and during bridal season.  It’s also great for setting foundation. It can be applied with a makeup brush or powder puff (which comes with it already).  I’d suggest to use a blot paper first to absorb the majority of the oil on your skin, then gently apply the blot powder for a beautiful finish.


Beauty Review : Maggie Ng
Note : For any beauty questions or product submissions, please email : maggie@maggieng.com

Music Review : Soulive

The TD Toronto Jazz Festival is one of the big events that start in the summer. As great as it is, the city can be more experimental, after all this is Toronto. We are one of the most multicultural cities in the world, so when it comes to music, we have listeners for all types of musical styles. Torontonians value cultural diversity. This city has the most mixed couples in all of Canada. Walk down the street and you will see a petite Asian girl with a tall Caucasian boy, there will also be a tall Caucasian girl with a short Asian boy. We are not constrained by arbitrary boundaries; instead we embrace all that different cultures have to offer. So when it comes to music and the TD Toronto Jazz Festival, let’s bring it on.

Soulive funked up Toronto this year at the Horseshoe Tavern. As a venue for musical talent, the Horseshoe has some pretty choice bands but as a bar, everything is sticky, everything is black for a reason and the bathrooms floors are wet. But that’s the magic of it, funky music in a funky place, a great band playing in one of the oldest bars in the city.

Photo Credit : Chad Smith

Soulive brought in a Saturday night crowd with a Monday night 9:30pm start time. All types of people showed up for the show, from Humber music students to jazz aficionados. The place was a mob of bouncing heads and waving arms. By the end of the first song there was a heat wave in the bar. By the end of the second song, everyone was soaked through in sweat and not just your own. When the air conditioning came on for the second set, it made no difference; the devil himself would have claimed it to be a touch warm and returned home.

Photo Credit : Allison Murphy

 Alan Evans is lightning fast on the drums, Eric Krasno grooves at his own pace and Neal Evans is a sorcerer on keys. Combine the three and spells are cast, people are captured, while time becomes forgotten.  Imagine what would happen if Soulive shared the stage with Karl Denson and the Tiny Universe? Throw in the Dirty Dozen Brass Band from New Orleans or the Parliament Funkedelics crew for jokes and the mystery to extraterrestrial beings will be solved as a ring of UFOs will circle the earth to catch the show. The TD Toronto Jazz Festival needs to amalgamate talent. That is what’s missing and is what will put the Toronto Jazz Festival on the map. With such a great diversity and mixture of culture in our city we need the jazz festival to reflect what Toronto is all about by having all different artists showcase their talent on the same stage with each other.

Here's an example from Youtube if Soulive collaborated with Karl Denson:

Words : Tobin Cheung

Beauty Product Review : Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara

Maybelline : Lash Stiletto Mascara [6.5 ml]
Beauty Stars : 3.7

Review : The Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara will lengthen slightly, but you’ll need a couple of layers for it to look nice.  (FYI, don't let it dry between coats.) It’s supposed to give a glossy sheen, but I find with the Brownish Black, you don’t notice the glossiness as much. You'll see the patented shine more so on Very Black.  It has a bit of a strong smell, I thought it had gone bad but I read some other reviews on the same mascara and others have agreed with the strong scent.  I think the packaging is very clever and sleek though.  Not sure if I’d buy it again mostly because of the scent, but it’s still a decent mascara.

I love the commercial though :

Beauty Review : Maggie Ng
Note : For any beauty questions or product submissions, please email : maggie@maggieng.com

Short Story : In One Moment [Page 6]

IN ONE MOMENT [Page 6] by Tobin Cheung

I’m not saying that this woman is the "One". I’m not saying that she isn’t either. It’s just that I feel a strange, perhaps lustful desire for her. Her charm is that she appears both strong and personable. At first glance, she looks like management material in her designer eyewear and pulled back hair. By the way she continually twirls a ring around her finger, idling is not one of her strong points. She gives off a take charge, no fuss image with a self assured poise.

After a more in depth look, one can easily see that the hard lines is a mirage for a girl in a pair of jogging pants lounging around on a lazy Sunday morning enjoying the softness of her pillow and the warmth of the sun while listening to her favorite tunes. 

A sudden feeling of discouragement rushes through me, causing me to check for a wedding band. This is of vital importance and utmost necessary if the fantasy is to continue and remain plausible. Unable to see past the two siblings feuding not long ago, now dancing about, I raise my attention to find management looking right at me. It was one of those situations when a stare becomes a form of telepathic communication, where the victim feels the invasion and turns to find the cause. In this case, I am the cause. Caught off guard, my face defaults to a child’s "Oops,  I’ve been a bad boy" expression. She does not look away and I fear that I may be in trouble. Gathering my senses I wield a poker face, then a look of innocence, followed by an "I didn’t do it" to complete the sequence.

She remains expressionless. The only other thing left for me to do is to give her my best smile. To my surprise, she smiles back. And I am put on the spot to interpret the gesture. I wanted it to be suggestive to something more promising, but if I believed that, I would be lying to myself. Realistically, it could be nothing more than a courtesy smile, just meaningless niceness. No, not from her, I couldn’t see her bothering with pointless pleasantries, so I waited. Just as she turns away, she gives me one last look. And I catch the smirk behind those lips. She approves or at least finds me amusing. Regardless, I escape with my ego intact.

“Check, one two, can we have the brass section run through sound check.”

The heat is at last becoming bearable as the evening's breeze slowly begins to infiltrate the grounds. Tonight’s talents are preparing to go on stage. These are the artists of twilight. Performing only under diffused lights, they play homage to the minor tones underlying the voice of jazz. Eyes closed to the audience, concentrating only on the music so that every note is as vital as every breath, the magic they stew is something worth treasuring.

I absentmindedly flip the empty pop can into the garbage. My attention is in the direction of the vendors. I am curious to see if I can spot Liz. It turns out she is in plain view standing on recently manicured grass trying on a pink cowboy hat with an unlit cigarette jetting out between her fingers. The center of attention until she needs to be found, then she is as inconspicuous as an ant.

Posing in front of her is a victim of modern day advertising, a muscular man in full body athletic attire with matching runners. He is holding a light, a flame out for her. She tilts her head and sucks back on the cigarette, blowing smoke out the corner of her mouth. He is not her type, especially with his bald head and ample facial hair. Hair on his face does not offset the lack of hair on his scalp. Jocks never manage to keep her entertained. They pay too much attention to their own bodies and not enough on hers. I try waving my arm to get her attention.

[To be continued...]