Gwendolyn Marshmallow | Beauty & Lifestyle

GWENFOOD | SHAKE SHACK #THEALSHAYAFOODTOUR IN DUBAI

September 15, 2015

Shake Shack is a hip, counter-serve chain for gourmet takes on fast-food classics like burgers & frozen custard.

First things first…

HOW WRONG CAN YOU GO WITH BURGERS????

That’s what alot of people think. But HECK NO! As a burger person, I can be quite picky of what a good burger is. And i think many of the burger lovers out there agrees with me too. But then again, as I always say, everything I write about is based on my own opinion and I believe everyone has their own personal preference.

Service overall is very quick and orders were made well also. Love that they display the specialties. It looks like a fast food kind similar to Mcdonalds or My Burger Lab, where you line up and make your order at the counter, pick up your meal and then go to your table. Well, why waste labor serving you when they can be at the kitchen giving your quality good burgers right???

There’s a huge “PICKUP HERE” sign that nobody can miss. LOL – Unless you are blind.

Shake Shack is famous for their burgers even though their intro states that it was originally hot dogs. We ordered a variety of burgers from the single patty to double patty and one thing I could say is that the price was high for the portion that was being served. (Then again, it’s Dubai. Everything is pricey for Malaysians. )

Shakemeister – Cheeseburger with marinated shallots

I can never decide if I want to go for the portobello mushrooms or the shallots burger. But both tasted amazing, even though it looks sloppy, but it isn’t. #thumbsup

In terms of taste, it was amazing and I can see myself coming back often for more servings and bringing friends over as well.

Burgers in Malaysia have been growing rapidly for the past 2 years and it is important to not have the burger too oily or too sloppy as that would drive the consumers away.

My favourite of all the burgers is the Shack Stack – which is the Cheeseburger and Shroom Burger added together. 2 in 1!! Plus point!

Dessert was interesting as it was a Red Velvet Concrete and I believe it’s something you won’t get in Malaysia as well. The chocolate one was too much for my taste buds but the Red velvet was amazing.

Overall, Shake Shack is a place that I would go often as a meal with friends or family as I love burgers.

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GWENFOOD | IHOP #THEALSHAYAFOODTOUR IN DUBAI

September 15, 2015

Pancakes and waffles, who doesn’t love them? For 57 years, the IHOP (International House of Pancakes) family restaurant chain is now world famous for it’s pancake. Asides that, they also carry a variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner.

To date, there are 1,650 IHOP restaurants and more to come!

I’ve heard about IHOP some time ago (who can forget that smiley face logo) but never gotten the chance to try them out. So this time round, I was really looking forward to it. Hoping it would be as great as I expected as well.

Before stepping in, I notice that the restaurant had a nice atmosphere. It wasn’t fully closed up, and we notice that it’s quite open which has pros and cons to it.

Pros:

Whenever people walk pass, they can smell the amazing food and be tempted to try it out.
You can see what other order, and have a “sneak-peak” before deciding what you want to eat.

Cons:

If you get the seats that are facing outside, you don’t get to enjoy your food in private1
People can look at you, and see you eat. Which might be uncomfortable for certain people
If it’s a full house, and people are lining up. You might get strangers standing next to you, watching you eat for a full 5-10 minutes, hearing your conversation while waiting to get into the restaurant.

I was lucky to get one of the seats inside. Service was quick and menus were given to us immediately.

Although IHOP is famous for it’s Original Buttermilk Pancake, they do serve their pancakes and their breakfast all-day. So if you crave an American Breakfast for dinner, no problem! *not 24 hours though.* Noticed they were two kinds of menus, their ALL-DAY-DINING menu and their LUNCH & DINNER menu. I know you might be curious does that mean you can’t have the Lunch & Dinner menu during breakfast? Nope. you can. But i guess, they somehow like to split the menu. #LOL

ALL-DAY MENU

One thing I love about the menu is that – they give a clear description on what the dish in. Many times you get fancy names, but not a clear description on what would be served. This is a plus point to people who are allergic to certain food.

I ordered the Ice Tea as it’s my all time favourite drink but sadly, such a simple drink could taste so different and some place could screw it up as well. #TrustMe

ICED TEA SERVED WITH SYRUP

The thing about tea is that, it’s meant to cleanse and rejuvenate you. It’s important to me especially if I’m having a heavy meal or an oily meal, I like to have some tea to go with it. If tea is bad because it taste weird, salty, sweet or some weird funny taste, the last thing i want is not being able to enjoy my drink. The teas (hot or cold) are from tea bags, so it’s nice and brewed, rather than the carton drinks that many Malaysians do that.

We were so excited and the menu was so appealing we didn’t really know what to order. Luckily there were quite a few of us to share. If I were alone, I wouldn’t be able to finish and I won’t know what to order because the portion is just HUGEE.

From left to right – ( Chicken Fajita Omelette, Garden Omelette, Beef Bacon Temptation Omelette)

The omelette is an interesting dish as usually you would assume that omelette is small and just eggs. Maybe cheese and mushroom. But little did you know there are THESSEEEE. #interesting

DID YOU KNOW??? Each omelette contains 6 regular sized eggs!! So much protein. #LOL

Even though we had three omelette, I would have assumed that they would taste the same. But NOOOOOO, it was three different taste on the plate.

Chicken Fajita Omelette – This omelette taste like the mexican tacos, with the chicken, tomatoes, cheese and sour cream. It is savoury but yet fresh. Very interesting taste as I’ve began to have a liking towards mexican food.

Garden Omelette – This one taste really light and fresh, like an ordinary omelette with tomatoes, cheese and capsicum.

Beef Bacon Temptation Omelett e – I know this is Beef Bacon, and Bacon is meant to be pig. But trust me, THIS??? You can’t even tell it’s beef, the Bacon has such a strong taste that even if you take bites of the egg without the bacon, you can still taste the saltness from the Bacon. #amazing #drools

I was really curious how the insides were, and how this omelette is made. The layers were made with a consistent thickness and wrapped nicely. Many times, wrapped food tend to have fall out and it turns really messy and unpleasant to eat.

We also ordered the Egg Benedict which is something I believe everyone loves. The star of the Egg Benedict is the poached egg, but unfortunately this poached egg was slightly cooked, so it was more of a half-boil egg state rather than a runny poached eggs.

PANCAKES!!!!!

From left to right – Cinn-a-stack Pancakes, Original Buttermilk Pancakes, New York Cheesecake Pancakes

Sad i couldn’t try them all, but THREE is like OMGAMAZING already. Here are a few points for the pancakes.

THEY ARE FLUFFY!!!! One thing I am disappointed about most pancakes is that it deflates when it gets cold, but these?? After sitting on the table for 20 minutes, the pancakes were cold, but still fluffy. Thumbs up for that because I know my friends and I use to sit for a long time and slowly finish up our food. So quality is important.
The whipping cream melts in 1 MINUTE. #seriously Cannot take picture d. LOL. because it melts so fast.
New York Cheesecake pancake didn’t really taste like cheesecake. Tbh, i could barely taste the cheesecake. So if you were worried, don’t need to.
Cinn-a-stack Pancakes were awesome, they had a cream cheese icing which was really addictive. I’ve been very cautious about ordering something with cinnamon because most of the time they overload it with cinnamon and it ends up being over-flavored and I feel like I’m eating purely cinnamon.

Asides waffles, they do have Belgium Waffles too! I was slightly disappointed that it wasn’t crispy and it was soft. Funny thing is that, this Belgium Waffle is sweet and savoury at the same time. It comes with whip cream, and blueberry on the waffles, and next to it is sunny side up eggs (you can have your preference), turkey bacon and veal sausages. I would have preferred if the savouries were in another plate, At least the egg and whip cream/ice cream wouldn’t merge together.

Now, pancakes and waffles are like OMGAMAZING. but with crepe!!! BONUS POINTS! Not just any crepe. but NUTELLA CREPE!!!! #canthaveenough

Nutella can never go wrong and I could just have this everyday #byebyediet

Finally, we ordered the Surf & T urf as I wanted to try out the steak. #steaklover

The presentation was overwhelming. I think they should have used different plates/bigger plates and have the sauce separated in a smaller bowl as sometimes the sauce can ruin the whole dish.

Overall, the place is really relaxing with the variety of latest pop music they play at the perfect volume as well. The temperature of the restaurant was slightly cool, but it could also depends on where you are seated and if the air-conditioner is blasting right at you. One thing I love about the place is that the seating arrangements are quite spaced out and they are many spaces for prams, strollers or just people walking by. I hate it when the tables and chairs are so crammed to each other that if I have to go to the toilet, I have to walk through a maze and figure out which path I can walk by without awkwardly saying “excuse me” at every table I cross.

The variety of the menu given is really good, not just from breakfast, lunch and dinner, but also from a light meal and heavy meal.

Would I visit again? – Yes, unfortunately, it’s not in South Easy Asia (yet). Hopefully they will bring it in soon!! Yay or nay? Share with me your thoughts!

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GWENBEAUTY | MONTHLY FAVOURITES - AUGUST 2015

September 01, 2015

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GWENBEAUTY | URBAN DECAY NAKED SMOKY PALETTE

August 25, 2015

Most of you would have heard/seen about Urban Decay’s Naked Smoky Palette that would be heading into Sephora Malaysia in TWO DAYS on the 27th AUGUST 2015!! (I’m surprised they didn’t call in the Naked Palette 4. LOL)

The size of the palette is similar to the Naked Palette 1, 2 and 3. But the color this time is a slightly different range.

They look so pretty that I’ve so tempted to get one myself!! As usually, i bet the colors are really rich, pigmented and long lasting! One thing I’ll say for sure is that Urban Decay has one of the best eye-shadows! I can’t even decide which palette is my favourite because they bring a different shade and hue to me.

I haven’t gotten my hands on them yet but Karen from makeupbeautyandblog.com has reviewed and swatched them. You can check the colors and her thoughts on them here.

Photo credit to makeupbeautyandblog.com

For those who are much more curious on the shade comparison and wouldn’t know which to get. Glamour has done a comparison swatch nicely here

Photo credit to Glamour.com

From the top we have the Naked Basic 1 and Naked Basic 2.

Second row we have the Naked Palette 1

Third Row we have the Naked Palette 2

Forth Row we have the Naked Palette 3

Finally, it’s the Naked Smoky Palette (They should have named it Naked Palette 4. LOL)

As you can see the comparison swatch above, the Naked Basic 1 and 2 are half the size of the bigger palettes and Naked Basic 2 is the ONLY palette that is fully matte. Unfortunately it does come with a Black or darker eyeshadow. That would be PERFECT. Naked Original is more towards the nude/brown warm tone. Naked 2 is a cooler tone of nude. Naked 3 is a rosy pink tone and the Naked Smoky Palette has darker color tones.

I’ve had friends telling me that the Urban Decay eyeshadows that they’ve tried/used usually have fallouts and smudges, but so far, i’ve never had ANY of those issues. Maybe it could be the brush/application or even the primer. If anyone’s interested, let me know and maybe I’ll do a tutorial the next time to show how I apply my eyeshadows :)

If you’re in Malaysia and you’re interested, you can get them for RM199 from sephora :)

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GWENBEAUTY || LANCOME GALATÉE CONFORT

June 07, 2015

Cleansing is a very important step of our daily routine regardless how many steps of makeup /skincare you have and regardless of age and sex. Cleansing is a must step for everyone. You clean your hands, your body, you hair, so you gotta clean your face too.

Choosing the right cleanser is also important as you need to understand your skin well and what is your routine like.

Ive got sensitive skin with minor Rosecea so it is very important for me to have a cleanser that cleans well but yet doesnt strip all that oil and skin away. Unfortunately i cant use a scrub or exfoliate everyday due to my skin sensitivity. So i always have to do a double cleanse step also due to me wearing all the layers of makeup.

Ive recently stubled upon a new product. The Lancome Galatee Confort – Comforting Milky Cream Cleanser.

Lancome is quite a brand famous for many products but this is one product that is not highly advertised, reviewed or discussed. Hence I’ve decided to do a review on this and since its in my monthly favourites. Thats a plus point.

It comes in the standard skincare bottle with two sizes 200ml and 400ml.

With their standard pump which i love. Cause its different than the usual pump and this saves alot of space and travel friendly. I hate the pumps that has a long stick pump and whenever i travel im damn afraid my stuff might push and accidentally pump liquid out #triedandtested

In this review, ill also be showing how effective this cleanser is as a makeup remover and as a face cleanser.

As a face cleanser, it works well and cleanse well with a layer of moisture so it does not give you that tight tacky feeling that everyone hates.

On my hand, i have makeup base, two layers of foundation, blusher, bronzer, concealers, correctors, waterproof eyeliner, matte lipsticks, lip stain and lip crayon. On top of everything, setting powder. (My usual everyday look)

Let the magic begin

I didnt have to gently scrub, just madsage throughly without water .

And tadah.. looks red because of the lipstick and the lipstains. You could see that the water proof eyeliner no longer is visible.

As my lipstick and lipstains are long-wear and waterproof, my only concerns now was “damn…is this gonna cause my hand to be stained in red?”

I rinsed it with water and massaged gently, I was literally “omg. What sorcerer is this????”

It works so well that not a stain of lipstick, eyeliners or any makeup was found on my hand.

This shows how well this product works and cleans deeply as well.

Ending this post with a selfie.

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GWENBEAUTY|| ÉPURE AMINO HYDRO INTENSE CLEANSER

June 01, 2015

éPure has been one of my holy grail brand. Once again they have launched a product which is amazing. Few years back they started bringing in the éPure Membranous Jelly Masque which plays part of my weekly routine until today.

Introducing you the latest product – éPure Amino Hydro Intense Cleanser, a high performance soap-free cleanser derived from amino acid, hyaluronic acid, honey extract & XERADIN™. Highly active substance with a 24-hour lasting moisturizing effects to effectively eliminates impurities and make-up.

Apparently it claims to lock moisture for 24 hours.

AMINO ACID:
Essential skin structural support, building blocks of protein. A moist agent in the transport and the storage of nutrients, especially collagen and elastin.

HYALURONIC ACID:
A vital cushion to retain water, fill spaces between cells to ensure hydration and elasticity.

HONEY EXTRACT:
Clarifying as it opens up pores to ease unclog, it comes with antibacterial properties and hefty antioxidants to restore healthy skin.

MORUS BOMBYCIS MULBERRY ROOTS EXTRACT:
An anti-ageing substance to prevent melanin formation, hence lighten skin and grant youthful appearance.

XERADIN™:
Offering long-lasting moisturizing effect to protect natural complexion for smooth and healthy skin.

All the claims above, let’s see if it does what it says and claims;

The first time I used it, I used it as an individual cleanser after i’ve removed my makeup, for the first five days. And the 2nd week – I use it together with my Clarisonic Mia2.

For the size of 100ml, it stands on shelf nicely, made out of plastic. I love the pump, it doesn’t feel cheap, not too soft or too hard. And best of all is that the product doesn’t stay at the pump and hardens for the next use. #annoyingthingsaboutpumps

A little goes a long way with this product. Which is a good thing because this means it’s worth more than what you pay – not using too much every time.

The product is a clear and white, lathers really well and it really cleans

One thing that I hate about cleansers is that tight squeaky feeling. Some people may love it, but it’s a personal preference which i dislike as it shows signs of dehydration and sensitive skin. This cleanser on that other hand does not make your skin tight but yet cleans your face. – Deep cleans but perfect moist.

Cleaning our face is important, but stripping off everything off your skin is just very unhealthy for a everyday routine.

After removing my makeup with my cleansing oil or creamy cleanser, I would use the éPure Amino Hydro Intense Cleanser to wash my face as the final cleansing step as this not only cleans any leftovers but also gives me a moisture boost with repairing and whitening benefits.

Would i recommend this? Yes

At the price of RM59.90, you don’t have to pay a hefty price and to get such an amazing product.

Find out more: https://www.facebook.com/epureskin

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GWENBEAUTY || Laniege Lip Sleeping Mask

May 09, 2015

I was super duper excited when I found out that Laniege has launched their latest product – Lip Sleeping Mask. As you guys should know by now. I’m obsessed with lip product, especially lip sticks – in the color RED.

So, my lips to me are very important. I know some people neglect them. Or may just apply a random lip balm over 20 times a day. The thing about lip balm is that; if you have to apply 20 times throughout the day when you are out. That’s one shitty lip balm. In my recent post here , I’ve reviewed my holy grail/current favourite lip balm (Bobbi Brown Lip Balm). I’ve tried from Dior to Chanel to MAC to NIVEA to Vaseline to Lip Ice to ECO to Burts Bees to Blistex to Carmex and many more. From drugstore to high end, i’ve gone through many of them. Of course there are some that works like (Blistex and Carmex) but both are unavailable in Malaysia.

When Laneige launch a lip sleeping mask. i was like “omgwtf is this?” After their launch, I’ve decided to try it out.

Before I start this review or ranting about this product, I would like to inform you that my lips are dry, chappy, cracked and just very very bad. I feel like my lips are peeling everyday. You know like a snake when it has to change it’s skin during a certain season/age? That’s my lips everyday wtf.

The Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask was also launched together with their all time favourite Water Sleeping Mask, but a newer formulation that is supposingly better.

My haul from Laneige launch. The basic travel set (I’ve always loved this. cheap, worth it and travel-friendly). With the Lip Sleeping Mask. I didn’t purchase the new Water Sleeping Mask. It wasn’t because I didn’t like it or didn’t feel like trying it (trust me i do!) it was just that i was in a hurry and the sales lady was very busy. So i decided to get it the next time.

The Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask is in a 20g decent size, packaging is amazing (glass tub). Comes with a plastic spatula. (yay! That means I dont’ have to dig my fingers into the tub)

The formulation : (it claims)

Achieve not only moisturised skin but lips too with the all-new LANEIGE Lip Sleeping Mask. Sleep your way to smooth and supple lips with the Moisture Wrap™, Berry Mix Complex™, and Vitamin C found in the Lip Sleeping Mask. The balm-like, sticky texture equipped with a sweet and fruit berry fragrance ensures that the mask stays on your lips throughout the night, giving you a special intensive care that gently removes dry, flaky skin on your lips.

Did it do that?

I’ve tried it on for a week, apparently, you’re not suppose to apply it every night. You only use it twice to three times PER WEEK. Not sure what happens if you apply every night though. LOL.

After the first night, my lips were definitely softer, my matte lipstick looks so much more better and it didn’t define my chappy dry lips.

here’s a demo AFTER i applied on the first night. (please ignore my 4 pimples)

Instantly, I could feel the moisture. When I applied it in the beginning, I felt like I was applying Lip Gloss. But better! Because lip gloss tend to be sticky and icky and just too thick. And it doesn’t blend in or absorb. But this. My Oh My! I wish this could be like a lip balm. It taste a little bit like raspberry (so it doesn’t have that bitter icky taste), it was more like a lip balm taste. After about 10 minutes, you can eat, lick your lips, smack your lips, kiss someone, and it will still stay there. The next morning you wake up. You have nice soft moistured baby lips. SO AMAZING RIGHT! 10/10 here.

For a quick fix in the morning, you may apply a super thin layer after you brush your teeth and let it set for about 10 minutes (at the moment you can do your hair/makeup) and then apply your lipstick.

For night time, you may apply a thick layer and go to sleep. You don’t even have to worry about it staining your pillow or teddy. :)

This product is available in most of the Laniege store in Malaysia, selling for RM70 (inclusive of GST).

You may find stay tuned and find out more information here.

Share with me your thoughts if you’ve tried this. Or which is your favourite lip balm?

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GWENFOOD | SHAKE SHACK #THEALSHAYAFOODTOUR IN DUBAI

GWENFOOD | IHOP #THEALSHAYAFOODTOUR IN DUBAI

GWENBEAUTY | MONTHLY FAVOURITES - AUGUST 2015

GWENBEAUTY | URBAN DECAY NAKED SMOKY PALETTE

GWENBEAUTY || LANCOME GALATÉE CONFORT

GWENBEAUTY|| ÉPURE AMINO HYDRO INTENSE CLEANSER

GWENBEAUTY || Laniege Lip Sleeping Mask

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