Vegas: Ellis Island adventure

This is in part a story about the Ellis Island casino, but also it's kind of not. It's a bit of a convoluted story, I suppose. You see, our good friend Epic Beard Louie recently did a show at the Huntridge Tavern where he and Antho got to hang out and reconnect a bit, and it was awesome! Good times. This, perhaps not surprisingly, lead to them wanting to hang out again in the near future as they were reminded of their friendship from yonder-year, back in a previous tense where they worked side by side (or at least in relatively close proximity) for hours and hours every week as colleagues in a call center. They've hit a couple of open mic nights and things over the years, but it's always nice to catch up with a friend you don't get to see too often, isn't it? So, they agreed to get together and meet for a meal and drinks at Ellis Island, a small local casino just off the strip. It may be attracting more of the tourist crowd these days, but for as long as I've known the place it was staunchly a local's haunt with it's cheap on-site brewed beer, old Vegas steak / rib / seafood dinner specials in their steakhouse, and karaoke I never went to (but Antho was a fan). 

I've always enjoyed their cheap beer specials, featuring the beers they brew on-site with their own small brewery. It used to be $2 or $3 for a pint, I believe, but maybe I'm getting senile in my old age (my birthday is coming up and it's making me acutely aware of my mortality, I'm afraid). And maybe in it's heyday, Ellis Island was the most popping place to be if you wanted to rub elbows with the elite...but these days it's a little more rough around the edges. Last time I, personally, set foot on the premises I found the parking lot nearly unnavigable (in my little Volvo box!) and the proximity to what seemed highly indicative of a hooker-motel to be quite a bit skeevy... but it's hard to resist cheap brews and chews, right? And it had been years! So, Antho happily agreed to pop over to Ellis Island with his good buddy. And he had fun. He got some great photographs. Had an overpriced White Russian.  But, after delivering my 50/50 burger (half bacon, half beef), he walked Louie back to his car and tried to re-enter the casino premises, he was barked at by a gruff security woman who told him in no uncertain terms he was no longer welcome on premises. 

To be clear, Antho is a charming and friendly young man. He tries very hard to be open and cheerful with most everyone he meets. While he does drink, these days, it's rarely more than a single drink or two and he never gets belligerent in public, so there's no reason to believe he acted poorly or out of line. During his time inside the casino, no one ever approached him to say he had done anything wrong either, and he had spent a fair bit of money on food and beverages during his time there over the course of the evening. The sudden turn around of this woman shouting at him to leave the premises after escorting his pal to his vehicle seemed unfounded, and quite frankly upset Antho a lot. He was perplexed, and we had discussed going to the place together to check it out for nostalgia's sake prior to the security woman telling him to vamoose. 

He reached out to Ellis Island via their Facebook page and they got back to him pretty quickly. From there he was able to get ahold of their head of security, who assured him that no papers had been processed that night evicting anyone from the premises permanently and the woman was tossing around her authority without merit. After a brief discussion with the guy, Antho was told he was absolutely welcome back on premises at any time and that if any issues arise to call the head of security directly on his personal cell-phone. So in roughly the course of an hour, hour and a half or so, Antho was unceremoniously told that he was unfairly and unjustly 86'd from the premises of a business he had just given lots of cash, then welcomed back with open arms by the head of security. What a wild ride! 

I'm a bit torn on whether we'll be stopping by now... Nostalgia is great and the 50/50 burger was pretty damn delicious, lukewarm, despite my neurotic preference for scalding hot foods or bust... Such blatant abuses of power are not a nice addition to an evening out, and while we were assured by the head of security that we had his backing should we ever want to give them our cash again, we can't feel confident that we won't run into the same woman and have a negative experience or anything. Bummer. 

At least Antho got some cool photos along the way!

Skincare review: Tony Moly "I'm Real" Broccoli Vitality

When I lived in Seoul, I may have dispensed a rather ridiculous amount of my discretionary spending on sheet masks, then gone through the bother of hauling them back in my hilariously (and expensively) over-stuffed luggage. If you've never heard of them (are you living on Titan?), sheet masks are face-shaped cloth or paper masks saturated with serums and ointments meant to give your skin an intensive dose of healing goodness. There seem to be as many sheet masks in existence as there are sea shells scattered along a beach, each purporting to be the best at whatever it claims to do. Need a brightening super-dose of vitamin c to wake up your skin? There are countless options. How about some snail mucin to soothe anxious, irritated skin? Boy howdy are you in luck! Every skin care/cosmetics company in Korea seems to be in on the sheet mask game, and compared to what I'd have paid for them stateside they are SUPER cheap to purchase when in Korea. When in Seoul... 

Each company throws out new and innovative products trying to get an edge on the competition, so you'll often find some surprising inclusions in the serums. Snail mucin is old news and not particularly shocking to me- in fact, it's an ingredient my skin seems to absolutely adore, so I seek it out. Broccoli essence is a little more novel... but does it work?

Tony Moly is one of the more well-known Korean Beauty brands in the US, or was one of the first I was introduced to through beauty blogs, at least. They have adorable hand creams shaped like bananas or Pokemon, and their aesthetic seems a bit more young and youthful than some of the other brands. That can be a good or bad thing depending on what you're looking for. As much as I love clever, cute details in the packaging of products, if it's not doing it's job or serving practical purposes I'm not going to love it. This sheet mask, as you can see in the photos above, didn't fit my face very well. It clung on my forehead and cheeks alright, though it tore near one of my eyes when I tried to adjust the fit slightly. The serum was very watery, which I didn't particularly mind because the serum itself felt nice and soothing on my skin. I woke up with a nice, calm glow that wasn't greasy, so the serum worked well enough. The mask itself felt cheap, though, and didn't add any real sense of luxury to the self-care ritual. Also, that package is kind of obnoxious to me. I get the uniqueness and shelf-appeal of having the unique shapes jutting from the top as opposed to the standard pouch, but it makes it harder to store. I like to keep my sheet masks in the fridge because they feel that much nicer going on chilled, and I imagine it helps to preserve any volatile or less shelf-stable ingredients. It gets hot in Vegas, and even with our air-con on it doesn't prevent our bathroom from getting warmer than I really care to make my cosmetics. Fitting this in with the rest of my sheet mask horde means that there's a weirdly shaped end sticking out somewhere, and makes it longer/taller than my other masks, so some of the places the others would have fit no problem can be meddlesome with this shape.

As far as this mask goes, I don't think I would repurchase it. You can find a set of Tony Moly sheet masks with this one included for about $18 on Wal-mart's website, which isn't a terrible price for 11 masks. If you're looking for an affordable way to pamper your skin and get into the sheet mask game, it's not the worst possible place to start, but it's not the best, either. 

💙💚

Overall I'd give it a 2 out 5.

I like the serum, but the mask feels cheap and doesn't adhere to the face well. Any adjustments to the fit once it's on could cause it to tear or lose adhesion, and it never really clung to my jaw to begin with. There are much better options out there.

Thanks for stopping by!

💖

XOXO,

NAU

Makeup: Lime Crime Cashmere Velvetine Matte Liquid Lipstick review and swatches

One of my all time favorite things in life probably, like, ever is to come home and find a package waiting for me. It doesn't matter whether it's something as mundane as ordering vitamins from Vitacost or a scarf that your friend overseas was kind enough to send to you (thank you so much, Sam!!), there's something undeniably delightful about coming home (where the cute fluffy pets and boyfriend are) to find a mysterious box (or envelope/bubblemailer) with your name on it. In this case, Lime Crime goes discreet and mails your beauty booty in a simple white box. Don't let the plain exterior fool you, though, as upon lifting the lid you're greeted by the pretty blue lid with unicorns and floral loveliness. It's all pastel and pretty, with sky blue tones on the lid complimented by the soft pink paper encasing your goods. The insert is lovely, too. 

In this order I got three shades: cashmere, pink velvet, and beet it. This was my first ever order from Lime Crime and Cashmere was a free gift with purchase as a limited promotional offer, so I found it easier to justify paying 30-some-odd of my hard earned bucks for lipstick when I got three instead of two. I always try to keep an eye out for sales so I can stretch my beauty investments further, especially when purchasing from brands that cost a pretty penny. I know for some people $15-20 for a single lipstick is a laughably small consideration, but I live in the real world where I've got rent, bills, and shit to take care of so I try to put some thought into where my money goes. Lime Crime is vegan and cruelty free, which is fantastic. 

From top to bottom:

Cashmere (greige)

Pink Velvet (true pink)

Beet It (deep berry pink)

described by Lime Crime:

"Long lasting matte liquid lipstick in a deep berry-pink hue.

What it does: Makes your lips feel luxurious and velvety, like a rose. Lasts all day with minimal touch-ups, even through meals.

What it won't do: Bleed or transfer. Dry out properly moisturized lips. Ruin the perfect kiss.

TIPS: Apply lip balm 15 minutes prior; pat off excessive oils with a tissue. Apply Velvetines directly to lips (use a lip brush to refine edges). Remove at the end of the day with waterproof makeup remover or oil."

Review and photos continue after the cut!

Youth Hostel Central, 116 Turk, San Francisco

After all the fun we had at the Exploratorium, we headed back to the Tenderloin to check in at Youth Hostel Central. I've heard a lot of overblown warnings about "bad" neighborhoods in the past and never really felt threatened or uncomfortable in any area of Hong Kong, Seoul, Japan, London or Tijuana that I explored but perhaps I was lucky. For the most part, that was true enough of the Tenderloin, too, though I did notice some guys tried to intimidate Antho as they walked past us…

AirBnB Review

For our last two nights in the Bay Area we chose to stay in West Oakland, just across the Bay from the Embarcadero area with the Jack London Square ferry being a reasonable walk away. Having never used AirBnB we decided to give it a shot as the rates were quite a bit more reasonable than the hotels in the area and we'd heard positive things from people who had used the site. There were a lot of places to choose from but we decided to stay with Jackie and Christian in their lovely home. It takes a special kind of individual to open their own abodes and welcome travelers into their space and our hosts were exceptionally kind. They know the area quite well as proud residents and provide maps, guides, or advice. They graciously offer the use of their kitchen and laundry facilities, so if you're traveling for a long stint it's quite refreshing to have the option to prepare a home cooked meal or some freshly laundered clothes.