{ YUM! } Dinner Date at Modo Mio

So last night I treated my man to a lovely birthday dinner at Modo Mio- a modern Italian fine dining restaurant. This was my second time dining at Modo Mio and I have to say it was a much better experience than the previous. Not only did I have the best company but the food was significantly better! Since they do call themselves an Italian restaurant, I thought their pasta would be a great choice to try. I was very disappointed therefore steering away from this option last night.

Getting ready. My makeup and part of my outfit for the night! My go-to eye makeup look for a night out : )

Modo Mio has one of the best interiors I have ever seen for a restaurant. Absolutely stunning. Really elegant and classy.

Garlic bread for starters. So freakin' delicious! So much flavour and a great crunch to the bread. Love the sprinkle of parmesan.

My main- the pan fried barramundi fillet with eggplant sauce, garlic oil broccolini and crystal potato. The fish was cooked to absolute perfection! It was so soft and silky. Great amount of flavour in each of the components of the dish. Definitely recommend this one!

My boy's main- the black angus beef tenderloin, marsala wine sauce, winter vegetables and truffle flavoured crisps. The beef was cooked medium rare which was perfect. I tried the beef and it was so tender, still retaining its flavour and not dry at all. Nothing worse than over-cooked and dry meat! Wish they added more sauce though. 

Cocktails- his peach bellini and my strawberry & mint concoction. I recommend the strawberry cocktail- I don't exactly remember the ingredients except for the strawberries, mint and vodka. Not too strong which is great and really refreshing! We both didn't like the peach bellini- just too overpowering and strong. I didn't really taste any peach flavours either.

We shared the chocolate fondant and vanilla icecream for dessert. Delicious but not as yummy as the chocolate fondant at Koko Black which was richer in chocolate flavour! The chocolate oozey gooey centre at Koko Black was also way more epic, Modo Mio's was a tad runnier which I didn't care for. I want it gooey goddammit! 

For anyone interested, here is Modo Mio's site where you are able to view their menus and make online reservations which I highly recommend! Don't expect to turn up and get a table! Although on the pricier end of the scale, I will definitely return especially because of the high quality of food presented and the ambience.

Food: 4/5

Atmosphere: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Price: 3/5

That's all for now. Have a lovely week ahead!

xo Laura

{ STYLE } Now I Know

If you follow me on Instagram (laurasooji) you may remember I posted this OOTD. I guess you could call that a "teaser" to this full post right now! Sorry for the lateness, I forgot about these bunch of photos we took :( Anyway, I'm wearing the same shorts from Sugarlips that I wore on a previous outfit post which I shall link here. I like the elasticated band around the waist which makes them super comfortable and I love the flowy material and the print!

You can tell I styled these shorts in a more casual manner compared to my previous post which was full of colours and accessories. I also opted for my favourite military boots instead of my sleek Zara sandaled heels.

Bardot White Blouse, Different Strokes Shorts gifted to me by Sugarlips, Dotti Cardigan, Express Military Boots

Which outfit do you guys prefer? The more casual and comfortable style shown in this post or the more colourful and fashion-conscious outfit shown here. I would love to know what you guys think!

Thankyou for reading and visiting my blog!

xo Laura

* Disclaimer: The Sugarlips item was gifted to me and selected by me. *

{ STYLE } Caramel & Chocolate

I didn't intend in shooting an outfit of the night but the full length mirror in the bathroom was begging me to! By the way, I apologise for the not so super HQ photos! >.< As for the caramel coloured dress I'm wearing, it's actually a size too large for me, it's pretty long and goes past my knees so I just sinched it up using a similar coloured belt. I adore the diagonal hemline of this dress!

 

Going for silver-toned accessories this time which is a change from my usual golds!

ASOS Dress, G2000 Black Blazer, ZU Ankle Booties, Faux Snake Skin Clutch is a gift from my dearest Grandma, Accessories from eBAY and De Glen

Makeup for the night and cos' I love smothering you with my face MUAHAHA! jks -.-

And just to end on a sweet note (no pun intended :p), the perfect dessert on a cold night. A Chocolate Moelleux from Koko Black. A light and fluffy chocolate cake with a delicious oozy, gooey and warm chocolate centre!! So yummy!

Thankyou for reading and have a great week!

xo Laura

{ Review + Swatches } BH Cosmetics Jenni Rivera Palette

Ever since this palette arrived at my doorstep, I've been trying to create different looks using the many eyeshadows and blushes. What drew me into purchasing this palette was the fact that it contained 30 eyeshadows and 6 blushes in the one palette at a reasonable price. I believe I paid around $30AUD for this palette. I just checked the BH Cosmetics site and unfortunately the palette is not available anymore :( Maybe check out eBay or Amazon?

Anyway, the formula of the eyeshadows are very much similar to their other eyeshadows in their palettes from the permanent line, so if you're interested then definitely purchase a palette. They're hell inexpensive too! Some of the eyeshadows are fairly pigmented although the lighter matte shadows are totally lacking pigmentation as you can see in the swatches below. I feel that these arm swatches really don't do some of the eyeshadows justice! I find they are way more pigmented when applied on the lids which is of course what we want after all! Beware though, most of the darker eyeshadows will produce some fall-out so use a primer or apply your eye makeup first before applying your face products.

As for the blushes, they're pretty standard. Some are definitely more pigmented than others but definitely buildable. I love the variety of shades and to my joy they are definitely my kind of blush colours!

Pros

• Affordable
• Great variety of eyeshadow colours and finishes (mattes, glitters and shimmers)
• Great variety of blush shades and finishes
• Darker coloured eyeshadows are pigmented, the shimmery ones are gorgeous!

Cons

• Tend to produce fall-out which is especially annoying with darker eyeshadows
• Limited edition
• Lighter coloured eyeshadows really lack pigmentation

Here's just a look I created for a night out where I solely used their eyeshadows and blushes!

Thanks for reading and goodnight world!

xo Laura

* Disclaimer: This is a non-sponsored post and I am in no way affiliated with BH Cosmetics. The product mentioned was purchased with my own funds and as always my reviews are 100% my honest opinion. *

{ NAILS } Revlon : Cheers

I've had my nails painted in Revlon's 'Cheers' for about 4 days before changing it to my current nail polish due to its major chipping problems *wahh*. I must say the colour is pretty and is probably my favourite type of neutral colour (a natural pink-peach nude). I picked up a bunch of these Revlon Top Speed nail polishes while on holidays and I've found unfortunate inconsistencies with the longevity of the formula on the nails. One shade that I tried stayed on my nails for a reasonable amount of days whereas this one chipped the next day with my nail polish looking horrible on the 3rd-4th day, and that's WITH a top coat (I use Seche Vite).

I still have quite a few of these Top Speed nail polishes to try out so I'll do a future update on how those go.

Taken under the sunlight.

 Taken under the shade.

Ahh...I feel the week has gone so slowly and the super cold freezing weather is not helping! Anyone else struggling to get up in the morning? I get sad when I have to part ways with my electric blanket lol.

Oh and I just wanted to add a big thankyou to all my followers~ the ones who've followed from the beginning as well as my new ones! Not far before I reach 100 which is a milestone for me. I know that many bloggers out there are in their thousands or whatnot but we all have to start from somewhere right? Step by step~~

I APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU! <3

xo Laura

* Disclaimer: This is a non-sponsored post and I am in no way affiliated with Revlon. The product mentioned was purchased with my own funds and as always my reviews are 100% my honest opinion. *

{ Review + Swatches } Maybelline : Color Sensational Moisture Extreme Lipcolor

Whilst on my most recent vacay to Jakarta, I decided to go to the drugstore to see what makeup brands and products they had in store. I ended up purchasing quite a few items from the Maybelline stand, some of the products being these lipsticks which were super super inexpensive!! Each lipstick costed around $4AUD which is unheard of here in Australia! Maybelline lipsticks in Australia retails for around $15-17 :(

I've actually never even seen this particular line of 'Moisture Extreme' Maybelline lipsticks in Australia nor have I really heard anyone talk about it online. I'm guessing this may be an Asia exclusive line or just not very popular. If you guys have these lipsticks in your country, please let me know and thanks in advance : ) Unfortunately there weren't a great variety of shades to choose from or any that were my absolute favourites such as my nudes and pinky-mauves although I did pick up a couple to try out.

 L-R: Summer Sunset, Loving Red, Bonbon Pink, Angel Rose

Like the name suggests, these lipsticks are extremely moisturising and apply like a dream. My favourites would have to be the reds, Summer Sunset and Loving Red. Bright pinks and corals don't really suit me and these seem to appear alot brighter and darker on my lips, plus I don't like shimmers in my lipsticks hence Bonbon Pink was a super fail for me.

Shade descriptions:

• Summer Sunset: Dark burgundy red (cream) - wore this in one of my Instagram (laurasooji) pictures!
• Loving Red: Cherry red, brighter than Summer Sunset (cream)
• Bonbon Pink: Bright medium pink (shimmer)
• Angel Rose: Pink-coral (cream) 

L-R: Summer Sunset, Loving Red, Bonbon Pink, Angel Rose

Pros:

• Very inexpensive and affordable 
• Moisturising and applies smoothly 
• Pigmented colours
• Long lasting, especially the reds (I haven't worn Bonbon Pink or Angel Rose out yet so I'm not sure about its longevity. Reds are generally long lasting anyway)  
• Packaging looks sleek with a matte finish

Cons:

• Not a great variety of shades to choose from
• Not widely available (in my experience anyway)

So have you guys ever come across this line of Maybelline lipsticks in stores and if so whereabouts?

xo Laura

* Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Maybelline. This review is 100% my honest opinion with items mentioned purchased with my own money. *

{ STYLE } Colour Me Hot Pink!

Hey lovelies! I'm finally back with an outfit post...YAY! I'm so obsessed with these shorts that were kindly gifted to me by Sugarlips. I love the colourful 'splattered-paint-like' print on these shorts and I can easily see me pairing these with so many things! I really wanted to bring out the hot pink detailing on the shorts hence I paired a hot pink blouse, half-tucking them in for a more casual/slouchy and not too polished look.

Bardot blouse, Different Strokes shorts c/o Sugarlips, ZARA heels, Accessories from eBay, Love Couture, Michael Kors watch, Lovisa, Nail Polish is Revlon's 'Dreamer'

Thankyou so much Sugarlips for these cute shorts! I'm already getting great ideas for future pairings using this colourful fun print.

If you guys are interested in purchasing any items from Sugarlips, use the promo code "Sugar" for 20% off your first purchase : )

Much Love,

xo Laura

* Disclaimer: The Sugarlips item was gifted to me and selected by me. *

{ NAILS } Revlon : Dreamer

I picked up a bunch of Revlon nail polishes over the past 2 weeks or so and tried out one of their newer polishes called 'Dreamer'. I am in love with blue nail polishes so this polish is perfect for me! 'Dreamer' is such a pretty sky blue, periwinkle-ish colour (leans more to a blue rather than a lavender).

It took me about 3 coats to get the full opacity that I like. One thing I don't care for about this formula is that it dries a tad slowly compared to other nail polishes I'm used to. I'm currently on day 3 of wearing this polish and it has yet to chip on me which is pretty good in my opinion.

Wearing 'Dreamer' on my nails! It looks a lot brighter in this picture >.< The first two pictures are more true to colour.

YAY! Finally getting back to the groove of blogging since I'm back home! Planning another OOTD post some time this week if the weather co-operates : )

xo Laura

{ YUM! } Holiday Food Diary

I recently just came back from a 2 week-ish holiday in Jakarta and had the greatest time visiting family, shopping and EATING! Here are just some of the food snaps I took whilst abroad and a couple here in Perth.

Beware: These photos will make you drool all over your keyboard :p

SUSHI ICECREAM! The presentation of this dish is AMAZINGGG and makes up for the average tasting icecream.

Passionfruit and Pistachio&Melon Cocktails @ POTATO HEAD

Tried out this new super chic place called SKYE BAR & RESTAURANT. This bar and restaurant looks really nice and special inside and provides a city view of Jakarta but food is so-so.

We went to this High Tea French cooking class @ MIELE. The apple tart was the best out of the lot! I might attempt to make it at home : )

 The Omakase Set @ KINOKAWA. Omakase basically means that you leave everything up to the chef who will prepare you a range of different small dishes to try. Now this is pretty ridiculously priced, around $160AUD per person!! The food was delicious, especially the fresh sashimi but I just can't justify the price!

More of the Omakase Set @ KINOKAWA

Final dishes @ KINOKAWA

 Sushi/Sashimi Bridge, Soft Shell Crabs, California Roll, Chicken Teriyaki and Assorted Tempura @ SAKE BAR RESTAURANT

Cocktails & Macaroons @ LOBBY LOUNGE IN BURSWOOD

Have a great week everyone!!

xo Laura