Out & About #481 | Collective August visuals

The completion of August is the end of an era.
Students return to school, while 9-to-5-ers recall the pain of travelling in regular volumes of traffic again. Summer is concluding, and daylight hours are diminishing.

Above all, GOT7 is making a comeback.
A fall comeback to be precise, wherein they will be releasing eight versions of their third full-length album, Present: YOU.

It goes without saying that yours truly has already taken to placing her preorder. Though it shall be some time before it is revealed whether my Turbulence mission will need to repeat itself for a Jinyoung edition...

Anyways, without further ado, here is a slew of this month's captures! For the most part, the camera was forgotten at home, so mobile snaps are aplenty.

1) ​VDL - Expert Color Liquid Eyeshadow (2018 Glim and Glow) in No. 101 On The Floor

A sign of true sales skills is being able to convince a customer to make a purchase, even when they wandered into the boutique with seemingly no desire to take out their wallet. The girl at The Face Shop succeeded in doing this.

Fairview Malls' The Face Shop was stocked with more VDL products than that of Square One, Markville, and Yorkdale combined. The utter pinkness of the collection drew me in, while the liquid glitter eyeshadow convinced me to stay and swatch.

​To be frank, I probably didn't need a new addition to my accumulating pile of unused eyeshadows. But the incentive was there - in the form of a vivid purple massage stick with any VDL purchase.

Immediate regrets settled in with the first few uses of this product, however. The colour payoff was terrible - barely noticeable if you ask me - and specks of glitter transferred easily between the upper and bottom lids. The formula was difficult to layer with other eyeshadows as well, as it creased when set with powder types and smeared upon contact with gel eyeliner. (Liquid liner appeared fine though.)

Also to be noted is the applicator's inability to grab more than 1-2 ml of product at a time. The rose gold-toned flecks are an odd size and shape, which makes it difficult to determine whether they are more suitable for the eyelid and lower lashline. Moreover, the formula doesn't possess fabulous sparkle even when observed underneath direct sunlight.​

This was a disappointing account of twenty-four dollars. The massage stick was nice though, in spite of the poorly-made plastic handle.

​2) Fun on-site randoms
3) Brown Sugar Oolong Milk Tea w/ 2J (Tapioca and Coffee Jelly) from Gong Cha proved quite nice, as did the recently established array of eateries on York University grounds.

Be warned that drinks are extravagant at $7 after taxes, and that the interior finishes have yet to be completed. The washroom was not toured on this visit.

4) North York's Kung Fu Tea was a stop I wish I had skipped out on. Due to its proximity from Yonge and Sheppard, it seemed a good idea at the time. Yakult Green Tea definitely was not the best decision though.

​5) Iced Tea Lemonade and Belgian Chocolate Chip Cookie from JJ Bean

6) Settling for a Double Chocolate Cookie from Timmy's
7) Thoroughly exploring North York's new openings

8) Thai Iced Tea from Holy Snack

​​At the time of my first visit, I already had Kung Fu in hand - a decision I regretted greatly. I took to purchasing a Thai Tea Milk Pudding to go, though that was honestly quite disastrous. The second time around, Holy Snack was closed without explanation. On my third attempt, a small Thai Iced Tea was obtained; alas, the result was disheartening. I shall not be returning​, not even for $3.99.

9) Yorkdale Visuals: the last Sulley and another poor Ten Ren purchase - icy, bland Green Tea Soft Serve
10) A new Miku outpost is on its way - not that I'll be bothering with any of the Toronto divisions anyway.

​11) Anyone hooked on My ID is Gangnam Beauty has been made aware of Atelier Cologne's (sponsorship-induced) presence. I hadn't known that Yorkdale was home to the single Atelier standalone shop until just recently.

12) Roaming Fairview Mall, then concluding that there were few items of interest.
13) A much-needed Original Milk Tea from Palgong. The $2.99 deal - inclusive of tapioca pearls - is unbeatable!

​14) More west-end North York visuals, including a Veal Sandwich from an establishment housing a washroom more cramped and crude than that of a 7-Eleven.

15) The new-and-improved Bubble Gaga is a wondrous menu change.
16) Sunrises are commonly witnessed on the morning drive.

17) Uncle Tetsu's Orfus Road outpost is found in the most random of locations. While not far from its previous spot at the Indulge Pop-Up, the fact that it's sandwiched between a series of outlet stores is undeniably strange.

The is the sole location devoid of the comforting, buttery aroma wafting out of other franchise stores; cheesecakes weren't in high production and the area was eerily quiet overall. It retailed the same selection of goods as the now-gone Yorkdale pop-up: Original Cheesecake, Honey Madeleines, Original Cheese Tart, and Original Rusk. Other cheese tart flavours (such as Matcha and Chocolate) were apparently limited to the downtown location only.

​The quality of the Original Cheesecake was maintained consistent with the other outposts.

Another amusing observation: Uncle Tetsu's Global Head Office is found in the next plaza over.

18) Redeeming a Friday Iced Latte Special at Second Cup (but ultimately concluding that Starbucks' roast was superior).
19) Jelly Donuts are terribly messy but tasty morsels that I can't ever resist.
20) More shopping and munching visuals

21) Last but not least, my autographed copy of DAY6's Shoot Me: Youth Part 1 album finally arrived from Mwave!

Hello September! I think I'm ready for my annual dose of fall weather.