Happy Monday!! I'm finally back from holidays and it's the end of a long weekend - 1 more day until school starts up again which is a little upsetting, but I can't wait to finish up my last year of school.

Up this week I've got a product to share with you - one that I've been testing out for a while. When the Make Up Forever HD High Definition Foundation first came out, I remember seeing advertisements for it everywhere. It caused a pretty big stir in the beauty blogging world, so I ordered it right away, but never decided to use it until now.

This particular foundation is exclusively carried by Sephora, and described as "an oil-free medium-to-full-coverage liquid foundation that covers skin imperfections flawlessly while remaining invisible on-screen and in real life. This foundation creates a soft-focus effect, which is designed to meet the coverage concerns of those in the spotlight. It leaves your complexion with such a flawless finish, it can withstand bright or harsh lighting." It was produced when flawless, photo-ready skin was all the rage - and its description has a lot to live up to.

For my NC35 skin, I picked up Sand (shade 125), which unfortunately was too light for my summer skin. In the winter (my arm shade), it's likely to be a better match. Shade aside, you can see above that the product comes housed in sturdy packaging, with a pump to dispense the foundation. The foundation is quite runny, making it easy to spread, but I find that this can also be a downfall. I prefer high coverage products, so a thin layer of product on the skin results in medium coverage. It can be built up for higher coverage, but it makes the product feel heavier on the skin. At the end of an 8 hour workday, the product is still on my face, but definitely oxidized and has less coverage. The foundation has pretty good oil control though, as I don't feel greasy at the end of the day.

But does this foundation do what it claims to do? Yes. When applied on the skin, it leaves a semi-matte finish, and gives the skin a slight dewy look to it. It is lightweight if all you need is a thin application, and skin looks nearly flawless in photographs. Application with a brush gives the best results, as blending with fingertips doesn't give the most flawless finish. Although Make Up Forever has a high price tag on this particular product ($42 CAD), one bottle is likely to last a good six months, as the pump does contain a fair amount of product. It isn't my holy grail foundation, but it's a solid foundation that I would recommend to anyone looking for medium coverage and a semi-matte finish.

Anyone tried this product out? What did you think? Let me know!

Given the vast stretch of prairies we find ourselves in, and the numerous farmers markets in the city, it's no surprise that farm to fork dining is a growing trend here in Edmonton. RGE RD is another addition to the culinary scene that does just that - offers sustainable dining and supports local producers in and around the Edmonton area.

RGE RD - 10643 123 Street - Edmonton AB

At the intersection of farm, food and friends, we find Chef Blair Lebsack, a talented chef, local food advocate, and once culinary instructor at NAIT. I remember many times reading about his RGE RD dinners held at the Nature's Green Acres farmland, wishing I had the time (and money!) to attend the summertime meals. So luckily, Chef Lebsack decided to bring the concept into the city, opening up a 40 seat restaurant for all to enjoy.

Arriving to the restaurant, it doesn't seem to special when looking from the outside. But once you walk in through the doors, the dim lighting and wooden decor gives it a homey feel. The rustic environment is cozy, and with the many tables in the dining room, it makes the dining experience more intimate.

As the menu is dictated by what is available seasonally, it will be changing constantly. To start off the meal, I ordered the Front Porch Iced Tea for the day, described to be made with whatever was picked from the garden for the day. That night, it happened to be a Maple & Saskatoon Berry Spritzer, made with maple soaked saskatoon berries. The maple flavour was evident, and the berries were quite sweet, making it a tasty drink to accompany my meal.

To start the meal, we chose the Alberta Whitefish with BC Side Stripe Prawns ($12): liquid chilies, marinated cucumber, urban greens. First off, the presentation of the dish was beautiful. A giant piece of whitefish, accompanied by 3 smaller prawns was served up with a medicine dropper-esque contraption, filled with liquified chilies - which I believe was a mix of Habanero chilies and cayenne pepper. The fish was tender and flaked beautifully with each bite, and the small but meaty prawns in the tangy sauce were a great accompaniment. The liquid chilies were quite hot, and added a nice kick to the dish.

As my main, I ordered the Nature's Green Acres Whole Hog served in two courses ($29). First up was hog belly served with spicy coleslaw, and I was actually a little shocked as to how small the piece of pork belly was. Size aside, the belly was tender and fatty, and seasoned in such a way that it reminded me of Chinese BBQ pork. The slaw itself was crunchy, quite spicy and tangy, cutting the fattiness of the pork belly.

The second course with the hog was written as the loin served with hock and beans - but what arrived infront of me was better. I got a large portion of loin served on top of their summer cassoulet with seasonal vegetables and white bean puree. On the side was also a piece of what appeared to be small ribs, seasoned with a thick tomato paste. The loin was tender and juicy, seasoned lightly to allow the natural flavours of the pork to shine through. I found the cassoulet to be quite salty though, and was only able to eat it paired with the pork - not on its own.

The second entree we ordered was the Pilatus Farms Bison ($29): barley, kohlrabi, pickled walnut, pork jowl, onion. The medium rare bison sat atop a bed of barley mixed with kohlrabi, while small slivers of onion and the pickled walnuts accented the plate. In comparison to my hog, this dish was bland. However, eaten on its own, I really enjoyed the subdued flavours, and was able to appreciate each component on its own. The combination of different textures on the plate kept things interesting, although I can't say I'm a big fan of the pickled walnuts. For something that typically has some bite and crunch to it, the walnuts were soft, and didn't have the resistance a regular walnut would have. My boyfriend enjoyed them though - so to each their own.

To finish off the evening, all the desserts on the menu sounded delectable, but we ultimately chose the Chocolate S'more ($9): chocolate sable, graham wafer, chocolate truffle, vanilla marshmallow, ice cream. When it arrived, it just looked so cute and was the perfect size to share between two. It wasn't too sweet, and wasn't messy, making it the perfect s'more for me - only thing is that it was a tad cold and the graham wafer was pretty tough to break. I loved the toasted marshmallow, and even the vanilla ice cream had a slight smokiness to it, bringing the campfire to the table.

Leaving RGE RD with my belly full, the meal service was lovely and the food was delicious. Given the pricing on the menu, I will say that this isn't going to be your everyday choice for dinner, but I would definitely recommend it for special occasions and dinner dates. One thing I noticed on the menu was the RGE RD Trip, a six course tasting menu available for $70+, with no advance notice necessary. Wine pairings are available as well for $50, but if you know tasting menus, $70 per person is a steal! I'm sure I'll be back in the future to check it out, given that the food was excellent.

Happy Monday! I'm still off on holidays, but had to take some time to catch up with you all! I spent the last couple days along the northern Oregon Coast and had so much fun - catch up with me via Twitter & Instagram for updates!

This week I have another one of my summer favourites to share with you all - OPI's You're Such a Kabuki Queen from the 2005 Japanese collection. Oldie, but a definitely goodie. It's the perfect watermelon shade to wear on nails for the summertime, and more often than not, I actually wear it on my toes. This creamy shade has a wonderful formula, flowing easily onto the nails upon application and it levels out quickly all on its own. With up to 5 days of wear chip free, what's not to love?