Orly: Buried Alive

Alright so I had a lot of fun with my first nail swatch/review of Hampstead Gardens by Nails Inc., and last week I picked up a brand new polish by Orly– well not brand new as in from a new collection, but brand new as in I just purchased it, so of course I decided to give this polish review another go and maybe eventually my photos of my hands will get less awkward and claw-like.

The polish I was so excited to find is Orly's Buried Alive, which was on sale for $3 and my first time testing out an "official" Orly polish, since I own quite a few of their Quo line which is a lot easier to find in Canada. Buried Alive belongs to the Dark Shadows collection, inspired by the film.

Buried Alive is a rich, dark brown filled with an underlying gold shimmer that gives it some sparkle during the daytime, while keeping it professional-looking indoors. I also detected some coppery shimmer as well, which helps give depth to the brown though my photos aren't the best at capturing it.

 

While wearing it, I never picked up quite as much gold on my fingers as I did in the bottle, but working in a lab indoors all day, and being in the midst of a Canadian winter, means I might have missed out on the bright sunlight needed to pick up the glitter.

In these photos I'm wearing a quick-dry base coat by Revlon, two coats of Buried Alive and a quick Seche Vite top coat. It definitely needed two coats because it turned out kinda splotchy or streaky in some places after just one. Two coats was perfect for keeping my nails covered and giving it an even, opaque, colour. That said, the polish was a tiny bit thick, but I didn't have any problems applying it.

Honestly, I'm usually not a fan of browns but the gold in this one captured my attention and I'm glad it did. It's such a rich, full colour, and the gold shimmer just brings it to life and makes it something special without being totally flamboyant. I don't think I've converted over to brown nail polish, but I'll definitely be wearing Buried Alive again, and I'll be keeping my eye out for future Orly's in the bargain bin.

Do you have any brown polishes you're in love with? Have you found any awesome polishes in the bargain bin lately?

Nails Inc: Hampstead Gardens

I really love nail polish. Like really. So inspired by my lovely friend Kylie (aka ChicBananas) I've decided I'm going to try my hand at swatching the colours that I wear, just to show them off and give anyone who is interested a reference for what the colours really look like. 

First up is one of the strangest polishes I own. I bought this one, my first and only Nails Inc. colour so far, last summer, when I spending a week and a half in New York City with my best friend Laala and we stopped by a Sephora where I found it on incredible discount. It was only a couple dollars, and we both bought a bottle. I was instantly in love with this ugly-pretty shade, Hampstead Gardens.

I'd definitely describe Hampstead Gardens as an authentic mustard. It's a funny colour that tends to look more brown indoors than in natural light– I actually had a family member compliment me on it one evening, only to tell me it was horribly ugly the next day when they saw it in different lighting! That said, it definitely has tones of yellow in it that give it its unique colour. I have quite a few polishes, but I've never come close to having a dupe of this one.

In these photos I'm wearing a quick-dry base coat by Revlon, two coats of Hampstead Gardens and a quick Seche Vite top coat. The colour is really opaque, and I probably could have gotten away with one coat but I still always go with two. If you don't want it so shiny, it is wearable without the top coat as well, I just love the extra gloss.

I'm really impressed with the quality of Nails Inc. polish. It definitely lasts longer than many of my other polishes, even using the same top coat. If I could find more on discount, I'd definitely pick up more polish by them in the future. The bottles are usually about $10, at least in the US, but are only 10 mL in size which is a bit smaller than the average polish. I actually appreciate the size, as given the number of nail polishes I have, the likelihood of me finishing one isn't that great. Though I do have a few favourites that are at risk!

I would definitely consider Hampstead Gardens a love-it or hate-it polish, and I just happen to love it. 

What do you think about strange polish colours? Would you wear this mustard nail polish?

DAVIDsTEA: Three Tasty Teas

When I made my recent, "Happy things with which to end the week" post, there was something(s) very important I forgot to include. I'd say I forgot them on purpose, in order to dedicate an entire post to them, but the truth is I was so excited about them, I brought them to work right away and never took any photos. Well, problem solved! Last Thursday I stopped by David's Tea after a long day, and came home with three new babies. They are:

I know every parent thinks this, but they really are pretty.

From left to right, we have Pink Flamingo, Creme Caramel Rooibos and Red Velvet Cake. That's a herbal, a rooibos and a black tea for variety. I also purchased a pretty teaball, because the one I'd been using is made of bamboo which makes it annoying to clean at times and not great for finer teas. When I went on Thursday, I had a friendly and helpful employee help me find exactly what I was looking for, even if I didn't realize it yet. I am definitely happy with my purchases, and thought I'd share a little bit more about the teas I took home.

Pink Flamingo is might be the one I'll drink the most often, especially in the summer months, because it's such an easy, light, and delicious tea. I'm actually in love with a tea called Paradise Found, but it turned out it was seasonal and isn't available anymore– luckily I still have a bit stored up at home. But Pink Flamingo was recommended to me as something close, and although I don't know that it's very similar, it comes across as a lot more citrus-y to me, it's definitely similarly delicious. It's a herbal tea that combines citrus fruits like orange and tangerine with lemonglass and hibiscus. It's also naturally caffeine-free.

Creme Caramel Rooibos is a simple tea made that contains rooibos, caramel pieces and flavouring. It's a bit of a more winter-y tea for me. Really smooth and delicious, it isn't overpowered by caramel or sweetness. My only problem with it was that it's so fine it really goes through the mesh of my tea ball. A smaller mesh, or placing it directly in the disposable teabags would definitely prevent this for anyone who dislikes having loose leaf tea floating in their water. Also caffeine-free, it's the kind of tea that would make a great treat without any of the caloric guilt; all of David's Teas are below 5 calories per cup.

Red Velvet Cake was recommended by the employee at David's tea as his favourite chocolate one, and from smell alone I can tell why. It's caffeinated, which is nice on occasion. I tend to go for non-caffeine teas so I don't have to think about how much I'm drinking, but every once in awhile it's nice to have something that can perk you up, and chocolate and caffeine are perfect for that. Plus, it's great in tea form because it's not nearly as strong as coffee or soft drinks or other things that sometimes make me feel twitchy. It also turns out to be February 2013's tea of the month. It's a black tea that contains beetroot and both dark and white chocolate bits. It's not overly sweet, but definitely not bitter either, even though I steeped it for awhile. At the moment, it's my least favourite of the three, because from the divine smell alone I was thinking it would be more chocolate-y, but it's still delicious. I will definitely be brewing it again in the future, and see if that cuts back on my chocolate cravings. In the meantime, I'll just keep smelling the tea in the bag, it's like cake you don't have to bake.

 

Do you drink David's Tea? If so, recommend your favourite! If not, it's definitely worth checking out. I haven't been disappointed yet- by both the service and the tea.