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?

Happy things with which to end the week (3)

It's been a good but busy week! Work has been a lot of work, and I'm working on revising my novel some more (I'm at the halfway mark now, so hopefully it'll be done this week). I also got accepted for a really awesome opportunity, but I don't want to say anymore and jinx it. Once it's officially started, I'll be sure to share :)

My mailbox had some happy arrivals this week, two of which were surprises of the best sort, and one I had been excitedly expecting.

Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala, courtesy of Random House Canada, is a memoir about a woman whose sons, husband, and parents all died in the 2004 tsunami while they were vacationing in Sri Lanka. I've already started reading it, and it's just as devastating– but beautifully written– as I imagined.

The surprises were two young adult novels, The Wrap-up List by Steven Arntson and Delusion by Laura L. Sullivan, which showed up courtesy of Thomas Allen and Sons. I hadn't really heard much about either title, though The Wrap-Up List, about a world where Death sometimes sends a letter telling people to wrap up their lives before it's time to depart, and a teenage girl gets one, had made intrigued me and made it on my TBR before. Delusion is about a pair of teenage magicians, set during WW2. I'm not exactly sure if I'll be reading it or not, but it does have a very sparkly cover.

When I went to pick up the Thomas Allen books, it turned out my mail was at the wrong post office, and while I was at a different drug store I discovered they have a pretty massive nail polish collection. In the discount bins I found a ton of magnetic polish I wasn't interested in, along with this gem for only three dollars:

It's called Buried Alive by Orly. I've never owned a normal Orly polish before, because generally I can only find the Quo by Orly line here in Canada. But I love their glitters, and this unusual brown gold immediately caught my attention. I took some photographs of my current polish– a mustard by Nails Inc. to swatch for this site, and I'll probably do the same when I try this. That'll probably be tonight or tomorrow, depending on when I feel like removing my current chipped polish. I'm going to try to swatch my colours as I wear them from now on (and not just using my phone). I adore nail polish, and I'm trying to make this blog about things I like, and make it pressure-free and eclectic in a a way my book blog no longer is. Whatever I feel like sharing, that's what you're going to find here!

Now I'm back to a weekend of Game of Thrones– rewatching the TV show, not reading the books. I hope you had a happy week as well. If you had any happy things to share, I'd love to know what they are.

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.