Treats at Icy Bar

A few days ago some friends and I stumbled along a cute little dessert spot in the Joyce area that turned out to have amazing shaved ice. Their portions are smaller than usual shaved ice desserts at Chinese restaurants and sell at the same price ($5.75 - $6.50 each dish) but they have a much larger selection and give a generous amount of fresh fruit. They give you condensed milk separately in squeeze bottles which allows you determine how sweet and creamy you want it to be. My complaint is that they don't chill their dishes before serving, although the restaurant was air conditioned, the ice melted pretty quickly. The ceramic dishes were room temperature when we received them and the ice would have lasted much longer if the dishes had sat in the freezer for a little while. Other than that, we tried the Mango Shaved Ice, Strawberry Shaved Ice and custom 4 toppings dish and enjoyed each one!


 

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Maybelline - The Nudes

I was really excited to see Maybelline come out with what looks like their version of the Urban Decay Naked Palette but sadly I've been really disappointed with this purchase. Although this palette is a new release and has classy packaging with great colour selection, the eyeshadow formulas seem to be exactly the same as the ones they used to have in their eyeshadow quads.

 I read that these were extremely pigmented and good dupes for the original Urban Decay Naked palette but only one colour in this palette has great pigmentation (the shimmery bronze on the first row). Otherwise the black shade has decent, medium-level pigmentation and everything else is powdery and sheer.
 

It was actually pretty difficult to get the colours to show up on the swatch above. For many of the lighter colours I had to layer them quite a few times for them to appear. I actually think this palette has some great colours but their consistency is just far too sheer. If you're looking for some light neutrals to blend with, this palette would be perfect. I found it really hard to create a smokey eye with these shades because of how much I need to layer it for that colour payoff. On the other hand, their dry texture also minimizes fallout so this palette might be a good fit for anyone who wants to create a really natural look. The matte colours might prove to be great for contouring, I actually use one of the older maybelline nude eyeshadow quads as a eyebrow powder because its sheerness makes it difficult for me to accidentally overdo my brows.




To sum it up, I find this to be just Maybelline's old eyeshadows put together in a new package. Low pigmentation and a powdery finish on most colours with one vibrant bronze shade. Great transition/blending colours but not the best eyeshadows for a smokey eye look.

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Breakfast at Lola's

Lola (Belltown Seattle, WA)

Seattle, WA 98121

2000 4th Avenue

As an incredibly chic restaurant with great food, Lola's was one of the highlights of my last weekend's retreat to Seattle and Portland. Lola's was packed when we arrived and proved to be a popular selection for breakfast/brunch. We had a 30 minute wait for a table (for four) but they have a very comfortable waiting area and their close proximity to the core of Downtown Seattle allowed that time window to be pleasantly filled with early window shopping.

 

Lola breakfast 

two eggs, choice of pork-maple sausage or smoked bacon (he got both), smashed garlic fried potatoes, toast

 

The bacon was thick cut and delicious.

 

Omelette 

sugar snap peas, minted goat cheese, smashed garlic fried potatoes, bacon, toast 

Eggs benedict 

bavarian meats ham, dill hollandaise, smashed garlic fried potatoes

Tom’s big breakfast

mediterranean octopus, sugar snap peas, spring onion, potatoes, bacon, green garlic yogurt, poached egg, toast

I never would have ever imagined enjoying having octopus for breakfast but this was absolutely perfect.


Although moderately pricey, especially for breakfast, Lola's was really a great experience with its classy atmosphere, hum of conversations and creative breakfast selections. Definitely recommended!

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NYX - I Dream of Jamaica

NYX The Caribbean Collection 5 Color Eyeshadow
I Dream of Jamaica

-  NYX generally has quite a good reputation for eyeshadows so I decided to give this neutral, cool toned palette a try. I've found that the pigmentation is at a medium level, not very strong so it's optimal if you just wanted a light wash of colour. Of the 5 colours the ones I've reached for the most are the two highlighting colours (the pale pink and the white) because I like how the shimmer gives it a faint satin finish thats not too strong.

Swatches in sunlight, no photo retouching.

This palette is great for a cool toned smokey eye because the grey shade (second to the right) has a really sheer finish that's easy to blend and the lavender shade (in the middle) adds a nice hint of colour. Before I made this purchase I browsed through reviews on makeupalley and most people were describing the eyeshadows as buttery and creamy but I've actually found this palette quite powdery, especially compared to how creamy the Urban Decay Naked palettes are. I think that  its powdery consistency does help with minimizing fallout  but just doesn't make it the greatest when it comes to its pigmentation.

Overall: 7/10

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eBay Jewellery Reviews + Tips!

When I was hunting down a statement necklace to go with my prom dress I couldn't find any piece that I liked in store. After discovering the selection available online I decided to give ordering jewellery on eBay a try. Overall I’ve found that it’s much more worthwhile than going to in store retailers and usually the quality measures up to what you would find of H&M or Aldo products.

Pros

Inexpensive:

Whereas American retailers sell statement necklaces at around $10-$25 a piece, I got each of the items below for under $10 each. Shipping was included in the listed price as well! This is probably the only reason I prefer eBay over other Asian online fashion stores because most have the individual prices for the products and then a minimal flat shipping cost + extra depending on weight. It’s not worth it to order only one item from those sites but it’s really easy to order individual items and compare prices on eBay.

Variety:

There are literally thousands of styles that each seller has. A lot of the same ones are carried by multiple sellers in different colours so you can find the exact piece that you’re looking for. When I was searching for a prom necklace I couldn’t find one that would complement my dress in stores, online I found plenty that I really liked and instead had a tough time choosing one.

Cons

Inconsistency of Quality:

After my first few necklace purchases turned out to be decent quality I expected it as a standard of all the items online. The last necklace resembled the photo in style but the quality was really far off. Although different sellers sell the same style item for different prices, the seller that places the item at the highest price isn’t always providing the best quality available for that product. Its difficult to predict which sellers carry good products as sometimes a certain item they carry is high quality but another item is low.

Delivery time:

These take a long trip from China to arrive. On most descriptions it said shipping time would be 16-30 days to Canada and each item I’ve ordered has taken between 20-30 days. A month is a long time to finally receive a product and while you’re waiting for it to arrive you may act on the impulse to order more.

 

Crystal Charm Floral VTG Smoky Gold Plated Pendant Necklace TA2285K

Seller: thboxs

Overall Rating: 3/5

This was a disappointing purchase, there are a lot of lumps on the necklace and it’s a much brighter shade of gold than it shows in the photograph. Also, this necklace took the longest of the 3 to arrive (24 days I believe).

Fashion Retro Hollow Out carving Flower Alloy fake collar Clavicle necklace New\

Seller: fashion-shop8

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

This was the first necklace I ordered, simply for the fact that it was so cheap! I got it for $3.50 and am pretty impressed with the quality, the item is true to the photos. On each side of the collar 3 separate parts are joined together by rings that can be uncomfortable due to the weight of the necklace. As it is a peter pan collar necklace and is mean to be worn over a shirt it’s not much of a problem, I was surprised at how uncomfortable these kinds of necklaces are to wear on bare skin. The shipping time was also pretty quick (two weeks or so).

Fashion Golden Chain Flower Hollow Out Adjustable Bib Pendant Necklace

Seller: alliway

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Last but not least this is my favourite eBay necklace purchase so far! I was attracted to it because I thought the style was really unique but there are actually a whole bunch of eBay sellers that carry this product in different colours and made with different materials. I saw a matte black one that looked really cool but opted for this gold one instead. I love how it’s a statement necklace that can complement any outfit and has a really intricate design but once again the joints that hold the different pieces of the necklace together make it uncomfortable to wear on bare skin!

Final Suggestions

You really need to notice the details in the photos the seller posts as they are most often pretty accurate. Any hints of imperfections you notice in the photos will be amplified on the actual item you get. The model shown in the photos is not a bad representation of what you will get, they often just use photography skills and pretty models to distract you from the details of the product. I’ve personally been really impressed with what you can find online!

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