Friday, February 21, 2014

play | Thief

Technically, this isn't a review.

The game doesn't come out until the 25th, so until then here's a promise that I will soon have an opinion. I'm a fan of games like Dishonored and Far Cry 3, where you have the option of using stealth rather than flat-out aggression - it leads to longer, more immersive gameplay and means you don't have to worry constantly about keeping an eye on your health.

Thief is open for pre-order and pre-load, for 10% off on Steam and (hooray!) an extra 25% off that price on Green Man Gaming, bring the price down to about $33  (GMG gives you a key that you add to your Steam library).

I'll post an actual review as soon as I've played enough of the game to feel I've formed a reliable opinion.

Green Man Gaming: http://www.greenmangaming.com/?gmgr=cowavewo
*NOTE* This is a referral link - if you use it, we both get $2.00 added to our accounts.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

shop | Maybelline Polka Dots Nail Polish


Blue Marks the Spot (2 coats)
Not the greatest without a base color
When I walked past this polish I couldn't resist picking one up. It looks so amazing in the bottle and I mistakenly expected the same effect on my nails. On application, the dots aren't as dense as they look in the bottle. I was a little disappointed at first, but I've since decided I'm okay with it since this means you can build the dots up as much as you want. The dots come out pretty unevenly, and if you swipe the brush on the lip of the bottle to get rid of excess polish, you'll lose most of the dots. I end up blobbing a drop in the middle of my nail and pushing the dots around with the brush until I'm happy with the results.




My real complaint is with the base color. It's tinted, yes, but it never really gets opaque. I understand that this keeps the dots from getting coated, but I'm going to be adding a different color underneath from now on.
 
As for removal, think of glitter polish and then cry a little more. It takes a while to get the dots all off, so you're going to get really familiar with the scent of acetone. On the bright side, sweeping remover over the polish takes off the tint of color and leaves you with black and white dots, which is a pretty cool look. I also like the whole French tip thing, mainly because it doesn't have to be perfect to look good. They're polka dots. There's no such thing as a straight line.


Blue Marks the Spot (1 coat)
with L'Oreal Now You Sea Me (2 coats)


Pros: Looks awesome. 

Cons: Removal is not awesome.

eat | Starbucks K-Cups

I don't live at Starbucks. This becomes problematic for someone who requires coffee to start moving in the morning, as this means I'm not in the mood to make coffee until I've had my coffee.


Fortunately, I do live with a handy dandy Keurig machine, and I recently tried out the Starbucks Caffe Verona line of K-Cups.


The coffee actually brews, so don't worry about dealing with crummy instant stuff. I'd say it has a bit of a caramel flavour - THIS DOES NOT MEAN IT TASTES LIKE CARAMEL. This is a dark roast coffee, so be prepared for intensity.



A box of 24 K-Cups is $22.49, which comes out to about 94 cents a cup - significantly cheaper than a $2.00 tall in-store. I'm happy using 8 ounces of water with these pods, which keeps it at a healthy dark roast, but you could definitely thin it out and go with 10 ounces or cut it down to 6 (gulp!) and put hair on your chest. Even though a tall coffee is a little larger at 12 ounces, the K-Cups end up costing about 12 cents an ounce versus 17 cents an ounce at Starbucks. Pennies saved, I know, but it adds up.
Perfect for curling up with a good book - I picked The Book Thief.


Pros: Cheap. Convenient.
Faster than waiting in line.

Cons: You kind of need to have a Keurig.