The Italian Kitchen

The Italian Kitchen is part of the Glowbal restaurant chain (see my previous review of Glowbal Grill & Satay Bar here), and is located right in the heart of downtown Vancouver. I've been wanting to try this place for ages since I've heard a lot of good things so I was super happy when my bf said he'd take me there for dinner.

Obviously the restaurant serves Italian food, but they do it with a bit of a twist. There are sharing platters like at Glowbal Grill & Satay Bar, as well as lots of pizza and pasta. I opted for their signature Spaghetti with Spicy Kobe Meatballs ($24), which features truffle cream sauce, tomato garlic confit, and herb ricotta. The meatballs are HUGE and super tasty but the best part was definitely the cream sauce on the spaghetti. So good!

For dessert, my bf and I decided to split the tiramisu. Presentation maybe not the best but it was delicious!

Our server was really nice and knowledgeable, but the restaurant was very busy so there was some wait time to order. I suppose when you're doing the whole "fine dining" thing, the wait is to be expected and even wanted. No big deal on that front.

One thing that I wasn't too fond of, however, was how close the tables were to each other. I understand that from a business point of view you want to get as many people in as you can, but as a customer, it's not ideal to be able to hear the intimate conversations of those around you and vice versa. As such, I don't think The Italian Kitchen would be my pick for a super romantic and intimate meal, but I'd definitely go under other circumstances for the delicious food.

Address: 1037 Alberni Street, Vancouver, BC

Website: http://www.theitaliankitchen.ca/

Pink Gradient Nails (+ Revlon Galaxy Top Coat)

I pretty much never do "elaborate" nail designs due to lack of time (thanks, law school!) but since I was in a procrastinating mood, I decided to try out the gradient nail look that's been popular with nail bloggers everywhere.

One problem: the gradient nail look often requires a sheer polish to create a more seamless effect and I hate sheers! Consequently, my nail polish collection is significantly lacking in that department. I refused to let that stop me, however, and eventually came up with this pink gradiant look -- no sponge blending and only one semi-sheer polish required!

Products used: OPI Tijuana Dance?; OPI A-Rose At Dawn... Broke By Noon; Nicole by OPI Star of the Party

Revlon Galaxy Top Coat; Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

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This was also my first time using Revlon Galaxy, a new glitter top coat from the Just Add Sparkle line. This collection contains 4 polish duos: 1 creme base and 1 coordinating glitter top coat. The colours are red, purple, grey, and black. Galaxy is paired with the black polish called Lunar which I didn't buy since I can easily replicate the intended look with my own dark base.

This is apparently the "hot" polish from this collection... I suppose because it's the prettiest? It's a clear base that's packed with black, blue, and silver glitter as well as some larger silver hex glitter. The hexes take a bit of work to get out but the top coat itself goes on quite well.

I have to admit that I wasn't super impressed with this top coat but maybe that's because I didn't use it over a dark base like I'm "supposed" to. I've seen some swatches of it over black and blue where it looks more impressive so I'll have to try that next. And at only $5.99 CAD for a bottle, it's not like this put a big dent in my wallet!

Maybelline The Falsies Mascara

Ever since Maybelline rolled out their ad campaigns for their newest mascara, The Falsies, I've been intrigued. The company claims that this mascara will build your lashes 8x the volume to give you a "false eyelash look." False eyelashes without the hassle of actually applying them? I'm sold!

I picked up The Falsies in "Blackest Black", but it also comes in "Brownish Black" and "Very Black." The mascara features the kera-fiber formula, which you can supposedly build up to create a voluminous look, and the spoon brush is intended to lift and add some curl to your lashes.

Application-wise, Maybelline recommends you repeat coats until you get the look you're going for but since this dries quite quickly, you do have to act fast to avoid clumping.

So did this live up to my expectations?

As you can see, The Falsies didn't really add much volume to my lashes at all. It did, however, seem to add length. For me, volume is much more important than length so I was kind of disappointed with the results. These also don't look like false eyelashes at all (though to be honest, I wasn't really expecting them to... I mean, that would be a miracle product!)

If you are much more concerned about lengthening your lashes, then this might be the mascara for you. But if you are looking for volume or are lazy and want the "false eyelash look" without using false eyelashes, I don't think The Falsies lives up to its promises.

For me, mascara is one of those products that I'm always coveting yet more often than not, I find myself disappointed when I attempt to switch from my HG (Maybelline Volum' Express Turbo Boost, in case you were wondering). I'll continue to use The Falsies, but I think it's back to my tried and true after this!