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Curiously Carmen

TRESemmé Reverse Beauty-Full Volume system

February 29, 2016

Happy Leap Day!!! This is the first time a post has ever been published on February 29th here on Curiously Carmen 🙂 The next time this happens will be in 4 years, I wonder where Curiously Carmen will be in 2020!

——

I’ve used TRESemmé for many years back in high school. It was all my mom ever bought because it was pretty cheap for a large bottle, and we love to save money wherever we can! I ended up using the same line for so many years that eventually my hair built tolerance to it, and found my hair got oily faster. I was also getting tired of the smell after so long, and finally ended up buying my own drugstore shampoo instead.

TRESemmé has recently launched a new line of hair products called the Beauty-Full Volume system. This is my first time coming back to TRESemmé after a couple years, even though I have used it occasionally when I ran out of my usual shampoo and used my mom’s. I have been trying out this new line for a bit over a week now, and here is what I thought of it!

TRESemmé Reverse Beauty-Full Volume systemWhat sets this line apart from other products is that you are supposed to use the conditioner first, and then shampoo! Following the proper steps will lead to what TRESemmé describes as ‘bouncy, touchable hair’.
TRESemmé Reverse Beauty-Full Volume systemStep 1)  TRESemmé Beauty-Full Volume Pre-Wash Conditioner: As mentioned above, you are supposed to condition your hair first. I liked that this came in a pump bottle, as it was easy to dispense the product. It has a clear but slightly thick consistency to it.

After using 2-3 pumps and leaving this on for one minute as you would with any conditioner, you rinse it off. Since I have an oily hair type, I only used this starting from the middle of my hair, down to the tips. As I washed the conditioner off, I instantly felt my hair transform into something more soft and ‘flowing’, if that makes any sense.

TRESemmé Reverse Beauty-Full Volume systemStep 2)  TRESemmé Beauty-Full Volume Shampoo: Following is the shampoo! I wished that the shampoo came with a pump as well, but no big deal. I squirted some product into my hand first, about the size of a Canadian quarter. Then, I lathered it into my hair.

I love the smell of this shampoo! It smells very refreshing, and reminds me of green apple. Not too feminine, so males in the household could use this as well. I found that it lathered quite a bit, which made me feel like it did a great job in cleaning.
TRESemmé Reverse Beauty-Full Volume systemStep 3) TRESemmé Beauty-Full Volume Hair Maximizer: After getting out of the shower, apply the maximizer to damp hair, then blow dry. I normally don’t put product in my hair after I wash it, but this would be good on special occasions where I want my hair to look a bit nicer!

I found that the maximizer further softened my hair and it also tamed flyaways.

Overall, I really like TRESemmé’s new line and could see myself continuing to use it. I love the fresh scent, and how volumized, clean and soft my hair looks!

Even after twelve hours of wash, I can still smell the shampoo on my hair and my hair feels nice and light, but volumized at the same time. My friend also commented that my hair looked more volumized too!

yay-nay-or-meh

Yay!

Thanks for reading!

Carmen


Filed Under: hair Tagged: beauty, beauty blogger, conditioner, drugstore, hair, hair care, haircare, shampoo, tresemme

Seche Vite Top Coat Review

February 26, 2016

I’ve been on the hunt for a great top coat for awhile now. It’s something I’ll quickly think about while looking at my chipped nails, and then I forget about it. Well, I finally did some research online and most, if not all, reviews recommended the Seche Vite top coat!
Seche Vite Top Coat ReviewSince this is not available in stores here in Canada, I placed an order at NailPolishCanada.com for $8.95.

It was my first time ordering from them, and the products arrived pretty quickly. They also have free shipping over $25 CAD, which is a pretty good deal that I took advantage of.

Seche Vite Top Coat ReviewTo test this out, I used a cheap drugstore nail polish which was notorious for chipping on me within twenty four hours.

As you can see, 48 hours later and there was NOT a single chip on the nails that have this top coat! That is simply amazing. I’ve never been able to wear a drugstore polish for two days without chipping before.

Seche Vite Top Coat ReviewAfter three days, the top coat was starting to give. I have the most chipping on my right second and third nails, as those are the two nails that receive the most wear and tear usually. Without the top coat, this would probably be the result of my nails after 24 hours with this polish.

However, I do warn you to be careful if you’re applying this over nail art. The top coat ended up smudging the white dots (you can kind of tell on the fourth nail, the middle dot is a bit smudged).

Overall, I am really impressed with the seche vite top coat and will definitely be using and repurchasing it. I’m so glad that I discovered this top coat as I will be less annoyed with polishes that chip very easily!

yay-nay-or-meh

Yay!

Thanks for reading!

Carmen


Filed Under: nails

Current Night Routine | Winter Edition

February 22, 2016

Ever since Winter came along, my skin has been pretty dry. I’ve been finding myself wearing more moisturizer and using less abrasive skin products. I thought I would talk about my current night routine, as I don’t think I have before and I always like to see what products other people use before bed!

This routine will probably change once Spring comes – can’t wait for the sun to hang around longer each day! This getting dark at 4 pm business is no bueno…

Also, this is my full face routine that I’ll do after wearing a full makeup look. When I’m just wearing eyeliner or no makeup at all, I often won’t do all these steps.

NightRoutine1) Lancome bi-facil eye makeup remover: I’ve tried many makeup removers, but the Lancome one is the best I’ve used for getting ready to bed. This easily removes ALL your eye makeup, even when you have primer and waterproof product on!

2) First Aid Beauty cleanser: I wrote a review about the First Aid Beauty cleanser last month, and it has currently been my go-to. It effortlessly removes all foundation and leaves your skin feeling moisturized without overdrying.

3) Vichy Idealia Skin Sleep: I only recently started introducing this into my skin regime, but I love it so far! I use this for days when I feel that I need only light moisturizer. The lotion is also a nice, soft pink colour and smells wonderful! It reminds me of a garden.

4) Estee Lauder nutritious vitality8 night cream/mask: I’ve been using this for awhile now! My skin is normally pretty oily so I don’t need heavy moisturizer. However, this has been a saviour in the winter because it is so intensely rich and moisturizing. My skin feels nice and plump when I wake up in the morning, no matter how cold/dry it is!

Thanks for reading!

Carmen


Filed Under: body, face

Manzo Japanese Restaurant

February 19, 2016

Back during winter break, one of our friends came to visit from Calgary and had one specific dining request: somewhere with amazing takoyaki. Since all of us don’t really eat takoyaki except at the night market in the summer, we came to Manzo based on another friend’s coworker’s recommendation.
Manzo Japanese Restaurant Richmond VancouverOne thing I don’t like about this area of Richmond is how hard it is to find parking! Since there are so many restaurants, parking is hard to find and their lot is always full on weekends.
Manzo2The restaurant is pretty cramped, dark, and not that comfortable to sit in. Since we had six people, they gave us a small extra table at a four person booth but we constantly had to try to skooch in while staff walked by.
Manzo Japanese Restaurant Richmond VancouverSalmon salad, 8.95: Not sure why I was wanting a salmon salad that day, but I did. The salmon did not taste fresh at all. It had a strange, old taste to it. The greens were fresh and crunchy and went well with the vinagrette dressing.
Manzo Japanese Restaurant Richmond VancouverTakoyaki, $6.95: Since there were six of us and everyone loves takoyaki, we ordered three plates of it. In retrospect, perhaps we should have only ordered one, plus more if it was good.

This was delicious and cooked perfectly! Nice and doughy inside, with the signature takoyaki sauce and bonito flakes generously topped. I would definitely come back here for some great takoyaki. Our friend from Calgary left very satisfied 🙂
Manzo Japanese Restaurant Richmond VancouverDeep fried squid, $5.95: The squid tasted fresh and was really crunchy! I don’t remember what the mixture of spices were, but it was deliciously savoury.
Manzo Japanese Restaurant Richmond VancouverGrilled chicken skewer, $5.95 for 3 skewers: Compared to Q Shi Q, the chicken skewers here at Manzo were a lot bigger. They had a nice, grilled and smoky taste to it and simple salt/pepper/soya sauce seasoning.
Manzo Japanese Restaurant Richmond VancouverMentaiko udon, $11.99: After effortlessly making mentaiko udon at home, I don’t think I would order it at a restaurant anymore. My friends ordered this and thought that it was okay, nothing too special.
Manzo Japanese Restaurant Richmond VancouverSeafood pancake, $8.95: My friends ordered this and thought it was delicious. I mean, just look at how much sauce and flakes are on top – it has to be delicious! 🙂

—

All in all, Manzo would be a great place for late night snacks and to hang out with a small group of friends (under 4 people). The seating was pretty cramped and I don’t recall if they had any tables for larger party sizes.

Apart from the weird tasting salmon sashimi, all the other food was pretty decent and service was quick (although not really friendly, but that’s to be expected at an Asian restaurant haha).

yay-nay-or-meh

Yay!

Thanks for reading!

Carmen

Manzo Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato


Filed Under: food & drink, japanese, seafood

Valentine’s Day Makeup 2016

February 15, 2016

Happy belated Valentine’s Day, everyone! I hope you had a great day celebrating love. I think it’s a great day to just appreciate each other although yes, you should be doing that everyday 🙂

Last year, I shared my Valentine’s Day makeup look with you all so I thought I would do the same this year too. This year, the boyfriend and I kept things pretty low-key and simple. We just went out to one of my favourite Japanese restaurants in Vancouver and exchanged small gifts!
ValentinesMakeup1Since we are both pretty busy on the weekdays, we use the weekends to just be lazy (although I’ve been pretty busy with school, work and my blog). Admittedly, this makeup look was completed under ten minutes while we were binge-watching Brooklyn 99. But I still think it turned out decently, even if I was partly watching TV!

I wasn’t planning on doing an eyeshadow look, but since I was just wearing my everyday casual clothes, I wanted to dress up my eyes a little bit.

Part of the reason why I like the Naked 3 palette the least is probably due to the more rosy and pink tones they have. I find that it doesn’t really go well with my skin tone.
ValentinesMakeup3I was just planning on using ‘trick’ over my eyelids, but for some reason, I found myself playing with the other colours as well.

To create this look, dust the shade ‘trick’ generously over your eyelid with the larger, round brush in the palette. The goal is to apply it in circles, so that the colour blends more evenly. Then, use the same rounded brush tip in the shade ‘mugshot’ on the outer corners of your eye to start the smoky eye.

Afterwards, use the flatter brush tip in the palette and lightly dab ‘blackheart’  on the outer corner as well. You can build this colour depending on how much of a smoky eye you want. Once you’re satisfied with the amount of colour, use the rounded tip and blend, blend, BLEND!

To freshen up the look, I applied the same shade I used in the beginning, ‘trick’ in the inner corner and middle of my eyelid. Then, I used my Dollywink eyeliner to line my upper eyelids.

ValentinesMakeup2I finished the look on the rest of my face with the Anastasia brow gel, Covergirl clean foundation, and Chanel lipstick in shade ‘etole’.

Thanks for reading!

Carmen


Filed Under: eyes, face, makeup

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Hi and welcome to Curiously Carmen! I am Carmen, the girl behind the blog. You can read more about me here!

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