curiouslycarmen, Author at Curiously Carmen

Night Out Makeup Look

October 24, 2015

I went out with some friends for dinner over the weekend, and thought I would share the makeup I wore! I haven’t done this for awhile, not since my Valentine’s Day makeup look, I believe – so hope you enjoy reading this as I do love writing posts like these.

Unfortunately, I was in a rush that night so the thought of taking some selfies after my makeup completely slipped my mind. Sorry! I took some pictures with friends but the lighting was pretty dark and bad inside, so those won’t be much help.

Here is all the makeup I used that night.

For my eyes, I wanted to create a smokey eye look and used my Urban Decay Naked palette to achieve the look. Since I was in a rush, I wasn’t able to create as much of a dramatic effect as I wanted but I was still happy with the way it turned out!

After priming my eyes with Urban Decay’s primer potion, I brushed ‘sin’ and ‘toasted’ all over my eyelid. On the outer corners, I blended ‘darkhose’ and ‘hustle’. I also wanted to try my new Sigma angle brush, and used ‘sidecar’ on the lower inner corner to make my eyes seem a bit brighter.(You can click on the photo for a new tab with a larger photo size, so that you’re able to see the names of each shade)

Obsessed Canada has started carrying Sigma brushes and they offer free shipping on products over $25 or a mere $3 flat rate!

As usual, I created a wing with my favourite Kat Von D liquid liner but decided to thicken and extend the line more. I finished my eyes with my new Buxom mascara.

Since I wasn’t getting ready at home, I didn’t want to bring all of my face products with me in my makeup bag. I used my Urban Decay Naked skin foundation all over my face – I love this foundation and it is my definite go-to! For my under eye circles, I used the Estee Lauder Perfectionist concealer which I find does a really good job in brightening your skin.

To set my foundation, I used my Bare Minerals matte powder. Bare Minerals will always have a special place in my heart because it was the first higher end makeup brand I bought. It’s also a really great setting powder or you can use it alone for lighter coverage.
Here is the one picture I have, where you can decently see my makeup although it is a bit grainy! For privacy reasons, the boyfriend has turned into an orange just like in Kelowna.

Thanks for reading!

Press samples featured (Estee Lauder Perfectionist concealer and Sigma angle brush). Opinions are own.

-Carmen

Milestone’s Bar & Grill – Girl’s Night Special

October 19, 2015

Back in the summer, a few of my girlfriends and I went to Milestone’s for their $40 girl’s night special. We have all never had the girl’s night special, but thought it was a really great deal and decided to check it out. This was at the downtown Milestone’s on Robson Street.

The girl’s night special is offered every Monday. It comes with four bellinis and your choice of four select appetizers for only $40, not all appies are valid for this deal. I was expecting the appetizers to be mini size, but turns out it was the full size. That itself makes the girl’s night special already worth it! Oh, in case you are wondering, they also have a guy’s night special where you can get beer instead of bellinis.

Our four bellinis – made with white rum, peach liqueur, sparking white wine, and sangria. Normally, these cost $7.50 each so you are definitely getting a good deal with the special.

You can never go wrong with this bellini, I’ve had it a few times before and the taste is always consistent, no matter which Milestone’s I go to. It is very smooth, sweet, and easy to drink. The perfect drink for relaxing and talking with friends. I find it identical to the bellini at Cactus Club taste-wise, except Milestone’s presentation is neater.
Hot spinach & artichoke dip: I had a friend recommend this to me when I told him I was at Milestone’s, he said it was the best dish there and a must try.

Andddd oh man, did we love this dip. It was amazing. It was incredibly creamy and cheesy, and full of flavour. There was also a generous amount of spinach. Hands down, my favourite appetizer that night. I couldn’t stop eating this!

Baked goat cheese & roasted garlic: I had tried this at a previous visit to Milestone’s, and remembered that it was pretty delicious so we ordered this as well.

The flatbread was really soft and warm, and was dusted with herbs – yum! As for the other toppings, everything went well together. The spiced cranberry relish jam was very sweet, which contrasted the savoury flatbread, goat cheese, and garlic. I am a big fan of arugula and it gave the dish a fresh crunch.

Sorry for the terrible lighting, the restaurant didn’t have good lighting for photos as you can tell!

Piri piri dip: Here is a bit of a side story to give you context on why we were disappointed with the dish, bear with me! When we went back in July, the piri piri dip was actually called the piri piri guacamole. Since it was titled guacamole, we were expecting… well, guacamole. Smooth and creamy avocado deliciousness.

When double checking the menu for this post a few months later, I noticed that they had changed the name of the guacamole to a dip. My friend remembered that it was called guacamole as well, which is why we all wanted to have it – who doesn’t love some guac?? She found an old menu online which called this the guacamole instead of dip.

What arrived was a questionable mound of mostly chick peas instead of the green and creamy guacamole we were expecting. I have nothing against chick peas and I actually love chick peas, but the description totally threw us off. In addition, we found the dip to be really dry, lacking in any flavour, and hard to eat. To make matters worse, we were expecting guacamole so it made an already not-so-good dish to an even worse dish.

I would definitely recommend avoiding this dish to save yourself the disappointment! I’m glad that they decided to rename this to a dip because it is definitely not the guacamole most people know about.

Mango chili shrimp: The shrimp was very fresh with a nice crispy batter and snap to it. It was slightly spicy due to the chili, but sweet due to the mango sauce. We all really enjoyed this dish but wish that it came with a few more pieces of shrimp.

Normally, this would cost $13.75, which doesn’t seem like a great deal for 6 pieces of shrimp – although it is really delicious!

Overall, we had a great time here and enjoyed our food and drinks, except for the piri piri dip confusion. Since we came here for a late dinner, happy hour started half way through our meal and there were more deals being offered!

The $40 girl’s night special is definitely a great value, and I would recommend trying it out. If the four of you were all hungry, it probably isn’t enough food but it’s a great snack after a small dinner. Or, you could just go with two people which would be filling enough for a dinner (you would just have 2 bellinis to yourself!). It’s a good way to try the different dishes Milestone’s has to offer, without paying full price.

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

Birchbox PARLOR Launch Party – Event Recap

October 16, 2015

This week, I was invited to a launch party for Birchbox’s exclusive brand, PARLOR!.PARLOR is a new line of hair care products created by celebrity hair stylist, Jeff Chastain. The event was held at a beautiful boutique hair salon in one of the historic buildings in Gastown, House of Blond.

An event is not complete without delicious food, and boy was I glad to snack on these after a one hour commute straight from work and not having dinner yet. I know this is a beauty post, but I am part food blogger so I definitely have to comment on the catering! There was a great selection of meat, cheese, and fruit.

After some introductions from the ladies who hosted this event – Birchbox, Devon PR, and House of Blond – Sarah, the owner of the salon, led us guests through the new products.

The new products were set up in a few spaces throughout the studio, and the brick wall and greenery provided a beautiful backdrop for Instagram/blog photos!
The products in this picture are the same as the two above, but I thought I would include this picture as well! Pictured here is the new smoothing blowout spray and moisturizing sea salt spray.

One of my favourite things about this line is how simple it is. When Jeff creating the line, he envisioned it to be a simple line, thus eliminating many different steps and maximizing the use of each product.

The line also has a gender neutral scent, so you’re able to use these products without worrying about smelling too girly or manly. It smells very clean, and is composed of ripe peach, fresh cut grass, and wood. The line is also free or paraben, sulfate, and colour. There are also no animal products in it so it is vegan friendly as well.

After talking about the four new products, we each sat in Sarah’s chair and received mini hair makeovers. We told her what we loved about our hair, and what concerns we had. When it was my turn, I told her that my main hair concern was that my hair tends to get oily pretty fast.

Sarah recommended the new sea salt spray for my hair type. She sprayed some in my roots (which smells wonderful, by the way!) and worked her magic on me. My hair was transformed into something that was more textured and voluminous. I was quite shocked at how big of a difference the sea salt spray made in my hair.
I only hope that I can recreate the voluminous look at home, too! I love how my bangs look more textured, and I have that natural, beach hair look even in the chillier weather here in Vancouver.

I also got to meet some other beauty bloggers as well, after only interacting on Instagram! That really made my night as it’s always nice to finally be able to chat in person, and meet new beauty bloggers to follow.

Each of us received full size samples of the new PARLOR line, as well as October’s Birchbox. I’m really excited to try out the products on my hair and write a detailed review on the products.

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

NARS Lipstick – Sephora Birthday Gift

October 14, 2015

My birthday falls on one of the last few days of the year — how unfortunate, right?! I was always the last of my friends to get a driver’s license, be of legal age, and of course, receive my Sephora beauty insider gift.

Over the past few years, the disappointment has weaned off and it doesn’t really bug me anymore. I’ve come to really appreciate my birthday time. After all, I never have to worry about having to study for an exam because it’s winter break, worry about work because it’s a holiday, people are in a great mood because of the holiday season, and I get beautiful holiday decorations!

I was in Sephora in January, and after completing my purchase, the lady at the counter handed me a small NARS box. ‘Here’s your birthday gift!’ She was nice enough to give it then, so I didn’t have to wait an entire year before finally receiving mine! Thank you, Sephora lady!
Admittedly, I forgot about the sample as I usually stick with my one lipstick, and had also bought a couple around that time. It wasn’t until last month during a family dinner, when I noticed my cousin’s strikingly bold red lip. I asked her what she was wearing, and she told me it was the NARS birthday lipstick from Sephora.

After that, I finally decided to open mine to see how it would look on me!
The lighter, rose pink shade is the satin lip pencil in rikugien, and has a hint of shimmer to it. I found that this shade was pretty light and neutral, and would be good for those who want a natural look. Or, it would be suitable if you already have a lot of dramatic eye makeup on, as you typically want to avoid your eyes and lips competing for attention.

I find that light pinkish shades don’t go well with my skin tone. It makes me look sickly pale, LOL! Which is why I liked the hint of shimmer, it didn’t make me look like I was sick. It does have a satin-y look to it so the name is very well suited for the colour.

Meanwhile, the darker shade is the velvet matte lip pencil in cruella. I am a big fan of darker shades, so personally, I liked this one more. However, it is definitely really bold and attention grabbing so you have to wear it with confidence!

Overall, I’ve heard nothing but positive opinions on these two Sephora birthday gifts and I can definitely vouch for them too. The quality is great, they are long lasting, and do not dry out your lips. For a free product, this is really great and would be a product that I wouldn’t mind spending money on either.

Have you received your Sephora birthday gift yet this year? What did you think of it?

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

Jo Ju Hot Pot

October 9, 2015

The Heights neighbourhood has a plethora of cuisines to choose from… from the familiar to the more daring choices. However, the one thing that has been missing in that area is a bubble tea shop, ever since Pearl Drops closed down. I really miss that place.

So you could imagine my happiness when we were driving by this area and I saw a new restaurant signage indicating that they serve bubble tea! I was so excited that I messaged a couple of my friends right away to tell them. Sadly, I kept forgetting the name of the restaurant although it was in the back of my mind the next week… I wanted to read reviews on it but I didn’t know the name and it did not show up on Zomato yet… ahhhh! The next time we drove by, I made a mental note to myself to remember the name. Jo. Ju. Jo ju. Jo ju hot pot….!!

Cheese was helping me on a project one evening in August, so I suggested that we go try that place out before working.
After parking at one of the many free parking lots in this neighbourhood close by, we arrived at the restaurant. It wasn’t really busy, as you can tell from my picture above. We were seated pretty quickly and service throughout our visit was quick and friendly.

The restaurant was pretty clean and simple, most of the furniture there seemed pretty new. It was also pretty spacious and didn’t feel too cramped, with lots of natural light coming through the big windows.
I really did not like the design of the menu, and I felt that the pictures looked very inaccurate.. as if they took it from the internet. Furthermore, Cinnamon had visited this place before me and sent me some pictures, which looked nothing like the menu pictures! So, a word of advice… don’t order based on the menu pictures!

I ordered the seafood hot pot, which came with a bowl of rice on the side.

The broth did not have much depth and was pretty plain, but it wasn’t bad either. It was pretty average. It came with an egg, some shrimp, fish balls, and a mussle which I found on the bottom. You could definitely tell that the shrimp came frozen and did not have a bounce to it.

However, the portion was pretty big. I came in the restaurant really hungry, but left really full from this dish! If you are just moderately hungry, I don’t believe that you’ll need the rice bowl.
The egg came poached and hard, probably due to the hot temperature of the soup. If you’re not a big fan of hard poached eggs, I would recommend that you let them know or it will come out as a hard poached egg.

I also ordered it with medium spice, you can kind of see the spice in the picture. I didn’t find it spicy at all though.
Cheese ordered the signature BBQ meat on rice, but sadly, he thought it was disappointing. There was nothing special about this, you could easily cook this at home for a lot cheaper.

Originally, we were going to try the bubble tea but were too full after our meals to think about ordering a drink!

Overall, the food at JoJu Hot Pot is mediocre at best but it does fill you up. I know that they’re new, so I’m willing to come back another time to see if they have improved. There is not much special about their food, nor is it bad.. it’s just very plain, mediocre, and boring.

In a place like The Heights where there are plenty of restaurants to choose from, or just Vancouver in general, this is definitely nothing special or worth driving out for. It would be a place to go to if you were in the area, and definitely not a place where you would be craving.

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen