curiouslycarmen, Author at Curiously Carmen

ACI Beauty Preview Fall/Holiday 2017 (Part 2/2)

September 17, 2017

Continuing my ACI Beauty Preview for Fall/Holiday 2017, here is part 2/2!

Read part 1 to learn about the new releases from Ardell, Stila, and Korres!

There is no better way to describe CLEAN’s products other than that they smell, well, clean! Spritzing their scents make me feel like I just did laundry (yes they have a laundry sent!).

Pictured above are some products from their core collection, aka the staples! I love how they match the flavours in the back.

My favourites are the cool and warm cotton!

These are the rollerball version of their perfumes. They are a great addition to a makeup purse or bag!

The cool thing about CLEAN is that they encourage you to come up with your own unique scent by layering their different scents. I’ve tried this at the events before and there wasn’t a combination that I did not like.

As mentioned, the products above are from their core collection. However, this Warm Cashmere is one of their limited edition products and new for the fall.

I found it to be suitable for either sex. It was very reminiscent of autumn days!

This was the first time that Sekkisei was introduced at an ACI event! I had written a review previously on their White Powder Wash, which you can read here.

Sekkisei is a brand with Asian influences, as you can see with the different Asian herbs/spices and Chinese writing. My Chinese reading is limited (although fluent in speaking) but the first character says snow. Asian beauty revolves on having fair, pale white skin so I am not surprised that snow is in their name.

From left to right:
Herbal gel, facial cream wash, treatment cleansing oil, enriched emulsion, and lotion enriched. Yes, those are the official names for those products!

Last but not least, Paul & Joe! Happy to see their cat shaped lipsticks once again 🙂

New for this holiday/Christmas season are the products on the right- the makeup bag, sparkling foundation primer, and pink/blue hand creams. I love anything that sparkles so I would love to try out the primer!

There are many great releases as usual! What are you most excited to try?

Poke Bar SFU

September 13, 2017

Poke poke poke! No, I am not poking you, I am talking about one of the latest food trends in Vancouver right now, poke! Or am I poking you?

Poke Bar at SFU opened up a few months ago in Cornerstone. The vibe inside is Hawaiian and the staff have always been really friendly. They had a Groupon deal last month, so Peanut and I decided to check it out! I’ve also came here when others wanted to grab a quick lunch which is why I say their staff have always been nice, despite only eating here once!

The Groupon deal was $20 worth of food for $12, which was pretty good! Pictured above is their protein section. There is also a tofu option for vegetarians/vegans.

With our small and regular size, we didn’t quite make the $20 mark so we spent a few minutes choosing what types of add-ons to get. We each ended up getting the avocado add-on, and sharing a drink. The staff member recommended that we both get the regular size next time to reach the $20 mark.

I was too busy catching up with Peanut and forgot to take a photo of hers, but here is mine! I chose to get half rice/salad, tuna shoyu, and pretty much all the standard veggie toppings.

The tuna was marinated very well and tasted fresh! I also quite enjoyed the rest of my lunch too. They pack the container pretty well, which made it really filling!

Peanut ordered the tofu option, and said that the tofu wasn’t marinated. But she ended up using the sauces provided so it all worked out.

Poke Bar is a great addition to SFU’s food scene and is a definite hit. I haven’t seen it empty yet! It’s a great healthy and fresh option when you’re sick of the usual food on campus (I’m looking at you, Subway!).

On another strange note, I tagged along when my friend got lunch here one day, and there was something in the air that was stinging my eyes. ????? We sat down for about 15 minutes until I ended up having to close my eyes because they were beginning to tear up LOL. It was very strange because once we left, I was fine. We concluded that they were probably cutting onions for the poke bowls and my eyes picked up on it??? Strange!

Yay!

Grand Dynasty Chinese Restaurant

September 10, 2017

It was a special occasion, so my parents, boyfriend and I decided to try a different and more upscale Chinese restaurant for dim sum. Grand Dynasty is located in Grand Villa casino by BCIT. A good thing about this place is that there is lots of free parking! There is a designated parking lot beside the restaurant, but most people don’t see it because the casino is covering it. I’m pretty sure you can also use the multi-level free casino parking lot, but I’ve never tried that… so if you get a ticket, it ain’t my fault!

We didn’t think that we needed reservations on a late Friday afternoon as dim sum peak hours were finished, so we were quite surprised when we were told there was a 30 minute wait! But we wanted to try this place, so we waited and looked at the menu. It actually ended up only being a 20 minute wait so yay!

Garlic shrimp spring rolls: The garlic shrimp spring rolls were so tasty! The shrimp inside was fresh, bouncy and plump. There was also a good amount of garlic inside. The spring roll shell itself was fresh and crunchy.

Shrimp dumpling: A classic dim sum dish. Again, the shrimp and veggies inside tasted fresh. However, we found it to be a bit smaller than average so that was a bit disappointing.

Sticky rice wrap: I’m used to seeing the sticky rice wrap served individually, so was a bit surprised when it came out in one big wrap to share! But I was told that this is the traditional way of serving it. I actually preferred it this way because sticky rice is always so filling. With this method, I can scoop less so I don’t end up feeling super stuffed. Anyways, moving on to the taste… it was tasty, no complaints. A good amount of meat inside as well.

BBQ pork buns: We really love Wah Lun‘s BBQ pork buns, so we wanted to see how it compared. Wah Lun’s was definitely better. Although the BBQ pork buns weren’t bad, we were all disappointed by the size of them.

Egg tart: The egg tarts were warm and delicious with a nice flaky shell. But as with the shrimp dumpling and BBQ pork buns, we all thought the size was small.

We ordered more dishes for the four of us, but I was too hungry and tired that day to remember to take more photos.

The food taste and quality of the food is there, but the sizes were a bit smaller than we were all used to. The prices are also a bit higher since it is more upscale. Grand Dynasty wouldn’t be our first choice for dim sum, but I don’t think we would mind coming back if a relative suggested it.

ACI Beauty Preview Fall/Holiday 2017 (Part 1/2)

September 8, 2017

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the ACI Beauty Preview event for Fall/Holiday 2017. Even though it was the epitome of a hot summer’s day, we were treated to the sneak peek of some holiday/Christmas launches!

As usual, this event will be divided into two posts because I hate having long, endlessly scrolly (yes I just made that word up) posts!

Starting off, I was given some Ardell lashes to try on! I was a bit hesitant due to my glasses, but we found a pair that went very nicely with my glasses. The best part of all? It didn’t touch my lens.

This re-sparked the love affair I have with falsies and encouraged me to wear them more often, now that I know there are lashes out there that won’t interfere with glasses!
The Stila Stay All Day foundation has undergone a few changes in the past year! Last year, the packaging of the bottle was changed. This year, they have added many new shades to the line! As well, the cap contains a hidden concealer now too!

You can read my previous review about this foundation here! I quite enjoyed this foundation.
Holiday/Christmas lip sets from Stila!

Pictured are:

-Big Shots Eyeliner & Mascara duo (back, far left)
-Star Studded Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick Set of 8 (back, middle)
-Written in the Stars Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Set (back, left)
-Eye for Elegance Liquid Eyeshadow Set of 6 (front, right)
-Play It Cool Stay All Day Lipstick (front, left – there are 3 packs in various shades shown)

The new Stila one step primer! The crystal clear base in the new primer has 50% water. This gives the product a lighter, more refreshing feel than most silicone-based primers.
Moving on to Korres – two new products pictured above! The first one on the left with the smoothie is the Greek Yogurt Undereye Priming Moisturizer. The coolest part to me was how cold the applicator tip is, which helps to minimize puffy and swollen eyes in the morning.

The second product underneath the roses is the new Wild Rose Moisturizer/Primer. I got so excited about this launch that I wrote a review pretty quickly about it! You can read that review here.
Holiday/Christmas gift sets from Korres!

The gift set on the far left is the Greek Wonders Skin Kit, which contains travel sized skincare products. I always recommend getting travel sized products if you want to discover a variety of different products! This is a pretty good deal for $49 CAD considering that one full size product costs more than that.

The gift set in the back is the Total Body Indulgence, which is a 6-piece set of shower gels/body butters – there is a guava scent in this gift set which I REALLY want to smell!

Lastly, the gift set in the front is the Body Butter Delights which includes the following scents: yogurt, guava, basil-lemon, bergamont-pear, and white blossom!

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Stay tuned for part 2, which features CLEAN, Sekkisei, and Paul & Joe!

Pixi Vitamin Makeup Mist

September 5, 2017

Earlier this year, I attended a Pixi media event to celebrate the launch of Pixi products at Shoppers Drug Mart! Prior to that, I heard of Pixi from Youtubers so I was excited to see and hold the products in person myself.

This will be the first Pixi product review on the blog, but expect more to come! The product I will be reviewing today is the Pixi Vitamin Makeup Mist.

What it says (Taken from PixiBeauty.com):

-Boosting Treatment Toner mist gives a revitalized awakened effect to complexion
-The orange blossom water base is blended with skin-loving citrus fruit extracts, lavender, and arginine
-Strengthens and tones
-Adds hydration and a protective veil
-Cools, refreshes, & wakes up skin

Rather than a morning or night moisturizer, the mist is intended for use throughout the day when your skin could use a bit of a pick me up. Think of it as happy hour but for your skin :).

Application: The first time I used this, I sprayed it about 5 times on my face. It was definitely way too much product and dripped everywhere, which was my fault. I think 2-3 spritz would be ideal.

It had a very refreshing citrus scent and reminded me of this Korean tangerine tea I drink sometimes. The product sprays out wet, and then slowly absorbs into your skin. I found it a bit tacky for the first 5-10 minutes while my skin absorbed it.

After the tacky, drying period my skin did feel more refreshed. Perhaps it was the tangerine smell but I did enjoy adding this to my skincare routine!

-Great, refreshing tangerine smell
-Does a great job at moisturizing skin

-The text on the packaging is difficult to read

Yay!

Press product featured. Opinions are own.