Curiously Carmen

Essence Liquid Lipstick

Sooo… I had taken these photos back in October, but completely forgot about them until I was clearing out my phone photos! But, better late than never right? I bought two of the essence liquid lipsticks to try out for my failed October lipstick challenge. They were only $3.50 each which is a really good deal.

Ever since I discovered essence, I’ve been raving about it non-stop. So far, I’ve tried their eyebrow pencil, lip liners, lipsticks, and now, the liquid lipstick. The crazy thing is that the total price I spent on 7 products has been under $40!

What it says (Taken from essence website):
Liquid love! This NEW formula combines the best of both lipstick and lipgloss. Get the impact and coverage of a lipstick with the moisturizing shine of a gloss.

For $3.50, the packaging was very good quality. It came in a sturdy clear tube so you could see how much product you had left and what shade was inside. The lid was stamped with the essence ‘e’. 

Application: With the term liquid lipstick, I was expecting it to be more pigmented than it was. These are definitely more on the lip gloss side and applied sheenly. I had to use 3 swipes to get a pigmented colour. Even then, it was a bit difficult to have an even application because with every swipe, the colour would move around on your lips.

Wear: I could definitely feel that I was wearing product, as it felt a bit sticky like lip gloss. Maybe if I only wore 1 layer I wouldn’t feel it, but then it would just look like a clear sheen. They transferred easily and did not last that long.
Wearing 05 peach party.


Wearing 02 beauty secret.

  • Very affordable, only $3.50 each
  • Great study packaging and design
  • Great shine

  • Definitely not a liquid lipstick, should have been marketed as a lip gloss
  • Not pigmented enough to be a liquid lipstick

Yay as a lipgloss, nay as a liquid lipstick. So maybe a meh? Haha!

With the term liquid lipstick, I had much higher expectations and it fell short. However, this would be a decent lip gloss for the price. It would look nice over a lipstick for an added sheen!

So, I would recommend this as a lip gloss but not a liquid lipstick!

Product purchased by myself. Opinions are own.

 

 

Benefit Watts Up Highlighter

I heard many great things about the Benefit Watts Up highlighter, so I decided to buy it on Boxing Day (aka my birthday!). I am currently on a highlighter obsession and can’t get enough. Although, I try to limit my usage to 2x a week or less because my skin breaks out really easily once I start using foundation. I usually just wear it for a few hours on the weekend when I’m doing errands or meeting up with friends.

The Benefit Watts Up highlighter comes in a plastic stick packaging. On the other end, there is a small rounded foam brush which I have yet to use. It is packaged nicely and feels pretty sturdy. There is a small plastic covering under the main lid to further protect the highlighter.

Because of its simple yet durable packaging, this is a great product to bring while travelling or just in your purse. As mentioned above, it comes with a small and dense foam brush but I’ve mostly just blended this with my fingers.

What Sephora says: Benefit’s bestselling highlighter turns up the wattage with a delicate, champagne glow and soft-focus effect. Its smooth application and luminous sheen switches on the “wow” factor for any complexion. Apply it to cheeks and browbones, then then sculpt the complexion with the soft-glow blender to achieve the perfect gleam.

Application: Application for the highlighter is tremendously easy, and super friendly for beginners! To use, you just twist the stick so the highlighter comes out, and drag it lightly on your cheeks/nose/wherever you want to highlight.

It is quite pigmented so you don’t need to use much, but I always drag it along my cheek 3-4 times for maximum highlight ;). You do have to drag it across your cheek slowly though, because it is more on the heavier side.

Wear: The highlighter sits nicely on top of my foundation and does not move around, nor does it have any fallout. It is a cream highlighter, so I found it a bit heavier than my powder highlighter but that’s a given. Cream beauty products are always thicker than powder beauty products.

When I want an extra poppin’ highlight and layer more, it does feel slightly heavy and not as comfortable.

Here is a picture taken from my Instagram (@curiouslycarmen) story. This is with about 2 layers of the highlighter, and you can definitely see how bright it is! Just the way I like it!

I really do like the Benefit Watts Up highlighter. It gives a beautiful champagne glow that can be subtle, or glammed up depending on your preference. It is super buildable despite feeling a bit heavy and sticky if you apply lots of it.

Currently, there is only one shade which is called ‘Radiant Finish’. I would describe it as a cool toned pinkish/white shade, which is not intimidating at all if you’re just beginning. I think this is a very versatile shade and would look good on a variety of skin tones.

 

Yay!

Product purchased by myself. Opinions are own. 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Ultimate Glow Kit

I am late to the highlighting trend…but better late than never! I don’t really know where the trend came from, but it is one that I find really pretty. Highlight is just so pretty to look at in photos! That is also because I really love sparkle and glitter.

For my birthday, I decided to treat mahself to one of the best, if not best, highlighters there is- the Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit! This is one of the most popular glow kits on Youtube and Instagram, and for good reason, as you’ll soon find out.

What it says (Taken from Sephora): A set of six metallic powder highlighters for intense luminosity. The powders feature intense payoff and the ultra-fine milled formula won’t leave any shimmer particles when removed. The effect is a smooth, even glow that lasts.

I decided to get the Ultimate Glow Kit set rather than the Glow Kit because I’ve been wanting a highlighter for a while… so why not go big or go home right? I hardly ever buy things for myself so I wanted it to be a nice treat. Last time I ended up getting the smaller Kat Von D shade & light eye quad, I ended up returning it for the larger palette because the value was better.

The packaging is nice and sturdy, with a subtle glitter on the outside. Even though it is cardboard, it feels durable. Inside, there is a large mirror with the ‘A’ symbol.

You can see the extra fine grains of glitter in each shade that are responsible for the beautiful result. Most shades in here were variations of bronze/gold, with the exception of the shade ‘snow’. The most flattering shades for my skintone were ‘white sand’ and ‘amber gold’, both in the middle. ‘Golden dawn’ was a bit too yellow for my skin tone.

Application: As the description on Sephora says, I found that application was very smooth and did not have any shimmery fallout. With highlighters, it may be hard to see in certain lighting and if you don’t move tilt your head. While applying this with my face straight from the mirror, it was hard to see the shimmery effect. But once I tilted my head, I could definitely see the highlighter.

Wear: Throughout the evening, I did not notice any smudging or fallout. It sat nicely on top of my foundation the entire evening.

In the pictures, I am wearing a combination of ‘white sand’, ‘amber gold’, and ‘hot sand’ on my cheeks. For my nose and cupids bow, I am wearing ‘white sand’. Sorry for lack of DSLR pictures but you can still see the highlight with iPhone quality 🙂

I really love this highlighter, and I have to agree with all the great reviews. It goes you a beautiful, lasting and luminous glow.

  • Gives you a beautiful glow that lasts
  • No shimmery fallout

  • Some shades are pretty similar (mostly variations of bronze)

 Yay!

Product purchased by myself. Opinions are own.

Etude House Lip Mask Review

I love trying Asian beauty products, but I don’t get to try Asian products as much as I want due to lack of Asian beauty stores in Canada. I also hate waiting for products to ship, and rather have the instant gratification of buying in person! Luckily, Maki loves to purchase Asian products and I was able to try this product out as a gift.
Etude House is pretty much a staple in Asia. Although it is Korean, you can find it in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, pretty much in any big Asian metropolis. Think of Etude House as the Covergirl or Maybelline equivalent, in terms of availability and price-wise.

Initially, when I first heard of lip masks, I wasn’t sure what the point of them was. I mean, don’t lip balms pretty much do the same thing? But after reading a few reviews on lip masks, I was curious to try them out.

On this particular day, I had just returned home from a weekend getaway in Victoria, where I sadly caught a nasty cold. Whenever I get sick, my lips get really dry and cracked because I have to breathe through my mouth. Even my normally trusty ol’ Burt’s Bees lip balm wasn’t helping! It was the perfect opportunity to try out this lip mask.
Etude House is so popular that even though it is a Korean brand, they have English for their non-Korean customers. There are instructions on the back that were quite easy to follow, along with a cute picture!

I tried the cherry flavour, which had a pleasant and nice scent to it. Even though it is a lip product, I didn’t want to exactly taste or eat the product to taste whether there was a cherry taste LOL. But, the scent was definitely there!

The mask is a gel texture and moderately soaked in product. Compared to face masks where the product juices are known to spill out and drip everywhere, the lip gel mask was definitely a LOT cleaner to use. Because it was a gel texture, it also had a bit of a cooling effect!
I found that the mask did not stick well to my skin, so I ended up lying down when using it. Part of the reason is because the mouth sticks out from your face and isn’t a flat surface, so it’s harder for the mask to cling on to (I suck at explaining but hope that made sense!).

I would also recommend that your lips be slightly opened, so that more product can be absorbed.

I also mentioned above that the reason why I decided to try this out was because I was sick with a cold, and my lips were very cracked and dry. Well, I should have thought of this idea more thoroughly because it was so hard to breathe! Actually, scratch that- I couldn’t breathe due to my stuffed nose. I ended up poking a hole in the middle of the mask for air LOL!

After taking off the mask, my lips were noticeably a lot softer and smoother. Because I was sick, the softness only lasted about 3 hours. But, I have full confidence that it would have lasted longer should I not had to breathe through my mouth and lips.

  • Mess free, product does not drip everywhere
  • Has a nice scent
  • Leaves lips soft and smooth

  • Hard for mask to stick on your lips unless you lie down
  • If you’re sick with a stuffed nose like I was, make sure you poke a hole in the middle so you can breathe LOL!

Yay!

Product received as a gift. 

LUSH Mask of Magnaminty Face & Body Mask

Back in November, I was on the search for a good face mask. I don’t often use face masks, but had been wanting to incorporate them on a regular, weekly schedule. I ended up deciding to go with the LUSH Mask of Magnaminty, a product that I have used and loved in the past! LUSH products will never fail to disappoint.

What Lush says:
“This tingly, minty face and body mask was formulated to be intensely cleansing but never harsh or abrasive. Kaolin clay and peppermint oil rid your pores of debris, giving you a delightfully tingly clean sensation. We add loads of ground aduki beans to exfoliate flaky or dry skin, vanilla absolute to calm redness and honey to soothe and moisturize.”
Many of LUSH’s face masks are fresh face masks, which means they need to be used in under 2 weeks and kept in the fridge all the time. I’m not the type of person to finish a product in 2 weeks, which is why I went with the Mask of Magnaminty (was having a hard time deciding between this or Cosmetic Warrior, which is also good).

The Mask of Magnaminty is self preserving, which means that it does not contain synthetic preservatives such as methylparaben, propylparaben, phenoxyethanol and benzyl alcohol. Instead, self preserving products include natural preservatives such as salt and honey.

I liked how this one does not expire as fast as the fresh face masks and was a bit cheaper!
The texture of the mask is pretty thick and reminds me of thick oatmeal. As with all LUSH products, the ingredients are almost all natural and you can pronounce them. I always feel really good ethically when using LUSH products because they have an awesome working culture/environment and just overall really great company policies/practices.
Another thing I love about this mask is the scent. As the name suggests, it has a clean, fresh and minty smell. After using this, my skin feels instantly refreshed and soft. It’s weird how it also improves my mood temporarily, but I guess facials/relaxing beauty routines do have that effect on us beauty lovers!

Whenever I’m on the verge of a breakout, I always rely on LUSH to combat my zits and oiliness! Mask of Magnaminty works really well with my oily/combination skin. If you’re new to trying their products, you could also ask for a sample before purchasing (minus the fresh face masks). That way, you’ll know if the product would work well with your skin.

  • Leaves skin feeling really refreshed and deep-cleaned
  • Helps combat breakouts
  • Nice, refreshing minty smell

  • Should use it up relatively quickly since it is free of preservatives (not really a con though, but I can’t think of any cons to this product because I love it so much LOL)

Yay!

Product purchased by myself. Opinions are own.