• About / Contact
  • Work With Me
  • Food & Drink
    • asian —>
      • chinese
      • indian
      • japanese
      • korean
      • malaysian
      • taiwanese
      • thai
      • vietnamese
    • brunch
    • coffee and tea
    • dessert
    • fusion
    • happy hour
    • italian
    • greek
    • mexican
    • pub
    • seafood
    • steakhouse
    • vegetarian/vegan
    • western
  • Travel
    • Canada ->
      • Kelowna
      • Sunshine Coast
      • Victoria
    • Japan ->
      • Himeji
      • Kamakura
      • Kobe
      • Kyoto
      • Osaka
      • Tokyo
    • Mexico ->
      • Cancun
      • Isla Mujeres
      • Playa Del Carmen
    • USA ->
      • Las Vegas
      • Los Angeles
      • New York City
      • Seattle
    • Europe ->
      • London
  • Beauty
    • beauty events
    • body
    • eyes
    • face
    • costumes
    • hair
    • lips
    • nails
    • skincare

Curiously Carmen

ACI Fall 2016 Preview

September 2, 2016

I feel as if I haven’t blogged for awhile, although it’s only been a week! As some of you may know already, the past two months were absolutely crazy for me. I finally have the tail end of summer to relax, and I’ve been really trying to savour the sunny days before fall rolls in.

Another year has gone by, and it is time to share with you all the upcoming products from ACI Beauty. ACI is a Canadian beauty distributor, or in super simple terms, they bring products to the shelves of our favourite beauty stores.
Paul & Joe Looney TunesPaul & Joe never fails to impress me with their product designs. Like seriously, who designs their packaging because it is seriously amazing. This season, Paul & Joe have partnered up with Looney Tunes to launch a limited collection set of themed products!

Last fall, the boyfriend and I watched Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, presented by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. I am really loving how companies are coming out with modern ways to invoke nostalgia. (Side note, I really recommend going to the Bugs Bunny at the Symphony if the VSO brings it back! Not sponsored btw)
Paul & Joe blushThese were too cute not to include. Apart from the lipsticks, they also have blush and shadow compacts with the limited edition Looney Tunes sets. Which one is your favourite design?
Paul & Joe catRemember the cat lipsticks I talked about last year? Well, Paul & Joe has launched a new cat blush this season. The cats here are also blush beads. But with a product so cute, I would be really reluctant to use it up.
Cargo CosmeticsCargo is a brand that I’ve seen here and there, but I was able to learn more about it at the event. I am a big fan of palettes, so I am pretty excited to try and test their palettes out!
Korres CreamI raved about my Korres wild rose oil back in May, and have really started to take a liking to this Greek brand. This Fall, they are releasing a few skincare products and a soap bar.

I’ve been using the wild rose day cream & night mask for the past week, the two on the left and right pictured above. So far, it’s been working really well with my skin and leaves it hydrated and plump. I’m going to use it a bit longer before I write the review, but I’ve been really loving it!
Stila HighlighterThis star light, star bright highlighting trio is part of Stila’s holiday collection. Just like their putty foundation that I reviewed last year, the highlighters also have a nice bounce to it.
Stila Liquid LipstickSome liquid lipsticks from Stila! These come in sets of three, but I just put them all together so you can see what colours they offer.
Ceramic GlazeNail polishes from Seche & Ceramic Glaze. Both are companies that I can vouch for. Once I discovered the Seche Vite top coat, there was no going back. Seriously, it’s a phenomenal top coat and I recommend that you try it for yourself if you haven’t already.
Fusion BeautyFusion is a smaller brand that I haven’t tried that much of yet, but so far, I’ve been really liking the browfusion. It is a double ended brow pencil and gel. I love how angled the pencil is, and how easy it is to get a nice shape!

Apart from the browfusion, they seem to specialize in mascaras. Pictured above are their new mascara launches, which I need to try!
St TropezLast but not least, new products from St. Tropez. Self tanning seems pretty intimidating to me, I’ve heard many horror stories of people trying this at home and coming out looking like an orange. Perhaps one day I’ll give it a shot!

However, we were told that the gradual tan mousse (pictured on the right, the white can) is perfect for beginners because the tan builds up slowly!

Press event. Opinions are own.


Filed Under: Beauty, body, events, eyes, face, lips, makeup Tagged: beauty, beauty blog, beauty blogger, beauty community, beauty event, beauty preview, beauty review, canada, vancouver

Nova Scotia Fisherman Overview

August 1, 2016

No, I am not talking about fisherman on Curiously Carmen today! Rather, I am talking about a Canadian based company that was featured on Dragon’s Den. Can you guess which province this is from? Yup, my first product from one of the Maritime provinces!

I’ve been meaning to try these earlier, but unfortunately my grandma passed away last month and I didn’t have the time to fully test these as I was going over to the hospital everyday beforehand and concentrating on full time school as well. My apologies for the late review, but it’s been a very hectic July.

Nova Scotia Fisherman Soap CreamNova Scotia Fisherman started off as a small business selling wax candles run by two nephews. Eventually, they expanded to carrying body care products that features 100% natural ingredients!

To have a little touch from home in their products, Nova Scotia Fisherman proudly features Nova Scotia sea kelp in their products. A portion of all their sales go back to the Nature Conservatory of Canada to protect natural resources, especially in their home province.
Nova Scotia Fisherman Hand CreamHand & body cream ($11.95 CAD): For the past month, I’ve really been loving this hand & body cream and it’s pretty much the only moisturizer I use now. I have absolutely no complaints about it. There is a pleasant, neutral smell to it. The cream is rich and deeply moisturizes my skin without feeling sticky or greasy afterwards.

I can definitely see myself purchasing this cream again. I love using this cream before I sleep, because I wake up with really soft and smooth skin. This would make a great gift for people who use their hands a lot or have constantly dry hands!
Nova Scotia Fisherman Bar SoapAssorted soaps ($7.95 CAD): I was sent a few of their soaps to try. Each of the soaps had a lovely scent to it. Before I had time to review these, I stored them openly in my closet so that my closet would smell nice and fresh!

I was expecting more in terms of moisture. I normally just use bar soap when shaving my legs. When I used one of the soaps to shave my legs, my legs were a lot drier than usual and kinda stung (probably because it didn’t have enough moisture from the soap).

The soap also didn’t lather much, but it didn’t bother me. It had more of a waxy consistency, which makes sense because I mentioned earlier that they started out as a candle company. I still felt nice and clean, and smelled slightly like the fragrance afterwards. Which by the way, they do not use any artificial fragrances!

—-

Overall, I really liked the lotion more than the soaps. I found the soaps to be just alright, and not worth the $7.95 although they cleaned well and smelled really good (naturally).

You can check out and buy their products on their website, with free shipping after $50 CAD. In Vancouver, they are located on shelves in various markets such as Donald’s Market (Nanaimo Street), Pharmasave (Commercial Drive only), Thrift Foods (North Van only), and Whole Foods (West 8th). Check out this page for the full list of retailers!

yay-nay-or-meh

Yay!


Filed Under: body Tagged: bar soap, beauty, beauty blog, beauty blogger, body lotion, canada, natural, natural products, nova scotia, skincare

Bliss Achilles Heel Smoother

July 14, 2016

I first heard of the Bliss Achilles Heel Smoother at the ACI Summer 2016 preview, and was very excited to bring it home with me to try! With summer here, we all want pretty and soft feet to slip our flip flops into. Here is what I thought of the Bliss Achilles Heel Smoother!
Bliss Heel Smoother KitThe Bliss Achilles Heel Smoother is a battery powered, exfoliating device that will leave your feet smooth, soft, and callus free.

Apart from the device, it comes with one exfoliating disc, two buffing pads, a small brush to clean the exfoliating disc, and an aloe peppermint foot softening cream.

The exfoliating disc and buffing pads are interchangeable. You simply lift off the plastic blue lid, and gently pull off the disc.
Bliss Heel Smoother DesignThe device is about the size of a small apple and fits comfortably in my palm (although I can’t wrap my fingers completely around the device).

The machine uses four batteries, which comes included with the device. It is pretty sturdy, but bulky. The majority of the device is reserved for the battery area.
Bliss Heel ExfoliatorThere are two speeds in which the device operates on. In the picture above, the device is turned off. Unfortunately, I accidentally broke the first speed during my first initial trial of the device. I pressed the device against my foot too hard and somehow broke it.

Totally my fault, as the instruction box warns you not to press the device too hard! So, I can only use the higher setting but I think I would have used the higher setting anyways, because I found the lower setting not as effective (hence why I pushed it a bit harder on my foot). *insert embarrassed emoji here*
Bliss Exfoliating Heel DiscMy first impression of the exfoliating disc was that it looked very rough and harsh! It felt and looked as if it could cut my finger if the device was turned on, so I was a bit nervous that it would hurt. >_<

Surprisingly, the disc was actually really gentle on my skin, to the point where I didn’t feel like it was exfoliating at all. I found it really easy to use on my feet, and was able to use just one hand.

My feet aren’t extremely callused and horrible, but they do get dry and a bit callused when I wear flip flops. After going over my heel area, which was the driest and callused area, for about 5 minutes each, I noticed a significant improvement in how soft my feet were!

Since the disc felt so gentle, I didn’t think it was doing much but my feet were a lot smoother and gentle afterwards. I couldn’t stop touching them =P
Bliss Foot Patrol CreamI finished up with the aloe peppermint lotion, which was AMAZING. It was very hydrating, rich, and had a nice strong peppermint scent to it. Applying this lotion to my feet is probably my favourite part. Just be sure to not walk around 5-10 minutes after using it, to let it fully soak and also it’s a bit slippery.

For the ultimate test of efficiency, I put these bad boys to the test on the boyfriend’s feet. They are a lot more callused and dry than mine, and wears steel toe boots at work if that makes any difference. The end product was amazing, and his feet were very smooth as well, although the calluses were still there (those are probably never going away because they are pretty hard calluses).

Overall, I am pretty impressed with the Bliss Achilles Heel Smoother and would recommend purchasing it. I will be using it regularly, especially after wearing flip flops. I used the device three days ago, and my feet are still nice and soft despite wearing flip flops and sandals. I can see myself using the device 1-2 a week to keep my feet nice and soft!
yay-nay-or-meh

Yay!


Filed Under: body Tagged: beauty blogger, bliss, body care, exfoliate, feet, foot, foot scrub, pedicure, skin care, skincare

Caprina Goat Milk Skincare Line

June 30, 2016

Funny enough, I first came across Caprina from the boyfriend! Last year, he was suffering from dry and itchy skin and got so fed up with it that he looked up ways to make his skin less dry. The internet suggested Caprina, and seeing that it was widely available at the supermarket, he gave it a try.

Caprina has been our go-to soap brand and we have purchased this product well over five times in the past year. When I told him that Caprina was going to send me some products, he was very excited to try more of the line out!
CaprinaThe products I received were the body wash, body lotion, and bar soap. Up until now, the only Caprina product we had purchased were the bar soap in original and olive oil. I didn’t like the olive oil one because of the scent, and I found it wasn’t as creamy as the original.

The basis of Caprina products is that everything is made with goat’s milk. Goat’s milk is super hydrating for your skin, along with other ingredients in the products. As well, Caprina is a Canadian brand based in Quebec, so that’s a plus!
Caprina3Starting off with the original bar soap, I have been using this regularly for the past year before Caprina reached out to me. I really like this soap because it cleans very well, and has a creamy lather to it. It is also richly moisturizing, which you can tell once the soap becomes wet.

I always feel super clean after using this soap, and it leaves a nice, light scent on my skin. I have nothing but good words to say about the bar soap!
Caprina2The body wash was new to me, as I had only tried the bar soap. However, I was very pleased when I found out that this product works just as well as the bar soap!

It is also richly moisturizing, and makes your skin feel quenched and clean afterwards. This one has a light feminine, floral scent due to the orchid oil.
Caprina1The third and final product I got to try was the body lotion. The body lotion felt light, and absorbed quickly into my skin without being sticky. Compared to the other two products that have a lighter scent, the lotion smelled more fragrant so I wasn’t expecting that.

Overall, I really love Caprina’s products and am glad that I was able to try two more of their products out! They are also very affordable and great quality. You seriously can’t beat the price for how great these products are! We usually pick ours up at Pricesmart during our weekly grocery trips.

The bar soap retails for $2.50 CAD each, body wash $6.99 CAD each, and body lotion $3.99.

yay-nay-or-mehYay!

Thanks for reading!
Carmen


Filed Under: body Tagged: body, body wash, caprina, goat, goat's milk, soap

Coppertone Clearly Sheer Sunscreen

June 26, 2016

We are approaching the end of June already, yet it feels like November here in Vancouver. I’ve officially been starting to call this month June-uary, seeing the amount of rainfall and clouds we have been getting! Nonetheless, sunscreen is very important even in cloudy weather.
Coppertone Clearly Sheer Sunscreen ReviewThe new Coppertone Clearly Sheer line recently saw a new packaging design. As I’m writing this, I realized the logo with the girl and her dog is not on the packaging anymore!

As a kid, I remember wanting to use Coppertone because of the girl logo, yet my mom always bought other brands so I was disappointed. Looking back, it seems very silly but it shows you that marketing is very important!

The Clearly Sheer line boasts itself on products that feel clean, hydrating and light weight. I’ve tried sunscreens in the past where they feel so oily and heavy, which is the last thing you want on a hot summer day.

Let’s see how these two products worked for me!

Coppertone Clearly Sheer Sunscreen ReviewThe first product I tried was the lotion. I found it pretty average, nothing spectacular or horrible. It wasn’t TOO heavy, but it wasn’t exactly lightweight either.

It is described as having a fresh citrus scent with floral notes, but all I detected was the typical SPF scent. I also found it did not absorb quickly.
Coppertone Clearly Sheer Sunscreen ReviewUnlike the lotion, I liked the spray a lot more! The spray absorbed very quickly, with a dry finish and felt lightweight on my skin. As well, it felt very breathable and fresh with a pleasant scent.

Out of the two, the spray is definitely my preferred choice. I liked how light and matte it dried, while the lotion had a thicker and slight residual stickiness to it.

Both are water resistant, but they recommend reapplying after 80 minutes in the water because it washes off after that. They are available in SPF 30 & 80.

You can find these products at any mass drugstores in Canada, I’m sure you have all seen Coppertone in stores before! Prices range from $8-$10 for each bottle.Whytecliff Park

On that note, let’s hope for some sunshine to come back in Vancouver! Here is a photo of one of the only 30 degree weekends we had in the first week of June. Photo taken at Whytecliff Park!

yay-nay-or-meh

Yay!

Thanks for reading,

Carmen


Filed Under: body

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • …
  • 12
  • Next Page »

Hello!

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

Recent Posts

  • H&P Noodle House Burnaby
  • Travel: Harry Potter Studio Tour (Watford, UK)
  • Travel: The Resident Soho Hotel, London UK
  • North Noodle House
  • Grand Crystal Seafood Restaurant

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Partnerships

View my food journey on Zomato!

Archives

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2025

Copyright © 2025 · Young Blush Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in