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Curiously Carmen

ACI Beauty Fall/Holiday 2015 Media Preview – Part 2/2

August 23, 2015

In early August, I was invited to the ACI Beauty event to experience their Fall/Holiday 2015 collection! I already mentioned this in part 1, but just in case you haven’t read that yet, ACI Beauty is one of the biggest beauty distributors in Canada. ACI Beauty works with many reputable beauty companies to help their products get on the shelves for us beauty lovers.

At the event, we were guided throughout some of their newest products for next season. Welcome to part 2/2!

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I have seen some CLEAN products in Sephora before, but never had the chance to learn or test them out until that day. We got to smell some of the perfumes that day, and I enjoyed all of the different scents.  If you’re someone who likes light and neutral scents, then this is the line for you.

I had a few friends that came over and played with the samples, and all of them said that the perfumes smelled like ‘clean laundry’.

I currently keep one of the rollerball minis in my purse,the light blue one in the middle of the box named ‘cool cotton’. It smells very refreshing and wakes me up a bit when I first put it on. The size is very convenient, and good to use on-the-go.

I also found that the CLEAN products are very gender neutral, maybe it’s just moi?? By that, I mean they don’t have a distinct ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ scent – it just smells like very clean soap! Although these products are catered towards women, I think that men would be able to wear this as well.
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This product was highly raved about with the ACI ladies, they use this almost every day at home!

The Bliss triple oxygen instant energizing mask initially goes on your skin as a gel, but slowly turns into a foam as you rub it on your face. The foam expands on your face depending on much dirt or oil you have, so the foam size can vary each day. It also has a very nice grapefruit smell to it.

I posted this on my Instagram already, but am I ever in love with this Paul and Joe lipstick! This lipstick is part of Paul and Joe’s Fall 2015 ‘Cafe Parisien’ line.

To make this cute cat lipstick, Paul and Joe uses a Japanese candy-making technique called Kintaro-ame, which depends on two separate tubes – one columnar and one cat-shaped. This ensures that the cute cat faces remain visible until the lipstick is used up, so you don’t have to worry about the cute cat print going away!
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Also on the topic of lipstick, here are the new shades for Anna Sui. I called these the ‘shooting star’ lipstick because of the way the lipstick is shaped inside the tube! The colours are very rich and make a good transition for the Fall season.

The Anna Sui loose powder, which comes in a new beautiful design, is pictured in the back. It comes with a fluffy purple puff, and looks so classic and elegant. I could picture a princess using this powder on her vanity table. Beside it is the Anna Sui BB Cream.
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I showed this picture in my Anna Sui nail colour review post already, but here are the new nail colours and a new bottle design! It features a birdie on the top of the brush, while the bottle has an intricate ball gown design to it.

All of the Anna Sui nail products also have an amazing scent to them! The one I received smelled like lemons, and other scents include rose and lychee.
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I also really adored the mini ‘latte’ eyeshadow pods that Paul & Joe had, featured on the left. The swirl and creaminess of the colours, coupled with a cute little foam tip brush is reminiscent of that a perfect, smooth latte on a chilly afternoon. I am a big fan of champagne/gold shades, so the eyeshadow pod is right up my alley.

Also featured are the pressed powder pods, which are purchased separately from the packaging. Beside the pressed powder pods are the moisturizing foundation and makeup primer.
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The last station we were introduced to was Bliss’s regular collection (not the holiday gift set collection as featured in part 1). For myself, the most interesting product here was the ingrown eliminating pads, I am very curious to see if they will help with my ingrown hairs.

I mentioned this above already, but try to get a chance to try their body butter and soap, which are pictured in the back! The smell is absolutely amazing and will make you feel happy =)

I also did a review of the Bliss fabulous gel to oil cleanser, pictured in the middle beside the Fat Girl Slim products. You can read that post here.

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I had a great time at the ACI Beauty event, thank you for having me. I learned about a plethora of new products and am very excited to try them out! Keep your eyes posted for upcoming reviews on some of the products that I have mentioned here.

Which product was your favourite from this post? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen


Filed Under: body, events, eyes, face, lips, makeup, nails Tagged: anna sui, beauty, beauty blogger, beauty event, bliss, clean, eyeshadow, foundation, lipstick, makeup, makeup blogger, makeup event, nail polish, new products, paul and joe, perfume, product preview

Bliss Fabulous Makeup Melt- Gel to Oil Cleanser

August 11, 2015

Once in awhile, you come across certain beauty products that you just can’t stop thinking about.

Enter Bliss’s Fabulous Makeup Melt!

Bliss Fabulous Makeup Melt- Gel to Oil CleanserWe had a bit of a rocky start and I initially didn’t like it. However, after giving this product a second try and carefully reading the fine print on the packaging, I was blown away at the effectiveness of this cleanser.
Bliss Fabulous Makeup Melt- Gel to Oil CleanserAs the package states, the Bliss fabulous makeup melt is a gel to oil cleanser. Initially, the cleanser comes out of the tube in a clear, gel form. As you massage this into your pores, the gel slowly turns slightly thicker and into an oil.

From wearing a full face of makeup, this cleanser easily melted away even my toughest foundation & primer regime (Hello, Urban Decay!). The result was moisturized, fresh, and soft skin that lasted until the next day.

In fact, while studying for my final, I was subconsciously touching my face and wondering why it was so soft that afternoon. Could it be the study gods, rewarding me for studying? It wasn’t until a few hours later when it hit me. The only difference in my skin care that day was introducing this amazing cleanser!
Bliss Fabulous Makeup Melt- Gel to Oil CleanserInitially, I had applied this cleanser on wet skin as I usually do. What resulted was a cleanser that did not bind and pull off my makeup, but instead smeared my eyeliner in a slightly horrific manner.

I’m really glad that I gave this product a second chance and that I read the instructions properly. Apply this on dry skin, everyone!

Bliss Fabulous Makeup Melt- Gel to Oil CleanserA disappointing start with a happy ending. I can definitely see myself incorporating this cleanser into my routine, especially if I have a full makeup face on.

This product effortlessly lifts my makeup off, revealing skin so soft I didn’t even recognize it as my own!

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

Press product featured, all opinions are my own.


Filed Under: face, makeup Tagged: beauty, beauty blogger, bliss, face wash, facial, gel cleanser, oil cleanser, PR, pr product, sephora, skin, skin cleanser, skincare

Estée Lauder Nutritious Vitality8 Overnight Cream

June 2, 2015

Hi everyone!

Can’t believe it’s June now! Summer is finally here =)

Anyways, I have been using this Estee Lauder Nutritious overnight cream for the past two weeks now, and decided it was time to finally write a post on my thoughts about it.

Prior to this night cream, I used the same The Body Shop seaweed mattifying moisturizer in the day and evening. But my recent trip  to Kelowna really dried out my skin, as I don’t think it was used to the drier, interior BC climate. When I came back, I spent the first couple of days trying to repair by skin. It was flaking badly around my lip and nose area, something which has never happened!

I received this as a gift from the Estee Lauder media preview event in March, and had used it a couple of times here and there. Looking back, I should have brought this on my trip if I knew how dry my skin was going to get!
Estée Lauder Nutritious Vitality8 Overnight CreamHere is the description from The Bay’s website:

This rich overnight moisture creme restores skin’s balance and infuses deep hydration and nourishment. Helps re-activate skin’s natural moisture defenses.Can also be used as a nightly mask for intense nutrient infusion. Awaken to skin that looks rested, renewed, radiant. In just 8 days, 96% of women felt their skin look more nourished and supple.

Estée Lauder Nutritious Vitality8 Overnight CreamMy cousins tried the cream, and the first thing they noticed was how amazing this smells! Seriously, this cream smells absolutely wonderful – clean and fresh.

Normally, I dab this cream around different areas of my face – cheeks, around my lip (this was the flaky area after I came back from Kelowna), and forehead.
Estée Lauder Nutritious Vitality8 Overnight CreamI love this cream because my skin feels great after I put it on. My skin feels deeply hydrated, supple, and healthy. I feel that my complexion has improved and my skin feels a lot more radiant and bright when waking up in the morning.

This cream has quickly became one of my favourites and I have incorporated it into my daily routine. I honestly look forward to putting this on each night because it smells so great and my skin absolutely loves this stuff!

This cream is so nutrient rich and moisturizing for me that I don’t really need to apply moisturizer in the day. I used to wake up with dry skin, but I haven’t had a problem with that after using this everyday. I’m so glad that I discovered this product!

What’s your favourite night cream?

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

Press product featured, all opinions are my own.


Filed Under: face, makeup Tagged: anti aging, beauty, clear skin, cosmetics, estee lauder, healthy skin, makeup, moisturizer, night cream, skincare

Amie Spring Clean – Deep Cleaning Mask

May 30, 2015

Hi everyone!

Today, I’ll be going in more detail about a product I briefly introduced on my blog back in September in my Amie product post. Out of all the fantastic Amie products I’ve tried, this one has been my current favourite for the past few months and is really effective in combating pimples!

IMG_3614.JPGFirst off, can I say how much I love the packaging of Amie products?! I feel like I mention that every single time I write a post on them, but I love the girly pastel colours!

The deep cleaning mask is a deep cleansing mask that cleans deep down into your pores to draw out dirt, while soaking up excess oil. Soaking up excess oil will help prevent future breakouts! As for the texture, it has a bit of a clay consistency. The mask smells like peppermint with a hint of essential oils.

Clay texture/consistency.
Clay texture/consistency.

Whenever I feel an annoying pimple starting to form, I rely solely on this product to get rid of it before the pimple actually comes out!! This is a really powerful product and will combat and kill your pimples before they even reach the surface.

I prefer to only use this product on problem areas, or where I’m breaking out. I find that this mask is pretty intense (and it has to be to kill those pimples!), and it may sting if you apply it to your entire face. The peppermint in the mask may also make your face feel slightly warm.

Ingredients.
Ingredients.

Since this mask is pretty intense, I recommend it for those with oily skin just like myself. I’m not sure how this product works for non-oily skin types, so I don’t want you to blame me if it doesn’t work as well for you=) Let me know if you’ve tried this mask and you don’t have an oily skin type!

This is one of my favourite products of all time as it really does get the job done, quickly and effectively!

What is your go-to pimple killer?

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

Press product featured, all opinions are my own.


Filed Under: face, makeup

GUEST POST: Sasa.com Makeup & Skincare Haul! 

April 16, 2015

Hi everyone!

Special blog post today- everyone, virtually meet one of my good friends, Pauline (She’s super awesome)! She has agreed to write a guest post for me and I’m excited to share it with you all today. See what type of Asian cosmetics Pauline bought from Sasa.com and how she wore them to the Japanese cherry blossom festival. 

Happy reading everyone!

Carmen 

~~~~~

Hello everybody! I am doing this for my friend, Carmen, as a guest post, and will be the very first time doing this! So, hopefully this goes well… haha!

I recently bought some makeup and face products from this super famous Hong Kong make up store: Sasa. I usually purchase my makeup and face products from here because it’s cheap and my skin seems like to like Asian brands of makeup/skin products. They also often do free shipping once in a while!

The first product I’m going to introduce is an eyeliner by Majorlica Majorca: the cream pencil liner.

Sasa.com Makeup & Skincare HaulI must say, this cream liner is super smooth to line your eyes with, and it’s super creamy. Usually with creamy eyeliner, it smudges easily, but this eyeliner didn’t smudge and actually stayed on my eyes for the whole day! Especially when I tight lined with this eyeliner, I was ready for this to smudge all over my eyes by the end of the day. I was so surprised at how it stayed on so well! 5/5 for this product! =)
Sasa.com Makeup & Skincare HaulThe second product is: Majorlica Majorca’s jeweling pencil. This product is basically a white eyeliner to put on your eye corners to brightening up your eye as well as giving an illusion of having bigger eyes!

Nothing really special about this eyeliner, as I think all white eyeliners can do the same as this one can. 😛

Sasa.com Makeup & Skincare HaulThird product: Majorlica Marjoca’s perfect automatic liner: This product was kind of weird to use at first. So, the first thing you do is twist the bottom of this eyeliner until the ink comes out from the tip. The con of this is that if you twist too much, the ink will splat out and comes into a big mess.

However, after you clean that up, you can just apply that on your eyes just like any other eyeliner would … If you do not want to clean up the mess, this might not be the best product for you, because you will have to twist the bottom every time you want to use this product.

This eyeliner also stayed on really well on my eyes, and was pretty easy to apply as well. So, other than the whole twisting thing, I would rate this 4.5/5 ☺Sasa.com Makeup & Skincare Haul
Hehe … I have combined the three eyeliners mentioned above today, for my makeup look of the day! I went to the cherry blossom Japanese festival with a couple of my friends today, so I thought “hey, why not try out these products if I am going to blog about them anyway!”

I used the cream eyeliner to tight line my upper line as well as my water line. Like I mentioned, it stayed on without smudging the entire day. I then used the perfect liner to line across my eye and winged it out just a tiny bit, facing downwards, to give an illusion of a cute round eye. (…or eyes…)

Finally, I used the white eyeliner to put on my eye corners to brighten up my eyes. ☺

Sasa.com Makeup & Skincare HaulAnd here’s me in a Yukata ☺ .. To protect my friends’ privacy, I have turned them into Rilakkuma and Korilakkuma.

Okay, on with the other products!
Sasa.com Makeup & Skincare HaulFourth product: Shu Uemura Skin purifier (in premium A/I) This product … is godly. Although this is a “cleansing oil”, this will not clog your pores nor will you have a disgusting oily feeling left on your skin after. Honestly, I can say it is like rubbing pearls on your face. There are 4 easy steps to using this purifier:

1.) Pump 4 pumps on your hand (hand and face dry)
2.) Rub the oil all over your face (and eyes if you have eye make up on)
3.) Add water to the oil until it turns into a milky foamy wash
4.) Rinse and wipe your face

Your makeup is literally all gone, and you do not have to go through a second cleanser to clean your face. The oil also leaves you with smooth skin and feeling hydrated.

The best part about this product is : THIS IS FOR SENSITIVE & DRY SKIN!!! Which is a big problem for me, because sadly, I have super sensitive skin … So now that I have found this, I rate it 10/5!
Sasa.com Makeup & Skincare HaulLast product I’m going to talk about is: Laniege Multiberry Yogurt Pack. I have mentioned above that my face is super sensitive … and this mask did not go well with my skin. I gave this mask a try because of all the good things I have heard about it.

It also says that it is for “all skin types” – and let me tell you … It’s not. If you have sensitive skin, do not go for this product. My face reacted one minute after I put this on … The burning sensation and my face was literally all red like a cherry.

I must say, though, this mask smells like as if you are in a strawberry land … So the pro I can only say about this is that it smells super yummy.

That’s it to my guest post! I hope all of you enjoyed reading about these Asian products and maybe try some out on your own as well!

-Pauline

~~~~~

Thanks for guest blogging, Pauline! You look so good in the yukata. I want to wear one too! 

What are some of your favourite Asian cosmetics?

-Carmen


Filed Under: costumes, eyes, face, makeup Tagged: asian, asian beauty, asian cosmetics, beauty, beauty blogger, beauty guru, clear skin, eyeliner, fotd, japanese, lotion, makeup, makeup blogger, makeup guru, moisturizer, motd, perfect skin, sasa, serum, shu uemura, yukata

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