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Curiously Carmen

Essence Liquid Lipstick

February 5, 2017

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.

 

 


Filed Under: Beauty, lips, makeup Tagged: beauty, beauty blogger, essence, essence cosmetics, lipgloss, lipstick

Etude House Lip Mask Review

January 16, 2017

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. 


Filed Under: Beauty, lips Tagged: asia, asian beauty, beauty, beauty blogger, beauty review, etude house

Recap: Top Products of 2016

January 10, 2017

I know that it is already 2017, but I still wanted to share my top favourite products that I discovered in 2016!

I chose to only include products discovered in 2016 to keep the list short- this post would be wayyy too long if I included products that I’ve repurchased over the years! Here they are, in no particular order!

essence Brow Definer: Well, 2016 was the year I finally tried essence cosmetics, and I wish I had tried it sooner. So far, I’ve tried their liquid lipsticks, lipsticks, lip liner and eyebrow pencil. The brow definer pencil undoubtedly was one of my 2016 favourites and I use it pretty much everyday! For $2, it does a great job and lasts the whole day, as long as you don’t rub it or sleep or something. My pencil is nearing the end and almost getting to the point where it is too short to sharpen. I will definitely be repurchasing this product again!
Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation: My Holy Grail high-end foundation is the Urban Decay Naked foundation, which I still really love. At the Estee Lauder media event, I was introduced to their Double Wear Foundation line, which I was told was a classic favourite. I was really impressed with this foundation, and love it just as much as the Urban Decay Naked!

kylie matte lipstick 22Kylie Lip Kit: I never gave much thought to the Kardashian/Jenner clan or Kylie’s products, but one of my best friends tried her lip kit and raved about it. Since then, I have become a huge fan of Kylie’s products for their beautiful pigmentation and long wear! I’ve only reviewed the matte liquid lipstick on the blog, but in the past month, I also tried one of her lip glosses and the eyeshadow palette (by accident, funny story LOL). I will probably be reviewing those when I get around to taking the photos! So many new products to review, so little time!
KORRES Wild Rose Brightening Oil: This was earlier on in the year, but for a good three weeks, I solely used the KORRES Wild Rose Brightening Oil. In those three weeks, I noticed a dramatic difference in the quality of my skin. It also mixed beautifully into foundations for a nice, dewy finish. I don’t use this as often as I want because I’m reluctant to finish the product, which is a bit sill of me (otherwise known as not “seh duk” in Cantonese).
Seche Vite top coat: I started off the year with this wonderful purchase, which has ruined me for the better. I do not use any other top coats, nor do I trust any of them to perform at the same quality and price that Seche Vite does. Seriously, this stuff is amazing. It makes your cheap nail polish look like a million bucks, and does not chip AT ALL.

Well, there you have it! The top beauty products that I discovered in 2016 🙂 It’s been yet another great year of beauty blogging and I’m looking forward to the new products that I have yet to discover in 2017!

 


Filed Under: eyes, lips, makeup, nails

Stila Stay All Day Lip Liner

November 21, 2016

With the lip challenge, I have also been trying this Stila Stay All Day liner to go with some of the darker lipsticks!

Stila is pretty famous for their Stay All Day line. I am a big fan of their Stay All Day liner, foundation, and bronzer which I have also reviewed. I also have the Stay All Day brow pencil and the illuminating balm which I both love, but I haven’t had a chance to review those.
stila-stay-all-day-liner-caberetThe lip liner comes in a light plastic packaging. It is pretty thin, which means the pencil is even thinner. I’m cursed with broken lipsticks/liners if you saw my previous Stila Stay All Day Matte Lipstick post, so I was extra careful with this thin pencil!
stila-stay-all-day-liner-caberet-2I have the shade cabernet, which is a majestic deep plum red. It reminds me of a nice, dark wine. The pencil is very smooth and glides easily. It is also very pigmented!

Since the pencil is thin, it is very easy to get a nice, precise, clean line.
revlon-berry-drenchedHere is a picture with from the lip challenge, wearing this liner. I think it lines my lines very nicely and makes them look slightly more plumper!
colourpop-lippiestix-dalia-stila-cabernet-linerAnd another picture! I love how clean and precise the line looks, and brings out my cupid’s bow.

After writing this post, I looked it up on Stila’s website and found out their whole lip liner line is based on wine, with other shades such as rose, merlot, zinfandel, and moscato! Cool 🙂

yay-nay-or-meh

Yay!


Filed Under: lips, makeup Tagged: beauty blog, beauty blogger, beauty community, lip liner, makeup, stila, stila cosmetics

Estee Lauder Pure Colour Envy Lipstick

November 5, 2016

I’ve mentioned in many of my Estee Lauder posts that I love their lipsticks, but just realized I never wrote a review just for it! So, that is what this post is going to be about. I’ve been a huge fan of Estee Lauder lipsticks, and you really can’t go wrong with them.

The formulation of the Estee Lauder lipsticks have always been consistent. Even with the new Estee Edit lipsticks, I find their formulation is the same which is a relief!

estee-lauder-pure-colour-envy-empowered-1I have a few of their lipsticks, but I decided to showcase this one because I love a nice, classic red. It is the shade empowered. The lipstick is nice and creamy, but also pigmented and not sheer. It is quite buildable as well.

This is a minor thing, but the packaging just gives it that extra level and touch of luxury. All the caps are actually magnetic, so they snap nicely to the lipstick. It is very satisfying to see and hear.
estee-lauder-pure-colour-envy-empoweredHere is a photo of me wearing this shade!

One problem I have with this shade, and only this shade, is that it tends to bleed outside your lips. If you look closely, you’ll see this shade feather out which is not a good sight!

It’s not too big of a deal and barely noticeable unless you’re up close, but would probably be best if you wore this shade with a matching liner. I still love this lipstick and is one of my favourites!


Filed Under: Beauty, lips Tagged: beauty, beauty blogger, beauty community, estee lauder, lipstick

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