Curiously Carmen

Free Halloween Nail Stickers! (First 10 readers)

This is going to be a short and sweet post! I have partnered up with Nail Polish Canada and What’s Up Nails to give away 10 free Halloween nail stickers/vinyls to my readers!

Get your nails Halloween ready with these spooky vinyls!

To claim your set, go to this link from Nail Polish Canada and enter in my unique code: I9Z6P92CHIH. 

For all your nail polish needs, I would recommend checking out Nail Polish Canada. I have purchased my favourite Seche Vite top coat from NPC.

Nail Polish Canada (NPC) also has free Canadian shipping for orders over $19, which is really good. All my fellow Canadians know how annoying it is that we get left out from good shipping deals sometimes or if offers are valid for US only. Which is why Curiously Carmen will only ever feature companies that are willing to give Canadians a good deal too! I gotchu 🙂

*Notes:

  • Available only to Canada and US readers
  • Includes free shipping
  • If the code does not work, it means all ten sets have been claimed
  • Images property of Nail Polish Canada/What’s Up Nails, I do not own the images

Disclaimer: I receive no commission or money from doing this, it is just a nice little gift for my readers!

Paul and Joe Nail Polish

Although I gush over how cute Paul and Joe products are, I have yet to sit down and write a review on any of their products! Is that bad of me? Oh well, I’m finally writing one today and it is on their nail polish!

As some background, I would describe Paul and Joe as a girly brand that is both cute and classic. It was created by French designer Sophie Albou, and named after her two sons. Paul and Joe has Japanese beauty influences, married with classic and luxurious French beauty. Japanese beauty tends to be more on the sheer, natural and cute side which is exactly what Paul and Joe products are like.

But, there is also that romantic, luxurious classic feel with their products that is evident in French culture. In addition, their products are made in Japan and the packaging/website are in Japanese, French, and English.

The nail polish I am reviewing today is the shade 27, I didn’t find a name attached to the number. When I first saw the nail polish at the ACI event, it reminded me of the Anna Sui nail polishes due to the intricate detailing on the bottle and lid.

I would describe shade 27 as a pearly, nude pink.

With one coat, it was a bit too sheer for my liking and you could see the brush lines when it dried. Two coats was the perfect amount, as pictured above. Two coats will give you the same colour as the bottle!

In certain lights, the pearliness of the shade will shine more. I was also quite impressed with the wear time without a top coat! I usually like to test polishes without a top coat first, just to see how good the formula is. Most polishes do not last over 24 hours with me, but this one actually did!

Unfortunately, at work I was doing some filing and shelf sorting so one of the metal hanger folders chipped a couple of my nails. It probably would have lasted longer if I wasn’t using my hands as much!

Overall, I am quite satisfied with this polish and will be continuing to use it when I want a nice nude pink nail. I am quite the glitter lover so I love how this is slightly shiny. The hint of pearl is lovely!

  • Beautiful pearl pink colour
  • Does not chip easily
  • Lasts 24+ hours without top coat, which is rare for me
  • Applies evenly, does not have a watery/goopey consistency
  • Very pretty and detailed packaging

  • A bit more expensive than your average drugstore polish, at $16 CAD (But at least it’s actually worth the price unlike the disappointing $40 CAD Chanel polish that barely lasted a day *cough*)

Yay!

Edit: After checking the PR information, shade 27 actually does have a name – Pink Pearl! I was close in describing it 😉

Press product featured. Opinions are own.

Recap: Top Products of 2016

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!

 

Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colour

Normally I don’t get to review high end brands because I don’t purchase them. But when talking about high end brands, Chanel is one of my top favourites although I don’t have many products or items from them. On our first Christmas together, I received a Chanel perfume and lipstick from the boyfriend that I still really love – that’s about all the Chanel products I own.

For Christmas this year, the boyfriend bought me two Chanel nail products that I will be talking about today. He was just planning on getting me a nail polish, but got upsold by the sales person who took advantage of his cluelessness. Poor guy!
The colour he got me is a classic red from the Fall 2016 Le Rouge Collection. Chanel has quite an array of stunning reds, this particular red is the shade 528 Rouge Puissant. It is the perfect colour for me because I love my classic reds, whether it be for nails, lips, or clothes (although clothes I like darker reds).

What it says (Taken from Chanel):

LE VERNIS by CHANEL: long-wear application. An embellishing and protective nail polish designed to make vibrant colours dazzle. Long-wearing, extra-fine and ultra-shiny, each coat offers an absolutely even and lacquered result.

Application: I was really impressed with the quality of the brush. The brush is wide, so it is easy to get a nice, clean, and full colour with just one stroke. It fans out like the Nails Inc brush. As for the colour, I was in AWE with the colour. With just one coat, the colour was very vibrant and rich and matched the bottle exactly. One coat left me satisfied, which is a bit unusual because I like doing at least two coats!

Wear: This is where I was not as impressed. With a bottle of this going for $28 USD or almost $40 CAD (OMG), it did not last long with their gel effect top coat. Within the next morning, a bit of polish had already chipped off on my right hand. The left hand was okay for about 2 days before it began to chip.

At such a steep price, I had really high expectations for the wear. But, keep in mind that nail polish chips really easily on me. The ONLY top coat that I find works with my nails is the Seche Vite top coat. I’ll have to test this out with the Seche Vite top coat, but at that price, I would expect the nail polish to last at least 12 hours before chipping.

I WOULD include a picture of my nails, but I am so ashamed of them right now that I don’t want to take any pictures. Bleh! I just cut my nails short last night since my third nail broke (it’s always that one that breaks first, so annoying) and my cuticles are dry AF.

  • Amazing brush that makes it easy to apply an even coat
  • Only one coat is needed
  • Beautiful, vibrant colour that matches the bottle with only one coat

  • Does not last long, chipped within 12 hours
  • Would need a very good top coat for it to last

On one side, the colour and brush is amazing. However, it doesn’t last even 12 hours on me. If I’m paying $40 for ONE bottle, I am expecting it to last a lot longer than that. If I have to rely on a top coat for a $40 bottle of nail polish, I’m better off saving my money and buying a $5 bottle of polish.

It would be a nice gift for someone though, as it comes in a nice box and has that luxurious feel and factor to it. But I would not buy this for myself.

Nay.

Product given to me as a gift.

L’Oreal Nail Polish – White

A few months ago, I was really wanting white nails so I quickly picked a L’Oreal one up at London Drugs! There was only one white polish on the entire shelf, which is why I picked this one.

If I’m at a drugstore, I normally just buy Sally Hansen or essie, but I figured it’s time to try L’Oreal! I forgot how much I paid for this- maybe about $6?
L'Oreal Nail Colour White PackagingThe packaging is pretty simple, not much to note here. The shade is called hit the slopes – 712. Perhaps inspired by the beautiful, snow capped mountains in the wintertime.

Unfortunately, I found this nail colour to be a bit difficult to work with. It was very runny and the colour was very light. I used four coats for the colour above, and I was getting annoyed with how runny it was! It took a lot of patience and time, so don’t be using this when you are in a rush.
L'Oreal White Polish on NailsI finished with the almighty and my Holy Grail Seche Vite top coat. The top coat drastically improved the nail colour and made it look a lot better. It would have looked very weak and bland without the top coat. I wore this for the entire week I was in New York City, and it did not chip at all! Seriously, Seche Vite’s top coat is the BOMB.

This was my first time trying L’Oreal’s nail products, and this polish left me a bit disappointed with the formula. I’ve tried other brands before where it was just that one shade that didn’t work out, but the others were great, so maybe I should try another L’Oreal polish.
yay-nay-or-meh

Nay!

*Products purchased by myself