Curiously Carmen

Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Oil-Free Cleanser

April 21, 2016

Kiehl’s is a company that has been around since 1851, but I feel as if it’s really gone under the radar this whole time. I don’t really see or hear people talking about Kiehl’s, even though it is a reputable company that offers great quality products!

I don’t normally walk around Kiehl’s, but the few times that I’ve been there have been pretty positive! The staff have always been really friendly and informative on their products, which is always a plus.

About a year ago, I received the Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Oil-Free Cleanser as a gift from my friend. I can’t believe that I didn’t write a post about it until now, actually! But better late than never 😉
Anyways, moving on! This cleanser is the oil-free version of their popular original cleanser. Kiehl’s packaging is very simple and minimal. They list everything on the front, while the back is the exact same except in French!

This product has been one of my go-to cleansers whenever I just want a simple, gentle clean. The formula is lightweight and has a pearly white finish to it. It lathers up really nicely and leaves your skin feeling really clean and moisturized.

My skin ALWAYS feels amazingly clean and soft after using this cleanser, no matter what condition it is in (dry in the winter, oily in the summer, combination, breaking out, etc).
I definitely recommend this product to someone who would like a low maintenance skincare routine. It’s really simple, but it does such a great job in cleaning and making my skin feel fresh.

I’ve noticed recently that my skin doesn’t feel as soft, and has a slight dry/leathery feeling although it is a bit oily at the same time. I decided to stop and only stick with using only this cleanser and a day/night moisturizer for the time being until my skin gets better.

I suspect it’s from all the new cleansers and moisturizers I’ve been introducing, as well as having final papers and exams.

It’s only been two days and this cleanser has made my skin soft and supple again! When I finish this tube, I can definitely see myself repurchasing it. It’s done wonders for my skin and never fails!

This product is very reliable and no matter how many new products I try, this will always be a staple on my bathroom counter. After trying this, I definitely want to delve further into trying more Kiehl’s products!

Yay!

Thanks for reading,

Carmen

Ten Beauty Facts About Me!

April 18, 2016

Originally, I was thinking of writing this in my “about” page, but thought why not create a post on it instead, then link this post? I noticed that although I have tossed around a few beauty facts here and there about myself, there wasn’t a central place where I stored them. If you’re new to reading my blog and reviews (Hi there! welcome to my blog!), then I think this post will help you decipher whether the products are for you or not.

For example, some products may work wonders for dry skin, but not so well on oily skin! By knowing some beauty facts about me, I think it would help you formulate your own opinion or decision if you want to try out some products that I mentioned.

1) I started to get into makeup somewhere between 14/15 years old.

A bit embarassing... but here is fifteen year old me — A bit embarassing… but here is fifteen year old me

I’ve always been surrounded by makeup though… my mom has a pretty big collection. But I would say I started experimenting and buying my own products around that age =)

2) My skin type is oily/combination. I am prone to minor breakouts.

Yep, I have oily skin, but some days are better than others! During puberty, I broke out often but it has diminished significantly, which I am so glad for… I thought it would never end. I know that people say eating junk food or fried food doesn’t cause breakouts, but I noticed that whenever I have fried foods, I will be greeted with a pimple the next day =(

3) I do not wear foundation on a daily basis.

I usually don’t wear foundation when going to work or school. I’m usually in a rush getting ready, plus I like to let my skin breathe. If I did wear foundation, I save that for the weekends or if I’m going out somewhere!

4) My daily makeup consists of only eyeliner & doing my eyebrows.

I wear eyeliner every single day, and I love it! My daily look is a winged liquid eyeliner. If I don’t wing out my eyeliner, it feels weird to me! Each day, I alternate between my Holy Grail, the amazing Kat Von D tattoo liner or the Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Liner.

My eyebrows these days consist of the ELF Eyebrow Kit and Anastasia Beverly Hills brow gel (which I have get to review but featured briefly in my Valentines Day post!)

5) I wash my hair everyday.

Bleh. You know how it’s recommended that you don’t wash your hair everyday? NOPE! I’m not sure if I’m just particularly sensitive to that heavy, oily hair feeling… but I hate it! I wash my hair every single day because I can’t stand that oily hair feeling, not to mention it doesn’t look good either (unless you tie it up in a cute bun).

I’m not sure if I my hair type is more oily than normal, or if I just can’t stand the feeling of dirty hair.

6) I moisturize my skin twice a day.

I alternate different facial creams. Lately, I’ve been using my two Estee Lauder creams but I forget their names. I’ll probably do a review on them sometime, as I’ve been using them for the past two months and really like it!

I will always go back to The Body Shop’s mattifying seaweed day cream though! It works really well on my skin and feels light weight =)

7) I rotate many different types of facial cleansers and moisturizers.
I guess this is related to number 6! I’m not sure if I’m the only one, but I noticed that if I use the same continuous product for awhile, it starts to lose its effect. That’s why I normally rotate my different facial cleansers and moisturizers, because I don’t want my skin to build a tolerance up and have the product be not effective.

It’s happened to my Body Shop seaweed mattifying day cream, which is why I started to incorporate other moisturizers. I also found that my Lush herbalism cleanser wasn’t doing an amazing job like it used to, so I stopped using it for a few weeks and went back to it!

8) Lipstick shades that look best on my skin are darker or plum shades. You don’t want to see me with bright pink lipstick!

You really do not want to see me with bright pink lipstick shades, it really does not suit my skin tone! It really sucks because I see all these wonderful bright shades on the shelves that I would love to wear, but when I actually wear the shade – that’s a whole different story. With the summertime coming up, I compensate by just wearing brighter nail polishes which is better than nothing =)

I like dark red or plum shades. I’ve been told that I look good in red, whether it’s lipstick or clothing pieces!

9) For foundations, I use medium shades.

I’m using the term “medium” loosely because I know it depends on what product you’re using, and what company =) As an industry standard, I know that people usually just share their MAC foundation shade, but I don’t have any of their foundations! There’s just too many products out there, I’ll get to their foundation eventually =)

To give you somewhat of an idea, I am a medium 5.0 for Urban Decay.

10) My biggest beauty wish would be to naturally have clear skin.

Yep. Having natural nice, clear, soft, porcelain skin would be my biggest beauty wish! It’s easy to achieve a pore less and smooth makeup look, but it would be amazing to be blessed with clear and healthy skin no matter what your environment is! A girl can dream….

I would love to hear some beauty facts about you as well! Let me know in the comments below =)

Thanks for reading!

Carmen

Kose Sekkisei Facial Powder Wash

April 15, 2016

Last year, I was introduced to Sekkisei, a Japanese beauty company that had just launched in Canada. Sekkisei has a beautiful, royal blue packaging for all of its products. Being the communications and marketing nerd that I am, I love design consistency!

I received a number of Sekkisei products for review. However, I don’t like having super long posts so I will be dividing my Sekkisei reviews up as I try and use them more. Today, I will be focusing on the Sekkisei facial powder wash.
One of Sekkisei’s main selling points is that it claims to whiten skin, and make it more translucent. Fair, white skin is considered one of the most beautiful features a woman could have in the Asian culture. There are so many Asian products out there that are marketed towards whitening your skin.

In fact, if you can read Chinese characters, you will see that the first character means ‘snow’ in Chinese.

As Sekkisei is a Japanese based company as mentioned earlier, Sekkisei products are derived from both high quality Chinese and Japanese herbal extracts.

You may be wondering why a Japanese company uses Chinese characters instead of Japanese characters? The Japanese actually have three alphabets, one which is called ‘Kanji’ and uses Chinese characters on writing mixed with the other two Japanese alphabets. The meaning on paper/writing is the same, but pronunciation is completely different.

Anyways, back to the review. The powder wash comes in a sturdy bottle with one small opening, so that the powder does not spill everywhere. The powder is very fine, and very light. One small sneeze can send the product falling everywhere! =P

It reminded me of baby powder, but even softer. Sekkisei describes this product as a ‘skin-clarifying powder wash that leaves skin brighter than and as fine as freshly fallen snow’.

After putting the powder on your hand, lather it up by adding water. You may want to experiment with the amount of water you add to reach your desired consistency. For myself, I added a few drops of water and washed it on my face in a circular motion.

My first impression was that it lathered pretty quickly, and I loved how gentle it was on my skin. It was very smooth, yet did a decent job in making my skin feel very clean and fresh.

You can purchase Sekkisei products online or at select Shoppers Drug Mart stores in Canada!

Yay!

Thanks for reading,

Carmen

Press samples featured. Opinions are own.

My Opinion on Airbnb: Pros, Cons, and Tips

April 12, 2016

Those who know me well know that I am constantly on Airbnb, creating wishlists of places I want to go. Whenever I am stressed or in a bad mood, going on Airbnb is very soothing and helps take my mind off things. Airbnb is a website that lets you rent homes or space from other everyday people. It could be the basement suite, a room in a house, an apartment, a RV, a treehouse, an igloo… you name it, the possibilities are endless!

Since I am constantly browsing on Airbnb, I would consider myself to be somewhat of an expert on it, and thought I would share some pros, cons, and tips I have learned along the way!

This post is not sponsored by Airbnb, they don’t even know I am writing this. I just thought it might be helpful as I’ve had some friends ask me about Airbnb before.

During the summertime, the boyfriend and I went to Kelowna for a short getaway trip. Although I do love travelling, I don’t get to go as much as I would like due to money and time constraints. We tried to save as much money as possible, or at least try to get our money’s worth.

This is why we decided on trying out Airbnb! First, I’ll explain what Airbnb is, pros & cons, and my advice. I will also follow this article up with a review on my first Airbnb suite in Kelowna, to be published later this month!

Airbnb Review and Opinion — Photo credit: KelleyLouise.com/Airbnb

PROS:

Save money. There are many Airbnbs out there that cost significantly less than a hotel. Plus, if you rent out an apartment or house and split the cost with your travel crew, you will save a lot of money!
The great thing about Airbnb is that you are getting more of an authentic experience as you get to live in a home similar to locals. You really get to explore and view the city at the same level that locals do.
It’s also more unique compared to a hotel. When choosing your Airbnb, you can decide on whether you want the entire place, a single room, or shared room.
By choosing the latter two listed above, you are able to meet other travellers and form friendships with them!
Airbnbs also have a higher chance of including a full kitchen, which is something I prefer so that I don’t have to eat out every single meal (also saves money!).
More flexible: I find that individual hosts are more flexible in terms of check in/check out time, given that no one else has booked the listing right after you.
Local tips: Hosts mostly live in the city, if not in the same space as you! Hosts are always down to suggest local, lesser-known places to explore rather than the tourist hot spots.

CONS:

The most common complaints I’ve seen on reviews are messiness, dirtiness, and rude hosts. Read my tips below on how to prevent Airbnb horror stories from happening on your next vacation!
Another con is the cancellation policy. Each host has its own cancellation policy, and if it is labelled as ‘strict’, you will not get a refund after your booking. This has caused trouble in the past when travel plans did not go through with my friend and was troublesome for her. Airbnb service fees are non-refundable, even if it is under the flexible cancellation policy.
Hidden fees. Although a place may state that it is $100 a night, this does not include the cleaning or Airbnb service charge. Certain cities such as San Fran add an ‘occupancy tax’ fee too. Often, the cleaning fee & service charge add up to an additional $200! I know to be wary and to keep in mind a possible additional hidden fee. See photo below for an example.
Customer service: Airbnb’s customer service is pretty much non-existent. Should issues arise, you will have to dig through their ‘help center’, which didn’t help my issue at all. You have to go through a ridiculous number of steps before you are actually placed on an online chat with an agent, there are no telephone agents.
Just plain ol’ bad luck. Sometimes, no matter how much research you do, you just have bad luck. I saw this happen with my friend, who was very diligent in her research. The host she booked with had excellent reviews. However, during the trip, the listing was very dirty and the host became very sketchy. He denied her allegations, said her family stayed the whole time (they stayed for 1 night before they couldn’t handle the dirtiness), and even CHANGED his profile name on Airbnb after my friend contacted him!

TIPS:

RESEARCH. RESEARCH. RESEARCH. Many of the cons can be prevented with extensive research, as I always do before selecting a place on my wishlists! I can not stress how important research is before hand.
Read previous reviews. I only trust places with many positive reviews. If less than 80% of reviews are positive, I’m not taking the chance and moving on! Also go through the host’s profile and see if they seem legitimate or not.
Read the description CAREFULLY and message your host if you have any questions beforehand. If the Airbnb listing looks very messy and disorganized in terms of writing, I close the listing immediately.
- The way I see it is kind of like a resume. Why would you send off your resume (the Airbnb listing) to potential employers (your guests, people who are paying you to stay at your place) when it is poorly written and unedited? If you’re not going to take the effort to edit and write clearly, it raises red flags with me.
Check the refund policy – flexible means full refund until the day before, moderate is full refund until five days before, and strict is 50% refund one week before and no refund under a week. I am more likely to book a place that has flexible or moderate refund, but I understand the strict policy is better for the host. If you are unsure about your dates, I would recommend finding flexible or moderate listings.
Stay organized. This is similar to my first important tip on research. Find out what amenities your Airbnb has and what it doesn’t have. Some places don’t offer shampoo or laundry, for example.

Conclusion:

Airbnb is a great alternative to hotels and you would either save money, or get more value for your dollar. I love Airbnb and can see myself using it as I travel more because it saves money and is unique. However, I do like the familiarity and consistency of hotels so I would probably do a mix of both!

If you are someone who doesn’t want to do research, I would recommend staying at a hotel because you know what to expect, and hotels follow a standard protocol in regards to cleaning & customer service.

If you have any other questions, let me know in the comments! I hope this post helps your travel plans, and that you’ll enjoy Airbnb as much as I do. I have saved up money and am going on a trip soon, and will be living in my second Airbnb!

Stayed tuned for my review on the first Airbnb I stayed at in Kelowna!

Thanks for reading,
Carmen

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored by Airbnb.

Spring Ready Nails

April 9, 2016

Now that the days are getting brighter and sunnier, I wanted to create a nail look that would match the happier weather! This was my first time experimenting with wearing three different shades at once. At first, I wasn’t sure if I liked it but I ended up really loving this look!

Nails2 I had a Shellac manicure done last month, and some of the nail polish was starting to peel off. I thought it looked odd that I had a one single nail that was naked, while the others were still adorned in pretty pinks. So, I decided to select a pink shade in my nail polish collection to match what was left of my gel nails.

Once the gel started to peel off, I replaced it with these shades. Eventually, I took off my gel and painted my nails entirely with these colours!

Nails Here is the simple, but bright look I came up with! I finally bought a nail dotting tool back in January and have been trying to use it more. My goal is to eventually come up with detailed nail art, so I need to start practicing now!

The colours I am using are:

Yellow: Anna Sui Nail in N800
Light pink: Essie in 869 ‘Got Engaged!’
Magenta: Revlon in 901 Fuchsia Fever

This look is pretty self explanatory and very easy to create! Just paint your nails and use a dotting tool to create the dot in the middle. You could probably use a cotton swab or toothpick but the circle might not look as even.

I’m on a no-polish break for a month, as my nails are pretty weak right now. I’ll be posting more nail looks after my ban ends, and am looking forward to wearing more summer colours!

I was also reading up on biotin supplements to support healthy nails. Has anyone tried taking these and noticed results? I am always wary of side effects and dependency, so I’m not 100% sure I should try taking them yet. But I would really like my nails to become stronger and not peel as easily!

Thanks for reading,

Carmen