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Curiously Carmen

Amie Natural Skincare Products Review

September 27, 2014

I was approached from UK based Amie skincare line to review some of their skin loving beauty products! I was quite excited as they have just released their products into the Canadian beauty market last month, selling them exclusively at Shoppers Drug Mart.

To give you a brief history behind this brand, Amie was founded by an ex-Estee Lauder executive, who created these products in hopes to help her daughter’s puberty-troubled skin. As a result, Amie products are made for consumers with sensitive skin, whether it is dry, oily, prone to breakouts, whatever. There are also no harsh or irritating ingredients in any of their products, and are made from an average of 95% natural ingredients.  I also have “swatches” of each product at the end of this post so keep on reading!
unnamedMy products arrived in this cute, plastic travel bag. Immediately, I fell in love with the cute and colourful packaging! I was also able to smell the lovely scents of the products after opening the bag. Judging from how good the products smelled when I didn’t even open them, I was quite excited to actually try them out.

I also ended up bringing the plastic bag on a weekend getaway, and kept the bag in the shower the whole time. I loved how it was waterproof and very durable. The smudge on the white part of the bag was from my foundation, which accidentally leaked on the roadtrip – not a packaging fault from the company!
unnamed (1) I had recently finished my favourite matte seaweed moisturizer from The Body Shop, and was looking to either re-purchase it or try a new product. Perfect timing! This is Amie’s matte finish moisturizer ($12 Canadian), which claimed to control oiliness and shine, while softening and hydrating skin. Out of all the Amie products, I liked this one the most as it really did combat the oiliness in my face for over 10 hours and left my skin looking dewy! I didn’t have to dab the oil off my face at work. I suggest this product if you suffer from oily skin like moi.
unnamed (2)This is Amie’s deep cleansing mask ($12 Canadian), which claimed to purify pores, and combat both oiliness and blemishes. I must warn you that this product burned my skin at initial contact, due to the strong peppermint in this. I was actually worried that I was having an allergic reaction to this product, but my face eventually calmed down after 5-7 minutes of applying this. Afterwards, my skin felt really cool and light (again, due to the peppermint probably), and really refreshed. I would recommend this if you want to brighten up your skin, if it looks a bit duller than usual.
unnamed (3)Up next is the radiant dawn exfoliating daily wash ($10 Canadian), which claimed to deep clean pores and exfoliate skin, leaving a clear and radiant complexion behind. I really enjoyed the scent of this product, and it had a gel texture with tiny microbeads. It was very gentle on my skin, and for that reason I didn’t feel that it deep cleaned my pores. I loved the smell of this first thing in the morning, it felt really refreshing and really woke me up. Overall, a decent daily  face wash but probably not suitable for deep cleaning pores.
unnamed (4)The last product I received was the hydrating daily moisturizer ($12 Canadian). Since my skin is more oily, I preferred the matte finish moisturizer that I talked about above more, as this one did leave my skin feeling a bit more oily. I would recommend using this if you have a normal skin type, and just need a simple, everyday moisturizer.
unnamed (5) As promised, here are some “swatches” of the product.  I wanted to give you guys an idea of the texture and consistency of the products. The matte finish moisturizer had the thickest consistency. The deep cleansing mask had more of a paste-y texture to it, and was not as wet or easily spreadable. The exfoliating daily wash was very gel-like, with tiny, non abrasive micro beads in it. This one had an amazing smell 🙂 Lastly, the hydrating daily moisturizer was your standard moisturizing cream.

Pros:

  • Free from parabens, sulphates, mineral oils, animal extracts
  • Catered towards sensitive skin and works well with combating oily skin
  • Vegan and vegetarian friendly
  • Great, light smelling scent

Cons:

  • May be hard to find at Shoppers Drug Mart; I searched some of my local stores online and they did not carry it
  • Products are a lot cheaper in UK than Canada
  • Amie website is a bit confusing to use, some products are missing descriptions

All in all, I really enjoyed all the Amie products and don’t really have anything negative to say about them. They are all definitely affordable, and the packaging is so cute. For the amount of natural ingredients each product has in them, and how gentle it is on skin, Amie products are definitely worth a try!

Check them out at Amie skincare or Shoppers Drug Mart! 

-Carmen

The products in this post were sent to me free of charge from Amie, and I was not paid to write this post. Everything in this post is my personal opinion and was not altered by the request of the company. 


Filed Under: face, makeup, skincare Tagged: amie, beauty blog, beauty blogger, beauty guru, beauty review, canadian beauty, makeup, matte skin, moisturizer, natural, natural skincare, non gmo, oil free skin, organic, paraben free, shoppers drug mart, skin mask, skincare, skincare routine, UK beauty

SpookyEyes.com Coloured Contacts Review

September 15, 2014

Disclaimer: These contacts are FDA and ISO approved, and sterile. FDA means that they are approved for use in the States, while ISO is the international health standard institution. The ISO was formed since countries have their different standards of “safe” for many products, so it’s a way to harmonize the requirements for safe contact lenses wear.

I definitely would not be reviewing this product if I did not think it was safe, if the site looked questionable, or had any further doubts about putting these into my eyes whatsoever. Rest assured, although these contacts were sent to me on behalf of the company, they are completely safe to wear compared to other contacts and I would never risk the health of my readers or misinform you guys. With that said, I do know that compared to regular contacts, coloured contacts have a higher chance of drying out your eyes. As with all products, be careful and read the ingredients properly,and use your judgement. 

——-

Helloooo everyone! Today, I will be reviewing a product that I never wear – coloured contacts! My relationship with contacts, both regular prescription and coloured have not been great, to say the least. That is because my eyes tend to dry out really fast, making wearing contacts uncomfortable if I wear them for long hours.

I have tried many different contact lenses, different contact solutions, etc, which have helped on some days, but for the most part, they are not comfortable for me. Fast forward to the present, I only wear the daily disposable contacts probably 3-4 times a month as I find those are the most moisturizing, comfortable, and convenient.

Anyways, I was contacted by UK based sister companies DreamEyes.com / SpookyEyes.com to do a review of their coloured contacts. For simplicity’s sake, I will be referring to them as Spooky Eyes. I haven’t worn coloured contacts for over two years, so I figured I could give them a chance again and if it does work out, I can order a pair of Halloween contacts soon! Here’s how it turned out.
photo 3 (2)I was told to select three coloured contacts that I would like, and one of them would be mailed to me. I was quite excited to see which colour I would end up with! My contacts came roughly three weeks later from the UK. I received the colour green sparkle. 

I was happy to learn that the contacts are manufactured in South Korea, where coloured contacts are extremely popular with the female population. That fact reassured me as I know from prior knowledge that South Korea makes great quality coloured lenses.
dreameyesHere is a screenshot from the website, and what I received. Compared to the picture online, I feel that the green shade in real life appears a bit softer and lighter, which I actually prefer.

There are many different shades of green, brown, blue, and purple on their website. I’ve always wanted to try green contacts with my Asian skin and brown eyes, and I felt that these weren’t too dramatic or harsh.
photo 1 (3)I did not have any trouble putting these inside my eyes, they were like my standard contact lenses. When I first put these on, I was shocked at how my eyes looked. Although these contacts did not specify that they will enlarge the appearance of your eyes, they definitely will!

I was not used to seeing myself with enlarged pupils, let alone green eyes. This picture was taken in natural sunlight. Luckily, the colour matched my skin and eyes pretty well. If it was the green shade as seen on their website, I don’t think it would have looked as soft. I also liked how there is a bit of sparkle to it as well in the sun. How do they look in your opinion?

Since these contacts are only for cosmetic purposes, I still had to wear my glasses. These two pictures were taken outside as well, I try to use natural sunlight when possible. With my glasses on, I don’t think the green is as noticeable at first glance, but if you look longer, you can definitely tell.
photo 1Oops, I forgot to take a picture of my eyes before the contacts so here is a picture from a previous post, taken in the same spot where I took the picture above. Since I have naturally dark eyes, coloured contacts may not always turn out the way it appears, or it may not show up at all!

I’m glad that I didn’t have this problem with these contacts. I ended up wearing these for a bit over five hours, and had no problem at all with them! I actually forgot that I was wearing them until I got in the shower, and my eyes started to sting a bit when water got in.

They were super comfortable to wear, and remind me of a smooth, gel-like material as opposed to thinner, plasticky feeling contacts.
Pros:

  • Very comfortable to wear, smooth gel-like contacts
  • This specific shade was not too harsh which I preferred
  • Colour will show up even on dark coloured eyes
  • Lasts one year and retails for $28 US
  • Made in S. Korea, a country known for great quality and comfortable coloured lenses
  • Great for cosplay or costumes but the softer looking coloured lenses are good for daily wear too
  • Free shipping! 

Cons:

  • Does not currently offer prescription lenses

In conclusion, I am really satisfied with these contacts, as they are really comfortable and I like the colour. They also have a vast assortment of coloured contacts, with all the possibilities imaginable. White out, UV, devil, cat eye, sparkle, anime… they have them all. Here are some I picked out on SpookyEyes:
contacts
Check them out at DreamEyes.com and SpookyEyes.com!

I’m curious, let me know what are your favourite contacts on their site and if you would you consider wearing coloured contacts for fun in the comments!

These contacts were sent to me free of charge from SpookyEyes, and I was not paid to write this post. Everything in this post is my personal opinion and was not altered by the request of the company. 

-Carmen


Filed Under: costumes, eyes, makeup Tagged: beauty blogger, beauty guru, beauty PR, coloured contacts, crazy contacts, dramatic eye, dream eyes, eye colour, eye makeup, halloween, halloween ideas, makeup blogger, makeup PR, spooky eyes, UK

Estee Lauder Fall/Winter 2014 Media Preview Event (Part 1/2!)

September 1, 2014

Hi readers!

Two weeks ago, I was invited to Estee Lauder’s Fall/Winter 2014 Media Preview Event. It was a lovely afternoon spent learning many new facts about the Estee Lauder brand and meeting other people with the same passion for beauty!

This two-part post is going to be more focused on the event itself rather than a review of all the products. I will try to write reviews of the complementary products that I received in the coming months!

There were staff from Estee Lauder, as well as the PR company that invited me to attend this event. Staff from both parties were really welcoming and made us feel comfortable. In particular, I had a great conversation with the makeup artist on-site, Fiona! Props to great and kind service from both ends, I was very impressed.
photogrid_1409528231420We were first greeted by breakfast platters, and a variety of different drinks!
photo 1 (3)Some of the products Estee Lauder has lined up for the upcoming season! Our host told us that each one of those eyeshadow palettes were inspired by the pictures behind them. I really enjoyed all the shades and palettes that were there, as well as the packaging of the eyeshadows.

The palettes had either a lipstick or nail polish shade that complimented the colours in the palette. Furthermore, the lipstick packaging is actually magnetic, so no need to worry about not putting on the cap all the way by accident and ruining the whole tube.
photo 2 (2)
Moving on, the picture at the top left is a closeup of one of the new eyeshadow palettes. It was my favourite, since I loooove golden and champagne tones. At the top right, is a preview of a new line released by Estee Lauder called AERIN.

I believe it might be launched already by the time my post comes out, but the line is created by Estee Lauder’s granddaughter, Aerin Lauder. The AERIN line is more youthful, simple and neutral, as Aerin herself prefers simplistic makeup.

The bottom left picture shows the night repair lotion, day lotion, and BB cream. Last but not least, the one at the bottom right is their new cream, made with the natural antioxidant benefits of the lovely pomegrante fruit. Like the AERIN perfumes, it smelled absolutely lovely and was my guest’s favourite product that day.

Anyways, that’s it to the first part! The second part will include a revolutionary foundation brush, gold infused foundation, and a makeover! Keep posted and thanks for reading!

-Carmen


Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: beauty, beauty blogger, beauty guru, estee lauder, eye makeup, eyeshadow, face makeup, face routine, fashion, fashion blogger, foundation, makeup, makeup addict, makeup blogger, makeup lover, media preview, perfume

Summer 2014 Favourite Moisturizers

August 30, 2014

This idea came to me suddenly a hour ago, and I am in the mood to write tonight 🙂 I have had a busy week and wasn’t able to blog as much as I hoped, but I’m glad I have this long weekend to wind down and take some time to myself. Lately, my skin has been quite dry so I have been relying on my lotions a lot. I have developed a devotion to certain lotions and wanted to share them with you today! Some of these are second or third time purchases that I have been using for a long time, while others I have just started to love. Let’s get started!
photo 1 (2)These are the main moisturizers I use in my daily routine. Anyone have the same products and love them as much as I do? 😀 When my skin gets dry, it also gets really itchy at the same time, so all of these have been amazing at getting rid of the itch and quenching my skin (well, apart from the lip moisturizers haha).  Let’s divide these moisturizers into separate categories and go into further detail with each!

BODY
photo 2 (1)
1) St. Ives Daily Hydration Body Lotion:  Out of all my current favourite moisturizers, I would not have expected to like it as much as I do. My mom bought this as opposed to our usual Vaseline body moisturizer, and I didn’t really think much about it. But I love how fast absorbing and non greasy it is. This lotion also has a very neutral but clean and crisp scent to it that I think would be suitable for males as well.
2) The Body Shop Body Whip in Mango: I’m not too sure why they changed their brand of body lotions to body whip, it kinda sounds strange to me. Anyways, I am in love with the smell of this lotion, as with most Body Shop scents. Again, this moisturizer is very absorbent and leaves my body smelling like mangoes. It’s also very lightweight, and a little goes a long way. I alternate between the two, and honestly, it just depends on which room I’m in when I feel like my skin is getting dry. The St. Ives lotion is stored in our washroom, while TBS one is in my room.

 Face
photo 3
The Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream: You guys, I have fallen in love with this facial moisturizer. I recently just finished my first jar, and wasn’t planning on buying another one because I love trying new products. However, as I was in between facial creams, I realized how much I missed this one. Initially, there is a cooling sensation when you apply this, which is great first thing in the morning as it wakes you up. Secondly, it does a great job at combating oil and making sure your face does not dry out the whole day. This lotion is best suited for those people like me who have combination skin type.

Hands:
photo 5
Crabtree & Evelyn Pomegranate Body Lotion: I also received this as a gift two years ago, but never actually used it because I had a lot of other lotions to use and I didn’t want to “waste” this product as I know that it is pricier than most lotions I buy. Anyways, I started to use it two weeks ago and I really like it.  It t has a mix of fruity and floral notes which I loooove. The scent lasts on your skin the whole day, even after washing your hands! This is actually a body lotion, but I treat it like a hand lotion because of the size.
Lips:
photo 41) Vaseline: If you don’t know how amazing Vaseline is, this classic video of supermodel/ex-talk show host Tyra Banks going absolutely crazy on her studio audience can explain its wonders. I remember watching this on TV as a pre-teen and not being able to find words to describe her crazy and hilarious sudden outburst on Vaseline. OH MY GOD I just re-watched this video and was almost dying of laughter.
Image2) EOS Lip balm: I used this a lot back in high school, but I stopped cause I didn’t like the sphere design and dust kept getting trapped inside. I still don’t like the sphere design because it’s not practical, but you have to admit that it does look pretty cool aesthetically speaking. I have the melon one, and I love the smell and taste of it.  The EOS balm keeps my lips hydrated longer than most lip balms I have used (apart from Vaseline of course).

Well, there you have it! I love all of these moisturizers for a variety of reasons, from their lightweight, non greasy formulas to their fantastic scent. Which moisturizers are YOUR favourite? Let me know in the comments down below 🙂

-Carmen


Filed Under: body, face, skincare, Uncategorized Tagged: beauty blogger, beauty guru, beauty review, body routine, cream, face routine, fashion blogger, favourite products, girl talk, lotion, makeup blogger, moisturizer, product review, the body shop, vaseline

Lush Herbalism cleanser review

July 29, 2014

I talked about this briefly in my June 2014 favourites post , but I have been loving this cleanser so much lately that I just decided to write a completely separate post! Back in May, I picked up this sample while I was at my local Lush store with a friend. Initially, I didn’t like this product at all but it grew on me.

I hated the texture of it, how I had to add water to the mixture before applying it on my face, and how messy it was to use! But after a week of putting up with the messiness, I noticed that my skin tone improved and I wasn’t as oily if I used this product the day before. After carefully rationing my sample so that I could maximize the use (LOL we’re all guilty of that, don’t even lie! haha) and careful consideration (sadly I don’t make much money at my part time job and I’m on a student budget), I decided to purchase the full size a month later.
photo 2 (9)I believe I bought the 100 g pot, which was $14. I’m used to buying drug store cleansers, so this was pricier than I was used to. But since I tried it before, I knew that it would be worth the price!
**Read more: Lush Cosmetic Warrior fresh face mask **
photo (1)The texture of the cleanser was something I have not seen before. I took a closeup, because I’m not too sure how to describe it. It is a bit moist and flaky, and a tad bit grainy. I read on another review that you aren’t supposed to get this cleanser wet, or it can start to go bad since it contains natural ingredients.

However, I got my sample size pot wet by accident and I haven’t seen it go bad yet (had it for a bit over 2 months now).
photo 1 (9)Ingredients (as listed on site): Ground Almonds, Kaolin , Glycerine ,Chlorophyllin Water (Aqua) , Nettle, Rosemary, Rice Vinegar Extract, Rice Bran, Gardenia Extract, Rose Absolute,Chamomile Oil, Sage Oil, Fragrance | After reading the ingredients, it makes sense why there is a grainy texture to the cleanser- probably the ground almonds and/or rice bran. I love being able to read the ingredients list and know exactly what most of the ingredients are /how it is derived. 


Steps: As mentioned above, I initially hated the cleansing process with this cleanser. It comes in a moist-ish type of packed clay tub.
photo 3 (7)Step 1: Take a pea sized amount with your fingers, and put it in your palm.
photo 4 (6)Step 2: Take a dab of water and gently drop it into the cleanser, so that it resembles a traditional cleanser. This part can be a bit messy, so be sure to do it over the sink. Then, you transfer the mixture onto your skin and wash. Applying this onto your face can be messy too, as the watery liquid can possibly run down your arm or neck/ aka everywhere it was not meant to be.

Pros:
-Keeps skin oil free, does not over dry
-Controls breakouts really well; I use this more often when I feel my skin breaking out and it usually does a great job in combatting the breakouts or making them not as bad
-Leaves skin feeling very soft and smooth (it is a gentle exfoliant as well)
-I would recommend this if you have oily, acne-prone skin

Cons:
-Messy!!!
-May be hard to adjust to at first
-Pricier than drugstore cleansers
-Since it is made with natural ingredients, they suggest finishing the tub within three months of purchase incase they go bad
-Unpleasant, herbal, earthy smell

Thanks for reading! Leave me a comment and tell me what you think about this product!
-Carmen


Filed Under: body, face Tagged: american beauty, beauty, beauty blog, beauty blogger, beauty routine, canadian beauty, cosmetics, cosmetics review, face mask, LUSH, lush cosmetics, makeup, makeup blog, natural face mask, natural makeup, skincare, skincare routine, UK beauty

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