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Curiously Carmen

Smashbox Be Legendary Cream Lipstick

March 4, 2016

Fun fact- my mom is a competitive ballroom dancer, which means she has a big makeup collection for her performances! She usually wears drugstore makeup and doesn’t like to splurge on makeup products, but she was looking for a very high grade and long lasting full coverage foundation for her performances.

This was already 5+ years ago, but the lady at Sephora recommended a Smashbox foundation, which was my first introduction to Smashbox. Being the curious teenager I was, I decided to try it as well. Unfortunately, we both did not like the foundation at all! It was very thick, oily, and uncomfortable. I hope they have since improved their formula!

Since then, I tried a sample of one of the Smashbox primers (forgot which it was) and it made me break out. As you can see, my experience with Smashbox hasn’t been positive so I haven’t really tried any of their other products for a long time, until now! Hopefully, their lip products would be better for me than their face products???
Smashbox Be Legendary Cream Lipstick WitchyI bought this lipstick ‘somewhat’ impulsively. I say ‘somewhat’ because I was looking for a dark, deep burgundy lipstick for awhile now although I didn’t know which brand I wanted. I went to Sephora one weekend and after looking around for awhile with no luck, I asked one of the girls there if they carried a lipstick similar to the Too Faced melted in berry red.

(I would have just bought the Too Faced liquid lipstick, but had a bad experience and ended up returning it. I know, I am probably one of the only people who don’t like the melted lipstick line! I wish it turned out for me because their shades are gorgeous.)

The girl suggested the Smashbox Be Legendary line in the shade witchy. I didn’t want to keep looking anymore, and when she swatched it for me, it was the definitely the perfect vampy shade I was looking for!

Smashbox Be Legendary Cream Lipstick Witchy

The Smashbox Be Legendary line is available in both matte and creamy shades. As you can see from the swatch, witchy is part of the cream line. I honestly didn’t have a preference for matte or creamy, I just really wanted a dark and vampy shade!

As advertised, this lipstick is pretty creamy, smooth and moisturizing. It is also nicely pigmented. My favourite part of this lipstick is how smooth and non-drying it was.

However, I did find that the lipstick did apply unevenly. You can slightly see on the swatch that the shade is a bit uneven. You can’t really see the unevenness in real life or in pictures though, unless you look really carefully. I also found that there were small ‘specks’ of colour when applying.

I fixed this by dabbing the specks off with a napkin or by using more product to cover it up.

Overall, I think this lipstick is alright. I don’t think I would repurchase this as there are cheaper options out there, but I don’t hate it either. I really love the shade and how creamy it is though!

yay-nay-or-meh

Meh…

Thanks for reading!

Carmen


Filed Under: lips, makeup Tagged: beauty, beauty blogger, beauty guru, dark lips, lipstick, makeup guru, smashbox

TRESemmé Reverse Beauty-Full Volume system

February 29, 2016

Happy Leap Day!!! This is the first time a post has ever been published on February 29th here on Curiously Carmen 🙂 The next time this happens will be in 4 years, I wonder where Curiously Carmen will be in 2020!

——

I’ve used TRESemmé for many years back in high school. It was all my mom ever bought because it was pretty cheap for a large bottle, and we love to save money wherever we can! I ended up using the same line for so many years that eventually my hair built tolerance to it, and found my hair got oily faster. I was also getting tired of the smell after so long, and finally ended up buying my own drugstore shampoo instead.

TRESemmé has recently launched a new line of hair products called the Beauty-Full Volume system. This is my first time coming back to TRESemmé after a couple years, even though I have used it occasionally when I ran out of my usual shampoo and used my mom’s. I have been trying out this new line for a bit over a week now, and here is what I thought of it!

TRESemmé Reverse Beauty-Full Volume systemWhat sets this line apart from other products is that you are supposed to use the conditioner first, and then shampoo! Following the proper steps will lead to what TRESemmé describes as ‘bouncy, touchable hair’.
TRESemmé Reverse Beauty-Full Volume systemStep 1)  TRESemmé Beauty-Full Volume Pre-Wash Conditioner: As mentioned above, you are supposed to condition your hair first. I liked that this came in a pump bottle, as it was easy to dispense the product. It has a clear but slightly thick consistency to it.

After using 2-3 pumps and leaving this on for one minute as you would with any conditioner, you rinse it off. Since I have an oily hair type, I only used this starting from the middle of my hair, down to the tips. As I washed the conditioner off, I instantly felt my hair transform into something more soft and ‘flowing’, if that makes any sense.

TRESemmé Reverse Beauty-Full Volume systemStep 2)  TRESemmé Beauty-Full Volume Shampoo: Following is the shampoo! I wished that the shampoo came with a pump as well, but no big deal. I squirted some product into my hand first, about the size of a Canadian quarter. Then, I lathered it into my hair.

I love the smell of this shampoo! It smells very refreshing, and reminds me of green apple. Not too feminine, so males in the household could use this as well. I found that it lathered quite a bit, which made me feel like it did a great job in cleaning.
TRESemmé Reverse Beauty-Full Volume systemStep 3) TRESemmé Beauty-Full Volume Hair Maximizer: After getting out of the shower, apply the maximizer to damp hair, then blow dry. I normally don’t put product in my hair after I wash it, but this would be good on special occasions where I want my hair to look a bit nicer!

I found that the maximizer further softened my hair and it also tamed flyaways.

Overall, I really like TRESemmé’s new line and could see myself continuing to use it. I love the fresh scent, and how volumized, clean and soft my hair looks!

Even after twelve hours of wash, I can still smell the shampoo on my hair and my hair feels nice and light, but volumized at the same time. My friend also commented that my hair looked more volumized too!

yay-nay-or-meh

Yay!

Thanks for reading!

Carmen


Filed Under: hair Tagged: beauty, beauty blogger, conditioner, drugstore, hair, hair care, haircare, shampoo, tresemme

Covergirl Clean Foundation Review

February 2, 2016

I stumbled upon this foundation by a lucky accident! I was browsing around Shoppers with some girlfriends after brunch, and saw this foundation on sale for $5. What a steal! The normal price of this foundation was $10.

Since I’ve been wanting to try a new foundation anyways, I thought this would be the perfect chance without spending too much money!
Covergirl Clean Foundation Review

It’s been awhile since I’ve purchased anything from Covergirl. It definitely brings me back to high school days… I loved those Covergirl wet slicks lip glosses!

Now that I think of it, I don’t think I own any other Covergirl foundations. I usually just bought their lip products or mascaras back in high school.
Covergirl Clean Foundation ReviewThere are three types of foundation under Covergirl’s clean line. I don’t recall what the other two are, but this one is meant specifically for sensitive skin. Although I don’t have sensitive skin, I bought this one because it was the only one out of the three that was on sale.

The clean sensitive line comes with a bright green lid, while the other two clean foundations have brown and blue lids.
Covergirl Clean Foundation ReviewI got the shade ‘soft honey’, a lucky guess because it matched my face nicely!

The one thing I did not like about this foundation is how hard it is for the product to come out. Even when you try to shake the glass jar, the foundation is really stubborn and does not want to come out. I was smacking this bottle pretty hard on my hand for a good few minutes before my hand started getting red.

I eventually gave up and used a cotton swab to get the product out.
Covergirl Clean Foundation ReviewI found that the foundation was easy to blend, and came without a scent. It was also very buildable, which is something I always look for in foundation. Being buildable allows you to be flexible with the amount of coverage you want.

This is a picture I took right after I put it on, no photoshop – only whitened the background but nothing to my face. It lasted all evening and I had no problems with it.
Covergirl Clean Foundation ReviewOverall, I really liked this foundation, especially since I found it on sale for only $5! That is a steal and if I saw it on sale again for that price, I would buy it in a heart beat.

My one complaint would be the packaging, because it was so hard for the foundation to come out! I have it currently stored upside down, but I’ll probably be using cotton swabs to get the product out.
yay-nay-or-meh

Yay!

Thanks for reading!

Carmen


Filed Under: face, makeup Tagged: beauty, beauty blog, beauty blogger, covergirl, covergirl foundation

Jord Wooden Watch Review

January 30, 2016

I am excited to share this company with you all today! Jord is a company specializing in luxury, all natural wooden watches.

I was given the chance to try out one of their beautiful wooden watches in the fall, and here is what I thought.
Jord Wooden Watch ReviewOut of the designs that I was allowed to chose from, I decided to go with the Cora series, with the beautiful purpleheart & mother of pearl watch.

Did you know that purpleheart is a type of wood that is all natural in colour? When freshly cut, purpleheart is a  dull grayish/purplish brown. Upon exposure, the wood becomes a deeper eggplant purple. So pretty and cool!

The watch arrives in a sturdy wooden box. It also comes with a slip on wooden lid, with their logo engraved on the box. The box is really good quality and you could use the box to store small items.

Jord Wooden Watch Review

This watch is splash-proof, but not entirely water-proof so don’t submerge yours in water! Since this watch is made from 100% wood, it is recommended to clean the watch with lemon or orange oil extract so that you don’t damage the material.

Jord also recommends to avoid storing the watch in extreme hot/cold or humid environments.
Jord Wooden Watch ReviewOne thing that is really great about Jord watches is that most of them do not require the use of batteries. This watch is a self winding watch, meaning that the movement of the watch depends on the wearer’s wrist movement.

To start the watch, you use the winder on the side and set the time. It is important to wear the watch in order to keep the time moving. After enough movement and wearing, the watch will start to move automatically and won’t stop unless you take it off for long periods of time.

Check out that intricate craftmanship- it looks even more beautiful when you see it in action. It reminded me of those classic grandfather clocks!
Jord Wooden Watch ReviewOverall, I enjoyed the Jord watch, but it was my first time having an automatic watch. Since I would only wear it for a few hours at a time, it became tedious to have to reset the time each time I wanted to wear it. Clearly, I am not #fancy enough but at least I learned something new from this watch!

However, I’m aware that this is the case for ALL self winding watches, so it is something that I will have to get used to! Other than that, I have no complaints about the watch itself. The watch is of great quality and I love the unique all-wood design.

As previously mentioned, I would consider these watches to be a luxury item. The price ranges from $129-$395 USD, depending on the series and style. Automatic watches cost more than battery-powered watches, but you don’t have to worry about your watch running out of batteries.

yay-nay-or-meh

Meh…

Thanks for reading!

Carmen

Sample provided for review. Opinions are own.


Filed Under: costumes Tagged: beauty, beauty blogger, jord, jord watch

First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser

January 7, 2016

One of the gifts I received for my birthday this year (Well, technically last year since I have a late December birthday haha) was the First Aid Beauty face cleanser. I’ve heard so many great things about the FAB brand from the Youtube community, so I was really excited to try this out.
First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser ReviewI received the travel sized cleanser, which was perfect because it takes me such a long time to finish using products. I don’t know how beauty gurus can produce monthly empty videos/posts because I always struggle with finishing products within a month.

If you’ve read my posts this past month or so, you’ll know that this winter made my skin really, really, really dry. As a result, my skin had a dry, leathery texture- which has never happened before!  I had to moisturize a lot more than I usually do to compensate.

First Aid Beauty Face CleanserSince my skin has been so dry lately, I decided to try this cleanser rather than my normal one that I use to remove foundation. This foundation had a nice, creamy, and somewhat thick texture to it. It didn’t really have a smell, and I could definitely tell that it was more on the gentle side. It reminded me of my Olay witch hazel facial cleanser.

I was really surprised at how it dissolved and washed away all my foundation in one wash. In addition, my skin felt really fresh, soft, and moisturized. It did not try out my skin at all.

First Aid Beauty Face CleanserOverall, I think that the First Aid Beauty cleanser really lives up to the hype. It does a great job in refreshing your skin, as well as removing heavy duty makeup.  It is also very gentle and suitable for sensitive skin!

It also came with bonus facial wipes! Since I’m still using another brand of makeup wipes, I have yet to give these a try. I don’t like opening multiple makeup wipes at a time because I find that they dry out easily, even when they are properly sealed. Maybe I’ll do a quick review on those once I open the package.

yay-nay-or-meh

Yay!

Thanks for reading!

Carmen


Filed Under: face, makeup, skincare Tagged: beauty, beauty blogger, first aid beauty, sephora, vancouver

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