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Curiously Carmen

GUEST POST: Cleopatra Inspired Look

September 5, 2014

Hello everyone! I am happy to have another guest post on my blog, this time featuring a great friend of mine, Rachel. She will be writing about how she created a beautiful Cleopatra inspired makeup look – cat eye lovers, this one is for you! Even if you aren’t a fan of cat eye and/or can’t master the look, read on anyways because Rachel has some great advice AND preview on many makeup brands including Smashbox, Too Faced, L’Oreal, NYX, and Revlon! Thanks for doing a guest post with me, Rach. Hope everyone enjoys, let’s get started!
——————————-
Hi lovely readers of Carmen! I am so excited I get to guest post on here, Carmen’s blog is a must read for me. I trust her as a friend and beauty guru/foodie extraordinarie. I am by no means, a beauty guru/expert status and I also use a lot of drugstore products. So if you are one of those girls sitting at home watching Youtube and then proceeding to sit in (not on, in) the bathroom sink, to get just the right angle for that perfect cat eye–we are one.

rach5So, I did in fact sit in my sink to do this look. Winged eyeliner is no easy feat, and doing so with liquid liner is even less so– doing winged eyeliner with liquid liner and being Rachel Carrier -post concussion…even harder. This look came about as I was exploring the beautiful world of Miss Cleopoatra herself. Since school stared again, I have come back in touch with my love of literature and enrolled in all a Shakespeare course (be still my heart). One of our assignments involves memorizing and reciting a soliloquy from the piece you are assigned that week. I got Cleopatra and I was beyond excited. Egyptian inspired make up is bold and intricate and so strikingly beautiful. Balancing rich, dark skin tones with piercing, vibrant eyes and lining everything with thick black creates a contrast and a story that represents the person themself. I started by googling images of Cleopatra. The classic thin and precise dark eye brows that match up with thick winged liner and blue eyeshadow and paired with blood red lips was a starting point. I decided to stick to a pretty classic looking Cleo, and I would just tailor it to the products I had and what colours suit me best…aka not blue.

What I used:
rach2
Too Faced- Matte Eye Pallete $50: This is my favourite pallete of all time and a great investment. The brown colour doubles as my eye contour shade AND brows, any double whammy product is good in my books. I tend to stay away from sparkle or shimmer because matte colours are easier to work with on a day to day basis and shimmery colours have a strange effect on my eye.
L’Oreal Colour Riche- New essentials eye quad in 525 $11: When I do use shimmery colours, this is my go to pallete for adding drama and glamour to any look. The pigments are rich and they go on true and do well layered. I suggest stroking your brush through gently and then tapping off the excess and blotting on the pigment before sweeping it on your eye lid for better coverage and less leakage.
L’Oreal Magic Perfecting Base $12.99: I bought this on a whim whilst in London Drugs and shortly after watching a slew of Youtube tutorials. I wanted to have the perfect matte skin that they have, but I was concerned at the price for such a small pot of product. But a little does go a long way, I use it for special occasions when I am wearing foundation. It creates a more even complexion and allows for even coverage.

rach 3Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara $18: This was a Sephora splurge. But, because of my lack of and short lashes, I need a mascara that will support and add body. I am not sure, if it is the one I will use forever, but it has done me proud.
Revlon Bold Laquer Mascara $9 for 2: To be honest, I bought this because it was on sale. I am not sure how I feel about this mascara yet, the brush feels spiny and the mascara itself has a strange texture that is very laquer-esque. I used it as a base before my Smashbox one because I find it does seperate and add length very well.
Revlon Colour Stay Liquid Liner Skinny $7.99: Revlon was having a buy 2 get 1 free sale. I really love this liner though. It has a super, skinny, precision tip and the formula is wearable but not too sticky and it is forgiving.
Maybelline Scandaleyes Waterproof Eyeliner Khol Kajal $2.99: I swear by this stuff. It is so smooth and creamy, it is wearable and I just love it. I use this on a daily basis to tightline my upper lash line and it creates a natural thick lash line.
rach4Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation- 150 Nude $7.99: I like this foundation because it is light and easily blended with a light to medium coverage. It doesn’t crease or become too greasy on my skin either. I tend to stay away from foundation because my skin has a lot of irritations and foundation makes it worse or can look cakey, but this is nice and fluid which makes for a light finish.
Nyx Lipstick- 511 $3.99: This lipstick is a vibrant red with a nice rich formula. It isn’t super creamy nor is it too sticky. It goes on smooth and leaves a nice stain as well. I like to layer it with other colours.
Sephora Lipstick $16: The tube doesn’t say what shade it is, but I love it. This appears different in the tube than on your lips. You should test it first on your skin tone. It is a really dark plum, but it is defintely a rouge. I like the consistency of this lipstick and wear it often in the fall.
rach7For the look itself, I swept the gold colour eye shadow over my lid to the crease and then dabbed the copper colour in the crease and shaded it in to create a dull smoky eye. I added gold to the inner corners of my eye and lined the inner half of the bottom lid with gold as well. I then used the dark shimmery purple to create a more smoky effect on the outer bottom line as well as in the crease. I enhanced the smoky shadow with the black and brown from my Too Faced Pallete, and I used the white as a highlight for my brow bone. Cleopatra has very defined eye make up look and I wanted to soften it slightly for modern day.

I kept my brows well defined and extended them past where I would usually have them. I used a mix of the brown and the black in my Too Faced Pallete. I then tightlined both the upper lash line and the waterline with my black eye liner, making sure to connect in the inner corner for that signature cat eye. Then I used the liquid liner to extend into my winged liner. In most pictures, Cleopatra’s winged liner meets with her brows. That is too extreme for me, so I left about 2 centimeters of space. I finished with more gold on top and two coats of mascara. My trick for stubborn lashes is to heat your eye lash curler under a hair dryer for a few seconds til just warm, then curl and mascara them.
rach6The final touch was the lipstick. I first used a layer of my Babylips chapstick from Maybelline. Then I did a layer of the Sephora lipstick, I blotted, then a layer of the Nyx lipstick then blot and then I pressed some black eye shadow into it as well with my finger and just blended. Of course, a well angled selfie was due after all this work.

And there you have it folks. An easy and modern take on a classic queen. I may not be as striking as Cleopatra may have been, but I hope to have the confidence and wit that she possessed and was known for having. A beauty from within, so to speak. I had a lot of fun doing this, and I am honoured that Carmen asked me to blog it. Thanks for reading, lots of love to y’all.

-Rach


Filed Under: eyes, face, lips, makeup Tagged: beauty guru, beauty products, beauty review, beauty tutorial, cat eye, cleopatra, egypt, egyptian, eyeliner, foundation, l'oreal, lipstick, makeup look, makeup lover, makeup review, mascara, NYX, revlon, smashbox, too faced

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聽the night repair lotion, day lotion, and BB cream.聽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

The Face Shop Mini Haul- Korean pore balm?! and concealer

June 21, 2014

I’m really excited to write this post because I have loved The Face Shop since my preteen years and discovered two amazing products! They actually closed down the only boutique in Vancouver around five years ago.

It really sucked because I dug up my old concealer a few months ago, and it worked so well. I tried looking online but I didn’t spend that much time because the site was in Korean. I just gave up and accepted the fact that I would not be able to buy that concealer anymore. 馃檨
image (29)Anyways, I was beyond ecstatic when my cousin told me that they had just opened up a boutique in town! I couldn’t contain my excitement and I actually went the same day.

Incase you’ve never heard of The Face Shop, it is a Korean cosmetics company. It is very popular in Korea and is their third most popular cosmetic line. I can see why it is so popular, their products deliver great results. Here is what I ended up buying and what I thought of the products!
image (33)I bought two full sized skin care products- a pore balm and a double ended concealer (total was $35 with tax). They were quite generous with samples, and took great care in wrapping my purchase.

The worker also informed me at the till that the beauty balm I bought works best for dry skin. I actually have combination skin so she recommended I swap my pore balm, and gave me samples based on my skin type.
image (31)Starting with the pore balm, I was in the mood for trying new products and I was just happy that I was able to shop here again! The sign on the table said it would minimize pores and cut oil from the face, so I figured I would give it a try.

It comes with a pad to rub it on your face with, but I just used my fingers because I felt it would absorb better. I noticed that the smell of the balm had a borderline medicinal smell, like Vicks Vapour Rub. At first glance, I noticed that it absorbed my oil really well and had a satiny, smooth finish. I used foundation afterwards, as you are supposed to do. Keep reading to see my results!
image (32)I couldn’t find the same concealer I bought a few years ago, so settled on this double ended concealer. The worker told me that they probably didn’t carry that one anymore, and showed me the only concealer they had. One side is liquid while the other side is a stick. I found the stick side to be very smooth, blend able and easy to apply. It also matched my skin tone perfectly. I would say it’s the same quality as the one I bought years ago! Yay!
image (34)After finishing with both products and my foundation, I was in shock when I looked in the mirror and ran to show the boyfriend because I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming. Sure enough, all my pores had disappeared.

My problem area was T zone, but I did not see any pores or blackheads at all. My amazement continued the night as my foundation stayed on perfectly without melting. When I took off all my makeup at the end of the night, I noticed my pores looked a lot tighter and smaller than they usually do. The pore balm was sure a miracle! As for the concealer, it hid my dark spots and scars pretty well and did not smudge.
photo (3) jHere is a picture in different lighting,with both the products on. Both pictures are completely unedited and have no filter, I just resized the second picture to fit my site better. I finished my skin off with my Naked Skin foundation, Maybelline setting powder, and Lancome blush. My total came to $35 for the 2 products. I would definitely buy the pore balm again.聽I definitely have struggled with uneven skin tone, dark marks, scars, you name it since hitting puberty but the beauty balm will hide all your secrets. I find it works a lot better than Benefit’s Porefessional, which was my favourite before this one. The beauty balm is $17 which is cheaper but maybe I should try using both next time?

Pros:

  • Pore balm is a complete lifesaver, it will even out your skin, make your pores disappear, and seems to tighten them even after washing it off
  • Concealer has a very smooth application, and is easily blendable

Cons:

  • The Face Shop does not have many boutiques, may have a hard time finding it in person but is available online
  • Pore balm has a strange smell (medicinal menthol scent, like Vicks Vapour Rub)

What are some of your favourite primers and concealers? Have you tried these products before and what did you think? Don’t forget to follow me on Bloglovin because I’m lonely over there, and comments/feedback here make me happy 馃檪 Have a great day!

-Carmen


Filed Under: face, makeup Tagged: beauty, beauty blogger, beauty review, clear skin, face, foundation, korean makeup, makeup, makeup review, pores, skin care, skin care routine, the face shop

Lanc么me – La Base Pro Makeup Primer

March 5, 2014

Hi readers!

I received this as a sample from Shoppers Drug Mart when I recently purchased something from their beauty department. My thoughts on this primer are mixed because on the two separate occasions I wore it, I got different results.

I don’t think I would purchase this product just because I got different results so I’m not too sure how reliable it would be, nor would I want to spend $40+ on a product I am iffy about.

I’ll start off with the application. 聽The primer came out like a gel, but when you applied it, it became very聽soft聽on聽your face, almost like a powder. I noticed that it felt very slippery and oily, and I had a feeling that my foundation would not last….聽聽Keep reading to find out why.聽
lancome
First impression: After applying all my makeup, I noticed that I looked really cakey and streaky. To put it frankly, it did not look nice and I felt like all my pores were magnified. I didn’t really have time to reapply it, so I tried blending it more with my brush, which helped a little.

Overall, my first impression of it was that even though it did have that “satin-soft finish” (or slippery/oily as I call it, hah) it left my face feeling pretty heavy. I never knew it was even possible to have “streaky” foundation until this product came along. (Basically, it means I saw a lot of my stroke marks from my brush).

At the end of the night, my foundation was still on 聽even though my face felt heavy. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures in good lighting and ended up deleting the initial ones. I was really disappointed with my first impression on this primer, and was glad I got this for free.

Second impression: I didn’t want to lose hope on this primer! A few nights after,聽I decided to only apply the primer to聽half聽my face and ask the boyfriend which side looked more pore less & even. I was hoping that he would say the side that I聽didn’t聽put on the primer to conclude, but he actually said that the right side looked smoother!

I noticed that this time, my foundation did not appear as streaky or cakey as the initial time, even though all the products and amount were the same. I noticed that unlike the first night, my skin didn’t feel heavy or gross the whole night- I even forgot I wore it. Here is a picture I took at the end of the night:
lancome faceConclusion:聽After reading reviews, I noticed that users with the same skin type as mine (combination/oily) had the same problems. Therefore, I conclude that this foundation would be better suited for you if you had聽dry skin. It all makes sense now!

My face was probably oilier during my first application since I just took a shower before applying (I don’t know why, but my face becomes oilier after I shower) which is why it looked so cakey and streaky. The second time, I don’t remember putting on any heavy moisturizer or showering before.

That meant that my skin was drier my second time, which was why I had more success with it. But yeah, I don’t think I would buy this primer or use it again – I’ll probably give it away to a friend that has a dry skin type.

-Carmen


Filed Under: face, makeup Tagged: cakey foundation, combination skin, dior, dry skin, face, foundation, girl, i love makeup, lancome, MAC, makeup addict, makeup primer, makeup review, oily skin, primer, sample, sephora, shoppers drug mart, urban decay

Urban Decay – “Naked Skin” Liquid Foundation Review

February 1, 2014

Hi everyone!

I’ve always been a fan of Urban Decay products. My first memory of UD was one of their dark purple eyeshadow pots, which I remember from my childhood. My mom has always been into makeup which is probably how I have taken on the hobby as well.

From then, it slowly progressed to discovering the聽UD Primer potion聽(My HOLY GRAIL of all eyeshadow primers, a later post will be dedicated to this amazing product), then to various liquid eyeliners, and finally, their Naked Skin foundation.

I first tried the foundation through聽Sephora + Pantone ‘s colour IQ聽and got a sample of it. Usually, when I am investing in a relatively expensive foundation, I ask for a sample first to make sure I really like it before actually spending money. It’s been a few months with this foundation and it’s safe to say, I love it as much as when I first bought it. Here’s why:
20140202-012006.jpg
Coverage: When I buy foundation, I aim for at least medium coverage. I have combination skin, redness in a few areas (esp around my nose, eyebrows), and a few scars which is why low coverage does nothing for me. 聽Anyways, the coverage is great. A little goes a long way, I usually use one pump, dab it in my problem zones and use my foundation brush to blend it out.

Feel: Usually, medium-high coverage foundations feel heavier which makes sense. However, as their website says and I agree with, this foundation feels really light and non-existent which is perfect! My face also does not feel oiler than it normally is after using.

Length: Foundations that say they last 12-24+ hours plus are lying. Why would you need a foundation that lasts 24 hours?! Like do you not need to sleep or something? Go sleep!

Anyways, this foundation lasts pretty long for my skin, at least 8 hours before I notice it starting to wear off. I normally reapply it after 6 hours, if I happen to have it with me, just because it does seem to lose its radiance a bit. I’ve had foundations that have lasted only 3 hours MAXIMUM before it goes away.

Cons: While writing this post, I kept trying to think of things I did not like about it. But honestly, I can’t think of anything… Except maybe the price? It retails for聽$45 Canadian not including tax. It is pretty expensive in my opinion, but for what you get out of it, it’s worth it. naked foundation

Thank you for reading !
-Carmen


Filed Under: face, makeup Tagged: foundation, liquid foundation, makeup, makeup review, naked, pantone, sephora, tips, urban decay, urban decay naked skin

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