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Curiously Carmen

Etude House- gradient nail trio

July 17, 2014

The full name of this nail polish is actually Etude House Juicy Cocktail Graduation Nails, but that seemed like too long of a name to

include in my title. The name also doesn’t really make sense, but oh well 🙂 I was over at my friend’s house, and loved the gradient and golden shimmer on her nails. She told me that her aunt got the set for her in Hong Kong, and let me use it as well. The nail polish set comes with three shades, which you are supposed to use in a specific order for the desired gradient effect.
photo 1The nail polish themselves are smaller in size than your typical drugstore nail polishes. After browsing on Amazon, I found that the average price of one set is around $3-10 dollars. The relatively large price window was very surprising to me!

I also came across a review from Youtube beauty guru FromHeadToToe, who had the same set but in different shades. I have attached her picture here because it explains a lot better.
EtudeHouseGradationPeachCrush4Straightforward enough, you start with the translucent polish all over your nail. You can choose to use more than one coat, I used two coats for mine and I will attach a picture of my own nails down below.

After it dries, you apply the second polish, which has glitter to half of your nail – from the tip to the middle, not the base. From there, the third polish is applied which has bigger glitter particles, giving it a beautiful gradient!
photo 2There are also instructions on the back as well (written in Korean but with straightforward pictures).
photo 4Unfortunately, I was only able to wear my nails for one day as I had to work the next day. I work part-time at a coffee shop, where we are not allowed to wear nail polish due to health reasons. This is both good and bad. The good is that I have saved a lot of my money by not buying copious amounts of nail polish.

The bad part, of course, is that I love painted nails and that I miss being able to paint them whenever I want! I apologize for the blurry picture, I was in a hurry to work and quickly snapped this picture. I was having a hard time removing the glitter off my nails. I have yet to find an easy way to remove glitter, if anyone has a solution PLEASE let me know! I know you can wrap your fingers in foil and let it soak but I don’t have the patience to cut up the foil, soak my nails, etc etc etc.
photo 3A better, less blurry picture of my nail. I showed this picture to my best friend and she thought my finger was swollen. No, my nail naturally looks like that,I don’t have “lady-like”  long, slender, and beautiful fingers :(.

Anyways, since I didn’t get to wear this for as long as I hoped (3+ days at least!), I wasn’t able to test how long lasting it was. One thing that I really liked about the nail polish was that it gave my nails a good healthy and natural shine. My nails also looked thicker and healthier with this on, kinda like gel nails but that might have been the top coat I used from my friend. I am hoping to try this polish out again in the upcoming months so I will post an updated review to this current post when I do!
55119

I also found this awesome compilation online of all their various sets! I used the one in the middle, first one on the left. I really like peachy and pink sets in the first row! What about you?

Pros:

  • Love the shade and idea of this!
  • Don’t have to waste time finding three separate nail polishes that will blend well together
  • Gives your nail a healthy shine
  • Many beautiful colours to choose from

Cons:

  • Small nail polish set
  • Glitter was hard to remove (But then again, all glitter polish is difficult to remove)
  • Can’t buy this in Western drug stores or Sephora, best bet is online or in Asia

Update: I wore this nail polish for four days again the week after writing this draft. Most of the polish had chipped off, except for the glittery tips. I noticed that my nails began to chip the second day. After going swimming on the third day, more than half the polish had chipped 🙁 But overall, not too bad! I also didn’t wear a top coat, which probably would have helped!

That’s it to this review! Happy painting everyone!
-Carmen


Filed Under: body, makeup, nails Tagged: asian, asian beauty, asian makeup, beauty, beauty blogger, beauty review, beauty routine, etude house, korean, korean makeup, makeup, makeup blogger, makeup review, makeup routine, manicure, nail design, nail polish, nail routine

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. 🙁
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. 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 🙂 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

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