Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Tribute to 2011 : Favourites this year!

My favourites of 2011! :D
In no particular order...




1. Birthday shoes - Charles&Keith!
(I love how India always has sales right before my birthday :D)
On sale, INR 1500









2. The Body Shop Strawberry Shower Gel
(Love them all but my pick for 2011 has to be Strawberry)
INR 340









3. The Body Shop Born Lippy Pink Guava Lip Balm.
(Maybe this was a limited edition or something, I haven't found it at any TBS -- Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore, multiple airports -- after my first purchase)
INR 205





4. The Body Shop Hi-Shine Lip Treatment in Party Pink
(I guess you can tell I'm a sucker for TBS)
INR 600








5. Maybelline Colossal Kajal
(Discovering this gave me reason to celebrate. Now my all-time, go-to eyeliner and kajal.)
INR 150







6. M.A.C Carbon eyeshadow
(Finally a black eyeshadow I can always count on.)
INR 945








7. M.A.C 168 Brush
(My splurge of the year :P)
INR 1930








8. Garnier Pure Active Blackheads Removing Scrub
(It works!)
INR 150







9. M.A.C Fluidline in Waveline
(Bless the inventor of gel eyeliners. I'm in love.)
INR 1000







10. The Body Shop Baked-To-Last Blush in Shade 02:Coral
(Yes, TBS again :P)
INR 985







11. Bath & Body Works Pleasures : Sun-Ripened Raspberry Body Splash
(I carry this everywhere I go!)
Approx INR 500






Here's wishing goodbye, 2011. Hope for a better, brighter and goodie-filled 2012! :P
xoxo :)

LOTD: New Year's Eve, 31 Dec 2011

Its here, its finally here! The last day of 2011! My best friends are in town and we're planning to party all night and make this a memorable New Year's Eve. I personally believe that for a New Year's Eve party, you don't have to stick to any rules and can go as crazy as you want, in terms of clothes, makeup, accessories.. I almost bought feather earrings for this, but they were so flimsy I decided to give it a miss. I want feather earrings!

I've been wanting a cocktail LBD since forEVER! I finally found this in Bangalore this time -- Commercial Street (yay :P) It fits well, has nothing on it except the bow in front and I love it because I can accessorize it with almost anything.


I had the perfect dress, and then I ran all over Bangalore looking for the perfect shoes. My problem was, I already have SO many shoes that I was only willing to buy something that I didn't already have. Metallics are in this season, and I found this last minute, and absolutely love it! The golden is not ostentatious and it looks beeeaaauutiful when worn :D

The dress has a sweetheart neck and is strapless.I wear earrings all the time, and I was looking for something different this time. Found this necklace at Accessorize
(price INR 745).

And finally, a golden-brown-black look to match the outfit :D


Products used:
Eyeshadow primer (foundation+moisturizer)
M.A.C Gorgeous Gold
M.A.C Swiss Chocolate
M.A.C Carbon
(unbranded) Light gold eyeshadow bought at Khan Market, New Delhi
Maybelline Colossal Kajal
The Body Shop Define & Lengthen Mascara

Inspiration:

Happy New Year everyone, party hard! xoxo :)

EOTD: Wedding/Reception

I never, EVER use pink eye makeup.

I just dont.

No reason why.

But I wore a pink saree at my brother's reception.

I wanted to pair it with a dark brown, slightly smoky look, but my sister (and mother and aunt and...) insisted I use pink.


This was what it looked like. What do you think?


Product Review : Lakme Face Magic Daily Wear Souffle

I haven't experimented much with foundations since I hardly wear them for college or even days out... I still own one, but I don't like it much (I think its the Lakme one in a bottle). It doesn't seem to suit my skin tone and doesn't agree with my combination skin either :-/

There's a wedding coming up in the family next month, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try a foundation that would be easy to carry, easy to use and would suit my skin as well. I know I'm a NC 40 in M.A.C, but its difficult to translate that into the tones of any other brand :|

I was in Secunderabad, and walked into a huge store that had an entire floor dedicated to cosmetic counters.. I explored Maybelline, Bourjois, Lotus herbals, Colorbar, but didn't find anything small or convenient enough to carry to Orissa. I finally chanced upon the Lakme counter, and saw this product in its oh-so-cute packaging and with such an attractive name.. I couldn't resist picking it up, need or no need :P I remember the ads on TV long ago for this product, where one swipe on a painting evens out the complexion of the painting. Anyway, it was time to try it on myself.


The packaging is really cute, and the little pot looks so convenient! The label graphics say :

For longlasting, flawless radiance, apply Face Magic Daily Wear Souffle before stepping out everyday!
Discover Lakme's Face Magic Daily Wear Souffle. A lightweight water-based foundation that gently evens out your complexion. With the goodness of Sunscreen, Cucumber Extracts and Vitamin E, it provides UV protection in addition to soothing and moisturizing your skin, giving you a natural flawless glow.

Orissa in the summers is HOT, HUMID and death to hair and makeup. This sounded like the perfect product to combat the weather and attend the wedding. Its water-based, which is what I was looking for, and promises to even out complexion, which I need.

I asked the SA to give me the one that suits my skin tone.. Unfortunately, there were no testers. She gave me Shade : Natural Pearl for fair skin. I asked her about 6 times whether she was SURE it was the right one for me :P

Anyway, when I got home and opened the packaging, it looked something like this :


Um. Messy. Maybe it was the heat in the car while we were shopping, or the product was runny anyway, but it seemed to have spilt out from the edges. I removed the plastic cover from the glass bottle and well.. messy messy messy. :-|


I took a little bit on my fingers to check the consistency.. Its runny and definitely not very heavy. I was still unsure about the shade that the SA had sold to me.


I tried it on, and it went on smoother than I had thought. It felt cool and watery, and extremely light. Yay, just what I wanted :D And the shade was perfect. It felt a tad bit sticky for the first 5 minutes, then settled into my skin and I couldn't feel it at all after that. I dusted a bit of loose powder over it and I was done. My skin looked totally natural and like I was wearing nothing at all, even after the three layers (sunscreen, foundation, powder). This product may just convert me to a foundation-believer, especially since all my past experiences have been major fails (too heavy, too sticky, etc).


Lakme Face Magic Daily Wear Souffle

Shade : Natural Pearl for fair skin
Price : Indian Rupee symbol.svg99 for 30 ml (sooo affordable!)

Will I repurchase? Yes, if I manage to finish this one with my limited use :P

xoxo

FOTD after a visit to M.A.C

(FOTD = Face Of The Day)

My visit to the M.A.C store at GVK Mall, Hyderabad, was at 11 am, and the SA was extremely helpful. He let me try on any product that caught my eye and expertly applied the shades that he felt would suit my skin tone.

When I went, I had already done up my face with a tinted base, powder fix, basic black eyeliner and M.A.C Technakohl liner in Auto de Blu (pictured on left) that I own already. I had worn nothing on my cheeks, and just basic tinted lipbalm, for a day out to the movies and shopping with my guardian family.

The first thing I did at the M.A.C store was get
my skin tone re-evaluated to adjust for any changes due to summer tanning. I guess I haven't tanned much (thank you sunblock!), my skin shade is still NC 40. The SA blended the M.A.C Mineralize Satin Finish SPF 15 Foundation (pictured on right) on my face using a sponge, avoiding my eye area, thus preserving my eye makeup and still blending the foundation effortlessly into my skin.

The next section I explored were the blushes, and he immediately picked up a bright pink - coral powder blush and blended it into the apples of my cheeks up to my temples using a 116 blush brush. He used the colour "Fleur Power" (pictured on left) which M.A.C describes as "soft bright pinkish-coral" with a satin finish. The colour looks extremely bright in the pan but he blended it into my cheeks so well that my face looked immediately defined and added a pop of colour to my look. Much to my surprise, it didn't clash with the dark eyeliner I had applied and only made my look more "finished" than before.

When I left, the SA suggested that instead of removing the blush that he had applied to one cheek, he would rather apply it to my other cheek as well, so that I could wear it throughout the day :P That made my FOTD for an amazing day out at the movies and window shopping! The makeup stayed on all day, till I got a chance to take a picture at home. The final look :


I <3 M.A.C!!!! :D

xoxo

M.A.C Mini-Haul

I went to Hyderabad GVK Mall, and the first thing that caught my eye was the M.A.C shop! I was super excited, the new Peacocky collection was on display. After catching a quick bite, I walked in and went totally crazy about EVERYTHING. :P The sales assistant was extremely helpful, and I was the only customer for about 25 minutes. After a number of permutations-combinations-calculations, I bought :

1. M.A.C Venomous Villains eyeshadow in Vile Violet

Vile Violet is a "deep dirty blue purple", a limited edition eyeshadow from the Venomous Villains collection, part of the Evil Queen range. Its a matte shade and like all M.A.C products, is amazing quality and very pigmented. The colour flatters brown eyes like most purples do, and swatches on my skin like this :


Price in India : Indian Rupee symbol.svg 945 (pan of shadow with case)

2. M.A.C Fluidline Gel Eyeliner in Waveline


Thank God for gel eyeliners. More precise than a pencil, more forgiving than a liquid, gel eyeliners are the way to go for people who are unable to master the fine art of drawing the thinnest, most even and perfect line on the lashes. I usually use pencils, and have been on the lookout for a gel eyeliner ever since I watched videos and read reviews about it. I couldn't resist picking this one up, because once the SA swatched it on my hand I absolutely fell it love with the rich indigo shade this one gives. M.A.C describes Waveline as a "navy blue with low level gold pearl". Its a gorgeous colour, very different from any other blues I've seen in the market!

Price in India : Indian Rupee symbol.svg 1000

3. M.A.C 168 Large Angled Contour Brush

Ever since my love affair with blushes, bronzers and highlighters, I've been on the lookout for the perfect contouring brush and what better than the famed M.A.C 168! The fibres are soft, bundled together and haven't splayed out yet, which is a good sign. It applies the colour on my cheeks so beautifully and contours like a dream. M.A.C brushes are expensive, but definitely an investment (this justifies the crazy amount of money I spent on it :P).


Price in India : Indian Rupee symbol.svg 1930. It costs a bomb, but beats every other brush in the market.

Tutorials/FOTDs using the above products coming soon! :)

Also, when I was at M.A.C, the SA helped me try on a number of products that he felt would suit my skin tone well. He seemed to enjoy using the products on my face (:P) and advised me to keep it on for the rest of the day. Next post : FOTD of the day I went to M.A.C. :)

xoxo

Product Review : Meylon Paris 6 Blush Palette

So sometime in February I got an email with promotional offers from new, unheard of cosmetic brands, and I decided to give one a try. The picture in the email looked like this :



Nothing looked interesting, and I was about to dismiss and delete the email (like I usually do with promotional spam), then I decided to give it a try and maybe do a product review sometime. The only item that looked remotely interesting was the blush palette. With 6 promising-looking shades, it seemed to be a convenient option to toss into my purse while travelling. Since I haven't been able to get my hands on any custom-made palettes from any big brands yet, I ordered this palette from Meylon. When it arrived, it was in perfect condition, and the real product looks like this :

The colours are really pretty, and definitely usable. They appear slightly chalky, but transfer on to the skin just fine. To give a better idea about the colours, I tried to compare them to other branded shades and found them to be close dupes of the following colours :

Top row (l - r)
1. M.A.C Well Dressed
2. M.A.C Pink Swoon
3. M.A.C Melba

Bottom row (l - r)
1. M.A.C Dollymix
2. M.A.C Loverush, Colorbar Cosmic Rose
3. M.A.C Tenderling

The top center and the bottom left ones appear too dark and maybe not exactly desirable colours but with the right kind of application, I've found that I can use one swipe to create subtle flushes of colour. Of these, my favourite is definitely the bottom row, middle one (it reminds me of Colorbar Cosmic Rose, one of my all-time favourites). All the colours are matte, very pigmented and buildable. The swatches on my skin look like this :

The colours can be made as subtle or deep as desired. I had difficulty swatching the bottom row, right one because its not very pigmented and seemed most chalky. Its a medium brown shade that seems to be somewhere in the middle between a brownish blush and a matte bronzer, but isn't effective for either purpose.

I happen to know that this palette is also available at one of the complexes on Commercial Street, Bangalore, at a small shop that sells fake M.A.C products but also stocks lovely VS body sprays.

Will I buy it again, if I find it? No.

My rating? 2.5 / 5

Extremely convenient for travelling, but the colours are nothing special. For specific travel purposes I would recommend palettes from other companies, some even offer build-your-own ones.


xoxo

Daily Routine - May 2011

Since I'm basically living out of a suitcase and working on a case study for a month now, my product use and makeup is at a minimum. However, these are the products I'm using :

Neutrogena Fine Fairness Cleanser

I bought this thinking about the brand, and also because as Indians, well, aren't we forever in search of fairness products. However, more than just a fairness face wash, I absolutely love this cleanser because it immediately removes all the dirt and extra oil from my skin, and I can notice the immmediate glow after I was my face. Love this - will definitely repurchase.




Lotus Herbals Safe Sun Skin Lightening Anti-Tan Sunblock SPF 30

Okay, so Indian summers = SUNBLOCK MANDATORY!!! There is absolutely no escape to this. Now I know using a moisturizer year-round is kind of a beauty mantra, but anyone who has lived in India will know that it is absolutely impossible to use any kind of moisturizer after washing your face, in the summers. I use this SPF 30 anti-tan sunblock on my face and neck. For my arms and other exposed areas, I use the Safe Sun 3-in-1 Matte-Look Daily Sunblock SPF 40.


My regular outfit for my internship is either black formal trousers and a shirt, or indian formals (think FabIndia kurtas and leggings). I keep my
make-up minimal, using only eyeliner, kajal and lip balm.

M.A.C Liquid Eyeliner in Boot Black

I worship M.A.C. Enough said.

However, liquid liner is my Achilles' heel. Everyone has that one little simple thing that they're total fails at, and this happens to be mine. Its so difficult for me to get a straight, even line! And my attempts at winging out the ends make me look no less than a clown. But I am slowly getting better :D

So on the days when I don't have enough time / can't be bothered to fuss with liquid liner, I usually stick to pencil liners which are a dream to apply..

Streetwear Eye Pencil in Black Currant (Top)

Again, sorry for the picture quality :P This eye pencil is SUPER dark, SUPER pigmented, and smudges like crazy. Its absolutely does NOT stay on the eyelid or the waterline. The only plus point is the creamy, dark dark dark formula. I use this on my eyelid if I'm going for a smoky look, for which i just apply it close to the lashes and smudge it with a brush. I also use this if I want a really dark line on my waterline, in which case I set it with black powder shadow because THIS PENCIL WILL SMUDGE! It leaks out and collects at the corners of the eyes and also smudges under the waterline (not what we want at all!!!).
But once I set it with powder
eyeshadow, it behaves and stays on, and I get a wonderfully rich colour lining my eyes. Will I
repurchase? Maybe not, if I find another dark pencil that stays on better.

Streetwear Stay On Eyeliner in Onyx (Bottom)

I absolutely LOVE this product. Excuse me for the picture quality, but it comes in a wonderfully sleek packaging of a silver stick with black cap, and its a retractable, precise eyeliner. This means no sharpening required (which I love). The colour is dark, and the formula is smooth, it glides on easily both above the eyelid and on the waterliner. However, its not very creamy, which means its not easy to smudge for smoky looks. I prefer this more for its preciseness than anything else - it doesn't smudge on the waterline, and is really smooth and precise on the eyelid. Will definitely repurchase.

This was my first beauty blog post! *yay* More coming hopefully regularly now.

xoxo