Tuesday 31 May 2011

Blush Love ~ Maybelline Apricot Flush Powder blush, Photos, Swatches

  • Maybelline  Blush in Apricot Flush


I was rifling through my makeup collection yesterday night hoping to be inspired to write another post on this blog. I came across the many blushes that I have bought over the past couple of years and I wondered how many blushers does a girl really need?

 Well let us not waste any time in answering stupid rhetorical questions!! According to me no two blushes are the same. There are subtle differences which only a true makeup loving girl can understand. Some blushes have just a little bit more pink or a little more golden sheen than the other, which makes each color unique. 

Maybelline  Blush in Apricot Flush
Ok thats enough jibber jabber on makeup. Lets talk about the Maybelline Apricot Powder blush shall we? This is a peach blush with a lot of golden shimmer. The shimmer is very finely milled and translates to a pretty golden sheen on my cheeks. This looks kinda similar to the MAC Peachykeen blush. Peachykeen has more pink in it. But a light dustng of either blush gives pretty much the same result – a subtle golden sheen.

For rosy cheeks ~ NYX Cream Blush in Diva, Review, Photos and Swatches

NYX Cream Blush In Diva

Looks can be deceptive. What looks scary red in the pan can translate to a beautiful rosy glow on the cheek.Case in point, the NYX cream blush in Diva. I have mentioned how much I love the NYX cream blushes here. This is no exception. The texture of the NYX cream blushes is amazing and they are very easy to blend.

NYX Cream blush Diva

This color looks scary red in the pan but on application it looks really beautiful. The rick is to take a really small quantity and blend.It looks like a deep rosy pink on the cheeks.

Invisibility cloak for blemishes~ MAC Studio Finish Concealer , Review, Photos


Don’t we all wish we could just utter some magic spell like Harry Potter and all our blemishes would vanish into thin air? Just a flick of a magic wand made of phoenix tail feather or unicorn hai and we would have perfectly smooth skin. Since we are just ordinary muggles and magic is still some years away ( I am an eternal hopeful) we have to resort to the usual concealer, foundation, powder routine to fake that flawless skin.

MAC Studio Finish Concealer

One such magic beauty product I have in my vanity is the MAC Studio Finish Concealer. This is a full coverage concealer and I think it is one of MAC’s best selling concealers. This is a cream concealer and it comes in a standard MAC eyeshadow pot. I have this in the color NC 45 which is just perfect for covering up blemishes. This is a bit too dark for the under eye circles. I feel it makes the area darker rather than even with the rest of the skin. I originally got this for my under eye circles. I hardly had any blemishes those days. The SA convinced me that NC 45 is the right match. When in doubt I say listen to your gut feeling. After all you know your skin tone the best. Anyway it worked out for me because suddenly I got a lot of acne which has left unsightly scars. This works very well for concealing my blemishes. Since this is creamy in consistency it is easy to pat on top of the blemish marks and they just disappear into my skin.

Monday 30 May 2011

Ahoy Ayurveda!!! ~ Iraya Honey & Liquorice Face Milk Review


Do you love exploring new malls? I love the anticipation of coming across a new brand.Whenever a new mall opens I hop,skip,jump or run to get to  it as soon as possible. So when the G7 mall opened in Mumbai I was super excited to check it out especially since all of my favorite brands were opening there- Mango,Pramod,Nine west,Aldo,Charles and Keith. When I first visited this mall I was in mall heaven. I got so excited about all these stores that I completely missed out on this new store called Iraya.


Iraya is a skincare,body care and haircare brand and there products are formulated on based on the princles of Ayurveda. Kinda like Forrest Essential I guess.To know more about them you can check them out at www.iraya.in.


The thing that instantly attracted me to their store was the simple yet elegent way it was set up.It was quite spacious (which you can't very often say for Mumbai stores) and the atmosphere was quite zen like. As soon as you enter the store you will feel like checking out all the products in detail. And they have a huge variety of products right from cleansers ,toners,mositurisers to various ayuvedic ubtans to massage oils. They also have a fresh face mask counter-something similar to the Lush fresh face masks. These last for 15 days and have to be kept refrigerated.I had just splurged close to 4 k in Mango and I didn't want to spend any more money. But I knew if I dont buy at least one thing I will keep coming back till I buy.


After much deliberation I picked up their Honey and Liquorice face lotion. I really liked the texture of this lotion.Its very fluid and gets absorbed into the skin immediately.I also loved their Wildflower body lotion. I will definitely get that when I am next in Mumbai.

Iraya Honey and Liquorice Face Milk
Iraya Honey & Liquorice Face Milk


Saturday 28 May 2011

Brown Beauty ~ MAC Mulch Eyeshadow, Photos and Swatches

MAC Mulch Eyeshadow
MAC Mulch Eyeshadow

Finish- Velvet
Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot
Color - Red-Brown with bronze pearl(According to www.maccosmetics.com)       
              Medium brown with shimmer( On my skin)
Swatch of MAC Mulch Eyeshadow
Swatch of MAC Mulch Eyeshadow
Different lighting

Looks


1- I love to use Mulch for office eye makeup. Just a quick sweep of Mulch all over my lids and some liner and mascara. Simple polished eye makeup.
2- I love to use Mulch with Sushi Flower on the lid and Mulch in the crease.Brule or Naked lunch to highlight.
3- For a toned down brown smoky eyes I love to pair Mulch with Carbon. Mulch on the lids and carbon in the outer V.
4- Mulch goes amazingly with Texture as well. Texture on the lids and Mulch in the Crease and outer V.Sketch to Smudge my eyeliner. Again one of my favorite looks for office.


Mulch is one of my favorite colors. It might look uneventful in the pan but it is an amazingly versatile eyeshadow. Its one of my favorite eyeshadows to wear to office.
 How do you use Mulch ?

Friday 27 May 2011

Rx Vitamin C for glowing skin ~Body Shop Vitamin C skincare review

Do you get sucked in by exotic ingredients in skincare products prmosing you to give that elusive glow? I certainly do. When I saw the Body Shop Vitamin C skincare range I knew I have to try it. Vitamin C is not that exotic an ingredient but on further reading I discovered many many benefits of Vitamin C in topical skincare.That and the pretty orange packing of the products got me.





Sometime last year I came home with 3 Body Shop Vit C products.ThE Vitamin C peel off mask, The MicroDermabrasion And the Vitamin C Face polish.


Vitamin C Cleansing Face polish- This is basically a face wash with a few exfoliating granules. Kinda like the Lakme Strawberry Face wash. But these exoliaitng bits are not of much use.This has a sharp citrusy smell Which you may or may not like. I am not a big fan of the smell but it doesnt really bother me.


Price? Rs795


The Good:-


1- It cleanses  the skin thoroughly.


The Not so Good:-


1- This is a very drying facewash. In a couple of weeks that I used this my face became very dull. It just strips the face of all moisture.
2- It is very expensive. I don't mind paying for expensive skincare but it should be worth the money. This isn't.
3- I am not a big fan of the smell.


Makeup-Mantra Rating:- 3/10


I am defintely not repurchaisng this ever. I find the Lakme Strawberry Facewash to be much better than this. This makes my skin dry and dull.And this is when I have oily skin. Major disappointment and waste of money. I would not recommended this at all. 



Favorite Nude lip colors ~ Maybelline Color Sensational Lipsticks, Review and Swatches

Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick
I am more of an eye makeup kinda girl ( well evidenced by the number of eye makeup things I own). I feel too dressed up if I put too much on my lips. I rarely wore lipsticks before I met the Maybelline Colorsensatinal lipsticks.It was just lip gloss earlier.These rich and creamy lipsticks have made me a convert !!!  I love the three colors I have. They are muted and perfect for everyday wear.:)



Crazy for Coffee- This is a brown pink color .More pink than brown on my lips.I love this color. This type of pink brown color is my favorite.I love this lipstick with a shimmery beige lipgloss on top.
Swatch of Maybelline Crazy for Coffee 


Extatic Coral- Contrary to its name the color is not exactly coral. This is more of a nude color( muted brown pink) with shimmer. Just a swipe of this and I am good to go. No gloss etc required on top.

Swatch of Maybelline Extatic Coral Lipstick
Choco pop- This is a brown color with not much pink undertones.I love the finish of this lipstick. Smooth and looks very polished. It might be too dark for fair skinned girls.

Swatch of Maybelline Choco Pop Lipstick
Price? Rs 299

The good:-

1- I love the color range.There is every possible color in this range. From reds to plums to pinks to browns. You are sure to find a few colors you will love.
2- the finish of this is very nice. Creamy and glides on smoothly.
3-Doesn't dry out my lips.
4- These are very pigmented. 
5- I love the smell of this lipsticks. Yummy caramel toffee smell.
6- I like the packaging. Simple and classic.

The Not so Good:-

There is nothing I dont like about these. 

Makeup-Mantra rating :- 10/10

I love the Maybelline Color Sensational lipsticks. I love the color range and the finish and feel of them. Which shades do you own?

Wednesday 25 May 2011

Sketching Smoky eyes ~ MAC Sketch Eyeshadow,Photos, Swatches

MAC Sketch Eyeshadow
With Flash

Finish-Velvet
Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot
Color – Deep plum with slight shimmer
Good for – Smoking out eyeliner, Crease color,Purple smoky looks

MAC Sketch Eyeshadow
Without Flash
Swatch of MAC Sketch Eyeshadow
Natural Light True Color
Looks

  • ·         I love love love this eyeshadow for smudging my eyeliner. I use this every single time I smudge my liner. This looks so much better than smudging eye pencil with matte black shadow.
  • ·         This is an amazing shadow for the outer V. It looks awesome with Texture or Sushi Flower in the lid.
  • ·         I love to use this as an eyeliner. I wet a thin eyeshadow brush like the MAC 266 and dip the edge of the brush in Sketch. It looks gorgeous as an eyeliner.
  • ·         This is great as a lid color for purple smoky eyes. Sketch on the Lids and Carbon or Beauty Marked in the Outer V.



Have you sketched with Sketch yet?



Monday 23 May 2011

For smoky green eyes ~ MAC Greensmoke Eyeshadow,Photos ,Swatches

M.A.C Greensmoke Eyeshadow

Finish- Lustre
Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot
Color – Dark olive green with silver shimmer
Good for Smoky green eyes,sheer wash of green

Swatch of MAC Greensmoke eyeshadow
Looks

  • ·Smudged black thick eye pencil on upper line. And a light wash of Greensmoke all over the lids. This is my favorite way of wearing almost any eyeshadow. I put more color near the lash line and then take a fluffy brush (MAC 217) and blend upwards till the crease. The color gradually decreases in intensity.
  • Greensmoke on the lids and MAC Carbon or any matte black eyeshadow in the outer corner. This looks amazing as a green smoky eye. I use NYX Jumbo pencil in yogurt to highlight my brow bones and the inner corner of my eyes.



This is one of my favorite green eyeshadows. Have you tried Greensmoke eyeshadow?

Sunday 22 May 2011

A twist for glowing cheeks ~NYX Grinding Powder blush in Nutmeg,Review and Swatches

NYX HD Studio Grinding Blush


Well, shake it up, baby, now, (shake it up, baby)
Twist and shout. (twist and shout)
Cmon cmon, cmon, cmon, baby, now, (come on baby)
Come on and work it on out. (work it on out)

While  a normal Homosapien would dedicate romantic ballads to his/her sweetheart , the slightly (makeup) crazy ones dedicate songs to their beloved beauty treasures. Well I don’t know if they do, I certainly felt like dedicating this awesome Beatles song to the NYX grinding powder blush.

I love NYX makeup and I am quite addicted to ordering from Cherry Culture every time they have a sale. I have their regular powder blusher and I absolutely love it. So when NYX came up with their HD line of makeup I had to try!! The HD line of makeup is more expensive than their regular line, so I had to control myself. I ordered 2 products from their HD line, NYX Grinding powder blush in Nutmeg and their HD eye shadow primer. I loved the concept of twisting the lid to grind the powder. I get sucked in by such marketing gimmicks instantly K.

NYX Grinding blush in Nutmeg

Saturday 21 May 2011

Luxe lips ~ MAC Lychee luxe lip gloss,Review and swatches


I love MAC. My pulse races with excitement when I am at a mac store . And fortunately or unfortunately a new MAC store opened a stone’s throw from my place. I really have to resist the urge to go in every other day. Every time in am in the store I feel like swatching each and every eye shadow and feel like going home with at least 5. But since MAC is quite expensive here in India that cant happen as often as I would like it too. Seriously I don’t understand the pricing policy  of higher end brands. Hike up the prices in a developing country and keep the prices low elsewhere? I had been lusting after the Clinique quick blush for a really long time. It retails for 22 dollars in US. And guess its price in India. 1800 rs!!!. The  mark up is quite ridiculous!!

MAC Lychee Luxe Lipglass

(After a few deep breaths). Ok lets continue talking about  MAC Lychee Luxe lipgloss. I had read rave reviews of this gloss in many many blogs and swatched it multiple number of times at the store but I always thought this looks too orange.Last week was the first time I tried it one on my lips. And oh my god this is such a beautiful color. This is one of those colors which is wearable on skin but looks scary in the packaging.This is a bright coral with lovely golden shimmer. You can layer it up for a bold coral lip or sheer it down for a peachy golden glow. I love it!

If its blue its true ~ MAC Deep Truth Eyeshadow,Photos and Swatches

M.A.C Deep Truth Eyeshadow


Finish- Frost
Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot
Color – Vibrant royal blue with silver shimmer.
Good for – Smoky blue eyes, Liner, Dupe for MAC Siahi fluidline

M.A.C Deep Truth Eyeshadow

Swatch of M.A.C Deep Truth eyeshadow

Looks


  • ·         Smudged black thick eye pencil on upper line. And a light wash of Deep Truth all over the lids. This is my favorite way of wearing almost any eyeshadow. I put more color near the lash line and then take a fluffy brush (MAC 217) and blend upwards till the crease. The color gradually decreases in intensity.
  • ·         Deep truth on the lids and MAC Carbon or any matte black eyeshadow in the outer corner. This looks amazing as a blue smoky eye. I use NYX Jumbo pencil in yogurt to highlight my brow bones and the inner corner of my eyes.
  • ·         I love to use this as an eyeliner. I wet a thin eyeshadow brush like the MAC 266 and dip the edge of the brush in Deep truth. It looks gorgeous as an eyeliner. I think this color looks very similar to the MAC Siahi fluidline.
  • ·         I love to smudge my kajal with Deep truth. I keep the rest of the makeup very neutral. Groundwork paintpot on the lids and black eyeliner. I line my lower lashline and water with loads of black smudgy pencil like Lakme Satin kajal or the Bourjois waterproof clubbing liner. Then I take deep truth on a MAC 219 brush and smudge the liner with it. The end result is very beautiful. It looks like black with a hint of blue and silver sparkles.

What is your favorite look with Deep Truth ?

Saturday 14 May 2011

Jewellery haul ~ Accessorize and Forever New



I have been in love with Accessorize ever since I first laid eyes on the pretty pretty Accessorize baubles. But the prices make me shudder L.
I went in to Accessorize yesderday thinking I will pick up a butterfly necklace I saw on Cynthia from Indian Vanity Case here. But sadly that was out of stock. I started looking around for a long chain pendant necklace and ended up with 4 beautiful pieces of jewellery. Doesn’t that happen so very often?

Here’s what I got from Accessorize.


Butterfly charm Bracelet – Rs 795
Isn’t this cute? All different sized butterflies..pretttttty



Long Chain Pendant Necklace ( Apple) – Rs. 795
This looks better when worn J


Turquoise earrings ~ Rs. 745
I love how elegant this looks.


Highlighter in a pencil ~ NYX Jumbo pencil in Yogurt,Review and Swatch


Movie stars, models and socialites sashaying down the red carpet have one thing in common. Perfectly highlighted skin. When I was a makeup novice not many moons ago I would wonder how these celebrities had such perfectly glowing skin. Then I discovered highlighters. Tadaa!! Mystery solved.

NYX Jumbo Pencil in Yogurt

I bought NYX jumbo pencil mostly because they were so raved about in many beauty blogs and I loved the idea of creamy eye shadow in a pencil format. Jumbo pencil in Yogurt is a creamy shimmery beige color. I love love love it for highlighting my brow bones. It is my go to highlighting color on most days.

NYX Jumbo pencil in Yogurt

Swatch of NYX jumbo pencil on NC 44 skin

Monday 9 May 2011

Beauty and the Brows ~ NYX Eyebrow Cake powder, Review and Swatch

NYX  Eyebrow Cake Powder
NYX Eyebrow cake powder in Dark Brown/Brown

If your brows behave like wild beasts NYX has the right tool to tame them. This small and compact brow kit has all the stuff to keep your brows under control. I got this kit in the color 02 Dark Brown/Brown. This has 2 powder brow colors. Both are dark brown in color and pack in the right amount of pigmentation. The round thing on the left side is the brow wax. This kit also comes with 2 applicators. And surprise surprise these are the 2 most useful applicators I have found in any makeup kit.

Applicators 

Faking Flaaawless skin ~ Make Up Forever Mat Velvet+ Foundation


If you have it then flaunt it. If not, well, then fake it. I wish I had flawless skin ( well which girl doesn’t) so that I could step out bare faced any time. But since I don’t I needed a magic potion to fake the flawless skin look. Have I found it ? Keep Reading.
My skin acts like a temperamental diva- super smooth and glowing skin for a few days followed by a sudden attack of breakouts.  I needed a foundation which can be sheered out for the good skin days or built up in coverage during the acne scarring days. I had heard rave reviews of MUFE Mat Velvet + foundation from TifannyD and since I was on the lookout for a really good foundation, I decided to check out the Mat Velvet+ foundation at the MUFE store at Inorbit. 


My experience at the MUFE store was disappointing to say the least. The MUA was least interested in helping me find the right foundation and shade. When I wanted to check how the foundation will look on my skin she very reluctantly applied a couple of shades on a small portion of my face. And the quantity she applied was easily enough for atleast 3 full face applications. It was nearly impossible to find the right shade when so much foundation was applied just on one corner of my face. I decided to muster courage ( I needed a lot of it to shell out nearly 2k for a color match I wasn’t sure of ) and take the plunge. Buying a foundation is serious business. I am serious :P
I got the Mat Velvet+ foundation in color 65. Thankfully the color matched perfectly on my NC42-45 skin. I would say MUFE Mat Velvet+ 65 is probably equivalent to MAC NC 43 or NC 44. I have been using this for a couple of months almost daily and it is worth every rupee. This has found a permanent place in my makeup bag.

Monday 2 May 2011

Beauty blog love ~ Lisa Eldridge


I discovered Lisa Eldridge’s blog www.lisaeldridge.com a couple of months back. And I have been hooked ever since. She has many tutorials on her blog and each of them is different from the rest.I loved history as a subject in school. I love reading the classic novels, watching period movies and documentaries and getting lost imagining those bygone days. So when Lisa posted a series of videos and blogs on vintage makeup I knew I would love it.

There is a vibrant story behind each of the pieces that she talks about. The craftsmanship that went into making the beautiful compacts and makeup kits of yester years just blows my mind away.And how the socio economic scene influenced the makeup products of an era is utterly fascinating.

I absolutely loved her series on vintage makeup. And if you are a makeup loving person like me  I am sure you will love it too. Check her out here.

Sunday 1 May 2011

Marveling at Marvel ~ MAC Marvel Eyeshadow,Photo,Swatch

MAC Marvel Eyeshadow

Swatch MAC Marvel Eyeshadow

Limited Edition. Mickey Contractor Collection.

Finish- Frost
Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot
Color - Purple with shimmer.

I recently bought Marvel. I haven’t used it yet. Looking for ideas to create awesome purple eyelooks with it. Any suggestions?

Pretty in pink ~ MAC Sushi Flower Eyeshadow,Photo,Swatch

MAC Sushi Flower Eyeshadow

Swatch MAC Sushi Flower Eyeshadow

Finish- Satin
Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot
Color - Medium Pink with slight shimmer. On skin shimmer is not apparent.
Good for – Summery pop of color, Traditional Indian look.

Looks-
  • Smudged black thick eye pencil on upper line. And a light wash of Sushi Flower all over the lids. The pink will tone down the black eyeliner and turn into purple in color . The rest of the eyelids will have a light wash of summery pink. The gradual change from black to purple to pink looks very pretty.
  •  Chambor eye tattoo eyeliner in brown or any brown shimmery eyeliner on both upper and lower water lines. Sushi Flower all over the lids. And Swish chocolate in the crease and outer V. Pretty day time look.
  • MAC  Sushi Flower on the lids and MAC Satin Taupe in the outer corner. Then line upper line with any black gel liner. A nice change from dramatic black smoky eyes for evening.


Do you love Sushi Flower as much as I do ?

I am sweet on Bitter ~ MAC Bitter Eyeshadow,Photo, Swatch


MAC Bitter Eyeshadow


Swatch MAC Bitter Eyeshadow

MAC Bitter Eyeshadow
Finish - Velvet
Price - Rs 680 for refill or 900 for a eyeshadow pot
Color- Lime green with very slight shimmer. On skin looks like yellowed light green.
Good for -I love it for a summery pop of color on eyes.


Looks-
  • Smudged black thick eye pencil on upper line. And a light wash of Bitter allover the lids. The green will tone down the black eyeliner and will impart a summery pop of color all over the lid.
  • MAC Bitter all over the lid and  MAC Electric Eel in the outer V.

How do you like to use Bitter ?