Shop my Stash - March 2016

I know, I know...it's almost the end of March but believe me I've been doing this religiously & I wanted to share it with all of you! I shopped my stash this month! 

Silly me, sorry...here goes - "Shopping your Stash" means trying to use up products that you already have...so that's exactly what I've been doing this month. In March, I decided to bring out some of the products in my collection that I used to like a lot, but then got lost somewhere when a new product came along. 

Here's my list of 'oldies but goldies' that I've been using in March - 

Bora Bora Quad

1. Bora Bora Quad by Be A Bombshell. This came as a part of my Fab Bag & as you can tell, I really, really liked the 'Brown' shade. I have already hit pan on it ;-) but still have been using it most of March. You can read about the quad HERE.

Lakme Pure Rouge Blush - 'Peach Affair'

2. Lakme 9 to 5 Pure Rouge Blush in 'Peach Affair'. I had won this lil beauty in a YouTube giveaway & it's been a favourite since then. I have used it in my celebrity-inspired makeup look - HERE & in Party Makeup looks HERE and HERE. This one's been a regular all of March.

Colorbar Kiss-Proof Lipstain '006 Mauve Dusk'
& Rimmel London Lasting Finish lipstick 'Hearbreaker'

3. Colorbar Kiss-Proof Lipstain in 'Mauve Dusk'. I had reviewed this a while back - HERE The beautiful shade & its great lasting power has brought me back to this baby, this month.

4. Rimmel London Lasting Finish Lipstick in 'Heart Breaker' - reviewed HERE I used to love this shade so much at one point in time. A great budget buy that's come back on my list for 'everyday-wear'.

CK Individual shadows 

122-Copper Sun & 124-Myrrh

5. Calvin Klein individual shadows in '112 Copper Sun' & '124 Myrrh'. These satin-finish, neutral eye shadows were passed on to me by my sis-in-law M, who is a big fan of makeup like me. She had got them as gifts in one of her online orders. Thank you M..!! 

A wash of these neutral shades on the eyes & it becomes so easy to go bold on the lips. The eyes don't clash with the bright, bold lips & give me the freedom to play around with colours ;-) 

How about you? Is there any forgotten product that you've brought out recently? Or you'd like to? :-) Let me know in the comments section below. 

Until the next post, Ciao..!!!

Favourite Lipsticks Series - Top 5 Everyday Shades

Hey Everyone,

One look at the top drawer of my desk & you'd know that I'm a certified "Lipztickaholic" ;-) More than the usual suspects like night creams, moisturizers, lip balms, etc, you'd find lipsticks lying around. Last year, I became more organized thanks to the blog & began regularly rotating my makeup. I have now made it a point to keep only 5 lipsticks in the top drawer for easy access. 

Since I keep rotating my makeup, I add & take-away a lot but I have noticed that these 'Everyday Beauties' have somehow managed to creep into the list time & again :-) 

Hand swatches 

1. Miss Claire Color Rich Lipstick in No.40 - 
A really lovely n*de shade with rosy undertones. I'm not very fond of n*de shades that tend to make me look sick & washed out. I like some color in them, to be able to pull them off & this one fits the bill perfectly! I feel it's a very close dupe to the cult-favourite 'Bare' from the already affordable Colorbar Velvet Matte range. This lipstick however has a cream finish & moisturizes the lip well. I'm wearing it HERE

2. Chambor Powder Matte Lipstick in 156 Rose Fresque - 
If you're looking for an everyday matte shade that adds slight color to your face without seeming too bright, this is a great shade for you! It's subtle, 'rosy' makes it appropriate for work too :-) Don't let the name 'Powder Matte' scare you, it's not as 'dry' as the name sounds. Looks completely matte but is extremely comfortable to wear.

3. Maybelline Colorshow Creamy Matte Lipstick in M402 Madly Magenta - 
Another scary name - Magenta! lol I was pleasantly surprised when I loved the pinky-purpley shade (gosh! where do I learn these words, I have no idea! Pinky-Purpley!!). As the name suggests, its a creamy matte finish & I would definitely recommend it to someone who loves creamy lipsticks & is looking to venture into mattes. Also, someone who loves their mattes but would like to wear something that moisturizes the lips (Read..ME!!).

4. Rimmel London Lasting Finish Lipstick in 016 Heart Breaker - 
A simple & pretty pink shade that's absolutely budget-friendly & great for everyday wear. It has a demi-matte finish & will not dry out your lips. I have reviewed this lipstick HERE

5. Colorbar Kiss Proof Lip Stain in shade 006 Mauve Dusk - 
A beautiful, deep mauve that brightens up your face, without screaming for attention :-) This is a very pretty shade that can be sported by all skin tones. This long wear lip stain (read .. almost liquid lipstick) is a boon for anyone who hates touch ups. A great combo of long-stay formula combined with a non-drying texture. There are other lovely shades in this range, but I just love this particular one to bits! I have reviewed this lipstick HERE

Lip swatches

So these are my 'Everyday shades' that I like to keep handy. In spite of being, simple & subtle, they have great coverage & will cover pigmentation (if any) on your lips. 

Hope you liked this post. Do let me know if you'd like more such series in the future. Here's another one from the 'Favourite Lipsticks Series' - HERE . What are your favourites for everyday wear? I'd love to know... Do share them in the comments section below :-) 

Until the next post, Ciao!!!

Note - I feel the hand-swatches haven't done justice to the shades; I clicked them in the harsh afternoon sun. For the true color, plz refer to lip-swatches :-) Thanks!

Colorbar Kiss-Proof Lipstain in 006 Mauve Dusk - Review

Hi Everyone,

My friend P calls me 'Makeup Matte-y'... she means to say 'Maatey' ;-) but that's okay; the points we lose for bad jokes, we make up for... in our Love for each other ;-) So when she uses my fav lipstick formula for the pun, you know this kid knows me from wayyy back lol. And if you follow the blog for some time now, you too might know that I prefer Matte lipsticks over creamy ones. Not that I don't like creamy formulas, but here are some simple (& obvious!) reasons why Matte formulas rock my world -

1. Mattes last longer
2. I feel I look better with Matte lipsticks.
3. Wearing a matte lipstick means being able to kiss my loved ones without having to worry about staining their faces...I love them a lot, but I don't need to 'Paint my Love' geddit? lol sorry I think only I found that funny!! P, my friend, I need a membership for LJA - Lame Jokes Anonymous.

Anni-wayyy...read on to know why the Colorbar Kiss-Proof Lipstain intrigued me :-)

Price: Rs.900/- This was a serious ouchie! but I saved up & got myself this one. Being a budget product junkie, this is one of the more expensive lipsticks I own!!

Shade: 'Mauve Dusk'...I love how this product is named. Not a bright Mauve but a dusky one. True to its name, its a beautiful, deeper mauve that brightens up your face, without screaming for attention. This is a very pretty shade that can be sported by all skin tones :-)

Hand swatches:

Swatch freshly applied 

Swatch after drying for around 2mins

Texture & Formula: This is a lipstain, but works like a liquid lipstick. It has a very creamy, easy-to-work with' texture & glides on smoothly on the lips. You will see some shine in the beginning & will definitely need to give it about a minute or two, to dry out & set to a matte finish. This isn't an 'on-the-go' lipstick than one can quickly slap on without a mirror; while working with a liquid lipstick, you must be willing to spend a few moments on precision :-)

Once this baby sets to matte finish, there's no way this would budge. After drying to a matte finish, the lipstick is extremely & I mean extremely comfortable to wear. I'd say it's almost 95% transfer-proof (or 'Kiss-proof, like they'd like to call it!), with only the slightest bit of transfer; otherwise, this doesn't leave your side like a true BFF!!

Pigmentation: The formula is deeply pigmented. One swipe deposits true colour on to your lips, however I like to wait for the first coat to dry (around 2 mins) & then wear a 2nd coat to extend the wear-time further.

Wear-time: The Colorbar Kiss-Proof Lipstain stays on my lips for about 4-5 hrs straight with 1 coat & 2 coats last on me for about 5-6hrs, which I'm very impressed with!! Meals & drinks might result in slight fading, but that's the case with any liquid lipstick, as they tend to fade/transfer when they come into contact with any beverage & food.

Overall experience: I'm really impressed with this 'lipstain' as it tends to give me a great 'matte finish' without drying out the lips. I also like the flexible doe-foot applicator on this one, as it makes going over the borders of the lips so easy! The applicator is designed well as it tends to pick up the correct amount of product required for one full application. The packaging is totally travel-friendly which makes this one a staple in my handbag.

I like to usually pair this up with any Purple-toned Kurti or simply make it stand out with a 'one-toned' outfit. In the pics, I have paired it with a deep-green kurta :-) I like to keep the overall makeup simple when I want to let this lipstain take center-stage. So let's recap -

Pros:

• Beautiful matte finish 
• Extremely comfortable on the lips
• Gorgeous mauve shade
• Long-wearing formula
• VVIPoint - The lipstick totally rocked the 'Kiss-Proof' test .. it absolutely DID NOT BUDGE! Lol before you get any ideas, I'm talking about my lil baby boy. And don't worry I didnt just 'TEST' it out on my baby, I happen to be a very 'constant pecks on forehead' kinda Mommy anyway.

Cons:

• Price :-( 900/- is slightly expensive & I'm glad I got the shade I liked; no scope for experimenting with other colours.

Hope you liked this review! Have your tried any Colorbar Kiss-Proof Lipstains? Colorbar also has Velvet Matte Lipsticks, have you tried out those? Which is your current favourite lipstick & always travels in your handbag? Let me know in the comments section below :-)

Until the next post, Ciao!!!