Lakme 9 to 5 Crease-less Lipstick - Wine Order (Review)

Hi Everyone,

WINE ORDER ... the name itself makes this Lipstick-Junkie, slightly woozy ;-) Ahem ahem.. let's get back to the review now, shall we? 

Price : The lipstick is priced at Rs. 450/- but you can always get online discounts.

Shade : Wine Order is a deep, rich pinkish-wine shade. It's definitely suitable for all Indian skin tones. Some of my friends tell me, they prefer this shade only for evenings, but I mostly like wearing it during the day.

Left - under artifical light; Right - in natural light

Texture / Formula : I love the texture of the Lakme crease-less range. The lipstick glides on smoothly & does not tug at the lips. The formula is Semi-matte and sits well. It's smooth & creamy in a way that it hydrates the lips & doesn't accentuate the creases. However,  it DOES NOT really give a "Crease-less" look to the lips as it claims.

Pigmentation : Great pigmentation on this one! One swipe and you get amazing colour-payoff.

Wear-time : This lipstick looses points from me, on wear time. It lasts on me, for approximately 1 - 2hrs only. I've never been a fan of creamy or satin finishes for this reason. I don't like more than 1 or 2 touch-ups and this baby needs a lot of re-work to be done on it during the course of the day :-( Wine Order isn't transfer-proof and I see lots of it on my Coffee mug, my lil one's cheeks and all the Snacks I might have had. Basically it transfers Big Time on anything & everything!!

Overall Experience : I have absolutely loved the shade & my current lipstick tube is my 2nd in this particular shade. I've gifted it to friends and family who have loved it as well. It's a beautiful shade that would suit mostly all the Indian skin tones.

So overall, I'm so taken in by the shade that I have repurchased this & also overlooked the fact that it transfers a lot. This is one of the few "non matte" lipsticks that have made the cut to this matte-favouring Lipztickaholic's collection :-) If you're like me, you're totally going to love this lipstick! 

By the way, have you ever stepped out of your comfort zone for a product & ended up loving it? Let me know in the comments section below. 

Until the next post, Ciao..!!

Durga Pooja Makeup Look

Hi Everyone,

Today I'm here to share a makeup look that I created for Durga Pooja. The festive season is a busy time & this look is simple, easy & quick to create if you've not had a chance to plan your look :-) I have kept the focus on the red bindi & red lips, trying to build the rest of the makeup around these signature features. Hope you like it...

Here's how I went about creating this look - 

Base Makeup:

After moisturizing my face, I applied the NYX Photo Loving Primer (purple variant for anti-dullness) & waited for it to settle. Then I used my HG "foundation" the Lakme CC Cream & set it with the Rimmel London Stay Matte powder. I swear I've not been reaching out for foundations at all & I've already gone through almost 10 tubes of the Lakme CC Cream :-P I used the Derma Color Camouflage concealer under my eyes to cover up the dark circles. (PS - Since I had about 20 mins before my lil tornado would get up from his afternoon siesta, I unknowingly missed out on clicking a couple of products. In this pic, the RL Stay Matte Powder :-( )

Eye Makeup:

I primed my eyes with this liquid eyeshadow from the tube; you can skip this step but I wanted some base for my eyeshadow could hold on to. I used the 'pinkish' shade on the right, from the Faces Canada eyeshadow duo & dabbed it in the inner half of my eyelid. On the outer half, I wanted something deeper, so I used the Calvin Klein brown eyeshadow to create a V-shape on the outer half. Went all out with my fav Sugar Cosmetics eyeliner in 'Eye Told You So' to create a winged eye. With the Lakme Eyeconic kohl in Black, I lined the lower lashline & later smugded it out with the same CK eyeshadow so that it doesnt budge. I used the MUA eyebrow pencil in brown to fill out my eyebrows. (Missed out of clicking the Sugar Cosmetics eyeliner, Lakme Eyeconic Kajal & MUA eyebrow pencil... sorry :-( plz dont kill me! You can use any liner, kajal or brow pencil you might have.)

Lips & Cheeks:

I used my one of my favourite red lipsticks, 'Pure Rouge' from the Pure Reds Collection by L'Oreal Paris. This is the famous Freida Pinto shade :-) I applied the Makeup Revolution baked blush in 'Loved Me Best' which has a reddish tone, since I wanted to tie in the bright red bindi & lipstick.

Finishing touches:

I applied a bright red bindi which I was very skeptical about at first. I have a round face already & I didn't know if this would suit me, but when I saw my pictures later, I felt it looked really nice & come on...this look would NEVAAA been complete without the signature red bindi!! It's an absolute MUST & I love it :-) I brought out my festive earrings (they're really heavy & I dont wear them often) to bring the look together. 

I really liked how the look turned out. The red-pink toned makeup, the bindi & the lipstick, the gold from the earrings...everything just seamlessly blended together!! The best part is that you can use the products that you might already have & re-create this look.

Hope you liked this post. What's your favourite feature to play up during Durga Pooja? The eyes, lips, blush or face? Leave me your comments below ... I'd love to know your thoughts :-)

Until the next post...Ciao!!!

Lakme Enrich Satin Lipstick P165 - Review

Hi Everyone,

I feel like it's been ages I reviewed a lipstick. So here I am today, reviewing this recent purchase. I first saw the swatches on a blog that I follow & ever since wanted to have this in my kitty. Let's see what I thought about this one & if it was worth the hype around it.

Price: Rs.260/- Extremely budget-friendly :-)

Shade: It's a bright coral pink, with slightly orange-ish undertones, when compared to the rest of the shades in the range.

Left - One swipe; Right - Multiple swipes

Texture & Formula: The texture is nice & creamy. Its comfortable on the lips though I'd strongly suggest exfoliating your lips before using this lipstick. The creamy formula can get into fine lines & also cling on to the dry, flaky bits of your lips. 

Pigmentation: The pigmentation is really good; just one swipe gives you full, opaque colour! 

Wear-time: It's not really a long wear lipstick & lasts for about 2-3hrs before it starts fading. Its not a non-transferable formula and hence will transfer & start fading once you have had something to eat or had a sip of water. It fades from the inner part of the lips and fades evenly. But Oh.My.Gawd. (Yes yes, like Janice from Friends!!)...the staining power of this lil lippie amazes me. It fades to leave behind a stain, almost as bright as the lipstick itself. This means lesser touch-ups (I'm kidding, I'm so lazy I don't believe in touch-ups ;-) lol) for working girls & busy moms!!. Well, honestly, I see myself using this lipstick as a stain more than a full-on application!!

Overall experience: It's a beautiful day-time shade. I have heard it's a dupe for MAC Impassioned, but since I don't own Impassioned, don't take my word for it :-) What do you think?  Leave me a comment about it. The shade is quite bright & is best suited for fair to medium skin tones. Rich, chocolate skin tones wouldn't like this shade much. 

As for me, I realized that the bright coral properties that the shade has, tends to stand out and as a result the mouth & chin area look a bit dull. So if you have pigmentation around your lips and mouth area, I suggest using a concealer to cover up the pigmentation first before applying this lipstick. I did that too. Yes, it does take some work but the shade is very pretty & if you're willing to put in an extra min or two...do get this shade!! 

The only thing that I don't seem to like about this lipstick is the 'Old Lakme Lipstick' fragrance that it has. I feel like I'm trying on my Mom's old lipstick lol, which reminds me of the time when I used her lipsticks for special occasions. It makes me nostalgic, but not in a nice way...hahaha difficult to explain here. I just wish they'd done something about the fragrance of the product as well, along with re-packaging it. The good part is that the fragrance fades away after around 5 mins of application, so I'm happy about that. Anyway, to sum it up - 

Pros - 

• Beautiful day time shade
• Budget-friendly
• Great pigmentation
• Awesome staining power

Cons - 

• Strong coral undertones can make it very bright
• Can bring out the pigmentation on mouth and lip area
• Formula is very creamy & can be unforgiving to dry lips & fine lines
• Has the typical Lakme fragrance which can be quite a turn-off

Hope you liked this review. Have you tried out the new Lakme Enrich Satin Lipsticks? Which ones do you like? Leave me comments to let me know your thoughts.

Until the next post, Ciao!!

Teal Smokey Eyes (Party Makeup look)

Hi Everyone,

Today I'm here to share a 'Teal Smokey Eyes' look that I created recently. I have worked with Blue before, in eyemakeup looks & you can read about one HERE. Since that one was done with pigments & some of you gave me feedback that it was slightly difficult to re-create, I thought why not try something similar with eye shadow. This can be a great look for a party or for a special occasion where your outfit is all black. Your eyes will surely stand out :-)

Here's how I created this look -

1. For the base, I used my all time favourite, Lakme CC Cream in Bronze. To set this, I used the Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder in 005 Sily Beige (read review HERE). Along with the CC cream, the powder too, has become a staple in my kit.

2. Using any black kajal pencil, make a thick line on your upper eyelid (make this where you'd place your liquid eyeliner). Some good kajal options available are the Lakme Eyeconic Kajal in Black, Maybelline Colossal Kajal, Loreal Paris Kajal Magique or the Lotus Herbals ColorKick Kajal (read review HERE). Blend this with your ring finger across the moving part of your eyelid. The ring finger has the least amount of pressure and wont harm the eyes or skin. You can also use a small blending brush if you wish to. This is now the 'base' for the smokey eyes.

Vov black eye shadow, Revlon Shadowlink in Khaki,
Blue shade from BoraBora quad & Lotus Herbals Colorkick Kajal

3. Apply a small amount of green/khaki eyeshadow on inner 2/3rds of your eyelid. Top this off with some blue eye shadow to get a good mix. Since I was aiming for Teal, I mixed these two shadows - Revlon eyeshadow link in Khaki & a Blue eye shadow from the BoraBora quad that I received in my Fabbag (See another look with it HERE). If you wish to keep this all one colour then, apply whichever shade that you want.

4. On the outer 1/3rd of the eyelid, apply a matte black eye shadow. I used my trusty VOV matte eyeshadow in Black. Blend this color inwards, towards the blue shade, till they appear to blend together, dont mix them ;-) just make them look like they come together to blend at one point. Using whatever little black is left on the brush / finger, use this in the crease of your eyelids.

5. Use Kajal again on your lower lashline & smudge this out with the blue to complete the look. To finish off the look, I applied the Calvin Klein Mascara on the lower and upper lashes. Wait, before you judge me, let me clarify that I'm a budget-product junkie & this CK Mascara came to me in a makeup swap lol :-P Moving on...I chose to skip liquid eyeliner that day as I wanted to keep the look undefined, but you can line your eyes if you wish to.

Maybelline Colorsensational lipstick in 405 Yummy Plummy
Sorry, I couldnt seem to find the blush while clicking pics, but you can see it HERE.

6. For blush, I used my current favourite, the Lakme 9 to 5 Blush in Peach Affair. This is a beautiful, peachy blush for fair to medium skin tones & goes with mostly any kind of look. For the lips, I wanted a subtle shade so I used the Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick in 405 - Yummy Plummy.

Hope you liked this look & will try it out some time :-) I have been playing around with a lot of colours while creating different looks but somehow didn't find the time to share a 'step-by-step' post with you all. I will try to be more regular in doing these kind of posts...pinky promise! Sorry, I have been watching way too much Disney Junior!! ;-)

Until the next post, Ciao!!!

Everyday Soft & Glowy Makeup Look

Hi Everyone,

Today I'm here to share a break-down of this simple & easy to create 'Soft & Glowy' Makeup Look, which is great for everyday! If you have an outfit that you wish should stand out at an occasion, you can team it up with this makeup; it will give you a radiant look without taking attention away from your outfit :-)

You can create this look using any products that you might have with you, you don't need to use the same ones I did. Here's how I went about creating this look -

1. Base - On a cleansed face, apply your favourite moistuiser. This step hydrates your skin & preps it for makeup. I applied the Nivea Soft Light Moisturiser on my face and neck area.

If you're doing this for a quick, everyday look then skip your foundation and go for a concealer. I used the Derma Cover Concealer to conceal my under eyes, around the nose & mouth & slightly on the forehead. I did not use foundation for this look at all. Apply your favourite compact all over the face, paying special attention to the concealed areas to set those. I used the Rimmell Stay Matte Powder for this (Read about it HERE).

Nivea Soft Moisturiser, Derma Cover Concealer &
Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder

2. Highlighting - Now, for the 'Star' of the show :-) Use a soft highlighter on the area starting from the apples of your cheek to your temples, it will form a slight-V. I used the Swiss Beauty Terracotta Blush for this as it gives a soft glow rather than a strong highlight. The trick is to 'take the slightest amount of highlighter', a little goes a long way! Also, if you have a stippling brush, use that as it picks up very little product but diffuses it beautifully.

Swiss Beauty Terracotta Blush

Revlon Highlighter in 030 Bronze Glow
 (another option for highlighter - HERE)

3. Eyes - Use a slightly iridescent eye shadow on the eyelids, I used the shade 'Big Ben' from my Sleek Original Palette (Read review HERE) & gave a slight wash of it all over the eye-lid. I have hooded eyes and needed to define my crease, so I used the shade 'London Rain' to do that. If you don't have hooded eyes, you can skip this step. I went for a softly defined lower-lid rather than a strong, black eyeliner; I used Lakme Eyeconic Kohl in Brown for this step. (My apologies, I got rid of the Eyeconic Kohl in Brown since I had completely finished it up :-( hence no pics) 

'London Rain' - used to define crease & 'Big Ben' - all over the lid

'London Rain' - used to define crease & 'Big Ben' - all over the lid

4. Lips - I used the Faces Ultime Pro Longwear Matte Lipstick in 'Peach Blush' as a *ude lipstick. Sorry about the lighting :-) I dont know why this look 'red' on camera, I swear it's beautiful peachy *ude shade...

Hope you liked this quick post on how I created this simple look :-) Do re-create it and tag me to let me know you did! What's your favourite everyday makeup look? What are your 'Go-To' products? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. 

Until the next post, Ciao!!

Lakme Insta Light Instant Glow Creme - Review

Hi Everyone!

Today, I'm doing a quick review on a new product in the Lakme 9 to 5 range - the "Insta Light Instant Glow Creme".

What is it? 
Brand claims it to be - "...a unique glow creme,that gives you an instant glow.With luminising pearls and mineral powder you get an instant skin glow styled by an expert, everyday."

How does it work? 
It's a slightly pinkish cream that you apply to your face, just like a regular moisturiser. It promises to give an instant glow for everyday wear.

My experience with it: ...has been great!!
I could definitely notice a subtle, luminous glow on my face (unlike the more obvious glow of a Highlighter) & most importantly, this cream kept my face absolutely matte for over 4.5 hrs!! Yes, I would definitely recommend it for those, struggling with oily skins this summer! 

I tried using this on its own and then under my BB cream; both the times, I felt that the mattifying effect lasted for a long time. I did sweat, thanks to the humid weather, but then the skin remained non-oily for most of the time I was wearing this. The packaging states that it has Sunscreen in it, but fails to mention the SPF content. 

Overall, I think it's a lovely product for oily skins, to add a nice, matte glow to your face; with or without foundation/BB cream etc. With a price tag of Rs.79/- for a 20 gm tube, do give this a try this summer!

Who should give this cream a miss?
If you have dry skin, stay away from this product as it will further make your skin dry. It does not have a moisturizing effect. Also, it's not something that will conceal imperfections on your face. So if you're looking for that, then you'd rather go in for good BB cream or Foundation :-) 

Hope this mini-review gave you some information about the "Lakme 9 to 5 Insta Light Instant Glow Creme". If you've tried it, then let me know your thoughts in the comments section :-) Leaving you with swatches ... Until the next post, Ciao!!

Swatches - 

Swatch of the cream - unblended

Blended :-) visible difference, right?

Simple Makeup without Makeup Brushes

Hi Everyone,

Many of my friends ask me about the brushes that I use to create different looks. I tell them about the ones I have and they seem pretty surprised that I have only a few.

I am no "Makeup Guru" but I can assure you that to create simple, easy and daily wear looks, You dont need to have brushes!!. Yes, now calm down Baalikey and listen...ahem sorry read on! The funda, my friend, is simple - I use my fingers :-) and that works quite well for me. Let me tell you how I created this Green Eyes & Lilac Lips look without the help of Makeup brushes. 

1.  FACE –

a.   After cleansing, I used an oil-free moisturizer on my face to prep up the skin for the base makeup.

b.    Next, I used the warmth of my fingers to blend the Lakme CC Cream (Bronze) into my skin. This has become my absolute favourite for daily wear.

c.    I used the Chambor Radiant Touch Up Concealer on the dark circles under my eyes. Now although this concealer comes with an attached brush tip at the end, I took some product out on the back of my hand and used the ring-finger of the other hand to spread and blend this product under my eyes.

d.    Next, to set the base, I used the Chanel Illuminating Powder. I used this with an old sponge I had. This is the tricky part – applying powder to your face without a brush. You have 2 options – You can either use a sponge / powder puff, or simply use a foundation that sets to a powder finish (Lakme Absolute Mousse is a good foundation that does that).

e.    For blush, I used the Lakme Pure Rouge blush in Peach Affair. I lightly touched the blush palette with the middle 3 fingers of my hand and tapped them on my cheeks, where I wanted the blush to go. I blended the product by swiping in upward motions towards my temples and ears. Another option can be, to use Cheek stains instead of powder blushes.

2.    EYES –

a.    Revlon Shadow Links have small, easy to blend eye shadows that you can buy individually. I used the Khaki Green shade from this range on my eyes. I cleaned my fingers off the residue of the blush and used my ring finger to apply this shadow on my eyelids. Since the ring finger has the least pressure, it’s preferable to use it while swiping/applying the eye shadow. Your eyelids are saved from the tugging and pulling during application.

b.    For the crease area, I used the neutral brown shade from a local brand. I used my pointer finger to take this product & used ‘windshield wiper’ motions in the crease area, to blend the hard edges of the khaki green.

c.    Another tricky part is applying eyeliner without a teeny-tiny brush! No worries, I have a solution to that as well!! Use an eye kohl pencil instead. OK, so you have an eye pencil but it isn't the colour you want on your lash line? Then scribble with it on the back of your hand to make the tip a little blunt, so that you don't poke yourself in the eyes. Once done, dip this pencil into gel eyeliner or liquid eyeliner (of your choice) and slowly line your eyes with it. Remember to stretch a little and hold, from the outer corners of your eyes. I did that and got a nice finish.

3.    LIPS –

a.    The easiest part!! No brush required at all!! **hehehe** Swipe the lipstick bullet on your lips and purse your lips to evenly spread out the colour. With the edge of the bullet, sharpen the corners and outlines of your lips. DONE!!! I have used the Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in the shade 01 Lilac for this step.

Hope this detailed step-by-step post helped some of you out. I’d like to part with my “2-rupees Gyan” (LOL nope I aint a KRK fan!).

1.       Don’t be intimidated by makeup brushes and feel the need to own one for every step of your makeup.

2.       If you still wish to own brushes, get 2  – A good foundation brush for a flawless finish & a good eye shadow blending brush. 

     That’s all you need as Basics, my friend!  CIAO!!!

My Experiments with Makeup - Lipgloss / EyePrimer

I am a Mom, Wife, Entrepreneur and a Home-maker. I would like to believe that I juggle all my roles to the best of my abilities. I multi-task and expect my makeup to do that too! LOL So I experiment to see what other roles makeup can play, other than the one it is supposed to. Sometimes I fail, other times – JACKPOT!!!

This little guy – Lakme Absolute Plump and Shine upto 6HR 3D Gloss - was a gift. I loved the classy packaging overall but thought the colour would be a tad bit light on my lips. I tried using it over lipstick but then the tacky texture of the lip-gloss put me off. 

Recently I got myself an eye-shadow, which was a gorgeous shade but was pretty sheer. I knew I had to pack it on to get the true colour and also that with my oily lids, it would crease badly on me in about 1-2 hrs.  I didn't have an eye primer at hand (read – I'm too stingy to buy one!!) BRAINWAVE – Why don’t I try using my 'long forgotten' lip gloss on the lids as eye primer? RESULT –

EUREKA!! The above picture was taken after about 2 hrs after application of the gloss and eye-shadow.

How I used it –

1.       I took the tiniest…I repeat …tiniest blob of the gloss and applied it over my eyelid.

2.       After a few seconds, I dabbed my eyelid with a bit of baby powder to take off excess shine and stickiness from the gloss.

3.       Applied eye-shadow as I normally would. 

Gosh, it not only stuck on, but also showed up true to colour. The gloss itself was acting as a pale coloured base. I didn’t need to pack on the shadow and it didn’t crease on me for the entire time I was wearing it. I applied this makeup as an experiment in the afternoon, while my baby was sleeping. After he woke up, we went for a house party and came back post mid-night. There you go!! More than 9 hrs of great wear!! I am so happy that this little experiment of mine was successful. Try it out for yourself with the glosses that you use. If it works, then 'By God ki Kaasam', you’ll never have to buy an eye-primer ever again!!

Disclaimer – Your eyes are sensitive. Please be careful and use your discretion while experimenting with makeup.