Makeup Revolution Baked Blush in 'Loved Me the Best' (Review)

Hi Everyone,

Today I'm going to share a quick review on the Makeup Revolution Baked Blush in 'Loved Me the Best'. I picked this lil guy up from a blog sale along with a couple of other makeup items. I don't own too many blushes, but from the ones I own, I've been wearing this one very often this winter.

 'Loved Me the Best' has a beautiful blend of swirls of champagne, pink & berry tones. It's finely milled with medium pigmentation. On my oily/combination skin, this stays on for about 4hrs. If you prefer to layer powder blushes on top of cream ones then you'll surely get a longer wear-time out of this :-)

I prefer to wear this blush with deeper lipsticks. 'Loved Me the Best' seems to compliment deep pinks & red lipsticks better. The blush would suit light to medium skin tones however it wouldn't show up well on the rich, chocolate hues of dusky beauties & that's the only drawback of this blush that I can seem to point out. 

Have you tried out any Makeup Revolution blushes? Which ones are your favourites? Do let me know your thoughts & preferences.

Until the next post, Ciao...!!!

STREETWEAR Color Rich Ultramoist Lipsticks - Review

Hello Everyone!

Budget-friendly beauty essentials are everyone’s favourite but when I started following beauty blogs, a couple of years ago, I always wondered why they weren’t showcased as much. I thought to myself that if I ever have a beauty blog of my own, I’d definitely keep it focused on good quality Budget beauty products, while occasionally showcasing high-end brands (cuz who doesn’t love those? Ahem!)

Today I will be reviewing a couple of great Budget lipsticks that can easily compete with other Indian brands in many more ways, than just their price-points. Girls, Ladies, Fellow Makeup lovers, I present (well, actually Revlon presents..) 

STREETWEAR COLOR RICH Ultramoist Lipsticks.

Photo-bombed by my lil munchkin

Let's look at the shades I own and absolutely adore...

• Mystic Mauve no.7 (Alluring Aisha range) –

Mystic Mauve No.7

A muted Mauve shade well suited for daily wear. This shade would work great for office-goers who wish to wear something subtle yet pretty. This shade is pretty sheer and needs to be layered on for true pigmentation. I mostly use this when I’m going for a dramatic eye look, so that it gives colour to the lips without taking away attention from the eye makeup.

• Very Vampire No.2 (Flirty Susie range) –

Very Vampire No.2

A bright, coral Red that’s so deeply pigmented that it needs to be swiped only once to show its true color. A great young shade of Red if you wish to stay away from the more deep, mature Reds. Use it as a stain for the day-time look and layer it on for the ‘Va-Va-Voom’ look in the evenings. On paler, fairer skin tones, this sometimes tends to come up as an Orangey-Red. PS - If you are very fair/pale and want to use this to it full colour, I'd recommend wearing a light blush or bronzer - some sort of colour to warm up your skin, or else you'll really look 'Very Vampire'!! lol

• Pink Passion No.3 (Alluring Aisha range) –

Pink Passion No.3

A vibrant blue-based fuchsia Pink which perks up your complexion; Hell, this one perks up your MOOD on a dull day!! It’s a beautiful bright pink that screams ‘Achtung Baby!!’ (German for Attention Baby!!) I love this one so much that I don’t dare to wear anything but a simple liner and a kajal in my eyes along with it.

There are a lot of lovely shades in the range but I own only these many. Let's take a quick look at the swatches...

Hand Swatches - 

Outdoors in Natural Light
(L-R) Very Vampire, Pink Passion & Mystic Mauve

Indoor Lighting

(L-R) Very Vampire, Pink Passion & Mystic Mauve

Lip Swatches -

Mystic Mauve No.7

Pink Passion No.3

Very Vampire No.2

Pros –

1. Abso-freaking-lutely easy on the pocket - They went from being 180/- to 220/- very recently..It's a bummer, I wonder why they went over the Rs.200 mark? Lol anyway, still budget-friendly!

2. Great shade range - Reds, Corals, Pinks, Purples or Browns – take your pick

3. Availability – A very popular brand from the house of Revlon, which has revamped its quality as well as packaging to suit the needs of the Indian market.

      4. Creamy formula which has good staying power for the price – The lipsticks last upto 4hrs with slight fading. Having said that, they don’t last through a meal, they need to be touched up after a meal or drinks.

Cons –

     1. Not all the shades are equally pigmented – Some of the lighter, muted colours like Mystic Mauve are sheer and need to be layered on. The deeper shades have much better pigmentation.

     2. Ultra-moist claim – Let’s get real.. they’re creamy, yes..but they aren’t hydrating or moisturizing on your lips. You’ll need to have exfoliated, moisturized lips before you apply them or they might not look good. Being creamy textured, they might accentuate the dry, flaky skin on your lips (#Personalexperience, #lipsticklifelesson).

     3. Flimsy packaging – (Aarrgh! I’m so picky) The packaging could have been a little more stronger overall . Also, the actual lipstick bullet doesn’t twist back fully; it keeps sticking out of the lipstick case even after you twist the end completely, which might mean accidental nicks and dents to the lipstick, while fixing the cap.

Hope you liked this review! Do try out these lipsticks, they're really nice. If you already own some of them, I'd love to know your views on them. Leave me comments below to connect with me! 

Lotus Herbals Color Kick Kajal - Review

Hey Everyone, today I bring to you a review of the Lotus Herbals Color Kick Kajal.

I was looking around for a new kajal pencil at the store, when a bright pink pencil in the Lotus Herbals aisle, caught my eyes. I checked with the SA who told me that it was a new launch and went back to gossiping with her colleagues. Honestly, for me, this was a refreshing change; I get slightly annoyed when SAs keep on asking me if they can help. LOL Yes, I’m Neha, I love movies and long (undisturbed) walks down the makeup aisle!! ***wink wink***. 

Sorry sorry, back to the bright pink pencil that caught my eye. It was the Lotus Makeup Color Kick Kajal. At first, I was turned off by the packaging, a bright pink packaging for a black kajal? Weird! Nah..not interested!! But then Lotus Herbals was a brand that had never disappointed me in the past. I have loved all their sunscreens which I have been using since the beginning of time! I really wanted to try out this new kajal, so I got it! I was recently cleaning out my vanity box and realized this lil guy was banished to the corners for a long time. I brought him out and I’m sure he’s going to be a trusty lil companion this summer.

Price – At only Rs.199/- for 0.28g (I know, I know Lakme Eyeconic is Rs.200/- for 0.35g, but come on, I wanted to try something new!)

Packaging – A bright, hot pink body with a matching cap, that shuts tightly with a click. You will definitely not feel the need to look out for this kajal in the dark depths of your purse (Lol, we are women and we can carry our world in our purse..), this pink cutie will stand out from all your other makeup. A great plus about this pencil is that, it’s twistable and doesn’t need sharpening. I love this mechanism because seriously, how many of us ladies carry sharpeners around with us? (Yes, the world we carry, but not sharpeners!).

Shade, Texture & Longevity – It’s a dark, jet black colour and really pigmented. One swipe with a light hand will deposit great colour on your lashline. The texture is very creamy and soft. It sets in about 10 seconds of application to a smudge-proof finish and stays till the end of the day. Having said that, it doesn’t dry out and form those dirty lil boogers in your lashes. PS - I do recommend removing your kajal before bed-time. I never followed it myself; until I did and found that it really made a difference!

I use this kajal in different ways. Some examples of how I like to use this pencil - 

Used only half-way towards the outer lash-line
Opens up the eyes

Used to define complete upper and lower lash-line
Closes the eyes, but looks dramatic

Used to define only lower lash-line
Everyday look

Used as a smudged base for smokey eyes

Thumbs up -

• Price point
• Staying power
• Pigmentation

Thumbs down -

• Packaging (Cute pink pencil yet some of us maybe slightly turned off by it and not even give it a second look! To be honest, the pink packaging is not REALLY a Thumbs down, just a matter of preference with some)

      Hope you all liked this review..do let me know what's your 'go-to' kajal. If you've tried out a new kajal recently, let me know about it in the comments section below.

      Till then, Ciao! Have fun experimenting!!

Brown Smokey Eyes & Red Lips

Hi Everyone,

Today I’m going to decode one of my all-time favourite looks – 'Brown Smokey Eyes and Red Lips'! 

It's a classic! And of course, my favourite way to hike up the Glam Quotient on any given day! Some might say that this look is best saved for occasions, I say I’d wear this every single day if I could!! LOL Yep, that’s how easy this is to create and that’s how much I adore it! 

Let’s get into the step-by-step process of how I created this look –

1.   For the Base, I used Lakme CC Cream in Bronze. It’s got nice coverage and creates a good base. Next, the Blue Heaven Compact Powder got rid of excess shine on the T-zone. With the Revlon Highlighter palette, I bronzed up my face to add a little colour.

2.   For the Eyes, I lined the upper lash line with the Lotus Herbals Color Kick Kajal (which silly me, forgot to click **sad face**). Now, with the help of a smudging brush or a cue tip (ear bud), I smudged this out all over the moving eyelid, up to the crease. This formed a thin black base for the eye shadow to lay on.

Used these products to create this look.
Missed out on clicking the kajal, my bad! ;-) hehe

3.  With the help of my ring finger, I patted a slightly shimmery brown eye shadow all over the base. I used the Revlon Shadowlink in Java. You could use matte brown too, if you prefer. Try to stay within your crease (the fold of the eyelid). I usually have to take the shadow, a little past the crease, towards the brow-bone so that it shows up on my eyes.

4.  Next, I blended this brown eye shadow into the crease with a simple blending brush (or you can use your pointer finger). I used the ‘windshield wiper’ motions to blend this brown well into the crease, to create a gradient effect. The eye lashes should be the darkest while fading out to a light brown towards the crease (Smokey..remember?) hehe…

5.  For the lower lash line, I wore a simple kajal and again smudged it out with some eye shadow on a cue tip for the smoked out effect. TIP - For an added depth, you could use black eyeliner on top of the lashes again, to ensure they look dark and full. You can also add false lashes if you’re comfortable wearing them.

6.  To finish off the look, wear your favourite lipstick. I wore the Miss Claire Soft Matte Lip cream in No.10 Red for this look.

And there you go! Ready to rock!

I have worn this look with my glasses sometimes and it looks equally good. Since this look plays up the eyes,it brings them out, even from a thick-rimmed frame. Due to the classic tones in the look, it can be worn beautifully with Indian as well as Western outfits.

Hope you like this look! Do try this out sometime and let me know about it in the comments below!

Bye for now!

Summer-ready Makeup products! (Current favs)

Summer wasn’t supposed to have officially begun in February, but I guess summer didn’t know that!! It arrived very early on this year with the scorching sun making it difficult to step out after just 10.30am. Humidity was high too and this meant a change HAD to be made soon. Simple changes like the temperature of bath water, switch in shower gels which had a more summery fragrance, better air-freshners in the house, etc. It also meant that I needed to change daily skincare for my combination skin, with a stronger SPF and an easier ‘summer-ready’ makeup routine.

Here are some of the products I have switched to, this summer, to get me ready and out of the house in 10mins. Remember, these are only Makeup products; I haven't included any skincare here. Do let me know if you wish to see a post on skincare as well. Back to my favs in Makeup, here we go....

1. Garnier BB Cream – This ‘no-fuss’ BB cream comes with SPF24 UVA/UVB Protection. The cream comes in one shade that blends very well into any skin tone. If you want coverage, then I’d recommend Lakme CC Cream SPF20. It has great coverage and the Sun protection factor isn’t bad as well.  I prefer Granier this time of the year, because  when I am going out in the hot sun to pick up D from school, I am a little more worried about sun protection rather than coverage. Take your pick, both these creams are really nice!
2. 
   
   

2. Lakme Eyeconic Black and Miss Claire Waterproof eyepencil - I need my eye pencils and my kajal. For so many reasons – they define my eyes and make them stand out behind my glasses; I can play with colours on my eyes, if I am not in a mood for any other kind of makeup; I can match these to my outfits, etc. I love them for all these reasons and more so when they come as reasonably priced, great quality eye pencils, I know I will use them long term without getting bored midway. The Eyeconic Black needs no introduction and is everyone’s fav everyday kajal (so I’m told..yet still given tough competition by the Maybelline Colossal Kajal). The Miss Claire eye pencil in Royal Blue no. 19 was a surprise find in Pune, when I went shopping with my sis-in-law. Priced at only Rs.90/-, I now wish I had bought this in other colours as well. This pencil has made its way into my daily routine, because the colour matches (..almost matches) my denims! So whether or not I have a bright lipstick on, I will always have a pop of colour on the face. See, Summer – Ready eyes!

3. Revlon Shadowlink in Java – Aah! What do I say about this lil fellow! He’s my fav, be it a neutral everyday wash of colour on the lids, on its own OR a beautiful crease colour to compliment a dark smokey eye, this lil guy is always ready to help! Look at the dents I’ve made in it LOL that shows how much I love it and reach out for it everyday.

4. Revlon Colorstay Highlighter in Bronze Glow – I was never into ‘Highlighters’ and ‘Bronzers’. I firstly thought they were unnecessary and more importantly, too much work…like I already didn’t have enough to do (Lazy Lazy!!). This product has proved me wrong and how! This quick-to-apply bronzer gives me a healthy glow as opposed to the ‘Vampire-like’ look that I get without it. A ‘foundation-only’ look makes me look very pale and this product helps with adding colour (read Life!) to my face. I use the cream coloured strip in the product to highlight the inner corners of my eyes and the brow bone. Also, the individual strips can be used as eye shadows as well!

5. Rimmel London Lasting Finish Lipstick in 016 Heart Breaker – I had absolutely no idea that Rimmel London had counters in malls. I was accompanying a friend to a mall near her house, when I found that there was a Rimmel London counter there, along with the other well known brands. I had a particular colour in mind from one of the other brands and was tempted to buy that, but when I came to know that I could get 2 Rimmel lipsticks for that price, I stuck with Rimmel. Also, I had never tried out RImmel London products before. I brought home no.016 Heart Breaker and no.020 Cutting Edge. Heart Breaker is a beautiful, warm pink, great for summers and amazingly easy on the pocket. Priced at Rs.250/- these lipsticks are semi-matte, long lasting, smell like bubblegum and are overall awesome!

So these are the main products I reach out for since the weather decided to go all crazy on us! Apart from these, here are some other pics of products that I use every now and then.

(L to R) - InVeda BB Cream, Blue Heaven Compressed Powder, Clinique Lipstick in 94-Beach Coral
(Bottom) - Chambor Radiant Touch up Concealer

Hope you liked this post! Do leave a comment telling me some of your favourite products, this summer! Bye!

PURPLE DAY FOR EPILEPSY on March 26th - Purple themed Makeup Look for ChildRaise Trust

Hello Everyone,

Before I begin with the look, let me tell you about the inspiration and thought behind it.

Mrs. Kavita Shanbhag, is a dear friend's Mum, a close family-friend and one of the sweetest, most coolest Pacchis I know (Pacchi is 'Konkani' for Aunt, sorry I have a habit of anglicizing everything!). She's an absolute darling and will always greet you with the sweetest smile and the biggest hug. Even though she's one busy woman, she will exactly remember what was happening with you the last time and check up on you. Having said that, the most strongest aspect of her personality and what I admire about her, is her passion to empower Children with Special abilities. She's the Founder of CHILDRAISE, which is a Cross-Disability Organization committed to the Empowerment of Children with Special needs and Disability Issues. (FB Page - https://www.facebook.com/childraise?ref=br_tf). I wished to show my support for her resolve and absolute dedication to the cause. 

Since I love creating different makeup looks and recently took up 'Guest blogging' for different beauty blogs, I thought, what would be better than creating a Purple-themed makeup look to wear on March 26th, when ChildRaise celebrates Purple Day for Epilepsy! Here's what I created :-) 

Here's how I created this look - 

Base- I used the Lakme CC cream as a base on my face, concentrating on the areas that needed more coverage. I topped that off with the Blue Heaven Artisto Face Stylist Compressed Powder.

Eyes- I used a Lakme Absolute Plump and Shine lipgloss (that I dont use on my lips), as my eyeshadow primer. It helps the eyeshadow last longer. (Read how to use lipgloss as eyeshadow primer - Here). On top of that, I patted the Faces Canada Sparkle Dust in Purple all over the eyelid. To blend this in, I used the MakeUp Academy blush in Blushing Coral Shade 5, as a crease color (You can use any crease colour to blend this in, I wanted the Purple to stand out, so I used Pink). I finished the eyes, with a winged liner which I created using the Maybelline Colossal Liner.

Lips- Since the eyes were to be kept in focus in this look, I kept it simple with a lipgloss that has a soft rose tint to it. For this, I used the Streetwear ColorRich lipgloss in No.6 - Party Melon.

Although, these might seem like too many products, but they just go on, one after the other to create a simple, bright and summery look! 

If you feel a little overwhelmed with these many products, but still wish to sport Purple on March 26th, then apart from your outfit, you can incorporate any one strong element of Purple in your makeup - 

• Faces Canada Sparkle Dust in 'Purple' for your eyes
• Revlon Colorburst Matte LipBalm in the shade 'Shameless' on your lips OR 
• Maybelline ColorShow nail colour in 'Lavender  Lies' or 'BlackCurrant Pop' on your nails.

Have fun! Be Strong! WEAR PURPLE TODAY FOR EPILEPSY!!!

Defined Eyes & Rosey Plum Lips - Makeup Look using March FabBag products

Hi Everyone,

I received my March FabBag yesterday. Tadaaaa! My March FabBag and the lovely products that came in it! Themed for Women's Day, the bag was full of natural products for makeup and skincare. 

I was so excited that I wanted to open up all the products and test them right away. But The Husband said, “Wait! Wouldn’t Baby D wanna “play” with your makeup too? Better wait until he’s off to school and you have your time to experiment with these!”. Now when your Man, holds back your over-excited self to give some great advice like this, you know you’ve married the right guy! Hehehe what say?

I waited and Gosh! It was great; I got plenty of time to create this look (Read - a good 15 mins without my toddler screaming Amma! Amma!). 

Here how I put together this look, with some of the March Fab Bag products, step by step –

1.  I used the InVeda BB cream as a base. It doesn’t give enough coverage per se, actually leaves a slight grey cast when you apply it, but smells divine! I used my Maybelline Dream Lumi Touche Highlighter pen to conceal the undereyes, nose, cupid ’s bow and chin. If you wish, you can skip the highlighting and concealing step.
2. Next I used the SoulTree Kajal in Pure Black to line the waterline. For the upper lashline, I used the Maybelline Collosal Eyeliner which I won in a recent YouTube giveaway. I have close-set eyes and it helps me give them an elongated look.
3. Then I used the Palladio Lipstick in Rosey Plum on my lips. I loved the colour but wasn’t comfortable with gold, frosty finish. So I used my Maybelline Lip balm over the lipstick to give it a glossier look and eliminate the frosty gold finish.
4. After having recently discovered my love for blush, I somehow can’t seem to do without it. I feel I am too pale anyway and with makeup and no blush, I look sick LOL. So I ran my ring-finger over the same lipstick and dabbed some on my cheek bones. Voila! Healthy flush!! **wink wink**

I’m yet to use the Sebastian Professional Hydre Shampoo & the Fashionography earrings from the bag, but I really liked the 3 products that I used viz. InVeda BB cream, SoulTree Kajal and the Palladio Lipstick!

This is a simple look with Defined eyes and Rosey Plum lips. It’s great for parties or special occasions and you can re-create this quick look when you’re pressed for time! 

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!!!