Project Pan 2017 - Update 1

H‌i Everyone,

As you all know, a couple of my blogger buddies & I started Project Pan early this year. In case you want to know what it's all about, you can catch up by reading THIS post.

It's been a while & I thought I must update you all on what's been happening with the products. Before I begin, I must confess I don't have pictures for all of them. Firstly, I was traveling, along with helping my lil boy study. And secondly, it's difficult to show how much eyeliner I've used or how much mascara still remains in the tube, with pictures. So without a lot of pics to show, I'm going to keep it simple & be brutally honest to you all. Meaning, if I have not used a product or used it less, I'll update it accordingly. No fibs here...cross my heart!!

Here goes -

1. NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Adis Ababa - Okay, so I'm gonna be honest here & tell you, I haven't been reaching out for this one at all. I have been traveling and although I've taken this along with me, I've yet to break the hiatus I've put this beauty on :-( Sad init? Love this shade... I promise to use this more often from now on. 

2‌. MAC Lip Glass (shade unknown) - Again, not reaching out for this gloss. I'm such a matte-loving Lipztickaholic that I don't see myself using this soon. Aarrghh, Neha come on.. You can do this.. Go on.. Gloss it up sometimes!!!! 

3‌. Lotus ColorKick Kajal - Good news here! I've almost finished this lil guy.. Yay for me! I've gone through so many of these that I'm getting slightly bored hehe (that's the beauty blogger in me speaking).. I think I wont be re-purchasing this one, instead I'll try out something new next time.

‌4. Maybelline Falsies Mascara (Waterproof) - I've been regularly using & loving this mascara Guys!! I've used it particularly on days when I don't wear any eye make-up. It lengthens my lashes like no one's business & looks amazing!! See HERE. Too bad I can't show you a pic of how much I've used this up ;-) Definitely a product I will re-purchase.

‌5. Maybelline HyperGlossy eyeliner in Electro Shock (Blue) - I'm making a sincere effort to use this up before it dries up. It goes really well with any top & my fav pair of Blue Jeans. Need to finish this before it gets all crumbly like my Maybelline Hyper-Matte black eyeliner,which btw was awesome but dried up in a matter of weeks :-(

‌6. Sleek I-Divine Original Palette - I've been drawn to the more neutral and safe shades in THIS palette. Need to spend some time doing bold eye looks too if I want to hit pan in 2017. Phew, I know I can do this.. Buck up, buck up!! 

‌7. Revlon PhotoReady BB Cream in shade Medium - Bought it, didn't like it so didn't use it enough, however I've come up with a way to finish this up. Call it a cheat if you will but I mix it up & use this with my daily BB cream hahaha!! I'm gonna use this up soon. Nothing else to say about this one, I'm still working on it ;-) Not a re-purchase for me.

8‌. Miss Claire Studio Perfect Anti-Redness Primer in 01 Clear - Yesss... I'm at it! I use it every single time, without fail, before I throw on my BB cream. It's kinda nice & I need only a very small amount. Very silicone-y texture & helps the cream glide on well. Doesn't fill in pores like the Balm Pore-fessional but definitely reduces the redness of my perpetually flushed face. Doesn't greatly help the longevity of make up. It's not a product I will re-purchase.

9‌. Loreal Face Magique Transforming Smoothing Primer - Haven't touched this one since the last post Heheh I told you, I'm gonna be brutally honest in this series. I think I'll wait until I use up a good amount of the Miss Claire Anti-Redness primer :-) But I have to tell you, this one's really nice. Lovely product..this is my 2nd tub. I'll share more in my next post.

‌10. Chanel Illuminating Powder with Shimmer - Doing my best to use this up too. It doesn't have tons of shimmer and can be used on a daily basis to perk up dull skin.

That's it from me, as of now :-) Read about Project Pan updates from my friends, Pankhuri @ AddictedShades and Krupa @ IshtyleAWhile.

 Until the next post, Ciao!!

Project Pan 2017

Hi Everyone,

To begin with, let me explain what Project Pan means. It's a term mostly used in the beauty-blogging sphere & means "hitting pan" or using/finishing the product before buying another one. I have been at it for quite sometime now, but officially beginning it for 2017, with this post :-) Compared to skincare, Makeup products are a challenge to use to up, so I've selected only those this time.

For me, Project Pan means showing more love to older products that I haven't used in a while. I plan to work them more into my daily rountine or create something new & dramatic with them once in a while. Here are my 10 contenders -

Lip Products - 

Used only once or twice

• NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Adis Ababa - This was a git from my Sis-in-Law, M. She knew how much I loved the Miss Claire Soft Matte Lip Creams & thought I should try out NYX too.
• MAC Lip Glass (shade unknown) - I picked this up from a blog sale in Dec 2015. I used it for sometime and then somehow forgot about it. 

Eye Products - 

Kajal used once, Blue eyeliner used 2-3 times
& Mascara used 5-6 times

• Lotus ColorKick Kajal - My favourite for quite some time now. Reviewed HERE. I don't know how but I now own 2 of these; I seemed to have picked this up on one of my random grocery shopping trips..so now I have 2. I'll work on finishing at least one.
• Maybelline Falsies Mascara (Waterproof) - I remember sending a text to Krupa, my fellow blogger & my friend, about this 5 mins after I applied it; I got THAT excited about it. I absolutely love this one. BTW - Did you know that Mascaras have a shelf life of only 3 to 4 months? Need. To. Finish. Soon.
• Maybelline HyperGlossy eyeliner in Electro Shock (Blue) - I saw this on my friend, T & just had to have it. It's a gorgeous electric blue liner & my reasoning with myself was - "It's BLUE!! I don't need to match this with anything. It goes with my blue JEANS!!" buahaha, don't ask me why I didn't show it any love later. 

Used some of the Neutrals; Bright shades used sparingly.

• Sleek I-Divine Original Palette - I went all out to proclaim my love for this "sprightly young laddie" .. Reviewed HERE. I wish to renew my vows this year *wink wink* 

Face Products - 

• Revlon PhotoReady BB Cream in shade Medium - Bought it, didn't like it so didn't use it enough. I might have some ideas on how I can use this up. Watch out for an update post!
• Miss Claire Studio Perfect Anti-Redness Primer in 01 Clear - Don't judge. Honest mistake. I had misplaced it & didn't even remember having it. So, no more Benefit Pore-fessional for me until I use this baby up.
• Loreal Face Magique Transforming Smoothing Primer - Loved Pore-fessional so much that I didn't bother with this one. The Loreal primer is a great product & was my 1st ever face-priming product. This lil tub is my 2nd. I've also loved & almost finished the Nivea After Shave Balm - reviewed HERE. Speaking of primers, don't have an eye-primer? Read THIS.
• Chanel Illuminating Powder with Shimmer - My best bud, V gifted this to me. Hoarder that I am, I saved this gift up for special occassions. It does have finely milled shimmer but not so much that it can't be used on a daily basis. 

To make all this more exciting & fun, my blogger buddies, Krupa from IshtyleAWhile & Pankhuri from AddictedShades are also launching Project Pan on their respective blogs. We will be posting updates, every 6 weeks all the way up to 25th December 2017, which is our deadline for the project.

Until then, go ahead & show us some love! Leave us your comments below. If you're new & visiting me from my friends' blogs, then a big HELLO to you.. I'm Neha - I love make-up & doing ditzy things like saying Hello at the end of the post ;-) 

Wish us luck ... & pray for me... *Come on Gurl, you can do this!!*

See you in my next post, Ciao..!!

Quick & Easy Makeup Look (6 products only)

Hi Everyone,

I'm here to share a very simple look that I created today & ended up really liking it :-) The best part is that I used very few products for it. Multi-task with these & you're done in about 10 mins!! It's something that you can quickly put together when you're pressed for time. Here's the finished look & how you can go about it - 

1. Concealer & Pressed Powder

2. Black Kohl & Mascara

3. Bronzing Highlighter & Lipstick

1. Concealer & Pressed Powder - Skip the foundation or BB cream & use the concealer only where required. I used the Derma Color concealer & blended it on the T-Zone (Above & between brows, bridge of the nose, under eyes, cupid's bow & chin). Set the concealer with any pressed powder; I used the Rimmel Stay Matte powder for this step

2. Black Kohl & Mascara - Using your ring finger or an eye shadow brush, first apply the bronzing highlighter as an eye shadow all across your moving eyelid. This step will bring the light to your eyes & make the kohl (to follow) stand out! :-) I used the Revlon Highlighting palette in 030 Bronze Glow.

Using the kohl, line your waterline & lower lashline; remember to go slightly thick on the lower lashline. I used the Lotus ColorKick Kajal here. To ensure the kohl stays put, pick up the darkest shade from the bronzing palette on a pencil brush & use it to smudge the kohl on the lower lashline. Pick up more eyeshadow & repeat this if required as the eyeshadow will combine with kohl and hold it in place. The idea in this look is to skip using any liquid liner as it requires a certain amount of precision & time as well. Bring out the lower lashline with thickly lined kohl :-) Add 2 -3 coats of mascara to the lashes (I used the Maybelline Hypercurl Mascara) & later fill out the brows with the same kohl to complete the eyes (brows & mascara are optional steps!). 

I feel the thick kohl looks great from behind my glasses too & brings out my eyes... I wonder why 'silly me' completely forgot to click a picture with my glasses on .. **face palm** .. will put a pic up on my Instagram page soon... Follow me HERE.

3. Bronzing Highlighter & Lipstick - With a blush brush, apply the bronzer/highlighter to the apples of your cheeks & finish off the lips with your favourite shade of lipstick!! :-) I used the Sephora Color Lip Last lipstick in Meet My Pink (No.21).

This will most probably be my last post in 2015 :-) Before bidding goodbye to this year & stepping into the next one, I'd just like to say Thank-You for all the love & support you have shown to my lil blog. I started blogging just this year & I'm so overwhelmed to see the amount of appreciation that's been pouring in. It really means a lot to me!

For me, Makeup means 'Having Fun'! It makes me feel like a kid in an Arts & Crafts store. Makeup for me is about about playing around with colours, creating something new every time, being happy, creative & confident :-) Having said that, I'm confident even without a speck of Makeup on my face. So let's always remember, with or without Makeup - 

You are beautiful, You are YOU....Don't let anything change that :-) 

Have an amazing 2016!! Happy New Year!! 

Festive Makeup Look (Budget Products)

Hi Everyone,

I was feeling a little creative today and wanted to play around with my makeup to create a Festive look for the season. After creating the look, I realized that all the products I used are really affordable brands which are easily available in stores or online. The shades are so versatile that you can continue to use them even after the festive season is over!! I know I do ;-) So I thought of sharing this quick post.

I want to keep this post short & sweet without going into too much detail. Just a simple breakdown on how you can re-create this look :-) so here goes :

Face:
Once you have cleansed & moisturized your face, blend a CC Cream to create a clear base. I'm not using the word 'flawless' here since I haven't used a concealer or anything else to cover up my blemishes.I wanted to keep this absolutely simple!! Now, set the base, with some powder. I have oily skin & hence used a mattifying powder. If you have dry skin & wish to skip this step, that's okay too. Use a neutral blush on the apples of your cheek. A neutral shade lets the eyes & lips take centre-stage! I used the following products for this step - 

• Lakme CC Cream - Rs.250/- 
• Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder - Rs.250/- (read HERE)
• Maybelline CheekyGlow in Creamy Cinammon - Rs.275/-

Eyes:

Festive season calls for some Gold on the eyes. Dab on a gold eyeshadow on the moving part of the eyelid & blend some brown into the crease for a smooth transition. Line the upper lashline with a liquid eyeliner to define the eyes. You can further intensify the eyes with Kajal on the lower lashline. I haven't taken the kajal all the way into the inner corner as this tends to make my eyes look smaller. I used the following products for this step - 

• Revlon Shadowlinks - Copper (golden shade) Rs.175/- 
• Revlon Shadowlinks - Java (brown shade) Rs.175/-
• Lotus ColorKick Kajal - Rs.199/- (read HERE)
• Elle 18 Black Out liner - Rs.85/-

Lips:

A bold red lip would mostly suit all your outfits :-) Apply some red lipstick to complete this Festive Makeup look. Some other affordable options in Red can be found in the Streetwear Lipstick range; they have at least 5 different, very beautiful hues of Red lipstick...my fav one being the shade 'Very Vampire' (read HERE). If Red isn't for you, then a good idea would be to wear something neutral as this will make the Gold on the eyes stand out. For this look however I have used a red lipstick - 

• Miss Claire soft matte lip cream in No.10 (Deep Red) - Rs.195/-

Pair this look with some pretty earrings & a bindi for a desi touch! ;-) Hope you try out this Festive Makeup look with some of these readily available & most importantly, budget-friendly products! Save those bucks & spend on your loved ones, this season! Let me know if you liked this concept, I'd love to create more Festive looks with Budget products, for you :-) 

Note - Prices mentioned in this post were applicable when I bought these products. They may slightly vary now. Given the online discounts during the festive season, these products will still be very reasonably priced.

Until the next post, Ciao..!!!

Do check out some of the older posts for different makeup looks - 

Shimmery Blue eyes and N*de lips (Party Makeup look)

Purple themed Makeup Look

Teal Smokey Eyes (Party Makeup look)

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! 

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!