May 2015 Fab Bag - Review

Hey Everyone!

I'm back after a short vacay in Mangalore :-) I had so much fun there!! It's nice to be back home now & I was so happy to come home to this lil bundle of surprise. I just had to share what I received for the month of May 2015, with you.

The theme for the May Fabbag was "Sun, Sand & Sexy" so it meant some great beach-y, summer essentials would definitely come my way. Being in Bengaluru, I cant have any 'Beach Days' but one can surely wish to get away to some place that has them, eh? ;-)

Here goes - 

1. Vana Vidhi Rice Scrub - Oriental Rice Paddy: 

The 70 gms of product comes packaged in a plastic tub with a coppery aluminium cap. It has a strong herbal, Ayurvedic scent to it. It contains goodness of Jojoba oil, Lavender oil, Rosemary oil, Carrot seed oil and other lovely ingredients, blended with brown rice to make a natural scrub. 

Vana Vidhi Rice Scrub

I really liked this Rice Scrub over my normal Walnut scrub since this is less damaging to the skin; rice makes for a smoother scrub than most walnut & apricot kernel scrubs available in the market. Also, after the rice grains have gently exfoliated the skin, the oils in the product leave the skin feeling well-moisturized (unlike my regular one, which needs to be followed up quickly with a moisturizer!!) I would still suggest a moisturizer after any kind of exfoliation, but this rice scrub can be followed up with a light-weight one :-)  Another plus for this product is that its free of Sulphates & Parabens!!

2. SAND for Soapaholics - After Glow Face Cleanser:

SAND for Soapaholics - After Glow Cleanser

With all-natural main ingredients like Masoor, Almonds, Aloe Vera, Honey, etc..this one's exclusively for the face. I received this product in a small plastic, ochre-yellow tub (sample size). I took a pea-sized amount on my palm and added a few drops of water to make a paste and then applied it to my face. With mainly an almond scent, this product is really refreshing and leaves your skin feeling soft & supple. 

I haven't tried removing my makeup with it, in spite of the 'cleanser' claim :-) I have only used it at night before going to bed for a squeaky-clean face.

3. Black Scarf by Bling:

Scarf

Little disappointed with this one, as I could have got the same (or a better) scarf for Rs.100/- at Colaba Causeway (Mumbai) or MG Road (Bengaluru) hehehe...Its a basic black scarf that "apparently" retails for Rs.500/- (??!!) Lol in case, the people curing this bag haven't noticed - We weren't born yesterday!! :-P

4. Be a Bombshell Eye Shadow Quad in the shade 'Bora Bora':

I forgave the "expensive" scarf debacle, all thanks to this beauty right here!! When I saw reviews & unboxing videos of the May Fabbag on different social media channels, I had hoped to receive this particular product rather the Makeup Stick. Dont get me wrong, the Makeup stick is great too; the eye shadows were just my preference.

The well-loved 'Bora Bora' quad :-)

The quad contains 4 shades (duh, Neha! Obviously!) - Scarlet, Bora Bora, Risky Business & Rock Bottom. I don't exactly know which one's which but I'm absolutely in awe of the pigmentation!! These shades are insanely pigmented and you need very little product to create a bold, colourful look. 

Here's a simple look I created wit the quad - I put the 'goldenish' shade all over my eyelid, used the 'taupey-brown' on the outer-V of the eyelid & then blended both with the 'coppery orange' (LOL yes, those are the names I'm gonna roll with!) I also blended my kajal on the lower lash line, with the vibrant Blue shade in the quad, which ended up becoming a highlight of the whole eye-look. And no, I wasn't trying to recreate the 'Ash at Cannes' look with the blue lower lash line...it just happened to be there & I used it...hahaha!

Really liked this month's products, I must say. I also really liked the nautical striped, water-proof bag that the Team has sent this time :-) Maybe because I love the sea, maybe because my Dad was in the Navy, I don't know...but I liked how simple, casual yet sporty it looks!

Have you subscribed to the Fab Bag? What did you get in your bag this month? Let me know if the comments section below...cant wait to hear from you! Hope this sneak peek / mini review helped you in some way :-) 

Until the next time... Ciao!

Disclaimer: I have subscribed to Fab Bag on my own. These reviews are my personal opinions and haven't been sponsored. I have always maintained that apart from the 'delay in delivery', I have not had any issues with the Fab Bag Team. Their products are usually nice and I have never had a bad experience with them till date..Touchwood! ;-)

Sleek MakeUP I-Divine Original Palette - Review

They're right! You should never commit until you're absolutely sure! And when I was, I said Yes :-) Love story? What love story? I'm speaking about my Sleek MakeUP I-Divine Original palette!! Lol

I was pretty happy and 'going steady' with my 3 lil eye shadows from Revlon Shadow links. I thought they were really nice, simple, suited everything I wore, what more could I want? But NO, I realized I was just 'settling' for them. I had always wanted a palette, but palettes were expensive & I didn’t seem to like anything so much that I could commit to buying the whole palette. So I was stuck in a "routine relationship" with my Revlon shadow links for about a year.

Then one day, while browsing makeup blogs, I found the 'Sleek MakeUP I-Divine Original palette' on a blog sale & fell in love! So here's a review/intro of the newest love of my life, who is here to stay...that's it, I'm committed!!

Packaging - The palette comes in the black cardboard packaging with a sneak peek at some of the shades inside. It has the name & branding done on the front, while on the back, there are other details like description, suggestions for possible makeup looks, ingredients & manufacturing details. 

When you open the palette, you'll find a conveniently sized mirror to create or touch up eye-looks on the go. It's just the right size to fit into this travel-friendly palette. The eye shadows are covered with a thin plastic film that states the name of each shade. The palette also comes with a dual-ended eye shadow applicator.

Theme - Sleek eye shadow palettes come with 12 long-lasting mineralized eye shadows that have been themed differently. The more popular ones that I've heard of are Oh So Special, Au Naturel, Storm, Vintage Romance, Sunset, Bad Girl palette, etc. with shades that flow with the theme, for e.g. Sunset Palette has warm, orange, "sunset-like' colours, while 'Au Naturel' has some lovely natural, neutral shades. As for me, I fell hard in love with the Original palette because it was sweet, simple & 'un-themed' apart from the extremely interesting names, of course!

Colour selection - The names have a distinct 'British' flavour to them & are based on the sights you might see or experiences you might have, when in the UK like London Eye, Big Ben, Cream Tea, Black Cab, London Rain, etc. The shades in the palette are beautiful and varied, with champagne shades, pinks & purples, tones of blue, copper, bronze & shades of green and olive.

Apart from Black Cab, a matte black shade, all the other colours are nice & shimmery. The shimmer isn't overpowering and tacky, it's very fine and looks wonderful on the eyes. Sometimes, if I can’t think of any particular combos, I simply use any one lid colour, blend the matte black in the outer V of the eyelid & get done with it..!! At times, I skip the black and blend a darker shade of the same colour on the outer corner for a monochrome eye-look (ooh! look at me, trying to sound like big-shot makeup artist!). 

London Rain & The Thames are from the Blue family, while London Eye & Big Ben are shimmery rose-goldish shades. Hyde Park & Banksy bring in the green tones to the palette; Sterling & Penny Farthing are the sultry coppery, bronzy shades. I also really like Royal, which is a totally apt name for a beautiful purple in the palette.

Texture & Pigmentation - The texture of these shadows is buttery smooth & they're deeply pigmented. They can be easily applied with your fingers as well as brushes, depending upon your preference. Most importantly, they blend like a dream! I'm lazy and don’t wear any eye-primer on a daily basis (Read about my cheat for an eye-primer HERE), however these eye shadows don’t need it. They're really long-lasting and stay on for more than 5-6hrs on my oily eye-lids. Hmmm, so I'm thinking if I can just get my lazy bu%& to religiously use primer for my eye makeup, these would easily last for more than 8-9 hrs.

My experience with the Sleek MakeUP Original Palette - I was impressed with the palette because all of its colours; being so different from each other, they're absolutely wearable. It’s a "match made in heaven" for me because it’s got all the shades/colours that I might actually get a lot of use from. If you're a beginner & are in the market for a shimmer eye shadow palette, then this just might be the thing for you :-); it's got almost every shade you might need! 

I have been using this palette on a daily basis for one-shadow everyday looks. The colour selection is beautiful and has shades like Cream Tea, Big Ben and London eye, which can be worn on their own, to enhance the eyes. And when I'm in a mood to match my eyes to my outfit, I have an array of shades to play around with! ;-) For more dramatic looks, I blend Black Cab in the outer-V of the eyelid & use Sterling, Penny Farthing or London Rain on the lower lash line to further define the eyes and add more drama.

Looks like I could go on and on about the different looks I have created using this palette, but wouldn't it just be more fun to show you rather than speak about it? So stay tuned for more eye looks, coming up on this blog!!

There you go, now you know why I've been seeing this 'sprightly young laddie' for over a month now! I guess he's got me 'committed' - hook, line and sinker - so to speak ;-) Phew, I'm totally 'knackered' after telling you that I think this palette is the 'Bee's Knees', I need something 'scrummy' for lunch now (Wow, I could easily be born in London, in my next life...lol!) 

Until the next post Mates, Ciao!!

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!
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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!!!

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!!!

Plum & Copper Eyes

Hi Everyone,

Creating a new look and playing around with different colours is my thing!

I have worn glasses since the beginning of time and always balanced out my bespectacled face with a bold lip-colour. Not that it isn’t interesting, but I wanted to do something different with my eyes too.

Somewhere last year I began experimenting with eye makeup and gosh! I realized there was so much I could do…with or without glasses on! I will soon be coming up with eye makeup for glass wearers, but read on to see what I did when I was wearing lenses that day. You could definitely rock this look with glasses too!

This is what I did -

1. Once my base was done, I primed my eyes. (Read my post on how to cheat on eye primer with lip gloss, here).
2. I dusted my moving eye-lid area with a Plum shade. I used CoverGirl eyeshadow quad in Dynamite Drama 223.

3. I warmed up my crease area with a Copper shade. I used Revlon Colorstay Shadowlinks eye shadow in Copper.

4. I blended these 2 shades together with an Oriflame eyeshadow brush. I don’t have the blending brush, but this one serves the purpose. Keep blending, until the 2 colours seem to blend seamlessly into one another. 

5. I highlighted my brow bone using a matte White shade from the same CoverGirl quad.Next, I applied my eyeliner using Miss ClaireArtist Pen Eyeliner and winged it out a bit.

6. To finish off the eyes, I used Lakme Eyeconic Kajal in Brown to line the outer 2/3^rd of the eyes and a white eye pencil from a local brand to line the inner 1/3^rd.

Lastly, I used MaybellineColor Sensational Moisture Extreme lipstick in Bronze Orange as my lipstick. It comes off as a beautiful nude on me and remains understated so that the eyes do all the talking!

Hope you guys liked this look! Please do recreate it sometime and send me pictures! 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.