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!!

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!