NYX 10 Color Eyeshadow Palette in 'Champagne & Caviar'

I don't own a lot of palettes. I have mostly singles, a few duos and quads. I never end up liking all the colors in a palette and find singles a better option. But, I love NYX and everyone raves about this palette. So, I decided I should try it out. Its a pretty decent palette for the price. Not the best, but I honestly don't mind. So, here's the review. I'm going to keep this short.

Price: $8 / Rs. 360, for 14g (0.49 oz)

You can buy it here: 
1. http://www.cherryculture.com/cosmetics/makeup/nyx-cosmetics/nyx-the-runway-collection-10-color-eyeshadow-palette/17206&cat=0&page=1
2. http://stores.ebay.com/JOYs-cosmetics/10-color-eyeshadow-palette-/_i.html?_fsub=1090826016&_sid=91711236&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

For the price they sell at, I think the palette is a real steal. I have the neutral palette. The color selection is decent. But nothing impressive. Like if you noticed, #1 and #4 kind of look alike. But all the colors (except the white one) are quite wearable. They're pretty well pigmented (not as much as the singles though). They're really soft, and apply smoothly on the lids. Because they are so soft, they kind of crumble a little. Not enough to worry about. They don't crease and fades a little by the end of the day (after maybe 7-8 hours), but not much. With a primer, they look even better. Since a lot of the colors are quite close to my skintone, I need to use a primer to make them show, which is not a problem for me since I use a primer all the time anyways.

They have a good collection of palettes. There are, I think, about 12. I've seen swatches of the other palettes and I actually like the other ones. The Velvet Rose, Secret World, Versus, Casting Call all look quite nice. But I've noticed that some of the neutrals are repeated in most of the palettes. So, if you have a few of these palettes, you'll end up with a few copies.

The packaging is very sleek and quite sturdy. It has a good size mirror inside which is quite useful. If I were travelling, this is the palette I'd carry. It has all the colors I'd need, unless of course I have parties or functions to attend. Then, maybe the Haute Model one would help. Two of these and you're ready.

Overall, I think this is a great buy and I don't regret buying it. My only crib is that I wish there were more matte shades. Only the #6,  #8 and #10 are matte, and the glitter from the others kind of transfers to the mattes. Not a good thing. I would definitely buy a few more of these. I think it's a great investment, especially for those just starting out and looking to experiment.

© Your_Blog

© ladylavendersays

Do you own any of these palettes? What was your experience?

NYX Round Lip Gloss Review

Ever since I was introduced to cherryculture.com, I've become a big fan of NYX. I love their products, from their concealers to lipsticks to glosses to eyeliners to their palettes. I love them all. None are without fault, but for their incredibly good prices, they're the best quality out there.

I have 3 of these. Real Nude, Kiss and Cafe Latte.

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner

A few months back, I read about this on one of the blogs, and then the reviews started pouring in and everyone was raving about it. And I really do love gel liners. Since my Coastal scents order which also had the gel liners went missing, I really was looking for a good budget friendly option here. 

But then, as was my luck, I couldn't find it anywhere. Either it's out of stock, or they haven't even received stock, or according to the dumb SAs, the product just doesn't exist. I looked for it for months. Nowhere was it found. I'd almost given up on finding it. Then, last week, I was shopping on commercial street, and wanted to have a look at the new colorbar counter at Empire Stores. And while I was checking out their lippies, i just randomly asked about the gel liner. And guess what, she had one last piece in stock. I couldn't believe my luck. But I really wish they'd introduced the other shades as well. I would love to get my hands on the eggplant one. 

Price: Rs. 375/- for the tub and the brush. Pretty good deal I think.


The Good: 

1. I like the cute tub. Its quite classy.

2. It glides on like velvet. I just love the texture of this liner, not too hard, not too liquidy.

3. The color pay-off is really good. For daily wear, I prefer matte liners instead of glossy ones. And this gives a very nice matte natural look.

4. It doesn't smudge at all.

5. Staying Power. I've worn it for over 8 hours, and it doesn't fade, feather or smudge.

6. It hasn't been recommended for the waterline. But I've used it on my waterline, and it works absolutely fine. And I do have sensitive eyes.

7. It's waterproof.

8. The brush really is good. But I still prefer my angled liner brush from Coastal Scents. So, I've been using this one as a lip brush.

9. Removes easily with makeup remover.

The Bad:

1. The quantity is quite less. But it looks like it will last a decent while since a little goes a long way.

Final Verdict: This is a great budget friendly option and I'd recommend it to everyone. I hope they come out with the other shades as well. I would love to try those as well.

An Old Favourite: Nature's Way Anti-Tan Fade Pack

I'm usually a very lazy person when it comes to skin care. I try my best to stick to my daily skin routine, but thats it. The whole regular pampering of skin is something I always fail to do. I have plenty of face packs lying at home, but I rarely use them. Most of them I end up throwing away when they expire, and they're more often than not, more than half full. So, for quite some time, I've just stopped buying them. The only time I'll use them is if I'm sitting extremely jobless at home, or if I have somewhere special to go.

Because of this terrible habit of mine, I like products that give instant gratification. I can't be bothered with regular applications. (Some products say 'use thrice a week for best results'. Its a miracle if I use it more than once in 2 months). I'm not expecting miracles in one application, but atleast a noticeable difference.

So, this is where the Nature's Way Anti-Tan fade pack came into the picture.

What it claims: 
A wonderful anti tan fade pack which brightens skin instantly. Use it without fear as it has no chemicals like ammonia and peroxide. Use thrice a week for better result. Removes tan very effectively.

Ingredients:

Kaolin, Lime Oil, Orange Oil, Lavendula, Clary Sage, Aloe Vera, Geranium Oil.

Price: Rs. 125/- for 50ml
What it does: 
It does brighten your skin instantly. I have dry and dull looking skin. This gives a nice glow to my skin and really moisturises it. I honestly don't know effective it is in removing tans. I've never used it regularly enough to  see any noticeable tan removal.

Verdict:
I love this face pack. I love the way my face glows after using this. And I love how soft my skin feels after.

There are some cons to this too. It is a very thick cream, so it can be a pain to take off. Also, I think the quantity is quite less. I use it once in 2-3 months. So, its lasted me over a year now. Might not be the same for someone who wants to use it regularly.

Availability is a big question mark. I have no idea where you can get this from. I got this as a sample from our salon. The beauty manager ends up giving my dad a ton of the samples that companies leave with her, every time he goes to the centre for some work. I'm almost done with mine and I'm not even sure if I'll be able to get it again. They do have a website and their located in Hyderabad. So, only option is to mail/call them and enquire.

Some of the ingredients in this pack control sebum production, which probably means that it would be more suited for people with oily skin. Works great for dry skin too.

Will I buy it again? Definitely, if I can find it again.

Wild and Crazy Eyeshadow Review

 

Sorry I’ve been a MIA for a while, but I joined some classes last week and it’s been keeping me busy.

So, I wanted to review the Wild and Crazy e/s singles from my cherryculture haul. When I first saw these on cherryculture, I’d never heard of them. But they were only $2 (Rs. 88/-) and it was one of their Insider Picks. So I thought I’d try them. I only got 3 becuase I didn’t want to buy too many and then be stuck with crappy eyeshadows if I didn’t like them.  But these give great color pay-off for the price and I wished I’d ordered some more.

Price: $2 for 1.5 g/0.5 oz

Here are the pics with the swatches from the cherryculture.com website:

The Good:

• Very Pigmented. For the price, I was quite surprised how pigmented the colors were.
• Really cheap.
• I find the pots really cute. Its got a screw-on lid with a transparent window, so I can see the color.
• The texture is really smooth, almost silky.
• They have quite a wide selection of colors. Cherryculture has them in 68 shades.
• Quite long lasting. I had it on for an entire day with no fading.
• Blends well.

The Bad:

• It has a bit of a fallout. Not too much. But for the price, I think its okay.
• The shimmer was very subtle on the colors I got. But I saw after I’d done my eye makeup that there were tiny shimmer particles around my eyes.
• The swatches on the website are not true to the colors. So its going to be a lot of hits and misses. You could google for swatches, but there’s not that many.

Recommend: Definitely. Especially if you’re a beginner, you can buy these and experiment with colors.

Will I Buy Again: I’ve already picked out the shades for my next order. These are pretty good for the price. Affordable enough for me to experiment.

Availability: You can order from these sites:

• http://www.cherryculture.com/cosmetics/makeup/wild-and-crazy/wild-and-crazy-eyeshadow/16830&cat=0&page=1
• http://cart.wildandcrazy.co.uk/index.php?p=product&id=10&parent=2

A Review of my L’Oreal Professional hair products

One thing you have to know about me is that I’m a very lazy person. I have absolutely no patience to spend hours on fixing my hair. I had this friend of mine who’d wake up 3 hours before she had to leave the house, just to fix her hair. You would never find me doing that in a thousand years. So I look for the easiest ways to make my hair look good. Shampoo, conditioning and I should be done. On days that i wash my hair, it takes me about 30-45 minutes to fix my hair. On other days, I take less than 5 minutes.
When I straightened my hair the first time, the salon lady suggested I buy the L’Oreal Professional Liss Ultime series, i.e. their shampoo, smoothening masque and the serum. This is what I have been using for 2 years now. And I absolutely love it. I’ve suggested it to a few of my friends and they swear by it.
So here goes.

Maybelline ExpertWear Eyeshadow quad Time for Wine Review

 

This was requested by Poohkie. So here goes.

This is the first Maybelline quad that I bought. I had gone looking for the Chai Latte quad but ended up buying the Time for Wine one, since I thought these colors were so much more beautiful. My friend liked the quad so much on me that she scammed it off me.  But I really love this quad. So ended up buying it again yesterday.

Price: Rs. 240/-

This is the photo of my quad. It looks used cos i used it the second I brought it home.

 

I had to edit the photo a little in photoshop so that it would show the colors properly. But this is what it looks like. Though I’m sorry the brow bone color doesn’t show properly.

 

 

 

 

 

These are the swatches. 

From top-to-bottom: outer corner, crease, lid, brow-bone.

The lid color is matte light beige kind of color. The crease color is a really nice shimmery plumish color. And the outer corner color is a burgundy-brown color which is quite shimmery. The brow bone color is a very very shimmery light pink color. I never use it for highlighting.

The colors are really pigmented, though the brow bone color is really sheer. I like the beige color for the lid. The color is a few shades lighter than my skin tone and adds to the natural look.  The crease color is really pretty. For a night look, I sometimes use the crease color on the lid and the outer corner color on the crease. The brow bone color is not completely useless. I like the color, so I use the color all over my lid. It goes perfectly with my pink clothes. You do have to sweep it a few times for it show though.

The darker colors are really pigmented, so you have to use a very light hand when doing  a daily look.

You absolutely HAVE to use a primer or the colors won’t show. I use a homemade eye primer. Just mix equal amounts of your foundation and a body cream. Use a body butter or a thick cream like the Nivea body cream, otherwise your primer will be of a thin constituency like your foundation. I used a lakme foundation that i had lying around that i never use. Store it in an old lip balm jar or something similar. Keeping it in the fridge for a few hours will make it thicker. I use this and it works absolutely fine for me. I cannot afford expensive primers. You can use the NYX jumbo pencil in nude as an alternative. I tried one of my friends and it works great.

Moving on,

The GOOD:

• I love the colors. They’re all wearable.
• They’re very durable. For me, they easily last for 6-7 hours.
• The pigmentation is good and the color payoff is nice. I have a dusky complexion and the colors are quite pigmented on me.
• It blends quite easily.
• The slim packaging makes it easy to carry around.
• The foam applicators are quite usable, though i personally like using my own brushes.
• The help guide on the back is quite useful for beginners.
• The price is irresistible.
• The quad is quite versatile. You can use combinations of the colors to create different looks.

The BAD:

• The brow bone color can be a bit of a disappointment. Its too shimmery and sheer and most people don’t like that.
• The packaging is cheap plastic. So you have to be careful when you’re carrying  it around in your bag or you might crack the plastic. For the price, I can live with it though.

I wish Maybelline would come out with more of these quads in India. I’ve heard such great reviews about the Natural Smokes, Charcoal Smokes, Sunlit Bronze,  Amethyst Smokes etc quads. I would have really liked to have been able to try those out too.

I would definitely buy these again. I am sooo in love with it.

Oriflame Lash Extreme Mascara

A few months back, I came back home and found an Oriflame catalogue in my mailbox. I’d heard of Oriflame, but had never bought anything from them before. The catalogue looked promising, so I called up the consultant (who’s number was on the catalogue, obviously) and placed my order. I didn’t order much. It was a new brand to me and I didn’t want to spend good money on products I might not like. So I ordered the cheaper ones. One of the things I bought was mascara. I used it once before my friend scammed it off me. That was just 150/-. I tried buying the same one, but they were out of stock. So I ended up buying another mascara from Oriflame. This was the Oriflame Lash Extreme Mascara.

According to Oriflame Beauty, the new Lash Extreme Mascara is a high-performance mascara that combines nature and science to visibly plump lashes by 600% in just one stroke. A six-edged brush from Geka Brush allows even more mascara to be deposited in a smooth, clump-free manner, traveling through the lashes one by one, according to the Swedish direct seller. Long bristles separate and lengthen the eyelashes while shorter bristles build extra depth and bold volume. Lash Extreme is formulated with Acacia gum and D-panthenol, which helps maintain moisture levels and generate sheen and luster.

They have the mascara in 3 colors: black, brown and blue.  I bought the brown one. I still haven’t experimented with different colors in mascara. I’ve always thought blue lashes would look a little extreme.

Sooo, coming back to the mascara….

Price: Rs. 329/- for 8ml.

What I think: The packaging is pretty standard. It comes in a regular tube. The mascara has a very creamy texture, like a gooey substance. It just glides on to your eyelashes when you apply it. The applicator is really nice. It allows for a very even application. I can even get to the inner corner. The creaminess does make it a little messy sometimes. When I try applying it on the lower lashes, it ends up smearing on my lower lash line.

If you’re someone who already has very nice and long lashes and just need a mascara to darken your lashes, then this is a good one. It’s more suitable for a natural look. But for the price, I think there are cheaper alternatives to a mascara that does nothing.

The tube:

The applicator:

The Texture:

Before:

After:

The Good:

·         Creamy texture.

·         Lasting Power. I used this sometimes to college and it lasted throughout the day.

·         Long Shelf Life. I’ve has this tube for about 4 months now and it has shown no signs of drying up. It is just as creamy as it was the day I bought it. This is definitely a pro since I use it rarely and it won’t end up being a waste of my money. That thing is gonna last forever.

·         Applicator. The comb’s bristles are slightly apart which helps to separate out the lashes. And the brush is thin which makes it easier to get the roots.

·         No clumping.

The Bad:

·         It doesn’t meet up to its promise of volume or length.

·         It’s not waterproof. So crying is out of the question.

·         It comes of pretty easily. I use the oriflame cleansing milk to take it off.

·         Too pricey for a product that doesn’t do what it says it will.

My verdict: It was a complete waste of my money. But since it seems it’s gonna last forever, I’m not that upset. I use it occasionally when I’m in the mood for a natural look.

P.S. I'm sorry if the pictures aren't great quality. My camera battery died and i had to take the pics on my phone.