I'm NOT dead!! I Swear!!!

I really want to apologize to all my readers for the lack of posts and the lack of comments on all those lovely blogs I read. But I promise I've been reading all your posts, I'm just not able to comment. Most of you know that I started work in January. It's going great, but its really really hectic. I've been working 9-10 hour shifts, on Saturdays and on most days, I bring my work home. I have no social life right now. I haven't been in touch with any of my friends for the last month. But hopefully, things will calm down in another month.

Its a Saturday and I'm buried neck-deep in work. But I took a tiny break to do a post because I'm pretty convinced most of my readers will forget I even exist in another month. So, here goes. Its not a real post. But a haul post is all I could manage time for. Sorry for that.

I got my first salary and I did a lot of shopping. Took full advantage of the Lifestyle-50% off sale. And lot of other places (Republic Day was the only day I've had off in the last month). Also did a little bit of online shopping. So anyways, I'd been wanting to buy the Colorbar blushes for a while, but unfortunately I've had no time to go shop. So, I went to their website and placed an order. I didn't order much because I wasn't sure how good their service was. But I must say I was quite impressed. I placed my order on Thursday night and I got my package this morning. That is really fast.

This is what the package looked like:

I hope you guys noticed that they had a 6-year-old write my address. 

The way it was packed, anybody could have opened my package and I wouldn't have known

Everything came undamaged.

Colorbar blush in Plum Brown. I absolutely adore this shade. Have yet to try it though.

Nail polish in Crystal Red. Sorry about the bad lighting.

I-Glide eye pencil in Prunella. I'd been dying to try this. 

This is their Duo Mascare. My mascara tube finished and I wanted to try something other than the usual Colossal Volume. I'm hoping its good. 

So guys, thats it for today. I apologise for the half-assed attempt at a post. But I promise, when I have time, I'll come up with some reviews.

Have any of you guys tried any of the above products? How was your experience?

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.

NYX Slim Eye Pencil

I’ve always been more of a liquid liner person, the main reason being I’m a dud at applying pencil ones. I can never get a decent line, and if the pencil is not soft enough, all the tugging irritates my eye. Hence, for me liquid eyeliners have always been a safer bet.

But, I decided to experiment a little, and bought these NYX ones. And am I glad I did. These are the best eye pencils I’ve ever had.

So, here’s the review. And I’m going to keep it small.

Price: Rs. 100/ $1.99 (on cherryculture.com).
Buy in bulk here: http://stores.ebay.com/JOYs-cosmetics/slim-eye-pencil-/_i.html?_fsub=1160936016&_sid=91711236&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322. They have some amazing prices.
Also available at Hypercity and Empire Stores in Bangalore (Rs. 295/$6.50)





  

It doesn’t look as vibrant because I’m using it over the NYX jumbo pencil in iced mocha which kind of dilutes the color. But used over a matte base, looks as vibrant as in the swatch.


The Good:

1. Super pigmented. Applies without any effort. Glides like a dream.
   
2. Great price. Cheaper than so many of the other drugstore eye pencils.
   
3. Amazing range of colors. I think they have about 40 shades. And I love how vibrant the colors are.
   
4. Great staying power.  I’ve had it on the whole day with just a tiny amount of fading. But they’re quite creamy. So, I’m not sure how they’ll fare on oily lids. But nothing a primer can’t fix.
   
5. You can smudge it to create a smoky look.
   
6. It actually stays on my waterline. Something no other color eye pencil has ever done.

The Bad:

1. The size of the pencil is quite small. And since they are so creamy, you need to sharpen more often. But for the price, I think its hardly a complaint.
   
2. I don’t have a habit of rubbing my eyes. But if you do, its going to smudge like crazy.

 Final Verdict: I currently have it in Emarald City and Sapphire. I definitely want to buy more shades. I’m in love with these pencils.

My CherryCulture Haul

I’m so excited. My order from CherryCulture just arrived and I’m super excited to try them all.

I didn’t order much because this is the first time that I’m ordering online and I wasn’t so sure about it. But now I’ve this really long list of items to buy from CherryCulture. I have a self imposed shopping ban for October, so I’m going to place the order in November.

Here are the pics of what i bought:

These are the lippies I bought:

NYX Round Lipstick in Fig - $2.25

NYX Round Lip Gloss in Cafe Latte - $2.00

Jordana Lipstick in Almond - $1.49

Wild and Crazy Eyeshadow singles in Angelic Pink, Spring Overture, and Sweet Deal (clockwise from top-left) - $2.00 each

 

LA Colors Eyeshadow singles in Onyx, Delight and Silver Streak (from left).  -  $1.99 each (I got one free in the B2G1 free offer)

NYX Single Eyeshadows in Beauty Queen and Taupe - $3.50 each

Jordana Powder Blush in Sandalwood – $1.99 each

NYX Concealer in a Jar in Medium - $5.00

NYX Long Pencil Eyeliner in Black and Dark Brown - $2.00 ( I got one free in the B1G1 free offer)

I’d wanted the Jumbo pencils too but I completely forgot to order those. Next time though. :P

The shipping came to $12.50. Which isn’t bad considering it would have cost be double if I’d bought these from India.

I’m really impressed with CherryCulture. I took the cheapest shipping option and my order arrived in 8 days. Everything was bubble wrapped nicely and none of the items were damaged.

I can’t wait to order again.

Oriflame Giordani Gold Gel Liner Review

When i got my driving license a few months back, I was horrified looking when I saw my photo. The intense black eye liner look which I loved made me look like a slightly milder version of the new Jenny Humphrey. This is how my hunt for the perfect brown liner started. I still love lining my eyes, but i figured i should cut back a little on the black. I saw this gel liner in the Oriflame catalogue in maybe February or March. It took my consultant two months after I’d ordered it to get it because it was apparently always out of stock. There was also an angled brush for sale with it, which was, I think, for about 99/-. Anyways, I thought I’d review it. So here goes.

Price: Rs. 590/- for 4g. I think I got it for 450/-.

Color: Chocolate Brown

P.S. Please ignore the eyebrows. Haven’t had time to get it done.

The Good:

I love the packaging. It comes in a tiny pot with a screw-off gold lid. I think its really cute. I’m definitely going to reuse the pot once I’m finished with the liner.

I love the color. Its a nice matte brown.

The constituency is like a very thick cream. Even if  I hold it upside down, no spilling.

It last for pretty much the whole day, but after maybe 5-6 hours, it does start fading a tiny little bit.

The Bad:

The whole application with the angled brush is kind of messy when compared to liquid liners. This wouldn’t be my go-to liner if I was in a hurry.

The liner is very sticky. So much of it sticks on to the brush that i have to clean it after every use. Also, a huge waste of product.

It dries pretty quickly, so I have to make sure I close the cap all the time. It did dry out for me because I leave it open all the time. But i melted it over boiling water. That seems to have solved the problem for now.

I think its a little too pricey for the quality.

The color pay-off isn’t very good.

The brush they sold with it isn’t very good. I use a regular eyeliner brush.

My Verdict: I think its a pretty decent liner. I’m not working yet, so I normally have a lot of time to get ready. But if you’re in a hurry, I wouldn’t recommend this.