A cute little thing for makeup storage

I love makeup storage and organization ideas. Since my makeup collection is expanding and my bank balance is declining at an alarming rate I needed cheap storage solutions . I found one such organizer during a random visit to Alfa in Mumbai. This cute little thing is made of bamboo or similar kinda material and decorated with  pretty and girly lace.They had many such organizers in various shapes and sizes and I had to really control myself to not pick any more. I got this for around 200 Rs but they have increased their prices to 300-400 range last I checked.

 I keep this cutie on my vanity to keep everything neat and organized and within reach. Starting from the right I keep my various cheapy eyeshadow palettes and Maybelline powder blush. In the center slot I keep few of my lipsticks and Revlon lipglosses. Left most corner is for random things like mascara,concealer,lip glosses,lip balms and the Garnier eye roll on.

I plan to go there again and get a couple of more such things. I need a holder for Q tips, cotton balls and cotton pads. It would be nice to have them at one place rather than just sticking my arm inside my cupboard  ,hoping my fingers would grab at some makeup removing device.

How do you organize and store your makeup ? I would love to know!

Lip Balm Love ~ Nivea lip balms in Strawberry and Pomegranate

Do you want soft glossy lips with a tinge of color ? Try Nivea lip balms. I have been a fan of them since many years now. I first bought the one in Cherry , sadly that is now discontinued.

At present I am using and loooivng the ones in Strawberry and Pomegranate.

Nivea Lip Balms in Pomegranate and Strawberry

 Strawberry smells amazing . Sometimes I just open up the balm to take a sniff.It is a happy smell..sweet and well strawberrish. This applies smooth and leaves a glossy red tint. You can build up the color with a couple of swipes. On lips it looks like a sheer hydrating lipstick. And the color is very pretty ..just brightens up the face J

The pomegranate one smells nice too though not exactly like the fruit. This is more of a berry color with slight shimmer. On my lips this looks like a deep brown pink though of course a very light tint of it. The formula for both the lip balms seems the same. They are moisturizing but they will not cure severely chapped lips.

Favorite eye pencil of all time – Chambor eye tattoo pencil in Shimmery brown, Photos and Swatches

Chambor Eye Tatoo Eyeliner in ET 04

Shimmery brown is my favorite color for eye makeup be it eyeliners or eyeshadows. Chambor eye pencil in brown (ET04) is my most favorite eyeliner of all time. I am on my third one at present. I have a few other Chambor Tattoo eyepencils and I have to say they are of excellent quality. The color pay off is excellent. They don’t move or budge once set and they glide on very smoothly. The entire eye tattoo range has very flattering colors. If you guys want me to review the other eyeliners in this range let me know. For now I want to dedicate this post to this gorgeous eyeliner.

Price ? Rs 325

How to ? I use this in many different ways

·         I use this as an eyeliner for my upper lashline.I put groundwork paintpot first then put this eyeliner. Smudge it a bit. Mascara and a thin line of kajal on my lower lashline and I am done. Quick and simple neutral eye makeup.

·         Another way I use this gem. I draw a thick line with this pencil all around my lower lash line extending quite some way below the waterline. I do the same for my upper waterline.Then I take a black eye pencil and smudge it in my lower and upper waterlines only. Then I take a smudger brush and smudge the black eyepencil a bit so that it seamlessly blends into the brown liner.It looks gorgeous. Adds dimension to the eyes. And on my lids I put my trusty Groundwork Paintpot.

·         If I am in a hurry and I don’t have the time to mess around with eyeshadows I use this as an eyeshadow as well. Apply all over my lids and quickly blend to smoothen out any harsh lines.

Suitable for ? I think this is a universally flattering shade.

Swatch without flash

Swatch With flash

The Good

·         Absolutely love the color. Shimmery dark brown awesomeness

·         Stays on for hours and hours within minimal fading in the waterline.Staying power is very important for me in a eyeliner.

·         Rs.325 seems like a reasonable price

·         Waterproof and smudge proof. No raccoon eyes from this one.

·         Glides smoothly without any tugging.

The Not so good

·         Nothing. I love this exactly the way it is.

If I have not sung enough praises already I will say this again I love this eye pencil. Do swatch it the next time you swing by a Chambor counter.

Makeup-Mantra rating:- 10/10

It’s Shower time - Body Shop Shower Products

Do you like taking long showers? The hot water gushing at your back while you day dream about the dream vacation, your cute guy or maybe just more makeup J . Well I love to take long relaxing showers and these Body shop shower products have made a permanent home on my very small bathroom shelves.

Body shop has been one of my favorite brands since a long time. Along with their yummy smelling body butters, shower gels are my favorite products from TBS. These are the few goodies that I absolutely love.

Let me start with my favorite of the lot


1- Strawberry Body Polish – The smell is amazing. Just take a whiff at the store and I promise you will love it! I love the gel like consistency not too runny just right. The granules are a little too less though for any real body polishing to happen. I use this mainly as a light scrub. This is the product I most reach for when I want to feel happy and refreshed .

The Body Shop Strawberry Body Polish

Price  ? INR 445
Makeup-Mantra rating - 9/10 ( 1 point knocked off for the less number of scrubby particles)

2- Strawberry Shower gel – This and the body polish smells exactly alike and are essentially the same thing except that this does not have the scrubby bits. Why did I buy this then ? Because  I love the smell and couldn’t resist another strawberry smelling gel!

A drink for your skin? Clinique Moisture Surge Moisturizer

Moisturizers....face cream what ever you choose to call it...it's the most primitive of all  skin care products ...long before we heard of toners, primers,bronzers every dressing table had at least one small tub of face cream. I remember using ponds cold cream as a little girl. Choice was simple. . uncomplicated as options were few. Now with a million (ok i am exaggerating a bit ) moisturizers /face creams whatever you like to call it beckoning us from every aisle of department stores or even your local supermarket the quest for the perfect moisturizer seems like a herculean challenge (well almost :P).And why not every girl  dreams of a flawless satiny smooth radiantly dewy complexion.

Clinique Moisture Surge 

I have been on a treasure hunt for my holy grail of moisturizer. A magic potion that will turn my skin incandescent. ( Lol I am such a drama queen).After going through tubs of inexpensive and expensive moisturizers one day I found myself in Clinique store of my neighborhood mall. My skin had taken a beating under the Goan sun . Result of a heavenly beach vacation equals uneven skin tone, dryness, dullness and occasional break outs...basically all the skin problems that gives us night mares. Anyway I set out to find  a potion that wud banish all my concerns...no mean task i understand. Clinique has an amazing range of skincare products... all suited to different skin types. My eyes fell upon this innocent looking tiny tub filled with a peach colored gel. The name on the tub----Moisture surge, extended thirst relief. I tried some on my hands immediately, the gel based emulsion sunk into my skin without any ...n I repeat any traces of oiliness. I bought a 50 ml jar without further ado. Since Clinique products are allergy tested and they are very good with returns I normally don't have to worry too much before buying a product. Not to mention every Clinique counter has a dermatologist and they first do an analysis of your skin and suggest products that will suit your skin type. And unlike other brands they don’t push you to purchase something...not too much anyway.

Clinique Moisture Surge

One step to glowing skin ~ Body Shop Cocoa Body Butter

I love beaches. If I had the luxury of taking multiple vacations in a year all of them would be at some or the other beach. During my last beach vacation to Goa (it was amazing fun) my skin took a beating from the harsh Goan sun. And yes I put loads of sunscreen and aloe vera gel and what not. My hand and legs got extremely dry and itchy.I tried all sorts of lotion in Goa but nothing seemed to help. When I finally got back home I put on my trusty Body shop Cocoa body butter. And voila within a couple of days my skin was even better than before. With regular application of this body butter ( 2-3 times a day) within a week my skin was positively glowing. It looked like I had put on a shimmery body lotion. Till now I never thought I could get such healthy glowing body skin. However I did slather on the body butter right after showering each day which I think is the most crucial time to moisturize. And did I mention the smell ? Its amazingly yummylicious. It smells of chocolate milk shake. I love it!

Body Shop Cocoa Body Butter

Price ? Rs 745. But I get it at 10% discount since I am a member. Also Body Shop runs promotions each month, so you could wait for that and get a better deal.


How to ? I moisturize after showering and before hitting the bed at night.

Best Suited for ? I think this body butter is best suited for dry skin types. Oily/normal skin        types might find it greasy.

Cherry Culture Haul, Swatches and Reviews

I first heard about the economical awesomeness of NYX a year back while browsing through various beauty blogs. I was too scared of online shopping back then and didn’t consider buying online from cherryculture.

Then one random day while grocery shopping in Total Mall I spotted NYX counter! I quickly scuttled across the floor and landed at the aforementioned counter with a huge grin on my face. Much to my dismay though they had a very limited collection and almost no testers! How can a makeup counter have no testers is beyond me! Also each single eyeshadow was priced at 400-500 I think. Now why would I pay so much for NYX when by paying a couple of hundred rupees I can get a MAC refill eyeshadow. Anyway I liked what I saw, testers or no testers especially the quilted pattern on the eyeshadows and blushes. 

I ordered from Cherryculture.com in October sometime last year. Instead of doing individual reviews I thought I will do one haul post and mini reviews for each product since I have had a few months to play with these goodies.

My Cherry Culture Haul :)

This is what my order looked like:

NYX Rouge Cream Blush - FINAL SALE Options: Tea Rose	$6.00
NYX Rouge Cream Blush - FINAL SALE Options: Golden	$6.00
NYX Powder Blush - FINAL SALE Options: Silky Rose	$5.95
NYX Single Eyeshadow - FINAL SALE Options: Midnight - Metallic/Shimmer	$3.99
NYX Luscious Lipgloss Palette - FINAL SALE Options: The Perfect Everyday Colors	$6.50
NYX Lip Lacquer Pot Options: Okie Dokie Artichokie	$6.00
NYX The Runway Collection 10 Color Eyeshadow Palette - FINAL SALE Options: Champagne & Caviar	$8.00

1-    NYX Rouge Cream blush In Tea Rose

(L -R) Cream Blush in Tea Rose and Golden

- This made me fall in love with cream blushes.It comes across as a lovely muted peach color on my skin. For everyday look I take a little bit on my fingers and just tap tap on my cheeks and blend upward. It gives a very natural looking glow to my skin. For night time this can be built up in intensity. I have oily skin  breakout prone skin but this hasn’t broken me out in any way. It does disappear though after 3-4 hours but then no blush lasts on me more than 4 hours. I just love this blush and would definitely recommend it.

Makeup-Mantra Rating:-9.5/10

Swatch of Cream Blush in Tea Rose

Best eyeshadow for office ~ MAC Groundwork Paintpot,Review and Swatch

Love at first sight. ..this is how I felt when I first swatched the Groundwork paintpot . Yes I am overtly dramatic about makeup and unabashedly so :P.

Groundwork is a beautiful taupe colour with very slight shimmer.On my skin it looks like light brown with shimmer.You definitely can’t make out the individual shimmer particles. Here is the swatch for you. My skin tone in MAC varies from NC 42-45.

The consistency of the product is to die for. Very very smooth and creamy and it gives you just enough time to blend before setting. I use groundwork paintpot both as an allover wash of gorgeous neutral color on my lids or as an eyeshadow base. I more often than not reach for this for a quick and polished neutral makeup for office. I use Paintpot all over my lids, followed by a bit of NYX jumbo eyepencil in yogurt for highlighting, Revlon Colorstay twist up eyeliner for upper and lower waterlines and Covergirl Lash Blast mascara. Quick and simple but veryyy pretty eye makeup.

Lakme Fantasy collection and permanent collection haul

  

I am sporting brand new nail polished toes( gorgeous metallic grey color) and a self satisfied smirk. A deadly combination of yummylicious feta cheese for dinner and a makeup haul. I absolutely love feta cheese and could have it for all my meals if it were any cheaper. I guess good things in life don’t come cheap ( sigh!!) especially makeup…though this post is on a somewhat cheapy haul..

So I went to pay my quarterly homage to the nearest Health and Glow. H&G and NewU seem to be the only beauty stores in India. How I long for the day when Sephora sets shop here. On my trip to US when I first laid my eyes on Sephora I just stood there and gaped at it like a fool with my mouth open  quite akin  to a fish. Anyway I digress, like I usually do.

With futher ado I present to you my Lakme Haul. 

Lakme Haul

      I got 2 things from the Fantasy collection. 

• Fantasy Shimmer Liner in Astral Green:- This color is just so beautiful. I can imagine this looking good on all skin tones. They had 4 more colors which were very pretty as well. Black,Pink,Clear with glitter and gold. This is priced at 275 INR. The color I got is a jade green with golden shimmer. I plan to use this with very simple eye makeup look with  Groundwork paintpot and just this liner for a pop of color. 

Fantasy Shimmer Liner in Astral Green

Beauty Elixir ~ Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil

More often than not my innocuous weekly casual stroll through a mall turns into a giant shopping fest. On one such malling trip I decided to check out Clarins. Now Clarins has been in India since many many years long before MAC, Chanel, YSL etc. The red and white counter always beckoned me but this is the first time I ventured in. Reasons for holding back, 

1- I feel scared of pushy sales assistants. 

2- Red attracts me like it attracts a bull in a bull fighting ring..albeit with completely opposite reactions. While the bull charges in to attack its opponent, I rush excitedly to acquire my newest red possession.So I knew if I do go check out the pretty displays I am bound to drop a few thousand (hard earned ??) rupees. Yes this is how I limit my shopping craziness :)

One fine afternoon I entered Shoppers stop to find Clarins right in front of me. I thought I would check out the Clarins line finally. I was looking for a brightening serum. The SA approached and was super friendly and not pushy (thank god!). She showed me some whitening serum. Now fair and lovely ads have turned me off from Whitening/lightening products for a lifetime. I really liked the texture of the various products I was trying out though. She showed me Lotus oil which is a facial oil for oily /combination skinned girls. She said this oil is great for getting rid of blemishes and getting radiant skin. I really loved the concept of applying oil on my skin ..seemed very natural. She also said Clarins makes its products from various plant extracts. I am instantly attracted to natural products like this. Needless to say I was sold. 

Anyway long story short I went home with this little bottle of face oil.

Here is the info on Lotus Oil from the Clarins Website :-

For Combination Skin prone to Oiliness- This face treatment oil purifies and rebalances the skin, tightens pores and refines skin texture. Contains essential oils of rosewood and geranium and lotus extract.

My First Clarins Product

Smoky Smudgy oomph in 2 mins ~ M.A.C 219 brush

I walked into M.A.C one early Wednesday evening and the store was empty.Yipee!! Means undivided attention from the MUAs. I was in luck as South India head of MAC was in the store that day. I asked her if she could show me how to do the smudgy  eye look. She took this really black kohl and smudged in to my lower and upper waterlines with short strokes. 

Then she picked up Sketch a deep purple eyeshadow and smudged it in with the 219 brush. Oh my GODDD. Amazinglyyyy smoky eyes in 2 minutes flat. I had to get the brush!! It was like a magic wand performing smoky miracles!

Here are the pics-

My MAC 219 Brush

My MAC 219 Brush

Price u ask ? INR 1400. My poor credit card let out a heart wrenching yelp.The baby needs some rest.

How to ? Pick up any darkish eyeshadow with the MAC 219 and run it over your eyeliner. It will give a soft smoky look.

Best suited for ? Girls who like to smoke out their liner. You can also use for this brush  specific placement of crease color.

The Good  

• Perfect for smoking out eyeliners. Works in a jiffy

• The pointed head is perfectly shaped and sized.

The not so good

•  The price of course. I don’t understand why MAC is so much more expensive in India than in US. 
• The bristles could be softer. 

All in all I love the brush. This along with my MAC 217 is my everyday eye makeup brush. I love the soft smudgy eyeliner/kajal look for office and the dark smoky look for going out. This brush works perfectly for both situations. I loooove it ! J

Makeup-Mantra Rating :-8.5/10