Ahh how could I not round up some of my favorite places to shop from online! Found so many good places this year. Books, Makeup, Accessories, Appliance....all needs were catered too. Listing out some of the sites that I like along with the categories I use them for. 

     A short while back I talked about the Lime Crime Velvetines that I got from the Black Friday sale they were having. There was a 30% site wide discount on their site and I grabbed the opportunity to get some pieces that I have been eyeing since the longest time. Their Carousel gloss was second in line after the Velvetines. As you must know by now that I'm a complete gloss lover. I embrace the drama and shine they provide. So how could I miss these ones?

     Can you imagine that the year is done with already?!? Time just flew by....what a mixed bag of feelings get left behind. Come Wednesday and we will start a whole new year filled with fresh possibilities! Talking about fresh possibilities - today I'm going to unbox my December Glamabox for you.....yea! As you can see they changed the design and did something holiday themed. This time there are 2 makeup products in it with one being full sized and some other surprising products. So let's get cracking!

     If you have been following international bloggers or vloggers then chances are that you have heard about this brand and especially Lime Crime Velvetines. You would have heard people raving about it especially the original or the 1st launch which was Red Velvet. Every matte lover would covet one and even the matte averse people wanted to know what the charm was about. The success of the 1st color made the brand launch a 2nd color in it which was Suedeberry. And now after the grand success of those comes the latest entrant to the family - Pink Velvet. 

     I'm so psyched by some of the pairings MAC Relentlessly Red has thrown up. Such beautiful colors and what range! You guys must check these out and I'm sure you too are going to love the variation and will have more than one color that calls out too you. Another great pairing board down!

http://www.pinterest.com/leospice19/mac-retromatte-relentlessly-red-pairings/

     I got a sample of Jane Clare Blueberry Revital Firming Mask sheet in my September Glamabox. After my not so pleasing experience with the HydroSpark HA Hydrating Serum I really wasn't expecting anything from this mask. But in the spirit of finally using all the products that I have been stacking and since it provided a quick review option I decided to give it a go (heck I'm all about transparency :D). So did it bowl me over? 

     My mom had been after me even before the official dates for the India International Mega Trade Fair were announced. She really wanted to go and take a peek as she loves browsing the aisles to find something new and exciting (so that is where I get that from). She was unable to go last year coz of health concerns and that made her even more determined to attend it this year.

     I got a sample of Avene Rich Compensating Cream in my October My Envy Box. I have never heard of this French brand before this and was glad to have gotten this chance to try something out from it. Like I mentioned before that though I have combination skin it has gone very dry with this turn in weather. This one could not have come at a better time otherwise I would have had to store it away coz there is no way I could have tried it in the summers. So let's see how it fared for me. 

     Got my 1st blog award a few days back from the lovely Pooja of Dia lifestyle. Thanks so so much for it girl. I did get this award from someone else before but I refused to accept it then coz she thought to "creatively" modify the award to feature her blog link in it. I found that very distasteful and disrespectful. So that was then...I was very put off by it coz that would have been the first time I would have gotten an award. Oh well....but it was very sweet and kind of Pooja to consider me for it :)

     A simple nail art this time but I love the pastel color combo. I have used a textured nail paint from Barry M called Atlantic Road of which I have put 2 coats on all my fingers and Maybelline Color Show in Coral Craze of which I have put on 1 coat on 2 fingers. I was expecting the texture of the Barry M show through the Maybelline coat and it didn't disappoint. Topped it off with dots of the same blue ( I don't know why I have gotten so fixated to the dots-on-the-side design). 

     I got a pack of this Pumpkin Ade Mask Sheet of L&P Cosmetics in my November edition of Glamabox. This type of product has gained a huge popularity in recent times especially coz of its ease of use. Especially these Asian brands have been a huge hit and the sheer variety that they bring in is staggering. I so love their attention to detail and the great packing designs they bring in. My skin has become quite dry in recent times due to the change in weather and I need all the TLC I can get. So let's see how this one fared. 

     The MUA Lip Bloom in Cheeky was part of my November Velvette bag. It is full sized and I'm quite surprised to see it in the bag. I haven't used products from this brand as such - just a nail caviar and another lip bloom that I bought from a friend sometime back. I have heard a lot of good things about this brand. I always end up making a huge cart on their site but in the end don't end up buying anything :P Just a mental process I go through where I get the satisfaction of adding a huge load of stuff into a cart and then not putting any strain on my pocket :D But one of these days I'm gonna cave I'm sure about it and then go all out and pick all the stuff that I have been drooling over for so long. But for now lets take a look at this one...

     Another board is up! This time it is none other than the gorgeous coral shade from MAC called Crosswires. I have noticed that the lipgloss effect is looking quite subtle from what they used to be initially and the thing is that I have to use a lip brush to put them on. I didn't want the deep colors to get on the applicator wand plus I'm running out on a lot of them. Imagine that! Actually finishing lipgloss tubes :D I can only remember that happening to me once before! Gorgeous shade ideas and finishing off products....does not get better than this ;)

http://www.pinterest.com/leospice19/mac-crosswires-pairings/

     A blogger card is your calling card of sorts....a virtual visiting card. It is meant to contain all the social links that you are present on along with some basic preferences/facts about you given your genre of blogging. This can be used to approach public relation managers along with some statistics of your blog to build a long term working relationship with them. I have used a very simple method to create one using an online photo editing software. Even someone who feels themselves to be technically challenged can use this tut to make a card. 

     Hello my sweets! Today I will introduce to a new product all the way from Hong Kong called the Jane Clare HydroSpark HA Hydrating Serum. I got 3 sachets of the stuff in my September Glamabox and finally managed to get myself to use something from all the beauty boxes I have been collecting. Before I get into my experience of it let me introduce the brand to you briefly. 

Source: beautifuly-indonesia.blogspot.com

     Heard of the expression "little bundle of joy"....well Glamabox is a little box of joy :) After my first box from them I have gotten hooked to them so bad (in a good way of course) that I need to get them every month. And it goes without saying that my December box is on its way too. Not only that my friend Dolon of Poutpretty is a convert and even her December one is on the way after she experienced the pleasures of the November one. So without much chitter chatter lets just unbox it. 

     Got a special treat for ya! Back with the Pairing Project series and this time it is none other than the gorgeous shade from Urban Decay called Catfight. There are some gorgeous color pairings that it has given. So which ones caught your fancy? 

http://www.pinterest.com/leospice19/urban-decay-catfight-pairings/

     Hey people! The year will soon come to an end. How time passes so quickly and what an amazing year this has been. Christmas is just around the corner and to celebrate it Elle 18 very generously sponsored a Christmas look contest. Isn't it exciting! Read on to find out more about it.

     Well a haul could be more tempting than a cinnabon especially if you end up finding that great outfit/jewelry piece or even that makeup item which goes on to become your favorite or maybe even a holy grail (HG). And unlike a cinnabon the satisfaction and pleasure of a haul will last you much longer ;) Let me tell you the story of my recent haul and the events that led to it....

    Fine he didn't but I bet that got your attention in a jiffy :D He had better things to do like predict the gloom and doom and ultimate destruction of the world (what is the life-as-we-know-it-end-date now?). And I, like a lazy bum, have been struggling to finally finish off a couple of products so that I can show them off with a relish and a feeling of personal achievement to you. Honestly that last mile where you are about to finish something off can drive anyone crazy....especially a hoarder like me who has a very short attention span and dying to move on to the next item in her stash. So without further ado let's look at

     Honestly I feel like I have come a long way from getting part of the stamp design on my nails to proper full fledged ones that I'm doing right now. I'm no pro at this nail art business but I'm glad that I am improving. I bought myself some stamping plates from MoYou after I saw Awungshi talking about them on her blog :) These are way different from the regular Konad ones that you can find. I love the intricacy in design that they have on offer. So many different themes to choose from. Using the addictive Maybelline Color Show nail paints in Denim Dash and Bold Gold along with MoYou professional plate no. 08 I created this design. 

     I got a mail from Ginger Claps last week inviting me the attend Black Dog Easy Evenings - Night Fever tribute to Bee Gees. Hearing (rather reading) the word Bee Gees bought in a flash of memory (Ah Ah Ah....). Some good music served old school style! How can anyone say no to that? I checked if my girls were in and then shot them an affirmative. This had all the makings of an interesting and potentially fun evening. 

     Presenting the October Glamabox! These people just catch me off guard each time. I mean the sheer amount of samples in the box is such a joy to encounter. There was a slight glitch in communication with respect to the packing and postage of the thing but in the end I was very happy with the care that they took in wrapping it up this time and I finally got this beautiful box blemish free :) Definitely a collectors item! I got mostly skin care in my box this time around. A little mix would have been nice. But hey what the heck, there are just so many things to like about it....

     I got an invite from Ginger Claps to attend Black Dog evenings event featuring Night Fever who were going to cover some Bee Gees songs. I happen to love the Bee Gees especially their famous song "Staying Alive" and was quite excited about the whole thing. The event was to be held outdoors and with the slight nip in the air I decided to don my light jacket from Eliza Donatein.  I will be doing a separate post for the event soon. For know here are a few pics of what I wore to the event along with the FOTD.

Source: beautyheaven.com.au

     Are you yet to shop online? Especially internationally? Do your hands go cold and your heart acquires a strange rhythm just at the mention of it? Have you heard stories about money being stolen or worse identity theft due to some shopping excursion somewhere by some random person? Let me reassure you that all of us have gone through this stage at one point or the other. It is a leap of faith you need to take and yes it does have its risks. But today I would like to pass on some how-to's and some basic ideas which might help you take this leap. After that that world is your oyster and there are just so many avenues that you can explore.

     Hello my sweets! I didn't do the September Favorites earlier as I had an odd 1 or 2 products that made it to my list that month. Felt weird to do a post for that kind of number. So here I am with the combined favorites of 2 months but unfortunately only 5 items made it to my list and one of them is a beauty subscription box :) A nice mix of products again this time around so without further ado lets do a quick recap as to why they made the list...

     Hey there people! I have been thinking of doing Outfit Of The Day posts since a long time and have been very hesitant about it. The reason being I didn't know how it would be received. But I'm giving it a go and would appreciate your feedback and/or criticism on it. Let me know if you would be interested in me doing more of these. A couple of days back I went out with my friends and I wore a couple of things from a recent haul. In case you missed that, do check out my Instagram to see all the interesting stuff I picked up from a special flea market held in Forum Mall, Kolkata.

Source: ginahobbs.zumba.com

     If you are a glitter nail paint lover like me you will know that removing it is the biggest pain and very time consuming.  Not to mention the major mess that glitter causes by sticking everywhere once its is loose from the nail.There was a point in time where I actually ended up avoiding them so that I don't have to go through the hassle in the end. But I love them too much and cant stay away. So my friends suggested the foil remover method for it. And since then I have not looked back and completely indulge in my obsession. Today I will show you a tut for this method. You can use it to remove nail appliques are well like the ones from Sally Hansen or Revlon which are made from real nail paints. 

     Nail stamping has been my must-accomplish-no-matter-how-much-I-suck task. Seeing so many people create such beautiful designs with something seemingly so simple was always quite fascinating. Thinking that it was child's play I got myself a Konad kit last year sometime. Very merrily I set out with the bits and pieces which in this case were the stamper, the image plate, the scraper and the paints included in the kit, and tried my hand at "stamping". But whats this? I managed to get part of the image on the stamper but somehow completely failed to transfer it on the nail?!?

     Phew! So Diwali's finally come and gone. All the celebrations and festivities have come to an end and life returns to a normal pace. After all the decorating, running around, cooking, cleaning, partying etc. it is time to finally relax (sort of) and catch your breath. And what is better than following up with nice pampering session which will de-stress you. Though the best alternative is to head to a spa for a complete head to toe package but if that is not a possibility then here are some beauty tips/ideas that you can use in the comfort of your home. 

     Back with another blogger that I admire for her skills in makeup, none other than Ankita from Corallista. This lady needs no introduction. She is very well known for the looks that she creates and in the process leaving others floundering to replicate it in hopes of looking half as good as it does on her. She is responsible for me getting many lipsticks that she spoke about for the very same reason. Beautiful girl and a sweet person I'm so happy that she agreed to do this feature. Thanks a bunch Ankita. Now lets see what she has to say - 

     When Maybelline asked me to create some nail art with the Color Show nail polishes I was left sweating. Like I have stated many times before I cant do nail art to save my life. I don't have the patience or creativity for it honestly. Sometimes you end up looking at a tut and think that "oh that is easy....completely doable. I just to do a little this and a little that and voila I will have a beautiful butterfly down".....A flower? No issues....will take a tooth pick and dot here and dot there and pull there and done! A regular Rembrandt.

     Do you sometimes feel that life is too short? There is a big beautiful world out there full of sights to see and things to experience but we have been given just one life. Seems sort of unfair don't you think. How can one see the world in its entirety in just one lifetime? Most of the time we are caught in the rat race and don't have either the means or the time to travel. There are just so many places I want to visit. This post will be mainly a visual one and I will try to find the best pics for each place that will be self explanatory as to why I want to see them. Here goes...

     Back with another review of the Maybellline Color Show launch and this time it is the color Wine & Dine. Everyone is in love with these nail paints and you will find the whole blogsphere raving about them. The price of Rs. 75/- makes them oh-so-delectable and they have a very good staying power. People are just so happy with the different finishes in it and some have even found great ones for stamping. If you still don't own one yet you are seriously missing out :)

     Today I present to you my review of the Colorbar Take Me As I Am Lipcolor in Tango Pink. I picked up a couple of lip products from Colorbar as I really loved the colors I found and liked the textures of the swatches. It has been quite sometime since I gave this brand a go and wanted to try something from the different ranges that they have on offer. So be on a look out for those in the near future. It has been a long time since I did an express review so today is your lucky day in that aspect...

     A few days back I shared the info on the blog's FB page that another player has entered the beauty box market in India. That makes a total of 3 players to my knowledge. My Envy Box is a Indo-France tie up and is by invitation only. You need to put yourself on the waiting list and they will get back to you if you get a box allotted to you. I paid Rs. 850/- for mine this month and they say that their boxes range from 700-850. I don't know how that works and since they have just started things will become clear as time progresses. 

     When Maybelline announced the launch of Color Show nail paints it created such a frenzy in the atmosphere. They were launching 40 shades in different textures priced at a mere Rs. 75/- From mattes to metallic and from shimmers to bold neon, this launch has something from everyone. It has gained such a huge popularity in such a short time that some shades are going out of stock on the counters. Imagine that! I don't think I have heard of something like that happening with another brand apart from MAC limited edition collection. 

     Ahhh probably the most fun and easiest of the lot. I'm a big foodie as must be obvious from my pics :P I really don't like to diet or restrain myself from trying different stuff. Life is too short to not enjoy the pleasures and variety that it has to offer. I find people who turn their noses on certain stuff so off putting. Instead of abstain one could show some restraint and sample a little from what's on offer to gain a new experience and some joy. A good meal with friends is sometimes the only therapy one might need. Ok I've gotten all preachy and what not. Lets just jump right in - 

     Finally got my Glamabox! I was so nervous about it especially since Durga puja was about to begin in Kolkata and services go for a toss then. I was scared of it getting lost. But thankfully a lot of my packages found their way a day or so before and I can breathe a sigh of relief :) Renu from My Beauty Junction told me about this and I was completely sold on it. And discovering that the theme for the month was "Alice in Wonderland" now that was just icing on the cake :)

     Elle held their launch of the Autumn-Winter collection on the 6th of October 2013 in their Forum Mall store here in Kolkata. The very sweet Debi of Flysongbird was the host for the event and was kind enough to call us for it. A informal gathering a bunch of us got to browse this collection over coffee, cupcakes and tete-a-tete. It was so nice to meet some of the other bloggers based here.