L'Oreal Infallible Mega Gloss

     L'Oreal launched the Cannes Collection 2016 back in April which has a couple of glosses and eyeliner pencils (they are amazing) in it as far as I know, part of their Infallible range. Out here there are 3 types of finishes available in the Mega Gloss range - Cream, Dazzle and Xtreme Resist which comprises of 15 shades in total. I was sent 2 of the glosses, one from the cream range (Who's the Boss) and the other from dazzle (Flash Dance). They are priced at Rs. 850/- for 8ml of product (they are available for Rs. 680/- at Nykaa right now). Also known as the No Compromise Gloss abroad they have 2 additional finishes available there - Matte and Neon bringing the shade total to 25! I love the fact that each type of finish has a different scent to it. Let's take a look at each shade/ finish:

My Top 5 Black Eyeliners

     I think this was the first ever makeup product that I used when I got into makeup in my teens. This used to be the only thing I would wear and slowly started realizing that there are other products out there which began to gradually enter my kit. People always ask me how do I manage to do my eyeliner well and my standard answer is practice! Well I have been using it since I was a teenager and have enough years of experience under my belt :P  I dont even know how many brands and tubes of products that I have gone through since I started using this. Well today I want to share with you my current top 5 black liners mostly which I have encountered in the last 2-3 years and now they make it to my favorites list. Most of them are easily available in India and the other 2 are international brands which are fairly easy to procure as well. So in no particular order lets take a quick look...

Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kit Kourt K

     The internet has literally been taken by storm since the Kylie Lip Kits were dropped. I cant tell you how many comments I have read on Instagram bemoaning the fact that they didn't get their hands on one or it was sold out before they could add it to the cart. There are articles upon article giving you tips on how to score yourself one of the kits during the next restock! Well truth be told I really wanted to see what the hype was about and when I spotted someone wearing this particular gorgeous color I knew that I had to have one for myself. And that is coming from someone who does not wear wine or berry shades at all! So I got my pointers down, followed the respective Instagram accounts to know about the next update and waited at the fated minute...Well a couple of quick refreshes later and some fast finger action landed me one of these kits in my chosen color :D I didn't have half a chance to even think about getting any of the reds as they were sold out in milliseconds :(

Tarte Cosmetics Haul

     It has been ages since I went nuts over makeup. I was honestly so over the fact and so tired of the mounds of unused stuff lying around that if I didn't see a new lipstick ever it would have been too soon! But hey a man (or in this case a woman) never strays far from his nature :P Tarte is one of those brands that you get to hear about...though not a lot especially on our Indian scene but whenever it is talked about it is mostly product raves. The only way we can get our hands on it is when we spot in an international Sephora and then you are already so overwhelmed by the all the brands present that you dont end up grabbing all that you wanted (true story - I kick myself for forgetting to get the Sephora favorites kit). So when Tarte finally started shipping to India I had to place an order! They were just so many temptations that I went overboard but dont regret a single bit of it :P So lets take a peek into what I got...

Faces Cosmetics Ultimate Pro Lip Creme Fuschia Sparkler

     Liquid lipsticks have been all over the place! They have literally invaded the beauty market with the matte ones being the most popular format for them. Though I have become a matte convert but at heart I'm still a gloss-liking-girl. But glosses have always been liquidy and thick thus causing them to feather, bleed, transfer...aka longevity has been the biggest issue when it comes to a glossy texture (among other things) hence a big reason why a lot of people dont like them. If only someone would come up with a long lasting easy peezy glossy liquid lipstick...sigh! Oh wait...has someone listened to my prayers already? Lets find out...

Sephora Dubai Haul

     I honestly had thought that I would not shop for cosmetics at all when I went to Dubai. Though the call of Sephora was strong I didn't plan on setting foot in there coz I knew I would end up buying things :P But like all inevitable things it had to happen for one reason or the other...and I went in...and I was pulled under... :D Rather I went there twice, once in the Mall of Emirates outlet and then at the Dubai Mall one. The latter was a tad bigger than the former but I passed by all the US brands and headed straight for the Sephora in-house ones coz I really wanted to see what they had...Right now I'm kicking myself for forgetting to check out the Sephora favorite kits :( But anyhoo let's take a quick look at what I got...

Halloween Makeup Look - Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

     Ola! Another year...another Halloween look. This year just whizzed by super fast! Cant believe its November already. Ah well...this year I wanted to do a full face look as opposed to the half masks I have been doing so far. Plus I wanted to break away from the pretty and do something a little more grungy. I actually created the whole look just around the lens I'm wearing :D They are called Innocent White and are from Desio Lens. Ooo I so love their lens...this is my second pair from them. They give you full coverage yet look so natural. Well this doesn't on me but on really fair skinned people this looks super gorgeous! To celebrate the duality of everyone's nature aka the grayness I played with the iconic "wolf in sheep's clothing" concept. Well I think I'm more of a wolf than a sheep any day ;) Hope you guys like the look -

Maybelline Rebel Bouquet REB05 Lipstick

     Maybelline recently launched their Rebel Bouquet collection (known as Rebel Bloom in the US) which is their Spring-Summer collection made up of "bold" pastel colors. The collection in India includes 6 lipsticks and 9 nail paints. They have included some face and eye makeup products too but these 2 categories are the main focus of it. I was sent over some products from the range to try out and I will be reviewing the REB05 lipstick for you here first. Btw they have launched some really interesting nail paints in this collection under the Color Show Go Graffiti umbrella for just Rs. 145/-.

Lakme Absolute Studio Sculpt Lipstick Plum Spell

     Lakme recently launched a whole new range of matte lippies called Lakme Absolute Studio Sculpt Lipstick which had the blogsphere buzzing. Few Kolkata bloggers got invited to an exclusive preview of their launch at the Anamika Khanna store before their grand debut at Lakme Fashion Week. I consider myself to be a matte lover in-transition as it is still difficult for me to embrace a true matte formula. Did you know that by design matte products are supposed to suck the moisture from your skin so that they can adhere to it properly and last longer? Well Lakme apparently came out with a new formula that gave you the benefits of a matte lipstick (deep long lasting color) sans its shortcomings (aka drying) and at the same time giving your lips a sculpted effect!

Maybelline The Colossal Liner

Maybelline The Colossal Liner in Black, Price - Rs. 425/-

     Maybelline has bought in a lot of new products in this past year, their recent launch being the Rebel Bouquet collection, and some of them have not only been very affordable but have just nailed it in the performance department. Recently they made some new additions to their very popular Colossal family. Today I will be reviewing the Colossal Liner in Black which is a felt tip liner pen. I really like this type of format as it makes the application process a whole lot easier and gives you more control on the kind of thickness that you want for your liner. 

Lakme Absolute Sculpt Studio Matte Lipsticks

     Lakme Fashion Week is here and with it Lakme is launching 15 new lip shades! It is all about the sculpted look and after the sculpted face and eyes have created such a storm it is time for sculpted lips to be the next talk of town. In collaboration with Anamika Khanna, who is the grand finale designer, a mini unveiling was organized for bloggers and the media at the designer's store in Kolkata. We got a chance to try out 7 shades from the collection and also see the work-in-progress models of Anamika's collection.

Maybelline Valentine's Day Kit - Rs. 999/-

Ho gayee hai mohabbat tumse

Aaein palkon mein khaab banke

Reh gaye sar-aankhon par

Bade hain ahsaan humpe

Dil ne kiya jab asar

Oh, Mil gayee hai amanat tumse

Ho gayee hai mohabbat tumse

- Aslam & Shibani

     This is one of my favorite songs back when I was sixteen! Brings back such wonderful memories - the hopes, the wishes, the butterflies-in-my-stomach, the anticipation, the doubts...the entire naivety and expectations that Valentine's would bring in. Waiting to confess to the one we liked, hearing other people confessing to you and who can forget getting chased by people one had no interest in and being ignored by the ones who had ours. Lol! What a beautiful roller coaster those days were. Though at that time a lot of them felt so embarrassing and end-of-the-world types but I would love to relive them once again any time. The best part would be getting those cards and gifts...remember how they would be hidden in your desk by your "secret admirer" (read the creepy weirdo in the other section :P ). Ah! beautiful memories...

     I don't know it happened?!? I was caught completely unaware...I cant believe I'm seeing such a day where I am willingly admitting that I...have...started...liking...matte lippies :O Ok that was a load and a half to get off :P But I blame it entirely on my friends and their ardent worship of matte colors. I was pulled in hook, line and sinker into an unknown world like a gullible guppy :D Lol! But on a serious note I have begun to appreciate matte colors and the advantages they offer. I still don't love em but do understand them (so to speak) a little better. Well the PR people over at Avon where kind enough to send in these pretties. Let's take a quick look shall we...

     My first encounter with the Vitamin E range of The Body Shop happened when I bought their makeup wipes. They are excellent to take with you during travel and cleans your face completely...well almost. They don't take out the mascara properly but other than that they are darn good. After a long day they are a blessing in disguise when you just don't have the enthu to go through the whole CTM routine. I got this BB cream as a gift when I attend its launch event and have being using it ever since when I'm looking for a light coverage and feel. Being a part of the Vitamin E range I had high expectations of it. Let's find out if it matched up to those...

     Hey there! Today I bring to you a beauty box all the way from Israel. This little thing has been lying in my stash and drafts folder since forever! Finally managing to sort some of the back load :) I got to know about this subscription from Renu. They do not follow the regular pattern of beauty boxes ie they don't offer a monthly sub option nor can you fill in a questionnaire to customize it as per your skin, hair, etc. They have some pre-made boxes/bags and they show 11-12 different items on the site from which they send you 6. You can ask them to include/exclude a particular from your bag though and even swap it with something from another one. I think I paid around Rs. 1400/- for it including shipping. Let's take a quick look at the stuff I got :)

     Body Shop India invited a couple of Kolkata bloggers to attend the Bengal Fashion Week '14. They had tied up with the famous designer Jatin Kochhar and created a pop inspired look using their recently launched color crush range of makeup. Bright colored eyes paired with a sensual red pout went perfectly with the monochromatic clothes of the designer. One of the shades that ruled the ramp was a lipstick called Red Siren. We got a goody bag from the brand in the end and Dolon wished that it contained the same shade....whaddya know...it did :D Well lets break it down and see if it lives up to its name...

     How do you like your mascara to be? Should it give you volume or length or both? Should it curl the lashes or define them? Water proof or resistant? For me a mascara should do all the above and on top of it should give me some amount of drama. My eyes should get a defined look and not look natural. For me the qualities as per preference go as - volume, length and definition. Yves Rocher is a French brand and is known for its botanical beauty products. They grow their own organic ingredients which are then used to craft products which are skin friendly and quite effective. I had heard about their bath products earlier but didnt know that they had a makeup line as well. So lets see how good (or bad) this mascara was...

     Fresh out the oven! A new pairing board is up and this time with additional pins. With the adding of the Lime Crime Carousel Glosses to my collection the number of pins per board is going to be more from now on (well till the time I run out of something and I am so looking forward to that!). I will be adding the extra pins to the existing boards so you can go back to your favorite board and check that out. For now enjoy these parings. Not a lot of difference from one to the next but they do have some lovely combinations. Which ones are your favorite?

http://www.pinterest.com/leospice19/sleek-true-color-coral-reef/

     At first glance you captured my eye....at the second I knew I had lost my heart :) That is how I felt when I first spotted these on IVC. I quite love Bourjois products and this lovely mirror like piece was captivating to say the least. The glossiness and pigmentation had me hooked. But at that time these were not available here yet and I frantically searched online for them but with very little luck. Thankfully eventually they found their way here....and the love affair was finally to be realized. But in the end I picked only one shade. No it was not for a lack of pretty shades but for the fact that whatever I swatched (read coral tones) I had a very similar color in stock. I just wanted to own one finally and decided upon the Famous Fuchsia shade. Let's break it down to see how it fared for me.