Review and Swatches: Arissa lip palette in shade Heartbreaker

I got this palette off a blog sale at http://www.indianbeautycentral.com  by Pooja and she was sweet enough to send this to me even before I transferred the money! That is called trusting a fellow blogger and kudos girl.. :)

This costs around 6$ and I saw this in sale at Cherry culture for 5$ and boy, this is totally worth it!!!

The palette is super sleek and offers a peek at the colors of the palette. I saw the other shades online, and I felt this is better suited for my darker skin, all the other colors seems too pastel and light to suit me.

I have a serious complaint against "forin" maal, the one area where our Desi companies win hands down- marking expiry dates on products! Yet to see a forin brand which marked this clearly. Come on! who remembers when you brought what!

L to R - Beige, Creamy nude, Pinkish brown, blueish brownish Pink, offwhite, deep red [as guessed, the names are mine :)]

All the ingredients are listed which is a good thing. The palette comes with a real good mirror. The lip colors are all very creamy, nicely pigmented and lasts a decent time of 3-4 hours. Only complaint there is its a bit drying on my lips so dry-lipped gals, dont even think of using this without a lip balm.

L to R -  blueish brownish Pink,Beige, Creamy nude, Pinkish brown, offwhite, deep red

The only usable colors for me are pinkish and red shades. The 2 shades creamy nude and offshite would be good if I ever plan to dress up as a clown or scare someone.. The other use I can think of for these 2 colors is probably as an eraser or as a tone-down-shade for some stronger shades.

My suggestion is unless you are super fair and likes to experiment better stay of these palettes. The quality is good, but the colors are mostly unsuitable for our darker complexions. 

Review and Swatches: Coloressence Premia lipstick in shade Rose Petal

Coloressence is a new player in the cosmetic market and I say, the more the better.. :) They have lipsticks in 2 ranges: Premia [a slightly higher priced lippie for 250rs] and moisture lip color for 125INR. I got 2 lippies from the lower end range and 1 from this range.. 

I thought Rose Petal would be a safe shade - it has rose in its shade name so it cant be that bad na? :)I have never seen this range in stores, so it was a blind guess and shade-wise it was a decent selection.

Their packaging is very good as compared- a shiny stylish silver color outer cover and a crystal [plastic though!] studded bullet casing. 

The big plus for me is the no animal ingredients note.. :) A relief for veggies like me! 

The casing is decently sturdy, I only wish they had printed the expiry info on the casing so I could have discarded the outer case.

The lipstick color is a beautiful reddish pink with slight blue tones. The color spreads very smoothly and one a single swipe gives enough color.

I like the color, the scent is a nice one, reminds me of some milk sweets I have once eaten, weird a bit isnt it.. :)

This is a bright fuschia-ish pink that definitely brightens up my face, stays for around 2-3 hours and doesnt dry out.  I have no idea whether their claims of repairing or plumping up the lips works or not, never seen the effect so cant say. I can only say it doesnt taste weird, it doesnt have any negative effects on my lips!

For me the minus point is not the color or the type..its the shimmer..the silver shimmer! :(

I am not a fan of shimmer on lipsticks. If I need to jazz up my lips, I use a gloss, which I feel works better :)

However its a very personal choice, so if you like shimmery smooth lippies, you can give this a go! :)

Review and Swatches: Streetwear Color Rich lipstick in shade Pink Carnation

I have a good collection of Streetwear's Color Rich lippies though I have reviewed only 2 of them:

• Color Rich - Creamy Brown 
• Color Rich - Cherry Slush 

This in my opinion is the best cheap/budget lippie available in market today for 2 reasons:
1. Decent quality+Color selection+ decent staying power
2. Availability - its available even in stores here!!! Thats telling something :)

I got this from a small store in Mysore that had the best collecytion of fancy earrings I have ever seen.. :) I didnt get any cos I already have too many and my husband absolutely refused to buy me anything more until I have worn everything atleast once.:( Some one should tell guys that is not how gals work!

Confession: the lipstick bullet was not originally like this. I accidentally dropped, broke it, before fixing it, broke it again and then tried patching it back. The color is a nice corally-pinkish shade with hints of brown and is a nice nudeish shade on lips.

I am amazed by the color range and quality of new Color Rich lippies, they have really improved and for the price, its a best buy! This swipes creamy and gives a good level of color on 2-3 swipes.

So if you like the shade, dont think twice.And dont tell me you dont like this pretty shade, it suits all skin shades and you can wear sheer or thick! So dont hesitate, check and buy.. :)

Review and Swatches: Colorstreet lipstick in shade 143

I have already reviewed this super cheap, decently pigmented, decently staying, available only online lipstick before in shade 130. Now I am going to review a shade thats captured my interest very nicely.

Review of shade no 130

Since I have already said about the lipstick features, I am not repeating but just talking about the shade.

This is a beautiful deep red shade, a shade I have been searching for some time [I know I can try Revlon but hey, I didnt want to waste the bucks if I looked like a **** wearing it na?]

The color is a woman's color- very confident, very sure and veryyyyyy feminine.. :) I have never worn a true red lip color before cos I was wary of either looking like a vamp or a vampire.. But after I tried this, oh boy! I am hooked. For Life.

It made me look chic, sophisticated [not in an adult aunty way] sensual but not vulgar and downplayed all the bad things in my face.. :)

No wonder Hot Red lipsticks are a classic favorite shade ever! :) I am buying such shades, on the lookout for beautiful reds from nicer brands..

Review and Swatches: Coloressence Aqua Sindoor in Red

I have an allergic reaction to store-bought sindoors and I usually mess up my fore-head when I try the powder. So when I saw this in a store, I grabbed it. This is now my favorite sindoor.. :)

This easily available online and in stores and costs around 90 INR. The color is a bright reddish vermillion color and applies easily, almost like a lip cream.It has some goldish shimmer in it and looks very pretty.

It doesnt fade easily like normal sindoor and doesnt have any allergic reactions. This is going to be a stable part of my kitty.

Overall this is a must-have product for Indian-hindu bride!

Review and Swatches: Eyetex Dazzler lipsticks in shades 603 and 615

I am a bit fastidious in my skincare/makeup choices, doesnt mean am a snob or lavish buyer but then I spend a fair amount of money and effort to get products that doesnt harm me. I usually dont buy cheap lippies as I dont trust the chemical formula, I only test them if I want to try out shades like my recent Colorstreet purchases.

I dont use any of these regularly but occasionally if the color pleases me. When I saw these in sale at a local store, I was intrigued. Eyetex was no strange brand, we all use their bindis and kumkums and kajal sticks. But lipsticks - I didnt know. Out of a curiosity I decided to test this and as they have no testers it was a trial to select shades based on the color chart.

They have transparent sturdy cases which is good as it makes shade selections slightly easier. I chose safe shades 603 which was a darker matte-ish looking mauve shade and 615 which was a bright bubble-gummy pink shade with slight shimmers.

The pigmentation is pretty decent and stays for 1-2hours without food in between. I tried it for one day and found no allergic effect. It didnt have any strong smell, my only complaint was a slightly weird taste.

The mauvish color is much better than the shimmery bright pink color and I like both colors actually. I dont think I will be buying more of these but if I see any pretty shades I might buy to try it.

For 60 Rs I think its a cheap and safe option to try out colors, a good replacement for Elle18 lipsticks. The cons I can think of are low staying power, weird taste and unavailability in major stores or websites.

Review and Swatches: Faces Creme Matte Gloss in shade Fiery Red

There are some products which after you use, you wish they were easily available, more shades were there and were a bit cheaper.. :) This is one such product for me. I love FACES lippies in general and trust their formulas but their glosses I havent tried much.

I got this at a random whim via Fashionandyou.com as these were on a sale and I didnt have many deep red shades. Also I'd read some reviews online which intrigued me but the words Creme/Matte/gloss didnt seem to gel well! I think a better name would be creme matte lip cream.. :)

The product is priced at Rs 399, may be available for lesser online and is available in around 10 shades.

Also the name is quite misleading. When I heard Fiery Red, I'd an image of a chilli-red color with an eye-popping effect. This is also a deep color but more magenta-ish I should think. Its a red with lotsa blue tones.

I used to have a paint palette once that had a similar color called Carmine, a deep bluish maroonish red. The problem with this color is that on applying it gives a more pinkish effect on lips which was not exactly what I was looking for.

Nevertheless this is a beautiful deep shade and really brightens my face. But this definitely is not an everyday shade as its a bit tooo bright.. :)

This is a beautiful shade, a great product. Stays for around 4+ hours easily and even when fading leaves a nice tinge on lips. A bit drying but not as bad as NYX lip creams, this doesnt settle easily on lines..I would suggest applying this with a light hand using a lip brush as lot of color comes  off when you use an applicator.

I would definitely try more shades and will definitely try some nice colors espl if there is a sale. But I have not seen any peachy/corally/pinkish shades which I would love to have. Wish they would add this soon.

Review and Swatches: Colorbar velvet matte in shade Thrilling Pink

After blogging about Creme cup, I decided - Why stop at one, let me review both the beauties I received from http://www.stylecraze.com/ ..

I have been wanting to buy Thrilling pink for a long long time [ah well, i know its barely months since the new shades came out, but that is looooooong for a makeup addict!] and have been mooning about the lack of availability of these beauties in my local town[blah!] of Coimbatore [ A city so not for makeup lovers!!!! :( :( :( ]..



So when Stylecraze and Pooja started this discussion about products they would like to have in SC, I mentioned my yearning for this and Chetana [ love you dear!!! :) :) ] very sweetly and nicely added this and informed me..



And you can guess what happened - I immediately placed an order..and got these beauties within 2-3 days. This was the cool-toned pink shade I was searching for, a perfect color for summer days.. :)


Its a very pretty girly matte girly shade, no shimmer, no frost and I adore & love it.. It instantly brightens up my face and gives a youthful look..okay may be I am exaggerating but it does reduce the age [the grand old age of 28!!! ] from my face unlike some dark brown shades I could think of...

Overall, I guess this is a must have shade for all pretty girls and especially for that summer day outing.. :)

 Its a nice try at 225 Rs, though with Colorbar lipstick prices sky rocketing, no guarantee when they go expensive for pocket!!!

Review and Swatches: Colorbar velvet matte lipstick in shade Creme Cup 78V

Colorbar Velvet matte is such a crowd favorite lippie that it doesnt need any additions from me.I was hooked on to this range through a dear friend I met via IMBB, who intro-ed me to the beautiful shades - Irish rose and Mocha to me.

Price is around 225 but the retail price is upped to 250! I can vaguely remember a time when Colorbar priced its products in 100s range.. :( Inflation, inflation!

After that I got a couple more from my favorite websites: http://www.stylecraze.com/ and http://www.snapdeal.com/ . This one I got with another pretty shade - Thrilling Pink from Stylecraze. I was looking for Shy Cherry shade but it was not available, so I decided to take a risk and ordered this.

Why I ordered this might sound very stupid.. :) I like the name-yes that is it... Some how it reminded me of thick rich luxurious coffee with creme..

The lipstick stands true by its name. Its a very neutral nudish shade, that is very flattering for most skin colors except the very dark ones. It is a sort of peachy-browny-natural shade that is just right for a formal day wear, especially when you want to play safe..

This is a favorite shade of mine. The only other shade which I can think of in the Brown family, that suits my uneven-wheatish-oily-skin combination without washing me out or making me look like a oldie, is Streetwear's Creamy Brown shade which I reviewed here

My verdict? This is a nicely pigmented decent-stay [2-3hrs] creamy nude peachy brown shade for every day wear that fits well in your pocket and is easily available - what more can i say? This is a must buy! :)

Review and Swatches: Colorstreet lipstick in shade 130

There is a saying about finding a diamond in the rough.. That was my feeling when I got this wonderful lippies for a price for just 50INR! Unbelievable right?

I got these from a beloved website of mine: Urbantouch.com. I seriously admire the way they refresh their product catalogue so often and add such interesting products.

These lippies are packaged in a sad murky brown plastic casing, but hey! who cares so long as the stuff inside is good eh? And I guess I am happy that for 50Rs, they decided to cut costs on the packaging instead of the quality.

There is not much information in terms of maker, ingredients etc, except that they say that no animal fat is added. Great! :)

Notwithstanding the ugly golden plastic casing, the lippie bullet looks good and thankfully doesnt smell of harsh chemicals etc that cheap lippies usually remind me of!

Shade 130 is a beautiful pinkish brown shade that is darker in bullet but goes very smooth on application. It swatches beautifully and doesnt dry out my lips. The color is a nice finish, it doesnt leave any bad stains and in terms of color staying effect is comparable to high end lippies.

I love these lippies, not for daily wear since I cannot trust them on my lips that much, but for occasional wear and for trying out new shades and finally, I love buying lippies and these dont burn my pocket while filling my heart with content.. :)

I suggest all you college gals out there, try these- fits your budget and lets you experiment.. :)

Review and Swatches: Vedic Line Plus BB Cream

Here is another cream that I bought on experiment basis after yielding to my shopaholic tendencies...Vedic Line Plus is a a "plus" series [honestly, why the plus part?] from Vedic Line. I love most of the VL products I have, I dont care for their gold moisture serum which I reviewed here

I got this almost as soon as they were launched online. It costs around around 250, should be less online. The packaging is very pretty, a girly pink+yellow combination that immediately catches eye.

I found their explanation written here ridiculous! What is this supposed to mean? Vedic Line + is from word Ayurveda? Anyways, the packaging is overall very attractive.

I love the fact that they do not test on animals nor do have any animal derivates.

Excuse the poor quality of pics.. I love that this is paraben free, mineral oil free and dermatologically tested.As to their other claims..well read on..

The tube is a rather less attractive shade of pink, wish it was a brighter pink. However it is very compact and light to carry around.

I think VL people have a problem understanding the product concept. I mean, they use the words Serum very loosely! How is this a serum? I do not know.

The product is a lightly thick tinted moisturising lotion that spreads quite easily and absorbs in around 40-60 secs. My skin is normal to oily and I live in a tropical region, so I guess this should get absorbed faster for dry skin or cooler climate situations.

It has a very pleasant fragrance and gave a nice natural glow to my skin. I am considering replacing my existing TM [Oriflame's Peach me perfect] with this one as this is paraben free and absorbs easier.

Looking at the pictures of my wrist before and after the BB cream application, I think its effects are pretty clear. This is a medium coverage tinted moisturiser in my opinion. I do not have any previous experience with BB creams, as I didnt and still do not believe in being "gori gori" [no its not sour grapes.. :)] as I feel it might be bad for skin, but from what I have read of BB creams, it is supposed to do a lot more than what this does. I did not find any serious change in my skin tone or any other effects that might be attributed to a BB cream effect.

On the other hand, this is a very good TM for daily use. This is going to be my HG TM for my daily makeup routine. I guess VL people just have to get their ideas right as their product quality is excellent, just the perspective is wrong! :)