Review and Swatches: Lotus Herbals Pure Colors lipstick in shade Orchid Kiss

Lotus herbals is one cosmetic brand in our Indian market that I absolutely respect for 2 reasons:
1. Range and quality of products: They have a wide variety of cosmetic products and shades and quality if also awesome for most products and prices are always affordable.
2. They dont test on animals! :)

I have 3-4 shades of their lipsticks and lip glosses and I like all of them except for this shade that I am about to review.

Lotus Pure Colors lipstick retails for around 240+ INR and the quality and the pigmentation of the lipstick is very good for the price. The packaging is sturdy and attractive and the variety of colors they offer are quite decent.

The shade Orchid Kiss is the only shade of the set that I really dont care for. Again, I have nothing against the quality of the product per se, I dislike the shade and the texture of this particular one, so please treat this as a very personal review from here.

This shade, Orchid Kiss, is kind of misleading from its name:- One imagines a purple or the normal orchid-pink colored beauty but this is a frosted brownish-magenta-ish-pinkish-shade which IMHO is not a flattering color for most skin shades.

The shimmer in this lipstick is kinda evident and I am not a fan of shimmer. The shimmer becomes less obvious on heavier application.

The one good thing with this lipstick is its highly buildable and the color looks better - a more pinkish shade, with thicker application.. Check the swatches below, the left one is with a single swipe and the one on Right is after 3-4 swipes.

On the whole, this is not a shade I would ever recommend to anyone, there are better and more flattering shades in the same range, but if you are looking for a frosted pink shade specifically this might be something you want.

As a range, I love Lotus Pure Color lipsticks and next on my list is their Pink Blush shade :)

Review and Swatches: Chambor Eye Shadow Trio in shade Bronze 16

I am not really a pro with eyeshadows but things change! Recently I was at a function where I met a friend who had transformed from Ugly Betty in high school to a highly fashionable executive[aint these ugly-duckling-to-pretty-swan very interesting] and she was telling me how she is thankful to the entire makeup industry for helping non-natural-artificial beauties like her. In fact, listening to her made me appreciate what the Beauty industry is doing- helping women like her and me who are not that naturally endowed with beauty to look good and gain confidence...

Anyways she gave me some quick tips on looking good for office everyday and told me to highlight eyes as the easiest way to look awake, bright and chic. So now I am trying out with various shades.

I got this one from Saravana Stores and I liked the set of colors. What Chambor says about the product:

Makeup is the Quickest and the Easiest way to play with your looks & what’s better than playing around with the eye shadows to get the most glorious looking eyes.

Let your eyes do the talking this season, with Chambor's set of 3 ultra smooth eye shadow colours. True to its name, the 'Trio Eye shadow' comes in 3 shades that beautifully play off each other to enhance your eyes.

Each shade set has been created keeping in mind a specific color combination which lets you experiment with various looks.

The casing is a totally unattractive black plastic one with the Chambor logo over it and no information on details like expiry date, ingredients etc! And about Chambor's claim of being heard of in Paris, Geneva and NY, I sincerely doubt and consider it as an outdated marketing trick.

I wish a brand like Chambor which is definitely at the higher end of the product price range, would really look into the packaging part. Attractive packaging is now a buzz word, look at the latest hit brands like Tarte or Sleek or Benefit.

The eyeshadows are however beautifully designed with the pretty Chambor rose logo, a nice mirror to pout at and a pretty useless brush applicator that is strictly emergency use only. The colors are very subdued and perfect for a day or office wear. From Left, the colors are a muted bronze shade, whitish silver shade and a delicate rosey-brown shade.

Shade 1: Bronzey Brown: Okay, the name is my own idea, Chambor has given no id for any of the pretty shades, this is a shimmery brown bronze shade that is a beautiful lid color. It can be applied alone for a day wear or party wear. My favorite of the lot.

Shade 2 Silver Streak: This is a brow highlighter in my opinion and can be used in the eye corners to give a bright eye effect but since the shimmer is a bit obvious, must be applied with a light hand for office wear.

Shade 3 Sandy pink:  I havent figured on how to properly use this shade without looking like I have an eye problem,this shade is too light for lid color and is mildly good as a brow color. I rather use it as a shimmer blusher and forehead highlighter.

Overall? For the price [INR 475] I guess this is a nice deal, giving 3 nice shades to try on. I would definitely like to try some other shades of the same range especially a black-smokey looking one..