Review: La Roche Posay Thermal Spring Water

I have not reviewed many skin products because honestly other than sunscreen and face packs, I believe I can find most of my skin care items in the Vegetable market.

However, there are few products that impress me and one of them is La Roche Posay’s Thermal Spring Water.

Courtesy: Chemistdirect.co.uk

I bought this from Medplusbeauty.com [I think, it was a long time back] along with Cicaplast – another popular product.

I’d heard a lot about Thermal water especially the Avene and Vichy ones.

Vichy I didn’t consider much because being a L’Oreal company, its on my blacklist for animal testing.  

And not being very familiar with this brand, which was not in stores then in India, I ordered this one, not knowing La Roche Posay was also under L’Oreal umbrella.

Courtesy: Amazon.com

Anyways this was one useful product for me in the hot summers of South India.

I used to use this as soon as I came in from sun exposure.

This soothes skin and it can be applied without hurting your makeup- just make sure you spray at arm length.

I also used this as a makeup setting spray and it worked wonderfully.

Once I learnt about the animal testing background of the brand, I discarded the product, which is why I don’t have pics of my own to show.

An alternative that I now use is the Avene one which I got as a gift; Avene is also reputed to do animal testing, so I won’t be buying it once it’s over.

However since I am doing the product review, this is an excellent product if you discount the cruelty story behind it.

Since I loved the use I got out of both products I was on the hunt for a good alternative.

Finally after much research [thank god for an IT job and a laptop that goes with it J], I have now a recipe that I use – check below.

DIY Facial Spray for soothing skin [sun damages]

1.       Boil water once. Cool it and filter it with a clean linen filter. Boil it again. After this, the quantity should be reduced by half.

2.       Once it’s stopped boiling but still hot, add all or a set of these ingredients: Rose Petals, small pieces of ginger, 1-2 leaves of mint, holy basil leaves, 1-2 slices of orange peels

3.       Keep it overnight.

4.       Next day, filter to get the water and warm it.

5.       Add any [not all] of the items mentioned for added effect: 2 drops of tea tree oil, 1-2 drops of sandalwood oil, 1-2 drops of carrot seed oil.

6.       Once it cools off, keep it in a fine spray bottle in refrigerator. 

Disclaimer: Images used in this post are not mine. I have used these pics for information purposes only. 

Review: Vega Large Powder Brush

I am not going to review this brush from Vega...
The pictures I hope are self explanatory...
The pics were taken after using it for 1st time and washing using a mild hand soap..
On washing the water turned greyish..
After using this brush on my face, I noticed some breakouts around 1hours later..
And finally, I got this brush in Oct 2012...

I thought of using this brush as a scrubber during pedicure, but it seems to give out a greyish color! So now, its in the waste basket.

If after seeing this pics, you want to still buy this brush, I would advise you - think! 225Rs is not a small sum!  Think of how many masala dosas or ice creams you can have! Or donate the money!At least you get a nice feeling inside!

Review: Diana of London Surprise lipstick in shade Wild Strawberry 73

Now that Spring has come, its time to bring out all those pinks and corals and bright  fuschias that was hidden under plum-berry shades during winter. And I am happy I got this beautiful color from Diana of London before I left India.

DoL scores really well on the bullet packaging, though I do wish they would add some info on expiry date.
But the beautiful lilac lipstick case is really use-in-mall-restroom worthy. Since I have already reviewed this range of lipstick here , I wont be repeating more on the product itself.

This is a bright fuschia-ish pinkish shade that has blue undertones which goes really well for fair complexions. The lipstick applies matte very beautifully and gives a great amount of color on the 1st swipe itself.

With this sort of strong bright color, I would suggest using a brush or fingers unless you want full-on bright color. Also make sure, you apply this very carefully as this color tends to leave a good amount of tint on the skin that doesnt come off easily.

The color lasted me easily for 4-5 hours without any feathering but it did dry up my lips so, I would suggest using a lip balm or gloss. When it fades, it leaves a strong tint, so it is almost like a lip tint. A good way to apply this lipstick from my experience is to convert it to a lip tint and apply a clear or pinkish gloss.

To convert this to liptint, apply one layer on lipstick, leave it for 1-2 mins while pressing lips together for even application and then blot off the excess color. Repeat this till you get the color you want and the color sits on your lips without any cream from the lipstick on top. For me it takes just 2 layer of color. Then apply
a lip gloss to complete the look. I use this lipstick as lip-blush combo as this lipstick applies great as a cream blusher [look at the swatch below of the color blended]

This is a great color that goes well with almost all complexions. Since this is a bright bold lip color, keep face flawless, keep cheek colors to minimum [dont go for coral blushes unless used bare minimum for a flushed look] and go for a neutral look on eyes.

Review and Swatches: Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Ginger Rose 131 Creme

It is such a long time since I have posted anything that I feel quite rusty and wondering why & if I should post something.  But then I would check reviews online and think, hmmm...may be someone someday might find my opinions useful too.

As an Indian lady staying abroad checking online for product reviews, I am curiously disadvantaged in that the products I want to buy are mostly reviewed by fair skinned beauties whose underlying skin tone is quite different from my warmer tones. After doing a makeup artist course I became more than ever aware of it. So when I check a lipstick touted as a great Nude or great Pink lipstick, I find that its sooo not often the case on my lips…

Especially in Youtube, when I see product reviews or demos its mostly for fair-skinned ladies…

And that leads me to the review of this lipstick by Revlon..

This is a popular brownish nude lippy from Revlon’s Super Lustrous line which has got to be one of the oldest and most popular lipstick range in the world. I am not reviewing this range as a whole as I have not tried as many products as I would wish. My review is more in terms of the color than in terms of lipstick quality as a whole.

This is a brownish or peachy nude – depends on how it comes across on your lips.

If I look at the color in the tube, it’s a peachy nude but on my pigmented lips, it comes off more like a washed out brownish nude…This is a pretty color when I swatch on my hands but on my lips, it accentuates all the flaws, so if I want to wear this I should aim for flawless makeup…

Also this color is hard to carry off in full color – as in if I apply just the layers of lipstick without any blotting, it kinda looks yucky…

Keep in mind that this is what I feel works for  warm-tones; I am sure that cooler skin tones can carry off this lippy without much effort.

The perfect way I feel to wear this kind of a nude[if you got stuck with one that is, try avoiding as much as possible] is to either wear it with a gloss or use the good old ‘bloat-and-apply’ method…

Here are my suggestions on how to apply this color:

1.       Pair with a peachy pink or peachy golden gloss – like Revlon’s Peach Petal or Foiled

2.       Blot the color multiple times till it sorta looks like a natural lip tint as opposed to a layer of color sitting on your lips. If you have highly pigmented lips, neutralize the base color by applying a base coat of concealer. 
3.   As a blusher, this would be a good one as it is not too creamy and would suit most skin tones. In fact, if this doesn't work for you as a lip color, use it as a blush. 

For Face Makeup: With this type of lip color, a matte look would be best. If you have fine lines, go for a semi matte [not too powdered look]. If you're going for a dewy makeup, try this lip color with gloss. 

In general, I am not a fan of nude colors for warm skin tones…

I agree that it looks beautiful on fair ladies of the West as it doesn’t affect the overall skin tone look but for warmer skin tones like ours, a nude shade most of the time pulls it down making skin look dull and uneven… In fact, after being in Canada for a year plus, I am learning that most of the eye/face/lip makeup that Fair Ladies of the West loves, don't work well with ladies back home. A good reason why we shouldn't blindly look to West for inspiration on makeup!

If like me you’re trying to find suitable office wearing colors, I would suggest turning to Rachel from ‘Friends’ – early seasons for inspiration; she wears some good dark but not OTT or Vampy colors that can easily give you a polished look.Overall, this is not a re-purchase one for me but in terms of color I can see how it might go well with ladies who like a nude shade.

Revlon’s SL line is awesome as ever and remains a fav of mine.

Review: Claire's Makeup Kit 5 Eye Shadows +2 Blushes

This its going to be a short crisp review on a value-for-money kit. I saw this kit as I went to check some earrings in Claire's. They had some eye shadow palettes and almost all of them were glittery or shimmery.


I got this on a fancy as this was quite the most compact kit there and it had some safe colors like gold and copper. The price is $9.75 and there was some offer so got it pretty cheap.

One good thing about Claire's is that they print expiry dates very clearly on the boxes making it easier to use. Kudos for that! And as with any brand I buy this is also not tested on animals :-)

I didn't expect much as this brand appeared to be a teenage brand but I was pleasantly surprised by the pigmentation. I've noticed that shimmery shades have much better pigmentation than matte shades especially from drugstore priced brands.

The swatches are in clockwise direction from the bottom left hand corner. The 1st shade is a gorgeous antique gold which I can easily wear. The second shade is a yellow gold one and can be used as a highlight shade unless I'm going on an Egyptian themed party where this will be useful for an all over lid color. The 3rd shade is the center color and the ones I like the best-a beautiful rose gold shade.

The4th one is a bronzy shade of gold and is a good allover lid color if you're going for a party and you've 5 mins to dress. The last shade and the darkest of the lot is a copper brown shade which can be used along with the 4th shade for a shimmery brown smoky eye.

The blushes are however not great. The pink one is especially flaky and doesn't give any color except a whitish one on blending. The peach shade is more useful for that light flushed look on cheeks.

Overall I would say that this is a value for money palette to have handy for summer and night outs.

Review: Kara Makeup Removal with Seaweed and Lavender face wipes

There are so many desi things I miss here, that I especially regret in not taking enough quantities with me when I left India - and this is one of them. I dont have the product with me to take pics so I am borrowing from some shopping sites.

From Medplusbeauty.com, this is what they claim:
Cleanses your skin off all the make-up residues. These wipes are made of Birla Cellulose, a fiber that is 100% natural and biodegradable and are completely safe on skin.

Pure Lavender extracts help you cleanse face and neck and leave a relaxing effect. Seaweed extract revitalizes and nourishes the skin making it soft and supple. Dermatologically safe. For that just out-from-shower look!

Courtesy: Medplusbeauty.com

Its a bit pricier than their other wipes, but this so totally does the job. I recently discovered this when I had to use this for a trip here; I was in a bad shape and did some extreme stupidities with my makeup including applying a heavy layer of bright orange blusher making me look like a clown. 

I had packed this randomly in my kit,so I just pulled off one tissue and swiped it over my face- and voila! 80% of my makeup was off! As I had applied some waterproof makeup on my face, I was surprised to see how cleaner my face looked in just a single swipe; with one more swipe my face was left very very clean. 

I just had to use a wet tissue to just remove any leftover pigments and the best part was- my face was left looking glowing and soft! 

I read some reviews of this wipe, where it came off as too oily, but I didnt experience any issues with oiliness, cos my skin is normal in summer and normal to dry in winter; may be oily skinned ladies should stay away from this one. But this is sooooo good, makes your skin look so bright and glowing after cleaning that I feel you should atleast try this once. 

I'd tried some other makeup remover and while the cleansing part is mostly similar, none left me with this beautiful clean skin after the process. So, yes, I recommend this one and I hope to get some more of this in the parcel from home.. :)


 

Review-Diana Of London Surprise Lipstick In Shade Rose Petal 28

This is a quickie post since I'm posting using my mobile and its not that comfy... The reason for hasty post is that I just found that this lippie is not yet reviewed and was about to be thrown out as it expiry date is crossed..



This lipstick is from DoL's Semi Matte Surprise range-though why they call it 'Surprise' lipstick I've no idea. One thing I love about DoL's lipsticks is that they have such cute lovely packaging-this one has a nice lilac color casing that catches the eye.



Comparing the lipstick's claims against what it delivers:
1.Non fading, Non Allergenic- Can't really say if its non allergenic since my skin is fairly rough n tough but the color is non fading-superbly pigmented rich creamy lipstick. There is a chance that part of the reason might be the bold color-its a gorgeous reddish maroonish brownish color that defines lips and is a great classic lip shade that works for all skin shades.



2.Protects lips from blazing sun, dry heat and freezing winds-surprisingly I got a chance to test all 3 conditions as I tried this first in hot summer in India and now in the harsh winter here- and this is nonsense in my view. It doesn't have any SPF so can't claim about protecting from Summer or any sun damage; it's not moisturizing and dries my lips (and I've fairly normal skin) so can't claim it protects from cold or dryness.



3. Soft creamy texture, Semi matte, best shades, keeps lips soft and supple- Except for the last claim,i.e. keeping lips soft, everything else is true. This is a creamy matte effect color that stays easily for around 4 hours on just a single layer application and leaves a nice stain on lips when it fades. It is not moisturizing so make sure to either use a lip balm or a good gloss.



This is a favorite lip color and if I were in India I would have tried other shades from this range. Though drying, this lip color applies beautifully and doesn't require much touchups, so it's very good for office wear.




The color is a bit mature shade but layering it can give a very sophisticated look without giving an oldy moldy look. This is an anytime wear shade and is one of the safe shade lipsticks that you can reach out if in doubt.

Review: Sleek Makeup Limited Edition Caribbean Collection Blush in shade Aruba

I got this beauty from a friend in UK and the first thing that came to my mind when I swatched it is - Darn, why dont we have brands like this in India and why dont brands like these ship economically to India!!!
I love this blush- that is the summary.. :)

Now for the details - Sleek is a UK based brand and this blush was part of their LE, so it is not available now in their website. A good alternative seems to be their Blush By Three shade in Pumpkin - I dont have this, so cant really commit.

This color is a bold in-your-face orange and I just absolutely love it! :) I have not seen such a bold shade for blushers anywhere else and if my friend hadnt gifted me this, I am not sure I would have got as this looks a bit intimidating to try.

The blush is superbly pigmented[the above pic shows color from a single swipe] and blends beautifully. As with any bold color, I apply this by layering and blending and layering again till I get the color effect I hope for. I admit that this is not a shade for everyone- this shade suits the darker skin toned ladies [wooohooooo! :)] The fairer your skin tone, the sheerer your application must be.

This is a blush strictly for Summer/Day/Beach/Outdoor wear. It is matte, so I wouldnt suggest this for a party-kinda application.Overall, I love this blush and I am planning to get some more from Sleek at the next chance.

Review: Gokul Sandiva Face Powder

I find it easier to review a product by matching what the maker claims as opposed what is actually the result - if a product doesnt claim to be long-stay, why rate it bad for staying power! So, I will make my review short and sweet [not very!] for this product.

Gokul is a South Indian brand that is famous for its talc powder; I remember my aunt using it on her face religiously after a bath. I have fond memories of this brand, so when I was in a retail store in Chennai and found this product, I was much intrigued and didnt hesitate to buy this. For around 100 bucks, it was not a costly experiment and I felt that any foray into makeup world by Indian brands should be encouraged....

This is what the product claims [from medplusbeauty website] :

Gokul Sandiva Sandalwood face powder is a natural make up made from pure sandalwood, saffron, rose extracts, sandal oil and natural minerals. This therapeutic blend works all day to give you a clear, glowing complexion. The natural fragrance of sandalwood enhances your mood and keeps you feeling fresh all day.

The words like Sandal, natural makeup, saffron etc got me real excited and I kinda hoped for a mineral-makeup effect from this powder. So much for my great expectations. Let me start by comparing what they say against what I got:

1.   natural make up made from pure sandalwood, saffron, rose extracts, sandal oil and natural minerals - Makeup? Not at all... Makeup is something that is something to be a layer on your face, giving an effect... so sandal-colored-talc-powder :- not really makeup at all. Again for a product that claims to be completely natural, I would have expected a complete listing of ingredients - not so!

2.  clear, glowing complexion - Again, no! How do they expect a talc powder to provide clear glowing complexion??? On layering the product, I got a whitish cast -  that is not glowing complexion! 

3. Sandal fragrance - yeah, got that right!

The packaging is nice, with a gold color lid, but the product fall out is very high. The texture of this powder is very rough, it actually felt harsh on my skin. It doesnt apply well, it is not a makeup product- its not even a good talc! The only use I derive from this product, is as a setting powder if I dont find anything else to do the job!  

Review: Diana of London Pure Addiction lipstick in shade Pink Dawn

When I was a teenager, the only makeup brand[s?] available or about which there was some information was Lakme, Revlon was high-end and if you are looking for other options, some shady brands in cheap plastic packaging...Now my cousins debate over which brand product is more good in terms of lip color payoff and I must say, I am lovin it.. !!! :)

Enough of nostalgia; about Diana of London - I have couple of lip products from them- 2 lipsticks and a lipcream. I have no like for the lip cream but I do like their lipsticks very much. DoL is a brand which is a bit confusing especially if you check their website - I mean, whats with Diana and London, when the company Maxcare is supposedly based in Dubai or Pakistan [I dont know exactly where!]. Also, I find it kinda bugging that no contact details are given anywhere in the website- hmmmm.... One good thing I got from website is that they apparently dont test on animals - yaaayy!!!

About the product- Let me start by saying this : DoL folks, KUDOS for the awesome packaging! Seriously! I absolutely like the fact that they got the idea that we ladies would like some color other than black or brown or even silver. The carton [sorry I dont have it here] is designed in the same color theme as the lipstick casing - a red/silver combo that is beautiful.I have only 2 complaints regarding the packaging -
1. No expiry date     2. No shade details

Regarding the product, this is what the company says -
" Its ultra soft texture provides feeling of lightness & absolute comfort. 
  Luminous & excellent color patoff. 
  Velvety finish with vitamin E & anti-ageing properties.
  For a perfect finish, outline your lips with a lip liner selecting a shade similar to the lipstick shade chosen, and fill in with Pure Addiction lipstick."
 And yes, the misprint "patoff" is also displayed proudly in the company website as well... :) Some one tell them about the invention called Spell Check!

Its easier to measure a lipstick by checking if it delivers on the promise- after all, you cannot rate a lippie bad for color-stay when the product doesnt claim to be long stay! So, starting from the claims:
1. Ultra soft, light, comfy - True, this lippie glides on very softly, is nicely creamy and gives a good coat of color in 1 swipe

 2. Luminous - No idea what the marketing team meant here! If they were trying to say this gives a glossy finish, I do agree- you dont need a gloss unless your lips dry out fast. But if they are saying, it is shimmery - no it is not! 

3. Excellent Color Payoff  - Agree, it gives a nice coating in 1 swipe, though the color does come off a tad bit sheer, but it is buildable 

4. Velvety finish with Vit E & Anti ageing properties - Agree on the 1st, Vit E- not sure and Anti-ageing? Really? How do I even check if my lipstick does anti ageing? And if it claims to be Anti ageing, shouldn't it have an SPF? Anyways, I dont bother about it since, I always use a lip balm.

So I guess this lippy delivers most of what it promises and I would really love to check other shades. This shade is a pinkish red with blue tones that is a tad bit bright bubble-gummy pink for my lips... Pink lippies with blue tones suits fairer skin tones [skin tones with a rose undertone] better than for me with my yellow-toned skin.  I have recently started reading some books on Makeup and I may be sprouting some gyan soon.. :)

And regarding the other factors: No bad scent, non irritant, short color-stay [1-2hours], doesnt settle on fine lines, feathers a bit and is more suited for day wear than night.

So verdict - If you like creamy lip colors and dont mind re-touching lipstick, then go for this range. They have some nice variety of colors, so enjoy! :)
You can get them usually on some nice discount at Medplus.

Review: Colorbar Eye shadow in shade Flirt

Once again I start with a disclaimer: I am not a fan of eye shadows...

Yes, I know -its absolutely stupid considering eyes are one feature that everyone can so beautifully play up... There is no excuse except that I am freakishly health conscious about anything to do with eyes...

I prefer to keep them clean, I try to minimize use of any eye product other than kajals..

I regularly throw out even unused mascaras if they so much as cross the 6month line..

So it is pretty unusual for me to use eye shadows except when the occasion demands it... I prefer to stick to safe colors like brown-gold-silver-khaki even when I am buying an eyeshadow. So I surprised myself when I got this brilliant blue shade from Colorbar , a brand which I like very much. When I got it, the price was around 250, now its 300, so buy from this range asap, cos Colorbar raises its prices very very fast!! :(

Check out the shades available at Medplusbeauty, they update their stocks pretty well.

Back to the product details: I like CB's silver packaging - a change from usual black. And it is packaged pretty well since you can easily see the color of eyeshadow. It has a good mirror if you bother enough to flip open the bottom lid. The only down part is the completely useless brushes they provide- is it that costly to add a nice brush with your product???? 

The color is a brilliant sea blue with beautiful shimmer.. words dont do justice to this, I hope the swatches will help. The pigmentation is just awesome - the swatches are from 1 swipe of the product, so be light with your application. The texture is soft and applies beautifully; no complaints there. No fall-outs and it doesn't need a primer- it stays easily for 3-4 hours [beyond which I usually never wear an eye product continuously, so dont know if it stays longer]  I only wish I'd gotten more colors of this range before I left India.

For eye shadow this pigmented, its easy to apply with your fingers by tapping slightly starting with your upper lash line area and going up. Do not take it beyond crease line, keep maximum pigmentation for the outer corners to give that cat eyed effect.

The only problem I face with this color is - it doesnt suit me! There, plain as I say :( which is really sad since it is very beautiful. This or most blue shades are for very light or dark skin tones - doesn't suit medium fair to fair skin tones. Blue has a way of showing up your skin color - on very fair skin, it gives that ethereal glow or summer glow based on the depth of application; on darker skin shades, it gives that exotic look which is what is intended with the shade; on medium skin tones, it is just blahhhhh... :( It just looks so out of place; I would be very happy if anyone can tell me a way to make this look good.

It doesnt give a wintery or summery effect...it just looks weird... For medium-fair to fair skin tones, go for dark olive greens and purple shades... unless you just wanna play with colors, in which case any colors would be great.. :) :)

Would I buy again? Not this shade, but from this range -definitely!! :)

Review: Incolor Glame Shine Lip color in shade 20 Brick

Ok, 1st of all a disclaimer: I am not a gloss lover, I use it only and only for some party/events or on a night out when the costume demands a bit of shine.. Else I am a lipstick girl.. so, if you're a gloss lover, you may be more enthusiastic about this product than I am... Still, here are my thoughts on this..

Starting with why I bought: When I first starting trying out with glosses, I got a standard pinkish-roseish shimmer shade from Maybelline with brown undertones [way back in 2005] and it was such a flop! I felt that it made me look ridiculous...The color and effect looked more suited for a barbie-girl kinda cutie, than for anyone with a more mature features.. Since then, I have changed my tune and there are glosses especially from Lotus, which I like enough. This one from Incolor, is a reddish gloss [may look a bit orangeish in pics] - a shade I long wanted to try.

About Incolor: Website [no idea], Brand details [???] available online with select retailers like Snapdeal, Flipkart, Fashionandyou at times.. . Difficult to believe that a company with no background info exists nowadays!

About the product: Glame [?] Shine lip color comes in a sturdy nicely packaged casing. I like the soft wand as well. The product doesn't have any discernible scent. Expiry date is given [got to look carefully] which is  a huge PLUS! Almost all details are there, except for any details regarding the company..wonder why they wish to hide so much!

The lip gloss is sheer with reddish tint and red-blue shimmers. The shimmers are not harsh and looks good on lips. In fact, the gloss doesn't give anything on lips more than a subtle highlight which I totally like. I prefer my lipstick to show the color.. :)

The gloss applies decently enough, is not sticky [which I doubly like after having bought a sticky one thats worse than a glue!!! -review soon] and has an average staying power of 1-2hours without food[ after all, which one does!!!] Overall, I like it well enough.. It does what it says in its name - glam[e?] shine and should suit most skin tones. In fact if you have lighter lips, this could be your coral lip gloss for the summer, assuming you can buy it from store or online...

PS: Not adding any "Suggested Makeup" as this is not a commonly or even easily available product