50 follower giveaway - [CLOSED]

This is my first giveaway and is not much but I promise you this is just the start and there are much bigger things to come... Ok..

                                            L to R: Rimmel Stay Matte Powder (Transparent),
                                                       Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick (Asia),
                                                       Rimmel Nail Polish (white orchid),
                                                       Rimmel Nail Polish (Urban Princess),
                                                       Rimmel Scandal Eyes Mascara,
                                                       Rimmel Clear Complexion concealer

Rules:

- This giveaway is open internationally

- You must be aged 16 or over, or have consent from your parent/guardian

- You must be a follower of my blog through GFC and leave a comment below with your email address. This would get you one entry.

- You could get 5 additional entries if you blog about my giveaway. Leave a comment below with your email address and provide the link to the post you have blogged.

- The winner will be announced after the giveaway closes on the 8th July 2012

Yay... Once again thanks to all my old followers and welcome to my new followers... All the Best!!

The Body Shop Elderflower Unperfumed Eye Gel

Somehow most eye creams sting on my eyes…. there's some ingredient that my eyes are sensitive to probably. Boots cucumber eye gel dint have that ingredient I believe… So I was happy using it. I just wanted to try some other eye gel. If something went wrong I could always go back to my Boots gel. Hence comes into picture – ‘The Body Shop Elder flower unperfumed eye gel’.

 

Actually the SA has suggested this product looking at my dark circles. Although this clearly indicates as cooling gel and does not claim anything potent. This eye gel did not reduce my dark circles which I ofcourse don’t expect of any product not just this; as mine are hereditary and partially professional hazard.  This product did what I expected it to do. Its not a miraculous product if you are wondering…

Speaking of the packaging it is a small jar which might not be very hygenic... I know most people dont like that dipping in fingers... but I managed. The pot contains 15 ml and lasts quite long...

Being a gel it is quick absorbed. This definitely cools off and locks the skin in the area of application. So in mornings I apply it under my concealer although I have to say something creamy is more suggested for easy blending. In the evenings I sometimes used to apply vitamin E oil and then follow with this gel to prevent the oiliness from creeping down my cheeks.

This is a relaxing eye gel. The cooling effect of the eye gel is felt only the first few times… my eyes watered the first time and I kind of felt the release of heat from them. I think eyes get used to it after sometime so you don’t realize it specifically. Also I put a thick layer of this gel as a mask on my eyes when they are tired and it really helps. If not for anything this eye gel is definitely useful as an eye mask. All in all this gel perfectly serves my purpose.


Has anyone else used this gel? please suggest a good eye cream that could help dark circles...

Review: Revlon Color Stay Mineral Finishing Powder

Revlon Color Stay Mineral Finishing Powder is supposedly the dupe for MAC Mineralize Skinfinish. I don’t own a MAC MSF right now coz I am not able to fit it in my make-up routine... But when an inexpensive dupe came up for 5 pounds I wanted to try....

                                    Revlon ColorStay Mineral Finishing Powder in Suntan Matte

Below is the swatch...

Ok now lets see the multiple uses of this product and my experiences...

Setting Powder:

When I first used this product, I used it directly over my foundation replacing the setting powder. I got the most subtle finish that no powder could get me till now. This was a good match to my skin tone with slightly bronzed look.. this really gave that natural glow. I thought I have found THE finishing powder. But in an hour I realized I totally missed the oil-control part of it. So I still had to use a translucent powder. Right now searching for a setting powder that restores the glow of revlon powder and has oil control properties. This one is a great finishing powder for NC40 to NC44 skin tones.

Bronzer:

I am a fan of all things matte - foundation, eyeshadow, lipstick and ofcourse bronzer. I could use the revlon powder as a light bronzer.... It is not exactly matte finish but it is not really shimmery. As I said, it gives you that mild sheen. The best part is it doesn’t make you look orange unless you do multiple layers but the other way of looking at it is just enough color to be called a bronzer. The swatch above was of almost 5 to 6 layers of the powder.

OK I told you the good... the bad part is: it is too hard to get out of the container. I had to check the brush to confirm the product is being picked up..  After the first layer I almost could not get any product onto my brush. Remembering Sam (Samantha Chapman of Real Techniques) suggestion, I had to scrape the surface from time to time. I hear its a common problem with baked products. It is not easy and definitely not hygienic to do this and this might be the only reason I will not re-purchase it :(...

Has anyone else used this powder? Do you know of any good finishing powders for dark skin?

Haul: June 2012

Hi lovelies... I have been missing in action on my blog last few days with no sepcific reason... But now I am back... and with some news.... first I would be doing a small giveaway on reaching 50 followers...yay... second... its haul time again...

First up is the most interesting product in my haul...

                                                  Boots Botanics Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm

The Boots BOTANICS Cleansing Balm was all over the net and was compared to eve lom cleanser but then it went out of stock for a long time.. now it is back in new packaging as a hot cloth cleanser... Lets see if this is as impressive as the old one...

After multiple failed concealers I re-visited MAC with a hope that Pro-longwear would do good to me.

There was 3 for 2 on Boots No. 7 products so I picked up what I wanted to try from this range..

                                          From Left to Right: No7 Total Renewal Micro-dermabrasion Exfoliator
                                          No7 Shine Free Primer
                                          No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Water

                                     From Left to Right: No7 Stay Perfect Nail Polsih in LUCKY LILAC 50,
                                                          No7 Stay Perfect Nail Polsih in Oyster 120,
                                                          No7 Nourishing Nail & Cuticle Care

These purchases got me two No. 7 vouchers of 5 pound each... No clue what to spend them on coz I kind of already bought all that I wanted to try.. Do you people have any suggestions? please do drop in the comments... 

She said beauty box June 2012

I love the whole concept of beauty boxes. If I could I would subscribe to all of them but alas in real world its all constrained by budget. So I had to cancel my glossybox to try out She said beauty. This is my first she said beauty box and here it goes...

Firstly I am really glad to see a box in the first week of the month.. I received it on June 1. I know its silly that a box in last week of a month is less pleasing than one in the first week... but that is what it is for me. Secondly I love the packaging of she said beauty.. the lid with magnet feels more sophisticated than the usual box.

Coming to the products inside... it looks jam-packed..

Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream
"This Green Tea BB cream by Ginvera is a unique blend of antioxidants that help fight against free radical damage and help prevent fine lines."
I am a lot into BB creams these days... have already written my review about No 7 BB cream for oily skin. I am currently trying maybelline, garnier. So I'm game to try this one and find out how it works.

Let's Go Lashes Temptress Strip Lashes"Let's Go Strip Lashes come in 4 fabulous ranges - Flirt, Tease, Temptress and Heartbreaker. There are 10 sensational styles in each range, so over 40 different lashes to suit every personality and every mood!"

I said in my previous posts that I am not big on lashes... I am more of mascara layering girl. Still I was really happy with these lashes due to shape... I love these which open outwards. For me the whole idea of false lashes is to add drama and these are called 'temptress'... they are just the right amount of drama for me.

Yardley London Royal Diamond Eau De Toilette"To celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, Yardley London presents Royal Diamond - A sophisticated, sparkling fragrance opening with a touch of pear and bergamot surrounded by a subtle note of honey, with a delicate, romantic floral bouquet enhanced with a soft woody and vanilla base."

I loved this smell instantly.... I am not good at describing fragrances but its a gentle fragrance. In some sense probably its a little elderly scent... but the point is its good. So maybe I wont wear it to a pub but definitely there are more formal occasions on which this suits fine... Given that the full size product retails for £9.99 for 50ml I already bought it! :)

Mischa Barton Whipped Shea Body Butter in Lemon Zest
"Say goodbye to dry! Mischa's super-moisturising whipped body butter softens and disappears, revealing soft supple skin."

I really love shea butter based creams coz its lighter and more manageable than the cocoa butter ones. But I have too many body creams as of now and I dint want to even touch this one coz I really plan to give it away to someone who would use it.

St Tropez Self Tan Perfect Legs
This lightweight 360 aerosol spray gives instant colour and an airbrushed finish whilst building a natural long-lasting self tan, for naturally tanned perfect legs. Contains St. Tropez aromaguard technology. Created by St. Tropez, the tanning experts you trust to get it right.

I am a warm toned and a day in sun could get me 2 shades darker and I get a self-tan product... ha ha ha... Still this product is quite useful to me at the moment coz my legs are lighter than my hands and my hands are lighter than my face.. I have no clue what was the creator (if there is one) thinking when he made me. Anyways whenever I wear skirts/shorts I prefer to flaunt my natural skin as against stockings. This tanning spray should make it convinient matching my legs to my face complexion. Haven't got a chance to try it yet.

Elemis Tranquil Touch Indulgent Bath Elixir

Lately I am in love with these bathing products in beauty boxes. I know I cant use a 200 mls of product which is why I dont really buy most bath products. Also most bath products end up smelling over powering for me but finally I found something thats smells divine! its not mild but not too strong... perfectly relaxing!
Overall this box gets a 'good' from me. There are no inappropriate or non-usable products... Lashes and perfume get thumbs up!

Given that I am testing the boxes to decide which one to stick my loyalties to... I am being a little too critical. Lets see how it goes for next ones... What are your experiences with beauty boxes? which one do you think is better?

Can't live without: Neutrogena Visibly Clear face wash

Last Thursday I started packing for the weekend trip and like always I started with an idea of packing light… Do I always pack light? No sweetheart… the idea of packing light has always been there… :D

Anyways this time I took it seriously…  I started packing toiletries. In my holiday shopping (I wrote a post in April), I bought the travel size simple face wash. Last time I took that Simple gel instead of my usual Neutrogena visibly clear facewash with me.

No doubts Simple face wash is mild, feels refreshing after wash but then there was something missing… I dint feel disinfected, if that makes any sense to you guys… the feeling you get after an astringent toner, tea tree oil…. Its like re-assuring yourself ‘your-skin-is- safe’…

So I had to buy Neutrogena visibly clear facewash and have a wash that night to feel skin care is ‘complete’… I was so glad that my Holy Grail cleanser is not a Dermalogica or Liz Earle  otherwise I wouldn’t have known which place to run to in that village I was staying… while I got that Neutrogena from ASDA…

As seen in the swatch above, it is a thick white water-based cream and applies like a cream…  The face wash as indicated is 2-in-1… its easy to use.. you could use it in shower as a face wash or as a mask once a week… It feels a tiny tingling /cooling sensation when applied and after the wash skin feels clean and fresh…  OK I confess it does feel like it strips off the oils but I actually like it… after enjoying that bare-skin feeling for few minutes I follow with a toner (usually a tea tree one) and my Simple moisturizer for best results… In the first few months of using this facewash I could see clear difference in my skin… indeed visibly clear… less spots, less blemishes.. I know it sounds unconvincing that a facewash that stays on the face for about 30 seconds can make blemishes disappear more than some creams that stay overnight. But it works..… it’s the post-usage impact of the wash that helps the blemishes I think…

L to R: Neutrogena visibly clear gentle exfoliating wash, Neutrogena visibly clear 2-in-1 wash and mask

I have used the Neutrogena visibly clear facewash for over 2 years now. Although this brand is available in many countries, this facewash is not available in India or Singapore or US…. Since 2010 I have carried it to all places I have been to; my UK friends brought it for me whenever (and wherever) they visited me

Lately I have been using the Neutrogena visibly clear gentle exfoliating face wash as a wash and the 2-in-1 as a mask…. If you are someone who doesn’t like the ultra cooling effect and the stripping of oils of the visibly clear 2-in-1 then try the exfoliating version… its really mild exfoliation… the particles are soft and not dense at all in the wash… and the overall affect feels just as good as the mask..

Hence I hereby present my ‘cant-live-without’ cleanser – Neutrogena visibly clear facewash. Perfect for the much awaited summer ahead…  (honestly I am tired of these rains… Is this summer as taught to me in geography class???!!!)