A Bronzed face and Berry lips

I recently had the pleasure of  having my makeup done by my best friend and MUA Shrutilaya a.k.a Shlaya - visit her blog here. Okay, no one really calls her that but any of you who read her blog, you'll know who I mean.

This whole situation was for some work that she needed to get done, so as I have absolutely nothing to do these days, I was like OK PROFESSIONAL MAKE UP = SELFIES.

Clearly, I have my priorities down.

But I ended up being absolutely obsessed with the look she did on me. It was this clean bronzed face, with some strobing (basically a highlighting technique that is very much in vogue, you end up looking like someone lit you up from within. So glowy and pretty) and a nice berry lip.
I think this is something that I'm going to be wearing a lot, perfect for both day and nighttime makeup, depending on what kind of lip you go for.

She used a bunch of pro products on me, which I am probably never going to own, but I thought, for the benefit of myself and my readers - I asked her for breakdown with products that you can definitely find in and around your area/online.

Foundation - L'Oreal True Match - I've used this personally and they have the most amazing range of shades, so the chances of getting almost an exact match are pretty high. I love the finish. Definitely try it in stores before you buy it online, though.

Highlight - To highlight under the eyes, cheekbones and forehead, use the Maybelline Dream lumi Touch Concealer a.k.a the broke girl's Touch Eclat.
Use the Revlon Highlighting Palette in Bronze Glow as your bronzer/highlight mix on your cheeks and for any contouring that you need.

Also, use setting powder only under the eyes and around the nose. We don't want that dewy glow to go away! 

Eyes - Use the darkest shade in your Revlon Highlighting Palette on your eyelid, and the lightest shade on your inner corner. Finish with some generous coats of mascara to really open your eyes up, on the top and bottom lashes. (I personally love L'Oreal Paris Volume Million Mascara)

Lips - There are two suggestions that she gave me that'd work with this look, MAC Rebel and the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush. But you can literally wear any berry lipstick/balm/stain that you think would work!

I know have additions to my 'Things to buy when I'm not broke' list.
Sigh.

Have a great weekend!

Monthly Grocery List

Every month, I see myself repurchasing these bare necessities. Call them my holy grail products if you will (the less glamorous kind), but I thought I'd share a few of my favorite monthly beauty buys that always end in my shopping basket.

The Loreal Paris Total Repair 5 is my go to hair serum. I've tried LOADS over the years - even your fancy hairdresser-only ones. And this works with my hair the best. It doesn't weigh it down and I can feel my hair getting softer because of this.

I've used Nivea Creme for as long as I can remember. My eczema requires me to really slather on the moisture sometimes and this REALLY stays for hours. Although the product is a bit thick, once you work with it, it does wonders for dry skin.

The Nivea Antiperspirant Pearl and Beauty has me sniffing myself all day (#nojudgement). It isn't drying or flakey or gooey, like some roll ons are. And boy, does it last. I've tried a lot of roll ons (I stopped using spray ons a while ago) and this one takes the cake. One of these can last me up to three months. The only drawback with this is that it is a glass bottle after all, so I get a teeny bit scared travelling with it.

I have done a rave review of the Loreal Paris Skin Perfect 20+. It has made my skin SO even toned, I hardly get zits anymore (touchwoodtouchwoodtouchwood) and any patchiness has totally vanished. I've been using this constantly for the past two months now and I will keep using it till I need the 30+. Which marks the beginning of my slow decline into old age.

The Garnier Purifying Neem Active Facewash is every oily faced girl's dream. It gently takes off that layer of oil buildup and doesn't dry your skin out. And continued use takes off any scarring/pimple marks that you would've acquired because YOU POPPED THE DAMN PIMPLE WHEN YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO LEAVE IT ALONE.

So, these are my go-to, absolutely cannot live with out products that I will petition to the company for if they discontinue it.

I'm currently nursing a very bad throat so I look like death. Hence, I refuse to put my face on the blog till I don't look like I've been through the mill.
Thank you for understanding.

Happy (to the people in Chennai) gloomy weather day!
- A

The Budget Wine Lipstick

When I was running around Bangalore trying to find something to wear for a certain gig because a certain member of the band in question forgot to bring my bag of clothes that he was supposed to. He then patiently drove me to the mall to find something to wear. Needless to say I was laughed out of town by the remaining band members who don't seem to grasp the concept that good (black) clothes are a necessity. But they all intently listen when I tell them what to wear for shoots.
Jokes aside, their music is fucking good. Check them out here. </shamelesspublicitybyaproudfriend>

Anyway.

I knew I was running low on my holy grail wine lipstick - Loreal Moist Matte Lipstick in Arabian Night - and I was just going to repurchase it when I hit the Lakme counter. Now I've never really felt that Lakme do well in the longevity of their lipsticks, even though they get the shades pretty spot on for Indian skin. There was some discount too, so I was like, what the hell. I picked up what I thought would be a nice wine shade from the Enrich Satins range in number 421. Billed it.

Oh my Lord. I am OBSESSED. It lasted ALL freaking night. Through all the food and the drink. It's a brilliant creamy matte formula. I will say though, that it takes around 10 minutes to actually set into your lips properly. And when it does, it ain't going anywhere. Good job, Lakme!

Then I came home and decided to compare both.

Aside from the fact that the Loreal lipstick (below) is a tad bit more pink, I think for the girl that's in the market for a budget wine colored lipstick, this is the one you need. The Loreal is pretty well priced for the brand/quality (I am after a couple of other shades in the same line) and retails for around INR 899. The Lakme, on the other hand is a complete bargain at INR 230 (I snagged it for the righteous price of INR 180) and in my honest opinion - has pretty much the same quality.

Here is an old, slightly awkward blogpost of me reviewing Arabian Nights.

Let me know if any of you try either of these lipsticks out - I vouch for them both!

- A

The Skin Perfecter that actually Perfects

When I finally bit the bullet and bought the full size of the Loreal Paris Skin Perfect 20+ (phew), I felt no buyer's remorse whatsoever.


This product is REALLY targeted at the 20-30 age bracket. Loreal really understood that the issues 20-year-olds face with their skin are extremely different from what say, a 40 year old would. I definitely don't have the time for a beauty regime with my schedule, and Bangalore pollution makes it that much worse! Plus those late nights don't exactly have me looking like a Disney princess.

This is truly an erase-all/do-over/imsorryididntgetenoughsleep for your face.

 I'm not a fan of whitening day creams, so I was skeptical at first, but this didn't have that instant 'bleached' effect that some lower priced day creams do (I'm talking to YOU, Garnier White Complete Multi Action Fairness Cream). It's also really light, so it doesn't leave you feeling oily or greasy.

It's made my skin very smooth and imperfections have reduced a LOT (even some old zit scars have noticeably faded)  - basically, it does exactly what it says on the tin, which I really appreciate.

Would I recommend this? Absolutely. I see results, and that is good enough for me. And at 325 INR for 50g, it didn't break the bank.

Skin Saviors

In a nutshell, I feel like I'm getting old and need to start taking care of my skin.
I think post 21, you need to start taking that extra time in the morning/at night and actually do stuff like use a night moisturizer, or actually taking your make up off after that 4am night out.

These are all budget buys, I think I'll start investing more once I test the waters a little and understand how my skin reacts.
I have normal-dry skin, which suffers from the occasional zit when I'm really stressed out. Used to be on the oily side during high school, but then my skin kinda changed as I got older ( I hear this is called a skin cycle).

1. Loreal Paris Skin Perfect 20+
 One hell of a day cream. It smells like rich old lady, but also like litchi. Or coconut. I can't tell. It's very matte, not oily at all on your skin. And I've been using the smaller sized 99 INR one to test out, and I can noticeably see my skin turn a lot clearer and a lot more even toned.

2. Fab India Aloe Vera under eye gel
 So, so soothing. I use this twice a day. Has reduced the lovely bags I sometimes wake up with.

3. Lakme Clean Up Mask 
 A real budget clay mask - I'm not sure about the 'salon-like'glow' that they go on about, but my skin feels pretty smooth after use. For the price, I guess this is a good-un.

4. Garnier Pure Active Extra Strong Pimple Control Pen
Zaps those zits in two days flat. It leaves a bit of residue (kind of like a peel off mask) but you can just wipe that off once it's dried and absorbed into your skin.

So I'm not going to get any LaMer or Shiseido any time soon, but from college-routine to work-routine, I think this a big step up!