Lipstick -Unlisted Brand - Lotus Herbals - Moistpetals Ultra Moisturising Lipstick
MissNRI 2/12/2012 10:04:00 AM
I have been very impressed lately with Lotus Herbals hair and skin products so I decided to finally give their makeup a try and buy one of these lipsticks. As with most of this brand's products, it was a lovely bargain at only 225 rupees. All of Lotus Herbals products are vegetarian and not animal tested, so if that is a religious or ethical concern for you I would definitely recommend the brand. I found it quite a relief not to worry about beef tallow or gelatin being an ingredient. I got the shade Iced Coffee which is a pretty medium brown with a bit of sheen, and was very flattering on my NC42 skin tone. I absolutely love the texture of these lipsticks, very rich and creamy and feel that way on your lips, a bit "heavy" which I prefer. It also had good pigmentation and suitable staying power. My only issues are the packaging (which is pretty but as expected, a bit cheap and fragile, the plastic cracks easily) and the running/feathering of the lipstick if one is not careful. Lip liner or at least a good lip primer is a must. Otherwise, I am quite impressed with Lotus Herbals.
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Shampoo -Unlisted Brand - Lotus Herbals - Kera Veda Amlapura Shampoo
MissNRI 2/5/2012 11:46:00 AM
I am liking the hair oil from this line of Lotus Herbals' so I decided to give the corresponding shampoo a try. So far I am really liking this shampoo as well. It cleanses very well and keeps by hair from becoming oily while also not drying it out. It doesn't have too strong of a scent and applies and works into hair easily. I am actually very impressed with this shampoo especially given the fact that it cost me only 155 rupees! I think I will be continuing to use and repurchase this shampoo from now on, as it works perfectly well and carries such a low price.
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Lipstick -Clinique - Different Lipstick - A Different Grape
MissNRI 2/4/2012 9:37:00 AM
I had heard so many good things about this lipstick shade that I had to try it and I absolutely love it! A Different Grape is a gorgeous and very flattering medium plum shade, that is neither too red nor too blue on my rather pigmented lips and NC42 Indian skin tone. It has a creme, semi matte finish on its own, and also looks very nice topped by clear or matching gloss for evening. Its coverage is good and quite buildable for rich dark colour as well as a more sheer wash. It has very good staying power and applies evenly without feathering or settling into lines on drier lips. I thought the formula was very slightly dry, but this is probably because I am used to very heavy creamy lipsticks like Revlon Colorburst, Lakme Lip Love, Revlon PlumpSexxy etc. I would purchase this more for the shade, which is amazing, than for the fairly ordinary formula.
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Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Lotus Herbals - Hairoots Kera Veda Hair Oil
MissNRI 2/1/2012 7:15:00 PM
I purchased this hair oil as well as Shahnaz Husain's flower hair oil on the recommendation of a lady in my building. She is Sikh and has the most beautiful long glossy hair and one day I just had to ask how she got her hair so shiny and smooth and she told me about this hair oil. I have now tried this oil for a while and it has conditioned my hair well, although nothing special or dramatic. My hair is of course much smoother and glossier than if I don't oil it, and it also seems to condition and balance my scalp. I am sure its ayurvedic medicine also is a benefit in other ways too. It does have a rather strong smell like most hair oils but I really don't mind that much. I'm not sure if I like it more than Shahnaz Forever which I have been using, but this is a good hair oil that I would recommend.
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Palettes -Unlisted Brand - Lakme - Absolute Lip Sync 6 in 1 Kit
MissNRI 1/21/2012 8:57:00 AM
I am really loving this Absolute range of Lakme's as all the products seem so high end and elegant and so far, from what I've tried the majority have been quite good. I love the range of shades in this lip palette, all are perfectly suited to the Indian skin tone and I am sure most other skin tones as well. For daytime, there is a mauve, a rose, and a brown, and for nighttime there is a peachy coral, a pink, and a deep russet coral. Most of the shades have a semi-matte creme finish and a few have a bit more of a sheen. All are nicely pigmented and apply fairly smoothly, with decent staying power. As with most makeup and especially drugstore makeup, the included brush is not very well made so I would recommend using a different one. I love the case, it is very tasteful, sleek and compact. It was quite pricey at over 800 rupees but considering that you get six shades I think that was a suitable price.
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Blush -Unlisted Brand - Lakme - Absolute Chromatic Baked Blush
MissNRI 1/12/2012 8:00:00 PM
I was excited to try these blushes and I found that they were only okay. Very similar to Chambor Glitzy Blushes which I liked at times and not at others. I must admit they look beautiful in the packaging, very high end and sophisticated. However, the blush itself seems like too much shimmer, not enough colour to me. It makes an okay highlighter, but not good as a blush if you expect any pigmentation. It has good staying power (a bit hard to remove actually) and applies and blends well and all that. Just not enough pigmentation and VERY shimmery.
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Lipstick -Unlisted Brand - Lakme - Absolute Matte Lipstick
MissNRI 1/12/2012 7:56:00 PM
I got this lipstick from the new long wear line of Lakme's in the shade Pure Glam. It is a slightly pink toned burgundy shade and it does have a bit of an unusual finish. It is matte, but it also has shimmer. Maybe one could think of it like those Revlon nail polishes that were matte (no shine or gloss) but had subtle shimmer running through them...it is like that, but in a burgundy lipstick. It definitely has a golden shimmery undertone to it, which is not for everyone but I liked, added a plumping effect to my lips and was just generally pretty IMO. Its staying power was good although not comparable to liquid lipstick. Like any matte and/or longwear, it is a bit drying, but it does look very nice on my lips and apply and blend well. I would recommend it.
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Concealers -Unlisted Brand - Lakme - Absolute White Intense Concealer
MissNRI 1/12/2012 7:47:00 PM
I recently purchased a good amount of products from Lakme's new Absolute line, which was released with much hype and glamour and I was very curious about the products themselves. One of the first things I tried was this concealer. I found the shade choice very disappointing, only "light/medium" and "medium/dark" were offered as options. I got the medium dark, wondering if the shade would be all wrong. Surprisingly, it wasn't, and the concealer applied and blended smoothly and beautifully, with a creamy but not overly thick and waxy texture. It has medium to light coverage, which does help to keep one from piling too much concealer under the eyes. It had good staying power and did not melt. I do wish it was a bit more luminous, maybe slightly shimmery even to brighten the shadowy under eye region. But all in all it is a good concealer, I just wish there were more shades and a slightly different finish.
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Treatments -Neosporin - Antibiotic Ointment
MissNRI 1/8/2012 10:56:00 AM
I never thought neosporin would become a HG for so many things for me, but it has. I am using a clear gel ointment form of it, and I swear it has made such a tremendous difference in my skin literally overnight. It is incredibly versatile and you can use it for so many things. I put it on all over my face at night and it somehow manages to deeply moisturise and at the same time, cure and prevent blemishes. It also is a wonderful lip treatment. I have gotten into the habit of only wearing longwear liquid lipsticks which dried my lips a bit and made them cracked and flaky, but a nice heavy layer of neosporin overnight softens and repairs them like no other product, high end or low end, has. It makes a good cuticle creme and cracked heel treatment too, if you don't mind a slight stickiness, and also of course to protect injuries. Of course, you cannot beat the price, especially if you get a generic version (which in my experience has worked just as well as the branded version.) I cannot swear by neosporin enough.
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Mascara -Unlisted Brand - Lakme - Lash Artist Mascara
MissNRI 12/30/2011 1:24:00 PM
I heard (am not sure if it is true or not, or relevant to India) that my Revlon Doubletwist mascara is being discontinued and just in case I have been trying out other mascaras looking for a replacement. First I got this mascara of Lakme's. I had never tried Lakme mascara before and as much as some women crib about the brand, I usually love it. Sadly, I didn't love this mascara. While its packaging (a beautiful and tasteful burgundy tube with a square gold cap) is wonderful and better than Revlon's, the product just did not live up to my expectations. It was not dark enough, and didn't hold curl very well or really do much for my lashes...it didn't add any volume, curl or length really and that was quite the disappointment. It doesn't clump, run or flake and has good staying power, but it just doesn't do much at all. Good for those who like a "natural," defined look for daytime but terrible if you want any real impact for your lashes.
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Eye Shadow -Lancome - Color Design Eye Shadow in Daylight
MissNRI 12/18/2011 11:57:00 AM
I received this shadow in a GWP quad (the other shades in the quad were Off the Rack, Volcano, and Drama, all of which I liked.) Its formula is very nice, smooth with no fallout, applies evenly, good pigmentation and good staying power. However, the shade just did not work for me. It is way too light...some might call it a pale cream but believe me, this shade is not a cream. It has no warmth to it at all, it's a very cool toned pale white, completely matte and opaque. I tried it as an under-brow highlighter and it made me look completely crazy, it just did not go with my skin tone at all. I tried it again as an inner corner shade and this too made me look ridiculous, theatrical and garish. Maybe this shade could work on very fair skinned, cool toned Caucasian women but if you're brown like me I would not touch this one. I can't imagine how it would look on women even darker (I'm an NC42 Indian with strong yellow/tawny undertones.) +2 for nice formula and elegant packaging (and the fact that it was free with purchase) but the shade just did not work for me. (Daylight is the shade on the upper right)
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Highlighters -Unlisted Brand - Colorbar - Radiant Glow Face Illuminator Pen
MissNRI 12/18/2011 11:44:00 AM
I love this highlighting pen! I had been using Lancome Eclat Miracle on cheekbones to highlight as well as under eyes, around lips and around the edges of my forehead to brighten those dark regions. Lancome is very expensive here and not always easy to find so I was hoping Colorbar's highlighting pen would be a dupe...and so far, it is very very close to being one. Colorbar's pen is very nicely packaged, and the highlighter flows well through the pen without too much or too little product coming out. It has a smooth, easily blendable texture and is not too heavily pigmented (I prefer highlighters to be very sheer and shimmery, not too strongly coloured as a concealer or foundation would be.) It looks natural and not cakey, yet has a perfect radiant glowy finish that brightens and diffuses my dark regions and lifts my cheekbones just as Eclat Miracle does. It doesn't smear or run or fade even in the Indian heat. I'm sure I'll find something about Eclat Miracle I like better, but this pen is a truly great replacement. Definitely worth the 450 INR it cost.
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Loose Powders -Unlisted Brand - Lakme - Face Sheer
MissNRI 12/18/2011 11:36:00 AM
I decided to try this powder to add a nice warm glow to my skin. My first reaction was that the packaging could have been much better. I never like when sponges or brushes for loose powder are attached to the lid as this makes it difficult to control the amounts of powder, difficult to apply it correctly and difficult to clean the sponge/brush. So this attached sponge was more difficult to work with than I would have liked. However, I did love the powder itself. It is a gorgeous shimmer powder that stays firmly in shimmer territory and doesn't look glittery and cheap. It is a bit intense to be used all over the face (it is not exactly "sheer" and for the whole face, as the name implies) but is divine on cheeks, under brow bones, and on the body to add a bit of highlight to one's clavicle or cleavage region if you choose. Once you get used to the awkward sponge (or use another sponge or brush,) it is a good shimmer powder, especially if one prefers loose powder, but not one I would repurchase as I think I like Colorbar's pressed Shimmer Bar better.
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Mascara -L'Oreal - Extra Volume Collagen mascara
MissNRI 12/9/2011 6:25:00 PM
I am normally a Revlon Doubletwist loyalist but I let a lady at the L'Oreal counter talk me into buying this mascara while I was buying sunscreen. I admit the words "extra volume" and "collagen" are enticing and the packaging is beautifully designed. I loved the bigger wand (same thing I like about Doubletwist) and the formula is quite dark and pigmented and applies well, giving a very nice volume boost to lashes. However, after a few hours this mascara sadly flaked and ran for me. I was disappointed because I loved the wand, formula, and packaging and my lashes looked so nice from it. But I won't repurchase it because of the flaking and running.
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Lipstick -Unlisted Brand - Colorbar - Extra Durable Lipstick
MissNRI 12/7/2011 6:45:00 PM
I decided to try this slightly cheaper liquid longwear lipstick to see if I liked it better than Revlon Colorstay Overtime, which I love. Colorbar's packaging looked almost identical to Colorstay Overtime so I was hoping it was similar. I got Snob, a brownish mauve shade which was very pretty and flattering. It did hold to its longwear claim, staying on through meals and for many hours. However, applying it was very tricky. It didn't apply evenly, like the wand had uneven distribution of color, which made it hard to apply correctly without having rings around the lip. It also took a very long time to dry, and during this drying period one must be careful not to touch it as it will smudge and transfer immediately. Also it is a bit sticky & drying but most longwear liquid lipsticks are like this so that was not a big issue for me. My final issue with this is the double-sided packaging, which I am personally not a fan of because of the small amount of product one gets. I realise it saves space and is more practical, but I would personally prefer buying separate color and overlay and having both be a decent amount.
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