The Humble Qtip

Yes, I think this is the most humble item in my entire makeup kit. I hardly credit it for what it generally does for me. Its one of the most used item in my armour




Image Source : luxurytyme.com

I use it for

-> smudging my eye shadow

-> smudging my eyeliner on upper lash line

-> removing the eyeliner from lash line. I just dip in it eye makeup remover and gently run it along the lash line.

-> Removing any residual eye makeup from under eye area

-> Correcting any makeup mistakes like bleeding lipsticks or shaky eyeliner application

-> Removing any foundation etc which gets stuck in eye brow (it happens to me)



This is the most used item on my dresser.

What about yours?? Who is the humble warrior in your troop ??

Yes..It has finally arrived

Week before last when I received the invite for the Illamasqua Bloggers Launch event, I was super excited. I couldn’t wait to set my eyes on the products which Illamasqua had to offer. Having read about this brand on various blogs had whetted my appetite for all things Illamsaqua. In fact, the girls at the Myer City Beauty Counter have been pestered by yours truly with queries of when Illamasqua was coming to town.

And, my wait was totally worth it. Illamasqua has a great range of products in wide range of color. The first counter I rushed to was their blushes. They are so pigmented and oh so smooth. For a makeup addict it’s a must in the stash. And even before I could finish having a look at them, I wanted to swatch Scarab nail paint. Illamasqua had successfully transformed other wise very quiet person to a buzzing bee moving from one product to another.


A brief history of Illamasqua (as present in the Autumn Winter 2010 catalogue)…and yes I read it on way back home

Conceived amidst the dark drama of 1920s Berlin,developed by professional make-up artists,embraced by alternative cultures,made by a unique British brand.Worn by those who refuse to be everybody.

Illamasqua is the result of a partnership based on a desire to create a super strain of make-up - a range based on Kryolan's 65 years of superiority and unparalleled skill,combined with Illamasqua's drive and determination to create ground breaking and enhanced formulations, the likes of which the market has never seen.

And the picture of the various counters





<< Thanks to Lilpill for the above pics >>

Another noticeable difference which Illamasqua had compared to other brands was the personal touch they offered in their services. Every artist was connecting with the customer on the personal basis.

Christabel( who had organised this event) was really sweet and amazing.

Their makeup artists are also super talented…really good at their job. They had done some fabulous makeovers that day


Beautiful Lilpill with her makeover




Lovely Valerie Ponikuta with her MUA.



<< Thanks to Val from Ponikuta for the above pic >>

And I didn’t come back empty handed….how could I…




-> Precision Ink

-> Medium Sophie *

-> Lipstick Box *


* Item received as part of event

I think I will be going back soon for blushes and lipsticks. I didn’t get a chance to play with their foundation so may be next time.


P.S : Illamasqua is opening in Chadstone too, but don’t know when

P.P.S : I have been road testing the products since I got them and the reviews are coming soon

Blue Bronze Eye Look

Today evening I quickly tried this look









And I used the following products



MAC Painterly as the base
NYX jumbo pencil in Yogurt in inner corner
Inglot Bronzy eyeshadow all over the lid ( I tried to get the eye shadows out to read the number but I couldn't do it)
Inglot Blue eyeshadow in the outer portion of the lid
Using the same brush(I used Inglot 9S) blend the eye shadows
Now,pick MAC Embark in the crease brush and apply in it crease and the outer corner
Again blend it
Pick MAC Texture eyeshadow on a blending brush and use this as transition color

Then using a flat eyeshadow brush, take some MAC Embark again and run it along the lower lashline. And then pick Inglot blue eye shadow and run it on top of Embark. What this does is that it gives some depth to the blue eyeshadow.

Then line the upper lash line with black Kohl.I used Himalaya Kajal.
Finish off with Mascara and filling eyebrow with NARS Bali.

Post done, now off to taking of the eye makeup...

Coffee with Akisa

I always wanted to know the people behind the blogs I read regularly, to meet them and talk about skincare/makeup stuff.And today, I got to meet lovely Akisa, from
www.akisalove.com and www.beautyswatch.com

The first thought in my head as I saw her was "Oh my God, her skin is amazing"...seriously its amazing...beautiful. And she is such a sweet person, I instantly liked her.The funny thing was that although we were meeting for the first time but it was as if makeup/skincare had already connected us. It was so much fun talking to her, she also told me some real good tips.

If you are after lipstick swatch on lips, all you need to do is to head to www.beautyswatch.com

Can't wait to meet her again!!!!

Organization : Lip Color

And, no I didn't forget about the 'Organization' series.
Below is how I organize my lip colours.



I have reused the cubic box in which we had bought ties for Mr.M. And the circular tub is an empty from a body scrub. The box on extreme right is the packaging of a candle. Why throw when you can reuse??

I have segregated them based on Department Store and Drug Store brand. And, yes, MAC has been given its own special place. While choosing MAC lipstick, I would get fed up searching for certain shade and finding it last. Keeping it was challenge as the colour name is on base and since its bullet shaped, the lippie always sits on its base. I have filled the tub with small packaging balls and kept the lipstick on its head so that I can read the name on base before picking it.



And the last box has mix of glosses and various balms

So, how do you organize your lipsticks ???

Pink Purple Eye Look

I had tried following look over the weekend.





Looking at it now, I think I needed to do more blending.Maybe next time.

Products Used

-> MAC Painterly Pot
-> Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner in Black
-> Eyeshadows from the below Dior Palette

New Kid On The Block

New Kid On The Block(NKOTB) a.k.a Haul

With effect from today, I shall be using term NKOTB for any hauled item.Just thought to spice up the blog.

Now, who is this new entrant to my world. Its actually not a single but a group of new lovely nail paints.



Names are as following:

-> Base Coat
-> Non Chip Coat
-> Allure
-> Baby Pink
-> French Pink
-> Tropez
-> Mulberry
-> Flashback Fuschia
-> Pepper Pot

The brand Ulta3 is an Aussie brand which retails very reasonable at $2.50. They can be found at Terrywhite Pharmacies.Although not very expensive, they have great color range and good quality.

I had bought them sometime back, but got to post them only today.
So many nail paints mean only one thing....many NOTDs to follow !!!

Its a Month today

It was exactly 4 weeks, on Monday, when I had walked in David Jones with my skin in disaster. It was dry,stretchy, cracking and red bumps which felt hot. My skin was not in happy condition for few days and the stay over at friends place pushed it over the brink. I was so desperate and frustrated with my skin that I was ready to go any length to fix it.

And, with determined stride in my steps , I walked and stopped at Dermalogica counter. Now, the reason why I stopped there was cause my friend who has severe acne with dry skin( and yes that possible !!) uses Dermalogica.I thought, if it works for her then it should work for me as well.

As the beauty therapist was busy with some other client , I waited ( mind it this was on a lunch break, which highlights how desperate I was). Once she came over, she quickly analyzed my skin, did a face mapping and said "You have dry,dehydrated sensitive skin". She showed me the following products and did a quick application as well.

-> Ultra Calming Cleanser





-> Ultra Calming Mist




-> Gentle Soothing Booster




-> Ultra Sensitive Face Block spf 25




It felt better with first application and I could see that the redness had diminished.As a result, I bought them ( they broke my makeup budget for the month!!!)

Also the therapist had suggested to buy Skin Hydrating Booster later, which I picked this weekend. Quite happy till now



Image Source : Dermalogica Australia

But, boy oh boy, they really work....I mean they are gems....
My skin has never felt better.All red bumps are gone, dryness is controlled and I feel confident without makeup!!! In fact Mr.M commented "Your skin is glowing. I think it was money well spent".
And my little sister said "Oh, you have got skin just like me"

I do the following
-> Clean the face
-> Spray Ultra Calming Mist
-> Apply the Gentle Soothing Booster
-> Apply any face block (AM)
-> Apply any moisturizer (PM)

As if all the compliments were not proof enough, a little story over the weekend sealed my love for Dermalogica. My facial skin can't stand oil.Period. I had applied hand cream which had olive oil and while sleeping had rested my face on my hands.Boom!! I wake up in morning with five red bumps on cheek. I was like 'Yikes!!'.
But,then I followed my usual routine with Dermalogica products and woke up with nice baby soft skin..all bumps gone.

I wanted to share this with you guys earlier, but I thought to complete 4 weeks before I talked about it.

For past few days I am been thinking "Why didn't I start using Dermalogica earlier"

Is there any products which makes you think the same ???

Kareena Inspired look

Before, I start writing about the look, let me say this, 'You won't find a person more lazy than me'. I procrastinate like anything. My computer drive is full with pictures, and I am just putting it off for later. But, not any more.

With rambling out of the way,lets start with this look. While browsing through Indian Celebs pictures, I chanced on this snap of Kareena...and just loved the look of it..very classy and simple look



I tried to recreate the look with the products I had at home.

Eyes

MAC Painterly Pot as the base
Any loose powder to smoothen it
MAC Texture all over the eyelid, till the crease
Any dark brown eyeshadow in the outer corner and over upper lash line.
While working in the crease, do it light handed as we aren't doing a complete smokey look
Using a flat brush( I used Inglot 9S ) pick the same dark brown eyeshadow and run it along the lower lash line
Using same flat brush pick up some matte black eyeshadow (I used MAC Carbon) and run it along the upper and lowe lash line.
Using a black kohl( I used Chanel Kohl) line you upper lash line and the waterline
Fill in the eyebrows (I used NARS Bali)
Finish it off with black mascara





Face

NARS Sheer glow in Barcelona as the foundation.
NARS Bronzer Laguna for contouring
NARS Blush Orgasm ( On side note, this deserves all the love it gets!!!)

I haven't used any highlighter






Lips

I used Dior Addict High Colour 484, Daring Beige




I hope you liked the look...I had fun creating it. Now I know I have a go-to look.

Feeling Blue..

No,I am not feeling sad or depressed.
Actually I felt that I was stuck in rut, wearing a same eyelook almost every other day.So,one of these days I decided to base my eye look around blue.
And this is what I came up with









Products used:

MAC Painterly pot as base
Loose powder to smoothen the base
Maybeline EyeStudio pencil in Blue
Inglot 419 eye shadow
Any black eyeshadow
Black Lancome Mascara


Steps
1. Apply MAC painterly pot all over eyelid as base
2. Using a fluffy eyeshadow brush apply loose powder
3. Apply the blue eyeliner along the upper lashline
4. Using any flat eyeshadow blush, pick some matter black eyeshadow and smudge the eyeliner with brush strokes towards the crease
5. Blend well
6. Apply Inglot eyeshadow on the outercorner and blend it in with upward stroke
7. Apply mascara

And, I was done. quite happy with the change and the simplicity of this look.

Organization : Accessories

As mentioned in my previous post, I have few posts lined up around the way I organize my accessories, makeup, skincare etc.

Today, I shall talk about my accessories

Earrings



I had got this earrings stand from one of the home ware store.In India you can get this from Big Bazaar or Home Stoppe or may be the Dollar Stores.

Left panel has the earrings which can be worn daily



Right and middle have more fancy ones.






Bangles,Necklaces & Hair Accessories

For my bangles,necklaces and hairbands I use a wooden bangle stand which I had bought from a road side vendor in Sarojini Nagar. I think it was Rs.10/-.
Although cheaps as chips this is really handy.




For my scrunchies and hairband, I used a base from a broken candle. I hang them in the leaves of the base



So,this is for today.Much more to follow.

Swatch : Chanel Confidentielle

The weather here was very pleasant and I wanted some feminine colour without going overboard. So, I chose to wear Chanel Confidentielle with Estee Lauder Gloss.( No lipliner used)




I haven't used it enough since I bought, but I think I am going to rotate this more often

When you have time on hand.....

For past few days, I was very unhappy with my makeup/skincare/accessories storage. Everything was everywhere. I could never find the thing I needed when I needed. I would never find what I wanted and had to settle for next best. Not that I was not organized, it was just that I would never put things back at the right place, except for few things(like MAC lippies).

So,today as I had some time on hand, I decided to take this task head on.
Scented candle lighted..check.
Music playing in background...check
Dinner taken care of..check

And then it began.
I started with clearing out all old receipts and the old packaging.I don't why I do this, but I can't throw the packaging right away. I hold it on for sometime before throwing it.

While doing this , I also realised how much stuff I had accumulated each with any of the following ideas
"You know what this is all my skin needs"
"I think this a good bargain, I should get this"
"I can get another of hand cream, may be one for work"
"This stuff must be good"
"Oooh this brand is new, let me test it out"

As result of above, I had couple of body lotions, creams etc which were there on dresser for quite sometime. I could never throw them away always thinking, I might need it sometime.
But today, I decided this it and packed them right away

Then I decided to tackle the various samples I have accumulated over period of time.
I have segregated them based on 'wash away' and 'stay on' category.
Anything which will washed away like cleanser, exfoliant pack etc belongs to 'wash away' while things like moisturizer, serum, lotion belong to 'Stay on'

Its still not completely done, but I am happy with the progress.

As a result of this, there will be a series of post on organization coming up soon.

So, how do you organize ???

Yay..Can't wait !!!

OMG..OMG...I think I am so happy that I can't keep it to myself

Just saw this on Temptalia

http://www.temptalia.com/mac-mickey-contractor-collection-for-spring-2011

We are going to get a MAC collection with Mickey Contractor ...product names are ohh so great....just imagine saying 'today I have used 'Sur' or 'Siyahi'"

Oh God, I need to start saving every single penny for LE items

Christine a huge thanks!!!

P.S : Image is from Temptalia