Undoubtedly, one of the best ads!

I saw this one on TV last week, on a lazy night when I was just staring at the TV without actually registering anything and it really made me jump, sit up and watch. Just wanted to share it with all of you!! It is one of the best ads I've seen in a loooooong time, I swear all ads these days are so unnecessarily adult, this one is sweet and actually brings the message across.

Did you like it? :D

Rimmel Stay Blushed Liquid Cheek Tints in Pop of Pink (001) and Sunkissed Cherry (004)- Review and Swatches

I’ve been meaning to put up posts on my blog but I’m feeling so uninspired lately. That’s what happens when you’re on vacays, more time equals slowing down of brain. Today I’m feeling invigorated. Why? Because I took a ride on Mumbai’s metro..boy is that baby fast!! I totally loved it, now I feel like travelling only through metro. I also saw Holiday last week…no I didn’t like it. It has a lovely message but the film has so many unrealistic elements.

Anyways, let’s talk makeup. We all love makeup that works without much effort.  I get like 5 min to put on makeup and head out the door, if you’re a working woman or a college student, you’ll can empathize. Rimmel Stay Blushed Liquid Cheek Tints are one of those products that will help you speed up your makeup but falls short in one important aspect.

Empty Plastic Spray Bottles from eBay India- Really Cheap, yet Chic

Recently while searching Google for empty spray bottles I came across one entry from eBay India. I've never shopped from eBay India or eBay international before but I'm really impressed with this particular seller. I placed my order on 16th June and received my package on 18th June. I also received a message from eBay when my package was shipped and when I should expect to receive it, although they were wrong about the date of arrival, it arrived one day earlier.

What I ordered:

Just one set of empty plastic spray bottles. See THIS link for the product

Seller: barbersyndicate

Cost:Rs.180

The seller also gave a pamphlet of his store and on the pamphlet its written that 'If your product is not available in our store please mail me. We provide for you". How thoughtful!

I wasn't sure what I was buying because the product name on eBay is basically like a bunch of keywords so I contacted the seller first. He/She was Very prompt and replied back within few hours of my query. So if you plan on purchasing from them do contact them and ask for shipping details. I even received an email from them after I placed my order.

Basically you get 4 empty plastic spray bottles. of 100ml each, for just Rs.180, with free shipping. Awesome, right?

The colors are given randomly. The bottles are of good quality and the spraying mechanism actually works well. Each time the first 3 pumps are empty and then the bottle starts spraying. The nozzle is very fine and right now I tried it with just water and it sprays it in a fine mist. I think its great for perfumes. 

So if your planning any DIY projects which require spray bottles, now you know where to find them. You can even use spray bottles to store you toners or homemade perfumes or as a perfume atomizer.

Can you guess what I need it for? I will be revealing soon...stay tuned ladies ;)

My Summer Skin Care Routine For Combination Oily Skin and Some Skin Care Tips For You

I have a combination skin. Its normal to dry in winters, rest of the year its combination-oily with a little dryness on and my nose. My T-Zone and inner cheeks also tend to get oily soon. I've been using a couple of products since April and they have become staples in my routine. I've also gotten the habit of doing a night time routine no matter how tired I am, and this has really helped me. Recently I made a few changes in the way how I go about my routine,(after watching Michelle Phan's graduation tips video) and that's been pretty beneficial as well so I decided to share them with you!

Here are some things I follow:

• Using ice as a toner: Sometimes when the heat is unbearable, I take an ice cube and rub it all over my face, going over my cheeks in circular motion. I've been doing this since years and it really helps soothe and tighten the skin, ice is a natural toner.
• Patting, instead of rubbing: Earlier I used to rub moisturizer in circular motions on my face and when I'd wake up, my skin would be super grimy. Ever since I tried 'dab-dab' motion I've woken up with much less residue on my face. Now I'm all about patting/dabbing; whether its face cream, eye cream or pimple creams, I only dab. It helps the product sink in to the skin hence its more effective.
• Always apply and ice pack to sore eyes: There are alot of times when I end up sleeping late, like 3am or so and when I wake up my eyes feel really sore. I take an ice cube on a hankie and apply it to each eye until it melts off. This is very soothing and instantly lifts up my eyes.
• Use face mask after face scrub: I don't even know why I used to do the opposite. But seriously, using a scrub prior to face mask helps the face mask sink in to the skin and work better. 
• Always remove makeup before sleeping: This is pretty self explanatory and since I've gotten the hang of doing a night time routine I always take off makeup at night.
• Sunscreen, always: Again, I don't need to tell you why. Always keep sunscreen in your hand bag as well!
• Drink water every waking hour: I find myself thirsty all the time and end up drinking water every hour and this has really helped hydrate my skin. Of course I also make a lot of trips to the bathroom, but its worth it. 

Now here are some products that I use regularly, each one is not used everyday, just as per my needs. Not all of them have worked for me. Most of these are easily available in India: 

The Cleansers:

• Neutrogena Deep Clean Black Head Eliminating Scrub, 100ml: This is the most gentle scrub I've used! I used to use it everyday but since last week, my skin feels quite normal so I use this only when I'm feeling extra grimy. Its nice for gentle exfoliation everyday.
• Neutrogena Deep Clean Foaming Cleanser, 100g: This cleanser packs some serious cleansing power. I use it once I get up in the morning, it cleans all the residue of my night routine and leaves my skin squeaky clean. Its best suited for oily skin. It can dry out skin if you're not regular with a moiturizer.
• Loreal Hydrafresh Gel Foam Combination to Oily Skin: This is the least used product here. I purchased it on a whim online and I'm not happy with it. It has SLS as a second ingredient and I guess that's harsh for my skin. Its quite pricey as well. I won't recommend this to anyone. I use it on days where I don't feel the need to use a strong cleanser like the Neutrogena Deep Clean.
• Neutrogena Liquid Face Cleanser, 150ml (not in picture): I've done a full review of this HERE. Currently I'm just using this because I want to finish it off. I use this to get rid of residue once I'm done with makeup remover.

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Sultry (225) - Review, Swatches!

Hi everyone! Today I’m going to talk about a product that has received lot of love from me of late and that is the Revlon Matte Balm in the shade Sultry. When Revlon Matte Balms first launched, I was turned off by their high price. But after swatching Sultry at the counter I couldn’t resist buying it. See swatches and description of all matte balms here. When I first tried it on, I didn’t know what to expect, and the lip swatches were taken then itself. I didn’t know that I had to prep my lips, but lesson learned, it’s a matte lipstick after all. Always exfoliate before you wear a matte lipstick. Keep in mind that the lip swatches are very zoomed in, and unless a person is just an inch away from your lips, she won’t notice that much detail.

What is matte balm? From my experience after trying Sultry, I can say that it’s a non drying matte lipstick.

PACKAGING ~ It’s a chubby pencil with the body having the same color as the color of the lipstick, so if you’re planning to build a collection you can spot any shade easily. I like that the packaging is matte, it gives a more sophisticated feel.

COLOR vs. SKIN TONE  ~ Sultry is a nice dusky pink color, under some types of lighting, it looks like a bright pink on my lips. Its very flattering on my skin tone, it’s like a ‘pick-me-up’ lippie for me. The color has a bit of mauve to it.  It will suit fair to medium skin tones. I have medium skintone and this color suits me perfectly. It doesn’t flatter my sister who is 2 shades darker to me, almost washes her out.

What I've been up to- Small life update, weekend plans, hauls and more!

Hey dear ladies. I’ve been kinda gone from my blog for nearly a week, I'm sorry about that. If you’ve read my About Me Page, you’ll know that I divide my time between two cities- my home and my college+hostel. Right  now I’m back at home(Mumbai) and it feels awesome, I’ll be here till the end of June! I reached here on Saturday, 7^th. My 3^rd year results came out on Friday, the night I was leaving my hostel to go home. Let’s not talk about studies here, but in case you’re interested I scored 8.5. Mumbai is SO hot and humid, 10^th June was actually the hottest ever, my hair is really suffering. My laptop is being a world class b*tch at the moment, so I had to back it up and give it to the service center, god knows when it will be back. I spent a good amount of time backing up all my files, which are, alarmingly, 600GB :O

On Saturday, I watched X-Men: Days of Future Past. Amazing movie, y’all!!! I was literally biting my nails, and I never do that! I don’t actually remember the story word-for-word from the comics, but when I do my opinion will probably change. If you haven’t been regular with the X-Men movies, it might be hard for you to understand the characters, because there’s absolutely no introduction of them and their powers here. My favourite mutant: Blink (played by Fan Bingbing), just for her powers. Fan Bingbing has signed up for 5 more X-Men movies, I’m so looking forward to Blink, her mutation is awesome. This movie doesn’t really need 3D though. Sunday was the day the Mumbai Metro finally, finally started. I didn’t go for a joyride though, and that was a good idea, because 2 lakh people tried it out, imagine the crowd! Here's a pic I had posted to my Instagram.

Straight from my bathroom - The Body Shop Limited Edition Blueberry Shower Gel

Hello ladies! Looking forward to the weekend? I know I am! ;)

This is the first time I’m reviewing a shower gel on my blog. I seriously don’t think these things need to be reviewed because it’s a matter of personal choice, tastes and preferences. However, I love to know about all the shower gels/creams out there because I like to try out new ones every time, so when I find a blog post about the same, I go and check out the product. The Blueberry Shower Gel is a new release all over the globe by The Body Shop. It’s supposed to be special/limited edition but its priced the same as the regular shower gels. I’ve read a lot of reviews about this one and the general consensus is that its a much loved product. But did it rock my world? Read on to know :)

I thought a picture in my bathroom was appropriate...:)

Price: Rs.425

Qty: 250ml

I’ve been through countless The Body Shop shower gels and creams: Strawberry, Raspberry, Cocoa, Chocomania, The Brazil Nut and now the Blueberry. There’s a reason I keep buying them although The Body Shop unfairly increases the price every few months- they’re good quality and sometimes, especially during winters, my skin needs some TLC and TBS has the creamiest shower stuff.

Empties #1 - A post I thought I'd never do!

Whoa! Here’s one post I never thought I’d do. I’ve barely finished any makeup product in my life. Most of the stuff I manage to finish is skin care and bath related, but only if I don’t get bored of using them before they get empty. This isn’t a planned post, I didn’t set a target to finish x products by this month, I just happened to successfully finish a lot of products around the same time. Whilst recovering from the semi-shock and awe that I actually managed to do so, I decided to do a tiny post including their mini-reviews, because I’ve never talked about them on my blog. These products were finished around the mid May actually, yes, it took me so long just to take their pictures. 

Here’s what I managed to get rid of!:

Neutrogena Deep Clean Blackhead Eliminating Scrub and Deep Clean Foaming Cleanser:

The scrub is very fine and non-abrasive. Sometimes it doesn’t even feel like a scrub. Its very good for gentle daily exfoliation for my combination skin but I’ve seen no difference on the blackheads on my nose(only ones I have). I’ve been using it since July and it got over in May which means its very good value for money. During winters I used it every alternate day but otherwise, it was used daily.

       The Deep Clean Foaming Cleanser is meant for oily skin types only. One wash with this and your face will be striped off all impurities. It can give that dry stretchy feeling sometimes when I’m not regular with my moisturizer. But its my favourite cleanser for the summer season because it leaves my face instantly fresh and dirt, sweat free.

Both of these are fragrance free and neither caused any break outs for me. I love both of them and I’ve already repurchased.

Lotus Herbal’s Vanilla Velvet Daily Body Lotion and Johnson’s Baby Milk Cream are right out of my winter skin care routine. I finished them by the start of May actually. I love both of them because they’re extremely moisturizing for my super dry skin. The baby cream was used as a hand cream, its thick but absorbs easily and leaves the skin very smooth and soft. The Vanilla Velvet lotion is quite thin and absorbs super fast into the skin. Neither of them give that greasy feeling but they’re not as thin as TBS lotions either. The baby cream is fragrance free and the lotion has a light, non-over powering vanilla scent which I like a lot! I will definitely repurchase both again during winters, unless I find better alternatives.

L’Oreal Fall Repair 3X Shampoo and Conditioner:

The shampoo is actually a go-to product for me. I don’t have hair fall problem but I use these two anyways because they suit my hair. All those that I’ve used before have damaged my hair. The shampoo is nice and cleans hair with a single use itself(I wash my hair once in 3 days) but the conditioner isn’t suitable for my dry ends. Since I use a mask every alternate wash, it isn’t such a big deal to me. I also use hair oil sometimes and serum other times to take care of my dry ends. I have repurchased both, but I’m on the lookout for a better conditioner.  They’re not fragrance free, but I  like the smell, it’s a typical ‘L’Oreal hair product’ smell.

Marks and Spencer Creamy Coconut Shower Gel:

I was super excited about this, when I got it back in January. It smells wonderful, like a coconut flavoured biscuit, I’m not a fan of coconuts so I was happy that it doesn’t smell that coconut-y. Apart from the smell, there’s nothing I like about this shower gel. It’s a gel liquid, which is not moisturizing, and makes me feel soapy even after I’ve used buckets of water. It has very high SLS content. Will not repurchase again.

So that’s it for my empties- 7 products are not so bad right? I wouldn’t expect another empties post anytime soon though :P

Is it hard for you to finish products as well? Or are you a pro at it? Comment below and let me know!

8 Things that Keep Me Hooked on to technology ALL.THE.TIME

Being a beauty blogger and an engineering student is hard work! Its like being two different people, at the same time. I constantly have to carry my laptop, external hard disk, phone and camera with me, wherever I go; there’s always some picture to take, some post to edit, or some blog to check out. And don’t get me started on the social media feeds I have to check out multiple times in a day. Honestly, I wish I had a tablet, then I wouldn’t have to lug my laptop, phone and camera with me to everywhere I go. I would need just one tool for all!

This is my entry for IndiBlogger’s competition for ASUS’s Transformer Book T100 (click here) to check out this tablet-laptop hybrid!

You can view contest details here, if you’re interested.

Also, this article is 100% honest and is written by me. I actually do all the things I’ve mentioned here. This is NOT a sponsored post.

Here are 8 things that keep me hooked onto technology and will keep me glued to ‘Transformer T100’ no matter where I am:

1. My blog:

Ok so this is a no-brainer. My blogger account is logged into all the time in my laptop. The Blogger ios app is pretty basic and not very helpful in terms of viewing stats and comments actually so if I want to post anything I need my laptop. Also, I’m constantly writing posts or editing pictures or figuring out designs for my blog and I can’t do that without the tools I have in my laptop, my phone is pretty useless here. I think a tablet like T100 will be ideal to help me edit my blog on the go.

2. Coursework:

All of my study material is on my laptop, which is a good thing because that means I won’t have to carry heavy course books with me all the time. I have dozens of pdfs and softwares that I need to use in an academic year. Luckily this year most of our assignments were to be submitted by soft copy, and that is so much more convenient handwritten assignments. I live and breathe Microsoft Office! T100 has a Windows 8 operating system, which means Office 2013 will be available at all times in my hand!

3. Reading ebooks:

Not every book is available in India, like the Southern Vampire Mysteries and The Lying Game Series. I’ve exclusively purchased these ebooks to read. Also, sites like Flipkart offer huge discounts on ebooks; I purchased Steve Jobs biography for 70% off from them! Reading ebooks on my phone screen however, is not good, especially for the eyes. So many times my dad has insisted, ‘Get a tablet!’ Wonder why I haven’t already? Because then I’ll have to carry laptop, camera, phone, tablet, everywhere. A laptop-tablet hybrid like T100 will definitely mitigate my problems.

4. Games:

Everyone who has a smartphone is addicted to atleast one game. My current obsession is Candy Crush Saga. Before you accuse me of being a kid, play the game first! I’ve played Where’s my Water, Plants vs Zombies-1 & 2, Jetpack Joyride, Fruit Ninja, Angry Birds, Temple Run-1&2, Unblock Me, Cordy Sky etc. and Candy Crush is as good as any of them.  Before Candy Crush, I was addicted to Subway Surfers. With softwares like Bluestacks, you can play this game on Windows OS as well,  which means that if I have T100, I don’t need my phone to play games!

5. Music:

Before I go to sleep everyday, I have to listen to music for at least half an hour! Sometimes I listen to music while studying as well. I won’t rant on this point to much because everyone is a music lover and you all know the importance of having a music player on the go. I’m not super happy with my my iPhone’s sound levels on speaker though, it could be so much better! My current favourite song is ‘Whatever You Like’ by Anya Marina (It’s a pretty old song though)

6. Movies and Serials and Youtube channels:

I’m actually addicted to Youtube makeup tutorials. Michelle Phan and Sineadycady are my favorites. I need to watch them every week, no matter where I am.  Since its vacations now, I’ve loaded up my laptop with all the movies and serials that I’ve missed! Watching movies on my laptop is my favourite pastime while travelling. Though my iPhone video quality is excellent, the sound levels are really low for movies so I don’t use it for that. This is why a tablet would make my life much simpler and I’ve heard that T100 has really good sound and movie quality!

7. Video Calls:

For 9-10 months in a year I live away from my family, in a college hostel. There are times when I can’t go home for weeks on end! Video calls really help bridge the gap. Though most of them leave me teary-eyed, I cherish each moment when I’m on a video chat with my parents. For a video call you need really strong internet connectivity and a good app. Skype is the best app for video calls! I usually have to alternate between using my phone and laptop depending on the internet connectivity. T100 seems to have superior internet connectivity and will probably be a solution to this problem!

8. Social Media:

 Google+, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & Whatsapp:

 Who isn’t on Facebook ? No one.  As students, we actually post notices on Facebook and Whatsapp, no one uses SMS for such things cause its more expensive! Social Media is also a great way to promote your blog. I spend hours in a day browsing Instagram, Twitter and Facebook feeds, it keeps me up-to-date on all the blogs I follow.  T100 seems to be a perfect integration between a laptop and a phone that will help me remain up-to-date on all my social media! 

Note: None of the images are owned by me