Favorite Summer Pastel Nail Polish Colors + Recommendations

When it comes to switching makeup between seasons, playing up your manicures is the easiest place to start. For me though, pastel & bright nail polishes are my JAM. I literally wear them all year. So when summer rolls around, I have plenty of colors (& polishes) that I can recommend you to try out asap!

Three Great Organic Clay & Rice Based Face Masks for Summers

I love using face masks and I think that every girl does! I have discovered so many great face masks over the years and I realized that of late, I’ve seen best results from natural face masks than chemical ones. Today I will be talking about three organic clay based face masks, which I think are great to detox your skin during summers!

CURRENT MAKEUP FAVORITES [SUMMER EDITION]

Summers in India are something different altogether. We are blessed with hot, tropical climate that can get pretty humid in coastal areas. This post isn't about my favorite makeup that will last if you're outside whole day in summer. Its simply about what I'm loving on a daily basis to work, in spite of the weather.

My Current Pimple-Free Skin Care Routine (Cool Weather)

Before you begin with this post, do read my earlier skincare post where I’ve mentioned some important tips that I follow till today.

Skincare Favorites of 2015

2015 was a great year for me in terms of skin care. I discovered products that have kept my skin blemish-free, even during my period ! It doesn't get better than that, does it ? 

Here are some of the skincare that really stood out in 2015 :

Iraya Kumkumadi Facial oil - I got a lot of compliments from my family coz of how amazing my skin was looking after using this. Enough said, right ? Full review here. 

The Body Shop Warming Mineral Face Mask  - This clay face mask makes for the perfect winter indulgence; as you apply it on your face, you’ll notice that it warms up. This feeling is very comforting, especially in winters. It is able to detox my skin very well & reduce blemishes, spots and marks to a great extent. Full review here.

Just Herbs Petalsoft Antitan Rose Face Pack - I had just a sample size of this product that lasted for a good amount of time for me. I loved using this because of its rose fragrance, the whole experience was therapeutic. I want to repurchase it for the summer season, which is the time I enjoyed using this face mask the most. More deets in this post. I must say that I love how Just Herbs has amped up the packaging now, it doesn't look like the tin in my collage anymore. 

2015 MAKEUP FAVORITES !

It may be late because we are already halfway into the first month of 2016, but I also felt that it is the right time to retrospect & take a really good look at all the products I used in 2015, before I began makeup hauling in 2016. I didn't get a chance to try out every new release in 2015, lets face it-I'd be pretty broke if I did that, but here's what I loved & thoroughly used last year from my stash (in no particular order):

Kryolan Dermacolor Camouflage Cremes – Love these. They are multipurpose base products; you can use them as foundation and/or concealer. Although I use DFD every day for concealing I’ve still not hit pan on it. I also purchased a green corrector last year (DREDB). Review & demo is here. I recently went to the Kryolan store & stocked up on these.

Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder – Another product I have repurchased, albeit in a different shade. Its really hard to find a good loose powder in India without breaking the bank, but this powder. Reviewed here. 

Stuff That's NOT Working Out #2- Why I Will Never EVER Buy These 'Makeup Removers' Again

You know that Taylor Swift song which goes like, 'We are never, ever, ever, getting back together.....

When I remove my makeup, I expect that its going to be one of the last things I do that night in the cleansing department. The max I’m willing to do after removing makeup is to use a cleanser just to get rid of any residue from the remover. And that’s not the last step of my night time skincare, I follow it up with a toner, eye cream and moisturizer, if I have some pimples coming through, then I’ll have to apply a pimple buster as well. My point is, there is so much to do at the end of the day that anything which requires extra steps just pisses me off! 

I’ve gone through a lot of makeup removers and the first one I tried was the old Maybelline remover & it was way too oily and really put me off oil based cleansers completely. Which is why I came across 3 really bad makeup removers, they aren’t completely useless, but they fall quite close to that line. So when you go out to buy a new makeup remover for yourself, keep these bad eggs out of your shopping list.

My Summer Most Used Makeup Products & Favorites...!

This summer I had a lot of fun experimenting with color, my favorites were bright pink, turquoise and yellow. Summers are very humid in Mumbai and the first time I wore a full face of makeup, I was sweating so much, it felt like my face was melting off. There after I decided to go light on base makeup and I’ve just been experimenting to see what works will in the heat, unfortunately sans primer, nothing works for more than 2 hours. Anyways, here’s my most worn makeup for this summer, not all are favourites though, I’ve added my thoughts on each product so you know how I feel about them. This is a picture heave post, hope you enjoy it!

You can also check out My Summer Skincare+Tips Post .

I loved using the Rimmel Liquid Cheek Tints because they were quick and fuss free and as long as I’m in ac they last for nearly 5 hours. The Cheeky Glow blush in Fresh Coral is a beautiful pink shade that suits all the pink lipsticks I wore this season. It does have a hint of coral but is mostly a nice brightening pink blush for me. 

(Clockwise from top) Sleek Antique, Rimmel Sunkissed Cherry, Maybelline Fresh Coral, Rimmel Pop of Pink

The Sleek Limited Edition Antique blush is the only disappointing one of the lot, though it looks good it pictures, it has glitter that can travel across your cheek area. However it gives a glowy look to the face and can be used to fake a glow in pictures.

Nails! ~ 3 Budget Friendly Glitter Nail Enamels for NYE !!!! ~

*UPDATE: mybeautyexpress is now crazybeautyland.blogspot.com

Tis the season to wear glitter! December is everyone’s favourite month of the year isn’t it? Holidays, decorations, lights, pleasant weather… all things to enjoy. I like these vacations more than summer vacations because of the weather. At this time of the year, in Mumbai, its just starting to get cold, its quite lovely and I enjoy going out everyday. My skin is at its best, aka normal. In contrast, summers are hot and the sun is unforgiving. I sweat all the time within my house also. But summer has its benefits too, like bright colors!

 December has festivals and also signals the end of an year, which means parties and celebrations. What is your must-have accessory for celebrations? Mine is glitter. Glitter instantly adds more statement to your look, it is also absolutely fun to play around with.

There is probably no easier way to incorporate glitter in your look, than by adding it to your nails. Its simple and quickest to do(and its also a pain to remove, but there is an easy method).

I picked up 3 affordable glitter nail polishes that stood out for me this year. Of course there are more than just three released this year, but these ones are easily accessible and economical, compared to the rest. I’ve decided to do mini reviews and comparisons, just for you!

You can buy these online from Nykaa
See my shopping experience with Nykaa HERE

One notation to keep in mind: Ease of removal:- 1 indicates that the nail polish is easy to remove, like any other nail polish, 5 indicates its difficult to remove and requires the foil method.

You can zoom the photos upto 60 times to see the nail polish more clearly. (you will end up seeing my dry cuticles as well, but that’s what happens when you continuously swatch nail polishes >.<)

*UPDATE: mybeautyexpress is now crazybeautyland.blogspot.com

Starting with the cheapest of the lot:

1.Maybelline Color Show Nail Enamel in Velvet Wine:-

Cost: Rs.75

Color: this is not a color I’d normally pick, but I was shopping online so you can understand. Velvet Wine seems like that “rani pink” which is over used by a lot of people and a color that I personally hate for nails but its actually a deep fuchsia color with silver and fuchsia shimmer. Two coats makes the color even more deep, leaning towards raspberry pink. The color is between deep fuchsia and raspberry. It’s the perfect color to wear with indian traditional wear, it will complement Indian attires and colors beautifully. I have used two coats for the swatches.

 I liked that the vibrancy and shineyness of the nail polish stayed the same for the entire time I wore it, even after 5 days of wearing it, it looked freshly put! I experienced tip fading only on the third day, and I wore it without a top coat. But it made the whites of my nails yellow, and it has a strong nail lacquer odour.