Review & Swatches: The Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Foundation / Best Drugstore Foundation ?

The Maybelline Fit Me range finally launched in India a few months ago. To the collective relief of all, it was priced pretty well and suited even the stringiest budgets. I wasn’t able to buy much from the collection because the concealer & blush shades were too light but fortunately, there were more shade options in the Fit Me Matte + Poreless foundation range.

Purple Lipstick from the drugstore : Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in Shameless

I was looking through my YouTube feed and all YouTube-gurus had come up with Valentine's day looks revolving around pink – pink eye shadow, pink blush, pink lipstick. I was like, what ? No ! How boring, uninspiring & un-original. Are you really gonna be wearing pink eye shadow and pink lipstick ?!? And why is there this pressure for Valentine ’s Day to be about wearing pink? Last I checked, the universal color for love is RED. Anyways, this trend compelled me to bring something unique to your feed– A purple lipstick.

Review : The New L'Oreal Paris Infallible Lipsticks in Tender Berry (519) and Rambling Rose (212)

Product Claims (from website):

Infallible Lip Colour is a luxurious, comfortable and long lasting lip colour. The new range has with a broad spectrum of 15 gorgeous shades, from subdued neutrals to lively, vibrant shades. It offers 24 hours of vivid, high definition colour. Colour bond technology and combination of silicon micro spheres, captures colour on the lips for upto 10 hours for the ultimate beauty experience. Vitamin E keeps your lips moist, relaxed and hydrated. The creamy, conditioning base: Allows even application without flaking or fading.

I can't believe it has taken me this long to review this range of lipsticks I've been loving since months. When the L'Oreal Paris Infallible Lipsticks launched earlier this year, I rolled my eyes at their ridiculous price...and then I grabbed one during the sale... And one more during another sale. So much for being money minded. 

Review and Swatches : L'oreal Paris Color Riche Les Vernis Boudoir Rose (204) & Top Coats Collection Matte (915)

Ever since I got the Faces Candy Floss Matte Nail Polish, I’ve been in love with the idea of matte nail polishes. Candy Floss is a vibrant pink color & as much as I want to wear it all the time, its not always office appropriate. It was hard to find subtle colored matte nail polishes at an affordable price. I had heard of the Bourjois Matte Top Coat but it was pricey and I wasn’t sure it was good or just a gimmick so I was vary of spending as much on it. Then this year, L’Oreal launched the Color Riche Les Vernis Top Coats Collection which had a top coat called 915 Matte, and no one was more happier than me when it was launched! Luckily I was able to get it at a discount on Nykaa (there’s a sale here every month).

L'oreal Paris Color Riche Les Vernis Top Coats Collection Matte (915)

This top coat is in one word, superb, for a matte nail polish maniac like me. It transforms any nail polish to a beautiful matte finish. The texture is thick and it looks cloudy in the bottle. It is easy to apply when the polish is new, however with time the quantity of polish in the bottle reduces and it becomes slightly harder to apply coats quickly. 1-2 coats per nail are enough. It also acts like a proper top coat, my nail polish lasts longer and chips less frequently. I’m very delighted with this top coat! On the downside, it becomes a bit harder to take off your polish if you use the nail polish wipes.

Price: Rs. 299 (available on discount online)

Qty: 5ml

Availability: Nykaa | Amazon | Flipkart 

(7 shades)

 Matte top coat over Faces Frosty Ice Blue 

L'oreal Paris Color Riche Les Vernis Boudoir Rose 

Boudoir Rose is one of my favorite pink colors evaaaa. It is the most beautiful subdued darkened baby pink color which is suitable for our naturally tan Indian skintones. In simpler terms, it’s a nude pink color. It’s one of those must have pink shades, it goes with any colored outfit – gold, black, white, blue…I can go on & on. It requires two coats for opacity. On its own it looks lovely but I couldn’t resist adding the Matte top coat over it & I love the effect! On its own it lasts for 2-3 days on me without chipping, with the topcoat its good for 4-5 days.

Price: Rs. 250 (available on discount online)

Qty: 5ml

Availability: Nykaa | Flipkart | Jabong

(39 shades)

 Matte top coat over Bourdoir Rose

I love the look & sleek design of the L'oreal Paris Color Riche Nail Polishes but the packaging isn’t as sturdy as it looks. The cap always separates from the applicator and makes it difficult to hold & apply the color properly without streaks. That’s why I avoid buying from this range. Both polishes tend to try out if kept in one position for long periods so I make sure to change the way I store them (horizontal to vertical & vice versa) every 7-10 days.

Overall Verdict :

L'oreal Paris Color Riche Les Vernis Top Coats Collection Matte (915) : 4.5/5

L'oreal Paris Color Riche Vernis Boudoir Rose (204) : 4/5

I want to give them full marks but the price combined with the below average quality of packaging is holding me back! But I do recommend both the shades, I will definitely be repurchasing them. You should definitely check it out during sales, currently, they are on sale on some of the sites mentioned above.

Bourjois Paris Twist Up the Volume Mascara Review + Demo

For the longest period of time, I’ve been a stern Maybelline Mascara user! I’ve tried all variants (right from my teens) & because they were so good & affordable, I’ve repurchased them over & over again. However, one fine day in March, I decided to branch out a little and try some other mascaras, and that’s how I ended up buying the Bourjois Twist Up the Volume Mascara. I originally wanted another mascara from them, but it was OOS :(         Just FYI, Bourjois products are not sealed, so be careful when you’re buying their products. If you see the SAs open any product – BB cream, Mascara, lipstick etc. make sure that you report them to the store manager! Bourjois is considered as a drugstore brand even in India, but actually its not. Drugstore products are those that you can literally get at your drugstore (general store) like Health & Glow or New U, but I’ve never found Bourjois products there! Anyways, lets get on with the review.

Price: Rs. 830 / ~$12.7

Qty: 8ml / 0.27 fl. Oz.

Shelf life: 6 months after opening

Company claims:
Two transformable brushes in one!
Use position 1 to lengthen and separate lashes
Use position 2 to volumise and intensify lashes
Its intense black formula quickly builds full coverage and volume on every single lash.

Lashes look visibly lengthened and perfectly volumised!

My experience with the Bourjois Twist Up the Volume Mascara

Packaging: The Bourjois Twist Up the Volume Mascara comes in a simple black case which actually looks pretty cheap (for the price!) . The top part of the cap is twistable – you can twist it to change the shape of the wand. Twisting it to the right gives you a shorter & conical wand with bristles slightly densely packed for adding more volume; at least that’s the intention. Twisting that back to the left gives you a straight, longer wand with bristles slightly wider apart than the volumising wand, this is supposed to give your lashes a defined length.

volumising wand

lengthening wand

Product vs Claims:

For the first many times when I used the Bourjois Twist Up the Volume mascara, it honestly felt quite gimmicky & hard to use.  I’m accustomed to the Maybelline mascaras & those have a drier formula. The formula of this mascara is runny. On top of that, both the wands are pretty different to the Maybelline mascara wands. I feel like the Maybelline wands actually have hairy bristles and this mascara has plastic bristles. I don’t know if the material is indeed plastic (can’t find the details anywhere!) but it takes a bit of adjusting at start. You really have to spend time figuring out how to make the wand work best for you (though this is true for any mascara!) and since there are 2 wands here it takes double the time.

just with lengthening wand

The color of the mascara is jet black. Honestly, the difference between the Lengthening Wand & the Volumising wand isn’t much. The Lengthening Wand does make my lashes look a longer than they are however it gives absolutely no volume. It separates each lash without clumping (see pic above). The volumising side of the Bourjois Twist Up the Volume Mascara is not the most impressive volumising mascara that I’ve tried(see pic below). I mean, Maybelline Falsies Volum’ Express is the winner any day, hands down! As you’ll see from the pics below, it does curl up my lashes and gives them volume. But its not as dramatic as I’d like it to be. There’s isn’t much difference between the effect both wands give my lashes. Both the wands curl my lashes a bit.

just with volumising wand

The Bourjois Twist Up the Volume Mascara is suitable for everyday office wear. But I could definitely do with more volume, that’s why I sometimes curl my lashes before I apply it, this gives a more dramatic effect.

Legthening + Volumising wand :

To get the best of both worlds, you can also use both these wands together. In the pic below, I haven’t curled my lashes & I’ve used both the wands one after the other, going back and forth as needed. I’m pretty happy with the effect, the volume is definitely to my liking & my lashes look quite wispy! I recommend not putting too many coats because the formula is wet and can make your lashes look very sparse.

lengthening & volumising wand combined

Weartime: 
Bourjois Twist Up the Volume Mascara has a very impressive weartime. It stays on my eye lashes without making the lashes droop for 12 hours straight, after which I had to remove my makeup. One thing I really admire is that the Bourjois Twist Up the Volume Mascara doesn’t smudge at all, this is something that some of the Maybelline washable & waterproof mascaras lack! It also doesn't flake during the day.

Removal: 
the Bourjois Twist Up the Volume mascara I have is not waterproof (another first for me!)so it is easy to remove with any makeup remover, even Bioderma.

Overall Verdict: 3.8 / 5

I won’t consider the Bourjois Twist Up the Volume Mascara as a must have, but it’s good for everyday wear if you don’t like heavy volume. I like that it easily separates lashes, doesn’t smudge at all & wears for a really long time. However, there are definitely cheaper mascaras in the market that can do the same task. The formula has never irritated my eyes so that’s another plus point.

Review and Swatches : Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder in the Shade TL09

Kryolan offers some seriously awesome makeup products but what’s even more amazing is that in the two years since I’ve been buying from this brand, makeup prices of other brands have shot up, however, Kryolan makeup prices have remained the same! I recently went into a Kryolan store to purchase some items and I found that the Dermacolor Cream, Lipstick & Translucent Loose Powder which I had purchased in 2013, are still sold at the same price :)

Today I will be reviewing the Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder in the shade TL09

Price: Rs. 400 / $6.2

Qty: 20gm / 0.7 oz

Shelf Life: 24 Months

It is also available in a 60gm variant for Rs. 900. I wouldn’t recommend you to buy the larger one unless you’re a Pro MUA as 20g itself is a lot of product!

Shades: The Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder is available in a lot of shades despite being translucent. Once you go to a Kryolan store, ask the MUAs there to help you out with a shade. The also have some brightening shades – pink & yellow. I have the shade TL09 which has beige-yellow undertones.

Availability: Kryolan Stores

The Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder is my goto product during the hot summers. It is weightless on the skin and has no coverage since it is a translucent powder. Its finely milled and doesn’t cause creasing when I apply it to my eye contour (the only place I have fine lines). After application, the Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder makes my face matte & does control shine for a couple of hours. I like how it never makes my face look powdery or cakey, due to its fine texture. I feel that it does help control sweat a tiny bit. During cooler months, I prefer to use it just to set the concealer under my eyes. I find that my concealers stay put for longer if I use this Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder to set them.  As for extending the stay of my makeup overall, it does help improve the weartime of my base makeup. As blush, contour, highlighter are all applied over it, it does not help in improving their wear time. It prevents my base makeup from wearing down due to oils & sweat that the body produces. One point that I’d like to make is if you’re in the sun for a long period of time and/or you are sweating profusely, only a good primer can prevent your makeup from breaking down. The Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder is a must have for me on those days when Mumbai gets too humid.

Skin type: Currently my skin is normal. During summers it varied from normal-combination to normal-dry. Last year I had combination-oily skin and even then this powder was effective on me i.e it controlled shine for hours.

Since it is a loose powder, I take special care when I travel with it. Yes I travel with it! The packaging of the Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder is such that you have a plastic powder jar/dabba and its covered with a perforated lid which has a sticker over it. This jar is closed with a plastic lid. I had removed only a part of that sticker when I first started using this powder, now over an year later I have removed little over a 1/4^th of that sticker. This does make it a bit tedious to get the powder out (just a little bit) but its totally worth it because I get to travel with the Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder without worrying about wastage. I live (and hence travel) back & forth between two cities (Mumbai & Pune). The packaging definitely screams cheap and feels flimsy. However I have been using this product since 2 years and only now its lid has got a slight crack which I’m guessing is due to travelling with it. This might cause a problem to Pro MUAs as they need to travel to sets with makeup products all the time.

the shade TL09. It looks white coz its layered heavily. 

You will never get this kind of coverage on your face unless you use your fingers to apply the powder!


Overall Verdict: 5/5

The Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder is a lovely weightless, coverage-free setting powder that ensures longevity of my base makeup, controls shine and also my sweat a little bit (which is more than what I can say for any previous setting powders). I love how its so affordable and I would recommend anyone to purchase it, except if you have dry skin and don’t use a powder. I did recently go to repurchase this product in the yellow shade (as cooler months are ahead and I will be using it just for setting my under eyes) however it was OOS. I will definitely be purchasing more of this loose powder! My sister has dry skin but she likes using this powder to control her sweat (Mumbai humidity I tell you :/). On the downside, it does not have SPF and that is also important for summers. I use a sunscreen spray over my face after my makeup, however that adds to the overall price of the product.

Almost Perfection : Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation Golden Medium (03) and Almond Honey (06) Review

I already know this is going to be a long post so I’ll get straight to the point!

What Lakme Claims:

An ultra-light, water-based, oil free foundation with Vitamin B3 & SPF 25 guards the skin against harmful rays leaving it visibly fairer, polished & vibrant with 16 hours of complete skin coverage.

-Vitamin B3 -SPF 25 -Oil free -Ultra-light

-Water based

In terms of texture & longevity, the Lakme Absolute White Intense foundation has everything that I want. I found myself repurchasing it (I had previously purchased a wrong shade) because I simply fell in love with it! Here are a few things I love about the Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation:

1) Lightweight texture, feels like second-skin.

2) Highly pigmented and gives full coverage. I need a tiny amount. It can cover dark circles as well, over a corrector

3) Works well with other products (i.e BB creams, moisturisers) and its performance is not affected by the dilution.

4) Natural looking matte finish. You can tweak the finish by mixing with other products.

5) Does not look heavy or cakey inspite of being buildable to full coverage.

6) It does not oxidize on me and I have worn it for very long hours

7) Wears for a long time. I have worn it for 10 – 12 hours and my skin still looked fresh!

8) The packaging is very chic

9) I think it is waterproof. You need a proper makeup remover to get this one off!

10) It contains SPF25, while this alone is not sufficient for sun protection, its nice that SPF is present, in case you forget to put one on in a hurry

11) Oil FREE & water based, that's why its so lightweight on the skin.

However, it has a few drawbacks.

Since the Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation is long wearing, it has a formula that dries up really fast once I start applying it and most of the times I find myself using a makeup spray on my brush prior to applying this foundation so that I can blend it well. This means thatmay dry up in the container too. No ingredients list is mentioned and you cannot see how much you have used! It is pricey for the quantity. If I sweat A LOT (I’m talking about dancing for 2-3 hours) it does not hold. It has a citrusy scent which I dislike. Also, initially when I apply it to my face it looks much lighter, it takes a while to settle down to match my skin tone, similar to the way a sunblock behaves.

It takes efforts to blend this foundation unless you use a mixing medium, but once its set, its set. I do powder my face after applying this and it wears well under all kinds of powders – loose, mattifying or simple face powders.

Application tips:

I have applied the Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation with fingers, makeup sponge & brush and the method I like the best is: I spray my makeup spray on to the brush, dot the foundation on one section of my face, blend it in with the brush. I repeat this procedure for other sections. My face & neck can be divided into 3 sections – 2 halves & 1 neck. I’m partial to using a makeup brush because it gives the maximum coverage and is the fastest. Makeup sponges take a bit more time and coverage is sheerer whereas fingers feel tedious with a foundation that dries quickly. The warmth from my fingers doesn’t aid in blending out the foundation, probably coz my body temperature is cool. However, I do use my fingers to dab the product underneath my eyes.

You do not need a fixing spray as a mixing medium. You can also use your moisturizer or BB cream. I have used it with both and it works beautifully. I would like to add that if you wish the foundation to last long, do not dilute it with too much of moisturizer/BB cream, keep the ratio 2:1 or 50:50.

Shade range:

There are only six shades in the  Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation and the darkest one, i.e Almond Honey (06) is a perfect match for me. It has warm undertones. Initially I had purchased Golden Medium (03) and that was too light. For reference, I am NC42 in MAC. Unfortunately the shade range is very limited, which is a shame!

Suitable skin types: 

I think normal to oily skinned beauties will enjoy this foundation. It may be too dry & matte for dry skinned ladies but it can be mixed 50:50 with your moisturizer to apply.

Price vs Product :

Price: Rs.700 / $11

Qty: 15ml /0.5 oz

Shades : Ivory Fair, Rose Fair, Golden Medium, Golden Light, Beige Honey, Almond Honey

Availability : Nykaa | Amazon | Flipkart

The price is steep, however the Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation can be bought at discounts online. Currently it is on discount at Nykaa, Amazon, Flipkart & eBay . I got myself shade matched at the store & then purchased it online it during discounts.

Overall Verdict : 4.7 /5

The Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation definitely takes work for blending in, luckily with the right tools you can take full advantage and enjoy its texture and wearability. It gives a beautiful full coverage natural finish and wears for a really long time. I definitely recommend this foundation, do try it out! I wouldn’t purchase just any foundation twice ;)

Primed for perfection : Colorbar Perfect Match Primer Review, Price, Ingredients and other bits

I generally go for long wearing makeup but in India, you need to go the extra mile sometimes. The weather is pretty much unpredictable and don’t even get me started on the humidity some places have!  Therefore I decided to invest in a primer, initially I got it with the intention of using only during functions & festivals, but slowly it has crept into my daily makeup routine. I’m talking about the Colorbar Perfect Match Primer. This is my first face primer :)

Company Claims & Ingredients:

This satiny touch oil free primer masks the fine lines and uneven texture, making skin marvelously soft and smooth. Dab on a little all over face for smoothening surface or use before concealer and foundation for perfect complexion and lasting effect

My experience with the Colorbar Perfect Match Primer :

Packaging : The Colorbar Perfect Match Primer comes in a plastic squeeze tube having shiny cap, I think its kind of fancy and very chic! The packaging is actually perfect because it gives you control to dispense the amount of product you need.

Texture: The Colorbar primer is clear. The texture is very, very silicone-y. It is indeed silky like the claims and glides on effortlessly onto every nook & corner of my face. You have to make sure you don’t put too much of this, else you’ll end up feeling greasy and oily on your face, akin to applying too much serum on your hair.

Effects:  The Colorbar Primer easily makes my face smooth and gives it an even texture. However, it is very drying. I always make sure I moisturize my skin well if I'm applying the Colorbar Primer otherwise my skin gets dry once I've applied the it and the makeup application isn't easy then! I do not know if this happens with all primers as the Colorbar one is my first.

When I have any pimples or bumps I apply the Colorbar Primer over them and they smooth out and don’t stand out as bumps. This makes it so much easier to conceal pimples! I also love putting this primer on my eye contour, this ensures that my concealer doesn’t settle into those fine lines we all have under eyes and also makes my concealer last all day. It also makes it easier to layer products; I use a cream corrector and a cream concealer on my eye contour. They start creasing soon if I don’t apply a primer underneath.

Does My Makeup Last All Day?
On the whole, the Colorbar Primer doesn’t really prolong the wear time of all of my makeup, however, it does make my face look fresh at the end of the day too! I’ve noticed that when I’ve been out for a long time, spent a considerable amount of time in the sun and pollution, my face still looks fresh if I’ve worn the Colorbar Perfect Match Primer underneath my makeup. I’ve even worn it through an intense and sweaty dance festival (hello Dandiya!) and even after the insane amount of dance I did, my face looked fresh, despite being sweaty. However, my makeup pretty much wore off. Another thing I noted is that it doesn’t hold as well in the humid weather of Mumbai.

An important aspect in makeup products that we’re always on the lookout for is that they should not break us out. Fortunately, the Colorbar Perfect Match Primer has not broken me out whenever I’ve worn it. It also doesn’t aggravate my pimples when I apply it over them. I use it almost daily in my eye contour and it has not affected the area at all. If you are allergic to some silicone products, please check the ingredients list & verify with your dermatologist if its ok for you to use this product as it contains a lot of silicones.

Product vs Price:

Price: Rs. 825 / $13 (Available for cheaper online)

Qty: 30ml / 1 oz.

Availability: Jabong | Amazon | Nykaa | Flipkart 

Overall Verdict: 4/5

The Colorbar Perfect Match Primer is a great primer to start out with and its easy on the pocket. It has a hassle free packaging and is easily available in India as well! I like to hydrate my face well before using it as it is drying. It prolongs the weartime of my makeup, especially in the eye contour and keeps my face looking fresh all day.