Utility Pouches from India Circus and How You Can Use Them

Recently I got to try out the ‘Utility Pouches’ that India Circus sells. In case you don’t already know, here’s a bit about the brand:

India Circus is a contemporary design label offering affordable and sophisticated designs by renowned designer Krsna Mehta, Design Director of India Circus. The collections offer various life-style products, ranging from home decor to personal accessories. India Circus designs seek to introduce modern sensibilities to Indian aesthetic traditions. With an All-Indian palette, India Circus draws inspiration from the flora & fauna as well as the rich heritage of India. IndiaCircus’s philosophy is very simple. We seek to bring to you a range of products right from home decor to personal accessories that is flavoured with the Indian aesthetic. Neither are our products too traditional and archaic, nor are they very futuristic. They all are a fine balance of the old and the new, the classic and the chic…in short, completely contemporary.

The site has crossed international frontiers and today has partnerships with groups such as WestWing, Fab.com, HauteLook and so on, with maximum traction coming in from buyers in  Middle East, Asian countries, Australia, Europe, America & Canada. IndiaCircus also has offline tie-ups in France, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, USA & Indonesia. The aim of IndiaCircus is to target specialty & concept stores (dealing with interiors/home accessories) as well as departmental stores.

You can buy the products online from http://indiacircus.com/. They ship to over 200 countries

I must say, I have been enjoying these utility pouches, or makeup bags as I like to call them, of late. They are pretty great multi taskers with respect to storage, and the fact that they have quirky prints and pretty colors makes them all the more reachable. I haven’t used both bags for long, but so far the quality seems great. Here are the two pouches that I choose:

The Body Shop Lychee Blossom Shower Gel... Yeah, Lychee :D

I’ve tried a lot of fruity skincare products in the past, raspberry, blueberry, cocout, passionfruit… You name it and I have tried it.. Or so I thought, till I came across this Lychee Blossom shower gel by The Body Shop. I have never come across ‘Lychee’ (or as I like to spell it ‘Litchi’) in a product before. Did you know that this exists, or maybe I’m not the only one living under a rock all this time?

Rave!! NYX Single Eye Shadow in Purple (Review, Swatch, EOTD and Where to Buy)

Today I have an exciting product to share with you! Yes, its an eyeshadow, but its not just any shadow, it’s one of NYX’s bestselling single eye shadow – ES32 Purple. Since Orchid happens to be Pantone’s Color of the Year this year and Purple falls on the deeper end of this spectrum I thought I’d share this little delight with you! Frankly, its much easier to wear purple than orchid on the eyes, especially for Indian skin tones.

Price: Rs.375 /~$6

Qty: 2.7gm / 0.09 oz

NYX single eye shadows are not listed on the NYX website but I seriously hope they’re not discontinued!

I got it from Nykaa HERE. Nykaa displays ES32 as a taupe-ish color but don’t be mislead by that wrong picture. ES32 is a purple shade.

Its listed on eBay here.

Maybelline Total Clean Express Eye and Lip Makeup Remover -Review, Price, Demo

I have not had the best (to say the least) experience with makeup removers in the past. Makeup remover is a vital part of my cleansing routine because once you start wearing makeup, you’ll need some cleanser which is powerful enough to take off all those long wearing products yet gentle enough to not harm your skin in the process. Because of these high demands, I don’t mind spending a bit more this part of my skincare, however, even expensive brands can fail to fulfil such basic requirements. I was on the hunt of a good makeup remover and along the same time, the Maybelline Clean Express Makeup Remover had just been introduced in the market. I’ve almost always had a good experience with Maybelline, also the attractive packaging lured me to try out this makeup remover. I have tried the old Maybelline remover but I found it very oily so I was hoping this one would be better. 

Cost: Rs.275 /$4.50

Qty: 100ml / 3.4 fl.oz.

Can be purchased from Jabong, Nykaa, Flipkart, Amazon

You can read about my experience with Jabong and Nykaa.

Company Claims(taken from Maybelline India website):

Total Clean Express Eye and Lip Makeup Remover

Remove makeup within minutes with Maybelline New York's Eye & Lip Makeup Remover.

Wipe away makeup in a flash with the MNY Total Clean Express Eye & Lip Makeup Remover.

Removing makeup becomes a piece of cake with this powerful eye and lip makeup remover. Designed to be 2x more effective, this remover wipes off eye, lip and face makeup in seconds. Featuring fast-acting dissolving agents, this makeup remover easily breaks down stubborn eye makeup to give you squeaky clean lids and lashes. The best part is that it leaves absolutely no residue!

Here's why you'll love it:

• Features the Bi-phase formula that removes all type of makeup without leaving a residue
• Enriched with fast-acting dissolving agents that instantly break down stubborn eye makeup
• Dermatologist and allergy tested for increased safety
• Cleans and moisturizes lids and lashes

My Experience:

Empties #2 - Empties And Some Nearly-Empties

So finally my second empties is here! Yay! I never thought I’d reach here so soon :P This time I have stuff that’s completely finished and stuff that’s nearly about to, just like 2-3mls of the product left.  A lot of the products haven’t been reviewed here so I’ve kept a couple of mini reviews in here as well. For more mini-reviews check out my Empties #1 post and Skin care post.

(These are the nearly empties)

(l-r) VS Mist, Pucelle Mist, Neutrogena Cleanser

The New Revlon Colorstay Concealer Review, Swatch, Demo

Concealers and foundations are some of the trickiest makeup products I’ve come across. You have to keep trying and trying till you get the right shade, texture and longevity that you desire, and if you don’t a large amount of money is lost. I‘ve used only 2 concealers so far and Revlon Colorstay is my second one. One thing that stops me from experimenting with concealers and foundations is that if you’re looking for something along the lines of medium coverage, they’re damn pricey, even drugstore brands sell them at an exorbitant price. Today I’m going to review a pricey “drugstore” concealer that is the Revlon Colorstay Concealer.

Cost: Rs.725 /~ $12

Qty: 6.2 ml / 0.21 fl oz

Availabile Online: Nykaa (Review HERE), Jabong (Review HERE) and Amazon

In India Revlon Colorstay Concealer is available in 3 shades only:

Light Medium

Medium

Deep

According to the Revlon US website, its available in 5 colors elsewhere.

Sleek Makeup iDivine Oh So Special Palette Review, Swatches and lots of Pictures!

The ‘Oh So Special’ palette by Sleek has been on my wishlist since a long time and after a lot of hiccups it finally made its way to me! I purchased it from the Sleek Makeup website which ships internationally. I didn’t have the best experience with them, and you can read about it here. I was really excited to try out this palette. These eye shadows are mineral shadows and it’s the first time that I’ve tried some mineral makeup.

Price: Rs.721.26 / $11.99

Qty: 12X1.1g / 12x0.03oz

Available online: http://www.sleekmakeup.com/

About Sleek iDivine Palettes:

Sleek MakeUP’s legendary i-Divine palettes are 12 shades of super-pigmented, longlasting, mineral based eyeshadow, designed to suit all. Each i-Divine contains pearlescent shades, which contain mica particles that highlight and illuminate giving an overal radiant effect.Available in a variety of colour ways, your i-Divine is waiting for you.

Oh So Special includes ultra flattering pink and brown shades that will deliver perfect results no matter the occasion. Take your look from day time chic with matte browns and creamy beiges, through to a sultry evening look with shimmering greys and smoky plums. For best results, use in conjunction with Flick It Eyeliner, and Lash Out Mascara for a polished, defined look.

Available in 12 palettes designed to suit every mood, and trend.

Store in a cool dry place.

Not tested on animals.

Ingredients:

Mica, Talc, Kaolin, Magnesium Stearate, Dimethicone, Paraffinum Liquid, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Propylparaben and Methylparaben, +/- [CI77510, CI 77289, CI 77491, ,CI 77492]. Suitable for vegetarians. Not suitable for vegans.

My thoughts on Sleek iDivine ‘Oh So Special’ Eye shadow Palette:

Packaging: It comes in a sleek black case and inside there’s a plastic sheet between the eyeshadows and the mirror. There are 12 shades in this palette. The names of each shade are written on the plastic sheet. I do wish that the shade names were written on the palette instead of that plastic coz anybody is bound to throwaway the plastic after sometime. It has a sponge tip applicator.

Shades description

There are 7 mattes and 5 shimmery shadows in this palette-the first row has 2 mattes and 4 shimmers and the second row has 5 mattes and one shimmery e/s. I’m going to describe how each color appears on my skin tone and it might vary slightly on few skintones. All the shimmer finish eye shadows have fall out.

Street Wear Color Rich Ultramoist Lipstick in Spell Bound (27) and Ruby Riddle (9) Review, Swatches, Photos

Street Wear recently revamped its collection and made it a lot more attractive!! Even then, I wasn’t tempted to purchase anything from them, because I felt that at the prices they are sold at, the quality would definitely leave something to be desired. However, when I casually strolled towards the Revlon counter to check out the new collection, I couldn’t resist taking a peak at the new Street Wear collection. One thing lead to another and soon I was swatching one lipstick after another, searching for some shade that I didn’t already have and finally I brought two shades. You should have seen my hand!! I had a hard time getting the colors off, the SAs don’t even have a good makeup remover. The lipstick range is called ‘Color Rich Ultramoist Lipstick’.If you’re wondering where to find this collection, I found one Street Wear counter at Lifestyle, it was a part of the Revlon counter.  The reason why I picked up these colors, inspite of my apprehensions, is that I was looking for two colors- a peach for my skintone and an everyday pink, and after swatching two shades, I felt that I’d hit jackpot, cause I certainly couldn’t find these colors in any other drugstore brand!

left: Spell Bound, right: Ruby Riddle

Cost: Rs.180 each / $3 (!!!!)

Qty: Not mentioned :(
Available at: Purplle | Nykaa | Amazon | Jabong 

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.

Maybelline The Volum’ Express The HyperCurl Waterproof Mascara- Review, Photos, Price

I can’t believe I haven’t spoken about mascaras on my blog till now, mascara was my FIRST makeup product! Till date I’ve used 4-5 different types of mascaras and 3 of them have been from Maybelline – The Colossal Volum’ Express, Falsies and HyperCurl. Infact my first mascara was the The Colossal Volum’ Express non waterproof, didn’t know the difference back then ! :P

Cost: Rs.275 ($4.55)

Qty:9.2 ml

You get buy it online on Nykaa, Flipkart, Jabong, eBay, Amazon 

You can read about my experience with Nykaa & Jabong

Company Claims(taken from website):

Enjoy beautiful curled lashes with Volum’ Express The Hypercurl Mascara.

Featuring a powerful curl-lock formula, this mascara gives you voluminous, curled eyelashes for up to 18 hours. Sweep on this mascara and add definition and drama to your eyes!

Here’s why you’ll love it:

• Has an exclusive curl-lock formula that gives you dramatically curled lashes

• Adds volume for expressiveness

• Keeps lashes curled and voluminous for up to 18 hours

• Comes in waterproof and washable variants