EVERYDAY MAKEUP GUIDE

Are you the type of person whose daily grooming involves taking a shower, running a comb through your hair and then dash for office/college/school.. or do you like to spend hours before the mirror worrying about whether your coral lipstick goes with your turquoise blue eyeliner. If you are more like the former then this post will help you look better groomed and more radiant without burning a hole in your pocket or spending hours before the mirror. And if you more like the latter then.. well... you can.. read on and gasp and be astonished about how some women can survive a day without primers and eye shadows and contouring. I am writing this post because my sister (who did not inherit the makeup craze gene) wanted a quick and easy makeup routine. Having to manage studies + baby + her house she has little time for makeup.

Before doing makeup you should consider you age, skin type, your occupation and level of activity in daily life.

Age and skin type: Depending on your age and skin type you should choose the products that you will be using. For eg: a teenager with oily skin might need to use foaming face washes which washes away the exta oils and a woman in her thirties or fouties might need to use an anti aging moisturiser before starting makeup. Also the products that work for oily skin might not work on dry or sensitive skin. Choose your face products carefully and always buy a new product after reading reviews about it. A product that works for your best friend might not work for you. I will be naming a few products in this post but make sure that these products suit you before trying them out.

Occupation and level of activity: Are you a software engineer or a sports coach? Do you stay very near to your office or do you have to travel long distances in two wheeler/auto/bus to reach your workplace? Are you a student who is very active in sports? If your work involves a lot of physical activity where you sweat a lot you should either skip makeup completly or use a very minimal amount of it. Beacuse chances are your skin might get clogged from all the sweat and makeup and cause more harm than good. in the same way if you have to travel a lot in your daily life then you should think about protecting your skin from outside elements like sun, pollution etc rather than enhancing your skin with makeup.

The tips that i am giving below are for people who lead more sedentary office/college/school life. Also there are some things that are common for all. Three things that everybody should make sure to do is: MOISTURIZE your skin, wear a SUNSCREEN, use a LIP BALM. There.. these are the A,B,C's of skincare according to me. There are a variety of products to choose from in the market from Lakme to La Roche Posay. A product does not have to be costly to be effective. Choose products wisely and you will see the effect very soon.

Working women:

1. You need to cleanse your face, moisturize and apply a sunscreen. You can either use separate products for each purpose (moisturizer ans sunscreen) or if that seems likea lot of products for you to put in your face then you can use a tinted moisturizer with SPF. So it moisturizes your skin, protects it from sunlight. Because it is tinted it evens out your skin tone and makes it look bright without looking too made up.

Recommendations:

 Lotus 3 in 1 matte look daily sunblock for normal to oily skin.

Ponds Tinted Moisturizer for normal to dry skin.

2. Now you need to use a powder to set the base. this is optional. people with dry skin might feel that powder makes their skin look cakey and dry. It is a must for oily and combination skin. Do not use talcum powder in the face. Use compact powders meant specifically for the facial skin. Use can apply it using a powder puff or a powder brush. The trick is to use a very little amount. And use powder only on the areas where you want to control the shine like your forehead, nose and chin. The shade of the powder should be neither too dark nor too light but the same as your skin color. Selecting a lighter powder will not make you look fairer.. just madeup. Remember you want to look natural.

Recommendations: 

Lakme rose powder

Maybelline UV white stay compact

Lakme perfect radiance compact

3. Now that your skin makeup is done we can move on to the eyes. The beauty of the eyes depends a lot on the eyebrows. Neat, well groomed eye brows frame the face and make your eyes look more striking. It is better to get your eyebrows professionally done. If you have sparse brows fill them up with a brow pencil. Even if you have thick eyebrows you might need to fill up some gaps using a brow pencil. Most women avoid doing it beacause if not done correctly you look like Kroorsingh. The trick is to use a very light hand while applying the pencil and use light feathery stokes to fill in gaps. Trust me it makes a huuuge difference to your face. After you have done your brows brush them with an eyebrow brush or the a close toothed comb.

Recommendations: 

Lakme eyebrow pencil

I am not including eye shadows in this post. Although you can include them if you want to. After you have done your brows you need to line your eyes with an eyeliner or an eyepencil.

Here again you have different options. You can choose from a khol, liquid, pencil or gel liner. You can either line your upper or your lower eyelid or you can line both. You can make it thin or thick. You can choose from a variety of different colors available in the market. Phew.. lets deal with these choices one by one.

Type of eyeliner: The choice depends on which one you find easiest to apply. Khol is very easy if you are only lining your lower eyelid. you can be literally done in 5 seconds. All the others need a little practice to work with. If you ask my opinion i will say go for a gel liner beacause they give more intense color and they stay longer without smudging. But if you are too impatient to use a brush to pick up the liner and then apply it then you can choose a liquid or pencil liner. Once you start applying eyeliners regularly you will realize which one you are more comfortable with.

Recommendations: 

Khol: Shahnaz Husain shaeyes herbal khol

Liquid liner: Lakme liquid eyeliner

Pencil liner: Maybelline colossal kajal

Gel liner: Maybelline gel eyeliner

Most Indian women suffer from under eye circles. Especially people who work for long hours in front of the computer or those who have erratic work timings. Dark circles can ruin the beauty of your eyes completely. You need to use a good concealer to hide those dark circles or else your face is going to look dull no matter what you do. You need to apply the concealer after you apply the tinted moisturiser. You should apply the concealer only where needed and not on the whole face. Using your ring finger take a very small quantity of concealer and gently tap it around the eyes. Again the key is to use a very little amount. Most women tend to spend money on buying foundations and ignore the concealer because they think it is useless. Well that is not true. A good concealer can really brighten your face.

Recommendations: 

Lakme absolute white intense concealer stick.

MAC concealers (they have a very good shade selection if you dont mind spending more)

There are many methods to line your eyes. If you have dark circles it is better not to line your eyes too thickly as it will make your eyes even more sunken looking. Lining only your upper lids will make your yes look bigger. People who have thick upper eye lashes can line only their lower lids, it will make your eyes look more brighter. Lining both upper and lower lids will make your eyes more striking. Also black or brown is the best choice for working women. If you are a college student you can experiment with different colored eyeliners.

Recommendations:

Chambor eye pencils

After you have lined your eyes the next step is to apply mascara. Mascara helps to make your eyes look more thicker, longer and darker. If you have naturally long and thick lashes you can skip this step. You can apply a black, brown or clear mascara. Clear mascara will give a more natural look but not the dark color which the other mascaras give. It is always better to use a waterproof mascara.

Recommendations: 

Maybelline colossal volume mascara.

4. The last step is lipstick. Again there are many types of lip colors to choose from. Lipsticks, lipglosses, lipbalms, lipstains..the list is too long. Anyways for daytime it is better to choose a matte or cream lipstick. The color should be based on your skin color. For office hours it is better to choose colors that are closer to your own lipcolor. You can apply a moisturizing lipbalm either over or under your lipstick to keep your lips smooth and soft for longer time.

Recommendations: 

Maybelline color sensation lipsticks

Now you are done. Be sure to carry the following things with you so that you can retouch your makeup during the day.

1. Your compact/pressed powder

2. Your lipstick/lip balm

3. Oil blotting sheets like clean and clear blotting sheets. 

These are amazing products. You just need to press them lightly on your oily areas and it soaks up all the extra oil immediatly. Especially usefull for oily/combination skin. It helps you to keep looking fresh even hours after work or travel.
Thats it. Even though it might seem like a lot of products these stuff really do make a difference in your appearence. And with paractice you can finish doing your face makeup in 10 mnts. The products that i have mentioned in this post are tried and tested and have good reviews also. They are also quite economical and would last you for quite a bit of time if used wisely. Thanks for reading. :)

WHITE TONE FACE POWDER: REVIEW

I have this weird urge to try out new products that come in the market especially if the ads are good and if it is cheap. To say that I often fall for marketing gimmicks is an understatement. It goes without saying that I have had some very bad experiences as an impulsive buyer. I often tell myself I will not buy any makeup products unless I have read their reviews but sometimes I get tempted by the cute packaging and trendy ads.

Well coming back to the white tone face powder, I got the 30gm pack. I always get the smaller pack when I am trying out a new product unless I have heard really good reviews about it. The packaging looks cute and I came home and tried it immediately. The ads claim that it will make you 2 to 3 shades fairer immediately after using it. Although I didn’t buy the fairness claim I expected it to make my skin brighter and more even. To say that it was completely useless would not be true. It made my skin matt and more even and slightly brighter. Infact it did exactly what any other face powder does. Nothing more nothing less. In fact I have used talcum powders by ponds that was much better. I wanted to give the white tone powder another chance another chance, so I applied it and went outside. Iwas outside for about 2 hrs and the effect of the powder did not even last for half an hour. I have combination-dry skin and the powder did not help in keeping the oilies away L. Well total disappointment. Lucky that it was’nt costly. I would never recommend it to anyone. There are many other face powders available in the market that do a better job.

Price: 55 Rs for 30 gms

PROS

None. I would not call it a bad product. Just that it doesnt live up to its claims. You can probably get a better product at the same time.

Negatives

The only way this powder will make you fairer is if you mix it in water and paste it all over your face. 

CLARINS MOISTURE REPLENISHING LIP BALM: REVIEW

Do you have extremely dry lips that chaps and cracks without any apparent reason?? Does your lip seem to drink up all the lip balms and still not remain soft and smooth??  Well all your prayers are going to be answered.. you don’t have to look farther than this miracle product. First let me tell you a bit about my lips.  They are dry and cracked and peeling all the time. Yes irrespective of whether it is cold or hot my lips remain as dry as the Sahara desert. I have tried many lip balms and although they have given me temporary relief none of them really solved my problem. I have previously used Clarins products like their white plus whitening moisture day emulsion and the white plus clear softening peeling gentle renewing lotion. ( reviews coming soon). Since I trust this brand I thought to give their lip balm a try.

WHAT THE PRODUCT CLAIMS

Reparative balm works deep within the skin's surface to help heal dry, chapped, weather-roughened lips. Soothes the senses with aromatic plant essences. Hydration so pure and refreshing, parched lips drink in its benefits. Suitable for all climates.

INGREDIENTS

Essential Rose Wax : comforts and protects. Ceramide 3 : hydrates and repairs. Shea Butter : anti-free radical and soothing action. Natural Rice oil extract : soothes and nourishes. Maxi Lip complex ® : encourages the natural Hyaluronic acid and collagen.

MY EXPERIENCE

I have only one word to describe it.. LOVE.. This is an amazing product.. I got this in while I was traveling. The hot humid weather of Chennai had made my lips much worse. They were peeling and I have this irresistible urge to peel the dry skin off. By the way never do this, it bleeds and u get black marks on the lips. Well I never take my own advise so my lips were in a very bad condition. I got this lip balm and immediately applied it. Within 10 mnts my bleeding lips were smooth and soft. They were feeling plumper and the lines were also reduced. I was ecstatic. This is the most amazing lip product I ever used. Totally worth the high price. It has a very light pink color. But comes like clear gel on the lips. Check out pic below for swatches. It has a light pleasant fragrance ( I am very bad at describing smells). And it stays on your lips for at least 4 hrs if you do not eat or drink. And even after the blam fades away the lips remain soft for another 1 hr. This is the case of my extremely dry lips. So if you have normal lips the softness might last for more time. My only complaint is that if I apply too much then my lips become very sticky. Well you might say then why don’t you just stop applying too much. But I like doing it because I feel thus my lips are getting that extra ounce of nourishment J. Any ways I totally recommend it. You should definitely try this out if you have problem lips. 

Price: Around thousand Rs. Don’t remember excactly.

PROS

*Makes even the driest lips soft

*Stays long on the lips compared to other lip balms

*Lips feel plumper and smoother

*Softness remains even after the lip balm fades away

CONS

*Price is a bit high

*Can get a bit sticky

VICHY BI WHITE REVEAL LIGHTENING DEEP CLEANSING FOAM: REVIEW

hey everyone.. my name is krishna and i will be talking about makeup, fashion and beauty here in my blog. So my first post is going to be a review. I'm reviewing the Bi white reveal deep cleansing foam by Vichy. I have always heard good reviews about Vichy products and when i came across the Vichy counter in a health and glow i decided to give it a try. The SA was quite helpful and ready to answer all my queries. I bought this face wash and the night cream from this same range. It claims to reduce skin cells' pigmentation load and exfoliate melanin filled dead cells accumulated on the surface. It also says that they have proven results on asian skin.

The product is a pearly white creamy facewash. You just need a small quantity for your face and neck. About this much..

It lathers OK and the smells good. The fragrance is not overwhelming but subtle. I like that in a cosmetic product. It cleans the face well and even removes my daily makeup.. tinted moisturizer, eye pencil and lipstick and even some of the waterproof mascara. Though i would definitely recommend using a makeup remover to completely remove your makeup. It also makes the complexion luminous like it claims to but its not very long lasting. As far as the brightening claims go i think the product would be more effective if used along with the other products in the same range. My only complaint is that it turns the face a bit dry after washing. Just a little bit. I have dry combination skin and i think it would really suit someone with an oily skin. Altogether a good face wash but the price is quite steep.

Product : Vichy Bi white reveal lightening deep cleansing foam
Price : 1190 Rs for 100 ml
Pros: Cleans face very well
         Face appears brighter and more luminous
         Removes light makeup effectively
         Paraben free
Cons: Makes skin a bit dry after usage
Verdict: Although a good facewash i am not sure if i will buy it again. Would think twice before spending this much.