Lakmé 9 to 5 Naturale Matte Sticks - Blush Site Review and Swatches

I must be like the last blogger reviewing this product. I've just been missing from the action scene lately. Another one of my, "better late than never" posts!

I'm going to share my views on the (new) Lakmé 9 to 5 Naturale Matte Sticks that have been launched by Lakmé under the umbrella of products containing the goodness of Aloe Vera.

The Matte Sticks are long crayon sticks that come in a very nice metallic packaging with a gradient effect of soft green and rose pink. It looks classy and interesting. These are retractable which means the bottom part of the stick is twistable so you don't waste product by sharpening it.

Lakmé’s 9 to 5 matte sticks’ collection boasts of aloe vera and honey to heal and soften the lips. It's sad that the brand has not listed the ingredients anywhere, neither on the outer box in which this product comes nor on their website.

The texture is semi matte, it glides on smoothly like a creamy crayon but gives a matte finish to the lips. You will notice a hint of shimmer but nothing that looks gary.

The lipstick is transfer proof and although a lot of people claim that this lasts a good 5 hours, my experience is that with one heavy meal it is gone.

The good part is that the lipstick feels weightless  on the lips so you can easily go back and reapply. It can exaggerate any dryness of your lips so make sure to use this over well exfoliated lips. The first time I tried this over chapped lips (to test the moisturising properties) it looked horrible to say the least.

Price: Rs 451 (2.2 g) available online [ launched at a price of Rs 550 ]

Oriflame The ONE Lip Sensation Vinyl Gel Lipsticks - Review, Swatches, Price

Recently launched, Oriflame The ONE Lip Sensation Vinyl Gel lipsticks are making waves in the world of makeup. Oriflame claims that these lipsticks are going to "knock your socks off"

Oriflame The ONE Lip Sensation Vinyl Gel Lipsticks - Review, Swatches, Price

The ONE Lip Sensation Vinyl Gel is a liquid lipstick that comes in a tube form with a doe tip applicator just like any other liquid lipstick. However it packs in a win-win combination of the texture of a fluid with a plexigloss finish. Its a high gloss formula with extreme shine that is opaque!

Oriflame The ONE Lip Sensation Vinyl Gel Lipsticks

The lipsticks come in a see through tube so that you can see the color of the product. You can press the applicator against the lips to apply a thin coat or lather on a thicker coat for higher opacity. You can also layer on thin coats to achieve the true color intensity.

The lipstick is moisturizing and feels light weight and smooth on the lips.

The Vinyl Gel lipsticks have a great wear time, much better than any gloss and comparable to matte liquid lipsticks. With a light meal or cup of tea the gloss will fade away but the color remains intact on the lips. The darker shades actually remain on the lips almost like a tint throughout the day. I tested this from afternoon till dinner including two meals and a tea break. The darker shades remained till dinner which was really impressive.

Price: Rs 699 [ currently available for Rs 499 HERE ]

There are 7 shades in this range which are Tangerine Tango, Hot Flamingo, Magnetic Magenta, Purple Rumba, Malibu Blush, Sunset Burst and Pink Mambo.

FACES Canada Ultime Pro Face Palette - Fresh and Glow - Review, Swatches

FACES Canada Ultime Pro Face Palette is aimed to give you perfectly sculpted contours. It is a 3-in-1 palette that helps you contour, highlight and define your face.

FACES Canada Ultime Pro Face Palette - Fresh

FACES Canada Ultime Pro Face Palette - Glow

There are two shade palettes available - Fresh and Glow. Each palette comes with a blush, a bronzer  and a highlighter. The three are chosen carefully so that they work perfectly together.


Price:

FACES Ultime Pro Face Palette- Fresh   Rs.899 [click for discount]

FACES Ultime Pro Face Palette- Glow    Rs.899 [click for discount]


The packaging is travel friendly and one palette is enough for your travel needs as you can double it up as your eyeshadow palette too!

Oriflame The One Lip Sensation Matte Mousse Lipsticks - Review, Swatches

I got a surprise for Christmas when my pack of the recently launched Oriflame The One Lip Sensation Matte Mousse lipsticks arrived!

Look at how cute the lipsticks are.

Oriflame The One Lip Sensation Matte Mousse Lipsticks - Review, Swatches

Price: Rs 699 for 5ml [available for upto 30% off on here]

The lipsticks come in a plastic packaging with a gold cap and see through tube. The product is a matte mousse like formula. There are 7 shades that have been launched ranging from pinks to reds.

The lipstick has an applicator brush that picks up a small amount of the product when you take it out. The shape of the applicator makes it easy to line the lip and then fill it in.

Oriflame The One Lip Sensation Matte Mousse Lipsticks - Review, Swatches

Now coming to the seven gorgeous shades. They are (left to right)

Rouge Suede - a cool toned red, the one that looks perfect no matter what your skin tone

Red Velvet - a warm pink toned red that can instantly brighten up your face

Coral Dream - a bright coral shade, almost an orange toned red

Raspberry Cloud - A cool toned raspberry pink shade, bright and lively

 Pink Velour - a soft pink with a slight orange undertone

Satin Rose - a cool toned rose pink shade, washes out my wheatish skin tone

Soft Mulberry - a warm toned berry shade with a very slight hint of brown

Temix Mini Nail Polishes Swatched

Hello everyone! Hope the festive cheer is keeping you all happy. Today's post is a quick review and swatch post of my recent nail polish acquisition! (Sounds like a huge treasure I've just acquired - but that's how polish addicts are!)

Temix Mini Nail Polishes Swatched

Temix nail polishes set that I got is a mix of  neutrals and brights.

There are 5 mini bottles of polish  6 ml each. 

Temix Mini Nail Polishes Swatched

The set of polishes is called the Temix Top Ten but the box actually consists of 5 bottles. The Temix polishes do not have individual names. The shades are a 

• deep coffee brown with a gray undertone. 
• soft neutral with a pink undertone
• pale blue with a gray undertone
• green with an olive undertone
• a cool toned red

Oriflame Giordani Gold Jewel Lipsticks - Honey Chestnut, Cherise Pink - Review, Swatches

Oriflame launched a new set of lipsticks called the Giordani Gold Jewel Lipsticks. I have two of these lipsticks to share with you.

Oriflame Giordani Gold Jewel Lipsticks - Honey Chestnut, Cherise Pink - Review, Swatches

Giordani Gold Jewel lipsticks come in a luxe gold packaging which looks quite stunning. They call it the 'jewel' of your handbag!

Price: Rs 749 [4g] (available at 20% discount online HERE)

The lipstick  has an amazing creamy texture which is almost light like a lip balm. It is extremely moisturising and hydrating on the lips. The colors are not highly opaque yet do cover pigmentation. 

Oriflame Giordani Gold Jewel Lipsticks - Honey Chestnut, Cherise Pink - Review, Swatches

I have two shades from the range - Honey Chestnut and Cherise Pink. Honey Chestnut is a proper chestnut brown shade. Cherise Pink is a rose pink shade. Both shades are great for all skin tones and specially complement the Indian skin tone range (they will suit pale skinned girls just as well as they would suit dusky girls). 

The shades are great for office wear, and the lipstick itself is something you would proudly carry around wherever you go.

Oriflame Giordani Gold Jewel Lipsticks - Honey Chestnut, Cherise Pink - Review, Swatches

Since these lipsticks are balmy in nature, they do not last too long on my lips. But compared to a normal lip balms these lasted for around 3 hours with a cup of tea in between.

To see how Cherise Pink looks on my lips head over to www.instagram.com/OurExternalWorld


The Giordani Gold Jewel Lipsticks are amazingly light on the lips and they have a very nice selection of shades to chose from.

Do make use of the online sales to grab your favourite shades!

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FACES Love Struck and Cocktail Collection Review & Swatches

FACES has launched two sets of nail polishes as complementary collections - Love Struck & Cocktail.

These collections contain 3 polishes of 6ml each. Each collection is created so that you can create easy nail art your self using the colors in the collection.

Price: Rs 399 (available online)  

FACES Love Struck Nail Lacquer Collection

The love struck collection has the perfect colors for Valentine's day nail art. There are two cream polishes and one crelly.

Love Struck Collection

The colors in the Love Struck collection are

1. First Date - this is a beautiful deep pink shade. It has a high gloss finish and goes opaque in two coats. 

2. Day Dream - this is pale pink crelly with hexagonal red glitter and tiny white glitter. With three coats you can use it on its own. You can also use it as a topper over other polishes with a single coat.

3. Be Mine - This is a bright red with a pink undertone, reminds me of strawberries.

FACES Love Struck Collection Swatches

FACES Love Struck Collection

I did a water marble nail art using the three polishes. Using a crelly for water marble can be quite tricky but thankfully the final result was fine.

Water Marble Nail Art

The Body Shop Colour Crush And Other Polish Swatches

This is a quick post for you guys while you wait for me to put up the pictures from my recent trip.

I have swatches of two polishes from The Body Shop - Color Crush range. The first one is a beautiful teal blue shade called Minty Amour.

I have used Maybelline Color Show Blueberry Bombshell on the accent nail on top of the Minty Amour. 

The Body Shop Colour Crush And Other Polish Swatches

The next polish is a rich plum called Deeply In Love. The is a lovely shade for Indian skin tones and quite perfect for wedding as well.

For this one I used Pastel Dots which is a glitter topper from H&M. It has hexagonal particles in pale pink and white along with tiny circular black glitter.

The Body Shop Colour Crush And Other Polish Swatches

The Body Shop Color Crush polishes are opaque and do not chip easily. These are vegan, 5-free polishes.

I haven't yet seen these in stores in India but you can find these in UK for £5.00 for 6.8 mL

Have you tried any of the color crush polishes?

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FACES Ultime Pro Mineral Loose Powder - Review, Swatches

FACES Ultime Pro Mineral Loose Powder - Review, Swatches

A little round pot of joy - that is what I call this cute little product from FACES cosmetics. This is the Ultime Pro Mineral Loose Powder.

The packaging is cute, a black pot with a silver screw lid. The lid  houses the powder puff inside. The base is nice and flat so that the pot can stand upright without toppling over.

The packaging is very travel friendly.

Price: Rs 699 (7gm) available online HERE

FACES Ultime Pro Mineral Loose Powder - Review, Swatches

The powder has a very faint fragrance that is not noticeable within seconds of application. 

Texture of the powder is extremely fine and smooth. 

Bri Polishes - Gold Rush, Silver Sand, Blush - Swatches

Pink and glitter work so well together, totally girly and blingy!

I have three polishes from Love Bri Products to share with you girls. They are Gold Rush, Silver Sand, and Blush. I enjoy using these polishes because they are 5 free.

Bri Polishes - Gold Rush, Silver Sand, Blush - Swatches

Gold Rush and Silver Sand are glitter polishes while Blush is a cream polish.

Bri Polishes - Gold Rush, Silver Sand, Blush - Swatches

The glitter polishes are full of tiny glitter in a clear base. You need at least 3 coats if you want to cover your nail. With a single coat you can use them both as glitter toppers over any polish of your choice.

Parrot Polish Key Lime Swatches

Hi friends, sharing a swatch post of a neon polish that can brighten up any dull day. Key Lime is a bright neon green polish from Parrot Polish. It comes in a cute bottle with the signature parrot logo. 

Parrot Polish Key Lime Swatches

The polish is creamy textured and requires two coats to go opaque. Available at www.parrotpolish.com

Price: $12 (USD)

Enjoy the swatches and do visit the website where you can find many other gorgeous polishes made by the husband wife duo who are bird lovers to the core!

Inglot Nail Enamel 383 Swatches, Nail Art

Inglot 383 is a bright coral pink color that looks more coral in artificial light. It belongs to the Color Play collection of polishes from Inglot. The polish comes in a cubical bottle with a black cap. The brush is thin but the texture is creamy enough to give you streak free application.

Inglot Nail Enamel 383 Swatches, Nail Art

The nail polish has a high shine finish and dries fast. It is free of Toluene, Formaldehyde, DiButyl Phthalate (DBP) and camphor.  The polish stays fresh for 3 days without a top coat after that it starts to chip at the edges. I would love to pick up more shades of this polish for the finish.

Madam Glam Nail Polishes - Winter 2015

I hope you all have entered in the giveaway to win beautiful polishes from Madam Glam. If you haven't you can enter the giveaway here.

Here are swatches of 6 polishes from the newly launched collection at Madam Glam. These polishes are a mix of shimmer, sand textured and pastel glitter polishes.

I swatched two polishes together - "Glitter My Life" and "Midnight Lover". Glitter My Life is a silver toned sand textured polish. The polish has a slight base hint of purple/pink but on the nail it looks very silver.

Madam Glam Nail Polishes - Glitter My Life

Midnight lover is a mix of deep blue and silver. These polishes are also opaque in a single coat. Midnight lover is like a silver holo in a blue polish. Its just beautiful.

Madam Glam Nail Polishes - Midnight Lover

Rimmel London Match Perfection Liquid Foundation - 201 Classic Beige - Review, Swatch, FOTD

One of my favourite foundations for summer months that I'm sharing today is from Rimmel Match Perfection Range with SPF 18 - 201 Classic Beige.

The foundation comes in a glass bottle (the only thing that I don't like about this foundation - I would hate to drop it!) with a screw cap. There is a pump dispenser inside and one pump is good to cover the face and neck. For a little more coverage I go over the required areas with one more pump.  The shade is clearly visible from the bottle itself. The texture is creamy but not gloopy. It smooths over the skin easily. It does not have a noticeable smell. You can apply it with your hands, a sponge or a brush. I prefer applying it with my Sigma Kabuki 3DHD brush to get the perfect finish and quick application.

You can mix a drop of this foundation with your regular moisturiser to create your own tinted moisturiser as well.

Catrice Longlasting Lip Pencil #020 Hey Macadamia Ahey! - Review, Swatch

Catrice Lip Pencil #020 Hey Maccadameia Ahey is a soft brown lip pencil. The body of the pencil is the same color as the shade of the lip pencil. 

Catrice Longlasting Lip Pencil  #020 Hey Macadamia Ahey! - Review, Swatch

The lip pencil is a regular pencil that requires a sharpener. Sharpener is not included with the pencil. Its a thin pencil so a regular sharpener can be used. The lip pencil is waterproof, smooth in texture and does not accentuate the lip lines. It also boasts of Vitamin C. The pencil does last long by itself without food or drinks. It does not transfer onto cups. As a base it enhances the staying power of other lip products. With light snacking however you will need touch ups.

Stay Quirky Nail Polishes Swatched

 A new entry into the Indian nail market is Stay Quirky. A brand of polishes that claims to be 5 free with 150 shades landing from pearly, gel finish, glitter, and textured sand polishes.

Stay Quirky Nail Polishes - Not So Aloof, Polish Me Se*y, Hell Broke Loose

The polishes come in short fat cute looking bottles. Unfortunately the bottle says nothing about being 5 free, nothing about the ingredients, and the worst part is there is no shade name on the bottle. There is a serial number at the bottom which is the shade number.

Other than that the polishes do have a decent staying power and the shade selection is pretty nice. It is good to see more brands coming into the Indian nail polish industry - it means more options for us!

Today I am sharing swatches of 3 shades. I was told the shade names by the team behind the brand otherwise I wouldn't know which polish is what.

Madam Glam Thermal Gel Polish - Dancing In The Moonlight - Review, Swatch

You all know how much fun I find thermal polishes. Just seeing the colour change gives me a child like thrill. Today I have a thermal polish from Madam Glam and its not ordinary polish at all. Madam Glam has come out with a range of gel polishes that are thermal - these polishes are called Chameleon Gels. So you get your gel polish finish with the added fun of thermal polishes. All Madam Glam polishes are 5-free so there you go - another plus point!

Madam Glam Thermal Gel Polish - Dancing In The Moonlight - Review, Swatch

The shade I have is called Dancing In The Moonlight. It is a shimmer polish that goes from pink to a purple tone as it goes from hot to cold. This time I cured my polish using a mini-led lamp that is so much handy to use. But surprisingly it takes longer to cure - that I think is because its a really small lamp. So if you are going for a lamp then chose a mini-led lamp only if you need to carry it with you. Otherwise a regular led lamp or UV lamp works best. You can read more about gel polishes and how to cure them under UV light in my post HERE

FACES Hi Shine Nail Paints - Instant Delight & Sheer Ecstasy - Review, Swatches

FACES had launched gorgeous polishes in their Hi Shine range of nail paints. I have swatches of 2 pretty shades called Instant Delight - 132 and Sheer Ecstasy - 131

FACES Hi Shine Nail Paints - Instant Delight - Review, Swatches

Price: Rs 229 (9ml)

FACES Hi Shine Instant Delight is a brown based soft rust shade. This is a great shade for all skin tones and gives a nice lady-like appearance.  

FACES Hi Shine Nail Paints - Instant Delight -132 - Review, Swatches

Sheer Ecstasy - 131 is a gorgeous peach pink shade with brown undertones. This is an apt neutral shade that will just give the right amount of color to your nails for any formal event.

FACES Hi Shine Nail Paints - Sheer Ecstasy - 131 - Review, Swatches

All the swatches have been taken without a top coat. As you can see the polishes do have a high shine finish. They go opaque in two coats and the finish is streak free.

Both the polishes come in flat cuboidal bottles with a black cap. The brushes are medium sized and might be a bit thin for broad nails. The polishes are cream polishes with a high shine formula. Without a top coat they last for 3 days after which they start fading at the tips if you do any household work. With a top coat they last through the week. The shine stays on.

FACES Hi Shine Nail Paints - Sheer Ecstasy - 131 - Review, Swatches

I would love to try out other shades from this range. I love these two shades and the creaminess of these polishes. The hi shine effect is long lasting and really nice.

Have you tried any shades from this range? Which of these two is your favourite?

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Parrot Polish Ocean Currents (thermal) - Review, Swatches, Nail Art

Parrot Polish drew my attention towards it because of the bright parrot logo. The two lovely people behind the brand Sonja and David, love birds, I've seen their real life parrots and their love reflects in their polishes.

I have two polishes from this brand and today I'm sharing one of these - Ocean Currents.

Ocean Currents is a pretty blue coloured polish which is thermal - yes it changes to a green color in cold water (or was it hot water - jeez I can't remember! It must be green in cold because the temperature here is hot and the polish is blue - so!). The polish is 5-free (formaldehyde, toluene, and dibutyl phthalate free).

Parrot Polish Ocean Currents (thermal) - Review, Swatches, Nail Art

Parrot Polish Ocean Currents (thermal) - Review, Swatches, Nail Art

The polish is a bit runny and gives an almost jelly like finish due to its texture. I used a sponge to create a gradient effect on my nails and then stamped over it using a silver polish. I think this blue looks perfect with my skin tone. In person I love how blue polish looks on my nails. 

Price: US$ 12

And I hope in the image below you can see the green - the tips of my nails and the accent finger nail. Its always tricky to capture the thermal effect of polish. I know it doesn't last long but I love thermal polishes because of the fun element - now its blue and in winters it will be green - and any time you wash your hands or work with a different temperature - you see it changing right before your eyes! Childish you say - well let's always keep the child in us alive - that is what life is all about isn't it?

Maybelline Color Show Lipsticks - Red Rush and Orange Icon - Review, Price, Swatches

It's raining red and oranges in the lip industry. Every where I turn to I see a ravishing red or a bold orange. Today I'm going to quickly share two lovely lipsticks from Maybelline Color Show - Red Rush (211) and Orange Icon (308).

Maybelline Color Show lipsticks are packaged in a simple black casing with a band of plastic denoting the color of the lipstick. 

Maybelline Color Show Lipsticks - Red Rush and Orange Icon

Maybelline Color Show Lipsticks are extremely light on the lips, they feel like a balm almost but have a rich intense color. 

Texture: Smooth and moisturizing

Pigmentation: High (based on different colors, lighter shades are less opaque)

Staying Power: approx 3 hours without food

Staining: leaves a light tint behind (which I prefer)

Price: Rs 299 (available at a discount HERE)

Availability: online and at all Maybelline counters

Shade Selection: I think they have about 70 different shades to choose from