I went to Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj for some work today and came across MAC's new collection. Below is my haul:

Top to bottom:
- NYX lipstick in Fig. Bought it from Sephora for Rs 360. Online everyone has been raving about these and I decided to try them out
- Inglot lip brush. MRP Rs 1000. I like Inglot brushes. They are cheaper than MAC and good quality
- MAC lipstick Up the Amp. MRP Rs 1100 from Playland collection
- MAC lipstick Candy Yum Yum. MRP Rs 1100 from Playland collection
- MAC long wear waterproof brow set. MRP Rs 1300. This is part of a new collection. The collection has gel liner for the brows, brow sets and mascara.

The brow set has to be applied over the brows (of course) with a mascara type wand. I am using a NARS brow pencil gifted by my sister right now and previously was using Oriflame's super cheap brow pencil. Have decided to try something new.

It is brown in color and has a mascara wand. Can I use it as a mascara too???

Left to right: MAC candy yum yum, MAC Up the Amp, NYX in fig.

Candy Yum Yum is a neon pink. I had to stand and recollect for 10 mins if I have this shade but then decided that I don't. It is a very neon pink and instantly brightened up my face. It is matte and has a crayon like consistency.

Up the Amp is a berry colour. I do not have this shade and decided to buy it.

NYX fig. An everyday colour... nudish... coral... for daily wear.

Swatches: Top to bottom : NYX fig, Up the Amp, Candy yum yum

I saw this nail paint here and checked it out at Sephora. Sephora has opened a new store in Gurgaon and am loving it. They stock a brand called 'The Face Shop'. I bought the first BB cream from this brand.

Anyway, I picked up a sky blue colour nail paint for Rs 100. 

They have 2 other pastel shades in this. 

The paint goes on opaque in 1 coat and dries very fast. The second coat makes it completely opaque and takes a little more time to dry.

I started using a body wash when I had to travel daily and carrying a soap was not convenient. I have been hooked since... sure, they are expensive but do not dry out the skin like soap and smell awesome.
Finally, I have found my favorite body washes. The best part is they come in sooooo many fragrances and I plan to try each one.

Here they are... body wash by Sephora. MRP is Rs 400 for 140 ml.

They are more expensive than Body Shop which costs Rs 425 for 250 ml. But Body Shop's fragrance does not last. They smell good only in the bottle... I cannot smell it on the skin. And for some reason, I tend to use more quantity in the bath. So, they don't even last long. Also, the pump pack means that the shower cream cannot be used fully... some of it gets left in the bottle and is out of reach.

I have already used chocolate, mango and vanilla and bought coconut and blueberry.

The product is very thin and very little quantity is needed to lather up making them last atleast a month or two. Plus, they smell awesome in the bath.
I am loving them!!!

Hellos... am back after many, many days. Not because I had nothing to blog about... in fact, some of the empties have been lying around for months for their reviews. But before that, let me show you what I purchased today. Sephora has opened in Ambience Mall, Gurgaon... after months. I would wonder how much rent they were paying for a store which was not yet open. The 1st time I went to Sephora was because everyone was doing so... I did buy stuff but none of it was what I really wanted. These brands were on my wishlist:
- Make Up Forever
- Benefit
- NYX
- Oscar Blandi's dry shampoo

Unfortunately, they were all so over priced that I gave up. Instead I have discovered new brands.
This is what I bought:

- Body Wash from Sephora- coconut and blueberry. MRP Rs 400 each
- Kama herbal hair wash powder. MRP Rs 425
- Kama vanilla and oatmeal soap. MRP Rs 395
- Nail paint from the face shop. MRP Rs 100 (not kidding)
Got the samples of Kama hair intensive treatment free. It is basically an oil.

And bought hand sanitise from The Body Shop for Rs 350. I love their hand sanitisers... they last long and smell good. This is my second bottle.

Kama is a new brand in Sephora. I am glad because I wanted to try it out. 

I have wanted to try out an all white look for the longest time. White looks elegant but somehow very few people don all white. All black is common enough... but not all white. I wonder why. I am very careful while wearing whites since I tend to stain them... clumsy, you see.
I woke up today determined to try it out.

Skirt, cardigan- Zara
Top- Vero moda
Fishnet stockings- gifted
Slingbacks- Charles and Keith

These stockings are so sexy. The weather is not too cold and wearing something like this is possible.

I love the lipstick. I bought it from Sephora for 900 bucks. It is a true red and lasts all day. Applying it is a little tricky because if it is not perfect, it shows. The finish is matte but non drying. It comes off a little from the middle after a heavy meal but I just apply a little lip balm to spread it out.

On the last visit to Sephora I wanted to try something of the 'Sephora brand'. I decided to try a lip stain. I love lipsticks which come in a tube- e.g limited edition of MAC, NYX etc.

I purchased this for Rs 800. Don't know the quantity. It has a plastic packaging and an applicator.

The lip stain is red in colour... slightly darker than a blood red. I did not want to go to work today and decided to jazz up the day with this red lip stain. I wore for the first time. Yep... I have had it for 5-6 months.

I do not believe in subtle colours at work. You should wear what you want to... who said only dull and nude colours are apt for work? It was probably someone with no guts to wear funky colours.
I got a lot of compliments today... I kept the rest of the make up very simple... only mascara and foundation... the red colour was the only focus.

Now, the best part-
- It does not smudge at ALL... I applied it in the morning... and touched up after lunch. I generally never touch up but the lunch was a heavy one  and a touch up made it look better
- It looked just as fresh at the end of the day
- It goes on like a gloss and then becomes matte. I blotted it after applying to make it matte and look like a stain
- It does not moisturise and does not dry. My lips are very dry and I apply a lip balm every hour. I did not need the lip balm even once throughout the day. The 2nd non drying lipstick (after Ronnie Red)
- It does not bleed. To be safe, I applied a lip liner anyway.

Please ignore the oiliness on my face.... I have very oily skin and the light in office did not help in the pictures.

On my next visit to Sephora I will pick up a few more shades of this lip stain.
Very, very good. 

I have been using body scrubs these days. I use them once a week (on the weekend... no time on weekdays).

Here are all the body scrubs I have tried till date:

- Soap and Glory Body Buff: On my last visit to Sephora (almost 5-6 months back), I had kept some money aside just to shop at Sephora. I have read so much about Soap and Glory products and decided to try out something. This was the first scrub I used. It is priced less than Rs 500 (don't remember the exact price) for 50 ml. It is a plastic packaging... the packaging is quite famous 'coz of the funky writing on it. Personally, I didn't care much about it.
Apparently it has Babassu Oil (never heard of it) and sea salt.

The scrub is light pink in colour with darker beads for exfoliation. It has a strong perfumey smell... it smells like one of those bad, cheap perfumes. I don't like the artificial smell but like the fact that it lasts after a bath.

The beads exfoliate well. They are neither too harsh nor too mild.

Will I re-purchase? No... I do not like the artificial smell.


- Lush Sugar Scrub

I bought this sometime back from the Lush store. It is green in colour with a strong spice smell... Fennel or Cinnamon. A very interesting smell. It is dome shaped and very hard.

Picture- Taken from Lush website since I have used up my scrub.

I made the mistake of storing this on a soap dish in the bathroom. On first use, I found the scrub very harsh. It hurt. I didn't want to use it again but the storage in the humid bathroom loosened up the scrub and it got easier to use. Thats when I really started liking it... the spicy smell, the scrub was harsh enough to remove the dead cells and not hurt. It does not lather and yet cleans. After scrubbing, my skin felt smooth and moisturised.
Awesome!!!
Will I re-purchase? Yes... why not?

- Body Shop Strawberry Body Polish: A couple of times I wondered if I should buy this scrub and then decided against it. I generally had a scrub at home that I was using. Once Lush scrub was over, I came across a positive review on a blog and went and purchased it.

Priced at Rs 599 for 250 ml, it is pricey... I just checked some reviews online and the price has increased from Rs 445 to Rs 599 in 3 years. Ouch!!!
It comes in a plastic tube. Regular Body Shop packaging. It is quite big and I will not carry it while travelling.

The scrub is red in colour with kiwi seeds and smaller red exfoliating beads. The blacks beads in below picture are kiwi seeds. It lathers a lot and exfoliation is very, very mild... so mild that I wonder if any dead cells are removed. It is very mild and feels almost like a body wash... gentle enough to use everyday.
The best and only good part is the smell... it smells very strongly of strawberry and I love it.

Overall, it is a good product for those who like mild exfoliation... I think a scrub should work like a scrub and this one does not. It will make a good body wash instead.
Will I re-purchase? Nope...