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 bought this on my last trip to Sephora. I wanted to try something of Burt's Bees and picked up a body lotion.
Priced at Rs 1100 for 175 ml, it is very, very, very pricey. But I had saved up money specially for this store.

What attracted me to it was- the word 'Radiance' and 'natural mica'. After all, all of us want radiant skin and since my skin is oily, mica will work very well.

Here is the bummer:
- It smells weird. I don't even know what it is... like a bad talc
- The lotion makes my skin 'radiant'- literally. It has shimmer in it. The 1st time I applied it I thought I got something on me from somewhere. The next day I realized it cannot be a coincidence. There were gold shimmer all over my hands which were very obvious in the sun.
- It does not moisturise. My skin is oily and needs a very light body lotion... but, this one does not moisturise at ALL.

The weird part is the description on product mentions- 98.2% natural royal jelly, sunflower oil, vitamins etc.

Such a waste of money.

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... 

I got my Vellvette box today... or should I call it bag?
This is my favourite box. Absolute favourite. The products fit me to a 'T'.

The products are packed in a fuchsia pink pouch. I love the funky pouch and will be carrying my daily make up in it.

Unveiling the products:
- LA Splash eye liner. It is black with small blue glitter
- Toni and Guy curl smoothing shampoo: I have permed my hair recently and this product is much appreciated for my curly hair
- Just Herbs Acne treatment kit: There is a face wash and 2 different face packs. My skin is going through major trauma due to the rains and I face a new pimple everyday... mostly, in the most obvious places.

Love this one. 

I received below coupon with my Vellvette Box last month. I had forgotten all about it until they sent me a reminder mail that it will expire on 31st August.

I could walk into any Natures Co store and buy a product for 15% discount and get a spa free. It was the lure of the spa that dragged me in.

Last weekend I walked into the store at R City Mall, Ghatkopar. Finding a product was difficult. I have enough and more and do not want to buy more till I have finished it off. What I really needed was a face wash and picked up Peppermint face wash for Rs 325 (Rs 275 after 15% off).
I wanted to pick up 1 or 2 more products but then decided against it. I am using this face wash currently.
It is an ok product... the reason I bought it was the peppermint smell. Weirdly, it smells like spirit now... Spirit is the product used to disinfect the area before giving an injection in hospitals. Thats the only reason I will not re-purchase it.

(Pic taken from web).

Coming to the spa, I had decided to get a foot spa since I got a facial clean up the same day. I could choose between facial spa, foot spa or head massage. There is a small space in the store covered by a curtain where customers can get a spa. But, here is the catch. Anyone can walk into the store and get the spa. They do not need to purchase anything. I got to know AFTER buying the face wash. What a bummer!!! I got conned into buying something. Humph!!!

I have been trying out nail art recently and decided to post the pics:

Used- Inglot white nail paint (hate how streaky it is), Colorbar crackle nail paint. This does not look too good but I wanted a twist on the usual crackle.

                                      

Used- Inglot pastel pink, Revlon glitter nail paint. I loved this one. Instead of painting the whole nail with glitter I have only used it on the top half. This reminds me of a fairy.

Used- Maybelline Colorama, Inglot nail art black pen. Polka dots are the easiest to create. I love the base- mint Maybelline nail paint... I just painted the dots with Inglot nail art pen.

Used- Maybelline express finish for base, L'Oreal color riche Le Vernis orange paint for dots. I saw orange on orange on one of the blogs and decided to try it out. The base is a shimmery, light orange nail paint. The dots have been painted on with a tooth pick. Compared to a nail art pen, the dots are large. I like them. Using tooth picks is so much cheaper and there is no constraint of nail paint used.

I was at My My store in A'bad yesterday and ended up buying some products (apart from Lingerie).

Left to Right:

• Victoria's Secret Coconut Passion body Lotion: MRP Rs 680 for 250 ml. It is pricey but I have used it earlier. It was part of my Vellvette box in Oct'12. Link here. I loved the body lotion then and decided to buy it.
• Victoria's Secret Coconut Passion body mist: What I liked about the lotion was that the fragrance lasted so long... that is what made me buy the body mist. Rs 620 for 250 ml.
• Olay Regenerist eye lifting serum: I have been on the lookout for a good eye care product. I hate the lines and darkness under my eyes. Hope this works. Rs 899
• TRESemme curl hydration shampoo: I have been looking for a shampoo for curly/permed hair. Kerastase is too expensive and I cannot afford to buy it since I prefer to wash my hair everyday. I picked up this product. MRP is Rs 1400 for 946 ml. This is not available in India. It is through the grey market. I wish I had picked up the conditioner too. 

L'Oreal has launched a new collection for Cannes (like every year). In nails, it is range of shimmery nail paints and glitter top coats. I read a lot about the awesome glitter nail paints available abroad. In India, the choice is very less. Revlon has 2-3 and Chambor has just launched new ones.
I am still trying them on and so this is not a review.

This is a limited edition collection with 6 nail paints.

The ones on the top are shimmery nail paints while the bottom ones are top coats.

Left to right: A purple paint with golden shimmer, golden silver paint which looks more silver than golden.

Left to right: Copper (love this one... so unique), black with large copper glitter and small golden glitter, grey paint with silver glitter, black with large and small golden glitter.

MRP: Rs 235 each. Grab them NOW!!! 

I am a big of Lush... even the store guy at Kurla store knows me well. He has a knowing smile on this face when I enter. I feel so guilty.
I have been trying out their soaps currently. I don't buy the same once twice... why should I when there are so many options to choose from?

Rockstar soap:
I am currently using this soap. It costs between Rs 300-400 for 100 gm and lasts about a month. Lush soaps generally do not last too long since they are very soft and melt easily.
It is bubblegum flavoured and for kids. Yep... I bought a kids soap. I love the smell... so bubblegummy.
It feels soft on the skin, glides easily and foams well.
The only problem is that the fragrance does not last beyond the bath. As a trial, the soap is wonderful but I will not re-purchase.

Honey I washed the kids soap:

This soap is meant for dry skin and I have normal skin (body... face is very oily) but I could not resist the smell of honey. Priced at Rs 380 for 100 gm, it is worth every penny. It feels soft on the skin... foams well... and the honey smell lingers after the bath.

I found the honeycomb at the end a little irritating but it can be removed. 

Generally, with soaps like these cleaning is not effective... meaning, you don't feel squeaky clean. Thankfully, that is not the problem with Lush soaps. They all make me "squeaky clean". 

Bohemian: 

This was the first soap I tried... I was attracted to the lemon scent. It is not as soft as the above soaps but does its job well. Priced at Rs 300, it is one of their cheapest soaps... and lasts longer than the others. 

Try it if you like lemon scent. It is a light yellow coloured soap with a lemon shaped design.

Dirty:
Yep... thats the name of the soap. It is a men's soap but I love it. This is my favourite (along with honey). It has a mint fragrance and feels cool on the skin. I swear... my skin felt cool and tingled (like when mint is applied). It is perfect for the summer. I don't remember the price and it is not available on Lush India website. MRP should be between Rs 300-400. The fragrance lasts after the bath also.
I will definitely re-purchase this one.

Most websites suggest that the soap should be chopped up into smaller pieces... they will last a longer time. I haven't tried it yet... but will do so next time.

Note- All pics taken from Lush websites. 

I was disappointed with the April Vellvette box and did not post the details here. Everytime they send me a lipstick it is this odd colour. I love bright colours and here they were, sending me boring silver (who wears silver?)... shimmery pink ... etc.

I love May'13 box... it is my favourite.

This month's theme is "organic".
The products:
- Clinique foundation
- Flormar lipstick
- Brocato shampoo
-Brocato treatment

Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus Foundation
It has 4 sachets of the foundation which is awesome. I will be able to use it 4 times atleast. I have received shade 3 which should match well.
The foundation has SPF 15, fights sun damage and repairs it from within.
I am going to try this tomorrow itself.

Flormar lipstick:
This is a full size product priced at Rs 700. I am so happy with the colour. Finally... something bright. It is very moisturizing and glossy. It feels like butter... and is softer than the Revlon lip butter. I may need to store it in the fridge.

Brocato Shampoo and treatment:
The shampoo and treatment are priced at Rs 375 (sample size) each.
They are sulphates and parabens free.
I am looking forward to trying this tomorrow itself.

Also, I have received a coupon for 15% discount at Nature's Co and and a complimentary spa. I am going to redeem it over the weekend.