NOTD: Purple Reign By Rimmel

I'm not someone who makes a conscious effort to match my clothes with my nail polish. It's usually the other way round, I try to make my nails stand out, rather than blend in with my outfit When I went out with Aroosa on Saturday, it was coincidence that I painted my nails the same color as my shirt and ballet flats. 

Rimmel Purple Reign

It took two coats to achieve the color of the polish. Rimmel nail polishes are my favorite because of they're long lasting and the brush makes application effortless. Even someone like me, who is not great at painting my nails can achieve a decent look.

 Purple Reign has specks of shimmer in it. Don't be scared though, because the shimmer is very subtle. It is the color that stands out the most. 

I love wearing bold colors on my nails. It's one of the few things I don't mind taking risks with. 

My inspiration was a picture of Hanna that I found online. 

Do you love bold nail colors?

Outfit Of The Day: Cupids, Aroosa & I, Oh My!

My friend Aroosa and I went out for lunch today. Obviously we had to squeeze in time for a little window shopping and coffee as well. While we were at the mall we saw a Cadbury booth being set up for Valentines day.

There were more than a dozen balloons on the side and a few more cupids (they were still setting up the booth and weren't in their proper costumes yet). 

We had coffee at Gloria Jeans. I <3 Creme Brulee. 

I wore a shirt from Limelight and tights from Sarah's. My matching pumps are from New Look.

On my face I have I'm wearing:

Sunblock

Rimmel Stay Matte Face Powder

Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer

Benefit 10

Too Faced Pinch blush in My Petals (which I love)

Benefit They're Real Mascara

My shirt had rounded corners and small chakhs (slits) on the side. It has puff sleeves with cuff.

Aroosa is wearing a shirt of her own design (which I <3), tights from Sarah's and matching pumps from Zaka.

 Her dress has a high neck, and flower patterns around it.

Aroosa, wanted to play the part of fairy godmother today. *sigh* Apparently In Aroosa's world, fairy godmothers have mustaches. I keep telling her they don't. Tsk! 

and got me this amazing O.P.I set which I LOVE. Stay tuned for NOTD posts featuring these two. 

We had a lot of fun today getting all dressed up and hitting our favorite hangouts (CTC and Gloria Jeans) and few of our favorite shops. 

Review: The Body Shop Vitamin E Illuminating Moisture Cream

"A daily moisturizing cream with light diffusing particles that helps to protect the skin, leaving it feeling soft and smooth with a luminous, healthy-looking glow."

Warning: Long post  ahead

I first heard about how great vitamin e cream is for the skin on America's Next Top Model Cycle 16. Kasia,  was one of the oldest models in the competition but looked like one of the youngest. On the show she described her skin care routine, and one of the things she used was vitamin e cream. I googled the benefits of Vitamin E creams/oil, and I was surprised by how many they were. (There are too many to list, but you can read about them here or watch it here.)

I went to The Body Shop and saw they had different varieties of Vitamin E creams, and this one of them. One of the Youtube Beauty guru's mentioned The Body Shop Vitamin E Illuminating Cream in one of her favorites. I was curious about it, but when I sampled it at the store, I thought it was a little too glowy for someone who has oily skin like me. I bought the day and night creams instead which I loved, and repurchased a couple of times last year.

As I was I on a quest to find the perfect eye liner, my friend Aroosa was busy obsessing about making her skin glow. It took her months of research, and she finally decided that this cream was 'the one'! I played the role of fairy god mother this time, and bought the Illuminating Vitamin E Cream for both Aroosa and myself. 

The Body Shop Vitamin E Illuminating Moisture Cream

The first couple of times I used it with a heavy hand and I didn't like the result at all. The cream has pink/lilac undertones which show if you apply it heavily. My face did not look oily, it just looked glowy in an unflattering way.

When applied with a light hand it lights up the face beautifully. I use a pea size amount and I love the way it illuminates my face. It looks so natural, like you're glowing from within. After letting it sink in, I apply my sun block*. My skin does not get, or look oily after having applied sunblock (small note at the end of the post on what I mix the sunblock with). It's lasting power is worth mentioning as well (for me it could be because of the sunblock combination I use). I've noticed it's luminous effect late in to the night as well, after having it on for an entire day.

Honestly, the glow lasts all day! This cream lights up the face in all the right place without looking oily or over done. Aroosa told me that she uses it under her mineral foundation and her skin looks 'fresh'. She notices the glow only if she applies a powder or foundation over it.

I applied a lot so that it can show on camera. The cream is on the left hand

• Illuminates beautifully, 
• You need only half a pea-sized amount, at most, to illuminate and moisturize.
• Great for dry-skinned people - you'll need only a tiny amount to moisturize your skin in seconds.
• Blends fast, so blend it quickly and well (always blend upwards) to get results.
• Looks great under foundation
• You can skip the highlighter when using this
• does not make the skin oily
• It is on the price side. I bought it for RS1550
• You only need to use a tiniest amount to get the desired result, so this will last a long time. It is 50ml

I have oily skin and it works great for me, especially on the days when I've had little sleep the night before or when my skin looks dull.
The Vitamin E range from The Body Shop is my favorite line. I've tried all the creams in this range and this along with the moisture sink in mask are my favorites. This is better than their normal day cream because it not only does the work of the day cream but it gives the skin a little extra boost as well. 

The only con in my opinion is the price. It is a little expensive for a cream. You only need to use a tiny amount to it's going to last a long time. It is well worth the investment. I've had this for about a month now, and you can see there is a lot left in the jar.

People either hate this or love it. Be sure to test it out before purchasing it. Have you tried this or any of the Vitamin E creams from The Body Shop?

Price:Rs1550

Side note: Please not that I mix my Neutrogena sunblock with Tibet cream. The Tibet Snow cream mattifies the sunblock and the sunblock cancels out the whiteness Tibet Snow. The illuminating cream might work differently with another sunblock.

Review: Luscious Studio Secret Concealer

Can you believe I didn't own a concealer till a few days ago? I thought it was time to invest in one after looking at a few recent pictures. I have horrible sleep timings! Well, okay I don't have any timings and thus my dark circles are a clear tell tale sign.

I bought the Luscious Studio Secret Concealer. Well, the name pretty much suggests that your dark circles won't be screaming out the truth so blatantly. Luscious cosmetics have pretty much always been a hit with me. I thought since Luscious products are made specially for our skin tones and weather, this had to be better than Rimmel. I should have followed my heart and not my head (okay, that hasn't been going so great for me either, but oh well) and gotten the Rimmel concealer instead which was less expensive. The Luscious concealer is for Rs775 and now it feels like a splurge compared to Rimmels Rs 575.

 The Luscious Studio Secret Concealer comes in a pen, which reminds me of the YSL Touche Éclat that everyone on Youtube keeps raving about. The packaging isn't as flashy though. The Luscious brightening concealer has a brush applicator, which is surprisingly soft (and got me really excited this concealer was going to be great). The texture is creamy and blends well. However it does not do a great job at concealing under eye circles. I thought I was being paranoid and asked around and all the (some quite irritated) answers I got were 'can't tell a difference', or 'dark circles don't look as bad as they were, but they aren't concealed either'.

Luscious Studio Secret Instant Brightening Concealer in Light Beige 

So there I was concealer-less again. I gave it another try and watched the progress with intent. Here is my report.

• It does not cover dark circles well (I had to use a ton of it)
• Does have brightening effect
• Starts fading within an hour or so
• It settles in to the fine lines a little 
• Works better on blemishes and dark spots
• Easy Application
• Blends well
• Not worth the price

This concealer does not live up to it's claim for me, but it can be useful for evening out the skin tone on the eye lids. If you're someone who does not have any under eye circles and just want a bit of a boost this will be great for you. It can also work on minor blemishes and redness around the nose.

So in order to fulfill the dream of concealing my dark circles I rushed to Jalal Sons (hey, don't judge me, it was a beauty emergency), my local grocery store and bought myself the Rimmel Match Perfection Highlighter and Concealer. I will let you know how the Rimmel one turns out. 

Have you tried the Luscious Studio Secret Concealer, and does it work for you?

Hot Trend Alert+How To: Dianna Agron's Headband Braid From The SAG Awards

I was going through SAG awards red carpet pictures and noticed that a lot the celebrities were rocking the headband braids. Headband braids dominated the spring/summer fashion week that took place a couple of months ago. I remember looking at the headband braids that the models were sporting, and thinking that is something I will never do. 

SAG awards

Never say never, right? It was love at first sight when I saw Diana Agron's headband braid at the SAG awards. She had the best headband braid of the night. I tried to recreate the look today. Mine is not as messy, even though I wish it was. Messiness shall prevail the next time I make this braid. 

Here is a simple way to make this headband braid. 

Celebrity stylist Adir Abergel is the man behind Dianna Agron's fabulous headband braid. He used  Fekkai Oceanique Tousled Wave Spray, after rough drying her hair. I used my Tony&Guy Beach Spray to create the same textured effect.

Celebrity stylist Adir Abergel created a textured fishtail braid starting at the left side of the ear. He then wrapped it around the head like a crown for a chic focal point up front.

I did not want to pin my bangs back, because that wouldn't have suited me. 

Start by making a fishtail braid. If you don't know how to click here for a video tutorial 

Admire your handiwork, 

and then wrap it around the head like a crown.

Pin it up

And you're done!!

Are you going to try the headband braid trend?