Going To Dubai: Whats In My Travel Make-Up Bag

I'm leaving for Dubai tomorrow monrning and I am so excited!!! I am visting my best friend (who I've known since class 3) who lives there. I'm going to be staying with her for eight days. To be honest I still have a couple of things to do, so I'm a little more tense than excited right now.

My suitcase is (almost) packed and ready. My make-up and accessories are in their bags. Tomorrow can't come fast enough. :)

I'm taking more blushes than I need. A girl can never have enough blushes, right?

Bella Bamba 

NARS Deep Throat (just so I can get some use out of it)

MAC Pink Swoon (this is one of my go to blushes)

Sleek Rose Gold (I just got this recently and it's so prettty)

My trusty Benefit 10

MAC Mineralize Skinfish

NARS Albatross

Benefit Watts Up

Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer 

Benefit They're Real Mascara 

MAC Creme Cup

Sephora lip gloss in Pink-o-Lada

(I'm not taking my new L'Oreal lipsticks because my mother uses them a lot. I decided to leave them behind for her)

Urban Decay De-Slick

I'm taking my Eco Tools mini brushes and some bangles in another bag. I'm not planning on taking any earrings.

So, tell me how much make-up do you take you when you travel? Do you keep it to bare minimum or try to stuff as much as possible?

TAG: Seven Deadly Sins Of Beauty

I haven't  been blogging much (the press releases don't really count) because I have been really distracted these last couple of days. There is a lot going on and I wanted the dust to settle down and then get lost in the blogging world again. I got tagged twice to do the 7 deadly sins of beauty tag by Pandora's Box and Vivacious Flair (they're both amazing bloggers, do check them out).

 

GREED- What are your cheapest and most expensive beauty products?

My cheapest beauty product has to be my Rivaj contouring brush, which I bought for Rs 250 from Jalal Sons. 

I have oily skin, and I am always investing in face powders (well, I was till last year anyway). This is why my most expensive beauty product is probably the Tarte Sswmooth Operator face powder. It is amazing because it doesn't let the make up budge at all!! Although I don't think I will be repurchasing it again.

 WRATH- Which beauty product you have love/hate relationship with? Name it.

It has to be my Benefit 10 box powder. I love contouring face (since it's very round), but I still haven't mastered my contouring technique yet. Benefit 10 makes contouring so much easier, but sometimes I still find myself struggling with even that. Tsk!

GLUTTONY- What is your most delicious beauty product?

Oh, it has to be The Body Shop Chocomani scrub (you guys are probably sick of me rambling about it by now). These days I'm on a self imposed coke and chocolate ban . I can't eat chocolate, but I can bathe in it. Haha! It honestly smells so good. 

4. SLOTH- What beauty products do you neglect because of laziness?

Like Pandora's Box I too tend to forget to spray on the De-Slick finishing spray after I'm done with my make-up. I'm always running late and I just forget to spray it on. Sometimes I spritz it on before I do my make-up, which makes a huge difference keeping the make-up last longer as well. 

5 PRIDE- What beauty product gives you more confidence?

If someone had asked me this question last year I would have said blush. Now I can't even imagine not contouring or highlighting my face. I'm going to cheat and list two products. Any good highlighter and bronzer would do, but I reach for NARS Albatross and Benefit 10 the most. 

LUST- What traits do you find attractive in the opposite sex?

His smile 

ENVY- What item would you most like to receive as a gift?

The only (shocker) thing I have on my wishlist is MAC's Soft And Gentle Mineralize Skinfinish. *sigh* Is anyone else brainwashed by YouTube as much as I am?


I have to tag seven bloggers, and I tag:
Sara Hassan
Beauteous Blog
Sahrish Adeel
Beauty Make-Up Addict
Star Vogue 
Sarah Confesses
rK's Beauty & Fashion Blog

I would love to tag all of you as well. Let me know your seven beauty sins in the comments below.

PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week 2012- Press Release

Glamour, glitz, High Fashion, Pret and stunning hairdos all come together at the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week, to be held at the Lahore Expo Centre from April 13-16  2011.

Pakistani designers with international fame, from HSY to Kamiar Rokni to Sania Maskatiya, will present their latest collections. Adding to the buzz are leading fashion models with their amazing haute and graceful depiction of the designer’s collections.

For Sunsilk, the sponsorship is a cause-related marketing programme for promoting the very talented and much-neglected fashion Industry of Pakistan. Unilever’s consistent commitment to the fashion world through this program has been appreciated by the PFDC.

Sunsilk PFDC Fashion Week believes in supporting the emerging and aspiring designers in Pakistan, hence the show also includes exhibitions by students of Fashion Design. With the positive publicity in both electronic and print media that Sunsilk gets through this sponsorship, we have created heightened visibility of the Sunsilk range. Sunsilk’s market leader position has been reinforced through the premium assemblage that the event attracts. These opinion leaders play a critical role in promoting the usage of premium brands like Sunsilk.

Don’t miss out on the design trends for Summer 2012 & the fabulous yet affordable creations…  and stay tuned for the airing!

Nail Of The Day: O.P.I I'm Not Really A Waitress

I'm still in the mood to ignore summer as much as I can. Even though it's spring in most parts of the world, summer has officially started in Lahore in all it's blazing glory.

Today I'm wearing O.P.I I'm Not Really A Waitress on my nails. It's such a pretty shimmery, metallic, deep ruby red nail colour. When I purchased it I didn't know that that this is one of O.P.I's  award winning/best selling nail polishes. I can understand why it is so hyped though, because it's gorgeous! The colour reminds me of the red shoes from Wizard of Oz (the shimmer in I'm Not A Waitress is very subtle though).

O.P.I I'm Not Really A Waitress

O.P.I I'm Not Really A Waitress

O.P.I I'm Not Really A Waitress

O.P.I I'm Not Really A Waitress (click to enlarge all the pictures)

This is a dream to apply. It glided on smoothly, without any streaking (unlike Lincoln Park After Dark). Like all the other O.P.I nail polishes it dried really quickly as well (which I love). I used two coats to get the desired shade. Obviously, the only thing I would change about it is the price! I've never had to think twice before buying a nail polish before!

Which one is your favourite O.P.I nail colour? Any suggestion for my next purchase?

Price: Rs850

Trendy and fashionable prêt wear by Aisha Alam - Press Release

KARACHI  April 3, 2012: Aisha Alam, an upcoming fashion designer from Karachi, has recently taken the fashion world by storm with her vibrant colored shirts, solid patterns and minimalist design sensibility. Aisha Alam’s summer wear is inspired from an eagerness to develop trendy and fashionable prêt wear at reasonable prices.

“I design for the modern woman,” says the young designer, who began her career at Gul Ahmed. “I believe in minimal but effective designs, which are easy to carry and create an impression.”

Aisha Alam stocks her collection at Brands Just Pret, one of the city’s newest and most exciting multi brand stores. Her collection sells like hot cakes, mainly because Aisha Alam prices her clothes extremely reasonably and believes in winning loyalties over making profits.

Colour Studio assisting guests

Designer Aisha Alam with her husband 

Aisha Alam

“I want people to get used to my clothes and I want Aisha Alam to become a habit in their lives,” says Aisha Alam, who looks forward to the day when her brand becomes a household name.

Besides Karachi, Aisha Alam also stocks at Concepteur’s Lounge in Peshawar

Some of Aisha Alam’s most popular designs are her sailor-cut shirt and her cowl neck kurta, both of which are perfect for day wear. A trend which runs through Aisha Alam’s collection is color-blocking, which simply means putting together fabrics in complimenting and contrasting colors to create a striking look.

“Color blocking is really fun and exciting,” says Aisha Alam. “It’s a great way to mix and match colors and create gradients and shades.”

Aisha Alam regularly holds exhibitions at her residence and at Brands Just Pret, and plans to expand to other cities in Pakistan.

Designer Hejab Zafar

Designer Tina Durrani

Guest

Designer Nida Ali

Designer Sofia Naveed Lari

Mashaell Noman, (Head of marketing, Brands) Sabeen Rabbani ( Head of PR, Brands) and upcoming Designer Mehreen

Company/organisation info:

Aisha Alam is a Karachi-based designer who is renowned for producing minimal clothes based on a modern design philosophy and a feminine silhouette. Aisha Alam began her career as a textile designer at Gul Ahmed Textile Mills and worked on various fabric and lawn prints at the renowned mill. She currently stocks at Brands Just Pret in Karachi and Concepteur's Lounge in Peshawar, and her work has won accolades for her attention to detail and use of a vibrant and bold colour palette. Aisha Alam's clothes are reasonably priced, modern and highly fashionable.

Obsessed With ♥

 I've always wanted this blog to be a little more than make-up. Don't get me wrong; I love make-up! Oh my God so much so, but there is so much more to life than that, right? There is so much to me as well and I would like this blog to reflect that a little. 

I think I can honestly say this has been the one thing that I have been most obsessed with this week. I'd heard about The Hunger Games before but I never gave it much thought. Why? There was always so much hype about the Twilight series, and to me that series was a little disappointing. I thought The Hunger Games would be the same. I decided to give it a try when my cousin (who I'm always mentioning in my posts) told me it was nothing like the Twilight series. I bought the book a couple of days before I saw the movie. I read the first one in a DAY (just goes to show how I'd been starving for a good book). I bought the other two books and read each in a day as well. I LOVED them ALL! I highly recommend it to all those who still haven't read them. 

No movie can ever do justice to a book (in my opinion) but I think for once they did a good job with The Hunger Games movie. It was really good. 

Have you seen the movie or read the books? Are you Team Peeta (like me) or Team Gale? 

Next on my reading list is 

I'm a Jane Austen addict (Pride & Prejudice and Persuasion being two of my favourite books-ever!) and this was calling out to me.

I'm on a self imposed coke ban. It's one of my addictions and *sigh* it's about time I let it go. 

I can totally relate to this cartoon *sigh*

I've started this again, because it's time I did some shedding (if you know what I mean). 

To straight or not to straight, that is the question. I bought Wellastrate a couple of days ago and I still haven't decided if I should straighten my hair or not. I have a love/hate relationship with my curls, I'm not sure If I want to go the straight way though. What do you guys think? Should I stick with my waves/curls or should I straighten my hair?

A little too much.

Two songs that I've been listening to on repeat. I love Matt Bomer on the White Collar and I was so excited to see this clip. They did such an amazing job on the song!!!! 

 I dream  of such a day, do you?

I would love to know what you've been obsessed with these last couple of days. 

Review: L'Oreal Caresse Lipsticks In Tempting Lilac & Cheeky Magenta

I never find myself gravitating towards the Loreal stand for some reason. It's been so long since I've ever been excited about their new releases, or have even been consciously aware of them. There has been so much hype about the Loreal Caresse Lipsticks though and it was hard for me to ignore it. I wasn't excited about the lipsticks in general, but that changed when I fell in love with one of the shades. I happened to come across a swatch of 03 Lovely Rose and it was obsession at first sight. 

My cousin surprised me with sending me two Loreal Caresse lipsticks in Cheeky Magenta and Tempting Lilac. Both looked like something I would never try, and it felt like my cousin was giving me a silent nudge to try something new for a change.

These are Loreals version of the much hyped Revlon Lip butters. I haven't tried the lip butters so I can't compare the two, but the Loreal Caresse lipsticks are amazing in their own right. The packaging looks classy and expensive. They'd make a great addition to anyone's dressing table/vanity. The only  problem I have with the packaging is that it takes a little effort to remove the lid.  

The Loreal Caresse Lipsticks are cross between a lip balm and a lipstick. They literally glide on the lips and feel like butter. I am not someone who wears bright colours so when I saw these two I didn't know what to think for a second. Should I be excited or be running away? The ones I have looked really scary but once applied they weren't as pigmented as I thought they'd be.

 I've seen swatches of the Revlon Lip Butters and they're super pigmented and I was expecting the L'Oreal Caresse Lipsticks to have the same pigmentation,which they don't. These on the other hand are sheer but at the same time they have a decent colour payoff and give the lips a delicate shine. Also, these feel extremely soft and moisturising. 

L'Oreal Cheeky Magenta

 Cheeky Magenta is bright pink pink. On the lips it doesn't look as bright as one would expect, but still manages to pack a punch. It's something I have to muster up some courage to wear because it is a bold pink, and definitely out of my comfort zone. It's so pretty though and I have been wearing it a lot. This shade is so on trend right now.

L'Oreal Cheeky Magenta

L'Oreal Tempting Lilac

Tempting Lilac doesn't look anything like it's name suggests. It's a brown with a just a slight hint of purple.  It's not as pigmented as Cheeky Magenta is. On my lips it looks more of a muted 'my lips but better' colour with a brownish tinge-if that makes any sense. Trust me, I applied a generous amount. 

L'Oreal Tempting Lilac

Out of the two I like Cheeky Magenta better because even though it's a little out of my comfort zone, it's still pink. I love my pinks! The L'Oreal Caresse lipsticks are ideal for spring and summer because they feel light weight on the lips and will keep the lips moisturised. These last for about three to four hours (without eating or drinking).

These aren't available in Pakistan just yet, but according to the L'Oreal Pakistan Fanpage they're going to be releasing here "soon". I can't wait to get my hands on Lovely Rose.
I love the add for L'Oreal Caresse! You can check it out here. For all those wondering Barbara Palvin, the face of L'Oreal Caresse is wearing Aphrodite Scarlet in the advert (a great dupe for Diorkiss 578) and it's on my wishlist as well.
Is this something you're going to be checking out?