Big Splurge: Collective Haul

I have been guilty of shopping these days. Shopping a lot! I went out with my friend Aroosa and got a few things that had been on my wishlist. At the same time I had ordered a couple of more things from just4girls.pk as well. Yesterday, I went out with Anum and made a tiny little purchase again.

I bought these from the Accessorize sale. For Rs195 these were a steal

 Don't judge me, I love quirky earrings. 

Accessorize Mcgregor Bag 

Accessorize Mcgregor Bag 

This is my favorite purchase from Accessorize. I love the bag! The picture does not do it justice. It's pink (yes, the prettiest of pinks). It can be buttoned down from the sides to look like this 

Or a tote bag

Accessorize Mcgregor Bag 

Or

Accessorize Mcgregor Bag 

I LOVE IT! 

I highly recommend everyone to check out the Chocomania stuff from The Body Shop. It smells SO good. Just like real chocolate!!!! I've used this scrub and I really,really like it. Yes, it's something I shall be repurchasing. The Chocomania lip butter is really cute too. 

Smells heavenly

Two weeks ago my friend Anum and I got manicure/pedicures. I chose the deep red one for my toes and I fell in love with it. It's called I'm Not Really A Waitress and it's a metallic red shimmery color. It looks gorgeous on the toes. I was intially planning on buy it next month. Then Just4girls.pk had Rs 100 off on O.P.I polishes and I ended up buying Lincoln Park After Dark as well. (btw Just4girls.pk has a larger selection of O.P.I nail colors than the local stores who carry them)

My hair had been misbehaving for weeks. It was dry and limp and curl-less. I tried two conditioners hoping my hair would get better and it didn't. It only looked good on days when I oiled (??) it the night before. I  bought the Aussie conditioner from Just4girls.pk, and I love it. 

I was disappointed at the size of the bottle though. With what I paid I thought the bottle was going to be bigger. Still, I'm also going to be repurchasing this when the times comes. It's worth it. 

Anum and I went out for lunch yesterday and then later stopped at Al-Fatah (Defence). I got so excited when  I saw they had Lipcote! It's been on my wishlist forever. For Rs300 I didn't think it was a bad purchase. Anum bought two O.P.I's nail polishes. I restrained from buying more, even though I liked a shocking pink one. 

*sigh* No more hauls till next month. 

Outfit Of The Day: Khaadi Lawn, Accessorize & Gloria Jeans With Aroosa

Finally, I got to spend a day with one of my best friends. Aroosa & I had lunch at Espresso ( a change from CTC (Coffee, Tea & Company), our usual haunt. Later, we stopped at Xinua Mall and Zaka where we did some window shopping. Our get together would have been  incomplete if we hadn't stopped at Mall Of Lahore. We can spend all day there if we had to. Aroosa, wanted to check the new Khaadi lawn, and I wanted to go to Accessorize and The Body Shop. 

First stop at the mall, Gloria Jeans. 

Click To Enlarge

(I was the crazy lady with the camera who made everyone pose :p )

With the start of Spring/Summer Lahore is flooded with lawn exhibitions.Today was the day Khaadi released their new lawn! Obviously the place was jam packed. It wasn't as bad as the Sana Safinaz exhibitions though. I didn't buy anything, although I did like some of the suits. I am saving up for the Elan and Sana Safinaz lawn. Aroosa ended up buying a suit. 

(In the picture's she's standing with her nieces)

The prices are so good! Some of the three piece suits are being sold for RS2800! These are going to be available all season. I might end up buying one suit next month.

She bought this one (it's the one on the catalogue cover ). It's a three piece suit with a chiffon duppata and it's for Rs2800. 

We then headed off to Accessorize 

How cute are these necklaces? No, sadly I didn't buy them (although I love the mustache one. hahaha!). I bought a bag and a pair of earrings which I shall show in my next post. (haul)

OMG!!!!! Have you seen the Chocomania line at The Body Shop???!!!! It smells (and looks) SO good! I bought a body scrub, which looks good enough to eat.

 I love the print and the bright colored paisleys on the kurta. 

Aroosa and I are both wearing Kurta's from Khaadi and tights from Sarah's. Her peep toes are from Walkie's (in Defence) and mine are from Zara. (My kurta (shirt) is still available at Khaadi)

On the face: 

Sun block

Rimmel Stay Matte Face Powder

Benefit Hervana

Benefit High Beam

Benefit 10

Benefit They're Real Mascara

MAC Right Image Lip Glass 

Bag (really old) and bangles from Accessorize. Creme Brulee from Gloria <3

Lahore street art <3

What did you guys do today? Are you looking forward to any specific lawn?

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: The Body Shop Baked-To-Last Blush

Hi, my name is Sana and I'm a blush-o-holic!Ha!Ha! I'm obsessed with blushes and highlighters. I'm always on the look out for the perfect blush. A couple of months ago The Body Shop came out with their 'Baked-To-Last-Blush', and let me tell you this blush is perfection. If the promo picture doesn't draw you in, then the blush itself surely will. The Baked-To-Last line has two blushes in it. The first is '01 Petal',which is a pretty shimmery pink and the second is'02 Coral'.

Left:Petal blush with light hand. Centre: highlighter. Right: Petal blush with a heavy hand

According to The Body Shop its ideal for creating 'a fresh, flirty, natural-looking complexion'. The Body Shop claims its 'handmade and slow-baked for up to eight hours of deliciously rich color'. The shade I have is '01 Petal', a pretty pink with shimmer in it.I dropped my old one a few days ago causing it to break, and I purchased a new one soon as possible! It's that good.  One of the things I love about it is that it's a blush and high lighter duo. You can use the pretty pink shade on it's own or swirl it with the highlighter to create lighter/shimmery petal pink colour.The blush, when applied with a soft hand is a light shimmery pink and can be build-able to a bright pink pop of colour. 


The highlighter is a soft  mixture of light gold and cream. Gold high lighters are one of the hottest trends for summer '11. I use the highlighter with other blushes too and it works great. It's a universally flattering colour, that will look great on all skin tones. 

The first one with flash and the second without

The spherical powder duo provides a perfect glide of application. The blush glides on like a dream, and combined with the highlighter it gives the perfect glow-from-within look. High levels of pearl give a stunning visual effect both within the dome and on the cheek, giving a pearly pink metallic finish.

• 
  
• This is for RS1700 (18$), which is a little pricey for a blush, but keep in mind that you're also getting a highlighter with the blush. I can't vouch that the blush lasts for up to 8 hours as The Body Shop claims and definitely is long lasting. It comes in a round see through packaging. The upside to the packaging  is that you you can see the cute spherical design and colour of the blush. It saves the hassle of rummaging in your make-up bag, you can spot it instantly. The downside is that it's not very strong. I dropped mine and the blush scattered in to pieces. In comparison, I dropped my NARS blush (yes, I am a dropper) and the blush was undamaged.  Despite the flimsy packaging the Baked-To-Last blush is worth the money. I highly recommend it!!

Review: The Body Shop Radiant Highlighter

I've been obsessed with Jennifer Lopez's glowy face for years. A couple of years ago, I started using bronzer because of her but I still couldn't get the famous J.Lo glow. I recently discovered her secret (yes, it took me a while. Haha!), and its a highlighter.