'Make-up' your face - Part 3 - Lip-sticks and Lip-care

This is the third installment of the 'Makeup' your face series. Check out Part 1 and Part 2 for reviews on foundations/primers and eye make-up products.

Well, today it's all about lipcare, lipcolors/lipsticks and lipgloss. I am not much experimental when it comes to lipstick shades. Maroons, dark reds, dark pinks are my go-to colors. I must admit though that, inspired by Snighdha's beauty and makeup related you-tube videos, lately I have started to try out bright pinks and reds. I wasn't sure if the bright colors would suit my Indian skin tone but after giving them a dry-run, they are now one of my favorite lip-colors. The brighter hues instantly add a fresh dose of color to the face; they are a quick and easy way to look fresh without all the layers of makeup.

My lipstick-n-lipcare collection is a fair mix of drug-store brands and high-end brands. The expensive ones are definitely feel more luxurious on the lips and the hues are dark and rich. The drug-store brands are quite competitive when it comes to colors and texture but the best part is that I get to try different colors without stretching my budget.

So, moving on to my lipstick collection, Black cherry (477) from REVLON SUPER LUSTROUS lipsticks range, is my current fave. It's on the darker side of lip-color, but the rich pigment and moisturizing quality of the lipstick is one I vote for.
I absolutely love the hot-pink (Sorbet) color of the REVLON ColorBurst Lip Butter, but I am not a great fan of the texture which is sorta grainy and uneven. It doesn't stay on longer too. I am quite looking forward to trying a different brand in the same color.
The Extreme Spice in the L'Oreal Endless collection, is another favorite of mine, mainly 'cause of the beautiful red color. It's not too bright of a red and not a dark maroon; somewhere in between which goes well with my skin-tone.
The Chambor Maroon-plus (315), that I got during one of my trips to India, is one of my go-to lip-colors, and I am quite in love with the moisturizing balm-like feel of the lipstick.

I am not much into using lip-glosses daily. The ones I have used in the past, were super glossy, and sticky! And to add to my woes, when the wind blows, my hair usually get stuck with them...total mess I tell you! I don't like the shiny-lip look, better go with just plain old lip-balm instead of all the glitter on my lips. 

But, not a long time ago, one of my ex-colleagues gifted me an Estee Lauder Pure Color gloss in Impulsive Coral. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a non-glitter lip-gloss for day-time use; it's smooth and non-shiny plus, no sticky business.

The LAKME Aqua shine lip color is something I swear-by! The color is so rich, shiny but not-over-the-top, and luxurious on the lips. I got it a couple of years back, and then again this last time on my trip back home. It is my go-to lipstick for party or night-outs, simply gorgeous I tell you!

I am also trying out the MAC lipglass and the REVLON ColorBurst lip-gloss in Hot Pink (010) color. Both of them are not super glossy and sticky and so are very much to my liking!

For lip care, I use the regular lip chap-stick in the day and Nivea cream, before going to bed, as a moisturizer. More recently, I tried the Clinique chubby stick in strawberry which is more like a lip-stain. It is absolutely a must-have and highly recommended; the soft balm on lips with a hint of color is what I use daily, while grocery shopping, working out, or if I am going out for a quick dinner-and-drinks, etc.

These days I am also giving a go at REVLON ColorStay Ultimate Suede in 085 color; basically it's a bright-red hue. I am not sure yet if I like it, need to give it a couple of more tries. Also, in my try-out list is the LAKME Absolute LipTint in the Wine Punch color. Lakme came out with this line last year as part of the Lakme Fashion Week.

So there was my lipsticks and lip-care in general, do you have any favorites or recommendations? Do share them in the comments below.

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'Make-up' your face - Part 1 - Face Foundations & Primers

When it comes to make-up I am not a pro but then to think about it I am not a novice either; I am somewhere in between, experimenting, trying out different looks. And now maybe I have reached a point where I know the kind of looks good and suited to the occasion/ time of the day. If I am attending an evening party or a night-out, I trust the smokey-eye-bold-red-or-pink-lip look. For everyday look, I go plain and simple considering there are time constraints; it's usually a kohl-eyes, compact powder for the face, and a bold or subtle lip color. Sometimes, if I am in the mood and I have the time, I amp it up by dabbing my eyelids with bold mascara but nothing more fancy than that.

The make products, I use everyday, are a fair mix of high-end brands and the readily-available-drugstore brands.  I prefer to use the good-quality products for things that play an important role in giving a smooth finish to the whole look. For example, liquid foundation, face powder, lipsticks.
Whereas for the everyday-use makeup products, that usually get swapped per mood swings or even changing color-preferences, I trust the drugstore brands. For example lip balms, lip colors, and even eye shadows (which I don't use that often). So in today's post, I thought of doing a makeup products reviews, list my absolute fave products and also share if a particular product didn't work out and why!

Foundation:  Here in the US, it is so damn difficult to get a foundation in the right shade . And by right shade I mean the ones that suit the Indian wheatish skin tone. I have been literally going nuts finding the perfect shades (and spent quite some $$$ there too!). The foundations always look great in the store, in the jazzy yellow lights, especially when the makeup lady applies them with care and precision. But when I try them at home, in the daylight, the foundation looks a shade lighter or cakey giving me a weird look. Well, one good thing about taking risks and trying different foundations has been that I finally (!)found the light-weight and perfect shade foundation that suits my skin tone. I have had a good streak with the Clinique Even Better makeup with SPF15.

It's priced at USD 27 for a 30 ml bottle (which is quite reasonable for the quality) and the bottle is cute one (it can easily fit in your purse). I am in the Cream Caramel shade, and it is an exact match to my skin tone with a great coverage. It blends well with my combination skin type and spreads more or so like a cream rather than a heavy foundation. Though to be true, I don't wear the foundation daily; its reserved for occasion or weekend outings only. I got it along with me on my trip to India this summer and my mom loved it so much that I kept the bottle for her :) I could definitely spot the difference when she was wearing it; her skin looked fresh and glowing. 

Well, on that topic, while shopping in India, I got a foundation from there from the Lakme ABSOLUT collection (not in the pic below). I can't review it right now since I have used it only once, but here's hoping that it turns out to be good!

I have got the special sponge set from Sephora (as seen in the picture below) to apply the foundation evenly and get a smooth finish. I have been lazy to try them out (as you can see from the full pack) but I am going to use it soon and review it here then :)

Pressed powder / compact: The pressed powder, or as some call it compact,  is something which I wear every single day. Whenever I step out of my house and I am not in my tracks then I have to dab my face with the pressed powder. I have used the  REVLON pressed powder when I lived in India. It was ok and did the job, nothing wow! Usually I have found the pressed powders to be grainy and too light-weight so they don't stay on for the complete day. The MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation brightens up the dull skin without giving the feeling of having too-much-make-up-on. It's priced at USD 27 (yeah same price as the foundation..made for each other, right? ;)) and comes in a black round container. I am in shade NC42. The compact comes with a mirror and a nice soft sponge pad to dab the powder on and it gives a full coverage with a nice matte look. 

Eye-shadow Primers: - I started using a primer - which is almost like foundation base for before applying the eye-shadow - after a recommendation from a friend. She introduced me to Too Faced primer from Sephora. It helps the eye-shadow spread evenly and also stay longer. I got the NARS primer as a gift from a friend recently and I haven't used it much yet..so guess I will review it in an another post.

Lastly, just wanted to mention that I haven't used concealers for once. I mean I have but none have matched up to my expectations or to my skin tone. So that's that. If you have any recommendations, I would absolutely love to know.  

I decided to break up the makeup review into multiple posts so that they are not too long to read in one go. Also, I thought it would be a good idea to divide the posts based on the the different makeup products. Part 2 will include reviews on the eye makeup products.

Do drop me a comment below or shoot me an email if you have any questions or comments on any of the products,
If you want maybe I can do a make-up tutorial, write-up or maybe even a youtube video. I haven't explored that area personally I am wary....but lets see. Who knows, maybe I will finally take the plunge and be able to overcome my video-blogging fears :)