Pretty, Pretty.

Sigh.

The seasons are a changing in Karachi and I felt it today. Sure, the blistering sun is out, but despite that, there has been a cool breeze playing today - it made Sunday brunch something to enjoy out on the patio! There's something to be said about eating outdoors on a day like this, with the sunbeams playing hide and seek through the leaves on the towering mango tree that stands proud in my grandma's back yard, I enjoy my desi breakfast with a hot mug of tea. Although I have never visited Europe (and airports don't count!), but this is what I'd imagine a day out in Paris would be like. It put me in mind of pretty things!

Pretty clothes, sparkly gem stones, intricately cut silver, a bow clip on a baby's soft curls, the pinkness on her cheek, the twinkle of joy in my grandma's eye at the sight of her family collected around her to eat...

and of course, MAKEUP!

And what would be more apt than what I forced my brother to purchase for me...


Here is what Sephora has to say about this palette.

"The second in a five-part series of collectible palettes, The Pretty in Paris palette is all you need to get pretty on the go! It features Stila's award-winning eyeshadows in four trend-setting shades: Crepe (pale pink), Cherie (reddish brown), Jolie (brownish pink) and Chocolat (brown). The palette also includes Convertible Color in "Rosebud", a limited-edition shade, and a built-in mirror for easy application and touch-ups on the go!"

Yup - pretty, pretty? Most definitely!! Priced at $10(USD) at sephora.com, I just HAD to have it!

Now I tried to swatch the colors, but again, I'm still hating the quality my camera is providing, and it just can't do justice to the colors! So, I'll just give you the skinny here.. Crepe, Cherie and Jolie are all shimmer shades where Chocolat and Rosebud are matte.

Crepe is in the palest pink shade with mother of pearl reflects in it, and it makes a wonderful all over wash as well as an inner corner color, but I would not recommend it as a highlight under the brow bone unless you're going really fancy! For everyday highlight, if you need to, stick to a matte white or ivory or in that family.


Cherie, being s reddish brown/russet shade, is my new favorite color. It's got microscopic red glitter in it which gives it that pop of sparkle that makes it so pretty!! I wouldn't use it as an all-over-lid color because something about reds makes me feel that I haven't slept enough the night before, or I've been having a good cry. But it looks wonderful when used over a gold base to make it look more bronzy or with Crepe to get a nice even gradient color.

Jolie is similar to Cherie, but where Cherie is based in pink, Jolie is based in brown. But the rest is the same, with the red glitter in it. Infact, the colors are quite interchangeable, depending if yr in a pink or brown mood. I have paired it with a gold, and it makes a stunning crease color! Or, use it as a lid color and put black in the outer V for a fabulous smokey eye!


Chocolat is just that - a matte milk chocolate color. Which is why it is fabulous! It makes a great crease color, and these days I'm digging brown as an eye liner! So after I applied my eye makeup, I used a Urban Decays' 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Bourbon (a glimmering dark brown) along my lash line and set it using Chocolat, which gave it the effect I wanted - lined without looking lined and deliberate.


Rosebud is a limited edition convertible color which looks very 'old rose'. Sephora says

"Stila's ingenious lipstick and blush-in-one proves irresistible. Non-greasy, this creamy, sheer tint adds an inherent glow to the cheeks while lips bloom with fresh, radiant color."

To tell you the truth, I have always run far from cream blushes as I have always felt that they would be a nightmare to blend and in a town where stepping outside your own bedroom causes you to break into a sweat, cream blush would do more damage than good to my skin. But now I'm learning otherwise. I've used it a few times and I've found that it wears very pigmented at first, so you feel almost clown line - DON'T blend it further, because once the color settles, it gets absorbed into the skin and you hardly see it then! Also, it doesn't have the longest life, this one. I wore it to office, and around the 3pm mark, it was long gone. I can't honestly say that I'm ready to renounce my love of powder blush and embrace cream blushes completely, but I will admit to learning to love it, slowly but surely. I can say that I love the idea of a lipstick/blush! And when worn right, it looks like the perfect summer flush. Also, don't forget to add the tiniest dab to your forehead, nose and chin to keep that summer kissed look even and natural looking.



And there you have it - my soft, summer, Pretty in Paris eyes! Now I'm off to enjoy the rest of my Sunday.

Cheers!

La la Luscious!

"Tanya, you are a sad individual" - Benazir Azeem.

This young lady has used reason, logic, guilt, taunts, threats and general demoralization to get me to stop buying makeup. It didn't work! I went a little loony and bought makeup from Luscious Cosmetics here in Karachi, spending all the money in my wish jar, that was supposed to pay off my phone bill... I can survive a few days without the luxury of out going calls, but I NEEDED that makeup! Below is my haul and review.

HAUL-LA!!!!!!

So, what do we have here:
- The LE Twilight Palette
- Eye Shadow in Deep Forest
- Nail Lacquer in Cybil
- Lip Couture in Celebrity; and finally
- Ultra Protective Whitening Base.

Lets start with the palette.

It's just smaller than my BlackBerry, but packs quite a bit! The sleek black shiny case has been emblazoned with the Cullen family coat of arms that is well known to all Twilight buffs out there. It comes with a 8 shadows, 4 lip colors and one face powder... Oh, and a mirror but no applicator! For that, you'll need to get their brush kit. But I'm glad there's no applicator as, mentioned in a previous post, I tend to toss them right out.

And here's a bit'o trivia for you. Click here to see something similar which came out before at a more well-known makeup outlet...

Moving forward...



The colors are:
Top Row: Full Moon, Mortal, Jane, Eclipse
Bottom: Alice, Esme, Venom, Rosalie.

The Lip glosses are:Glow, Emily, Fatal, Bitten

and the face powder is called Bella.

There are my swatches! I didn't swatch the lip tints or the face powder, because to swatch and get the right color on camera is a darned pain!!!!
When I showed my purchases to Benny, my beloved friend who is quoted above, she asked me, if the palette already had a green, why did I need to get another?!

Elemental my dear Benny.

Because I'm hopelessly addicted to green and purple shadows and this green shadow was the most pigmented of those available from luscious.

This is a fun color, and is probably one of the only from the luscious regular collection that I like. The rest are way to sheer or not pigmented enough.

Here it is as a comparison to Venom.

L-R: Deep Forest, Venom.
It looks ashy, but it's more forest green than venom which is yellow toned.

The nail lacquer, I found this to be as close to a true blood red as possible. The color took three coats before showing its true potential, BUT!!! the brush is terrible!!! The bristles are thick and very plasticky and the one I was sent didn't even have uniform bristles! I couldn't send it back, so I went to Vicky's and told them that the applicator sucks! And they happily made the exchange, but they did tell me that most customers complained about their applicators.

My camera is farsighted for some reason, I can never get it to give me a proper picture up close, so I'm sorry guys, you'll have to just settle for the image above to understand the color. But I vouch for it!!!

When I heard talk about the lip couture range, I was told its lipstick in a gloss form. That was enough to intrigue me right there! I went online and looked at the swatches and had no concept of the color just seeing it there. So I decided to close my eyes, pick the one that I hoped would stick (:P) and ordered it. It was in the color Celebrity.The Luscious blog has this swatch palette showing you the colors. The online store shows you this, but my swatch taken in natural light shows

It looks more like spice color with yellow undertones. But when I applied it, the color was a real surprise! It looked great on me! Matched my natural lip color, which is more pink then this spicy color, and it was very well pigmented too! The only downside was that the color would bleed into the lip and eventually feather. I applied a lip liner under this too, but that didn't do much good either. It feathers onto its self too. Pity, cuz it's a great color!

The last and final thing was the Ultra Protective Whitening Base. Luscious claims

Here to the rescue is Luscious Whitening Base SPF 35. All in One: • Oil-free Moisturiser, • High performance Sun Protection • Makeup Primer The benefits? The list is endless.

Your makeup will go on more smoothly and last longer. Apply all over your face and neck at least 15 minutes before you go out in sunlight. Use it alone or before applying foundation or face powder. The right balance of sunscreens helps protect your skin from harmful UVA/UVB rays-without irritating your skin. Invisible and non-greasy. Contains light reflectors for a glowing, radiant complexion. The formula is perfect for our region and climate. Sun Protection Factor (SPF) 35 is the ideal recommended by dermatologists for our skin.

What I found:

It's most definitely not invisible! I wore it as is and it made my face chalky and white. Uncool dude! It has light reflectors, yes, but I found that it added to the whole "whiteness" of the product. Plus the solution is very thick, almost paste-like. So I decided to improvise. I took my usual moisturizer and mixed it in equal parts with the base and applied that all over my face. It worked much better than a stand alone and I topped that off with my all time favorite Mineral Veil.

Ok Tanya, that's alotta jibba' jabba' for just 5 things, so I'm outtie!!!

Puckered

You see someone from afar and you want a closer look. You notice the clouds of billowing hair, the flawless skin, the dreamy eyes, the smattering of sun-kissed freckles across the nose... there is soft music playing in your head as your eyes glide over all the features - but that music comes to a screeching halt as your eyes land on the lips.

Hello gorgeous.

This is the image that comes to mind when I see dry, cracked, chapped and flaky lips. Imagine THAT coming in for a kiss, would you lean in or run away screaming?
People spend so much time pampering their skin, cleansing, exfoliating and moisturizing, and yet they completely forget their kisser. It needs some TLC too! So when you prep yourself for you next night time regime, add another 2 minute ritual to your list - Lip Exfoliation.

I remember when exam time would come around, and I'd glance around the library, I'd see more people chewing their lips rather than biting their nail or bouncing their knees. It's a nervous habit, yes, but its also a opening the door to lip sores, swollen sections and, yep, you guessed it, MORE dry and chapped lips. I've also noticed that if dry lips are ever commented upon, the lips are instantly licked. Lets nip this fallacy in the bud right here and now - it does not help! It only makes matters worse as saliva dries off super fast, leaving the lips more chapped than they were before. Bottom line: there are easier ways of ridding yourself of dry, chapped lips.

It's not at all difficult or daunting. There are several ways of exfoliating, below are just three of the most popular ways.

The Petroleum Jelly Way:

Things needed:

- Petroleum jelly
- A soft toothbrush (use a children's toothbrush)

Apply a liberal layer of petroleum jelly on your lips and let it soak in for about 2 to 4 minutes. Then, using the toothbrush, rub in small circle motions while applying the lightest pressure possible. Lips are sensitive and the slightest amount of abuse will cause them to swell. After a minute of brushing, take a tissue and wipe off the excess jelly and wash off your lips and pat dry. Now you may apply your favorite lip balm or chapstick and leave it for the night. In the morning, you will be greeted by a pampered pout.

The Sugar Route:

Things needed:

- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp olive oil

Mix the two into a gritty paste. Pick up the paste and apply it to your lips. Using either your finger or a toothbrush, scrub your lips gently in a circular motion. The olive oil will absorb into your lips, leaving them soft and hydrated while the sugar acts as an exfoliant, scrubbing away the dry stuff. After a minute or two, wash your lips and pat dry and again, apply your favorite lip balm. Recommendation: The Body Shop's Lip Butter. The sugar paste does not keep, so I suggest make enough for each application only.

The Lanolin Method:

Lanolin is a natural product that comes from sheep and is used as the primary moisturizing element in lipsticks. It is also found in creams and gels for very dry skin and can be found in the breastfeeding supply section of supermarkets and drugstores. At night before going to bed, apply a dab of lanolin to your chapped lips. A little tiny dab of Lanolin goes a LONG way, so start small. Place a BB sized dab on your finger tip, and generously coat your chapped lips. You want an extra amount for night time, and the lanolin will soak into your chapped lips pretty quickly the first time around. This will work to soften and loosen the dry skin from your chapped lips.
In the mornings as you wake, and before stepping outside, re-apply a little less Lanolin than you did for night time use, remembering a little tiny bit will be plenty. Lanolin will leave a protective barrier on your chapped lips, and will help your body heal the damage on your chapped lips. Studies show that within a day or two of this treatment, chapped lips are nothing more than a bad memory.

Aside from the last method, pampering your lips is a fairly simple process - all it takes is a little know how to send your lips from

to

Got it? Now pucker up!

Blogger down!!!!!

I broke my hand :( Theres so much that I want to write about, but in an unfortunate turn of events, I fractured a bone in my wrist last month. That too my right hand!!!!! The doc has said the cast stays till the 30th of Aug, so lets just hope that until that joyous day, life speeds on by accident free!!!

Till then my friends.

The student that could....

So I wrote in an earlier post that I was taking a makeup course. I still am and I've reached the part where they give us free reign to do as we wish as far as makeup looks are concerned. While perusing the M.A.C. website, I came across the launch of their new mascara called the Haute & Naughty Lash. It has a very interesting campaign poster, but here is the look that caught my eye

Holy drama, batman! I wanted to be able to recreate this!!!! Or as close to it as I could with my resources: coastal scents 88 shimmer palette, black eye liner and 45 minutes. Are there any volunteers??? Please, oh please! Enter Saima Ansari. Saima very graciously sat down and left me to my instincts to get this look. Bless her.

Here is what I did, step by step - the pictures aren't of the best quality as I took them with my Blackberry, but it shows the look clearly enough.

So first I applied the base, comprising of Kryolan paint sticks in Ivory and Chinese and set it with Etude's BE-2 face powder.


Next comes contouring and blush. Taking any medium shade contouring powder and apply it starting from the ear, going into the hollow of the cheek and stopping where abouts the apples begin. The blush used was a dark coral-ish blush from Atiqa Odho Cosmetics in the shade Love Bird.

Then we come to the eyes. I began with a base shade of baby pink. This is Atiqa Odho's pressed eye shadow in Rosa.
This is followed by using the bright purple on my Coastal Scents 88 Shimmer palette - the one right above the lid clasp. After that, I applied a layer of the black from the palette right where the pink and purple meet to further define the crease line.

I followed the same pattern of colors on my lower lash line, applying purple to the outer two thirds and pink to the inner.

A major part of my time duration had elapsed by this time, so I chose to focus on one eye, so as to be able to complete my look! So applied a highlighting color on the brow bone in the palest shade of pink from the 88 palette and using a cake liner

Following the upper lash line, I applied the same to the lower lash line and winged it out. I also thickened the top liner and connected it to the lower to form a very pronounced wing.


Next, came a very defined brow which I filled in using an angled brow brush and black eyeshadow and followed that with two coats of L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara in Carbon Black to the upper and lower lashes.

I felt the look needed additional drama. So I used M.A.C Lash 4 to give it that additional "oomph factor". Each person applies false lashes in their own way - for me, I apply the glue to the lash vein, let it dry for a few seconds and then place the lash in the center and guide it towards the edges.
Eeeyup! That seems to have done the trick. And for the final look...

TADA!!!!!!!!!! Not half bad, if I may say so. 45 minutes is what this took me. Now had I more time, I'd find a way to cram in more drama with the use of glitters and maybe pronouncing that lower wing some more. But heck, I'm proud of me! Now it's your turn - create this look and tell me all about it!

The Bashful Bronzer

Ah bronzers... How I love the... And how you evade me! I mean seriously! They run, hide, conceal and are either way off budget or outta stock whenever I try to get my hands on 'em. The last bronzer I purchased was one by Elizabeth Arden it was in the color Sun Goddess Medium and was the prettiest color I owned. Gave me the honest-to-summer-sun-kissed look. It came with its own kabuki (which I've long since lost - it was a sad moment of realization) which gave you great over all application without streaking or looking deliberate.


Aint she pretty? This one had a very long existance. The manufacture gave her the life span of 36 months, that's three whole years! And I love bronzers so much that I'll wear them in the dead of winter (if it is actually "winter" that we have here) to retain the last vestiges of the summer gone.


But alas! She was hit by the Curse of the Butter Finger and fell to her shattering end. What remains are the survivors of that fall that still serve me well, whenever I dare to open the container, fearing a wind will blow away the bits that I cling to so dearly. I will miss you once you're gone.

But hope was not lost for me! No siree-bob! Enter Maybelline Expert Wear Stay-True Bronzer in the color Forever Warm. My saving grace came to me in the from of a trip to the super market and a perusal through the cosmetic counter where I came face to face with this little jewel.
It cost me rs. 650/- which is not bad, as in my experience, bronzers tend to last forever! I'm loving the embossed sun - it's just so cute! Makes me not want to use it... But we all know that's not going to happen :D Resisting was never my forte.

Very pretty. It comes with it's own applicator/brush, but in my experience, any applicator that has come with products are usually of throw-away quality (the exception being this as the brush comes from their prize winning/highly coveted brush collection) and so I either toss them or just never use them. This particular brush has very stiff bristles which will get the product on your face, but it becomes a nightmare to blend it! Atleast I don't like using stiff, scratchy materials on my cheeks - they feel like they were rubbed down with sand paper!! No thanks. I'll just stick to my BareMinerals Flawless Face Brush or any regular kabuki to apply and blend the product.

Now don't hate me for not showing you what it looks like on the face, like I said, it was too pretty to dent just yet, but I did swatch some for ya!

The payoff is great, and I'm loving the shimmer. I'll post a follow up review on this product soon - it just didn't make sense for me to put bronzer all over my face just before I had to go to the gym for an intense cardio session! Haste makes waste, and it wouldn't be fair to the bronzer! No, I will wear it in the morning and after spending the whole day with it, I'll get back to you.

Bronzers, I love you. Please start loving me too!

Manicure Monday

Who of you has a blackberry? You don't? Well, should you come across someone that does own one, just ask to see their nails and you'll notice that they are kept trim and short. My two best friends carry iPhones and aside from constantly berating me for choosing RIM over Apple, they both have luxuriously long talons. Sadly, my addiction to BBM has restricted the growth of my nails since November 2009 and I have had to keep them very short. But that doesn't stop my love affair with nail polishes!

See below.

Alright, alright! So maybe I am channeling a 15-year-old-Lizzy-McGuire-type vibe, but it was just so pretty!!!!! The color I mean... My mum just saw a glimpse of it and thought I hadn't washed my hands after playing with food coloring and frosting, and when she did look at the nails up close, she gave me a look of purest disdain - aka, GROW UP TANYA! No, I refuse. My dad thought my nails looked frostbitten. Seriously? Frostbite? In the middle of July in Pakistan? Unless I left my hand on some dry ice and forgot about it (Hah! Highly unlikely one would FORGET!), there's no way one could be get frostbite here.

But that's beside the point.

It's pretty! It's a blue that looks turquoise in yellow light but is actually a really pretty, pale, shimmery, pearlescent cyan blue. And it matched the rainy skies of this week! Ok, now I'm going to start comparing it to different things I believe it could be, as the title of the color is "52". That's it! Just a number! A number doesn't classify a color!

I picked up this topaz hued lacquer at Vicky's in Khadda Market for rs. 135/-. I had been rocking the pinks for a while and had delved into reds as well, but those were beginning to bore me. I needed something to break away from the usual and so I went with this one. This shimmer gives it an icy finish but you do need a couple of thick coats to get it to its true hue. Golden Rose, I believe was established in Bulgaria and can be purchased here if you are in the States. I have worn their colors before and would recommend that you remove it after a few days as nothing says GROSS like yellowed nails. If you are able to finish it off with a good quality top coat, the color will last longer, and as an perpetual BBM'er, I know a thing or two about chipped nail color, especially on my thumbs!

So the options we have thus far for titles are Cyan, Frostbite, Topaz and Icy. I actually like Frostbite, because it does have a zing to it - the color I mean :P But that's just me! I've picked up a few more colors, but those will be reviewed for the next Manicure Monday.

Cheers!