My entire MAC collection! :)

Hey Girlies! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, I had a pretty wonderful relaxed Sunday.
After a really long time I decided to re-arrange my vanity case.One thing led to another (like it always does..)pretty soon my de-clutter & organize mission faded in to oblivion and I started playing with my makeup :P

If you looked at the pic below and thought I was showing you some latest limited edition collection launch pics from MAC, dahlings you are so wrong! That's my entire MAC collection in all its glory! :D

As I lined up all my MAC makeup and fawned over my pretty juicy MAC lippies, it suddenly struck me Gosh! I really have accumulated a whole lot of MAC!! 
Two years back if somebody would have told me that I'd be forking out a 1000 bucks on a lippie, my frugal heart would have yelled expletives & done violent somersaults!!
Over the course of past 2 years I turned from somebody who wouldn't splurge on higher end stuff but hoard drugstore brands,to somebody who loosens her purse strings on MAC.

NO, I haven't hit the jackpot or married a Sheikh of any Fascist regime. I still have a whole long cost-benefit debate in my head before splurging at MAC counters, but now I realize I'm better off buying one good quality product I love and will use than 2 drugstore lippies which will gather dust on my dresser. I plan my MAC purchases for months & only pick up stuff I would actually use regularly.

 

 

A closer look at the goodies! :)
The boldest MAC lippie in my stash Impasssioned, Its bold bright and very naughty.Perfect for spring summer season.

MAC Ruby Woo, my favorite retro red lippie.If there is one single lippie I could carry to my afterlife, Ruby woo it is!

MAC Creme in your coffee- My very first MAC purchase, I waited for over 6 months before splurging out on Creme in your coffee, totally love this baby for everyday work wear.

MAC Viva Glam VI, a pearlescent terracotta sheer lippie, totally adore this one and I've worn mine out :)

Shoe Fetish,my crazzy shoes haul & my favorite Dirrrty Dozen!

I've been a bad bad Girl!.. Don't believe me, have a dekkho at my Dirrrty Dozen!
My shoe fetish went a tad overboard this sale season, look at what the Devil made me shop these past few weeks ;)

Which brands did I mostly haul? 
Stuff from Clarks, Marks & Spencers,Catwalk,Enroute,Linea,Naturalizer....Catwalk is a definite favorite of mine for casual footwear. Naturalizers shoes are uber comfortable for long work days and my favorite casual brown gladiator-esque shoes are from M & S..

Front row (left to right) all formals shoes-black and maroon peep toe heels from Naturalizer, black round toe mid heel shoes from Clarks , black croc leather Italian made shoes from Linea & camel brown strappy sandals from Naturalizer.

Second row (left to right) Catwalk black and gold roman sandals,Catwalk blush colored peep toes,Enroute brown and orange ballerinas and Marks and Spencer black strappy kitten heels.

Back row (left to right) brown and gold buckled ballerina flats from Enroute, Black and beige brogue shoes from catwalk,strappy wedge heels with embellishments from Catwalk and grey peep toes again from Catwalk.

 Flat casuals from Catwalk and Enroute

March Cain Spring Summer'13 collection unveiled in South Mumbai

MARC CAIN CELEBRATES ITS NEW STORE OPENING IN SOUTH MUMBAI WITH THE LAUNCH OF AN EXQUISITE NEW SPRING SUMMER 13 COLLECTION

Marc Cain, the international fashion company, celebrates the opening of its new mono-label-store at the heart of south Mumbai, India. The store is located in the well-known Napean Sea Road where the crème de la crème of Mumbai reside. This will be the 150^th store worldwide for the fashion brand which is represented in 59 countries globally with more than 1500 additional sales areas in upmarket retail trade stores.

Punit Agarwal, owner of Marc Cain Franchise Stores in India and UAE along with Norbert Lock, Managing Director Wholesale & Retail Marc Cain hosted a rose champagne evening to mark the opening of the new store.

Malaga takes you to mythical El-Dorado this Women's day!

Malaga celebrates Women’s Day in Style

Malaga has special offers for Women on 8^th March 2013 it’s called “It’s Great to Be a Women Today”. On this day Malaga bags will offer 10% off on a bill of Rs 10,000, 15% off on a bill of Rs 15, 0000 and 20% of on a bill of Rs 20,000. This offer extends to Malaga accessories as wells Pimento the pret line by Malaga.

Date: 8^th March, 2013

Time: 10am to 10pm

Venue: Palladium Mall, Lower Parel

About Malaga: Malaga specializes in carefully handcrafted bags, belts, and footwear and fashion jewellery. The vast range encompasses designs for women with both traditional and contemporary tastes. Rich embellishments of jewelled pieces, swarovski crystals, embroidery, beadwork and zardosi (gold thread work) are interwoven with use of materials such as fiber, leather and various fabrics (silk, brocade, jute, linen, denim, velvet, cotton etc.) to create a stunning array of formal and casual line of accessories for women.

 Malaga bags have also been shown in accessories shows and trade fairs in Paris, Milan, London, and Dubai and met with a great response. Malaga bags are exported to Europe, UK, the Far East, USA, Japan, the Mid East and Africa Malaga also houses a prêt line Pimento.

Meet Leona Lewis - The New Brand Activist of The Body Shop

Today we announce famous singer ‘Leona Lewis’ as our new brand activist. The Body Shop has collaborated with the British singer and global superstar Leona Lewis to talk about going ‘Cruelty free’ as she resonates a unique vision of cruelty-free beauty herself.

As part of the partnership, one of Leona’s first activities is to help The Body Shop and NGO Cruelty Free International in their joint, global campaign to end animal testing for cosmetics forever, building on the EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics which comes into effect on March 11^th this year.

  

Meet Our New Brand Activist:

British singer and global superstar Leona Lewis

Drum roll please… British singer and global superstar Leona Lewis is our new Brand Activist, helping to raise awareness of our Against Animal Testing ethos. Seven years since her triumph on The X Factor (UK), Leona has ten million album sales and a brace of Grammy and BRIT Award nominations. Yet Leona remains refreshingly grounded and true to her beliefs. An animal lover and long-time vegetarian, Leona

is passionate about beauty… making her our perfect partner!

What is your first memory of The Body Shop?

I was never able to walk past the shop without going inside! It always smelt so gorgeous, so I would go in and try all the products. My favourite was the White Musk® fragrance.

Why are you collaborating with The Body Shop?

I’m passionate about beauty and I’m all about animal rights. As a result, I’m really conscious of where the products that I use come from. The Body Shop sells cruelty free, ethical products containing amazing Community Fair Trade ingredients. It’s called Beauty With Heart. The collaboration is a natural fit!

What is your own definition of “Beauty With Heart”?

To me, Beauty With Heart means that you can be sure that the beauty product you’re using has not hurt any person or animal in the process of being made. The power to choose Beauty With Heart is in every consumer’s hands; I don’t believe people would choose anything else if they knew they had a choice.

So, what are you getting up to with The Body Shop?

So many things! I’m helping to raise awareness of cruelty free beauty at The Body Shop and the amazing products they create. I’m also encouraging people to take part in their campaign with Cruelty Free International to ban animal testing for cosmetics. 

Omved Ultra light Day and Night moisturiser

Omved is holistic lifestyle brand retailing products which take care of your physical and spiritual well being.Every Omved product is based on the 5000 year old Vedic scriptures,product range is as diverse as apparel, devotional material,yoga,skincare etc. A brainchild of Priti Mehta and Sucheta Khandwala; Omved is the newest venture of the J.E. Hammer Group, a privately held multi-national, multi-business German conglomerate, highly respected globally for its trust and integrity.

All of Omved's skincare products are created with ethically sourced material and in accordance with principles of Ayurveda.Omved Ultra light Day and Night moisturiser is one such herbal elixir which is free of harsh chemicals and create a soothed skin.

Packaging-The lotion is packaged in dark brown heavy glass bottle and gives it a bit of medicinal look, the dark opaque glass makes it nearly impossible to figure out how much product has been used up. The pump dispenser is a great addition.

Free of parabens,silicones, petrochems, phthalates and other such gunk! (Thank God for small mercies!!)

Falguni Mehta's latest Jadau jewellery collection

FALGUNI MEHTA PRESENTS HER SPRING SUMMER 2013 JADAU JEWELLERY COLLECTION AT DESIGN ONE EXHIBITION 

Jadau jewellery designer Falguni Mehta presents her spring summer 2013 collection at the Design One Exhibition.

 Date- Thursday , 7^th March 2013

Venue-Members Enclosure, Turf Club

Time-11:30 am to 7:00 pm

The colors and stones used for this collection are earthy tones highlighted by floral colors like pink, peach, reds and greens. These are reflected in the spring summer line by use of tourmalines, rubies and emeralds. All the jewelry is made of precious materials, gold, uncut diamonds, rubies, emeralds and exquisite basra pearls.

The Big Fat Makeup Haul l!!!

So one of my Legen...(wait for it) dary- New year resolution was to trim down on my makeup spending...Ermmm one look at the haul pics below and you'd know it was an epic fail.

When I spread out all my recent makeup hauls together I realized it was just too much of serious eye candy. I went clickety-click like a possessed paparazzi who just spotted Kate in a bikini!

At the sight of so much makeup,my possessed look and my frenetic photography my Hubby's eyes turned big as saucers! I hurriedly explained that some of this stuff was sent by companies for review while most of this stuff was bought by me for my friend who is getting married soon and there is loads of stuff I'm putting together for my would be Sis-in-law! Hubby eyed my loot suspiciously and said "Really?! :P


Now for the greater good of womankind I decided to post these pics, feast your peepers on these pretties and tell me what are you lemming for?

Picked this snazzy clutch from Lifestyle recently, though haven't used it yet..Ladies (and fashion forward Gentlemen) any ideas on what to pair this with?
I've been pleasantly surprised by Lakme`, its been steadily climbing its way back in my vanity. This Lakme` Absolute Bi phase makeup remover is pretty awesome.

The lippies! Some MAC, Colorbar,VOV & MUA.Most of these are gifts for family & friends.

Picked these VOV Moisture vogue lip glosses from New Beauty center (NBC) for a cute friend (yep you all know her but I'm not allowed to spill the beans ;)
These are super pretty and piggy bank friendly,no wonder these are almost always sold out at NBC

Pucker up sweethearts its the lip balm we've been waiting for!

Girls honestly put your hands on your heart and tell me, have you ever got tired with the promise of baby lips,fruity lips, juicy lips,plumpy pouty lips,buttered up lips and what not claimed by your lip balm?
Hoping that one day after kissing so many frogs of lip balms finally somewhere, someday we would meet our Knight in shining armor?

Well about 6.5 years back I had found my dream lip balm a.k.a Blistex Dailiy conditioning treatment lip balm. Then just as suddenly as it made its entry in the Indian market, it vanished off the store shelves. I was heart broken 'coz I had fallen for this lip balm hook,line and sinker.
I searched high and lo but couldn't find it, I finally made my peace with the fact that I might have to order it off Ebay or make do with some other lip balm.
I spotted Blistex DCT finally at a Chemist store in Bandra and Oh Man! I swear to you I went crazy with excitement.(I could have done cartwheels right there in the store 'coz I also found another hot favorite of mine which has been discontinued-Ponds age miracle serum!)

Cosmedic Brightening face wash and Lumi day lotion

A while back Cosmedic sent me a few of their skincare products for review. When I read more about Cosmedic my interest was piqued by the fact it was created by a team of Doctors,specially catering to Indian skin's requirements and each product was backed by detailed information of test results.After using the products for over 2 months I thought I'll share my own experiences with the brand.

Cosmedic is the first brand that is formulated, tested and approved by dermatologists in India by a team of doctors from the US and India,
Dr. Kiran Lohia is a Columbia University graduate and a United States trained M.D. specializing in Dermatology.

 She is also American Board Certified with a further degree in Aesthetic Medicine Having additionally completed a Diploma course in Cosmetic Science through the U.K. Society of Cosmetic Scientists, Dr. Kiran Lohia has the distinction of being the one of the first physicians with both advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Chemistry knowledge.
Dr. Kiran Lohia then collaborated with doctors, chemists and scientists around the world, and sponsored research in specialized Dermatology Research Centres in France, Italy, Spain and the USA. Breakthrough advanced technologies were created to specifically solve the prevalent skin problems. Finally Cosmedic was born.

MAC Rapidblack Penultimate eyeliner the perfect soul mate of winged eyelines

If winged eyeliners are your go to makeup look and you are tired of fumbling around to get the perfect flick with your drugstore eyeliners,its time to say hello to this super sweet and s*xy liquid eyeliner from MAC called Rapidblack penultimate eyeliner.

The packaging is deceptively simple, yet if you have used drugstore liquid eyeliners like this before you'd really appreciate the engineering that has gone in this eyeliner pen. There is no clicking mechanism yet the felt tip always provides the precise amount of eyeliner without leaking or leaving any ghastly streaks.I am very happy that the consistency of eyeliner remains uniform means no uneven finish to my winged liner :) The pen shape also makes it a very travel friendly.

I love the high precision eyeliner tip,which is made with felt,its firm enough to give you control yet delivers a uniform inky eye line. The pigmentation is superb and it makes creating retro winged eyeliner looks a cake walk.

Its not water proof though its water resistant.If I don't rub my eyes then it easily wears for upwards of 8-9 hours,however when I do go rubbing my eyes like a woman possessed it does fade slightly though doesn't smudge.

Priced at Rs 1400/- for 1 gram of product it is quite a splurge.Do remember to cap it properly after use 'coz we don't want the air exposure to ruin the product, and you need to store it horizontally to prevent it drying out quickly.

swatches on NC 45 skin tone.

Overall recco- Snag it before it sells out Girlies, part of the MAC's Marilyn Monroe collection, this is a must have.

Dove Elixir-all the hoopla about real ingredients myth or reality?

So we've all seen the Dove Elixir TV commercials, the billboards, the print ads singing paeans about the benefits of overnight oiling in just 30 minutes.

With a feel good tune of  "Naani teri morni ko more le gaye..." and a Gradma lovingly giving her grand child a Dove elixir hair oil massage.
The ad is snazzily executed, it talks about Dove elixir precious Hair oils with real ingredients,hitting all the right notes and instantly makes you want to go out and grab this little hair potion right away. 
Well at least it did make me go out and buy it right away (this was sometime in the third week of December).
The Dove elixir wasn't available in most stores and after hunting high and low I finally spotted the 'Nourished shine' variant containing Hibiscus and Argan oil,I so craved this bottle 'coz I had read tons about the benefit of Argan oil.One look at the bottle & I was ecstatic at the sight of beautiful rose petals floating in the oil!
I said a little prayer and thanked Dove for launching something so pretty in the Indian market and I walked back with a spring in my steps,mighty thrilled with my purchase.

I couldn't peel my  eyes off this pretty bottle.Dove got the packaging spot on with the beautiful rose petals suspended in the hair elixir, it gives the bottle a ethereal look, not like mundane bottle of hair oil but an object of desire.

As soon as I came back home, like an enthu bunny Id gave myself a head massage with this "Hair elixir"Right off the heavy perfumed scent almost gave me nausea, its really strong sickly sweet smell, the gagging feeling was really strong and I could barely keep it on for 30 mins..
I was perplexed, I knew some oils smell funky but such strong fragrance is unusual..I decided to read the ingredient list carefully... surprise surprise here's what I found.... it contains 78% Mineral Oil, 16% vegetable oil and approx 6% of other stuff.. Hmm...I did a double take, wasn't I promised goodness of hibiscus,Argan oil?? Is the infinitesimally small quantity of beneficial oils added to this hair elixir just as a motivational ingredient?

I decided to read up more on the ingredients and check with Wiki (yeah I know its not Gospel truth,but has some very relevant information)

I quote from Wikipedia "Mineral oil is a liquid by-product of the distillation of petroleum to produce gasoline and other petroleum-based products from crude oil. Mineral oil is a substance of relatively low value, and it is produced in very large quantities.The World Health Organization classifies untreated or mildly treated mineral oils as Group 1 carcinogens to humans; highly refined oils are classified as Group 3, meaning they are not suspected to be carcinogenic but available information is not sufficient to classify them as harmless.^[4]"

Well mineral oil on its own isn't really harmful,many companies use it to make non sticky hair oil variant,but when a brand touts its product as 'precious hair oils with real ingredients' and mentions Hibiscus and Argan oil as the primary ingredient the last thing one would expect is to be doused with mineral oil instead!

The second ingredient that bothered me was BHT which is a suspected Carcinogen. Again from Wiki here's what I found out "Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), also known as butylhydroxytoluene, is a lipophilic (fat-soluble) organic compound, chemically a derivative of phenol, that is useful for its antioxidant properties. European and U.S. regulations allow small percentages to be used as a food additive, but that is with controversy as there are claimed links to child hyperactivity as well as to cancer"

OMFG!! All I wanted was shiny silky locks, no suspected carcinogens in my hair!!

I quickly decided to wash my hair,after two rounds of shampooing to get the oil off my hair,my naturally fine,silky hair, looked frizzy and dull,quite the contrary turnout from the "Nourished shine" I was promised :(

I'm seriously miffed with Dove & Unilever for peddling El-Cheapo mineral oil as some miraculous hair elixir.Priced at Rs 185/- for 90 ml for me this was good money down the drain.It just doesn't live up to the high standards I expect from Dove and the misleading advertising is seriously annoying.

This bottle of hair potion has only ornamental value on your dresser, apart from that don't expect "real ingredients" or "nourished shine" and you'll be fine.
Short story shorter,as for me I'd rather buy sweet almond oil for my hair massages, thankyouverymuch.

Have you tried Dove Hair Elixir? Comment and share your experience.

ESTÉE LAUDER INTRODUCES VIOLET UNDERGROUND

ESTÉE LAUDER INTRODUCES

VIOLET UNDERGROUND

BY TOM PECHEUX, CREATIVE MAKEUP DIRECTOR, ESTÉE LAUDER

“We created a dramatic fashion look with a touch of fantasy. Inspired by glam rock, women can play dress up with color and become a character that encompasses mystery, opulence, sex and confidence.

It can transform her world.”

Tom Pecheux, Creative Makeup Director, Estée Lauder

Introducing a new multi-dimensional, limited edition trend collection, Estée Lauder Pure Color Violet Underground.  Inspired by multiple cultures, styles and textures, this collection is the ultimate fusion of high style and street chic.  The makeup in Pure Color Violet Underground takes glam rock to a new dimension with a fantastical aesthetic revolution of deep, vibrant violet and fuchsia tones.

Clinique Chubby sticks-Have a kiss of color!

Have a Kiss of Colour!

Make lips the main attraction for Valentine’s Day by layering textures, adding dimension and a gentle iridescence. Get lips all dressed up and ready to shine for Valentine’s Day with luscious shades of Pink and Red.

Clinique’s Global Colour Artist Jenna Menard explains how.

Shehla Khan Presents Sonam Kapoor in her latest cocktail line Dark Romance

Shehla Khan Presents Dark Romance

2013 Cocktail Line 

Her new western wear collection for Valentine's Day.

Shehla Khan has redefined the term sexy for Valentine's Day. With her new collection Dark Romance, Shehla has veered from the pastel shades of the summer collection and has now opted for darker, bolder colours yet laying emphasis to the skin with skin tones.  Boudoir, being the mood of the collection, Shehla has used sheer and lace to give her pieces the rich appeal at the same time creating an alluring, come-hither look.