Zoozoo Inspired Eyes

Zoozoos! How cute, right? Although I don't like watching cricket, except during the last hour & only when my country is playing, I don't really mind that the Cricket World Cup is taking over our living room these days, mainly coz of the Vodafone zoozoo ads! I just love them! If I'm in the bathroom, I would rush outside when I hear a zoozoo ad =D.

Just for fun, I tried to replicate the Zoozoo eyes :)..I see makeup inspiration everywhere, as you can see ;)

I used my favorite, and very easy to use- Loreal Super Liner Carbon Gloss

I think I would actually wear a thinner version of this eyeliner style in real life. What about you?

My favorite zoozoo ad at the moment...

Isn't she a darling?! *.*

♥ Cynthia Z ^.^

To All Readers In Mumbai, Want To Attend Lakmé Fashion Week?

Dear Mumbai Readers,

Always wanted to attend the glitzy Lakmé Fashion Week? Lakmé Salon brings YOU this opportunity to attend LFW and we will even make you look super sleek for it.

Be among the first 500 people to take the Sleek Mystique service at Lakmé Salon and you will receive a pass to hobnob with the crème de la crème of fashion at this season of Lakmé Fashion Week Summer / Resort 2011! Get styled by Lakmé Salon experts in the four Sleek Mystique Looks – Creative, Sensuous, Urban Cool and Free Spirited. Sleek Mystique is an indulgent hair treatment which leaves your hair straight, smooth, silky with a healthy shine at just Rs. 950/-. Lakmé Studios and Salons are your one stop to get the fashion forward sleek straight hair style with perfect conditioning and protection.
Visit any Lakmé Salon or Studio in Mumbai and avail of this service to walk the red carpet at LFW.

Here are 4 Sleek Mystique Looks:

Creative

Urban Cool

Free-spirited

Sensuous

** Offer Valid only for the first 500 customers that take the Sleek Mystique service in Mumbai only.
***Offer Valid only from 27th February 2011 to 11th March 2011.


Have FUN! :)


♥ Cynthia Z ^.^

Favorite Makeup Tips

Here are 5 of my favorite makeup tips, old and new, which I picked up from various sources- magazines, makeup artists & my own experience:

• If you don't want length on your bottom lashes, apply gel liner on them instead of mascara. 
• Apply some loose powder with a fan brush or a puff on your under eye area when using dark eyeshadows or shimmery eyeshadows, so your base won't be ruined if there's fallout. You can just dust it all off with a powder brush when you're done.
• Tearing up while applying mascara or liner but don't want the tears to roll down and spoil your makeup? Just press a Q-tip (ear bud) right on your tear ducts. The tears will be absorbed immediately. Do this when you use eye drops too.
• My new favorite way of applying mascara to extend my short lashes & curl them at the same time: Place the brush at the roots of your lashes, and start rolling the wand (inwards towards cheek), keep rolling till it reaches the tips of your lashes. Repeat until you have evenly coated all your lashes.
• What's your natural blush shade? Squeeze your fingertip (a little above the line), the increase in blood flow will make the tips look pinker. That's the color that will look most natural on your cheeks.

I will keep posting makeup & beauty tips every now and then, so they can go in the 'Beauty Tips' tab up there. Hope you'll enjoy reading, and find them useful.

♥ Cynthia Z ^.^

New Sigma Brushes + Cute Video

I did a Sigma haul again. I needed some more face brushes, for various reasons, but mainly coz my face brushes take too long to dry in this cold-ish weather that I felt I had to get more. Of course I had to throw in one eye brush as well, to kinda 'balance' it out.

The brushes were shipped on 4th Feb and reached me yesterday- 23rd Feb. It took a little longer than the last couple of times I ordered from Sigma, but I'm just relieved they didn't get lost, or something tragic like that.

Here's what I got:

• F55 Small Duo Fibre ~ $14 (Rs.636)
• F35 Tapered Highlighter ~ $16 (Rs.727)
• F05 Small Contour ~ $14 (Rs.636)
• E45 Small Tapered Blending ~ $9 (Rs.409)

My Name Necklace ~ Cynthia

I ordered this necklace almost 2 weeks back, after watching the whole Sex and The City series for the...7th time, I think.

Placed order on Feb 7th
Necklace Shipped on Feb 12th
Received on Feb 18th
*Regular shipping may take 10 business days

The letters are smaller than I thought. I was very upset when I saw it the first time. I should have ordered the bigger one, like Carrie's. I didn't even stop to think about the size difference when I ordered in a rush. Ah, whatever. Everything happens for a reason. Maybe if I had gotten the bigger one, I would be wishing I got the smaller one, who knows?! :)

Chain length ~ 16"/40 cm (Young adult/Adult)
Price ~ $29.95. If you want slightly bigger letters, get the one which is for $33.95.

I ordered it from mynamenecklace.com. You can use these Coupon Codes: Gift or Discount to get 10% off.

♥ Cynthia Z ^.^

Requested Makeup Model Look

I was requested to do a look by Fashion Ph.D last month, but didn't have the time until now. This is the look.... 

The model is gorgeous & the makeup is complicated, so even my almost best effort didn't come out exactly like it. But I really had fun doing it. The makeup application didn't take so long, but the photo session did...phew! I don;t have chunky silver glitter, so I used Bloop fine glitter/shimmer. Wig is from kkcenterhk.com

The left eyelash came too much inside but it was too late to fix it ;D

The flash actually lightened the eyeshadows a little bit & some of the glitter had flown of in some of the pics like the first.

Products:

Blush,Bronzer- Mac Pink Swoon, Mac Refined Golden Bronzer. Lips~ Mac Cremestick Liner Pink Treat, Mac Lustering, Maybelline Color Sensational Plaza Pink. Lashes~ QVS

120 palette, Nyx Super Model, Loreal Open Eyes Cobalt Blue, Lakme Gypsy Collection Eye Quartet Silk Route

I clicked some tutorial photos, but wasn't sure if anyone would be interested. Lemme know if you want a tutorial.

Anyways, I hope you like.

*If you want to request for any look at all, send a photo to indianvanitycase@gmail.com. I will try my best to replicate the look.

**Tutorial on how I did the eyes  HERE

♥ Cynthia Z ^.^

Lotus White Glow Intensive Skin Whitening & Brightening Serum

What it is:

Enriched with Grape, Mulberry, Saxifraga extracts and Milk enzymes that are known fairness agents A proprietary formula that distributes via an advanced delivery system It visibly refines large pores, eliminates blackheads and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The result, you have radiant, youthful looking skin. Contains no harmful chemicals.

How to use:

Use morning and evening all over face and neck after cleansing.

Fixing A Bad Hair Coloring Job

I got my hair colored 2 weeks back at a salon, and I wasn't happy with the result. In spite of being a certified hairstylist myself, I always get confused when it comes to my own hair, especially with color. I'm not sure what went wrong, really. I told the guy I didn't want my hair to be bleached, but he (and his posse and the manager) told me it wasn't possible to lighten my hair without bleach. Then I thought it's rude to keep telling them how to do their jobs, right? So I shut up and went along with it.

They used a pre-lightener (twice, or in his words- 'refresh' the bleach) and then Loreal Majirel 8.31 (beige blonde). Here's what I looked like when I reached home (tired, with backache & apparently no lipstick)....

Managed a smile for the camera

It may not look so bad there, coz it was night time & with flash, but in daylight it looked like this...

>.< Me no likey! Leopard automatically came to mind

I paid 3000 rupees for that. Oh... the regret & the guilt!

Inglot AMC Liquid Face Blush Review & Swatches

I've been tempted to get the Inglot Liquid Face Blush, especially during the time when I couldn't get Make Up For Ever HD Blush. When the blushes were launched in India, I got cold feet, coz I read some bad reviews (words like streaky, instill doubts, obviously), even though I did like them when I tested them one too many times. Once, I almost bought one, but then decided not to at the last minute, coz the product looked too watery in the new bottle (testers felt thicker. Streaky crept into my head again.) Then I regretted not buying it when I reached home. You know the story.

Well, I bought it finally. Do I hear clapping?

Rash-Free Pads?

I saw this ad in the newspaper today- She Rash-free pads. So intrigued! Is it true? Or, is it just another marketing ploy? 

♥ Cynthia Z ^.^

Change Of a Lipstick : 2 Everyday Looks

These are my 2 favorite everyday looks. Same makeup in both, except for the lips. See how a lipstick can change your whole look!

In both looks: 

Face ~ Revlon Colorstay Mineral Mousse, Body Shop Loose Powder, Mac Chromagraphic Pencil to conceal blemishes, YSL Touche Eclat under my eyes, brow bone, Sides of the nose & chin

Cheeks ~  Mac Peaches Blush applied below the apples of the cheeks and blended up to the hairline

Eyes: UDPP to prime. I just used MAC Satin Taupe eyeshadow all over my lids & lower lash line, then I applied a dark brown eyeshadow from the Bourjois Smoky Eyes Trio Nude Ingenue on the outer corners of my lids and outer half of my lower lash line. Bourjois Smoky Eyes Pencil in Smoked Brown to line my upper lash line and then I used the brush to smudge it. I did the same on my lower lash line. To tightline upper lash line, I used IN2IT Gel Liner Pencil. Then I applied 3 coats of Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express Mascara on top & bottom lashes.

*(Click on links for swatches & reviews)

Note: The Revlon Colorstay Mineral Mousse 030 Light is a tad lighter than my skin tone, coz they were selling only two (TWO!) shades here, and the other one was too dark for me. So my point is, it's going to look a little whitish in flash photography (it was a gloomy day), especially since it has SPF.  

Look 1:

Classic & simple. Goes really well with a white coat. Here, I used MAC Patisserie Lipstick

MAC Quite Cute Collection

Source, Source

“CUTE!” The most fanciful, fun and flattering compliment and young, modern trendsetter could ever want! Our version is the girliest kind of international glam possible, a style ride that combines postage-stamp-sized puppies with pixie swizzle-stick fashion and buttergly kisses for cute boys and even cuter shoes! Cupcake icing colors, vintage romance, an ATM card with Hello Kitty on it – and a way of life that says “yes!” to everything adorable!

Come on, get happy, with the multi-culti cutie, from Tokyo to Toronto to Paris with love! Pastel shades for Eye Quads, Lipstick, Plushglass, and Nail Lacquer…And due to popular demand, we’re completely cute-ifying three favourite Lip Pencil shades from last season that will join the fun and frolic. Flash! You’ll ♥ the Mineralize Blush with the sweet heart baked right into it. If it shines, shimmers and pops it’s completely, contagiously, cute!

Lipstick:

Playing Koi ~ Creamy white peach pink (Satin) 

Quite Cute ~ Bright white lavender (Cremesheen)

Saint Germain ~ Pastel pink (Amplified) 

Candy Yum Yum ~ Neon pink (Matte) 

Play Time ~ Intense violet (Cremesheen) 

Plushglass:

Bubble Tea ~ Creamy pale nude 

Fashion Fanatic ~ Creamy pale pink 

Girl ♥ Boy ~ Bright light blue pink 

I ♥ U ~ Creamy mid-tone purple 

Lip Pencil: 

Naked ~ Light neutral

In Synch ~ Bright yellow pink  

Boldly Bare ~ Mid-tone red brown 

Biotique Bio Berry Plumping Lip Balm Review & Swatches

About:

Biotique Bio Berry Plumping Lip Balm claims to smooth & swell lips. It is organically pure & preservative free. Dermatologically tested. No Animal Testing.

Berries are one of nature's great sources of vitamins and phytochemicals. This plumping balm restores lip fullness for a voluptuous, bee-stung look and refined lip contours.

"It is not a cosmetic product. It has therapeutic properties"

Not a cosmetic product? Therapeutic? You see that, you start to think of white, brown, yellow & green stuff. But this is none of those. It's so pretty and screams 'cosmetic'.

Rihanna's Fragrance Reb'l Fleur

Rihanna's Fragrance Reb'l Fleur features notes of tuberose, hibiscus, violet and coconut, and comes packaged in a bottle designed to resemble the heel of a shoe when turned upside down.

Reb'l Fleur takes its name from Rihanna's tattoo "Rebelle Fleur" inked on her neck. 

I'm intrigued by the coconut note in it, but I will probably skip this fragrance simply because I don't like the bottle very much, but the ad is so fabulous & mesmerizing! 

Price ~ $49 for 1.7 oz bottle.

♥ Cynthia Z ^.^

Valentine's Day Look & Outfit

I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's day. I had fun, although the sudden change of weather here in Delhi spoiled my 'pink' plans a little bit. Anyways, on to my V-Day look....

Makeup:

Face- MUFE HD Foundation, Body Shop Loose Face Powder, YSL Touche Eclat

Cheeks- Inglot Cream Blush #84, Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Rose to highlight cheekbones

Lips- MUFE Rouge Artist Intense #32

Eyes- UDPP, Nyx Jumbo Pencil Milk as base, Shimmery white eyeshadow all over lids & inner corners, Pink & Blue eyeshadows from LA Colors Circus palette , MAC Petrol Blue Pearlglide Intense Eye Liner, Revlon Beyond Natural Long Volumizing Eyelashes

Honey Bees Buzz Soap & My Chocolate Indulgence Lip Balm By Nourish

I hauled some Nourish products last week. I have passed by the kiosk before, but I never had the time to stop and look at the colorful soaps closely. Nourish sells handmade soaps, scrubs, body butters, lip balms etc. 

Here's what I bought:

Honey Bees Buzz Body Bar: How cute is that?! Bees I don't mind touching and smelling lol. This soap smells so good! I used it and it's pretty good. Doesn't dry out my skin like some soaps, and it lathers up real nice.

Nourish Honey Bees Buzz Body Bar

Inglot Pastel Collection Nail Enamel

Apart from the Brown Collection, Inglot also has Pastel Collection:

• 968 ~ Pastel Yellow
• 969 ~ Pastel Green
• 970 ~ Pastel Blue
• 971 ~ Pastel Lavender
• 972 ~ Pastel Coral

Inglot Nail enamels do not contain:
- toluene
- formaldehyde
- dibutyl phthalate (DBP)
- camphor

Inglot Brown Collection Nail Enamel Swatches

Ever since the 'Greige' (grey+beige) nail trend started, I've wanted to get my hands on...or just get a glimpse of  a shade like it here in Delhi of the India. Chanel Particulier...

...and others, like OPI 'You Don't Know Jacques' became the most wanted nail polishes. So we read and sighed. Then I spotted  the Brown Collection at Inglot yesterday, and one might just be a dupe for the Particulier.

Lakmé Lip Love Valentine Velvet

"If ever two were one, then surely we- My Lip Love and Me!"

So cheesy. Hey, it rhymes! :) . That's the tagline of Lakme's Lip Love Lipstick. If you want to celebrate this coming Valentine's Day with a lipstick that is so fitted for the day, you might want to check out Lakme Lip Love in Valentine Velvet up there, coz I'm gonna. 

About Lip Love Lipstick:

Lakmé presents a lip color you will fall in love with at first stroke! Lip Love is an indulgent creamy lip color that softens, smoothens and plumps up your lips. It contains Ceramides to keep your lips deeply hydrated and Collagen that will make them look younger and plump. The SPF 16 protects your lips from sun darkening. Lip Love is extremely light-weight and creates a creamy and luminous finish and is available in 12 shades.

vPriced at Rs.550/-

vAvailable at all leading lifestyle stores

I did a review on Lakme Lip Love Love Haze HERE

P.S: I know... I know, Valentine's Day overload in my blog lately, but I assure you, no more after this. Well, maybe one more ;)

♥ Cynthia Z ^.^

Winner Of Voi Velour Set Giveaway

It's time to find out who the winner of the Voi Velour Set Giveaway is! There were 274 valid entries. Here is the list of names randomized at random.org (You can click to enlarge)

And the winner is....

Srish!

Congrats! :). You have won a brand new set of teal-colored Velour Pants & Hoodie. You will receive an email shortly.

*If I don't hear from the winner within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen.

To those of you who didn't win, maybe you'll win in the next one. Lots of giveaways in the future.

Thank you all for participating & special thanks to Voi for sponsoring this Giveaway. 

♥ Cynthia Z ^.^

Pink Lippies For V-Day

For this Valentine's Day, I'm thinking Pinks, not Reds. 
Rosy Pinks, not Hot Pinks.

I once read in Cosmo that men are most likely to be more attracted to a woman on a first date or at a club, if she is wearing pink. Last night I was telling my man that I want to go buy a dress for V-day, and he said "Ya, get something pink". Ting! Cosmo does know the mens, doesn't it? ;).

So, here are the pink lipsticks I picked out:

• Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist intense #32
• Maybelline Color Sensational Pink Petal
• Maybelline Color Sensational Make Me Pink
• MAC Lustering
• Revlon Colorburst Carnation
• Maybelline Water Shine 3D Collagen #402
• Bourjois So Delicate Lip Cream Rose Poudre #51 

Personal Shopping: Inexpensive Makeup Products For Beginners

FAQ ~ "I am very new to make-up. Can you suggest some inexpensive products that I can use everyday? I just want the basic stuff, like for eyes, cheeks & lips, since I don't wear foundation and all that. I'd really appreciate it if you can tell me how much they cost too."

I am going to recommend only the ones that I myself have used/still using, and like. So here are my favorite affordable no-fuss products that are not only great for everyday use, but portable too:

1. Bourjois Smoky Eyes Trio in Nude Ingenue (Rs.625) ~ This is a great palette of 3 natural shades with subtle shimmer. Apply the beige shade on your brow bone, center of your lids, & inner corners. Then apply the medium brown shade on your crease & lower lash line. Lastly, use the dark brown on the outer V or corners of your your lids. If that sounds too complicated, just apply medium brown all over lids and beige to highlight the inner corners and brow bone. You can also use the dark brown as a liner. Swatches HERE
2. Colorbar I-Glide Pencil in Cocobar (Rs.325) ~ This is one of my favorite brown eye pencils. I prefer to apply a brown eyeliner for a natural look, coz black can look harsh on my light brown eyes. But if you prefer to use black then pick Black Out instead of Cocobar. Apply a thin line on your upper lash line. Optional: Smudge a little on you lower lash line with a sponge tip applicator (SKIP if you have dark undereyes). Swatch HERE
3. Maybelline Colossal Volum' Express Mascara Black (Rs.275) ~ You can pile it on for lots of volume, or you can apply just one coat for defined yet natural-looking lashes. Apply on your lower lashes too to open your eyes more.
4. Colorbar Blush in Just Earth (Rs.250) ~ A bit of brown, a bit of peach, to go with the neutral eyes. Lightly sweep some on the apples of your cheeks. Just make sure your face is matte and non-oily so the blush doesn't look blotchy. Swatch & Review HERE
5. Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in 'Warm me Up' (Rs.299) ~ I can't live without this lipstick! It is a pinkish-brownish nude shade (not so pink like in the pic there), that's great for everyday and would suit just about anybody. Swatch HERE

There. You are good to go! Pretty but not made-up. In case you want to look smokin'  just smudge the dark brown eyeshadow on your upper lash line over the brown liner & on the outer half of your lower lash line, and apply 3-4 coats of mascara.

Total cost of products ~ Rs.1774 

Hope you like my picks! I just love being a personal shopper ;). I'll go CHEAPER in my next post like this.

♥ Cynthia Z ^.^

Nivea Fruity Shine Pink Guava ~ LOVE!

Meet my latest crush, Nivea Fruity Shine Pink Guava. Oh-my-gosh, I love it so much! It is my favorite out of all the Nivea Fruity Shines I have tried. It comes in a pink guava-colored tube with a new slanted design cap. The color is suuuper gorgeous with just the right amount of pink shimmer- not too jhatak (Hindi word for 'in-your-face')

Look at that color! It is a coral pink, which is exactly pink guava (unlike The Body Shop Born Lippy Pink Guava lip balm) It smells almost like pink grapefruit.

Lakme Fruit Moisture Range Review

I thought I'd review the products from the Lakme Fruit Moisture products all at once, coz I don't want to make it into a 4-day extensive process, and it's easier for reference this way.

I've been using these products and very little else this winter, and it's almost time for me to go out and buy the ones I want to use again. So, let's find out which of those are:

Lakmé Fruit Moisture Honey & Avocado Winter Perfect Day Lotion with SPF: I am in love this.  I use it only as a body lotion. I used it on my face once (I don't use anything that comes in that type of bottle on my face, but I did anyways for review's sake) and I got a pimple. But it sure agrees with my body. Because it's not so thick or greasy, my skin absorbs it in a jiffy. It does a good job at moisturizing and it smells simply delicious! I can't get enough of it! It says 'Winter' on the bottle, but it smells & feels summery to me. I think I won't mind using it in summer too. Sometimes, I like to apply it on my hands before getting into bed, put my hands against my nose and inhale deeply. Sweet dreams.

Love Package,Giveaway Prize & Product Of the Week

Blogging has introduced me to a lot of nice & genuine people. Most of them selflessly come to visit & leave sweet and encouraging comments all the time, and I'm really thankful for that. When some of these people like me enough to send me pretty things, I can't help but feel more thankful...and lucky! :)

I received gifts, commonly known as 'love package' in beauty bloggers world, from May, my Twitter friend. She just lo..vvv...es face masks, so she said she'd send me some which are not available in India. I was surprised that she even offered coz we barely knew each other  lol, not that we really know anyone around here for that matter. She insisted and next thing I knew, I was giving her my address. I thought it was too sweet & generous of her! Then the package reached me within a week (if I remember correctly), 2 days before Christmas last year.

I was shocked to see so many face masks + 2 Essie Nail polishes- Need A Vacation &  No Boundaries. The packets look so cute I almost don't want to tear them up, but I also can't wait to use the masks. Thank you May! I might just start a face mask collection after this :)

Mac Espresso Eyeshadow Review, Swatch & EOTD

Mac Espresso is a muted golden brown matte eyeshadow. It is one of MAC's best-selling eyeshadows. I don't know why, but it was looking lighter than it actually is in most photos. So, I ended up with only one photo where it looks almost exactly like it does off camera. We all hate misleading photos & swatches, don't we?

Colorbar Autumn Rose

On my nails today is Colorbar Nail Lacquer in Autumn Rose (Without any Top Coat)

It's a neon coral pink shade, that's quite hard to capture on camera. That's is why I put 3 photos, where it's looking different in each.

My Perfume Collection & Top 6 (Valentine's Day Special)

"A woman's perfume tells more about her than her handwriting" ~ Christian Dior 

Who likes perfumes?! I'm more of a collector than a wearer of perfumes. So for me, it's not the perfume that matters, it's the bottle. But if both are fabulous then I'll actually wear them. 

After hearing that Lady Gaga is going to launch a perfume that smells like bodily fluids (who's gonna buy that?!), I was inspired to gather all my perfumes for a photoshoot. Weird, I know, but maybe I just needed to replace some rather disturbing images in my head with pretty pictures. 

Valentine's Day is approaching too, and perfumes make disappointment-proof gifts to put in that list of things-you-want for your confused significant other to pick from, or to simply gift your fabulous self (why wait for a man to gift you pretty things?!)

So, here's my collection- half of them gifted, mostly by women ;). Let's start with the pinks...

Pinks

Incanto Dream by Salvatore Ferragamo, Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy, Azzaro Pink Tonic

♥