Beauty Buys From Malaysia

Don't they all look happy together?! ;)

I'm very happy with my beauty shopping from Malaysia. I got mostly everything I wanted and more. I'll be leaving KL tomorrow so I'm hoping for a bit more duty free stuff ;)

Reviews coming soon.

♥ Cynthia Z ^.^

Indian Skin tones

The first thing you should know is that skin tones are divided into 3 categories: Cool, Neutral and Warm.

Cool-- Veins on underside of wrist are more blue, look better in silver jewelry, look great in white and cool colors.

Neutral-- Veins are neither totally green nor blue, look good in both silver and gold jewelry, and both warm and cool colors.

Warm-- Veins are green, look good in gold jewelry, look great in cream color.

Now, here's my classification of Indian skin tones, fully knowing I might totally miss the bull's eye.

Cool (Fair)

• Aishwarya Rai
• Dia Mirza
• Kareena Kapoor

Cool (Medium)

• Genelia D'souza
• Freida Pinto

Cool (Dark)

• Konkona Sen

Neutral ( Fair)

• Preity Zinta
• Lara Dutta

Neutral (Medium)

• Deepika Padukone
• Priyanka Chopra
• Rani Mukherjee

Neutral (Dark)

• Carol Gracias
• Bipasha Basu

Warm (Fair)

• Kalki Koechlin

                      
Warm (Medium)

• Kajol

Warm (Dark)

• Nina Manuel

The best foundations for Indian skin tones are L'oreal True Match, Revlon Colorstay, and MAC Studio Fix Fluid, because you will easily find your shade from their wide range of blendable shades.

♥ DBA ^_^

Make-up Mistakes- That Has Got To STOP!

I bet you've read hundreds of articles like these before, but I wanted to write my own version in here because I'm just not blunt enough to say it to some people's faces.

Eyes:

• Eyeliner/kajal smudges around the eyes. Hello, Raccoon.
• Goop in the inner corners of the eyes. Remember how grossed out Chandler Bing was by the 'mascara goop' in FRIENDS?
• Space between the lash line and eyeliner.
• Spidery tarantula-like eyelashes.
• Eyebrows- Over-darkened and/or over-tweezed.
• Contact lenses that do NOT suit ones skin tone.

Lips:

• Slathering lipstick on dry chappy lips.
• Lip gloss that gathers up in the corners of the mouth. It looks like you- know-what.
• Lip liner that is darker than the lip color.
• Wearing a dark lip color when lips are already darkly pigmented (I'm talking about unnatural pigmentation of the lips here- the almost blackish kinds.) 

Face:

• Wrong foundation and powder color. Okay, this has been said too many times and the most unoriginal of all. I don't even want to mention it but..... Sigh. (And also because I want to fill up my post) :)
• Applying blush right up to your eyes and too near to the nose. Too much of it is also a no-no.
• Too much bronzer. Even 'The Sun' wouldn't want to take credit for that.
• Excess highlighter and glitter.

I think I'm forgetting some more. Please feel free to remind me.

♥ DBA ^_^

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Lotus Herbals Natural Kajal (Rs.115) Review

I've never been a kajal person because it's too black and smudges a lot, but then recently I wanted to try one of the herbal ones because they're supposed to be good for the eyes. I've got very sensitive eyes that turn red very easily, so I thought herbal is the way to calm them down. I actually wanted to try out the Himalaya kajal but ended up buying this instead because it has "Smudge-proof" written on it and also the salesgirl said it sells better (Yes, she convinced me.)

When I opened the outer package and saw this.....

I was happy I chose it. How cute is the packaging?! I think (and so does one other person I know) it looks good enough to cost up to 500 bucks.

It's 100% natural and safe, relaxes and soothes eyes, and also helps in growth of eyelashes Made with botanical extracts of camphor, liquorice and almond oil.

I normally wouldn't apply it this thick, but I just wanted to show its intensity.

Is it really smudge-proof? Not really. But kajals are meant to be soft and smudge-y. I always apply a good amount of loose powder around the eyes to prevent the raccoon-eyed look.

It does feel gentler on my eyes and they sting less, which is why i wear it to bed and clean it all off in the morning.

I'm still going to try the Himalaya one too because I want to compare them both. In case you're wondering, it looks like this...

I'm guessing they'll be same, but it's good to be sure.

***Comparison of the two kajals ~ here

♥ Cynthia Z ^_^

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Bourjois Sweet Kiss Lipstick- Fuchsia Class #57 (Rs.650)

I like the Bourjois Sweet Kiss Lipsticks so much that I couldn't resist buying another one yesterday. I already posted pictures of Rose Corset and Rose Seduisant earlier here http://delhisbeautyaddict.blogspot.com/2009/09/bourjois-sweet-kiss-lipstick-review.html . 


This time it's #57 Fuchsia Class. I have been looking for a true fuchsia shade and this is perfect....

I just love the finish of Sweet Kiss lipstick. It's very moisturizing and doesn't feel heavy.

Got it from Kunchal's, G.K. M-Block Market.

Bourjois Smokey Eyes Trio Eyeshadow Look-alike: Deborah Trio Hi-tech Eyeshadow

You know I've been waiting for the Bourjois Smokey Eyes Trio Eyeshadow for some time now and today I found a look-alike from Kunchal's. When I first saw them, I was ecstatic because I thought the Bourjois ones have been launched and then I found out they're actually by Deborah, an Italian cosmetics brand, which I have never heard of before. I bought one anyway because it looked almost as cute as the Bourjois ones. The eyeshadow is called 'Trio Hi-tech Eyeshadow.' It's hypoallergenic, iridescent and can be applied wet or dry. Below is a picture from their website http://www.deborah.it/inglese/deborah/html/prodotti/ombretto_trio.htm

It is available in 8 trio palettes (Rs. 495 each)

I got mine in Peach Passion.

Here are some pictures I took of it...

I even got a black finger ring free with my purchase but it's way too big for my fingers

Just to remind you, Bourjois Smokey Eyes Trio Eyeshadow looks like this...

It is definitely smaller and cuter or am I just biased? ;)

My Favorite Lip Balms

I just CAN'T live without lip balms. If ever stranded on a deserted island and I have to pick just one beauty product, it would definitely be lip balms.
My favorites which I've used so far are:

Mac Tinted Lip Conditioner (Fuchsia Fix, Petting Pink, Hello Kitty- Popster)

Oriental Princess Vitamins Enriched Lip Care (Strawberry, Raspberry, Blueberry, Pomegranate)

Too Faced Beauty Balm (Watermelon)

The Body Shop Born Lippy (Raspberry, Strawberry)

Lotus Herbals Lip Therapy (Cocoa & Vanilla)

Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm

The Body Shop Lip Butter (Wild Cherry)

MAC Tendertones (Sweet Tooth & Honey Bare)

*I wish Mac would make these permanents.

P.S: I don't throw my empty lip balm pots away because I then make my own lip balms and contain them in the empty pots. Will be doing a tutorial on how to make lip balms soon.

Until then... Long Live Lip Balms!!! Muah! :*)

Bourjois Effet 3D Max Lipgloss Review

People with sensitive eyes, beware!

That's its tagline. The thing that is special about this lipgloss is the one-of-a-kind plastic applicator which is perforated so that you can apply it from both sides to add maximum 3 dimensional volume and shine. The gloss is designed with shine micro-activators that brings up to 33% more shine.

Available in 6 shades:

                                      

From left to right: #61 Rose Acidule, #62 Rose Gold, #63 Rose Eclat, #64 Framboise Ardent, #65 Cassis Petillant, 68 Brun Etincelant.

Below is a pic of me wearing 63 Rose Eclat :

                                        

 Yes, that's a lot of volume and shine. What you don't see are the little streaks and tackiness because I put on  quite a lot of the gloss. This much lip gloss will only look nice in pictures and maybe some occasions otherwise nobody will want to kiss you!

Some people hate the applicator but I think it is what makes the gloss look smooth and 3D. It can get a bit streaky but a few strokes will fix that, like putting icing on a cake using a butter knife.

It has made it into my 'Favorites' list.

Buy again? Definitely.

Love the packaging too.

 The perforated brush

Available at Kunchal's and Lifestyle stores.

Pond's Age Miracle Anti-Ageing Tinted Moisturizer Review

Someone asked me to do a review on this one so here goes...
I've been using this tinted moisturizer in Sheer Ivory for a while now (about 4 months) and I like everything about it, including the mild pleasant fragrance, except for the somewhat oily texture. But I have been overlooking that because it feels so smooth (like a baby's bottom, really) and has a satin finish. If you want that dewy glow, you'll get it with this. Plus, it evens out the skin tone and covers minor imperfections without making you look made-up. As I don't like to apply foundation, I find this good enough to make my somewhat blotchy skin look almost flawless. Of course I do use a bit of concealer here and there and then set it all with some translucent powder. This must be a god send for dry-skinned people and to those with really aged skin that need a lot of filling between the lines.
Designed with advanced CLA4 complex and SPF 15 PA+++

• Reduces wrinkles and fine lines? Yes
• Evens out skin tone and gives radiance? YES!
• Soft and smoother skin? Yes. At least while it's actually on your skin.
• Repurchase? Maybe. If I don't like the next ones on my wishlist.(Who thinks this will beat the award-winning Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer and the Mac Studio Moisture Tint?)

Below are some pictures I took of it. I hope they help (taking pictures is so not my thing.)
Shade- Sheer Ivory (With Flash)

This reflected light so much it took a few clicks to get it right (Radiance or what?)

Pond's Age Miracle Anti-Ageing Tinted Moisturizer is available in 3 shades- Sheer Ivory, Sheer Rose and Sheer Honey.

Price- Rs.215 for the 30 ml tube above. Half a pea sized amount is enough for each use.

♥DBA ^_^