Review + My Favourites - 003 - Lip Balm

Hey Pretty Ladies,

Weekend is here and I know how much you all are excited cause most of us just LOVE weekends now don’t we? Anyway, today I am going to be talking about one of the asset that I have which I cannot live without and I cant leave home without taking it with me. No, its not my cellphone, though that’s also by biggest asset these days, but this one is a beauty/healthcare product (as I would like to put it this way). Any guesses? Well, let me give you all a hint then…it actually smoothes and moisturises your lips and prevent them from drying out and cracking up. Yes, I am talking about a lip balm here and mine is none other than a BodyShop product.

Now this post is not only one of my My Favourites post, but I will also be reviewing this breathtaking thing. So lets get kicking!

The lip balm that I own and I am literally obsessed with is by none other than The BodyShop. It’s the Rich Plum Shimmery Lip Balm which was in their limited edition series last year. Here’s how the tub/jar looks like.

Obviously I don’t have to tell you guys what flavour it is (as its very obvious in the name: PLUM) and would go ahead by showing you what it looks like from inside.

It is a rich plum flavoured/coloured lip balm with shimmer to it which is not that prominent when applied. It comes in a 10ml cutie patootie jar and is super handy.

PROS:

-          Extremely moisturising

-          Hydrates lips

-          Lasts long

-          Has an amazing smell (like all of the BodyShop products)

-          Gives a slight colour to your lips

-          Can fit into almost anything : a clutch, your wallet (fits in mine), your jacket/coat/sweater pocket etc.

CONS:

-          A limited edition product.

I have been using this product since last year and honestly, i haven’t even hit half of its jar which I think is great as you just apply one coat of it through your lovely finger tip and let it do its magic. This is how it looks when applied :

Now The BodyShop has a range of lip balms at the moment by the name of Born Lippy which are extremely reasonable. This is what they have to say about it :

A glossy and moisturising lip balm, with a sweet fruity flavour, that leaves lips looking and feeling soft, smooth and kissable.

Currently the Born Lippy is available in 6 different flavours for £2 each (which is great) and they are:

-          Born Lippy Strawberry Lip Balm

-          Born Lippy Raspberry Lip Balm

-          Born Lippy Passionberry Lip Balm

-          Born Lippy Mango & Peach Lip Balm

-          Born Lippy Watermelon Lip Balm

-          Born Lippy Pink Guava Lip Balm

So, if your lips are chapping, cracking and drying up, hurry and get yourself this amazing product either online or through your nearest BodyShop outlet and am sure you’re going to love it as much as I do. The flavours smell amazing by the way…  =P

Hope you like this yummy post of mine. Feel free to comment below as I love reading them .... =D

Till then, stay pretty and have an amazing fun-filled weekend.

<3

Sarah

My Favourites - 002 - Blushes

Hey there girlies,

My today's post is based on the blushes that I have and love. I dont have many blushes but I am looking forward to expand my collection and try out some crazy shades that I haven't as yet. Ever since I have been to UK, I havent got a single mono blush and its a shame ... But, I will be getting some pretty soon ... =D

Okay, so lets have a quick look at what favourite blushes look like ... 

As mentioned above, I dont have a massive Blush collection, but from whatever I own, these are some of my favourites and I simple LOVE them.

Starting from the extreme left:

Nightlife by Luscious

Shade 21 from Etude

Shade 07 from The BodyShop

Shade 20 from Etude

Crazy for you by Luscious

Now those of you who are wondering about the brand Luscious, its a Pakistani cosmetic company who has amazing products to their account. Now, lets have a closer view of these lovelies ... 

Nightlife by Luscious: A very nice deep coral colour with hint of glitter to it. Perfect for night time and looks great when applied.

Shade 21 by Etude: Light pink matte blush ideal for daytime wear. Looks amazing when applied on the apples of your cheeks.

Shade 7 by The BodyShop: Lovely matte deep reddish brown color which I use (sometimes) as a bronzer. Colour payoff is really nice and this one is ideal for contouring.

Shade 20 by Etude: A lovely glittery peachy pink colour which looks great on your cheeks. The blush has a marble like effect to it which is really nice. Pigmentation is really nice which I really like.

Crazy for You by Luscious: A very rich pinkish plum coloured blush with hint of glitter to it. Ideal for night-time look and looks amazing on the cheeks.

So I hope you liked this post as much as I did. Sorry couldnt get you the swatches as my camera went bananas and completely out of focus. Will share them soon with you all

Till then, stay pretty and keep blushing.

<3

Sarah

My Favourites - 001 - Lipsticks

Hey Gorgeous Ladies,

First of all, how did you find the NEW blog of mine? I mean the change and everything. I wanted a change so thought about keeping it simple yet chic. Do let me know what you think of it. =D

So, I am starting off "My Favourites" posts from today. This series of posts will showcase things that I simply adore and the reason behind mentioning them is to share with you all lovely girlies out there. So, I hope you'll enjoy this series of posts as much as I will enjoying them putting up for you.

Now to kick off My Favourites, I am starting off by revealing my favourite shades of lipsticks that I own till now.  These range from different brands and mostly are from the same shade family - BROWN - I am obsessed with brown shade lipsticks because I personally think this colour suits me and my personality the BEST. 

Here they are ... !!!

1-      Audacious by Rimmel

2-      Shade 11 by The Bodyshop

3-      Bonbon Caramel Toffee Cream by Maybelline

4-      Rum Raisin by Maybelline

5-      Invincible by L’Oreal

6-      Shade 11 by MUA (MakeUpAcademy)

7-      Shade 06 by The Bodyshop

And here's a closer look:

Now comes the swatches ...

Hope you like the post. Dont forget to comment below if you want to ask anything or just leave a comment just like that ... =D

Till then, have a lovely day and stay pretty ..

<3

Sarah

The Fakers - Fake MAC & Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow Palette - D-bate & Review

Robert Heinlein once said :

No matter where or what, there are makers, takers, and fakers.

Hey girlies,

My today’s post is based on the wide range of FAKE BRANDED makeup palettes we see and sometimes end up buying. In this post I will be showcasing and reviewing my two favourite eyeshadow palettes one of which is a FAKE Bobbi Brown Shimmery Palette and the other being a fake MAC 12 colour palette.

But before I get started, I just want to highlight a few things on how and why I ended up buying these palettes knowing they are not genuine but fake and secondly to discuss why some makeup manufacturers choose to fake-brand (name their product the same as the high-end one/identity theft to be more precise) their product.

WHY AND HOW DID I BUY?

Back to where I originally am from, we hardly get genuine high-end beauty products and even if we do end up finding the genuine one, they are way too pricey.  So back home, I used to get my cosmetics from different stores, the drugstore brands like Maybelline, L’Oreal, DMGM etc and for us, these are considered to be the *expensive* brand let alone MAC and Estee Lauder as again they were way too pricey. So one a random day, I went to the mall with my friend and we got in to this cosmetic shop where I mostly got my stuff from and while rambling through the things it had, I came across an eyeshadow palette which had MAC written on it. The palette had some really amazing colours that I wanted and when I asked the price, it was for PKR 800/=. Obviously I knew instantly that it wasn’t genuine as I had a fair idea of what MAC is worth of as its single eyeshadow back home was around PKR 3000/=. I swatched the eyeshadows slightly and was impressed by its pigmentation and colour payoff. I asked the shopkeeper if it was genuine MAC and he confronted that it wasn’t. So, after asking my friend who was with me at that time, we came to a mutual consensus that I should buy it and so I did. Now the same thing happened with me when I got myself my fake Bobbi Brown eyeshadow kit and it cost me PKR 200/= which later made me think why did I end up buying two fake palettes knowing they weren’t genuine. Well the answer was simple…I couldn’t afford M.A.C or Bobbi Brown as they were beyond my price range so I decided to get the fake ones and feel as if I have the real thing.

Now coming back to the second part of my discussion, why do manufacturers do identity theft? Well after much research I came to the conclusion that by stealing goodwill or by naming their products that of the high-end ones, there is a chance their sales might boost up which in reality does happen as people like me, who couldn’t afford MAC and Bobbi Brown end up getting the sham which results in us being somewhat satisfied, giving us a an overwhelming feeling. Here, I am NOT encouraging anyone to get themselves fake products just because they cant afford the genuine one. Okay! Enough of this debate, lets move on to my gorgeous fake palettes now.

Fake MAC 12 colour eyeshadow palette:

The first one that I will be reviewing for you is my fake MAC 12 colour eyeshadow palette.

The Packaging:

I love its packaging as its super cute and can easily be fit into almost anything. The palette comes in two layers with mirror attached with each of the later. The top layer has a highlighter and a set of earth – toned shadows whereas the bottom layer has neutrals with a highlighter at the very left. The palette came with two double ended good quality sponge applicators.

The Eyeshadows:

The colours are extremely pigmented and are not matte as they have a velvety touch and a shimmery look to them. The eyeshadows give out the best colour payoff when applied with the given applicators.

Pros:

-         Affordable

-         Good quality eyeshadows

-         Good colour scheme

-         Compact

Cons:

-         Fake

-         Wont give the best result if applied with eyeshadow brushes

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Eyeshadow Palette:

As mentioned above, I got this palette back home from a local cosmetic store for PKR 200/=

Packaging:

It’s a square shaped, light weighed kit/palette which holds 5 extremely shimmery and highly pigmented eyeshadows. There is no mirror attached to the palette and it doesn’t come with an applicator.

Eyeshadows:

The shades range from shimmery silvers to shimmery dark greys and bronze. This palette is ideal for creating dramatic shimmery smokey eyes. The shadows are extremely pigmented which sometimes annoy me as there are a lot of fallouts. The colour payoff is amazing and produces the best result when applied with a sponge applicator or fingers.

Pros:

-         Again, affordable

-         Pigmentation of the eyeshadows

-         Compact – can fit into your make up bag easily

Cons:

-         Again, fake

-         Doesn’t come with an applicator

-         Doesn’t have an attached mirror

-         Wont give the best result if applied with eyeshadow brushes

OverAll:

Even though they are fake, I love these palettes as they give really good results and most importantly; they are affordable. And I wouldn’t mind repurchasing them if I run out of eyeshadows and couldn’t get my hands on something that appealed as soon as they deliver what is to be delivered. Again, its not necessary that all fake makeup possess good quality. Some do, some doesn't and some are extremely cheap and can harm your skin.

I hope you liked my review and I would love to hear about your fake palettes if you have any.

Till then you gorgeous ladies take care of yourself and stay pretty as always.

Love,

Sarah <3

For Eyes that Smoke - Benefit's Smokin' Eyes Palette - Review

Howdy Ladies,

Happy Women’s Day to all of you beauties out there and I hope that you’re having a lovely day so far.

As you know, I got my Benefit Smokin’ Eyes palette a couple of months back which I mentioned in one of my posts; I thought about reviewing it today for you. So, lets get going shall we?

My Hunt For The Palette:

I love doing smokey eyes, and I think it’s the only look that everyone can wear and carry on with quite easily. So I wanted a palette that would be purely dedicated to such a look and my search for such a palette began soon. Obviously I started off by looking at the high-end products whose prices made me choke, I mean literally. For a very compact palette, the companies were charging diamonds. My search then moved to ebay and voila, I found, what I considered, the perfect palette for creating smokey eyes and that too from Benefit. Now, I have heard a lot of people raving about Benefit Cosmetics and how great their products are, I immediately thought of getting my hands on this palette as I was getting it for only £6 including P&P. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I checked out Benefit’s website earlier which tagged the palette at the price of £28.50. So without any delay, I instantly bought it and it was shipped to my doorsteps in 2 weeks. Later I went to Benefit's booth in one of the big stores in London just to make sure whether my palette was genuine or not. It was indeed genuine and I thanked God later.

Packaging:

Now, lets move on to the packaging of this highly anticipated palette of mine. I did have a look at this palette online and honestly, I wasn’t so convinced with its packaging. It’s a small (palm sized) palette made of cardboard with design on it, which is the only thing I liked about the palette. I thought it was cool (I know silly me!).

The palette when opened, comes with an attached mirror, which I think is a necessity of such palettes.

What Does The Palette Contain?

- 3 smokin' eyeshadows:

 pink highlight shadow, pewter base shadow (a greyish brown toned shadow) & a deep charcoal shadow

- smokin' liner

- brow zings shaping wax

- eye bright, cream eye brightener to be used in the inner corners of your eyes to make them appear bright.

- fluff shadow/hard angle brush

- tiny tweezers for discreet touch-ups

- a lesson/tutorial to talk you through each step.

Product Details:

Size:

·         Eye bright 0.09 g Net wt. 0.03 oz. 

·         Pink shadow 1.10g Net wt. 0.04 oz. 

·         Pewter shadow 1.10g Net wt. 0.04 oz. 

·         Deep Shadow 0.90g Net wt. 0.03 oz. 

·         Smokin' liner 0.39g Net wt. 0.01 oz. 

·         Brow Zing Wax 1.00g Net wt. 0.04 oz.

What Benefit Has To Say:

According to Benefit this is a complete eye and brow kit that has everything you need for that sexy, smoky look. Now even amateurs can go pro!

My Thoughts:

Although I love this palette, there are some serious pros and cons attached. Lets start with the pros:

I Liked/Loved:

• -       The shadows are great to work with and are super pigmented.
• -       Love the compact size of the palette as it can easily fit in your makeup bag.
• -       The tutorial/lesson which comes with the palette is definitely helpful for amateurs.
• -       Liked the eyeshadow applicator that came with it. Super cute.
• -       The Brow Zing Wax is one of my favourites as it makes my brows look natural and keeps them in place.

I Didn’t Like/Love:

• -       The Smokin liner – being too small, it becomes hard for me to use it.
• -       The Eye Bright – my least favourite and doesn’t make sense using it.
• -       The tweezers – although I thought it was super cute, its useless for me as it hardly grasps any strayed eyebrow hair as its quite stiff.
• 
  

OverAll:

As I mentioned above, despite of its flaws it’s a nice palette dedicated solely for smokey eyes. If ignored all the cons, I would surely repurchase it provided the same price I paid for it on Ebay. If not, then wont bother getting it again at all.

So, I hope you liked this review of mine. Do let me know if you have a palette that is meant for smokey eyes and its something you really like. Please do share as sharing is caring.

Till my next post, stay pretty girls and don’t forget to enter yourself in my Lush Giveaway, it would hardly take 3 minutes.

Lots of Love,

Sarah <3

LOTD - A Look from the Sleek Original i-Divine Palette

Look Of The Day

Products used:

• Benefit Lemon Aid Eye Primer
• Sleek i-Divine Palette