May 2011 ~ Beauty And The Blog

My Take: Makari De Suisse Crème Clear

What It Claims
Specially formulated to help diminish the appearance of pimples while clarifying the skin. Fights against the excess production of sebum. Acts as an antiseptic cream. Contains active soothing and clearing agents. Apply twice daily on the face or on any other affected by blemishes with a gentle massage.

Directions For Use
This product has been specially formulated for Acne prone and Oily Skin. While using this product, do not use any other products that are greasy or oily. When necessary, only use make up suited to your skin.Apply Twice daily on face or any other parts affected by pimples. Please Cleanse face thoroughly before using Anti-Acne Clarifying Cream.

Peek-A-Boo: Nature’s Brilliance By Sue & 10 % Discount Coupon

COUPON CODE SONIAK10 FOR 10% DISCOUNT

A few days ago I got a package from Nature’s Brilliance By Sue containing some amazing mineral makeup goodies.

Sue is the Sole Proprietor of Nature’s Brilliance By Sue. It is located on the East Coast in a small town in New Jersey. It was formed to help people locate products for their skin tone & skin type. Sue has dealt with multiple allergies for years and through persistence and exhaustive research has found a line of natural mineral make-up and organic skin and body care products suitable for all skin types, even those with multiple allergies. Nature's Brilliance By Sue will not sell any product that is not 100% Natural or Organic and has not been tested by the owner her self. Sue has a Diploma in both Holistic Beauty Therapy and Holistic Herbal Therapy; with Certificates in Reflexology, Aromatherapy, Bach Flower Remedies, Crystal Healing, and Business Development for the Alternative Health Therapist, from the Natural Health Institutes, based in Canada.

The website has everything starting from brushes, cosmetics, skincare to haircare all 100% organic and natural with very reasonable prices and cheap shipping which starts at $3.

I’ve been meaning to try out Mineral Cosmetics for a very long time now and I was hunting for a something like this.And you don’t have to shell out a lot off moolah for mineral cosmetics anymore since everything is so cost effective.And if you are not sure about the shades you can order samples which are also decently priced.
The moment I opened the package I was greeted with a a lingering citrus aroma.Everything including the eye shadows and blush smelled like tangerines.Yummy enough to eat.

Here’s a peek at the goodies.Detailed reviews coming up soon.
Click on the description for more information on the products.

Mineral Colour Set- “Fuchsia Fantasy”

Cranberry Butter Lipstick + Mineral Blush/Eye Color, perfectly matched to the lipstick

Pink And White Beaded Bracelet From Charm Factory

Charm Factory sounds cute and since I’m not into chocolates and the Wonka Factory I’m happy I have the Charm Factory churning out cute charm as well as beaded bracelets.And not just bracelets but pendants, necklaces, chains, lockets, affirmation rings in sterling silver as well as silver tone.

What Is Charm Factory?

We feature almost 5000 high quality, unique sterling silver charms, bracelets, beads and more.Silver charm bracelets are so easy to personalize. Start by choosing a charm bracelet (or necklace). Then add as many .925 sterling silver charms as you like. Each charm comes with a free jump ring to attach it to your bracelet.
Our charms and beads are .925 sterling silver and manufactured in the United States, all lead and nickel free. Our pewter charms are also nickel and lead free. Charm Factory products do not contain cadmium, which is a concern with some products made in Asia. (The jump rings attached to our pewter charms do contain a small amount of nickel. A few imports that we do not make here, like some chains from Italy, are noted in product details.)

The Pink And White Beaded Bracelet

One end screws off
Material: Silver Plated Brass
Lead free pewter Glass-Assembled in the USA
Pewter beads - Made in the USA
Bracelet and glass beads - Imported
Bracelet Length: 7 1/2" inches (also available in 8 and 9 inches )
Price: $17.99

Maybelline Volum' Express Colossal Washable Mascara In Glam Black Review

What It Claims

The most colossal lashes in just one coat.
Lush collagen-enriched plumping formula and Mega Brush instantly build 9X volume, without clumps
Contact lens safe and ophthalmologist-tested
Washable, also available in Waterproof formula

Directions For Use
Sweep brush from root to tip to plump lashes and achieve dramatic volume. Do not let dry between coats. Removes easily with soap and water or Maybelline® New York Expert Eyes® 100% Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover.

Price
Rs 260 for 10 ml

Spotlight: Breda Watches & 30% Discount Coupon

COUPON CODE: BEAUTYBLOG EXPIRES 15th JUNE 2011

If you are looking to doll up these summers, then I have two words for you Designer Watches.Yeah Yeah everyone knows about accessorizing and and blah blah, but you see I hate accessories.I try and keep them to a minimum lest I end up like a Christmas tree.But the best thing about a watch is that you can never go wrong with it.And all you need is one watch to jazz up your outfit, and that's where designer watches come in.

A watch has moved beyond the realms of accepted standard of time length, into luxury heaven.It is more of a style statement, an attribute of luxury and something to flaunt and show off.So is it any wonder that fashion connoisseurs all over are raving about the hottest piece of accessory this side of the century.Suits me fine since I’ve always been a watch person myself(my favourite being the DKNY Boyfriend Watch that I’m sporting these days.)

But designer watches don’t come cheap and that’s where Breda Watches steps in.

I stumbled across this amazing website hunting for cheap Designer Watches and boy am I glad I did since I stepped on to the mother lode of designer watches.Beautiful, classy and elegant watches, all under $60(roughly Rs 3000).

Buy In Coins Gel Eyeliner With Brush Review

What It Claims

Brand New and Never Used.
Waterproof Gel Eyeliner.
Application is easy, has the ability to design and be creative, easy to match different make-up style.
Lasts all day without smudging or creasing and are highly pigmented.
Perfect for Professional Salon, Wedding, Parties & Home use.
Colour: Matte Black, Shimmer. (?)
Net Weight: 3g / 0.1oz.

Eyeliner Brush

Brand New and Never Used.
Professional makeup eyeliner elbowed brush.
Elbowed brush design, easy to use.
Length: 16cm + 1.5cm.
Hair Length: 0.85cm.

Package Included:

1 x Eyeliner Gel Cream Matte Black
1 x Eyeliner Brush

Price
$2.50 for a pot of gel liner + angled liner brush

Gel liners are fab.And until you start using it you won’t realize how fab it can actually get.It’s easy to apply, is more flexible than pencil liners and does not create a mess like liquid liners.But unfortunately most people are either unaware of its charms or too vary to use it.So I’m going to sort out all your misgivings about Gel Eyeliners, plus explain 3 super easy ways to apply/use them.

PS: For the sake of the article I’m going to treat Cream and Gel Eyeliner as the same.

Gel eyeliners are extremely flexible and are more lasting than their counterparts.These blend in smoothly and can be applied without playing tug of war with your eyes.The only downside is that they tend to dry up quickly.I would suggest storing a little in a separate container and refilling when it finishes up.And now onto the techniques for applying gel liners.

Technique 1: For Waterline
Use the pad of your ring finger to apply gel eyeliner on your waterline.It’s super easy, quick and you get perfect results without loading on excess product.Touch the pad of your ring finger on the gel eyeliner and sweep across your waterline.And that’s it.Although this method is damn good gel eyeliners are not preferred on the waterline since they get diluted easily because of their formula.You can even use this technique to apply kohl by rubbing some on the pad of your ring finger and sweeping it across the waterline.Just make sure that your hands are squeaky clean or you might risk an eye infection.

Avon Naturals Oil Control Gel Lotion Review

What It Claims
A clear liquid gel enriched with with natural tea tree extracts which provides skin instant and long lasting(8 hours) oil control.It hydrates to soften and improves skin clarity and suppleness leaving skin looking naturally refreshed, clear and healthy.
Tea Tree Extract is known for it’s cleansing, astringent, antiseptic and healing properties.
Dermatologist tested .Non-comedogenic.

Price
Rs 79 for 50 ml

7 Piece Brush Set From Buy In Coins Review

What It Claims

Brand New & High Quality.
Suitable for professional use or home use.
A professional quality brush set which includes all the basics you need for daily applications.
Come with protective leather case.
Closed size: 17.5cm x 7.5cm.
Open size: 17.5cm x 22.5cm.
Brush length: approximately 11.5cm ~ 14cm.
Material: high quality goat hair, nylon material and soft synthetic.

Price

$3.27 for

A Set of 7 Brushes

Leather Case

It's all about Giveaways these days and so I decided to put together a blog exclusively dedicated to showcasing Giveaways: Giveaways Galore

Giveaways Galore is all about updating you with the latest Giveaways happening all over the blogosphere and introducing new products, stores and contests.

Giveaways Galore aims to host successful giveaways and to become a source for all giveaways open worldwide.

So if you love participating in giveaways or want some public mileage for your giveaway Giveaways Galore is the answer.

Do stop by, have a peek, follow and let me know your thoughts.

M.A.C. Paint Pot in Coral Crepe Review And Swatch

What It Claims
A highly pigmented eye colour that goes on creamy but dries to an intense, vibrant finish. Long-wearing, colourfast. Creates seamless coverage without weight or caking. Blends smoothly over the lids. Cream-based, can be mixed with M·A·C shadows and liners.

Chihuahuas are super cute.And now they or rather the lovable London the Chihuahua can help you win one of fourteen $50 Too Faced eGift cards.

And the rules are simple.Head over to www.toofaced.com, spot London the Chihuahua and click on his face to enter the contest.

Last day to enter is Wednesday, 5/25/11 and Winners will be announced on Facebook and Twitter daily.

What It Claims
AloeSoft body lotion is a non-greasy formulation enriched with Aloe Vera and Cucumber extracts that not only moisturises but makes skin feel refreshed and comfortable(?).It is enriched with Aloe Vera that soothes dry skin while Cucumber has a cooling effect.

Price
Rs 225 for 300 ml

Lotus AloeSoft Daily Body Lotion Review

Directions For Use
Apply liberally all over the body, ideally after a shower or a bath on damp skin for best skin softening, sealing in the moisture.

We Have A Winner …

The results are in for The Pamper Yourself Silly International Giveaway.It took me ages to finally process the whole thing but in the end it was totally worth it.Here’s what random.org picked up:

And lucky number 363 is:

Congratulations Poohkie.I hope you’ll enjoy your goodies.
As for the rest of the gang, you can enter The Makari Sample Bag Giveaway and try out your luck.Plus I’ve planned lots of giveaways for you in the coming months, so cheer up :)

It’s been goodies galore for the last few days.Not that I’m complaining.I really wanted to try out Makari products ever since I first heard about them, but since they are exorbitantly priced I laid low.But now the good guys at Makari are offering a cheap way to try out these awesome products.A sample bag containing three of their most famous skin care products: Crème Clarifiante, Crème Clear- Acynyl Cream and Clarifying Exfoliating Antiseptic Soap all packed up in a cute gold drawstring bag.And I was sent one of these sample bags, all cuddled up in thermocol.

The moment I opened the box I could smell the soap right away. So even before I could get to the good stuff I was hooked.

The gold sample bag

The Sample bag contains: Two 5 ml sachets of Crème Clarifiante, Two 5 ml sachets of Crème Clear- Acynyl Cream and a 30 gm Clarifying Exfoliating Antiseptic Soap

A lot has been said, written and blogged about Sunscreens.Everyone I know is scrambling to lather up on their quota of Sunscreen, which in fact is a great thing.But unfortunately the use of Sunscreens has been plagued with myths.I would know since I’ve put to rest quite a few of them.And since I’m wasted, trying to sort out these myths I decided to compile it all under one head.
So here are ten Sunscreen myths busted.

Myth 1
“ UVA and UVB is the one and the same thing”
Busted
Nope it ain’t.The sun basically radiates two kinds of rays: UVB and UVA .UVB is responsible for causing tanning and sunburn and UVA which is stronger is responsible for causing ageing and skin cancer and in fact UVA is 1000 times more intense than UVB.So it makes sense that an ideal Sunscreen should provide protection against both UVB and UVA.SPF is a measure of protection against UVB while PA is a measure of protection against UVA.Buy a Sunscreen which promises broad spectrum protection with minimum SPF 20 and PA +++ for optimum protection against the Sun.

Myth 2
“Popular brands translate to better Sunscreens ”
Busted
Popular brands are popular because of marketing gimmicks.Some of them might actually be worth the claims but most often that’s not the case.So never buy a Sunscreen because it is advertised more.Instead look at the list of ingredients and base your decision on that.The key ingredients to look for UVA defence are Mexoryl Avobenzone, Zinc Oxide and/or Titanium Dioxide.The first two ingredients are called chemical sunscreen ingredients and the latter two are known as physical sunscreen ingredients.Physical Sunscreen ingredients are in opaque form and are best suited for sensitive skin.These are better than Chemical Sunscreens but are not very popular since they are available in opaque form.Also avoid sheer sunscreens containing Zinc Oxide/Titanium Dioxide as they create free radicals and damage DNA.

Myth 3
“ SPF 10 foundation + SPF 15 moisturizer + SPF 25 sunscreen = SPF 50 worth of protection”
Busted
Think hard and put your logical sense to work.Yeah sure 10 plus 15 plus 25 equals 50 except that in this case it actually equals 25, the highest in the range.So next time you load up products over products thinking you are adding to the SPF magic, don’t.If you want better sun protection opt for a sunscreen with higher SPF (35+) and then it won’t matter if your foundation or moisturizer does not have any sunscreen.

Howdy folks,
I've been meaning to put Beauty And The Blog on a custom domain for a long time but somehow never got around to it.But here we are and the change has finally happened (the reason why posts have been M.I.A.).So ~~http://beauty-n-d-blog.blogspot.com~~ has now officially become www.beautyandblog.com.
But the change has been one uphill ride.There have been loads of tweeks and changes that I had to make and I've been up all night for the last couple of days pouring over the internet to make sure the change happens smoothly for me as well as for you.
Everything is exactly as it was meant to be except for the comments which seem to have vanished.Currently I'm working on fixing it with the Intense Debate support team but I'm not optimistic.And that's been a big blow.So if you have the time and the inclination it would be great if you could go over the posts and spread some comment love.And if you have linked my blog it would be a big help if you could change the link so that it points to the new domain, especially if you have included my blog on your blogroll.
On a different note, the giveaway was a huge success and I got to make such amazing friends.Currently I'm in the process of selecting a winner and will post soon, probably in a couple of days.
Meanwhile any suggestions, advice, brickbats or plain and simple love is always welcome.Beauty And The Blog is here because of all of you guys so thanks a ton for your support and love.

Currently the obsession with organic and natural ingredients has reached a new peak.Maybe its awareness, maybe it’s availability.But whatever the reason might be, it’s something to rejoice.Because skincare had always come with the heavy baggage of scary chemical lists.Not anymore.With a plethora of brands being launched claiming to be organic, 100 % natural and chemical free, the baggage has been lifted.And so you can imagine my delight when I got to test out one such product, specially since the Indian beauty market lacks in such amazing skincare products.

Liz Earle Skincare is based in Ryde on the Isle of Wight(sounds so dreamy and romantic na) and has been catering to our basic skin needs for the last 15 years.The brand has been awarded continuously since 2006 which not only speaks for it’s popularity but also it’s dedication towards skincare.(Check out the award winners here)

I received their most famous product the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser which I’m simply dying to try out.The package also contained a sweet note, some literature and brochures and since most of you know how I love reading about beauty stuff with my cuppa chai, you might have guessed at my excitement.

If you think that the remote control was the best thing to happen to mankind, then you’ve yet to be introduced to this amazing invention: CreaClip.Exaggeration you might say.Maybe.But then if you think again how expensive a haircut has gotten these days, not to mention moody and sulky stylists, you might agree with me.It’s not only one heck of an ingenious gadget but it helps you save money in the long run.No wonder its been nominated Best New Product Of The Year.And if you are still wondering what the hell is CreaClip, here’s the lowdown:

What It Claims

Cut your hair at home
Trim your bangs
Cut children’s hair
Create layers
Save time and money

Clean Makeup Brushes In Less Than 2 Minutes

Yup you read it right.Squeaky clean brushes smelling fresh in less than 2 minutes and that includes the drying time as well.I hope I have you hook line and sinker and if you’re thinking that it’s rocket science well it ain’t.The solution is more plain.Read on and find out how you can clean your brushes in less than 2 minutes.

Normally you would either use an expensive brush cleaner solution to clean your brushes or you’ll concoct one yourself.But the problem with both of these is the drying part.Every time I clean my brushes the drying process either leaves my brushes shedding hair all over cause the water has seeped through to the glue part or my brushes are left way too harsh.Which is exactly what happened to my Vega blush brush.I blamed the brand and the quality but surprisingly my brush cleaning skills were at fault which I realized when I used this technique.And it’s simple as hell.So onto the real deal:

What You’ll Need

Hand Sanitizer Liquid (I’m using Lifebuoy Hand Sanitizer which contains moisturizer and Vitamin E )
Dirty Brushes

Once upon a time an ordinary eyelash curler scared the hell outta me.Thankfully I got over my fear cause this scary looking contraption can magically transform your lashes from blah to wow in 6 seconds flat.And this transformation was brought about by this very Vega Eyelash Curler.When I was just starting out with curlers I didn't want to splurge on it so I got this one since it was the cheapest.But boy does it give cheap a whole other meaning.It was worth every single rupee that I spent on it.It curls your lashes in seconds so much so that you can even skip mascara at times.

What It Claims
Vega eyelash curler is the finest curler available, featuring extra sturdy construction and a smooth opening and closing action. With rounded curling pads, this eyelash curler will give an intense curl to leave you with flirtatious lashes.

I’m really in a duping mood these days and since I came up with quite a few dupes using Olive Oil as the main ingredient I thought of putting it all together under one head.Using Olive Oil on your face may seem a little drastic to most of you but don’t worry it won’t clog your pores like other heavier oils and in fact is beneficial for both dry as well as oily skin.I’ve been using olive oil in my daily beauty regimen for the last couple of years and through all types and kinds of skin.And I’ve never been let down.Olive Oil has been known to:

Promote a smooth, radiant complexion
Help maintain elasticity of skin
Heal dry, brittle nails and soften cuticles
Condition and add shine to hair

And if that’s not reason enough to start using olive oil here are 7 dupes that might just convince you.

Dupe 1: Face Cleanser
I have tried umpteen cleansers but this one remains the king of all.Have a look at the remains of the cotton once you wipe it off your face and you’ll be convinced too.And you don’t have to mix up anything use olive oil straight from the bottle.Wet face.Take 1-2 drops of olive oil in the palm of your hands.Add a drop of water and rub in the mixture all over your face for a couple of minutes in a circular movement .Wait for another couple of minutes.Wipe off with a washcloth soaked in hot water.Alternatively you can use cotton pad dipped in hot water.Do this every day if you have dry flaky skin and every other day if you have normal/oily/combination skin.

I’m maniacal when it comes to my hair and normally I won’t trust anyone but my dearest hair stylist to touch my tresses, so I was really intrigued when I came across this product.It has been creating a lot of buzz on you tube and other beauty blogs, so I knew I had to at least give it a try.And I finally received it in my mail.