L.A Girl Pro Conceal HD Concealer- Review and Swatches

Hello beauties!

I am back with another Friday favorites post and the product I am going to talk about today need no introduction. When these concealers were launched they became an instant hit and many beauty bloggers and You Tubers are still raving about it.
I too wanted to try these LA Girl Pro HD Concealers for a long time. I originally wanted to buy two shades one lighter shade to use as a concealer/ highlighter and the other one for contouring.
I did a lot of research to choose the right concealer shade for me and when I finally decided a shade I went to place my order on daraz.pk only to find out that shade pure beige is out of stock :( so I decided to buy only the darker shade "toast" which is most popular among Pakistani ladies for contouring. I bought this about 3-4 months back and now sharing my thoughts about it here... So let's get started:

• The concealer comes in a plastic tube with a brush on the tip as applicator. The packaging is something I am not a fan of because whenever the tube is squeezed a lot of product comes out and deposits over the brush. So I need to be very careful before squeezing the tube and I need to clean it after every use. 
• Toast is a very browny brown shade i.e. it doesn't have orange or pink undertones its just brown. 

• The pigmentation of the concealer is intense and a very little amount is needed so I need to be very careful while squeezing it out from the tube, I usually take out the product at the back of my hand and use my fingers to put it on my face.
• The product blends easily with a wet sponge and with fingertips but I find it difficult to blend it with any brushes as it tends to dry very quickly. 
• The staying power of this product is amazing, it's waterproof and doesn't budge all day.
• It's easily available online on daraz.pk and other makeup selling pages at very affordable price.

So that was my mini review of the LA Girl Pro HD Concealer...
That's it for today...
I'll be back soon till then take care...
Bubye...

7 lipstick mistakes and how to avoid them...

Hello beauties!

I am back and today I am going to talk about every makeup junkie's first love i.e. lipsticks. A lipstick can brighten up your mood and can make you look polished in an instant. A lipstick can turn you into a diva in an instant but it can also take you from chic to clownish in a second if not applied right. So today I am going to share with you 7 things that you should avoid when it comes to applying lipstick and also I am going to share a few tips with you on how to avoid these mistakes.

1- Cracked and dry lips:
 We always cleanse, exfoliate and moisturize our face before makeup but most of us forget to exfoliate and moisturize our lips. Preparing the lips before putting on any lipstick especially a liquid lipstick is as important as preparing the rest of your face before makeup.
How to avoid:
- Exfoliate your lips with a gentle scrub. You can also make a DIY scrub with sugar and coconut oil.
- Always put on a lip balm or Vaseline before starting your makeup so it sinks into the skin by the time you put on your lipstick if it doesn't sink in completely wipe off the excess with a tissue.

2- Dark Lip Liner:
A lip liner that doesn't match the lip color! that's my biggest pet peeve. When I was a kid many of my mom's friends and cousins used to wear this dark almost black lip liner with a lighter color filled inside, it was a thing back then but some women still do it don't know why. That just looks ugly girls.
How to avoid: 
Use a lip liner shade that matches and blends with your lipstick. 

3- Lipstick on teeth: 
When you are done with your makeup don't forget to do the teeth check.
How to avoid: After applying your lipstick stick one of your fingers into your mouth with lips slightly pouted, then pull your finger out slowly.In this way the excess lipstick will be removed now just wipe off the lipstick from your finger.
4- A lipstick that's too light:
When it comes to lipstick, it's a rare case when you go too dark, going too light on the other hand is very common.
 If you put on a lipstick that is too dark it doesn't look as bad as a lipstick that is too light. A dark lipstick can make your lips look thinner but I think it's better than looking like a living dead.
A nude lipstick can make you look fresh and polished but most of us make this mistake of picking a lipstick that is too light for our skin tone and end up looking lifeless.
How to avoid:
Try different shades on your lips before buying.

5- Going over border:
Most of us tend to think that overdrawing our lips will make them look fuller well it is true to some extent but if you go slightly overboard it can make you look crazy.
How to avoid:
 - Use gloss at the center of your lips.
- For fuller lips learn highlighting and contouring techniques and use them instead of going out of the border.

6- Unblended patches of lipstick:
I have seen girls who try to make a dark lipstick lighter by dabbing it randomly over the lips and then leaving it unblended. They think it will give them a subtle hint of color but it looks patchy.
Come on girls if you want light lipstick buy a lighter shade or if you want to work with your existing one put it lightly all over your lips and then wipe off the excess with a tissue.

7- Applying too many layers:
Applying too many layers of lipstick (especially of liquid lipstick) so that it stays on longer is another mistake we make. It sure does increase the staying power of lipstick but we end up with patchy and not so attractive looking lips.
How to avoid:
Apply only two layers. Apply the first layer, blot it with a tissue paper and then apply the second layer.

So that's it for today girls...
I'll be back soon till then take care...
Bubye...

How I take care of my knees and elbows...

Hello beauties!

I am back and today I am going to take about those parts of our body that we often neglect i.e. our knees and elbows. Usually we don't pay as much attention to our knees and elbows as we pay to our face, hands and feet because most of the time they are covered with clothes and nobody sees them and that's why they end up being dark and dry with flaky skin.

Image from google

In my teen years I was a really lazy person who did not pay much attention to myself but now I take really good care of myself and this includes taking care of my knees and elbows. And today I am going to share with you how I keep my knees and elbows well moisturize, well nourished and soft.

Just like our facial skin, we need to follow at least 3 steps for our knees and elbows i.e. cleansing, exfoliating and moisturizing.

Cleansing:
Try not to use soaps for washing your knees and elbows as they dry out the already dry skin, use a gentle moisturizing body wash instead. Also, use a loofah while cleansing your body to remove the dead skin at the same time.

Exfoliating:
Since the skin around the knees and elbows is thicker than the rest of the body the exfoliation needs to be intense so that all the dead, dry and flaky skin is removed.
I have used some scrubs especially formulated for body in the past but now I use my St. Ives apricot scrub. It's granules are quite coarse so it works great on my knees and elbows and also its really affordable.

image from St. Ives website

Another product I use for exfoliation is Saeed Ghani Ubtan. I have talked about this amazing thing in detail a post which you can find here. It not only exfoliates but also evens out the skin tone.

Moisturizing:
Just like exfoliation the moisturizing needs to be more intense on these areas because there are no oil producing glands around the knees and elbows. There are a gazillion body moisturizers available in the market in different forms like lotions, creams, oils and butters so you have a lot of choices but make sure that the one you are using is capable of holding the moisture for a long period without being greasy.
Currently I am using this Nivea one.

Other than these things you can also try some homemade scrubs and moisturizers for your knees and elbows. I have tried these two recipes myself and found them really effective.
1- I mix the lemon juice and honey in equal quantity and apply the mixture to my knees and elbows and then wash it off after about 20-25 minutes.
2- I also use a mixture of sugar and olive oil to exfoliate the dead skin from my knees and elbows.

So that's it for today hope you like my tips...
I'll be back soon till then take care... Bubye...

Fair and Lovely BB cream- review and swatches

Hello everyone!

I am back with another product review and today I am going to talk about Fair and Lovely BB Cream.  

Fair and Lovely is that one brand which I think is known to every household in the subcontinent i.e. Pakistan and India, their ad campaigns are obviously insulting and discriminate against darker skin tones but most of us still use this cream if not for fairness than because it gives an instant brightness and made up look to the face and we all need something like that for times when we don’t want to put on makeup but want to look polished and presentable.
 I used Fair and Lovely fairness Cream a few years back but I did not have a very good experience with it so I stopped using it and because of that I did not have high expectations with this BB cream. But since it was really inexpensive and I was already making an order on daraz.pk so I added it to the cart just to try it out.

I have used it for more than a month and now I'll share my experience with you here.. So let’s get started:
The cream comes in a regular pink and white plastic tube with some golden detailing. The screw cap shuts down tightly so it’s quite travel friendly. It comes in different sizes but I only found the smaller 18g one.
It has a fruity smell exactly like the fair and lovely fairness cream, the smell is strong when it's applied but it goes away after a few minutes.

Before 

After

The cream has a thick consistency so I find it a little hard to blend. It blends better if I put it in small dots and blend each dot separately instead of trying to blend at once on whole face. Also, you can not use any brush or sponge to blend it, the only way to blend it is using your fingertips.
It gives a waxy kind of touch to my face and also leaves a white cast. The cream gives a matte finish when applied and looks OK for 3-4 hours but after that my T-zone starts getting really oily. Also this cream has a tendency to clog pores which ultimately result in blackheads.
This BB cream is only available in one shade which I think suits most Pakistani girls with medium skin tone (it looks OK on me) but I think it wouldn’t be suitable for girls who have a little darker skin tone.
It does not give any coverage and does not hide any blemishes or dark spots but yes it instantly brightens up my complexion by evening out the skin tone. Watch the video to see the final result it gives after application.

In the end, I would say that it's an OK product for days when you are in a hurry and don't want to put on a lot of makeup but I don't think I would be using it a lot because it clogs my pores.
That's is for today. I'll be back soon till then take care...
Bubye...

Makeup Revolution Liquid Eyeliner Ultra Black- Review and Swatches

Hello everyone!

I am back with another Friday favorites post and today I am going to talk about Makeup Revolution’s Liquid Eyeliner.

I bought this eyeliner about a month ago, used it a few times and now featuring it in my Friday favorites post. It’s going to be a really short review as I did not find any negative things in this product… so without further ado let’s get started:

Packaging: 

The eyeliner comes in a black plastic bottle with a brush in its cap. MAKEUP REVOLUTION was written in golden letters on the bottle but it faded away very quickly just in a week or two.

Pros and Cons:

The best thing about this eyeliner was its stiff brush which gives me a lot of control and makes the application very easy.

The eyeliner is very intense black which is a positive point but it does not live up to its claim of lasting all day, it stays on for up to 3-4 hours if not come into contact with water (another waterproof version of this eyeliner is also available but mine is not waterproof ). It does not smudge but after 3-4 hours it starts fading unevenly and remember I have very dry eyelids so I think if you have oily eyelids it won’t stay for that long.

Another point worth mentioning about this eyeliner is that it does not irritate my eyes even though I have very sensitive eyes.

Availability:

In the end I'd say it is an amazing product available at very affordable price. I got mine from daraz.pk for Rs.300/-.

That’s it for today…

I’ll be back soon till then take care and tell me in the comments about your favorite eyeliners…

Bubye…

Friday Favourites... Oriflame Love Nature Wild Rose Eye Cream Review.

Hello everyone!

I am back with a product review. I don’t know why I have been feeling low on inspiration these days. I had a few things which I wanted to review for a long time but I was tired of reviewing things and not doing anything else on the blog but then it hit me that I started the blog to review products for you people, what’s the purpose of this blog’s existence if I stop writing reviews and that’s why I decided to start this Friday favorites series on the blog in which I’d review my favorite things. 

So here in the first post of the series I am going to talk about Orilame’s Wild Rose eye cream from their love nature range.

As I have already mentioned in an earlier post here that I have this very bad habit of rubbing my eyes which has resulted into premature fine lines. By the time I was twenty I already had fine lines under my eyes which was scary but I was always lazy to use any eye creams (which I really need to prevent more fine lines). But few months ago I decided to include an eye cream in my skin care routine and I bought this oriflame eye cream.

The Love Nature- wild rose range of Oriflame is for dry skin. I have a normal/combination skin but I bought it during winters when my skin becomes quite dry. It was an impulsive purchase without any research (because it was very affordable) but I have been using it for more than 6 months now which means I am quite satisfied with it. I just stopped using it for some time during May and June but now I have started using it once again. 

Packaging:

The cream comes in a 15 ml peachy pink plastic tube with a small opening which makes it hygienic as well as travel friendly. At first the tube looked very small but it has lasted me more than 6 months which is great considering the size and the price. 

Product Description:

A lightweight moisturizer for the delicate eye area. Designed with wild rose extracts to nourish and hydrate the skin.

My experience:

When applied, the cream feels oily at first but it absorbs into the skin quickly. I just take a dot of cream on my ring finger and lightly dab it under my eyes.  The texture of the cream is very lightweight it doesn’t feel heavy under my eyes at all neither did it ever cause any irritation.

I apply it twice a day once before I go to bed and second in the morning before applying any makeup. I love that when I use this cream at night my eyes look less puffy in the morning and I also like how it makes my under eyes look hydrated and brighter. 

When applied underneath makeup it makes the concealer to blend easily but the most important thing to remember while using this cream is use a very little amount and let it absorb for a while. 

As for fine lines, it hasn’t done anything to reduce them but we all know that moisturizing is the key to prevent fine lines so I think it can be a good product in the long run as it’s very moisturizing.

You can get it through any oriflame’s consultant. It’s also available online, I got mine from Daraz.pk for around Rs.450. 

That's it for today..

I'll be back soon till then take care...

Bubye....

Atiqa Odho Cosmetics Contouring Powder- Review

Hello beauties!

I am back after a long time sorry for being MIA but I was busy with work and studies and with life basically.

So finally today I am going to post a short review of Atiqa Odho Contouring Powder which is lying there in my draft posts for ages. So without wasting another moment let’s get started:

  
Packaging:

The powder comes in a regular Atiqa odho plastic case with red lid and a transparent middle part from which the shade is visible. The case has two compartments the upper one for the product and the lower one for sponge. The sponge compartment also has a mirror. The packaging is not very sturdy but the size is perfect to carry it around in your bag. 

My Experience:

The contouring powder comes in three shades walnut, chocolate and coffee. I got mine in chocolate. I bought this powder around 6-7 months ago along with the compact powder. My experience with this contouring powder is very similar to the compact powder which I have already reviewed here.

The powder looks much pigmented in the package but when applied on to the skin it hardly gives any color, it just blends into my skin without giving any contour.

I use this powder for subtle everyday contouring ( sigh! It doesn’t stay for more than 2-3 hours) but the formula is very sheer so first I apply it heavily on to my skin with the sponge and then I use the blending brush to blend. When I want a more contoured/ sculpted face I use cream contouring products and then use this powder to set the cream contour. 

 

Atiqa Odho contouring powder in shade Chocolate- Swatch (heavy layer applied with the sponge)

The Atiqa odho contouring powder is available at daraz.pk and other makeup selling websites for Rs. 300/-. Although I am not very happy with the pigmentation and staying power, I think I will repurchase it because in Karachi’s hot weather it is necessary to set the cream contour with a powder and I haven’t found any contouring powder more affordable than this one as yet so yea! I’ll repurchase it once I finish this one.

That’s it for today… I’ll be back soon till then take care and tell me in the comments about your favorite contouring products.

Bubye…