MAC Prep+Prime Lip: will die if it's discontinued!

What Mac says about this product:
" A color free base to wear under lipstick. Adds light moisture, smoothes and refines the lips. Improves the appearance of applied lip products."

My little story: I was introduced with this product at the MAC counter in Dubai International Airport. The MUA at the store applied this on my lips, before she put Russian Red. Honestly, I didn't like Russian Red much, I wanted to try Ruby Woo, but unfortunately they didn't have it there. So anyways, I boarded my flight after 2hours and clicked some self photographs where I hated myself with MAC Russian Red on my lips. I was trying to wipe off the lipstick, and generally the colors on my lips are removed only with one or two swipes at most, but I was struggling to wipe off the lipstick this time! I asked for 3 more wipes from the cabin crew and then finally I could get over with Russian Red. I was wondering what was the reason behind the extra effort it took to wipe of the lipstick??? And I got my answer all of on a sudden! Geez, that lady at store used that lip primer!!!!!!!!!! I made up my in an instant: "IAM going to get this product the first time I visit any MAC store in Toronto!"

I bought this from The Scarborough Town Centre, and it was CA $18 excluding tax. The packaging is a classic Prep+Prime packaging, with glitters on both tube and the box, and I love the packaging as I do for all other Prep+Prime packagings! :) you get 1.7gm of product in a tube.

 

So the main product comes in a tube and operates like a lipstick. It has its signature MAC's vanilla flavor which I absolutely LOVE! It goes on transparent once you apply it. I have heard people hating it or comparing it to a normal lip balm, but it is NOT, for crying out loud!!!! You just have to know how to apply it. What I do is, I apply this on my lips, wait for 2minutes, then it becomes slightly sticky. Yes it does feel like a lip balm when you first apply it but just leave it for 1-2minutes and you will know the difference! 

The MUA at the store gave me a little piece of advice. She asked me to apply it also around the edge of my lips and I have been doing that as per her advice. The result is AWESOME! No budging, no feathering, no bleeding, and hats off with the extra wearing life it gives to my lipstick. It smoothes out the line and helps to show off the true color of your lipstick!!! Oh My My, I just can't rave enough about this product! 

but but but, if you have super super super dry lips, you still need to scrub your lips before hand. Then apply this primer, and you will see the miracle!

Honestly, we use primer for eyeshadows, face, why do we always tend to avoid lips????

This IS my HG product for lip, and I will keep repurchasing it till the end of day!

Yes I do recommend the product. I know its on a higher end, but who doesn't want lipstick to stay longer, show off the real color, be smudgeproof and feathering proof????

Give it a go girls, it will NEVER ever disappoint you :)

I am providing a picture below, showing the result on my wrist! :)

2nd and 4th swatches from the left are done on Prep+Prime Lip, 1st and 3rd one are done on bare skin.

I love this product, and yes I do recommend it!

Love and respect,
Eeshita.

MAC Prep+Prime Transparent Finishing Powder: Is it really needed???

What MAC says about  Prep+Prime Transparent Finishing Powder:
"A silky finishing powder that provides an invisible way to set makeup. Reduces shine while optically minimizing the look of pores, lines, imperfections. Available in one universal colour that suits all shades. Wear over makeup or on bare, moisturized skin."

 This was $22 for 9gm when I bought it a year ago, now its $23 for 8gm!!! Seriously MAC???? $1 up on the price and 1gm down on the weight??? That sounds so NOT good, to be very honest!

The packaging is so cute, I mean I am in love with the lid! :P JK, the whole packaging is pretty!
Let's get into the business I mean let's talk about the product now!

I bought this product during my search for the HG Primer for my super oily skin (the search ain't over yet!).. When I opened the box I was a bit skeptical. Why?? Because the super fine powder scared the sh*t out of me! I thought its certainly going to cast a grey mask on my face. I was hesitant when I first applied it, but once applied I was like "Whoa! Did I actually put up any loose powder right now????" I was amazed to see how splendidly it blended into my skin! Thumbs up MAC!!!!

The consistency of the powder is very very VERY thin. I am not exaggerating a bit, just try this out and you will know! Its so thin that once you open the lid, an explosion happens! Yes, that's the main drawback of the packaging. It does come with a sticker kinda protection that covers the holes (and trust me I still Have that sticker on) but since this thing went through a hell loads of turbulence (!!??), a good amount of powder always sits on the top to explode when I open it (you can see the above picture to understand what I mean by "good amount"). So I always turn off my ceiling fan, even the air conditioner before I open this.

I use it with a large powder brush and you need a very little amount for a whole face and neck application. A little goes a really looooooooooooong (yes that long) way! 

I use it in the following way:
**Any Primer+MAC Prep+Prime Transparent Finishing Powder+Foundation+Again MAC Prep+Prime Transparent Finishing Powder+Compact
**Any Primer+Foundation+MAC Prep+Prime Transparent Finishing Powder only
**Foundation+MAC Prep+Prime Transparent Finishing Powder+Compact
**Just MAC Prep+Prime Transparent Finishing Powder+Compact
**Primer+MAC Prep+Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
**ONLY MAC Prep+Prime Transparent Finishing Powder

Okay,
the bad thing about this primer is it does NOTHING for the pore, atleast for me! It does control oil, but NOT for too long that can satisfy me. When I wear it alone, my face becomes darker after few hours! It does set the foundation amazingly and hold back the oil for a couple of hours, but the oil control factor doesn't meet upto my mark. I have to retouch my T-zone once the oil control time is over.

One more thing. If you apply it more it won't show off in your skin, but it will show off when you take pictures with strong (or even not that strong) flash, atleast I feel like I get a grey or white cast on my face when photos are taken with flash.

Also, when observed closely, specially if you are like me, you can find some sparkly particles in this powder, specially under strong lights. But yes, you have to have falcon's eyes for that! ;)

I am posting two photos, one with flash, another without. You can check if you can see the sparkly particles in the photo taken with flash.

                                                                    With Flash

                                                                  Without flash

I recommend this for people who want to set their foundation amazingly, and people with oily combination skin. If you want your foundation to look flawless, go grab this one. But if you want something to control your oil (specially if you have hidden oil mines under your skin like me), I don't think you will love this product for that particular purpose! Neither it did anything for pores...

I don't think I am going to buy this product any sooner (or ever), I still have PLENTY left to use for next 2years atleast (even if it explodes like a volcano every time I open the lid)!

Did you use it? Like it or leave it?? Let me know!!!

Respect and love,
Eeshita.

Pure Matte Black Eyeshadow = Urban Decay Blackout!

My search for a PERFECT MATTE BLACK eyeshadow is over! Finally!!!! Pheeewwwww :D

It's Urban Decay eyeshadow in the shade Blackout. MAC eyeshadow in the shade Carbon is so very much heard of that I was confused what to do... Then I saw Blackout's swatch in Christine's blog (Temptalia) and almost made up my mind to get this one. But I am such a MAC freak, I again tried to buy Carbon.... I don't know how I changed my mind, but I remember I swatched Carbon in the MAC store at Eaton Centre, Toronto, then I ran to Sephora to swatch Blackout! And here is the result: I brought this little baby home! It was CA $22 when I bought it, excluding tax. You get a 1.5g of product in this cute little box.

You can also find this shadow in UD Naked 2, but as I have got the original Naked, and Naked 2 couldn't attract me much, without this Blackout (and oh yes, there's one more shade from Naked 2 I loved, it's Pistol), I thought I should buy just the Blackout. Not to mention, the packaging attracted me like a magnet! That's so me....!!!

                        Isn't this a gorgeous packaging? It's both cute and sophisticated. I love it! :D

 Blackout is a deep, intense matte black. The color payoff is really really great, and it goes on very black! I must say its a true black. MAC's Carbon isn't as black as this one. Though I noticed a very little amount of silver sparkly glitters in the shadow, but its nothing that seriously much in amount. The lasting power of this shadow is also great!

Here are two swatches of this shadow, its two because I used flash to take one, and another one is taken without flash...

                                with flash, as I mentioned above, you can see the silver sparkles here

                                        without flash, you can't find the the silver sparkles here

I am in love with this shadow. I am NOT going to buy anymore black eyeshadow than this one, and yes, I am going to repurchase Blackout again and again and again!

Love and respect,
Eeshita.

Revlon Sunset Peach & Strawberry Fraise ColorBurst Lipgloss Lip Shine Swatches and Review

Revlon ColorBurst Lipgloss Lipshine in the shades "Sunset Peach" and "Strawberry Fraise"...

I bought these from Canada and these were CA$ 10.99 (excluding tax) when I bought them.

The lipglosses are described as "weightless color with vivid, mirror-like shine" with "rich color with a weightless feel". The texture of these glosses is thin, non-sticky.

Sunset Peach is a semi-sheer peach orange gloss with golden peach shimmer. The pigmentation of this gloss is kind of disappointing, it just gives my lips a warmer look with lots of shine and shimmer.

Strawberry Fraise is a soften pink-red with a very light yellow undertone and lots of silver and pink glitter. The pigmentation of this gloss is better than Sunset Peach and has a semi sheer sheer finish to it.

Both of the lipglosses are vanilla scented. It doeasn't feel too thick on the lips. But these glosses do not wear long. In cold weather, I could stretch it to two hours max, but in hot humid weather it starts disappearing only after an hour!

Here are the swatches for the glosses:

Above photos are the swatches of the shade "Sunset Peach"...

Above photos are the swatches of the shade "Strawberry Fraise"....

Love and Respect,
Eeshita.

Review: MAC Mineralize SPF 15 Foundation (Cream)

This is what MAC says about this foundation:
"A rich, luxurious compact foundation offering a creamy application for a flawless, medium-buildable, naturally revitalized, fully dimensional finish. Lightweight and silky to apply. Good for all skin types; particularly benefits dull and/or dry complexions. Provides super-hydrated, high-comfort wear and everyday SPF 15 sun protection."

I was so much in love with MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation that I almost made that my HG foundation and was kind of determined not to use anything else than that, even though it was two shades lighter than my skin tone, I used to darken it up with a darker shade of pressed powder. 
My friend Tansia is so hyped about this foundation that it made me think "okay, let's give this one a try!" :P And I knew that it is best for dry skin and I have hyper active oil glands on my face (thank you God for putting extra misery on my shoulder), but still, I was greedy! 

So, did it work for me? Or it was a total waste for money??? Let's find out! 

I absolutely LOVE this foundation, can't live without it! This is in the shade NC 35, which is again one shade lighter than my skin tone. But NC 35 worked fine for me when I was out of my country, that is I didn't have sun tan! My shade is NC 37 in this foundation, and I am NC 40 in MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation. This foundation runs darker than other MAC foundations. It was $32 when I bought it.

I have literally stopped using MAC Studio Fix since I bought this. The texture of this foundation is almost similar to MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer, just a little bit lighter than that. Its very creamy and gel based. It glides on effortlessly on the skin providing a medium coverage. I thought it would disappoint me as I have oily skin, and it is supposed to be great for dry skin, but honestly, I just can't think of living without this foundation! 

I use MAC 187 brush to apply this foundation. This leaves my skin with a satiny dewy finish, and does NOT wash off (due to the oil mines on my skin) after even 4-5hours! As I have mentioned before, this is a medium coverage foundation and can be built, but still, if you have too much acne or scars, you will need a concealer to pair with it, or a full coverage foundation.

I absolutely recommend this product, great for even oily skins! And yes, I am definitely going to repurchase it, this time in my right shade! 

                                              Update

Recently I repurchased this foundation and as I said, this time I got my right shade in NC 37. My previous one has already hit the pan and I didn't delay to repurchase again. I thought to share the swatches and update this review a bit so that I can include some photos of 'before and after' application of the foundation and also update my latest views on it.

As you already know I also have NARS Sheer Glow in my collection now, so I have been strictly using this foundation during the AM time. I avoid this foundation during night as I have realized the fact that this foundation doesn't photograph well at night when you use the flash of camera is used, as it has SPF in it. I use NARS Sheer Glow at night and religiously use MAC Mineralize SPF 15 Foundation in the morning or afternoon. That way I don't have to use extra SPF (which I hate the most) and also no one needs flash to take outdoor pictures when the sun is up :P **camera conscious these days**

As i mentioned before this foundation has a medium buildable coverage, but lately I have also realized, if you want to layer this foundation to get a full or more than medium coverage, you might end up looking a bit cakey. May be the creamy texture is responsible for this? Dunno! :/

So here is the photo of the before and after application of this foundation (excuse my horrible skin). As you can see, this is just on the margin of a buildable medium coverage foundation and also it shows up that it doesn't photograph well if you use strong camera flash :/

wait, I am NOT finished yet. I told you this is NC 37, right? The one I had before in NC 35, so according to MAC's shade numbering, NC 35 should be lighter than NC 37. But God knows why I feel like NC 37 is a tad bit lighter than NC 35. Is it because NC 35 is quite old or it has almost touched the pan, while NC 37 is just brand new? Does foundation get dark when they are on finishing line? :/ 

Here is the swatch, left one is NC 35 and right one is NC 37.

and here is the the photo of how it is when you first open the packaging :$ sorry for making this post sooooo long :$

Did you use it? Let me know your opinions! 

Love and regards,

Eeshita

Looks: My "Go to" look for traditional outfits :)

Okay, so this something I have done quite a long ago. And at that time I didn't even have any plan for blogging or creating a facbook page. I had one of my friends wedding and wore a traditional saree. this is the most common look of mine specially when I wear traditional sarees with big earrings and ofcourse a red bindi on my forehead. I always love to go traditional rather than trendy, don't know why.

I know you will get many flaws in this look, but please Do feel free to point them out. And I have forgotten most of the products I have used, obviously I do NOT have an eidetic memory, but yes there are some common products I always use. :)

Best regards and much love,
Eeshita

Products I have used (only the ones I remember though):
MAC Prep+Prime Skin Base Visage
MAC Mineralize SPF 15 Foundation
MAC Select Sheer Loose Powder
MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer
Urban Decay Primer Potion Original
MAC e/s: Embark and Goldmine
Jacqueline e/s in Black
Prestige eyeliner (may be :/ )
Jordana Lipliner in Mahogany
Rest I don't remember :( please forgive me for that :(

Urban Decay All Nighter Make Up Setting Spray: Unexpected result!

 This review will be based on the travel-sized version of this spray, which is 15ml/0.51floz versus the regular-size version which is 118ml/4floz. I received this spray with the Urban Decay Bride Kit and going to buy the full size soon!

So this comes in a spray bottle. The price of this travel size bottle is $12 and you get to pay $29 for a full sized one! quite pricey I know but you will know that its totally worth it once you use it!

It says its a long lasting spray and it will keep your make up stay put for 16 hours. I didn't try 16hours (I mean who the hell does keep make up for 16 hours at a go?!) but as the summer in my country is quite famous for its heat and humidity and I am quite famous for my oily skin (lol :P ) this Spray worked MAGIC, yes thats what I said MAGIC for me!!!!!!!!

The first day I used it I did a mistake. I used it after I finished my whole make up and sprayed it very close to my face. As a result I had to retouch my make up again, as the mist made everything kind of watery? or smudgy??? I don't know but it was a wrong way of application. Then on my second try I sprayed it 8-10inches away from my face and it did a good job though I found my eye shadows smudged a bit! A bit wrong application again.....

And then I found the Holy Grail way (is there any way called HG way??? :P to)  apply it and I felt I am kind of Harry Potter! Jk, but it worked perfect. What I did is I sprayed this 3 times on my face after I applied my foundation, then I completed my whole make up and again sprayed just ONCE and it did the magic for me! When I came back from that crazy party after like 5hours my make up was still fresh and all!

This picture is an example. I went out for a little hangout with my friends on a very hot humid day, came back from after like 6hours, and my make up was fresh as FRESH! lol! I just had to re apply my lipgloss or lipstick and I was just FINE!!!!! OMG unbelievable for my oily skin!!!!

Yes I recommend this product, specially if you are going to get married soon and you will be doing lots of crying and still be concerned about your make up; or I recommend this for the oily skinned people like me!

I am going to repurchase this again and again and again.....

Let me know if you have used it and found it good or even bad!

Much love and respect,
Eeshita