Monday 26 November 2012

My November Vellvette Box

I have always wanted to buy Vellvette box since I have heard rave reviews about it so I ordered for mine last month. I subscribed for the 3 month box (for Rs.1099) as I really badly wanted to order for it. For those who are not aware, Vellvette.com  sends a personalised box with luxury products' samples for your trial and you can purchase them from their website with discount coupons you get with the box. You fill in the questionnaire about yourself and they send products that they believe is ideal for you. You can opt for a 1/3/6/12 months box. The monthly box is for Rs.399, which in consider very affordable compared to Lushbox and all the other competitors. And the best part is that you can pay cash on delivery.
I got my box today afternoon and was so excited to open it. It was securely wrapped but sadly the side of my box was already torn. A little disappointed with that though the products were safe and the outer cover of the courier was fine. Anyway, coming to the contents of the box. Before that though, I must mention how good the box smelt! I still don't know what the scent is but I've been sniffing it like a dog for a while now lol. Ok coming back to the products :D. I got a personalized note (how sweet!), coupons, Clarins Hydraquench intensive serum bi-phase, Clinique Take The Day Off make up remover and OPI nail paint in Alpine Snow. The products are all small samples with adequate quantities for a trial and I am pretty pleased with the products I have got. Always wanted to try out Clinique products so now I finally get a chance to. Yay! But I am a little disappointed that I didn't get a bonus 4th product :(. Guess I registered a bit too late for the box.
But I am glad I subscribed to it as paying Rs.399 for products I wouldn't get a chance to try otherwise. Looking forward to the next box! Did you subscribe to Vellvette box? What did you get? :)

Sunday 25 November 2012

Faces Nail Enamel Get Mauve-ing Review

I love nail paints! Who doesn't right? I have a huge collection of them and just keep adding to them Everytime I see something that catches my eye. Still on the lookout for holographic glitter nail paints though :(
I got Faces nail enamel in Get Mauve-ing shade (7ml) as a gift from by loving brother who knows me too well and got me the perfect gift ;). The name of the colour is so funny :D. I love nail paints with fun names (read:OPI nail paints)
The shade is mauve with a tinge of gold. It is like a dual colour and looks cute. The brush is thick enough for an easy use. It requires two coats and has the lasting power of around 4 days. The second picture is with just one coat so you know how thin the colour turns out with just one covering.
I love purple and any colour near it is equally nice so naturally, I love this colour.

Pros:
-Beautiful colour
-Easy to use

Cons:
I can't think of any.

Yay or nay to recommend:
Yay all the way! :D
If you like such shades, pick this up asap. If you don't, give this a try and you might just like it. Mauve is a pretty colour!

Overall rating:
5/5

Avon Cherry Lip Balm Review

Ok i confess. I am a lip balm addict. I apply lip balm like its the only thing keeping me alive. I have a bunch of lip balms stashed in my drawer but that doesn't stop me from buying more.
This is my second lip balm from Avon. I previously purchased the milk and honey one and I absolutely love it! And the brochure from this month said it was the last time they were in brochure so I didn't want to let this one go since I have heard such great reviews about it. Read on for my take on it.

The lip balm is of 4gms and I paid Rs.119 for it. The lip balm is in a tube form which makes it hygienic. The cap opens easily and is travel friendly. The colour is a reddish dark pinkish tinge and is pretty evident on the lips. But it is not as dark as the Nivea fruity shine range. The balm when applied does not feel heavy or greasy on the lips, instead makes it moisturised. The staying power is for an average of 45min to an hour but I have the tendency of applying lip balm pretty often as I eat messily and also have cracked lips. The smell is fruity and somewhat like a cherry but to me it smells like cough syrup I used to have when I was a kid. I find it very repelling. Prefer the milk and honey lip balm to this any day.

Pros:
-Moisturises lips
-Gives a pretty tint
-Travel friendly

Cons:
-I am not fond of the smell at all
-Available only through Avon reps

Yay or nay to recommend:
Yay because it is a good buy and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who is troubled by its fragrance :D

Overall rating:
3/5

Saturday 24 November 2012

Avon Foot Works Moisturizing Cream Review

Hi all! :)
The weather in Bangalore is very unpredictable these days but out has definitely gotten colder over the past few days. And that means winter is fast approaching. Which means its extra care for my body time! :). Specially my feet. They can get really ugly and cracked during this season. So when I saw Avon's foot moisturizer in berry vanilla, I just had to pick it up. I luuuurrvvvvee berries AND vanilla so what better than having them together? :)
I paid Rs.149 for 100ml of the product as it was on discount. I think the actual price is about 250(I'm not too sure about the exact price but it is close)
The cream comes in a long thin tube which is travel friendly. The packaging is alright. I expected more but its the product that matters more, right? The cap of the tube its quite firm and is easy to open as well so no difficulties there. Now coming to the product itself. It is a pretty thick cream but easily glides across your skin and does not feel thick at all. I do not feel greasy after applying it either. It dries within a minute and is not sticky. The quantity in the tube looks like it would last a while and I do not have to use to much of the cream and a little goes a long way. It smells like strawberry ice cream to me. Yum! But it is not a strong scent at all luckily (or I would have felt like eating it up :D).
I have been using this cream for almost a week and though there are no visible results as yet I can feel my feet getting softer and more moisturised. But I would sill recommend you use a separate cream if you have cracked feet as it does not specialize in healing skin. Also, it contains parabens :(. Why do all products that work well for me end up having harmful chemicals? :(

Pros:
-Smells yum
-Works pretty well
-Travel friendly
-Worth the price

Cons:
-Contains Parabens (whyyyy!)
-Availability is limited as it can be bought only via Avon reps

Yay or nay to recommend:
Yay if you like strawberry ice cream :D. It is a good product and I would not mind buying it again except for the fact that it contains parabens.

Overall rating:
3.5/5

Jovees strawberry face wash review

Hello! :)
Today I will review Jovees' strawberry face wash that I got a while back. I was on the look out for a nice face wash and came across this in a supermarket. I love strawberry (and any fruity scents actually) so I decided to pick this one up. Plus it was a buy one get one free so took up the offer ;)

The face wash is of a thick pink consistency with dark pink globules. Looks pretty cute to me! :). The scent is not at all strong, one might not even recognize its strawberry scent as it is that mild. It lathers very well and very little quantity of this goes a long way.

It takes a while to wash off the product but then again, that's how most face washes are. I don't know of its just me but it strips my face off moisture and makes it really dry after using the product. I have to run and put loads of cream after washing my face to get my skin back to normal.

Pros:
-Looks cute
-Does what it claims
-Worth the price offer (2 for Rs.115)

Cons:
-Makes my skin very dry
-The product lasts for months for me. I know that isn't a con but I like trying new stuff so I have to wait longer to try new ones.

Yay or Nay to recommend:
Nay. I will not repurchase it for sure. Specially because I don't think I still finish this anytime in the near future.

Overall rating:
2.5/5

Saturday 17 November 2012

Estee Lauder miniature perfume set

Hi all!
This is not a review but just a post on something I recently got as a gift and I love perfumes so you can imagine how happy I am :)
She gave me an Estee Lauder miniature perfume set that smells so awesome! Can smell it as soon as I open the box :). The 4 miniatures ate Sensuous Nude, White Linen, Beautiful and pleasures. Interesting names eh? ;). Here are the pictures:)
Do you own any Estee Lauder perfumes? They're amazing right? :)




Tuesday 13 November 2012

Happy Diwali! :)

Hi all!
Just wanted to wish you a wonderful and happy diwali! :)
Stay safe, burst crackers wisely (have a safety first aid kit in handy) and most importantly have a wonderful time connecting with your loved ones! :). I see sparkles and lights everywhere from my balcony! Eeeee so awesome! :). Best festival ever!
Will put up more posts once Diwali is over, really jam packed busy with relatives, family and friends now!
Put this cute 'lil diya outside our home and it shines so bright! :)

 
Have a safe and wonderful Diwali! :)
 

Monday 12 November 2012

Caviar nails

Hello everyone! Sorry for not bring regular and posting.. Have been really busy with the Diwali planning and cleaning. Anyway I was really inspired by the caviar nail trend so I decided to try it out too and here are the results :)
Please excuse the badly done job I was in a hurry so I messed it up a bit:(. I decided to put it on only one nail since I have never done this before.
Have you tried caviar nails before? Is there any way to do it without messing up the place? Do let me know:D




Friday 2 November 2012

Revlon Scented Nail Polish Review

Heyyyy! :)
The cosmetics market is booming these days with such a wide range of products. I'm sure companies are sitting and discussing how else they can grab the attention of customers to buy their products as I type. With such a wide choice, the type of products being made are so different as compared to how it was years ago. Specially the nail polish market. I remember the only colours of nail paints that existed when I was a kid were maroons, fire red and pink. I used to hunt for bright yellow and apple green coloured nail paints everywhere a few years back and all the SAs would look at me like I'm mad and suggest I buy blue coloured nail paints. And now the nail paint variety is HUGE! But I dont seem to find neon coloured paints anywhere and SAs are looking at me like I'm crazy for that now :(. Anyone know where I can find them?
Anyway I went shopping  for cosmetics recently and came across this range of Revlon scented nail paints. I had heard of them launching recently but decided to let it slip since it sounded like a sales gimmick. But the way the nail polishes were arranged on that rack looked so appealing that I decided to try one out (yes I know I get carried away way too easily). I picked up Revlon's scented nail polish in Raspberry Rapture (ooh fancy name!).


 
 




The bottle is in the classic Revlon nail paint bottle so nothing different or eye catchy in it. It is 8ml and I payed Rs.150 for it. The colour is dark pink.. sorry the picture isnt showing the right colour as it is much darker than that.



The brush is moderate in length.. just enough to paint with ease. The brush is not very thick but again enough to coat the nail well. I have had to troubles with it as it is just like the regular Revlon nail paint bottle and brush. Now coming to the scent. It is noticable only when it dries. I was excited to smell it immediately and took a big whiff of my nails as soon as I applied it and was overwhelmed by the terrible usual nailpolish smell. I need to start following instructions. Do not imitate though it was not done by an expert :D. It smells like raspberries and slightly of the chemicals in nail paints. But it smells good. I keep touching my face and was initially surprised by the nice berry smell by hands had and then realized it was my nailpolish :D
The smell lasts for an entire day but went as soon as I washed my hair. It has a very slight synthetic smell thanks to the chemicals. It might affect sensitive noses at first as the smell is very strong but it later becomes nice smelling. The colour is very light in the first coat so two coats are absolutely essential. Two coats strengthen the scent so it lasts even longer.

This is with one coat of the nail paint.

 
 
 
This is with two coats. Looks better doesnt it?

 
 
 
Pros:
*Colour is pretty
*Smell is nice
*Easy application
 
Cons:
*Smell does not last long
*Not worth the price as the staying capacity is not good
 
Yay or Nay to recommend?
Yay for those interested in trying out new stuff and smelling nice on your hands as well :D. But I dont think I will be buying it again.
 
Overall rating:
★★★☆☆
 
 

Orris Nail Polish Remover Pads Review

Hello hotties!
Have you ever been out for an important event and your nailpolish cracked or got messed up in some way and you felt the need to remove it asap? Have you ever run out of cotton but had nailpolish remover or vice versa? Well if you said yes to the above both questions the perfect solution for you is the Orris Nailpolish Remover Pads (sounds like an ad doesnt it? :D)
I went to Health and Glow to pick up a lipbalm (ok I ended up buying 3 and some more stuff) and found this cute purple little round box that said nail polish remover pads at the billing counter. I love the colour purple and this packaging looked so cute I just had to buy it! Yes, the first thing I see in products is the packaging. Plus, the scent was Lavender.. now who doesnt like lavender?? And I'd been looking for the Hip-Hop nail polish remover pads for quite a while and since I hadnt found it yet I decided to give this a try. So here is a review on it! :)

Orris Nail Polish Remover has 30 remover pads in it and is priced at Rs.60


Packaging is cute isnt it? :). The box is the size of a palm so I assumed it was travel friendly but as you can see I've left the tape on the side of the box because it opens easily. So it is not at all travel friendly :(. Unless you are ready to put sufficient tape on it to seal it.

 
 
The pads are very thin and they look like they are stuck to each other so you might end up taking out several together thinking it is just one. The smell is just like lavender! :). It has a verrrrrry slight minty lavender smell I think but it smells really nice and floral.
This is how it looks when I open the box.
 
 
The biggest advantage of these pre-soaked pads are you do not have to keep adding nailpolish remover and they can be used longer than regular cotton ones. I managed to use just one pad for one entire hand and half of the second one too. It takes about 3 swipes to remove a nail paint completly but then again that depends on the number of coats you've put on your nails. The pads remove off the nail paints with ease and I have not had any problems with them as of now.
 
 
 
 
This is how my nails looked after removing the nail polish (close up of a nail shown on right)


I did not have any problems with this product and my nails did not feel rough after using it. The only negative thing about it is that since it is soaked in oil/remover my nails get veryyyy oily when I use this and need to wash my hands with soap twice after usage. This is my first remover pad so I do not have experience with other brands so I do not know if it is supposed to happen or not.


Pros:
*Makes removing nail paint so much easier!
*Less hassle
*Comes in a small tub so can be carried in handbags easily
*Does its job properly
*Does not cause any side effects to my nails
*Smells nice
*Will last long as 1 pad could be used for both hands

Cons:
*Leaves behind a very oily residue
*Not travel friendly

Yay or Nay to recommend?
Yay for sure! Goodbye nail polish remover and stack of cotton!

Overall rating:
★★★★☆

Thursday 1 November 2012

What style? Gangnam Style!

Whats Gangnam Style you ask? Wait.. how can you not know what Gangnam Style is?? Why its just a funny horse dance with korean lyrics I can't understand but still try to sing along to. Psy's video just cracks me up everytime I watch it. And its all the rage in the world today. I had gone to a flea market (Soul Sante) this weekend 'cause I love quirky things and flea markets cater to those needs best. While looking at stalls one particular one caught my attention - one with a Gangnam Style bag. And right then I just knew I had to buy it and so I did. And I love it too :D
I wonder if this viral video will stay awesome in everyone's minds longer than Why This Kolaveri Di.. but I will enjoy it while it lasts and roam bout the city with the bag :D
Here are pictures of the bag. It does not have a zip so I need to carry it only on a surely sunny day (I do not want my books to get wet!)







Hope you like it! :)

 

Bath And Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar Handwash Review

Hello everyone! :)
I am a huge fan of Bath and Body Works' products.. they smell devine! And who doesnt like amazing So when I found that Purplle.com sells them I just had to buy it immediately. (Note: this was the only product purchase from the site that I have had a good experience with. I now dislike the site for multiple reasons.. but more on that later)


This anti-bacterial hand soap is 259ml and is priced at Rs.810 but I bought it at a discounted price so only paid Rs.648. The actual prices for these products are so much cheaper abroad but since we dont have them here I dont mind paying a bit extra for it since I love it that much.


 
 
Ingredients:
Water (Aqua, Eau), Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Acrylates Copolymer, Fragrance (Parfum), Glycol Distearate, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Extract, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Extract, Honey Extract (Mel, Extrait de Miel), Morus Alba Fruit Extract, Hydrolyzed Silk, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Chloride, Glycerin, Glycereth-26, Coco-Glucoside, Lauryl Lactyl Lactate, Glyceryl Oleate, Glyceryl Stearate, Butylene Glycol, Propylene Glycol, Triethylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Benzophenone-4, Sodium Hydroxide, Benzoic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Yellow 5 (CI 19140), Red 33 (CI 17200)
 
 
 
My view:


 

The handwash comes in a long bottle with a push cap that makes it easy to squirt out liquid soaps. The packaging is simple but not bad to look at. It is very easy to use and gives out more than sufficient soap in one press. The soap is light brown in colour and does remind me of warm vanilla sugar. It contains tiny blue dot like particles that help scrub out the dirt better. The texture is smooth but the blue dots feel like tiny grains (I like it). The soap is slightly on the thicker side, but then again arent most? It rinses off well so I dont mind the thickness since it is not much. It has a warm vanilla scent to it.. I'm not sure how to describe it but it smells like a slightly darker or warmer vanilla.. It does not smell as fruity as vanilla usually does. But it smells great! Those with sensitive noses would not mind this at all since it is not strong and not at all fruity. I wash my hands very very often so having a nice vanilla scent lingering on my hands after washing them is great. The smell lasts for about 20 minutes after using it.The soap does not dry out my hands and thoroughly cleanses them. I do not know if it is travel friendly as I have not taken them with me anywhere as yet.

Pros:
*Works well
*The blue dots help cleanse the dirt easily
*Smells so vanilla-ey :P

Cons:
*It is a bit pricey for the quantity
*Not available that easily
*Scent does not last long

Yay or Nay to recommend?
Yay for those who love vanilla scents :)

Overall rating:
 ★  ★  ★  ★ ☆
(For the price and availability)

Diwali clothes haul

Hey beauties! :)
Diwali is quickly approaching and shopping for the festive occasion is my second favorite thing about it (right after the eating of sweets :P). So I went to Mantri Square to shop since it has many good brands all under one mall itself. And boy did I shop! :D
This is just the clothes haul.. other pictures coming soon! I picked kurtis that can be worn for the cracker bursting as well as for college since out college has a very strict dress code (read: only very decent salwars). Will make an OOTD with the clothes you want to see soon:)
Anyway here are the pictures of the things I bought! :)


 
 
 

Also bought this beautiful candle holder in the shape of a flower. Love how it lights up the whole room with those patterns!

 
 
 

All that shopping made me hungry so bought a box of yummy mini donuts.. which i finished within 24 hrs.. mmmm! :D

 
 
 
 
Macaroons are my new favorite food! And in my opinion, you get the best of them in La Vie En Rose Pattesserie.. here are the pictures of the few macaroons that were left by the time I took the picture :D
 
 


So are you done with your Diwali shopping? :). Did you purchase anything interesting? :). I can already feel the festivity around the city! :)