Hello and welcome to my monthly favorites of July and August. I can’t believe that we are just a few months away to celebrate New Year. As often happens, August was a hectic month for me: most of my favorite people in the world are August born, keeping track of Instagram giveaway and (the worst) my handy-helper (maid) is on leave. Also, I had a chance to indulge in some awesome beauty products to make myself ready for the festive season ahead. Now, without any further delay let’s jump into what made it into my favorite beauty products for the month of July & August.

Huda Beauty Summer Solstice Highlighter Palette

I’ve become addicted to Huda’s product lately. When I came to know that Huda is launching the limited-edition 3D highlighter palette, I knew I was going to buy it. Huda Beauty Summer Solstice Highlighter palette features four shades – Saint Tropez (creamy texture with intense metallic glow), Malibu (bronze with subtle coppery undertones), Copacabana (duo-chrome pink) and Mykonos (holographic purple-lilac ). All four sculpting and highlighting shades can give you a perfect 3D highlight but just applying a little on the inner corner of your eyes or high points of your cheeks can complete your look. Get the sunset-inspired makeup looks.

Have you checked my first ever International Giveaway on Instagram? Follow me and tag to win this limited-edition palette here.

Huda Beauty Summer Solstice Liquid Matte Lipstick- Mamacita

Mamacita is a perfect coral to give you that punch of holiday and summertime look. It is a dream color for medium to dark skin tones. The formula of this lip color is the same as original Huda beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick.

Huda Beauty Lip Strobe – Snobby

Hello, shimmer and shine! I must confess I hate sticky, goopy and running lip gloss. This lip strobe is a semi-sheer pink shade with gold and pink big shimmers. It comes with a heart shaped wand which glides on for like a dream. I love to layer it with my favorite lip shades or wear it all alone. Next, I am going to try it on my lid. What say?!

Too Faced Born This Way liquid foundation

I have read so many mixed reviews for this foundation and I didn’t want to buy it. But then I tried it in Sephora and within few minutes, I fell in love with this foundation. I got my perfect shade without any fuss, it gave me luminous look and it stayed put for 3 hours without setting spray. I haven’t used it for more than thrice so I am not going to give you my final verdict.

Marc Jacob Beauty Highliner Gel Crayon

I got a half size deluxe sample from Sephora with my online purchase. This liner is aaaahhhhhmazzing! I wouldn’t even think twice before purchasing the full size of this. I have been using Maybelline master drama gel liner but it smudges very easily. These crayons set quickly and don’t smudge. It is opaque, creamy, and long-lasting but the best thing about this product is – you don’t need a sharpener!

Benefit They’re Real Mascara

Sample! Another sample in my favorites. This mascara is a holy grail and I love the formula and fine bristles in the wand. This definitely makes my eyes look big and open. Big, bold lashes that have amazing volume and stay forever, Lashes don’t lie…

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz

This is a veteran in my makeup collection. I keep coming back to this baby for precision, stay, and ease of use. Just “fill in the blanks” and you are good to go. Who likes dragon brows!

Garnier Moisture Bomb Tissue Mask

I have been using Tony Moly and Skinfood sheet masks and this is a new addition in the family. I found it in Carrefour and put it in my cart. This sheet mask is loaded with serum, it is enough to cover your neck and chest too. These masks are fun to use, instantly refreshing and on a budget. I used it for pre-party prep or as a post-party skin savior, this mask is a perfect for an instant revival of the skin.

L’oreal Pure Clay Charcoal Detoxifying Gel Wash

Love Love Love this gel wash! It is so gentle on my skin that it leaves it refreshed and radiant. This gel wash is a combination of three pure clays with the magnetic properties of charcoal to deeply cleanse and detoxify the skin. I would recommend it to use a good moisturizer after using this face wash.

That’s all! Have you tried any of these products? Please share your views. I’d love to hear what were your favorites last month.

Check out my favorites for May & June, here.

Lots of love!

xoxo

“Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever.” – Charles Lamb

Hello, April! With warm sun and cool breeze, this is the month of love, laughter, and lipstick. Oh no…I meant love, laughter, and life. If you are new to my blog, every month I reveal my monthly favorites and today I am going to reveal my March favorites. As I told you before March is a very special month and it became super special with the arrival of a newborn in our family – my nephew. So, I had enough reasons to celebrate and use some of my favorite products. Here is a crazy list of March favorites:

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette
I have talked a lot about this product on my Instagram. I bought this palette in March and I used ONLY this palette the whole month. Absolutely love this palette. Read my review of this palette here. Look at this look I created with this palette.

Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick – Red Edition (Material Girl)
Ahhhhhhh…I love Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipsticks! I got a set of three mini lipsticks. These lipsticks are clutch bag-compatible size and are pretty cute. I tried “Material Girl” and it gave me beautiful ‘plumped up’ lip look which can look good on any lips. As a lipstick aficionado, I am yet to try all the shades of mini lip-kit and write a review.

Silicone Makeup Sponge
I first noticed beauty vloggers using this sponge and then one fine day I found this beauty in a Japanese Dollar store, Daiso. Okay, I admit that I can’t even imagine my life without beauty blender but this sponge is worth every penny. It takes a time to get used to it but if you start using it…you will be obsessed! It not only uses a very less product but it is also very easy to clean it. You can wipe it down or simply wash it for next use.

Sephora Blush – Sweet on you
Wow! I am impressed. This is the only Sephora brand product I own and I don’t regret it. It looks like a pretty coral pink and a little goes a long way as it is highly pigmented. The only downside for me is that it doesn’t last long. I toss it in my bag with Real Techniques blush brush and I am good to go.

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula – Baby Lotion

I got this as a sample in Carrefour and it was in my handbag for long. Until a few days back, I forgot to apply hand cream and found this beauty. It is super thick, smells really good and above all it isn’t greasy. It is supposed to be for my chubby but I guess I am going to use it now.

What were your favorite beauty products for the month of March? Comment and share your favorite beauty products.

Lots of Love

xoxo

Happy Valentine’s Day, my Loves! I know it is quite late but I feel every day is a celebration of love. Valentine’s Day is all about red color – Red roses, red heart, red card, and red velvet cake. Oh! Wait I forgot Red Lips too. I used to be so jealous of my friends who could pull off red lips like a PRO. Until recently, I made my very own collection of red lip colors. Three years ago, in one of my experimental moods, I purchased Bourjois Rouge Edition- 13 Rouge jet set – a limited edition classic red. Bourjois Paris describes it as “The must-have shade for lipstick lovers, for this is a true classic red with slight blue hints. Ultra glamorous!”. I instantly fell in love with this lipstick and this is the only lipstick I still keep in my makeup collection even though I don’t use it as it is expired. I refuse to throw it. Do you find it difficult to let go your favorite makeup product? Since then I have tried different red lip colors and now I proudly own 5 red lipsticks – different yet they give authentic red lip trend. I know it is quite intimidating to apply red lip color as they are not always easy to apply. And unfortunately, there is a myth that red lips are not for every skintone. A red lip is like a black dress, it goes with everything and every skin color. I decided to let you know my 5-steps to get perfect red lips. The result- classic red lips to give you a touch of old Hollywood glamour.

Step 1: Exfoliate and Moisturize

Exfoliate your lips to get a smooth canvas. I mix sugar, olive oil and honey. Apply it on your lips, rub for couple of minutes, wash it with warm water and apply lip balm. And you are good to go. If you don’t want to do this then Lush’s Bubblegum is still there.

Moisturize your lips with a hydrating lip balm or lip mask. Leave the balm or mask as long as possible to get a smooth and healthy lip canvas.

Step 2: Apply Translucent Setting Powder

Wipe off the balm/mask with a tissue paper and make sure that your lips are totally dry. Apply a little translucent setting powder or baby powder to your lips. This makes your lipstick really stick and last longer. I use RCMA translucent setting powder.

Step 3: Wear a lip pencil

Lining your lips is the perfect way to neutralise lip’s natural color so that the lipstick will be closer to the color of the tube. I prefer my skin toned lip pencil, you can use the color that is closer to your lip color as well. You can skip this step too. If you are in a hurry, you can let go this step.

Step 4: Apply Lipstick

Now this is the most important step and it takes some time, if you skip Step 3. Apply lipstick on cupid bow and the outercorner of the lip. If you are using liquid lipstick, always start from the bottom of the lip.

If you don’t want the more intense look, apply red lipstick with your ring finger to get more natural look.

Step 5: Apply Concealer

Last step, apply a little concealer with a Q-tip on the border of your lip. This step will make sure that it will stop bleeding of the lip color. Dust some translucent powder again with a brush and re-apply lipstick.

Playing around different lip colors, I stumbled the perfect collection of red lipsticks. It is extremely important to find the formula of lipstick that works for you. Matte lipsticks are long lasting but it can be drying for lips. Creamy formulas are hydrating for the lips but it is not long lasting. Here is a list of my favorite Red Lip colors:

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick – Outlaw
Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick – Cheerleader
H & M Velvet Lip Cream – Le Beau Monde
L’oreal Paris Infallible – 701 Captivated by Cerise
Maybelline Colorsensational Vivid Lipstick – 916 Neon Red

Read my review of Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick here.

What is your favorite Red Lipcolor? May be I am missing an awesome red in my collection so please comment below and let me know!

Lots of Love!

Cheers 🙂

Hello Everyone! I wanted to (finally) share the makeup and saree,I wore on Karwachauth. I am always messed up wondering how to get ready and follow all the rituals of this festival. For those who are not familiar with this Indian festival, Karwachauth is a festival in which married women fast from sunrise to moonrise for the love of their husband. Think of it as Indian celebration of love and marriage. This is the only time of the year; I live without water and food. Yes, you read it right – without water and food. This is also the only day of the year when I wear traditional Indian saree and consider myself a makeup expert. I took only 10 minutes to create this easy peasy look.

This festival is super traditional so I wanted to wear heavy Banarsi saree (Mom, I love you so much for the gift) with a beautiful gold blouse. I also loved the real pearl necklace that was gifted by my Aunt (Bua) who pampers me with beautiful accessories and makeup suggestions.

My makeup was mostly traditional a very subtle rose gold eye look with pop of highlight to get that glowing look. I love this dark “vampy-ish” lip trend that has stormed the world. I completed the look with a red “bindi” and dark lip color.

Details of the product I used are mentioned below and I hope you all like this look! Let me know what you think about the look.

Makeup details- Product Used:

Face:

Nivea Men After shave balm- sensitive (No, I don’t shave my face; I use this as a primer)
L’oreal Extraordinary facial oil (I mix it with my foundation to look hydrated and glowing)
L’oreal True Match Foundation- Golden Amber
The Balm Betty-Lou Manizer (Bronzer)
Nars Blush (Roman Holiday)
The Balm Mary- Lou Manizer (Highlight)
RCMA powder (Setting Powder)
Evian mineral water spray (Make up setting spray)

Eyes/ Brows:

Lorac Behind the scenes Eye primer
Lorac Pro Eyeshadow Palette – 2
(Cool gray, Nectar, Rose, Black)
Maybelline Master precise liquid eyeliner (Black)
Maybelline the falsies Push up Drama (Black)
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz

Lips:

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick – Exorcism
Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick – Outlaw

“Treat your make up like jewelry for the face. Play with colors, shapes, structure – It can transform you”- Francois Nars.

Good news! It’s an end to the long scorching summer months in Dubai. Let’s just put it this way, we can have more fun with make up as the temperature begins to drop. Officially, fall marks the beginning of festive season and romance. This year fall fashion is all about orange hair, foiled eyeshadows and dark berry lips—it makes you want to try something different this season. This seasons matte trend is obviously not an easy one. Liquid matte lipstick is no doubt very popular these days but it is not easy to apply at first. Thankfully, I found the perfect Liquid matte lipstick, I am obsessing over last few weeks. Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick is just Ahhhhhhhhhmazzzzing!

Who is Huda Kattan?

Huda Kattan is a beauty giant and Middle East’s most revered makeup artist. She is a vlogger, makeup artist, and boasts of being one of the top beauty influencer on Instagram with 15.4 million followers. She has her own powerhouse of makeup line, Huda Beauty, with fluttery false lash strips and Lip contour pencils being the flagship of the brand.

What is Huda Beauty Liquid Lip Matte?

Huda beauty liquid matte lipstick is a long wear, non-transferable and intense color pay off liquid matte lipstick. Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick comes in feminine colors with red, brown and pink hues. Color range is more towards wearable colors with names like “Trophy Wife”, “Cheerleader”, “Heartbreaker”, “Venus” and a chocolate shade “Flirt”. The product clains:

“LONG-LASTING &COMFORTABLE MATTE LIQUID LIPSTICK

INTENSE PIGMENTATION I HELPS TO MAINTAIN LIPS HYDRATION I NO TRANSFER”

How does it feel?

Huda Beauty Liquid Matte lipstick comes in a white box with open lips, biting the lipstick between the lips. I love the way Huda stresses on the packaging. Isn’t it cool!

Unlike other liquid matte lipsticks, this lipstick doesn’t have a thick formula. The lightweight formula glides easily on the lips and it is infused with antioxidants to hydrate lips. The thin coat of the liquid turns matte within seconds and gives an intense color which is not only transfer proof but stays put till eternity. The best thing is that this product is CRUELTY FREE and PARABEN free.

Why I am obsessed with this Lipstick?

This lipstick is ahhmazzzing! I wore Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick in the shade “Cheerleader” for 15 hours and I didn’t feel a need to re-apply it. I ate Indian curries, drank wine and even slept with this lipstick (I know it is a crime L) but this lipstick didn’t even move from its place. Impressive!

The feel of this product on my lips is another reason to die for. I have dry lips and this lipstick is so hydrating that you don’t feel anything on the lips. Applying liquid matte lipsticks is not an easy thing to do but this lipstick is extremely easy to apply. This is due to the liquid formula that glides really well and gives an option to rectify any errors you make.

It has very sweet tropical fragrance that I absolutely love!

What I didn’t like about the product?

To be very honest I think of no reason to dislike this product. It is a must have in your makeup bag if you love liquid matte lipsticks.

Do you have any Huda Beauty Liquid Matte lipstick? What are your views about the product? What is your favorite shade in the collection?

I don’t know how to categorize one of the world’s most loved brands, Anastasia Beverly Hills. I have a love-hate relationship with this brand. There are few products that I use daily and I can’t live without. There are, also, products that I regret buying. Then, there are products I don’t have in my past, but I want to have it in my future. And they are at the top of my CRAZY wishLIST. Today, I am going to talk about Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in the shade Retro Coral. I bought this color because there was a love at first sight. It is a GORGEOUS color. This is not my first Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick. I, proudly, possess BLOODLINE shade from the same collection and I love it.

1. What is Anastasia Beverly Hills?

Anastasia Beverly Hills was founded by Anastasia Soare in 1997 and it is one of the most loved cosmetics brand company. Anastasia Soare was first to introduce brow shaping based on her patented “GOLDEN RATIO”. ABH has a wide range of beauty products from brows to makeup. ABH’s contour kit, glow kit and brow wiz are the most loved products from this company.

2. What is the product?

Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick is a full –coverage matte lipstick in liquid form. This formula stays true to color, delivers intense payoff, and stays put for hours. In a single swipe you can expect intense amount of pigments on your lips. Anastasia Soare says,”…it’s a must have for every busy woman on the go.”

3. How does it feel?

Retro Coral is a beautiful color but the formula isn’t the best. It is thin in consistency and requires multiple swipes to get the desired color. This is not my first lipstick from the collection, I have Bloodline as well and I just love it. Bloodline is highly pigmented and one stroke gives beautiful color. If you have dry lips then you might experience dry patches and uneven lines.

It is not just the formula that annoyed me. I was disappointed with the difficult application of the product. It takes time to dry and if it doesn’t dry in desired time then it gets spoiled. If you are a busy woman who doesn’t have time for the application of lipstick then this color is not for you.

Here are two tips to use this product.

a. Use a lip liner and contour your lips. Then it is easy to apply it. Define your boundaries!

b. Give it some time to dry. 30-45 seconds are enough.

4. How long does it stay?

Before writing any review, I make sure that I do the EAT & DRINK TEST. It failed miserably in this test. I ate Thai green curry with rice and drank chilled Coke for lunch. When I came out of the restaurant my husband asked me if I needed to check my lips. Boom! It vanished from half of my lips and it looked awful! I just wiped it and applied Bloodline which survived Eat & Drink Test with flying colors.

5. What I didn’t like?

I have realized that ABH has a different formula for light and dark color lipsticks. Lighter colors are more liquidy and tricky in application. It requires few coats to get the desired result. It is not as long lasting as Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick. It can make your lips a little dry so it is better to prime your lips before application.

Overall I will give 3/5 to Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick – Retro Coral

I have given a rating of 3 as the color is beautiful. It turns out to be the most romantic color. Also, I hated this lip color when I purchased it but when I mastered the trick of application I found it really good. I will not buy any lighter shades from ABH’s liquid lipstick collection as I don’t want to spend time on the application of the product.

Have you tried Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in lighter shade? What do you think is the best way to apply this lip color?

Cheers!

THE CRAZY LIST

Tag Archives: lipstick

My Monthly Favorite Beauty Products – March

“Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever.” – Charles Lamb

How to get perfect Red Lips in just 5-steps!

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