REVIEW: Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea EDP

I am gradually starting to become this fragrance junkie and I am so loving it :P

My latest purchase is Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea EDP and all I can say for it is that I have fallen head over heals for it. It smells fresh, it smell sweet and it smells yummy. It is subtle, understated and yet so elegant that one just cannot not fall for it.

Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea

The bottle is sleek and the green color that it has is really pretty. I have so found my Elixir...

The fragrance reminds me of a mixture of Green tea and chilled iced tea :) It is an extremely refreshing scent :) It is a must buy!!!

M.A.C Cosmetics & World AIDS Day 2010

So tomorrow 1st December is World AIDS Day and I just wanted to share with you the things that M.A.C are going to be doing to help out this wonderful and very important cause.  I will also go on to tell you how we as a beauty community can help out.

Makeup artists from M∙A∙C Cosmetics in London, Edinburgh and Dublin will be swapping their make up kits for red ribbons tomorrow to participate in a company-wide volunteer effort to honor World AIDS Day.

M∙A∙C artists will be pitching in at various different charity centers and helping raise awareness all over the country. They will be in London at London’s 'Positive East' (supported by M.A.C since 2006), giving up some of their free time to decorate service areas and meeting rooms which are frequently used by visitors to both Charities. Then, on to Edinburgh's 'Waverly Care' center which M.A.C has been helping out for over 10 years. They will also be raising awareness on World AIDS day in Dublin, where M.A.C friends and colleagues are joining the Open Heart House charity “Sleep Out”.  This will be the inaugural Open Heart House “Sleep Out” and it is a great way for M∙A∙C to develop the support it has given to this charity since January 2000.

Over the years M.A.C. Cosmetics has donated a combined total of over £230,000 to these charities for various projects.

Here is where we can do our bit: buying a gorgeous lipstick or lip gloss. Simple! Christmas is almost here and the perfect girly gift this year would be one of the Viva Glam lipstick's or lip glosses. Slightly earlier on in the year I am sure most of you were aware that Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper collaborated with M.A.C and launched their very own personalised Viva Glam lipsticks and lip glosses. I personally bought both the lippies and I think they are absolutely gorgeous - so creamy and bright! And the best part? All the proceeds from each Viva Glam purchase goes towards helping the M.A.C AIDS Fund.

 

Here are a couple of swatches of the lipsticks. Viva Glam Gaga on the left (a bright bubblegum pink) and Viva Glam Cyndi on the right (a warm glossy red).

 

 

 Did you know that one Viva Glam purchase can…

♥ Provide 1 nutritious meal for a support group for 2 days

♥ Provide support and education for 5 pregnant women diagnosed with HIV/AIDS giving them the tools to prevent transmission to their unborn child

♥ Buy 1 pair of school shoes for a child orphaned by AIDS

♥ Purchase 1 school starter pack of stationery for a child orphaned by AIDS

♥ Buy 1 vegetable seed starter pack for a community garden

♥ Purchase health education posters for a child care resource center

♥ Provide 1 Party Pack for a child to celebrate Christmas, Easter or a birthday.

 Since the inception of the M∙A∙C Aids Fund, together we have raised in excess of $190,000,000 

  Wow!

 (Since 1998, through the sale of Viva Glam lipsticks and lip glosses, the UK and Eire have raised over £4.4m), which is a fantastic achievement towards the help & support of people who are living with HIV & AIDS.

To sum things up, I urge you to go out and purchase one of the M.A.C Viva Glam products for a loved one over this Christmas period - I can guarantee they will love it! Let's get the ball rolling and do our bit to help out World AIDS day tomorrow (December 1st 2010) and make our lips look luscious in the process! 

Read more about World Aids Day here: http://www.worldaidsday.org/
Purchase the M.A.C Viva Glam Products here: http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/

Good luck girlies! 

Sara x

I Missed You Guys!

Wow this is my first blog post since Halloween, I can't believe how fast the time has flown by - I feel very ashamed! I am a naughty blogger...

 

Please forgive me for my lack of activity recently, I have been concentrating a little more on my YouTube channel (SWalkerMakeup) and also have been extremely busy with other aspects of my life. Things have been a little hectic lately and I've left my blog behind for a few weeks whilst I set my mind on a few other things. I can assure you I will be back on track now and will be doing a few more posts later this evening :)

If you follow me on Twitter (@SWalkerMakeup) then you will know what has been going on, as I update that every single day! I have been experiencing every emotion in the book lately! My boyfriend flew out to Canada for 4 months (he is now coming back for 2 weeks half way through - yayy!) on a snowboarding instructing course (very sad!) and I got a gorgeous new 8 week old Lhasa Apso puppy called Millie (very happy!)

All in all I am trying to keep my chin up, stay busy and stick a big smile on my face!

I am hoping that by Blogging, Tweeting and YouTubing I can keep my self occupied and pass the days a little quicker until Zach comes home :)

I will update you more later this evening but I hope you are all well! 

Lotsa love, 

Sara

Another Weekend Shopping Haul

Heylo people... I went for another of my shopping sprees this weekend and I ended up buying things that I don't really need but got tempted to buy :P yeah i know! As usual... LOL...
So, anyways my haul is as follows:

My make-up Haul - Part I

Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea Eau De Parfum

Ok, so let me list them out for you...
1. Oriflame Savannah Sensual Hand and Body cream
2. Oriflame Lip Spa
3. Oriflame waterproof Top Coat
4. Giordani Gold Body Cream
5. maXfactor eye shadow: Rose Petal
6. Elizabeth Arden Green Tea EDP

Let me describe each of these products for you now...

ORIFLAME SAVANNAH SENSUAL HAND AND BODY CREAM
This was like a new product featured in Oriflame's last month's catalogue and I wasn't really keen on purchasing it, but I totally got tempted to buy by seeing a high introductory discount on it and well I never regretted it... :)
Its fragrance is just mind blowing... Its so yummy that you just want to go on using it for like ever! Consistency-wise the cream rocks big time and for my skin it's like what an oasis is to the desert. It costs Rs.298/- for 150 ml and it is worth every penny... My advice? Go buy it right now!


ORIFLAME LIP SPA
Now this is one product that I have been using since the past three years now and every winter i just keep coming back to it. It's like every winter our love story starts and blossoms into this awesomely romantic union! Ufff... I think I have lost it! Anyways, so coming back to this, I totally love this lip spa and it nourishes my lips like nothing else. It costs Rs.198/- and has a very delicate and subtle fragrance to it...

ORIFLAME WATERPROOF TOP COAT
This is one product that I bought on impulse... It's something I haven't really used before.. It's a transparent mascara which imparts a subtle glitter to one's lashes... It looks FABULOUS!!! I'll do a complete review on it and share it with you guys!

GIORDANI GOLD BODY CREAM
Whatever I say for it will seem less... It is a gorgeous cream with a texture to die for... It's the perfect cream to pamper oneself with. It smells heavenly and the whole jar can last you a complete Winter! :)
Not only this, one plus for me is that it looks totally pretty on the dresser.

maXfactor EYE SHADOW: ROSE PETAL
I went to Shopper's Stop yesterday and picked up this awesomely yummy pink shadow... The container is cute with a screw lid and I so totally love the pigmentation... Reviews later! Promise! :D

ELIZABETH ARDEN'S GREEN TEA EDP
Well.. this is one product that requires a whole post to describe.. Just a two liner will not suffice and wont do any justice to it. In one sentence? I TOTALLY LOVE IT!
Well, it is refreshing and so yummy... But I promise a complete post raving about it :)

Till then... Mmmuuaahhhh :* 

LOTD - I

Hey guys.. Encouraged by your enthusiastic response, I am so psyched that I decided to do this look and share it with you guys yet again...

The look is something like this:

The eyes!

Almost Ready!!!

The complete look :)

The products I used to get this look:
1. Oriflame Peach Me Perfect Foundation
2. Oriflame Visions Soul Mates Eye Shadow: Adam & Eve
3. maXfactor eye shadow: Rose Petal
4. Maybelline Mousse Blush: Peach Stain
5. Bonbelle Lip gloss
6. maXfactor kajal
7. ELF liquid liner
8. Revlon waterproof mascara

I know I know the pattern on the eyes are getting pretty similar... uffff!!! what's got to my creativity!!! I'll think of something new next :)

EOTD again ;)

Hello... I have been really busy with work this week and hence am not getting time to spend some quality hours at my blog... But I did look today and thought that I might just share it with u guys :)

Hoping you guys like it :*

Green and Mauve Eye Make-up :)

The complete look

 

another angle

Since, the eye seemed pretty dramatic, I left the rest of the face bare :)

EOTD using Oriflame Visions Customizable palette for eye shadows

Hey guys... I recently came across this awesome deal in the Oriflame catalog. It said that on a purchase of three eye shadows I could get an empty palette free. The shadows thus purchased could be fit into the empty palette container and carried out. The palette also comes with a free two sided sponge applicator.

Some images to give you an idea :D

The empty palette box and the shadows

The empty palette box from inside

The shades...

The shadows placed in the palette

Swatches: Devil, Wicked, Go Green

So, today in order to try these colors out, I went a bot overboard and came up with this EOTD :D

Hope you guys liked it :D

REVIEW: ORIFLAME Visions Soul Mates Eye Shadow Duo

I have been always a loyal fan of Oriflame and have always loved their creams and perfumes. The fragrances that they offer in perfumes as well as creams are the best I have ever come across... Anyways, just recently I have started using their eye shadows and I haven't been let down as yet :D

Today I shall be reviewing Oriflame Visions Soul Mates Eye Shadow Duo, which is a request from one of my lovely blogger friend Bulbul... She had asked me to review these eye shadows in one of her comments for my post on Purple Smokey eyes Look ...

So here goes...
Today I'll be reviewing shades in Romeo and Juliet and Adam and Eve...

Oriflame Visions Soul Mates Eye Shadow Duo

Adam & Eve: Green and Blue
Romeo & Juliet: Beige and Green

PACKAGING
I like the cute packaging in transparent acrylic with silver lettering saying "Visions Soul Mates Eye Shadow". It has a flip top and the embossed design on the shadow is also extremely cute and attractive. The container is extremely sleek and look like discs. They can be carried around in one's handbag/purse very easily and conveniently. The container is pretty sturdy too :)

COLOR
I love all the colors that Oriflame offers in this range of eye shadows. They are all highly pigmented and are pretty long stay. They have very tiny shimmery particles in them, that enhances the make-up and doesn't look tacky at all. The colors can easily be blended and they feel really soft.
The best part about them is that they have negligible fall out and I am comparing this to REVLON's Color Appeal Trio Pro and L'Oreal's Kohl Mineral Eye Liner.

The swatches of the colors are as follows:

Swatches: Soul Mates Eye Shadow

The 2 colors on the left side in beige and brown are ROMEO & JULIET
The dark green color and the sky blue one are ADAM & EVE

The other two colors in purple and parrot green are from a different type of palette and shall be reviewing it soon :)

PRICE
Each duo costs Rs.198/- and I find them worth every rupee.

In order to demonstrate the pigmentation of these colors, I have a done a green smokey eye look... The link for it is here: http://makeupandbeauty.com/black-green-eye-makeup-tutorial/

Let me summarize now...

PROs

• Highly pigmented
• Great colors in this range
• Cute yet sturdy packaging
• Portable 
• Odorless (its a plus for me!)
• Smooth and light texture
• Negligible fall out
• Reasonable

CONs

• Not available in matte colors

REVIEW: Lakme 9 to 5 Intense Shine Eyeliner in Green

I don’t know if I have ever mentioned this before but I am a huge make-up addict. The OTTness has just recently surfaced but you see these things don’t happen just suddenly or so I believe and hence, I know that this addiction has been brewing up since a long long time now, just waiting to rear its Er… pretty head and make its presence felt. You see, it isn’t that I buy whatever I need, its just that I simply buy what I want :P Like I said I am addicted.

So anyways, while I was on one of my these shopping binges, I went to the Lakme counter (Er.. Yes Lakme) in order to check out the new Gypsy collection. I had heard so much about it that I had to had to check it out… So there I was at Mumbai’s Health & Glow browsing through the eye shadow quads that are a part of the much famed Gypsy Collection. Not happy with anything I was just doing a glance over of the counter, when my eyes caught this cute little thing…

Yes Yes! It is the Lakme 9 to 5 Intense Eyeliner in GREEN!!! Yes! Jewel green! One swatch on my hand and I was floored… I fell in love…

Lakme 9 to 5 Intense Shine eyeliner

What the site says:

Create smoldering eyes in just one stroke with this color intense lustrous eyeliner that stays true for hours.  

• Step 1
  Line your eyes in one single stroke on the upper lid from the inner side of the eye to the outer side. Let it dry.
• Step 2
  Line your lower lid from the outer edge, tapering to the inner corner of the eye.

My personal experience

Like I said earlier I was floored with the swatch itself because of the gorgeous shade of green it had!

But seriously and practically? Well the bottle is sleek and portable… Can be carried around in your vanity/pouch/purse very easily. The applicator brush that it has is extremely convenient to use and gives precision to your line.

swatch

The shade of green that it has is metallic or you could say jeweled since it has some subtle glitter which isn’t OTT or tacky at all. It is pretty long staying and is odorless.

In short it is a good purchase and I do plan to purchase another when this one gets over :)

Purple Smokey eyes Look

Hey people :) I have been totally obsessed with eye make-up off late and all I do is keep experimenting with my eyes... And I am so loving it :D So, today when my boy friend came back from his vacation and we were meeting up for dinner I tried a purple smokey eye look which looks something like this...

The complete Look

 
He loved it and hence I am sharing it with you guys :)

Eyes Closed

The products that went into are as follows:

• Oriflame Air Soft Powder
• maXfactor kajal: Black
• ELF liquid eye liner
• ELF brightening eye shadow: Drama
• Oriflame V* Soul Mates eye shadow: Bonnie and Clyde
• L'Oreal Color Appeal Trio Pro: Azur Blonde

The steps are something like this...
1. First I prepared my eyes for make-up by dusting some loose powder on my lids. This was to prevent my make-up from creasing.
2. Next, I applied the maXfactor kajal at the outer V of my eye lids.
3. Then using a blending brush I blended out the kajal at the outer edge of my eye and also towards the middle of the eye and also on half my crease.
4. Next taking the darkest shade of shadow int he Oriflame Drama quad I patted it on the smudged kajal.
4. Then I applied the purple shade of shadow from the Bonnie and Clyde duo fromthe inner corner of the to the middle of my eye.
5. I blended the purple and the black shadow together in order to give it a soft look.
6. Then, I took the highlighter shade from the L'Oreal trio and applied it on my brow bone, blending it with the outer edge of my black and purple shadows.
7. Finally, I applied some kajal to my lower waterline and liquid eye liner on my upper lash line.
8. I finished the look with a double coat of mascara on my lashes :)

and VOILA, I was ready with the look :)

REVIEW: L'Oreal Kohl Minerals Eyeliner

I went cosmetics shopping over the weekend in Mumbai and ended up buying a lot of L’Oreal products. One product that I had on my wishlist since pretty long was the Kohl Minerals Powder and so I picked it up with great enthusiasm in Meteorite Blue. I used it this morning for office and have had a mixed feelings experience.

L'Oreal Kohl Minerals Eyeliner

What the site says

Whether you're going for dramatic smokey eyes, or a softer romantic 'barely-there' look, Mineral Kohl makes achieving perfect eyeliner easy. In 3 mineral inspired shades the gentle mineral eyeliner is 95% from minerals and perfume, preservative and talc free.

The gentle formula is enriched with Vitamin E and Aloe making it suitable for the delicate eye area.

It has no Perfumes and no preservatives and contains mineral pigments for gentle definition.

My Experience

I purchased it cause it looked different, had a novel packaging and I simply loved the shade of blue that was on offer… Meteorite Blue!

Here's a swatch...

Loved the shade: Meteorite Blue

Packaging

Like I already said, I just loved the new and novel container of the eye liner. It looks smart, is portable and looks a bit intimidating at first ;)

The transparent plastic helps in gauging the amount of contents left. It has a perforated layer that helps adequate amount of product to be used and is extremely helpful, something like the packaging of loose powder.

Perforated Layer

 
Application and Applicator

The angled and sleek brush applicator that comes with it is extremely soft and yet stiff and makes lining the eyes very easy and convenient. A little product gives a lot of definition and is highly pigmented. It does have a lot of fall-out :(

The innovative applicator

Consistency and Feel

The mineral powder is very light and is highly pigmented. The subtle sparkle and glitter that it contains looks beautiful on the eyes and doesn’t look tacky at all. Also a plus is that it is odorless :)

Overall Experience

I have had a bittersweet experience with it. The color and pigmentation is what I loved. But it’s major fall-out and non-long staying power put me off a bit :(

In order to summarize, let me list down the pros and cons. So, here goes…

PROs

• Awesome color
• Highly pigmented
• Just enough glitter
• Odorless
• Reasonably priced at around 500 bucks
• Easy and convenient application
• Soft and good quality applicator
• Love the novel packaging

CONs

• It isn’t very long stay
• Smudges easily
• Has a lot of fall-out
• Less variety of shades

Will I use it again?

Hmmmm… I guess so.. There is something extremely attractive about the product :D

Eye Makeup for Diwali: Smokey Golden Eyes

Hey everyone... First of all, here's wishing you all a very Happy Deepavali :) Hope you have all had a very joyful and a fun Diwali... Mine was awesome and I would like to share a few pics of the eye make-up I had done for today's festivities... So here I go... Excuse my unruly eye brows though! LOL...

The golden smokey look

The products I used for this look are:

• maXfactor kajal: Black
• ELF liquid Eye Liner: black
• ELF Brightening Shadow: #03 Drama
• L'Oreal Color Appeal Trio Pro: Azur Blonde
• Oriflame Air Soft Powder

The procedure is as follows:
1. First, I readied my lids for make-up by dusting loose powder on them. For this I used the Oriflame Air Soft Powder.
2. Next, I applied my kajal thickly on the lower water line and the upper lash line.
3. Then, using the darkest shade in the Drama quad of the ELF shadow, I blended the kajal thus applied in order to achieve a soft look. Do note that the I extended the shadow till the crease.
4. Then, I applied the Golden shade ffrom the L'Oreal trio and applied it above the crease by simultaneously blending the outer edges of the black shadow.
5. I then applied the highlighter shade from the L'Oreal trio on my brow bone.
6. Next, I applied the liquid liner very thinly on both my lash lines.
7. Finally, I finished the look with two coats of mascara on my lashes.

Hope you guys liked my look :)

Eyes Closed

The finished look

Eye Make-up for Diwali: Golden & Blue Look

With Diwali just a couple of days away, we are all gearing up to look our best for the festival of lights. New clothes, new make-up… It's like you are in paradise :D

The first look that I have tried out for this Diwali look series is a blue and golden eye makeup look.

Close up of the eye

closed eyes

The products that I have used for this are:
1. L'Oreal Paris ColorAppeal Trio Pro eye shadow: Azur Blonde
2. maXfactor kajal: black
3. ELF liquid eyeliner: black
4. Oriflame Air soft Powder
5. Revlon Waterproof Mascara

L'Oreal Color Appeal Trio Pro: Azur Blonde

The steps are as follows:
1. First, I prepared the base of my eye makeup by dusting some Oriflame Air Soft powder over my lids and also under my eyes. This will delay creasing due to oily lids.
2. Next, I apply the golden shade of shadow over the whole of my lids.
3. Then, taking the midnight blue shadow, I blended it with the golden shadow on the outer 2/3 of my lids. Blending is important here as it will give a finished and a smokey appearance.
4. Then using an angled liner brush and dipping it in the midnight blue shadow I lined 3/4 of my crease.
5. Next, I applied kajal in my lower water line and lined my upper lash line with the liquid liner.
6. Finally, I coated my lashes with mascara and VOILA… :D

P.S. For a more dressy look, you might want to use the highlighter in the trio on your brow bone.
Also, instead of a black liner, you may use a dark blue liner as well for a more FUNKY look :)

Smokey Eyes for Everyday Wear

Smokey eyes have been IN since a long time now and the make-up trends for Fall Winter 2010 have also been "forecasted" as smokey eyes and bright lips. So, I thought why not go for a smokey eye look that is subtle and can be worn everyday... even to work. And so, I have come up with this look and hence a tutorial to share with you guys :)
 
The look goes something like this...

 
Well... For this look I have used the following products:
1. maXfactor Kajal: Black
2. ELF Brightening Eye Color Quad: Drama
3. ELF Liquid Eyeliner

Here go the steps:
1. First of, I use the kajal pencil to line my waterline and the upper lid thickly. It need not be neat, it should just impart a thick black line over the lid.
2. Next, choosing the darkest grey of the shadow quad, smudge it on the kajal that was applied on the upper eye lids and blend them together.
3. Next line the upper lash lines with the liquid eye liner and using a blending/smudging brush smudge the liquid liner on the lids.
4. Then line the lower water line with the liquid liner.
5. Finally, coat your lashes with mascara...

Ta da... you are ready to go :)