Reader Query: CTM products for Combination Skin

Nafisa asks,
hi i have a combination skin and with two kids around i hardly have any time for skin care. but ur skin just made me sit back and think that i really DO need sometime out for my skin . plz do suggest some good exfoliators any thing related to it. i use cetaphil cleansing lotion as my face wash coz my skin gets really bad after a regular face wash and thats it no moisturiser coz of my dry cheeks and oily t zone....so help....

I myself have super dry skin and hence I have presented Nafisa's questions in an open forum, so that any of the readers who have experience with Combination skin can help her out :)

Reader Query: Light Makeup for an Indian Wedding

Jayde asks,

Hey Samyukta,

I've got my brother's wedding coming up and I'm not a big fan of heavy make-up and only ever use nivea lipbalm on my lips. But one of my Bhabhi's (sister-in-laws) decided that we are all going to get dolled up! 

I have incredibly fair indian skin and have been burdened with quite thin lips. I want quite a natural look rather than walking in looking like a clown, so no typically bright colours. What natural colours and make up brands would you recommend to enhance my lips?

 

P.S. 

Yeah, I live in the UK unfortunately. We are mixed race - my mum was Spanish and my Dad is Indian Gujarati. However, my dad's features turned out to be more dominant, so I have deep dark brown curly hair and brown eyes with fair skin.

My brother will be having a traditional Gujarati wedding ceremony based in London, so what would you advise? Nothing too bright? I'll be wearing a turquoise Saree if that helps in any way .. 

Hey Jayde, first off I just cannot stop imagining how exotic your looks must be with a mix of Spanish and Indian in your genes :) Secondly "thin" lips are never an issue cause I myself have them and have been "enhancing" since eternity now ;) LOL... 

 

Now since you say you are wearing a Turquoise saree, I am praying that it has golden accents rather than silver and so I would suggest you to go for a light golden wash of eye shadow on your eyes. Suggestion: MAC All That Glitters (hands down!), some kohl, liquid liner and lots of mascara :) Its an Indian wedding after all :D

If by chance your saree has silver accents, then DO NOT use a silver eye shadow. Instead go for something shimmery neutral like MAC Ricepaper/Nylon or MAC Loose Pigment in Naked

 

Now for the lips, I would have worn Red lipstick ;) but since you specifically want something not very bright, then I would suggest some soft pink lipsticks in a glossy or shiny finish. Stay away from matte lippies as they make the lips look more severe and hence thinner :( Now am not too sure about the brands that you get in the UK but I am guess MAC is a common brand between us for sure so I'll stick to that :) Lipstick suggestions: MAC Craving, MAC Angel, MAC Syrup.

Also you could altogether give a lipstick a miss and go for MAC cremesheen lipglass in "Double Dare"... Its an opaque glossy pink gloss... Gorgeous for warm skinned beauties :)

The trick behind "enhancing" thin lips is to make it look hydrated and glossy. Dry/matte lips look thin while glossy lips look more plumped up and well "juicy" :P

 

Also do go for a peachy, corally blush. Preferably matte as you'll be having a shiny lip... Suggestion: MAC Immortal Flower, MAC Springsheen (though it isn't matte) and MAC Margin. Remember to apply it really lightly.

 

Even if you plan to forgo the eye makeup, do wear loads of mascara. The Lip makeup and the blush are a must though :)

Oh and for your face do apply a light foundation. MAC Mineralize Cream Foundation in the compact form gives a light coverage that you can build up easily if need be :)

Reader Query: How to Get a Glow for Dry Skin

I keep getting a lot of queries for getting glowing skin, but this I guess is the first time I got one that sounded really earnest... So rather than rattling out "my" skin care regimen and products, I decided to do an in-depth post about it. I analysed and researched a LOT and I finally came up with this...

Do read on... And btw this is what Vani asked :)

Hey Suma :)

First thing Kudos to you and your blog... I just love you and your cute face.... and yes you have a wonderful smile :)

Keep doing this good job..

My query is I apply moisturizer (fab india green tea) and then I apply maybelilne BB cream but somehow I feel my skin is not glowing from inside. I feel that I am missing somewhere... I am always confused when should I use sunscreen (though maybelline BB cream has SPF 21+) and also do I need to apply loose powder. I have dry skin and after applying the BB cream my skin looks bit oily. I have dark circles as well so please suggest me what cream should I use to make my skin have that glow which you have (hahahaaa :*).

Please suggest me a loose powder suiting dry skin, a sunscreen, something to conceal dark circle (daily wear) and also the techniques to apply this and also after which step do i need to apply BB cream.

With Luv,
Vani 

First off, let me state that there are 2 ways we can get glowing skin. One using makeup and the other by using the right skin care products. I'll cover both here :)

1. Glow with MakeUp
If you want to "glow" using makeup then there are a few points you will need to keep in mind...
i) Finding the right base. I find Maybelline's BB Cream to not work for me if worn for a longer duration. 3-4 hours is fine with it but it cannot survive 8 hours in office on me. I find it makes me feel dry on the cheeks and forehead but makes the T-zone oily! If you want to use a base on a daily basis you could either look for a Tinted Moisturizer that suits you or get yourself a light coverage mineral foundation or do what I do and mix a liquid foundation meant for dry skin with your moisturiser and apply it :) 

ii) Also use a cream blush instead of a powder blush. It is guaranteed to give a glow to your cheeks :) Remember to apply the cream blush in a "pat-pat" motion :)

iii) Use a highlighter lightly on the bridge of your nose and apples of your cheeks to get that instant glow! Though this tip should be avoided in college/office :P



2. Glow with Skin Care 
This is the way that is my favorite cause it is lasts longer and gives you a natural glow :) So let's get started. Do note that I am assuming that you follow a "healthy" diet. There are two things that keep one's skin from glowing and that is "dryness"/lack of moisture and dead skin. Yup these are the only two things that you need to fight in order to get your skin to glow and look flawless :) 

Of course combating dead skin is easy, you need to get yourself a good face scrub and exfoliate at least once in a week. I exfoliate twice a week cause it works for me better. You need to find what works for you and follow that :) I oscillate between FabIndia's Walnut scrub, St Ives Apricot Scrub and EverYuth's Peach scrub. 


Now let's look at a strategy to fight against lack of moisture. All skin types including Oily skin need the right amount of moisture and since Vani you have mentioned that you have dry skin, moisturising should be your foremost priority. You use FabIndia's Green Tea Moisturising Lotion but I am guessing it isn't working for you cause it is more of a "All Skin Types" lotion. Us dry skin beauties need to take "dry skin" very seriously because if not taken care of properly we are the first ones to show signs of aging in the form of wrinkles. Therefore I would suggest going for moisturisers that are specific to dry skin only! You will need to try out a couple of samples of different lotions and creams to see what suits you best! I generally use TBS Vitamin E cream and Garnier's Body Cocoon on my face.The next time I am in either Mumbai or Delhi, I will be picking up their UltraFacial Cream as well cause I had tried the sample and it proved to be heavenly for my skin :) You should try that out as well :)

Also, if you live in a humid city like Mumbai, Kolkata, Vizag, Kochi etc, then I would suggest you to apply Almond Oil on your face, neck and arms every third night before you go to sleep. If you stay in a "dry" city like Pune, Delhi, Bangalore etc like I do then I would suggest you to use Olive Oil every alternate night before you go to sleep :) I stay in Pune and use Olive Oil :)

Remember Moisturising is the key to Glowing skin especially if you have dry skin :D

Also do note that regular exercises and lots of fruits in ones diet gives a lovely natural glow too :)

Regarding your other queries:
1. Since you have dry skin you needn't use loose powder. I mean there is no need for it :) Why do you want to clog your pores for no reason at all? :P

2. Concealing dark circles is a MUST. If you have light circles under your eyes like I sometimes get, use a lighter concealer like Colorbar's stick concealer. If your dark circle problem is more persistent then I would suggest you to go for either Bourjois or MAC. They are the best in the market :D Clinique is also awesome!

3. Sunscreen should be worn when you plan to go out in the sun even if it is for 10 mins. You can use it above your moisturiser like I do. Lakme's New Sun Expert Range suits me very well :)

I hope all this helps you :) If you need to know more please do not hesitate to get back to me :)

Reader Query: Eye Makeup for Small Eyes

Ladies and gentlemen, let me forst introduce Shweta to you all. She is a very good friend of mine, my neighbor and the wife of the "pati's" best friend from college :) She has been asking me to help her with her eye makeup and I have been promising her that I will but the lazy bum that I am, I as usual keep shelving it ;) So she got herself to write to ISLM and get her queries answered ;) Sooo sorry Shweta, next time we come to your place, I am coming all armed with make-up ;)

Shweta asks,
"Heya....I think now all my make-up queries will be answered ...hehe
Suma ,I have small eyes and love to put on kajal and liner on my eyes but oooo it turns to be a disater ...Can you please suggest some everyday eye make-up tips for small eyes...

First off, let me tell you that there are two ways to do make-up on small eyes. One way is to do it in such a way that your eyes appear bigger, the other way is to not give importance to the size of the eye but just emphasize on defining it and enhance the beauty of your eyes... I'll cover both...

To make your eyes seem "bigger" 
For this you'll need to follow these steps:
1. Invest in a white or a flesh colored liner. Suggestion Maybelline Eye Color Studio Pencils.

2. Use this white/nude liner to line your lower waterline... The waterline is the "flesh colored" part of the eyes that you can see just above the lower lashline. This is essentially the place where we like to put our kajal ;) 

3. After you have lined your lower waterline with white liner, apply your kajal on the lower lashline.

4. Now for the eye liner... I would suggest you to use a waterproof liquid/gel liner on your upper lashline for lining your eyes. Do not use the kajal for lining the upper lashline!

5. When you line the upper lashline, do a "curve" with a deep inverted "U" if you want your eyes to look bigger...

6. Always use mascara. They tend to "open up" the eyes. 

7. Try using light/neutral colored eye shadows on your lids. Avoid darker shades as they make the lid heavy and hence make the eyes look smaller.

To only define your eyes, irrespective of the "size" ;)
This is obviously easier and my favorite too :)
1. Apply kajal on your waterline, no need to fuss with a white liner. Make sure that the kajal is smudge proof and does not run out and streak your face int he middle of the day. If it does then change your kajal with immediate effect :) Suggested liners: Maybelline Gel liner in Black, Chambor Eye Tattoo Pencil, Revlon Eye liner pencil in Black. These generally stay the whole day without smudging or melting. Avoid Lakme Kajal.

2. Use a liquid liner on your upper lashline. Lakme liquid liner has some very good reviews. Apply it in an increasing gradient... it should be thinner in the inner corner and should start thickening while you go outwards... You must keep trying it and you'll perfect within 5-6 attempts I promise :) 


3. Always use a mascara. I swear by Maxfactor mascara.

Do feel free suggest more tips for Shweta :)

P.S. Shweta, I promise to give you a practical session on this for you to understand better ;)

READER QUERY: How To Apply Makeup on Darker Lids

Dimpal asks...

hi Suma,
i want ur help .. i have duskier eyelids.. colors just refuses to show on my eyelids... i use nyx eyeshadow base and garnier anti dark circle roll on too but thy r nt much help...
thnx n Luv

A lot of us have this issue of having darker eye lids due to which eye shadows do not show up with as much pigmentation as it does on others. But fear not :) Like I always say MakeUp is like magic and it can help you achieve any look you covet and so makeup has a solution for this problem too :) Did I sound very dramatic here? :P

There are three things you can do...
1. Apply a good eye primer before you apply your shadow but you already do that and it doesn't help right? So you'll need to follow steps 2 and 3 :)

2. Use a good concealer, which I am assuming will be 2 shades lighter than your lids and a similar shade to your face. Apply it generously on your lid area till your brow bone. This will ensure a clean and an even canvas to start with your eye makeup. If you have oily lids then do set the concealer with a pressed powder without fail.

3. Invest in a good cream eye shadow base palette. I use one from Oriflame, there used to be a cream shadow palette available with Colorbar as well as NYX too. Or better still if your budget permits then buy some MAC paint pots too :) Use these cream shadow as bases over your concealer application. Then apply your powder eye shadows over these cream shadows. I guarantee some awesome pigmentation with this :)

Do note that after applying the cream shadow base, using a powder shadow is optional. I use a powder shadow over cream cause I have oily lids and I need to set in the cream shadow with a powder one :)

I hope this helps Dimpal... If anyone has any other suggestions do pitch in through the comments section :) It would be highly appreciated! :)