Revisiting Old Favorites

When it comes to my personal makeup, I have always been a bit cautious of the number of products I own and keep. I hate hoarding. I prefer owning a few options of each thing. For example, 2-3 eyeshadow palettes, a couple of blushes and bronzers and maybe 2 mascaras at a time. However, every once in a while I like to add something I don't need, but really want! And so with the 'treat yo'self' attitude, I gravitated back to some of my favorite products for ages now!

NARS Blushes.
I have never been much of a blush girl. At one point I owned several that I never used and ended up giving away to people, mostly because I like a more bronzed complexion over a fresh, blushing face. Despite all these issues, I still find myself in love with most NARS Blushes. NARS as a brand could sell me bottled cat pee and I'd probably buy it, just because of the man and genius behind the brand, but I digress. I've owned Taj Mahal, Exhibit A and Desire before. All extremely bright and pigmented colours I used to love, but not so much anymore. So recently, when my friend was getting me some makeup as a wedding gift (thanks Sums!) I asked for NARS Sin among several other things. Unlike my previous NARS Blushes, this one is a muted berry with find gold shimmer running through it. It's almost bronzey, and works really well with my general, no makeup-makeup look I like to sport on a daily basis. It's extremely flattering and works really well with pretty much any complexion. It maybe nondescript, but if you get a chance to try this, do it! I swear you won't regret it!

Laura Mericier Baked Highlighter.
When I first read the product description, it said 'baked matte highlighter' which did not seem possible to me, how does one be matte and highlight? But once I used my sample (which I got with one Sephora's Favorite's Kits) I understood exactly what this meant. It's a matte silky semi sheer powder, with the most undetectable micro shimmer running through it. The shimmer is so fine, that it manages to highlight by blending into the skin and 'highlighting' said area. Infact, if you use this with a really fluffy brush under your eyes to brighten the area, it really works! But you need the smallest amount! I love this so much, I used it for all my wedding-related events as it didn't leave visible shimmer on my cheek or emphasise texture!

MAC Paintpots.
Remember when MAC Paintpots were all the rage? It makes me feel so old to think I was a teenager when they were doing the rounds and everybody collected them. Indianwood was my go-to favorite. And over the years I've used several (Groundwork, Rubenesque, Bare Study) of them both in my kit and in my personal collection. But again, if you like that wash of colour on your lids, without much effort, but still makes you look a little grungy - the almost editorial style slept in makeup, try Constructivist. This gorgeous brown with red pearl is perfect for an everyday eyeshadow. And I've been wearing it non stop since I got it.

Do you have any old favorites you have recently been obsessed with? What are they?
And would anyone like a wedding makeup breakdown? :)

A New Base Love

You know how I've always wanted to try the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation? Well, I never did because I could never figure out what I shade I would be or how to get it shipped to me because of how expensive it was! Well, imagine my utter surprise and glee to see that our Makeup Kit for school included 4 shades of this foundation. I was even more surprised to see that both Barcelona and Syracuse (the two shades of foundation I was confused between) were a part of the 4 we were given.
I'm currently inbetween the two, but if I were to buy myself one of them, right now, I'd lean towards Syracuse, but come winter I'll be using Barcelona.

The foundation has a medium coverage with a satin finish. It isn't dewy, it isn't shiney, its just.. as the name suggest a glow.
I've been using it everyday for 2 weeks now. On various skintones and types and I thought I would give you a round up of this little wonder.
It costs GBP 31 (Around INR 3000). The range of colours is ridiculously large and has both warm and cool undertones.
The coverage is medium, but buildable to full, which I have done, and it never goes cakey or thick looking. It really sinks well into the skin without emphasizing texture of settling into lines.
No matter what your skin type is, it seems to last fairly long and doesn't fade till the 8 hour mark, which is great in a foundation.
It doesn't have SPF to it photographs like a dream, which is always a good thing!

I have to say, I am very impressed by this, and by the looks of it, it may become a kit staple for me.
Have you tried this? What do you think?

P.S Keep your eyes peeled for a quick 'what I've learnt so far' post!

The 'Holy Grail' Base Product

I'm not entire sure how many times I've mentioned this foundation while running this blog, but I'm guessing atleast once a week? Its probably my most mentioned product in my time writing this blog... yes, you guessed right - the Chanel Vita Lumier Aqua is what I could consider my 'holy grail' foundation. Bear in mind, there is no other product I consider holy grail uptil now, its a big deal people.
To put it simply, it is very easily the base I realize I cannot live without. Now that I'm onto my second bottle of this stuff, let me give you a full indepth review of this wondrous product.
For starters, Its Chanel, which by default makes it a luxury item that may make you tear upon hearing the price (INR 3000 *sob*). But its everything you'd want from a foundation that you shell out a boat load of money for.
The smell? Like Roses, classic Chanel.
The packaging? Travel friendly, light and simple.
The coverage? Light-medium to medium full if you want to build it up, never cakey or heavy looking, sinks in like a dream and looks gorgeous. FYI, its water based so you have to give it a good ol' shake before using it.
The colour match? I'm B50 which matches me as well as one foundation can, but the shade range is a little bit more on the smaller side.
The finish? Like skin, but healthy and glowy and beautiful!
How long does it last? Well, despite using it about 3 times a week on average, I've used the same bottle for over a year, so if you really think about it, its really worth the money you pay. Also, the pigment is so great that a little really does go a long way.
On the skin, it lasts all day on me, no problem at all.

Its lightweight, its easy to use and blend, stays put all day long and looks lovely on my acne prone dry skin. Honestly speaking, there is nothing I don't like about this foundation, I would say... RUN to your local Chanel store and try it. It will be love at first whiff/usage, I assure you.

The Duo Everybody Needs!

I've been yammering on about the NARS Cordura Duo since I got it back in August, last year. You can see how well loved it is...
Honestly speaking, I don't have much to say about it other than its FRIKKIN' AWESOME. Firstly, its everything you will need in a little easy-to-pop-in-your-bag kind of compact. It contains a warm shimmery brown gold that looks gorgeous on its own just blended around the edges... and then it has the darker colour. A cool grey-black with gold glitter that doesn't have fallout, has excellent colour pay off, and blends like a dream. You can see how it looks on/works together in the pictures above. (I'm also wearing blush - Tarte's Blissful - I'm loving it!)
As far as the shadows themselves go.. they are buttery soft and a dream to use.
Now, these duo's are expensive. I think they cost USD 34 (INR 1840 approx) But they contain 2 grams of eyeshadow in each pan (4 grams in total) - whereas a typical MAC eyeshadow has 1.5 grams per pan (If you bought 2 MAC eyeshadows (Pans - 750 x 2 = 1500 for 3 grams + a palette to put it in) you still end up paying less for a NARS Duo.

If you have access to this, buy it. You know you need it.
IF you don't, you could always stalk Strawberrynet like I do! Kalahari... you will be mine soon.

Addicted to Brights - Blush

I must admit that I have a problem.

I am addicted to bright blush. When I see bright blushes, no matter what the colour, I kinda go into a mild pokemon - gotta catch 'em all - phase.

Is this normal?

Yes? Good.

Onto the blushes. This post is just me rambling about bright blush, how good it looks on tanned skin, how much I love, how I want to own them all, etc. 

I currently own 4 bright blushes, I owned 5, but my mother stole one. 

I have Taj Mahal and Exhibit A from Nars, Frankly Scarlet and Sakura(LE) from MAC.

Exhibit A is a beautiful matte orange red, it looks scary bright and a light hand and blending skills are definite must with this blush.

Taj Mahal is an orange with old shimmer, it highlights beautifully, and catches the light in all the right places. This has got to be the best blush I will ever own. And so will you. So own it.

Frankly Scarlet is a Scarlet red - pink colour, and again its a matte. I feel I don't use this as much as I would like too, because when I think of a bright matte blush, I instantly reach for Exhibit A. Note to self - use this more.

Sakura is a Mineralize Blush and the only thing I own from that range.. Its a lavender blush with an almost magenta heart in the centre, and when you mix the two you get this very flattering mix of the two shades. which give you a blush and highlight all in one.
It's very cool toned, but sometimes, I think this really works for my skintone. Especially with a plum lip.


In other news, I couldn't resist adding these two pictures of Qoco (My adorable black persian cat). She's as much of a girl as I am, and jumped onto my bed the second I laid these out to photograph them. It took a good 30 minutes to get her off my bed and onto hers.
But I got these gems.

Excuse my cat lady tendencies, BUT LOOK AT THAT FACE. 

Anyway, are you fond of bright blush?

Let me know!