No trip to Pune or Mumbai is complete for me without a trip to Zara. I was recently in Pune, a layover during our road trip to Goa.
Of course, I had to pay a visit to one of my favorite stores!


Heading off to Phoenix Marketcity, I popped into Zara and picked up a few bits.

1) A black faux leather jacket
2) An oversized
3) Two slogan t-shirts (one black and one white) for layering under cardigans and jackets.

I even went to Forever 21, where I picked up a rose colored chunky knit poncho (which I LOVE).

Hoped you liked my little Zara haul. I will be doing more haul posts in the future.

The moment I saw the ad for the Maybelline White Superfresh Compact on TV, I wanted to try it. Priced at Rs. 150, it is one of the most affordable pressed powders I have come across in recent times.

This powder comes in a white plastic compact, which has a snap closure. The compact contains a mirror and a powder puff as well.

The powder has Perlite which is described as "a pure mineral with skin perfecting powers. Visibly lightens complexion while absorbing sweat & oil."

Maybelline also claims that this powder contains UV filters, but no specific SPF has been specified.
The powder claims a 12 hr whitening and skin perfecting.

I own this product in the shade Shell, which is perfect for me because of its yellow undertones. Upon application of this powder (using my Real Techniques Multitask Brush) I noticed two things.

First, this powder has a light, citrus-y scent. I find it quite pleasant, personally. Secondly, it makes my pores look smaller.
As this powder is finely milled, it does not look cakey on my skin at all. It minimizes the visible pores on my cheeks and nose. It gives a very slight coverage to my skin, like a translucent loose powder would.

It definitely gives my skin a fresh look. However, this powder does not live up to its 12 hour freshness claim. My t-zone begins to get oily within 5-6 hours, prompting a touch up. But since the packaging of this powder is extremely convenient (unlike, ahem, Rimmel Stay Matte) its easy to touch up with this powder.

Considering the price of this powder (150 bucks only!!!) and the convenience of packaging, I'm willing to ignore the tiny niggle of touching up my face after 5 hours of the first application. All in all, I really like this powder. Some beauties who have really sensitive skin (and are allergic to fragrance) may find it a problem to use this powder.

I have been reaching for this powder everyday, to set my foundation and concealer. The shade, the packaging, the price and the pore minimizing are the deal clinchers for me when it comes to this powder. I just wish Maybelline had specified the SPF of this powder. Sigh.
But no matter, for Rs. 150, I'm willing to ignore that!
I will definitely be repurchasing this powder. Please don't stop making it, Maybelline!!!

Hello, my lovely readers! Today's review will be about YET ANOTHER  Makeup Revolution product: the Vivid Baked Blush in shade All I Think About Is You.

This blush comes in your standard plastic pan packaging with a flip up transparent lid. It is a much smaller size as compared to their Vivid Baked bronzers.

All I Think About Is You is a bright pink colored blush. It has a bit of a golden shimmer to it. The shimmer is very subtle and not harsh or chunky. This blush gives a very sheer wash of color to my cheeks and it gives me a nice glow. Layering this blush twice gives me a good color payoff. I apply this blush with my Real Techniques Blush brush and it blends very easily into my skin.
This blush has a decent lasting power (5-6) hours, after which it starts to fade. The longevity of this blush is nowhere near that of the Vivid Lacquer blush by Makeup Revolution.
But overall, All I Think About You makes for a great everyday blush for my skin tone. I scored this blush on sale at Jabong for about Rs. 300.
I will be repurchasing this blush, but only when it is on sale.
So far, I'm quite impressed with the products from Makeup Revolution. There may be a few hits and misses with this brand (like with their Baked Bronzer for me), but otherwise I really like this brand!

As a part of my experimentation with the Makeup Revolution brand, I got myself their Vivid Blush Lacquer in the shade Heat.
This is a cream blusher and something I have heard great things about.

This product comes a tiny little plastic pump bottle. You have to press the pump a few times before the bottle starts dispensing the product.
The blush itself has a lotion like texture. It spreads easily on the skin.
But you need to work fast with this product, because once it sets, it doesn't budge. You will need a heavy duty, oil based cleanser to remove this blush from your skin, it is THAT long lasting.
Also, you only need a tiny, TINY amount of this blush for each cheek, as it is an intensely pigmented blush. A full pump on each cheek will make you look like a clown, so please be careful with this.
I dot this onto my cheeks with my fingers and blend with my Real Techniques Stippling Brush.

The color of this blush is a lovely, warm peach color which complements my skin tone beautiful. It looks incredible on my medium/wheatish complexion. It does not contain any glitter or shimmer.
I scored this product at Jabong.com on sale. Reduced from Rs. 750 to Rs. 300.
This tiny bottle will last me a long, long time. I will DEFINITELY be repurchasing this blush and will try out other shades in this range.
For Rs. 300 for a long lasting, highly pigmented cream blusher, it does not get better than this folks!

If there is one thing that I always aim for when I'm going my makeup, it is glowy, dewy skin. Everyone loves a fresh base, it makes you look younger, more awake.
Something that has been really helping me achieve dewy skin is the Revlon Photoready Skinlights Face Illuminator in shade Bare Light. Its a liquid highlighter and this particular shade has golden undertones which makes it perfect for those of us with yellow undertones in our skin.
I usually mix a pea sized amount of this illuminator into my foundation or tinted moisturizer and it gives me an all over glow.
If I am looking to amp up the glow even more, I apply a bit of this stuff with my fingers to the high points of my cheekbones, forehead, Cupid's bow, what have you.
This highlighter has a light, lotion like consistency, similar to your standard moisturizer. It does contain shimmer particles, but they are not huge and chunky. They don't show up on my skin.
I have gone through multiple bottles of this and I am kicking myself for not having reviewed it earlier! This product is available in India in 3 shades, but Bare Light is THE ONE for me.
It comes in a 30 ml plastic squeeze bottle, which has a screw on lid. Quite handy to slip into your makeup bag.
I love this offering from Revlon and hope that they never discontinue it!

Hey guys, I'm back!
Today, I'm going to be reviewing the Makeup Revolution London Vivid Baked Bronzer in shade Ready To Go.

Makeup Revolution was a brand unknown to me, until I stumbled upon it at Jabong.com
I bought this bronzer along with the Makeup Revolution Protection Palette (which I have also reviewed).
I had been looking for a decent bronzer and I thought I'd give this a try, since it was a baked product. And it was on sale.
It had been reduced down from its original price of Rs. 1050 to Rs. 350! Therefore, into my cart it went!

But when I saw this product in person, I knew it was going to be tricky to use. As pretty as this bronzer looks, it contains red/pink undertones.
I tried using this, many times. But it always ended up looking more like a blush on my skin. It does not work well as a bronzer on my skin color at all!
I am quite sad about it, because the lasting power of this bronzer is pretty good (up to 7 hours) and it contains very finely milled shimmer particles, nothing that shows up oddly on the skin.

I just wish the color had been a better match for my skin tone, then for Rs. 350, this would have been a great buy!
Unfortunately, this shade is not for me, but I will be trying out more products from Makeup Revolution really soon!
Stay tuned!

My night time skincare routine is based on two core principles: Cleanse thoroughly and treat + moisturize properly.
This routine has been working quite well for me so far. In fact, my skin is the clearest it has ever been!

First cleanse: Cetaphil Cleansing Lotion. Apply to dry skin, massage well. Remove with warm, wet washcloth, exfolitating gently.

Second cleanse: Cipla Saslic 1% Salicylic Acid Foaming Face wash. Apply all over damp skin and massage well, concentrating on breakout prone areas. Let it sit on the skin for a couple of minutes (while I brush my teeth!) before washing off with warm water.
Dry face with towel (patting gently).

Treatment: Apply Glyco 6 (6% Glycolic Acid Cream) onto skin and massage in circular motions until cream is absorbed. I apply the cream all over my face, focusing on cheeks, nose and jawline (breakout prone areas). Let this sit for 30 minutes.

Mist: Spritz face generously (30 mins after treatment) with Fabindia Rose Water Mist. Really, any rosewater mist does the job for me. As long as it doesn't have too many unnecessary ingredients.

Moisturizer: First I apply a layer of the Emolene Dry Skin Cream. Calling this product a cream is incorrect because it has almost a serum-like texture which intensely hydrates my skin. After Emolene I apply a layer of Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion. if my skin is feeling particularly dry, I do another layer of Cetaphil before applying my lip balm and hitting the sack!
Oh and in case you're wondering why I don't use eye cream separately, I don't need it. I apply some Cetaphil Lotion under my eye area as well. Since both my moisturizers (Emolene and Cetaphil are fragrance free, they don't irritate my skin at all, especially my under eye area).

So there you have it guys! My night time skincare routine. My skin is much clearer, less congested since I have been doing this routine. The frequency of my breakouts has reduced immensely. And all these products are budget friendly, easily available and work brilliantly with my skin! I'm quite happy with my current routine. What's your bedtime skincare routine like? Tell me, my lovelies!