Makeup Discourse

I have been fancying Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipsticks (esp Miranda Red Carpet Red) and when I decided to treat myself, lipstick was the last thing on my mind. But Deciem's The Ordinary was launched and I added the High-Spreadability Primer, Rosehip seed Oil, Hyaluronic Acid and Moisturizer and when I checked out, all of them were sold out, in a matter of mere 4-5 minutes.
I want to try her Treat & Transform Magic Cream which I added to my cart but since it is heavy, the import duties for it (alone) turned out to be higher than I anticipated.
So I settled for base makeup instead. I am hankering towards Golden Goddess & Filmstar Bronze & Glow kit! In a few, I want all!

My Charlotte Tilbury Haul includes

Charlotte Tilbury Air Brush Flawless Finish in 2 Medium
Charlotte Tilbury Cheek To Chic First Love
Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder in 7 Medium
Charlotte Tilbury The Retoucher in 3 Medium
Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation in 7 Medium





Even though, I decided to christen these on my birthday; I tested both the foundations few days before. I wanted to be sure of what finish I preferred with the makeup with my skin condition.
Boy! When I tested the shade of Magic foundation on my jawline and nose, I was doubtlessly under a spell. The shade blended in perfectly. I have had great first impressions of all these products so far.

So what I chose to wear on my Birthday? Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder! (without a doubt)
The shade matching is close enough but a bit too warm for my neutral tone which makes it a bit shadowy on my complexion. Shade 6 has pink undertone while Shade 5 would've been too light for me. But the Magic Foundation is my skin but better kind of shade match for me and I couldn't be more stoked!
I do not regret purchasing any of these but are these worth the price? which I will be decoding in individual reviews.

Shopping with Beautylish

I placed my order on 6th of April 2017 and I was notified that my order was shipped within 24 hours. And additionally, I received an email from FedEx about the tracking and documents for customs verification. The Service type used by Beautylish was  FedEx International Priority. And I received my package on 10th April, 2 days before the estimated date. I selected the gift wrap option with a written note. I am definitely impressed with the quick delivery. The customs duties were already included in the order. You can check the snapshot of my order below. I prefer paying import customs duties with the order than on arrival.
For such quick International delivery and prepaid custom duties, I am impressed and looking forward to placing more orders with them( motivates me enough!)

Click on the image for a larger view

Is Charlotte Tilbury Cruelty-free? YES! and many of her products are vegan as well.
You can check Charlotte Tilbury Base Makeup in action here.

I had to choose between diamonds and makeup.

I chose Makeup.

And for accomplishing 3 major goals in 2016 (one in 2017), after working hard for months and numerous sleepless nights (Thank you Redbull!) I decided to treat myself to some luxury makeup in spite of my project pan challenge. I seem to go on purchasing makeup and keep forgetting about it. I lack sincerity with project panning!


Here's the makeup flatlay


My theme for makeup as well as aesthetic was Rose gold. I paired a soft rose gold smokey with soft mauve lips. That lip colour was not on my mind, but I have been wearing Cannes lot, to skip it for once; I mixed Zurich and Marc Jacob's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. I wore Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder Foundation and dusted the Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder over my T-zone lightly.
My base, illuminated and extremely light with bronzed glow, I did skip contouring today. And after taking pictures, I realized I need to fix my eyebrows, I fixed them, wiped off my lipstick and stepped out.

I have zillion Lace blouses, tops and tanks and every time I see lace, mesh or anything similar I have to purchase it (and regret later.) But this is something I had to include in my collection. I didn't have anything forest green!


And here's my humble Face of the Day!


Closeup shot of my illuminated base makeup


 And here's the birthday acquisition (for succeeding goals and ignoring my skin all the while!)
My laugh lines are running deeper due to lack of skincare and I am determined to switch to a skincare routine preventing dry patches and developing lines/wrinkles. You can check my acquisition here

From Me to Me :)

Brown paper packages tied up with strings. ;)

The Product has been provided by the brand for consideration.

I was invited to the Organic Harvest Juhu Store launch. A gift hamper was provided for consideration. I also bought their Daily Shampoo which is SLS/SLES and Paraben free, I am left with few washes and my review is due.

[Please take note that I have already finished the lipbalm (both Organic Harvest & EOS smooth sphere) and this is an incomplete draft I am determined to complete and publish, hence the tense]



Organic Harvest Green Apple Lipbalm was the first thing I tested which of course could be assumed as EOS dupe. But wait till you hear out my conclusion.
I am left with a flattened dome, good enough to last me for a couple of weeks.

I have an anxiety-induced habit of biting my lip and the only way I can keep myself biting off my lip is by layering them with balm. And it takes reminding, to constantly reapplying the balm, out of anxiety again!



Texture:

A slight waxy formula. It does instantly soften the dryness and flakiness. And to my disenchantment, it disappeared into nothingness. Who am I kidding?
The waxy formula dissipates into an invisible waxy veil with more or less shine-free finish, unlike the conventional lip balms.
I hope that I put that across decently. And if you layer, it does have a slight tendency to look whitish with visibility of the wax.
In comparison with the EOS lip balm:
EOS lip balm does not dissipate but brings out rather a healthy flush due to peppermint in it. EOS is comforting on the lips.




Longevity:

I find Organic Harvest Lipbalm needs less frequent application in comparison to EOS lip balm. Perhaps, due to the waxy formula. EOS lip balms do not survive meals.
To put it straight, both of these need reapplication but I prefer Organic Harvest lip balm underneath my mattes and EOS lip balm on its own, mostly indoors or when I give lip colours a miss.

Price & Availability:

Organic Harvest lip balm is available across leading e-commerce website and their standalone stores. EOS lip balm is available only on selected e-commerce website with price variations. There is a colossal difference in the price points. Organic Harvest lip balm retails for 199 INR while EOS lip balm retails for anywhere between 500 INR to 600 INR depending on the re-sellers.
Other variants available for Organic Harvest lip balms are Pomegranate, Strawberry, and Shea.
EOS lip balms are available in so many other variants. Sweet mint is my favourite, though.


Is Organic Harvest lip balm a dupe for EOS lip balm?

No, except for the packaging there is no likeness in the texture of these two. Organic Harvest, in my opinion, has a unique texture which on application goes lustrous on application but settles into a shine-free veil. This uniqueness I find quite flattering underneath a matte lipstick due to its waxy formula which tends to go opaque if layered. Especially underneath the Colourpop Matte Lipcolours, the OH lip balm works for me.
I dislike wearing OH lip balm on its own, which is probably my only dislike with the product.

Cruelty-free status: Organic Harvest is Cruelty-free. EOS is not Cruelty-free.
Is Organic Harvest Lip Care Balm Vegan? 
Sadly, It is not Vegan. Even though the ingredient list is missing. One of the key ingredients is "ECO certified Lanolin" which makes it unsuitable for vegans.
Price: 199 INR
Repurchase: Probably not.

elf cosmetics (Eyes Lips Face), a cosmetic brand based in New York now ships worldwide. I happened to be making my birthday list, sorting through brands I want to own. Accidentally I landed on their website only to discover they've initiated Free Worldwide Shipping on the orders above $50.

So I contacted their customer support to confirm free shipping on $50, Duties and taxes. And I hurriedly added few primers into the cart. And the Customs duties and taxes were included in the total order. The option of paying the customs duties and taxes upon the arrival of the package is available as well.

I am attaching a snapshot of my order summary below.


Here is what you could pick up from their bestsellers list.

e.l.f High Definition Powder
e.l.f Lip Exfoliator
e.l.f  Baked Highlighter & Blush (e.l.f Blush gems is close dupe for MAC Soft & Gentle)
e.l.f Poreless Face Primer (a close dupe for Smashbox photo finish primer)
e.l.f blush (available in 7 shades which are close dupes of the Nars blushes.)

I personally think the international prices of the elf products defeats their ideology of premium affordable makeup. The e.l.f essential lipstick that retail for $1 is priced INR 147, a little more than converted currency. And to top that, we have customs duties and taxes.
I hastily added correcting primers and serum foundation, flabbergasted to see it exceeds the price point of a mediocre Indian drugstore foundation. After calculating the increased pricing and customs duties and taxes, I think I’ll pass.
elf is cruelty-free and PETA approved, was the only plus point that compelled me to place an order. Perhaps I’ll splurge on my birthday, better!
You can check out the link below to check the list of countries elf cosmetics currently ships. They are currently offering free worldwide shipping on the order above $50 excluding France, Australia, Netherlands, Sweden and Mexico.
http://www.elfcosmetics.com/page/international

Chips make fine snacks, especially with dips. I am not really fond of plain potato chips with excess salt and oil. I did try Bittergourd & Sweet potato chips, but the taste was below par, forget the nutrition. Terrachips is the creation of Alex Dzieduszycki and Dana Sinkler. The determination was to present flavourful appetizers to accompany drinks at bars. According to Terrachips, every vegetable is selected and prepared in small batches and then packed into bags to retain flavours and crispness.

source

My first ever Lipstick and Polish were from Lakme, both true red and I was only ten. Lakme was my favourite brand while I was in school mostly because of easy availability and perhaps, naiveness?
Then there was Elle 18, Revlon, Tips and Toes. Revlon had quite a cult following, I remember the round black packaging with gold ring around that did look as good as an Estee Lauder lipstick!
When I started discovering new brands, I never looked back. Lakme Lip and Cheek tint from their 2012 limited edition bridal collection was my last product ever, I'll hold on to it ever.
And now they've launched their Lakme 9 to 5 Weightless Mousse Lip & Cheek Color and honestly they look irresistible.
The products are affordable and tailor-made for brown/olive skin tones. But a question always echoed in my head: Is Lakme Cruelty-free? or even Vegan? Any products!
And I was never answered upon asking. Infinite unanswered emails later, I decided to dig deep since the search queries have overwrought my blog search. So I finally sat down to research the brand's stance on animal testing.



So my conclusion: Lakme conducts animal testing either on the finished products or on the raw materials.

Why?

• Never have I heard Lakme promoting their products as cruelty-free or being against animal testing.
• Hindustan Unilever is the parent company, one of the miscreants (if I could put across ever so politely) of the animal-testings.
• Lakme is an Indian brand and is largely exported to Malaysia apart from Nepal and UAE,  Though I could not trace China.
  
  I have already filtered the brand from my essentials or lust list, no matter how alluring the new launches seem to me.