Be Talk: Lakme, Lotus and Faces Haul

I learned this word HAUL-very apt one to describe our occasional surges of expenditure due to splurging on-what else-beauty and makeup products!!! I have off late observed-that a small haul of 3/4 items-within even on an average budget helps immensely in lifting my mood!!! And now that I can tell everyone about my newly bought goodies-the fun of shopping has altogether doubled !!!

I made a small haul yesterday-especially I couldn't  resist myself from buying stuff from the new Lakme Absolute range:


So here's what I bought::

1)Lakme Absolute White Intense Skin Cover SPF 25

 2) Lakme Absolute Collection Blush in Night Sheen

 3) Faces Satin Matte lipstick in Jazz Berry

4)Lotus Herbals Pure color Lipstick in Rose Wood

Will post reviews on these pretties soon!!!!

Be Talk: Lotus Herbals Nutranite Skin Renewal Nutritive Night Creme

Brand name: Lotus Herbals


Type: Skin Renewal Nutritive Night creme


Quantity: 50gm


Price: INR 295


Well this review cometh from my mother-who has used up several tubs of this Lotus Herbals Nutranite Skin Renewal Nutritive Night Cream (phew!) by now-and never orders anything except this.  My mom can surely boast of her absolutely wrinkle free skin-glowing with health and suppleness-Honestly I am envious of her beautiful skin and hair-more because-she doesnt flip brands like me-sticks to some fixed products and claims away all the awards for best skin and hair everytime-every where.


I found this description from a website:


Recommended for: All skin types

NUTRANITE is a luxurious nutrient-rich night creme that renews the skin while you sleep. It works with skin’s own repair and replenishment system to repair damage caused by dehydration and environmental exposure during the day.

 Me-Talk:

Well actually-it should have been "Mom-talk"-I took her feedback to compile this article. Mom says-she likes this night cream-because this rejuvenates her skin and prevents appearance of wrinkles. Her skin doesn't feel stretchy at any time due to its regular use. Every night,she does a 5 minute massage with this cream before going to sleep. HOWEVER-she mentions some cons too! First of all-she says-it feels oily on application. The cream is difficult to get absorbed totally-and the oily residue often gives rise to bumpy pimples in the morning. In her opinion- thats a major drawback of this night cream. It therefore-she says-is not suitable for oily skinned people although it would be a "night-saver" for people with dry skins. 
Mom has normal-to-combination skin-and in spite of the occurrence of pimples-she has not done away with this cream-only because she thinks this is really effective in giving her skin the desired suppleness and elasticity. She likes the fragrance too and uses this after cleansing her face every night. In the morning, she washes her face with an oil balance face wash.

 

So to sum up:

Pro Side:

1) Very effective in making the skin supple and soft. 

2)After applying- you can wake up in the following morning with skin looking fresh and glowing. This is not something that fades away after a wash-but persists

3) Effective in keeping facial wrinkles at bay

4) Nice fragrance

Down side

1) Not suitable for oily skin types-may lead to break outs

2) On combination skin-this cream refuses to get absorbed. Some oily residue may be found to remain

Recommendation:  80%

Be-Talk: Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick in Crazy for Coffee : Swatch and FOTD

Brand Name: Maybelline

Shade: Crazy For Coffee (No. 275)

Price: 299 INR

Quantity: 4g

Brown lipsticks form some must have and mostly found colors in my closet. I am not much into pinks , reds or maroons-however I have a nose for a variety of browns or lippys with brown undertones.  I love the way-browns with plum or pink undertones along with a sheer texture pairs so well with a variety of eye make up and since I am an although eye make up person-soft browns are my holy grails :D  The Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick in Crazy for Coffee is one of such a “save my day” type of brown shade.

The plum tones can be seen in flash

  Me-Talk: 

The Crazy for Coffee shade is pretty unique-which looks purely brown in tube. On lips it comes out a beautiful rose toned brown-which is difficult to tell if it’s actually a plum or a brown. And the color appears so soft that it becomes a perfectly day wearable chic color. These type of colors-I think suits any kind of eye makeup-whether paired with heavy, colorful or neutral eyes :) And as an everyday neutral lipstick -it goes with a variety of colors of dresses and suits formal occasions too. 

With Flash

 Pro Side: 

1) Beautiful plum-brown color that doesn’t look garish. Gives a soft and nude finish-very wearable

2) Very Moisturizing

3)  Affordable quantity and quality

4) Easy availability

5) I have never found these lippys to sweat- or melt in summer

Down Side: Staying power is about 2-3 hours without meals in between

Recommendations: (For this Shade: 90%)

FOTD: Pairing with Lakme eye pencil in Aqua green

 FOTD: Pairing with Revlon Colorstay pencil in blackest black and Maybelline Collossal Kajal

and some peachy pink blush from Streetwear

(Err-this pic was taken in the Sun-I am not that fluorescent kinda fair :D :D )

Be Talk: Lotus Herbals ACNEGEL

Brand Name: Lotus Herbals

Type: Tea Tree Anti-Pimple & Acne Gel

Quantity: 100 ml

Price: Rs. 195

I dream about food when I am bored-about some hideous creatures set loose in my house when I am under stress-and when I am real real scared-I dream about massive breakouts of acne!!! He he -loadsa galz would agree with me. I dunno-maybe-acne is God’s way of saying-“Stop wasting money on makeup-or there will be more”  :D :D However-frequently-we people locate a bottle in a shop-or some lotion in an ad-or download “101 tips for acne cure” from Internet-to dodge God’s verdict! Such a thing is the Lotus Herbals ACNEGEL- A Tea Tree based concoction for treating acne and pimples!

Once I had one pimple-and an SA at some store looked at me and said “OMG-you have such PIMPLE PRONE SKIN –this Lotus Acnegel is THE ONE for you". Well after loadsa explaining about Tea Tree oil and their use and bla bla bla-she made me to add it to my bills :D

What The Lotus Herbals Website Says about it!

Regulates the oil producing glands of skin to control pimples, acne and blemishes.

Directions for use : After cleansing, apply all over face, more on the affected areas. Let it dry. Reapply after every 3 hours.

 

 

 OKAY- here’s something about tea tree and tea tree oil that 

I found out  (from Google-where else!)

Tea tree oil is an essential oil obtained by steam distillation of the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia, a plant native to Australia. Historically, the leaves were used as a substitute for tea, which is how tea tree oil got its name. The part used medicinally is the oil from the leaves.

What is Tea Tree Oil For?

Picture Taken From: (T)acne-treatment-trick.blogspot.com 

                                 (B ) Google Images

Tea tree has a long history of traditional use. Australian aboriginals used tea tree leaves for healing skin cuts, burns, and infections by crushing the leaves and applying them to the affected area.

Tea tree oil contains constiuents called terpenoids, which have been found to have antiseptic and antifungal activity. The compound terpinen-4-ol is the most abundant and is thought to be responsible for most of tea tree oil's antimicrobial activity.

People use tea tree oil for the following conditions:

• Acne
• Athlete's foot
• Dandruff
• Thrush
• Periodontal disease
• As an antiseptic
• Boils
• Lice
• Eczema
• Psoriasis
• Yeast infection

Me-Talk:

Hmm-well this product actually makes me think-to be-or not to be-in my list of favorites that is!!

The gel gives an instant cooling effect on skin. But I find the gel to make my skin sticky on application and it also takes long to absorb. Moreover, following the "after every3 hours" routine is practically impossible-and if used once a day-hardly any improvement will show up in some marked way. You will see the severity of acne reducing-but I found the  problem to recur even when I was using it daily. That’s quite a let down and hopes of forever bidding pimples away are  thin. Also-I find that this gel is not substitute for a proper hydrating agent-as it hardly penetrates inside if used like a normal face lotion! So there is no way-super oily skinned people can rely on this as a moisturizing gel :(

However, I discovered one great use of this gel-that has made this product really useful to me! Since I don’t think it ill ever be possible for me to apply the gel once every three hours-I take about 2-3 tea spoons of this gel and add it to the Jovees Massage cream (Read Review Here: ) for my weekly facial massage. And Voila! I did this for about 3 months-to wake up one morning to find glowing pimple free skin!! Even it was summertime and I was using some liquid foundation, compact and all-still the skin was free from breakouts! However-again a point to turn is that-the effect is not permanent-if you quit the gel massage routine-the ACNE WILL RECUR! Still-I think it remained true to its claim-although I used it in a totally different way.

Pro Side:

1) Well I found out about  its good effects impromptu-regularly using it along with face massage cream gradually prevents acne and pimple breakouts

2) Gives a very pleasant cooling and soothing effect when used with massage cream

 3) Mild soothing fragrance of some herb-tea mix

4) Quantity is enough to last for at least a month with daily use-so quite economical with respect to pricing. For massage purposes, I lasts minimum 3 months

Downside:

1)The gel feels sticky when applied-the uneasy feel persists even after the gel gets absorbed

2)Takes long time to absorb

3) No marked improvement could be observed if the gel is used once a day-even daily

Recommendation:

In combination with massage cream: 90%

Alone: 50%

Be Talk: Bad Buys from healthkart.com

Well-I admit-I am greedy-no-horribly greedy :D. I can’t wait till I get my hands on something everyone is talking about. I cannot bear to stay away from the buzz they are making

RESULT: I frequently get home with a month’s salary worth of useless products and in return get week’s worth of cracking rebukes from mom and dad for that.  

Latest example: My haul from HealthKart.com

So-with all the girls pst-psting on their own healthkart buys-how can I stay behind?? So on a sultry November afternoon-when I was getting bored to death-I wanted to add some spice-thought of some online shopping and searched for those brands on Healthkart-that I have NEVER used before. Ok-so the my list went like:

1) Aroma Magic China Rose Shampoo
2) Bodyography Foundation Primer Clear Tube

3) OXY Perfect Wash

I placed the order on Thursday, November 10.  After confirming the payment-I received a mail from them mentioning my product details, price total and shipping address. Next day evening, on 11.11.11, I got a mail from them-confirming the shipping of the order. I received my order on Monday-14^th November, 2011.

 

 OKAY-SO FAR SO GOOD

NOW WATCH THE FIASCO :D

 The first and weird cat that came out of the bag-is that the OXY perfect wash is a men’s facewash!!! It is no where given on the product description on the website-AND it is listed under “Beauty” AND under “Beauty” it is listed IN  “Face Care”.

So how on Merlin’s pants should I know that it is a men’s facewash ????  On the backside of the facewash tube-it is clearly mentioned as a men’s product-but NOT EVER on the product description on the HK website(see below-and compare!!!).

 Only after the arrival of the package-and noticing the back of the tube-I checked the HK website to find that OXY is ALSO listed in “Mens” products (Men’s section is also listed under BEAUTY :D)–I didn’t even check the Men’s Section while buying !!!!

The second and ugly cat-was the Aroma Magic China Rose Shampoo. 

      ITS DATE of MANUFACTURING IS 

JULY 2010!!!!

NEED I SAY MORE?

Even from stationers I don’t buy products with MFD beyond the last 6 months

Thanks for making my Mom restate for the n-th time-how I innovate ways to waste money!

The last cat is small and cute. In fact, its too small to be happy with :( :( I was wondering if it was some free sample they sent. The  tube of the Bodyography primer is slightly longer than my pinkie But I cannot blame HK-they have mentioned the quantity-but anyway-I am just describing the kittys of surprise from my online haul.

 

Moral of the Story- Take risk at your own risk

Pro-Side of shopping from Healthkart (from my own experience)

1) Smooth payment

2) Quick confirmation and shipping

3) Prompt delivery

Downside: Look UP :D

Recommendations:Not listed-its a "complex" number :D

Be Talk: Maybelline ColorSensational Lipcolor in Yummy Plummy

Brand Name:  Maybelline

Line: ColorSensational 

Shade Name:  Yummy Plummy

Price: 299 INR

Plums are pretty confusing colors to chose in my opinion-some plums turn out like maroons, some close to being pinks and some having fuchsia tones. So, solely by hearing the name plum-I get cautious and spend more than usual time to chose the correct shade. Yummy plummy hasn't turned me down. In fact its one of my "must have" lippys currently!!

What The Maybelline Website Says about these Lipsticks:

Picture from Maybelline Website

 Why You’ll Love It

• Crisper color from pure pigments. Creamier feel from nourishing honey nectar
• Lipcolor so rich, so stunning… it’s sensational
• 33 Captivating Shades

Expert Tip

Apply your lipstick by starting in the center of your lip. Work from the center to the outer edges of your lip for a gorgeously perfect finish.

 

Me Talk:

This plum beauty from Maybelline is one variant of pink-y-plum. In fact it looks like a cool toned deep berry pink at times. However, I am thankful that it does not go much towards the fuchsia side-because some fuchsias make me look like a zombie :D :D This goes a little sheer-2-3 swipes are needed to deliver full color. Rest well known qualities are listed below!!! 

2 swipes

 Pro Side:

1) A sheer and wearable mild color-very complementing to warm skin tones

2) Very Moisturizing

3)  Affordable quantity and quality

4) Easy availability

5) Stays for 5-6 hours without meal in between 

With Flash

  Down Side:

 Nothing -but-well as I said-its tricky to choose plums-So ultimately it will be up to you to decide if you would like this particular shade !!

Recommendations : 80%

                                   Now thats Me wearing it :)