Be Talk : The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Review

What it is:  The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil 

Quantity: 10ml

Price: 7 Euro

Acne are a girls best friend..saying that would be a cruel joke.aint it? Well, it never leaves you.. comes back again and again..surprises you at the most unexpected times and makes you go crazy!!! Haha :D

We dont like this best friend of ours. As for me, all the sin I do is to use two drops of foundation every day..and in return every week I am rewarded with a new pop up! And it worsens on the weeks I have a meeting with my PhD guides or a presentation. :D :D

I got sort of lucky when i found the body shop tea tree oil. It now accompanies me all year and my makeup kit whenever I am going on trips-where I cannot carry my kitchen of beauty items along with.

This is what the Body Shop website says about its tea tree oil:

 

 

Me Talk:

As I said-while it will be an exaggeration if I say this little bottle has changed my life-I guess I wont go far if I say it is a "genie in a bottle" for me. Trust me it works wonders! No it doesn't vanish pimples/acne/blemishes over night. It starts by reducing the inflammation, then the little mound reduces in size and then within a week of use (every night-a dab on the affected area with a cotton bud), you would see the area to appear as if nothing happened! If you are prone to picking on acne for vengeance- the dark spots would take a while to disappear-I guess that's the time your skin takes to replace the cells- you probably cannot hurry up that department :D I use it at nights before going to sleep and wake up to find that this oil has worked wonders in soothing the acne prone area. And its small size allows you to-like me-carry it with you on trips so that your skincare is not discontinued. 

Pro Side:  

1) Light weight oil formula-good for spot applications

2) Reduces and then cures acne and pimples

3) Travel friendly pack

Down Side

1) Will give a burning sensation when applied-which dies after some time

2) Goes out of stock in 2 weeks after they appear in store! 

Recommendations: 100%

Be Talk: Maybelline 14 Hour Superstay Lipstick "Stay with me coral" : Review and Swatch

Product name: Maybelline Superstay 14 Hour Lipstick

Price: 525 INR, 10.95 Euro


Weight/ Quantity: 33gm


Shade:  Stay with me coral , No. 430

See! even I keep promises! I said that I would post my views on the Maybelline 14 Hr superstay lipstick and here it is !

 

What the Maybelline website says about this Lipstick: 

Meet the 14HR lipstick that won't weigh you down.Super rich color with super staying power. No dragging. No drying. No letdowns at all.

Product Details(From the Maybelline Website)

Why You'll Love It

14HR Lipstick with an ultra-lightweight formula:
• Stays fresh, light, and comfortable
• Super rich color that lasts for 14 hours
• Pigments are enveloped in a longwearing system
• 20 long wearing shades 

For Best Results

Apply your lipcolor by starting in the center of your upper lip. Work from the center to the outer edges of your lip, following the contours of your mouth. Then glide across the entire bottom lip.

Me Talk:

I have mixed opinions about this lipstick. "Stay with me coral" is a soft coral pink with dollops of fluorescence in it.  Nowadays I opt for more formal shades of red and peachy browns rather than bright floral pinks which I used to like as a teenager. Well that rings a bell-yes-this color is very vibrant-one you would expect a 14 year old bubbly girl to happily flaunt in a friend's meet. But yes- this brings a pleasant change to my lipstick collection.

 

I dont like the texture much. From the look of the bullet-the lipstick looks matte. On applying it feels smooth-but not the kind of smoothness you find in a Maybelline Moisture Extreme lipstick. And after application, it feels sticky. 

Then comes the pigmentation. I wouldn't rate it as bad-but the lipstick doesn't deliver color uniformly. One would need at least  3-4 swipes to get the lips uniformly colored. This can cause quite a trouble- since more swipes would make the color look really loud. 

This took at least 5 swipes

And well-about the staying power-the word which highlights this range-I find it good. It survived a dish of lamb curry and garlic naan with raita and lassi (ahemm- my diet would put a dietician on diabetes :D). It faded a bit but stayed put. What I disliked is that it faded in patches. 

Pro Side:

1) Vibrant pink color. Would pep up a dull colored outfit or even a simple black one.

2) Stays put until you remove it with a makeup remover.

Down Side:

1) Lips feel sticky after applying and the stickyness sticks around :D

2) Without 3-4 swipes the color doesnt get uniformly applied. With 3-4 swipes, the color looks screaming loud!

3) Not drying but not moisturizing as well. If you have dry lips- RUN ! In fact my lips felt dry after about half an hour of application.

4) Fragrant like a teen diva's closet ! A con for me and many! If I open the tube in my office -my office mate might ask if I am having a fruit salad :D :D

5) Not really a lightweight formula-it feels sticky and heavy on application.

5) Overpriced for the quality and quantity

 

It looks entirely coral on my lips :/

Overall rating: 60% Buy if you only like the vibrant color and dont have pigmented or dry lips 

Be Talk: Maybelline Superstay 14 Hour Lipstick Preview

Product name: Maybelline Superstay 14 Hour Lipstick

Price: 525 INR, 10.95 Euro

Shades           : 540 (Ravishing Rouge)
                        430 (Stay with me coral)

                        160 (Infinitely Fuchsia)

                      

Shades in order of names above

Hey Girlies, 

I am back with three gorgeous shades of the Maybelline Superstay 14 Hour Lipstick range. This post would give you a peek at the shades and detailed review on each will follow. I had been getting breezes of this line of lipsticks from many recent blogposts-and discovered them in a deparmental store-we call it Rossmann in Germany. Three of the shades allured me-and without having checked any review on them-I just shoved them onto the cash counter :D

All the shades of this range-from Ulta.com

 

Packaging

 

 

Aren't the colors cute!!!

See you soon !!!

Picture Courtesy: www.maybelline.com,       www.ulta.com

Be Talk: Celeb Style: Women in Black at the 19th Annual Colors Screen Awards 2013

Film award ceremonies never give shutterbugs a rest- what with the Bollywood heroines dazzling the red carpet with their fashion-capades! Like every year-the Annual Colors Screen Awards held on January 15th, 2013 saw some striking ensembles on our Bollywood babes. Black is back in vogue and looking at the amazing display of variety in designs-the future of black to rule the red carpet do seems bright! Check out this year's Bollywood belles in black!!!

Katrina Kaif in a Naseem Khan creation

Minisha Lamba in Neeta Lulla

Jacqueline Fernandez in a traditional Sri Lankan outfit

Ameesha Patel in Ramona Narang

Mugdha Godse in a Black Lehenga

Parineeti Chopra in a Sabyasachi

 

Sonakshi Sinha in Falguni & Shane Peacock

Malaika Arora Khan in a backless dress (I couldnt find an image with a frontal view of this dress :D)

Genelia DSouza in Roberto Cavalli

Sonali Bendre in Shahab Durazi

 

Priyanka Chopra in a Roberto Cavalli

I found Parineeti's outfit to be the most out-of-the box and innovative in a pleasant way. It kinda fits her newbie-in-the-industry status with the tomboyish Shirt on a oh-so-femme Saree. Loved the concept. Personally speaking, Sonakshi's gown was too much experimental for my taste-she is looking like an ancient Egyptian goddess in an unfashionable way! On the other hand, its time Katrina look's up the word "experiment" in a fashion dictionary! And yet Ameesha could not let go of her "fashion-disaster" image-by being unaware of what flash bulbs can catch in a sheer material dress :D Jaquelin has vowed to dress like a "good girl next door" in her public appearances. Sonali Bendre as usual looked great but with her husband Goldie Behl doing a photobomb to their picture! Piggy Chops and Mugdha Godse-the "Fashion Co-Stars" played well.

Picture Credits: As mentioned in the respective watermarks, Google Images, Vogue India.

Be Talk: MAC Retro Lipstick Review and swatch

Product Name: M.A.C

Product Line: Satin

Shade: Retro/ AB1

Price: 19 Euro/ Rs 990

Quantity: 3gm

Beauty can come in the form of a woman, a flower , a feeling or… a perfect lipstick :D A perfect lipstick is the one that you had always pictured yourself wearing in your dreams-while you went on all your imaginary ventures. Okay-that’s an overdose of drama for a post that reviews a lipstick-I just chose to do it because I am about to talk about my first MAC lipstick!!!

My PhD life in Germany has kindled a passion  for visiting places-and I covered about 5 German cities-Bremen, Hannover, Cologne, Hamburg and Berlin within six months of being here. Apart from museums, medieval churches and monuments, one thing  I search for in these cities are-off course its shopping destinations. So far-I have found Hamburg to have the posh-est brand collection while Cologne, Hannover and Bremen have stores with stuff for everyone-from budget to “moderately” high end brands.

Bremen

                                                                            Hamburg

Cologne

Hannover

Berlin

Couldn’t explore Berlin much- as my friends who accompanied me strictly warned me against wandering off to anywhere that smelled of shopping  :D :D :D

 In Berlin: Thats me (left) and a friend of mine from Spain :)

Germany has its own version of Sephora-its named Douglas. Every city, including the one I live in-Goettingen-has a Douglas outlet. Sadly I found MAC in every Douglas except for the one in Goettingen-which I recently found is housing Benefit! I hope MAC arrives soon-however- I don’t know whether having a MAC store in my own city would be a boon or bane :D

I bought my first two MAC lipsticks Retro and Brick-o-La from Hannover. The brick-o-la review would come up soon :)

 

What the MAC website says about this lipstick:

Colour plus texture for the lips. Stands out on the runway. Simmers on the street! What made M·A·C famous

My first MAC  <3 <3 <3

 Me Talk: My take on MAC Retro

Retro is a mild brick shade with pink undertones which I find to be absolutely flattering on my warm wheatish skin tone. I would best define it as a soft red that wont halt traffic because of its ferocity but because of the pout-appeal that your lips would ooze with it on. (Oh No! Drama again) You can wear it to work-as well as pair it up with an LBD or a saree for the evening. 

One Swipe

You can feel its silky texture as it glides on your lips like butter. The outcome is satin-matte and I find it neither drying nor moisturizing. So I would advise ladies to pamper your lips with a good lip balm before using it. Also donot forget to use a lipliner.  

And yes-the justice it does to your lips  and looks makes it  worth spending 19 Euros over!

Thats me wearing Retro-with lipbalm on the shade

Pro Side:

1) The best thing about this shade is that it is amazingly wearable. It neither looks garish nor tamed. A perfect neutral red for everyday wear. For those who  balk away from wearing reds-fearing it might look over the top-I would say-start your Road to Red with this one! I did that actually :D

2) The finish is true satin that renders a full look to the lips. With properly defined lips-the pout comes out to be perfect!

3) Soft and smooth texture-doesn’t cake or accentuate fine lines on lips.

4) Doesn’t dry lips-but I think it won't look good on dry and chapped lips as well.

5) Well pigmented. Two swipes are enough for full coverage

6) Doesn’t stain lips 

Cons:

1) Expensive-yeah well but this is like fire to a moth-if you want it-you have to burn that hole in your purse.

2) Staying power is not very good. Without meals-it is 2 to 3 hours, with meals-it goes with the dishes (haha  :D)

My Recommendations : Go and Get it!  100%

Be Talk: BeYu Hydro Star Volume Lipstick (Shade 368 ) Review

Brand Name: BeYu 

Product Name: Hydro Star Volume Lipstick

Shade Number: 368

Price: € 10,95 

I had read and heard a lot about BeYu products while I was in India-then after coming to Germany-I learned that it is actually a German brand!!! In Kolkata, I used to find BeYu in few select shops but here-in Germany-it is one of the most frequently occurring names among beauty products. Last week I simply couldn’t resist buying one of their lipsticks-and so got myself a beautiful pink shade from them. And then discovered..what? Read on!

About the company BeYu ( I noticed it only here that the name actually stands for Be -You-and not Bay-yoo :D)

BeYu cosmetics and more GmbH, part of the ARTDECO cosmetic group, was founded 12 years ago by the owner and cosmetics market expert Helmut Baurecht. The company, which employs more than 400 people, is one of the most successful producers of high-quality cosmetics in Europe.

Helmut Baurecht  launched the BeYu brand in 1999 because of his passion for cosmetics. Since then, BeYu has grown faster than almost any other cosmetics brand – because BeYu offers premium quality in the medium-price segment, thus fulfilling the wishes and expectations of sophisticated women between the ages of 25 and 35. BeYu is now sold in 39 countries outside Germany. In nine of these, it is available exclusively from Douglas.

What the BeYu website says about the Hydro Star Volume line of lipsticks:

Irresistibly seductive lips!

Hydro Star Volume Lipstick conjures up irresistibly soft, well cared-for lips.  Hyaluronic acid is encapsulated in the Spherulite Crystals®. They enclose the active ingredient, ensuring it is dispensed consistently and with control. After 30 days, the moisture content of the lips has increased by 22.5%. Brown algae extract helps to increase the moisture balance. The nourishing active ingredients protect the lips against drying out, and after 30 days’ use the lip volume has increased by 13.8%. This lipstick contains no lanolin, gluten, fragrances or parabens. 

Me Talk:

A beautiful pink never fails to attract a girl and I was instantly hooked to this shade since I saw it in the Douglas store in Gottingen, Germany. Douglas is much like Sephora-an exclusive store for makeup and beauty products-one can find the most famous brands here-sadly the outlet in Gottingen (the city nearest to where I live) doesn’t house MAC :(

Gottingen

The most famous meeting place in Gottingen-Ginseliesel- statue of the Goose Girl

I find this lipstick to be very similar to Maybelline Color Sensational lipsticks-in terms of softness and pigmentation. 

The shade is a rosy pink color. It is moisturizing and gives a luscious glossy look to the lips. Owing to its soft texture-it doesn’t accentuate fine lines on lips-the finish is like that of a liquid lipstick. The staying power..umm..well 3-4 hours without meals-which is not the best among the lipsticks I have used. But it fades gently leaving behind a mild pinkish tinge (I wont use the word stain-I actually dislike lipsticks that leave stains behind!)

Overall this is a nice lipstick-I especially like its moisturizing quality and the variety of shades! Looking forward to pick a few more from this range :)  :) :)

Pro Side:

1) Moisturizing

2) Well Pigmented

3) Soft texture that glides smoothly

4) Not very long staying but leaves a pinkish tinge behind

5) Price is pretty reasonable for the quality

Downside:

1. Tends to bleed-so a lipliner is a must

2. With meals-the color would fade considerably-so make sure to carry it around with you!

Recommendations: 80%

Oh-after coming home-this is what I discovered!! I already have 4 lipsticks which are cousins of the Beyu shade I just bought!!!!!

From Left to RIght: Elle 18 Shade No 50, Beyu (HSV 368) Avon Ultra Color Rich (Wineberry), Revlon Colorburst (Soft Rose) Faces Canada (First Lady)

Image Credits: Beyu Website, http://www.beyu.net