Natural Bath and Body French Red Clay Masque Review
By Pallavi
Hello Lovelies,
Here I am back with yet another skin care product. By now you might have understood that I am a big skin care junkie. I buy more and more products of skin care than makeup. Because I really believe that healthy skin is the key to beautiful skin. And in summers I love to use face packs. After a long tiring day my skin becomes so pale and tired that I need something to boost and revive my skin.
And that is the time when I am in urgent need of face packs. And this is one of those purchases – Natural Bath and Body French Red Clay Masque.
Price: Rs. 449 for 100 ml.
Ingredients:
Directions to use: Begin by splashing some water on your face. Now, squeeze out the mask from the tube. Dilute the mask a bit with water. Spread the mask all over your face. Let it dry for some time say 15-20 minutes. Now, rinse away your face with water. You may be in need of more water for this clay based face mask. So, wash your face thoroughly.
What the brand Claims: Like the special clay masks that were a favourite with the Egyptian goddess Cleopatra, our French Red Clay mask never fails to soften your skin, preserve its complexion and impart a natural glow. It is a gentle paste of French Red Clay, which is an absolute powerhouse of iron and other minerals! Best suited for normal to oily skin types, it cleanses, detoxifies and exfoliates the skin, leaving it highly refreshed and toned. The clay is blended with Rose oil, virgin Coconut oil and the balancing Cedar wood essential oils. As the oils further nourish the skin, Turmeric powder and Sandalwood give it a distinctive radiance.
My experience with Natural Bath and Body French Red Clay Masque:
The Packaging of Natural Bath and Body French Red Clay Masque is very simple and travel friendly. It comes in a medium sized tube packaging which has product details written all over it. The tube has a wide cap at the top which needs to be twisted so that the face mask comes out. You need to squeeze the tube lightly. A very little product is required per usage. So, a single tube will easily last you for months.
Now, coming to the texture part. The clay based face masque is quite hard and not that easy to spread. So, you need to dilute it with water so that it spreads easily. After spreading it on face it will take some more time than the usual face masque to dry. Once it dries you can notice a clean and clear skin. You can also notice some redness around your nose area in case you have a sensitive skin.
And if you have a dry skin then you should pat some moisturiser on your face immediately after washing using this face pack. Yes, girls this face pack is a bit drying. But all clay based face masques are i believe.
Good about Natural Bath and Body French Red Clay Masque
1. Goodness of natural ingredients
2. Travel friendly packaging
3. Price affordable
4. Little product required per usage
5. Cleanses face effectively
6. No breakouts
Bad about Natural Bath and Body French Red Clay Masque
1. Not easily available
2. Dries out your skin too much
Rating – 4/5
Editor’s Note: I love clay based face masks Pallavi, this sounds good!
Have you tried any French Red Clay Masque? Which is your favourite?
The bag is faux leather and navy blue with pink purple polka dots. It is quite sturdy and nice, quality wise.
Products I got:
Geri G Foundation: Rs. 2500
Natural Bath & Body Grapefruit & Vitamin C Face Masque- 50ml- Rs.325/- for 100ml
Kronokare Anti Turm Repairing Hair Oil- Rs.225/- for 30ml
Just Herbs Malabar Lemongrass Body Wash- 50ml- Rs.545 for 200ml
Livon Serum 3 sachets worth Rs.15
I got an option to choose one makeup product from Geri G. this month. Geri G. Makeup products are a line of the Hollywood Makeup Artist Geri Giagnorio
Every product in this collection features Geri G’s proprietary Nanomarine-5 ingredient mix of omegas, antioxidants, aloe vera, proteins, and retinyl palmitate for your most radiant skin ever. All products are vegan and cruelty-free.
You can can choose from any ONE from : hydrating lip gloss, volumizing mascara, weightless foundation OR multi-purpose blending eye & cheek duo! Choice is available on first-come-first-served basis, till stocks last.
I went with the foundation in Medium and I am really looking forward to trying that out, I hope the shade matches well.
Apart from that the Lemongrass Body wash and Grapefruit Face Masque are quite interesting too.
I quite liked this month’s bag, apart from the full sized foundation, also for the deluxe sized samples. I do recommend this month’ bag but make sure you subscribe quickly to get makeup of your choice 😀
Maybelline India Blushed Nudes Palette Review, Swatches, Tutorial
Hi guys,
I have been playing with The Blushed Nudes Palette and also created this look you see here.
What the Company claims: With all the things you’ll love about the new Blushed Nudes Palette, here are a few more:
– 12 rose-gold infused shades
– Easily blend-able
– Creates countless looks
– Compliments every skin tone
MRP: Rs.899/- for 9g
They have 13 different eye shadow combinations given behind, same like in the original Nudes, and that’s a very interesting idea. I can’t wait to try some of these looks.
The packaging of the palette is exactly like the original Nudes Palette and the pricing is also the same. It comes with a small applicator which has a sponge tip on one side and a brush on one side. The brush is pretty good for using in the inner corners or highlighting brow bone.
The palette is quite handy and small to carry along. It does not come with a mirror sadly, I would have loved a mirror.
The original Nudes Palette had all warm shades and more of browns, this palette has more pinks and grays and all cool toned shades. While the original Nudes Palette was supposed to pretty similar shades wise to the Urban Decay Naked Palette, this one the Blushed Nudes is very close shade wise to the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette.
If you follow me on Snapchat (bhumika_t), you must have seen a comparision of this palette with the same one in US and the shades are quite different, a lot of you took screenshot of that image coz the palette was quite different. I believe the US palette has more pinks and mauves and lighter shades and those shades might not show up on all Indian skintones, so they kept more of greys and darker shades in the Indian palette.
There are mostly satin finish shades, with one deep plum shade being shimmery and there are two mattes. One is a greyish taupe shade which is not that pigmented and the other is a matte white shade which is pretty decent.
Most of the shades are pretty pigmented while few are not that good and need a lot of layering for the colors to show up. But they stay on pretty good throughout the day once applied, more longer with a primer. They do not crease but the finish is not as fresh and slightly fade at the end of the day.
Here are the swatches:
TOP ROW:
The top row has all whites, peaches and pinks
BOTTOM ROW:
The bottom row has greys, taupes and purples.
I created this pink smokey eye look with this palette..
Overall I would say, this is a decent palette and worth checking out. We do not have many palette options available in India, and hardly any cool toned or pink-gray based. For the price, this is definitely pretty good. I do recommend this.
I hope you liked the look, do let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Have you tried the new Maybelline Blushed Nudes Palette yet?
Cheryl’s Cosmeceuticals Facial Experiential & Home Care Kit Review
Hi guys,
So on the 10th of June, I went for a skin analysis and facial experiential of Cheryl’s Cosmecueticals at L’Oreal India office.
Let me tell you a little more about Cheryl’s Cosmeceuticals first.
Gunjan Jain, National Education Manager, who has been working with Cheryl’s Cosmecueticals for more than 9 years attended to me. She started by giving me a background about the brand and skin diagnosis with various advanced technologies introduced by Cheryl’s. They have a special Skin Scan App for salon experts that helps them understand the client’s skin and suggests a treatment accordingly. Not only that, the Skin Scan App also stores the client’s data. She did my skin scan test where I was asked a few basic questions about my skin type and concern, age, etc. and I had to register with my name, number and email id and if I did like to book an appointment now or later. This is the exact same app which Cheryl’s has at all salons where they provide Cheryl’s services. We went through it like they do with the clients at the salon.
Then they also had a magnifying glass with a light which has both 5x and 7x magnification to see those deep rooted, pesky blackheads which are not visible to the naked eye.
Cheryl’s Hydrameter
The most interesting tool was the Hydrameter which is used to test the moisture and oil levels. It shows the exact moisture and oil present in your skin and if it is below the required 35 to 50%, then it denotes that the skin is dehydrated.
So all these gadgets help scan the skin and zero down on which facial or treatment is needed by the client. There are normal facials and there are specific treatments for particular skin concerns.
I just had dryness and a little redness due to sensitivity, so we went ahead with the Sensiglow Facial. Now each facial kit comes with pre-measured sachets used at different steps.
About Sensiglow: Cheryl’s SensiGlow is a harmonizing facial to address sensitive skin concerns ,
Main Actives in the facial:
1. Sodium PCA, a key water soluble natural ingredient in the epidermis that keeps the skin well hydrated and radiant and
2. Sea Buckthorn Oil, a natural plant ingredient that plays a vital restorative and revitalizing action on the skin. It is very useful in combating and reducing redness on the skin as it is an effective anti-inflammatory agent that reduces the inflammation of blood capillaries.
Cheryl’s SensiGlow is an instant glow treatment that makes the skin lighter and radiant by eliminating dead skin cells. It also contains active herbal ingredients that uncover lighter glowing skin and is suitable for all skin types that are sensitive. It is specially formulated for calming and soothing sensitive skin. Itchiness and sensitivity are drastically reduced and the skin becomes less irritable.
Cheryl’s SensiGlow is a 6 step process which involves cleansing, deep cleansing, toning, massaging, packing and refreshing. The products used in this treatment are enriched with power-packed ingredients like aloe vera, chamomile oil, lactic acid, shiso extract that are specifically formulated to avoid irritations and provide instant glow that makes the skin lighter and radiant by eliminating dead skin cells.
Steps:
1. Cleansing: It’s like a basic cleansing milk, massaged on the skin for a minute and wiped with a cotton ball.
2. Double Cleansing: There is another cleansing step where the cream is massaged on the skin for 2-3 minutes. It is followed by steam. Now since only my nose had a few blackheads/whiteheads, Gunjan covered the rest of the face with tissue while giving steam so that the other parts of the skin don’t get irritated. It is followed by extraction of blackheads, which again were just a few on the nose. And lastly she cleanses again, so that any residue left after the steam and opening of pores is cleansed.
3. Toner: A toner is dabbed with a cotton ball all over the face to close the pores.
4. Massage: It is followed by a massage cream and Gunjan thoroughly massaged the face and neck for a good 10 minutes. It was very relaxing and I could feel the blood circulation.
5. Face Pack: Later a face pack is applied with a brush which is kept for about 10 minutes, until it dries.
6. Refresher with Anti-oxidants: A moisturizing lotion, little thicker than a toner, is applied after the face pack. Again dabbed with a cotton ball, similar to the toner.
7. Last but not the least, sun block is applied to the skin. They have two sun blocks, one for normal to dry skin i.e. cream form and one for oily skin i.e. spray form. She used the cream one for me.
Price: Rs.1200/- on an average, though varies from salon to salon
Duration: 1 hour + 10-15 minutes for skin scan
Want to know how it felt on my skin?
Before – After
I absolutely loved the results. My skin felt hydrated and fresh. The redness was reduced a lot and the skin was glowing. I noticed even more difference the next day. Since the facial was SensiGlow, it takes care of the redness of sensitive skin and gives a nice glow to the face. It did both of these things for me.
I also got three products as a part of my home care kit and I have been using them since the next day of the facial.
Cheryl’s Dermalite Facewash: A clinically proven gentle and effective cleanser that cleanses and lightens skin. Cheryl’s Dermalite is a powerpacked product with ingredients that exfoliate, hydrate, moisturize resulting in cleansed, brightened and lightened skin.
Price: Rs. 275/-
It comes in a tube form and is light blue in color with gel like texture, you just need one pea sized amount in every wash, so you need very little product. It doesn’t foam too much and that is what I like about it. It doesn’t dry out the skin and yet cleanses it really well. I use it on my cleansing brush for deep cleansing at times and my skin is super soft, smooth and completely cleansed.
I love the minty and cooling smell and effect, skin is definitely cleansed, brighter and smoother with this.
O2C2 Radiance Lotion: Inspired by gene science and stem cells research, a product that is specially formulated with ingredients like:
• Sodium Cocoyl Alaninate that is a potent anti-ageing agent
• Actinidia Polygama Fruit Extract that improves the transparency of the skin
• Evodia Rutaecarpa Fruit Extract which is known to enhance the radiance and luminosity of the skin. This is formulated to draw out and enhance the natural radiance and shine of the skin that is more associated with young, youthful and glowing skin.
Price: Rs. 1050/-
So Gunjan told me that O2C2 is her favourite product, but the product specifically mentions not for sensitive and acne prone skin and since she saw a little redness and sensitivity on my face, she told me to try this for 1-2 days and use it only if no redness or irritation.
I was a little apprehensive but I went ahead and tried it and I absolutely love it. Since the face wash exfoliates the skin a bit, using this post cleansing, does feel a little tingly at certain areas, but it subsides in a minute. It is a thick and rich lotion, but quite runny and not like a cream. It does feel hydrating and rich on the skin, and a little sticky, I believe it has glycerine.
It does not sweat the skin or make it greasy though, the stickiness settles in some time. I mostly use it at night and wake up to super soft, smooth and bright skin! I love my skin every morning, post using this.
DermaShade SPF 30 spray – Cheryl’s Dermashade Sunblock: Cheryl’s DermaShade Sunblock is formulated to offer complete sun protection, backed by the latest sun care technology and SPF boosters. It provides the highest protection against UV, lock in moisture so that the skin doesn’t dry out and also provides complete protection against sun damage.
Price: Rs. 600/-
Cheryl’s has two sunblocks, one in a cream format for normal to dry skin and one is in a spray format for oily skin. It is super light and easy to blend on the face. It does not leave the face with a greasy or a whitish cast. Since the lotion is quite runny, I like to pat in on the face. I use about 3 sprays for the face and neck. It is the most light weight facial sunscreen I have used. I have used lighter spray ones for the body, but none for the face yet.
L-R: O2C2, Sunblock,Face Wash
It’s been about 12-13 days post the facial and using the home care kit, and my skin is back to normal! I had a few breakouts in between, and if you follow me on Snapchat, you know about the pimples on the lips too. My skin is soft, smooth and much more even since the time I began using this range.
I absolutely recommend trying out Cheryl’s facials and treatments plus their home care kits! I love the blend of natural and scientific ingredients they have, to get that perfect product.
Have you ever tried Cheryl’s Cosmeceuticals? If not, you can avail these customised treatments at a Cheryl’s salon near you!
Maybelline Dream Sun Triple Bronzing Powder Review, Swatches
By Linda
Hi all you lovely ladies out there,
This review is of a bronzer that I got from a drug store it’s called Maybelline Dream Sun Triple Bronzing Powder. So let’s go ahead and find out how this product worked for me
Product description as per the Maybelline website:
For instant natural looking, sun kissed perfection. Three multi-tonal bronzing shades create your unique sun kissed look, all year-round. For Best results: Use a brush, sweep over where the sun normally hits your face. This bronzer is available in 2 shades Blonde 1, Brunette 2.
Price: 2.5 Kuwaiti Dinars (approx 8 dollars) for 16 g
Shelf life: 24 months after opening
Ingredients:
My experience with Maybelline Dream Sun Triple Bronzing Powder:
I was looking for a product that could give me a natural glow and at the same time could also serve the purpose of a contour and highlight to the face. While at work I always prefer looking fresh and natural, so in that case I stick to matte products and avoid products that have glitter and shimmer. As I came across Maybelline Dream Sun Triple Bronzer Powder, I instantly realized this would serve the purpose I’m looking for. I have a fair-medium skintone hence shade Brunette 2 was a perfect match.
The packaging is so sleek and convenient, that it can easily slip into your mini purse/pouch or bag. The container is plastic with a lid that is detachable (Be careful not to lose the lid).Only drawback is it doesn’t have an applicator and a mirror built in.
The best thing about this product is, it has 3 shades in one container. You can either combine all the shades using the brush by swiping it around the sides of your face [i.e. from ends of your forehead to the check bones and then to the jaw line], or you can use a single shade as per your requirement for a contour and highlight. If you are in a hurry, you can easily apply this product with your fingers, since it blends effortlessly. If you need an intense color, you can apply it with a damp beauty blender. During the day time I use it dry and trustme it looks so natural that you can even go without a blush. While using this product ,I realized it’s not a 100% matte bronzer, it does have tiny amount of shimmer but good enough to give you that sun kissed look as its claimed in the product description. I always do a retouch after 4-5 hours of application, due to my oily skin.
Below are the swatches of 3 shades. I had to do multiple swatches for the shade to reflect on the pictures.
Pros
Easily bendable.
Can be used both wet and dry.
Travel friendly (sleek packaging)
Quantity lasts for a long time.
Can be used for contouring and highlighting.
Affordable.
Good pigmentation (can be used as an eye shadow too).
Cons
Availability
No provision of an applicator and a mirror
Needs a retouch for sure.
Rating: 4/5 (availability may be an issue)
Would I recommend Maybelline Dream Sun Triple Bronzing Powder? Yes definitely I would recommend especially for someone looking for a product that is affordable and multipurpose.
Editor’s Note: I absolutely love this, I wish it was available in India! Nice review Linda and welcome to team NLM 🙂
Have you tried the Maybelline Dream Sun Triple Bronzing Powder? Is it available in your country?
Easy Blue Smokey Eyes Makeup Tutorial | Drugstore | Indian Makeup
Hi guys,
I created this easy blue smokey eyes using just two products i.e. Maybelline Sapphire Blue Colorsensational 3D Eyeshadow Palette and Colorbar Eyeshadow Crayon in Moss.
I liked this Maybelline Palette but they do need a base eyeshadow/pencil for the colors to show up. The highlight shade was pretty good, black one had a lot of fall out though.
I love this Colorbar eyeshadow crayon and these are fabulous even on their own when you don’t want an all out look but some nice color and definition.
Do let me know your thoughts in the comments below 🙂
Top 10 Chocolate Based Beauty Products in India, Prices, Buy Online
By Archana
Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate! Who doesn’t love chocolates? Gone are the days when we only had chocolate drinks, chocolate cookies, chocolate cakes, etc. Today, we have loads of chocolate based beauty products on the shelves to appease our chocolate cravings. Here we go! The best chocolate based products you need to get your hands on immediately! Note – most of them are organic brands, as only they use the original chocolate extracts. Other brands just use an artificial fragrance of chocolates.
Chocolate is best for nourishing dry skin. And what better way than to add it in your daily moisturiser? This cream from Shahnaz Husain takes care of dry skin owes, heals dry gives a healthy, glowing look.
2. Plum Choco-Latte Luxuriant Body Lotion- Price: Rs.380 for 200ml. (Buy HERE)
Have you ever dreamed of bathing in choco-latte? Luxury comes in a bottle! I am not kidding when I say this is one of the best chocolate based products you definitely need to try. Already reviewed on the blog. It is a deeply hydrating body lotion with a delicious smell of hot chocolate.
3. The Natures Co Chocolate Creme Body Wash- Price: Rs.995 for 250ml. (Buy HERE)
Indulge in a yummy, creamy bath experience with The Nature;s Co body wash. Chocolate has excellent anti-ageing and antioxidative properties which work wonders on your skin. You can feel your skin young, soft, smooth and nourished. It also heals and calms irritated skin.
4. Aloe Veda Distil After Bath Oil – Chocolate Vanilla- Price: Rs.975 for 200ml. (Buy HERE)
This is a light and non-sticky after-bath oil which helps to restore moisture and keeps skin soft and supple. Infused with the rich and decadent flavor of Swiss Chocolate vanilla, this is a luxury treat for choco and vanilla lovers.
5. Bliscent Chocolate Cheeks Face Mask- Price: Rs.200 for 30g.
Face pack lovers would fall head over heels for this yummy, delicious chocolate mask. It comes in a powder form and you can mix with milk or yogurt. It removes all dirt and impurities and leaves your face fresh and your heart happy.
6. Vedic Line Choco Cherry Mud Pack with Cherry extracts- Price: Rs.210 for 65ml and Rs.200 for 60ml respectively. (Buy HERE)
This is a mud pack made from volcanic mud. It cools and soothes the skin while the chocolate and cherry extracts maintain the moisture levels and provide hydration. It doesn’t dry out skin unlike other mud packs. Also, Vedic Line has a Choco Almond Oil Complex, a face and body massage oil, which helps to maintain elasticity and improve
7. Juicy Chemistry Mochalicious Collection- Price: Rs.1800 for the collection (Buy HERE)
If you want to include a whole collection of chocolate products in your regimen, Juicy Chemistry is the right choice. They have a Mochalicious Collection which includes Vanilla Hazelnut Latte Gourmet Soap, Sweet Orange & Mocha Body Scrub/Mask, Choco Mint Body Butter, Choco Mint Lip Butter and Choco Mint Lip Scrub. All the products are 100% natural and paraben-free.
8. Skincafe Chocolate Party Lip Care Set- Price: Rs.900 for the set (Buy HERE)
If you want to show some TLC for your lips, then try this choco lip care set from Skincafe. It contains Vanilla Crème Brûlée Lip Butter, Choco Chip Cookies Lip Scrub & Mint Chocolate Brownie Lip Tint Balm. The perfect and delicious way to pamper your lips.
9. Vert Choco Smoothie Face & Body Mask- Price: Rs.1500 for 100g.
Indulge yourself in a luxurious experience with this face and body mask. The natural cocoa powder, french clay and cocoa butter heals the skin from sunburns and rejuvenates it making your skin soft, smooth, glowing and moisturized. And have a real choco smoothie while putting on this mask :p
10. Temple Spa Double Truffle
Its difficult to get Temple Spa products in India. But some online sites like Aplava.com and Amazon stock them. The Double Truffle is a special pot containing two of Temple Spa’s bestselling moisturizers – Skin Truffle and Truffle Noir, day cream and night cream respectively. It is an award winning product and the formula delivers active ingredients including black truffles, pure gold and silk along with extracts of champagne, chocolate and strawberries. The night cream has additional skin renewal and repairing complexes to give a young and glowing radiance. Sounds extremely tempting, right?
So these are the best chocolate based beauty products available in India. Which ones have you tried? Which is your favorite? Share in the comments below.
Editor’s Note: These sound so good, I want to try the Temple Spa Double Truffle! I would like to add the Hedonista Chocolate Face Souffle Mask, I absolutely love it!
Do you love chocolate based skincare products? Your favourite?
L’Oreal Paris Infallible Silkissime Eyeliners Review, Swatches
Hi guys,
So L’Oreal Paris had launched these eyeliners as a part of their Cannes Collection, I had reviewed the Infallible Le Mega lip glosses earlier HERE. I took time to review these coz I was in two minds about these. Read on to know my thoughts..
Claims: Indulge your eyes in silk with Silkissimeby Infallible. Glide on smooth intensity with our first silk inspired liquid pencil. The smudge-proof formula lasts for up to 16-hours of intense color from dusk until dawn. Gives a delicate, silky shiny look with ultimate perfection in a single stroke. Available in 8 vibrant shades.
How to use: Apply along the top and bottom lash line beginning in the inner corner of the eye and working outward. Use a sharpener to sharpen the pencil gently and create a working tip.
I have the shades Plum, Purple, Gold and Silver. They come in a pencil form which needs to be sharpened. And that is a major problem, I will tell you why.
They have a transparent cap and matching shade color outer body, so it’s easy to find the shade you need. The texture is more creamy than butter, it is like melted butter. It glides on super smooth but that is the problem, it breaks every time I try to use it.
It goes on smooth on the waterline but it is difficult to use on the upper lashline coz it gets blunt and breaks every time. And when you try to sharpen these, they melt and keep on breaking. The product is like gel liner in pencil form, I have to use it with an eyeliner brush, rubbing the bristles each time on the pencil. It gets a little difficult and time consuming.
Once applied, it stays put through the day. These are very pigmented and long staying. But the product can hardly be used a few times as 50% goes waste in sharpening and you never get a sharp tip for using it on upper lashline.
I would say these are good for waterline. They also make a perfect base for eyeshadows. I like the gel formula but I would have appreciated gel liners in these shades. The quantity of 1.10g is less for the price and half of it goes waste.
Left-Right: Plum, Pure Purple, Gold, Silver
Either the product inside should have been a little more stiff and sturdy or it should have come with it’s own special sharpener that did not waste the product. It does mention in ‘How to use’, to sharpen with L’Oreal Paris Dual Sharpener, but I haven’t seen it anywhere, I am not sure if it’s available separately. It should have come along with the pencil.
As much as I love the shades and formula, I am not happy with these pencils and I do not reach for them often, coz it burns my heart to see so much wastage :/ I saw the exact same issue with the pencils in US coz all the reviews on Amazon. com also mentioned the same thing. It’s an universal formula with these pencils.
I would not recommend these, unless you are ok with using these only for waterline and lower lashline or as an eyeshadow base. You will not get a crisp or sharp line on upper lashline with these unless you use a brush.
I love the shades though, all four are fabulous, especially the Pure Purple.
What do you think of the new L’Oreal Paris Silkissime Eyeliners?
We all love buying makeup, don’t we? Even those “random” visits and strolls through makeup boutique and counter aisles end up with us eventually buying the stuff we fancy lying at the counters! We can’t help 😀
During such one random visit to Westside I discovered that they actually have a huge makeup and skincare studio, STUDIOWEST. I drove straight into it and the product that fascinated me the most was their eye shadow trio as I was on a hunt to get travel friendly palette to carry along for weddings!
They actually have their range sorted into two lines: (Read more HERE)
The Pure Passion line which is a more wearable, lightweight ranging from nudes to pinks for the woman at work
The Maaya line which is more edgy, has shimmery and bold dazzling shades for festivities, weddings and women who want to look more glamorous.
They have a great range of colors which are designed specifically to flatter the Indian skin tones.
Pure passion has daytime neutrals and black Smokey eye shadow trio. While Maaya has stark shades in Bombay jewels and goldmine trio.
I chose the goldmine for its vibrant color combination. It’s a mix of plum, gold and brown. I tried it at the counter and gosh it blew me off with the pigmentation. I had to pick it up!
So let’s get into reviewing the STUDIOWEST MAAYA CRYSTAL EYESHADOW IN M03 GOLDMINE
PRODUCT CLAIMS: “Hi intensity color, for dramatic eyes. Blends effortlessly to create a complete look”
PRICE: INR 425 for 4.2 g
SHELF LIFE Is approx. 2 years
TO USE: “Combine three shades to experiment with your look! Using the applicator, apply the dark shade to line the eyelid. Next, blend in the medium shade along the crease & highlight under the eyebrow for a stunning result”
AVAILABILITY: The Studio West range is available across most Westside stores in India and is an awesome stop for high quality, reasonable products. How I wish it could be available online too!
MY EXPERIENCE
PACKAGING
Studio West Maaya crystal eye shadow comes enclosed in a black paper box with small cutout window which shows off the product. Inside is a compact plastic case with no mirror attached. Well that doesn’t bother me at least. It has a transparent lid making it easier to see through the shades.
The details are written on the base. Inside the case rests three eye shadow colors in square cases. The double sided sponge applicator it comes with, is of no use and I use my own set of brushes to apply the shadows.
The packaging is simple, nothing fancy or great but not cheap looking either. It is breakable and not sturdy so one needs to be careful while handling it or while travelling.
TEXTURE
The texture is to die for!! Truly speaking I didn’t expect this kind of texture from this palette, since most drugstore brands have those powdery finish with loads of fallout. All three eye shadows are so creamy and satin soft and glide on like a dream!! Application and blending is super easy and seamless. The shimmer present in the formula is very subtle, not like big crystals but are finely milled and I didn’t observe any fall out during application, however I always prefer doing my eye makeup first and base later.
PIGMENTATION
This Goldmine trio is a beautiful palette containing great festive shades: a plum, antique gold and a copper brown. Great color selection and would suit most of our heavy attires.
I can’t really stress enough on how pigmented these eye shadows are. Just have a look at the swatches and this is without a primer (just swatched once). All the three shades are super pigmented and have a reflective, subtle shimmery finish which doesn’t look over the top. The colors blend well without a hassle.
SHADES
The color pay off in a single swipe is exceptional (see swatches). The first shade from the left is so unique. It is a plumy-burgundy shade and looks gorgeous. The middle one is shimmery golden with warm bronze undertone to it. The third one is a gorgeous copper-brown shade. Perfect blend for Indian skin tone.
STAYING POWER
They stayed quite well on my eyes for over 6 hours without any creasing or fading that too without a primer (do prime in case you have oily lids). However with a good base and primer, longevity increases by up to 2 hours. No fallouts whatsoever after application. It can easily be removed with any makeup remover for that matter. Impressive staying power!
PROS
Very affordable
Gorgeous shade selection
Very few fall outs
Blends easily
Staying power & pigmentation is brilliant
Soft creamy texture
Super Affordable (3 shades for 425)
Primer not required to intensify the colors
Works really well with all Indian skin tones
Compact and easy to carry around
The quantity is good enough for the price
CONS
Availability
Have a little Fallout (only during application)
The Brush is merely useless
Packaging could have been sturdier
Oily lids need a primer to make it last long
No mirror provided
RATING 4.5/5 (-0.5 for not so sturdy packing and a bad applicator)
RECOMMENDATION
Yes! I absolutely recommend this particular trio if you are looking for a palette which would be perfect for festival/ wedding season as it would team perfectly with all your ethnic attires. You can’t ask for better quality at this price. I loved the color selection on the whole, shades are sorted out to work on Indian skin. The formula and shades are absolutely fantastic and it’s very reasonably priced too. If at all you have to pick any one product from this range, this must be it!!!!
Will I repurchase?
Yes I am planning to give Daytime neutrals eye shadow a try!
Editor’s Note: I have the basic daytime neutrals one. These are a total value for money. The centre gold shade is to die for!
Have you tried the Studiowest Goldmine Eyeshadow Trio?
I have used the purple eyeshadow crayon as base and the deep purple eyeshadow on top of that. Concentrated the purple on the inner and outer corners to give a halo effect for the duochrome at the center.
Another way to use it would be the duochrome on the entire lid and the deep purple at the outer V and outer half of lower lashline only. That would also be slightly smokey but would have more concentration on the gorgeous duochrome. I would try that next.
I loved how the look turned up, do let me know your thoughts in the comments below. And also if you try either of the two looks, do tag me, I would love to see it.
