Beauty Favorites - 2016

When I started to think about my 2016 favorite products, I initially thought I will not have many products to talk about. But, now that I have finally sat down to compile the post, the situation has completely changed! Another thing to note here is that there are hardly any items that were released this year! Apart from that one palette everything is permanent product. All of these products are all “new-to-me” products. Also, there is no lipstick here! What a shocker!

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water: It appeared in my first-ever favorites post and it remained favorite till year end. I have very dry skin! Something like this is always intriguing to me! The name has 'water' in it, so it seems like a gimmicky product at an expensive price. But it really works! I got one last October in this travel size bottle in 2015 Sephora Favorites Superstars set (reviewed here) and I have been using it ever since! I already have bought a full-size! I don’t use it very, very often but I love how it makes my makeup application appear super smooth, every single time! No matter how carefully I exfoliate, I always end up with a few dry, flaky patches here and there on my face. Before I apply my foundation, I spritz this on my face, especially on the flaky, dry area. If I want to extend the wear time of my makeup, I spritz it again after I am done applying everything :-) My dry skin loves this product :-)

Becca Backlight Priming Filter: Like most of you, I also love a lot of Becca products! This is one of them. I got this in the Becca Blushed Radiance set (reviewed here) and I am halfway through that tube. I have another one in same size as this. I will probably pick up a full-size once I finish those. It gives me the faintest possible glow in the best natural looking way. I especially love to wear it during work days. I love the brightness it gives me! And the smell is amazing too!

MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Foundation: I have been blogging about 3 years now and I have never posted an individual blogpost on basic face products like foundation or concealers! My main interest has always been eyeshadows, lipsticks, blushes and highlighters etc., products that offer me varied shades and finishes to play with. But after much deliberation and research, I finally invested in my first ever high-end foundation earlier this year. And I have been in love with this foundation from Make Up For Ever. I was never a full-coverage kind of girl and I will never be! But I do appreciate a foundation that can make me look naturally flawless without looking cakey. I wore it for almost all the events during my sister’s wedding! It was hot and humid in India; and at the end of the day I could see a bit oil coming through but I did NOT look greasy. I also have severe acne issues. This cannot hide huge bumped-out acnes but I can somewhat minimize the appearance of them. In short, I love this foundation and I very happy with it. I mix Y445 and Y415 to get a perfect shade. I know, it is time consuming to mix for a perfect match but these are the shades that I have and now I am too broke to buy another shade :-)

COVER FX Custom Enhancer Drops in Candlelight: I had to really think hard to decide if this is truly a favorite! This year, a lot of company brought out a lot of highlighters. This is surely a unique formula for a highlighter. This is also extremely pigmented, so there had not been enough chances for me to wear this. But whenever I have, I could not help but realize how happy it makes me feel. Hence, I decided to include it here! I have Sunlight to but I prefer Candlelight more. My most favorite way of using it is to mix a tiny drop with my foundation, it gives such a beautiful sheen! I love it! I have a very detailed review of this here.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light: Powder is another product that I never talk about! I have very dry, patchy skin, if I ever have to get rid of my powders I will not have much trouble! Naturally, I don’t really have experience with a lot of powders. I came across this beautiful little compact during Sephora VIB Sale last year and I decided to try it. It is one of those products whose effect is virtually impossible to detect on the face or in photos, but you can clearly feel that it is helping your entire look come together in the most flattering way! It is also the best powder for me to use under my eyes. I use the littlest amount possible and that is enough to set my concealer without irritating my dry under-eye skin.

rms beauty Living Luminizer: I have a detailed review and swatches of this product here. I had to wait so patiently to get me hands on this product! So much hope, so much anticipation. I finally got it in Beautylish Lucky Bag 2016 (reviewed here) and I have been using it non-stop :-) It has certified organic ingredients, so you know it has that “good-for-your-skin” quality! It gives me such a beautiful, naturally healthy look and yet, if I want that “va-va-voom” highlighter finish, I can definitely build it up to get just that. Also, it stays put the entire day! I am “head over heels” in love with this.

rms beauty Buriti Bronzer: Once I got my hands on the Living Luminizer, I knew I had to try this bronzer. It is also a cream product. I use my fingers to pat it on and use a dense brush to blend it out. Over past 3-4 months I am constantly using this bronzer and highlighter, mostly during my busy week mornings! It is a beautiful golden-y bronze shade with a very, very soft luminous sheen in it! Perfect for everyday wear!

Colourpop Super Shock Eyeshadow in Rex: Blue eyeshadow is my weakness! I can never have enough! Rex from Colourpop is a very glam blackened blue. They describe it as blue glitter on black base. I can see that but the black base comes off more as purple-blackened blue. The glitters here are simply beautiful and it is just 5$. Whenever I apply this eyeshadow, it immediately makes me happy!

Makeup Geek Eyeshadow in Crème Brulee, Morocco and Cocoa Bear: I have been using Makeup Geek eyeshadows for a long time. But this year, I fall in love with these 3 shades. I am especially enjoying Crème Brulee (reviewed here). It is almost similar to my skin tone which is why it is very versatile for me. I can use it as crease shade or I can even use this to erase any mistake I do with other shades. Cocoa Bear (reviewed here) has been an old favorite. But I like Morocco (reviewed here) a little bit more because of how warm it is.

Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in Midnight Cowboy: This eyeliner brings me pure joy :-) It made its entry later in the year but it instantly stole my heart. It is such a handy product for a quick, super-glam look. The thin brush like applicator is extremely convenient to draw a thin, crisp liner and it is also easy to layer over eyeshadow. It stays intact without any glitter glue! And it looks perfect with any kind of eyeshadow shade. I have used this in almost 5 out of my 7 looks in my 7 Days of Glitter with Arrru series. One the best finding of this year for me!

Touch In Sol Stretchex Stretch Lash Effect Mascara: I love natural lashes; as long as a mascara gives me separate defined lashes and is easy to take off at night, I don’t need a lot from mascaras to impress me. Having said that I have to agree that this was a surprise favorite. This one does not offer much volume but it gives me a lot of length! I love the brush too, it’s easier to use on my small eyes. It also comes off easy with cotton absorbed in hot water. I used it up long time ago, and typically don’t buy regular size mascaras, but if I need to I will buy this :-)

Wayne Gosh Brush 05: Another thing I got from Beautylish Luck Bag 2016. I rarely wore eyeshadows on my lower lash line before but after I had this brush, the situation has been completely changed. Every time I am wearing full-face makeup, I have to put some eyeshadow under lower lash line. This brush is so soft and easy to use, I LOVE it.

Viseart Eyeshadow Palette  in - 04 Dark Matte: A product that teased me for a long time before I invested in it. I don’t use this as often as I thought I would. But every time I do, I love the end result.  I have a full review here. I know that people loves Viseart palettes mainly for the formula but for me the best thing about the palette is the shade range here. Deep, dark, extremely pigmented and very sophisticated matte shades. I love the formula as well – it is very easily blendable, extremely pigmented and stays on nicely. But for me it’s the shade ranges that stands out. Every time I wear a colorful smoky look, I need some help from this palette. I especially wear a lot of blue on my eyes and the two blue shades here are my favorite to apply on the crease. The colors here have such a deep, sophisticated hue to them that I feel they grounds any kind of heavy, colorful looks! I absolutely adore the warm shades as well. My only complaint here is the absence of a matte black. I understand Viseart’s concept and understand why they did not include black in their “Dark Matte” palette. But I do feel the need of black every time I wear deep colorful shades! I had to open another palette.

I sincerely hope I get more chance to use this palette and get at much joy out of this palette as possible.

Penny Jar in Olivia Palermo x Ciaté London The Smouldering Eye Palette: I am including only the Penny Jar shade here because that’s the only shade that deserves to be here. I love the palette as a whole but it is not worthy of being “Yearly Favorites”. Anyway, this is such a gorgeous shade. It has grey purple-y base and beautiful multi-colored speckles across it. The glitters are very finely milled and are very prominent & quiet reflective. The base kind of disappears on my skin tone but those gorgeous glitters look so incredibly beautiful and elegant!  

I took this with me to India and My sister wore it on her mehendi ceremony with a Coral Saree! That coral shade with this gorgeous eyeshadow made her look so very pretty! This shade is my go-to glamorous eyeshadow whenever I do need to look glamorous but not overdone! I have a detailed review here and you can see a look with this shade here.

Pewter in Lorac Pro Palette:  I love this palette as a whole but it’s the shade “Pewter” that stood out this year. I wore it a lot during the first half of the year. It’s very similar to my skin tone so it is very easy to wear to work. It gives me a beautiful sheen and if I am in a hurry I don’t necessary need any blending matte shade. I love this shade! I have a detailed review here.

Wayne Gosh Brush 05: Another thing I got from Beautylish Luck Bag 2016. I rarely wore eyeshadows on my lower lash line before but after I had this brush, the situation has been completely changed. Every time I am wearing full-face makeup, I have to put some eyeshadow under lower lash line. This brush is so soft and easy to use, I LOVE it.

Deborah Lipmann Nail Polish in Mermaids Dream: I don’t know if I love the name more or the product or the tiny little bottle :-) I reviewed it here long time back. I love this shade, such a gorgeous mermaid blue with some beautiful glitters. It makes me feel so glamorous and grounded at the same time. I probably have this on my toes for 50% of the time this year :-) I have had it for 2 years now, and it has started to dry out a bit but I will use it for as long as I can!

Sephora Collection Instant Nail Polish Remover: Whoever invented this, has a truckload of blessings from Nail Polish lover all over the world! You dip your nails into the product, swirl it around for 5 to 10 seconds and voila – all your nail polish is removed without drying out your cuticles. Its super convenient, fast and very effective! I have been using it for at least 8-9 months and it has not dried yet! Absolute love!

Ulta Mirror: I bought this for 1$ guys, just 1$. And I cannot emphasize enough how useful of a tool it has been for this blog. This is not aesthetically pleasing at all and I don’t carry it in my purse. I also don’t like this shade of pink however for some reason I always end up with pink stuff these days. This, I keep in my living room. So, when I am reviewing a product this is the mirror I use to see and study, scrutinize and experience how my new makeup is behaving  throughout the day. My bedroom is upstairs and 3/4 th of the time I spend on my living room so this mirror helps me the lazy me to avoid going upstairs to see my makeup and application. It has two size, one is a good magnified side where I can see every crease and every pore and see how the makeup is behaving. Also, even though pink is not really my shade, I have to agree that it is easier to find whenever I tend to let the house remain messy!

Lipstick:

Pictured below are all the lip products I wore the most tis year! But unfortunately, they all failed to pass that tricky bar to be on my Yearly Favorites list. Don’t get me wrong, I adore all of them but when I closed my eyes to none of them popped up as “favorite”. I guess, they failed to give me that certain joy I look for when I compile my favorites post. But, I definitely think they deserve special mention.

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Rupture: Of course, I start with a discontinued product. It is not long wearing but I love the formula and adore the shade. I wear it to work OFTEN and it is in my 17in2017 Project Pan.

Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick in Bawse: Red lipsticks are my most favorite shade of lipstick. This formula is worth trying if you have dry lips – it is super comfortable. The shade is very neutral. It is not my all-time favorite red shade but I have enjoyed this the most this year. Full review here.

Stila Cosmetics Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso: This is much brighter shade of red and I absolutely adore it. It is a very eye-catching red. This almost made it my favorites but lost for 2 reasons – 1.I did not wear it as much as I initially hoped. 2. On my sister’s wedding, I was counting on its amazing lasting power, but it faded a bit after 5-6 hrs. that disappointed me just a bit.

MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Amorous: Another shade that almost made it to my favorites list. I don’t even have a robust reason for not including it. I don’t prefer nude-ish lipsticks – so maybe that’s why! But apart from my bias, this is definitely has been worn a LOT. I love the shade, its neutral but with a unique purple undertone. I am very sure, it will be in my everyday stash for a long time.

Too Faced Melted Liquefied Lipstick in Fig: Another muted purple shade that I loved this year. I wore it a lot during the first half of the year, it does not last the whole day, but is very comfortable.

Marc Jacobs Le MarcLip Crème in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: I feel so happy and pretty whenever I wear this. Creamy opaque formula, applies smoothly to give even coverage in single swipe and stays almost the whole day! This is a pinky nude shade which is perfect for everyday office wear on my medium skin tone.

As I age, my skin is getting more complex than before and I have started to wear minimal makeup during the week. Not that I wore a lot before! But, these were the products that I have been enjoying the most this year with my complex and difficult-to-please skin :-)

I hope 2016 was a great year for you and I hope 2017 turns out to be even better!

Happy New Year, folks!

Love,

~Arrru

7 Days of Glitter with Arrru ::: Day 7 "Glittery Blue Smokey Eye"

For the last look in #7DaysofGlitterwithArrru series, I am using some of my very favorite eyeshadows to re-create a look that is very dear and near to my heart! If you have been a regular reader of mine, you may know that I am a big fan of “Blue” eyeshadows. I adore them, especially deep, midnight blue hues. I would wear blue on my eyes every day, if possible.

So today, I am going for a blue smokey eye! I wore this eye-look and a fuchsia lipstick with my blue Assam Silk Mekhela-Sador for my sister’s wedding reception party. I got a lot of compliments :-), even from the makeup artist that did my sister’s makeup! That felt like a validation.

Blue is an intimidating shade to wear, no doubt! But it is not difficult; you just need to ground the look with other earthy tones. My advice is to get some good matte shades. I use browns, dark purple, black or muted orange shades. For this look I used some orange and browns. As I said before, it is an easy look. But it is a time consuming one. The more variations of eyeshadows of the same color family you use, the more depth you get for your look. I am showing two lipstick options just in case you want to focus only on the eyes.

Anyway, here are the products I used for my eye-look-

MAC Painterly Paint Pot inLayin’Low

Makeup Geek Eyeshadow in Crème Brulee, Morocco & Cocoa Bear

Colourpop Super Shock Shadow in Rex

Viseart EYeshadow Palette in 04 Dark Matte

Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in Midnight Cowboy 

Stila Stay All Day® WaterproofLiquid Eye Liner

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara
Marc Jacobs Beauty O!Mega Lash Volumizing Mascara
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Medium Brown 

Step-by-step approach to the eye-look:

• Start with a skin-tone shade (or may be just a shade deeper, for me its Makeup Geek Crème Brulee) to curve out your crease area.  I have a very little lid space and I have hooded eyes. So, I have to create my eyeshadows such that my crease seems to be higher and rounder than actual. It kind of helps in mimicking an almond shaped eye.
• I used dark matte shade – Makeup Geek Cocoa Bear to deepen the crease. I started with very light stroke. I make sure not to go beyond the area where my lower lash-line will connect to the tail of my eyebrow, if extended. If I go beyond that line, I feel like my eyes starts looking droopier!
• At this time, I can see how my crease is appearing. I often add a touch of a dark shadow like Makeup Geek Corrupt at the very outer corner. It provides more depth to the look, making it look more grounded! After the crease is done, I take a little bit of Crème Brulee in a clean brush and blend the edges for one last time.
• Yay, time for the shimmer shades now. First, I also used Make Up For Ever eyeshadow in Sapphire on the lid to lay down an even blue base. Colourpop definitely has the easiest shiny/glittery shades. I used Colourpop Super Shock Eyeshadow in Rex with my fingertips and pat it all over my lid evenly all the way to the inner corner. Rex is a beautiful blackened blue shade with loads of blue micro-glitters. I also make sure that this shade is taking a rounder shape than a flat shape near my crease-area. Sometimes because of my eye shape it can show up very flat which end up making my eyes look more hooded than they actually are. Also, at this stage, the distinction between the blue shimmer shade and the blending matte shades appears somewhat sharp. So, I get a matte blue shade and very lightly use it in that area to blend away that sharp distinction. I love using the blue shades from Viseart Dark Matte palette for this reason.

• Although Rex already have a lot of shimmer and glitter to it, I still want an extra layer of oomph! Urban Decay Heavy Glitter Liner in Midnight Cowboy has been a recent favorite. I have been using it nonstop ever since I got it. I apply a generous layer it on the lid over where I applied Rex. For this look, I preferred this glitter because it gives me the ability to have an even but sheer coat which means my blue lid is still going to show up very nicely. If I was to layer an actual glitter, the effect will not be like this.
• This look requires a thick winged liner. I used Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liner.
• A beautiful pair of false lashes is kind of a must have with this look, but I don’t know how to wear them and I am too lazy to learn…he he! I used a few heavy coats of Urban Decay Perversion Mascara with Marc Jacobs O!Mega Mascara.

For my sister’s wedding I wore a deep pink blush with a fuchsia lipstick. I know that pink is absolute no with blue shades but I wished I would have worn a bit more of the blush and lipstick in a deeper shade. Against 100s of high-intensity lights, colorful decoration and tremendously bright Indian wedding dresses, my blush and lipstick shades looked somewhat washed-off! 

Here are the products on my face-

• Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water - a few sprits to tackle my dry skin, Benefit Cosmetics The POREfessional Face Primer on my porous cheeks.
• Stila Stay All Day HD Bronzing Beauty balm, Coverfx Custom Infusion Drops in Radiance and MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation in Y415 as foundation.
• URBAN DECAY COSMETICS Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer in Med Dark Neutral as undereye concealer on top of Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector. 
• Hourglass Ambient® Lighting Powder in Dim Light to set my under-eye area.
• Nars Blush in Gouloe 
• LORAC Travel Size TANtalizer Highlighter & Matte Bronzer Duo
• Jaclyn Hill x Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector® Pressed in Champagne Pop
• Nude Lipstick: Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in topped with Lakme Lipstick in 
• Pink Lipstick: Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Lipstick in Tumultous Pink topped with Colourpop Matte X Lipstick in Poppin'.

So, that’s it guys. I hope you enjoyed this series as much as I did! I am going to post my Yearly Favorites later this afternoon and then take a little bit of break from blogging! Do you have any special plan for New Year Eve?

Love,

~Arrru

7 Days of Glitter with Arrru ::: Day 6 "Glitter Cut Crease & a Star"

These last 2 days in #7DaysofGlitterwithArrru series are very glittery, festive and perfect for New Year Eve! These two definitely are my most favorite out of the 7! Do come back for tomorrow’s look!

I have never tried cut-crease look before today. And to make things more complex, I added glitter with cut-crease. I was actually inspired by @heathervenere on Instagram and tried to replicate one of her looks. Everything went on smoothly; I was actually doing quite good till I finished the cut-crease portion of it. But when I added the glitter, it was not sharp and did not land right on the crease :-) I was either too hasty in my application or my focus was somewhere else. I could have removed it and re-do the glitter but I am too lazy! Plus, I had fun in spite of the mistake! And for me that is the most important aspect when I am doing my makeup! :-)

Below are the products I am wearing in this eye-look –

• MAC Painterly Paint Pot in Layin’Low
• Makeup Geek Eyeshadow in Crème Brulee, Cupcake,Morocco & Cocoa Bear
• Java from IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Vol 1 Matte Luxe Transforming Eyeshadow Palette
• Urban Decay Naked Palette (for the simple golden shade on the lid)
• Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in Midnight Cowboy 
• Lakme Kajol Liner
• KatVon D Tattoo Liner in Trooper
• Stila Stay All Day® Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner
• Marc Jacobs Beauty O!Mega Lash Volumizing Mascara
• Urban Decay Perversion Mascara 

Step-by-step approach to the eye-look:

1. As always, MAC paint pot in Layin Low as primer.
2. Makeup Geek Eyeshadow Crème Brulee on the crease just to get an even canvas for the matte shades that will follow.
3. Makeup Geek Eyeshadow Cupcake with a very light hand, starting on the same area where I put Crème Brulee. I extend it significantly higher from my crease.
4. Makeup Geek Eyeshadow Morocco with a little bit of heavier hand on the same area as Cupcake. Using these many different shades ensures that there is a nice gradient of color from the crease towards the brows.
5. I take an angled eyebrow brush to use Makeup Geek Eyeshadow Cocoa Bear. I start with a light hand to draw the cut-crease line. This is basically where your eye-lid folds upwards.
6. I added a very light neutral-gold shade on the entire lid just with a light hand. I forgot which shade I used – I think something from the Urban Decay Naked palette.
7. Once I am done with this, I take a closer look and go in with a rounder brush with little bit Cocoa Bear and Morocco to blend upwards. The goal here is to achieve perfect blending above the crease line. But the line on the crease has to cut quite sharp! Hence the name cut-crease! I hope I am making sense. To get the line just a bit more sharper, I used Java from IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty palette I go over the cut-crease with that angled eyebrow brush I used before. I am going to put glitter over it anyway, so it is not an absolutely necessary step.
8. After this, I added the glitters. This is where I kind of messed up! :-) But anyway, this step was very easy in theory! I just needed to go over the cut-crease line with the Urban Decay Heavy Glitter liner. I could not maintain a steadfast hand and my glitter liner got a little messy! I hope your’s is way prettier than mine :-)
9. I used Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liner and Kat Von D Tattoo Liner to draw a nice, thick winged eyeliner.
10. Lakme Kajol Liner to tighline my upper and lower lash-line.
11. Used a little bit of Makeup Geek Eyeshadow Cocoa Bear under my lower lash-line.
12. I forgot to picture the mascaras here but I was probably using Urban Decay Perversion Mascara with Marc Jacobs O!Mega Mascara! Feel free to use false lashes, it will look really pretty!
13. The star under the lower lash line is a last minute addition. Obviously I got inspired by the makeup on Perrie Edwards Music Video.

Sorry for too many photos, but I really loved this look!

As for the other items on my face, I kept the look quite neutral! Here are the products -

• Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water - a few sprits to tackle my dry skin, Benefit Cosmetics The POREfessional Face Primer on my porous cheeks and Palladio Herbal Foundation Primer on the remaining parts of my face.
• Stila Stay All Day HD Bronzing Beauty balm, Coverfx Custom Infusion Drops in Radiance and MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation in Y415 as foundation.
• TARTE Double Duty Beauty Shape Tape Contour Concealer in Tan Sand as undereye concealer on top of Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector.
• Becca Mineral Blush in Songbird (Full review here)
• Tarte The Sculptor Contouring Face Slenderizer in 01
• Cargo Water Resistant Bronzer
• Jaclyn Hill x Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector® Pressed in Champagne Pop
• Maybelline Lipstick in Touchable Taupe and Bite Matte Crayon in Cafe on top of it.

I absolutely love how it turned out. If a have a sudden New Year Eve plan, this is what I am going to wear and may be not mess up the glitter liner this time around! He he!

Tomorrow is the last look in this series and it is the most glamorous all-out look! You can check all the looks here!

Love,

~Arrru 

7 Days of Glitter with Arrru ::: Day 5 "Simple & Sophisticated Glitter"

Today is Day 5 of my little series here on the blog. You can catch the previous looks here... Today’s look is extremely similar to the first look I posted here, in application. However, this glitter I used here is much more sophisticated and subtle! I absolutely love wearing this to any events where I do want look polished and glamorous but do not want to put on makeup that appears pure makeup-y!

I am using the shade “Penny Jar” from Olivia Palermo x Ciaté London The Smouldering Eye Palette (I have a detailed review here). I absolutely love this shade. I wear it to my office parties! The micro mini glitters in this shade are multi-color over a base color of taupe; it shines so beautifully under different lights, even under crappy office lights! Plus, it is a pressed powder eyeshadow, you don’t really need to deal with the hassle of working with loose glitters and glitter glue! I am sure you all have a pretty underrated shade like Penny Jar in your collection. Also, I was not able to capture the beauty of the glitter on the photos, it look way better in person!

Below are the products I am wearing in this eye-look –

• Smashbox 24 hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer
• Blondie, Amaretto & Penny Jar from Olivia Palermo x Ciaté London The Smouldering Eye Palette
• KatVon D Tattoo Liner in Trooper
• Urban Decay Perversion Mascara 
• Marc Jacobs Beauty O!Mega Lash Volumizing Mascara

Step-by-step approach to the eye-look:

1. For this look, I did not use too many eyeshadows. I used a little bit of Blondie on the crease and Amaretto on my outer V for helping the glitter shades to blend but Penny Jar is so beautiful and neutral it does not really need a lot of help from other matte shades. Anyway, I like to use my fingertips to pat the color on the lid. I need 2 to 3 layers to cover my entire lid. 
2. Because I was trying to make it more wearable I added a shorter wing for my liner. 
3. A generous coat of mascara on both my upper and lower and that’s all I needed to finish off my eye look!

Here are the other products on my face: 

• Make Up For Ever Step 1 Equalizer Smoothing Primer 
• A mix of CoverFX Custom Enhancer Drops in Sunlight (Read full review here), Stila Stay All Day HD Bronzing Beauty balm, Coverfx Custom Infusion Drops in Radiance and Revlon Colorstay Normal to Dry Makeup in True Beige as foundation. 
• URBAN DECAY COSMETICS Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer in Med Dark Neutral
• Tarte Amazonian 12-hr Clay Blush in Flush
• Tarte The Sculptor Contouring Face Slenderizer in 01
• LORAC Travel Size TANtalizer Highlighter & Matte Bronzer Duo
• 1st Light in The Estee Edit Gritty & Glow Magnetic Eye and Face Palette as highlighter. (Read full review here)
• HonestBeauty Truly Kissable Lip Crayon in Mulberry Kiss

For my office work party, I typically pair this with red lipstick but for this look I was itching to see how a deeper, vampire shade pairs with this glitter eyeshadow. I love the outcome :-) I know my skin appears a little bit dry here, I wished I had used Smashbox Primer Water before putting on my foundation.

I will be back tomorrow with another look :-)

Love,

~Arrru

Products I've Used Up/Empties Vol. 9

The final empties post this year. I sure did good on skincare products- used up a crap ton of products. But makeup-wise, I did not not that good. I don't wear makeup every day but I sure do buy a lot! Ha ha! By the way, my flatlay this time is not super precise. I was running out of patience, apparently! 

Here are the products:

Tata Harper Purifying Mask: Unfortunately forgot to take a photo of this. I got a sample size in Sephora Favorites "Scouted by Sephora" set some time back. The first time I put it on, I was ecstatic. I love Face Masks; there is no doubt about it. There are masks that I like, there are masks that I simply LOVE! But I have never been literally “BLOWN AWAY” by a mask just after using it once. But this one left me feeling so damn hood. I has a minty feel to it. Once I washed it off, my skin felt so VERY clean as if it has been swept off of the heavy layer of dirt on my face. As if a heavy layer of impurity has been gone away!! And that clean feeling remained up to at least till the mid-afternoon of the next day. I saved it to apply on the day before my sister’s wedding ceremony! She applied it too and liked it! So with this tiny jar, I was able to pinch it for 3 usage and 1 use on my sister. The feeling on the 3^rd time has not been as wowed as it has been the first time. I was debating if I want to repurchase but I finally bought a value set.

Earth’s Nectar Hair Care Scalp Oil: Nothing exciting about this hair oil. I will rather stick to my trusted coconut hair oil for overnight massage.

Ole Henriksen Nurture Me™ Cleansing Cloths: Makeup Removing: I enjoyed these wipes. It was easy on the skin, did not dry it out and took a great deal of makeup from my face. I am definitely open to repurchase but I am trying to cut back on makeup remover wipes as much as I can. So, we shall see!

Klorane Smoothing and Relaxing Patches: I enjoyed using it. It definitely helped me tackle the tiredness but I am not excited enough to invest in a full-size packet.

Clarisonic Refreshing Gel Cleanser: I was cleaning out my bathroom and I found this. I perhaps got this when I first bought my Clarisonic Mia 2 cleanser. I remembered liking it back then! It has about 1/3^rd left to finish but I tossing it away. I have other cleansers that I like more, so I would not repurchase.

Peter Thomas Roth Blemish Buffing Beads For Face and Body: This is a exfoliator scrub that can be used both on face and body. I tried it on my face and it did perform OK as an face wash/mild exfoliator. I have dry skin and I am yet to find my perfect exfoliator. But this was OK. I, however used it primarily on my back. I have had acne issues before, it has subsided now. But, I do believe this did help in clearing out my dry, itchy skin without irritating my skin.

Peter Thomas Roth FIRMx™ Peeling Gel: I got this some time back in a PTR Set. This is an excellent peeling gel; I can actually feel all my dead skin peeling off when I use it! Very, very effective! My skin feels smooth without any dryness or itchiness at all! I loved it so much that I already bought 2 backups. The regular-size comes with a steep price. So, I scored two travel size one at 5$ each when PTR website had a tremendous sale :-)

Caudalie Beauty Elixir: Everybody loves Caudalie Beauty Elixir! And I do too! I have written a whole long blogpost on some of the Caudalie product here. I love its strong but very refreshing smell! And I love, love the thin and stylish bottle. This is probably the 3^rd travel-size bottle I finished, I finally went ahead and invest in a full-size one. It is expensive for a facial spray but I don’t use it every day! I feel fancy whenever I use it and we sure do deserve to feel fancy from time to time.

Cartier La Panthere sample vile: I finished this so it’s here. But it too strong of a scent for me.

Victoria's Secrets Heavenly Eau De Parfum: I got this in a set about 2 years back; I don’t know what I was thinking but my taste has certainly matured. This is sweet, young scent. I was happy to use it up. I mainly used it when I was home and did not want to use my expensive perfumes :-) I would not repurchase.

Bite Agave Lip Mask Sample: I got this as sample with some order from Sephora. It came with 3 different flavors and I gave one of them to my sister. But the rest took so long to use up! I am not going to purchase a full-size one but I did enjoy the sample.

Tarte Maracuja Oil: I really liked this when I first bought it. I bought and used up a full-size one too! But I no longer enjoy it. So, I am not going to repurchase.  

L’Occitane Almond Smoothing and Beautifying Supple Skin Oil: I got this sample a long time ago, but I don’t know what took me so long to try this! I love it, for the most part. It is a very rich oil, but it is smooth and very, very moisturizing. It is actually excellent for my sry skin in the harsh winter. I like the smell but at times it just a bit too sweet and thick for me. I will definitely repurchase if I can find a good value set. Otherwise, not. 

Davidoff Cool Water Woman Eau De Toilette & Body Lotion: This is a fragrance so close to my heart. One of my best friends gifted this to me after his first onsite visit. IT was kind of the first luxury perfume I used, so it holds a special place in my heart. I like the clean, crisp lightly flowery note! The perfume does not linger the whole day though, may be just for half of the day. I still love it. it is a fragrance I can wear every day without getting bored. This was the second full size bottle I finished. I will definitely prepurchase some day! Right now I have way too many perfumes to finish up.

The body lotion is perfect too! Its cooling, and quite moisturizing :-)

SK-II Facial Treatment Essence (FTE): Ok, so I finished up this travel size bottle. Do you know how much this tiny bottle costs? $ - that’s freaking expensive! I got this from Influenster free of cost for review purpose. Anyway, I have mentioned several times here that I went home in last October, and the heat, humidity and other personal stress as well as excitement of my sister’s wedding left my skin with a lot of issues. I had big acnes, tiny whiteheads and my skin, overall became quite bumpy! I stopped wearing makeup for about 2-3 weeks after I returned. During that my body somewhat got used to the cold weather here back again and then I started using this. I religiously follow their instructions of using it twice on clean skin. I also minimized the number of products I was using in my routine.it took me about 2 months (give or take 1-2 weeks). Here is my thought – this is one of the products whose effect is not visible immediately. It is kind of like the Hourglass powders :-) You don’t see much of a difference immediately but you can surely tell there is an improvement on your overall makeup look. I found this FTE to be similar. I noticed that my skin overall was getting much smoother. Whenever I was applying my moisturizer or washing my face, I could feel that my skin’s texture has improved a lot. At least those little rough and bumpy areas were gone! I also noticed a very subtle glow like my dull skin now had a life. It however, did nothing for my acnes. Situation with the whiteheads has not improved drastically as well. I did repurchase a full-size with a bonus card I got from Sephora and I am eager to see if I will still like it after I use up the bigger size.!

SK-II Facial Treatment Mask: I used this just after I started including the SK-II Facial Treatment Essence in my skincare routine. Sheet masks are supposed to be convenient but not all of them offers me that. This however was good. I mean, it stayed perfectly on my face. I kept it on for 20-15 minutes. It absorbed completely and I did not feel the need to wash off my face afterwards. A few other sheet masks I have tried makes me feel that way. Also, there were so much essence left on the packet itself that I was able to use it the next day for one proper layer on my face. This single sheet retails for 17$. This is such a crazy price, I sincerely think for that price one application should provide an immediately noticeable results, but at the same time I know that it is almost stupid to expect miraculous difference from just one application. I liked it, my skin did look refreshed and alive but it was definitely not worth 17$. I am not disappointed but I am not going to repurchase. Full disclosure: I got this from Influenster free of cost for review purpose.

Lakme Eyeliner: I actually finished it long time ago, but for some reason never managed to put in my empties post and throw away. I enjoyed it when I had it but I am not going to repurchase. I have way too many black eyeliner that I need to finish first.

Soap & Glory Clean On Me Creamy Clarifying Shower Gel: The Clean On Me Shower Gel has a moisturizing product in built so it’s definitely feels moisturizing. It has the typical Soap & Glory signature sweet smell to it which I really enjoy! It is a good shower gel and I do have another bottle to go through that I will happily finish that up. But I don't think I will be repurchasing as I do love some other shower gels more than this, Check my detailed review here. 

Origins Precipitation Continuous Moisture Recovery for Body: I cannot believe how fast I went through this tube. I still have a little bit of left, may be a day or two’s usage. It’s a very clean moisturizer. It did a good job, because I have impossible dry skin so I tend to pile on layers of moisturizer. No matter how much I applied of this body lotion, it seemed to absorb very easily and quickly. I am not sure if I will repurchase as I do have a lot of moisturizer to go through.

RE-NU Contact Lens Solution: For a contact lens wearer like me, this is a must-have. I buy it in bulk from Costco :-)

Neutrogena Body Oil Light Sesame Formula: I have reviewed this product here. This is one of my HOLY-GRAIL products. I cannot do without this oil, especially during the winter! And when winter lasts 8 months a year, it's a savior :-) At this point, I have lost count of how many bottles I have gone through. I am pretty sure I am gonna need many more.

Cannot wait to finish up way more products in 2017!

Love,

~Arrru