If you ask me what is the most important thing for in a makeup, I would say it’s my foundation or my base makeup. If my base makeup is good, I would be able to carry most kinds of makeup.
Thanks to the technological advancements in makeup, the cosmetic houses have started to manufacture more than three shades of foundation. I think our Indian cosmetic companies are still trying hard to get there but I guess they all, finally. Lakme already has 4 shades, Colorbar-5 , Revlon- many, Inglot and MAC- too many 
According to Bobbi Brown: From fair to deep, I find that all complexions have yellow undertones. “
This concept works the best on Indian skin tones. The percentage of women with pink undertone is less as compared to percentage of women with yellow undertones.
How to determine your undertone?
Flip over your arm and look at the veins.If your veins appear greenish, this means you are warm toned. If the veins appear bluish, you are cool toned.
That’s just one of the ways. There are other ways as well but this one is quick and easy and would give you a basic idea.
Foundation types and textures
Foundations come in variety of shades and textures. They should be chosen depending on your skin type and tone.
Liquid Foundations: Liquid foundations hold a special place in women’s makeup kit. Especially most Indian women prefer to wear foundations only on special occasions. These kind of foundations are versatile. They are easy to use, don’t need too much blending ,may offer sheer-light-medium-heavy coverage. Liquid foundations are available on both oil based as well as water based formulas. Oil based formulas work great for people who have dry skin or mature skin while the water based formulas become best friends of people who have oily skin.
Some options for liquid Foundations
- Colorbar Long Stay Makeup -Oil free (broke me out
, but it might work for you) - Revlon Colorstay Makeup with souflex – available for both oily and dry skin types
- The Body Shop Moisture Foundation For dry skin
- The Body Shop Oil Free Balancing Foundation For Oily Skin
- MAC Select SPF-15 Foundation - Water based foundation , great for oily skin
- MAC Face and Body Foundation - Water Based
- MAC Mineralize Satinfinish SPF 15- Oil Based
Estée Lauder invites you to Your Beauty. Your Style. Your Profile. event that will help you with simple makeup looks that make you look just right for just the right site. Then a professional will take your photo, provide you a hard copy, and even e-mail it to you so you can immediately upload it to your social network profile, cell phone or smart phone !
I got invited to the Estee Lauder event today at Select City walk. The event goes on for next two days. Today was mainly for media people- beauty editors, bloggers, magazines etc. Next two days are totally dedicated to all people who wan to enjoy the Estee Lauder experience. Some of the features of the event are:
- You get a free “signature two minute makeup” by trained professionals of Estee Lauder.
- Get to know your skin tone. I mean wow!
- You get to interact about your skin and beauty issues with the staff.
- Get to learn the basic beauty techniques from the makeup artists.
- Loads of stuff to test and try at the store.
- Get clicked by a professional photographer.
- Get an instant photograph print out .
- It’s FREE.
read more…
Sarah, this one is for you and Cynthia, thank you. 
What is Lotus herbals Natural kajal?
100% natural kajal that relaxes & soothes eyes through the day. Smudge-proof & long lasting, it contains botanical extracts of camphor & almond oil to pamper eyes & promote lash growth.
Price : Rs 115 (Indian Rupees)
Kajals make a staple part of my makeup routine. I have been using kajals/ surmas since childhood so to me, differentiating between one kajal to other becomes pretty easy. As far as cosmetic kajals go, I have used Lakme, Biotique kajal, Himalaya kajal, Shehnaz Hussain’s Kajal and Lotus Kajal. I would say Lotus’ is the the best Kajal I have come across.
Lotus Herbal Kajal
- It does not smudge on my eyes. A lot of people say it smudges on their eyes but it does not smudge on mine.
- read more…
UPDATE: Added new pics and swatches in previous post.
As Palak mentioned in the previous post that the pictures of I-Glide Pencil swatches don’t justify how beautiful the pencils are in real. I can’t agree with her more. These are the better pictures and closest to what the pencils look in real.
Here are the pictures and swatches of the two pencils that I bought. Blackout and Prunella.
Top- Backout, Below- Prunella
See more photos
Finally I got time to step out in the market today. So got some updates for you all.
1. Colorbar I-Glide pencils: The I Glide Pencils from Colorbar are launched in six shades. These pencils could be blended shortly after application. Infact, the SA was wearing the purple eyeliner as an eyeshadow in a single shade.
Price – Rs 325 (Indian Rupees)
Shades available: 5 Black (Black out), Purple (Prunella), Jade (Jaded) , Electric Blue (Electra), and Silver (Silver Hue) , Chocolate Brown (Cocobar) You may even order these online.
Top To Bottom Backout, Silver Hue, Jaded, Prunella, Electra, Cocobar
L-R Electra, Silver Hue, cocobar, Prunella, Jaded, Blackout
I bought black and purple.
See more photos
Day 3 features the Botanical Compacts by Lotus Herbals.
What does Lotus Herbals Botanical Compact claim?
Gives the lumninous look that minimises the look of fine lines and wrinkles. Rice powder present in this compact visibly smoothens the appearence of your skin. Oil-absorptions formula for all day wear. Green tea extract, an antioxident protects the skin from UV rays and licorice extract lightens the skin complexion.
- Unique Oil Free, Super Blending, & Oil Absorbing Formula That Gives Matt Finish & Cover Imperfection For Hours With Sun Protection, smoothen Out Imperfections.
- Does Not Clog Your Pores. Keeps Skin Fresh All Day.
- Oil absorption Formula for all day wear.
- Rice Powder – Skin smoothening & oil absorption properties.
- Green Tea Extract – Antioxidant, protects skin from damages caused by environmental factors.
- Licorice extract- Suppresses production of melanin & results in skin lightening. Acts as an emollient.
Use for finishing touches or for touch-ups throughout the day. Dermatologist tested.
Price: Rs 349 (Indian Rupees)
Shades available : 3- Ivory(light complexion), Natural beige( medium complexion), and Nude (dusky complexion)
My review:
Why should you buy Lotus Herbals Botanical Compact?
- Has SPF-15
- This is one of the most beautiful and most thoughtfully designed compact I have so far come across. 1) It has a huge good quality mirror- I can do my complete makeup with this mirror. 2) The compact powder has a transparent plastic cover- this keeps the powder protected. 3) There is a separate section for sponge and powder. 4) A press button to open the compact so at no time you have to worry about powder-mess in your bag. Commendable!
- The powder is silky. No chalkiness.
- No strong perfumes. The fragrance is very light and pleasant.
- Comes with a good quality sponge.
- Excellent setting and blotting powder.
- Has a perrty lotus flower engraved on the powder. lol!!
I am using the Natural Beige almost every day these days and I have not faced any issues with it yet. No break outs, no pore clogging. Although I don’t have huge pores but i end up facing problems with powders that accentuate my tiny pores as well. This one doesn’t. These days I am taking break from the liquid foundation so I just dab a little concealer and set my face with this powder. And it completes my base routine.
I even showed it a makeup artist and she was impressed. Gifting one of these to her.
Lotus Herbals Botanical Compact
See more picture read more…
So the fun continues…
Today’s Lotus Herbals makeup feature is FloralSTAY™ long-lasting lip colour.
What does Lotus Herbals FloralSTAY™ long-lasting lip colour claim?
- 97% natural ingredients.
- Animal product free (100% vegetarian)
- Stays day long
- Sun protection (SPF-10)
- Prevents darkening of lips.
- Prevents chipping
- Rich payoff
- Smooth application
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS:
- Aloe Vera: Excellent moisturizer with healing properties.
- Avocado: Rich source of Vit. A,B,D,E.
Number of shades available: 10
Price: Rs 325 (Indian rupees) for 3.4 gm
My review:
Why should you buy Lotus Herbals FloralSTAY™ long-lasting lip colour?
- Highly pigmented: One swipe of colour on lips and you are done.
- SPF-10 Finally we have a lipstick that would give us protection against sun.
- Does not dry out your lips.
- Becomes kiss proof once it is set with powder. Tested and tried. lol! I am not saying anything more on this.
- The lipsticks are creamy.
- Has long staying power. I wear these lipsticks during the start of my day and they stay as is until I am not having a proper meal. Even after that the lipstick does not fade completely, there is a stain of colour on my lips. You might have to reapply it once during the day or depending on how often you are having oily food because oil tends to break the staying power of lipsticks. In fact, one of these days I even had a soupy maggi and a sizzling sizzler but my lips didn’t go completely bare.
- The packaging is so pretty and elegant that you would rather want to flaunt these lipsticks. See full packaging HERE.
- The lipstick is in satin finish. So if you don’t like completely matte or very glossy lips, these would make a good choice. In fact, these would work great for working women.
- The lipstick bullet is thin has a slanted top. It not only makes the application easier but also helps in lining the lips perfectly.
See swatches and photos:
More Swatches and photos HERE
Here is the complete packaging of Lotus Herbals lipstick. It comes in a pink cardboard carton. Isn’t that pretty?
Full Packaging
Pink Mink: I would call it crimson red. A red based pink with no shimmer. Would look stunning on people with fair complexion. You can create that gorgeous stained lips look with this one.
Pink Mink
Pink Mink
See more photos and swatches:
Lotus Herbals has launched its Colour Dew Nail Enamel Range almost two months back. Here are its features, swatches and my review. Enjoy!
What are Lotus Herbals Colour Dew Nail Enamels?
They are toluene, acetone and DBP free nail paints.
Toluene: disturbs woman’s ability to reproduce and it is linked to birth defects
DBP: di-butyl phthalate
- is a skin irritant and may cause liver damage.
- may cause spontaneous abortion in women exposed to it.
- narcotic in high concentrations.
- attacks the nervous system, eyes, blood, liver, kidneys and skin.
Acetone
- is a skin irritant & makes cuticles dry & dull
- makes nails brittle.
Price: Rs 95/ for 8ml – (Indian Rupees)
Shades available: 10
Why should you buy Lotus Herbals Nail paints?
- They are free of harmful chemicals that may harm your nails. This gives me such a relief that now I can paint my nails without any scare of harmful chemicals. And I wear nail paints A LOT.
- The brush is pretty flat so it makes the application pretty easy.
- I don’t know if this is a valid point or not but the bottles are generously filled with the paint. They are filled till the top.
- They don’t streak. You check the swatches and you wouldn’t find any streaking.
- They don’t chip. I wanted to try these paints completely before writing the review so I applied the paint without any base or top coat. I applied two coats of paint at least 4-5 days back and have washed utensils, cooked food and some other work but these paints didn’t fail me. Today morning, I saw that the paint on my hands is starting to fade from the corners but the paint on my feet is intact. Highly impressed!
- Pricing is quite comparable to the other brands available in this section.
- The bottles are pretty cute and sleek.
Why should you NOT buy Lotus Herbals Nail paints?
Limited shade selection: I would want to see more of pinks, blues, reds, blacks and many more colours.
See photos: read more…
See review and more photos of Lotus Herbals Colour Dew Nail Enamel Range HERE
Strawberry Idea: No idea why they named it strawberry idea. Gorgeous lilac colour. Was planning to buy it myself.
Lotus Herbals Nail Paints: Strawberry Idea
Strawberry Idea
Pure White: This is one of a few non-streaky whites I have come across. This makes me want to go back to my French Manicure days. read more…
