Kat Von D Metal Matte Palette. Review and Swatches.

I had an eye on this limited edition Kat Von D metal matte palette since it had launched. Couldn't get it unfortunately in Dubai, and I totally gave up hope about ever getting this palette. Then, one fine Friday, I wake up and it was there on the Sephora Middle East website. 

 At first, I didn't believe my eyes. I had been searching for a local Dubai seller with this palette only the night before. Then, I started drooling. Literally drooling! I couldn't rest, or eat, until I ordered it online.... 
Bad decision.

Why? 

Because it was right there in the Sephora store when I went to the mall a couple of hours later. Could have gotten my hands on it a whole 24 hours sooner!

Yes...you can tell how impatient I was about this palette. 

So, it finally arrived from Sephora in lots of bubble wrap, which was hogged by my 7-year old.

The artwork on the palette is gorgeous! It reads metal or matte depending on which direction you flip it to.

The back of the box has the palette drawn on it with the names of all the eye shadows printed on it as well as on the palette.

 The eye shadows come in a long, but slim high quality, light weight cardboard box. There have been lots of complaints about how large this palette is, but honestly there is no wasted space. There are a total of 22 eye shadows in the palette, with 9 Metal Crush shadows and 13 matte eye shadows with cool and warm undertones. So, there is a versatility of looks all from one palette, which is perfect if you need to travel, as all you need to pack is one palette. Yes, it's long, but it's quite comprehensive. 

This is the only palette I've packed for my vacation to Pakistan, where I will need to attend a variety of events, from weddings, to dinners  to family events, and serves me perfectly for all kinds of looks I need.

The palette is pricey, at AED320, but each Kat Von D metal crush shadow is AED95, which makes 9 metal crush shadows double the price of the entire palette. Therefore, overall, the price seems fair for 22 eye shadows.

The formula is amazing! 

The metal crush eye shadows are immensely pigmented, and go out smoothly with no fall out. The shimmers are subtle and can be easily worn during the day as well as night. The mattes are smooth and buttery, easy to apply even without a primer. There are a variety of colours from dark vibrant shades to medium neutrals. The palette does lean to mostly cool toned shadows, but since personally I love using cool toned colours I am very happy with it. 
The shadows were incredibly smooth, finely milled and easy to blend out. They lasted for almost 12 hours, from a morning beach outing to dinner at night. Even I was surprised that there was absolutely no need to touch up my make up. The eye shadows did not even migrate to the under eye area, even after 12 hours. So, Yes I'm impressed with this palette.

These are the swatches for the first set of metals. I've broken them down.
Nebula: Cool medium royal-blue with a frosted finish.
Watt: Muted teal green with a metallic sheen.
Ignite: A beautiful aqua with a metallic sheen.
Tinsel: A glittery pewter with silver and champagneflecks. This has a                  chunkier texure, with a little fallout.

Glitz: Metallic pale pink with warm undertones.
Twinkle: Lavender with a frosted finish.
Volt: Metallic violet with brown undertones.
Synergy: Golden brown with a metallic finish.
Flash:Bright gold with orange undertones.

Now on to the mattes:

Linen: Stark white, with cool undertones.
Jet: Dark black.
Velour: A vibrant royal blue with cool undertones
Stone: Dark grey with warm undertones.
Moss: Forest green with warm undertones.
Ribbon: Muted purple.

Silk: A warm mauvy-pink. (We need more nail polishes in this colour!)
Fringe: A pastel peach with orange undertones.
Feather: A buttery yellow.
Oak: Dark olive brown, with warm undertones.

Suede: A warm beige brown. This hardly showed up in the picture as it               is close to my natural skin colour. Though it looks very nice as a             base colour on the lid or a crease shadow.
Bone:  A light cream colour with warm undertones.
Velvet: Warm muted burgundy.

Is it worth buying? 

It's not essential for your make up stash. However, if you like shimmer and glitter, and want a palette that can take you from a day time look to night time, this is a very good option.
I can rave on and on about the metals, as I'm a sucker for glitter. The

Quick and Easy Vol au vents

Fancy name: Vol au vents

What the kids call them: Puffy pies!

That's what happens when you have a seven year old. Your fancy  party appetizer becomes "puffy pies." 

Does the thought of cooking horrify you as much as it does me? No? Am I the only one? I get hives when I have to cook especially for parties! But Vol au vents are so easy and versatile to do. You can have a sweet filling and serve them as desserts, or shrink them to miniscule size to serve as appetizers. 

Vol au vents are basically empty puff pastry shells which can be filled in with the filling of your choice.

You can just buy these at the store, which I would honestly prefer. I did say easy. Or, use frozen puff pastry to make them at home.

All you need is frozen puff pastry and cookie cutters of the same shape in three sizes.

So you take two squares of puff pastry and cut out 2 circles with the biggest cookie cutter of your set.

 Next take one of the circles and use the second cutter to cut a ring of pastry from one of the puff pastry circles only.  

Apologies for my ring, my cookie cutter had lost its perfectly circle shape.

Use the smallest cookie cutter to cut a circle of pastry from the centre of the 2nd circle.

Now, egg wash your puff pastry circles.

Put the ring and the circle on top of the complete puff pastry circle like the picture below.

The more frozen the puff pastry is, the more it's going to fluff up.

Bake it in a pre-heated oven till its nice and brown, and then carefully cut out the smallest central circle, as it cools.

The circle will easily come out, leaving and empty puff pastry shell behind, to which you can add any filling. I used chicken in the picture.

NYX Lid lingerie and Ombre lip duo. Review and swatches

The Nyx Lid Lingerie and Ombre lip duo were the last two items from my drugstore or rather Centrepoint haul that I had been testing out.

Nyx Lid Lingerie

I was actually hunting for UrbanDecay's liquid moondust eyeshadows, but sadly as usual, they have still not been released in Dubai. Sigh! I am starting to sound like a broken record.
Anyways, since I couldn't find those, I came across the Nyx Lid lingerie and they looked so beautiful in their tubes, I just couldn't put them back on the counter.

Me: I don't need those...
Voice in my head : Yes, you do!

Me: But they're eyeshadows.
Voice in my head: So? You should try something else than the Naked palettes.

Me: I'll never use them up.
VIMH: But they're so pretty!

And then the sales lady comes up and says.. You can use them as metallic lipstick too.
Me: Sold! 

Grabbed a bunch of them. Put them in the bag, while the Voice In My Head did a celebratory Chicken Dance.

Yeah...The baby can't do the salsa...so we tried teaching him the chicken Dance. So now in the name of dancing, he does half-way squats. Just stands there bobbing up and down...Amazing how babies manage to  look so cute and weird at the same time.

Okay. Enough with the rambling. Back to the NYX Lid Lingerie.
The Lid Lingerie are cream eye shadows in a beautiful range of colours, with a slight sheen to them. However, they do not give the metallic foil look, which is on trend these days. It has a doe foot applicator which applies the colour easily, but then you need a brush to blend the colour out.
By itself, the formula is lightweight, creamy with a high colour payoff. The colours are layerable and the shadow easily blends out. The eyeshadow takes a minute or so to set, which makes it easy to add colours and blend it out. I tried these out with and without eye primers and they lasted around 6 hours, without creasing.
The colours are gorgeous,especially the pink that I bought is called Whimsy.

It's a beautiful pale pink with a pearlescent finish. 

What I really adore, are the names NYX has given to their eyeshadows. When using products named Nightglow, Evening Spell, Whimsy and Whitelace Romance, you are easily transported into a fairytale fantasy.
The eyeshadow is a nice, high quality product. I may not be in love with these, because I mostly prefer palettes where I can reach for multiple shades in one go. However, this is a lovely product in it's own right and totally worth it if you like cream shadows.
I even tried this as a lipstick, as per the sales lady's suggestion, and it had high colour payoff and was a perfect metallic pale pink which lasted around two hours. Though it was a bit drying for the lips, but looked absolutely beautiful.
Retailing for AED 45 at the NYX counters in Centrepoint.

Nyx Ombre lip duo:

The ombre trend has been running amok all over Pinterest and Instagram. Well since we have been contouring all over the body and face, why leave out the lips. Not being a big fan of the ombre trend, I was hesitant to try it. However, when I saw these ombre pencils from Nyx Cosmetics, I figured why not give it a try? 

This is mostly a blended version of the 90's trend, where you line the lips with a darker pencil and fill in with a lighter lipstick. The key to the updated version is to blend, blend, blend!

Nyx has released 16 colours of the Ombre Lip Duo, which is a double ended pencil, with a lip liner on one end and a satiny-matte lipstick on the other. Quite convenient as you don't have to go looking for coordinating colours.

The instructions on the box say to line your lips with a liner and fill in with the lipstick. smack your lips together to blend and you're ready to go.

The colour I chose was Pink bubbles and caviar. This was a nude pink lipstick with a bright pink liner.

 Following the instructions on the box , the colours blended together, however the bright pink of the liner did overpower most of the nude lipstick. I discovered that the ombre is far more visible when the lipstick is over-lined with the liner and blended with a lipbrush.

The liner and lipstick both apply smoothly with out any tugging to the lips, blend in seamlessly and lasted for 4 hours. However these were not particularly hydrating and a lip balm was required to prevent flaking.

For the price of AED 45, you get a lip liner and a lipstick, which is a pretty good bargain. Available at Nyx counters across Dubai.


  

NYX Strobe of Genius Illuminating Palette. Review and Swatches.

This meme reminded me of a funny story of some time ago. 
The highlighter trend was just on the rise and I had bought my first highlighter to wear to a party. It was the Benefit's Girl meets PEarl which is a subtle pink-gold highlight. At the end of the party, a friend comes up to say; "Oh! You're wearing glitter. I didn't notice it all evening."
All I could say was "Huh?" 
Sigh! It does hurt when your highlight ain't appreciated...^_^

So, Nyx cosmetics finally updated their cosmetics range in Dubai to include their latest releases, which includes their liquid illuminators and the NYX Strobe of Genius Highlighter Palette. Thank you for finally remembering us here in Dubai, NYX.

Strobing is mostly a fancy name for highlighting. Every brand has jumped onto the bandwagon and has been releasing their highlighters.

Nyx describes their highlight palette as:
Introducing the Strobe of Genius Palette, our incredible new collection of must have illuminators designed to give you everything needed to achieve today's most buzzed about highlighting trend: Strobing. This breakthrough palette features seven velvety-smooth shades that will enhance your features with serious levels of illumination.

The Nyx highlighters come in a simple black plastic compact with a clear cover. Containing seven highlighting powders, the top row contains four shades each 0.07oz, while the bottom row has three bigger ones which are 0.14 oz each.

The highlighters range from warm yellow golds and champagne to cool toned pinks and lavenders. My personal favourites are the pinks and lavenders, highlight shades which are usually not easy to find. The lavender colour corrects and counteracts dullness as well. Therefore, this is one versatile palette which is extremely convenient for travel as you can use it for a variety of looks, and won't need to pack different products with you.
All shades can be easily used by those with either warm or cool toned skin. 

1- A true yellow gold.
2- Cool toned light pink shimmer.
3- Lavender shimmer.
4- Mauvy pink with gold shimmer.

5- Gold with peach undertones.
6- Bronze with warm undertones. 
7- Champagne shimmer.

The illuminators are incredibly smooth and velvety. The powder is finely milled, so there is no obvious glitter and very little fallout from the compact or from the brush. 

The highlighters blended out very easily and could easily be layered on each other , giving a strong highlight.

Though this is a drugstore product, effect is highly comparable to high end highlighters. The highlight simply makes your skin glow and cheekbones pop. 
The illuminators can also be used as eye shadows and lasted for around six hours. The champagne colour is perfect for the inner eye corner highlight and the bronze and warm pink can be even used as blushes.

The palette in priced around AED 110 in Dubai, and though the price is slightly steep for a drugstore product, it is totally worth it when you consider you are getting seven awesome quality illuminators.

However, a word of advice, if you have textured skin, I would advice you to go easier on the highlighting, and if possible use a liquid highlighter as, all illuminators, whether high-end or drugstore, do emphasize un-even skin and pores. An effect, which I found is less noticeable with a liquid illuminator.

Pros:
- Seven illuminators in one palette.
- High quality and super blendable.
-Give a strong highlight with little effort.
- Long lasting.

Cons:
- Slightly pricey for a highend product.

Overall, this is a great palette, especially if you are just starting with the highlighting trend, or don't want to be burdened with multiple products at home or travelling. The highlighters are easy to use
and layered over each other. Can be used as an illuminator or as eyeshadows.

I got mine from CentrePoint in Dubai for AED 110.

#makeup #highlighters #Nyxcosmetics #Nyxilluminatorpalette

The BodyShop glazed apple body butter. Review.

Moving to Dubai, and motherhood have resulted in my skin turning extremely dry and permanently parched. With the approaching winter I was off on a quest to find a lotion or moisturizer to quench my skin which seems to declare war on me by changing with the seasons. 
Hydration and extreme moisture has become essential in the dry climate of Dubai.However, with two kids I simply do not have the  time to wait for the lotion to absorb in my skin, which is probably why most lotions and moisturizers don't seem to work on me.
So while my favourite African honey and beeswax butter was out of stock(I shall rave about it another time), I bumped into their limited edition holiday releases. (Why cant I resist anything with Christmas decorations on it. They just make me feel so happy!)
The Body Shop releases a few holiday favourites every year and I was absolutely hooked by the Glazed Apple body butter. The Glazed Apple body butter has been a staple holiday release from The Body Shop for the past few years. 

The body butter comes in a green tub, which though might be un-hygienic, is honestly very practical. It would be impossible to get the butter with it's thick consistency out of a tube or a pump. 
The moment you open the tub, you are hit by the refreshing, delicious, fruity fragrance of spiced apples and cinnamon. The butter itself is a light green colour, and has a thick whipped cream like consistency.

The best thing about The Body Shop's shea butters is that they provide instant moisture to your skin and hands, get absorbed very quickly by the skin without leaving a greasy layer on the skin.
My pet peeve with most lotions is that they leave a greasy layer on the skin which is icky and refuses to go away  for hours. However, that problem is eliminated while using The Body Shop's shea butters.
The Body Shop's Glazed Apple body butter contains shea butter,sesame seeds, soybean oil and cocoa butter. The butter is rich and creamy and provides intense hydration lasting upto 6 to 8 hours even with all the dish washing and mess cleanups I did with two kids!
If you love these fruity fragrances, I recommend you stock up on this delicious Green apple scented butter, as it's limited edition for the holidays.
Pros:
Intense effective lasting hydration
Fruity smell
Absorbs quickly.
No greasy layer left on skin.

Cons:
Limited edition.

Revlon Ultra Matte lip color. Review and swatches.

It took almost a year for Revlon to release these in Dubai. A year! Why?
Why do these brands release their collections here so late?

Problem 1: There are limited brands available here in Dubai. 
Problem 2: The brands that are available, do not release their full range in Dubai.
Problem 3: when they do...It's really, really late!!!

Enough with the rants. On to the review.
The Revlon Ultra HD Matte lipcolor was released for Spring 2016...(Yes, they grace us with their presence in October.) 
There are 6 colours available in Dubai, Seduction, Devotion, Obsession, Addiction, Temptation and Passion.
Why do the names remind me of a character from some story obsessed with an ex-boyfriend and require a restraining order? But I disgress...

From Left to Right. Seduction, Love, Passion, Devotion and Addiction.

The lipsticks are housed in a classy, flat, oval frosted finish tube, with a burnt silver cap and a doe-tip sponge applicator. I really like the applicator here, as it is firm and helps in precise application of the lipstick.

They have a sweet  scent, almost like...well, a cough syrup. Revlon advertises on it's website as a 100% wax free, gel formula. The scent though fades away during application.

The formula of the lipstick is rich and creamy, almost mid-way between a balm and a gloss with intense colour. Most colours deliver opaque colour in one swipe. However, the 'Matte' label is misleading. The lipstick dries down to a demi-matte finish giving a velvety look. 

The lipsticks lasted about 4 to 5 hours depending on what you eat, though the lighter colours faded faster than the darker ones.
They are definitely not transfer proof, but are definitely not drying, though they might stick to any dry patches you might have on your lips.

Despite the non-transfer proof draw back here. I loved the formula of the Revlon Ultra HD Matte lipcolor so much that I went back to buy more after trying out the initial two.
The lipsticks are, rich , creamy, hydrating with strong pigmentation and absolutely beautiful colours ranging from nudes to berry tones to reds. 

From top to bottom: Passion, Addiction, Devotion and Seduction.

I have been using these lipsticks all of last month! Just can't stop using them. (hmm..maybe I should get backups?)

Seduction is a some what sheer nude colour. This was the only shade that didn't apply opaque despite 2 to 3 coats. However, it is perfect for the no-makeup makeup look.

Devotion is a pink with muted mauve undertones. This has been called out as dupe for the Kylie Jenner Koko K liquid lipstick, but I found it darker than Koko K.

Addiction is one of my favourites. It's a pinkish-purplish berry colour. Quite unique reminding me of one of the Maybelline watershine diamonds lipglosses, which have now sadly been discontinued. I'd tell you the shade but the 10 year old gloss tube that I have, has had everything erased off it.

Passion is a beautiful deep red with cool to neutral undertones. Though I may not be into red lipstick much, this is a highly wearable red suitable for all skin tones.
The Revlon Ultra HD Matte lipcolor is available at all Revlon counters throughout Dubai at places like Centrepoint, Carrefour etc. 
Retailing for AED45 each, these are highly comparable to high-end lipsticks. 
Have you tried these out? Do leave a comment if you liked the Revlon Ultra HD Matte liquid lipsticks, or you hated them. Id love to know!


#lipstick #makeup #beautyblog #Dubai #RevlonUltraHD #liquidlipstick

Mac Liptensity, Marsala and Toast and butter.

Online shopping in Dubai has gotten a whole lot more interesting since Mac launched it's website for the Middle East. Especially, since new collections have been releasing at a much sooner date than before. Otherwise you would have to wait ages, for the Spring collection would arrive in Summer, way overdue, if you would agree...

However, the good news is Mac launched the Liptensity collection in Dubai within a couple of months of it's launch in the USA. Yay!

Ever since I saw the promo on the Liptensity lipsticks, I couldn't wait to get my hands on them, and they finally arrived in a black bubble wrap bag. 

Not sure whether I'm more excited about the bubble wrap or the lipstick.

Mac has changed it's classic black bullet packaging to one with coloured caps matching the lipstick shade. Thank Ye Lords! It was simply annoying having to look at the bottom of every lipstick to find the right shade with the kids shouting in the back.

However the lack of the pointed tip does make precision in application a little difficult, especially if you're as inept as me...or have a toddler hanging on to your legs when you're doing your makeup. Sigh! The joys of motherhood!

 Mac claims on it's website, "Each lipstick holds intense amount of pigment resulting in extreme colour intensity, clarity and vibrancy."

Mac delivers true to it's claims. The liptensity lipsticks are highly pigmented and most swipe opaque in one stroke. However, the lipstick does at first slightly tug on the lips, but delivers rich colour and applies smoothly as it warms up, and dries down to a creamy to a glossy finish.

Mac doesn't claim on it's website to have a hydrating formula, but these were definitly not dehydrating, and very comfortable to wear, especially on my lips which are normally super dehydrated and very flaky after wearing lipsticks. 
So I absolutely love this formula which lasted a minimum of 6 to 8 hours, which in my opinion is super great as even Mac's matte formula needs reapllication with me after one hour.

There are 24 shades in the range, going from classic nudes to edgy greys and blues. Favourites are Marsala, Toast and Butter, Medium Rare and Smoked Almond.

Retailing for 130 AED each, the lipsticks are probably the best Mac lipsticks I've tried of the lot. Mac has definitely upped the lipstick game with this formula!

Marsala is a deep magenta-berry colour which dries down to a satin finish. It went on opaque in one swipe and lasted atleast 6 hours with me, which included eating lunch. Some bloggers do say it lasted for 8 hours but that's as long as I can go with out having to take it off for wudu. It's a beautiful warm full coverage colour and looks great with desi skin.

Toast and Butter is a dark brown with warm orange undertones. It dries down to a cream finish and is extremely comfortable to wear lasting about six hours on the lips.

I love the rich, creamy formula of these lipsticks and the range of colours, which are suited to all skin tones. Being more into subtle shades, good lipsticks which last long are hard to find.
Have you tried any of the Mac liptensity lipsticks yet?

#Maclipsticks, #makeup, #beautyblogs, #Dubai, #Lipsticks, #Mac

Sneaky fruit for fussy kids!

Are your kids as fussy about eating fruits as mine? I tried bribing them. I tried forcing them. Basically I tried everything and it didn't work. the younger one pops all fruit out like a vending machine.

Since it's mostly hot in Dubai all year long, (We had slightly cold weather for all of three days last year.) I stated making them fruit popsicles. They're healthy, are given as a treat, and both of them just gobble them up! Plus since they're sugar and dairy free, they're a perfect guilt free substitute for ice cream, so my healthy eating efforts remain undisturbed.

Ingredients:

1) fruit ( I had some sweet melon on hand)

2) coconut water (Not necessary, but it adds extra minerals for the kids)

3)1 tsp of honey.

Method:

1) Blend all three ingredients together until smooth.

2) Pour into moulds. I used ice-cube trays as they help in portion control and limit wastage.

3) Cover tray tightly with cling wrap and stick in the tooth picks.

4) Pop into the freezer for 4 to 6 hours at least.

Honey is a great alternative to sugar, sweetens it up enough for the kids and doesn't add calories to ruin your diet.  you can use all kinds of different fruits for this. The upside is the kids simply gobble it up, whether it be blueberries, strawberries or mangoes. You can layer the fruits one over each other and creat multi-fruit popsicles too.

#Pickyeaters, #healthyeating, #fruit, #recipes, #healthydessert