Fall is here! What fall, asks Cochities! We are still running from the bright sun, sweating like no one business. Summers to me is all about dewy, bronzy makeup. Here is my transition to fall: summer makeup. These are few products I would use to create my golden bronzy goddess fall makeup.

Inglot YSM Foundation in 52 l INR 1100

An oldie but a goodie. This is the kinda foundation that I can bank on knowing that it won't slide off my face. The foundation gives a satin finish and the stays for about 6-7 hrs. The shade is a match made in heaven and unlike MAC Studio Fix, this leans towards a more yellow base than orange.

MAC Strobe Cream l $33

Truth to be told, this product was on the back drawer of both my vanity and mind. After the highlighters took over my life, this product did loose some importance. The Inglot foundation by itself gives a satin finish, but if you wanna up the glow quotient, just add a drop of this runny, white goodness and viola, you are glowing from within like a 1000 W bulb. Beware: The product attracts dirt.

Colourpop Super Shock Shadow in Sunset Blvd l $5

One of the more subtle Colourpop shades from the Kae Pop collection. The shade is a subtle gold, not quite opaque, but loaded with tiny sparkles. You can layer the color and the shadow stays put for 7 hours without creasing on my oily lids.

Chambor Eye Tattoo Liner in ET04 l INR 500

A very beautiful brown shade with a subtle sheen. This sharpenable pencil is very creamy and goes on the lid without tugging or pulling. I blend out the color with my fingers slightly, giving me the smudged brown smokey effect which is perfect if you don't need something very harsh like a black smokey eye. Also, this shade is a dupe of Urban Decay 24*7 pencil in Stag.

Makeup Geek Blush in Bliss l $10

It is a very pretty matte coral shade that suits fair to medium skin tone better. Bliss is one of the older Makeup Geek Blush formulas. The blush kicks up a lot of powder but goes on smoothly. Stays on my cheeks for 4-5 hours.

MAC Crosswires Lipstick l INR 1450

A beautiful coral shade in the cremesheen finish. Goes on smooth with medium opaqueness in a single swipe. You can build up the color to the desired intensity. For NC42 and darker, the shade may clash with your skin tone. Stays put for 3-4 hours before fading.

Prada Candy Perfume l INR 4000 (approx)

This perfume is very summer appropriate, very sweet and caramelly. The EDP version stays on me for 6 hours or so. Sillage is medium!

So what are your favorite summer items that are transitioning into fall?

5 Waterproof Makeup to Try

Taking your date out for a swim on the first date? You ain't gonna smudge even the eyeliner boo, cause ain't you smart enough to have heard of waterproof makeup? No?? Well read on!

Image: Google

1. Maybelline The Falsies Waterproof Mascara l INR 450

I am blessed with long lashes and I don't usually wear mascara , but if I were to pick a waterproof version of mascara that would allow me to watch my favorite rom-com even while balling my eyes out, I would definitely choose Maybelline Falsies mascara. No one wants to take a pretty raccoon out for a second date. The Falsies mascara gives good length and volume to my eyelashes and it is pretty affordable too.

2. Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place Foundation (4N2:Spiced Sand) l INR 2790

A long wearing foundation that doesn't budge come what may, rain, sweat or even the swimming lesson! Comes in whooping 20 shades to suit any undertone from warm to neutral to cool. The foundation doesn't oxidize neither does it separate. Finish is super matte which in turn looks pale, I have to add a little blush to make to look lively. After 4-5 hours, my natural oils starts peeking, nothing crazy, making the look more demi-matte or satiny. Without a mattifying primer, I have to go in for my first blot in 7 hours which is a good wear time considering the area that I live in.

3. MAC Piantpots l INR 1850

If you have experienced  eyeshadows creasing on your lids, adopt a MAC painpot.  Paintpots serve multiple purposes, from covering the veins on the lids to letting the vibrancy of the eyeshadow to shine through to holding the eye makeup for hours. Painpots will hold on to the eyelids and will prevent eyeshadow from creasing while you are breaking a sweat on the dance floor.

4. Chambor Extreme Wear Liquid Lipsticks l INR 845

The liquid lipsticks are far more long-wearing than your regular lipsticks and these Chambor ones have cleared the water test with flying colors. They dry to a matte finish that can be a little too drying for some. I have reviewed the lipsticks here.

5. LA Girl Matte Makeup Setting Spray l $7

I use makeup spray to remove powderiness from my face, to mattify, and hold my makeup. Use a setting spray to increase the staying power of your makeup by 3-4 hours. Tried tested and the Girl with a pearl earring approved.

Water Test

A: Initial Swatch; B: Under Water for 5 Minutes; C: After Rigorous Wiping

I let the product swatches to set for 30 minutes before running the swatches under the tap water for 5 minutes straight. The Falsies mascara did feather a little, but the other swatches stayed put.

I started rigorously wiping the swatches with my fingers, and the Estee Lauder foundation started to pull off, whereas the MAC Paintpot swatch and Chambor Extreme Wear lipstick swatch came out as clear winners.

 

Chambor Extreme Wear Transferproof Liquid Lipstick: 482 and 404

Liquid lipsticks are all in rage this season, and so are Kylie Jennersque brown shades. Indian beauty brands are always a season or two late on the trend bandwagon, but this time, Chambor outdid other beauty companies by launching on-trend matte liquid lipsticks in India. They have come out with 18 shades, the color shades ranging from, reds to pinks to browns.

I am reviewing two shades today: 404 (Fall In Rose) and 482 (Coffee Date)

Claims

 A long-lasting transfer proof liquid lipstick with a smooth sensorial feel and a creamy matte finish. It's extreme coverage provides a deep, intense color in just one stroke.

Price Tag

6ml l INR 845 ($12)

Ingredient List

Packaging 

Comes in a cardboard box with the shade number on the bottom. The shade numbers are slightly tricky to remember. Housed inside is a transparent plastic tube with a black cap. The dispenser is a standard doe foot applicator that dispenses the right amount of product.

Note: While doing my research, I found out that the Chambor website has listed the shade names along with the number. Not, sure why it was not printed on the product.

Smell

Reminds me of the buttercream frosting smell of the NYX  soft matte lipsticks.

Application and performance 

• Opaque in a single swipe. 
• Stays glossy for 10 minutes, post which sets into a completely matte formula. 
• Accentuates dry and chapped lips, and hence apply a lip balm prior to application.
• Stays put for 6-7 hours and doesn't budge until you snack on oily food. With heavy meals, the lipstick tends to wear out from the inner rim of the mouth, and outer edges.
• Slightly drying after 4 hours, I have a tendency to wet my lips as the lipstick tends to become more drying. The shade 482 wore and performed better that 404.
• Removing the lipstick is a pain and I had to use an oil based remover to avoid staining around my mouth.
• Transfer-proof as well as water-proof.

Shades and swatches

482: A rosy brown color, tends to become darker with time.
404: A mid-tone purple.

Verdict

A big thumbs up. Currently, Chambor has the best liquid lipstick in India.

5 Under-Rated Products

With the beauty world changing faster than Cochin's climate, it is a pain to be on top of new releases. Manier times, my existing makeup gets pushed to the darker depths of the drawer to make way for the newer ones. I would like to highlight 5 products that do not get enough credit in the beauty world. Products that doesn't give you 1000's of hit on a Google search.

1. Patanjali Aloe Vera Gel l INR 40

Patanjali is the fastest growing FMCG company in India and I am a big fan of their Aloe Vera Gel. I don't see many Indian bloggers mentioning it, but I absolutely love it and think it's better that any high-end Aloe Vera gel in the market. I use the gel to soothe my skin from sunburn or mix it with the face masks.

2. Chambor Luminous Loose Powder (202 Ocher) l INR 1275

When I was on a look out for a good under-eye concealer setting powder, I couldn't get much info on this lil gem online. Though it's marketed as a luminous powder, I  have to tell you that this is the only yellow loose powder that doesn't make my undereye ashy. Sadly, the Banana shade from ABH doesn’t work for me. This one sets the undereye perfectly making it budge-proof and also gives a nice luminosity and highlight to my under-eye area.

Link: Featured in a previous Favorites post.

3. MAC lipstick in Dubonnet l INR 1450

You must be wondering why a MAC bullet is being mentioned in an under-rated products post. Well, I have a problem with people not acknowledging the color. Dubonnet is a warm brown-red color that looks absolutely bomb on tan skin, but then it's famous red siblings Ruby Woo and Russian Red is so hyped up that no one gives a damn about this poor shade. Next time you are at a MAC store, do give this a try and I am positive that you won't regret your decision.

4. Inglot YSM Foundation (52) l INR1100

Throwback to ages ago when drugstore brands didn't bother to cater to medium-dark skin tone, and MAC was the only option for deep yellow/tan skin tone girls. Inglot YSM foundation gives the most natural finish and stays put for long humid hours. Packaged in a plastic tub, it soon became my travel buddy. I don't see many YouTubers/Bloggers raving about this foundation which is so under-rated in the beauty community.

5. UD Brow Box (Brown Sugar) l INR 2100

I love my ABH Dipbrow Pomade, but that being a non-lazy girl friendly product, I was on a hunt for an easy to use eyebrow powder. I almost bought the Too Faced Eyebrow Kit, but luckily my order didn’t go through and I ended up purchasing this lil gem. It’s a perfect match for my jet black eyebrow. I use the lighter shade in the inner portions and the darker shade around the outer edges. I don’t use the eyebrow wax, the lower chamber houses two tiny eyebrow brushes and a plucker. I couldn't find a single thing online about this kit and this one is an under-rated product within the UD family. If you do get your hands on this, don't think twice, just buy it.

So, do you have any under-rated products that you would like to recommend?

Makeup: Travel Edition

I used to be a heavy packer, now I am a convert. Not many would agree after I show you my travel edition makeup, but it was much worse. When my family decided to take a week’s trip to Mysore-Wayanad, I assured them that I would pack light on hearing which my husband burst out into laughter “Light?? You always carry 10kg of makeup”. I decided to restrict the whole makeup in a small pouch and think I succeeded in cutting off junk. A round off of what I carried with me for a week of adventure through Tippu Sultan’s land and the hilly regions of Wayanad.

Face

MAC Prep + Prime Natural Radiance: I could have easily skipped this looser, but then I can never put this to good use in Cochin (Considering the hot and humid climate). I used it as part of my night time routine post face wash.

MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation (NC42): I love liquid foundation, but considering the hazard of carrying a glass bottle + brush, I decided against it. The Studio Fix is perfect for that even coverage, all the while keeping my natural oils in check. Too much and hey hello cakeface!

L'Oreal Paris Lucent Magique Sunset Glow: I wanted some color on my cheeks, as Studio Fix can strip the face of any color. This palette can be used as a highlighter too.

Eyes

Eyepencil: Pop of color via Bourjois Contour Clubbing 51 Golden Dress, Chambor Dazzle 105 Purple  Dazzle, Maybelline Colossal Kajal Turquoise.

UD Naked Basics 2: Was wondering whether I should carry this or not. I did go for smokey eye back-to-back. Also, I used a Primal shade to contour.

MAC Eye Shadow Blackberry: Not my favorite, but saves a ton of space as compared to my UD eyebrow kit or NYX palette.

Lips

My Lip Mantra: Neutral + Bright + MLBB = Sorted!

Neutral: ColourPop Lumiere: The perfect matte muted pink. It does settles into fine lines, I remove the crumbles using my wipes and re-apply every 4-5 hours.

Bright: MAC Viva Glam Miley: The perfect bright pink for my skin tone, complements smokey eye or neutral eyes.

MLBB: MAC Plumful: It is not part of the additional makeup I carried. This lip shade is part of my daily makeup bag, something that I carry to office everyday.

Tip

• Always carry a lip balm in your hand-bag. Air at some places can really suck out moisture from your lips.
• Carry multi-purpose items, like in the above case, UD Basics 2 which doubled up as a contour shade.
• A good way to change up the eye look is by changing up the eye color pencil.

Empties

I am back with an epic empties post! The reason why I have a ton of junk, and mini reviews to share is that I have been collecting these over the course of three months. So, this is not technically, empties for this month, but rather one for the quarter.
I have a lot of bath and body products to share and also my first ever lipstick empties! whoop whoop!

1. Dove Go Fresh Deo-Cucumber and Green Tea: A staple in my shower as this deo is very effective for sensitive underarms. The only negative, this thing stains, like literally, leaves white crumbly powder on your clothes. Inspite of this major drawback, I keep going back to Dove for, I like me some non-sting deo.
Repurchase: Yes, it my go-to after shower deo.

2. The Body Shop Shower Gel in Vanilla Brulee : I love warm, cozy scents and vanilla brulee shower gel is my thing during the colder months. I love this so much, as the smell is warm and cuddly, if that makes sense. Slightly pricey, but lil goes a long way if you use a loofah.
 Repurchase: I did hit the local Body Shop store to buy a backup, only to be told that it is a seasonal scent. Hopefully, I can snatch it up during winter sales :)

3. Palmolive Thermal Spa- Crushed Coconut and Jojoba Butter Extracts: Another warm and cozy scent. Worth every penny and nickel. It is by far, my most re-purchased body wash. I have countless empty bottles of this. Also, my mom is a huge fan of this scent.
Repurchase: Yes, but currently I am running few BBW shower gels, and post finishing that I would purchase this.

 4. Marks & Spencers Blissful Strawberry Hand Cream: Smells very plasticky, and I had to re-use this hand cream every other hour to keep my hands soft. Very inexpensive, but not a class A performer.
Repurchase: No, wouldn't be re-purchasing this scent.

 5. Neutrogena Oil Free Moisturiser SPF15 : This one smells weird, and I haven’t gotten much use out of it, except for removing my eye makeup. It crossed the expiry date, and I decided to chuck it out for good.
Repurchase: Wouldn't be re-purchasing.

6. Fabindia Orange and Cinnamon Face and Body Scrub: I love cinnamon scented anything, and that's the reason why I bought this, inspite of having serious apprehension about the ingredient list loaded with parabens. Didn't like it much, went through it in a month as the granules were extremely small, and I had to use more product than desired.
Repurchase: No, wouldn't be re-purchasing.

7. Maybelline Colossal Kajal: A staple in my bag, I go through this like water.
Repurchase: YES. YES. YAAASSSSS

8. Maybelline Hyper Sharp Liner: Well, this promising looking, eye pencil dried out on me. Yes!!! within a month, no amount of jiggling and wiggling could revive it. It's much sophisticated younger sibling, Colossal liner, performs a much better job than this.
Repurchase: I bought the Maybelline Colossal liner, and hence would not be re-purchasing.

9. Chambor Teal Dazzle Eyeliner Pencil: Teal is such a strikingly beautiful color. The only downside is the one-side twist up, ie. if you twist 1/2 an inch more, it’s never going inside, ever :( they should have made this a retractable pencil.
Repurchase: I have already re-purchased this and also own all the colors under the rainbow from this range :)

10. Maybelline Falsies Mascara: By far, one of the best drugstore-priced mascara out there. Gives insane lift and volume to my lashes and stays put for a long time. It's a dry formula, and hence easy to go in for a second coat.
Repurchase: Yes, have re-purchased this.

11. NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream Buenos Aires : Had made it to the last year’s hall of shame, I did try to let my pale skinned friends adopt this one, but it didn't fit. Even made my ghostly-looking friend scary as hell.
This formula, or one that I received, applies patchy and weird. The saving grace, this one smells like butterscotch cupcake :)

12. Vega Smudger Brush: I love Vega brushes, I think they are bang for the bucks. This smudger brush is useless, and was just taking up additional space in my vanity, so I thought why not just dispose it.
Repurchase: No

13. Maybelline BB Cream in N*de: I have grown out of the BB cream phase, I am more of a light coverage foundation kinda girl. This one was a staple in my handbag for almost 4 years. Currently, I have Colorbar BB cream in my bag that matches better to my skin tone than this.
Repurchase: No, I wouldn't be repurchasing.

14. Johnsons Baby Wipes: I use wipes to cleanse off my makeup as stage 1 of my night time routine. I always have a wet tissue pack in my bag as well at home as a backup.
Repurchase: It’s an essential, and hence re-purchased.

Finally, my lipstick empty, never ever in my life have I thought of a scenario where I would finish up a lipstick, but that day did arrive and the one to each the finish line first was a staple in my handbag.
15. Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter Sugar Plum: It looks so natural on my lips, and so subtle. The staying power is not the best (glossy finish), but it is flattering on my tan skin.
Repurchase: I did end up searching high and low for this shade, but seems Revlon has pulled lip butters out of the market. The closest dupe for this shade wold be the MAC Plumful lipstick.

July Favorites

We are half way through August, and I was meaning to post this in the first week of August, but somehow got postpone. Better late than never right?? so here goes my favorites for the month of July:

   

                                         

LA Girl Pro.concealer: A cheaper alternative for MAC Prolongwear concealer, available in a wide range of shades, and one that wears for whole 9 hours. You can read my review here. The shade Medium Beige has been a savior the past month, I have been constantly using it under my eyes to brighten up sans-foundation.
                                              

Maybelline Colossal Liner: A girl cant have enough liners. I had Maybelline Hypersharp Liner in stock, which dried out in a month much to my dismay. I had little to no hopes for the new one, but surprisingly its been a revelation for me, this month. I can draw precise winged liner and it does dry quickly without much smudging.

Urban Decay Eyebrow Kit: I am a brow on-fleek kinda girl, I have quite thick eyebrows with bald spotting in between, I have been using this brow kit and absolutely love this stuff. Not black, but dark enough to be masked as real hair, this kit comes with a lighter shade, brow wax, and brow tool. I don't get much use of the other items, but  the shade that matches my hair, stays puts for 9 hours and looks quite natural.
                                  

Chambor Loose Powder: This was an impulsive buy, but then I quite find good use out of it. SA suggested I pick up a darker shade, but I wanted it to powder my under eye concealer. Has nice strong yellow undertone, thereby giving my under eyes a very bright effect. Contains finely milled glitter which is noticeable only on close inspection. It has all problems associated with a loose powder, but then I can pass up on those design flaws as it quantifies for being a good setting powder.

So what are you favorites for this month?