Marc Jacobs is one brand that I wouldn't have purchased with my hard earned moolah, but then I experienced a slice of luxury when Sephora decided to gift Beauty Insiders with Marc Jacobs products as 2016 Birthday Gift.

In February, my friend got hold of Fresh Soy/Rose Face Mask as my Birthday Gift  from the Sephora LA store (my friend had gone to Sephora to return a foundation). When I made another purchase online, I was allowed to select the Marc Jacobs set as my second gift. So now, I have both the birthday sets :p

Packaging

The birthday set comes in a cute box. The ingredient list (incomplete) is printed on the side of the box. For a comprehensive list, visit Marc Jacobs Website.

Marc Jacobs Highlighter Gel Eye Crayon in Blancquer l $25 (INR 1750)

Travel size ( 0.37 g ) silver twist up eye pencil. Absolutely love this, the eye pencil is creamy, jet black and long wearing. On my waterline, it stayed for 9 hours (with minor wear and tear), which is a big deal considering I have very watery eyes. The product is very creamy, and so it did transfer onto my hooded lids, but once set, the product is budge-proof. Also, the tip doesn't stay sharp (blame the creaminess) and hence difficult to wing it!

As much as I love the pencil, I am still torn over the price of the full-size product. It is a battle between my heart and my purse and sadly, I wouldn't be re-purchasing the full-size product.

Le Marc Lip Creme in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang l $30 (INR 2100)

Travel size product (1 g) with all black and silver packaging. The shade name is written on the bottom of the tube. The color itself is such a pretty muted pink. Kudos to Sephora for picking a universal shade suitable for all races, all skin tones. The lipstick is very creamy, long wearing and stays put for 4 hours before starting to crust around the inner rims of the lip. I might (read, MIGHT) purchase a full size of this lipstick because the shade is so every-day appropriate and I love the formula. The full size is going to hurt my poor purse badly.

Swatches

I am very happy with the gift for the year 2016. Beauty Insiders can select one of the two available gift sets as a birthday present from Sephora (online and in-store) during your birthday month.

Color Show Lipstick Review: Choco-Latte, Violet Fusion, Forever Mauve

I have never had much luck with drugstore lipsticks. At a point, I stopped following new drugstore launches and that was until I saw swatches of Maybelline Color Show lippies. The colors looked like the ones up my alley and Maybelline had whole array of colors from brown to pinks to purples to red to choose from. I went cray-cray and bought home 3 lippies: Choco-Latte, Violet Fusion, and Forever Mauve.

L-R: Forever Mauve, Choco-Latte, Violet Fusion

L-R: Forever Mauve, Choco-Latte, Violet Fusion

What Maybelline Claims:

Maybelline New York launches 32 new lipstick shades with the most stunning hues of red, pink, brown and mauve. They are vibrant moisture rich shades to suit all Indian skin tones. Enriched with ultra-care hydrating formula which gives your lips all day hydration. They are anti-oxidant and and heat resistant, which guarantees color integrity and does not even fade in extreme heat and humidity. Are you ready to show off your colorful sides?
Here's why you will love it:

• Enriched with ultra-care hydrating formula
• 32 vibrant moisture rich shades
• Lip color doesn’t fade in extreme heat and humidity
• Shades to suit all Indian skin tones

Packaging:

A standard black packaging. The colored band around the body of the lipstick indicates the color family. For Rs.299 ($5), the packaging is OK, nothing to write home about.

Smell:
This is one thing, that I was disappointed about. Smells of strawberries, not in a good way though, but more leaning towards tackish.

Finish:
Creamy and highly pigmented, with no tugging and pulling. The color, Violet Fusion had visible silver sparkles that makes it slightly gritty. Being creamy, the colors do transfer.

Staying Power:
4 hours, in hot and humid climate, and with eating and drinking, even less. I don't mind applying lipstick frequently, and hence is not a dealbreaker in my view

Swatches:

Choco-Latte (Brown Band): The perfect MLBB for tan girls,it can pull of pink or brown depending on your skin undertone.

                              

Forever Mauve (Violet Band): A pinky-purple, which leans more towards purple. The color screams sophistication, and is not a common color under drugstore color wheel. It can also make you look slightly older and mature.

                               

Violet Fusion (Pink Band): A semi-bright pink with visible silvery sparkle (not visible in swatch)
, that makes this lipstick look tacky. If you are in the medium-tan skin color, this is one of that hot pinks that will not clash with your skin undertone.

                              
Verdict:

PS: My mush forced me to blur out areas around my mouth. I should have taken the swatches with a base on :(