You tube videos, product launches, Instagram, beauty blogger reviews. Sometimes I end up buying a product without even considering if it works for my needs. Following are few  products that I have regretted purchasing:

1. Revlon Photo Ready Concealer in Light-Medium: Wrong shade, which cast ghostly whitish cast under my eyes. The creamy concealer is a blending brushes nightmare. I stick to my MAC Studio fix concealer in NC 45 (gasp, horror???yes my under eye circles are dark grey) which is a tad bit orange for my liking. It acts like more like a corrector than a concealer as concealers are supposed to be a skin shade or two lighter that ones skin tone. I am eyeing the MAC select coverup concealer that will brighten my under eye.

2. NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Buenos Aires: Online orders can go ooh so wrong and this shade is a living proof for that. I ordered it from the NYX site, when the color was launched and when I received this and its other ghostly counter part Stockholm, I instantly knew that it wouldn't work for my skin tone. I worked around a way to make the later work but this one...well to hell with it. I am not a big fan of the soft matte formula, its patchy, and applies uneven. The only saving grace is the smell...it smells like butterscotch cupcakes .

3. Maybelline Eye Studio in Gold: Its a beautiful color when swatched, but when applied on lids, it tends to dissapear. Is it something wrong with my eye color or its longevity, I am yet to figure out the answer to that question. I am hunting for a new gold pencil. If you have any suggestions, kindly leave it below in the comments section.

4. Colorbar Blush Brush: Its pink, it's cute and the positive things I have to share stops right there. The bristles are pocky and itchy. The pink bristles makes it difficult to predict the blush packed on and yeah hello clownish cheeks.

5. Body Shop Vitamin E Night Cream: Well, I had high hopes on this one, but again..the high price didn't translate into fulfilling its claims. I didn't become even and smooth skinned even with continuous usage. The worst part: making this work in a humid climate like Cochin's. The moment I apply it on, I start sweating profusely through all my pores. The L'Oreal day and night cream does much better job that its 2x priced BS counterpart.

Few worthy mentions into the Hall of Shame:

• Himalaya Neem Face Wash: Smucks, the sucker sucks out oil from my face, I mean the good and bad ones making my face feel like a bare desert. It accentuates my dry patches and makes it more patchy.

• MAC Lipstick in Verve: What got over me to pick up a shade that a 60 years old lady would wear? God knows and add to the woes is the Satin finish. The other satin finish lipstick I own (Mocha) is not as bad as this one. The color darkens my face and after an hour or so, fades unevenly, sucking out the moisture from my lips making my naturally plump looking lips. I have not tried any matte finishes from MAC, but so far Satin is my most hated MAC finishes.

 So there you go, my list of products that made it into the hall of shame. You have any products that you have regretted purchasing?. Share your list :)

Shopping in Cochin

Cochin, you have changed beyond recognition!!!. I remember....some 7 years back, the only places we could find good western wear was Seemati and Jayalakshmi. The salons, were regular in giving me a plain old layer cut.
My tryst with Bangalore exposed me to various one stop shopping destinations like Lifestyle, MAX, Westside, Central, and so on. Two years later, when I went back to Kerala, I struggled to find apparels that suited my taste. Cursing the lack of availability of anything 'western' I adjusted, with occasional travel to Bangalore where I would stuff my bags with clothes and travel back to flaunt them in front of cousins and friends. A revolution happened in year 2011 when MAX opened up their first store in Cochin. Being an affordable brand MAX is, they became a mass hit with the school and college going kids.

Back to Bangalore, I naturally progressed to Mango, Zara, MAC, Promod and so on and I was clearly unaware of the happenings back in my home town.

• Marks and Spencer opened up their first flagship store in LULU.
• Lifestyle opened its first showroom next to LULU.
• Westside and Central have a strong footing in Cochin.
• Vero Moda/Only/Jack and Johns has two stores in Cochin.
• Splash has opened up in LuLu Mall.
• Body Shop has their small, but amply stocked store in Lulu Mall and Central Mall.
• MAX has more that 4 stores at present.
• Rimmel Counter, stand-alone Faces Colorbar and Health & Glow stores have their presence in Cochin.
• Ambika Pillai has opened up her Salon in Cochin, her second venture after her successful chain of salons in Delhi.
• Lakme Salon (finally) opened up in Kakkanad Cochin.
• Tony and Guy has their salon in LULU and Panampally Nagar.
• PARCOS (perfume shop) has a stand alone area within LULU.

Apart from all the above brands, there are lot of mushrooming design centers that cater to an array of clientele list.
Malayalees still prefer to buy sarees from Seemati or Jayalakshmi, but the sensibilities are changing. Neon is not jakaas anymore, nor is lace and party wears.
I see a lot of youngsters throbbing malls, wearing classy, stylish western wear outfits.

The surprise kicked in when I went to Goodwill to buy some toiletries for my mother.

I bought in my L'Oreal Mythical Oil mask and asked the sales guy to suggest a Body Wash, and literally my jaw dropped when he told cooly "Bath and Body Works mam, It's one of the fast moving body washes". Yes the same bath and body works shower gel, shower cream that cost 1000-1300 online, cost 800-900 rupees in Goodwill. Apart from BBW, they also stock Victoria Secrets mists, imported Jergens, and my favorite ST. Ives products. My mom who literally cringes on a 500 rupees Body Shop BB, agreed to BBW, as she couldn't resist the smell.

 Presenting to you combined loot of the day:

• St. Ives Intensely Hydrating Body Wash in Creamy Coconut
• Victoria Secrets Dream of Glamour Body Mist
• Bath and Body Works Body Wash in Warm Vanilla Sugar
• Bath and Body Works Sensual Amber Body Lotion
• St. Ives Apricot Scrub
• Loreal Mythical Oil masque
• Lacto Calamine for Dry skin 

Cochin, I hope in the coming years you continue to surprise me. Bring in rapid changes in Malayalees, both within and outside. We have a long way to go...

What's in my bag 2014

If you put your hand into the deep black hole called MY BAG, you would come out with something totally crazy, it's more like pulling out a bunny from a magician's hat. I am no magician, but my bag is certainly a hat with endless possibilities.

The one thing, like many other things that is a staple in my bag is my vanity bag or my makeup rounded, compressed and packed into a small pouch. It contains all the essentials required to transform my 9-5 look to a diva look in about 5 minutes.

I bought this bag from Max, and this was part of a babushka doll bag, I got 5 bags at 150 bucks, each of which was placed within. This is the 3rd bag in the series.Now for the contents of the bag

• Maybelline BB Cream: Its a pain to carry one's compact or foundation on a day to day basis. I require only light to medium coverage, and hence BB cream fits the bill. Gives me light coverage and polished look.
• Lakme Eyeconic Kajal: Kajal can make or break your look. You can simply line your lids for a pane jane look or slightly smudge  it for a look fit for the evening. Eyeconic kajal is dark, smudge proof, and stays put for a long time.
• Marks and Spencer Autograph Blush perfume: Who would want to smell like sweaty tomatoes. Though the smell of peonies and lilies doesn't last very long, the handy travel sized bottle is apt for a quick whiff of floral air.
• MAC lipstick in Creme in your coffee: MLBB, MUST HAVE...that's it, no more adjectives required for one of a kind awesome lippy.

           Note: I have been carrying MAC See Sheer a lot, for the past couple of weeks.

• Maybelline Baby lips in Pink Lolita: For that pouty, pinky, pretty, hydrated baby like              lips....Maybelline baby lips it is.
• L'occitane solid perfume in cherry blossom: Not a big fan, cause the staying power is pretty low. Bought it, considering the travel I do, and the long vision of a broken glass bottle, but it let me down and I am back to my trusty old glass bottle.
• Clean and clear oil control film: An un-necessary evil, that was brought of a rack owing to  a beauty blogger's review, but my skin being a dry disco ball, doesn't need much of bulb control.

•    Misc:

• Earring from Forever New: Because I sometimes keep forgetting to wear one.
• Some safety pins
• Apart from the ones listed above I always carry my Body ShopAlmond hand cream, a comb, Lifebuoy hand sanitizer, Orbit chewing gum, some hair clips and whole lotta medicines in another pouch. Don't be surprised by the amount of meds I carry, the tag medicine woman was not bestowed upon me without a reason :). 

Do let me know what you guys carry in your beauty pouch.