Pond's Age Miracle Cell Regen Day Cream SPF 15 PA++ Review

I can't emphasise enough how anti-ageing products are important for our skin esp. if you are in mid 20s and above, start on your anti-ageing regime before your skin shows signs of ageing. 

Today I am reviewing the Pond's Age Miracle Cell Regen Day Cream SPF 15 PA++. Read on to know how this made my skin happy.

PRICE:  Rs. 449

QUANTITY: 50g

INGREDIENTS:

WHAT IT CLAIMS: 
It works deep within your skin helping it act younger and giving it 3X more renewal power# while protecting against age-accelerating UVA/UVB rays. It visibly reduces fine lines, wrinkles and age spots. Pond’s age miracle delivers the following results: 

 - Fights against fine lines and wrinkles - Visibly reduced appearance of age spots
 - Protection against the UVA/UVB rays
 - Deeply moisturised skin to preserve its youth

MY EXPERIENCE: Pond's Age Miracle Cell Regen Day Cream comes in a classy outer packaging but sadly it is of no use after you take out the tub. The glass jar/tub is a little heavy. I don't understand why Pond's invests on packaging so much. Even though they look so gorgeous, they are hardly of any use later. Back to the point, this cream did miracles for my skin. Yes! :D It did make my skin look better in more than one way. It worked on the acne marks and reduced them considerably to the point of invisibility ;). Those little laugh lines were less noticeable. And IT DIDN'T BREAK ME OUT!!! I enjoyed flawless skin for 2 months since I started using it.

The cream is thick in texture and moisturises skin well but I feel it doesn't do much on the hydrating part. Only a little amount is required for each application so one tub lasts quite long. It has got the typical Pond's cream smell that doesn't bother my nose much. On to the not so good part, it gives a whitish cast for initial 1-2 minutes but then it sinks into skin leaving a glow (which might "look" like bit oily in summers) on face. I totally love the effect. Other than that I don't find anything wrong with this one.

WHAT I LIKED:

• Works on acne spots and reduces them considerably.
• Controlled breakouts on my sensitive skin.
• Laugh lines visibly reduced. Don't have wrinkles, so can't comment on that.
• Skin does look younger and all glowy and radiant.
• One tub lasts two months easily even on daily usage.   
• Classy packaging. 
• Has SPF 15 PA+++ 

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:

• Gives a whitish cast initially on application.
• Might feel a little heavy in summer and won't suit oily skin in this season.
• Not a con, but I would like to suggest Pond's to invest less on fancy packaging and make it more pocket friendly maybe.
  

VERDICT:
I loved this one so much that I ordered the serum from this range next to try out in this summer. (But that's a whole different story and my skin is back to its dark days :( Would review that soon!) But gals esp. with dry skin, do check out this one if you want to start with your anti-ageing regime and looking for good products. This one is definitely worth a try! :)

RATINGS:  4.75 out of 5

PR Info: This Summer, it's all about 'Colour' at The Body Shop

Striking neutrals. chic nudes. rich browns. Fierce pinks. powerful purples. brilliant blues. gorgeous greens. We travelled the world to source the rarest pigments, triple-filtered and expertly milled them, then blended them with community fair trade oils to create unrivalled brilliance and clarity. Raw colour, maximum impact. what’s your colour crush?

Eye-Catching Colour

Our new Colour Crush collection is a fashion-forward palette of mono eyeshadows in a full array of the season’s must-have stand-out shades. Beautifully wearable, the lust-worthy line-up ranges from elegant beiges to shocking brights in a mix of pearly and matte finishes. Incredibly blendable and buildable, these intense shades can be applied wet or dry and worn alone, together or layered, creating a myriad of looks from daytime chic to full-on night-time glamour. Go ahead and play with colour!

Sleek Design

Our new clear, recyclable pack gives a better view of the rich, impactful colour inside. We think it’s simply beautiful. What’s more, spectacular colour is perfectly pursefriendly; 

Each mono eyeshadow costs Rs 695.

Crush, Crush Baby...

Our high-impact Colour Crush eyeshadows are made with crushed pigments in Italy, the fashion colour capital of the world. High-quality pigments are coated with a silky blend of Community Fair Trade oils, creating optimal light reflection to bring out all their brilliance and clarity. The super-smooth and silky, luminous colour glides on, melting and fusing seamlessly with skin to reveal a vibrant intensity. Take your eye-look to the next level.

We Love...

We’ve got a serious crush on our vibrant shades, like the bold, pearly peacock hue of Something Blue 510 P, the vivid pearlescent purple of Blueberry Night 405 P and the deep intensity of Moonlight Kiss 015 M. Come find your favourite, for eyes that pop with cutting-edge colour.

THE HEART INSIDE

Our Colour Crush Eyeshadows benefit from a blend of Community Fair Trade Brazil nut oil, marula oil, honey, organic virgin coconut oil and sesame oil. Our community Fair Trade Brazil nut oil comes from the Candela co-op in Peru. The ‘castaneros’ or nut gatherers collect the broken nuts that can’t be sold for food use and hand-crack them to extract the oil. Trade has helped to protect 3,000 hectares of rainforest in the Madre de Dios region. Sustainable harvesting also helps to support the indigenous species that depend on the Brazil nut tree, such as the orchid bee.

100% CRUELTY-FREE

We’ve worked hard to ensure that our Colour Crush collection features the most intensely vibrant, fashion-driven shades whilst remaining vegetarian and 100% cruelty free, like all our products.

Colour Crush does not contain any bug shell extract to colour the product, any shimmer effect is made from mineral mica and the binding agents are made from natural vegetable materials instead of crushed shellfish. Because our love for animals includes bugs, insects and other creepy crawlies.

GET THE LOOK

Backstage Secrets

Lan Nguyen-Grealis, Head make-up artist for the Fashion Scout, home of new talent and the largest independent event during London Fashion Week, is loving the colour crush collection. She shares her backstage secrets to getting spring/summer 2013’s intense eye-looks.

WHAT MAKEUP LOOKS ARE HOT ON THE CATWALK THIS SEASON?

“This season, eye-looks are bold and vibrant in pigment colour. Statement eyes are a must. The new range of Colour Crush eye colours is great to use - the shadows glide on easily and last a long time, which is ideal for show work. All the colours work really well for this season’s trends.”

WHAT MAKES COLOUR CRUSH SO EASY TO WORK WITH?

“The Colour Crush shades are simple to apply directly on to the eye area, you can layer on as much as you please. The colours look different depending on how much you apply, which is great to get tonal graduation. From dark to light is easy to achieve without having to blend too much.”

WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT COLOUR CRUSH?

“Every colour you see is exactly the colour you get when you use it. The biggest surprise is how vibrant the colours are and how some unusual tones can look amazing on the eyes, such as Chat-Up Lime and Something Blue.”

WHAT ’S YOUR FAVOURITE SHADE IN THE COLOUR CRUSH RANGE?

“My most favourite shades this season, for versatility and for everyday use, are Moonlight Kiss and Caramel Flirt.”

THE BRIGITTE SUPER FLICK

Lan says: “The Brigitte Super Flick was created for Ekaterina Kukhareva for her SS13 collection. “Goddess in St. Tropez” was the theme, taking inspiration from the 60’s fashion icon Brigitte Bardot. The mood is happy, care free, glamorous and sexy. Eyes headline the look as bright colours take on a geometric shape with a super flick set against a canvas of flawless skin.”

Step One

Using the Slanted brush, sweep the new Colour Crush in shade 510 Something Blue along the lash line, starting at the inner corner of the eyes and finishing with a flirty, 60’s flick past the outer corners.

Step Two

Take the Eyeshadow brush, dampen it for even more intense colour and apply more eyeshadow all over the eye-lids, up to the crease of the eye.

Step Three

Highlight brows and open the eyes by running the new Colour Crush in Shade 001 Sugar Gaze along the brow bone.

Step Four

Curl lashes and apply two coats of The Body Shop Define & Lengthen Mascara in 01 Black, to the top lashes only.

GET A FLAWLESS COMPLEXION

To create a naturally flawless complexion, apply Oil Free Balancing Liquid Foundation using the Foundation brush and blend well for seamless, even coverage. Use the Radiant Highlighter on the highest points of the face – forehead, temples and cheek bones, down the centre of the nose, across the cupids bow of the lip and onto the chin – blending well, to create a luminous finish. For a fresh, rosy glow, smile and sweep All-in-One Cheek Colour in 04 Marshmallow onto the apple of the cheeks, blending to a sheer wash of colour.

At The Body Shop, we believe true beauty comes from the heart. For us, beauty is much more than a pretty face. It’s about feeling good and doing good, too.

We make our products with love and care. We source some of the finest raw ingredients from the four corners of the globe. We harness the skills of artisan farmers and add our expertise to create effective products that are wonderful to use.

We trade fairly so communities benefit as well as you. We never test on animals, and all our products are 100% vegetarian. We campaign with passion on issues close to our heart, because activism is in our blood.

We always keep people, animals and the planet in mind. So when you shop with us, you are choosing

‘BEAUTY WITH HEART’.

Faces Velvet Kohl Noir Intense Review

Hey, I am back again girlies! ;) And today's review is on Faces Velvet Kohl Noir Intense, from which I had a lot of expectations but it failed me completely. Read on to know why!

PRICE:  Rs. 269

QUANTITY: 1.2 g

WHAT IT CLAIMS:
This longstay kohl glides like velvet on the inner rim of the eye. Its shiny one stroke application is suited for hot and humid climatic conditions. use with FACES dual eye-pencil sharpener, for best results.

SWATCH: 

MY EXPERIENCE: Faces Velvet Kohl Noir Intense comes in a wooden pencil form that need sharpening after every 1-2 times use, leading to wastage. The tip is so malleable that it breaks easily. Coming to one good point, the pigmentation is really nice and one-two strokes gives a glossy, black line. But that's all the goodness it has.

It smudges easily. One light swipe of finger and it comes off. I prefer to use it for lower lashline or tightline. It gets removed easily (so obvious!). I feel the LongWear range from Faces performs way better than this at lesser price.

WHAT I LIKED:

• Gives glossy black lines in 1-2 swipes.
• Looks good on tightlining.
  

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:

• Smudges easily.
• Isn't waterproof.
• Poor staying power.
• Too little quantity.
• Price pinches as it doesn't work.
  

VERDICT: As I said, I expected it to be good, but it seems I wasted my money on it.  Have you tried the Faces Velvet Kohl Noir Intense?

RATINGS:  3 out of 5

Lotus Herbals PureStay Lipgloss - Shade Rose Bud Review

Hey ya girlies! No I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. :D I know, I disappeared suddenly but I needed some me-time off the blog, hence!

Today I am back with a review on the Lotus Herbals PureStay Lipgloss in shade Rose Bud, which is a gorgeous shade indeed. Read on my review to know more.

PRICE:  Rs. 395

QUANTITY: 8g

WHAT IT CLAIMS:

Purestay Lip Gloss is a lightweight, high-shine, perfectly pigmented, preservative free lip gloss with rich, long lasting colour and nourishing shine that creates the appearance of fuller lips.

SWATCH: 

MY EXPERIENCE: Lotus Herbals PureStay Lipgloss comes in a rectangular tube with mirror-finish screw cap and doe foot applicator. The rainbow reflecting, embossed brand name on the tube looks quite nice, without being tacky. Rose Bud is a brick like shade, reddish brown with strong orange undertones, which would look flattering on Indian skin tones and best suited with ethnic wear on special occasions. The gloss is quite creamy and moisturising on its own and applies smoothly. It is highly pigmented and gives an opaque coverage with glossy finish. It is more like a liquid lipstick. 

Coming to the staying power, it stays for 2-3 hrs on an average with slight snacking in between. However, it doesn't survive a full meal. Also it feels a bit sticky (not like other sticky glosses but a little sticky) and that's why it lasts for few good hours too. It does get transferred to cups / napkin/ cheeks or anywhere your lips get touched :P. And it doesn't leave any obvious tint on lips after it disappears, apart from a slight red hue (not tint). Overall I am quite happy with this gloss. To sum it up,

WHAT I LIKED:

• Creamy and moisturising on its own. Doesn't require a lipbalm or lipstick beneath.
• Gives opaque coverage in one swipe and a long lasting, smooth, glossy finish.
• Stays for 2-3 hours easily with snacking in between.
• The shade is really nice and would suit Indian skin tones perfectly.
• No shimmer or sparkles.
• The gloss would last for a long time and with 3 years shelf life, the price seems economical (but it is still high for an affordable brand like Lotus Herbals..pfft!).
• Love the packaging.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:

• Gets transferred to objects. 
• Feels a little heavy and sticky due to its creamy texture.
  

VERDICT: If you are a fan of lipglosses then you must try out one shade from this range. Love the formula, love the packaging, the price... not much, but still happy to go with it because of the other factors. Would like to try the Peach Pink and Nude Love sometime. Have you tried any of the Lotus Herbals PureStay Lipglosses?

RATINGS:  4.5 out of 5

Product sent by PR for consideration but it doesn't influence my honest opinion! Read my disclaimer.