MAC Spring Color Forecast Eyeshadow Swatches and Review

Since the MAC Spring Color Forecast Collection launches in stores tomorrow, I decided to review some of the eyeshadows that I think are the hits of this collection. I loved both the quads, but I am a sucker for golds and pinks, so between the two, I went for quad #2 (and also because I find these colors more wearable than purples on a daily basis):

As you may notice, I started adding my Kajal Couture mark to all the photos to make sure people don't take my photos without crediting the site. It took a while to figure out how to work in Photoshop, and for now I have the basics down. I figure until I get a better camera (ie not a point and shoot camera) then the basics should be enough to accomplish all that I need.

Here are swatches from the quad:

The colors are not the most unique, and you can easily dupe Manila Paper with so many highlight colors, and Flip can be duped with Goldmine, as pictured below. The standout from this quad is Aztec Brick because it is a GORGEOUS rose gold color. The swatch does not do it justice, as you really have to see this in person to realize its true beauty. Amber Lights looks like it could be very similar, but Amber Lights has much more frost and had more orange and bright copper in it. In reality, both colors are very different on the skin. The last color in the quad is Creole Beauty and it is not the most original color, but it is gorgeous, and there is nothing that is exactly the same from the permanent MAC collection, but Bronze does come quite close to matching the color.

In my opinion, Aztec Brick is so gorgeous, that alone would be enough to make any beauty addict purchase this quad even if they owned dupes of the other colors.

Several of the single eyeshadows were great too, but my favorites were Hot Hot Hot and Nanogold.

Hot Hot Hot is very unique and there is nothing like it in the permanent collection. It is a great color to add to your shadow wardrobe. I also really like Nanogold. It looks like it is your basic shimmery highlight color, but it has a bit of a pink duochrome-ness that is not captured in the swatch below, but looks soooo beautiful in real life. It is a lustre, but actually feels more like a satin finish. It is the first lustre finish shadow that I actually like! I try not to buy such highlight colors because they often look the same on the skin, but this one looks so different from stuff I already have, that I just had to have it. It will go perfectly with all the pinks, corals, and golds from this collection, as well as the shades that are popular for this spring.

I give all these shadows an A rating because all of them have a very soft, easily blendable texture, and the colors are gorgeous and very flattering. Hot Hot Hot and Aztec Brick get an A+ because of the uniqueness of the shades.

There were other products I loved too, like the ombre blushes, but I didn't pick up everything I wanted. I may go back for more...hehehe. What are you planning to get, if anything, from this collection?

Lush Bath Bomb and Bubble Bar Review

So this past weekend I did something I hadn't done in over 10 years: I took a bath.

For those of you who use the words "bath" and "shower" interchangably, don't get confused, I shower everyday, sometimes twice a day. I never take baths because they are so time consuming and kind of a process. But this past weekend, I had nothing to do, I had a bunch of Lush goodies I had picked up months ago and never used, and decided this was the best way to de-stress from all my wedding planning drama.

You may remember my Lush Haul from a few months ago, where I picked up the following Honey Bee Bath Bomb:

A lot of bloggers had mentioned that Lush Bath Bombs are very strong, and if possible, use only half or a quarter. I took this advice and cut this in half with a kitchen knife, before dropping it into my bath. Let me tell ya....the fizzing and yellow color that took over the water was sooooo fun! This bath bomb has aloe vera and honey, both of which are very soothing and moisturizing. Using half was the perfect amount to leave my skin feeling soft and smooth, and I didn't even need to apply moisturizer afterwards. It smells like honey, but is not so overpowering that you feel like you are on a bee farm. It was the perfect mellow-out fragrance to help me relax and de-stress.

Kajal Couture Overall Rating: A

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: This is perfect if you want a relaxing bath and want soft, smooth skin. I definitely recommend this one, and will most definitely re-purchase as it will do wonders at calming me down as my wedding approaches.

Since Lush Bath Bombs are only fizzy and not bubbly, I decided to crumble in a small chunk of the A French Kiss Bubble Bar:

Bubble Bars are very soft, and I broke off a small chunk (maybe 1/4 of the bar) and crumbled it into the bath. In addition to adding fun bubbles, this product has lavender, thyme, and rosemary, which are soothing ingredients. Coupled with the Bath Bomb, I was in relaxation heaven.

Kajal Couture Overall Rating: A

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: Again this is great if you want to indulge in a calming environment, and the smell is not too strong, so you can actually enjoy the bath without feeling suffocated by the scent.

On another note, have you ever met person who you feel you could be BFFs with, only to find out they don't live anywhere near you, and the opportunities to hang out with him/her would be few and far between? Well, I met someone a few months ago, and we finally got around to hanging out last night, and she told me she is moving to the East Coast next week. =( It was so exciting to bond with her over our love of makeup and Indian parent issues, and now I won't be able to hang out with her often. I hope that our friendship goes against the norm, and we actually do keep in touch via phone and email. Girl, I know you are reading this, and I just want to tell you it was great hanging out and don't worry, my fingers are crossed for you and "V"!!

MAC Spring Color Forecast Review and Look #1

I was playing around with a few of the products from the MAC Spring Color Forecast collection and here is the outcome:

Here I used one of the new pigments (desribed below) on the lid, the new Nanogold eyeshadow very lightly on my browbone, and Bronze eyeshadow (permanent shade, not from this release) in the crease.

On my eyes I used the Crushed Metal Pigment: Stack 2! I used the gold color, which is the one that is open in the picture below:

I love the gold but I also think the champagne colors are absolutely gorgeous! The green one is nice too, though I won't use that as often. These are really neat because you get 4 colors packed in one. You can mix and match how you want to organize them, either as 2 and 2, 3 and 1, or even all 4 together:

Here is a swatch of all the colors. The first pic is blurry, but shows the colors better, so I decided to include it anyways.

Pictures don't do these justice. They are more shimmery in real life and very pigmented. The product itself is a mix between the chunky solar bits and the regular pigments. As you can see in the pic, they aren't as chunky as the solar bits, so they are easier to work with, but you still have to kind of crush them before you apply to the skin. I loved the colors and the fact that you can use them for a variety of uses, so I personally would recommend this stack. However, if you don't like spending time with a product to make it work, then these aren't for you. For me, it just adds to the artsy part of doing my makeup.

I also played around with the Blush Ombre in Ripe Peach. Let me just say that I LOVE this product. I love blushers and this one is so gorgeous! The powder is so finely milled and it applies so smoothly. It stays on for several hours, which is a plus since blush is usually the first to fade. The product itself blends soooo smoothly, more so than MAC's normal powder blushes. I am even tempted to go get the pink one now. The brown neutral one would make a great bronzer, but I don't use bronzer as much so I might pass on that.

You can use the different parts of the blush to get the individual color, or you can swirl the color to get a combo. The swatches in the pic below go in the following order from left to right: all colors swirled together, the center of the blush, the dark pink side, and the light gold side.

This blush gives such a gorgeous, healthy, coral glow. In the pic below I used the colors swirled together:

You can't see very well, but I am wearing "O" lipstick with Love Nectar lustreglass (my favorite) on top. I have also been trying out a new skin product mixed with my foundation...and so far I like it. Will tell you more about that soon.

What do you think about the new collection? What are you planning to get, if anything?

The Beginning of the Rest of My Life

So as I've mentioned before, I am getting married in May!!! Since it is getting close, a lot of friends and family have been asking "Are you excited?" And every time I hear that I am overcome with mixed emotions. OF COURSE I am excited to be getting married to the love of my life. But the planning process, although fun, can be quite stressful. I started the planning process soon after we got engaged last February (our engagement anniversary is coming up....eeeeeee!), but with only 3 months to go, it's time to start sorting out all the details and really get prepared.

By the way, I love this pic...my cousin is a photographer and this is from a wedding he shot a couple years ago. I used this as the opening photo for my wedding website.

Since my wedding is one of the most important events in my life, I figured I would start blogging about it. I get a lot of questions about the whole event, especially since it is so unique to non-Indians, and I thought it would be nice to share a little of my special day with all of you. Hopefully, this will help you with your future wedding process, let you reminisce about your own wedding, or just allow you a peek into my personal life. In any case, cheers and I hope you enjoy the posts!!

Tag

Last week, I was tagged by the lovely Kiki of Seattle for the Beautiful Blogger Award. First of all I want to say a great big "THANK YOU" to Kiki and I also want to thank you, my fabulous readers, for all your support and kind comments. Blogging has been such a great outlet for me to do something creative. I have really enjoyed connecting with my readers and you all are so sweet and encouraging! I really hope to grow the blog over the next year, strengthen my current network, and also meet lots of great new people too!

As part of receiving this lovely award I must share 7 facts about myself. Here goes:

1. My dream when I was young was to be a lawyer. Then during my Jr. High and High School days I wanted to be a news anchor, just like Katie Couric. No joke. Then I got to college and as the daughter of my Indian parents, I had to choose something responsible, which meant medicine or engineering. Read on to see what I chose.

2. I LOVE to organize. It's kinda fun for me. I like taking out the clothes from my dresser every few months and reorganizing the drawers.

3. I also love to purge stuff from the house. I do have a LOT of stuff, but I still love throwing things out. It keeps me a wildly fabulous sense of satisfaction. Probably because my rate of purchasing is higher than my rate of purging, so getting rid of the old makes me feel not as bad for shopping so much.

4. I have a Bachelor's degree in Bioengineering. I combined both medicine and engineering in my degree. Oh and yes, I am one of the gazillion people who don't work in the field they graduated in.

5. I always wanted an older brother when I was growing up. My friends with older brothers always had someone to take care of them and show them the ropes. I always thought to myself that when I had kids, I wanted a son first, and then a daughter, so my girl would have an older brother. Now, that seems silly, and I love children so much that when the time comes, I just want healthy babies.

6. I don't like knick knacks. I think trinkets and bobbles are junk. People love giving knick knacks as gifts and I attempt to throw them away even before they make it into the house. But my dad loves them. Thank goodness my fiance is on the same page as me.

7. On my first date with my hubby-to-be, we went to see the musical The Lion King. I love musicals and used to sing when I was younger, so he totally scored some major brownie points with that date. I'm happy to say that was the start of something beautiful and we are getting married in May.

I will now pass on the torch so I tag these 7 wonderful blogs with the Beautiful Blogger Award: Bubblegarm, LadyB, Cupcakes of Silk, All the Vanity, The Gloss Goss, Lipglossiping, and Suka & Spice.

Oh and on a side note, the new MAC Spring Color Forecast Collection is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! If you haven't had a chance to check out the colors in real life, I suggest you walk, no..run to your nearest store to check it out. I don't think it goes on sale in stores till next week, but just about every store has the display out so you can preorder. I guarantee you find something you like. I am a big fan of the blush ombres and especially the shadows because they are LE and they are actually unique colors! My wallet just had a heart attack.

Lip Balms - One Yay One Nay

Are you addicted to lip balms like I am? I find myself constantly reaching out for a lip balm or lip gloss, and kind of freak out when I can't find something and am left with dry pout. I know that the more you use them, the more you become addicted and the cells stop holding onto moisture, which makes lips even drier. But I can't help myself...I need my lip balm!

I used to like Burts Bees a few years ago, but ever since I discovered my passion for beauty products and have been able to try out new brands, I have learned that Burts Bees and I don't really see eye to eye. Take their Honey Lip Balm for example. It feels ok when you first apply it, but it doesn't last, and it does not leave me with soft, supple lips. Overall, this is a nay.

Kajal Couture Overall Rating: D

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: Don't waste your time on this. I would rather use Vaseline or plain ol' chapstick.

Now this next one is something I find myself reaching for ALL day long! It is the Korres Lip Butter. The one below is Jasmine, and I like it because it is colorless when you apply it, so you can use it as a base without adding color, and then add your lip color over it. I like to use this at night too, and the fact that it is colorless is great because you won't end up with pink marks on your pillow or sheets. Overall, this is sooo creamy and moisturizing, and makes my lips feel sooo good that I just want it on all the time! The one thing that could be better is the lasting power. It lasts a couple hours, but not as long as lip gloss. I guess that is cuz glosses are sticky and so they stay on longer.

In the jar it looks light pink, but applies colorless.

Kajal Couture Overall Rating: A

Kajal Couture Overall Opinion: This will moisturize and soften your lips like no other! It definitely lives up to the hype! It's the equivalent of a good body butter for your lips. =)

My India Beauty Must Haves

I wanted to take my whole makeup kit with me to India.....but in reality I had to pare down what I was going to take with me, and boy was that hard! I did two edits: first I picked all the pieces that I wanted to take with me, and then from that, I cut the number of products in half and took only what would be enough to get by. I took no more than two lip products and cheek products, and managed to limit myself to 1 foundation, 1 powder, the essential makeup brushes, and a few other must-haves. From the products that I did take with me, here are the items I used the most:

First off, since I was attending the wedding events, I really wanted my whole shadow kit with me, but I was able to pick a few (hey, for me, this was a few...) of my favorite colors and assemble them in a travel friendly palette. I used a MAC 15 pan palette and took out the pan separator. This was super easy to do and I still have it if I want to use it again. The entire bottom of the palette is magnetic so the shadow refills will stick anywhere. Thus, I was able to get 25 shadows into a 15 shadow palette. A lot of makeup artists do this to save space and I think its a great idea.

On the left is the MAC Fast Response Eye Cream. This tiny tube is a lifesaver because it works great at depuffing the eye area and making you look fresh. I used this a lot on the trip because I got very little sleep and often woke up looking like I partied too hard....which some nights I did. =) The tube on the bottom is the Korres Ginger and Vitamins Foundation. I reviewed this before and again I must tell you how much I love this. It is sooo natural looking and I really think the vitamins in the product are so good for your skin. The smog and contamination in India can wreak havoc on your skin and I really thought that by using this everyday my skin looked and felt healthier than in normally does in India.

These were my most used eye products: MAC Blacktrack fluidline and Paint Pot in Rubenesque. I really like this better than UD Primer Potion because I can wear it on its own and I really think it lasts longer.

On top is the MAC Cream Color Base in Bronze, and this was my perfect cheek color both for a natural look and for more drama in the evenings. I think this may be a PRO color now, but you may be able to find it in some MAC freestanding stores. In the swatch below (left) you can see how dark it is, but it sheers out to a more natural color (swatch below right). I feel that cream cheek colors tend to last longer and look better in India. For some reason, powder blushers look too streaky when I am in India. I can't explain it but I swear it's true.

Also, I used the MAC Pro Longwear Lipcolor in Stuck on You. It is a berry-ish mauve color and is perfect for nights out because it is dark enough to add drama, but not overly dramatic that people notice your lips and then you (y'all know what I mean). I usually only wear this with Indian clothes because the colors are so bright that I need a bit of a darker lip color. Plus, this is long lasting and I needed that for the wedding events. This formula is very drying so I don't recommend it for daily use, but for special events, it rocks my boat!

I'm still not over my jet-lag, and I still need to upload the rest of my wedding pics. When I get around to doing that I will post a few more. Right now, I am just looking forward to the weekend....almost there!!!!

Glimpses of India

I'm back!!! Coming home from vacation is always bittersweet. In this case, it is more bitter than sweet. I love India. I love the people, the spirit of life, the culture....and it just feels like home to me. I can easily see past the dirt, the crowds, and the traffic (for those in LA, traffic on the 405 is nothing compared to Mumbai traffic), and see myself living in a country that has so much love and passion for life. Even though this trip was a crazy one and not at all relaxing, I loved every minute and wish I was still there.

The purpose of my travel was twofold: 1 - to attend my cousin's wedding in Mumbai, and 2 - to do my wedding shopping. A lot of people have asked my why I would travel halfway around the world to shop for my wedding and it's not as crazy as you would think. I am having a traditional Hindu wedding, and that includes about 4-5 different ceremonies that take place over several days. Accordingly, my family and I need outfits for each function, and buying an Indian outfit is no easy fit. It requires selecting the outfit, going back for fittings, getting matching jewelry, bangles, shoes, and other accessories if required. Also, there are several items required for the ceremony that have to be purchased in India. Now, I could have gotten all this stuff here in the US, but to be frank, the selection is no where near what I could get in India, and the prices in the States are so ridiculous, that even when you add in the cost of airfare for flying to India, it's still cheaper for me to go there and buy the outfits than for me to purchase stuff in the States. Also, since I was already going to India for my cousin's wedding, it made sense to get my shopping done at the same time.

Since I just got back this past Sunday, and went back to work Monday, I have been exhausted and jet-lagged. Within the next few days I promise to return to my regularly scheduled beauty posting, but in the meantime, here are a few glimpses of me during my cousin's wedding:

This is me with my two beautiful neices who are 4 and a half (she specifically added the "half" when I asked her how old she was....sooo cute!) and 3 years old.

Me in my blue and pink saree at the Sangeet event, which is a dance and music party.

Me giving a speech during the Sangeet.

Oh, and since I didn't get to say this previously, Happy New Year! I hope 2010 is full of happiness, good health and prosperity for you and your families! Cheers!