Early Spring-Birdy giveaway

Although spring has not sprung in its full form, I think it is time to give a spring-y giveaway.

I will be giving away a couple of new and untouched products, and two of them have been tested twice, but are still in fantastic condition. My prices are from a variety of brands and range from hairstyling to facial care to eyeshadow.

So, what can you win when you are lucky?


1. Shu Uemura Tasai Cream:
I was not sure if I should list a product I gave a negative review for (post over here). I still do, as, also mentioned in my review, I think this product can still be HG material and the 'best-thing-ever' for other people's hair and hairstyle. And honestly, I am one of the few who gave it heads down, so it might be a true gem for the happy winner. Also, I find it too expensive to toss it away like that ($30), so that will be up for the happy winner.

2. MAC mineralize eyeshadow in Two To Glow
(from their Electro Flash collection, swatches here)
Brand new and never used. I am sure I would only use it once or twice, because the colours are not really me. However, the colours are absolutely stunning on brown eyes to lighter eyes.

3. VOV Daily Fresh Volcanic Ash mask.
Bloggers and readers of beauty blogs that post lots about Asian (Korean) products probably know the hype. This is a fabulous version of the VOV Daily Fresh collection, and I am only listing one of these (because I am too greedy to give away more ;D)

4. Pop Nailpolish in Manderin
Brand New. This colour is too bright for me, period. I think it will rock on a person who likes the bold look.

5. Mandom Beauty Sheet Mask: Barrier Repair Mask
The VOV mask is for cleansing the skin, and this sheet can be applied afterwards for moisture and repair.

6. Lakme Eyeshadow in Moondust.
I know, I had been raving about this quad over here. I still want to give it away, as I absolutely do not reach for this quad. (Used twice)

7. Lavshuca Dual Eyes in GN-1
Absolutely brand new. Really gorgeous.

The rules:

I will be keeping the same old rules as I did in my last giveaway, only to keep things simple. You are welcome to join even when you are not following my blog, just leave your email in the post OR contact me when I have listed you as a winner.

1. Make a comment or say something small. I should be able to contact you, or you should read closely to see if you are the winner after the drawing, so you can contact me. I do not want followers just for the giveaway, so you can join even if you do not follow my blog. I just want to contact the right winner when the winner has been drawn.

2. Contest ends on Tuesday, 16 March 2010, 3 PM European standard time, GMT +1)

3. You are only able to make one comment, so no cheaters who would like to double (or triple) their chances.

4. Winner will be announced in a new post after random selection by random.org

5. Please contact me with 2 days to claim your prize or another winner will be selected! Prizes will be shipped by airmail WORLDWIDE within 3 business days after winner contacts me!

Good Luck and have fun joining the giveaway.

Lakmé eye colour palette in Moondust

Today I will show you some product pictures and swatches from the Lakmé eye colour quartet in Moondust. It arrived with my second and small haul I received this week.

The eye shadows come in a plastic case in a burgundy red colour, and has a clear top. It looks a bit cheap in this case. However, the price of the four colours are relatively cheap as well, so I do not expect the most luxurious packaging either.

My first palette from Lakmé was a composition of bright and vivid earthy colours (post here). This time I picked some safe neutral colours in black, a steal-like silver, a neutral brown and a stark white one.

The next picture was made without flash:

This one is made with flash: see how the brown colour on the top right is flecked with silverish metallic specs...it is so gorgeous.

The swatches:

The stark white on the top left is pretty useless. It does not have the same intensity as the other shades and is a matte shade.

The silver is a deeper silver that borders on the steel side. It is not the type of silver you would use for highlighting in the corner of your eyes, as I find it more to be a medium colour. I absolutely think it is a gorgeous silver to use for a smokey eye, and I will absolutely use this colour during the festive month this year.

The brown colour is so lovely...my favourite of the selection. It is a neutral brown with a hint of coolness that is delivered by the silver glow. It has a metallic quality without scaring away the people who do not have perfectly smooth eyelids (strong metallics can have the tendency to turn into a crepey-fest when applied on 'wrinkled' eyelids).

The black colour is not a matte, but almost matte with a glow of silver threaded thoughout. That makes it more convienient for the people who do not like matte eyeshadows, but are not that enthousiastic about the superglowy eyeshadows either. It is indeed a lovely black colour for creating a smokey eye or to use for a eyeliner.

The pigmentation of all colours, except the white one, are of a good quality and rather intensive. The swatches I made were made after one swipe, thus they are intensive indeed.

Overall, it makes a wonderful palette for the basic purpose of creating a smokey eye or to use individually for a hint of neutral definition.

Lakmé Aqua Shine Lip color in Fig

After a week of totally neglecting the dear readers of this blog, I finally have the time to write something...I was busy with the total wirlwind of life, and went to the UK as well. I normally plunge into the cosmetic shops when I am in Great Britain, but the boyfriend was with me as well.

Ehm, I know there are some boyfriends out there who have the patience to shop with their girlfriends...which is a thing to applaud! Hurray for those lucky girls and their patient boyfriends! Mine is the typical one who complains that I buy too much (so true), already have a room full of clothes and makeup (point on) and that I only use consumerism to fill the void in my life (well, who doesn't?).

Until he finds a great shop with nifty sneakers and cool t-shirts...

So hurray for online shopping, shopping solo and shopping with girlfriends!

This week my second order from India arrived with Lakmé cosmetics. I really wanted to look at their Aqua Shine Lip Color, as it looked like a wonderful combination of lipgloss and lipstick in one.

I like the slogan from Lakmé cosmetics, which says...Lakmé, on top of the world...Who doesn't want to be on top of the world?

I ordered the colour Fig which looked like a neutral colour.

The product can be activated by the twist mechanism: you twist the tube and after half an hour some gloss is distributed through the pad.

The colour is quite deep. I would describe it as a darkened rose/mauve/brown colour.

The pigmentation and opacity of the product is one of the biggest suprises. It covers the colour of the lips completely without caking or feathering into the lines of the mouth.

I normally do not reach for darker colours, although I have a reasonable collection of deeper red, wine and cherry coloured lipsticks. I wrote on my facebook account that I finally found a deeper colour that looked acceptable on me, and that is wonderful for the lipstick-wearer like me who normally shies away from more prominent colours.

This colour is quite unique in my collection, as it is darker than my usual neutrals without screaming goth or vampy. It reminds me of those 90s lipsticks again, only deeper.

The glossiness is a plus as well...I prefer glossier lipsticks for my skinny mouth without looking too lipglossy. I consider it to be a mature lipgloss: deep, sophisticated, not trying too hard, still a bit more sensual than the safe and sweet pink or nude/natural lipsticks.

Lakmé has a better scent with this product than they had with the Matte lipsticks (post here). It reminds me of the Mango Lassi drinks that you can get from the Indian restaurants, or the streetstalls in India itself.

I bought my Lakmé from mall.combatoire again and the service was just as pleasant as the first time.

Lakmé Enrich Matte Lip Color in 127

Yesterday I posted a review and swatches of the Lakmé eyeshadow quad in Peacock, that was part of the two items I bought online. Today I will show some swatches and give a review of the Lakmé Enrich Matte lip color in 127, which was a part of the Bridal Sutra Summer collection 2009.

Bridal Sutra sounds like a highly interesting name, but that might have to do with my lack of knowledge of Indian culture. So I went to the McDonalds of internet sources, Wikipedia, and found out that Sūtra literary means "a thread or line that holds things together". So, that explanation put my slightly naughty mind at ease and it makes it better to connect to the bridal part of the line. Now it really is a romantic name for a cosmetic launch, aww.

Back to the lipstick: it comes in a dark red tube with a matte exterior. In the middle is a gold line that has Lakmé on it with black letters.

When I opened the lipstick, it got stuck on the outside-tube-holder. That means that it does not look that pointed and pretty anymore.

The lipstick broke off on the top, unfortunately. I still posted this picture, as it is an excellent depiction of the colour. The colour is a mixture between old rose, mauve and beige. It looks quite natural compared to my own lip colour.

The next swatch came out a bit darker than it is in real life. It looks more close to the close up of the lipstick above. Still, you can see how it reflects light on the swatch on the skin.

The quality:

Well, I took a chance of ordering a Matte lipstick, because matte lipstick and I do not mix that great, normally. This lipstick is not that different. You really feel that you have something paperish and sandy on your mouth, so you have to put a lipbalm/gloss beneath or on top in order to feel confortable.

As for the scent...ugh. I find it highly perfumed, and not in the most fantastic way. I am used to the unscented Japanese lipsticks, or to the balmy, vanilla scent of Mac lipsticks. This, however, is a bit overscented in an old-fashioned manner.

It looks all right on my lips, even though it does not feel that confortable or smell that great. But it is not the best looking lipstick because of its matteness...it still has the tendency to creep in the fine lines of the mouth and it has this slightly unglossy cast that is not really my thing.

The colour, as I said before, is the best thing. It really is a soft mauvy, rosy colour that looks like a more flattering version of my lips. Too bad I have to add so much extra stuff in order to make this lipstick work for me.

Overall, I loved and adored the Lakmé eyeshadow palette I posted about yesterday, but I am not a fan of this product.

I bought this lipstick at the same webshop as I bought the Lakmé Peacock palette, over here: Bridal Sutra for $11.95 so it is not the greatest mispurchase ever.

New brand venture: Lakmé eyeshadow quad Peacock

Doesn't it feel good to receive something you have been dying to get your hands on?

There she is: My brand new Lakmé palette in Peacock.

Well, this friday I was so happy to receive my anticipated package from India containing Lakmé goodies. I had a small order, because I had absolutely no experience with the etailer before and I could not find that much feedback on it on internet either. I was delighted to find that mall.coimbotore.com delivered within two weeks. My package was packed with the greatest care securing everthing in bubblewrap and those white foamy blocks (see picture).

I ordered a small order venturing on the eyeshadow palette I had been seeing on Jamilla's blog before, and the matte lipstick from the Bridal Sutra range.

I will take a look at the Bridal Sutra lipstick in another post. Today I will show you the Peacock palette and some swatches.

As you can see, the palette is a mix of earth tones and some bright colours on the bottom. Normally, I stick to a eye without much makeup, or bring out some neutral shadows in order to give my eyes a bit of extra depth.

However, a lovely person commented that I could do something more adventurous with my eyes as well: she was the vividly made up person at the Mac counter, so that says it all...

However, she has a point so I think makeup is really wonderful do give your face that extra touch, and you can wash it off at night. That is better, to me, than having my hair dyed purple of blue...he he. (still, I want to have raven blue hair one day....)

I thought this palette would be a good combination between neutral and bold. And, I think they would flatter me better than having my hair coloured dark blue...

Now to the swatches:

The first colour is a wonderful rusty bronze with a brown undertone. The shadows are nicely pigmented and they are soft and buttery as well. I swiped one or two times in order to get the swatches in this intensity.

Colour 2 is a maroon tone with a pink sheen. I love these types of colours for my green eyes.

Colour 3 is an intensly vivid blue. It truelly reminds me of Bollywood makeup that looks so gorgeous on brown eyes. I am not sure it will look good on me, but I think I can make an eyeliner out of it and trace it delicately for that rebellious pop of 80s vibe on my eyes.

The colour on the far right is a delightful emerald green.

Another picture to clarify the intensities:

My camera is often too stubborn to pick up a sharp definition of all the colours. So I made an extra shot of the bright colours in order to show how they look.

I find it fantastic news that I am able to buy Lakmé online, although I would be more than happy to go to India once and find it in the department stores.

The price is so amazingly cheap for the quality you will get. I bought the entire eyeshadow palette for $14.95 INCLUDING shipping. And the shipping is not in a flimsy envelope that will put your lovely goodies into danger of breaking. No, it is securedly packed in a big box with all the extra protection possible.

I will absolutely buy the Purple Oasis palette and possibly the Moondust palette as well. The purple Oasis palette seem like a mix of fabulous purples and the Moondust are a combinations of whites, greys and blacks, which are so suitable for a mysteriously smokey eye.

Oh, Jamilla has created a look with her peacock palette over here, so you can see how the colours will look with brown eyes.