Author Archives: Adi

Maybelline Color Sensational Moisture Extreme Dusky Mauve Lipstick Review, Swatches and LOTD

Hello everyone 🙂

Today I am going to be reviewing another lovely lipstick from Maybelline and this is from their Color Sensational Moisture Extreme range. It is called Dusky Mauve. So let’s get into the review!

Price and Quantity:

Rs 220 for 4 g

My Experience:

I’m surprised at the packaging of this lipstick because, as far as my experience goes, this is one department in which Maybelline usually doesn’t go wrong. Everything I’ve used from their BB cream to their Color Sensational lipstick Tinted Taupe to the Clearglow compact powder to the baby Lips lip balm, all have cute and well thought out packaging. For this lipstick however, the packaging is just really dated. I’m disappointed.

Firstly let me apologize for the state of the lipstick bullet. It looks like I’ve attacked it or something but honestly I haven’t done anything to it. The bullet is just SO soft. It can’t withstand anything. Creamy is one thing but melt within 3 months is another! Hopefully I can redeem myself with the swatches and LOTD.

(You can see in the swatches on my hand too that it’s melted slightly there. Sigh. Why is it so creamy?!)

So far I haven’t said anything good about this lipstick so let’s remedy that, shall we? Dusky Mauve is an absolutely gorgeous color. Contrary to its name (you would think), in the bullet it’s more of a brown lipstick. I was actually disappointed when I opened saw it for the first time – I was like “This is brown! Where’s the mauve?” But on application, it is definitely more of a mauve lipstick with subtle dusty brown undertones.

Dusky Mauve is one of those shades whose final colour on the lips depends very heavily on who’s wearing it. On me it shows up as a deep mauve but on my mom, it shows up as a lighter mauve with pink undertones. Needless to say that both colors are flattering; I think how pigmented your lips are plays a role in how this lipstick will look on you.

Oh the texture. I LOVE IT. I think texture-wise this is one of the best lipsticks I’ve ever used. It’s smooth and rich and buttery and an absolute delight to apply. It has a slight sheen and makes your lips look very hydrated and creamy.

The staying power of this lipstick is poor. It’ll start fading in about 2 hours and if you have a meal with this on, it’ll disappear without a trace. This for me is a huge drawback, especially when a lot of brands have come up with long lasting lipsticks (although for a slightly higher price).

PROS:

Amazing colour, will suit most skin tones
Very reasonably priced
Creamy, gorgeous texture
Moisturizing
Easily available
Doesn’t bleed (which is funny considering how soft the bullet is!)

CONS:

Bullet starts to melt very soon. Needs to be stored in a cool place
Boring packaging 😛
Staying power is low

Rating: 4/5

Final word:

I should have given this lipstick a slightly lower rating given the cons, but I can’t. I love it too much! This lipstick really is amazing overall for the price. Dusky Mauve is a lovely subtle shade that’ll look great on fair as well as dusky beauties. I highly recommend this lipstick 🙂 (Yes really, despite how negatively the review began!)

Elle 18 Nail Pops Nail Enamel Shade 65 Review, Photos, NOTD

6 Replies

Hello girls! As I promised, here is the review of another gorgeous shade from Elle 18’s nail pops collection. This time it is shade number 65 and this is a lovely blue nail polish. So let us get into the review 🙂

Price and Quantity:

Rs 50 for 5 ml

My Take:

I’ve already said in my last review of these nail paints that I love the packaging 😀 It is sturdy (I did manage to drop this particular bottle and it didn’t break! Thumbs up!) and different.

This shade from Elle 18 is one of the most perfect blues I’ve seen in a nail polish. It’s not too light, so it won’t make your hands look dark. It’s not too dark; so that it looks almost black from some angles (I HATE it when nail polishes do that! I may as well have bought black then na?!) It’s just right! Like goldilocks’ bed lol! It is a slightly muted shade of blue, as you can see in the photos. I think it’s perfect for spring and summer!

I’d recommend a clear top coat over this to really make the colour pop. The photos show 2 coats of the nail polish on my nails. I think this colour would look great on the toenails too. I love blue nail polish on toes!

One of the issues I have with this nail polish range is that I wish Elle 18 had named the shades. I’ve never been a fan of just numbers to identify shades, whether it’s in lipsticks or nail polishes or any cosmetic product actually.

NOTD:

PROS:

Lovely summer colour
Colour stays true
Does not chip for a good 2-3 days
Inexpensive

CONS:

Formula becomes thicker over time

Rating: 4/5 (-1 for the formula)

Final Word:

This gorgeous shade from Elle 18 nail pops should be in your stash, it’s a summer must-have! I also think it’s a lovely summer-to-monsoon transition shade.

I do admit that, at 50 bucks a polish, these are like use (5-6 times) and throw. But I am happy with that, given all the pros. This range has a lot to offer and I think every girl should pick up at least a few shades from it 🙂 It has a variety of shades from subtle (like Elle 18 Nail Color 06 which I’ve reviewed previously) to bright and summery (like this one!) and also it has some glittery nail polishes! If you are willing to compromise a bit on the formula, I’d say go ahead and take your pick!

Lakmé Enrich Satin Lipstick Shade 566 Review, Swatches and LOTD

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Hello girls! 😀

Today I’m reviewing another lipstick and this one is from Lakmé. It’s shade 566 from their Enrich Satins range. So let’s see how this lipstick turned out.

Price:

Rs 225 for 4.4 g

My Take:

I don’t have anything bad to say about the packaging (lol that makes me sound like such a villain!) but I’m not raving about it either. It’s quite classy but I don’t know why it reminds me of Lakmé lipsticks my mom used to use 10 years back :/ the packaging is sturdy however so that’s good.

The shade is a rich medium brown shade with absolutely no pink undertones. I’m saying its brown, I mean it’s brown. And here start the problems.

I’m scared of pure brown lipsticks. I really am! I think brown lipstick is very tricky to carry off. I’m personally a fan of pink and mauve lipsticks, even corals. Brown plus even a tiny bit of pink undertone = MLBB shades, which I love. But I don’t know how to handle PURE browns. I think this shade definitely adds years to my face, an issue common with most pure brown lipsticks.

Coming to the fragrance – I hate it. It just smells like medicine to me, I don’t know why. It’s like the smell of bitter almonds, maybe? Whatever, it’s not pleasant. Just giving you girls a heads up. Also I’m terrible at describing fragrances. Please bear with me! 🙁

Another issue with this shade is that it’ll make your teeth look more yellow. This is a slightly yellow/warm based shade of brown so keep this point in mind. If you have even slightly yellow teeth I’d say think twice before buying this shade (or most brown shades, for that matter).

Texture wise, there is nothing to complain about. The lipstick does not feel sticky or heavy on my lips. It glides smoothly and does not over accentuate fine lines. It also gives full coverage, so brownie points for that too! Staying power is bout 2-3 hours.

PROS:

Reasonably priced
Creamy texture, lives up to its ‘satin finish’ claim
Does not accentuate fine lines
Does not bleed
Gives full coverage

CONS:

Not an easy shade to carry off, can make you look older
Unpleasant smell
Can transfer slightly to teeth

Rating: 3/5

Final word:

The rating is low mainly because of the shade and the fragrance. I think texture wise these lipsticks are good and if you find a good shade, I’m sure you’ll have no complaints about it. They are decently priced as well.

My Recommendation:

I would NOT recommend this shade in particular though, unless you have light-colored lips in which case it may not look as brown on you as it does on me. Hope you found this review helpful 🙂
P.S: If you girls have any ideas on how to carry off such shades, I’d love to hear them!