Review: Lotus Herbals ColourDEW Nail Enamel in Candy Drop

I won the Lotus Herbals Mother's day contest and they sent me a hamper. The hamper contained Lotus nail paints and I must admit that I am in love. Not puppy love but true, everlasting love. These nail paints are that awesome!

Check out the swatch below. My apologies for the blurriness. It is a phone camera.

Lotus Herbals ColourDEW Nail Enamel in Candy Drop

What Lotus Says
ColourDEW™ is a range of 10 exciting Nail enamels all together in a new packaging. Natural and safe, Acetone, DBP and toluene free, Fast drying, Flat and sturdy brush. Smooth application

What I Think   
I got strawberry shake in the hamper and within 2 days I bought Candy Drop. Both shades have amazing pigmentation coz one swipe gives decent coverage and dry in a jiffy! Perfect for those who are always rushing or running after a toddler!
Don't even get me started on the lasting power. I went 5 days without a single chip wit strawberry sparkle! F.I.V.E whole days... a boon for lazies like me who do their nails once a fortnight or only on special occasions!

What it Costs

Used to be 99 a pop for the longest time. Now, they have increased the prices to INR 110. This still goes cheaper than Lakme Absolute and Colorbar. Though at par with regular Lakme and Maybelline Colorama, the quality beats them by a long shot!

The Good

1. Amazing Pigmentation
2. Great Formula
3. Applies like a dream. No Streaks!
4. Awesome Lasting Power. Really... this is the duracell of nail paints :)

The Bad

1. The long handle makes it difficult to fit in boxes and drawers. I have been storing mine horizontally :(
2. Availability is an issue with all Lotus Colour Cosmetics

The Ugly

Ugly? What Ugly?

Review: Lotus Herbals Pure Color Lipstick in Mod Mauve

I am a major lipstick fan. I can go without anything but a lipcolour on my face. And since I favour lipsticks to glosses, I do collect them like crazy.

Lotus was always a skincare brand for me. I did not even know they were into makeup till I read some of the awesome reviews on beauty blogs. I had to give these a shot. I picked Mod Mauve from the Pure Colors range.

What Lotus Herbals Claims
Lotus Herbals website calls this Moisturising Lip Color.

What I Think
I differ on the moisture claim. I would call this a non drying lip colour. This is definitely not moisturizing. I do need a balm under this. That apart, I have no complaints with this little beauty. I am in love with this nudish mauve colour. What you see on the swatch is a single swipe. It can be build to a darker mauve with 2-3 swipes. It has a sheen that eliminates need for a gloss and can lasts for a good four hours on me. It fades evenly, without a tint.

Among all the Lotus lipsticks, I like the packaging of these the most. The pale gold tube with the lotus motif is quite nice in my opinion.

It has a sweet almond smell that I don't mind but others might. Think Rogan Badam Shirin! The smell lasts for quite a while after application.

What It Costs
These are available at counters for INR 245 a pop. Lotus counters are slowly making appearances in Big Bazaars, Pantaloons, Spencers etc. You can also checkout the local beauty stores. A few of them carry Lotus colours. If you can't find them close to your place, turn to the internet. Lotus is available on Healthkart, VioletBag, GoodLife etc. More often than not, there are discounts and vouchers available on these sites.

The Good

1. Pretty nude mauve colour that will suit a lot of skin tones from fair to dusky
2. Non drying
3. Decent lasting power of 4 hours
4. At INR 245, it is amongst the least cost lipsticks

The Bad

1. Not moisturizing
2. Not creamy and tends to harden a bit in cooler weathers
3. The packaging does not indicate the colour. You have to read the tiny label at the bottom if you have a few of them

The Ugly

Non of its cons make it to Ugly. Availability was one, before they were not so easily available on the internet

Final Rating

8/10

FOTD with Hooked on Pink

I wanted to sport a festive yet simple look when we went Pandal hopping in Kolkata during Durga Puja. A bright lip was the best route to go. I had just bought Maybelline Coloursensational in Hooken on Pink and this seemed the perfect excuse to wear it and sport a goofy happy expression!

Face:

• Lotus 3 in 1 sunblock (at night, yes! Not because I thought the light would have UV radiation, but because it is quite mattifying. The pic was taken after three hours of walking around in sultry Kolkata weather. I would be an oil slick without a mattifier)
• Oriflame pressed powder
• Lakme Rose Blush (Discountinued, i think. It is a lovely shade but the formula calls for a lot of improvement)

Eyes:

• Colorbar I-Glide in Blackout
• Elle 18 Kajal (This is one of the blackest Kajals I have worn and lasts almost as long as my Lotus one)

Lips:

• Maybelline Colorsensational in Hooked On Pink (I now know why so many beauty bloggers love it)

Sunblock, compact, blush, liner, kajal and lipstick is my general routine. On special occasions, I add foundation, concealor, highlighter and eye shadow. What's your daily makeup like?

Casual Dinner Look

Hello girls, how often have you been caught in a situation where you have almost no makeup on you and you need to head out? This happened to me on a recent business trip to Bangalore. I was carrying the basic compact, kajal and a few neutral lippies for day wear. Turned out bro had other plans. He took me out thrice and each time, I kicked myself for not packing in extra stuff. Since I had to make do with whatever was available, here is what I did on day 1

Face:

• Lotus 3 in 1 Sunblock
• Oriflame pressed powder

Eyes:

• Lotus Kajal applied on upper lashline, lower lashline (smudged) and waterline

Lips:

• Oriflame Visions lipstick in Almond Brown

This was an almost no makeup look that can be easily worn in the day time as well. I'd replace the kajal with Colorbar I-Glide in blackout. I went heavy on the kajal and smudged it on the lower lashline because I wanted some makeup to show. What do you think of this effort?

My Diwali Outfit and Makeup

Hi peeps, how was your Diwali? Those of you who celebrated, I hope you had a blast. I sure did. There was last minute cleaning, a mini feast and a party to attend among the usual stuff. On top of that, I had to redo my sari twice. So, I had very little time for my makeup. Here is my Diwali outfit:

This is a burnt orange georgette sari with antique gold sequins in a honeycomb pattern all over. I kept rest of the bling minimal with a polki necklace and matching bangles. My FOTD was pretty simple as well.

Face:

• Lotus Whiteglow Micro Emulsion
• MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation in NC 41
• Maybelline powder blush in Apricot Flush

Eyes:

• Glittery Copper colour from Maybelline Chai Latte quad all over the lid
• Colorbar i-glide in Cocobar on the upper lash line
• Lakme Black Satin kajal on lower lash line

Lips:

• Lotus Herbals Pure Colours lipstick in Peach Creme as a base
• MAC Twig lipstick

The last time I used Twig, camera flash brought out pink undertones very prominently. This time, I wanted it to retain the earthy colour in pictures as well. So, I added a coat of Peach Creme as base. Do you think it worked?

My first FOTD - Inspired by Mehak

Mehak of Peaches and Blush did a fab tutorial on dewy makeup. Dewy skin has always awed me and I have always been jealous of those with supple glowing cheeks. When I read mehak's post today, I realised I could try this out. So, I did and I am not brave to put up before and after pics so just a few of them go here...

So, what do you guys think? I feel that I need to good concealer and that I should stick to matte. I skipped powder and compact and my skin was oily in less than 30 mins. Sigh, the dewyness isn't for me...

I used Lakme Perfect Radiance foundation, Colorbar creme compact as concealer, Colorbar Radiant Glow Highlighter pen, Oriflame visions mascara, Lotus kajal, Nivea lipbalm in pomegranate and ULTA lipgloss in nude.