Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick (540 Hollywood Red)

Price: Depends from place to place, but the price my sister got it for was 1000 Pakistani rupees.

Packaging:  Such a nice and decent looking packaging. It kind of gives a high end lipstick look. And I really like the fact that the red line of the lipsticks have red and silver packaging and the neutral lippies have neutral kind of packaging.

Maybelline Color Drama Velvet Lip Pencils

I thought that these pencils would a little bigger, but they are smaller than your average jumbo lip pencils. When I first caught a whiff of them online, I was intrigued since they looked very nice and were reasonably prized. They are not the retractable ones, they need to be sharpened. This is a plus for me since I like the tip to be sharpish to get a clean lip line.

It was a pleasant surprise to receive these from my sister-in-law (also co-author of this blog) though I believe she has left the heavy lifting to me...(I'm ducking).....nevertheless, I tried them out albeit just once. If you want to know my first impressions, read on.

Shades: 510 Red Essential and 210 Keep it Classy

The Colossal Kajal 12H Extra Black Pencil

I've got a tonne of eye pencils all tucked away in a nifty little box. There's something so pretty about them, all the pretty colors and packaging. But black is the one colour you can not have enough of. It's most used and anybody can use it and look good. It is also enough to do an entire eye look. In a hurry just swipe it across your lids and smudge, BAM! Instant smoky eye. Then go over closer to you lash line, tight line on the upper and lower lids. Gorgeous smoky eyes in under 2 minutes. Generally speaking, you'll be looking for a formula that is matte, stays put, yet is pliable enough to smudge out when you apply it and is very very black. So does this product fit the bill?

Maybelline The Rocket Volume Masacra

Mascara completes the makeup look and for a makeup product, it is the product that has the most maximum impact on you face I feel. I love mascara, and considering most of the time I just don't have the time to curl and do layers, I am always looking for one that will do the job in one quote. For an everyday look I don't like to go for super pumped up lashes, but yes, I like them to give that lift and fluttery effect. For special occasion I do layers and appreciate a mascara that can give me a seriously heavy look. In my experience, mascara is one of those products that the drugstores are doing just as good if not better than their department store counterparts. I must say the this one really did deliver.

Guest Post : Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in 70 Hot Tamale

I am a huge fan of Maybelline brand in general but their blushes always tend to disappoint me. So when I heard that they are coming up with this new line of blushes called the Dream Bouncy Blush which have a revolutionary gel-like formula that applies like a cream and sets like a powder, I was quite intrigued to try one out.

I decided to pick the most vibrant shade of the collection called Hot Tamale as I had nothing like this in my stash.

My Best Coral Blushes- Drugstore Edition

Come spring, its time to break out the coral blushes. I'm not kidding when I say the drugstore brands have been killing it with innovative new products, blushes being the foremost product that are just as good as the higher end versions. So for you reading pleasure I present to you my all time favorite blushes in the coral color family from your local drugstore brands.

And the unveiling....

Top L to R: Flormar Blush in no. 90, Rimmel 111 Coral, NYX Mosaic Powder in 12 Dare

Bottom L to R: Max Factor Blush in 235 Chestnut, Maybelline 45 Apricot Flush

Maybelline 24 Hour Color Tattoos

I am wondering why powder eyeshadow palettes are still so much in demand. The minute we see a nice one, we want it...regardless whether we buy it or not. The reason I ponder is because with the cosmetic stores overflowing with cream based eyeshadows, why would you need powder eyeshadows, I mean come on...not only are they true to color, extremely pigmented, blendable (depending on brand) and long lasting...they also come in the convenient forms of pencils and pots as opposed to powders that can get pretty messy. And these days eyeshadows are almost always layered over some cream product to make it pop.

Ahh the vanity of a woman!! Still can't ditch coveting lovely new powder eyeshadows, but I digress...

The color tattoos, who has not heard of these. Pioneer of cream eyeshadows, Maybelline came out with these few years back and well, the rest is history.

I'll do 3 at a time...

Clinique Chubby Stick - 05 Chunky Cherry

There was such a hype around these, that they were hydrating and soothed chapped lips and kept them moist and healthy looking on cold dry days...and well the packaging is so appealing...all of the hyped pulled me in one day as I finally gave in while the display called to me. Since my lips are pretty pigmented and light colors hardly show up, I opted for something bright and festive, hoping that I could kill two birds with one stone: get color pay off, get healthy smooth lips.

Chubby Stick in 05 Chunky Cherry

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer

A product that claims that it corrects, highlights and conceals...a dream product indeed!! It's a tall claim...does it live up to it?

Shade 310 Radiant

When I bought this I was thinking okay, so here is a product, that if it actually does what it says, would be a magic wand for me due to the darkness and pigmentation issues I have. I knew it would do little for my panda like under eye circles, but then again, I have yet to come across some product that would fix that to my liking. However, with some extra TLC around those circles, this pen actually did do most of what it claimed.

The Makeup Color Series: Bright Whites

White is such an unassuming color. I suppose its the mathematical equivalent of zero...literally having no value, yet without it, the whole world would crumble away...

Though in "The Makeup Color Series" I'll be going through some products I think are awesome in that color range, I'm starting out by the most overlooked and underrated color...white.

These are from my stash, but loads of brands do all the items and they are easily available. So moving on...

Eyeliner 101

As with all makeup products out there, the range and variety of a single type is overwhelming. Over the years, the quality has improved and innovation has played a huge part in terms of the choices we have when we go out shopping.

So today I want to go through the basic types of eyeliners out there, what effect each one is meant to give and a mention to some favorite drugstore brands with an honorary mention of one high end product as well if I have one that is.

My Five Lipstick Picks for the Cooler Fall/Winter Months

Frankly, I've never been one to wear any particular shades of lipsticks according to the season, but its a general trend to be sporting more mauve, plum, wine, purple and berry shades in the cold season. Peach, light pinks, coral and orange are more summery colors. So anyways, in accordance to this trend I picked out 5 shades for the current season.

And they are:

From the left: Viva Glam 3 (Matte)

Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipstick in 02 (Satin)

Diana of London Extra Long Stay Lipstick in Best Star 08 (Matte)

Avon Color Trend Lipstick in Intimate (Satin)

Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Midnight Plum 338 (Satin with micro glitter)

My Perfect Shade of Red

I've always been on the hunt for a red that wouldn't make me look like Bozo the Clown. So whenever I strolled into the malls I'd swatch the red just for the heck of it, convinced the red of my destiny probably did not even exist. None ever clicked..and none were just your classic red...they always had pinky undertones or corally, or orangy and though they were beautiful, they were not quite what I was looking for. Until I picked up this lipstick. It whispered to me almost and I knew I had found it. Ladies...I'd like you to meet the red of my dreams:

 

Maybelline 14 Hour Lasting Lipstick in 540 Ravishing Rouge

Maybelline Baby Lips

So small things can make a huge difference. This was proved just a couple of hours ago when Dubai just won the bid to host the world Expo 2020 in Paris. There was serious competition between Dubai and Turkey, Brazil and Russia all bigger, older and more established countries, but hey, don't underestimate the small guy, he can surprise you (just like the kids will be in the morning when they find out its a holiday to mark the occasion). Back on topic though...these little balms that you'd not really expect to deliver much actually really surprised me. Read on...

Price: Here in the UAE just 15 dhs.