Get this now.

Order this ASAP.

Hands down one of the best lipsticks around and they only cost $8 !!

No taste, no smell, full creamy color, excellent smooth texture and the lipstick case clicks perfectly into place. I'm addicted to that click - it gives me rush. Thank God this habit is going to cost me only $8.

I tried three shades from the mark Lipclick line. Today I shall dedicate the post to Coral Fixation. Its a coral with a lot of pink to it. Sometimes real coral does come in pinkish variants. Besides the beauty industry on many occasions has called flat out orange as coral.


But this shade is utter gorgeousness. I'm gonna get a couple more and stock up. And I really never stock anything coz I believe its easy to find a replacement. But not for this shade, at this price and in this formula. Wear it with bare skin ( may be lightly evened out) with a hint of highlighter and it looks angelic. Very girl-dancing- in-golden-fields like.

Love. love.love.

Love,
Indian Girl

This article contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR. For more details on the disclosure policy please refer to it at the bottom of the page.

This past weekend I treated my brows to a makeover at the very popular Christi Harris Precision Brow Planing Bar in Dallas. No professional has touched my brows in five years because I had one bad experience after another till I decided to do them myself. I'd like to think my brows were average and with this makeover I was ready to see if they could be taken to the next level.


I was lucky enough to have Christi do my brows. She is the quintessential charming Southern woman making me feel at home right away ! We spoke a little bit about how she got started and why her new product was changing brows all across the nation. Next I took the hot seat and let the magic happen, stopping only to ask a million questions and take a couple of hundred pictures.

While Christi spoke and did my brows I couldn't help but notice her amazing skin. So supple and clean. Not one blackhead or white head on her nose. Pores - close to non existent. All this but not the stretched waxy face we see all across Hollywood. Just naturally healthy looking skin. I want skin like that. But for now I'll stick with brow story...

At first I planned on telling y'all about it myself but now I think its much better coming from the creator.





The part about threading / waxing and tweezing pulling hair out from the root echoed to me the most. Sometimes if the hair root is gone, there isn't a way for hair to start growing back in that spot - scary stuff ! I should know this because my brows are pretty sparse at the inner end thanks to years of threading / tweezing.

Key Points That Make All The Difference

- The brow map is the key to perfect shape. You will start out with your bows looking too thick and weird like mine did in the picture below. But you'll see them looking way better and natural at the end of it all.

- Always stipple. Don't run the brush along the length of the brow.
- Following the steps helps create the same best shape day in and day out. Plus doing it a few times gets one into a routine which gets faster and faster with time.
- Not related to brows but I learned that the crease color must be placed above the crease - not along or in the crease. I tried it - its true.
- Everything in makeup has to be at an angle. Placing any product on your face in a straight line makes no difference and instead looks blah.

Who Needs The Precision Brow Planing System

Essentially anybody who is looking for Kim Kardashian like brows but also if you have

- thin brow hair / not full eyebrows
- brows not in shape
- uneven brows
- sparse, barely there brow hair
- don't have natural arches in your brows but are looking to create one.
- don't / cant thread, wax or tweeze

The brow planing kit provides for a step by step procedure to take one to the land of full shapely brows. The difference comes with the texture that Adda bow provides making the brows look natural as oppose to the flat tattooed brows or sharpie brows. This texture makes all the difference !

You May Not Make A Run For It If ...

You have

- full, thick brows naturally that you have maintained in relatively good shape.
- are particularly prone to razor burns.

You are better off with just a brow powder and an angled brush to fill in sparse areas.

As For Me

I loved it. My brows that began like two centipedes tuned first into an architectural blue print with the lines that the brow map created and finally ended up looking totally Va - Va - Voom ! I have never had these beautiful shaped arches - ever. My left eyebrow that has been sleeping for the past few years has awakened and risen to staggering heights. I plan on keeping it there and hope it never goes back to being a droopy line.

The before and the after


The brow planer helps with a crisp finish to the brows that is only made better with the Lift -n - Lite matte highlighter ( unfortunately has to be bought separately). I am very grateful that I didn't have a razor burn from the brow planer tool but if I had one concern then this would be it. If you are prone to razor burns I highly suggest making an appointment at one of their locations and trying it out there before you invest in one. The rest of the kit is great but the planer is the main highlight of the kit.

Planer apart, I absolutely fell in love with the fan brush that is used to dust the diffuser over the brows. It also makes for an amazing blending brush - who knew ! The kit itself can be used to create a day and a night look. One thing I noticed across the kit is quality. Everything seemed to be made with the best quality products for the desired effect. All brushes - soft, dense and perfect. The powders - fine milled and pigmented just right.

So wait - am I laying my tweezer down ? Yes and No. If the stray hair is way far away from my brow I still plan on tweezing it out. But anything near my natural brow line - I'll let the planer tool handle it. The Precision Brow Planing Kit is now available at Christi Harris Website for $39.95.

Love,
Indian Girl

Hiya ladies !

Hope you're having an excellent start to the week ! I must tell you mine has been dramatic. As in not too much drama but more like big changes coming my way :)

I also had a dramatic brow makeover yesterday with Christi Harris !! It was so much fun ! Cant wait to share my before after pics.


My latest story for Vogue India is on five different ways of creating a winged eyeliner and the effect it has on our faces. You can read all about it here. Lemme know how you like it and if you are all for trying any of these looks ! I have a few more winged eyeliner inspirations - will have them on the blog very soon !

Love,
Indian Girl

I am so going to try this hairstyle. It seems so easy but the end result is quite exquisite. Love love love it ! Thanks to the wonderful folks at Aveda for showing us the technique !

Aveda lead stylist Odile Gilbert created looping braids and twists finished with a chiffon ‘flower’ using Aveda Smooth Infusion Style-Prep™ Smoother,™ Aveda Air Control™ Hair Spray, and Aveda Control Force™ Firm Hold Hair Spray at the Jason Wu Spring/Summer 2011 Fashion Week show in New York.

“The Jason Wu hair look for this season is simple yet sophisticated, with 1970’s inspiration. We’re braiding chiffon—scraps from the collection—into the hair and twisting the ends into a flower. This look captures the happiness and excitement of spring and summer.” –Odile Gilbert for Aveda–Odile Gilbert for Aveda

HOW TO GET THE LOOK:

1. Prep damp hair with Aveda Smooth Infusion™ Style-Prep Smoother™ for smoothness and to tame flyaways. Use a fine-tooth comb to create a strong, clean part on the right side of the head and then blow dry straight using a Mason Pearson brush.

2. Pull hair tightly back and separate into four sections along the nape of the neck. Spray each with Aveda Air Control™ Hair Spray for shine and flexible hold.

3. Tie a long ribbon or piece of fabric—in a shade close to the hair color—around the top of each section of hair.

4. One section at a time, braid the fabric through the hair and secure at the bottom with an elastic. Leave excess fabric out at the bottom of each braid. Spray each braid liberally with Aveda Control Force™ Firm Hold Hair Spray for ultra-strong hold.



5. Collect all four braids and tie the fabric into one large bow at the end to create a ‘flower.’

6. Pull the fabric ‘flower’ upwards and secure at the nape of the neck with hair pins, creating beautiful braided loops stemming from the flower. Finish the look with Aveda Control Force™ Firm Hold Hair Spray.

AVEDA PRODUCTS USED

Aveda Smooth Infusion Style-Prep Smoother™

Aveda Air Control™ Hair Spray

Aveda Control Force™ Firm Hold Hair Spray

Q: What was your inspiration for this look? How did you collaborate with the designer to create the look?

“Jason’s collection was inspired in part by the 1970’s, so we wanted the hair for this season to reflect the hair of that era. Though the look is ultra-sophisticated, it’s also young and playful, with clean, slick hair in front and a mélange of braids and twists gathered into a gorgeous flower in back. The addition of Jason’s material completes the look, like chiffon highlights.” — Odile Gilbert for Aveda

Q: How could a woman achieve this look on her own?

“This look is very simple to recreate and works on anyone. Prep hair with Aveda Smooth Infusion™ Style-Prep Smoother™ and blow dry straight. Separate four sections of hair in the back and twist a piece of fabric into each. Leave a little fabric out at the ends and tie them together into a bow. Twist the braids up and pin to the back of the head. Set the style with Aveda Control Force™ Firm Hold Hair Spray.”—Odile Gilbert for Aveda

Love,
Indian Girl

Deets : Layer the glitter nail polish over a solid creamy nail polish and watch the glitter slide away easily with a regular nail polish remover !

Story : I've had these gorgeous nail polishes in my collection for a while but refrained from using them much. They were such a pain to remove and I have very very sensitive cuticles so its not like I can rub the cotton ball back and forth to get rid of the glitter. I didn't want to deal with the pain so I ignored them. Until, one day I was testing them over a solid creamy nail polish that I had on and what do you know, they came off with ease ! No messy glitter around my cuticles, no tugging & no micro scratches on my nails !

Since then I've used nothing but glittery sparkly nail polishes, making up for all my lost time with them. Right now I have on Zoya Julienne ( a deep sparkly purple) over Kelly (creamy steel gray)

Index - Zoya Cheryl over Cola
Middle - Zoya Edyta over Shawn
Ring & Pinky - Zoya Julienne over Kelly

Try this trick and lemme know how it works for ya !

Love,
Indian Girl

This weekend I will have the honor of meeting brow guru Christi Harris ! You probably know her from The Tyra Show or have read about her in one of the many magazines that she has been featured in.

In preparation I have been growing my brows out so she can shape them for me. To say I am super excited is putting it mildly. I've never had my brows professionally examined and shaped.

If you have any brow related questions please leave a comment below and I'll get you the answers from Christi Harris herself ! Any brow related question is fine - best shape for my face, how to fill brows, anything.

Love,
Indian Girl

Thanks to this eyeliner, a winged eyeliner look has never been easier to create . My lines are crisp, dark and most of all - easy !


I didn't want anything too loud to go with the winged liner - the liner was loud enough for me. So I reached for my Pixi Eye Beauty Kit - Bittersweet Cacao ($28). The packaging reminds of a watercolors kit I had as a kid. I was never good with water colors but I know my sister and I loved that kit.

This adult version has eight satin, medium pigmented shadows. It is great for times when you don't need anything too colorful and are looking for just enough to look polished. I applied a bit of peach all over the lid and added a hint of brown along the crease. The white eyeliner is one from New York Color - N.Y.C($3)



I love how it turned out ! But all being said, $28 is something I will think twice about before indulging. If you are looking to explore Pixi Beauty at Target, you must check out their youtube channel here. There are many How To videos that'll not just teach about creating different looks but more so will help us decide what will work for us !



Love,
Indian Girl

Its September and that is official sign that Fall is just around the corner. Its already time for NYFW ! But then again , its 98 degree outside. Dudnt sound much like Fall now does it ?

To get me just in the mood for darker hues I've started wearing the Jouer Lip Sheer in Positano. Its the sheer wine shade to transition me into a (hopefully soon) fall palette.

I'm not the only one - Jessica Alba and Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone are going dark too. I just cant get around to going as dark yet. If you are in the same boat as I am, then you'll appreciate the sheer moisturizing wine that Positano is.




The other shades are pretty too - all very sheer. Positano is the deepest color. St. Barths is a coral, again a sheer one. Its another great shade to check out.

L to R - St. Barths, Capri, Positano, St. Tropez

Love,
Indian Girl

This article contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR. For more details on the disclosure policy please refer to it at the bottom of the page.

Last night I tried the sugar scrub from Lush for the first time.

Lordy Lord it smells SO GOOD. All through my shower I couldn't get over how unbelievably good the smell was. The sugar scrub crumbled in a couple of seconds. I took off a small piece and saved the rest in the soap shelf. But in a couple of seconds, it started melting and the green liquid flowed into the bath tub !! So I made it quick run into the kitchen, grabbed a container and pulled my wondrous sugar scrub in.


That's that. But now I had a lot of this fantastic scrub just lying in there in the soap shelf. So I gathered the puddle into my palms and scrubbed the he*l outta my hands. Every stroke just made my hands softer and softer and softer. By the end my hands felt like two of the softest pillows ever.

So soft I dreamed of running my hands all over shaking hands with officer Sam Swareck and he continuing to hold on, coz my hands were just the softest. All the while I looked deep into his dreamy eyes and he continued to charm the pants off me with his dimples...

This is exactly what I meant when I retweeted...

Me and Sam Swareck are officially an item.

In my head.

Speaking of dimples...check this out.
Cuteness overload.

Love,
Indian Girl

Every morning we wake up and we see our faces in the mirror. We do this every single day of our lives and somewhere through it all we get to know our faces. For me, I know the cut above my eyebrow, a few leftover scars from chicken pox , the red dot on my nose, the mole on my chin and a couple others. I know these well enough that when I look at the mirror they blur out and my eyes see an overview of my face. And I like the face that looks back at me. I'd like to think I know it well.

But somewhere along all this back and forth with my mirror, the overview just got zoomed out so much I failed to notice a lot more things. We all go through this - we overlook a few things here and there and then one day - Bam ! You realize the face you see in the mirror is very different from what others see.


I hadn't noticed the dark circles until I took a picture of myself for the blog. Dark circles are notorious for making one look stressed out, dull, tired and unhappy. I wasn't feeling any of those things but my dark circles decided to make an appearance getting me the " Are you okay ?'s"

Raise your hand if this sounds familiar to you.

I use concealers regularly and found a few that work well for me. At least they did for the me I was seeing. But it wasn't till I took this after picture that I realized I looked so different. There was a marked brightness. Like my eyes that were hibernating two inches behind my face were suddenly out and bustling with happiness. Like someone had reached in and pulled them out. They were no longer hiding behind a hollow dark space. I looked so different even to my own eyes. Eyes that see me every single day.


The Orange Dark Circle Primer

This is what I had used - The Khuraira Dark Circle primer + Khuraira Age Control Concealer. Since then I have tried the primer with couple of my other favorite concealers and they seem to do this pulling out and shine through thing very well. The real star is here was the bright orange dark circles primer. I understand why they chose to call it a primer - you apply it (sparingly) on your dark circles prepping them for concealer. The more common term for it is a corrector. I have seen a few correctors but none this strong. On using it I also realized why so many readers write to me saying the very popular Bobbi Brown correctors weren't doing much for them. I guess we just need a strong dose of correction.


Why Orange ?

After trying the product I requested for a mini interview with the founder, Khuraira to ask a couple of basic questions - Why orange and what does this do ? She told me it helped by "neutralizing discolorations through the breakdown of the blue caused by broken capillaries. Worn under your concealer, this prevents the darkness from penetrating through". The last few words resonated with me - the one about not letting the darkness seep through. That is what was going wrong for many of us - our concealers just weren't designed to be strong enough to make a barrier of sorts.

Left - dark circle primer applied directly over skin. Right - Smashbox HD Concealer (medium) applied over the dark circle primer

Reasons Behind Dark Circles

This article here from the New York Times speaks about how finding a remedy for dark circles is one of beauty industry's top concern today. The reason for a relative lack of success in this field, I think could be the myriad of reasons that lead to dark circles - everything from hormonal changes, obesity, diabetes, stress, lack of sleep, alcohol can lead to dark circles. But for many of us, it doesn't end there - " Chronic dark circles, dermatologists say, is excess pigmentation in the skin. Dark circles are prevalent on all skin colors and types, but they especially trouble African-Americans, Southeast Asians and Southern Italians " .

Its in (some of ) our genes now ? I guess with that I can just about forget a cure for dark circles. My only option for now, is to slather stuff on to make them invisible. For now I am happy I found this heavy duty corrector for my industrial strength dark circles. With this I now join the league of stars like Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, Karina Smirnoff (Dancing with the Stars) and Nicole Scherzinger who at one point or another have depended on this product to get rid of that nasty stuff called dark circles.

Other Choices

Since trying this corrector I did some research and found a few other brands that make orange color correctors - Georgia Armani Master Corrector, NYX Orange Corrector, MAC Pro Studio Finish Skin Corrector , Laura Mercier Under Eye Perfector. These are a few options other than the one from Khuraira that I tried. If you have had a history battling dark circles and havent been satisfied with anything yet - I'd highly recommend finding one of these bright orange correctors and giving them a try. Chances are you'll love what it does !


Argh, all this depressing talk about you know what. Time to go grab some oatmeal raisin cookies.

Oh make that cup cakes with cream cheese frosting. Whoz comin along ?

No. Wait.

Heaven forbid, donuts.

Wait - donuts - obesity - dark circles. Dadgummit. It keeps coming back.

Love,
Indian Girl

This article contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR. For more details on the disclosure policy please refer to it at the bottom of the page.