Naked Palette Haul from Beauty Bay

I finally have the much coveted Naked Palette by Urban Decay. The moment i got it in my hands-- Priceless!! Since last year i had been searching for online shopping sites which ships the palette to India but could not find any. I mean there was Ebay but i didn't want to take a risk because many people had received fake ones. Finally this year i found a wonderful UK based site Beauty Bay which ships internationally. The site has amazing products from many high end cosmetic, skincare and hair care brands. When i discovered the site I ogled at it for hours but eventually I had to get the Naked Palette. Moreover u get free shipping, what could be better than that. The site is customer friendly as in you just put the countries name from where you are  and the price list automatically shows in your country's currency. It's just amahhhh...zing :) The shipping is pretty fast too. I placed my order on 26th June 2013 and they shipped it the same day itself. I chose the free shipping option and based on it i expected the package to arrive after 10 to 15 days but i was very happy when i received it on 4th July 2013. It just took about 7 days for the product to arrive. I paid Rs 3248 for the palette. I couldn't be more happier.

I am sorry guys, blame it on my laziness that i don't have pictures of swatches and stuff, i mean probably all makeup junkie like me already knows what is to be known about the Naked Palette. Nevertheless just posting some pics of my most prized makeup possession :P

                                                                                          xoxo lee

My First International Makeup Swap

 I had been wanting to do a makeup swap ever since i heard of it. So one day while going through random Instagram posts I came across this lovely girl Aaisha or beautygurumissykay in Instagram. She was searching for a swap partner and i jumped in. We fixed a budget and decided to go ahead with the swap. She is from UK and initially all i wanted was Sleek products and then realization hit me that i could order that online. So i told her she could get anything for me. It took us almost two weeks to get the packet ready and we shipped it out on the same day. My package to her reached in exactly three days!! Can you believe that??. I was surprised that it reached so fast. Hers reached me after one week.

Anyways, here's what she got me

1. Cute wristbands from Opia. (Primark Accessories)
2. Set of ear studs from Opia. Some of them are missing because my sister took it from me lol.
3. Nail Wraps in pink leopard print.
4. Sunkissed bronzing pearls.
5.Three eyeshadow trios from Sunkissed.
6.Two Rimmel London Vinyl Jelly Gloss Lip Liners in 010 Tasty and 007 Fudge.
7. CCUK eyeshadow trio in shade no 92
8. CCUK Quick Stroke Waterproof Eyeliner in Black.
9. Five Eyeshadow Dust from Primark Beauty.
10. Two MUA lipsticks in shade 4 and shade 7
11. Hair tie from Opia.
 She also sent me one Nivea chap stick in Soft Rose and also one earcuff from Opia. I forgot to include those in the picture . :P

I am so happy with whatever i received. I not only found a swap buddy but also a great friend in Aaisha. We were two strangers and we completely trusted one another. This was so much fun and we are planning to do more swaps in future.
                         xoxo lee

June Favorites : Beauty and Random

OMG!!! This year is just fleeting by so quickly and it's already mid-year! July the most dreaded month for me is here!!! I have to submit my dissertation this month and it scares the hell out of me. Anyways listed below is my favorites for June.

Beauty

Maybelline Color Tattoo: Edgy Emerald

I freaking love this color :) mint with a hint (lol how it rhymes) of gold. I just feel this is the 'it' color for my eyes this summer hehe..

The Body Shop: Strawberry Body Mist

I adore the smell of this mist. Just have two words for this: Sugary Sweet. The fragrance is pretty lasting. Iv'e been using this practically every day and it's almost over :( I will definitely buy this again.

Vlcc Strawberry & Waterlily Peel-Off Mask

This is the first peel-off mask I've ever used and i love it. It did wonders to my skin and it made my skin glow :) This particular mask is for removing blemishes, to firm and revitalize skin and this one's for normal to dry skin.

The Body Shop Concealer Pencil in 03

I had bought this a few months back and it was lying abandoned in my vanity till the day i decided to give it a try. This baby is perfect for concealing spots and blemishes. It does a wonderful job on me. The formula is kind of dry but i prefer this because it suits me fine in this hot humid Kolkata weather.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Sweetheart Valentine and Cherish Devotion

These two were the only lippies i used this June and so had to include it in my favorites. SV is the fuchsia pink one and CD is the lilac pink one. They both are such happy, pretty colors and the texture of these are amazing. Glossy, Pigmented and gives a minty sensation when applied on lips.

Random

Shower to Shower Prickly Heat Powder in Cologne

My saviour for summers. Kolkata is so hot and humid that it gives me ugly prickly heat rashes. This powder is the only thing that helps me keep those ugly rashes at bay.

Silver Earring

I kind of stole this from my mom's collection *evil grin*. I love the unique design of this dangler. I feel it makes quiet a statement when i tie my hair up in a bun and wear these :)

Britannia Nutri Choice Ragi Nutri Bix

My favorite munchies for June hehe.. healthy and tasty :)

That's it for my this months favorite. Hope you guys enjoyed reading.
                                                                                                         xoxo lee

Fab Alley Jewel Box

Right now I am over the moon because i just received my Fab Alley jewel box. This is basically like your any  other beauty boxes but instead of beauty samples you get three pieces of fabulous jewelry worth Rs2000 just for Rs1000. All you have to do is take a quiz in their site and based upon your answers they choose a box for you to suit your style. There are four types of boxes, Glam, Boho, Classic and Casual. They even show you the jewelry piece you are going to receive in your box and incase you are not happy with it you can always opt for the other boxes. I was selected for the Boho box and i was happy with the products so decided to take it. :) I placed an order at the end of June and was supposed to receive the box by last week of July but i was really surprised when i received a mail stating that my box is on it's way.

Any ways here's how the box looked when it arrived, a beautiful black sturdy box covered with a plastic to ensure protection

 The sides were taped up with the company's big tape

The products inside were carefully wrapped up in white tissue

The three pieces of jewelry were individually bubble-wrapped and placed inside these pretty purple pouches

Now, the jewelry i received :)

First i got this pretty drop earrings. It looks heavy but trust me it is very light when worn.

 Then i got this lovely ear cuffs. It is so unique and reminds me of Greek goddesses.

Then lastly, my favourite of all. I got this beautiful peter pan collar neck piece in neon pink. I just love this :).

I really loved all the pieces of jewelry i got and i will definitely order next month.
                                                                                                                       xoxo lee 

Summery Neon Swirls : NOTD

Here's my first attempt to do Marble Nail Art which i learnt from some You Tube tutorials. I am sorry that i cannot give you guys a tutorial because i could not take any pictures of the step by step procedure due to the fact that i had taped my fingers up to avoid mess. I know it makes no sense to you all as to what i am saying lol.. If you all wanna try this out ,search for it in You Tube there are many tutorials there which shows you the step by step procedure. I was happy with my attempt and just wanted to share the pic with you guys :)

I wanted to use bright neon colours perfect for summer, so keeping that in mind i used these nail polishes.

1. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in 110 Green With Envy
2. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in 420 Pacific Blue
3. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in 405 Coral Reef
4. Colorbar Pro Gliterrati Top Coat in 001 Retro Silver


xoxo lee

Eco Tools : Five Piece Mineral Set

When it comes to applying makeup, i always had one problem and that was lack of owning good brushes. Until one fine day i saw in TiTi's Corner  that there is this awesome site called iherb which ships wonderful brushes like Real Techniques, Eco Tools and other awesome stuffs internationally. My happiness knew no bounds. I really wanted the Real Technique brushes but sadly i was low on cash so meekly settled for Eco Tools. I ordered the Five Piece Mineral Set and Six Piece Essential Set from Eco Tools. I paid $9.73 for the first and $7.22 for the second. They have this offer for first time customers that if you spend more than $40 then you get $10 or more discount and if you spend less than $40 then you get $5 discount. So i got a $5 discount. I also paid $12 for shipping and handling. So in total i paid $23.95 after discount. The site's shipping procedure is amazing. They ship it via DHL which has amazing tracking system. I placed my order on 03 June 2013. They shipped it on 04 June 2013 and i received it on 07 June 2013. Isn't that amazing!!!

Here I will give you guys review of the Five Piece Mineral Set.

This is what the packaging looks like :

 It comes in a travel pouch and has one Mineral powder Brush, one Concealer Brush, one Eye Shading Brush and one Mini Kabuki.

Mineral Powder Brush 

 This brush is "designed to apply mineral makeup with ease" and I use it to apply bronzer and for contouring.  The brush is shaped perfectly to do so. Below are pictures of the Brush's side face and front face and you will automatically understand why it is so perfect. :)

This brush is not like your ordinary powder brush which are most of the time big and fluffy. As you can see from the picture that it is kinda flat from the side and hence shaped properly for use in applying bronzer and for contouring.

Concealer Brush

 As the name suggests this brush does a fine job of applying concealer especially under eyes and on nose corners. It's head is tiny and precise to conceal any red marks and spots on the face.

Eye Shading Brush

This brush is specifically created to "swipe a sheer shadow over the base of your eyes." But I find the brush's head to large to do so. I used this more as a fluffy brush to blend my eye shadow.

Mini Kabuki

By far this is the cutest, tiniest kabuki brush i have ever seen. It's so darn cute and perfect for applying blushes. It perfectly swipes the blush around the apples of my cheek.

Travel Bag

 Lastly, all these brushes comes in this pretty travel bag. It is so convenient especially for a person like me who travels to and fro.

Hope this review was helpful for you guys and in case you all want to pick this amazing brush set or any other good stuffs from I herb you all can use this discount code DPZ891 to avail $10 or more discount on your first order over $40 or $5 discount on orders less than $40.

I will review the other set pretty soon so stay tuned.. xoxo lee

p.s : The sentences within quotes are cited from the back of the brushes set's packaging :)

Revlon Nail Art : Expressionist and Neon

REVLON has recently launched their nail art collections here in India. As soon as i saw these babies, I had to have it. There are basically three distinct collection in this line of nail art, Moon Candy, Neon and Expressionist. Moon Candy has a dark base coat on one end and  chunky holographic glitters on the other side. Neon has a white base coat on one end and bright neon shades on the other. Expressionist has a colour with a regular brush on one end and a colour with a skinny brush on the other end.

Since the colours from the Moon Candy collection did not appeal to me much, I picked one polish each from Neon and Expressionist.

Expressionist : 340 Pinkasso

This one has a lovely shade of orange/coral shade as a base coat with a regular brush. On the other end it has bright fuchsia pink with a skinny brush. I am just tripping over the  combination of these two  shades together. It is so apt for summer.

This is how i did my nails with Pinkasso :) I applied two coats of  base colour and made stripes with  fuchsia pink.

Neon : 170 Ultra Violet

This one has a white base coat on one end and a neon purple on the other. White shade as a base coat helps to brighten and bring out the neon colour more vibrant.

This is how Ultra Violet looks on my nails :) I applied one coat of the white shade and applied two coats of purple on top.

I am really happy and content with these nail polishes. Initially the price bothered me but when you think of it we are getting two different shades for Rs 300 and that is like paying Rs 150 for each shade so that's pretty much alright. I'll definitely get some more of these but dunno when.. sigh!! I am so broke :(
                                                                                                                                             xoxo lee