The Body Shop 01 Eye Definer Shade: Black(01 Crayon Khol Nuance: Noir) : Review

I have been using the Body Shop eye definer for quite a few years now. It was actually one of the products in my first ever TBS haul. Read on to find my views on this product.

What the brand says is glide-on formula, dermatologically tested, opthalmologically tested. Available in an array of colors.

Price: 600 INR but usually available on discount during their sale period.

The shade of the eye definer I use is black. There are quite a few different shades available. They have some with metallic shades like silver and golden. They also have recently come up with duo eye definer which is basically a two-in-one eye liner with white color liner on one side of the pencil to be used in the inner corner of the eye for highlighting purpose. They also do a variant in which they have a smudger at the end of the liner to get a blendable and smudgable effect.

I use this liner only on my lower water line as that is the only place where I wear a liner if at all I am wearing liner. I have very watery lower water line and almost all the liners that I have tried either run down or get smudged. But not this one. This one stays put on my water line and does not get smudged at all. The formula is glide on formula so all I need to do is run it alongside my water line, a couple of times if I want it to be intense and I am all set.

The packaging is standard pencil packaging and you do need to sharpen it time and time again. A lot of product does end up getting wasted though and I do go through these fairly quickly. Also they do not provide a sharpener so I always have to carry a sharpener along separately.

I do not even remember the number of times I have repurchased this liner. Needless to say I will be repurchasing this again. I do recommend this if you also have watery eyes and find it hard to keep your liner in place. Fair warning though, I have a couple of friends who find this product to be bit dry and they say that they have to run it multiple times to get decent color on their waterline but I myself have never faced that problem. This one gets a THUMBS UP from me.

Have you ever tried the Body Shop eye definer. Be sure to drop in a comment in the comments section below!

La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Levres Baume Barriere Reparateur (Barrier Repairing Balm) : Review

I picked up my first ever product from La Roche-Posay. It is the La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Levres Baume Barriere Reparateur (Barrier Repairing Balm). Read on to find my views on this product.

What the brand claims is this repairing barrier balm soothes, protects and rebuilds the epidermis on chapped, cracked and irritated lips and zones, thanks to its formula concentrated up to 5% of soothing and repairing Panthenol, and enriched with MP-Lipids, pro-hydration active ingredient, in a breakthrough highly filmogenic formula, ultra-comfortable and protective.

Price: £6 for 7.5 ml tube.

I picked this tube up mainly because of the small size. Usually the lip balms which come in tube packaging come in a 15 ml packaging(not including chapstick form of balms which come in 4 to 5gm packaging). This one was 7.5 ml so half the size. I found it perfect for trying this product out. In case if I ended up not liking the product, at least the wastage will be half too.

Having said that, I did test it out for its main purpose i.e. moisturizing and repairing the lips. I found it to be effective as a lip balm which does some repairing too. The ingredients of this balm are also interesting. 

The other thing I liked about this balm was the fact that it has NO PARABENS. For me this is one major factor in deciding if I want to use a product or not. 

The packaging of this balm is quite the standard lip balm packaging with a slanted tip for better application and less wastage of the product. Small size makes it convenient for travelling too.

My lips were not in a very bad shape when I was trying this product so I found the product to be good for a lip balm. However there are two issues that bothered me about the product. First was lack of SPF which I feel is necessary for lip protection. Second was the staying power which was not that great but then again the brand does not claim that it lasts very long so I guess they are not misleading us in any way.

I would not immediately repurchase this product. But having said that I do believe that this balm is one of the good lip balms out there and affordable too!

Have you ever used the La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Levres Baume Barriere Reparateur. Be sure to drop in a comment in the comments section below.

Clinique Take The Day Off Makeup Remover for Lids,Lashes and Lips : Review

I do not get the concept of a makeup remover which can only be used to clean a certain type of makeup product from a specific area. I got a small sample of Clinique Take the day off makeup remover with the purchase of other Clinique products hence I decided to give it a try. Read on to find out my views on this makeup remover.

What the brand claims is that it dissolves and "lifts away" long wearing makeup, even waterproof mascara. Non-irritating, non-stinging. Ophthalmologist tested. Appropriate for contact lens wearers.

I use this to get the waterproof mascara off my eyes. I was pleasantly surprised with the performance of this product. It took the mascara off in one clean swipe with very minimal tugging. This product takes off the lipstick very well too. It does live up to the claims made by the brand.

However, there are multiple issues with this product. The product leaves the area it has been used on, sticky. I find that annoying and very messy. I always have to wash off the residue with my facial cleanser. Another issue is the limited usability as I mentioned earlier. Why should one purchase a product which only removes eye and lip makeup when there are better alternatives available which can be used for the full face and are cheaper too!

I plan to keep using this product only when I am at home. While travelling, I would continue using my trusted Bioderma Miceller Water. I will not be investing any money in this product once this one gets over.

Have you ever tried the Clinique Take the day off makeup remover? Be sure to drop in a comment in the comment section below! 

Clinique All About Eyes Under Eye Cream: Review

Eye Cream should be a part of your daily skin care regimen from your twenties itself. Many people do not understand the importance of using the eye cream early on and when the wrinkles start to show and dark circles become more or less permanent, they start treating it with much heavier eye creams. I feel prevention is better than cure. So the earlier you start, better it will be! I picked up this highly talked about eye cream from Clinique's All about Eyes range. Read on to find out my views on this eye cream.

What the brand claims is this lightweight eye cream diminishes the appearance of puffs, under eye circles. Non-creep, cream formula actually helps hold eye makeup in place. Ophthalmologist tested.

Price : 2700/- INR for 15 ml and 4350/-INR for 30 ml.

I used this morning and evening for about a month. Usually for any skin care product, you need to give it for about 4 weeks to show results. 

The cream is lightweight and you only need a little bit to cover the under eye area so a jar lasts a long time. I did not have any major under eye circles so all I was expecting from this was that it should lighten them a bit. But unfortunately, it made no difference to the under eye circles. I am not a fan of the packaging either. The tub packaging is unhygienic and inconvenient to use. I have not tried this under make-up so I can not comment how it holds under make-up. 

I am so disappointed with this purchase. It costs so much and shows no results. There is a gel version of this cream as well, but I doubt it will be any better. Needless to say I am never going to buy it again. As a matter of fact I will think 10 times before buying anything from Clinique in future. So far my experience has not been good with their products. This one gets two THUMBS DOWN from me. Stay far far away from this!

Have you ever tried the Clinique All About Eyes Under Eye Cream. Be sure to drop in a comment in the comments section below!

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser : Review

My skin is Normal during most months of the year. But during the winter, it gets little dry which I guess is perfectly normal. The cleanser I was earlier using was making the skin even more dry. So I was on a look out for a good cleanser which is mild and not so drying during the winter months. I picked the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. Read on to find my views on this cleanser.

Here is what this product claims to do:

The product has these ingredients:

I follow the instruction by the brand for use with water. I use this cleanser twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening. The cleanser is off whitish runny liquid in consistency. The cleanser is extremely gentle on the skin. I have noticed that it does not dry my skin during winter months like my previous cleanser. Skin feels smooth and also very clean after using this cleanser. Now I use it all year around and not just the winter months.

I bought a smaller bottle initially but since I liked this cleanser a lot, I purchased a big bottle.

This cleanser has become my "Holy-Grail"cleanser. I will keep repurchasing this in future as well. This one gets two Thumbs Up from me!

Have you ever used the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. Be sure to drop in a comment in the comments section below!

The Body Shop All-In-One Face Base and Extra Virgin Minerals Powder Foundation Kabuki Brush : review

I have been using the Body Shop All-In-One Face Base and Extra Virgin Minerals Powder Foundation Kabuki Brush combo for some time now. Read on to find my views on these two products.

What the brand claims:

1. About the All-In-One compact : A foundation and powder in one neat compact. Use dry for a light matte finish or wet for high coverage. Perfect for on-the-go touch-ups. Matte finish, Velvety feel, No added fragrance, Includes sponge and mirror, Dermatologically tested.

Price :  INR 1295

2. About the Extra Virgin Minerals Powder Foundation Brush : A high density, supersoft brush for use with Extra Virgin Minerals Powder Foundation. Super-Soft synthetic hair, Cruelty-free, Gives an even, flawless finish

Price: INR 1495

I use the shade no. 5 in the All-in-One compact. The compact comes in 6 shades.

Though the compact can be used as wet and dry both, I have only used it dry so far. There is a sponge given with the compact but I never apply the product with that sponge. The coverage is decent enough when applied dry. I have to make sure my skin is very well moisturized before I apply this otherwise it clings to dry patches. My skin type is normal so this product works well for me. I also make sure to top it up with a moisturizing/finishing mist like a Mac Fix+.

Coming to the brush, this brush is meant to be used with another foundation by the brand. But I decided to buy it to use it with my All-In-One compact. The brush is very dense. It picks the product very well and is incredibly smooth against the skin. The combo of this compact and the brush works well for me.

Even though I like these two products, there are some drawbacks to both these products. The compact is dry and powdery so if you are someone with dry skin, I would suggest you stay away from this product. Also the shade range is limited to only 6 shades so there is a good chance you will not find a matching shade to your skin tone.

Regarding the brush, I would have preferred a longer handle instead of a tiny handle. It sometimes feel uncomfortable to use just because of that.

I usually travel with this combo for shorter trips as it saves space and I do not have to carry a foundation and setting powder separately. I would recommend this Compact for people with normal to oily skin only. The brush however can be used with any other powder foundation of any other brand as well.

Have you ever tried the Body Shop All-In-One Face Base and Extra Virgin Minerals Powder Foundation Kabuki Brush. Be sure to drop in a comment in the comments section below.