Storage : LIPSTICKS

This is not something great but people have been asking to share my storage ways so here is how I keep my lipsticks. I go this bag from Globus, India. I reverse the lipstick and then keep so that I can see all the names of the lipsticks and it is very easy to remove, apply and replace. When I go out for a wedding make up I empty all of them in my makeup travel bag and when there is no wedding season here in india I replace them back in to this bag

Make Up Basics #3 : Foundation

          “There are no ugly women, only lazy ones”
                                          ― Helena Rubinstein

Brace up beauties this is going to be a huge post! I always wanted to write about foundations but you know how important a foundation is when it comes to make up so I dint wanted to rush.
The world of makeup revolves around foundation for me. The first important product you need would be your foundation, And only foundation can bring a great difference to your face.

Are you cool Warm or neutral??

cool                               neutral                 warm               

I am not talking about your body temperature darlings. There is a difference between a shade and a tone. Shade is from light to dark where as tone is something under your skin which determines which shade suits you better. There are three tones warm, cool and neutral. You can change your skin tone but no matter what you do you cannot change your undertone. If your skin looks pink then you have a cool undertone where as if your skin looks yellow then you have warm undertones.

How to determine your tone?
Well this might be tough but there are few tests which make it easy for you to know your skin tone.

Vein test - In a natural light, look at the inside of your wrist, if the veins appear greenish then you have a warm skin tone.If they are bluish then you have cool skin tone.

Gold and silver test:  Take two cloth's Gold and silver. If you look better in gold then you have a warm skin tonearm skin tone. People with cool skin tones usually look better in silver.

 

If it is hard for you to determine your skin tone from the above tests then you may fall into neutral tones. Neutral tones are the best because you really don't have to worry about anything and anything will look good on you.

What has this to do with your foundation?

Foundation is that product that acts as a veil for your skin. For a natural finish you would want your veil look like your skin. If you would ask me I would suggest people to choose yellow undertone foundations for all skin tones. I mean who would want to look pink? If a yellow undertone foundation is too much for you then choose a neutral one. 

How to buy a foundation?

When you are buying a foundation my suggestion would be get it from a good brand.

Don't buy any cheap unbranded foundation. 

Always wash your face and apply a little moisturizer before trying the foundation. 

Choose a huge mall where you have many stores so that you can have many options. 

Decide what kind of foundation you need, Light medium or full coverage.
Wash your face in the mall to get rid of oil and pollution that might have got on to your skin while traveling to the store. 

Wear a foundation on half of your face, If you have another option you can wear it on another half. 

Come home sit back and relax. Wait at least for 6 hours and then check your skin. 

See the staying power, coverage and look of the foundation. 

Go and get it he next day or when you are free.

Foundation changes along with temperate and time, It will not look the same as it looked immediately when you put in on. Take your time and select A foundation. Always remember to stay away from the SA, they make you buy any random stuff even if you don't want to.

What are the different types of foundations?

Mineral foundation or powder foundation.

Mousse foundation

Liquid foundation

Mineral foundation is used on oily skin people. Bare minerals is one good brand which gives you high coverage with powders. 

Mousse foundations, every makeup brand from Revlon to Maybelline is now manufacturing this . It is very light on the skin and yet it does give you medium to full coverage.

Liquid foundations are very commonly used every where. they have different consistency and have different levels of coverage.

Why is foundation important?

Foundation evens out skin tone. It forms a layer for your powder, blush, bronzer and highlighter. We all have some skin problems with face. You may need a concealer to cover up them but most of them is covered by the foundation. 

Which shade to pick up and how? 

Our skin tone varies from time to time. We all get a tan when it is summer and we all get a little pale when it is winter so which shade is correct is a big question. 

A simple solution would be to buy an exact shade and one tone lighter shade. If you cannot afford two foundations then I would suggest. Take 3 foundations, One of your shade one lighter and one a little more lighter. Apply them on your jaw line. The shade that is closest is your best match. 

What if you have a foundation which is slightly dark and another  a slightly fair tone?

Don't buy a foundation which is slightly dark than because after some time I observed the foundation gets dull and you look a lot darker than you actually are. Buy the slightly fairer one because when it gets dull, you will still look more natural.

Why cant I get a fairer foundation?

No, a fairer foundation doesn't make u look fair instead they make you look cakey and grey which is lot worse than your actual skin tone.

 I hope this helped. Any suggestions and queries please mail me to style.camera@gmail.com
Like my facebook page here

Love,
Mounika Roches.

Shopping Ban

Yes, you heard it right! :( I imposed a ban on my shopping spree. The reason why I took this decision is I recently realized I am buying things which I don't require just because they are looking cute and I want to shop something or the other. I am a shopaholic woman and more than just loving to shop I am connected to shopping emotionally. Like most women I feel happy when I shop and shopping is the best medicine to come out of depression fro me. I tend to shop when my mood is off and anything new cheers me up. I know I have this urge but never took it seriously until I ran out of place at home to keep things. 

 

My friends love me so much that they never stop me from shopping stuff, If I am running out of money they just gift me things to keep me happy. They play a major role in feeding that monster in me. I decided to control my urge and and see what happens. Definitely these months are going to be a trauma session for me but I am determined to survive them.

Basically what is the ban
I am not going to shop anything until my birthday which is on April 14th.
No clothes
No makeup
No accessories
No shoes
No bags
No nail art
No nail polishes

I will buy basic skin care like face wash, toner, moisturizer shampoo and conditioner because we don't stock them up and we use them every day so they are an exception.

How many days : 150 Days


What is the Strategy


Tadaan! Here comes the fun part there is no plan. I am just going to say no every time I feel like buying something. I will keep myself away from online shopping sites and malls as much as I can. How ever I am subscribed to velvette box so I will get some little goodies every month which will be a relief. I already shopped from international sites which are yet to come so they will also be a relief. I will still keep you updated regarding the trauma I am going through :(

I am not going to take any gifts from friends though they are determined to pamper me a little extra these days, but I am going to stick to my rules.


I hope I will complete the challenge. Wish Me Luck!!!!

Love,
Mounika Roches

Shopping experience with Ebay.in

Tadaan! I am back with a shopping experience. (yayyy!!) I was doing some random reading on the internet about makeup and going though several blogs when I came across these unbranded brushes from eBay. I read it in Ankita's blog called corallista, Do check her out she is amazing. I immediately got tempted to buy this one because for me brushes are the door for perfect makeup. I heard these are about 1500 which is less than one MAC 217 brush so I jumped to buy this.
You can buy them HERE
So I placed the order on Nov 6th and i received it today i e., Nov 15th
It took 9 days which is almost like 7 working days which is quite impressive for eBay standards but a little disappointing for someone like me who cannot rest until I receive the parcel.

I payed the cash through my card so there was no shipping charge or anything like that. (I am totally new to banking but still loving it so far! ) The package came in regular plastic which is similar for almost all the sites.
When I opened it I found another post which looked like it was from china (never mind)
The brushes were not bubble wrapped but just kept in plastic covers, No complaints since there was no damage. I love the brushes. If you are having trouble applying foundation with your foundation brush get these!!

Lets get to the fun part...PICTURES!!!

These are all different kabuki brushes which are really dense. I love the white ferrule some how it looks very pretty than the black ones. The bristles are really dense so I guess they will work good for blending your face makeup. I saw a little shredding as soon as I opened but I don't think it will continue after a wash.
The problem with eBay is they doesn't provide any tracking id so you are left with nothing to do but waiting for your order.

I hope you liked my experience. Keep shopping, Stay Happy!

Love you,
Mounika Roches.

My coastal scents palette collection

Hello everyone,
Coastal scents is a popular brand very well known for the 88 palette. The eye shadows are really pigments and are available in a wide range of colors and textures. They have even pigments with them. They manufacture brushes, mascara's and other products. 

About Coastal Scents according to their site.

We are experienced in making Bath and Beauty Products since 2005 and we are constantly broadening our knowledge. Our extensive background in Retail and Customer Service helps us to serve our customers even better. We have worked with some huge companies behind the scenes such as: Martha Stewart, Hitachi, Morton Salt, as well as schools and universities.

We not only sell ready made products, but also the ingredients to make your own. Most products are purchased in bulk directly from the manufacturer and repackaged in smaller sizes to make them affordable to smaller companies or personal use. We strive to save you time and shipping costs that occur from having to buy products at several different locations.

Customer suggestions are welcome, we are geared to accommodating a priority customer demand.

We do not test products on animals and only support suppliers that do the same. All the products we carry are produced cruelty free and no animals are harmed. Even though some companies still test on animals, we believe that it is unnecessary, unethical and is scientifically unreliable. We want to be sure that our products are safe on humans, so our products are rigorously assessed and tested by human volunteers.

As a company with many natural products, we also help our environment by recycling. 

 

The 252 palette:
It has 252 colors! They are into pearly, shimmer and matte textures. The colors are pigmented but also a little chalky. The staying power might be a little less when applied on its own but when applied on a primer works great.

The 28 neutral palette:
It has 28 neutral colors. The shades are considered as closest dupes of MAC eye shadows and works amazing for wedding makeup

10 Blush palette:
if you are a blush lover , you must have it. It has a various shades of pinks, corals and purple's perfect for most of the skin shades. One or two might be a little chalky but the rest are amazing.

Think pink palette:
I love pink on the eyes. they just give you that baby doll kinda look which looks really fresh and young. I love the shades in this they is a pearly, shimmer and matte shade in the palette

32 Lip palette:
This solves my problem of carrying a huge collection of lipsticks with me. One sleek palette with 32 different shades of lipsticks where you can mix and match the colors to get your favorite color. It has a wide range of pinks and red's with different undertones.

Customized palette:
I got this palette mainly to fill the brows and to ad some warmth around the crease area. I love the packaging.

I hope you like them
You can buy them here

Love,
Mounika Roches

Engagement make up break down.

Hello ladies.
Today I am going to do a step by step look break down of a beautiful bride to be named sravya. I got this lovely oppurtunity to do her engagement day makeup. Here we go in to the details.
Sravya has got absolutely healthy skin with no pigmentation marks. She has got amazingly a spot free skin without dark circles even. Having such beautiful canvas it is exciting and very easy to work with.

This is absolutely no make up face of Sravya

Step 1 : Primer
Sravya already had her moisturizer on so I started off by using a primer. You can use any primer, I used Nyx photogenic primer in purple. A primer mattifies your skin and holds your makeup for a very long time since it is her engagement she has to carry even look all over the event so a pimer is a must for her. I use primer with my clean fingers for an even flawless look. For detailed descriptions about primers read my post here.

Step 2: Foundation
Since you know my makeup is exclusively made compatible for SLR photography I mixed up a couple of foundations to match Sravya's skin tone. I made sure that the foundation has yellow undertones to add that extra traditional tint to the entire face. For your personal use you can use one single foundation. I used an expert face brush by Real techniques to apply the foundation and buffed it in using a stippling brush from the same brand. It is very important to have a clean finish foundation otherwise you may end up looking cakey and artificial. Blend until you attain a seamless finish

Step 3: Concealer
I used very tiny amount of colorbar concealer in a pot in the shade natural to just cover her under eye area. She dint require any coverage and just needed an even finishto her skin. I used my most favourite concealer brush from ELF cosmetics called flawless concealer brush of their studio collection
.

Step 4: Powder
To seal all the creams you must follow with a powder. Since you are in between heavy lights there is a 100% chance of sweating too much and oil secretions on your skin. I used my trysty stay matte powder by Rimmel which absorbs oils and gives you a matte look which is very flattery than the oily face.

Step 5: Eye makeup
I used this particular eyeshadow from my coastal scents eyeshadow pallet all over the lid as a base after applying eye primer. I then used this pigment from faces exactly on the center of the eye where it catches light. I followed it up by using another eyeshadow from L'Oreal called endless chocolate on the outer thirds of the eye slowing taking it in to the crease. I took a cleaning blending brush by body shop to blend the harsh lines and build up the transition between the colors. All the shades i used had shimmer in them so i decided to use a matte cream eyeshadow from the same coastal scents pallet to highlight the brow bone and inner corners.

Step 6: Lower lash line and eyeliner
For the lower lash line I wanted to use a pop of color since the whole eye make up was a very neutral. I decided to use green since it matched her saree. I used a metallic green color eye sparkle from Elle 18 on her lower lash line. To prevent it from creasing and to make it last longer i used a green eyeshadow on top of it from my motives pallete.I used revlon colorstay one stroke defining eyeliner to tightline and waterline her eyes. I used loreal paris gel eyeliner in black on her upper lash line using my elf studio eyeliner brush.

Step 7: Mascara:
I curled her lashes using colorbar lash curler and then coated her eyelashes with several mascara's. Thick eyelashes add that extra oomph to the eyes and I dont recommend using false lashes on spoecial ocasions because if they fall off then you end up in great embarrasment. I used three different mascara's for this look.

Step 8: Eye brows.
I used an angled brush to fill her eyebrows using dark brown eyeshadow from coastal scents. I then used a spooky to blend the shadow with the natural hair and set it in place using a brow gel.

Step 9: Line your lips and fill them in
I used a lipliner from lakme absolute to line and fill in the lips. It is warm pink coor which looks flattering on almost all indian skin tones. And then I used this red from my coastal scents 32 lip pallete in the center of her lips for that fuller lips effect. I did not use any gloss since matte's look amazing on indian skin tone's according to me.

Step 10: Highlighting and Blush.
I used a colorbar blush on her cheeks for that bridal blush effect and Inglot highlighter on high points of her face, like cheeks bones, brow bones cupids bow and bridge of the nose,for that extra glow. 

I hope you like this look.
For any queries and suggestions contact me on style.camera@gmail.com
You can like my facebook page here.

Love, 
Mounika Roches.