What I got in my first ever Jewel Box from Faballey!

Let me start off this post by saying that it is not sponsored and I have not been paid anything in either cash or kind to write this. The main intention is to share with you a concept that I find to be rather unique as well as pretty decent value for money for everyone who loves jewelry, specially statement/artificial jewelry.

We have all heard about the concept of a beauty box, where you are sent 3-4 samples of beauty products in a box every month. Faballey.com has come up with the concept of a Jewel Box, where you pay Rs 1000 and get three jewelry pieces in a box every month. I came across this jewelry box ad on their website couple of months back and got quite interested. What you have to do is pretty simple. Go to their website, take a quick style quiz and based on your replies, faballey will recommend a Classic, Boho, Casual or Glamour Box for you. Not that you have to only take what's recommended but it's fun to take the quiz. The only hitch is that these boxes are available for only a short period and they get shipped quite late. For e.g, if you subscribe to a May box, then it will be dispatched only mid-june.

These Rs 1000 boxes are decent value for money because the products original MRP totals to Rs 2000 (as per faballey), so there's a discount of Rs 1000 and the pieces are quite good. They don't look tacky or cheap, are of good quality and are pretty good to look at. And they obviously change every month. I subscribed to one in April and got my box last week. Take a look at the contents..

If you want to get your own jewel box, click here. The May subscription is open till 31st May.

Which piece did you like?

The Body Shop launches Colour Crush Eyeshadows

Striking neutrals. chic nudes. rich browns. Fierce pinks. powerful purples. brilliant blues. gorgeous greens. We travelled the world to source the rarest pigments, triple-filtered and expertly milled them, then blended them with community fair trade oils to create unrivalled brilliance and clarity. Raw colour, maximum impact. what’s your colour crush?

 Eye-Catching Colour

Our new Colour Crush collection is a fashion-forward palette of mono eyeshadows in a full array of the season’s must-have stand-out shades. Beautifully wearable, the lust-worthy line-up ranges from elegant beiges to shocking brights in a mix of pearly and matte finishes. Incredibly blendable and buildable, these intense shades can be applied wet or dry and worn alone, together or layered, creating a myriad of looks from daytime chic to full-on night-time glamour. Go ahead and play with colour!

Sleek Design

Our new clear, recyclable pack gives a better view of the rich, impactful colour inside. We think it’s simply beautiful. What’s more, spectacular colour is perfectly pursefriendly; 

Each mono eyeshadow costs Rs 695.

Crush, Crush Baby...

Our high-impact Colour Crush eyeshadows are made with crushed pigments in Italy, the fashion colour capital of the world. High-quality pigments are coated with a silky blend of Community Fair Trade oils, creating optimal light reflection to bring out all their brilliance and clarity. The super-smooth and silky, luminous colour glides on, melting and fusing seamlessly with skin to reveal a vibrant intensity. Take your eye-look to the next level.

We Love...

We’ve got a serious crush on our vibrant shades, like the bold, pearly peacock hue of Something Blue 510 P, the vivid pearlescent purple of Blueberry Night 405 P and the deep intensity of Moonlight Kiss 015 M. Come find your favourite, for eyes that pop with cutting-edge colour.

THE HEART INSIDE

Our Colour Crush Eyeshadows benefit from a blend of Community Fair Trade Brazil nut oil, marula oil, honey, organic virgin coconut oil and sesame oil. Our community Fair Trade Brazil nut oil comes from the Candela co-op in Peru. The ‘castaneros’ or nut gatherers collect the broken nuts that can’t be sold for food use and hand-crack them to extract the oil. Trade has helped to protect 3,000 hectares of rainforest in the Madre de Dios region. Sustainable harvesting also helps to support the indigenous species that depend on the Brazil nut tree, such as the orchid bee.

100% CRUELTY-FREE

We’ve worked hard to ensure that our Colour Crush collection features the most intensely vibrant, fashion-driven shades whilst remaining vegetarian and 100% cruelty free, like all our products.

Colour Crush does not contain any bug shell extract to colour the product, any shimmer effect is made from mineral mica and the binding agents are made from natural vegetable materials instead of crushed shellfish. Because our love for animals includes bugs, insects and other creepy crawlies.

GET THE LOOK

Backstage Secrets

Lan Nguyen-Grealis, Head make-up artist for the Fashion Scout, home of new talent and the largest independent event during London Fashion Week, is loving the colour crush collection. She shares her backstage secrets to getting spring/summer 2013’s intense eye-looks.

WHAT MAKEUP LOOKS ARE HOT ON THE CATWALK THIS SEASON?

“This season, eye-looks are bold and vibrant in pigment colour. Statement eyes are a must. The new range of Colour Crush eye colours is great to use - the shadows glide on easily and last a long time, which is ideal for show work. All the colours work really well for this season’s trends.”

WHAT MAKES COLOUR CRUSH SO EASY TO WORK WITH?

“The Colour Crush shades are simple to apply directly on to the eye area, you can layer on as much as you please. The colours look different depending on how much you apply, which is great to get tonal graduation. From dark to light is easy to achieve without having to blend too much.”

WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT COLOUR CRUSH?

“Every colour you see is exactly the colour you get when you use it. The biggest surprise is how vibrant the colours are and how some unusual tones can look amazing on the eyes, such as Chat-Up Lime and Something Blue.”

WHAT ’S YOUR FAVOURITE SHADE IN THE COLOUR CRUSH RANGE?

“My most favourite shades this season, for versatility and for everyday use, are Moonlight Kiss and Caramel Flirt.”

THE BRIGITTE SUPER FLICK

Lan says: “The Brigitte Super Flick was created for Ekaterina Kukhareva for her SS13 collection. “Goddess in St. Tropez” was the theme, taking inspiration from the 60’s fashion icon Brigitte Bardot. The mood is happy, care free, glamorous and sexy. Eyes headline the look as bright colours take on a geometric shape with a super flick set against a canvas of flawless skin.”

Step One

Using the Slanted brush, sweep the new Colour Crush in shade 510 Something Blue along the lash line, starting at the inner corner of the eyes and finishing with a flirty, 60’s flick past the outer corners.

Step Two

Take the Eyeshadow brush, dampen it for even more intense colour and apply more eyeshadow all over the eye-lids, up to the crease of the eye.

Step Three

Highlight brows and open the eyes by running the new Colour Crush in Shade 001 Sugar Gaze along the brow bone.

Step Four

Curl lashes and apply two coats of The Body Shop Define & Lengthen Mascara in 01 Black, to the top lashes only.

GET A FLAWLESS COMPLEXION

To create a naturally flawless complexion, apply Oil Free Balancing Liquid Foundation using the Foundation brush and blend well for seamless, even coverage. Use the Radiant Highlighter on the highest points of the face – forehead, temples and cheek bones, down the centre of the nose, across the cupids bow of the lip and onto the chin – blending well, to create a luminous finish. For a fresh, rosy glow, smile and sweep All-in-One Cheek Colour in 04 Marshmallow onto the apple of the cheeks, blending to a sheer wash of colour.

KAMA Ayurveda's refreshing Face and Body mists: Sandalwood and Mogra

This summer, hydrate your skin with rejuvenating and soothing mists by luxury Ayurveda brand, Kama Ayurveda.

Pure Sandalwood water

Steam distilled from Indian sandalwood. Kama’s pure sandalwood water has a harmonizing & calming effect which reduces the tension & stress of daily life. Sandalwood water is prescribed in ayurveda as a natural astringent which is refreshing and hydrating. It also has antiseptic & anti inflammatory properties. Spraying the water at night calms the nervous and circulatory system, relaxes your mind and ensures a sound sleep. The steam distillation process used to create this wonderful water ensures a high level of hygiene and purity.

Pure Mogra water

Steam distilled from handpicked Indian mogra (jasmine). Kama's pure mogra water is an ancient recipe for skin hydration, which balances dry, mature and sensitive skin. Its anti-inflammatory properties relieve stressed skin while it calms the nerves and alleviates tension to uplift the mood. It is a skin care treatment for PH balancing and also helps in reduction of fine lines and pigmentation. Mogra's sweet fragrance is clarifying and refreshing to start or finish, a long day. The steam distillation process used to create this wonderful water ensures a high level of hygiene and purity.

The KAMA Pure Sandalwood water is priced at MRP: 825/- for 200ml, and the KAMA Pure Mogra water is priced at MRP: 725/- for 200ml. These are available at theKama Ayurveda store, Khan Market, New Delhi

Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstick No 19 - Review and Swatches

Apart from a kick-ass red lipstick, another shade that all of us, who are above NC 40 are constantly on the lookout for is that perfect nude lipstick that we can wear without looking sick and washed out. My favorite nude lipstick till date has been Colorbar's Bare in the Velvet Matte range but I think I've found one that supersedes my love for Bare. And that lipstick is the Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss in no 19. It is a lipstick that costs, amazingly, only Rs 215 and I just can't stop raving about it. Special thanks to slassy.com for bringing Rimmel to us and for keeping the prices so low. You guys rock!

I love the packaging of this lipstick coz it looks both cute and classy at the same time. Kate's signature is in the color of the lipstick on a black matte background so when you take a look at it, you can get a fair idea of the color that is inside. The shade is a brownish pink that's perfect for everyday wear. These kind of shades usually wash me out but this one doesn't so I can say with full conviction that this will work on every skin tone, either below NC42 or above.

The lipstick is very creamy and glides on the lips but thankfully its not as creamy as say the NYX Round ones, so they don't make a mess of themselves in the bullet. Really impressed by the pigmentation and it only takes one swipe to go opaque. It does not dry out the lips and on me, lasts for about 4 hours. On the lips, the finish is slightly glossy, which fades away though after about an hour or so. This is a non-staining lipstick. The only thing that I do not like about No 19 is the awful strong sweet smell. I'm not a fan of strong fragrances in makeup so thumbs down for that.

Overall I would say that I've become a fan of this lipstick and I'm definitely looking at picking up a few more Kate Moss's, specially no 20 which is a hot pink shade. If you are on the lookout for a color to wear to work or just an everyday kinda shade, then go check out No 19. The color is pretty, pigmentation is very good, the texture is creamy and moisturising and lasts for a decent amount of time. And the best thing is that it's priced at only Rs 215! I bought it from slassy.com, where unfortunately these lipsticks are more or less always out of stock. If you have a Parcos in your city, think you can get it there.

Have you tried any of the Rimmel Kate Moss lipsticks?

Weekend Haul

Yes I did it again! I hauled me some Rimmel and MAC. From Rimmel, I actually wanted only one Kate Moss lipstick but then thought why not add a couple of nail polishes to the kitty as well. Super impressed by slassy.com though. They delivered my stuff in less than two days time! Now if only they add more products and restock them regularly. Get so mad looking at the Out of Stock message when I want something real bad. 

MAC recently launched the Apres Chic collection across stores in India. What I found strange about the collection is that even though this is a spring 2013 collection the colors are all so fall/winter. There are browns and nudes aplenty which are definitely not traditional summer colors. Hardly makes any difference to me since I do not go by seasons when it comes to makeup. I just wear what I like and also depends on what clothes I'm wearing that day. From this collection, I picked up a lipstick in the shade Hot Chocolate and the mineralise skin finish in Stereo Rose, a product that everyone went ga ga over when it was launched a couple of years back. From Inglot, I picked up two eye shadows from their Freedom System collection at 30% off. Unfortunately, the Kolkata store did not have many options to choose from so I settled for a shimmery olive and a nude shade.

Take a look at the pictures. Reviews coming up.

Left to Right - Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick 19, MAC Hot Chocolate

What did you like the most?