Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Color Luminous Lip Gloss in Red Door Red - Review, Swatches

Lip gloss and me haven't really been the best of friends. I much prefer its sibling, the lipstick and that all of you know so well. I don't really dislike wearing lip gloss but its so difficult to find a formula that's non-sticky, gives great color pay off and also lasts more than 30 minutes on the lips. I had read rave reviews of the new Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Color Luminous Lip Gloss range and since the holiday season was coming and I wanted something red and shiny for my lips, ordered the shade Red Door Red from strawberrynet. The price is Rs 1283 but you can get up to 10% discount if you are a frequent buyer. 

Here's what EA has to say about this new range of lip gloss. 

Beautiful Color fuses with care. Multidimensional, moisture rich formula provides lips with long-wearing, vibrant color and brilliant shine. Infused with mango and shea butters to condition and help lock in moisture, and Maxi-Lip™ to plump the appearance of lips. Packaged conveniently with built-in mirror for on-the-go application.
Clinically and dermatologist tested.

The packaging is very luxe. It's gold and features Elizabeth Arden's iconic Red Door symbol and the best part is that it's got a mirror embedded on one side. The applicator is a flat felt-tip wand that allows for a decent amount of gloss to be deposited on the lips. No dipping into the tube many times to get the desired amount. 

Red Door Red is a gorgeous vibrant kick-ass red color. This is so pigmented that its hard to imagine that its a gloss and not liquid lipstick.  The gloss faintly smells of vanilla and I'm very impressed by the texture. Its silky smooth, slightly thick, non-sticky, and has the most lustrous shine. The gloss feels more like a hydrating lip balm while still looking like a lip gloss.

In terms of staying power, it's like most others. Not more than a couple of hours but I tend to lick off lip gloss so it might stay on longer on other lips. One thing this gloss does is that rubs off on the teeth so be a bit careful there. Also I would recommend lining your lips first before applying the gloss to get a neat finish.

Overall, Red Door Red has all the qualities one would look for in a lip gloss. Its pricey but EA is a luxury brand. Do check out these glosses when you are at a counter next. If it has made a non-gloss lover like me sing praises, you will love too.  

Click here if you want to buy it from strawberrynet. 

Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Honeysuckle Perfume - Review

Winter is soon approaching and it will be the time for muskier and richer fragrances but if you still want to hold on to the carefree days of spring and summer, then go grab a bottle of Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea Honeysuckle. The original Green Tea is by far one of the most popular fragrances till date and Elizabeth Arden over the years have launched many variants. This year was the turn of Honeysuckle and Cherry Blossom.

The perfume has a blend of creamy honeysuckle and fresh green tea leaves and smells light, feminine and flirty. What I love about the fragrance is that it's not overpowering yet strong enough to last for nearly four hours. I'm no fragrance expert regarding top notes and base notes so have taken the following information from fragrantica.com to give you an idea of how this smells.

Top notes are bergamot, lemon, green tea, tangerine and boysenberry; middle notes are honeysuckle, jasmine sambac, ylang-ylang, green tea and tunisian neroli; base notes are peach, musk, birch and ambrette (musk mallow).

Crux of the matter is, I love Green Tea Honeysuckle because it smells clean, fresh, citrusy floral and is perfect for hot summer days. I bought the 50 ml for around Rs 1900 a month back and also got a free Elizabeth Arden makeup palette with it. This particular SA at the EA counter was extra nice to me so you might not get the palette everywhere. However I did see that EA has a 20% off now at Shopper's Stop so if you are in the mood for a new fragrance, check out the counter.

What is your favorite perfume? Do share in the comments below.

Recent Buys - Elizabeth Arden, Yves Rocher and Freebies!

I know I know! About two weeks back when I was sharing with you back to back haul posts, I did say that I should not touch any beauty related product for the next 3 months. And now I'm again back with a mini haul post!! What will happen to me Dear God!!

These buys were absolutely not planned. I actually went to watch Chennai Express with my friends Poorna and Shikha and to pass time before the movie, was checking out the counters at Shoppers Stop. While I was going past the Elizabeth Arden counter, the very sweet SA told me that a clearance sale was on for their makeup and skincare range. Immediately I went to check the lipsticks but did not find anything interesting. I was about to walk away when on an impulse asked whats on offer for perfumes. She showed me a large animal print tote bag but that looked pretty bad. I said 'Girl, you give me something else then I might consider buying the new Green Tea Honeysuckle perfume'. She hemmed and hawed and then said 'Ok. I give you two options. Either a makeup palette or 14 ceramide capsules. Pick whatever you want'. I hemmed and hawed too and went in for the palette which is lovely. It's got a blush, two eye shadows and two lipsticks. The shades are great for everyday wear and I love them. The Green Tea perfume cost me Rs 1950 and the palette I'm sure is at least for 1000 so I got a pretty good deal. Thank you so much sweet SA!! I shall always buy Elizabeth Arden from you :D. Not sure if the offer is available in other cities but if you are buying perfume, always ask for freebies. They do have stuff to give but don't unless asked. 

So I bought my perfume, got the free makeup palette and happily went off to watch Chennai Express which I loved btw. After the movie got over, Shikha said she wanted to go to Shopper's Stop again to check out the Yves Rocher counter and I tagged along. I was really not planning to buy anything but then Shikha swatched all these wonderful lipsticks and cream eye shadows and I succumbed. Picked up a lovely fuchsia-purple gloss and a very unique metallic greyish bronze green cream shadow. For all of you who are not aware, Yves Rocher is a French skincare and makeup brand that make some really good products. Their lipsticks and eye shadows are in such gorgeous shades. Think they are only in Bangalore and Kolkata right now but I might be wrong. Do check out their counter if there is one in your city. And they give freebies too!! I got a mini shower gel, loofah and samples of serum and moisturiser. Don't you just love it when SA's give freebies?? 

Here are the swatches. Both cost Rs 850.