December 2015: Ipsy Bag

Once again I received my ipsy bag at the end of the month. I am not sure what's causing the delay because I have been a subscriber for almost 3 years and never had this issue.  But anyways, this month I received the following five products: Pacifica Power of Love Natural Lipstick, Be A Bombshell Mechanical Eyeliner, Marc Anthony Deep Conditioning Treatment, RickyCare 3D Blender, ModelCo Lip Liner.

 

 

RickyCare by Ricky's NYC 3D Blender: When I first took it out of the packet and washed it, I did not like it at all because it felt rubbery and slippery like those traditional makeup wedges.  It is not light and airy so does not bounce back to its shape like beauty blender, and retains the impression for a few seconds before going back to its normal shape. Also, it holds the water inside and shrinks in size on losing the excess water. However, it works. I used it with a light weight foundation and it blended well so I am definitely going to use it and keep the beauty blender for special occasions.

 

Marc Anthony Coconut Oil and Shea Butter Deep Conditioning Treatment: I haven't used it yet but Marc Anthony products are usually nice so I am hoping for the best.

 

ModelCo Illusion Lip Liner & Be A Bombshell Mechanical Eye Liner

 

ModelCo Lip Enhancer Illusion Lip Liner: From the packaging I thought this is going to be a beautiful vibrant pink liner but it is actually a pinky nude. It is just an average liner, and feels a bit drying.

 

Be A Bombshell Mechanical Eye Liner: This is my least favorite product from the bag. It lacks pigmentation, so requires a lot of work to build up the color but disappears in a single swipe. And its not just this liner that is below average in quality but almost all the products from this brand that I have tried through ipsy are same.



Nudie Red



Nudie Red & Tender Heart



Pacifica Power of Love Natural Lipstick in Nudie Red: This feels more like a balm than a lipstick because it is moisturizing, light weight and sheer. The shade nudie red is nude with reddish pinky hues and comes across as peachy. I have compared it with the shade called Tender Hearts from the same line and they look almost alike except that the latter is a tad bit browny.

 

 

 

Em Michelle Phan Shade Play Eye Color Palette in Bali Bronzes: This was a surprise product and I honestly thought that I received it by mistake, but then later found out that all the long term members have been sent different versions of this palette. The packaging is beautiful, the display is pretty but I feel the shadows are not up to the par. The very light gold does not show up and is not even visible in the picture. The three mid toned shades are nice but the two darker ones lack pigmentation. Also, all the shades are shimmery and very similar to each other. So, overall it is not a palette that can be used on its own as it does not have enough color and texture differentiation.

 

What did you get in your ipsy bag this month? What was your favourite product?

 

Thank you for taking time to read this post. Hope you have a great day!

 

 

 

Simple homemade mask for eczema or extremely dry and irritated skin

Once I got a really bad reaction to a clay face mask that I made using apple cider vinegar. It not only irritated my skin but also triggered eczema around my mouth. My skin was very raw and itchy, so my doctor recommended me a simple home remedy which worked wonders, and will hopefully do the same for you.

 

Oatmeal Yogurt Mask

 

 

The proteins in the oatmeal can help nourish the dry scaly skin, while the yogurt can add in the lacking moisture.

 

Oatmeal contains beta-glucan which has the unique ability to form a fine layer or a protective barrier on the skin. It also has anti-inflammatory properties and can enhance healing process by stimulating collagen.

 

 

Yogurt contains calcium that facilitates cell renewal and heals dry skin. Also, it is rich in B vitamins that help regenerate the skin cells, and zinc which has anti-inflammatory properties.  

 

To make this simple mask, all you need is: 1 tbsp partially ground oatmeal + 1 tbsp warm water + 1 tbsp yogurt.

 

Mix the three ingredients and apply evenly over the affected areas. Wait for 10-15 minutes and wash with warm water.

 

You can use rose water instead of regular water as the rose is calming, but skip it if you are sensitive to rose or if you have extremely sensitive skin.

 

Also, yogurt can be replaced with milk. But when using yogurt, make sure it does not contain any additives or sugars. I personally only use home made yogurt on my skin.

 

Moreover, you can add some ground almonds and mashed banana like they do in Lush Oatifix Mask.

 

Have you tried this mask? Do you have any other recommendations?

 

Thank you for taking time to read this post. Hope you have a great day!

 

 

Oatmeal Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

Its the holiday season and I love baking so I decided to bake some decadent but relatively healthy cookies.

 

The cookies turned out to be perfect, they were chewy and not overly sweet. They were literally devoured down within minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

So lets get started...

 

Yields 12 cookies.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup flour [1/3 plain flour + 2/3 grinded instant oatmeal (I used 2 packets of regular instant oatmeal)]

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1tsp vanilla extract

a pinch of salt

1/4 cup milk (which is only about 3tbsp)

2 tbsp ground flax seeds + 6 tbsp water (used as an egg replacer)

handful of white chocolate chips and dried cranberries

 

*I felt that the dough was a bit dry so I added 1/4 cup of water.

 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven at 350°F.

2. Combine the flax seeds with water and put the mixture in fridge for about 10 minutes or in freezer for 4-5 minutes. This step is not necessary but it gives the flax seed mixture, egg like gooey consistency.

3. Mix all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and powder.

4. Add in the butter, vanilla extract, milk and flax seed mix to form a uniform dough. If the dough is dry, then you add a few spoons of water.   

5. Fold in the cranberries and white chocolate chips.

6.Divide the dough into 12 parts and make round balls.

7. Place them on the cookie sheet (after I placed the dough balls on the sheet, I pressed them with my fingers to flatten them out a little bit, but you can leave them the way they are) and bake for about 6-8 minutes or until they start turning golden brown on edges. Time may vary based on the type of oven or the size of cookies.

 

Notes:

1. You can add spices like cinnamon and nutmeg but I didn't want anything to overtake the flavor of cranberries, so I skipped.

2. Some of you may feel that these are not sweet enough, but since I was adding white chocolate chips and cranberries, which add their own sweetness, so I used less sugar but you can always adjust as per your taste buds.

3. I do not use eggs in the baking and I find flax seeds healthier than other egg replacers so I use them but you can use anything that you have in your pantry.

 

 

Did you try this recipe? Do you have any tips to enhance the taste of these cookies?

 

 

Thank you so much for taking time to read this post. Hope you have a great day!

 

 

 

 

 

Products I Regret Buying: Eyeshadows

This post is all about the eyeshadows that I regret buying. But before I begin, I would like to clarify that even though these products did not work for me, I am not trashing them in any way. If you have any tips or tricks to make these work, please leave them in the comments below. Also, since its already clear that I don't like these products, so I am gonna keep it short and sweet :)

 

So, lets get started...

 

Yves Rocher Quad Eyeshadow in 06 Brun Incandescent: This sumptuous color quad comes in beautiful rose gold packaging with a nice mirror and an instructions card. However, it lacks pigmentation and especially the two mid-toned shades barely show up on my skin. Retails for $20 CAD but is always on sale for $10.                                     

 

 

 

 

Rimmel London Eyeshadow Quad in 002 Smoky Brun: I bought it because everyone on youtube raved about it. However, the two lighter shades of the quad are almost invisible on my lids so I don't use it.

 

 

Shade placement in the quad is as follows: left, right, bottom, top

 

Yves Rocher Duo Eyeshadow in 23 Mauve et Kaki: The olive green shade is really nice and smooth, however, the cool toned purple that makes 2/3 of the palette is chalky and doesn't apply evenly. Also, the silver glitter kind of dilutes the purple and makes it appear more silvery.

 

 

 

Jesse's Girl Mineralized Baked Powder Eyeshadow in Graphite Frost: Looks beautiful in the pan but doesn't show up on the skin at all.  

 

 

Laura Mercier Eye Color Duo in Violet: This is a discontinued product which can still be found on some online websites. The dark plum shade has no pigmentation whatsoever. The swatch below has been done with several swipes back and forth. So, I would not recommend buying it even if it is insanely discounted.

 

 

 

Pacifica Natural beauty Duo 2: The packaging is kinda flimsy and the clear plastic lid separates from the base sometimes, which resulted in the damage that you can see in the picture below. But the main issue is the quality of the shadows. The purple lacks pigmentation while the gold looks uneven when applied.

 

 

 

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Painted Purple: I have several other colors from this line and they all work well, however, this particular one lacks the color intensity and looks patchy on application.

 

 

 

So, these are the few eyeshadows that did not work for me. I will share the face products I regret buying in an upcoming post. Also, you can click on the "regrets" in the labels below to check out my past makeup, hair and skincare regrets.

 

Have you used any of these products? Did they work for you? Do you have any tips?

 

Thank you for taking time to read this post. Have a great day!