Borghese Illuminare Brightening Hand Serum : Review

It says illuminare and brightening so the 13 year old in me assumed sparkles. I guess she also got a little excited about it. But then the more practical 26 year old in me went - no way do I need that. Sparkly hands which then rub sparkles off on my face making me look like the glittery 13 year old who began this whole thing in the first place.

Smooth & Soft - Naturally !

But curiosity kicked in and I checked the ingredient list - lots of natural extracts like olive oil, licorice, grape seed (great moisturizer), lemon ( natural brightener) , licorice (helps with discoloration) and a bunch of other scientific names of plants. Apart from this I also saw collagen known to keep skin younger, firmer and healthy looking. I couldn't miss out on all this goodness, so I decided to try it at night and pulled the bottle out. Two squirts later - I had super soft hands which guzzled the serum in ten seconds and no sign of sparkles. I tried it on the next day and no sparkles in day time either ! Thank you, 13 year old.

The product gives me sparkle free, soft hands into which the serum sinks almost immediately. No greasy or slippery feeling either. Something else I noticed was that it gave my hands a smoother look - almost like what a face primer does but without the powdery feeling. That being said, I wish it didn't come in a glass bottle. I have a hard time carrying any glass container around. Its too delicate for me. Also, I am still looking for that radiant glow it promises.


This Illuminare serum was especially created to help with minimizing dark spots and uneven skin tones on hands. Though I am a little young for dark spots I am rather happy I tried this for its non greasy moisturizing and smoothing properties ! I know my mom will like this one !

Borghese products can be found at Ulta, CVS, Walgreens.

Have you ever mistaken a product based on its name alone ? Tell me I'm not alone y'all .

Love,
Indian Girl

This article contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR. For more details on the disclosure policy please refer to it at the bottom of the page.

Four Drugstore Nude Lipglosses : Review & Swatches

Sally Hansen 12 Hour Diamond Lip Treatment - Princess
A peachy nude with almost opaque pigmentation.
$6





Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Lip Gloss - Sparkling Nude
Fleshy nude with sheer to medium pigmentation
$7.99



New York Color Extreme Lip Glider Lip Gloss - Mulberry Street Mocha
Deep creamy nude with sheer pigmentation
$2.99



New York Color Extreme Lip Glider Lip Gloss - Downtown Brown
Bronzy nude with sheer pigmentation
$2.99



More Swatches

L to R : Princess, Sparkling Nude, Mulberry St. Mocha, Downtown Brown

Love,
Indian Girl

H Wood Beauty - Lip Tea & Lip Shines : Review & Swatches

Who are H Wood Beauty ?

- A holistic tea inspired beauty line.

If you live in LA you probably have heard about the h.wood tea room and their innovative tea based cocktails. This cool and mysterious place that supposedly is all the rage in LA has inspired some of the city's most respected makeup artists to come together and create a beauty line called - H.wood beauty. How cool is a beauty line inspired by tea based cocktails ! I think its a great story ! But what's even more amazing is that their products are big on natural / organic goodness.

Lip Tea

The folks at h.wood beauty sent me a couple of products to try and the organic / natural geek in me loved seeing the "ORGANIC" label on their lip balm ! Their lip balms AKA lip teas ($10) come in six flavors and have the shortest ingredient list ever. Its just a bunch of clean products like coconut oil, olive oil, Shea butter, green tea coming together to keep your lips soft and hydrated. I tried the vanilla caramel flavor - and have contemplated chewing it many a times - smells so good ! Once you try products like this , it almost makes you feel guilty about using petroleum byproducts on yourself.

Lip Shine

Another new product from the line , is their lip shine ($16). Housed in an alluring golden tube, these lip shines are sheer lip colors made with all the goodness of their lip balms. These are available in five shades - sheer, poppy, ruby, rose, plum. I tried ruby and adored the look of translucent red on my lips. Its great for a no makeup look. But its also so so so very easy to use them up in a minute. Not a minute really but you know what I mean. And for this reason alone I wish it were cheaper.

Overall très impressed with the line. Its hard for me to not like a line made locally with lots of good-for-you ingredients and h.wood beauty plays to this weakness in me.

Love,
Indian Girl

PS : For those of you asking, I received confirmation from JHLA that they are not affiliated with h.wood beauty.

This article contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR. For more details on the disclosure policy please refer to it at the bottom of the page.

Estee Lauder Blue Dahlia Collection : Review & Swatches

This fall collection from Estee Lauder is all about mysterious blues, purples and the dreamy effects they bring to our eyes. The main attractions of this collection to me are the palettes - Blue Dahlia and Surreal Violet. I tried out the Blue Dahlia palette ($40) and believe me it is every bit as stunning as the model Hillary Rhonda makes us believe it is.

The Blue Dahlia palette houses five eye shadows in a sophisticated Estee Lauder trademark golden compact. I am a sucker for golden packaging. The five shadows are medium pigmented with very soft blendable textures that make mixing and shading a breeze. Its all about soft sophistication, no over the top colors.

The shades include

- a pearl white with tiny blue flecks
- a satin sea blue
- a shimmery deep blue
- a satin taupe
- a matte black



The satin taupe and the sea blue are my two favorite shades. But the pearl white with blue flecks is just as gorgeous. Overall a dream of a palette from Estee Lauder. I'm now off to try the look. Its a bit cloudy here but if it clears up I'll take pictures and have em up ! This is the face chart I'll be following.

Shade 4 over entire lid as base. Blend.
• Shade 3 to frame the eye:
- Start at crease, extend above and out to outer corner.
- Define and blend into outer corner.
- Extend down under lower lashes. Blend.
• Shades 5 and 1 blended together. Apply over inner 2/3 of lid.
• Shade 1 as liner along lashline.
• Shade 2 blended over liner at upper lashline. Blend out into outer corner.

Love,
Indian Girl

This article contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR. For more details on the disclosure policy please refer to it at the bottom of the page.

Milani HD Advance Concealer : Review & Swatches

Good Morning Ladies !

Hope you had a great weekend ! If you are a Mad Men fan, I'm sure it was. So good to get back to knowing what Don Draper has been up to.

I am in a really sunny mood today. I think, finding quality products at the neighborhood drugstore does this to me. Its the Milani HD Advance Concealer ($6.99) y'all. I not only love this product, I feel so good about it that I am recommending it to everybody !


Yellow Yellow Sweet Little Fellow

The Miani HD Concealer comes in a click pen model looking all bright and blingy in its gold packaging. One of the biggest concerns I've had with drugstore concealers has been the lack of yellow pigment. Most of them are pink or just plain beige. You pat it under your eye and they sit there staring into space ...doing nothing to hide your dark circles. This is why Milani gets much of my love - its truly yellow based. Check that out !

Nobody can complain about the lack of warmth. Its exactly what a warm skinned person like me needs to look bright and fresh !

Key Ingredients :
• Rona Coated Pigments that disguise dark shadows
• Invisaskin moisture base which keep the eye area hydrated,soften expressions lines and wrinkles
• Grant X Gamma Amino-Butyric Acid that plumps out creases, lines and imperfections
• Granactive RD 101 to help brighten and gently resurface the most delicate skin

Alicia Keys & I - Concealer Best Buds

I saw that the shade Medium Honey was used in Alicia Keys so I decided to try the same. Its perfect on my NC 40 (medium tan) skin tone. I almost feel like Alicia and I are best buds ! We use the same concealer , that's got to mean something !

One more major good thing about the concealer is the formula. I can never wear concealer and head out without applying some foundation because I feel like the concealer is too obvious. But with Milani HD one the formula sinks into your skin and merges with the top layer so well that I look naturally dark circle free. So now I don't have to add foundation just coz I did the concealer ! And for someone who likes to keep it as less as possible with makeup - this racks up huge points in favor of the concealer.

I am not the biggest fan of the click pen but really this isn't a complaint. I assume many women love it given that one of the best selling concealers of all times YSL Touche Eclat is a click pen.


Now all I want from Milani is to add a lot more shades so my deeper toned girlfriends get to try this too.

Love,
Indian Girl

This article contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR. For more details on the disclosure policy please refer to it at the bottom of the page.

Three Custom Color Specialists, The Getaway Collection - Bora Bora Lipstick : Review & Swatches

The Getaway Collection is the newest offering from Three Custom Color Specialists. The collection consists of five vibrant, long wearing shades named after popular destinations. I was sent tiny samples of all five shades and I fell in mad love with three. Today I'll talk about this one color that I am wild about - Bora Bora !

Bora Bora is a cool fuchsia with a very very sheer blue opalescence. The blue appears in very few angles and looks like its reflecting off your lips. The shade is this super fun , 80's inspired fuchsia. I think the 80's was a great time for makeup - people had fun then. Unlike now when mostly its all about nude. I am no different I have 20 different nude shades of lipstick and this makes Bora Bora the most fun lipstick in my collection. I want everybody to own this shade because it makes you feel so cool !

Never in a million years would I have thought that I'd wear a shade as vibrant as this and love it ! But I do. Its a great fashion accessory and will get you noticed (in a nice way) even if you're just wearing a pair of skinny jeans and tee.

Color apart the formula is just as brilliant. They are so pigmented that even after a shower and dinner I still had a faint stain from my application in the morning. I've had no dryness and you'll notice the satin finish in the swatches. Overall for a fairly big number like $21.50 its worth every penny !


Love,
Indian Girl

This article contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR. For more details on the disclosure policy please refer to it at the bottom of the page.