Nails | Gel Overlays & OPI’s Mod About You

by Kaushal Posted on May 3, 2013

Don’t you love a good pamper session? Recently, I’ve had my nails done a lot at the salon. I just love the feeling of treating myself to a manicure. For those who are interested in the salon I go to, it’s a little place in Northampton called Divine Nails and Beauty Studio – they by far do the best nail extensions, acrylics, gels, mani’s and pedi’s in the town with super reasonable prices! You can find them on Facebook HERE.

NOTD - OPI Mod About You Gel Overlay on Natural Nail

Here, I share with you my gel overlays I have had on my natural nails (this picture was actually taken last week, but they’re looking amazing still). I wanted to get something which would strengthen my nails as well as keeping them looking prim and proper. This was just perfect :)

Colour wise, I went with OPI’s Mod About You. I generally don’t get wow’d by a lot of OPI colours, I just think they over-do it with way too many shades of the same colour – it’s not my cup of tea. However, I was really drawn to this Mod About You (I may actually buy it as well, and that’s saying something!).

What are your thoughts on gel overlays? Do you like getting your nails done?

Kaushal

Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram | Bloglovin’ | HelloCotton

Posted in Nails, NOTD | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Skincare | My Favourite Products For Pigmentation

by Kaushal Posted on May 2, 2013

Good evening my lovelies. I’ve been a bit of a stranger online recently. I blame this horrible virus I had and the dreaded flu. I’ve been ill on and off for about a good 2 months now, which explains my crazy behaviour. However, minus the fact that I still sound bunged up (yes, STILL) I am feeling much better! I just finished my night time routing and have added a couple of products in there that have transformed my skin.

I know a lot of my readers are Asian and we all know that we got the short end of the stick when it comes to pigmentation or hyper-pigmentation in our skin. But I’ve found two great products which have made me feel so much more comfortable in my own skin.

Today, I’m going to share my two favourite skincare products for pigmentation on your face.

Skincare - Favourite Products for Pigmentation Vichy Idealia Pro and La Roche-Posay Effaclar DuoIdealia Pro* by Vichy £29 available HERE
Effaclar Duo* by La Roche-Posay £13 available HERE

I tend to get stress spots which are spots underneath my skin that love to leave behind really dark pigmented circles – the joy! Like most Asian/Indian girls I have pigmentation around my mouth and eyes. I have noticed a massive difference when using these almost every night for the past month or so. I would like to say that both products work equally well for me (Effaclar Duo may actually work a teeny-weeny bit better! Did I just say that?! :oops: ).

If I were to choose only one of these to own, then it would have to be the Idealia Pro by Vichy. This is purely because I prefer the consistency and scent to this – to me it smells like tea :) But, if you’re not bothered about that then the Effaclar Duo is perfect.

These have become firm favourites of mine and I will continue to use these (well, one of them, depending on when they run out VS my next pay day) forever and ever :)

Do you suffer from pigmentation or hyper pigmentation? Have you tried these products before?

Kaushal

Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram | Bloglovin’ | HelloCotton

Posted in Skincare | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Concealer | Fake Up by Benefit

by Kaushal Posted on April 6, 2013

Concealer - Fake Up by Benefit Review and swatches 01Fake Up* by Benefit RRP £18.50 available HERE.

We all love a good make-up gadget and Benefit have recently released their newest concealer to their range. Meet Fake Up. Now this concealer isn’t your normal concealer. This is a hydrating crease-control concealer that not only hides dark circles but diffuses fine lines for silky smooth coverage!

Concealer - Fake Up by Benefit Review and swatches 02

The team at Benefit kindly sent me this a couple of weeks ago and I’ve been using this every day to test it out for you guys. As you can see the actual concealer runs through the core of this stick and there is a hydrating ring running all the way around it. There are 3 shades in total (Light 01, Medium 02 and Deep 03) which isn’t a lot but no doubt with Benefit expand the range… At least I hope they do! The shade I have is Medium 02.

Recently, my under eyes have been very dry and this concealer has been a perfect match for me. It’s super hydrating and conceals my under-eye circles really well. Although I think this shade is a tad bit dark, I tend to mix it with my YSL Touche Eclat to brighten the area up. Below are some before, during and after pictures which I hope will help see this baby in action.

Concealer - Fake Up by Benefit Review and swatches 03 Concealer - Fake Up by Benefit Review and swatches 04 Concealer - Fake Up by Benefit Review and swatches 05 Concealer - Fake Up by Benefit Review and swatches 06Overall, I’m super happy with this product. The packaging is great and the product does what it says on the tin. I would say it’s equivalent to MAC’s Moisture Cover concealer (the one which looks like it’s in a lipgloss tube) but this creases less which is a bonus! I will definitely be buying this once my tube is finished, but in shade Light 01.

Have you tried this concealer yet? Will you be picking this up? I’d love to know what your favourite concealers are :)

Kaushal

Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram | Bloglovin’ | HelloCotton

Posted in Concealer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Nails | My nail care routine.

by Kaushal Posted on March 24, 2013

Nails - My Current Nail Care Routine 2013 My Nail Care RoutineHappy Sunday my gems. Today one is going to sharing her nail care routine with you all! I have had a few people ask how I get my nails looking the way they do, so here’s a quick run down of the products I use in my current nail care routine.

Magic Nail Polish Remover by Bourjois £4.99 available HERE – firstly I gotta make sure my nails are polish free and I use this lovely pot of goodness. Mess free, quick and easy… What more could you want, right? Read more about it HERE.

Cuticle Pusher £3.99 available HERE – I love a good clean cuticle! I use my trusty cuticle pusher to do this. Less is more and being gentle is key. You can get lots of different versions of this made from wood or plastic but I prefer the metal version. You can get similar ones from somewhere like Sally’s or Beauty Express.

Ms. Manicure Cuticle Nippers (unfortunately it doesn’t look like Boots currently stock these but you can also get something similar from your local drugstore or Sally’s) –  next I like to trim any excess cuticle/dead skin I may have. Again, I have to be super careful as you don’t wanna get any extra skin nipped off. But I love the difference it makes in my nails :)

Nail file £1.25 available HERE – nail shape is key! I like my nails to generally look quite square (or on the odd occasion, oval). One thing I would say is to file in one direction, as it causes less chipping. I don’t use any fancy file, just your bog standard nail file does the trick :)

Cuticle Oil Plus by ORLY £13.40 available HERE – last but not least I use my favourite cuticle oil on to keep my nails looking moisturised :) I love this because my skin soaks it up really well and smells absolutely gorgeous – like cola cubes, yummers!

I hope this post was helpful. If there is anything you do in your nail care routine or any products you’d recommend, then please leave me a comment below as I’d love to know :)

Kaushal

Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram | Bloglovin’ | HelloCotton

Posted in Nails | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments