I Simply Love Makeup

My New Years Eve Makeup Look
So what am I doing this New Year's Eve? Well I dunno really! I mean we did plan to go out and party, and then we planned to get together with friends at a house party and we also gave some thought to spending a quiet and a romantic New Years Eve, just the two of us... But nothing seemed t pan out and well we are as of now right where we started... Nowhere ;)

Review of Benefit Cosmetics They're Real Mascara
During my trip to Delhi this Diwali, I created a pretty decent dent in my bank  balance when I decided to get a taste of Sephora and Bobbi Brown. And even though I have been using the products day-in and day-out, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't say that I haven't been doing justice to them in terms of belting out reviews on the blog...
Of course I did do a HAUL post of sorts but I think the real fun and the juicy part are the reviews :)

Go Goa Gone!

One thing that my parents can never fathom is how the pati and I go away on vacations and little trips without doing any bookings beforehand... It's always been a tradition with us that we never get our hotel bookings done in advance and always invariably book ourselves something after we reach our vacation destination... I mean really, if a couple goes for a honeymoon without booking a hotel in a foreign land and hunts for a place to stay only on landing at the airport, you really cannot expect much now can you...
I swear! While on our honeymoon, the pati and I very confidently took a flight out of Bombay, flew into Male (the capital of Maldives?) without a hotel booking and then finally at the Male airport called The Taj and got a booking done through a pay phone! Oh yes! It was an adventure on its own!

Review of Maybelline Colorsensational Lip Polish in Glam 2
There are two kinds of products that we receive from the PR. One that warrants pages after pages of words either glorifying the product or criticizing it and the second that you cant help but go on posting pictures of... Maybelline Colorsensational Lip Polish falls into the latter category... The packaging and the yummy looking shades are something that you just cannot stop looking at... Honestly!

A Quick Winter Makeup Video Tutorial
The weather in Pune is getting awesome by the minute... With a slight nip in the air and yet abundant sunshine, it is really hard not to want to laze on your sunny terrace with a mug of Green Tea, some PikWik (strictly chocolate) and an Agatha Christie... Well at least that's how I envisioned spending my Winter vacations... However, closer to reality, I spent the whole sunny afternoon clicking pictures of products one after another till I was so exhausted that I brewed myself a cup of sweet but kadak Indian Chai and watched reruns of CSI Miami...

Maybelline Instaglam Box - Christmas Edition

You Better Watch Out You Better Not Cry Better Not Pout Am Telling You Why Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
With the advent of the festive season, I cannot stop humming Christmas Carols under my breath... For someone who loathes the cold Winters, I am showing a lot of enthusiasm and excitement for the upcoming festivities... And adding to it all is Maybelline with it's Christmas Edition Instaglam Box...

HOI, Work and Family :)
If you have been following ISLM regularly, you would know that I haven't been updating it regularly :P Of course I have been wanting to but my life's been so insanely busy and my schedule's been so crazy off late that I have had no choice but to be on a self imposed exile from my blog...
But not anymore... Come Friday and my vacation starts... I so love working for an American organization just for the Winter vacations that we get to enjoy till the New Year ;)

Maybelline Colorsesnational Vivids Lipstick in Vivid Rose
Lipsticks are something that I currently cannot have enough of... Red lipsticks in particular and pink lippies come a close second. So when my bestie let me know that she was going to the US for official work, yet again (some women are just born lucky!), I jumped at the opportunity and gave her my extensive list of products that I wanted! One of them was this gorgeous beauty from Maybelline's Colorsensational Vivids range...

Can You Guess The Lipstick?

The last few days have been full of ups and downs for me... So much has been happening, some good, some bad and some fantastic that I cannot think of a single word that can be used to describe these past days... Or maybe I can... Let me say that I have had a mixed-bag of days...

“This Fall, Chocolate is the new Brown” ~ Bobbi Brown

Imagine bittersweet chocolate and ripe raspberries—that’s the inspiration behind Rich Chocolate. Super-saturated shades of black-infused brown give eyes an unexpected alluring softness. The perfect complement to this standout eye is a touch of rosy, just-pinched color on cheeks and lips. Rich, deep and dense, chocolate is your new go-to hue this fall.

My Top Creams & Moisturizers This Winter
My dresser is a mess... My cupboard is a mess... My bed is not made... My kitchen feels cold and sterile... My laundry basket is full... All this because of no sun... Come winters and the winter sun just doesn't do it for me any more... Without the Sun I am irritable, lethargic to the point of being a sloth, my house becomes a mess and my skin and hair just go for a toss! I feel lifeless without the sun and so the pati calls me "jadoo", you know of the Koi Mil Gaya Fame... Ummm yeah... No surprise there!

Lucky Winners of the Colorbar Fragrance Giveaway...
I have never won a giveaway... Nada... Never and hence whenever I announce giveaway winners, I always feel for the ones who couldn't get lucky this time... But fret not ladies, cause I am having two more giveaways lined up for you guys...

What Is Office Appropriate Makeup?

Quite often than not, I read about how women limit their makeup choices because of the industry they work in... Limiting lipstick shades to basic neutrals and at the most toned down pinks, a strict no no to eye shadows and in many cases even skipping foundations in order to avoid that "made up" face... Of course, to counter these observations, there are a group of women who take pride in going "against" the norms and sport Red lipsticks every now and then or go through with a gorgeous smokey eye, subtle enough to not look OTT and yet making sure that it is noticed...

What's In My Makeup Bag... Episode 1

Every time I meet someone who is well turned out and I can see has taken some effort to look pretty I cannot help but wonder about the products she has used or likes to use... Either it's because I am a beauty blogger and subconsciously keep evaluating different products or maybe because I am woman and I always want to know what another woman uses to prettify herself... Whatever the reason I am always curious and hence thought of doing a "Whats In My Makeup Bag" post myself...

Get Ready With Me Video Using L'Oreal Poptastic Collection

I am in love with this collection. Period. Of course I cannot stop using the L'Oreal Glam Shine Balmy Stain (review HERE) and I am so hooked to the Eyeshadow palette called Luminous Eyes... But what has held me captivated this time is the gorgeous L'Oreal Color Riche Le Nail Art in Pink Paradise...

LOTD With L'Oreal's Poptastic Collection

I relent! There sure seem to be a couple of good things about WInters after all... Of course I am a full blown Summer fan but some things albeit mundane do make you grudgingly agree about Winters being not all that bad... What I am really talking about is how Winters really do make you feel like gulping down Green Tea one cup after the other, how colorful scarves and neck covers become a staple in your wardrobe and how deep berry and plum shade of lipsticks start catching your fancy...

Face Contouring... A Trick To Master!

I am a chubby girl... Anyone who has met me in person will vouch for it... And I hate it! I hate being chubby... I hate to put on weight and I totally hate looking cute... Siiigghhhh... But then we don't always get what we like and we don't really like what we have, right? So one needs to look for alternatives and make things work, isn't it?

Review of L'Oreal Glam Shine Balmy Gloss in Pomegranate Punch

It's 2:45 am right now. I have a bed light on next to me that is radiating that warm, fuzzy yellow light that makes you feel all cozy and snuggly, have a box of Walnut Choco fudge next to me (of the Lonavla fame) and have my ear phones plugged tightly and listening to Avicii belting out their magic (3 cheers for EDM!)... Yup I am an insomniac and I am so not getting sleep right now... So I took upon myself to review this fabulous product that I have been thinking of reviewing since almost a week now...

Colorbar Giveaway!

You all of course know by now that Colorbar has ventured into the fragrance industry and has now two fragrances under its wing... Well in order to celebrate their launch and to share their success with us, they are sponsoring a giveaway for all you Colorbar fans and I promise the products are just fabulous!

Bronzer Vs Highlighter Vs Illuminator Vs Brightener 

Very often than not being a beauty blogger I come across the terms Bronzer, Highlighter, Brightener and Illuminator at least a dozen times a day. These terms are everywhere and people use them in their daily conversation with so much confidence that you'd be surprised at how wrong many of them are in their usages. Oh! Yes even I have made mistakes in the past about their connotations and today armed with research, experiments and well just plain analysis I have reached a consensus where I can now confidently put forth the results of my hard work...

Yes, today ladies and gentlemen, I shall be clearing all the confusion that prevails behind Bronzers, Highlighters, Illuminators and Brighteners!

Video Tutorial: Rihanna Inspired Red Lips And Winged Eye Liner Look
More often than not Red carpet looks that awe us and leave us spellbound are so difficult to achieve and emulate and require loads of exotic sounding and expensive products. So much so that there was a time when I totally stopped even looking at Red Carpet looks for inspiration... And then I came across this gorgeous makeup on Rihanna that looked so gorgeous and so sexy and seemed so simple and easy to achieve...

Review of Colorbar Take Me As I Am in Mysterious Nude

Search for some things never end... Like for the perfect foundation, the most flattering nude lipstick, the brightest pink nail polish and the spot-on eyebrow pencil... I had always harped on MAC Taupe being my most favorite nude lipstick but then I met Colorbar True Gloss in Natural Tan. It became my most used nude gloss/lippy and now ladies and gentlemen, frivolous that I am with my loyalty, I have now found another gorgeous MLBB lip shade that I keep reaching out to when getting ready for work...

Review of Sleek Makeup I-Divine Acid Eyeshadow Palette

Guest Post By: Pranali

Sleek MakeUp’s Palettes are coined as ‘Legendary’ and one of the brightest beauty is Sleek Acid.
Bright almost Neonish shades combined with regular colors, this palette is perfect for Bold Eyemakeup.

Delhi Haul

The past one week has been one crazy vacation with so much packed into an airtight schedule that it felt as if life just passed me in a big, huge blur... Now that I am back home, to my city, to my sunny little apartment, I can now relax, sit on my bedroom's wooden floor with a mug of coffee (I need to switch back to Green Tea ASAP!), gaze at the verdant green hills just a few 100 metres away and savor every moment of my North India trip in retrospect...

Review of Lakme Absolute's Cheek Chromatic Baked Blush In Day Sheer

I am not a blush person per se. Don't get me wrong, I do use a blush and I totally realize its power in making or breaking a look. However, give me one blush that I can spend my whole life with it and not even feel the need to get myself another one until I actually hit pan with the one that I am using.
Yes! I always finish my blush before I purchase another and I know many of you will just gasp at it with disbelief... So let me just reiterate, I am not really a blush person per se.

Maybelline Color Show Nail Polish in Buried treasure On My Nails!
My annual trip to my in-laws in Delhi is always something of a celebration and I am generally back 5 kgs heavier, with lots of shopping and well with a cold :P This time is no different and even though I haven't gained 5 kgs, I am 2 kilos heavier (I have found a way around my MIL's desi ghee tadkas), I am back to Pune with makeup (thank you Bobbi Brown and Sephora) and loads of stuff for HOI from Patiala and of course the customary flu (I think it's the pollution there hat doesn't agree with me!)...

Review of MUA Lipstick In Shade 11

Guest Post By: Shabby

Many women like me are on the hunt for their perfect N*de lippie. I am still now hunting for that perfect shade for my lips that will not wash me out. Today I will review such a shade from MUA which will be a great N*de shade for many.

Glamorous Makeup Look For Diwali

Yes I am obsessed! Obsessed with Diwali, obsessed with the promise of festivities during this time of the year and obsessed with anything that is even remotely connected to motichoor laddoos. The smell of crackers, the bokeh effects of diwali lights, gorgeously decked up women and dapper men and the soothing chants of the various aartis and poojas, I am looking forward to them all... With so much on my mind, it is but natural that all my makeup attempts would center around this festival of lights and ladies, hence this post of mine is about yet another makeup look you might want to try this Diwali...

Review of Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation

Guest Post By: Pranali

Finding your ‘Right’ foundation is much of a task. You get the texture right but the shade wrong and other hundred reasons to detest one single bottle that can change your life. (Yes. Makeup is life changing)
Voila! I’ve found my ‘Right’ Texture in a wrong shade. Bourjois Healthy Mix in 55 Beige Fonce or Dark Beige.  If you ever wondered or still wonder how naturally your skin can look even, kill the thought.

Tutorial For A Easy Festive Makeup Look For Diwali

And ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the series of carefully planned, spaced and scheduled posts that will greet you for perhaps the whole coming week... Why? Many of you all may know that I am traveling to Delhi this week and will be in the city of the Red Fort! Hola! DILLI! Here I come!

But fret not! I have loads and loads of posts scheduled, ready to come your way and youw ont even know that I am not behind them! I promise :)

And what better way to start the series of scheduled posts than with my next look for Diwali that I feel is younger and more vibrant than the look I did yesterday. And yup its a tutorial!

Mesmerizing And Beautiful Fashion Jewellery Online At Benna

Let's be honest... However much we swoon over the latest Jimmy Choos, feign sickness to get off work to be a part of the first day sale at Zara or keep checking for the launch of the latest Limited Edition collection at MAC, the only thing (Ryan Gosling is an exception!) that has the power to make us go weak in our knees is jewellery. Classic, statement, designer, vintage or even thrifted, jewellery in all forms and under whatever category it falls in, is an instant attraction...
So don't blame me when I tell you about my latest find in shopping for jewellery online and you too fall for it hook, line and sinker...

Wearable and Yet A Festive Look For Diwali

More often than not, when deciding to do a look for the blog, I first work on it in my mind and then do it physically on myself... It somehow makes the execution simpler and also helps me decide on the outfit or at least a part of the outfit that I want to be visible... So a few days back while I was trying to figure out the various Diwali inspired looks that I wanted to do for ISLM, I decided on doing a very wearable look that even though bordered on neutral but looked every bit festive...

Get Yourself a New Wardrobe From TFNC London!

Come October and all I can think about is the promise of festivities... Diwali to New Years Eve, this quarter spells PARTY with a capital P. While shopping and getting my wardrobe ready for Diwali and the wedding regalia sees me doing umpteen visits to the local markets, for western wear I turn towards online shopping. So while going through the popular international online shopping sites, I chanced upon TFNC London and well I was blown away by their collection!

Review of MUA Power Pout In Irreplaceable

Guest Review By: Shabby


Few things in life can never be replaced with anything, like the first Kiss, the love and care of parents and the first Love. No matter how hard we try nothing can replace the charm. Today we talk about MUA’s Power pout in shade Irreplaceable. While the shade says it’s Irreplaceable, let’s find out if it can really be an irreplaceable part of your vanity.

Makeup For Karwchauth 2013

One thing that you learn when you marry into a punjabi family is the perfect way of celebrating and observing karwachauth, full Bollywood style! And yes it's fun... Apart from the fasting and stuff, the whole rigmarole of getting dressed up, doing the kathaa, the pooja, the waiting for the chaand, berating it for being late and even the nakhras that we do when the pati insists you at least have a glass of water and you nod your head saying, "nahi abhi chaand nahi aaya hai" is all so Bollywood ;)

Meet The Blogger, Revathy of Health N Beauty

Just the other day while going through ISLM's older posts (I don't do that often I swear), I realised how much the blog had grown over the years... The day I started ISLM, I was already writing for IMBB and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity and the exposure ISLM got due to it. That is when I had decided I would go on and try to do the same and help out other blogs get exposure through ISLM. Of course it took time for me to conceptualize the section on Meet The Bloggers. But now that it is live, I hope it can serve as a platform for all bloggers to leverage it.

Keeping all sappy stories aside, I am today giving a shout out to Revathy of Health N Beauty and am urging you all to come and get to know her a little more (if you didn't already!)...

Review of Bourjois Rose Exclusif Lip gloss

Guest Post By: Pranali

Some six months back, I was loitering around Bourjois Counter taking a deep look at the newly launched lipsticks. My eyes fell upon the Rose Exclusif, though I always wanted one. I was not wearing any makeup at all, I tried and Voila! It just bought out the rosiness of my lips.
Maybe that is the reason it’s Rose Exclusif. I had hard time breaking the codes, believe me. You’ll learn why.

Coffee Breaks With ISLM: I Knew You Were Trouble

Guest Post By: Sabista

So, shame on us! Let’s take a break from makeup, clothes, shoes, bags etc. and let’s talk about the fifth most important thing in a girl’s life; boys! So yeah, boys are important, but they don’t really top our list of must haves (sorry to disappoint you darlings, but we girls have more important things like the perfect pair of boots or the sexiest looking LBD to think of!). This is going to get all gritty and nasty therefore, I suggest you keep your self-esteem aside while reading this because I will be ripping every girl’s self-esteem to shreds (including mine) with this blog.

Festive Diwali Look Made It To The Grunge Archives!

I just got back a couple of hours ago from an exciting trip from Bombay! Granted that Bombay trips are something that I always look forward to and it is afterall my current mayka, however, this time around, the trip to the metropolis was octaves higher in excitement and fun :) Let me tell you all what it was all about... It was a BeBeautiful and VLOGON workshop of sorts that was organized by Hindustan Unilever (you know the people behind Lakme, Pinds, Dove, Tresemme etc?). Well yeah they had invited 20 bloggers (fashion/beauty/lifestyle) from all over India for a workshop on how to make good videos and the likes that was facilitated by people from Google/YouTube, people from this big shot media production house and of course Clint Fernandez :)

Must Have Eye Makeup Brushes

The other day while shopping for groceries and other household essentials, I popped a bottle of baby shampoo into the grocery cart... The pati looked at me incredulously and winked... Ummm... No I wasn't giving him hints I assured him and told him that the baby shampoo was for me... He looked doubly stunned and asked me as to what made me deviate from my trusted banana shake shampoo (He meant the Body Shop Banana Shampoo, ahem!)... I had to clarify that the baby shampoo wasn't for me per say but for my makeup brushes... He just looked on at me, then shook his head, muttered under his breath "What's next? Toothpaste for your lipsticks?" and then walked towards the adjoining aisle...

Ha ha ha... I would have felt pity for me if I hadn't gotten this uncontrollable urge to laugh at his lost and almost defeated expression :P

Review of The Body Shop Bath Gloves For Hands-On Exfoliation

I am an ardent fan of The Body Shop. So much so that when the whole issue of selling "expired" products surfaced, I still remained loyal to them. I buy their Body Butters, Shower Gels, Makeup products, perfumes, hand creams and even makeup brushes. However, I put my foot down when going for their exfoliating bath gloves.

Call Me... Miss Moving On!

Guest Post By: Sabista


There are times when being ruined can leave you devastated and miserable. When all you want to do in life is crawl into your bed and let darkness take over.  You spend your days walking aimlessly around the streets with lifeless eyes and a fake smile, which will later haunt you when you stare blankly into the mirror, trying to practice fake social acknowledgements so that the world and society still consider you sane enough to not be sent away. What we fail to recognise is that sometimes being ruined can give way to build something beautiful in place of the rubble and debris left behind. We forget that until and unless an old building isn’t demolished and torn down to pieces; a stronger foundation cannot replace the outdated architecture that stood there before. 

Review Of Sleek Makeup I-Divine Au Naturel Eyeshadow Palette Review

Guest Post By: Pranali

Sleek I-divine mineral based palettes are raved much on the blogging platform. There are Brights, Mattes, Vivid and Shimmery colors. Each eyeshadow has its own interesting texture, you will know while I describe each color. Sleek I-divine Au Naturel is a combination of Matte and Shimmery eyeshadows, mostly neutral or nude. There are 8 Matte and 4 Shimmer eyeshadows. The colors are appropriate for Day, Work and for everyday looks.

Tutorial For A Smudged Liner Smoked Out Look

I have these phases where I tend to stick to a particular technique of makeup for a really long time... My current phase includes doing up my eyes using the smudged liner technique to give myself a smoked out look... Of course the shade of the "smoke" keeps varying from Blacks to Browns to Purples but the base technique remains the same...

China Glaze Nail Lacquer With Hardener in Black Diamond

Guest Post By: Shabby


China glaze is a known name in the Nail industry. They have some pretty impressive nail lacquer collections which are safe for the nails and they have some amazing shades to offer too. So today I review a shade I think will make for a great evening wear shade. A metallic black shade which goes perfect with those party clothes. So I hope all of you are ready for this Black Diamond.

Rants, Makeup And A Host of Pictures

I have come to realise recently that everything tastes 2700 times better when it's a day old... Don't get me wrong but Daal Makhani from last night is somehow thicker and yummier when had for lunch today, the butter chicken from the party yesterday when heated and had with fresh naan tastes anyday awesome-er during the following dinner and well last night's pizza any day makes the best next-day breakfast ever! And so ofcourse we celebrated the start of the weekend with some yummy Pepperoni and Chicken Supreme pizza for breakfast that were essentially the leftovers for last night's dinner ^_^

Freida Pinto on Vogue's Black Issue For October 2013

The moment I received my Vogue's October issue and I ripped open the packaging, I was left spellbound for a minute or two by what I saw... What lay in front of me was a mesmerizing cover in black with a model wearing an outfit in the same hue and makeup matching it...

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Vogue's Black Issue for it's sixth anniversary and needless to say it is simply STUNNING!

Multitasking Makes MAC Cork A Must Have Eyeshadow For Indian Skintones


If you have been in the beauty blogging business for a little while, chances are that you would have by now received a query from your readers about must have MAC eyeshadows for Indian skintone, at least once. And it is one question that today after 3 years of bblogging, still leaves me sweating cause honestly what I deem as necessary may not really be a must-have for someone else. Best is to leave such queries open to be answered by other readers, so that everyone can put in their 2 cents and the person asking the query gets to have an opinion of many... This I am sure helps her pick out products more easily :)

Review of Lakme Eyeconic Kajal

Guest Post By: Marianne

There are those ‘fun’ products like funky nail polishes and show-stopping shades of lipstick that we like to indulge in, and then there are those basic must-haves like your kajal or favourite neutral shade of lipstick that you always have with you, which you keep repurchasing and which almost feel like a comforting old friend. The Lakme Eyeconic kajal could very well be one of the latter types of products for most women.

Coffee Breaks With ISLM: I Have Lipsticks; I Don't Need A Boyfriend...


Guest Post By: Sabista

OK! So the title is a tiny bit misleading because I don’t have a boyfriend, which means technically I am not cheating, but let’s keep the discussion of my pathetic singlehood for later. Let’s cut to the chase and get straight to the point. If I had a boyfriend, I would be cheating on him, with my obsession for lip products! Oh, don’t act so innocent! I know you’re doing the same. I know you feel an adrenaline rush too, when you apply a swatch of color on your wrist from a tester for that new, sensational shade that has just been launched in the market. I know your heart starts beating like a hummingbird, the moment you imagine that swatch of color on your lips. I know your makeup bag is bulging with cylindrical tubes of color in every shape, size and shade possibly known to mankind.

So, it’s a known fact amongst women, that you can never own too many lipsticks at once; but is that really …