Desi Girl Does Makeup

Happy New Year!!

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 13:45:00 +0000

I'm only two days late for this message but if you know Punjabis, you know we never run on time.

So, how was your 2012? Was it the year that made you or the year you'd rather forget?

For me, it was just another year really..until the latter part. I was muddling through, working away at work, enjoying myself as you do..

Then two things happened, I had my appraisal at work and my boss told me that 'time waits for no man', this resulted in me going back to my desk and looking at houses online. I found one that I fell in love with. Now, I've wanted a townhouse for as long as I can remember and I told myself I would have one before I was 30. So, with Simon in tow, we went looking at townhouses all over er..town.

There were some that were gorgeous on the outside and a tip on the inside, then there were estate agents who thought they could pull the wool over my eyes and charge me for things that I had never agreed to buy. Anyway, we found one that was perfect and it is now ours. We're meant to move in in January but as Simon has the norovirus, that doesn't look likely. The old owner however, is very nice and has given us until March to be fully moved in. This house is further away from work than my flat but onwards and upwards as they say.. The brilliant thing is that it has also cut out our 'games room/study' argument as it has enough room for both!

The second thing was a party for my brother's birthday. A photo of me was taken and I died when I saw it. You couldn't tell where my chins ended and my chest began. Having said that, I was sitting with my head tilted downwards. So, I joined the gym and I am now 40 lbs down. I've got a fair way to go but I'll get it done this year as I've managed to knock a bit off already so going to the gym isn't that daunting.

The funny thing is, I know another larger lady and we were discussing this yesterday and she said that she didn't like going to the gym as she was the biggest person there. I only realised that I was the biggest person in my gym in the dying weeks of December but I don't really care..I don't go to the gym in the hope of having a quick bunk-up by the lockers. I go there to sweat my arse off and get fitter. Plus, once you're working out, you ignore everyone around you and get on with it.

I know everyone who has lost weight always gives out tips but the two things I will say are this. Firstly, nobody can make you lose weight. You won't get serious about it until YOU want to do it. There's no point just looking at other people and wishing yourself thin. The second thing is that it truly is a mind change..I used to eat a sandwich from Pret (too many added calories), crisps, Diet Coke and a chocolate for my lunch...and I thought that was healthy. What I'm trying to say is,just because it is a sandwich, doesn't mean it is healthy..read the labels!

My resolutions for the new year are what a poser would call eclectic. They range from losing another 10-15 kg (this will be topped up once I hit this target..I am looking at mid-March for the 10kg mark..) to learning how to play poker.

What are your resolutions? I won't apologise for going on about the weightloss but it has spurred me to make resolutions because now I know I can achieve things!

My holy grail hair conditioner..

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 14:06:00 +0000

Never did I think I'd see the day when I'd find a conditioner that would please the demon that is my hair.

Before I tell you what it is, let me take you on the journey that ended with me finding and falling in love with this.

Many years ago now..and I mean many years, it was about 1997 in fact.. I used to love John Freida's Frizz Ease range. I was amazed after using it that my fuzzy hair was nice and curly. That was, of course, until I brushed it. I've learnt now that you don't brush curly hair.

Anyway, over time, that stopped working for so I switched to another one..and then another one and then I just went rogue and bought the first one that would catch my eye.

I've used nearly every conditioner out there, I went from L'Oreal to Aussie to Herbal Essences to Head and Shoulders and then back to Aussie..

The only reason I bought my HG one was because it was on offer. I remember the day well, I bought another conditioner with it and finished that one months before I even opened this.

This conditioner is by Dove. It's the Dove Nourishing Oil Express Conditioner. Now, Dove doesn't agree with me in shampoo or shower gel form. In soap form, the normal one makes me greasy and the one for sensitive skin gives me spots. The shower gel leaves me feeling 'smudgey'. I'm telling you now that smudgey is an actual word. I'm convinced that no matter how much I wash it off, there is still some left on my body.

Yeah, I've bought three because they were on offer..and then I have one in the bathroom here and two at my winter residence/can't be bothered to cook residence.

So why do I love this so much?

It mixes an conditioner with oil. What a fantastic idea!
It is called an express conditioner. You don't have to leave it in for ages! It suggests that you use it every day but I don't wash my hair so this obviously doesn't happen. You can wash it out in just one minute. The strange thing is, the usual conditioner that comes with this is to be left on for three or four minutes. By the way, you don't use shampoo, standard conditioner AND this. You just use shampoo and this or shampoo and the standard conditioner. I welcome this express conditioner as a product because all you usually get it shampoo, conditioner and deep conditioner. The annoying thing about Boots is that I haven't been to one branch (and I've checked in eight) that has the WHOLE range. I have seen that they do a deep conditioner which I have also picked up.
It doesn't grease your hair up. I find that a lot of moisturising conditioners do this and that's not what I want at all.
You don't need much. My hair is currently midway down my back (I can put my hand just above my bum and touch it. To clarify, I mean the hair, not my bum).
It lasts for ages. I have been using mine twice a week since they started showing The Secret History of Our Streets on TV. Actually no, since the started showing that markets programme on BBC. You know, the one when they went behind the scenes at Billingsgate, the London meat market (or as I call it, west London on a Saturday night) and the veg market. The veg market was my favourite with the cockney Singh who used to work for the Krays.
It makes very dry hair and hair with split ends look very healthy. My hair is horrendous at the moment and this conditioner sorts it out. You can tell when I've used this conditioner and when I haven't.
The packaging is very user friendly. You can get every last drop of this out as it is in a squeezy tube.

Has anyone else tried this?

It costs about £3.00 or so from Boots, I can't be more precise because the Boots website is currently down. Actually, I think I paid £1.60 odd for it so it's a bit more than £3.00.

Chanel Diwali

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 07:49:00 +0000

Chanel is a brand that has never really been on my radar, both for fashion and beauty. I've never really been excited by what they have to offer when it comes to beauty and for fashion, I have never really fallen in love with their handbags. It's probably because I see it as being quite a classic brand and I prefer my handbags to have a bit of 'life' to them..hence my love of Balenciaga.

Anyway, the other day, I saw a tweet which mentioned Chanel Diwali. Now, with me being Indian, Diwali is a big thing in my life. Basically, it's an evening where we let off shitloads of fireworks and eat and drink really nice things. The reason that Sikhs celebrate it is explained here.

I thought at first this might be a new collection of clothes from Chanel and immediately my mind ran away with itself, imagining suits adorned with gems and Chanel branded mojeh. Then I googled it and was a nail polish. I wouldn't have minded some Chanel mojeh you know..

At first, I was bit let down by the colour. If I was to make a Diwali polish, it would be a black (maybe matte) shot through with multicoloured glitters and those hexagonal pieces. You know, so it looks like a firework in the sky.

What Diwali by Chanel actually is, is a shiny gold with some 'grit' in it. To me, it looks more like the colour of a groom's sherwani at an Indian wedding.

I saw some swatches on Temptalia (which is where most of the images for this post are from) and when Diwali catches the light, it manages to sparkle in a way that I think catches the colour of Diwali, so good going Chanel!

The more I look at it, the more I realise what it reminds me of..you know sparklers? The second you light one of those and you get that instant whizzy explosion thing.

I showed the polish to my mum who now wants me to pick one up for her..fingers crossed I find one! It's not on the Chanel website yet but I am going 'up West' soon so will ask on the counters and update this post.

The cheat's way to get rid of tired looking eyes in the morning..

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 13:52:00 +0000

Many a morning I wake up, look at myself in the mirror and wonder why I didn't go to bed earlier the night before. Then I get distracted by what to wear and what the weather looks like outside and of course, the typical English dilemma of whether I should or shouldn't take a coat with me.

When I'm truly tired, I get puffy eyes that don't really look too sexy. Until recently, I didn't really know how to get rid of them and to make myself look half awake. I'd pile my makeup on and just get to work but you could see the underlying tiredness from a mile off.

I recently lost a lipstick and whilst searching for that, I came across a product that I haven't used since I got it as a freebie in Glamour magazine. And if you think it's a Benefit product, you'd be right. Now I have never been Benefit's biggest fan and even now, I'm still not a fangirl. I like some of their stuff but wouldn't go as far to call them must haves. This might the closest I ever get to calling a Benefit product a must have. Click here to see what else of Benefit's I have reviewed.

Anyway, the product I found was Benefit's eyebright. I have used this a few times in the past as an inner corner highlighter but the colour was just far too stark against my skintone. If you're white or Chinese, you can easily get away with using this as an inner corner highlighter but for us Indian, black and olive skinned gals, it's a no go.

I decided to try it on my waterline to see what it did and to my surprise, it managed to look quite natural. I think Benefit are missing a trick not marketing it that way, I've read on their website and they say that you should apply it to the inner and outer corner of your eyes and blend. Well, I say do that if you're not of a darker skin colour. If you are of a darker skin colour then whack it on your waterline.

I team this product up with my trusty eyelash curlers (reviewed here and going strong on their second pad replacement), any mascara that is close to hand (I've been using the Prestige one as my other bottle finished and this is the last one I have left..and seeing as Boots have discontinued it, I won't be able to buy more, despite it being a fantastic thing and one of the first products I ever reviewed on this blog). I also use this Natralift Firming Eye Roll On from The Body Shop which I feel makes a difference..and the ball is very cooling on the skin.

If you've got more time then you could always put a decent inner corner highlighter on too, but as I am yet to find this, I have a bare inner corner. The other thing that I tend to do once at work is line my upper lashline with some black eyeliner. No flick though, I'm at work, not out knocking back the finest cocktails known to man.

And here's how it looks in its most basic way..

I'm not apologising for my eyebrows, I'm growing them out after someone f**ked them right up...

Now you might remember me hyping up Stila's Kajal pencil which is still all well and good but in the Summer months, it tends to be a bit too soft. Fantastic for Winter though!

Talking of cocktails, I must warn you that if you like a decent citrus-y mojito, don't go to the Smollensky's in Canary Wharf as the people working there can never ever get this right. Every time I go and ask for more citurs than mint, I end up drinking liquid toothpaste. It's horrible and I have now given up asking for mojitos and I just stick to a bog standard glass of Chardonnay.

The Monday Night Mash-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:28:00 +0000

I know today is a Monday but due to it being a Bank Holiday in the UK, it feels more like a Sunday, hence this being the Monday Night Mash-Up.

Like many bloggers, I don't tend to write these posts all in one go..the main reason for this is that I just don't have the time. I usually type it up as the week goes on and my excitements and annoyances come out.

The past two weeks have been a steep learning curve for me workwise. I always knew that no matter how well prepared you are, the defence/prosecution can always throw you..but this defence team that we are working with are a right bunch of 'see you next Tuesdays'. They know their client is guilty and are making us jump through hoops but the evidence will speak for itself.

Anyway, the excitements and annoyances over the past two weeks have been as follows..

Excitements

MY BIRTHDAY!!! Yes, the last SNSD you read was written by a carefree 27 year old and this one comes from a worldy 28 year old. That last sentence could possibly be the biggest pile of bollocks you will ever read on here. I was not carefree at 27 and I am nowhere near to being worldy now.
PRESENTS!! Naturally flowing from the first thing of course. I have been enamoured with a particular Hermes purse and scarf for a fair while now and that is what my BBT (bare buff ting) of a husband got me for my birthday. I nearly wet myself when I saw the orange box..
Finally being told that I can have both the Olympic weeks off - I work in Canary Wharf which will be a nightmare come the Olympics..we had to put our holiday requests in three months ago and I am one of 3 people who are able to have both weeks off. I'm already planning my holidays, despite not having a passport..but don't worry! I've got myself the renewal form and I am all about getting my eyebrows threaded so I can have a decent photo on my passport. I have to get it signed by someone though becuase I look totally different now to how I did when I was 16.
Harrods - I have not been to this place since I was about 11. I just prefer Selfridges to Harrods which is strange because I think Harrods as a building inside is more 'true to how it was in the olden days' compared to Selfridges and people who read this blog and know me will know I am all about the old school. Plus, I can just get the Jubilee line from my flat to Bond Street! I went today as my brother has bought a flat about 5 minutes away and I wanted to have a quick look at some work shoes. I didn't get any work shoes but I did pick up a navy Marc Jacobs purse.
UGGS - I had a pair but gave them to my grandmother after she had knee surgery. I had been in heels all week last week and my feet were seriously killing me so I went out and bought some tall brown Uggs on the way home and my feet were in heaven all the way from Bond Street to London Bridge.
Losing weight - I'm at the stage now where clothes that were tight are fitting me. I remember I used to have a lemon coloured lace dress that I couldnt get the zip done on it and now I can't find where it has run off to! Does that happen to anyone else? I know I have a lot of stuff but I have some sort of idea where everything is but I just can't remember where this dress could possibly be!
A husband - I was saying on Twitter the other day that I still can't believe I have a husband..when people asked about my husband, I still give them a blank stare but the man is a leg-end.
Indian tea - This will forever be in my excitements list, nothing is as comforting on a warm day as a massive cup of boiling hot Indian tea
Purple eyeliner - I've been showing this a lot of love recently, either the GOSH long-lasting one or a pencil one just run through my lashline
Spending more time with mi familia - I have spent a lot of time with my family these past two weeks and I have personally had a whale of a time..I don't know if I can say the same for them.. It has been nice not having to worry about cooking stuff when I get back home and it's also been nice annoying my parents and brothers like I used to before I got married. Plus, they live in leafy Surrey so it's nice to get away from the concrete jungle where I live. It would have been more enjoyable had we had any sun!
Midget Gems - I saw these on offer in Tesco and picked them up and I have fallen in love with them. They're really hard and chewing them is a chore but for someone who loves toffee, this are brilliant.

Annoyances

Annoying people on the trains - I will say no more about this!
The rain - Anyone who lives in London will know what I mean about this. It has rained constantly since my birthday. It's so annoying because it's not like you get a bit wet on the way from the station to the office. No no, you get soaked in the morning, at lunch AND on the way to the station at home-time. I'm in court at the moment and even if you take a cab, you have to walk the long way round and you get wet again. The worst thing about it all is that by the time you've got your umbrella out, you're in the office so it's pointless!
Returns - I have made far too many returns in the past few weeks and from now on I'm making a strict 'buy everything with cash' policy because then Simon can return stuff for me!
Tragus piercing - Plans to fit this in are NOT going well, neither are my plans for getting a haircut!

The Tragus Piercing..

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 13:06:00 +0000

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to get my tragus pierced.

Many things have prevented me from doing this..first I wanted it just before my finals and I thought it best to get them out of the way. Then I finished those and got too busy with my LPC that I totally forgot about the piercing. I promised myself I'd get it pierced after my LPC exams but then that Summer flew by and before I knew it, I was getting ready to start my lawyering..and a tragus piercing didn't really fit in with the grand scheme of things.

A few years down the line and I've decided that I am definitely going to get this piercing before I die..not that I'm looking to die any time soon!

It's not that I'm scared of the pain... I've got a few piercings but they are all through fleshy parts and I am well aware that the tragus is that semi bone-y part.

Look how pretty this piercing is..

I've been looking for pics online and I quite like the look of this vertical(?) tragus piercing..and it wouldn't be so obvious..

Having said that, I really really like these piercings.. and the set of three above.

Also, another issue I have is the headphone thing. I dislike over the head headphones and I know that normal headphones are hard to slot into your ear when you've got the tragus piercing..

If anyone who reads this has a tragus piercing, share your experience! How painful is it? How long does it take to heal? What's the headphone situation?

The Sunday Night Sit-Down

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 20:30:00 +0000

Another two weeks have passed in Rhamnousia land..and am I any wiser? I learnt a new word so I'll say yes.

I've been super busy over these past two weeks, a paralegal on my team has left and the main case I am currently working on has gone to court. I will also be turning 28 tomorrow..and will have to in work by half past seven as we're in court. I'm fucking excited, I'll you that for nothing. I've been working on this case even since I was a trainee!

These are my excitements and annoyances of the past two weeks..

Excitements

Rainbows - I work in the sky, my office is quite high up and over these past two weeks we have been able to witness three rainbows. The second one we saw was part of a double rainbow..which lead to an Australian associate Youtubing rainbows as he said he had not seen any in Australia.
The gym - I haven't been there a lot recently because I hurt my leg but I am really enjoying my time there now, the time just fliiiiiiiiiies by. I've also managed to shorten my workout to 30 minutes of hardcore cardio.
Nandos - Been eating a fair bit of this recently and what else can I say, who the hell dislikes chicken?! Talking of which, I was in there last Saturday with my mum (the Glasshouse Street one) and this guy came in asking how you could get a Black Card (that entitles you to free Nandos..the dream for most of us). I told him you had to be famous and his mate said that he was, he was on Channel U. I told him he had to get as big as Example to have one..to which he replies "MAN'S A WAAAAAAASTE". LOL.
The return of TOWIE - I love TOWIE. It used to be brilliant before but I find that since Mark and Kirk left, it's not as good as it was. That still doesn't stop me watching it. Gemma is getting on my tits a bit though, she whinged for ages about getting a man and now she has one, she keeps picking fault with him.
Zaza Gelato - One word for this and that is BUFF. I always get this when I go to Westfield, I love the Bosca de Tutti flavour (raspberry) and the Mint Choc Chip one. Try them and you won't be sorry. It's £2.50 per tub/small cone but you do get a fair whack..
Bobbi Brown Gel Liner - probably one of my all time favourite beauty buys. I have many other gel liners but this is the one that gets shown the most love. I have had it for an absolute age now (since about 2008) and it has not dried out and is still going strong. I've started wearing it to work everyday, just as a straight line over my lids and it really frames my eyes. I can't wear this and pencil liner as it makes my eyes look really small.
NARS Albatross - A love I blogged about before, I have been using this every single day to highlight my brow bone and my cheeks and nothing else gives me a glow like it.. My only issue with it is man-made, I need to learn that a tiiiiiiiiny dab will do both cheeks and the brow.
Slankets - I found one in Primark for a fiver, it went right in the basket!
Tapered trousers - I bought some of these from Dorothy Perkins, they are the trousers that featured in my Models Own post. I love these. They are so easy wear and the fit is very flattering. I need to find myself some more of these..
Going out with Simon - Been doing this a lot recently and I really enjoy it..nice to waste some of the money we spend too long earning.
The sizing in Topshop - I never thought that Topshop sizing would be better than New Look but it is. And talking of Topshop, I'd like to give a special hat-tip to Sarah..when this lady says a Topshop sale is about to start, you get on the Topshop website!
House-hunting - I love house-hunting, you seen loads of gorgeous houses and your mind kind of runs away with itself. We saw a house the other day and the bedroom was gorgeous, it was the size of our entire flat..if not bigger, actually, I think it was bigger. I fell in love with it but not only is it too far from work, it's also slightly out of our budget..and you can't make the puppydog eyes at your dad when you want a house.
iPad - I have had two of these through work before but I never saw the point of them so I gave them to my brothers. We bought my mum a 3 for Mother's Day and I have since received my 3 from work and now I see why people like them so much, they're so easy to use. I'm not that a big a twat that I take it on the Tube in the morning and read the paper on it. I did however, try and Turbanize Simon but it didn't work..
My birthday - For the first time ever I don't really know what I want. Well, that's a lie. Took a trip to Selfridges with my mumsicle recently and found some purses that I quite liked..but then I don't know.. I can buy myself that and I think birthdays should be reserved for special things. Can't see me asking for a Birkin going down too well! Plus I'd be too scared to take it out in public.
D & G's Medicine Man watch - the pattern on this reminds me of my childhood when I used to wake up early on a Saturday and be greeted by this girl's face on the TV. This watch is brilliant for everyday work wear, chunky enough to not roll around and break and the face is quite bright too. My other two work watches are Cartiers. One is a mens watch and the other is an oval faced ladies watch. The latter is my favourite. D & G should bring out a Lawyer Lady one..I'd be all over that!

Annoyances

The word 'upcylce' - I heard this on The Apprentice and I know what you're thinking..since when has The Apprentice ever been known for sprouting bollocks? Well, this upcycle word just takes the piss. Surely it just means refurbish?
Men with no manners - They seem to always get off at Canary Wharf. TWICE this week I was pushed by this certain bastard and come Wednesday I had had enough so I exacted revenge. He won't be messing with me again!
People who think the Tube is made for them and them alone - This estupide woman who always gets on at London Bridge with me thinks the train is hers alone. She holds on with one hand and leans against the pole with the other whilst she reads. Her book was right in my face the other day and she was practically resting on my arm..swift words were had!
Useless people at work who think they know more than anyone else - I have been whingeing about a certain paralegal at work on Twitter. She is so unprofessional, she asks the partner questions that you're not meant to, she doesn't realise that this is real life and you don't need to research everything and do background reading before you start working on things.
Finding a decent sports bra - This is really hard when you have DD boobs. I have tried nearly all the ones I can from the sports shop, I refuse to pay a LOT of money for something I am wearing for an hour a day. The best one I have found so far is from Tesco and I chanced upon it in their sale.
Finding a pair of decent black flats - NIGHTMARE!!!
Finding some suede protection spray that actually works - Does one exist?! I mentioned in my other SNSD post that I had to engage in guerilla warfare to get some John Rocha shoes..ones I have been unable to wear as Simon wasted nearly all the suede spray on his Adidas trainers..wasteman.
Living like a gypsy - No, not predicting the future but with a million bags around me. The photo below will show you what I mean. Three of those bags are gym bags, one is the slanket, the other contains bras and the last one is a Next dress. I just don't seem to have time to do anything!
Having to start work early and finish late..every day last week - NOT.IMPRESSED. I was dead on my feet on Friday..perked up a bit over the weekend but not looking forward to starting work on Monday at half seven.
Missing TV shows - I have missed Facejacker for the past two weeks in a row, the same is true for Napoleon Dynamite. I've not seen Eastenders all week and I only found out yesterday that Louis Theroux was back on TV.
The new Blogger layout - WHAT.THE.HELL. It's bloody rubbish!

A KIKO Haul

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 07:24:00 +0000

Can it be a haul if all you buy is four things?

How many constitute a haul?

Whilst I think about that, you guys have a look at what I got from KIKO two weeks ago.

It was another trip to Westfield, somewhere that I feel I am spending far too much time these days.. But then, thinking logically about it, I don't have time to shop for makeup during my lunchbreaks so I get my fix on the weekends..and I've had to make these many trips for returns and the like.

Anyway! Here is what I picked up..

Everything here was on sale, the lipsticks were £2.50 each and I believe the mascaras were about £3.90 each. I spent about £12.00 in total which is not bad for four products..

The lipstick is in a shade that a certain person I know refers to as "shit lips". She said the same about Revlon's Mink which is my current HG lipstick for those days when you want to look polished but not done up. It works fantastically on darker skintones but will make you pale ladies look like you've been salad tossing with a less than desirable bloke.

I can only apologise for this out of focus shot. I took about five and somehow deleted all bar the one that was out of focus.

This differs from Revlon's Mink in that it is totally matte and does give me a slight corpse lip look. However, that is easily rectified with some clear (non sticky!) gloss. I like the Rimmel Stay Vinyl ones.

The mascaras, one is a cheap and cheerful version of Clinique's Bottom Lash mascara. It was marketed as being for false lashes, but me being unable to apply those yet (must really get onto it..) has not been able to try it for that. I can't see it not working well for lower lashes as the brush is practically the same as the Clinique one. The other mascara is for massive lashes and I'm yet to crack it open.

I had a look at the other items on offer but nothing really grabbed my attention as the shop was quite busy and I wasn't in the mood the stick around and wait my turn...we all have those days!

Since being in store, I have looked at Naz's blog and seen this pencil, which looks gorgeous..but I don't really seeing it in-store? I did see some cream blushes but I think I'm kinda over them now so I left them alone too.

I will be doing a full review on all the items when I've used them enough.

In the mean time, what are your opinions in KIKO? Is it cheap and cheerful? Or cheap for a reason?

The Models Own Bottle Shop: What I thought..

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:26:00 +0000

Not since being so fascinated with the floor of the Prada concession in Selfridges as a child has a shop ever excited me as much as this Models Own Bottle Shop does..

The idea for this shop is inspired but then I wouldn't have expected a bog standard shop from a brand who are constantly bringing out new shades and collections that are bang on trend.

I went to Westfield on Friday to do a deal with the lady in Dorothy Perkins (I bought trousers, the button fell off, I wanted to keep them so she gave me a discount) and I was adamant I would check the Models Own Bottle Shop out.

I went to Boots first, trying to pick up their new polishes as they were on 3 for 2. However, the Hed Kandi one I wanted was sold out. So, I headed off in search of the new store and found it with great ease.

The easiest way to find it is to find either the Apple shop, Zara, the taco place or Topshop and you will see the bottle shop. Or, if you look for the massive Vue sign, you'll also find it. If you're by MAC/All Saints/AX then right above AX is where the shop is. If you know where the Nandos is (below the Vue) then you'll definitely see the bottle shop.

Anyway, I got the bottle shop, had a mooch around and was then approached by one of the ladies who worked there, she found me a sealed bottle of the Hed Kandi polish I wanted and then let me browse as I wished. I picked up the bright blue from the Hed Kandi range and then another lady who worked there suggested I buy Fuzzy Peach as it would go wonderfully with my skintone.

I asked the lady if the shop was just a pop up shop and she told me that it was now a permanent fixture which is fantastic as I've always wanted to see all the MO polishes before buying and I find that Boots don't stock the entire range.

The shop was quite busy when I was there but I found all the staff to be really helpful. My only issue (and this is a minor issue) was that the blue bottle of Hed Kandi polish was not sealed and had some polish around the rim..but hopefully I'll be able to return it for one that is sealed.

Also, I noticed that Models Own were saying that the store would have some exclusives which they may well do, I was too enamoured with the Hed Kandi polishes that I totally forgot to ask about these but will be doing so when I get back.

Apart from that, I'd definitely suggest getting down there and having a good old look. They've also got the full range of brushes and makeup there which I thought was an added bonus..

You will notice that all the ladies who work there are equipped with iPads. When you buy your polish of choice, they tap into the iPad what you have bought (exactly like when you're online) and then you pay via your chosen method. The only reason why I think they do that is market research? See which shades are most popular etc..

They run the same deals in-store that they do online, I bought these three for £12...

The presentation box is a nice touch and gives you the peace of mind that they're secure whilst you're shopping until you drop..

It would have been nice if they had Models Own bags..I was handed this blue bag which reminds me of the meat shop. Yes, to Indian children, there's no butchers. It's the meat shop. Since the dawn of time (or since Indian meat shops existed in England), meat has been given to customers in these blue bags. Now, the blue bags for meat are a bit darker than these but still..same colour family!

So, is it worth a visit?
It doesn't take me long to get to Westfield but I would say 'yes'. I know a lot of bloggers come down to Westfield to visit Inglot and now Kiko but I think the new Models Own shop is definitely worth a visit. Nail polish is something that is really difficult to buy blind and as the store has everything Models Own sell, you'll be able to see if the colour you thought you wanted is actually the same in the flesh as it was on the screen.

The Sunday Night Sit-Down

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 19:24:00 +0000

Good evening everyone and welcome to another installment of my crappy life. Well, I say that, my life isn't too crappy at all..I've got a roof over my head and food on the table..things that I am eternally grateful for.

Without further ado, here's what has been exciting and annoying me these past weeks..

Excitements

My iPod - I bought this a fair while ago from Best Buy as my boss had a discount code and it was the cheapest price around. I have been using this at every opportunity I get. I seem to work easier when listening to music so it has been glued to my ears as I've been spending a lot of time in the case prep room on my Jack Jones.
Nivea Tinted moisturiser - Comes in only one shade but I think it works really well on my skin. I bought some Neutrogena moisturiser and that really messed my skin up. The Nivea moisturiser came home with me as I was able to swap them. I have been applying this with my ELF stipple brush and it is working well. I buff this in and then add some Rimmel Stay Matte powder over the top and my face doesn't go orange.
Losing weight - I have lost just over 5kgs in the space of four weeks. I don't know how much that is in pounds but trousers are looser as are tops. I'm going to carry on as it's not hard to bang out 40 minutes of cardio in the work gym. My iPod has also been good to me in this respect, I have a gym playlist and it works brilliantly.
My gym playlist - I added songs on here that I enjoy listening to and ones that push me to go further. Queen's Don't Stop Me Now is very good for getting my arse moving, I find that RHCP (my favourite band of all time) are good at drawing out the start and end of their songs so that I get to listen to a full minute of guitar and bass and that doesn't feel like anything at all.
G-Company - Nachna Nai Onda ft. Ashok Gill - I have the five minute version of this song and it makes my run on the treadmill just fly by. I listen to it four times (more than 20 minutes long) and it really helps get me moving and burning the calories off. I would say it's the kind of song that you can't sit still to when you hear it, but then that's practically all bhangra music! This song reminds me of Simon because he always says "I can't do bhangra" but you take him to a Punjabi wedding and try to keep him in his seat..the nachna nai onda means I can't dance in Punjabi.
Learning Russian - Simon learnt to speak Punjabi so now I'm learning to speak Russian, which is HARD. Now I understand how hard he found Punjabi. His grand-dad is Irish and I'm already fluent in that, all I need to know is drink, feck, arse, girls.
Blusher - my fear of looking like a clown seems to have faded as I have been using every blusher I have on a daily basis.

Annoyances

The lift at my parents' house - I do not know what is wrong with this thing. I'm not a lazy twat in that I use it when I don't need to, I only use it when I have a lot of things that need carrying to my bedroom which is on the third floor. I have used it twice and both times I have been stuck in it. I know who does that, my brothers. They think they're funny but one day I'll force them in it and get them stuck. They're luck their bedrooms are on the first and second floors. We had a lift in the old house but that never ever got stuck..and I seldom used it. Maybe that's the link?
The gym at my parents' house - My parents have finally finished this house and the gym is in action. I used it yesterday and like a hero, did a 30 minute run on an incline that was torture. Today, my whole body is aching..I just hope I recover by tomorrow.
Flat shoes that are uncomfortable - I'm looking at you Oasis. I bought some leather flats from here and they are super uncomfortable. I look like a right dingus whingeing about flat shoes but it's true. They cut my feet and have no grip. I had to wear my running shoes around work on Monday..not a good look when you're meeting with Counsel.
People in a rush to get off Tubes - This has been pissing me off something rotten recently. There is a guy who gets on the train with me at London Bridge (Jubilee line incase you fancy stalking me of a Monday morning) and he gets off at Canary Wharf. Whenever we get to CW, he insists on pushing in front of me to get off the the train first. He had been doing this for two weeks and it wound me up so much that this Thursday just gone, I hit him with my gym bag...and yes, I am proud of that fact. The worst thing is that when he gets OFF the tube, he walks at a pace that would frustrate the slowest of walkers.
My diet - I have stopped eating chocolates and sweets and I swear I want them more than I ever have before. Instead, I've been chowing down on fruit which is no way as exciting!

All you ever wanted to know about eyebrow threading

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:01:00 +0000

I still remember the first time I ever got my eyebrows threaded. I was strong armed into it by my mum and her best friend. It was the last day of Year 8 at school and we'd been let out early. We drove to the eyebrow place and the daughter of the aforementioned best friend had her brows done whilst I was leafing through some of copy of Asian Woman.

Then I was told that it was my time.

I sat in the chair, out came the thread and out came the tears and swears. I didn't cry..the act of pulling hair out from just above my eye is what made my eyes water.

Every two weeks since that fateful day back in 1997, I've been going to get my brows threaded. I've moved from my original theading place as she started charging more money than I wanted to pay her. I now pay £2.50 and have been with this lady since about 2004. I've also just realised that I've been having my brows threaded for the best part of 14 years..which makes me feel really old.

I talk a lot about the annoyance that is brow threading and thus, I get asked a lot of questions about it from people who read my blog or my tweets..or those who punish themselves by reading both.

So..these are the questions I've been asked followed by my answers...

What is threading?
It's basically getting a bit of twisty thread like this..

..and moving your fingers so that the twisty bits move from side to side, removing any hair that is caught under it. See how the fingers are open? They close in a pinchy motion, that moves the twisty thread down, the fingers on the other hand then do the same and the process is repeated until the hair is removed.

You usually sit in a barber's chair and tilt your head back. The threader will usually thread the stray hairs away and then ask you to stretch eye area. All you need to do is put one hand on your eyelid and one above the brow and er..stretch. If your fingers are too close to the brow, the threader tell you how to move them so she/he can get to the hair.

When any stray hairs are left, the thread is put down and the tweezers come out. If the threader spends longer using a tweezer than thread, then I'd bring that up.

Can you thread any part of your body?
A lot of people get their upper lips threaded. This hurts worse than a motherfudger. I wouldn't suggest going to get your legs threaded as not only will you age about 40 years whilst waiting for it to be done, there are also quicker methods to remove leg hair. In conclusion, eyebrows and upper lip (at a push) are fine, use something else for the rest of your body.

Does the hair grow back?
Yes. It's not like laser where something gets shocked into never coming back..it's similar to waxing in that respect. You remove the root but the hair grows back. "Something gets shocked"..sheesh, you'd never think I'd actually had something lasered.

Does it hurt?
You're getting hair pulled out by the root, of course it will cause you some discomfort. Having said that, whenever I get my brows threaded in India, it is less painful and I feel that is totally down to the training that people get for it over there. The lady who threaded me in 1997 "learnt" here and she used to REALLY hurt me.

The lady who has threaded my brows since 2004 is very good at threading and she learnt in India.

If you constantly feel the hair being yanked out by the root, the chances are that they're not properly trained. When I get my brows threaded, all I feel is a slight sting, never the hair yank. If you feel the thread on your skin, it will hurt a lot less. The closer the thread is to your skin, the better.

If you can take the pain of tattoos, you can take this. I've got tattoos on fleshy and non fleshy parts of my body and they didn't hurt me at all. They caused a tiny bit of discomfort and that's all that threading should cause you. If you epilate your legs then you can definitely take the pain of this as epilating literally kills me.

Can I wear eye makeup?
You can but I wouldn't suggest that you do. Your hand will be on your eyes and then your makeup will smudge. Plus, your eyes might water and then your mascaras done one too.

This lady has obviously had her brows done before she posed for this photograph. If she was being threaded as it shows, she'd have hair on her cheeks and on the sides of her nose. And I've never had that part of my brow threaded without having to hold me the area taut. And nobody would do the makeup first and then the threading.

What's the difference between waxing, plucking and threading?
To me, waxing just removes the hair and plucking takes too long. Threading gives your brows a shape. My brows were atrocious before I had them threaded. I used to walk around like a dusky Milhouse van Houten.

Sorry Milhouse...

Waxing and plucking pull at the skin a lot more than threading does. You know we get told to not pull on the eye area as it causes wrinkles? Think what waxing does to the brow bone area...and the upper lip.

The lady who threaded my brows used a scissor, is this normal?
Yes, don't panic. Using a scissor doesn't mean your brows will be hacked off. I have read in countless beauty books that you should never trim your brows with scissors..and maybe you shouldn't. It's different when someone who is trained is doing it. My brows have been trimmed with scissors since 1997 and they've always looked pretty good.

Scissors: not the enemy.

How much should threading cost?
There was a place in Tooting that used to charge 99p but my sources say that the price has risen. The lady who does my brows charges between £2.50 and £3.00. £2.50 if you're just getting a tidy or £3.00 if you've let them grow like a forest and need a total reshape. As I'm a repeat customer and know her daughter from school, I get mine done for £2.50 regardless of the state they're in...

A lot of "salons" have popped up recently..salons that charge £15.00 for running some thread over your skin. Just because somewhere charges you £15.00, it doesn't meant they're better than the place that charges £2.50. Threading is threading regardless of where you get it done. All you need to thread brows is a thread. Most of the places that charge the higher amount are those based in department stores and in more central town locations. You're being charged more because they have a higher rent to pay, their stores/concessions look flashier than the places that are out in the suburbs.

Don't get fooled into thinking that a £15.00 brow job is somehow superior to a £2.50 brow job. I had to get an emergency thread (my brows were in that difficult stage of "can pass as shaped in photos but not in real life") and I went to a really expensive place as that is all they have near where I work. My brows were atrocious. I had to get a fringe cut just to hide them. That is no word of a lie!

I have a party coming up, how long before the party should I thread my brows?
A few days. It is very unlikely that your skin will still be red a few days after having your brows threaded. The redness usually fades within 24 hours. I would not suggest getting them done on the same day as the party as even though they aren't red when you've just been threaded, redness can flare up a few hours later. This used to happen to me back in 1998.

What sort of aftercare is needed?

I tend to slather on some aloe vera gel. The one I have is a massive bottle I got from Woollies ages before it closed down and I'm only half way through it now. The good thing about this one is that once I've slathered it on, it dries and vanishes itself...which is a good thing because I forget that I have it on.

I was recently (last year!) sent this aloe vera spray. You can just spray this on and it will cool and calm the area down. However, you need to cover your eyes as it will cover your face. I find it easier to spray it onto my finger and then smooth my brows down with the finger.

The good thing about the spray is that it will take you an absolute age to finish it, although it is a bit fiddly compared to the gel.

You can shower etc..as normal afterwards without suffering from any side effects.

Why do you need aftercare?
Sometimes the area can go red. I only get redness when I haven't had them threaded for a while as the thread takes out more hair, thus there's more room for irritation. I know that people with a lighter skintone can get this and that's why you need something to calm the area down.

Also, you don't want to be scratching and itching away at something when it's sensitive as you risk drawing blood and that's not sexy.

I used to get tiny spots after being threaded and I found that the aloe vera gel not only soothes the area but it also prevents me getting any spots the day after.

If you're always getting whiteheads after being threaded then it could be that the thread being used doesn't agree with you. I had whiteheads for a few months and then they vanished. When I asked the lady who threads mine, she told me that she'd tried a new thread and was back to the old one..

How long does the hair take to grow back?
Everyone is different so if your hair grows faster, you could find yourself back there every two or three weeks. If your hair grows slowly, you could leave it a month or five weeks. I go every two weeks because I like to have my brows looking presentable at all times. The longest I have ever left them is about five weeks and that's because I was growing them out.

Can I pluck between threading sessions?
You most definitely can but I always get lazy. I wish I was able to pluck my brows between threading sessions but I never keep it up. I pluck one day and then before I know it, it's time to get them done again.

Phew! I think that's all I had to say, if you've got any other questions, leave a comment and I'll update this post.

The Sunday Night Sit-Down

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 20:50:00 +0000

Aloha everyone!

I'm not in Hawaii (although I wish I was as it is gorgeous there), I just felt like mixing up the language a bit being the culture vulture that I am.

I have had no time at all for blogging properly since my last post so I've decided to do a series of posts that will go out on different days of the week just about what I'm up to and things that are getting me excited as I've honestly had emails from people asking me these such things.

So..here's the first ever Sunday Night Sit-Down. I've stolen the name from the Mafia Sit-Down because I'm a gangsta like that, me and Tony Montana go way back..

Today is Mother's Day and we were meant to be taking my mum to Annabels but she didn't fancy it so I had to butter the guy up and cancel our reservation at the last minute. We didn't do anything too glamorous by way of substitution, just stayed at home and stuffed our faces with food. This year she asked for nothing and thus, got nothing..

Anyway, here's what has been exciting me and annoying me over the past few weeks..

Excitements

The Revlon Lip Stains - I bought two of these and I love(d) them both. The colour was fantastic, I stored them upside down to prevent them drying out and application was a doddle. They turned into an annoyance and those reasons will be made clear very soon.
SALE SHOPPING! Yes, it is now March (eeesh!) but I got some very good bargains in the sale. I got a pair of boots from Zara for a tenner, three pairs of leather shoes from Wallis for £15 in total, a pair of suede shoes from John Rocha for £12 (I had to engage in guerilla warfare for those..) and a House of Holland dress for a tenner.
Working close to an underground station. This might sound a bit stupid but it definitely isn't.. Do you know how far News Internation HQ is from Tower Hill station? A good twenty minute walk. My firm is heavily involved in the Leveson Inquiry and me and another associate had to oversee paralegals at NI HQ before Christmas and in January. The paralegals are still there but another associate has taken the role over now. It used to take me longer to walk to NI HQ than my actual Tube journey. And another bit of interesting info for you..NI HQ is the building the use as the external shot of Reynholm Industries in The IT Crowd!
Getting back to investigating financial crime. Mergers and acquisitions are brilliant but financial crime is my baby. I love seeing how defendants think they're too smart to be caught out..despite leaving massive paper trails and talking about their deals on recorded lines. Seriously, you think you're financially savvy and you'll get away with it..you're regulated by the FSA which means they record your work phones and you're still talking about it. And if you were so financially savvy, you wouldn't need to be getting inside tips, fools!
New sofas. Yes, we finally have new sofas, they're huuuuge and they took me ages to get comfortable on. They recline, they have a fridge compartment and a place where you can store food..EPIC WIN! The only issue with this was that when the guys came to drop them off, their van broke down right outside our flat. That caused issues as the road is small and no-one could pass. It took two hours to rescue them and then they broke down a bit further down the road..
Finally joining the work gym. I've joined the work gym where I currently am (on secondment) and I have been going every single day. Went spinning the other day and my leggings ripped but thankfully only my leg was revealed..although I was wearing very nice knickers that day so that would have been fine!
The Big and Clever podcast. I went through a phase a while ago where I went on a batshit crazy spree of downloading all podcasts that I thought sounded interesting. Three or so months down the line, the only one I have fully listened to it the Big and Clever podcast. The two guys behind this are fucking hilarious. They're DJs by trade and they crack me up, one's called Danny Blaze and the other is Keith True. I really don't know how these two are mates, they're so different..but then look at me and the boy. If you've got an iPod (and who hasn't these days?) get these two on there, you won't regret it. They go through the odd news stories of the week..well they try but Danny always has a story to tell after every single story. He also has a fascination with Dear Diedre, who we both think is fictitious..
Late night driving with Simon. I've mentioned before that we have all our deep conversations on these drives and this is true. We have had a lot of these drives recently and every single time we end up talking about something different. I enjoy staring at the buildings under a cover of darkness, the way the makeup of towns changes as we trek across London to our very own town.
Suits. I love watching this, mainly because it is so fake. Yes, they work all hours in a law firm but their offices are ridiculous, no senior associates/partners in London have offices like that. Never would you find a paralegal with her own office when new associates are in open plan. And Rachel (the paralegal) is the sole paralegal in the department which is unheard of. Plus, paralegals are the right hand men and women of lawyers both in the UK and the US. Despite this she never communicates wit Harvey? Having said that, I am in serious lust with Harvey Spector. His sharp suits, the hair and the contoured cheekbones make me watch that show every single week.

Annoyances

The Revlon Lip Stains - Perfect at first but they dried out VERY quickly. I used one for a week and it was dry come the next Monday. I have managed to get some more colour out of these but nothing like how they were at the start. Revlon need to fix that. My next ones to try are the NYC ones as the Max Factor ones are a bit offkey too.
Spending my life in the case prep room at work. The view from all the case prep rooms at work is stunning, on one side you see all of the City and West London, on the other it's Canary Wharf. I enjoy spending a little bit of time in the case prep room as I can see my home from there (win!)
People in the gym not wiping down the equipment. I don't want to touch your sweat, bloody clean up after yourself!
People eating my food from the work fridge and thinking it is fine to replace it. Buy your own in the first place!
Not spending enough time with Simon. This year has been really busy for both of us. He got a promotion at work, I'm not at my usual office so it's harder to run away and meet him for a coffee.

So..that's my first Sunday Night Sit-Down and there are more than enough to come!

The Swatch Files: LA Colors eyeliner pencils in Black, Violet and Sky Blue

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:16:00 +0000

I can't help myself when it comes to buying eyeliner. I have about six million that I need to use up and still I buy more and more.

I bought these in the Autumn and I've been getting some good use out of them. I especially like the blue as it is one of the few bright blues that shows up well on my skin.

All three are pigmented and smudge out a treat. I find that the Black and Volet pencil glide on smoother than the Sky Blue one. Having said that, the Sky Blue one isn't a total pain!

Illamasqua Freak smells like..

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:05:00 +0000

I got a tiny sample of Illamasqua's Freak when I made my first ever Illamasqua order from their sale. It is probably the most complex perfume that I have ever introduced my nose to.

I can identify the smell immediately, although I'll leave that until the end of the post. Can you imagine a three liner post from me? It will never happen!

On a side note, I start this year with the sad realisation that I am once again abusing a member of the punctuation mark family. A few years ago, it was the comma. I've moved onto harder stuff now and it is exclamation marks that I'm mainlining (the line being my fingers and not veins). This is more than evident in the majority of my tweets. I don't know why it is, I'm just a highly exciteable person! (See, that was totally by accident).

Anyway, I got this vial and I really like the smell. It is like nothing else on the market at the moment and that is pretty much in keeping with what Illamasqua do.

The official notes are..

I on the other hand know exactly what it smells like. Old Indian grandmas at the Gurdwara. If you think I'm joking, smell this and then go smelling an old bibi at the Gurdwara. The funny thing is, it smells nothing like a bibi (the Punjabi word for grandma) when she's at home. I don't know why that is.

In that way, it's a really comforting smell because it reminds me of both of my grandmothers. I don't think I could carry off this scent as I feel it's a bit too mature for me but my grandmother is loving it. That alone makes me laugh a bit, I bet she is in no way Illamasqua's target audience yet she cannot get enough of the perfume.

Illamasqua describe it as being a concoction of dangerously exotic unconventional flowers.. I told my grandma this and she remarked that it sounded just like her. I had to laugh as she explained how she was dangerous (when she lived in India, she had a stand-off with a monkey who kept ripping the tyres on my uncle's bike..on more than one ocassion..) And as for the exotic part, she's brown, how much more exotic can you get?

It also made me laugh a bit that Illamasqua market themselves as quite an edgy brand yet this gives me that feeling you get when you put on a pair of freshly ironed (still warm) trousers or when you wrap yourself in a blanket that's just come out of the tumble drier.

The full sized bottle looks something like this..

I applaud Illamasqua for being able to make a perfume bottle that not only stands out but also isn't difficult to display on your dressing table. I've seen some very "original" designs recently and although they look nice, they're not really very practical and the last thing you want is for your lovely bottle of perfume to slip out of your hands and smash into a million pieces.

The full sized bottle retails for £59.00, available from their website.

A Revlon Haul

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:55:00 +0000

In Boots at the moment, they have certain Revlon products on sale for £5.00.

As far as I'm aware, it's on all mascaras and eyeliners and then on the lip stains. I'm a bit confused by the whole affair though as when I checked online a few weeks ago, it was also on some lipsticks. Now it seems to have been scaled back to only what I've mentioned above. Online, they're still showing as in the promotion but it's not the same story in store.

I bought the following for a total of £20. I've not heard much about the Just Bitten lip stains so I did a very un-beauty blogger thing and bought blind. I've used the Grow Luscious mascara before (and I love it) but have yet to use the matching pencil.

Does anyone have any experience of the lip stains? Anyone planning on picking some bits up? I was quite surprised that they were reduced by so much as we seldom get these kinds of deals in the UK. The Boots page for the promo is here..

New things from The Body Shop

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:09:00 +0000

I got a surprise parcel from The Body Shop the other day, a parcel that Simon only told me about at about half eleven. I'm sure that there is grounds enough to bring an action for negligence..

The cardboard box itself was a lovely near midnight olfactory treat and the new products were also rather nice.

A bar of chocolate was also included and until last night, I had never tried chocolate that I didn't like. This one was the worst I have ever eaten. It was dark chocolate (never a win in my book) but the combination of dark chocolate and ginger just made it taste like it was medicinal. Can you imagine a chocolate that made you better? And was prescribed on the NHS? That'd cure depression a treat!

I gave th bar of chocolate to my dad who loves it. But he's the kind of person who is happy with a tub of Liquorice Allsorts so take from that what you will.

Anyway, enough yapping! Here's what was in the magic box..

Heart shaped chocolate smelling exfoliant soap, what isn't to love?!

I've opened only the chocolate lipbalm and it smells absolutely gorgeous, I'm definitely going to use it, even though it comes in pot form..

I really want to get the Pomegranate balm..even moreso after reading this about it..

If that isn't me in a sentence then I don't know what is!

Instead, I got plum..

And check the colour of my new ostentatious bedsheets, yeah, you know my bedsheet swag is on point!

I used to think that the lipbalms were expensive but the sticks are £3.50 and the tubs are only £2.00 which isn't bad at all! I can't find the range on the website yet, which is understandable as these are new things but they should be hitting shelves and stores next month!

New Year's Resolutions

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:46:00 +0000

I don't make many of these but this year I've decided that it's time to stop being so sloppy.

My resolutions are simple in nature..

Wear some form of makeup every day. This is really simple, I do go through phases of putting a full face on but then I get bored very quickly. So far this year, I've worn a decent amount everyday. I think the trick is to get products that you can slap on quickly and actually make a difference to how you look. The problem is finding those little shits. I've finally found my ones and have been using them since I went back to work last week.
Make some effort with my hair. You all know by now that my hair is curly. I swear I say that more than I think I should. I usually straighten it for work as it is easier to manage..although the recent spate of winds we've had have tried to put an end to that. What I really need is to find some decent styles that I can wear to work, I should Google some actually, that'd be a start. When my mane is curly, I just pin it back and it looks quite nice so that's sorted.
Tweee my brows. Don't get me wrong here, I'm a threader and will be one until I'm too old to take the pain. What I mean here is that I will tweeze between threading so that I don't have to go so often. I always mean to do this but it never happens.

If by some small miracle I actually manage to do all three of these, maybe I'll look presentable around 70% of the time!

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:18:00 +0000

To everyone who happens to come across this blog post, I wish you all a Happy New Year!

I won't go through the usual "make this year count" bollocks because I don't think you can control that. I thought 2010 would be my year but 2011 was the making of me.

The main things I learnt this year were..

Do not underestimate the value of your family. Family>money any day of the week. Don't get me wrong, fancy things are nice but a designer handbag is no solace if you have no-one to ramble about it to, yeah, I'm talking about you Mon. My family make me the person I am and I like to think that I have a hand in their successes *ahem*.

When shit goes wrong, let it go wrong. Good comes from bad!

When things are going well, ENJOY THEM!!

If a blue eyed, blonde haired man asks for your hand in marriage, you say yes.

Don't ever change who you are! This isn't just something from this year, it's something I've done my entire life. Being the frizzy haired girl with a laugh like Muttley has served me well so far so long shall it continue. If you change yourself to get a man (as I was told to do many times) then the man will fall for the person you're pretending to be then you're fucked once you get married.

The only thing I will be working on is trying to not get stressed as quickly as I do as that is firstly not good for me and secondly it's not good for people around me.

Anyone else got any resolutions?

The Illamasqua Christmas Sale: What I bought

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 23:13:00 +0000

Whenever I go to Oxford Street (be it to go swatch mad on makeup or to pick up some bits for the flat/house), I meander on down to Liberty and now on down to the Illamasqua flagship store on Beak Street.

As I tend to hit this shop after I'm practically shopped out at Selfridges, John Lewis, Debenhams, HoF and Liberty, I get a bit of fatigue on only test out things that really jump out at me. The only thing that annoys me is that they store all the products upside down which makes it hard to swatch them in a rush.

The Illamasqua sale is a proper sale. You can pick up a lot of things for £5 (cream shadows, false lashes, nail polish etc..)

This is what I got from the Illamasqu sale..8 things for a very decent £45.

I got three cream eyeshadows (Malevolvent, Debauch and Peak) which I will either use as such or to add a bit of colour to my lower (or upper) lashline. I was going to buy an apricot shade to use as a blusher but after seeing the consistency of these, I'm glad I didn't as I don't think they have enough slip to be used in that way..but then I might be wrong.

I also got a set of three liquid metals for the bargain price of £10, each usually retail for £17.50. They also smell nice and sweet..kind of like those Rusk biscuits and a bit like cocoa butter.

The final two things are eyeliner pencils. One is a thin pencil (Eerie..which is black) and a fat pencil (Fickle). Eerie looks furry and I don't think that's right.

Anyone else found any bargains? I wanted to buy so much but have been behaving myself so this is it for me so far. I might get a perfume from L'artisan Parfumeur but that is about it. Well..and a Matalan order but I think that really is it!

You can check the sale out here.

Merry (early) Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:34:00 +0000

Now I know that today is NOT Christmas, you can't even really call it Christmas Eve Eve Eve although technically, that is what it is.

The first thing I'd like to say is that this year has really flown by. It feels like only three months ago that I was writing my Christmas post for 2010. Clearly, it has been 11 and a bit months.

2011 was a very good year for me, the highlight of which was getting married (in New York no less) to my gorgeous husband. A husband who is as near to perfect a man I could have wished for. Our relationship is not perfect, but then who wants perfect?! We're still in the flat and I do love it here as it is really convenient. I do realise how lucky we are that the flat is in Zone 1 and that we aren't renting it but I still want a townhouse. But then I've wanted a townhouse since I was 17.. I'm a lot closer to having it now than I was then and one day soon, it will be mine!

As you can tell, I'm in a very good mood whilst writing this..finally in the festive spirit! Spirit being the key word as the drinks trolley made its rounds today at work. The only time of year when it comes around on a day that is not Friday.. I was on the sauce at work and I've had a few JD and Cokes since I've been home.

I've been told that we usually get to go home early on Christmas Eve but seeing as this year, that falls on a Saturday, we're not sure what time we finish on Friday. However, we can wear what we like and we can drink all day..which is a-ok with me!

Remember this time last year? I do because it snowed and I had to bring the turkey home on the frigging bus! Bringing a turkey for 20 people home on the bus is NOT fun.

This Christmas at my house (it is mine whilst my parents are away as I'm the oldest child..) is going to be a very simple affair. Last year it was a larger affair as there were twenty people present but this year it will only be me, my brother and my husband. It still feels strange calling him that..when people ask me about my "husband", I give them a blank stare before realising that I am indeed past the strage of bethrothal and that I do come with a husband as standard.

So..why is this message coming out early?

Many reasons..the main one being that I've neglected this blog over the past few months..I can't say why as the matter I'm working on at work is confindential (and it is SO hard to keep my mouth shut) but all will come out eventually. In fact, some is already out..

As I am solely in charge of the Christmas dinner this year (as my mum, dad and youngest brother are in America), I've been run off my feet. The stress of feeding three people so much food is nearly too much to take.

My brother has brought the turkey home, I've been carting the veg etc.. home from work. We're all but done now. I want a Christmas ham which I will pick up tomorrow but I'm not sure as our turkey will feed eight people and with the rest of the fam back on the day after Boxing Day, it might go to waste (although food seldom goes to waste in my house..)

My youngest brother is, as I mentioned, in America and is getting daily emails from me about what I'd like. I've told him to steer clear of stuff I can get here as the exchange rate is not too good. He's bought me everything I've asked for so far so I'll be buying him a watch in the sales this year. I've told him to not take advantage of my good nature but he's my brother so he'll get the best watch I can afford.

Talking of sales, I'm a bit concerned about the economy. In years past when I've rushed to John Lewis/Selfridges after work to get some last minute presents, it has been heaving. I went today and it was totally not busy. I've seen some nice things in the River Island sale but me and my middle brother need to have a tete a tete about things and make one combined order.

That just adds to my theory that things are too expensive! I remember the days when the January sales actually started in January! I might chance it and go to Harrods, Selfridges and Harvey Nicks but I'm not sure as I'll just waste money on stuff I won't even use. I bought one thing in the sales last year and I've not even worn that so the lesson there is to be more selective.

Having said that, I treated myself to a Balenciaga bag the other day and I can stuff so much into it which is brilliant. However, this does not mean that I'm totally happy as the next thing I need to buy is a decent leather purse which is what I'll be getting in the sales.

That reminds me, when did New Look make their sizes so big?! I bought a size 14 top the other day and it is huuuuuuge on me. I might just wear it as slouchy as I don't have the time or inclination to return it again.

Going back to the sales, I've been cheeky and taken next week off work. One day I need to pick my parents up, three days I will go sale shopping and one day I will help my brother move into his new place. Then back to work..when two weeks later, we'll see Easter Eggs in the supermarkets..

With regards to presents, I know that I am already getting the NARS Danmari palette and some new Uggs. I haven't really asked for much but I will be buying a laptop in the sales. My dad, however, is convinced he will buy this for me but I won't let him. He's also told us that his gift this year is "a gift for the family"..which is something I cannot wait to see, how has he managed to buy ONE THING that will be universally acccepted by a makeup lover, a techy bod, an MMA nut and my mum is beyond me... I've tried guessing but I guess we'll find out come the day after Boxing Day. He's locked his office and hidden the key so I can't snoop either, boo!

That's enough rambling for now..

This message has gone "live" whilst I'm at work..probably looking for my NYE outfit. This year I'm going to an unofficial Back to School: 2001 rave and I can't wait, I've not heard any decent garage music for ages!

So..

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S ! ! !

To everyone who comes across this post, be you a long time reader, first time reader or one of the non beauty blogging people who follow me on Twitter (because I'm all eclectic and shit) then I wish you all a Merry Christmas and fantastic New Year! If you're feeling a bit crappy now then remember that things can only get better!

They say simple things please simple minds: Woods of Windsor soaps

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 21:40:00 +0000

I was invited to an event last weekend but due to someone shrinking all of my work trousers, I had to do an emergency trouser shop. That resulted in me missing the event and also buying more tops than trousers.

The event was for Yardley and Woods of Windsor..I loved the event they put on before and thus my annoyance at the trouser shrinker was palpable.

Anyway, I was sent a range of products by both Yardley and Woods of Windsor and the packaging of the soaps has really won me over. These are right up my street and I would love to receive something wrapped in a similar fashion for Christmas.

I've sepia-d this photo up because I wanted to add an air of "mystery" to their actual colouring. Seriously, I've never been this impressed with packaging before. I LOVE the prints on the packaging and the smells are gorgeous.

I only got these on Saturday and despite having a queue of posts lined up, this jumped ahead of all of them as I was that impressed by the packaging.

Have a look...

My photographs do the packaging no justice, they really are gorgeous. If I have time to take them in decent enough lighting, I'll add some more to this post.

Now, let me tell you about Spiced Vanilla. This is a scent that I have been trying to track down for years. It is the scent of Christmas for me, it smells exactly like my childhood home used to. We haven't been able to replicate that smell since my parents moved. I'm convinced that that is because we were in that house for 12 years and my parents have moved twice since I was 19. Now I've found this scent, I am going to try and find a candle that replicates this smell.

Also, Sweet Fig and Pomegranate is the smell of my mum. You know when you hug your mum and you get that "mum smell" from her? She smells exactly like Sweet Fig and Pomegranate. It's the kind of smell that is very hard to capture in a manufactured scent, it's just my mum's smell.

These soaps all smell gorgeous, not synthetic at all which is something that I always welcome. The Spiced Vanilla one smells the strongest but they all have their individual scents. The scent of Sweet Fig and "Mum" is a bit weaker

I'm very against things that are faux old school. You can't successfully make something new look like it's old. The packaging design seems to have an authenticity to it, you can tell they haven't just switched to this packaging because vintage is currently en vogue. To me, the clue is personally in the colours they've used.. The designs look almost Victorian to me but then I'm not hot on my period pieces.

If you're looking for an alternative to burning scented candles/using room sprays or those diffuser sticks that are en vogue at the moment, then you could unwrap one of these soaps and they'd easily scent the room. Mine have been resting in different rooms in the flat (still wrapped) and they've scented the rooms up nicely.

Each retails for £4.95..have a look at the rest of the range here..

And "they" who are featured in the title of this post can jog right on!

NEW: Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:40:00 +0000

On the same day that Kourtney Kardashian announced that she was expecting a baby, I heard that Urban Decay were also expecting a sibling for their famous Naked palette. Kourtney's baby will be welcomed in the new year whereas Urban Decay's child is expected much quicker. In fact, if you sign up to their mailing list, you'll be emailed details about it tomorrow.

As I don't live in America, I assume the UK will have to wait a few months longer than our American counterparts..

When Urban Decay came out with their Naked palette last year, us makeup addicts went mad. I missed out on it three times and have only recently picked it up. I tend to tell people that I'm over it and that I don't use it that much but I realised over the last week that I am nearly always reaching for it in some way or another..

I'm also glad I bought it because it's a great all in one palette. I can get a smokey eye, three or four neutral eyes, an eye suitable for Indian functions and then some from one palette. It's the only palette I will be taking to America with me.

These are the shots I've found of the new palette..

Shades from L-R:

Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper (I have this as a single and I LOVE it), Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout.

Some rudimentary swatches:

The photographs in this post are from the Urban Decay Facebook and Twitter pages so it's official!

Will this palette be a big a hit as the original Naked? Will Kourtney's baby be cuter than Mason? Will anyone be buying this when it comes out?

FOTD: Bright lip city gonna set my soul on fire!

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:52:00 +0000

I've been going through a bright lip phase at the moment which is something that I never thought I'd be doing. These colours aren't fantastically bright but they're bright enough to allow me to strike the balance between bright and work appropriate.

My lips are pigmented and the top lip is darker than the bottom. All three of these products mask that problem and apply uniformly to both lips. The Korres tub is standard lipbalm size, the ELF tub really is that big.

1) ELF's Studio Conditioning Lip Balm SPF 15 in Bombshell Brown.

The swatch is a bit dodgy on the lower lip because I was thinking..and when I think, I bite my lip. This is most pigmented lipbalm I've ever seen. It is practically a lipstick in creamy liquid form. It applies like a dream, moisturises the lips and has a sweet scent and taste to it. I can't put my finger on exactly what the scent is but it definitely has hints of vanilla. I asked Simon if he could guess the scent and well..one night he guessed vanilla and the next night he guessed coconut. Make of that what you will. For £3.50, you can't ask for much more. Well, you could. The only thing I'd ask for would be for ELF to make this exact product into a lipstick.

And yes, I have applied the fade filter to the top photo as I had a massive spot that people don't need to be seeing. And that bump is from a scratch..

2) Korres Lip Butter in Pomegranate.

I reviewed this here and it has only recently made a comeback as I've been working through my lipbalm stash. It also packs a fair amount of pigment for a balm and that's why I like it, dual purpose! This is slightly costlier than the ELF one, coming in at £6. I'm going to buy more of these to use as bright lip colours, I've got my eye on Wild Rose, Quince and Mango. And maybe Plum.

I apply both the Korres and ELF products with a concealer brush. No technical reason for that really, I just haven't found a lip brush that I like yet. The concealer brush lets me build up the colour and smooth it out in a way that I can't do with fingers. Plus, I hate dipping my fingers into things as not only is it unhygienic, it's also annoying.

3) Revlon's Stormy Pink.

My favourite High Street pink for women of colour. It's been reviewed and swatched here before. It looks blue based and so I've decided that blue based pinks are the ones that work best on my skintone. It's matte but I pair it up with a lipgloss and we're onto a winner. In the photo I'm wearing a Stila Lip Glaze (Brown Sugar) but I wear it with a standard clear gloss too. I got my Lip Glaze at the Stila sample sale for a fiver. I would no way pay the full £15 for it as they are very sheer and don't really show up on pigmented lips. The lipstick will set you back about £7.

The eye I wear is very simple, it's my beloved MEL B shadow, No7 Fawn which I am sure has been discontinued..

I tend to wear it with just eyeliner in the waterline and no mascara as my recent mascara tends to keep on smearing against my glasses and that frustrates me.

I posted before about bright lips, the lipstick I used here was another Revlon one. I have to hand it to Revlon, they really know how to make flattering shades for darker skintones (most of the time..Smoked Peach, I'm looking at you!)

Anyone else out there embracing brighter colours as the days get shorter and colder?

NARS Albatross: A review, a swatch, a quote from Coleridge and a ramble.

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:47:00 +0000

Poetry from a post about cosmetics, what more could you want?

I don't even know where to begin with this post. If you've come here looking for rhyme and reason, you will be disappointed. But then people who have read this blog before know that I don't adhere to structures very well.

Anyway, N-N-N-NARS Albatross. A darling of the makeup world. Everyone loves it. Just like everyone loves YSL's Touche Eclat..which I found to be a bit crap. But then I only used shade 3 as when I had it, they only had three shades. I might venture back actually.. But then whenever I go to the YSL counter, I fall in love with their cream blushers..which are a very expensive lover.

Getting back to Albatross; it just looked like a white eyeshadow to me. I swatched it countless times and it was just a chalky white mess on my finger and it would never blend out.

Then came my Albatross watershed moment. I saw this lovely lady wearing it and harangued her into telling me what it was that had given her cheek the kind of sheen that I'd never been able to find. She told me it was the famous Albatross..

Now I'm not one to jump on a bandwagon..the only wagon I jumped on with wild abandon was Barry M's Instant Nail Effects. I can count on the fingers on one hand the amount of times I've used that polish.

Months went by and then I went to India to pick up things for my cousin's wedding. I also found my own desi wedding dress which is perfect, it's as if someone knew I was going to this shop and made a dress that would be perfect for me.

Whilst I was in India, I got an email about a 25% off code from HQHair.. Well, you know what happens. You call your husband and tell him to order makeup for you. It was waiting for me when I got back. I'd say that I was more excited to see this than Simon but that'd be a lie and I'm not that coldhearted.

Look at all that highlighter-y goodness!

So, does it live up to the hype?

Hell yes.

It looks like a cheap white eyeshadow when you dab your finger in it but it transforms once you've got it on your cheeks. I have been looking super glowy ever since I got back from India and I'll be looking glowy until it runs out!

I'm using my Revlon blush brush but I'd suggest getting a kabuki. I did have a kabuki but a rogue dog decided to chew it. It's alright though, I know where this dog lives. I dab my brush into it once and that's enough for one cheek. If you swirl it then you're asking for trouble as I did that the very first time I used it and I had to remove it and re-apply.

If you don't have a brush then you could just use your fingers..

Where do I use it?

The cheeks

Although it looks nice on its own, I think that to get the best from it, you should layer it over another blusher. I tend to layer it over blushers with little shimmer in them. I know it's hard finding a decent matte blusher so I use the next best thing.

It costs £20.50 which is quite costly for a highlighter but believe me, I was totally converted once I used it myself..and it's sold in a lot of online shops and they often have codes flying about the place. If you're hesitant, I'd suggest going to a decent NARS concession (the people on the Selfridges one in London are fantastic) and asking them to apply it on you. Then check it in both indoor and outdoor light to see how you look.

I have the standard complaints about the rubberised packaging but I don't think NARS will change it anytime soon. Mine looked mucky the very first time I touched it and I've given up trying to keep it neat and tidy.

PS, did anyone else study the The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge at school? That's the only thing I can think about whenever anyone mentions the word albatross, mainly because the poem says..

"Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink."

I always think of the line "water water everywhere, nor any drop to drink" whenever someone mentions NARS Albatross. This is because after we studied this poem, I went on the Windsor boat ride thing with my family. My brother (who at the time was 10) kept whinging about being thirsty. My dad told him to drink some of the water from the river and I piped with up that line and explained what it meant (that you'd go mad if you drank sea water). My dad's reply to this was something along the lines of me not having to worry about that seeing as I was already mad enough as it was..which was nice.

And if they had the NARS version of Albatross on board then atleast they'd have made pretty corpses..and I doubt they'd have gone mad..unless they caught highlighter induced hysteria, which is a very real thing as it's the reason behind this post.

PS, if you want to buy it then it's available direct from the NARS site but their delivery costs are £6 which is a lot more than I'd like to pay. You can also pick it up from HQHair where delivery is free!

EOTD: I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse

noreply@blogger.com (Rhamnousia @ Desi Girl Does Makeup) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:34:00 +0000

This look was the result me having too long to get ready. I was dressed before I knew it and then I faffed around with eye makeup, using three shadows to create this very standard look. But you know what happens to me, I practice in my own time but when it comes to wearing it out, I fall back onto looks I know I can pull off, just in case something goes wrong.

The liner here is not an angled wing as I feel that looks harsh on me sometimes..and I have finally managed it to look even on both eyes..

I like the way this manages to make my eyes look brighter..not not too stark, and how the eyeliner vamps it up a bit.

You'll probably have to really stare to see the three colours I've used but they are there, one for the inner corner, one for the lid and one over the crease coming inwards.

These are the products I used..

As per usual, I used my "go to" brushes which are from Models Own and ELF.

I used my second base as I call it (the No7 shadow) all over the lid, the Wet n Wild shadow was from Tesco for about £2 and it formed the lid cover and the Urban Decay shadow is Sin which I find is similar to the glitterbomb that is Midnight Cowboy but applies easier.

I concentrated the glitter on the middle and inner part of the eye because I wanted a bit of the crease to be defined.

The final shadow touch was adding my second base to darker the crease, i.e. take away some of the glitter.

Collection 2000 pencil in the waterline and the Active liquid liner on the upper lid. I am going to find that Active liner again as it was one of the best ones I've ever used. It's trumped any that I've used since it finished. The mascara is Maybelline's Falsies which I didn't like at first as it clumped like hell. I finished the tube the other day and it only started applying without clumps when it was near the end. Not a repurchase!

The title of this post is in homage to these Godfather socks that Simon got..

I honestly thought that "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse" meant that you'd be an idiot to turn the offer down as it was too good. The analogy I always use is ten pairs of shoes for £100 which would be a bloody bargain. I didn't realise it meant "accept the offer or I will kill you". They say the Mafia are all about subtlety but that isn't subtle..it's confusing if anything. And plus, you could just whisper that you're going to kill them if they don't agree, that's subtle. Simon loves telling people that I misunderstood this, as if he's never gotten anything wrong in his life.

Also, I've only noticed this now but if you look at my eye from the left hand side lower lashline counter clockwise around to the left hand side of the upper lashline, my eye looks positively fishy in shape. Is that a desired eye shape? Fishy? I wonder if that'd ever take off..they've got feline, why not diversify into fish?