Layla Cosmetics Graffiti Top Coat Review

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Haven’t had enough of Barry M’s Instant Nail Effects, Cover Girl’s Crackle polish, Australia’s BYS Cracked Polish, or P2 Crackling Top Coat? Well there is something new in town!! Layla Cosmetics Graffiti Top Coat, which is along the same lines as these crackle effect polishes. Layla Cosmetics is a budding Italian brand and they have a variety of products ranging from makeup, nail products, makeup/nail accessories, hand care & spa products.
Size: 10ml
Price: €10,90 (around
£9.2 )

From Layla’s website:
A Top-Coat to apply on every type of nail polish, even clear, the product will change in a few instants. No nail will be just like the other and you will be able to create millions of different looks.

Initially I tried this with a dark green polish and it looked horrible. But then I decided to try with this light blue glitter polish and I think it gives an amazing effect. Since we don’t get any of these crackling effect polishes here, I have no idea how good an effect they are supposed to give but I must say I’m pretty happy with the way this graffiti top coat looks on my nails. I even tried it on clear polish as recommended & I think it looks even better.

What I like about this polish?

·        Amazing crackle effect in to time!!

·        Easy to use:- just apply it as a top coat and be amazed to see it shrink like small cracks on each nail.

·        Matte Effect

·        Does not take much time to dry

·        Nice thin brush, easy to hold
·        Good quality
·        Great for nail art beginners or those who want an amazing effect without having too much time to do intricate nail art.

What I don’t like about this polish?

·   The writing on the bottle is in white which makes it difficult to read since the polish is also in white. I couldn’t figure out the instructions on how to apply it until I just tried it myself.

·   Available in only 6 colors. I think they should make it in more different colors and possibly in other effects like holo etc. That would be something new and different.

·   I think £9.2 quite expensive for a 10ml bottle. I might as well buy Barry M for £3.95 for the same quantity but I am not sure if the quality of both will be same as I haven't tried the other.

How you tried any product from Layla Cosmetics? What do you think of them?

Disclosure: This item was sent for review purposes. The review is based on my own personal and honest experience with the product.

Who else got shocked seeing this cover??

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I just adore both Jake Gyllenhaal & Anne Hatheway!! I am like a huge fan of both these actors. So I got a shock of my life seeing this EW cover (not just because they are naked) but because they are naked together. lol their pose made me think they are a couple. I hysterically referred online and found they are not. They are just trying to promote their new film 'Love & Other Drugs'. Jake has supposedly even said that both of them appear to be naked in 65% of the movie!! Now who is waiting to watch it :P

 But seeing the Entertainment Weekly pics I think they would make a great couple!! Do you think so too?

I became an Avon rep !!

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You saw it right, I am an Avon representative :D I want to share with you guys my exact experience.

This happened during the start of this month. My neighbor is an Avon rep and knowing how crazy I am about their products she asked me if I wanted to apply for becoming a rep myself. I applied and got a response back & then the Avon lady in charge of my area came to visit my place to actually train me since I was having problems in visiting their office. I was really awed by that. She came with this black bag which contains samples, brochures, bill memo, purchase order form & a training book. This first training lasted for almost 2 hours where I was briefed about everything: Avon’s history, their present market value, advantages of being a rep, how to approach customers, my sales target & how to place an order. There are few things I learnt in the process:-

• Avon’s more than 120 years old i.e. before women even had their right to vote!!
• Avon was the first company to ever start with an anti aging product. All companies followed suit & no other company knows the exact formulation which makes it different from their brands.
• Avon is the first largest direct selling company of this world.
• Reese Witherspoon is their global brand ambassador.

I had a second training a week after the first which was just a recap of my first one which lasted for 10 mins. Oh btw she again came to my place :) Now I have a third & final one 2 weeks from now.

All in all its being a great experience as of now. If you are wondering why I am doing it, it’s to gain experience since I’m a business student. All this stuff just excites me!!

Now that doesn’t mean I will stop buying other brands and only promote Avon. I’m still loyal to all the brands I sincerely love :)

But being a rep has its perks. I get free samples to show my clients, not for myself :P

As you know you can buy their products only browsing through brochures where pictures might not be accurate. Will you guys be interested in seeing swatches of various samples I have?

P.S. Also if you reside or know anyone in UAE, please let them know about me :)

Thanks for listening to my ramblings

xoxo

Essence Nail Polish Remover (Strawberry-Vanilla) Review

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I’m a huge huge lover of anything strawberry scented so obviously I had to take this the moment I saw this!! Plus, I found this to be a pretty innovative concept since I haven’t really heard or seen any other flavored nail polish removers. In case you don’t know, Essence is a German drugstore beauty/makeup brand. I myself get to see few selected stuff from Essence once in a blue moon!!

Quantity: - 150ml

Price: - Retails at €1.49.

Flavors available:- Strawberry & Vanilla (Nail Hardening), Forest Berry & Vanilla (Nail Whitening) and Coconut & Vanilla (Nail Moisturizing)

What Essence says about this product?

Put a stop to weak, brittle nails: The pink nail polish remover is perfectly aligned to meet the special needs of stressed nails. The particularly gentle formula helps strengthen your nails and gives them a healthy, strong look. Thanks to the acetone-free ingredients, it is also suitable for synthetic nails. This wonderful product comes with a seductive strawberry-vanilla scent.

My Experience with the product:-

By now you know I got this because of the pink color, the pretty packaging & strawberries!! But I was extremely put off by the smell. I have loads of strawberry scented products & I assumed this would probably have the same scent which is why I didn’t try smelling it in the store but I was wrong. It has a strong smell of alcohol mixed with a badly mixed concoction of vanilla & strawberry. Moving on, it’s really hard to remove nail polish with this remover I guess maybe because it’s acetone free. This is the first time I'm using an acetone free polish remover. It gets dried up in the cotton pad so fast that by the time I put it on my nail all the cotton hair gets stuck on the nail that its really an annoying task to remove both the polish and the cotton hair from the nail.

But there is a positive point about this product. I think it works according to the nail hardening claims. I have pretty weak brittle nails which breaks superfast. Since the time I started using this (despite the stench & the annoying removing task), I have noticed my nails didn’t break at the superfast speed it normally does. I last used this around 20-25 days back and my first nail since then broke only 4 days back which according to me is a huge improvement!!

Verdict:-

I won’t purchase this product only because of the smell. Otherwise I find it a pretty good product. I would advise you to smell this in the store before purchasing.

Aromaleigh Eyeshadows Review, Swatches & Look

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Don't we all just love mineral cosmetics? I particular enjoy using mineral makeup as I tend to get less breakouts. I have a super dry skin with super oily t-zone which is like two extremes due to which very less skin products tend to suit me. Aromaleigh is one such mineral cosmetics company. It is a small independent woman-owned online company which sells loose mineral powder cosmetics and natural fragrances using the finest cosmetic grade pigments, natural ingredients and botanicals available.

So I got 5 sample pigments of different eyeshadows. Here’s the breakdown:-
Severina: - This color is my favorite of the lot. It’s a lovely vibrant shade of green like fresh grass. I love green eyeshadows!! This is an eye luster sample. It has a metallic pearl kind of finish with green-gold shimmer in it.

Cobalt: - It’s a pure hue sample. It’s a super vibrant blue e/s. True to its name. Just like severina, this too is kind of a pearl finish with silver-blue shimmer in it.

Moonagedaydream rocks! – This color is the most unique one from the lot. It’s a sonic eyes sample. It’s a dark green sea moss kind of color having more of blackish undertones with gold glitter. I think this color would be great to use during our mehendi functions J

Smokescreen – It is a pure hue sample. It is a dark smoke gray color with a slight shimmer to it. This is best for contouring/creasing. Will work great for smoky eyes!!

Lychee – It is an opulent luster sample. Described by Aromaleigh as’ Deeper rose-brown raisin shade that shines!’ honestly I couldn’t agree more. It is a must have. Really great and unique color.

Swatches don’t really do justice to how beautiful they look in real life. I haven’t swatched them using any primer of base. But you can still make out their amazing pigmentation by these swatches:-

Left to right:- Lychee, Cobalt, Smokescreen, Moonagedaydream rocks!, Severina

What I like about these eyeshadows?

*They have amazing pigmentation even better than Mac’s. I honestly don’t even like Mac e/s. I have used many and find other eyeshadows have better pigmentation.

*Blendable. They blend amazingly so one can easily tone down the shimmers and glitters to make it a more wearable look.

*The best part about the colors I got is that all of them can be used for one single look which is great. They also have great variety of colors. One can easily get samples before getting full sized pigments.

What I don’t like about these eyeshadows?

* I had a hard time using really due to the zip lock packet. I don’t really have empty jars at the moment so have to make do with these packets itself. I had to literally dip my brush inside to get a good amount of color.

What I used?

Concealer, foundation, powder & eye base.

Severina; - Inner ¼ corner on my eyelids and inner ¼ of the lashline.

Cobalt: - Middle ¼ of the eyelids and lashline.

Moonagedaydream rocks!:- Outer half of the lid and lashline

Smokescreen: - Used on the crease and blended with Moonagedaydream rocks!

Lychee: - for highlighting the brow mixed with my own highlighter.

Lakme’s eye artist on the upper lid & Rimmel mascara

My overall look:-

My Rating: - 4/5

I would definitely purchase full sized jars now to avoid the packet issues.

Disclaimer: - These samples were NOT sent to me by Aromaleigh nor did the company give me any sort of compensation to write a review. This review is based entirely on my own honest opinion.

Have you tried Aromaleigh products? If so please do recommend me some great ones :)

She did survive...

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I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere & endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles – Christopher Reeve. That’s exactly how I feel about my 5^th grade hindi teacher. Her wide toothed smile, bright shining eyes and her big spiral curls cascading down her shoulders could brighten up anyone’s day. I can’t even imagine how she might be passing through the darkening days of her life. She was diagnosed with breast cancer. Going through her chemotherapy she started dressing up with a headscarf. I had an undesirable urge to ask her whether she was ashamed of being bald. Not knowing how to suppress it, I went ahead. She replied to me, ‘No, I am not, I would roam about bald if only people see me for what I am and not how I look.’ Despite her failing health condition, she used to come to school and teach everyday. At that time I thought she was crazy to do so. But now I realize it is because she found solace in teaching. Educating others would make her forget about her own worries. Her real life example has taught me that we should never lose hope and succumb to our conditions; instead we should fight it and surprise others by being an ultimate survivor. And yes she did survive..

NOTD - Breast Cancer Inspired

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I was inspired by Sharon's manicure & decided to give a try. I'm really bad with nail art as simple as polka dots too!! So somehow I was super happy that this turned out just fine :D and it stayed for 3 days yayy (not really an notd :P)

Lacquers used:- Arico in Pink (A brand from Etude)

Boutique in Brown (Italy brand)



Can you see that lovely little keychain in the background? I got that from Avon to support Breast Cancer. It is an iron keyring featuring one round plate(approx.diameter 3cm) with magenta crusade ribbon on one side and a flower shape plate(approx.diameter 2cm).

I got this for 15dhs (around $4.09). I request you all to show your support to any brand or organization that is contributing towards breast cancer research or in any other way to raise awareness about this issue. thank you :)

xoxo