Trials: NIVEA Lip Butter Cocoa Cacao

For sheer love for their thrust on quality, I've loved Nivea products for quite a while. What I love most about them that their products are mostly effective, simplistic and subtle on the fragrance and tint area. so when i found a range of new Nivea products on the shelves, I decided to indulge. Hence, presenting first of my Nivea haul, the Nivea lip butter. I've tried the Cocoa Cacao option here.
The lip butter comes at Rs.200 a tin which though is a bit steep for a lip butter without tint. But, I had been on the lookout for a night-care regime for my lips that did not involve any colour or tint. What impressed me almost instantaneously was that the butter came in a easy to open, travel-friendly tin; for now which sits comfortably on my night-stand. The tin hold the lip butter, which like the name suggests, is very creamy in texture and unlike any lip balms I've used. I feared the butter would be sticky,something like petroleum jelly, or hard as some lip balms tend to be. But, gladly it's neither of the case.

As I've mentioned, I've been using the Cocoa cacao variant. And let me put it across straight- you'll love it as much as you love dark chocolate and I happen to absolutely love dark chocolate. I've been using the lip butter daily for more than a week now. I dab it on my lips just before bed. With the consuming sweet smell the butter spreads, it almost feels like my midnight chocolate indulgence and gives me a heady happy high. That is how much I love the fragrance! Now, getting to the moisturizing part. Day 1 had me pleasantly surprised with softer and smoother lips. By days 3 and 4
I found my lips not just soft but full too. The hydrated and soft lips have now encouraged me to scrub them once a week, also using a chocolate scrub. The one I use is an Exotic chocolate lip scrub from Tattva by Shabia Walia, a little something I got from my FabBag (a li'l shout out to the FabBag folks!).

Nivea seems to have come out with 5 different variants of lip butter, out of which hardly 3 or 4 are available in India, through retail and online stores. Having said that, I would have chosen the cocoa variant over the others any day.
Now, let's give a final look at the pretty Nivea Lip Butter Cocoa cacao.



Pros:

• Deep moisture
• Doesn't need re-applying; stays on for over 6 hours
• Rich fragrance
• Handy, travel-friendly pack

Cons:

• Pricey
• No gloss (idea for night care)
• All variants are not easily available in India.

So, that's all I have for you about the Nivea lip butter, right now. Do let me know how fare with this or other lip-care products. Don't forget to let me know of what else you'd like me to write about.

Signed

The Fashionable Budget-girl

Trials: MAYBELLINE Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner

An eye well done is a face half done- that's the makeup manthra I go by. That's why, long, long ago

when my friend Remya, who FYI is on her way to makeup "Jedi-hood", told me that she landed an fantastic eye-liner which doesn't wash off and that has "amazing" finish, I wanted to try it. This professed eye-liner has stuck to her eyes like glue even after a good dip under a waterfall. Boy, I wanted one of those! I was ready to look over the fact that it came in a pot and needed a steady hand to apply. God has blessed me with an adequately steady hand, unless I'm lending someone money. But then she said those words that froze my feet to the ground -"It cost me a bomb."

I'm a modern, fashion-conscious girl, on a budget. So all my fashion choices are extremely budget based. So, I put my plans to buy the Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama gel eyeliner on the back burner. And yet, fast forward to present day and I have one. Ask me why? Swinging by the television and movie industries I found that all the professional makeup artists swore by the gel eyeliner; and hence I had to find what the rage was about.

Let me begin by stating on record that the Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama gel eyeliner is not for the shaky handed folks on a budget. It needs some getting used to. And, you'll get used to it faster if you ditch the awfully fat brush they hand you in that beautiful packing. Oh yes, the packing is really pretty. I even loved the cap for the brush-very neat and hygienic. But the brush itself is quite hindering. I like to make thin lines on my lash-line for an everyday look. I find it that the winged look also comes out well with thin brushes, especially the tip of the wings. But the given brush wasn't helping me in either. All it gave me was the thick, dramatic lines on the lash-line and crooked lines on my water-line. So, I invested another Rs.60 on a pretty looking, thin bristled brush to add that luster to my 'apple-of-my-eye' eyeliner. The matte finish the eyeliner gives you makes sure that you get used to the creamy gel texture and the solid colour. But the down side of getting addicted to it is that you start keeping aside some eye-makeup time in your morning routine. With my adequately steady hands I take close to 5 mins everyday to get the look right, and I still almost always go for the natural-winged-everyday look. Next, you should essentially also invest in a good makeup removing product. Maintaining the brush involves a serious cleaning routine, else lumps form on the brush totally spoiling the results for you. And, it goes without saying that you ABSOLUTELY MUST remove the product from your eyes thoroughly before you hit the bed. I bought the eyeliner from a Maybelline counter of a beauty shop and the lady there suggested I buy the Maybelline Total Clean Express Make-up remover, with which I wasn't disappointed one bit.

So, for one last time, here's listing the pros and cons of the eyeliner that costed me Rs. 475/-.

Pros:

• Good matte finish
• Solid colour
• Lasting stay on lash-line; moderate stay on water-line

Cons:

• Pricey
• Brush could have been better
• Needs a cleaning routine that should be followed religiously after every use

I'm totally in love with the eyeliner and wear it every single day; all day long or even if it's for a brief outing with friends. So, if you are big on eye makeup and like to experiment around, give it a shot. Also, let me know what you think about it. Don't forget to let me know of what else you'd like me to write about.

Signed

The Fashionable Budget-girl