Monday, March 17, 2008

Get the Look: Malaika's Subtle Makeup

Its no secret that Chic Mommy and I are fans of Malaika's beauty looks. Whether she's glammed up or au naturel, Malaika always looks flawless. Below, I've done a makeup breakdown of Malaika wearing very subtle makeup. The shimmery gold eyes, light blush and glossed lips make for a perfect daytime look for a casual weekend outing such as a picnic, brunch with friends or just getting some sun (can you tell I'm excited for some warm weather?!)

To get Malaika's look:

Face: Foundation is not required here. Only minimal coverage is need with concealer such as Stila Cover Up Stick which provides great coverage for blemishes and/or dark circles. Apply a rose pink blush such as NARS Blush in Outlaw with a fan brush. The fan brush will deposit color more lightly than a regular blush brush.

Eyes: Apply a shimmery gold shadow such Lorac Gold Eye Shadow as all over the lids up until right under the brow bone. Line both top and bottom rims of the eyes with a dark brown eyeliner such as MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Stubborn Brown. Apply one coat of black mascara for a more natural look.

Lips: Skip the liner and apply a sheer rose lip gloss such as Lorac Lip Polish in Kiss.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Natalie Portman Dolled Up as an Indian Bride

Word is that actress Natalie Portman is pairing up with actor Irfan Khan for Mira Nair's next film, Kosher Vegetarian, in which Portman plays a Jewish girl that falls in love with Khan, a desi guy. I found this picture of Natalie below, where she is all dolled up like an Indian bride...She looks stunning as usual and her makeup looks quite amazing.

I'm loving that lipstick color and I'm so excited for this movie already!!


Friday, March 14, 2008

India Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2008 Fall Beauty Preview, Part I

The Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week for Autumn/Winter 2008 kicked off on Wednesday, and designers showcased a variety of beautiful clothes. While the desi models looked gorgeous, I do wish makeup artists for the shows varied the looks a bit...most stuck to either a charcoal smokey eye with nude lips or a strong red lip. Desi women can wear so many different pigments, though, so it would be wonderful to see a little more variety in makeup hues!

Kavita Bhartia featured the most unique makeup look with models' eyelids awash in a pretty, periwinkle blue. The cheeks and lips were kept simple with a bronzey nude shade.

At Vikram Phadnis, models sported very smoky charcoal eyes, with opaque black shadow on the lids smoked out to a silvery gray right below the brows. Cheeks were heavily contoured with a matte bronze shade and lips were left nude.

At Varun Sardana, bright, matte red lips and bronze cheeks gave models a fresh appearance. The face was left matte as well.

Tarun Tahiliani took a cue from the nude trend storming the makeup industry. Models' eyelids were shaded with taupe while brows were defined and very little mascara was used. Lips were left bare and matte while cheeks were lightly contoured with a blush only one or two shades darker than the models' skintone.

Suneet Varma complemented his earth tone clothing with brick red lipstick and rust colored cheeks. Blush was applied directly on the apples of the cheeks rather than on the cheekbones.

Rohit Bal featured very strong, black cat eyes softened up with peachy bronze eyes and lips. The model pictured above, Lisa Haydon, is one of the new "it" girls of the Indian fashion industry.

At Ritu Kumar, softly blue-washed lids were set of against bright red lips and red stained cheeks. Not the most wearable combination in real life but nevertheless, it was nice to see something a little different.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

MAC Viva Glam VI

Over the weekend, I had my first experiment with a MAC Viva Glam product and was pleasantly surprised. The MAC Viva Glam VI lipstick and lip gloss are now out in stores, with the funky Fergie as their spokeswoman.


Right below is my lips wearing the Viva Glam VI lipstick, which is described as a warm terracotta plum fusion with subtle pearl. This description is right on target, especially in person.
Below is my lips wearing the Viva Glam VI lip gloss, which is described as a warm plum with multi-reflective, multi-dimensional pearl. The lip gloss definitely is more cool and less brown than the lipstick. I like the lip gloss slightly more than the lipstick because I am partial to colors in the purple/plum range.

My only gripe with the lip gloss is that the shimmer particles tend to get all over my face if I don't wash off the gloss carefully with makeup remover when removing my makeup. Wiping with just a tissue resulting in glitter all over my face.

In all, though, both products are well suited to desi skin and make for a great everyday lip look.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Kim Kardashian's Va-Voom Makeup

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Don't ask me how it happened, but this Sunday I spent nearly the entire day watching "Keeping Up with the Kardashians." There was some kind of Kardashian marathon going on E! that day.

I have to admit, all I knew about Kim prior to watching this show was that she was friends with Paris Hilton, had a sex tape, and posed for Playboy, so I didn't think I needed to know anymore about her. But surprisingly, she comes off as a really nice girl on the show. The way her sisters interact and talk about things, she seems so fun...and normal. She's the kind of girlfriend every girl needs, so sweet, and yet so honest. I'm officially a fan!

Of course, I couldn't help noticing her makeup. It's gorgeous. You just can't go wrong with a smoky eye and a nude, glossy lip. The look is a little too much for a conservative office, in my humble opinion, but it totally works if you're job is in the entertainment or fashion industry, or if you're looking for a glam makeup look for an evening party.

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Here are the colors Kim uses to get her signature look:

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium dark and dark

MAC eyeshadow in Nehru
MAC eyeshadow in Print
MAC eyeshadow in Blue Noir
MAC eyepencil in Smolder

MAC Blush Pink Swoon

MAC Angel lipstick
Nars Turkish Delight Lipgloss (the one item Kim can't live without!)
MAC Stripdown lipliner


Hair:
Chi curling iron (the biggest barrel)


photos via

Source: makeup411.net

Thursday, March 6, 2008

And the Next Stop on the Bollywood Trend Train Is.....Bollyrobics.

I know this is more of a fitness post rather than a beauty post, but this workout looks like so much fun, I couldn't resist sharing!




Like the author says on YouTube:

"In movies, music and fashion, Bollywood is a trend.
Bollyrobics™ will be loved not only by fitness fans but everyone who has been touched by the irresistable cinema of India....Elements from Bollywood's most popular films are choreographed into a new kind of workout, combining coordination, strength and stamina with Asian sensuality. Energetic and seductive!"


When I was younger, my friends and I would get together and copy the moves from Indian songs and spend hours practicing for weddings or parties. I wish we had something like this DVD, because they explain all the steps to you slowly so you can learn them and get grooving in half the time it takes to pause, rewind, and watch again how a move was done from a full-fledged movie clip. You learn the moves to three popular songs in this DVD, Mahi Ve, Chaiyya Chaiyya, and Monama (from Bombay Dreams). Plus, it's edited in a traditional workout format, with a warm-up and cool down, which helps you monitor your heart rate and calorie-burn a little better. Available in up to 7 languages, including French, Hindi, Japanese, and Italian, Bollyrobics is available at Amazon.com for $12.99. You can also rent it at Blockbuster.com in a few weeks when they get it in stock.

For Healthy, Shiny Hair From the Inside Out, Give Biotin A Try

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Ask any hair expert out there, and they will all tell you that it's not so much what you put on your hair that makes it healthy and shiny, it's what you eat. Yes, some oils and special shampoos can make a slight difference in your hair's appearance, but if your diet is lacking in the nutrients it needs, these potions are only going to mask the problem and not fix it for the long run. Drinking lots of water and eating healthy foods is a must, but did you know that supplementing your diet with the vitamin Biotin (also known as Vitamin H) can significantly improve the health of your hair? And even regrow hair?

Trust me, I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't give this a try for myself. My hairstylist turned me on to taking Biotin about four months ago when I was complaining to her about how much my hair was falling out. It had gotten so bad, that when I washed my hair in the shower, clumps would fall out in my hands, and my hairbrush would be so full of hair after I brushed, it looked like I had used it to groom a puppy. I had even started to develop bald spots along my hairline, it was a total nightmare.

My hairstylist recommended I start taking Biotin every night before I go to bed, along with a multi-vitamin. She said, many women start losing hair in their 30's and 40's and it's usually due to stress and a poor diet, in addition to other factors (hormonal imbalance, childbirth, environmental factors, the local water, etc..) I think the reasons my hair falling out was definitely the stress and poor diet part. (Note: I had already consulted my doctor about the hair loss problem and he ran all the blood tests, etc... to rule out any kind of medical disease. I was told I was normal, and that the hair loss was probably a temporary response to the stress of motherhood or hormones, and to just ride it out. My patience with "riding it out" ran out after 2 months of falling hair, and I was willing to try anything by then.)

Clearly, I was not alone in experiencing female alopecia. My hairstylist said she had the same problem with the hair loss and bald spots developing, but since she started taking Biotin, she had not only stopped losing hair, her hair was actually starting to grow back! And her bald spots were starting to fill back in. It was convincing enough for me to give it a try for myself, because quite literally, I had nothing to lose. Except for more hair.

So, on my hair stylist's advice, I went to Target and got a bottle of 100 tablets of 1000mcg of Origin brand Biotin for only $1.49. Only $1.49. I can't believe how cheap this stuff was. That's more than a three month supply for only a buck and a half. I took one tablet every night religiously before bed, along with a multi-vitamin and a full glass of water.

After 3 weeks, I noticed a reduction in hair falling out. After 2 months, I noticed hair growing back in the bald spots. And by the time I finished the whole bottle 3 months later, my hair looked healthy and full, just like it did before stress took its toll on me and made my hair fall out. It was incredible. I also noticed that in addition to my hair becoming stronger and healthier, it looked shiny without the need of any hair product. My nails had become stronger too, which was unexpected but pleasantly received. I still continue to take the Biotin and the multi-vitamin every night to maintain the health of my hair, even though I no longer suffer from hair loss and brittle hair. I can't manage to eat well every single day, so the vitamins help compensate for deficiencies in my diet and keep my hair, skin, and nails healthy.

Biotin is a vitamin naturally found in eggs, cheese, beef liver, cauliflower, mushrooms, chicken breasts, salmon, spinach, and nuts. Not everyone needs a supplement because our bodies are able to manufacture this vitamin on its own if it senses a shortage. But for people suffering from hair loss or weak, brittle hair and nails, their bodies may not be making enough Biotin to combat the problem, which is where taking a supplement can help considerably.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Milan Fall 2008 Beauty Preview

If the beauty at the Fall 2008 London shows focused on the lips, Milan was all about the eyes. The models frequently sported some serious eye makeup. Smokey black eyes was a staple, of course, but some interesting variations were shown as well.

Pat McGrath created gorgeous golden eyes at Versace. Her secret was layering on bronze and gold shadows and finishing the look with extra long false lashes.

Pat McGrath was also the artist behind the smokey eyes at Gucci. She used Max Factor's Star-studded Black shadow with Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream on top for smudgy, glossy black eyes.

Smokey gray-brown eyes and nude lips added an air of sophistication to the Giorgio Armani. The eyes were done up but didn't take away from the rest of the fresh, clean face of models.

Bottega Veneta offered up a pretty twist on the classic cat eye by using lavender instead of black liner.

Beauty at Alberta Ferretti went back to the Sixties with smokey charcoal eyes, peachy lips and sideswept hair that was heavily teased at the crown.

photos via style.com