Revlon Aqua mineral finishing powder Vs Revlon aqua mineral makeup : battle of the magically cool liquid loose powders

Guys do you remember the magically cool liquid powder that came out in the MAC venomous villains collection that everyone was going gaga over? Well, Revlon did it long back. This Aqua mineral powder works on the same concept. The minute it touches your skin, it feels like a liquid, but is actually a powder. Cool no? First when I heard about it I thought this'd be like those cooling prickly heat powders that have menthol. But this is nothing like those. This is really something else. It claims to have coconut water in it but I dunno how that works. Anyhow, I knew I had to have this coz I just cant resist these gimmicky things. What? They're so cool!

Revlon has these in 2 variations- one called the mineral makeup (with black cap) and other called finishing powder (with the white cap). Now these are part of the colorstay range but the mineral makeup variant has fine shimmer in it. The other is matte. Both are otherwise packaged identically- the loose powder is contained in a transparent box with a sifter on top and the screw on cap has a slide-out little brush. This brush actually is very soft and dense and will come in handy if you're getting ready in a hurry or need to do touchups outside. Otherwise, I recommend using a kabuki as that is larger and will give a better finish.
These are slightly expensive though at Rs.1100 for about 10g of product.
Even though one is called mineral makeup, it is nowhere close to powder foundation in terms of coverage. I think both can be used only as setting powders over your foundation or tinted moisturizer. Only difference- the mineral makeup has fine silver shimmer (why???) and the finishing powder is matte. So I use the one with shimmer only at night when I'm going for parties or dinner or weddings and the matte one I use in the daytime to avoid looking like a Twilight vampire.

I personally love these powders, especially the Finishing powder which is matte. When you brush these on your skin it feels as though your brush is wet! It's such a nice feeling! Mmmmmmm... Both are very finely milled soft translucent powders with no or min coverage but have excellent oil control and staying power. These can be compared to MAC setting powder. Just brush this on top of your makeup and it'll keep your makeup fresh for longer without altering the texture. Wont cake up or oxidize. Didn't break me out. You won't see results immediately when you apply it. Don't be disappointed by that coz translucent powders won't show up at all. But you'll see the difference at the end of the day when you take your compact out for a touch up but voila- touch up not required! :)
I used it once before a party and it was fresh even after I came home 4 hours later despite all the dancing and light sweating.
I like to use the shimmery one under my eyes so it acts as a subtle highlighter to set the concealer and the matte one all over my face coz I have oily skin and I don't like to add shine to my face.
Please note that this will not hide your pores or even out your skin tone as it claims. This is ONLY a setting powder that can be used over your made-up face to keep everything in place. But it's brilliant at that. It somehow makes me look fresher and brighter and it stays that way for longer.
In fact, I only wanted to get the matte one but when I saw the other one was on a great discount at MakeupShades.com, I just couldnt resist!! Got that for 600!!! Would have been criminal not to buy right? And the finishing powder (which I love more) is from StyleCraze and bought that at 10% discount after I hounded requested Chetana to stock this for me. :)

This is also available at all major stores.
These are available in some 4 shades in India I think: Light, light-medium, Medium, Medium-deep.
I have the shade Light in the aqua mineral makeup (black cap, shimmery) and the shade Light-Medium in the Finishing powder (white cap, matte). But both work well against my nc40 skin since they are so translucent. I think these should work well for all Indian skintones.

Overall, I will recommend this to anyone who has oily skin and wants their make up to stay fresh without oxidizing for long and also for those who just want a setting powder that doesn't alter texture or colour of the rest of your face. Plus the magic feeling of liquid you guys! Pick up the Revlon Colorstay Aqua mineral finishing powder. You wont regret it. :)

My rating: ****

Mega Blog Sale Blowout- new items added

All products below have been used only max thrice and I'm selling them because I either have a similar colour in my stash or it doesn't suit me. All are well within the expiry dates. I've mentioned a small description for each and linked to reviews where available. All products will be sanitized before being sent out.
Please mention in the comments if you're interested in any product or you could mail me at nitya.karthick@gmail.com for details. Payment to be made into my ICICI account and items will be sent via courier once payment is made.
Shipping charges: Rs.30 all over India. Shipping charges to be paid by buyer. Sale is open only for Indian residents. If you make a purchase above Rs.1000, shipping will be free and you will receive a free cream glitter pan or a nail polish.

I'm also open to be idea of swapping. Eg: if you have a nailpolish u don't want and I like it and you're interested in some lipstick I've posted here, we could send each other the respective items and not have to pay. You know, like the way it's done on Makupalley etc. Do lemme know by commenting or sending an email.

Maxfactor lipfinity has a lip colour in a lipgloss type packaging and a super glossy lip balm that can be applied over it. This is a long stay lip colour and is waterproof and transfer resistant. So it won't come off even after your meals too.
This shade spiritual is an MLBB for me. It's a peachy brown shade. The balm that comes with it is super glossy and I love how it feels. Worn over the long stay lip colour it gives a shiny, hydrated feel to the lips.

This is almost a matte bronzer. It has tiny tiny shimmer particles that somehow don't really show up when worn on cheeks. It can be used as an everyday bronzer when you use the dark portion alone or mix both to use as a warm natural looking peachy blush. Will suit all skin tones. You can read its review on IMBB here.
It's really a great soft powder n I didn't wanna sell it but I have the Lakme earth rose blush trio which v v similar in colour so I ended up not using this.
This is almost brand new but the powder on light side had chipped slightly (in a corner, as seen in photo) when it was shipped to me. Comes with a mirror and a brush applicator

This is loose mineral kohl pigment that comes in a jar with a sifter on top and an attached angled brush. Can be used on waterline too over your Kajal to set it. It has tiny silver shimmer which looks sparkly in a subtle way but not too sparkly. Can also be used to create smokey eyes. Lasts about 6 hours.

This is a mineral foundation with medium to full coverage. Will suit oily skinned girls well as it is oil free and non comodogenic. I'm nc40 and it suits me well, brightens my complexion. Also comes with a dense kabuki type brush. Sweat proof. Lasts about 6 hours.

The lakme Aquashine lip color in Sangria is a deep rust shade with red undertones. Would suit all Indian skin tones. It's quite moisturising and lasts about 3 hours.
You can see swatches of all shades here.

Lakme Aquashine lip color in old rose is a soft warm pink shade. Will suit fair to medium skin tones. It's also pretty moisturising and glossy n stays for about 2 hours.
You can read Cynthia's review of this product here.

Bourjois sweet kiss range is very lightweight and has a satin finish. This shade Rose Sensuel is a medium pink with coral tint. Solid colour, no shimmer or frost. You can read Rashmi's review of this here and Tanveer's review here.

Maybelline moisture extreme series are pigmented but also hydrating and have a lush, shiny finish. This shade spicy carmin is an orange- red that will instantly brighten up the complexion. Use as a full on lip colour or as a stain and top off with gloss.

The shade electric orchid is a deep grape purple with brown undertones. Can be worn as a full on colour or as a stain and topped off with gloss

The shade Plum Perfect is a mid tone pink with slight silver frost that is only visible in flash photography. Would suit all Indian skin tones.

Colorbar matte lipsticks are matte but not drying and last pretty long too. This shade Irish Rose is probably their most popular one and is a soft pink shade with peach tint. Would suit all skin tones. You can read a review of this here and also here.

NYX jumbo lip pencils are creamy and pigmented and give full coverage. This shade Fuchsia is just wrongly named as this is a very soft pink that will work on all skin times. For darker tones this may serve as a pinky nude shade that would work great with smokey eyes too without looking washed out.

NYX round lipsticks are soft, creamy and intensely pigmented. They are pretty moisturising too. This shade Black Cherry is a deep vampy red, bordering on maroon. Wear as a full on lipstick or as a stain. You can read my review of this here and MakeupAlley review here.

Cocoa is a nice caramel brown that would suit all skin tones. you can read my review here.

Heather is a medium toned warm pink mauve shade that will be almost an MLBB shade for medium- darker toned girls and an everyday pink for fair girls. Read my review here and another review here.

B52 is again an MLBB shade. It's pinky brown and would suit all skin tones. This lipstick is the most creamy and soft one of the lot and as a result has slightly tilted at the base as you can see in the pic. It's very much usable but I just thought I should inform about this since it's such a soft lipstick. You can read my review of this here and Ankita's detailed review here.

Tea Rose is one of the most popular ones amongst the round lipsticks and it's a light neutral pink shade. Would suit fair to medium skin tones the best. Read Anamika's review here.

Naked brown is the most loved gloss from this range and is a nude brown caramel shade with no shimmer or glitter that would suit all skintones. Read IMBB review here or WiseShe review here or Pooja's review here.

NYX mega shine glosses are incredibly pigmented and opaque. This shade Natural is a Nude peach shade that would suit fair to medium skin tones well. This has no shimmer or frost and is a solid colour. Read my review of this here.

These are waterproof and once they set are smudge proof too and last the whole day till you take them off with remover. This shade is a dark matte brown and will suit Indian skin tones. Read a review of the same liner in black on IMBB here.

This is an intense dark matte black liner that is transfer proof, smudge proof and water proof once it sets. Read my review of it here and Ankita's review here.

This is a retractable Kajal stick that can be used as a base for smokey eye makeup. This can be smudged easily as it doesn't dry or set. A soft, black colour that holds eyeshadows and also blends easily.

This trio is decently pigmented and lasts pretty long and blends easily too. You can easily create a matte grey black smokey eye with this. The applicator provided is also pretty decent.

VioletBag.com: Site Review and Shopping Experience

Online shopping in India is at a very nascent stage right now and is about to explode into something Huge. And another great site to fuel our beauty and personal care needs is VioletBag.com. It's been around for a while now and has had very positive feedback in the indian blogosphere. So I decided to check it out too.

Site Layout and Interface
The site layout is very neat with a pleasant violet (surprise) and white theme and has a drop down menu to select makeup stuff or personal care products, etc. You can even view products by brand or product type- lip products or eye products, etc. But what I found to be a drawback was that you can't further narrow down your search to say eyeliners or eyeshadows alone for eye products or lip liners, lip glosses or lipsticks for lip products. But you can narrow down by brand or price range which is a useful feature.

Featured Brands
VioletBag has a wide range of brands in makeup, skincare, personal care and fragrances and they keep adding new products regularly.
The best part is that most of the items are on good discounts too.

I ordered for a Revlon luxurious smokey eye crayon in Bronze smoke, a Vega professional pencil brush, a revlon colorstay lip balm and Vega eyeshadow applicators.
At first the lip balm wasn't available but they managed to hunt it down from some dealer (brownie points for this) and I received my package in 4 days. I was given a confirmation email with the tracking code as soon as they dispatched the parcel. I'd opted for COD and received it in good condition.
The package arrived in all it's violet glory with the content firmly wedged between thermocol cubes and bubble wrapping. Very pleased with the packaging.

Yay for:
Wide selection of brands
Easy to navigate site layout
Good discounts on almost all products
Free shipping on purchases over rs.250
Cash on delivery available
Friendly customer service
Quick delivery
Very good packaging

Boo for:
No sub filters available for makeup components

Overall, I'm quite pleased with this site and would recommend others to check this out. Especially recommend their makeup brushes section and fragrances.

My rating: ***1/2

Disclaimer: I was given a voucher to shop at the site but the review and experience is sincerely mine.

Current Obsession: duochrome eyeshadows

Ok I'm just going to come out n say it. I love duochromes. Whether its nail paints or my saree or the colour of my car. Oh and duochrome is not to be confused with two-toned ok. Two toned is like colour blocking...when you have two distinct colours separated by a distinct border. Duochrome, on the other hand is when one colour is "shot" through the other..meaning it reflects another colour at a different angle. Ok, class over. Now, onto the fun part..

I love duochromes in makeup. Well, duochrome has been around in nail paints for a long time... You have so many paints that reflect blue or hot pink at different angles (an inexpensive example is maybelline colorama Roxo Metallico). And blue- green combos are also quite popular. Like NYX Paradise. Another one is Chanel Peridot which is a gold-green duochrome. Very pretty. And of course plenty of Zoya polishes which just looks like magic in a bottle.

There are some duochrome lipsticks and glosses available too. I have one from maybelline called iced orchid which reflects violet and hot pink. Very attention grabbing but not OTT as well. Then there are these AMC glosses that Inglot makes that really shift colour..very pretty!

But, my latest obsession is duochrome eyeshadows. With these, eye makeup looks soo complex and interesting without putting in too much effort. All you need to do is sweep the duochrome shade all over your lid and it'll look like you spent hours layering and blending. Cool, right? Im gonna list my top picks for duochrome eyeshadows. Oh but before I gotta say somehow duochromes only comes as pigments mainly. But that's still better right? You can use it as an eyeshadow or mix it with clear nail paint to make your own. Yup. Ok so without further ado, presenting my top fave duochrome eyeshadow/pigments... *drumroll*

INGLOT pure pigment no.84 : a stunning reddish brown- olive green gold duochrome. Absolutely gorgeous. Can't stop drooling over it! Buy it. Now.

INGLOT pure pigment no. 85 : another pretty one, slightly similar to 84 but more of purple. This is an purple brown - green gold duochrome.

Bourjois shimmery loose eyeshadow in Parme Etincelant : A lilac- blue duochrome. So girly and beautiful.

NYX Dramatic Chromatic pigment in Apricot/ Princess: Both are v v similar. Pink- peach- gold duochrome. Can even be worn as a highlighter.

Inglot eyeshadow in no.415: a light aqua blue- green duochrome.

Inglot eyeshadow in no.439: A medium purple- blue duochrome.

I know there are tons of others in many brands but these are the ones that I like the most and have my heart set on. Gonna buy all of these very soon. :)

Oh and gotta mention- I found a seller on Etsy called "persephone minerals" who makes the most drool worthy mineral duochrome pigments ever! I just wanna buy her entire shop! Sooo pretty. I still haven't bought anything off Etsy so I'm not sure of shipping and logistics. Once I do, I will update on the blog.

So which ones did you like? Would you wear duochrome eyeshadows?