Product Review: Kryolan Brush Cleaner

Hi guys hope everyone had a good Rakshabandhan! 

Today I am reviewing the Kryolan Brush Cleaner.

I have been using this brush cleaner for quite a few months now. Besides deep cleaning your brushes it is important to spot clean them once every 3-4 days. If you are a makeup artist you can spot clean between two clients to make sure the brushes are clean and there is no transfer or any germs or infection. 

Priced at Rs.400, the Kryolan brush cleaner comes in a can kind of container with 500ml product.

It is a mainly petroleum based and should not be brought in contact with skin or eyes.

You need to be very careful while using this. Put on a glove or keep a napkin or a cloth handy.

For convenience I have put some of it in an empty perfume spray bottle. Just spray some of it on the brush and clean it off on a napkin. It will not get rid of the dirt 100% but is sufficient to clean the brush good enough for daily use.

Things you will need:

1.       Kryolan Brush Cleaner

2.       A napkin or a cloth (here I am using an old  t-shirt)

3.       Dirty brushes

Steps I follow to spot clean:

1.       Spray the liquid onto the brush  (be careful not to get any on your skin)

2.       Swirl it around on the cloth gently to clean off any product on the brush

3.       Repeat if necessary

4.       Leave it to dry for around 10 minutes

5.       Wash your hands thoroughly to make sure they do not have any solution on them

Before Spot Cleaning

Spray some cleaner onto the brush

Swirl it around gently on the cloth

After spot cleaning

Store the bottle in a well ventilated place so that it does not fill up the room with the harmful chemicals which may be fatal if inhaled.

I would not recommend this simply because one has to be really careful while dealing with it. It may not be safe for traveling as it may cause leakage.

The Kryolan Brush Cleaner works great and is good value for the money. But the deal breaker is the fact that we have to be extremely careful while using it.

The Makeup Corner Rating: 3/5

Review: Elle18 Lipsticks

I have 6 of the Elle18 Lipsticks to review today.

I have tried out these lipsticks a couple of times and am loving then so far. Even though I purchased these a while back, I just started using them  a couple of weeks back.

This are by far the cheapest lipsticks I have come across in India.  There are ofcourse many lipsticks avaiable which are cheaper than these but they are generally belong to the local brands.

 Packaging:
These come in a small black packaging with a dome shaped cap, almost like the Mac lipsticks but a little wider. They are small and light and easy to travel with. Some of you may find them a little bulky, so you could try and depot them and make your own lip pallette.

Quality:
These lipsticks have a white moisturizing substance almost like a balm which keep your lips moisturised and make the application very smooth and easy. They contain coco butter which is good for your lips.

Staying Power:
The staying power of these lipsticks is around 3-4 hours. You may ave to reapply it after eating too.
But since these are not drying  and since the application is easy, I dont mind reapplying at all!

Pigmentation:
These are extremely pigmented for the proce we pay. We can obviously not compare them to highend lipsticks, but you will be pleased with the colour payoff of these lipsticks.
You will not need more than 2 swipes of the lipstick to get an opaque colour on your lips. The dark ones require only one swipe!

Price:
They are priced at Rs.100 a piece. But this price was a few months back and now since Elle18 is kind of relaunching themselves and coming out with different products, the price may or maynot be the same. It is definately lower than most of the lipsticks available.

Colour Selection:
The colour selection on this one is pretty good, they had around 20 shades suitable to all skintones.
I, however gravitated more towards the neutrals and reds and picked up only 6 shades.


The 6 shades I have are:

(L) 31 Pinken, (R) 30  Cinnamon Bun

  

(L) 35 Berry Blast, (R) 04 Apple Springs

(L) 15  Rusty Red, (R) 22  Pink Fever

Here are the swatches of the lipsticks:

 31 Pinken

Pinken is a neutral pink which is perfect if you want a pink that is not too overwhelming and bright.  

 30  Cinnamon Bun

Cinnamon Bun is my absolute favourite shade to wear with a coral look or a smokey look. It is a coral shade which looks great on Indian skin without looking too brught. It is very easy to wear and matches almost all eye looks!

35 Berry Blast

Berry Blast is a my-lips-but-better kind of a colour. SInce most Indians have a mauve lip colour as their natural lips, this one looks very natural and is an everyday lip colour. You can wear it to office or college without looking very madeup.

These last three shades all fall in the red lips category. Apple Springs in particular was the most pigmented out of the 6 shades I own. These have a slight shimmer to them so you don't need to wear gloss over it. If you don't prefer wearing red on a daily basis you can wear a small amount of these and smudge it iver your lips with your fingers to give it a more subtle look. These would be great for special occasions like weddings where you wouldn't mind being a little made up.

04 Apple Springs

15  Rusty Red

22  Pink Fever

This is an overview of all the shades I own!

Without Flash

With Flash

These are great products for those who are on a budget and/or want to expriment with different shades.
Even though the staying power is not the greatest ,these are brilliant comparred to others in their price range.

I would definately recommend you to try them out!

Pros:
great price
good colour range
good sturdy packaging
moisturising


Cons:
not easily available in the market
stays on for approx 3 hours

The Make-Up Corner Rating: 3.5/5

Be Monsoon Ready!

Don't you just love the Mumbai Monsoons!
Just the rains in general bring a smile to my face!
The long drives, the hot chocolate, the trip to lonavala and the hot pakodas!

All these things makes monsoons my favourite season, but picking up makeup products can be a bit tricky.

I am not going to write a long blog about this ,but there are just a few tips to wear makeup in the monsoons.

I would recommend you to skip makeup completely. But if you are going out to lunch or dinner or any occasion and want to wear some makeup, waterproof makeup would be your best bet!

Just some foundation, eyeliner and a bright lipstick!
There are many waterproof foundations available in the market. There is the Mac Studio Sculpt and Estee Lauder Double Wear to name a few.
Let the lips be the focal point. Eyeshadow and eyeliner can be messy and might get smudged. You could wear waterproof eyeliner too.
Avoid lipgloss as it may get too sticky.

For the day go for a fun bright pink or orange, and keep it classy and formal in the evening with a red lipstick!

p.s. - Don't forget to always have a hand sanitizer with you while travelling to avoid any germs and diseases during the monsoons!

Let me know what your monsoon favourites are!

Product Review: Castledew Eyeshadows

I recently visited the Beauty Centre and found a few budget-friendly eyeshadows of the brand Castledew.

I have used them a couple of times and this is my opinion about them:

Price:
These eyeshadows are only Rs. 75 a piece, which is excellent as they are pretty pigmented.

Quality:
These eyeshadows have a smooth silky texture which is very easy to work with.
Out of the 5 I own, 4 have some glitter in them which makes it a bit messy to work with. But overall they glide on smoothly and give a good colour payoff.

Packaging:
They come in a sleek silver packaging which is very travel friendly.

Colour Options:
They mostly had light and pastel colours, not many dark or bright options.
I was looking for a dark chocolate brown for my crease but couldn't find one.
Like I said before, not many matte options.

I picked up a mix of neutral and jewel tones.
The purple and olive green compliment the Indian skintone very well.

I would wear these shadows mainly to highlight the centre of my eyelids or team them up with neutrals and give a smokey look.

You can use the colourful ones to line your lower lashline to add a pop of colour to a neutral look.

Lasting power:
These do not last too long, but you cannot expect more at Rs.75!

 Top to Bottom: Purple, Olive Green, Gold, Peachy Pink, Taupe

Here are the swatches of the eyeshadows. 

These are only swipped once, so you can see how well pigmented they are (especially the neutral ones)

Pros:

• budget-friendly
• nice packaging
• good pigmentation
• nice texture
• easy to work with
• blendable

Cons:

• result in fallout
• not many colour options
• not many matte options- mostly shimmery 
• powdery

I would recommend these to those who are just starting out with makeup and are on a budget.

You get more than what you pay for with these. 

I haven't found these anywhere else though, only the beauty center at Bandra.

The MakeUp Corner Rating: 3/5

Product Review: Revlon Whipped Crème Foundation

I knowI know, I just bought the Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse Foundation 2 weeks back, but I couldn’t resist buying this new foundation from Revlon!

I had never tried a mousse foundation before so decided to buy this one to test it out.

I have used this foundation only 2 or 3 times but this has become my holy-grail foundation! The texture is so creamy and smooth and it has amazing coverage as well. 

Let’s get into the details:

Packaging:

I love the packaging of this foundation. It comes in a medium glass container.  It does not feel cheap at all and is a bit heavy in a nice kind of a way. It is very travel friendly and sturdy with a little disposable lid in it. It reminds me of some of the high end products like Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel.

Price:

I bought mine for around Rs. 800 which is almost the same as the Revlon ColorStay foundation. Looking at the quality of the product, I think it’s worth the money.

Colour Selection:

The Revlon counter I visited had only 2 shades of this foundation, however you may find more shades in your area. I picked up the shade 320 Warm Golden. It is a bit light for me , but it was the darker of the 2 they had. I add little of a darker foundation to it while applying to get my shade.

Texture:

It is extremely creamy and thick and a dream to put on. It reminds me of my Maybelline liquid mousse foundation but is a tad bit thicker. A little goes a long way with this foundation and you do not need a lot for one application.  It blends easily into the skin giving a flawless look.

Staying power and coverage:

It lasts for approximately 5 hours on me (I have extremely oily acne prone skin). It provides a medium to full coverage. It may look cakey and feel a bit heavy if you apply too much.

Technique I use:

Like I said this shade is light for me, I mix it with another foundation. I apply it with a foundation brush or a stippling brush. You may also use a sponge to apply it.  I set it with a powder to control the oil on my face.

Pros:

·       Nice creamy texture

·       Light weight

·       Natural finish

·       Good staying power

·       Nice packaging

·       Easy application , blends well

·       Good for all skin types

Cons:

·       Not a good colour selection in my area

·       May get a bit messy

All in all I love this foundation and have been using it every day since I bought it. You guys should totally try it out!

The Make Up Corner Rating: 4.5/5