'It' Girl @aashisaran - Tumblr Blog

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A Day In The Life Of a MUA!

What’s the one thing a girl never wants to regret in her life? Her makeup. On her wedding day. Featuring, the number one on every bride’s wedding checklist, the Sabyasachi of makeup, the renowned and the fabulous, self taught makeup-expert and salon owner - Miss Chandni Singh. Her gorgeous transformations through makeup have made every girl dream to be a Chandni Singh Bride! I got to witness the artist paint her canvas during the much raved about Professional Makeup Course, at her salon itself.

Amidst her busy schedule, I got the chance to have a chat with her over a cup of coffee, and she was such a delight! Young, charming, spirited and so beautiful (she wore no makeup, and glowed like a bulb!). She has been in the business for over ten years, and her salon has been up and running for over two and a half years now. With brides lined up all around the year, she is one busy woman, with as much as thirteen brides a day, in the peak season (yes, that’s right). You will be extremely surprised to know that she takes just about thirty to forty minutes for one bridal makeup. That’s it!! But I guess, with the kind of dedication, knowledge, experience, and par professionalism she holds, she seems completely driven to accomplish her goals. But, where does one get the energy!? It’s hard to leave out her passion for working out! Visit her Instagram account and watch the crazy workout videos. That’s where she gets it!

The students were really keen to know her personal daily makeup routine, and so she decided to show them that. The pictures you see above are of the same. After prepping her face with a primer by Nivea, she took her favourite Face Fabric Foundation (SPF 12) by Giorgio Armani, and applied it all over her face and neck. She then took the buffing brush by Real Techniques to blend the product onto the skin. I really loved the way this foundation worked, so smooth and great coverage as well, without giving out that typical foundation look. It was something between a BB cream and a foundation maybe! She totally swears by it, and it’s one of her go-to products. Then she moved on to some blush on, liner and then mascara which was by Deborah. For eyebrows, she used the Benefit Brow Zings kit. And for her lips, she picked a soft pink shade. I personally loved how the look turned out, it was so natural and understated, almost like a no-makeup look.

Moving on, I was lucky enough to attend that particular class as she taught her personal favourite look – Dark Smokey Eyes & Soft lips, in her words, ‘The Understated look’.

With some great tricks and time management techniques, the one thing that she really stressed on was how to correct a mistake. Be it contouring or smoking the eye, she knew the usual mistakes and she taught how to work onto it to correct it, without having to take the makeup off and redo it. She made makeup seem like cakewalk!

Quickly over viewing the products she used on her student/model :

Eyes - Smoulder pencil and Club by MAC, to create the dark smokiness, with a neutral brown transition shade to complete the effect, and added a highlighter under the brows and on the inner corners of the eyes to sort of bring them out. She used the Maybelline Gel eye liner, and for lashes she used the Deborah mascara along with some gorgeous falsies!

Lips - She actually did two looks for the lips. One was a soft pink, for which she used a beautiful limited edition lipstick by MAC. And the other was a dark oxblood lip, for which she used a lip pencil in the shade Vino by MAC and filled the lips with a mix of three shades, i.e. Diva, Cyber, and Media, all by MAC. This was such a hit!

Here are some of the minute yet really important tips by Miss Chandni herself :

· Inglot eye-shadow palettes over MAC palettes for beginners, as it’s value for money!

· Powder contour a big yes for oily skin types. Cream based contours more suitable for dry skin.

· For falsies, make sure you apply tonnes of glue. We don’t want our falsies swinging around!

· Go off salt and alcohol before a big day to avoid water retention and any kind of puffiness.

The salon was beautifully done up, the mirrors were vintage, the powder blue and white theme just made it all look so classy!

Not to forget, her staff was beyond professional and so kind! Well, I’m sure the credit goes to the boss who treats them like her own big fam! Her personal assistant, Miss Ananya took care of every little detail of her work, from answering her phone calls to promptly helping the students during the class. Wish we could all have our very own Miss Ananya!

Chandni Singh definitely tops my list of favorite MUA’s. With her confidence, and ability to cater to every little need of the client, makes her a complete package!

You can visit her at 15, Community Centre, New Friends Colony, New Delhi.

Website : www.chandnisinghsalon.com

Instagram : chandnisinghsalon

Keep Calm and Blend On!

So, I finally got my hands on the much talked about makeup must-have – the Beauty blender! I have to admit, I had no idea about how to use this at first. In fact, I never felt the need to switch from my regular drugstore foundation brushes. It was only when I came across this cute little pack of two makeup blenders at Forever 21 that I decided to go for it. It was also because everyone was raving about beauty blenders in general and it was quite reasonable here, unlike the 20$ Sephora ones!

First off, I’m going to describe what a beauty blender exactly is. A beauty blender is a pear shaped/tear drop shaped/whatever you can make of that-shaped sponge that is used to :

- Apply foundation evenly on the skin.

- Blend in all the products (contour/concealer/basically everything) a little better to give an air brushed look to your makeup.

So as you can see, there are two sponges (they came in one pack). They are different looking (shape-wise) but I think they essentially do the same job. I personally like the original tear-drop shaped one (the black one) as it just looks really cute to me! Anyway, coming back to the point, so when I first used this blender, I used it dry (as it is) and I thought it was the worst thing I had ever bought cause it made my skin look so weird that I had to wash my face and re-do my makeup! And then, I realised (rather, looked up online) and found that I’m supposed to wet the blender first and then use it. So a big, big note:

Always wet your beauty blender, and squeeze out the extra water before using it! A dry blender will ruin your makeup and also, your mood.

Now comes the - ‘how to use it’ bit. I first use my fingers to apply the foundation on my face. I just put bits of it without rubbing/massaging/spreading, all over my face. Then, I take my beauty blender and sort of dab it all over my face, like sort of blending the product into my skin. I make sure to not wipe off the product, but gently dab it in a way that the product goes into my skin, if that makes sense. The idea is to work into the skin rather than spreading the foundation all over the skin.

Result - My foundation looks airbrushed and not cakey at all. It looks so natural and so well blended that sometimes, it looks like I have no makeup on. I decided to give my foundation brushes a rest, cause I’m in love with my beauty blenders! All the raving is so right and so worth it.

Price - Rs. 469

Found it next to the payment counter at Forever 21. It’s a product from their ‘Love & Beauty’ collection. The only problem is that it’s not always available at the store. I just got lucky!

Topical Acne Treatment

Acne is such a put off! I have always had acne prone skin and about six months back I was really upset with my skin. I decided to visit a dermatologist, and I think that’s the best decision I’ve ever made in life! Although, I made sure I conveyed to my dermatologist that I didn’t want to go through a proper treatment (you know with radiations and scary things like that!). So, she prescribed three really important and life-changing ointments to me (yes, they did change my life!).

The first ointment that was prescribed to me was Faceclin A :

Procedure (when & how to apply) - After washing my face in the morning, followed by moisturizing, I take about a pea-size amount of this product on my index finger and apply that all over the acne areas on my face. A big no-no to rubbing it into the skin! I started off using a very small amount of this product, and I gradually increased the amount as my skin adjusted to it.

Effects - I’ve been using Faceclin A for over five months now, and I’m going to be dead honest, my acne spots have gone. Literally, gone. The skin takes a few weeks for this product to actually work on it. And when it does, acne reduces. Whenever I feel that a pimple is going to pop out, I apply this product on the area, and the pimple simply doesn’t show up. It’s magical!

Note - It’s extremely important to take just a pea-size amount of the product for your entire face. The product contains Adapalene and Clindamycin which can have a drying and peeling effect on the skin, so one has to be careful in the beginning, and any dryness and peeling can be dealt with using Acnemoist (mentioned later in the post). Also, avoid the sun or apply sunscreen before stepping out.

The second ointment that was prescribed to me was Retino A Micro :

Procedure (when & how to apply) - This product is only for bed time! After washing my face, I make sure I dry my face properly, leaving no scope for any kind of moisture/dampness. I then take a pea-size amount on my index finger and apply it on the areas which are prone to acne (that is, my forehead, corner of my cheeks and my chin).

Effects - I’ve been using Retino A for over five months as well. And honestly, I was so troubled at first with this product! I didn’t quite get my proportions right, due to which my skin started peeling and literally falling off! I was so scared! I went back to my dermatologist and she told me to take just a pea size amount of this product (obviously I was applying more than that before, thinking it would work better).

Although I was a mess when I started using the product, I didn’t give up on it. Because the product takes a lot of time to adjust and once that phase is over, it works like MAGIC on your skin. Retino A contains Retinoids and Tretinoin, which basically regenerates your skin, builds a new layer of healthy and glowing skin. Who wouldn’t want that!

Note : Being patient, cautious and regular is what you need for this product to actually work. There are going to be days when your skin would feel tight and peeling, but don’t worry! This is good! It means the product is working on your skin. Moisturize your skin well, with Acnemoist and life will be sorted! Just make sure you avoid the sun or apply sunscreen before stepping out.

ACNEMOIST

Acnemoist by Curatio, which is purely a skin correcting moisturizer was also prescribed to me by my dermatologist, as part of my acne treatment. A major reason behind acne breakouts is when the skin lacks moisture. Moisture is extremely important for the skin, to help maintain the pH balance along with retaining it’s essential oils. The trick is to choose the right kind of moisture for your skin, and that entirely depends on the skin type.

Okay, enough of science!

To cut the long story short, I’ve been using Acnemoist for over five months along with my acne ointments (mentioned above) and my skin couldn’t get any better! The ointments did their work well, treating my acne and also forming a new layer of healthy skin. While Acnemoist solved the problems I faced with my topical treatment and fixed my skin for good.

I hope my experience of treating acne can be of some help to you guys! It doesn’t matter if you’re blessed with good skin or not, everything can be treated and corrected. Have a lovely week, you all!

Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner

I got my Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner from the The Body Shop about three months ago. I absolutely love Tea Tree products as they work well with my skin, and they smell so good! Okay so let’s begin by understanding WHAT a toner is. A toner is a liquid applied to the skin to reduce oiliness and improve the quality of the skin. Basically, a toner closes the pores of your skin and reduces any sort of oiliness and unnecessary shine on your skin. Honestly, I’m not a diehard fan of toning my skin every day. As I mentioned in my previous post on Summer Skin, I have a typical combination skin. So I use the product once in three days and it works equally well on my skin. Of the many toners I have tried in the past, the Tea Tree toner by The Body Shop has worked best for me.

Now, let’s get to HOW the toner is actually used. After washing my face, I usually take about a few drops of the toner in a cotton swab and dab it on my entire face and neck. In my case, I either tone or moisturize. So when I tone my skin with this toner, I just let it be like that. It’s enough to get my skin through the day without looking oily and dull.

Best part about this toner is it’s refreshing effect on the skin. And that typical smell of tea-tree is just an icing on the top! I love it so much!

My rating – 8/10

Price – Rs 795

Available only at The Body Shop stores!

Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream

The Body Shop is one of my favorite destinations for bath and body products. I bought their Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream (which was recommended to me by a friend), and found out that it’s one of their best selling products! I had tried their Vitamin E range earlier, but unfortunately that didn’t go pretty well with my acne prone skin. So I was looking for something more suitable for my skin type, something that I could use every day.

It’s been over three months since I’ve been using this product, and I actually quite like it! The Seaweed Day Cream is originally meant for Combination/Oily skin, which is what my skin type is (as I mentioned earlier in my previous post). The product can also be used for normal skin, as it’s very light on the skin but at the same time it solves the purpose of a moisturizer. We don’t want to look to oily/shiny on a bright summer day, do we? The Seaweed cream has a mattifying effect on the skin, so when you apply it, the skin soaks it up and leaves it looking hydrated.

Tip : After cleansing your face, let your skin be a little damp when applying the moisturizer. This will help your skin soak up the moisturizer better and make your face look well hydrated and fresh. You’ll notice the difference!

The best part about this cream is how light the texture is. My T-zone is a huge concern for me as it goes super oily in summers. The Seaweed cream just mattifies it all! There was a phase when I stopped putting moisturizer at all on my skin, but that ended up opening my pores which led to breakouts and made things worse. After a lot of trying and testing, hits and trials, I realized that It’s extremely important to moisturize your skin, be it dry/oily/normal/combination, and using the right product can actually work wonders for your skin.

My rating - 8/10

Price - Rs 995

Available only at The Body Shop stores!

SUMMER SKIN!

What’s the one thing that needs your CONSTANT care and protection be it summer or winter? That’s right, your SKIN! Indian skin is prone to acne and all that jazz, thanks to the extreme weather conditions and pollution here. Summer is rather harsh on my skin, which is why I have a general dislike for the season. I was never a fan of wearing makeup everyday, I rather invest in products that help improve the quality of my skin. According to me, it’s more important to cleanse and treat the skin than to hide it under layers of makeup! So, I’m going to be sharing my skin care routine using the products (above in the picture)!

The products that I’m going to write about in the following series of posts are the ones I swear by and most of them are in fact easily available in any drug store. Some of the products were recommended by my dermatologist, and others I picked up from The Body Shop. I love that store!

First of, it’s important to KNOW YOUR SKIN :

Before buying any product, or getting on with a routine, it’s crucial to know your skin type and also how/if it changes with the season. One can either consult a dermatologist for it, or just figure it out by noticing the texture of the skin. It’s not that difficult, unless your skin is sensitive! Let’s have a look at the four major skin types that will help you identify yours.

Skin types:

Normal - Radiant complexion, no severe sensitivity, barely visible pores. (basically, the dream skin!)

Dry - Dull/rough complexion, less elasticity, red patches, invisible pores.

Oily - Shiny/thick complexion, blackheads/blemishes, enlarged pores.

Combination - Dry or normal in some areas and oily in others, T-zone. (Yup, that’s me!)

In my case, I have a combination skin in summer and normal skin in winter (strange but true!), so I change my routine depending on the season.

I’m going for a normal to oily skin care routine in this post as it’s my skin type (in summers). My skin has a tendency to produce mild to moderate acne (especially during that time of the month!). I have a slightly oily T-zone as well, so that’s also a bit of a concern. Apart from that, I have extremely sensitive skin so consulting a dermatologist was a must in my case!

Once you know your skin type well, you can safely get on with a routine using the essential ingredients (products) that will help protecting and improving the quality of your skin.

I’m going to be providing my personal everyday routine first, and then I’ll go on to reviewing the products, in my next post. All products are tried and tested by me for over 6 months. (I’m a sucker for good skin!)

My routine is as follows :

CLEANSE

I start my day with a gentle cleanse using the Cetaphil Cleansing Lotion which is basically a very mild yet effective face-wash. About 4-5 drops covers my entire face. I gently massage it onto my skin, washing it off with normal temperature water. After I’m done with cleansing, I like to let my face dry on its own or I just dab it with a soft and clean towel. Rubbing and wiping is a complete no-no as it rips off essential oils and damages the skin.

TONE

After cleansing, I tone my skin using the Tea Tree Cleansing Toner by The Body Shop. I take few drops of the toner on a cotton pad and dab it gently all over my face. I make sure I don’t rub the product onto my skin as that does no good but only spreads any present acne. Also, I sometimes skip this whole step and just move onto moisturizing as I personally feel that toning plus moisturizing makes my skin look a little oily, which I definitely don’t like. So I either tone or moisturize, avoiding doing both together (in summers), as this suits my combination skin.

MOISTURIZE

I personally love to moisturize my skin. It’s my favorite step, and for my skin, I use the Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream by The Body Shop. The texture of this product is a sort of a mixture of cream and gel, and it’s extremely light and spreads evenly on the skin. Having a combination skin is a bit of a hassle, but it is super super important to moisturize the skin be it normal, oily, dry or combination. Although, I make sure I use only a little bit of the product because I don’t like to over moisturize my skin. I feel that this step of moisturizing really improves the quality of my skin and makes it glow.

TOPICAL ACNE TREATMENT

Note: This step is only dermatologist recommended.

I have always had combination skin and my T-zone has always been a bit of a concern for me. So about six months back, I visited my dermatologist here in Delhi for consultation. The doctor prescribed two topical treatments -

1. Faceclin A : This ointment contains Adapalene and Clindamycin Phosphate gel. After moisturizing my skin, I take a pea-size amount of the product on my finger and gently apply it wherever the acne is present. The texture is gel like and transparent, hence invisible after application. I repeat the same at night before going to bed.This product is to treat the acne and visibly reduce the post-pimple blemishes.

2. Retino A Micro 0.04% : This ointment contains Tretinoin Microsphere gel. One has to be extremely careful when applying this product. Application is the same as above but a full review of this would be important to read before considering Retino A.

3. Acnemoist : This product is a essentially a moisturizer that my dermatologist recommended to me especially because of the topical treatment that was prescribed by her. However, this is one of my personal favorite moisturizers. Ever since I’ve used it, I’ve noticed a visible change in my skin texture. It looks more glowy and feels softer.

SUNSCREEN

For sunscreen I use my Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sunblock. I personally don’t like to wear sunscreen on my face as it makes my skin look dull and greasy, but it’s actually very important to protect your skin from the sun. So I literally force myself to apply sunscreen before I step out of the house. This product is for the face and body as well, so I use it for both.

At night I follow the above same steps, minus the sunblock of course!

Note : I make sure I drink plenty of water (about 8-10 glasses) everyday as it’s equally important to cleanse your system on the inside for even better results!

So that’s pretty much my everyday skin care routine. I’m going to be reviewing the mentioned products in a more detailed manner. Hope this was of some help! Stay tuned, my loves!

SMOKEY EYES WITH NAKED 2

Hello my loves! As I’ve been totally obsessing over the Naked 2 palette lately, I decided to do a series of posts for you all. I’m beginning with a classic smokey eye which is the most useful and also my personal favorite look. One can never go wrong with it!

I’m going to be creating an effortless yet glamorous look with just a few shades on the palette. First, let’s have a look at the palette and the shades.

I love the names! So here it goes (Left to Right) : Foxy, Half Baked, Booty Call, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted, and Blackout. The palette is a mix of matte and shimmery shades and I personally love the texture of the shimmery ones.

So here is what it looks like -

The shades that I used to create my look are Booty Call, Tease, Snakebite, Pistol, Busted, and Blackout.

Step 1 - I prepped my eyes with the Urban Decay Primer Potion. A primer is a must for any makeup as it gives a smooth base and also provides coverage.

Step 2 - I applied the shade Tease as my base color using the fluffy side of Urban Decay brush that comes with the palette. I covered my whole eye (eyelids and the crease) generously for the shade to show as it is almost the color of my skin.

Step 3 - I applied the shade Snakebite on the outer half of my lid using the shadow side of the brush, and worked it up along the crease.

Step 4 - Now comes the tricky bit. Blackout is a really dark shade, so it is important to take just a little bit of it on the brush. Work the shade up along the crease in the shape similar to ‘<’ sign. This is to give a shape to your eyes and to make them look bigger.

Step 5 - I then applied Busted on top of the dark Blackout shade and blended it into the middle portion of the lids. Make sure that Busted doesn’t totally overshadow the dark shade. Just a little mixing is what we need.

Step 6 - Blend, blend and blend well! It is important to blend when creating a smokey eye, as it just brings out the basic essence of it.

Step 7 - I then took the shade Pistol and applied it on the inner half of my lids, and sort of blended it all into the rest of the makeup, but mostly concentrating on the inner corner of the eye to highlight it. I also applied the same shade just under the lower lash and water line of my eye. This is done for the makeup look more complete and also to make the eyes look bright, highlighted, wider and bigger.

Step 8 - I then took the shade Booty Call and applied it just below my eyebrow to highlight it. This is a must!

Step 9 - Now comes the Kohl and the liner! I used the Gel Eyeliner by Maybelline and worked up a winged shape. I then took my NYX Kohl pencil in black and tightened my upper waterline, and repeated the same along the lower waterline. I used a smudging brush to smudge and blend the kohl along my lower water line. This step is essentially to define the eyes amidst all the smokey look!

Step 10 - The final and also my most favorite part! I used my Diorshow Mascara to make my lashes look longer and fuller. I didn’t use fake lashes as this post was meant to be an easy guide to smokey eyes! So I applied lots of mascara and curled my lashes using my Forever 21 eye lash curler.

Hope you all like my version of a classic smokey eye! I prefer a brown smokey eye over black as it suits my skin tone more. Shimmer and glitter with a creamy base and lots of blending is the key to a perfect smokey eye.

I will be coming up with a few more versions using the Naked 2 palette. So stay tuned and have a lovely day everyone!

Well, well.

Aishwarya Rai took the cake at Cannes 2015, as the brand ambassador of Loreal Paris, India.

Ralph & Russo couture and Chopard jewels for that perfect red carpet look. The ruffled and layered couture gown added so much poise, and also made her look slender. Although nothing can ever beat last year’s gold Roberto Cavalli look, but this was almost upto the mark!

The second favorite is that gorgeous maroon Oscar de la Renta gown. That lip and the hair just made it all so minimal yet so beautiful. She wore this to a press conference for her upcoming movie in Bollywood.

And then came the Princess moment, at the amfAR Gala. She sported the Epic Cluster diamond necklace by Harry Winston with Elie Saab couture. What more could anyone ask for! The necklace was specially designer for the gala, and raised $500,000 USD at a live auction in Cannes.

Ralph & Russo - The new ‘it’ designer.

Another year, another stunning appearance by Sonam Kapoor as the Brand Ambassador of Loreal Paris, India. The couture gown just works so great on her, and it’s also a brilliant choice of color. She managed to pull off the look with so much grace and oomph at the same time. I really like how her stylists pick the freshest of fresh designers, right off the runway, and bring it all together to look like THIS!

The heels are by Giuseppe Zanotti and the jewels are by Chopard.

MONDAY BLUES ;) Got hold of the most perfect pair of flip- flops to get me through the summer. I'm really not a summer person, but I sail through when my wardrobe is ready for it! I guess I'm on a Tiffany Blue spree. Hence, the post! (And my blog layout) I'm obsessed! Have a fabulous week everyone!

I have to admit, I'm a sucker for interiors.

These are pictures of the photo-set that was put up on a wall of my hotel room in Mumbai. The room was so nicely done up, ambient lighting, earthy walls, wooden flooring and these pictures just completed the whole feel about it.

I was indeed, a very happy guest!

Taj President, Mumbai.

Happy Women’s Day!

Aishwarya Rai features on the cover of Vogue India's March 2015 edition.

Dressed in Tommy Hilfiger and Yves Saint Laurent, the actress looks every bit of the diva that she already is!

Don't miss the fringe. The cover girl is full of it! ;)

Are you taking your morning-warm-lemon-water regime seriously?

Skip the laziness and do your body a favor.

Here's why:

Vitamin C gives your immune system a boost.

It is an excellent source of Potassium, which is good for your heart, brain and your nervous system.

It aids digestion and cleanses your system by flushing out toxins present in your body.

Most importantly, it keeps your skin blemish free and helps you lose weight!

Preparation:

Squeeze half a lemon's worth of juice into a glass of warm water and drink it on an empty stomach (preferably in the morning).

Not just are the benefits of lemon water interminable, its a standout amongst the most significant yet basic changes you can make for your well being.