Night Time Skincare Routine.

Hey guys! Hope you all are doing great.

In this week’s post, I will sharing my night time skincare routine.

The night time skincare routine is as important, if not more, as your daily skincare routine. In the day, your skin is subjected to dust and harsh sun light. However careful you are, there ought to be some damage done to your skin during the day which is repaired in the night.

This is my night time skincare routine and other than the first, you can follow the steps according to what your skin needs. However I recommend that you incorporate as many steps as possible.

Remove all my make up.

This is the most important and integral step of the night skincare routine. Even if you are too tired or lazy to follow any of the other steps, you CAN NOT avoid this step. Sleeping with make up on is the worst thing you can do to your skin. 

My all time favourite make up remover is the Bioderma Sensibio Water.

Comment below if you want me to do a post on make up removers.

Try to take a shower and moisturise my body.

If I have the time and energy, I try to take a shower before sleeping. The body skin has to deal with the same amount of dust and pollution as your face but is often neglected. Thus I try to take a shower especially on days I have been in the sun for long. I follow it up with moisturising.

Since I have a skin condition, I always use a medical soap.

For moisturising, I love using The Body Shop Sorbets. My current favourite fragrance is the Virgin Mojito which was from the limited edition that came out last year.

Use a face wash.

It is important to use a face wash before sleeping since it ensures your skin is clean and does not have anything that can cause breakouts or acne. If you have been following Compact Matters, you would know about my extreme love for Tea Tree products. 

The Body Shop Tea Tree face wash is my go to face wash.

Use a toner.

A toner ensures to remove all dust and grit from your pores that can be missed by your face wash. It is easy to clean up some odd spots on your neck or behind your ear. Dirt in the pores could be the cause of breakouts and acne.

I am currently using the Plum Chamomile & White Tea Toner.

Use a night cream or serum.

 A night cream is essential to lock in the moisture and help repair the damage done during the day.

I had been using the Kama Ayurveda Rejuvenating &  Brightening Ayurvedic Night Cream sample for a while, which I received in my Nykaa Beauty Lab. However since that got over, I am back to using the Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate.

Sometimes, I add the Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum on my acne prone spots.

Use an under eye gel.

An under eye gel helps you look more healthy and awake. It is essential to dab it and not blend it. Since I do not have a dry under eye area, I use a gel and not a cream.  

The only under eye gel that I have ever used and swear by is the Fabindia Aloe Vera Under Eye Gel.

That is all for this post. If you have any suggestions or questions, please it down in a comment.

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Photography Courtesy: Shivam Bhatt.

Setting Sprays 101.

Hey guys! Hope you all are doing well.

In this week’s post, I wanted to get back to the basics and talk about Setting Sprays.

If you have been following the 101 series, we have covered all the products that go into achieving flawless base make up. The last step of this process, if you would like to make your make up long lasting, is a setting spray.

What is a setting spray?

A setting spray or a fixing spray is a spray that mainly contains water and glycerin. It acts as a top coat for your make up thereby increasing the wear time. Its primary function is to increase the longevity of your make up.

Types of Setting Sprays

Setting Sprays With A Matte Finish

Most setting sprays fall in this category and prevent the skin from getting oily. This is best suited for people with combination to oily skin.

Setting Sprays With A Dewy Finish

With the advent of dewy finish foundations, a few brands have also come out with dewy finish setting sprays. This is best suited for people with normal to dry skin.

How to apply a Setting Spray?

Once you are done applying your make up hold the setting spray at an arm’s distance and squirt it all over your face and neck. Usually squirting the setting spray around 4-5 times is sufficient to cover your entire face and neck. 

Some people like to wait for it to dry. However I prefer to dab into my skin with my beauty blender.

Some people like to finish their make up completely and then go in with the setting spray. However I personally prefer to go in with the setting spray in between as well. For instance when I am done with my foundation or right after highlighting and contouring.

Uses of a Setting Spray

Setting Sprays ensure that make up stays in place for long hours due to its glycerin content.

Setting Sprays help hydrate your skin since a large proportion of the product is water.

Setting Sprays help intensify the colour payout of eyeshadows and pigments while also increasing the longevity.

Setting Sprays, mixed with dried up gel liner,helps make the liner smooth.

Setting Spray, when spritzed onto a beauty blender or brush, makes the process of blending make up quick and 

easy.

Setting Spray can help dilute your foundation and concealer, if mixed into the product before applying, to provide a sheer coverage and greater longevity.

Some Popular Setting Sprays

The MAC Fix Plus is, without a doubt, the most popular setting spray. It is known enhancing the make up immensely while increasing the wear time. However it is a high end product and not very affordable. This is probably #1 on MAC Wishlist.

The e.l.f Make Up Mist & Set and Wet n Wild Photo Focus Setting Spray are affordable setting sprays that are dupes for MAC Fix Plus and Urban All Nighter Setting Spray respectively. Unfortunately there are not available in India yet. 

The Maybelline Super Stay 24 Makeup Locking Setting Spray also does a good job increasing the longevity and hydrating the face. Lets hope Maybelline launches it soon in India.

The Make Up Revolution Pro Fix Oil Control Fixing Spray is my favourite tried and tested setting spray available in India. It retails for Rs. 1000 for 100ml. It is easily available on Nykaa. It increases the longevity of the make up, hydrates the skin and does everything a good setting spray should do. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a try a setting spray for the first time.

The L.A Girl Pro HD Setting Spray is another spray that I tried from the Indian market. This too is available on Nykaa. I love the quality of the product. However the disappointing part is the size of the product. It retails for Rs. 850 for 30 ml only. I would never repurchase this product.

That is all for this post. Lets all pray that some Indian brands come up with their afforable setting sprays. If you have any suggestions or questions, please it down in a comment.

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Photography Courtesy: Shivam Bhatt.

Nykaa So Matte Lipstick Review.

Hey guys! Hope you all are doing well.

In this week’s post, I will be reviewing the Nykaa So Matte Lipstick

The “My Favourite Everyday Lipsticks” post received a lot of love from you. Just a few days after that post, I received my Nykaa parcel with the Nykaa So Matte Lipstick and it fit into the category so well that I had to share it with you.

So without any further ado lets get into the review. 

Price 

The Nykaa So Matte Lipstick retails for Rs.400 for 4.2gm.

Shade

There are 12 shades available in this range. They include everyday nudes, deep shades and bright poppy colors meant for the Indian skin tone. I have the shade Taupe Thrill which is a nude brown colour.

Swatch of Nykaa So Matte Lipstick in Taupe Thrill.

Packaging

The Nykaa So Matte Lipstick body comes packaged in a box, which is rare with drugstore lipsticks. The box is red in colour and mentions the shade, ingredients and claims. In contrast, the body of the lipstick is matte black. It has the shade mentioned at the bottom and Nykaa written over it. The body of the lipstick is square shaped. The cap of the body clicks magnetically shut. Honestly the packaging gives the whole lipstick a rich feel.

Fragrance

The Nykaa So Matte Lipstick has an extremely slight minty smell that goes away soon.

Application

The Nykaa So Matte Lipstick claims to be matte but I would call it semi matte. It does dry up to quite an extent in the first 10 minutes. However it does not dry up completely and thus transfers a little reducing its wear time to 3-4 hours on an average. It glides on smoothly. It is highly pigmented and making application of only one coat more than enough. It can be re-applied easily.

Lip Swatch of Nykaa So Matte Lipstick in Taupe Thrill.

Lip Swatch of Nykaa So Matte Lipstick in Taupe Thrill.

 Pros

Affordable. 

Classy and expensive looking packaging.

Vitamin E enriched.

Wide shade range.

Cons

Not completely matte.

Needs to be re-applied every 4 hours.

My Verdict

Even though this lipstick is not totally matte, for the price, it is totally worth it. The packaging is beautiful. It is comfortable to wear and travel friendly. Overall, I feel this lipstick is the perfect gift for anyone you want to treat. Your mom, your sister or even yourself. It is totally pocket friendly and still a quality product.

That is all for this post. I hope you found it useful. If you have any suggestion, please leave it down in a comment.

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Photography Credits: Anushka Varma and Yashasvi Doshi.

My Favourite Everyday Lipsticks.

Hey guys! Hope you all are doing well.

In this week’s post, I will be sharing my favourite everyday lipsticks.

Personally I love wearing bold colours on a daily basis to college but I understand not everyone is comfortable with that. So in this post I will be covering “My Lips But Better” shades that are basically neutral shades.

So without further ado lets get to the lipsticks.

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Sultry.

The Revlon Colorburst Matte Balms are chubby sticks similar in packaging to the Clinique Chubby Sticks. They are roll up crayons with colour coded packaging. They retail for Rs.900. Even though it is matte, it is a balm so it is moisturising and comfortable to wear. It has average wear time of 3-4 hours and can be easily re-applied after a few hours. The shade Sultry is a subtle pink with slight brown undertones. Not only would this lipstick look great on a daily basis but also it would look equally good with a heavy eye make up look.

Lip Swatch in Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Sultry.

Rimmel Lasting Finish By Kate Moss Lipstick in 105.

The Rimmel Lasting Finish lipsticks are satin lipsticks that retail for Rs.275. They come in a basic red colour cover with Kate written on it. Since they are satin lipsticks, it feels as light as a lip balm. However that also affects their longevity adversely. Yet I love this sheer pink shade since it almost appears as if I don’t have any lipstick on. It is perfect for the “no make up” make up look.

It is available on Nykaa currently.

Lip Swatch For Rimmel Lasting Finish in 105.

Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick in Crazy for Coffee.

The Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick is a brown toned equivalent to the Rimmel lipstick. They are satin finish lipsticks that are super comfortable to wear.  They retail for Rs.475. It comes in a silver body with a brown cap. As the name suggests, this shade appears as though your lips have been stained by a cup of coffee. It adds the perfect amount of warmth and colour to your face.

Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick in Crazy For Coffee.

Lakme 9 to 5 Lipstick in Plum Pick.

The Lakme 9 to 5 Lipsticks are my favourite Indian drugstore range of lipsticks. They retail for Rs. 450. They come in this beautiful rose gold body and stay on forever. They are matte yet comfortable on the lips. They have amazing range of shades as well. However I love the shade Plum Pick because it is the perfect plum shade for daily wear. It is somewhere in between a bright pink and a deep plum shade.

Lip Swatch of Lakme 9 to 5 in Plum Pick.

Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip in Bumble.

The Colourpop liquid lipsticks are my absolute favourite. They have the most beautiful colours and have an amazing formula.They come in a cylindrical tube with a long wand. They are super easy to apply and really affordable.Unfortunately they don’t ship to India directly thus I purchase them from beautytales.co.in. The shade Bumble is a dupe for Kristen from Kylie Cosmetics. It is unique every day shade with a tinge of red. I have done an entire post on Colourpop Cosmetics if you would like to check it out.
http://compactmatters.blogspot.com/2016/12/colourpop-review-swatches.html

Lip Swatch of Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip in Bumble.

 My lips are a little  dark and pigmented and I am not comfortable very nude shades since I feel they wash me out a little but for those of you who like nude shades I recommend MAC Lipstick in Velvet Teddy.

Lip swatch of MAC Velvet Teddy.

That is all for this post. I hope you found it useful. If you have any suggestions or questions, please leave it down in a comment.

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Photography Credits: Ananya Khatri and Shivam Bhatt.