Ananya's Review: The Body Shop Banana shampoo and Conditioner

          So.... I know I have been absent for a LOOOONNNGGG time from the blog, but I have been really busy stepping into ninth grade and all. But I did mention in the 'What's in Ananya's Shower?' blog that I would give you a review of this shampoo and conditioner. So, I hope you enjoy this blogpost and thanks for reading!

1. The Body Shop Banana Shampoo: I absolutely love the way this shampoo works on my hair. Literally, everyone in the world deserves to try this shampoo. Luckily, It suits all hair types. The shampoo hydrates your hair, but also leaves a really clean scalp behind. The hair is ultra soft and bouncy after you dry your hair. If you have the time, I really recommend letting your hair air-dry instead of blow-drying your hair after using this shampoo. The hair is also gorgeously shiny and silky after ONE use of this shampoo. I have frizzy hair, and I really do think that it tames my hair down a lot. I find that my hair looks a lot better the next day after using this shampoo (or really, any shampoo for that matter). The ONLY con in this shampoo is that it smells a lot like medicine. But luckily, none of that scent is deposited into your hair. 
2. The Body Shop Banana Conditioner: I have to say, the conditioner and the shampoo really compliment each other. I wouldn't imagine using either of this products with any other shampoo or conditioner. I use these two products together on my hair all the time. The conditioner is great, just like the shampoo. It's definitely not the thickest conditioner. Actually, its almost a little thicker than actual banana puree would be. I really like this conditioner, but unfortunately, it has that same medicine-y scent like the shampoo has (which, like the shampoo, doesn't get on to your hair). It is very hydrating even though it is a thinner conditioner. It really does make your hair really, really, really smooth and soft and I absolutely adore it. 

          Overall, I really do recommend this shampoo-conditioner duo to EVERYBODY out there with ANY hair type. I have heard some rumors (don't know if its true) about the fact that The Body Shop is actually going to DISCONTINUE this shampoo, so you may want to get your hands on it as fast as possible if you want to try it. But I just checked the USA, UK and Indian Body Shop websites and they are still there.

          OVERALL GRADE: A

          AVAILABLE AT: Any Body Shop Store (I believe for only a limited time, not sure yet)

          PRICE: Both shampoo and conditioner are Rs. 515 or $8

Ananya's Hair Routine

          Sooooooooo, I really wanted to write this blog today because I have been ABSOLUTELY LOVING my hair routine lately. I used to use only shampoo and a leave in conditioner after I dried my hair.  I didn't really get why people had so many products in their hair routines. But then I realized that just shampoo was making my hair too dry and even frizzier than it was and the leave in conditioner helped a little, but I hardly saw any actual results. I started using more products for my hair which were actually meant for my hair type and now I get why people use more than two products in their hair routine. 

          Just incase you wanted to know, I have dry, frizzy hair and if I don't wash it again within four days my hair becomes SUPER greasy. I have naturally thick hair and have medium length hair (not too short, not too long).

Ananya's Review: MAC Studio Finish Concealer SPF 35

Left Eye: No Concealer; Right Eye: With MAC Studio Finish Concealer

          So today I have yet another review featuring the MAC Studio Finish Concealer. Just incase you wanted to know, I have been using this concealer for about one and a half months. This concealer had gotten sooooo many good reviews, that I just had to try it. This is the only product that I have been using on my face for actual coverage because I have normal skin with only minor blemishes. 

          This concealer is a somewhat semi-creamy formula, which I like, since it isn't too creamy that it just wears off during the day and at the same time it isn't too, well, not creamy that it becomes super difficult to blend into the eyes. Just incase if you wanted to know, this is the shade NC42. Before I started using this concealer, I really thought that I had no dark circles or puffiness underneath my eyes, but after I used it, I was surprised to see how much more lifted and brightened my eyes looked. It also stays on for pretty much the entire day because of its amazing consistency. And even thought I don't actually have any active breakouts or discolouration on my face, I still think it would work great to cover that up too. It does crease a tiny, tiny bit underneath the eyes after about six to six and a half hours of wear, but the creases are hardly noticeable.

         Besides the coverage, this product works as a great base for your eyeshadows too. It really does make your less pigmented eyeshadows pop a lot more and also keeps them looking bright for the entire day. It isn't too sticky as well, but sometimes, with a heavy hand, it can feel a tiny bit uncomfortable. As far as the SPF 35 goes, I really don't care much for that since I already have sunscreen to do that job for me.

          PRICE: Rs. 920 or $17

          AVAILABLE AT: Any MAC Stores near you

          OVERALL GRADE: A

         

          

Ananya's Review: Revlon Colourburst Lipsticks

                                            (from left to right) Soft Nude, Rosy Nude, Fuchsia 

                                            Swatches(from left to right) Soft Nude, Rosy Nude, Fuchsia

          So today I'm going to be giving a review on one of my absolute favorite lipstick brands, and that is the Revlon Colourburst Lipsticks. The first thing that I noticed about these lipsticks was their cute checkered design. When I first discovered Revlon I saw these and really thought they were going to be superbly expensive. But luckily, they are not!!! The Revlon lipsticks come in a variety of shades but the ones that I own are Soft Nude, Rosy Nude and Fuchsia. Soft Nude, which is definitely the most popular lipstick from this line of lipstick, is a clean nude with an apricot-y undertone to it. The slight orange tones makes this one of the only nude colours that works on my tanned skin. Rosy Nude, which is my favorite out of the three, is a very wearable, dusty mauve, rose kinda colour. And Fuchsia is an absolutely gorgeous bright hot pink, which surprisingly, is very wearable as compared to any other bright fuchsia there is.

          These lipsticks are creamy and as I like to describe it, one-third sheer and two-thirds pigmented and that, according to me, is the perfect pigmentation I like to have in my lipsticks. Oh, one more thing before I forget is that I love how the packaging has a little colour swatch on the top of the lipstick, which is similar to the actual colour of the lipstick itself. I find that very appropriate for people who have a huge collection of lipsticks and like to stack their lipsticks standing up.

          PRICE: Rs. 550 or $5 

          AVAILABLE AT: Any close by makeup department store

          OVERALL GRADE: A

Ananya's Review: MAC Paint Pots

                                     MAC Paint Pots (left to right) Rubenesque and Indianwood

           

                             

                                MAC Paint Pot swatches (left to right) Rubenesque and Indianwood


          This product, if you haven't already noticed, are the famous MAC Paint Pots. The MAC Paint Pots are some of the most popular cream eyeshadows available in the market today. The MAC Paint Pots are basically supposed to be a cream eyeshadow that is very long wearing which you can either wear alone or below another eyeshadow. I personally, love these and I use them everyday when I do my eye makeup.
          From my experience, the MAC Paint Pots are decently pigmented and very long lasting. I remember this one time when I got my first Paint Pot and swatched it on my hand. For the next one and a half days, it wasn't coming off even with all the soap and water I used. Now don't get scared, even though this product is almost impossible to remove with soap and water, you can easily get it off with ANY eye makeup remover. The MAC Paint Pots have the ability to last a good 10 to 12 hours after applying. One thing that I absolutely love about these is that they can either be applied as a sheer wash on the lid with minimum product on the eyes or can be builded up with a lot of product. I have seen people using this product as a primer and personally I use it as an eye primer too, but I don't think that it has the ability to smoothen out all the tiny creases in your eye out like, say, an Urban Decay Primer Potion or Too Faced Shadow insurance would. Also, while working with this product, you have got to be FAST! If you just like to take your time blending eyeshadows into place, you probably won't be able to work with this, because after it sets, it won't move at all. It sets in about 30 to 35 seconds and in 40 seconds it sets completely.
          Overall, I think this product is great for the average working woman who doesn't have time to do her makeup properly every day. Infact, the faster you work with this product the better. And also its great for a fast, pretty, neutral sheen on your eyes, and a little bit of mascara and liner to top this off would be absolutely fantastic.
          PRICE: Rs.1100 or $17.50
          AVAILABLE AT: Any MAC store or counter near you
          OVERALL GRADE: A

Ananya's Review: The Body Shop Body Butter Duo

          Body Shop's Body Butter Duo is a fairly new product in India which probably came out a few months ago. The Body Shop's Body Butters are already fantastic, but after this product came out, now their body butters are absolutely unbeatable. I have had this product for about a week or so now and I have been testing it on my skin for about six or five days in total. Just incase if you guys want to know, I prefer wearing this product at night. This is definitely the coolest body moisturizer I have ever seen, since the product is split into two halves. One half is the regular (and amazing!) body butter that you can buy by itself individually and the other half is a thicker and has a more balm-y texture to it, kinda like a lip balm but for your entire body. The thinner body butter texture, which BTW is thick anyway, is supposed to be used for the entire body and I personally find it very moisturizing for the skin. The thicker body butter is supposed to be used for the parts of your body that get dried up the most, like your elbows, knee caps, etc. This product works EXTREMELY well for clearing out the chapped, stone dry parts of your body and the moisture in the skin lasts very, very long.
          Even thought this product works absolutely fabulous and has a lovely scent to it (I have the scent Floral Acai, but there are more scents to choose from), I think this product is suitable for dry to normal-dry to normal skin types. If you have oily skin, I would probably not suggest this since it is very, very, very moisturizing. It would probably make your skin a little too oily and shiny.
          PRICE: Rs. 845, $15
          AVAILABLE AT: Any near The Body Shop stores
          OVERALL GRADE: A

Ananya's Review: Nars Orgasm Blush

                                           Nars Orgasm Blush

                                           Nars Orgasm Blush

                                           Nars Orgasm Blush

                                            Nars Orgasm Blush

                                           Nars Orgasm Blush Swatch


          SOOOOOO you must be wondering, "Why the heck does a young innocent Indian teen own a blush with such a name?". Well, because its super pretty! So I believe this blush is the most sold blush in the world. You must be wondering why. Well, it is because it suits every single skin tone there is. It suits cooler skin tones because of the cool bright blue based pink, that's pretty obvious. But it also suits warmer complexions because of the fine gold shimmers it has. The colour seems super generic, but personally, I haven't seen any blush that has a colour exactly like it. Another reason to why it's so damn popular is because it can be worn differently on the cheeks to get a different effect every time! Use it as a light dusting on the apples of the cheeks, and you have a beautiful healthy looking glow. Use it with a heavier hand to get a more dramatic night time look. Another reason to why I like it so much is because it isn't very pigmented (you probably noticed that on the swatch seen above). Blushes aren't supposed to be too pigmented, because if they are, then you can end up with clown cheeks. So I'm really happy about the fact that NARS doesn't like keeping their blushes too pigmented.
          PRICE: $27
          AVAILABLE AT: www.sephora.com, www.narscosmetics.com
          OVERALL GRADE: A

Ananya's Review: Urban Decay Naked Palette

                                            UD Naked Palette

                                  From left to right: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked

                                  From left to right: Smog, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal

                                            UD Good Karma Brush

  UD Naked Palette                         

                        Swatches from left to right: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked,
                                                 Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal

          OMG!!! Best Palette Ever!!! The UD Naked Palette is gorgeous and definitely worth the splurge. Pigmentation-Awesome, Versatility-Awesome, Packaging-Awesome. OOOHHH, Speaking of the packaging, its a beautiful cardboard made case, which BTW has an amazing quality, with a soft brown velvet cover and the words 'Naked Urban Decay' printed in a gorgeous gold. The palette is sleek and THE palette for the perfect gift and for travel.
          So here are the description of all the colours:
1) Virgin: Pale peach beige with a satin finish.
2)Sin: Pale peachy pink with a frost finish.
3)Naked: Super creamy tan-nude with a matte finish (Yay for matte finish!).
4)Sidecar: Pale taupe with a glittery frost finish.
5)Buck: Straight-up brown with a matte finish (Double Yay!).
6)Half Baked: True gold with a frost finish.
7)Smog: Antique gold with a frost finish.
8)Darkhorse: Bronze with gold shimmer. Has a frost finish.
9)Toasted: Pale dusty-rose with a frost finish
10)Hustle: Deep burgundy with a satin finish which leans a little to a frost finish.
11)Creep: Black with silver shimmer. Has a frost finish. The shade is pigmented but one of the least pigmented in the palette.
12)Gunmetal: Cool blue silver with a frost finish.
          If you have the descriptions that I have given for each colour, you probably noticed that most shades were frosty. However, the two matte finished eyeshadows help a great deal with toning down the shimmer, so you have no worries about over-doing the shimmer at all. Oh and one last thing, I am aware about the Naked2 Palette, but I can't get since I don not live in USA and most importantly don't want to get it because of the amount of neutral eyeshadows I already own.
          PRICE: $48
          AVAILABLE AT: www.sephora.com, www.urbandecay.com
          OVERALL GRADE: A+

Ananya's Review: BH Cosmetics 88 Standard Shimmer Palette

                                             BH Cosmetics 88 Standard Shimmer Palette

                                            BH Cosmetics 88 Standard Shimmer Palette

                                            BH Cosmetics 88 Standard Shimmer Palette

                                             A few swatches from the palette

          The BH Cosmetics 88 Standard Shimmer Eyeshadow palette is THE most versatile palette that I(Ananya) own. It comes with 88 different eyeshadows that range from light pale pinks, golds and beiges to brighter corals, yellows, greens and purples. The palette is super portable and it is very easy to travel around with due to its size and weight. The palette looks quite classy with its shiny black case with the name on the palette printed in white. By the swatches seen above, the quality of the eyeshadows looks pretty awesome. The shades are decently pigmented and considering that they got about 90% of the eyeshadows to have such amazing quality, I am impressed.
          If you are on the search for a good palette to gift your friend or family member who happens to love makeup, this is the perfect palette. It makes it an even better present for the price. What I love most about this palette is that even though the palette looks like it only has colourful and brighter eyeshadows, if you look carefully, it has some beautiful neutral eyeshadows as well.
          PRICE: $11.97 (there is an awesome 40% off sale goin' on!!!) ORIGINAL PRICE: $19.95
          AVAILABLE AT: www.bhcosmetics.com (they ship worldwide!!!)
          OVERALL GRADE: A