Inside Shobna Gulati makeup bag

Shobna Gulati is an English actress, dancer and writer of Indian origins. She is most famous for her role of Sunita Alahan in British soap Coronation Street. Here are the actress fave beauty products:

LANCOME EAU MICELLAIRE DOUCEUR (£19.50)
The gentle formula allows the products to be used on eyes, lips and face to remove makeup and other impurities.

YSL MASCARA VOLUME EFFECT FAUX CILS (£21.00)
The secret of this mascara is the triple-film complex: a coating film for intensity, a conditioning film for curve, a fixing film for long-lasting effectiveness. Even the brush applicator combines nylon fibers of varying diameters for volume enhancement. Shobna says: “This is brilliant. The only thing is, it goes clumpy after four weeks. I put it in a bowl of warm water and it re-jigs itself and lasts a bit longer. If someone could invent a mascara that didn’t go clumpy, we’d be rocking.”

REDKEN COLOR EXTEND SHAMPOO (£10.35) and CONDITIONER (£11.95)
The shampoo gently cleanses and protects, helping secure color intensity while the conditioner detangles and smoothes hair for a finish full of color reflection.

DR SEBAGH DEEP EXFOLIATING MASK (£50.89)
A nourishing mask to exfoliate and reduce pigmentation, leaving the skin smooth, soft and revitalised. Shobna says: “I use this every four weeks. Any more than that would be too harsh for my skin. After I’ve used it everyone says I look glowing.”

Looks: Silver and Purple

Hello ladies,

how are you all doing today? The past few weeks have been very hectic for me and on most days I didn’t have much time to do my makeup. I usually wear neutrals when I’m in a rush but yesterday I felt like doing something different. I came up with this simple and quick look using silver and purple. I hope you like it:

Products used:
- UDPP Primer Potion
- Max Factor Color Perfection Duo Eyeshadow in Star Studded Black: silver (all over the lid, crease, browbone and inner lower lashline) and black (outer V and lower lashline)
- Kiko Eyeshadow in Vinaccia Scuro: crease
- Lancome High Definicils mascara

I went shopping for a new mascara this morning and found this kit By Helena Rubinstein. It costs €27.99 (about $37.00) and contains Glorious Mascara, All mascaras complete eye makeup remover and a sample of Collagenist Eye Zoom with pro-Xfill eye cream. I’ve never bought anything by Helena Rubinstein before cos the prices are very high, so I’m very excited about trying these products! I’m a sucker for kits like this as they are a great opportunity to try products one otherwise couldn’t afford and see how they well they work before splurging lots on money on them.

What makeup look do you wear when you’re in a rush? And what do you think of HR products, are they worth the price?

7 Tips to Keep your Makeup Sanitary

Keeping your makeup kit sanitary is very important, especially if you are a makeup artist. If your makeup is contaminated with bacteria, it could cause infections, acne and other skin problems. Keeping your products and tools clean is very easy and quick. Here’s a few basic tips:

1. Wash your hands: always clean your hands before applying makeup. You can use an anti-bacterial soap so that you can clean your hands everywhere without the need of water and soap.

2. Use a disposable wand: don’t use the wand that comes with mascaras or lipglosses. Use disposable wands instead and never double dip!

3. Use a tissue: to sanitise powder products, simply wipe the surface off with a tissue before and after use.

4. Use a spatula: putting your brush or finger in a makeup jar can contaminate the product. Instead, scoop a bit of product up with a spatula and place it onto a clean palette.

5. Sanitize makeup and tools with Isopropyl Alcohol: just dip lipstick, liners, pencils etc in 70% Isopropyl Alcohol (higher concentrations can be too harsh). This alcohol can also be used to clean brushes and other beauty tools such as pencil sharpeners and palettes as well.

6. Clean brushes: use a brush cleaner (or, like mentioned above, Isopropyl Alcohol) to spot clean your brushes. Wash them with water and soap at least once a week to deep clean them.

7. Throw away old cosmetics: toss products when you notice their color, smell or consistency has changed and don’t use makeup that’s past its expiration date.

What do you do to keep your makeup sanitary?

Product Review: Jesse’s Girl Eye Dust

Name: Eye Dust
Brand: Jesse’s Girl Cosmetics
Size: 3.5g
Price: $3.99

From Jesse’s Girl website:
28 spectacular shadows. Apply alone, combine with water or a light weight moisturizer to create fine lines and bold accents to intensify your gaze.

What I liked:
- lots of beautiful shades available
- easy to blend
- the packaging
- the price

What I didn’t like:
- not very pigmented and long lasting unless used with a primer

I was curious to try Jesse’s Girl Eye Dusts after haring raves about them. Now that I have, however, I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not all that bad, but, at £3.99, you do get what you pay for.

The pigments are available in 28 beautiful shades. I have #560 Cloisonne Violet (Ultra Violet), a light shade of violet/purple with shimmers which aren’t too obvious. The color looks very rich in the jar, but when applied on naked lid, it is quite sheer. However, when used with a primer, the color is very pigmented, as you can see in the swatches below. This is not really a problem for me, as I always use a base anyway, but since MAC, Barry M and Makeup Masala pigments show up well on naked skin as well, I was a bit disappointed this doesn’t.

(First pix with flash, second without. Both one coat.)

The powder is very loose and blends well. However, if you have oily lids, it will quickly fall off. Again, the problem can be solved by using a primer. If so, it will stay in place for the entire day.

The product comes in a pretty and large round jar with a sifter, so you don’t make a mess when you open it.

Summary:
Jesse’s Girl Eye Dusts come in a large selection of colors, are very cheap and the packaging is pretty. Overall, they are a good and cheaper alternative to MAC pigments BUT only if used with a primer. In that case, the color is very pigmented and long lasting. But without a base, they just don’t work very well at all.

Rating: 3/5

Disclaimer: the item was purchased by me for both personal and review purposes. The review is based on my own personal and honest experience with the product. For more information, please see my disclaimer.

New Collection: MAC Trip II Collection

MAC has released a special travel collection, called Mac Trip II that is available from April to August 2009 at Duty Free Shops at airports (availability and pricing will vary from airport to airport). The collection includes 3 palettes for eyes, for 3 lips and 3 for eyes and cheeks. I’m really tempted to book a trip just to get my hands on one of those, and you?

4 CLASSIC EYE AND CHEEK PALETTE
Sweetness Beauty Powder Blush: intense pink
Lightfully eyeshadow: icy pink with silver pearl
Idol Eyes Eyeshadow: silver violet with gold pearl
Print Eyeshadow: muted grey with shimmer

4 NEUTRAL EYE AND CHEEK PALETTE
Shy Beauty Powder Blush: pastel apricot with gold pearl
Sunday Best Eyeshadow: gold with frost
Girlie Eyeshadow: soft pink with pearl
Agate Eyeshadow: blackened red with red pearl

4 BRONZE EYE AND CHEEK PALETTE
Eversun Beauty Powder Blush: neutral peach with gold pearl
Magic Dust Powder Eyeshadow: soft white gold
Elite Eyeshadow: copper with gold pearl
Smut Eyeshadow: blackened brown with red pearl

5 COOL EYES PALETTE
Prismique: white with silver pearl
Springtime Skipper: minty green with gold pearl
Water Nymph: soft teal with emerald pearl
Knight Divine: black with silver pearl
Flashtrack: bright navy blue with silver pearl

5 NEUTRAL EYES PALETTE
Bisque: soft muted beige
Mineralism: soft taupe
Say, Yeah: peachy coral with golden pearl
Sable: bronze with golden pearl
Bateau: midtown brown

5 WARM EYES PALETTE
Whistle: pastel pink
Da Bling: pink with gold pearl
Parfait Amour: Blueish violet with pearl
Leisuretime: cranberry plum with pearl
Cassette: blackened eggplant

3 COOL LIPS PALETTE
Mlle: sher pink
Pink Maribu: mid-tone pink
Sprightly: pale pink with gold shimmer

3 NEUTRAl LIPS PALETTE
Expensivo: nude beige with pearl
Plastique: soft bronze with pearl
Poetic License: mid-tone peach

3 WARM LIPS PALETTE
Strange Hybrid: mid-tone pink with silver pearl
Tempt Me: brownish pink with pearl
En Pointe: pink with pearl