Gauri | Gloss and Magic

Burgundy Lips, Sorted

By Gauri on February 20, 2017 in New Thing

A deep burgundy lipstick?! I know, are you sitting down? On paper, the Lakme 9 to 5 Matte Lipstick in Burgundy Business and a peachy lip lover like myself look like we wouldn’t get on. But you know what, I loove it. Matte, opaque and just the right tooth-whitening, lip popping flash of berry, I see this becoming quite the sunshine’s out shade for me. If this was sheer, I’m not sure I’d be as hot on it. But the fact that one quick swipe coats on just the right amount of a your lips but a burgundier hue and leaves them feeling nicely nourished, I’m in. It almost reminds me of the shade you get when you’ve a kala khatta gola – not too crazy. Mascara: required, the rest of your makeup: optional.

I picked mine up from a rather fruitful Health & Glow trip. At Rs.365 it’s the cheapest pick of the pack, and for berry summer lips, I’m sorted.

The Weekend Post #40: 5 Minute Fix

By Gauri on February 18, 2017 in Weekend Post

Sometimes the whole two-hour long weekend pamper extravaganza just isn’t feasible. Ain’t nobody got time for that. So in my head I’ve got saved four five minute fix routines that I work through when time is a little thin on the ground. Sometimes I tote them up into a 20 minute speed sesh or I just focus my TLC on one area and then I’m free to cuddle up on the sofa with Harvey, Mike and Baskin and Robbins in no time at all (sorry got Suits on the brain still, season 5 is being devoured at lightning speed)…

Then & Now

By Gauri on February 16, 2017 in Makeup

One good thing about writing a blog is that it works like a diary, documenting my makeup menus from week to week and acting as a bit of a time capsule for my cosmetics tastes. Every now and again I like to take a peruse through – ignoring the crappy copy 😉 – and see what I was sporting on my face back in the day. Old favourites are often rediscovered, some choices cringed at and the fact that I’m always going to be a neutral makeup gal is as bright as as day. Here’s a beauty blast from the past compared to a more recent offering…

The Ultimate Finishing Hairbrush Review: Tried and Tested

By Gauri on February 14, 2017 in Review

Well I am always going on about how vulnerable hair is when it’s dry and so for me the Ultimate Finishing Hairbrush* is an absolutely brilliant tool to add to my arsenal of hair styling tools and products. Here’s the low-down:

Buying Faces

By Gauri on November 30, 2016 in Notes

There are a few rituals I partake in each time I take a visit to Phoenix. I smell The Body Shop Cocoa Lotion, groan, then remember that I’ve too many lotions at home negating the need for it. I then attempt to colour match myself to L’Oreal’s True Match Le Crayon Correcteur, promptly give up and turn to swatching every single shade of the Faces Glam On Colour Perfect Lipsticks up my arm. More often than not I can’t decide between the shades with about five of them hovering on the edge purchase. Before something silly happens I walk away and turn my attention to something else. But with a bit of encouragement on Twitter, one was pushed into the basket, along with an old Faces favourite and out I walked from my most recent Phoenix jaunt with a bounce in my step and a bag of F.C goodness.

Streamlined Skincare

By Gauri on November 28, 2016 in Notes

As much as I love the luxury of an extended skincare routine, which often turns into a bit of a pamper; incorporating treatments, masks, enough lotions and potions to open a small apothecary and takes around 30 minutes – it’s not the most convenient for travel. I spent last week in Thailand chilling out, gulping down some fresh air and being dragged up mountains by my parents. It was an annual holiday I swore I’d never do again once I turned 16, but by 26 I’ve softened and actually enjoyed an international jaunt. It was low-key and the glamest it got was a nightly trip to the local market so my beauty stuff was kept to a minimum and after much consideration I plumped for a streamlined, stripped-back skincare stash:

My Face Base Wardrobe

By Gauri on October 20, 2016 in Edit

My face base habit has a got a little bit out of control. It wasn’t until I was explaining my makeup collection to my friends and heard myself say the phrase, “Well the top drawer is for heavy-coverage foundations, the next one is for lighter ones, then I’ve got one full of tinted moisturisers….’ saw their jaws drop and tailed off. Yes I’m Gauri, and I have a foundation problem. Surprisingly it’s the step that I shrug off the most, but bottles of the stuff dominate my stash, so I’ve had a bit of a clear out – my friend’s faces are now positively beaming (and looking pretty flawless) – and I think if push came to shove I could live out the rest of my days with just four key cover-ups in my possession to mix, match and buff on. Let’s christen this the ‘Face Base Wardrobe’…