The top two lipsticks for Tan and Indian skin - Summer Edition

makeup
best lipstick shades for indian , tan , brown skin - mac lipsticks



Lipstick, now this is my area of expertise. My everyday look is pretty simple, I never actually wear any eyeshadow and only go for black liner and a statement lip color. Now this two specific lipsticks, I've been obsessed with this year. I know I wrote this article as a "Summer edition" but truly, I wore these all year long.


There are 3 products on the pictures but the ones I wanted to talk about the most were MAC's All Fired Up lipstick (on the left) and Limecrime's Velvetine in Suedeberry. Now, because I know how much controversy Limecrime has and how difficult it is to find these velvetines, I included MAC's Lady Danger which is a bit similar to Limecrime's Suedeberry.


These shades looks stunning on tan, Indian, brown skin but they would look equally as good on just about any skin tone as well. I'm a bit lighter that an NC42 and I'm matched to Barcelona in NARS foundation and these two are my go to lipstick shades and are also.. The shades I ALWAYS get compliments on.

I'm not kidding, I always get compliments on these two, even from those people who would never actually compliment my make up or the way I look. As you can see from the pictures, MAC's All Fired Up is nearing its death and that's because I'm kind of.. wearing it daily. I'm not joking when I say that I love this lipstick and that it particularly suits me well.

best lipstick shades for indian , tan , brown skin - mac lipsticks

MAC - All Fired Up 


All fired up is a pink fuschia with neutral to warm undertones in a matte (retro matte as MAC calls it) finish and is extremely pigmented. It lasts for ages, and that's why I love MAC's matte finishes and just matte finishes in general but : This specific lipstick is too drying. I always mix it with a bit of lip balm to make it comfortable to wear.

Limecrime - Suedeberry


Suedeberry is a peachy coral liquid lipstick which dries matte and velvety. This shade suits particularly well, tan complexions with warm undertones as it brings out that warmth and in my case, golden yellow of my skin (see here how my skin looks). Unfortunately, this specific shade in Limecrime's formula is a nightmare to apply. It doesn't apply evenly and patch up if you apply too much. It's really a shame that this shade is so hard to apply because I don't wear it as often as I could. (Limecrime's Red Velvet applies effortlessly in my case).

MAC - Lady Danger


I only got this recently because I wanted a lipstick close to Suedeberry and that I could use more frequently. However, Lady Danger is not a dupe for Suedeberry, they are similar but the shades are definitely not the same and looks rather different on the lips. As you can see from the pictures, Lady Danger has more red than Suedeberry does. In terms of application, it's easier to apply and is one of those MAC's best matte consistency.


Swatches

best lipstick shades for indian , tan , brown skin - mac lipsticks

From left to right : All Fired Up , Lady Danger, Suedeberry.

best lipstick shades for indian , tan , brown skin - mac lipsticks




What are your most used lipstick ? 

The Face Shop - Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam - Review

skincare


This week's review is about a type of product I never reviewed yet. You've seen me order this cleanser from this Testerkorea Haul and, since then, I've learned the importance of cleanser and their pH.

You've read me well. Business girl is talking about pH. I won't go into details here because, quite honestly this isn't my area of expertise, but fellow Asian beauty blogger Snow White And The Asian Pears explains Why the pH of your Cleanser matters better than I could ever do.

Here's the thing, taking into account the data from /r/AsianBeauty's Cleanser pH spreadsheet, The Face Shop's Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam has a pH of 8 ! Which is far too high compared to the recommended pH of 5/5.5. 

I also want to mention that I didn't know any of this when I first tried this cleansing foam so the issue about its pH didn't cloud my opinion about this product. The thing with foam cleanser, is that you don't have to follow that testing phase of new products (depending on the ingredients). Of course, if you want to be careful or you have sensitive skin, you might want to test the cleanser (and any other product) on a part of your face first.

I didn't do that for this cleanser and I have to say that I only tried it twice on my face, let's see why :



What the brand says 


A moisturizing and brightening cleansing line using quality Rice Water, Moringa Oil and Soapwort. The texture is a soft, creamy lather which provides gentle cleansing that last during cleansing. 
Application : Get adequate amount for foam. Massage gently all over the face and rinse it off with lukewarm water.



Ingredients


The Face Shop highlights the use of Rice Water which is said to be moisturizing and brightening, as well as Moring Oil which is supposed to 'purify the skin and detoxify it". Last but not least, the last main ingredient TFS highlights is sopwort which provides moisture and prevent the skin from drying.

A few ingredients are red-flagged on Cosdna, you might want to check if you are sensitive to any of these ingredients.


Packaging


The cleanser comes in a classic tube packaging with 150 ml of product for about 7-8 $ depending on where you buy it. The tube is made of a shiny plastic with a pretty soft pink packaging that would surely look good in your bathroom.

 The product


 As the name suggests it, the cleanser comes out in a foam texture and turns into a creamy consistency when rubbed in.

My thoughts

The reasons why I got this cleanser were simple : It's cheap and it contains Rice Water which is said to be brightening (I'm not too sure about the moisturizing claim TFS has about Rice Water though). For years, I used actual rice water as a cleansing agent, but I never really saw any difference in terms of brightening because I couldn't use Rice Water daily. See, you do need to collect rice water all the time for that. I didn't have time nor the will for that, so I thought this cleanser would be perfect.

The Face Shop markets this product as brightening but I must admit I doubt a cleanser ie something you wash off almost immediately can make a real difference in terms of brightening. Fair enough, the other claim is easy to check : Moisturizing.
I got my answer the first time I used it, after cleansing my face with TFS' Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam, my face was left dry and stripped from its moisture. No kidding ! 
I tried using it again a few days after, thinking as always, why not give it a chance again, but it just wouldn't work the way I wanted. I left it in my bathroom sink and used it as a rather fancy hand soap since then. My mother used it not knowing anything about it when I left it in the bathroom, she has normal skin and a few days later she told me : "What's that pink thing in the bathroom ? I think it dried my skin out". 

I wouldn't personally recommend this product, not only the pH is too high but it was definitely too drying for me which is pretty ironic for a product supposing to be moisturizing.



Have you ever tried drying moisturizing like this one ? Do you have a favorite cleanser ? 
 I'd love to read about it ! If you're looking for a new type of cleanser, you might want to check out my review about Banila Co's cleansing balm.

NARS Chronicles : Radiant Creamy Concealer - Ginger & Biscuit - Swatches & Review

makeup
My love story with NARS is still going strong. As of today, this brand is the make up brand I talk about the most on Wished Chronicles. Believe me, this isn't sponsored or anything, It's really a love story going strong here. After trying, the Sheer Glow foundation which perfectly matched my skin and had finally the right amount of warmth and yellow for my tan/indian skintone, I just had to try their famous Radiant Creamy concealer.




I only got Ginger at first, and after casting away my MAC's Pro longwear concealer, I finished my first round up of the Radiant Creamy Concealer. Mind you, I was scrapping the sides away to get the last bit of product it left. I still have half a bottle of the MAC concealer but I still went ahead and picked up another radiant creamy concealer and this time, with an extra shade : Biscuit.




What the brand says


Coveted by artists for its luxurious texture and luminous finish, new Radiant Creamy Concealer evens skin with lightweight medium to high buildable coverage. Enriched with hydrating, multi-action skincare benefits and light diffusing technology, it creates a softer, smoother complexion while instantly obscuring imperfections and diminishing fine lines and signs of fatigue.

  • Long wearing and crease-proof
  • Paraben-free, Alcohol free, Synthetic fragrance free, Non comedogenic

The packaging

The concealer comes in a wand type packaging with the classic black rubbery Nars packaging at the handle.


It comes with 6 ml/0.22 oz for a price point of 27€/29$ (us).



The packaging is also see-through, which lets you see how much product is left inside (you do will have to scrape the sides like I did for that) and the doe-foot applicator has a perfect flat side which allows you to apply the product easily on your skin.



 Swatches 

The formula is very creamy, just like the name says it and is very pigmented. A little goes a long way, and the coverage ranges from medium to full depending on the amount of product you use. The finish isn't matte but it's not dewy either, it's definitely light reflective and thus, has a natural finish. Even though, I'm all for the natural finish and don't like to powder my whole face, I do powder my under eyes to first, set the concealer and second, to get a matte finish. 



Ginger is a shade lighter than my skin tone and is similar to MAC's NC35 shade, I use it to brighten my under eyes and it works well for my tan/indian skin tone. Biscuit is supposedly my skintone shade, I did find that it was a tad too dark but nothing too noticeable. I bought it to spot conceal and cancel out my dark under eyes on days when putting a lighter shade would just turn the finish gray. (Read the review on Mac's orange corrector here).

If you want to compare with MAC's shades, Ginger would be the equivalent of an NC35 and Biscuit of an NC42. 

Below, is the comparison swatches with Nars' Lightweight foundation in Stromboli, and Sheer Glow foundation in Barcelona.



My thoughts

The product lasted for around 7 months of daily use and is extremely easy to apply and blend. I used a dry/wet beauty blender to blend the concealer in on most days or would even use my fingers. It's not thick if you don't over apply the product and it is fairly unnoticeable if, again, you use a fair amount of product.

The concealer claims to be crease-proof, now, if you do have fine lines, don't expect them to disappear, that's not what the product says it will do. If you do use a reasonable amount of product, it won't crease and will look really natural while covering everything you need to cover up. In term of longevity, it's not overly long lasting but it does last for around 7 or 8 hours if you powder.

Let's talk about the cons now :
This concealer is expensive. Nearly 30 bucks for a concealer is crazy in my book, granted there's more expensive but when you can buy less expensive and just as good elsewhere, it's worth checking other product out. The other concealer I own is MAC's pro longwear which is 20 bucks for 9 ml of product whereas NARS' concealer is only 6 ml of product. 

Why did I buy it again then ?

This concealer isn't phenomenal but it is great. I do think it's over priced but the consistency, application and shades are good enough to get my crazy self to spend this much for the Radiant Creamy Concealer.

In comparison with MAC's pro longwear concealer, it's indeed more expensive and is packed up with less product but, the pro longwear creases not matter how little product you apply and the packaging is horrendous. Though, as the name suggests it, MAC's prolong wear concealer is truly long lasting compared to the Radiant Creamy Concealer.




“My rule of thumb: lightness, transparency, and less is more.
Do not cover the complexion, enhance it.”
– François Nars


The reason why I love Nars products even more, is that I love François Nars' view on make up. For myself,  I share the idea that make up should only enhance your own beauty which is why I always go for the more natural look.

Buy yours now

Amazon - Nars (US) - Nars (fr) - Sephora (US) - Sephora (fr)

Other NARS reviews :


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Wished Chronicles is a PR friendly blog and contains affiliate links. All opinions expressed are genuine and purely my own.
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