The Lakme 9-to-5 Office Stylist Lipsticks have taken us all by surprise haven't they? The beautiful metallic rose gold packaging, the astonishingly light matte formula and some really pretty shades..no wonder they were appreciated by most. It was so unlike Lakme I must say to come out with such good stuff... although if you have been keeping watch, they have been coming out with some really great products. Way to go Lakme!

Check out these 7 shades we have swatched  before (some of the best shades in the lot acoording to me).  And you can read about Toffee Nexus, Coffee Command and Tea Break which are great pinky and peachy nude shades.

Anyway, here are some more swatches of the 9-to-5 lipstick range. Hopefully they will help you decide which shade to get.

You know those instances when you want a product that gives you that much raved about "glow" instantly? Imagine that you are running late and going to a parlour is just of the question and you need something to give you that healthy skin that is bouncing off light..you would reach out to a readymade facepack 8 out of 10 times. Easy peasy quickfix. Right? This is what my mother wanted and the SA at the VLCC counter handed her the Insta Glow Face Pack with tall claims of how wonderfully it works.

The Color Show nail polishes have finally been launched in India with Maybelline promoting them with a big boom. I had been waiting so long to get my hands on these, and when I spied them at a local beauty store I brought home three! ^_^

Every girl should have one good perfume, and if you are lucky then many many more ;) Keeping that in mind I firmly decided to get myself atleast one back in 4th year of college (yes, I did not own a single perfume before that..shame). Since I was new to the perfume department, I was not very eager to buy the luxury expensive ones and I headed to The Body Shop just to check out their range. I tried most of them, narrowed it down to two and then got so confused. They both smelt great and I just couldn't choose! The funny story is that I kept walking around their store for over an hour, sniffing my wrists every 10 mintues like a dog.. even the SA was grinning. *headbang* Ultimately, I bought them both...well, what can a girl do?! :P

Before I discovered my new found love for lipsticks, I was a big fan of glosses. Having tried nearly every drugstore gloss in the market, I have to say that nobody does it better than Maybelline. And with their High Shine glosses, Maybelline has truly outdone itself!

Most of us have been through that phase when it seemed like our skin had a mind of its own. A few have successfully conquered that phase and some are still battling it. I have an oily skin which back in college would just not behave like I wanted it to. It was frustrating really, every other day a new pimple would decide to say hello. I fought a long war against them (following many things) and thankfully they are reduced drastically now (well one or two still show up sometimes but very infrequently). Fabindia Clove Gel Face Pack was one of the many things that helped me tame my skin. I still use it once in a while and the tub is almost over now, so I must share it with you all :)

Guest post by Ramona Lucille

A few days ago, my friend Ramona posted photos (on Facebook) of some chocolatey Raspberry macarons she had made. I saw them really late in the night and naturally I got super hungry! They looked YUMMY! 2 minutes after I was messaging her to share the recipe with you all. And she did. Isn't she just the awesomest person ever?! Here's the ultimately delicious recipe for your sweet tooth :)

If the approaching weekend isn't giving you enough reason to be happy, ladies, I bring you another!
Presenting the newest launch by our dear Maybelline, the Cheeky Glow blushes, all reviewed together!

See what I did there, the rhyming part? Am I not awesome (and a dork)? :D

Okay, you all know these little babies, so I won't spend time introducing them. Let's get straight to the review. I've tried to cover every aspect to bring you a comprehensive review :)

Now that Autumn has been graciously ushered in after the rains, it's time for all you girls to abandon those cute rubber flip flops and practical clothes and turn you attention to what's trending this season!!

Alright alright, I know trends burn out quickly and style remains eternal, but incorporating those trendy pieces into your wardrobe and meshing them together with your personal style receives brownie points. So ladies, are you ready to be fashion smart with C & D? :)

Everytime I get a different BB cream I tell myself that this would be the last one, because they all are pretty much the same. But then a new one gets lauched that claims to do so much more and before you know it, you are heading to the nearest store to get it!
When the Ponds BB Cream came out, it had the same effect on me. I really wanted to try it out (part of me hoped that it would be like the Ponds TM which was so famous. And I never got to try it...I was in school back then and not much into makeup). But I had two BB creams to finish up and so buying this was kept on hold. I finally got it last month and have been using it ever since.

Okaaaay, Number 3 is up and it's Coffee Command!

You must remember my last Hooked Onto post. I promised you all that I would tell you what more you can do with the coffee powder and it's about time that I did. Apart from giving most of us a kick start in the morning, caffeine also combats cellulite effectively. And why shouldn't we use it that way?

Hey guys! It's time for the 2nd post of the swatch fest, and this time it's #92 Candy Drop, from Lotus.


I've always been a fan of these nail polishes because they are Toluene and DBP free, yet have the most amazing consistency and flawless application. And considering how they are priced, you can get them all!

As promised in my previous haul post, the swatch fest has now begun, and the first one to be showcased is Toffee Nexus by Lakmé!

We had ordered some goodies for dad a while back and that included 2 shower gels... about time he pampered himself a bit too. Smriti has already reviewed the variant Energy here which is really awesome. Today I am putting up another variant called Muscle Relax. Doesn't the name sound tempting in itself? Who does not want nice relaxed muscles at the end of a long hard working day...or some weekend pampering. (My theory is, you can use the Energy one in the morning to get the woken up feel and use Muscle Relax before bed! Sounds nice?)

It has been ages since we have done a Hooked Onto post! Moslty because I was not hooked onto anything much in particular, but now when I am, it is best to share before I forget :D
My list this time is a mixture of weird things :)

1) Cafe Coffee Day's Dark Forest Ground Coffee Powder
All people who love filter coffee/drip coffee or black coffee give me a *high five*.  We got a drip brew machine from Philips recently (which is so wonderful) and added this one to our coffee collection. It comes from coffee beans grown in the Kathlekan estate, is full bodied, dark roasted, and has a very interesting strong flavour. This was the first time I tried speciality coffee and I loved it. Will try their Mysore blend next!
(Pssst... I will tell you what more you can do with the powder in a few days).

2) Nivea Fruity Shine Lip Balm Strawberry
Those of you who have read the earlier posts know how much I love the Pink Guava one (reviewed here). I got the Strawberry variant this time. It gives a beautiful glossy sheer bright red tint and moisturises well too. Loving it. :)

3) Chunky Brass Neckpiece
Smriti made me buy this one when we went to Bhubaneswar to drop her off to college finally. (check out our road trip pics here). Dhokra crafts made by tribal artisans is a speciality of Orissa (Smriti has bought more of them as you can see in the haul here). If you are going to Bhubaneswar definitely check these out. (We got ours from a store called Uttkalika).

4) Ponds BB Cream
So my Maybelline one got over and I wanted to try something new (the market is flooded with so many of them). I have been using this one for over a month and I quite like it. Detailed review coming soon :)


5) Mehendi :D
You didn't see this one coming, did you? I have had some free time and I was bored = asking dad to get a mehendi cone for me. He got two.. dads are sweet that way na? Anyways, so this is my self work.. it is not very great or professional looking but it made me pass time on a boring afternoon, so fine by me. I also cornered my grandma and mom :P (if I do get better at this, I should start charging.. hehehe).


So, that was my list. What have you been hooked onto lately? 

I have been using this for a while and now it's over so about time I put up a short review.