An Indian's Makeup Blog

I've been dying to try Constance Jablonski 's gorgeous bronze look that was featured in Vogue China, a few months back. I'd saved the pictures and looked at it several times through out this summer. Truth is, I was attracted like magnet to this look and was waiting on finding just the right bronzer to finally try it out. And when I found the perfect product I got work, immediately !


How To :

1. Start off with clean moisturized face
I have been regular with my latest crush - Envision Beauty The Solution Moisturizer. It has made a huge difference in the betterment of my skin !

2. Mix a liquid highlighter into your tinted moisturizer and paint a thin layer on your face.
I used Clinique Up- Lighting Liquid Illuminator - 01 Natural + Smashbox HD Foundation.

3. Give it a couple of minutes to settle down

4. Take a large fluffy face brush and dust your bronzer below your cheek bones, the temples, sides of your nose and across the sides of your forehead. Run the brush now, along your hairline and sides of your chin with whatever is left. I am loving the Milani Powder Bronzer - Light. Though its called Light, the color works perfectly with my NC 40 skin tone.

5. Let them brows be unruly - adds to the look.

6. Line your waterline delicately with a black eyeliner. Then use a white / pink shimmer pencil to highlight the inner corners of eye and bridge of nose. I like Anastasia Brow Highlighter pencil.

7. For the lips I went with a fuchsia shade - Cover Girl Out Last Lip Stain 410. The model's light eyes make for a great contrast so I built in the contrast with a fuchsia lip. If you are all for the brown look try Jouer Lip Gloss - Monsoon, Avon Big Color Glossy Lip Pencil - Glossy Sand.


That's it ! Are you bronzing a lot this summer ? If not , you must try it sometime ! Compliments will follow - trust me .

Love,
Indian Girl

We are in the peak of summer and there is no sign of things cooling down ever. So, why not make the best of the heat and flaunt your best summer looks ! That's exactly what we will be doing with our In The Sun Series - showcasing a bunch of fun summer looks !

I woke up this morning at about 11 :45 AM - great time for a weekend brunch ! Gathered up a couple of friends and hit a new brunch spot only to have them say they were done serving brunch. So we headed out to the lake side for a sunny lunch. Thankfully we scored a great table ! It was fun looking at all the boats passing by and checking out people slathering on SPF so they could enjoy their time in the sun without burns. We also contemplated buying boats ...but that's another story for another time.

The ruffle top and jeans shown above are from Express.

This is what I wore to brunch. I went with a very natural looking minimalistic peach /pink look. Its almost morning ( not technically at 1 PM but go with me on this, will ya ?) and I couldn't fiddle with a laundry list of products. Also more importantly I was having a 'as good as it gets' skin day so of course I had to showcase the good skin and keep things minimal !

Face
- Envision Beauty - The Solution moisturizer
- Covergirl Tru Blend Pressed Mineral Foundation - 04 Soft Honey
Eyes
- Mild shimmer peach shade from Pur Mineral Paint by Number Kit (now discontinued)
Substitute with MAC Paradisco Eyeshadow
- Flirt It Curl Mascara
- Julie Hewett Eyeshadow - Vita for my brows.

Cheeks
Becca Soft touch Blush - Song bird

Lips
- Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place Lip Pencil - 01 Pink
- Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss - Pulse

I like applying the lip gloss first and going over it with my lip pencil. Took me a grand total of five minutes to dress up. Paired with a gray ruffle top and jeans I thought I looked very much brunch-y given that I am not a dress / skirts kinda girl. Very pleased with myself on this one !

What would you wear for a Brunch In The Sun ? Let us know in the comments !

Love,
Indian Girl

My latest it thing is powder SPF. I discovered this one from RAW Minerals back in November last year but didn't use it until summer came along.

Every time I start to write something about sun protection, I feel like I don't know enough. It is such a controversial topic. Over the years since I started my blog ( we will be three soon !) I've educated myself on various sides of the story. I am just curious like that and can never blindly stick to one party. I like knowing everything and making a regime that suits me from the knowledge I have.


Few Facts I've Learned

1. We need Vitamin D. From grade school on it is drilled into us that sun provides us with our daily dose of Vitamin D and our bodies cannot generate Vitamin D without the help of sun.
But there is more here
- you need have at least half you body exposed
- exposed for at least 15 minutes.
- the time differs based on your weight, skin color,location, age and many more factors.
to get your daily dose of Vitamin D.

2. UVA / UVB - there is a lot to talk here. Its mostly boring but keeping in with #1 - UVB is necessary for Vitamin D generation. Sunscreens block the UVB and hence the vitamin does not get generated.

3. You need to apply a shot glass full (4oz) of sunscreen for the SPF to be effective.

4. Higher SPF is not directly proportional with higher protection. "SPF 100 blocks 99 percent of UVB rays, while SPF 50 blocks 98 percent. (SPF 30, that old-timer, holds its own, deflecting 96.7 percent)"

5. "If you apply half the amount, you get the protection of only the square root of the SPF. So applying a half-ounce of SPF 70 will not give you the protection of SPF 35, but 8.4" - NYT

6. You need to reapply sunscreen after every two hours - generously. Refer to #3.

7. Many sunscreen lotions out there contain toxic ingredients. Look out for ones that are paraben free and oxybenzone free.

8. Continued beauty of our skin has more to do with diet than just watching out for sun damage.

9. We all need to get some sun everyday in moderation.

10. In addition to UVA / UVB protection with sunscreens, antioxidants play a major role in protecting our skin from harmful rays that come with too much sun exposure. Invest in skin care and foods that are high in antioxidants.

11. Products with additional SPF like moisturizers and others are said to be more volatile / unstable compared to the ones without SPF. So always remember to keep them in a cool dry spot where the sun does not reach it. And since we are not going to apply 4 oz of moisturizer better buy one without sunscreen, one with antioxidants and plenty of other goodness.

What Am I Doing

If it smells like chemicals and feels like chemicals - its probably chemicals. That's the way I feel about sunscreen lotions. But these are chemicals we need to keep our skin from burning during prolonged sun exposure. So I keep from slathering 4 oz of chemicals on my body unless I absolutely must. The best things to do is to avoid baking in the sun for long hours and I do just that. I avoid the sun as much as possible.

And I've taken a liking for powder sunscreen. I've realized I don't need SPF 100 everyday for what little sun seeps into my day. Most sun exposure I get is when I'm in the car traveling back and forth during peak sun hours. So I apply hand cream with SPF on my hands and powder SPF on my face. These are great for so many reasons.

They are light
I can apply them over makeup.
I can reapply as many times as I want without ruining my makeup or looking oily.
I feel good that they are not the first layer on my face. They sit on top of moisturizer and tinted moisturizer.

The powder SPF I am currently using is the one from RAW Minerals - Active Veil SPF 18. It is paraben, oxybenzone free and contains many additional naturally derived antioxidants.Though it looks a white-ish powder, it leaves no white cast on my brown skin. Its just like a good translucent powder. I use it all over my face and neck just before I get out. And if I'm gonna be out again - I keep a kabuki brush and reapply. It makes me feel happy that I get just as much everyday protection as I need and I don't think I need a whole lot !


One other thing I must start doing is taking Vitamin D supplements and get a little sun at least during weekends uniformly. I've been getting loads of antioxidants from the 2 pounds of organic blueberries I picked up last weekend ! Yay for good skin days !

Reading Material

I've learned a lot about the SPF numbers form this article here in NYT . I urge everybody to read it. Also follow Kimberly Snyder's blog - she is an amazing raw food writer who writes a lot about beauty through food !

Love,
Indian Girl

This article contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR. For more details on the disclosure policy please refer to it at the bottom of the page.

I need to know.

You see, summer is a really hard time for me.
Exceptionally hard.

When the whole world around me is thinking of
barbecues
White clothes
Sandals
Sun
Tan
Holiday
and other fluff like that


I am busy thinking about
Pools filled with kids who do stuff in the pool
Adult jumping into the same pool
Treacherous Heat
Dreaded Sun
A/C Bills
Sweat stains on white clothes

You get the drift ?

My safe haven is my bathroom. I try to be water conscious so make my 10 minutes in the shower count.

Gimme the best bath product for summer. What makes you feel good ? What is heat / summer friendly ?

For the last few months of glorious winter I loved my Olay Botanical Fusion Body Wash. Its very creamy , has a good scent and is relatively cheap. I found it for $2 at Big Lots, man ! I went through a couple of bottles lathering it generously on my parched skin, enjoying the softness and hydration it retained after a hot shower.

But with temperature touching 85 out here and my body temperature reaching roughly 112 degrees I cannot do creamy man. I want something that will make me feel fresh, with no additional softening moisture, takes care of sweat and things that come with sweating.

Nothing does all the above better than a bar of soap. I picked this up at Walmart.

This is a girl soap - no two ways about it. The peachy color , the citrus fragrance - all girly. But its a super muscular girl - takes care of sweaty me very well and lets just say all I can smell on me after shower is orange. The other stuff is washed away - well.

For now I am happy doin Olay in the shower.

Wait that doesn't sound right.
At all.

Also if the one major question in your life has been -

-------------------------------- Olay or Dove ?--------------------------------

I'll give you the cheat sheet on that - Olay. This summer I have finally realized Dove to me is a winter soap not 85 degree Texan Summer disguised as Spring soap.

Love,
Tyra

Sorry. I have no idea why its stuck in my head.

Love,
Indian Girl

Traditionally it has always been easy for me to find something to soothe my dry skin during winter months. I try a couple and most often if they are a bit heavy - they keep me happy. And when all else fails I just slather on some olive oil !

Summers have never been easy. And around here Summer starts in April. It gets HOT and I get irritated. To top it all off my skin gets oily and keeps me looking every bit tired as the sun makes me. Finding a moisturizer to soothe my summer skin has been a challenge. But this year I am happy I've found something way before the heat hits !

The Aveeno Positively Smooth Facial Moisturizer is going to keep me happy . I can tell .

The moisturizer is light, non greasy, non sticky, has a pleasant smell and almost vanishes into my skin. It gives me some moisture and soothes my skin. Aveeno also writes about how this product is suppose to minimize the appearance of unwanted hair but I'm not buying into it, yet. The pump model is great . You can close it so nothing drips off .

Good things aside - $12.99 is rather expensive for a drugstore product ! Its times like these that make me wanna stick with Clean & Clear - cheap & effective. Most folks look for sunscreen in Summer moisturizer - not there.

I've had plenty of readers ask me if I had tried Aveeno, many others highly recommended it ! I am happy to say I have, now. This product is good - if it were cheaper , say $7 - I'd be all over it !

Love,
Indian Girl

This article contains a sample product sent for consideration by PR. For more details on the disclosure policy please refer to it at the bottom of the page.