Our Expert your Queries

My turn this time to ask an Expert ….

1.      You are an avid online shopper and a wise buyer I must say, I would like to know some of the best product one should pick from THE BRANDS like YSL, Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, Elizabeth Arden, Shiseido and Estee Lauder.

Let me write some of the best products each brand makes though I have had post on what to buy from brands in some of blog archives. YSL – Touché Eclat, Faux Cils and Singular Mascara, Lipsticks, Glosses and Teint Parfait complexion perfector. Chanel – Eye liners, Nail polishes, Lipsticks and Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation, although most of the Chanel limited editions are really good compared to any other brand. Givenchy – Photoperfexion light foundation, Roughe Interdit shine lipsticks, blushes, Magic Kohl pencil and Phenmoneyes mascara.  Elizabeth Arden – Ceramide range, lipsticks, Intervene Radiance Serum, Eye fix primer. Dior makes the best eyeshadows, Extase mascara; Serum de rouge and Dior Eye show creamy eye shadows. Shiseido – Multishade enhancers in Terracotta glow and sunset glow, Accentuating sticks, Luminizing Satin eye color trios, eyelash curler and Hydropower eye shadows. Estee Lauder has lovely lipsticks and lip glosses, double wear light foundation, double wear mascara and double wear liners.

2.      Loose Powder or Pressed Powder and which brand?

I like Kryolan and Clinique for Loose Powders and Inglot for pressed powders. Other brand which I absolutely love is Shiseido.

3.      Myths and facts about Toners – key ingredients in them and how important and are they really good or aren’t much of use to our skin

Toners can be drying to the skin and they only give a refreshing feeling and nothing else. All that pore tightening is silly as even cold water can do that. Please remember if your toner tingles your skin then it doesn’t mean it’s working, it’s overtly drying your skin. Also it’s ok if you skip a toner especially in winters. Mattifying toners are the harshest skin care products known to anyone. If you get blackheads after using toner, it means ur skin is reboundly producing excess oil due to the drying effect which is not a nice situation.

4.      Mascara – I don’t buy high end and Maybelline is defiantly not my favorite brand, please tell me some of middle range mascara and how important they are?

Mascaras should be ophthalmologist tested and invest in good ones as they are important coz they are applied near the eyes. High end mascaras have better pigments and better waxes (Carnauba wax in high end mascaras is really an expensive raw material) while middle range mascaras tend to have jojoba and castor oil with gum acacia for creating a lustrous look. The contribution of the mascara formula and wand in getting the best results in 50-50% so both are equally important. I always buy mascara that does not stain the under eye area, is smudge resistant but comes off easily and doesn’t smell horrible (like the Body shop ones). I love mascaras from Max Factor and Bourjois and L’Oreal from the middle range brands and find Maybelline ones not really up to the mark and the claims they make (even the Colossal Volume one). High end mascaras also have lash conditioning properties and help promote fuller lashes (especially the hybrid mascaras with lash growth serums)

5.      Best of oriflame – I know you love some of oriflame products , but am so confused as to what to invest in , if you share I will just bookmark them and buy them in sale.

Oriflame is a Swedish Brand known for their innovative products sold through multi level marketing. What makes them really affordable is the cost that is direct from the company to the consumer with no retailer involved in between. I really love the Giordani Gold range which is the luxurious division, some Oriflame mascaras can beat good brands at half the price and their lipstick colors are fabulous. You won’t mind spending on 3 lipsticks from Oriflame Vs High end brands. Their products to roll and keep on changing with a blink of eye so whatever I recommend today might not be available tomorrow. But do read the monthly catalogues as they are full of offers and so many good products.

6.      How to use Inglot eye shadow – I feel they are very powdery but there might be some way to use them properly and make use of awesome vivid color?

Using Inglot eye shadows can be a bit difficult and very irritating at times if you don’t get the result. I must emphasize that Inglot eye shadows are high quality, finely milled, cost effective and very vivid when it comes to colors. Many of the women face problems as the colors especially eye shadows fall in the under eye area. This could be taken care of. Since the eye shadows contain very less fillers, they are true to their pigmentation. So unlike major brands’ eyeshadows, we must start off with a sticky eye shadow base for the eye shadow to stay on. I recommend eye makeup primers like Benefit Lemonaid, Elizabeth Arden Eye fix or MAC Soft Ochre to be used first before applying the eye shadows. Whichever Inglot eye shadow you like, just dab or stipple it with a flay eye shadow brush on the lids. Let it hold onto something first and then you can use your blending and diffusing talents to get the desired looks. I strongly recommend their matte eye shadows as they are soft and have an easy slip.

7.      I remember once you mentioned , using too much lip balm is not good for lips , please share the key points for this as I know many of us are hooked and count me in as well .

Over conditioning your lips by applying lip balms every 10 mins is not very good for the lips and your brain. It becomes a sort of addiction to use lip balms and one ends up going crazily buying them…Who should use a lipbalm is a question? Anyone who has chapped lips but there are other products that will treat the cause unlike lip balms that treat the current condition. There are many modifiable factors that can prevent chapped lips, like sipping water and keeping the skin hydrated, using SPF on the lips, less smoking and alcohol consumption and most importantly sleeping a beauty sleep. These all factors can give your lips a better life than lip balm dependency. I believe one must use lip balm only twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Also invest in a lip serum or lip treatment to boost your lips natural collagen. Lip plumper’s are good options too as they have plumping hyaluronic acid spheres that go into the skin of the lips  and swell in the water present there.

8.      How do you compare Toner and Exfoliate?

Exfoliators are so different from toners and do a better job. Liquid exfoliators containing products like Lactic acid, salicylic acid, glycolic acid, acetyl glucosamine etc. enable the skin to regenerate thus revealing a radiant glowing skin unlike toners that strip away moisture making the skin feel dry and tight. Exfoliators used on dry skins help improve the skin’s hydration capacity while for oily skin, they remove the surface oil, unclog pores and improve the skin’s clarity. The fact that exfoliators expose the better absorbing skin from within and give a natural glow to the skin gives them better points.

9.      How good is MAC Fix +? Is it worth buying or there is something better then Fix +?

Makeup fixers are a very good idea to keep your makeup looking refreshed and dewy throughout the day and help maintain surface hydration. Makeup fixers also have anti-pollution properties and keep your skin’s external barrier intact. MAC fix + is a good option to make your makeup stay longer can be used under or over makeup. I also love Clinique Moisture Surge spray that does the same job but has aloe Vera for hydrations. Givenchy and Dior make their versions too. The limited edition MAC fix + Lavender spray was my favorite as it smelled good and refreshed the skin. They had one in Rose too.

10.  Do you believe in face pack?? You really think LUSH is worth investing for face pack or some random brand serves the purpose? I am hooked to LUSH but the price tag does bother me.

I love face packs and masks as they are good ways to give a boost of nutrients to the skin. Lush products are natural and involve botanicals as well minerals. But any good brand also can be picked up. Just see what your skin needs are and then go ahead with your favorite one. I like the Estee Lauder cyber white mask as it gives my skin an amazing youthful radiant finish.

If you have any questions feel free to mail me at

20 comments

  1. zara says:

    hey cool! I dint know oriflame mascaras were so gud..i have only one and do like it but since iv bin using maybelline since so long i never bothered to compare…and oriflame has come up with so many new things…ive gotta try them now 🙂 🙂

    • rashmi says:

      yeah i also never knew … must by in sale isnt it ??
      i bought new mascara today … am so happyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy 😀 😀 😀 :D: D

      • Zara says:

        oh yes….i usually buy oriflame and avon every month..but never bothered to heck out the mascaras seriously..i used only one mascara from oriflame which was nice but nothin too gr8 so i never bought the newer ranges…now aftr Neerajs’ advice i think i shud try..

        kaunsa mascara liya?

  2. Tripti says:

    These are some of the questions which I wanted to ask and glad you did this in advance,
    I know its weird but please can you tell me the price for Clinique Moisture Surge Spray and is it better then MAC or both are equally good ?
    I appreciate the effort DOC is taking in answering all our queries and this is by far the best feature on IB 😀

    • Neeraj says:

      Hi Tripti,

      Its for Rs.1475……….and I prefer it as it really hydrates and refreshes ur skin and is a different function from MAC Fix + which is for mostly fixing makeup.
      Since I have both and I like both I suggest both of them with equal merits!!

      CIao

  3. laksh says:

    So many of my unasked questions were answered too. I have that lip balm addiction and ‘m trying to stop the incessant use. Thanks for info on mascaras and Mac’s Fix+, even I was debating buying it.
    laksh recently posted..

  4. Eesha says:

    Oh Rashmi, I am loving this feature on IB 🙂
    So many questions getting answered that too by an expert! 🙂 🙂 🙂
    Eesha recently posted..

  5. rashmi says:

    Thank you so much Neeraj for answering my queries in detail 😀 😀
    I am def. going to pick shiseido Accentuating stick as you have mentioned this lot many times
    and yeah i picked Bourjois mascara and am so glad … happy with the result
    need to search for oriflame agent close to my place 😀 😀
    i am glad my clinique step 2 is still my fav and am gonna stick to exfoliators 😀 😀
    and yeah now clinique loose powder and moisture surge and the mask you mentioned is on my wish list …
    thank you once again for the help

      • rashmi says:

        not really Zara … you can use Clinique’ s Step 2 which is exfoliator ….
        i sware by that product and Neeraj highly recommends that 😀

        • Zara says:

          Now i guess m gon ahave t go and start Cliniqu’ing 😉 Ive actually never used any clinique products…i always thought thye were for extreme problem skin and the rest things r pretty normal..but after reading so much advice from Dr. i feel like trying atleast one thing first..

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