Nivea Cosmetics Review

Hey guys! I'm back with another review! This one's gonna be based on the Nivea cosmetics line. Now I know these are not really THAT popular in the Makeup world... But I'm gonna do an "undiscovered" kind of a review! So are you ready? Let's go!

So the products that I'm going to review today are:
Nivea BeautyLift 'Lifting Effect Foundation'
Nivea Volume Shine Wonderfull Lip gloss
Nivea Volume Shine Pure Diamond Lipstick
Nivea Extension NanoDefinition Mascara
Nivea Volume Shine Lipgloss

First up! The foundation. The packaging is a glass bottle which is nice and sturdy, and has a pump dispenser, which is totally hygienic and I love it for that! It promises tightening, smoothing and radiant skin. You get 30 ml of the product. It's got an SPF of 10, so it might not be good on flash cameras, but I've worn this on many occasions and my pictures have come out quite good, so I don't really mind that.

I'm surprised it's got a wide variety of shades, I'm in the shade 050 Apricot which is just perfect for my skin tone.

So here's my swatch, I took a small amount on the back of my hand, It's texture is quite liquid but not too runny. It's got a slight fragrance, nothing too overpowering and it disappears as and when you start blending it into your skin.

And then, as I blend, it completely disappears into my skin, leaving a very smooth and silky finish. It's staying power is quite impressive, I've worn this and gone out in the sun and it doesn't melt like other foundations do. So yay!!
The best part is it doesn't look cakey on your skin, and when I felt my face after an hour or so of applying this, it felt just sooo soft! I was surprised because it's quite long-lasting. It gives a low to medium coverage, and when I pair this up with a concealer, its just perfect!
The only thing that I didn't like about this is that it kind of got accumulated on my nose area. I blended it quite well, but after two hours or so, I could notice a kind of powdery look on my nose, a bit weird. Maybe it's because my nose is dry.. Hmm...
It also says at the back of the bottle that it minimises pore visibility. I found that it lives up to that too.

All in all, its a wonderful product worthy of its price. It might not compete with the high-end foundations, but if you're looking for something budget-friendly, this is it!!

Next up! The lip gloss tube. This is called the Nivea Volume Shine Wonder Full lip gloss. Phew! That's a long name! It also says its a plumping gloss with collagen booster. It's got 14 ml of the product and is in the shade 4 Rosy. The packaging is super attractive and cute! And of course, totally travel-friendly.

It's got a plastic tip with a hole in the middle to dispense the gloss. You probably can see in the swatch that it's a very soft light peach color. But when you apply it on the lips there's hardly any color payoff. It's got really really low pigmentation and that's a bummer...
The first thing that I noticed when I applied it is that it's really up in that collagen game, 'cause I felt my lips so much more fuller after I used this gloss.
But the other thing that I also noticed is that it's so sticky! Like super sticky guys! I feel really uncomfortable when my lip gloss is sticky. I actually hate it. So there's a negative point.
Also, after maybe an hour or two, the lip gloss completely disappeared leaving some kind of a weird white sediment at the corners of my lips. And it's got zero moisture in it, so when it dries off it leaves your lips totally dry.

So if the product has this many flaws, how does one use it? I have an answer for that too! Afra to the rescue!! :D
So basically its got such low pigmentation, it really can't be worn on itself. Plus it dries out your lips, so I came up with a perfect solution. I pair it up with a nice creamy lipstick! I use this as a top coat for a lipstick, it lightens the color a slight bit, adds up gloss and doesn't dry out your lips! So its a win-win situation! Yay!

Now, it's time for Nivea Volume Shine Pure Diamond Lipstick. This is in the shade 62 Beige Diademe. When I first saw the shade, I thought it was a bit too dark for me, but using even the slightest swipe of the product, I get just the right amount of color on my lips. It's got great color build-up and it's texture is super soft and creamy. 

The swatch just might look a bit dark, but it's actually a quite lovely nude when you blend it. I'm not really a big fan of dark lipsticks. This is a lovely soft nude with peach and pink undertones.

Now let's talk about the Nivea Extension Nano Definition Mascara. This is of course in the shade 01 Black and you receive 8 ml of the product.

It promises visible extension and perfect separation at the back of the tube.

The mascara wand is nice and sturdy and has evenly distributed stiff bristles. One can't really swatch a mascara, but I tried it anyway! So here's the thing, the initial application of the mascara is nice, but once you apply the second coat, it tends to become really clumpy. And I HATE clumpy! Ewww! When it dries on your lashes, it tends to make your lashes stone hard. It gives a very heavy feeling and you don't feel comfortable about it. That's a bummer.
Also, the life of this mascara is way too short for my liking. Usually mascaras can go upto 6-7 months easily. But this one hardly lasts for 2-3 months!! It's all dried up after that. I have used it properly and haven't excessively pumped the wand into the bottle, but still, the mascara bottle is just completely dry!

So here was my review for these Nivea products.  I hope you enjoyed reading my lovelies. I'll see you next time! Till then, this is Afra saying peace out....

Global Village 2015 + Makeup Haul!

Hello everyone! And here I am! With yet another shopping haul blog! A shopaholic never stops, does she? Yeah, pretty much! Okay so The annual Global Village is here and it's practically my MOST FAVORITE shopping destination, so you really didn't think I was going to hold myself back, were you?

Global Village is basically an annual fair sort-of-a-thingy, where there are pavilions of countries all over the world and there are rides (like massive ones) and gigantic food courts and contests and stage performances, the whole lot! It's my absolute Favorite. I love visiting it every year and doing tons and tons of shopping. Its got an entrance fee of 15 dirhams and you can shop, play, eat, drink, dance and have fun as long as you want! Good deal, eh?

So first I'm going to show you the photos that I happened to click when I was there, here goes!

First up, I headed to the USA! Woohoo Yeah! It's a first, 'cause America has never participated in the Global Village before, so I was heaps excited!

The dresses were just gorgeous! I mean so beautiful!! I noticed that sheer laces, nets and floral patterns are very 'in' right now. And of course, I couldn't hold myself back, so I bought an off-white and deep red full-length dress for moi, (sadly its not in the picture) but its just beautiful! I can't wait to try it on! The were tonnes of stores to select from and I had a really hard time choosing! Sadly there was no E.L.F. store as I'd expected... What does a girl have to do get her hands on 1$ makeup if she doesn't live in US!? Ugh! :(

After that I had a slight detour to Yemen and Istanbul. As you can see, it turned pretty dark after I had ventured myself through the complete United States of America! Heehee!

Next up was India, Thailand, China, Pakistan...

Check out these cute covers I saw at Thailand!

And then off to Europe! Where I visited Italy, Germany and , my LOVE....... London!!

So there I had my ultimate fangirling moment when I saw TONS and TONS of One Direction merch! Like THANK YOU God for letting me see this day where I see 1D in abundance in Dubai, a million miles away from UK.

And at London, I had a massive makeup haul! YAYSIEES!
So first I bought two heart shaped mini lipgloss, they were for 5 dirhams, yep, pretty cheap!

Next up, a plumping lipgloss from Wet N Wild, its the transparent one, I think it was for...err...12 or 15 dirhams.. I can't really remember... :(

Then from Max Factor, I purchased a trio eyeshadow, I'm sorry but I completely can't remember the shade name or its price, and I've already put it somewhere so I'll tell you the deets probably when I do a review about it! Also I bought the Max Factor Smokey Eye Effect Eyeshadow Pen in the shade Indigo Mist for 30 dirhams. That...was quite some money for a small product. I can't believe I actually shelled out that much on just an eyeshadow... Oh well!

And the rest of the stuff I bought was Nivea 'cause that was the product which was in abundance at the store. Here's the break-up:
A pair of Nivea Beauty Lift Foundation in the shade 050 Apricot. It cost me 20 dirhams each and that's definitely a bargain considering it's foundation! I love the packaging! I'll be doing a review on these Nivea products soon!

Two Nivea Volume Shine lipgloss tubes. Each for...errr...! Damn it! I have a habit of buying and buying makeup but I never seem to remember how much they cost me! :( Sorrieee!!!

Two Nivea Lipglosses (one of them is double-ended) they are such LOVELY colors!! Each was for 15 dirhams I think.

A Nivea Kajal pencil in the shade Black. Well, I have a million black liners in my vanity but a girl can never have too many black eyeliners, can she?

Nivea Eyeshadow by Chantal Thomas. Its a lovely shade of deep purple, but I still haven't tried it on so no idea about it's pigmentation.

And lastly Nivea Lipstick for 30 - 35 dirhams. My mum picked this up for me so I have no idea what shade it is in. Will let you know in my review post!!

That's it from me guys, I'll see you next time as I continue travelling, shopping and having fun all over Dubai! Till then...

Huge Pakistani Lawn Material Haul!

Hello everyone! Welcome back to my blog! Today I'll be sharing my Pakistani Lawn Material haul with you guys! So excited!! I had loads of fun shopping because pakistani dresses are the bomb! This is going to be looong post 'cause I did a ton of shopping so make yourself comfortable! Go on! Relax.

So I was just so bored because it was the holidays and I had nothing to do all day. So impulsively I told Mum let's go for a casual walk. It was spring and the weather was just beautiful! So out we went, and after a while I found myself in ZamZam market.

For those of you who don't know, ZamZam market is basically huge bazaar beside Rolla and behind Bank street in Sharjah. You get the best of the best dresses there and there are like a million of boutiques you can shop from. It's my one-stop destination when I'm looking to buy traditional Indian or Pakistani dresses. So we first we headed on to a petite boutique called "Aisha Ibrahim".

The latest fashion trends in Pakistani designer wear has to be the chiffon dupattas and sleeves. Every Spring/Summer collection that I've seen has them. They are so super soft and this material has been selling like hot cakes in the market. Gone are the days of the extremely large cotton 'chaadars' which stick on to your body. the chiffon dupattas are extremely light on your skin and you don't even feel like you have a dupatta on!

The sleeves are something new I saw. Chiffon sleeves have been in the market from a long time but just not as popular as they are now. You get a separate chiffon material which is to be stitched as the sleeves. So let's get started with the haul already!

Aisha Ibrahim didn't have much of a variety, but Mum bought this simple printed lawn material with a cotton dupatta for 50 dirhams. I'm not a very big fan of the color, but I love the design! The print is just too beautiful. Here it is:

There wasn't anything more that pleased my eye, so we walked to the opposite boutique called "Al Ghori". It was early in the morning so we were the only customers at the store. We picked out two printed lawn suit materials first.

The first one is a blue printed lawn. It has a gorgeous pattern on it. The salwar is plain blue, on the left is it's dupatta and in the centre is the suit.

The next one is a purple and  black combination lawn suit. The salwar is plain purple at the centre. The left and right black materials are the sleeves and dupatta respectively. and at the centre is the suit. Both of them cost 45 dirhams each.

And finally we move on to the chiffon! So we particularly asked the salesman for some chiffon sleeves and dupatta designer pieces and that's when he displayed the Dawood designer Pakistani lawn suits. The first one we liked was a bright red number. The material of the lawn as well as the chiffon was just so dreamy! I just love it!

It's got its plain red salwar in the centre, chiffon dupatta on the left, chiffon sleeves on the right  and the suit right at the centre.

The next one is a bright pink one. It's got the usual plain pink salwar, its chiffon dupatta on the left, chiffon sleeves on the right and the suit in the middle. I love the little white flowers, they complement with the bright pink perfectly.

The next is sky blue with hints of white and black in it. There's the blue plain salwar at the centre top, the white chiffon dupatta on the left, the chiffon sleeves on the right and of course the suit in the middle.

Last but not the least, a combination of purple and aqua greenish bluish colors. I personally love this one a lot, the colors just blend with each other so perfectly! Loved it! There's the plain salwar at the top, the chiffon sleeves on the left and the chiffon dupatta on the right and the suit at the centre.

All of these Dawood designer pieces cost 60 dirhams each. The colors are just so vibrant and the quality and material is just breathtaking! I was so eager to get my hands on the Spring/Summer Lawn collection and finally I have! Yay!

So that was my haul lovelies! How was it? Do tell me in the comments section below! Would love to hear from you guys! So I'll see you next time! Bye!

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post.

Garnier Face Wash Review

My first ever blog! I'm just so excited! *screams*

Sorry! So let's just get to the point.

Today I'm going to be doing a review on the Garnier Skin Naturals Fairness Face Wash.

Garnier is a beauty brand owned by L'Oreal and it has a wide variety of skincare and beauty products. It has recently introduced BB creams into the market which has taken over by a storm! I'm yet to own one, but if any of my lovely readers use it, please do tell me how it is!

The packaging is a bright yellow and white soft matte tube which is just really attractive. It's got a hard flip-open kind of a lid so its absolutely travel-friendly. For 19 dirhams, you get 100 ml of product which I personally think is a good deal. Here's what it looks like.

My first impression on this was LEMON! It's got this strong, yet fragrant scent of lemon in it which is just wonderful. The texture is really soft and it's pearly white in color. When I use it on a regular basis, I notice that most of my breakouts are visibly reduced and my skin feels ultra-soft immediately after the face wash. Lemon is a natural skin brightener. I instantly notice my skin brighten and glow. The face wash doesn't lighten your skin tone. Nothing in the world can do that! But instead, it removes any kind of tan and reveals your original skin color. Yep, that's exactly what it does.

Coming to the ingredients, you see that little black tab right at the top of the tube? It's exactly on the crimp. You see it?

That indicates that the product is full of harsh chemicals. Indeed, it is. I read the ingredients and oh is it harsh! So if you're a girl who has really sensitive skin, prone to a lot of breakouts, I would not recommend this for you. I would suggest you to go for something milder like a herbal face wash or even Pears, its super mild on skin.

But the mild face washes don't work as quick as this one. Believe me, I've tried Yardley, Ponds, Clean & Clear, Himalaya Herbals, Pears, Kustody and tons of other face washes.
Woah! That's a lot of face washes I've used! I could be an expert.

The thing is, you use Garnier and I guarantee you, in a week or two, you'll notice visible differences in your skin. I did. But the other face washes don't do that. I've tried and tried and tried and it all fails. The only bummer in Garnier is it's chemicals.
It's suitable for any type of skin tone, be it oily or dry or combination, it works like a charm. So my final views!

The Yay!
Packaging
Texture and Scent
The product itself!
It's quick-action formula

The Nay!
Price
Chemicals!

I highly recommend this product for my friends and readers!
Do comment if you liked the article and my review! And share your experiences and product recommendations with me. Wanna be friends? Contact me on my twitter. I'll see you next time! Bye!

Disclaimer: What works for my skin may not work for your skin and vice-versa, hence I'm not to be held liable for any problems occurring by use/purchase of products recommended by me. This article is not sponsored and all opinions are solely of the author.