MAKEUP MAYHEM : 30 Beauty Questions Tag | Makeup Beauty Blog

"A smile is the most prettiest thing you can wear so always remember to smile..."

Hello my dear dearest lovelies... How have you all been today? :) Hope you are all happy in your lives and have a lovely reason to smile every single day. I do, I see my husband's face and I forget everything. He gives me a reason to smile everytime. :)

I have always wanted to do a tag post and have always loved watching several videos on YouTube. Being the makeup junkie that I am, I always had several answers to all the Tag questions and I am glad I am getting the opportunity to do one for you all right now through my blog. However, videos is something that I am planning to do in the future. So let me get straight through to the Tag questions. Ready??

1) Do you remember your first makeup item?

I do remember that very clearly. I grew up in a town called Quilon in Kerala which is still known to be a Cashewnut industry hub. Dad is into Cashewnut export/import business and I remember when I was very very little, something around 3-4 years old, my dad often took me to these different club family meeting where I met these gorgeous women all dressed up so beautifully and wore these bright shades of lipsticks and glitzy expensive sarees and I used to look at them in awe. One day I wanted to figure out what these women wore on their lips as my mom never wore any lipstick. I thought it is something like a colour and I took my mom's liquid Eyetex Shingar (which is like a liquid bhindi that you literally need to draw on your forehead) and coloured my whole lips with that. My mom was shocked seeing me do that.. (can't imagine what she must have felt.. LOL!).. so she decided to buy me a lipstick for me to play with. I do not remember the shade or the brand, I just remember getting one in my hand and always dressed up wearing it. I went to family get together with that lipstick on and I remember being really good at wearing it.

2) Describe your perfect mascara. Have you found one that fits your specifications?

I have tried tonnes of mascaras in my life and have gone through sampling quite a lot to find my perfect one at the moment but my preferences do change as and when I figure out another good mascara that works. I really like mascara that lengthens and curls well and gives me volume. I hate mascaras that flakes.. it just goes all over the place and falls to your face!! Argh! My favourite ones are L'Oreal Telescopic, Max Factor False Lash effect and Maybelline Falsies mascara. I also do love MAC Zoom Fast Black Lash mascara. Somehow it works well on me. Another favourite is Givenchy Noir Couture Volume mascara.

3) What kind of coverage do you prefer from foundation?

I always prefer my foundation to be medium, buildable to full coverage foundation since I do suffer from pigmentation and acne scarring. I like the finish a medium coverage foundation gives. It also depends on the occasion and the event I will be wearing the foundation for.

4) Favourite high end brand of makeup?

Haha... Well, let's just say I can't just say one! LOL! MAC is definitely a cult favourite of mine. I also love CHANEL, NARS, STILA, THE BALM and YSL.

5) What cosmetic brands have you always wanted to try but still haven't?

Oh I do have quite a few in my list! I always wanted to try Anastasia Beverly Hills and Hourglass which I am dying to try!! :( Being here in India it is indeed very very difficult to get these brands in hand.

6) Favourite drugstore brand?

I do love certain brands from the drugstore. Sleek and NYX are favourites of mine. However, I do love L'Oreal, Revlon, Rimmel and Maybelline as well.

7) Do you wear false eyelashes?

Yes I do love wearing false eyelashes, although, I am pretty lazy to wear it all the time. I love the effect and oomph false eyelashes give to your eyes. It can make instant changes and make you look glamorous instantly, but I do not wear them everytime. However, I do own a lot of them to suit different occasions.

8) Is there any kind of makeup you can't leave the house without?

Most definitely yes!! I cannot live without lipsticks!! I always carry a makeup bag inside my handbag and that would most definitely have some makeup stuff including 2-3 lipstick choices. I think a good lipstick can instantly transform your whole face and look.

9) What is your most cherished beauty product?

I love all my makeup and I feel it is most closest to my heart... I adore all my MAC lipsticks and I do own quite a few of them, 40 I guess! I also love my YSL and CHANEL lipstick collection and love my CHANEL No.5 Eau De Parfum that my dad gifted me. I cherish it a lot.

10) How often do you shop for makeup? Do you like to pick up an item here and there or get lots of goodies at once?

I am a complete shopaholic and used to shop quite often either online or at Boots or Superdrug while I used to be in the UK. After coming back to India, I do not shop as much!! I feel beauty industry is still lagging behind in India. MAC stores are completely lacking in the state of Kerala and after coming to Bangalore, here there are ONLY MAC stores!! There is a complete lack of other diverse makeup brands that you wish to test and recommend to others so here I do not shop much. I love to buy stuff from Feelunique.com, cultbeauty.co.uk, beautybay.com or even ASOS now. Before I used to pick up items here and there and test out where as now, I buy lots of goodies at once since I mostly buy them online. Update: SEPHORA has opened here in Bangalore at Forum and Orion mall and I am super excited to do lots of damage there!! :D I did visit their Orion mall shop and they had brands like Stila, Makeup Forever, Soap and Glory, Chanel, Estee Lauder, Benefit, Lancome etc.. however, most of their products were out of stock which literally put me off. Brands like Too Faced, Buxom, Becca, Kat Von D, Tarte etc did not make it to the stores here so pretty gutted about that. Ah well! :(

11) Do you have a 'beauty budget' or do you spend freely?

I never used to keep a budget initially for beauty and makeup items before when I used to be in the UK but here, yes, I do have a budget that I look at. I try and skip shades that I do have dupes or are similar ones (since I have way too many!).

12) Do you utilize coupons, reward cards and sales when you shop for cosmetics?

Yes I used to do that quite a lot when I used to shop at Boots, Superdrug and Debenhams. I love most of their beauty club and membership schemes and I make sure that I completely use them. Boots do send across quite a few coupons with triple points etc where as Debenhams give you free offers, makeovers, samples and their points scheme is also very good. In India, I am not familiar with any such schemes yet.

13) What type of product do you buy the most of?

I am a lipstick hoarder and I love love love collecting them. You will never see me outside without wearing a lipstick. I just love trying out different shades, formula, brands, finishes etc.. Lipstick always makes me feel good about myself.

14) Is there a brand that you absolutely can't stand?

I do not think that I do hate a brand so much that I can't stand it at all. For me most of the brands, whether it is a drugstore or high end, has a hit and miss with respect to products so I do not completely hate on a brand like that at all.

15) Do you avoid certain ingredients in cosmetics like Parabens and Sulfates?

I do not have problems with Parabens and Sulfates in my cosmetics but I prefer not to have them in my skincare products. I prefer perfume-free, paraben-free, sulfate-free skincare products and if possible hair care as well. I am particularly not sensitive to them but it is just my preference.

16) Do you have a favourite place to shop for makeup?

Oh yes absolutely!! I used to love shopping at Boots, Superdrug and Debenhams while in the UK. I also love shopping at Selfridges Beauty Hall at London, SpaceNK and also at Airport Duty Free shops. Currently I also love to shop through Feelunique.com and Cultbeauty.co.uk as well.

17) Do you like trying new skincare products or do you keep a certain routine?

I try not to change much on my skincare products but being in the industry that I am, I do sample little bit of products here and there but ensure that the product is suitable to my oily/combination skin type and I preferably stick with fragrance-free, paraben-free, sulfate-free products. I personally love products from French Pharmacy brands.

18) Favourite Bath and Body brand?

The Body Shop, Soap and Glory, Lush, Champneys and Victoria's Secret.

19) If you could only buy from one brand, which brand would you choose?

Easy, CHANEL!

20) What brand do you think has the best packaging?

There are couple of brands out there that do really good packaging of their products. I do personally love Guerlain, YSL and Benefit Cosmetics packaging a lot. The Balm and Urban Decay do really good as well. MAC lipsticks are just classy!

21) Which celebrity always has great makeup?

Oh there are couple of celebrities that I do stalk without any guilt. :D One is most definitely Rihanna. I love how comfortable she is in her clothes and makeup and is always ready to experiment.. and everything looks really good on her. I also do love Blake Lively, Mila Kunis, Selena Gomez and Kim Kardashian as well. Each of them have their own unique style and it is wonderful to take inspiration from them.