BrownGal Makeup

Finding nude or natural looking lipsticks when you are person of color, especially a person with brown skin is always a challenge.  The lipsticks that are usually marketed and sold as "nude" colors, almost always look pasty and washed out on my brown skin.  "Nude" lipsticks either show up against my brown skin as a brown grey color or as a white color.  I'm always on the lookout for a lipstick that has a dual purpose of looking great on my brown skin and fit well with a natural makeup look.  For my natural makeup looks, I mostly prefer shades of brown and I'm always on the look out for the perfect brown or nude lipstick.   One of the lipstick that I use frequently is Charlotte Tilbury - Walk of No Shame. It was previously called Walk of Shame.  I can see why Charlotte Tilbury renamed this lipstick from Walk of Shame to Walk of No Shame.  Apart from the obvious misogynistic undertones of the term "Walk of Shame" and the fact that it is a term us...

Something that always bothers me especially during COVID times when most of us are predominantly shopping online, is a well funded cosmetic / makeup brand failing to properly display shades of its product on their website. It's 2021. Online shopping is not a novelty. There should be no excuses for this sort of shoddy marketing.  Case in point, the Chanel Les Beiges Water-Fresh Tint foundation on the Chanel website (or Macys , or Bloomingdales ) website.   On the Chanel website, there is only one color swatch. No swatches on how it looks on various skin tones (even if those look awfully photoshopped). Minimum details about color and the color names are different on the retailer website and colors mislabeled across websites.  I don't blame the retailers in this case as I think they get their pictures & details from the Chanel website.  However, Chanel could do a better job with their marketing of this product.  Chanel Les Beiges Water Fresh Tint in Medium Dee...

 One of my most common gripe with cosmetic companies is that every time I find a shade of lipstick, lip gloss, eye shadow, foundation (whatever!) that I really, really love. Invariably, the brand discontinues my favorite product.  Like almost ALWAYS.  I'm still waiting for MAC to bring back my all time favorite lipstick shade - Chelsea.   The MAC Chelsea lipstick was the nude lipstick for the brown skinned girl.  It was almost perfect. I had such high hopes for the MAC Chelsea shade with the MAC x Aaliyah collection.   Apparently, the MAC Chelsea color was the favorite of the late R&B singer Aaliyah. I can see why. The MAC Chelsea shade was one of the most flattering shade of lipstick available for brown skinned girls back in the 90's.  So when MAC came out with the Aaliyah collection, I was super excited.  I couldn't wait. But, of course, MAC did not bring back my beloved lipstick color.  I felt that collection was such a let d...

Currently my major skincare concern is having dull skin especially now that I'm older.  It almost feels like that natural glow of youth has dimmed a little (I hope it's just in my imagination).  So, I've gone from a basic cleanser, moisturizer routine to almost having a whole pharmacy's worth of products on my vanity.   Occasional facials from before an important event has now become a must do every other month. It's all adding up but here, I hope to cull it all down and give you some product suggestions that will help with the dullness and dark spots that seem to appear with age. Another factor with my skincare routine is that it has to be quick and not cumbersome as I need to get out the door every morning very quickly.     These are my out the door skin care routine products that has worked for me: Skin care routine products Cleanser - Tatcha - Camilla Cleansing Oil Morning Serum - The Ordinary - Niacinamide 10% + Zinc...

When I got married many, many, many years ago, I was super adamant that I was going to do my own makeup.  I'm of Indian origin and I celebrated my wedding in India. In the wedding planning stage, I considered a lot of makeup artists, many who came highly recommend.   However, I found there was a disconnect between what I wanted and what the makeup artist thought was the ideal wedding makeup. Even during my makeup trials, I found that they were almost unwilling to listen to what I wanted because their perception of the 'ideal' wedding makeup. The standard Indian brides makeup look at that time was so fundamentally different to what I considered to be ideal for me. Anytime, I went in for a facial in India, the facialist would always recommend a 'light bleaching agent' as a 'cleanser' to get an 'instant glow'. This would horrify me. I could never understand why anyone would put any sort of 'bleaching agent' however mild on their FACE or any ...

I recently read an article in "The Cut" about " How to Do 'No-Makeup-Makeup' for Darker Skin tones ".  The makeup artist in the article Daniel Martin is famed for doing the wedding makeup for Megan Markle. The make up artist had some good tips in the article - Use two different foundation shades (one for the perimeter of your face and another for the inside) and blend using a blending sponge to merge the two shades together. However, I would amend this slightly to say that a lot of people with darker skin tones are slightly darker around the mouth and the chin and lighter above the nose area (i.e. lighter on the forehead and cheeks) What I'm surprised about, is some of the brands that he's used.  Dior foundation,  Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Ultra Longwear Concealer.  These are not brands that have a range of shades for darker skin tones.  Dior - well, you know my opinion of them.  Same with Laura Mercier. There is a lack of shades for darker ...

While wandering the aisles of my neighborhood Ulta, I came across a Kylie Jenner display with most of the Kylie Jenner Velvet Liquid Lipsticks sold out.  Now, I'm not the type of person that would ever consider trying a Kylie Jenner lipstick or any Kardashian product for that matter. Most likely because of the reality star stigma attached to it. I've always treated reality star merchandise as poor quality junk with the promoter out to make a quick buck. Out of curiosity, I tried out a few testers for the liquid lipsticks to swatch on my hand and the Kylie Jenner Velvet Liquid Lipstick in the color 'Shook' reminded me so much of a YSL Liquid Lipstick from a gazillion years ago that used to be my go to brown matte.  On impulse, I purchased the Kyle Jenner Velvet Liquid Lipstick in Shook.  I liked the intensity and depth of color (very pigmented).  Kylie Jenner's website describes the color as a mahogany color.  On my skin tone, it shows as a flat brown with sl...

Are you looking for discounts, coupon codes and low prices for Charlotte Tilbury Makeup and Cosmetics? Look no further.  Forget all about looking for discounts and coupon codes.  I'm going to reveal THE BEST place for consumers in the United States to purchase Charlotte Tilbury makeup and cosmetics. No, it's not ebay, Amazon or some other discount website with random users selling cosmetics that may or may not be authentic. The website I am going to tell you about is a well know, well respected online website of extremely high end luxury goods.  The prices of Charlotte Tilbury cosmetics and makeup are sometimes more than 25% off the prices at Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales and Charlotte Tilbury's own website. For example the price of a Charlotte Tilbury lipstick from Neimans / Nordstrom / Bloomingdales / Charlotte Tilbury's own website is about $34+ taxes.  On the website I'm going to tell you about, it is $25 + taxes about 25% les...

Es Vedra is the name of an island off the coast of Ibiza (the Spanish party island). It is the most popular place in Ibiza to see the sunset.  The sunset in Es Vedra is known for it's beautiful orange and pink color.  It is also the inspiration for Charlotte Tilbury's Es Vedra beach stick.  Charlotte Tilbury's Beach Stick in Es Vedra is part of Charlotte's 'Makeup in a Minute' Range.  It is a coral hued lip and cheek color in a stick form.  It comes in a roll up tube in Charlotte's signature rose gold packaging. The color is supposed to be highly pigmented and goes on smooth and creamy. For application on your cheeks, you are supposed to apply the product on your cheek bones and blend it into your skin. On my skin tone (Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder shade 9), the first application on my cheeks is very sheer.  It feels like a swipe of gold sparkles (which seems to be blended into this color).  It requires a few swipes of this product for the c...

Giacomo is a Tom Ford lipstick from his Lips & Boys collection.  It is supposed to be moisturizing, long lasting and have a smooth velvet texture.  It also has a 'pearlescent, metallized finish' and comes in a 'clutch-sized case' and very sleek black & gold packaging.  The color of Giacomo is described as a 'playful pink' color.  The pros: This is indeed a highly moisturizing lipstick.  It shows as a slightly dark pink color in the tube.   If you have slightly darker lips, on first application this lipstick is quite sheer and will look like a translucent pink shade.  However, the color is buildable and doesn't feel heavy or flaky with multiple applications. On my Indian, darker skin tone, this shows up as a nice, natural, wearable pink with slight blue undertones.  It is long lasting (as long as you don't eat or drink anything).  It is easy to wear for long periods of time and feels like you are wearing lip balm. Th...

The Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lost Cherry lipstick is one of those lipsticks that looks so different on different people.  The Charlotte Tilbury website describes this lipstick as a 'pastel fuchsia matte lipstick'.  It is supposed to be a long lasting and buildable lipstick and is said to have '3D glowing pigments' that give the illusion of wider and fuller lips. Charlotte Tilbury: Lost Cherry Lipstick Charlotte Tilbury: Lost Cherry Lipstick  From my observation, the color is more of a pink and coral mix.  It is not highly pigmented and does not have full coverage.  If the natural shade of your lips is darker, on first application, this color goes on a little sheer in the sense that you can see your natural lip color under the first layer of this lipstick.  It takes a few applications to get good coverage of the Lost Cherry Lipstick.  The other issue with this lipstick is the more you apply, the lipstick gets a little flaky (or clump...

A bold red lipstick is such a classic. The right shade of red will instantly transform your face.  It is confidence, glamour, sophistication all rolled up in a little tube.  Every woman should have at least one power red lipstick that suits her complexion and transforms her face.  I’m always on the hunt for that perfect red lipstick.  And trying to find the right shade of red is a little bit of a struggle.   Every time I see a great shade of red on a friend or in a magazine I get this impulse to purchase it.  However, most times, when I try it on me, it looks all wrong.  It shows up as either a plum / maroon shade or it turns out too orange.  And for some reason, magazines always seem to recommend a Plum / Maroon shade of 'red' for darker complexions which drives me crazy. I am always on the look out for a true red, a red that shows up as a true red against my brown skin. In comes the classic MAC cosmetic shade of red 'Ruby Woo'.  Ruby W...

Looking for a great nude lipstick for darker skin tones? One that is very flattering for brown skin tones and is light and moisturizing and goes on smooth? Look no further than bareMinerals Panko. Panko is from the bareMinerals Gen Nude Radiant lipstick collection.  According to bareMinerals, it is supposed to have medium coverage and is meant to have a rich creamy texture and radiant shine. Panko generally refers to breadcrumbs that are used to coat food before frying or baking it.   The bareMinerals Panko lipstick is a soft brown color with a hint of coral in it.   The pros: it goes on very smooth and does have a creamy texture and is high shine.  It can be used  with or without lip liner.  In the pic below, the top image is without lip liner and the bottom image is with lip liner (Chanel - Spice lip liner). My lips felt like I was wearing lip balm and it was comfortable to wear and not drying at all. It does have medium c...

Have you ever had a lipstick Deja vu moment?  You pick up a lipstick and you feel the shade is just perfect and you must have it.  You get back home and realize that the shade you just purchased is exactly like 2 other lipsticks from different brands that you already have.  I hate these moments.  Especially when each lipstick cost upwards of $20. 'Dupe' is a term in makeup lingo for shades from different brands that are nearly identical (or are a duplicate of).  It is usually used to refer to a shade / product from a less expensive brand that is almost identical to that of a higher end brand.  In my case, I ended up purchasing three lipsticks (at different times), from different brands but they all ended up being almost identical.  The color I was enamored with was a shade of bright pink.  The lipsticks are: * MAC - All Fired Up, * Charlotte Tilbury - Electric Poppy and * Estee Lauder - Shock & Awe   Take a look at my s...