Colorbar Take Me As I Am Lipstick / Lip Color Review

I have started using lipsticks only in the past couple of years, earlier I only used lip glosses, and was particularly afraid of bright red lipstick shades & wondered how did females carry them off so gracefully. Then came my love for lipsticks, and once I got habituated, I saw that red shades look great on me!

Purchased the Colorbar "Take me as I am" lip color on the recommendation of their sales person at the Phoenix Market City, Mumbai store. It actually is a chubby pencil with comes along with a complimentary sharpener. I was a little apprehensive because of the hassle of sharpening, but the salesperson promised me it would be a great decision.

About the product-

Take me as I am lip color is a unique multi functional product which provides the application of a lipstick combined with the convenience of a pencil in a jumbo crayon design. It is an extra creamy and soft feeling lipstick formula with excellent color pay-off and coverage. Viscous oils and esters create the beautiful shine. Skin conditioning ingredients like Shea butter and vitamin E further enhance the comfortable wearing properties.

Shade- Sensuous Red 

Code:   TML001 

Size:  3.94 gm

MRP Rs. 800/-

I am writing this review after using it for a month, so this is not based on just a 1 time experience. This is how it looks on me on just applying-

This is how it looks after around 6-8 hours-

Pros-

1. Applies very smoothly, you do not have to put layers of the product, so it won't get over soon.

2. Gives a very nice finish, has good coverage. 

3. What I used to hate about lipsticks is the "dry" feeling after application. Trust me, that changes with this product. The ingredients make your lips feel soft!

4. Really long lasting! Apply it in the day and you are good to go till night! It does fade a little, but it still is very much there! Other lipsticks I have used come off in an hour, or when you drink or eat. This did not.

Cons-

1. A pencil product that requires a sharpener. So if you are travelling or use it on the go, you might have to carry the sharpener too. Though its a good thing they give it complimentary.

2. It is hard to remove it. Just washing your face or mouth won't take it off, in fact it left my hands turn pink too. You have to use professional make up removal products, face wash or wash your mouth 3-4 times for the product to properly come off.

3. Though it stays on for hours, it still does transfer, so you need to be careful not to leave unwanted stains.

Verdict-

What I love is the shade looks great on me, goes with all my outfits and most importantly, doesn't feel dry & doesn't come off even if you eat or drink. I love the product totally. I will give it a 9/10.

My stay at Ramada Caravela ,Varca Beach ,Goa

So, Ramada Caravela held this contest on Twitter & Facebook where you had to upload your couple images to win a 3 night stay! Of-course I had to try my luck!
I got short-listed in the top 6, and after a lot of competitive spirit, votes, jury decision, etc won it!

Winner Announcement

It was really exciting, got a booking confirmation after a couple of days, last minute only bus was available (flight prices exorbitant). Off we went!

Reached Margaon Bus Stand at 1.30 pm, and the property at 2 pm. It is situated right at the beach, totally wow!

The entrance, the lobby, the reception everything is SO grand, makes you feel like you've just entered a royal palace, only to be treated like a Queen & King yourself!

We were tired from the journey, so had a quick lunch at the Cafe Cascada & went to our room to rest & get fresh. The room is lovely to, comprising of a balcony to lounge in, bathroom with all amenities & bathtub, tea/coffee maker, a minibar, television and adequate lighting.

There was a Valentine's Day special program that night, which had a great Valentine Day theme decor with Red heart shaped balloons etc.

The hotel has amenities like swimming pools (Yes, pools) with a minibar situated in the middle of one of them! Thats like wow! Haven't seen that anywhere else! Yoga, Jacuzzi, Gym, Massage, Salon, Discotheque, Tennis Court, Beach shack.. its huge, 20 acres of property very well utilized! They also have some or the other activities going on for kids at the activity centre, the hotel is very kid friendly.

Though the property is around 20 years old, it is very well maintained, and has this charm about it which distinguishes it from other hotels.

The food was good too, always a variety at the buffet spread. A mixture of different cuisines too. And there were these "One Man Show" performances at dinner time which added to the ambiance!

Thank you for the amazing stay, its something we will cherish for a long time to come!

Huawei Blogathon Winner Announcement

You guys remember me telling I was short-listed for the Huawei Club Blogathon in which we had to write 20 Blog posts in 1 month's time?

Well, that finally came to an end on 10th February 2014 and winners were announced yesterday!

I came 4th amongst all the 15-20 bloggers! I am very happy, because this was not expected at all! And that's not it, they also announced me as "Star of the week" on their Forum!

Wonder where did they pick up this image from to edit though.

But such an honour made me really really happy! Thank you Huawei!

'Untitled' By @stunningmoon

Silver strands starting to make an appearance,
Fine wrinkles contouring the face...
Yes, we do show our resistance,
But inside we're fighting to keep our grace.

We want equality, some of us even get it.
But its a "Man's world" as they quote,
There's no doubt about it.

Sacrifices, Struggles, Stress;
These S's are ageing us before we ought to,
They expect us to multi task,
Complain, we can't do!

We might dress up like men, even be someone's boss;
But we're women, all we want is to be loved,
Not bear another loss!

Education, Job, Marriage, Family...
Its a never ending process of being up-to the mark,
What we really want is to break free from reality,
But that's a far-fetched dream, leaving us in the dark.

Maybe things will change someday,
Maybe we will get the respect we deserve;
Till then we must keep going,
Using all the energy in our reserve.

Kindle E Ink 6" Ebook Reader Review

Hello there!

Another gadget review. Had been wanting to do this one since a few days now but wasn't getting any time.

Anyway, this is to review the Kindle E Reader with WiFi & E E Ink Display, 6" Black
Available on Amazon.in for Rs. 5,999/- and Amazon.com for $ 69

I bought it during this special sale a couple of months ago when it was available for $ 49/- only!

Specifications-

Display	Amazon's 6" E Ink Pearl display with optimized font technology, 167 ppi, 16-level grey scale
Size	165 mm x 114 mm x 8.7 mm
Weight	170 grams
System Requirements	None, because it's wireless and doesn't require a computer to download content.
On-Device Storage	Up to 1,400 books or 2 GB internal (approximately 1.25 GB available for user content)
Cloud Storage	Free cloud storage for all Amazon content.
Battery Life	A single charge lasts up to one month with wireless off based upon a half-hour of daily reading time. Keep wireless always on and it lasts for up to three weeks. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as shopping the Kindle Store, web browsing, and downloading content.
Charge Time	Fully charges in approximately 3 hours via the included USB 2.0 cable. Power adapter sold separately.
Wi-Fi Connectivity	Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n standard with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication or Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS); does not connect to WPA and WPA2 secured networks using 802.1X authentication methods; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks.
Content Formats Supported	Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion
Documentation	Quick Start Guide (included in box) [PDF]; Kindle User's Guide (pre-installed on device) [PDF].
Warranty and Service	Kindle is sold with a worldwide limited warranty of one year provided by the manufacturer. Use of Kindle is subject to the terms found here.
Included in the Box	Kindle, USB 2.0 charging cable, and Quick Start Guide

This is a gorgeous device, made for book-lovers!! I used to earlier read eBooks on my Sony Tablet S, but it used to strain my eyes, so did the Ipad Mini. This device is light weight, stores thousands of books in popular formats, and has a battery that beats any tablet!

What's hot-

It is very reasonably priced! An average actual paperback costs around Rs. 250/- So, the cost of your kindle is covered in around 25 books you've read!

I have not experienced any kind of strain on my eyes while reading on this device, even if I go on for a couple of hours. So the E Ink technology really makes you feel like you're reading an actual book!

Anti- Reflective, read in sunlight without any problem.

Its compact, light weight & durable, fits easily in any bag, it would probably even fit in Men's denim pocket.

The battery life is really awesome. Any smartphone or tablet HAS to be charged daily, some even twice a day! You do not want to carry extra bulk of a charger & cable on your vacation do you? This device's battery goes on & on & on!

Stores a thousand books! You can either download books using the WiFi or Copy books by connecting the cable to your PC. 

Stuff like WiFi, Keyboard, Linking your social media accounts like Twitter & Facebook, what else do you want for a device that costs so low??

What's not hot-

Unlike other gadgets, you cannot read on this device in the dark unless you have another source of light like a lamp or candle or something. 

You cannot do anything else on this device like tweet, send FB posts or check emails. Its purely for reading.

The material can easily scratch against something sharp & leave marks. I already have a scratch on the screen & body. And I am not getting any reasonable priced cover for it. Who is going to pay Rs. 1000-1500 for a cover?

Verdict-

The only flaw is need of external lighting to use the product, apart from that, is a brilliant gadget for every reading enthusiast!

Moto G 16 GB By Motorola Hands On Review

So I ordered the Moto G 16 GB from Flipkart on 6th and paid Rs. 90 extra for 1 day delivery, which seemed worth it rather than waiting for almost a week! This is obviously a review based on a 1 day usage. A more in - depth one can be done only after using the phone for at-least a week! This one is for all those who are in the dilemma of to buy or not to buy!

Let me begin with the specifications in short-

Operating system

Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) with guaranteed upgrade

Processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor with 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU

Capacity

8 GB standard

16 GB version available 

Two years 50 GB storage free on Google Drive

Dimensions and weight

Height 129.9 mm

Width 65.9 mm

Depth 6.0-11.6 mm (curve)

Weight 143 grams

Water repellent coating

Display

4.5 inches diagonal (11.3 cm)

1280 x 720 HD, 329 ppi

Corning® Gorilla® Glass

Connectivity

Micro USB

3.5 mm headset jack

Battery

Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion, 2070 mAh

Mixed usage up to 24 hours

Rear camera

5 MP at 4:3 and 3.8 MP at 16:9 (user-configurable)

LED flash

4X digital zoom

Front camera

1.3 MP

GSM + GSM Dual Sim (Micro sim)

Whats hot-

• The built quality is great, the phone looks to be really durable, specially with its Corning Gorilla Glass & Water Repellent Coating!
• Perfect Size, not too big not too small.
• Great display & touch screen. Specially if you compare it with other android phones in the same range.
• Though the 4.4 Kitkat update has not rolled out yet, it will be nice to see that happen soon!
• Battery life is pretty decent, true to what they state.
• Sound quality, both on speaker & earphones is great; Loud, Crisp & Clear!
• Comes with a Charger & Earphone, Wasn't expecting the earphone since Nexus 4 & 5 didn't have it.
• Has a FM Radio, something Nexus series lack.
• Very competitive pricing, a good choice if you are on a 10-15k budget.
• Variety of Flip & Back covers in different colors!

Whats not hot-

• Found the phone to be a little heavy for its size, without a flip cover. If you have used a lighter weighing phone, you might find it little bulkier.
• The camera quality is average, not exceptional. 
• The charger & earphones bundled are of mediocre quality.
• I don't know if it was particularly my piece, but when I was installing apps from the playstore, the app froze for a few seconds. Hope that is some glitch that doesn't repeat, or I might have to get that checked. (Shall update this blog on that after 10 days.)

Verdict-

If you do not want to exceed your budget beyond 15k, go for it. The 8 GB variant for 12,500/- ain't a bad option either (but there is no expandable memory option) Brilliant User Interface, comes with Motorola apps that make transferring data from old phone, setting phone on meeting or business mode, etc easier! Love the different colored back/flip covers available! A great dual sim, decent battery life android phone in the market!

Android Tips & Tricks

The very reason I shifted from iOS to Android was because Android offers much more customization, personalization, exploring than Apple. (Not to mention getting free apps, and paying for them on iOS). You must have come across a million tips & tricks for Android. Every time you buy a new phone, and someone else using the same model will start telling you Do's & Dont's. But not every Tip & Trick will be applicable to you, not necessary that you will find it useful!

Here are a few useful & common android tips & tricks, but please bear in mind, the android settings can vary from brand to brand, like Google Nexus series give you a pure vanilla android experience, others like Samsung , Sony, Huawei etc customize the OS.

1. Taking a screenshot

So you are wondering how to print screen without having to bother with the options? Fortunately or unfortunately, Android devices do not come with a PrintScreen button. So what? It wouldn’t hurt to use a combination of two buttons on an Android instead, would it?

That’s right: simply long press the power button and volume down button at the same time. Some would even be able to do this with a combination of Home and power button. Head to the gallery and you will find the printed screen saved in there. Handy in one of those quick time events, is it not? Androids have their perks afterall. OPfcourse, Galaxy Note 2 & 3 have this super cool swipe gesture to take a screenshot.


2. Take A Photo While Shooting A Video

How many times would you find yourself in a position where you would want to capture a still photo while shooting a video? Android (specifically Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean) will make your wish come true. It is interesting how one of the coolest Android tricks is so simple to execute.

3. Save Your Fingers, Use Your Voice

Feeling too cold to use your fingers for search or text messaging? Well, Android tricks are well in place to help you get through that. You might just be familiar with this but it is no surprise that a handy feature such as this makes it to the list of coolest Android tricks.

You notice that little microphone stacked in the corner down there? Of course, you do. However, there are times when we forget the simplest; yet, most helpful things in life. This might be another one. Solution? Use that microphone and say your stuff rather than having to type boatloads of messages.

While you are shooting a video, tap the screen to capture the desired frame. Do not worry about having to manually save the image because it is automatically saved to the gallery. Continue shooting the video and then find the still image in the gallery.



4. Avoid suspicious ad-supported apps

We have nothing against ad-supported software, but some apps take that concept to the extreme, with ads being displayed on the notification bar. Some even add links to shady search engines to your home screen and suspicious bookmarks to the browser. These apps should be avoided since their ads consume data and battery life, not to mention that they might put your private information at risk. To see what ad-supported apps you have installed on your Android device, give Lookout Ad Network Detector a try.

5. Locating lost/stolen android

Log into your gmail account from your laptop/desktop using the same ID you're using on your smartphone. Go to Playstore--> Settings Gear Icon --> Android Device Manager

From here you will be able to ring, lock or erase your phone. I have tried & tested it, and it works. I think it is an amazing thing, Google has finally got its answer to iOS's Find my Iphone.


There are many more tips & tricks, ranging from basic one's to complicated one's that involve rooting etc. I have a blog on "How to make your Android Smartphone smarter", which has a few tips too, check them out HERE.