Sometimes, a stringent beauty regime can get a bit tedious. The same products and the same ingredients not only bring in lethargy but also make your regime a boring affair. That’s one reason why as beauty enthusiasts, a subscription-based beauty kit works. One can try out new, unknown products, get a mini or a full-sized version so you can test it out and well, have it directly delivered to you for that month to try. This month, we reserve our expert opinion for the good guys at Fab Bag, a beauty subscription bag that offers you a newser perspective on skincare and makeup by giving access to the most popular beauty products from India and abroad.
We caught glimpses of SK II, Tijori, Shiseido, Thalgo and more – which can only mean that each month, one can experiment and experience an array of beauty products that don’t require much. It’s just a small fee of Rs 599 and you are the owner of 4-5 brand new beauty ideas that will take over the month. The bags ship by the end of every third week, and you can customize your preferences by answering a fun questionnaire that can really help with future choices and labels. So how does this work? You fill in a beauty profile and receive samples that will work for you. The samples are typically designed for regular trial over a 7-10 days period – which means that the quantity varies from 2ml to sometimes even a full-size product if you’re lucky. The bag this month was called the “Checklist”, a list of all those essentials you need to go on a vacation – it had a thoughtful ring to it. Plus, add in the fact that the products were all vegan, organic and natural just added to the curiosity.
This June, Fab Bag came with a few inclusions that we have never tried before. The bag with a scalloped edging is cute and fit in everything well. The entire bag’s contents were valued at Rs 2,100 and that is a pretty good deal, if you’re a beauty addict. We spotted a few really interesting products too and all of them this month were full-size so that’s a winner already. A look at the products and how they worked for us.
First up, the Organic Harvest Sunscreen with SPF 60 that tackles harmful blue light and UV rays while providing protection both indoors and outdoors. It’s made of certified organic ingredients and comes across very effortless on the skin. A matte finish sunscreen, it’s also water resistant. Even though it has an SPF of 60, it was never cakey or had a white cast – it melted into the skin beautifully. The skin after one usage looked nourished and we liked the fact that it made our makeup stay on well on top. My skin is dry so this added moisture and kept it hydrated.
The second product is by far my favourite product, the Disguise Feather-Light Matte Liquid Lip Cream. This is not my first time with Disguise, a friend gifted me two lipsticks from their range which were good – the formulation is perfect and the colours were beautiful. The only gripe? They didn’t last very long on my lips. But this new launch of theirs, the matte liquid lip creams, they were another story altogether. The formula was smooth as cream, so pigmented and extremely matte – all qualities I love in my lipsticks. The fact that the lip creams were 100% vegan is an added advantage and the colours were just perfect for brown girls. The lipstick in question was Excited Coral, a shade that most Indian women will love. The pigment reminded us of the very popular Nyx lip creams while the colour was a great dupe for M.A.C Ruby Woo. And this one stayed put even after Chinese food. There’s organic marula and avocado oil that help soothe and heal lips alongside almond, argan and jojoba oils – a winner on all counts for me.
Next up is a basic staple, the eyeliner, the Eyezamate Matte Look 100% Waterproof Non Transfer Soft Kohl Kajal. The formulation is dark and the texture is creamy, but I was not a fan of the packaging or the twist-up pen. This one was a miss for me but it did do the basic job of lining eyes – they can go as thin as you like and that’s why I’d say they would work well for a cat-eye. The is also an auto eyeliner pencil that could double up as a kajal and is a 100% water resistant and non transferable too.
The fourth product from the kit is a cleansing facewash, from BellaPierre Cosmetics. This one actually surprised me, because the cleanser is a full-size product in 100ml – that’s always a good thing. The face wash contains milk enzymes which do help to cleanse skin deeply while penetrating deep and giving skin the necessary hydration. The face wash is gel based and it lathers beautifully and the best bit about it is the fact that it doesn’t dry out. The skin did look a bit brightened thanks to ingredients like activated charcoal and Apple cider vinegar and milk, of course, has helped with hydrating the skin.
The last one in this series is the Tuzba Under Eye Roll-On, a rather unique product that comes with a host of essential oils. It is known to contain coffee oil and jojoba oil, that help reduce dark circles, fine lines and puffiness around eyes. Now, there are a few things about this product that did not work for me, the smell was a bit overwhelming and the roll-on stung a bit. The eyes did feel relaxed after a while though and by morning, dark circles did look a bit lightened.
The June Fab Bag retails here.
Latha Sunadh
Deputy Editor
When she's not trying on a new serum, researching on yet another classic fragrance and sharing lip balms with her 5-year old daughter, Latha Sunadh keeps it reined in with a nice song and a good book. Special skills include obsessing over handmade, home-made and handcrafted luxuries.
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