Giveaway time!!

Yeah yeah I know I said I wouldn't do any more posts this year but couldn't help posting this one. :P
Kiran of  Cherry Lane is celebrating her 10 followers with her first international giveaway. Little different from the other giveaways, the gifts that can be won is not fixed!! The more the followers by the end of Jan 2012,more the number of gifts to be won.

Here are the prizes to be won-
1)A big tub of The Body Shop Wild Cherry Body Scrub(10 followers)

2) ELF Nail Polish in Twinkle(15 followers)

3)Original Source Special Winter Edition Almond and Black Cherry Shower Gel(20 followers)

4)Cupcake Bath Fizzers(25 followers )

5)Bourjois So Laque Nail Polish in Rouge Casino(30 followers)

6)A Sachet of Cherry Cool Aid(35 followers)

7) A pretty Black stud pair(40 followers)

8)MUA lipstick in shade 11-a warm brown color(45 followers)

9)MUA Blusher in shade 5

More goodies get added to the list,one extra for every 5 new follower.


So go check it out here and participate :) Giveaway closes on 31st Jan GMT,so hurry up!!
Hope all of you have a great year ahead.


love
Swarnali

Goodbye 2011

This is my last post for this year, will have to go back to books from tomorrow. Exams marching their way at the very beginning of the new year,such a bad start to a bright new year ... :(
Lets forget that for sometime,
Coming to the happier thoughts,a good movie is a perfect solution to everything in my life.
Sad?? Watch a Comedy
Happy?? Watch a War-time documentary (and cry at the miseries of people)
Depressed?? Watch a Romance (and again cry,happy tears this time)
Confused?? Watch a Sci-fi
Bored?? Watch an Animated movie


Those were not the perfect solutions I agree but somehow watching a movie makes me feel better or to say makes me feel me (no idea how).


Of my experience of watching World Movies (which is quite limited) I believe that the French make the best Romances and the Iranians are best at movies which make you laugh and cry out with their sheer innocence.


Here is a list of my 5 Favorite (of the ones that I have seen)  French Movies (in no particular order)-


1) Amelie (original title- Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain)-

Amelie is the tale of young impish but naive Amelie Poulain,who lives in Paris (physically in Paris, but prefers to live in a world of her own,created by her incredibly fertile imagination). She sets out to help people in her own mysterious ways and finds love accidentally. One of the best romances I have seen,this is Audrey Tautou at her best.

Snippet from the movie: "Narrator: Nino is late. Amelie can only see two explanations. 1 - he didn't get the photo. 2 - before he could assemble it, a gang of bank robbers took him hostage. The cops gave chase. They got away... but he caused a crash. When he came to, he'd lost his memory. An ex-con picked him up, mistook him for a fugitive, and shipped him to Istanbul. There he met some Afghan raiders who too him to steal some Russian warheads. But their truck hit a mine in Tajikistan. He survived, took to the hills, and became a Mujaheddin. Amelie refuses to get upset for a guy who'll eat borscht all his life in a hat like a tea cozy. "

2) The Double Life of Veronique (original title- La double vie de Véronique) -

Strictly not a French movie since the director is Polish but half of the dialogues of this movie are in French,so am counting it here. The tale of two young women Veronika and Veronique,one lives in France and the other in Poland. These two women not only share the same name but a lot more. Won't give out the details,watch it to know more.


3) Paris,I love You (original title- Paris, je t'aime) -

This is a collection of 20 short films by 20 different directors all carefully fused one after another with a common thread running through,the love for the city and its inhabitants.  Paris, the city of love is buzzing with love,love is found, lost, revealed, hidden, awakened...
New York,I love you is a Hollywood inspiration of this movie.

Snippet from the movie :
"Hassan: I just got stung by a lousy mosquito. These neighborhoods are dangerous. Lagos is safer. What' your name? 
Sophie: Sophie. 
Hassan: I'd give you my card but I have none left. Too bad! Sophie, fancy a cup of coffee? Go on! Can I massage your feet? 
Sophie: Why would I let you? 
Hassan: Because they hurt. 
Sophie: They do? 
Hassan: You were running in my dreams all night... Please have coffee with me. "

4) Persepolis-

The animated film version of Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel by the same novel,Persepolis is the poignant tale of a bold and outspoken Iranian girl, Marjane during the Islamic revolution.

Snippet from the movie : " Marjane's grandmother: Listen. I don't like to preach, but here's some advice. You'll meet a lot of jerks in life. If they hurt you, remember it's because they're stupid. Don't react to their cruelty. There's nothing worse than bitterness and revenge. Keep your dignity and be true to yourself. "

5) Three Colors:Blue (original title- Trois couleurs: Bleu) -

The first of the three movies of the trilogy Three Colors: Blue, White and Red which are based on France's national motto,Liberty ,Equality and Fraternity. Blue,representing Liberty,is the tale of Julie Vignon, who loses her famous composer husband and daughter in a car accident. The movie shows how she tries everything to come out of her past and start anew a life which she wants and how she is drawn back to old memories and how music brings her back to the world of the living by healing her wounds.

Most people I know liked Red more but I somehow liked Blue more than the other two. It is necessary to see them in the correct order to have a complete understanding of  Krzysztof Kieslowski's motive. Must watches,all three.

Snippet from the movie: " Julie Vignon: Now I have only one thing left to do: nothing. I don't want any belongings, any memories. No friends, no love. Those are all traps."

Have you seen any of these?? Which one do you like the most?? Have you seen others which you liked more?? Tell me in the comments section :)

Back to my not-so-dear-books-in-syllabus, catch you all up after am done with my battle (a.k.a exams).

Hope you all have a great new year ahead.

Love,

Swarnali


P.S.-Image and info courtesy IMDB

Season's Greetings

Am lovin' Bieber's Mistletoe (not that am a fan of his). Humming these lines for the past few days...

"It's the most beautiful time of the year,
Lights fill the streets spreading so much cheer...."

Merry Christmas everyone :D

Girl With A Pearl Earring

Saw this painting years back in an encyclopedia and fell in love with it. The GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING (Dutch: Het Meisje met de Parel ) is the best known work of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. Take a  look at the painting-

image and information courtesy: en.wikipedia.org

Today kept in the Mauritshuis gallery in the Hague. It is sometimes referred to as "the Mona Lisa of the North" or "the Dutch Mona Lisa". Understandably, the central focal point of the painting is the pearl earring.


Dear Opal of Girl With a Pearl Earring has named her blog after this famous painting,very apt title,I would say :D


There was a film made in 2003 by the same name.

image courtesy : www.imdb.com

 I had to see this film for 2 reasons-
1) The name is what made me see it in the first place
2) It has 2 of my very favorite actors- Scarlett Johansson as the maid girl in the painting and Colin Firth as painter Johannes Vermeer.
There is a very beautiful scene in this film,the part when Firth uses a needle to pierce Johansson's ear. What I loved about the scene is how the director and the actors have unitedly proved that you don't need nudity or vulgarity to bring sensuality to any scene. 


Take a look at how Scarlett Johansson looked when posing for the painting as Griet,the maid servant who is the model for the painting-

Did you see the painting before or did you see the movie and did you like it??
Would love to know from you :)


Till next
Love
Swarnali

Guest post

Hello everyone!!
This is the very first guest post on my blog and am so glad that Anju agreed to do it for me....thanks a bunch Anju :D
So here's presenting *drum rolls* Anju!!!  Am sure she is somebody who needs no introduction. She is one of the best make up bloggers I know of. Found her blog while checking up for some good eye liners and am so glad I found her. She has the most wonderful make up tips on her sleeves and whats the best part,you have regular product and site reviews which are very very helpful. And guess what??? She is a doctor by profession,yep you heard me (or rather read me) right!! She is a doctor. Am amazed how she manages to keep her job and maintain such a wonderful blog together!!
Ok...now no more blabber lets go straight to what she has to say-


Hi all, Its been a long time since I did a guest post and Swarnali was kind enough to give me the oppurtunity
and a big thanks to you Swarnali.Your blog is amazing and I love reading the posts. I am flattered and happy
to know that you like my blog. It sure is nice to post your thoughts on other blogs once in a while
and once again I thank Swarnali for thinking about me. Today, I will be reviewing MAKEUPFOREVER HD POWDER.
Read on to find more......

When this product was first released it was hyped to be the next BIG thing in makeup industry. It is an HD powder that
claims to keep the face matte and promoted as the product to use during photoshoots. But, then came the huge
Hollywood makeup accident where a number of celebrities were photographed with whitish cast on photographs and this 
was found to be the culprit. I know that this is not the proper way to start talking about this product but it sure is a 
huge con and people planning to buy this should keep this in mind.

In the pic above you can see the horrifying faces of both Eva Longoria & Nicole Kidman

I was on the look out for an HD powder that would keep my face matte and came across this wonderful 
product that claimed to do exactly that. It can be worn on its own or over foundation to provide the
smooth velvetty look to face.

It comes in a 10gm jar and has a sifter on top which allows the product to come out. Make sure that you keep 

half of the sifter closed and if not most of the powder will come out and sit on top of the jar leading to

unnecessary wastage.

The product itself is a white colored setting powder that becomes transparent once its on the face. So, it

can be used by all skintones.I use a kabuki brush to apply this. No whitish cast will be seen by the naked eye. 

Overall it gives the face the much needed evenness and keeps the makeup lasting longer and fresh.It does not 

provide any coverage. It is talc free, but contains silica powder.

Personally I love this powder.Ok......so why so much negativity surrounding this particular product. It DOES NOT

leave a whitish cast even under flash photography when used with a LIGHT hand. I have used this & I have purposefully

taken flash photo to see the effect and I didn't see any white cast as I used only a very "light, needed" amount 

on my face.If you have your way with it then in real life you will look normal but once the flash hits you, you will end

up looking like one of those celebs above which is not acceptable and that too from such a big company.

I think the powder fails and gets so much of negative press as its marketed as HD powder for heavy duty flash

photography and falls short of its promises. 

Overall, this is an amazing product if you are sure to use with a very light hand and its best to avoid this

powder on days when you are subjected to flash bulbs going off. Just be safe than sorry :)

Overall I love this powder and I will repurchase as I love the smooth non oily effect it gives to my skin.

Cost 1500-1700 Rs( it comes in that range) and available at MakeupForever Counters.

Do checkout her supa cool blog here and don't forget to stalk her!! 

Love

Swarnali

Whos who???

Stumbled into Jennifer of  I know,right? and saw this post about the numerous look alikes in Hollywood and thought of doing a post myself. Here are a few celebs whom I always found difficult to differentiate between-

1) Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes-

Can you tell who is who?? Well I never could and still can't!! Liam Neeson is on the left and Ralph Fiennes on the right.

I always thought them to be the same person until I saw them together in Schindler's List.

Ralph Fiennes

Liam Neeson

The two together in Schindler's List. Ralph Fiennes is shorter. You can tell them apart in this pic (I could).

2) Zac Efron and Kevin Zegers-

I was always confused whenever anybody asked me to tell the High School Musical and The Boy Girl Thing stars apart. Take a look-

Zac Efron

Kevin Zegers

3) Natalie Portman ,Keira Knightlyand Winona Ryder-

These three actresses look very similar especially the first two. I always have a tough time trying to differentiate them.

Keira,Natalie and Winona (L-R)

Don't they look ridiculously similar?

Both Natalie and Keira acted in 1999 Star Wars Episode 1 the Phantom Menace. Natalie Portman played Queen Amidala in the movie while Keira Knightley was her double. 

A still from the movie. Natalie is in red and Keira in Black.

You can tell them apart if you are a big fan of either of them,Natalie has 2 faint moles on her cheeks which Keira doesn't,plus their eyes are quite different and so are their stares.

Natalie Portman

Keira Knightly

Winona Ryder

Could you easily tell whos who among these celebrities?? Do you have other sets whom you can't tell apart? Please share.

Love

Swarnali

Mini haul

This happened a few days back...Debopriya was out searching for the perfect bag to gift her mom and requested me to accompany her in the search and as always I couldn't resist window shopping with her !! And guess what,we didn't find the so called "perfect" bag for auntie dear but ended up buying a few trinkets and stuff :D
Take a look at what I bought-

A pair of pretty rose bib studs in royal blue,I simply fell in love with the color, couldn't help buying it!!

A cute bracelet. Do you notice the super cute fish bone charm ?? I fastened teh charm to my plain chain and lo, I have a new charm pendant!! :D

A pair of antique gold colored jhumkas. I have been smitten by the jhumka bug for sometime,so had to buy this one...

A pair of colorful danglers,the earrings look better than here :P

 Am so much in love with colors that I couldn't resist buying another pair!!

 A slide chain neck piece...please notice the pretty butterfly  charm(and yes,that butterfly is the reason why I bought it!!)

I have been wanting to buy a tribal neck piece and earring set for some time,buy for some reasons (read severe economic crisis) couldn't buy one. Spotted this one at a roadside shop and couldn't help grabbing it. Debopriya also bought one(We were drooling over this one you see!!  :P). 

And yes the best part,Masi dear has been too kind lately. Dunno how she read my mind but I received a surprise gift from her last week. A silver ring with faux diamonds. Am totally loving it,its super awesome. Thanks a bunch masi,I love you...mwaah...

couldn't take  a good pic of it,so here is a pic from the internet which looks almost the same  as mine(mine is more feminine and better ;) )-

So what are your opinions about my mini haul?? Do let me know which ones you liked the most.

Sayonara till next!!
Love
Swarnali

Nail art and li'l DIYs again!!

Went out visiting the zoo with my li'l niece (yes its the same trip I had mentioned earlier) and was mesmerized by the gorgeous leopard (no not scary gorgeous,it was the OMG its freaking gorgeous). Plus spotted Leia's leopard print nails a few days back and couldn't resist trying it out myself. Take a look-

 I agree,pics aren't really flattering,but believe me,the thing looked really cool in real (but definitely not as good as Leia's!!).

Here take a look at what the Leopard looked like.

Then was smitten by the heart symbol and thought of sporting it on my nails...take  a look-

I tried out making another bow hair clip for Drisha and a floral headband for my niece,here is how they look-

All pics were taken from my phone (a 2MP cam),you see I don't own a must-have cam :(


Never mind my woes,I would love to know which one you liked.

Take care
Love
Swarnali