Safety Tips for Women

Daddy Dearest forwarded me an email and I thought I should share it here. Ladies, take out a few minutes to read this and share it. Stay safe and beautiful!

1. Always be aware of your surroundings

This applies whether you are traveling alone or in groups. Don't just focus inwardly on your thoughts if you are alone, or your friends if you are together. Keep one eye out for your environment, looking out for suspicious characters, possible danger, etc.

Also, don't assume that because your area has been "safe" thus far, that it will continue to be so.

2. Travel in groups

"There is safety in numbers" is not just a cliche. Its true. Make a point of traveling together with other sisters, whether its on public transportation, on campus, in cars, etc.

3. Change the route you normally travel by

If you've taken the same bus, train or highway to get to work or school, change your route. Even if it takes you a little longer, your safety is more important. By changing your route, you can avert possible attacks or harassment from those who know your schedule, method and route of travel well. Please note though that you should avoid short cuts that take you through unfamiliar or unsafe areas.

4. Look confident

Walk with a straight posture and your arms swinging by your sides. Avoid slouching or walking like a victim. This makes you an easy target for attackers.

5. When riding by public transportation choose the right seat

If you are riding by bus or train, do not sit on the window seat as you may be "blocked in" by a potential assailant. Always select the seat next to the aisle so that you can quickly leave if necessary.

If you are taking public transportation alone after peak hours, sit as close to the driver as possible and/or choose the section of the bus/train that is most crowded. Try to get a seat near the exit as well.

6. If you are driving alone

Don't think that if you are in a car, you're safe. Windows should be up and doors locked even when driving to avoid unwanted passengers at intersections. When you are walking to your car, always have your keys ready, so that you can quickly get into your car.

But don't just get in right away. Always check your car before entering, especially the back, for any intruders.

7. Never leave your car door unlocked

Even if it means for one minute to drop something off in the mailbox that's a few feet away. Attackers have been known to lie in wait for such an opportunity.

8. Be careful in parking lots

Always be alert in parking lots, especially when it's dark. Ask someone to escort you to your car. Between cars and inside cars, it's easy for someone to hide and wait until an unalert person comes along.

9. If you are traveling by taxi

Always check the identification of the driver (usually located near the visor) and ensure that it matches the driver. Once inside, don't sit behind the driver as it may be easy for the driver to lock the rear passenger door. Always choose the adjacent seat .

In addition, avoid flagging taxis. Always order taxis so the driver can be traced if something happens.

10. Don't use the walkma/headphones

If you're used to listening to your walkman while outside, drop this habit, especially in isolated areas. With your walkman on, you cannot hear the approach of a possible attacker.

11. Note "safe houses" along your route

Mentally note houses at intervals on each route you take that can be used as "safe houses" if you are attacked, such as shops or houses that you know to be occupied by a friend or acquaintance.

12. When you make a call from a phone booth

After dialing the number you wish to call always turn around so that you have your back to the phone and may see who or what is coming your way. You will then be able to tell the person to whom you are speaking that you may be in trouble and you may be able to use the weight of the phone as a weapon. The door of a telephone box could be used to wedge in the limbs of the attacker.

13. Do not open the door of your home without checking

DO NOT open the door to your home without first checking from a window, peephole or by asking and verifying who it is. Instruct children to do the same.

14. Report any suspicious activity around your home

If you see people loitering on the streets near your house, call the police on a non emergency number and report it.

15. Invest in a cell phone

This is an invaluable safety device. Keep it with you at all times and keep emergency numbers on it. Also, keep it next to your bed before you go to bed at night. Cell phones were first popularized by women as a security device, business people came later.

16. Parking tips

Avoid parking in areas that are not well lit. Where possible, park close to a school or work entrance or in a parking garage that has an attendant.

If you see a suspicious person approaching or hanging around near your parked car, turn around and go back to an area where there are other people. Try to get an escort to your car through the campus or job security or local police.

17. Tell others about your whereabouts

Parents, spouses and friends should know where you are going and when you will be back, so that your absence will be noticed. Arrange a call in system with a friend if you live alone, whereby you call when you arrive home.

18. Trust your instincts

If you are walking somewhere and feel strange or scared, don't ignore this feeling. Take extra precautions by walking a little faster to get to a more populated or well-lit area or change the route you've been driving on.

19. If you think you are being followed, change your route and activity.

You can cross the street, change directions, or enter a populated building or store. Do whatever is necessary to avoid being alone with the person who is following you. Inform a police officer or security official about the

follower.

20. Attract attention if you are in a dangerous situation.

Get others to pay attention to what's happening to you if you are under attack or being harassed. You can alert others by honking a car horn or loudly describing what is happening.

21. NEVER admit that you are alone

If someone calls your home and asks if you are alone, NEVER admit it. Ask who the caller is. If they refuse to identify themselves, calmly hangup. Keep the radio on in the house so that callers will get the impression that others are in the home too. Instruct children to do the same when they pick up the phone.

22. Obscene phone calls

If you receive an obscene call or a crank call, do not talk to the caller. Hang up if the caller doesn't say anything, or as soon as s/he shouts obscenities. Hang up the phone calmly and do not slam it down. Note down the date and time of the calls. If they are persistent, inform local police.

23. If you are a student

Avoid studying in isolated classrooms in parts of the college campus that are not regularly patrolled by the schools security officers.

24. In large buildings take the elevator, not the stairwell

Stairwells are usually quiet and dark. Most people take the elevator. But if someone creepy gets on, don't hesitate to get off at the same time. Or, if someone is already on the elevator who you feel strange about, do not get on and wait for the next elevator.

Two Eye Liners That I HATE

I’m going to review two eyeliners that are nothing but shit. These eyeliners are so bad that I don’t even know where to begin hence the negative ratings. So instead of writing paragraphs, I’m going to put this review in points. In the photos, I have swiped each eye liner 3-4 times on the left and once on the right. So without further adieu, I present to you my pathetic experience with these eyeliners.

Elle 18 Color Pops Eye Sparklers in “Purple Pataka’

Price:

Rs 85

• It applies so sheer, I need to go over the line at least thrice.
• Super greasy and staying power is HORRIBLE.
• Creases a lot and smudges in just 1 hour. When applied as an eye liner it smudges and transfers on to the top of my crease. Sick.
• No way in hell it can be used as an eyeshadow.
• I cannot sharpen this useless pencil without it breaking off. Either the whole eyeliner is broken from the inside and/or it's too soft to sharpen. In the photo you can see how the eyeliner is broken even when sharpened.
• I rubbed my finger once on both the left and right swatches and they disappeared! See what I meant by horrible staying power? (check out the swatches at the end of this review)

Rating:
-5/5

Lakme Shadow Artist Shimmer Stick in “Glimmer Green”

Price:

Rs 350/-

• This one too, applies sheer and I need to go over the line at least thrice.
• Greasy and horrible staying power.
• Changes from green to a yellowish-disgusting-green in 2 hours. I really don’t know why.
• Creases, smudges, cannot be used as an eye shadow at all.
• Can be used as an eye shadow base.
• Easy to sharpen and it doesn’t break off during sharpening.
• EXTREMELY OVERPRICED for such horrible quality.
• After rubbing my finger once on the swatch, the one on the left became translucent whereas the left swatch almost disappeared. (check out the swatches at the end of this review)

Rating:

-3/5

Colorbar Color Intense Liquid Eye liner in “Beyond Blue”

Today I’m going to review my current favorite eyeliner which was a gift from my girlfriend. I’m not big on liquid eyeliners but this one made me fall in love with them all over again. This shade is called “Beyond Blue”; it’s a dull turquoise shade with a metallic sheen to it. 

The pigmentation is brilliant. One stroke is enough to get that vibrant color on the eye lids. The felt tip applicator makes the application super easy. It applies the eyeliner thin but you can widen it accordingly to your preference. What I’ve noticed about a lot of liquid eyeliners is that they tend to get slightly streaky when an additional stroke is made. This eyeliner does not get streaky one bit and doesn’t dry super quickly so you can take your time widening the line. It dries in around 15 secs.

What I like the most about this eyeliner is the fact that it doesn’t smudge or crack for 4-5 hrs straight on my oily eyelids despite being non-waterproof. That being said, this eyeliner doesn’t stay all day. I wouldn’t wear this on a clubbing night out because it does tend to smudge a bit with sweat and humidity and with slight tearing of the eyes.  Since it’s not waterproof, removing it is really easy.

Over all, I’m in love with this eyeliner and the shade and I can’t wait to get my hands on some more shades!

Price:
Rs 350 for 3 ml.

Pros:

·        Stays on for a good 5 hours without cracking.

·        Vibrant color and doesn’t fade on oily lids.

·        Felt tip applicator makes it easy to apply the eyeliner.

·        Not streaky.

·        Suitable for sensitive eyes and contact wearers.

Cons:

·        Not waterproof. (not really a con for me)

·        Doesn’t stay all day as compared to other eyeliners.

Rating:
4/5

Corrective Color Concealers and How to Use Them

What are Corrective Color Concealers?

Corrective Color Concealers basically follow the simple rule of ‘neutralizing’ an opposite color on the skin and then hiding it to match the respective skin tone just as in a Color Wheel where the color opposite to a particular shade neutralizes it. These concealers come in various colors ranging from the natural skin tone color to colors like green and purple.

A color like yellow helps to tone down and even out the skin tone. However, it does not ‘hide’ anything specifically which is why we need other colors to do that.

Just like working with a normal concealer, after applying the corrective concealer set it with powder. These are used prior to application of foundation.

Different Colors of Concealers:

Apart from the natural skin tone colors, the colors available nowadays are:
White, Beige, Yellow, Orange Mint Green, Light Green, Lavender Purple, Mauve, Light Blue, Pink and Light Peach.

How to Use them:

• White: Used with Beige to cover up heavy under eye dark circles.

• Beige:  Used to conceal slight shadows and brighten up the complexion and under eye area. Used with White to conceal heavy under eye dark circles and around the nose area to conceal slight shadows. 

• Yellow and Orange: Neutralizes redness and brown discoloration. Used to conceal red blemishes, bruises and tone down any redness on the face near the nose, lip area, cheeks etc and on brown spots. Orange helps to neutralize the blue toned under eye dark circles and purple bruises. 

• Mint/Light Green: Neutralizes redness as well. If the redness is too dark, mint/light green is used with/without yellow to neutralize it. Works the same as the Yellow concealer except only on darker red spots and scars.

• Lavender Purple: Used to neutralize yellow-colored bruises or imperfections, yellow under eye or cheek area due to an illness/flu etc on bronze-olive skin tones. 

• Mauve: Used to cover up dark/black spots and visible veins on the face. 

• Light Blue: Used to neutralize orange spots, tan lines/spots, age spots and freckles. 

• Pink: Used to conceal dark gray shadows just below puffy under eye dark circle area and and shadows around the nose. 

• Light Peach: Used to brighten up olive skin tones and balance out slight color discolorations. Can be used for slight coverage of blue veins. 

NOTE: Under eye dark circles come under blue,purple and brownish tones therefore they are neutralized by yellow and orange. 

Hope this helps you ladies out there who are struggling with concealing those tough under eye dark circles and blemish/scar marks.

Happy Concealing! J

Konad iloje Flobu Eye Shadow in ‘ #002 White Pearl’

It’s been a while since my last review. Today, I’m going to review my current favorite eye shadow that I’ve been using since the past 2 weeks. This is from the brand Konad iloje Flobu (I still haven’t figured out the pronunciation for this interesting name!). I bought the White Pearl shade since I needed a new highlighter.

Packaging:
A hard plastic see through packaging that protects the eye shadow from falling and/or breaking.

Shades available:
Konad iloje Flobu eye shadows come in 10 shades : White, White Pearl, Soft gray, Dark Grey, Black, Romantic Pink, Pink Pearl, Ultra Violet, Evergreen and Chocolate.

My Experience with this eye shadow:

This White Pearl eye shadow is silky smooth, blends amazingly, and has a brilliant pigmentation. I love how it doesn’t crease without a primer even in the humid monsoons of Mumbai. I applied this on my eye lid at around 11 am and it stayed put till 10 pm at night after which it needed a slight touch up.

It can be used as a highlighter for the brown bones, inner tear duct area and also on the cheekbones. However, this shade might be too white for a medium skin tone and may wash down the skin tone. Dark skinned women may use this as a lid color and not as a brow bone highlighter since it has a tendency to look slightly chalky. This doesn’t happen on a fairer skin tone, but if intensified it gets chalky and the pearl finish doesn’t shine through.

Over all, I love this eye shadow and I can’t wait to get my hands on the other shades. Considering the extremely affordable price, quantity and quality, these eye shadows are a must try!

Price:

Rs. 130

Pros of Konad iloje Flobu Eye Shadow in ‘ #002 White Pearl’:

• Super smooth application.
• Can be used as a highlighter.
• Pigmentation is pretty good and can be intensified if needed.
• Doesn’t crease or fade away.
• Staying power is great with/without primer. (Stays put for almost an entire day!)
• 10 shades to select from.
• Inexpensive for the quantity and quality.
• Easily available online in India.
• Shelf life of 3 years.

Cons of Konad iloje Flobu Eye Shadow in ‘ #002 White Pearl’: 

• This particular shade might look too white on medium-dark skin tones.
• Tends to get chalky when intensified.
  

Rating:

3.75/5

Will I repurchase this eye shadow?
Not this shade really. However, I’ll try out the other shades.

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24Hr Cream Gel Eyeshadow in ‘Turquoise Forever’

What Maybelline Claims about 24 Hr Color Tattoo Eye Shadows:

24HR intensity. Tattoo tenacity. Dare to wear our longest-lasting shadow. Our ink technology creates super-saturated color. Cream gel smoothes on for vibrant color that does not fade. Available in 10 shades.

My Experience with this eyeshadow:

I love the packaging of this eyeshadow. It’s very sturdy and a lot like MAC. During application on the eyelids, the gel cream eyeshadow tends to dry and stick to the eye lid really quick. I had to blend it out really fast and do one eye at a time.

I am in love with the pigmentation of this eyeshadow and all the other shades from the same range. These are super pigmented in just one swipe. In the photo, I have swatched the eyeshadow from left to right; swiped once, swiped twice and third is blended out.

The eyeshadow stays put the entire day which I absolutely love! I applied this on my eye lids at around 11 am and went out in heavy rainfall and I only got home at around 11 pm. To my surprise, the eyeshadow had not faded away one bit. No creasing what so ever. The color was still vibrant as though I had applied it just a few minutes ago. Since it is waterproof, you’ll require a waterproof eye makeup remover to remove it.

I cannot really comment on the ’24HR’ claim since I haven’t ever worn makeup for more than 15 hours. I don’t think it’s even healthy for the skin to keep makeup on for so long.  These eyeshadow stayed on for almost 12 hrs without fading or creasing. Need I say more?

For such an amazing quantity and quality the price is very affordable. In my opinion, these eyeshadows are by far, the best product Maybelline has ever had. I’m super impressed!

Over all, the eyeshadow lives up to the claims made my Maybelline and I am crazy in love with the Color Tattoo 24 Hr eyeshadows. I can’t wait for these to be launched in India.

 Price:

BD 4.300 / Rs. 631 Approx.

Pros of Maybelline Color Tattoo 24Hr Eyeshadow in ‘Turquoise Forever’: 

• Brilliant pigmentation and blend easily.
• Stay put all day (more than 14 hours!)
• Doesn’t crease one bit and is waterproof.
• Doesn’t fade even after 12 hrs.
• Affordable for the quality and quantity.
• Amazing range of colors available.
• Sturdy and chic packaging.

Cons of Maybelline Color Tattoo 24Hr Eyeshadow in ‘Turquoise Forever’: 

• Not avaible in India yet.
• Needs quick blending since the eyeshadow tends to dry up on the eye lid fast.

Rating:
5/5

Colorbar USA Velvet Matte Lipstick '#60 or Obsessed Orange’

I finally managed to get my hands on the ‘Obsessed Orange’ shade and I’m super stoked to review it for you ladies.

Since we all are pretty familiar with Colorbar’s Velvet Matte Lipstick packaging, I’m going to skip that. Also, I absolutely love the packaging.

Obsessed Orange is a true orange shade. Not coral, just plain bright orange. In the tube it is super bright but when applied on the lips, its actually quiet flattering. And I’m guessing almost every skin tone can pull this off which is a plus point since not everybody can pull off coral shades.

The texture is very smooth and doesn’t dry fast during application. I like how this shade isn’t very creamy because extremely creamy lipsticks look horrible when they settle down in fine lines especially the bright shade ones. This shade is not chalky and doesn’t dry my lips at all. It doesn’t settle into fine lines. That being said, it isn’t the most moisturizing lipstick. You’ll need a bit of lip balm prior to application. The lipstick stays on semi-matte and for a good 5 hours.

If you are looking for the perfect bright orange lipstick, this has got to be the one. Try it out if you are up for bright shades and you’ll be hooked on it!

Lip Swatches- With and without flash:

Pros of Colorbar Velvet Matte Lipstick '#60 or Obsessed Orange':

• Non-drying.
• Doesn’t settle into fine lines and has a semi-matte finish.
• Affordable and easily available in India.
• Almost every skin tone can pull this color off.

Cons of Colorbar Velvet Matte Lipstick '#60 or Obsessed Orange':

• None that I can think of!

Rating:

4.5/5

Would I recommend this lipstick?

Hell yes!