Month: March 2015

Parle Monaco Cracker Sandwich Review, Price: Peanut Butter and Cheese Flavours

~ poorva ~ 7 Comments

Monaco Cracker Sandwich Review

Did you know that peanuts are technically not ‘nuts’? They are actually legumes! While personally I don’t like peanuts much, but I’m a big time sucker for peanut butter 🙂 So while we are at it, did you know that Americans eat 1.5 billion pounds (which is 680 million kilograms) of peanut butter and peanut products every year! (WOAH!! ) I myself LOVE peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and they used to be my lunch-time saviour during school and college days… I need to get a bottle of peanut butter soon now!

Parle recently launched these sandwich cracker biscuits under the Monaco line (which I’m sure all of you have had too much of in your lifetime!) in 3 absolutely unusual flavours: Peanut Butter, Cheese and Chocolate. While cheese flavoured biscuits have been explored in India, I think this is the first time that a peanut butter biscuit has been born and brought up here! Really excited to try out these new crackers, I got the Peanut Butter and Cheese flavours. Let’s check out how these fared on our taste-o-meter!

Peanut Butter Variant

Ingredients and Nutritional Count:

Taste: This became my instant favourite! With creamy peanut butter packed between two savoury crackers, it is a delight for the taste-buds, as well as for the stomach, because they actually help you relieve hunger. The peanut butter is creamy and has a hint of nutty sweetness to it. Although launched under the Monaco range, the biscuit they have used is not the original Monaco, but instead is its toned down, less salty and slightly sweet version. This would be my ‘always pick it up when out for grocery shopping’ biscuit! Thank you Parle. I’m indebted! A tiny complaint that I have is that the peanut butter is a bit dry, so I always have to reach for my cup of chai after eating this. But this is not going to stop me from buying this again, as I love it! Though slightly high on calories, you end up eating only 2-3 of these as these are really quite filling.

Price: Rs 25! ONLY! This is for a 100gram pack. This has got to be the most pocket friendly treat I’ve had in recent times. One pack has about 12 sandwich biscuits.

Munchy Quotient: 4.5/5

Cheese Variant

Ingredients and Nutritional Count:

Taste: Another great variant. It has a cheesy creamy sort of filling between the same crackers. This biscuit smells like butter and cheese and dairy! The cheesy filling has a hint of milky sweetness to it, which I liked. This one is also quite filling, and a few biscuits would sail you through the evening very easily. This variant is slightly higher on calories than the peanut butter one (come on, it has cheese!). Recommended for all the cheese lovers!

Price: Rs 30 for 100 grams, which I feel is totally justified and complete value for money

Munchy Quotient: 4/5

Final Word: A MUST TRY! I’m so glad that Indian biscuit is evolving faster than ever, and the importance of innovation is being realized. Grab these amazing crackers whenever you’re out next, I’m sure they will become your evening-favourites too (I even love them in the morning when I’m out of options 🙂 )!

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Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle Serum Review

~ poorva ~ 4 Comments

Sally Hansen Nail Growth Miracle Serum 1

I love wearing nail polish! Which girl doesn’t? It is so therapeutic to wear a color matching your mood on your tips and toes..If you get bored, there is always some other color waiting for you! But so many of us suffer from brittle nails. And all of us know how bad a broken nail looks, apart from being painful. Washing hands often, using sanitisers, doing household work, gardening..there are many reasons for brittle nails. I wash my hands quite often, which sometimes makes my nails very brittle, and even a slight bend ends up breaking my whole nail. Also, in winters, my nails become quite brittle due to dryness. So I bought this bottle of nail serum to help me out in those difficult times when nothing seems to make my nails stronger.

Sally Hansen is a name I always associate with nails, and almost everything I have used by this brand has been quite good, so I had a certain trust in this brand before buying this serum. Read on to know how it fared!

Ingredients and Claims:

Packaging: This comes in a beautiful gold glass bottle, which is almost the size of a nail paint bottle. It comes with a dropper that doubles as the screw lid. However, the bottle is opaque, so you can’t know how much product you’re left with.

How to Use: You have to massage each nail with a drop of this product. I use this at night before sleeping, as I personally feel that serums work best at night

Product Appearance: This is a gel sort of thing, which is not at all oily. It is absorbed in a matter of a few seconds. It does not have any fragrance.

Effectiveness: I usually use this stuff when my nails are in their most fragile state (generally after I have already experienced a nail crack). I personally use even less than a drop on each nail. After massaging, it does smooth the cuticles to some extent, but not miraculously. Of course, no other immediate effect can be seen on the nail, as it is a growth serum. It can be used either on bare nails or even while you’re wearing nail paint. Since I mostly wear nail polish all the time, I use it on top of that.

Personal Tip: If you’re experiencing broken nails, wear nail paint. The resin in the polish does help prevent breakage and cracking to some extent.

My main problem area, from where I experience cracking most of the time, is the nail corner, and always end up cutting my whole nail due to that. After using the serum for about 10 nights, I could feel my nails getting better. They actually stopped breaking. While earlier, even a minor tug or pull caused my nail to break, after using this serum, I didn’t feel so. So I feel that this serum really does what it claims! And since my nails didn’t break, I could see them growing well.

However, when I stopped using the serum, my nails became the usual brittle after a few days, so a product like this would work only as long as you use it regularly. But I feel this is fair, as every product works on a similar principle (I, being a pharmacist, can completely vouch for this fact). So if you want to prevent breakage and want your nails to remain strong, then make a product like this a part of your night time regime. I myself keep this on my bedside table and use it whenever I need.

FFS Rating: 3.7/5

Price: I got this from the US where it cost me ~$10. Most Sally serums in India are priced anywhere between Rs 450 to 900. I’m not sure of the price for this one

Where to Buy: In India, I think availability might be an issue. However, Dabur NewU keeps a good stock of Sally Hansen products, so I think it can be available there. Or Sally Hansen counters in Shoppers Stop. Otherwise, try buying it online!

Pros and Cons:

PROs:

  1. Gel based formula, absorbs super fast
  2. Really does what it claims: prevents breakage, and makes the nails grow (I’m not very sure of the 59% long claim though!)
  3. You need very little product, so a bottle lasts you really long
  4. Easy to use dropper based packing
  5. Quite pretty gold bottle! (but really very difficult to photograph! I took a ton of photos but the gold is sooo reflective!)

CONs:

  1. Effects remain only as long as you use the product. The nails may become fragile if you stop using
  2. Doesn’t do much for the cuticles, as claimed
  3. A bit expensive
  4. Not very easily available in India
  5. The bottle is opaque, so you can’t tell how much product is left

Final Word: If you are tired of your nails peeling and cracking, and nothing seems to work for you, then getting this nail serum might be a good investment, as it does work. It would make your nails strong as long as you continue using it. I recommend it to all the people who do a lot of house-work, or have to work a lot in water, as their nails are most prone to breakage.

Denim: Hottest Trend of 2015!

~ poorva ~ 6 Comments

Denim - Copy

While your basic blue denim will never go out of fashion, the lovers of this fabric have reasons to hoard more this year. This fabric, which was originally designed to make robust work-wear for cowboys and miners, has now come back into mainstream fashion and how! Everyone, from Burberry to Kenzo, LV to Tommy Hilfiger, have something in denim to offer this Spring-Summer.

gucci

Gucci Spring/Summer 2015

Burberry

Burberry Spring/Summer 2015

What was seen on the runway was denim shirts, jackets, overalls, and really long denim skirts. Denim was also explored in culottes and dresses of different lengths. A lot of experiments were done with patchwork, especially in Burberry designs. Of course, our ever favourite skinny jeans remained on the scene, along with boyfriend jeans and bootcuts too.

gucci2

Gucci Spring/Summer 2015

Top-to-bottom denim is a trend to look out for, as the likes of Michael Kors and Fendi came out with looks putting together denim top, denim jackets and a loose denim bottom. I see myself wearing this in the near future! It seems so wearable! Denim dungarees have made a huge comeback too, along with jumpsuits.

Michael Kors

Top-to-Bottom Denim from Michael Kors Spring/Summer 2015

Fendi

Fendi Spring/Summer 2015

The trend is going to remain huge this year, and methinks denim trench coats are something I would love to flaunt beginning fall!

The shade family to explore remains the classic blues in various hues: ice blue or black-blue, chambre, and the evergreen (or should I say ever-blue!) indigo blue. White denim is completely back in vogue, and you must try it out if you can take care of the pristine color!

Denim

Denim collection from various high-street brands (from top left to clockwise: Shirt dress: H&M, Sneakers: H&M, Dungarees: Zara, White Denim Jacket: H&M, Skirt: Zara, Denim Shirt: Vero Moda, Denim Jacket: Zara, Bootcut denims: H&M

While patchwork and embroidered denim did come back with a bang, I would suggest that you try these only if you can carry this elaborate look with elan, or you could look too made-up.

Denim featured in accessories and footwear too! Check out this Burberry bag!

burberry bag2

Burberry Bag Spring/Summer 2015

Some tips to completely steal the show:

  1. Do get yourself a denim shirt, which you can easily double up as a jacket over tees or tube tops
  2. Look out for denim skirts in various lengths: I’m personally searching for the maxi-length ones! Printed denim skirts, especially ones with cute little floral prints would look adorable on petite girls
  3. If you really want to try a frilly or lacy denim piece, or one with embellishments, then keep the rest of the outfit simple.
  4. Accessorize! Since denim is a very casual and laidback fabric, I highly recommend that you enhance your glamour quotient with your accessories. Wear your blingy gold/rose gold watches and chunky bracelets, add something on your neck and wear pumps. If you’re not in the mood for heels, then wear any glamorous looking flat sandals. You’ll be the head-turner, my guarantee!
Denim accessories

You MUST accessorize your denim outfit! Take cue from this compilation! Watch: Fossil, Necklace: Fossil, Sling Bag: Topshop, Wedges: Forever 21, Bracelet: Forever 21

Almost all our favourite high-street brands have rolled up their (denim!) sleeves and come out with a ton of variety of denimwear in their Spring-Summer collection.

So go splurge on denim this season. It surely is the hottest thing to sport!

How are you sporting denim this season? Do drop your comments!

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Plum Choco-Latte Smudge-Free Hand Cream Review, Price, Buy Online India

~ poorva ~ 2 Comments

Plum Choco Latte Hand Cream Review 1

If you have read some of my previous posts, you might be aware of my dry-skin woes. My skin is the most extreme form of dry. And so are my hands ;( Add to that my inherent habit of washing my hands a few hundred times a day, and using alocohol based sanitizer too, and what I’m left behind with is completely rough, parchment-like hands, thoroughly thirsty for moisture.

You will always find a hand cream in my bag, no matter where I go. I don’t use it as often as I should, but that is another matter 😉 I’m trying to make it a point to keep a tube well within my range of vision, so that I end up using it as soon as I set my eyes on it.

I’m always seeking new hand creams that can help out my hands. So when Plum, a new online-only beauty brand (which, by the way, is selling products completely free from parabens, SLS, phalates etc) sent me this hand cream, I was overjoyed! So how did this fare? Let’s check out!

Ingredients and Claims:

Plum Choco Latte Hand Cream Review 3

Product Description: This has been taken from Plum website

A buttery soft cream that just disappears into your hands and keeps them feeling soft and smooth. With real cocoa butter that’s rich in essential lipids and antioxidants, this hand cream is non-greasy and also free of unnecessary harsh chemicals. Packed in a convenient, purse-friendly flip-top tube. A little smidge of this cream every now and then will keep your hands perfectly soft & smooth, without any residual greasiness. No more fingerprints. Just a smooth, silky sensation that smells yum… and innocent. Hmmm.

Plum Choco Latte Hand Cream Review 2

Packaging: The cream comes in a practical and fuss-free white plastic tube with a flip cap. I love flip cap based products, as you don’t have to worry about screw caps rolling away somewhere. I really love the ‘Plum’ logo, where they have used a cute drawing of a plum, and in the case of this choco-latte range, everything is in a brown theme. Their other ranges are thematically colored as well, such as green for the aloe-vera range etc. I also appreciate how they have kept all the descriptions on the packing in a very youthful and modern lingo. The tube came in a cardboard box with product details. The manufacturing date is given on the tube itself, which is always helpful.

My Experience: I have been using this hand cream for about 2 weeks now, mostly in my office, where I always find myself reaching for something to soothe my hands as I have been suffering from hangnails recently, and the skin around my thumbs is feeling really hard.

Plum Choco Latte Hand Cream Review 4

Color and Scent: This cream is the palest brown in color, which is definitely reminiscent of a ‘heavily laden with cream’ choco-latte. It claims to have FDA approved colors. The scent is quite a sweet chocolatey one. I like it, but it is just a tad bit too sweet. But I think everyone would like the fragrance! Once you apply it, the scent is quite significant if you sniff your hands, but it settles down to being a mellow sweet chocolatey one after a few minutes. It lingers on for quite sometime, about 3 hours or so. I guess it is a winner in these terms.

Texture: It is a moisture high creamy, or a heavier lotion in consistency, if you get what I mean! But don’t let this water-high texture mislead you to believe that this stuff is not moisturizing. Let’s get to the effectiveness part!

Plum Choco Latte Hand Cream Review 5

Effectiveness: Firstly, the amount that I have shown in the picture is sufficient for both hands, really that is all you need. Second – this cream works! This little quantity leaves my hands very smooth and healthy looking. Another fascinating thing, which makes me adore this is that it absorbs super fast. This is completely gone inside my skin in a matter of 10 seconds, without any residual watery/greasy feeling AT ALL. Really, even detectives won’t be able to figure out if I have applied something, or it is just my naturally healthy skin (unless they sniff up my hands..then the chocolatey aroma can give it away 😉 ). All this makes it a PERFECT FOR OFFICE HAND CREAM! I can just put it on and get back to working on my keyboard and phone, without waiting for my cream to get settled, and plus no greasy marks anywhere. So all their claims regarding the product are really true. The effects of this cream last till after one wash. After washing hands for the second time, you would feel the need to reapply.

However, with my extremely dry hands I don’t find this good enough for night time usage, as I prefer something greasier and heavier at night. I guess it would be fine for night-time if you don’t have hands as dry as mine. I also tried taking a teeny-weeny amount and massaged my hardened finger edges and cuticles with it. While it did sufficiently moisturize my cuticles, it couldn’t do much for my hangnails, and frankly, I never expected it to do so as this is not a heavy-duty moisturizer, but something that can really prevent dryness and soothe the skin on the go. So I forgive it!

Fun trivia: I used it with Neutrogena Hand Cream once, and the combination made my hands smoother than ever, I really couldn’t stop feeling them!

Plum Choco Latte Hand Cream Review 6

Price: Rs 375 for 60 ml. It is a bit expensive for a hand cream, but judging from the fact that it is free of all chemicals that go into making cheaper ones, I guess this is OK.

FFS Rating: 4/5

Shelf Life: This needs to be used up within 6 months of opening up the tube.

Where to buy: This is available from the Plum Goodness website, you can buy it by clicking here

Pros and Cons:

PROs:

  1. Very effective at providing smooth, healthy looking hands
  2. Absorbs supremely fast
  3. Leaves no residues or greasiness, so your laptop/phone would be thankful too!
  4. Completely free of chemicals like parabens, propylene glycol, phalates etc
  5. Delicious sweet scent of chocolate (I found it a tad bit too sweet)
  6. A tube would last you about 45 days-2 months, you need a tiny amount only
  7. Travel friendly: this tube never leaks or opens up on its own accord. Plus I find the flip-cap quite practical.
  8. Not tested on animals, and Plum gives 1% of their sales to protect the environment. I feel good knowing this 🙂

CONs:

  1. Just a bit expensive for a hand cream
  2. Can’t be used as night-time moisturizer, at least by the dry-handed beauties.

Repurchase: Yes! I liked it a lot 🙂

Final Word: If you’re looking for the perfect hand cream for your workplace/college, where you can’t work with greasy hands, and can’t wait forever for your hand-cream to sink in, this is your best bet. The creamy chocolatey scent would be liked by many. Being completely free of controversial chemicals, this is something that can be a cute addition to your handbag. Not the best for night-time usage, but my best friend when I’m in my office or in the metro 🙂

**PR sample sent by company, however, my review is true and unbiased

The Body Shop Moringa Body Butter Review

~ poorva ~ 12 Comments

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A fragrance can change your life. Really, it can! How many times have you seen yourself smiling at the scent of fresh flowers in a bouquet? When the raindrops drench the earth with their wetness, the beautiful scent that emanates brings boundless joy.. The aroma of fresh baked bread or cookies erases all thoughts in my mind, and makes me so happy! And wearing my favourite perfume or a great scent makes me feel special, especially when I get a whiff of it in the middle of a hectic day at work or running errands. It just reminds me that life is good 🙂

Philosophy: Enjoy those little moments in the day with yourself. Savour that delicious meal and appreciate it. Wear a great perfume, sniff it on yourself when you feel low during the day, and carry on!

Do discover your favourite scent, and wear it often. Like I did, when I discovered the Moringa range from my favourite The Body Shop! Read on to know what has made me fall deeply in love with this..

Ingredients: Since I got so obsessed with this amazing scent, I did my own little research on this plant! Commonly known as drumstick and eaten as a vegetable, the flower has a variety of health benefits, and has been used to make aromatic tea! Lately, the cold-pressed oil from Moringa seeds has found its use in luxurious bath and body products, not only due to the heavenly scent, but also with its benefits to the skin.

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Packaging: This comes in the usual TBS body butter tub, which is a pale creamy yellow colored. It has this picture of a huge moringa flower on the lid, which I seriously find very appealing! The product details are written on the back. Some people find this tub type packing a bit unhygienic, but I love everything about it, as the product is super easy to use, and leads to no product wastage at all.

Claims:

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My Experience: I want to tell you first that this is my third tub for this body butter, so you know how crazily I have been using this! I remember ordering it online the first time, without ever having an idea of how this would smell like.. The first whiff of the scent made me ecstatic, it was the perfect white floral scent!

Are you looking for Body Butter reviews? Check out more below!

THE BODY SHOP ARGAN OIL BODY BUTTER REVIEW

THE BODY SHOP ALMOND BODY BUTTER REVIEW

THE BODY SHOP HONEYMANIA BODY BUTTER REVIEW

Color and Scent: This body butter is a beautiful pale creamy yellow colored, and looks like real butter! The scent..oh the scent! I dedicated this post’s opening to the topic of scents as I’m head over heels in love with this one. Mind you, it is very strong and might not be everyone’s cup of tea, so I suggest that you thoroughly sniff and try it in the store before you buy. A beautiful and powerful strong white floral is how I would define it. Though it may seem extremely strong in the container, once on your skin, it mellows down and it seems like a flowery garden on the body! And trust me, this scent would last you really long (upto 10-12 hours on a good day, and at least 5-6 hours on average). I ABSOLUTELY LOVE it! I especially love to use this butter in spring and summer, as it goes well with any white floral perfume. For me, this is the perfect summer body butter!

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Texture: The texture is close to that of heavy whipped cream or softened butter. It is really soft and creamy. A delight for the senses! It spreads very evenly on the skin.

Effectiveness, Moisturization: This comes with a claim of upto 24 hour moisturization. The moringa body butter works equally well on my dry skin as, say their cocoa body butter. It works on my skin for a good 24 hours without a need to re-apply. It does manage to keep my skin very soft and smooth all day long. Even after doing the scratch test on my skin after 24 hours (scratching my skin to see if I’m left with a white, dry mark), this never leaves that mark of dryness. I love how beautifully fragrant it leaves my skin even hours after application. A total success! You need a small quantity for your whole body. Girls with oily skin can probably skip this, or use it very very sparingly, as this is quite creamy and might not be suitable for you. However, it is perfect for normal and dry skinned girls.

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FFS Rating: 5/5 It is a very good skin moisturizer for dry skin, leaves your skin fragrant and soft.

Price: Rs 1095 for 200 ml. Though steeply priced, I always suggest that you keep a lookout for TBS sales, where you can get decent discounts on these.

Where to Buy: TBS outlets across the globe. Their online shopping portal which ships free if your order is above Rs 2500 in India.

Pros and Cons:

PROs:

  1. A delightful white floral scent, which I find very unique, and exotic! 😀
  2. Just like other TBS butters, this is a god-send for my dry skin
  3. Quantity is huge, and you need a very little to keep you covered
  4. The tub is very easy to use, and travel friendly. They never leak or cause trouble while travelling
  5. Has the goodness of shea and cocoa butters, which are full of great fatty acids that are amazing for the skin
  6. I love TBS philosophy of cruelty-free and fair trade practices

CONs:

  1. Is a bit expensive, but as I said, S.A.L.E!
  2. The scent might not be a favourite for all, but the majority of Indian noses would love it. Non-Indian girls, try this one at the store before you buy!
  3. The scent might clash with your perfumes, so I advise you use the matching body mist from TBS, or use it with other white floral perfumes

Repurchase: Forever and ever.

Final Word: The Moringa Body Butter from TBS is THE BEST SUMMER BODY BUTTER! The scent is oh-so-amazing, and my personal favourite. It is an excellent skin moisturizer which gives you soft skin for upto 24 hours, and a tub lasts you ages. Moringa seed oil is said to be very good for skin. Full points to the product, and I highly recommend it!