Make-up

Black Nail Polish: Glam, Not Goth!

~ poorva ~ 19 Comments

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What do you think of the color black? To me, it is the color of elegance and sophistication but also represents boldness and rebellion. Black is the color you would see most commonly worn in the corporate setting (apart from blue and grey, of course), by rockstars, in goth culture, by rebels, and of course, in night parties! This color screams classiness and style. But on nails? That’s another matter. Black was, till a few years ago, considered too bold and outrageous to be worn on the nails by an average girl. Black nails were synonymous with darkness and depression. These were flaunted only by girls who were boho, or goth (oh and even by guys – remember black painted nails of the Green Day front-man Billie Joe Armstrong, and even AJ McLean, one of our favourite Backstreet Boy!)

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Kim Kardashian, wearing black nails with a gorgeous black dress

Then, all of a sudden, we all woke up to the glam factor of black nails. I remember how I had experimented with this color on my nails, back in my college days, and I had completely hated it! But one fine day, a few years later, my life changed when I saw a girl, almost my age, dressed in business casuals, and wearing black on her digits. She was obviously on her way to work. Nowhere did she look goth or extreme. She looked sheer class! It was that day I realized how well put together this color can make you feel, if worn with the right attitude. From that day, I have never looked back, and you can see me wearing black on my nails a lot.

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The beautiful Natalie Portman, rocking it with a pink gown

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Selena Gomez, wearing black on her nails with an emerald dress

Of course, not everyone can make this look work. You have to have a slightly edgy personality to be able to carry this bold look on your shoulders. But I give you my tip: even if you don’t have a bit of a rebel hiding within you, wearing black polish can definitely bring that rebel out. It can make you feel all empowered, all dressed up, all proper and glamorous. Some fashion bloggers even call black nails as the LBD (the Little Black Dress, for the uninitiated!) for the nails, as you can never go wrong with it.

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Briden Starr, looking like a pretty honeybee! Yellow dress and black nails 🙂

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Selena Gomez, again! She seems to like this nail color a lot

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Kylie, ever so lovely, sporting black nails with black outfit

You really can’t go wrong with this color, as it can be worn with any outfit, any color, and on any occasion. Of course, don’t go to a job interview wearing this! But it can up the glamorous quotient of any dress manifolds.

A few points to keep in mind before painting your nails black:

  1. Wear black on nails which are not very long. Extremely long talons painted black look quite weird, to be honest!
  2. As a general rule, your nails should be well shaped
  3. Black polish particularly flatters square/squoval nail shape
  4. Chipped black polish is a strict NO! It looks hideous to say the least

I am listing some of the best available black nail paints in India (and even outside India, most of these are available)

  • Maybelline Color Show Blackout: Rs 75 for 6ml

Color Show Blackout

  • Colorbar Exclusive 76: Rs 175 for 9 ml

colorbar exclusive 76

  • Lakme Absolute Fast & Fabulous Nail Polish in Night Desire: Rs 200 for 10 ml

lakme night desire

  • Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear Nail Color in Blackout: Rs 250

Sally Hansen Blackout

  • OPI Black Onyx: Rs 670 for the standard OPI bottle

OPI Black Onyx

  • Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colour in Black Satin: USD 27

Chanel Le Vernis Black Satin

So what are you waiting for, girl! Go buy yourself a bottle, and paint the town black! 🙂

Do you sport black nails? What do you think of this trend? Do comment!

Image Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Everyuth Naturals Radiant Fairness Strawberry Scrub Review, Price

~ poorva ~ 10 Comments

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Everyone with dry skin, raise your hands! I know, a lot of you would identify with me, as I suffer terribly with flakiness despite extensive moisturization and pampering. Exfoliation does help, albeit only for a day or two. But without exfoliation, I really can’t imagine my life!

Philosophy: Exfoliation is very very important for the skin. It not only helps get rid of the surface layer of dead skin, it helps eliminate blackheads, improves blood circulation, removes flakiness (especially for dry-skinned folks like me!), and is very good for the overall health of the skin.

I’m on a spree for trying out different affordable face scrubs, and on a recent visit to the mall, came back with this tube! Although I’m bored to death with strawberry scented products, with shelves and bags full of strawberry lip balms, body butters, lotions, shower gels and what not, but still, a strawberry scrub sounded good to me. Did it work well? Lets see..

Ingredients and Claims:

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Packaging: The scrub comes in a very regular plastic tube with a flip cap. The tube is a bright blue colored. The packing seems sturdy to me, but their caps aren’t; I’ve broken Everyuth scrub caps a couple of times, so not the most reliable ones for me! And yeah, the regular trouble of plastic tube packing comes when you’re about to finish the product and it becomes a herculean task to get the product out, which happens with these tubes too!

My Experience: I have used this scrub for about a month now, and can review it.

Texture, Feel, Appearance: Are you fond of strawberry ice-cream? ‘Coz if you are, this one is a close match! I can’t stop raving about the amazing scent of this scrub! I almost feel like eating it right out of the tube, it smells so yummy, just like strawberry ice-cream. And it even looks like strawberry ice-cream, as it is a creamy ever so light pink in color, loaded with what appears to be strawberry seeds, minute walnut shell particles and some ‘Luffa Cylindrica’ powder, which is apparently a good skin polishing agent. It has a creamy feel, and the particles are very light and not at all coarse or harsh.

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Effectiveness: Now let’s get to business. This one claims to provide fairness and rescues the skin from dullness. I have been using this scrub regularly 2-3 times a week for the last one month. I can’t say anything personally about the fairness claim, but my sister found that it did make her skin feel brighter than usual. I also felt that it does remove the dead skin and made the skin a bit brighter, but yeah, I tell you that you should never fall for the fairness or whiteness claim.

Another thing of interest is that it contains ‘Nano Arbutin’. My research reveals that this comes from the bearberry extract that this scrub contains. Some more research revealed that arbutin works in skin lightening by blocking enzymes in melanocytes (which are the cells that cause your skin to appear dark). I guess this might be a good ingredient, but yes, the extent of its efficacy in a scrub is open to debate.

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As far as removing blackheads is concerned, I feel that this does a decent job. It removes most of the blackheads provided you scrub the target area for a good 1-2 minutes.

This scrub did not dry out my skin too much, which is a good thing. But the rule of the book is that you must use a moisturizer immediately after you use a scrub on your face, as your skin needs nourishment post such a strenuous job.

Overall, it does help the skin appear better, a bit brighter, and helps remove dullness as it actually gets rid of dead skin cells. I’m satisfied with it!

FFS Rating: 4.5/5

Where to buy: You can buy it from any local supermarket, grocery stores, chemists or a place like Dabur NewU. Of course, this can be bought online as well.

Price: Rs 90 for 50 grams, which is quite affordable I feel

Value for money: High. It mostly does what it claims, and is a good scrub for regular use.

Pros and Cons:

PROs:

  1. Effective scrub, does remove dead cells, blackheads and imparts a glow to the skin
  2. Affordable
  3. Yummy scent of strawberries!
  4. Easily available everywhere
  5. Not overly coarse, the particle size is small enough to not harm your skin
  6. Does not leave the skin very dry

CONs:

  1. Might be too mild for some people, as some girls (including me sometimes!) prefer a slightly more considerable particle size..
  2. The beauty geeks might have some trouble digesting that it has parabens and SLS. Not a con for me though.

Repurchase: Yep. I like it enough to repurchase it.

Overall Verdict: A great budget purchase, which provides good exfoliation, without being too harsh on the skin. The great strawberry scent is just one more reason to try it! Do follow up with a moisturizer, and use it twice a week to reap maximum benefit.

Fashion Food Soul: Now on Facebook and Twitter!

~ poorva ~ Leave a comment

FFS

All my dear readers, you have given me and my blog a lot of love. I seriously didn’t expect to have such a great response on my blog, especially in just 2 months since my first post! So it was a natural move to take the blog to many more amazing people like you.

FACEBOOK:

I have created a Facebook page for Fashion Food Soul by the same name, which you can check out:

https://www.facebook.com/fashionfoodsoul

Please do ‘Like’ this page, so that I know you love me and my blog, and I can continue to work even harder on it 🙂 And yes, of course, all the new blog posts would start appearing in your News Feed.

TWITTER:

I am also on Twitter (finally!) and you can follow me @Poorva_FFS

https://twitter.com/Poorva_FFS

I hope to see you all in my social circle soon! And I will follow all of you back! 🙂

A gazillion thanks to each and every reader who has ever stopped by on my blog. Your love is truly appreciated 🙂

~~Poorva

Budget Beauty Diaries: 10 Beauty Essentials for Girls Within Rs. 1500

~ poorva ~ 45 Comments

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Are prices really shooting up faster than the speed of light, or is it just me feeling so? No, it ain’t my illusion. This is the commonest complaint I have ever heard. Be it eating out, buying a new dress or getting some new make-up, almost EVERYTHING is so damn expensive every passing day. But we just can’t stop buying make-up now, can we? NEVER! So I took up this challenge. I set myself a budget of Rs. 1500, and decided to buy everything I need within that. Not one rupee more. And guess what? I pretty much managed to buy everything that I had set out for! Isn’t that a major accomplishment? (pat on my back 🙂 )

Here is the list of 10 absolute essentials that I bought for myself, all from good renowned brands, that too, within 1500 bucks:

31. Street Wear Color Rich Lipstick: Rs 180

Revlon sells these cuties under their mass brand, Street Wear. This lipstick is everything you can ask for. They offer gorgeous shades in reds, pinks and oranges and nudes in their range. It has a decent wear time. All in all, a great lipstick.

2. Nivea Essential Care Lip Balm: Rs 100

Winters and lip balms almost always feature together for me in a sentence! I have hoards of lip balms, but always buy more. This basic blue tube would save you from chapped lips. It is non-tinted so you can use it easily under lipstick.

43. Maybelline Colossal Kajal: Rs 199

My absolute favourite product ever. It is just the right black, right pigmentation, and lasts quite long. What’s more, you can double it up as an eyeliner and use it heavily to create a smoky eye! A versatile kajal, and comes for a mere 199.

4. Maybelline HyperCurl Volume Express Mascara: Rs 275

One of the most pocket friendly mascara in the Indian market. Make sure you buy the waterproof one. A decent and well working formula, great for regular usage.

5. Johnsons Baby Cream: Rs 65

No list is complete without a good moisturizing cream. This is perfect for everyone, irrespective of skin type. It keeps the skin well hydrated throughout the day, and it is so cheap! I use this under any makeup base, and it helps soothe my skin

26. Revlon ColorStay ShadowLinks Eyeshadow: Rs 175

These are simply amazing. You choose a color that you need out of their array of available shades. I believe they have 30 shades! You can create your own palette of colors, choosing the singles that you like. These are a good investment, since you only buy what you need.

7. Maybelline Color Show Nail Paint: Rs 75

These are one of the best things to have ever happened to the Indian cosmetic market. Period. You have every imaginable shade in the range. These have an acceptable wear time. The finish is nice and they dry fast. Everything about these is lovely!

8. Pond’s White Beauty All-in-One BB+ Fairness Cream: Rs 140

You cannot wear a foundation everyday. But you definitely CAN wear a BB cream everyday! This one from Pond’s is an absolute delight. At least for me. The only drawback is that you don’t have shade selections. But the shade that they have works well for me and most Indian complexions. It has SPF 30 as well!! A win-win all the way!

59. Street Wear Color Rich MegaShine Lip Gloss: Rs 150

I love the entire Street Wear range by Revlon. Especially the lip glosses. Not only because of the girly and cute packing, but also the formula! It isn’t sticky, and you have a number of shades to choose from! Plus the scent is awesome 😀

10. Lakme Insta Liner: Rs 110

You can check my detailed review for this here. One of the cheapest eyeliners ever, and quite a hit! Helps to draw deep black lines as this is extremely intense in pigmentation. A must have!

These are all the essentials you would need for everyday use. I will be covering their individual reviews slowly, but surely!

Where to buy: Well, all these can be bought at Dabur NewU, as they stock all these brands. Otherwise, all the Revlon, Street Wear, Lakme and Maybelline products can be found in any Lifestyle or Shoppers Stop. Oh why bother..get it all online, you might end up getting some more discount too!

By the way, we are still left with Rs 31 😀 What do you plan to do with them? (I bought myself a chocolate, you know I have a major sweet tooth!)

Nivea Fruity Shine Lip Balm – Peach Review

~ poorva ~ 14 Comments

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Nivea is one of my most favourite drugstore brands. Kids across the globe grow up with Nivea products in their home. The company keeps coming out with nice new products from time to time as well. Nivea Lip Balm is one such product which has been quite a hit in India, with almost every girl owning at least one variant. Their Fruity Shine range is also quite popular, and is among the first good stick based lip balms in India.

When I came to know about the launch of the Peach variant a few months back, I was almost jumping with joy 🙂 I love peach scented products. So my sister, very lovingly ordered this one for me online. She surprised me with this in the middle of the night when she came back from her night shift office. And I tore apart the packing in the morning to use it 😀 And it was love at first sniff..

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Ingredients: Octyldodecanol, Polyisobutene, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Candelilla Cera, Butyrospermum Parkii, Cera Microcristallina, Isopropyl Palmitate, Synthetic Wax, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Glycerine, Glyceryl Glucoside, Aqua, Prunus Fersica Juice, Mica, Propylene Glycol, BHT, Linalool, Limonene, Geraniol, Benzyl Alcohol, Citronellol, Aroma, CI 15985, CI 15850, CI 77891

Claims: The innovative formula of Nivea Fruity Shine Peach with Hydra IQ gives long-lasting moisturisation. The combination of peach flavour and chosen pigments provide an exciting fruity fragrance leaving a touch of delicate colour on soft and smooth lips.

  • Delights your lips with fruity peach flavour
  • Beautifies lips with a soft glossy colour
  • Provides long-lasting moisture for your lips

Packaging: This variant comes packed like the other Nivea lip balms in their plastic and paper blister pack. I threw it away, so no pics 🙁 The lip balm packing itself has changed now, with vertical branding instead of the earlier horizontal branding. The cap is bright orange, and closes with a tight click sound. I adore the new packing as they have these tiny fruit drawings on them. So this one has a miniature peach drawn on it, which looks so cute! The lip balm is a twist up style. These are, hands down, the best packed lip balms ever.

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My Experience: I’m a sucker for new lip balm flavours. So whenever I hear about something remotely interesting, I just go buy it. And ever since I tried The Body Shop Vineyard Peach range, I was hooked to peach scented products. This one, by a very sweet chance, smells EXACTLY the same as The Body Shop Vineyard Peach Body Butter. So I automatically fell in love with it 🙂

Color and Scent: The lip balm is a light orange to coral colored stick, but on the lips, it is only mildly pigmented. At most, it might give your lips a very slight tint, but don’t expect anything more. The lip balm also has shimmery particles, which are very visible in the tube, but not very much on the lips. It enhances the overall shine to the lips, but not impart a garish shimmer.

The scent is that of juicy peaches at their best.. I always feel like eating a juicy ripe peach when I sniff this, so it can be a good appetiser without calories 😀

Moisturization: Nivea Fruity Shine range is for the healthy lip condition. This variant is no different. You cannot heal chapped lips with this. You can only protect your lips with something like this. It offers mild moisturization, definitely less than your Baby Lips. It is a lot more slippery than Baby Lips in texture. But it is very comfortable to wear. It is not something that I would go for during night time, as I like a heavy lip balm at night, but this is great and fun for day time use. It also has SPF, so great for a day out in the sun also!

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The color does not translate much on lips

Rating: 4/5 (low on moisturization, but high on fun factor! And my favourite scent of the fruit family, peach!)

Price: Rs. 140 for 4.8 grams. For me, all my lip balms last forever as I use so many of them!

Where to Buy: Available at Dabur NewU, and most online shopping portals, even chemists stock these

Pros and Cons:

PROs:

  1. Gorgeous fruity scent, it almost makes me salivate!
  2. SPF, I feel every lip balm should have it
  3. Adequate moisture for a couple of hours for normal lips
  4. Cheap and very easily available
  5. Extremely travel friendly
  6. I love the tube color, and the tiny motif of that cute peach!

CONs:

  1. Low on moisturization, can’t heal very chapped lips. That’s all!

Repurchase: Well, I have too many Nivea lip balms with me. When I finally manage to finish all of them, probably Nivea would have launched more flavors by then! So I’m not sure for this particular variant, I might go for it only for the unique scent!

Final Verdict: Girl, if you don’t own a Nivea lip balm yet, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Lay your hands on this one!! If you love an extremely juicy scent, this lip balm is meant for you!

Do you like Nivea Fruity Shine range? And do you love peaches? 🙂

Olay Natural White All In One Fairness Night Cream Review

~ poorva ~ 18 Comments

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I’m the girl who needs her face creams badly. Even one day without a proper cream and my skin goes dull and lifeless. Having dry skin of this sort in a tropical country like India has its boons, but come winters, and this becomes a huge pain you know where 🙁 So I’m always on the lookout for anything that helps retain hydration for long periods. I recently started using night creams just because they come with the promise of working extensively on the skin during the sleeping hours. The first one I used, Neutrogena Light Night Cream was a real disaster. It did nothing at all for me, so I ended up using it as a mild make-up base during summers.

Letting go of the first bad experience, I mustered up the courage to look for a decent but not overly priced night cream, and zeroed in on Olay. I didn’t want to shell out a lot of money, so I picked up this ‘All in One Fairness’ night cream. Let’s see how the product worked.

Ingredients:

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Claims:

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Packaging: It comes in a cute, good quality plastic container with a screw cap, as well as an inner lid. I’m not very fond of inner lids as I tend to drop them a lot, and it always falls onto the wrong side, creating a mess. This has fortunately not happened yet with this, so that’s good! But inner lids help protect the product from oxidation by preventing air from entering the product, so can’t complain too much either. The container came inside a cardboard box which had all the product details and ingredients.

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The cream comes with an inner lid

My Experience: The first thing I did was smell it. The smell is a nice-sort of a creamy floral-and not too harsh on the senses. The color is also a creamy white, like that of good vanilla ice cream. The consistency is not too thick, and a little thinner than my expectation. I always feel that thicker creams work better for a person with my skin type. I use this product every night after washing my face and removing all make-up. I dot it around my face and neck and massage. The cream has a good texture and so it is easy to spread and massage. Immediately after application, the skin feels absolutely lovely to touch, smooth and soft. The fragrance lingers just for a while. When I wake up next morning, my skin feels nice and nourished, and most importantly, NOT DRY! So the moisture is definitely retained for about 10 hours. I’m trying it for longer today (I applied it last night at around 12 midnight, and haven’t washed my face all day..hehe..call me lazy but some things you gotta do to test a product!) My skin has started feeling dry at about hour 18, so I think that’s the maximum it works.

Are you looking for skincare reviews? Check out some more below!

THE BEST LIP BALMS IN INDIA: 13 HAND-PICKED MOST EFFECTIVE LIP BALMS

THE BODY SHOP ARGAN OIL BODY BUTTER REVIEW

THE BODY SHOP HONEYMANIA BODY BUTTER REVIEW

THE BODY SHOP HONEYMANIA HAND CREAM REVIEW

FABINDIA DEW KIWI LIP BUTTER REVIEW

ARE PARABENS IN MAKEUP AND SKINCARE PRODUCTS REALLY HARMFUL?

LUSH HONEY TRAP LIP BALM REVIEW

Now, regarding the ‘whiteness’ claim. I don’t really have a lot of dark spots on my face, so can’t make any comments on that. But I can sense a slight glow in my face, and also some improvement in the texture of my skin. I can see that the product contains a lot of vitamin C containing stuff (lime, orange and lemon juices) all of which work by bleaching the skin in a natural way. So no STARK whiteness, but yes, a soft fairness and glow is something you can expect out of this.

Now, when winters are at their peak, however, I feel that this alone is not sufficient for providing me enough moisture on the extremely dry areas on my face. So I have started using a couple of drops of facial oil on top of this at night, which takes care of my dry patches. No complains at this price.

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Rating: 4/5

Price: Rs 325 for 50 ml

Where to buy: This is easily available in India across your local hyper-marts and stores. Or you could buy it online.

Value for money: I feel it is good for the 325 bucks, as you need very little of it, and a jar would last a long time.

Pros and Cons

PROs:

  1. It really does work well as a night cream, as I wake up with soft skin which is neither greasy nor very dry, so it’s a well-balanced formula (at least for a dry skinned person like me)
  2. A little goes a long way, so one jar would last quite long
  3. The fragrance is appealing and mild
  4. The ‘whiteness’ does come in the form of a healthy glow to the face
  5. Easy availability

CONS:

  1.  I, being dry skinned, expect a bit more hydration and moisture from a product, which I feel it could have had

No other, I feel it is a good product!

Repurchase: I’m not sure, as I would continue to explore other night creams as well. If I don’t find anything better, I might stick to this one 🙂

Final Verdict: If you are a normal skinned girl who is looking for a decent night cream without shelling a huge sum of money, then I do recommend it for you. I, being dry skinned, incorporate it in my night regime with a facial oil to take care of dryness. For oily skinned beauties, I believe it would work, provided you use it sparingly 🙂 It may help you have a glowing skin. Don’t expect miraculous whiteness though.

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The Body Shop Almond Body Butter Review

~ poorva ~ 32 Comments

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No matter how much I try, I can’t keep myself away from buying TBS body butters! And winters just give me one more reason to just stock up on them. I’m super obsessed with these. Don’t know how many tubs I have emptied till date! So this is one of my most favorite one from TBS, the Almond Body Butter!

This comes from the Almond range of products, which are a regular line in the US, but not been launched in the stores in India as a permanent product. They sometimes have it, sometimes don’t. But you can find it online at some beauty websites. This range also offers a shower gel and hand cream. Earlier the company seemingly discontinued this body butter, but brought it back on popular demand. Let’s get to the review.

Ingredients and Claims:

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Packaging: Comes in the regular wide mouth screw-open plastic jar. Unlike the other lines of body butter, it’s labeling and logos have not been changed. The new packing features only one big fruit/nut image on the top. This one features the photograph of a lot of almonds on top. Certainly inviting! And apart from English, they have also written ‘AmandeBeurreCorporel’, which is French for almond body butter.

My Experience: I first bought this body butter in 2012, when it was available online. This is my second tub. And take my word, it is a great, great, great product. I had been using my first tub sparingly, since this product is a little hard to come by. You can smell bitter almonds very significantly when you sniff it from the container. It is a very strong scent, some of you might not like it much, but I personally find it really soothing in winters. You can call it the scent of roast almond cookies, but it is stronger than that. It would be something like a marzipan based dessert aroma!! Gosh I’m hungry now 😀 And it does not smell like the Garnier BB cream, which also smells like almonds. It is a different scent, but I love it. This isn’t something which you would like a lot in summers. So I save this nutty smelling butter for the winters.

Texture and feel: It has the texture of whipped cream, but a bit heavier. It is ever so light brown in color. The consistency might be lighter than other nutty butters, but one thing quite different is the fact that it is oily. Which makes it all the more better for a person with dry skin. And yeah, that’s me!

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Effectiveness: You need very little of this butter to keep you covered. It spreads very evenly and leaves the skin GLOWING and velvety soft. The oil that I mentioned above shows up on the skin in the form of a glorious sheen, a beautiful healthy and very slightly oily appearance. Think Nicole Scherzinger’s legs, the way they shine..yes..that kind of sheen. Hence, not to be used in summers, especially the ladies with normal to oily skin. But me, I’m like, ‘Gimme Moreeee’ 😀 The skin remains soft and moisturized for about 24 hours easily. I also use this one as a hand cream and foot cream sometimes at night, and wake up to delicious smelling hands 🙂 . That’s the most gorgeous thing about TBS butters- you can smell them for 8-10 hours even.

Rating: 10/5 (this is one of my favorites!)

Where to buy: TBS counters across the globe (I’m not sure which all geographies it is available in, but US most definitely has it, I have seen it on the US website!). In India, you are lucky if you find this in the store! But you can buy it from some online portals.

Price: Rs.1095 for 200ml (I got it at 50% off, so I paid about 550 for it!! 🙂 )

Value for money: Totally..Even for 1095, I think it totally hits the spot for me. It is a superb moisturizer, gives my skin a dose of almond oil, and smells great too!

Pros and Cons:

PROs:

  1. A great moisturizer, prevents my skin from drying out
  2. Love the scent (some may not like it, so subjective)
  3. Gives the skin a lovely glow
  4. Has the goodness of almond oil
  5. Very little is required for the whole body, it is super creamy and spreads very very evenly

CONs:

  1. May clash with perfumes, as the base scent of this butter is quite unusual and not many perfumes would complement it
  2. Might not be suitable for oily skinned gals
  3. Availability, not readily available at TBS counters in India 🙁 I’m so cross.

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Repurchase: Yes, always. I’ll buy another tub, and another, and another! Just hope they keep them coming and not discontinue it!

Overall Verdict: You have dry skin? Or even normal skin prone to dryness in winters? You want to try a body butter? Then this is for you! You don’t like the scent of almonds? You don’t like something which makes you smell of almonds all day long? Then this ain’t for you!

Have you used this one? Let’s discuss!

13 Essential Makeup Tips for Girls Wearing Glasses

~ poorva ~ 26 Comments

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I have been wearing glasses for most part of my life. I had to start wearing them in middle school, and honestly, I don’t mind wearing them much. I never got bothered by being a girl with glasses. In college, I started using contacts quite frequently, but then when I started working, the long hours on the computer made me come back to my specs. But now, wearing glasses is so much in vogue! So all of us people who are stuck with specs, have a reason to rejoice.

Some of the people who wear glasses feel a bit low on confidence. This should not be so! These are a part of your identity. Accept them, embrace them. Be glad that you have so much choice in frames and designs. Back in the day when I was in school, and before that, there were just no choices! Be glad that even celebs wear these, and plus, they almost always give you that intellectual look!

There are certain tips that I would like to share with the girls who wear glasses, who feel that makeup is off territory for them, now that they have a huge thing sitting on their nose hiding half their face. Ladies, this list will equip you with techniques which, if followed correctly, make you look like a diva, that too, an intellectual one! I am suggesting some makeup and general tips for revolutionising the way you look with glasses

Makeup for eyes:

This is where you can go more adventurous than rest of the clan who doesn’t wear glasses

  1. Under eye: Girls, remember that glasses highlight your undereye area a lot more than you can imagine. If your under eye region is dark, then make it a point to moisturize and use a concealer on this area. The concealer should match the color of the rest of your face. You can also use a full coverage foundation. This would remarkably improve your appearance. Trust me.
  1. Eyeliner: This is again, a makeup essential for the glassed girl. Remember, the thicker the frames of your glasses, the thicker your eyeliner can be! However, go easy on it if your glasses are rimless ones, as they don’t hide your face and eyes as much as the thick framed ones.
  1. Mascara: Use a mascara to highlight those lashes which are unfortunately hidden behind the glasses. Go crazy with it. Use as much as you want! Try using one which increases the volume of your lashes. Mascara which lengthens might cause your lashes to touch the glasses, so bear that in mind. I totally recommend Maybelline Falsies Also use it on the lower lashes.
  1. Eyebrows: Keep eyebrows shaped. Even if you don’t want to get them professionally shaped or threaded (like me), it is still good to maintain them in a certain shape as it provides a cleaner look.
  1. Kohl: For the Indian girl, kohl or kajal is an everyday essential. More so if you’re a girl with glasses, as the kohl makes you look more awake and in general, a lot better. But do ensure that your undereyes are not dark, hence follow point 1 religiously.
  1. Eyeshadow: Go ahead and use it a lot too! Bear in mind that the eyeshadow color doesn’t clash with the color of your frames. Again, go easy if you’re wearing rimless glasses
  1. Nude Eyeliner on waterline: Try a nude/white eyeliner on the waterline to give illusion of bigger eyes. It does make a difference. Try NYX Wonderpencil or Revlon Photoready Kajal in Emerald Empire (use the nude Empire side of this pencil), or Lakme Eyeconic Kajal in White.

Makeup for Rest of the Face:

  1. Base makeup: Try to achieve clear skin with appropriate use of foundation/BB creams. If you don’t want to use them all over the face, then just use these to even out your complexion and hide the blemishes. This would help to keep the focus on your prettier features.
  1. Lipstick: A girl with glasses should experiment with interesting colors on their lips. If your frames are bright colored, then do ensure that the lipstick doesn’t make you look too made up, though. With regular black frames, try a pop of bright pink, some coral or orange in the daytime. Use reds and browns in the evening.
  1. Blush: It makes a huge difference to your bespectacled appearance. Do use a blush whenever you can.

General guidelines:

  1. Power of the glasses and eye makeup intensity: A rule of thumb is that if you’re near-sighted (myopic), then your glasses would make your eyes appear smaller. And if you’re far-sighted (hyperopic), your glasses make your eyes appear bigger. So do your eye makeup accordingly, which means that, if your eyes appear smaller, then use more makeup, and if your eyes appear bigger, then go easy on eye makeup! Simple!
  1. Frame color suggestions: The shape of your frames would totally depend on the shape of your face, and also your personal preference. But as far as the color of the frames is concerned, I suggest having neutral colored frames (black/dark brown), because then, you can be more adventurous with the makeup colors. On the other hand, if the frame is of a bold color, then you will have to keep other things subtle to avoid looking like a clown.
  1. Hairstyle: Try an interesting hairstyle to rev things up! Bangs and pouf look gorgeous with nerdy glasses. A sleek ponytail can help you rock the look with rimless glasses 🙂

I’m very sure these would make you look and feel so much better. Do ask me questions if you have any!

The Versatile Blogger Award

~ poorva ~ 12 Comments

VBA

I woke up in the middle of the night to check time on my phone, saw a mail, and found that Anna had nominated me for the ‘Versatile Blogger Award’! Anna, thanks a ton sweetheart! Hers is a beautifully written blog, called The Annamated Life, where she gives awesome beauty product reviews, and talks about her family and yes, even exercise videos! Do check out her blog here. I feel so great, and honestly, honoured, to be nominated 🙂 Thanks Anna.

Rules

  1. Show the award on your blog.
  2. Thank the person who nominated you.
  3. Share seven facts about yourself.
  4. Nominate 15 blogs.
  5. Link your nominee’s blogs & let them know.

Seven Random Facts About Me

  1. I love collecting books. I don’t even have a count of how many books I have! A sad fact of the matter is that I’m not able to read them as fast as I’m buying them.. But yes, I intend to read all of them sometime!
  2. I love animals! Especially dogs. I get a bit scared when they come too near, but I still love them, and at times, I feel that they are more humane than us humans. Animals are born intelligent, and that’s what makes me love and respect them so much.
  3. I’m lately loving everything in tan color. So almost all my recent purchases have been tan colored ones, which is now making me think that I should start buying more of pink 😀
  4. I really, really wanna learn a new language..before I get too old!
  5. December is my most favourite month of the year..for no known reasons..probably because of the winters, or maybe the charm of Christmas. I hate the New Years Day..as it means the end of my favourite month..yeah..I wasn’t extremely happy on the 1st
  6. I love watching travel and food based shows, my favourite channel is History. I love watching cakes being baked. And I love eating cakes too! And next, I wanna eat an almond-meal cake which is made without flour.
  7. I hate pretentious people. They make the world such a nasty place..And I don’t like people who make fun of others, who bully others for fun, who have unnecessary airs about them. I have encountered too many of such people in my life. None of us is too great, that is what I believe. Greatness is for the others to perceive, not for us to impose on someone. Well, that got a bit heavy, but I seriously believe that.

My 15 Nominations:

  1. http://fairygodmotherbeautyblog.com/
  2. http://prettykooll.com/
  3. http://tabithawarleybeauty.com/
  4. http://matriarchofnerds.com/
  5. http://silkyresh1984.wordpress.com/
  6. http://willfullyelegant.com/
  7. http://muslimgirlinlove.com/
  8. http://withallmyaffection.com/
  9. http://cornfedcontessa.com/
  10. http://polishedbyamy.wordpress.com/
  11. https://amorebeyoutifulyou.wordpress.com
  12. http://mygirlsontour.com/
  13. https://ermirasworld.wordpress.com/
  14. http://sarahlovesmakeup.com/
  15. https://emiliamueller.wordpress.com/

Do check out these lovely blogs! Anna, thanks again! 🙂

Lakme Insta-Liner Review

~ poorva ~ 7 Comments

DSCN0558

Happy New Year 2015 people! I hope everyone had a great celebration, and if not, then not to worry! I also had a rather laidback day at home, gorging on food and lazing around. A dull start..but I like it that way 🙂

I started wearing eyeliner very recently, just about a couple of years back. Kohl has been the best friend for me, but I recently realized that I love eyeliners too! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that a thin defining line on the eye can make such a big difference to a girl’s face!

Lakme Insta Liner has been around for ages, and I seriously mean ages! I really believe it was the first eyeliner that every Indian girl wore 🙂

So let’s start the review

Ingredients: Not mentioned!

Claims: Nothing! There is absolutely nothing written on the little bottle

Packaging: The packaging has remained the same over the years..a small glass bottle filled with your black liquid eyeliner. There is nothing to not like, as it is very ‘to-the-point’. Yeah, the Lakme logo has now changed, so that has also changed on the bottle. And the applicator is a very thin brush that is attached to the bottle cap.

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My Experience: This was the very first eyeliner that I ever used, and hence it will always have a special place in my heart! I remember applying this for a school party, then, with very shaky hands, and with a lot of innocence 😀 From then till now, several eyeliners have come into my life. I recently bought this bottle again, just for old times’ sake. But I was really surprised to see that this is a good eyeliner! I don’t feel that the formula has been changed either.

Color and Pigmentation: It comes only in one shade, which is black. This liquid eyeliner is freakishly pigmented, as one stroke gives you such intense black color! I’m really grateful to this eyeliner as it is so different from so many new gimmicky and ridiculously priced eyeliners that don’t even do what they are supposed to do. This humble bottle of eyeliner would give you jet black lines easily.

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Ease of Use: After using a gel eyeliner, I found it a little difficult to use this liquid eyeliner, and found it a bit more difficult to control my hand on this brush applicator. But yes, you always learn how to use a new eyeliner with time, so you can easily get used to this one with time as well. The brush picks up enough product to line your one eye. One little problem is that a liquid eyeliner can get messy at times, so do keep a tissue handy! Also, being a liquid eyeliner, it takes quite a long time to dry, so keep 3 minutes for that.

Water Resistance: The bottle very clearly states that the liner is ‘water resistant’ and NOT water proof. So do bear that in mind while wearing this on a sweaty summer day, or on a wedding where you might shed a few tears 😀 The liner will not promise that it won’t budge. But on a good, non-humid day, it lasts. Throughout the day. And with minimal fading. Do remember not to touch your eyes a lot, as it can transfer a bit. A couple of touches to the eyes won’t make it fade though, so you can trust this liner on that. One more thing that I want to mention is that, never let this liner get into your eyes. It burns like hell! But yes, this liner is quite easy to remove. So you won’t need any makeup remover for this, just soap and water would do.

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Rating: 3/5

Price: Rs 110 for 9 ml

Where to buy: Lakme counters at malls, even the good-old neighborhood makeup store would be stocking up on this classic favorite. It is also available online.

Shelf Life: 2.5 years, but since this is an eye product, I guess you should only use this for 3-5 months after opening.

Pros and Cons

PROs:

  1. Intense black color
  2. Extremely affordable
  3. Easily available at stores, and you can buy it online too
  4. Decent brush applicator
  5. Huge quantity, would last you ages!
  6. Very easy to remove, won’t require makeup remover

CONs:

  1. No ingredients mentioned
  2. Burns eyes, so be careful while applying
  3. Takes long to dry
  4. Can get messy, and if it does, the stain would leave your skin dark and you need to wash very thoroughly
  5. No shade choice, despite the fact that Lakme can easily introduce different shades! Come on people, we need good brands to come up with affordable colored eyeliners!

Overall Verdict: Trust this little bottle on days of good weather, never on a rainy day. You can easily learn to use this applicator. I would recommend using this on days when you want a simple, one stroke eyeliner. I would still go for my gel eyeliner if I want to create a winged eyeliner look, or something more edgy. But this bottle is a must have. Just make sure you don’t get it into your eyes. At this throwaway price, it is definitely a must have.

Lakme Lip Love Lip Care Review: Cherry Variant

~ poorva ~ 2 Comments

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Winters for me mean endless cups of coffee, eating home made ‘gajar halwa’, enjoying the shivering cold and yes, cursing it at the same time for making my skin even worse 😀 I have this habit of buying lip balms, but I really don’t know why, I don’t apply them as often as I should. Whenever something new hits the stores, I love to buy it, and add it to my bag, and it is used really well for 2 days. Then, it mixes up with the rest of the stash and we are back to square one. But I guess a lot of girls go through the same! So my new addition to the stash was Lakme Lip Love Lip Care (that’s a lot of ‘L’s!).

I was really excited for this particular product launch as Shraddha Kapoor has been roped in for its promotion. It comes in 4 variants, Cherry, Strawberry, Peach and Vanilla. I really wanted to buy Vanilla as I go bonkers for anything with chocolate or vanilla flavour. But since these are claimed to be tinted balms, hence I saw no point in buying a variant which was creamy yellow in color. So I chose cherry, the deepest shade among all 4.

Ingredients: “NOT MENTIONED!!!” I mean, which age is this? How come things can easily be sold without the mention of even the basic ingredients that went in? I really request all companies to give a thorough list of ingredients, if not on the pack, then at least on their website!

Claims: Tinted Sticks with Balmy Cores’, SPF 15

Packaging: This cute product is winning hearts ‘coz of its absolutely lovable packing. Girls who have used Elle 18 lipsticks are already very familiar with this type of product. Both, Elle 18 lipsticks and Lakme Lip Love Lip Care look completely similar. The twist up packing is the same size as Elle 18. Even the bullet looks an identical sister of Elle 18! The only difference with Lakme is that the Cute Quotient has been kept higher with a transparent cap with Lakme Lip Love written in a flowery font! The plastic body seems sturdy. The cap is tight enough to not open up inside the bag. All this came housed in a paper and plastic blister pack. The bullet is a bright colored one, with a visibly different core, which is said to be the moisturizing portion.

My Experience: I had tremendous expectations from this one. Lakme had advertised it really well, especially on their FaceBook page. I went around malls asking when this is hitting the shelves, and returned home empty handed all the times, as none of them had a clue when this would be coming. I ultimately ordered it online from Amazon. My luck was just not favouring me, as this was the festive season and all deliveries were being delayed. I finally got it on 27th, after 7 anxious days of waiting. So how did it fare? Let’s see

Color Payoff: It has quite a low color payoff. The deep red shade of the bullet made me hope for a darker color on my lips. Well of course it ain’t lipstick. But what’s a tinted lip balm if it doesn’t give you a slightly obvious tint? I should have bought vanilla 🙁

Scent: It has the slightest ever scent only, that too of a typical lipstick. It doesn’t really feel like a cherry scent to me, but I kind of like this synthetic scent too! It won’t be there for long, and just lingers for a minute or two.

Moisturization: Well, the most important thing for a lip balm for me is the hydration power, and on that front, this seems to be jussst fine. 2-3 swipes would easily hydrate your lips for about 1-2 hours. It isn’t sticky, and neither is too waxy. I would have preferred if it was just a tad bit heavier in texture, so it would have lasted longer. Again, I believe this won’t heal your chapped lips, but just provide a hint of healthy sheen and moisture. Only if the color payoff was as good as the color of the lip balm, I would have bought some other flavour too!

Price: Rs 200 for 3.8 grams of product

Shelf Life: 2 years

Pros and Cons:

PROs

  1. Attractive packing. All companies seem to now understand that cuteness quotient is a great buying factor for a girl!
  2. A good moisturizer for lips. The balmy core does seem to work
  3. Has SPF 15, so that’s an added bonus
  4. 4 flavors! (I really should have got Vanilla….)
  5. Travel friendly

CONs:

  1. Not as good a color payoff as I expected
  2. NO INGREDIENTS?? What are you doing with the huge cardboard packing, people? Use it to put the ingredients list, not claims alone!!
  3. A bit expensive for the deal (Rs 150 would have been OK for it…come on Elle 18 lipsticks sell for 110)
  4. Scent not the most pleasant..seemed a bit artificial, so I guess not everyone may like it
  5. Availability might be an issue right now, but I guess it will be easily available across stores soon

Rating: 3.5/5 (score on basis of adorable packing and decent moisturization)

Final Verdict: This is a new product so you should try it. I would insist that you buy one variant (Buy one only though 😉 ) It would cover you in terms of moisture in these winters. Don’t have reaaalllly high expectations though.

Did you try this Lip Care product from Lakme? Did you like it? Share!

List of Baby Products Which YOU Should Be Using Too!

~ poorva ~ 20 Comments

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Childhood is the most beautiful time of one’s life. When all you have to worry about is the next day’s homework submission, the upcoming unit tests and winning in the street cricket. No worry about job promotion, increments and all the jazz that adulthood brings with it. I wish I could go back in time and re-live those days… Well, we can re-live them in a way! By using Baby Products!! 😛 Hehe..that won’t be childhood exactly, but can give you a mild reminiscent feeling of those days 😀 Using a Johnson’s baby product just gives me a sense of deep happiness..probably because the scent has remained the same for so many years! It is like a legacy of sorts..We used it, and before that our parents used it, and these are still very much around. So I never stop myself from buying these lovely goodies from the baby section in the mall 🙂

Here, I am listing down all these cute Baby Products, and how you beautiful girls can incorporate these in your beauty regimen. Don’t even once think that these products are meant only for babies and kids. These are amazing for all us well grown adults. One more winning factor is that, these products have been designed keeping a baby in mind, hence extremely safe and well tested. These would work like a charm for girls (and even boys!) who have sensitive skin and who have difficulty finding suitable products.

Here is the magic list:

  1. Baby Oil: I always have a bottle of this at home. I use it for removing makeup. It can be used to remove foundation from the face, without leaving the skin dry. I especially use this, as I have pathetically dry skin, as after using this and then washing the face with a regular face wash leaves the skin a lot less dry. I also use it as an emergency eye/lip makeup remover, when I run out of my regular bi-phase makeup remover. It works amazingly well as nail and cuticle oil, so you need a couple of drops only to massage your fingers 🙂
  2. Baby shampoo: I recently started using this. No, not on my hair, but on my face! When I use any face wash on my eyes, it burns my eyes like hell. So I invested in a bottle of the cute yellow baby shampoo, and use this after removing eye makeup with a makeup remover to get rid of residues. And its ‘No More Tears’ formula ensures that I don’t cry 🙂 Of course, this shampoo can also be used for its original purpose, ie washing hair. I recommend it for those who need a very frequent hair wash, as it is quite mild and won’t leave your hair excessively dry.
  3. Baby cream: For the longest possible time, I have been a fan of Baby Creams. Johnson’s Baby Cream comes in 2 variants, one a normal cream and the other is milk cream..:D I like both of them. I love using them from time to time, and the consistency, formula, moisturization power, everything is great. They come in tube form, so quite hygienic, and I am considering keeping this in my travel vanity.
  4. Baby wipes: These come enriched with baby lotion, so I believe these can be used to remove makeup. I haven’t tried these this way but totally considering this!
  5. Baby Lotion: I love the baby pink color of this lotion! Again, a number of variants come for the baby lotion, just buy anyone that you like. I love to use this on my face, as it is neither too thick nor too runny. It has just enough moisture and is not too oily. In winters, I use it immediately after washing my face, and then use another heavier cream on top, which locks in the moisture for the whole day. One major advantage with these products is the huge variety of sizes in which they are available. So you can buy a small one to try the product and then a larger one if you like it. During summers, only this lotion would be sufficient for the face. The baby sized bottle can be used as a hand lotion too!
  6. Baby Powder: I highly recommend the use of this powder instead of your regular dusting powder in summers. This is extra smooth, and not at all rough like some other talcum powders in the market. The pleasant scent is a major plus! You can even use it on your face in summers, before applying makeup, as it would reduce sweating on the face and make it last longer.

 FOR THE BOYS: Yeah, I know some boys are reading this too, so I totally recommend these products for you. These Baby Lotions and Creams are perfect to follow up after your shave. These formulations are not very heavy, so won’t cause your skin to break out. And yes, since you have to wash your hair more often than us girls, I suggest that you try this shampoo, as it won’t strip your hair of moisture.

So go ahead and use these amazing products. I am quite sure you will be hooked, just like me! And they might just remind you of your lovely childhood 🙂

Do you also love using Baby Products? How do you use them?

Pond’s Pure White Deep Cleansing Facial Foam with Activated Carbon + Vitamin B3 Review

~ poorva ~ 3 Comments

0

Activated carbon reminds me of my chemistry lab in college, where we used this stuff to remove (adsorb-to be chemically correct!) impurities out of the products that we synthesized. Never did I imagine that the amazing property of activated carbon to adsorb impurities would be utilized in skincare products!! Pond’s even shows this in the product’s advertisement, when a sphere of activated carbon is dropped into a glass with dirty water and it goes clean in a while.

Well, to enhance your knowledge, activated carbon is carbon (imagine the black soot that you see against a wall when you light a candle too close-that is carbon) which has been treated chemically so that it acquires this supreme power to suck out impurities and dirt. The same principle which makes it so useful in a chemistry lab has been the funda behind this great facial foam! 🙂

Ingredients:

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Appears to be free of SLS!

Claims:

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Packaging: It comes in a sturdy black colored plastic tube with a flip-cap. I have used this product while travelling and the tube never leaked, so the packing seems to be travel friendly. But on the contrary, the cap of the tube broke while using at home once! It might have been a one-off defective pack, but always carry your liquid and foamy stuff in a polybag while travelling, is my suggestion. The tube looks classy to me amongst all the facial products that I use, due to the luxe-black color 🙂

My Experience: I have been using this product for about a couple of years now, and it has remained in my bathroom shelf consistently. The product is steel grey in color, obviously as it contains carbon. It has a pearly sheen to it. The scent is mild and nice, floral sort of, but nothing that lingers behind. You need very little amount of it to achieve effective cleansing. I usually take a dime sized amount, put dots on my face and lather away for about a minute. Being foam, it lathers really well. The foam it gives is whitish.

I still remember, when me and my sisters used it for the first time, we could actually note a real difference in the skin color, with our skin appearing brighter and cleaner. Hence, you might also notice a real difference with first time usage, as it really does a thorough job of cleaning out your pores. And it might make your skin feel whiter (come on, the product name is ‘Pure White’!). But I feel that this is something which happens only upon first time usage as, subsequently, with regular usage, the amount of accumulated dirt in your pores is also lesser. Whichever the case may be, but yeah, it made my face look brighter!

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Since I have quite dry skin, I tend to use a lotttt of heavy face creams and a BB cream on top, and this face wash removes its greasiness and the accompanying dirt effectively. I know this because it really leaves behind skin squeaky clean. So I know that it really does its job well. Since I use it every day, I don’t notice a very significant ‘whiteness’ or ‘glow’ everytime, but yes, I feel clean after using it.

In summers, I don’t face the problem of dryness post usage, but now that the weather is a colder, my skin tends to feel a little pulled and dry upon using this. I definitely follow it up with a heavy cold cream or a night cream, but yes, it may leave the skin a bit too dry for dry skinned girls. For the oily skinned beauties though, this would work perfectly. Just remember to follow it up with your choice of face moisturizer!

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Rating: 4/5

Price: Rs. 160 for 100 grams of product. Smaller packs are also available.

Shelf Life: 2 years

Where to buy: Easily available across all general stores, pharmacies and supermarkets. You can also buy it online!

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

  1. Cheap, easily available across stores and online
  2. Very effective in removing facial grime and oil
  3. The ‘Pure White’ claim does appear to be true to an extent, as you will feel your skin appearing brighter, as it really clears dirt from your pores
  4. It contains Vitamin B3, which is great for the skin
  5. Sturdy, travel friendly, luxe packing
  6. Washes away easily, without leaving a slimy film behind (which I personally hate, makes me feel unclean)

Cons:

  1. Leaves the skin dry, especially in winter
  2. The flip-cap broke once, so be gentle with it!

Value for money: Yep. It’s a great product from Pond’s, and actually uses a great scientific phenomenon to achieve clean skin. Kudos!! Plus, it is really inexpensive.

Repurchase: Definitely. Despite my dry skin, I still love to use this product because it really makes my skin feel very clean, removes make-up and grime. Overall, it’s a super-effective product. Recommended!!

Nivea Creme Review

~ poorva ~ 12 Comments

1

Hi all my dear readers! You know, I have never in my life experienced a proper snowfall. Living in a hot metro city like Delhi in a tropical country like India, what I have mostly experienced till date is unlimited rain, endless bouts of summer and very small but quite cold winters, for which I am always thankful 🙂 I only saw a few specks of snow in Nainital, a small hilly town, once.. But looking at the classic blue tin of Nivea Creme, somehow always makes me imagine snow. And you know what, the literal meaning of Nivea in Latin is ‘Snow’! Aptly named, must say..The stark bright white crème makes me feel really good..Makes me think of a warm cozy blanket, a mug of hot chocolate and makes me long for a snowfall in my city.

This tin used to be a staple in every household for years, but then softer and lighter creams entered the market, and this was lost somewhere. But this has remained one of my most favourite formulations ever.

Ingredients: Aqua, Paraffinum Liquidum, Cera Microcristallina, Glycerin, Lanolin Alcohol, Paraffin, Panthenol, Decyl Oleate, Octyldodecanol, Aluminum Stearate, Citric Acid, Magnesium Sulfate, Magnesium Stearate , Parfum ,Limonene , Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal , Linalool , Citronellol , Benzyl Benzoate, Cinnamyl Alcohol

Claims:

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Packaging: I don’t need to tell you, everyone knows the tin! The cute bright blue tin comes in various sizes, with a foil sealing the contents. It has never given me any trouble while travelling, and you’ll always find a small version in my vanity.

My Experience: It was a couple of years back that, having run out of my usual face cream, I used this after ages. And I was hooked! It treated my dry, flaky skin like no other cream ever could! This cream has been compared in efficacy and formulation to Crème de la Mer, one of the most expensive skin creams around, so there must be something striking about this formula.

It contains Eucerit, or lanolin oil, which is basically an animal derived fat, but don’t go eeeugh, it is processed well 😀 And it is a godsend for people with dry skin (read: me 😀 )

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Color, Texture and Feel: This cream is really a pure snow white in color, and that is the reason I associate it with snow. My Mom tells me that there was a similar cream in the market some 20 years back, known as ‘Afghan Snow’! The cream looks like heavy whipped cream in the tin, but much heavier in texture. It is a bit sticky, but I don’t mind, it is an elixir for my parchy skin.

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Efficacy: I can write a few chapters on how good this cream has been to me. I use it throughout the year, only skipping it when humidity gets too high in our Indian Monsoons. It is my go-to cream at night for my face. If used in a larger quantity, it might leave a whitish cast on the skin, and also make it sticky, so oily skinned people, use it sparingly. I use it as a hand cream when nothing premium is available, and it works great. I use it on my feet and it works like a dream. Some people even use it on their lips. I love its scent, it seems quite soothing to me at the end of the day. I have also used it for facial massages, and it is gorgeous in that setting too. And yes, during travels, I always keep it handy. This is my all-purpose solution to dryness! And yes, it never breaks me out, so non-comedogenic too.

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Rating: 10/5, I love it too much!

Price: 30 ml – Rs.40, 60 ml – Rs. 70, 100ml – Rs. 115, 200 ml – Rs. 190

Shelf Life: 30 months

Value for Money: Totally worth it

Pros and Cons:

PROs:

  1. Very cheap, easily available throughout the globe
  2. A gift of Nivea to dry skinned Homo sapiens like me
  3. Cute scent
  4. Travel friendly packs
  5. An all-purpose cream, available in so many sizes, so you can keep one according to your needs in every setting
  6. Great for massages and to get rid of dry patches on the skin

CONs:

  1. Not very suitable for oily-skinned people
  2. Contains preservatives like parabens, but I told you, I don’t mind them one bit, there is too much pollution and cigarette smoke that I already tolerate!
  3. The pack is not very hygienic, but I can’t imagine a cream this thick being sold in tubes

Repurchase: Forever and ever! I always keep the biggest sized container of this at home, so I never run out 🙂

Final Verdict: I really feel this is a complete winter essential for everyone. For the men, I think keeping one of these in your bags can be a lifesaver in winters, as it can be your all-purpose cream. For me, it is my most beloved cream ever.

Do you love this cream as much as I do? Do drop in the comments!

Bobbi Brown Saket, New Delhi: Store Coverage and “Secret to Perfect Skin” Makeup Lesson

~ poorva ~ 2 Comments
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Bobbi Brown Saket

“I love the way people look, and I love making women look beautiful”, says one of the most inspirational women in International Makeup and Beauty sphere, Bobbi Brown. I admire her, and really find her advice very meaningful, be it regarding the empowerment of women or about finding the right lipstick shade. Her stores across the world have taken the responsibility to teach women how to do perfect makeup. And I lined up for one such session at her store in Select Citywalk, Saket on a sunny winter afternoon. And boy, I loved every minute of it!

The Bobbi Brown Makeup Lessons cover everything, from doing smokey eye, finding the perfect lipstick and blush shade to doing perfect skin regimen and so on. Different sessions have a different duration, for instance, a smokey eye tutorial is a 5 minute class, learning how to do long wearing eye makeup is a 20 minute class etc. I scheduled their ‘Secret to Perfect Skin’ session, a 20 minute class that helps the woman achieve perfect looking skin everyday.

I arrived at the scheduled time, and the makeup artists welcomed me very warmly! To be very frank, I had gone there with very low expectations and with the impression that things will be a rush-rush affair. But I was totally in for a surprise as the lesson was anything but rushed.

Products used on my face during the lesson

Products used on my face during the lesson

Makeup Artist Abhay took charge and first asked me my skin type, which is quite dry. Then, he helped me remove the makeup that I wore that day and advised the use of an oil based makeup remover. He gave me Bobbi Brown’s Balm Rinse, an orange based cleanser to remove any traces of makeup that remained, and then gave me a damp paper towel to clean my face.

My face is prone to extreme flakiness in this weather, and he totally understood the extreme dryness my skin suffers from, so he started applying products on my face according to my skin type. He started with Hydrating Face Cream, and Hydrating Eye Cream. Then, he recommended that I should start using an Anti-age serum or something that nourishes my skin, so he applied Bobbi Brown’s  Intensive Skin Supplement. He finally treated the extremely dry spots on my face with their facial oil.

After layering these skin moisturizers, he started doing my makeup, only when my skin was hydrated enough. Being a dry-skinned girl, he recommended Bobbi’s Moisture Rich Foundation SPF 15 in Natural Tan. Only very little product was used, and he emphasized that I should ‘Blend, blend, blend, ‘coz blend is your friend!’ Then, me being the inquisitive me, also asked him a lot of questions about general skincare, which he answered very patiently, and with awesome and practical advice! Followed by the foundation, I wanted to try their Concealer kit, so he applied the concealer from the kit in Natural Tan to my under eye area, which is quite dark compared to the rest of my face, and taught me the right way to blend it. After setting the concealer with compact from the same kit, he applied some Bobbi Brown Blush in a cool toned pink to my cheeks. He also put some lipstick in an everyday pink color to my lips. I also wanted to see the much talked about Bobbi’s Shimmer Brick, which he applied to my cheeks to highlight my face. And voila! I was done!

The concealer under my eyes was really making a difference to my overall appearance, as my eyes looked brighter and well rested, in contrast to me regular self, when my eyes appear dull.

So, the take home lessons for me were:

  1. Layering moisturizers is very important, especially in this harsh winter season. Applying a good face cream, under eye cream and then some booster serum followed by some oil on the extremely dry patches would be fine
  2. Choose the foundation which is an ‘EXACT MATCH’ to your skin shade. Hear hear, all the Indian ladies, who have been told that the foundation shade should be one shade lighter to your skin shade. That should never be so, as one should never ever be able to tell whether you are wearing foundation or a base at all
  3. Blend your foundation, concealer and blush really well
  4. Smile when you put your blush
  5. Don’t ever make a habit of wearing foundation everyday. Only wear tinted moisturizers for everyday use

I learned so much in this 20 minute session (which he very generously extended by 10-15 minutes to accommodate my questions etc). I’m definitely going back for more! A million thanks to Bobbi Brown and yes, to MUA Abhay, for his kickass knowledge and advice!

I also took a lot of store photos, to entice all my girlfriends! The store is beautiful, although I felt it was a little small.

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Makeup…

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..some more makeup..

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..and some more!…

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Bobbi Brown Makeup Lesson Catalog..just make sure you dial up for an appointment before dropping in!

Overall, I give their makeup lessons a big, huge thumbs up! And I recommend all my gal pals to give this a try, it would make a huge, tremendous difference to the way you use makeup. Seriously. I’m definitely going back for some more!

Until next time readers, take good care, and don’t forget to layer your moisturizers! 🙂