Today in the “OMG!”series I am taking a look at another one of those ingredients that is fast emerging as the mischief maker of the hair-care world, Silicones! Initially it was the wonder ingredient that made hair look spectacular but lately its being called into question due to its many negative effects.
Silicones In Personal Use Products
BB Creams have been big on the Beauty Scene for a while. The concept of BB cream is great since they are promoted as an all-in-one facial cosmetic product to replace serum, moisturizer, primer, foundation and sunblock. Who wouldn’t want skin care and some coverage in one product. When they initially launched in India I tried out the BB creams from Keihl’s and Maybelline but was not impressed. Fast forward to now and I am happy to say L.A Girl is changing my perspective.
L.A Girl Pro BB Cream
Needless to say Sunscreens are very important for skin care. It helps protect the skin from the harmful UV rays of the sun, which causes pigmentation and sunburn. Sunburn is an immediate reaction but long-term exposure to sun ages the skin and is known to cause skin cancer.
Top Three Sunscreens available in India Market
Top Three Sunscreens available in India Market
Have you guys noticed the frequent use of the term “Sulfates” lately? Women in those pretentious parties insisting products they use are absolutely free of Sulfates…. Boutique brands claiming to be a healthier option because “Sulfate Free” is printed in bold type on their label….Hair stylist at the salon claiming that my hair is thinning because of Sulfates in the shampoo I am using and the one that they recommend will (miraculously) make the situation better!
So after a few such instances I had, had enough and I was compelled to research and understand if I am truly doomed because my shampoo has Sulfates! Here is a gist of what I have come to understand so far.
Sulfates – Is our shampoo making us sick!
Good makeup needs good tools! To design a good tool one needs extensive insight into the target audience and the ultimate result expected. Here is where Samantha and Nicola Chapman come in, they are professional makeup artists and Real Techniques (RT) is their brainchild. In my opinion RT is one of the most reliable and economical brand that makes good quality makeup brushes and importantly, it is available in India.
Today I am reviewing the Real Techniques: Retractable Kabuki Brush. For the longest time I had been looking for a good multi purpose brush and after watching so many videos raving about this one I ordered it from Amazon. I have been using this for close to a year.
Real Techniques Retractable Kabuki Brush
I am in awe of the ladies who turn up for the 9 am meeting perfectly made up and looking all golden! Like me, many of you must also wonder if we can achieve that level of self presentation ….but then there is breakfast to be cooked and lunches to be packed. Between the under cooked Poha and swearing at the crazy taxi driver cutting the lane, can we still manage to look fabulous, you ask? Yes, we can!
Enter: MAC Studio Fix Powder plus Foundation.
MAC Studio Fix
I am not the kind who buys stuff on a whim, I put in hours of research and read reviews, watch videos and yet I tend to find myself with products that absolutely suck! This is part of the reason why I set up this blog to provide an honest take on these downers.
I have already wasted money (and time) on these, so after you read this hopefully you wont have to !
As a pre-teen I was a part of a local children’s club called Twinkle Club! Twinkle Club organised movies and fairs for children which were super fun (not so much for the accompanying parents!) In one such event, sample size bottles of Ultra Doux shampoo was distributed to the kids. It was the Apricot version that claimed to have a “no tears” formula due to which it was liberally handed out to the kids. My curiosity levels were very (very) high at this age and I decided to test out if the “no tears” claim was any good! After returning home, I took a nice dollop of shampoo, worked it into a nice lather and stuck it into my eyes and guess what the claim was definitely not true!
Fast forward a decade or two, and I see Garnier has reintroduced Ultra Doux shampoo from the 1990s as Garnier Ultra Blends, a part of worldwide relaunch. India has seen a significant rise in the trend of using natural products and so I guess Ultra Doux was repackaged with words like ‘Natural Extracts’, ‘Oils’, ‘Herbs’, ‘Henna’, ‘Paraben Free’ to capitalize on this demand.
Garnier Ultra Blends Shampoo
Anyone who knows anything about cosmetics or skin care will slightly cringe at the mention of Parabens. Lately there has been so much chatter about it from both sides, one that claims it to be safe and the others that claim it to be terribly dangerous. Many boutique brands claim themselves to be paraben- free, almost bragging about it along with buzz words like Organic & Ayurvedic, affirming themselves as healthy and clean. But is that true? What is one to believe?
Let’s talk about the new sensation that has hit the market – Thermal Spring Water. When I first heard of this, I thought clever marketing could sell us just about anything! But then I did some research to understand what is the big deal about this and here are my findings.
More than your ordinary tap water!
