Saturday, February 15, 2014

Review-Essence Long Lasting Lipstick –On the Catwalk


Hello Beauties,

Today I am giving my opinion on Essence Long Lasting Lipstick 04 –On the Catwalk. It is a red color lipstick and red is one of my favorite colors. The shade of lipstick is a beautiful pinkish red not very loud and bold red. It is a good creamy lipstick which provide moister to lips. The texture of lipstick after application resembles like a tinted lip balm but slightly more pigmented then a lip balm. You need to apply two to three of swipes to obtain optimal color. Lips look bit glazy and shiny after application.

This lipstick comes in black packaging with a center rim to indicate shade of lipstick. It is a soft creamy glossy lipstick in texture but does not does not bleed at all. This lipstick works well with pigmented lips and gives a full coverage and radiant look. Essence sells this product with “Long Lasting “tag but I certainly did not find it long lasting at all. It remains on my lips for about max 2-3 hours and afterwards it fades off and just remain on outer peripherals of lips. If I fill my lips with lip liner before then this lipstick surely stay for much longer time.



Price-Approx. 2.95 Euro

Shelf Life- 2years
 Pros-
· Beautiful Shade
· Steady packaging.
· Does not dry out lips.
· Affordable price.
Cons-
· Lasting power is so poor.
· Leaves uneven patches.
· Availability in India.
· Transfers a lot.
Rating- 3/5


 

 
Final Verdict-This is a beautiful color, and I love to play with colors so I like this lipstick except the overhead of reapplication.
 

Stay Beautiful
Shikha Agrawal








Friday, January 31, 2014

DIY-Remedy for acne, blemish and wide pores


Hello Beauties,
Today I am writing about an amazing cure which I found for my frequently occurred problem. As I have already mentioned in my previous posts that I have a sensitive but dry skin. And because of my sensitive skin I occasionally get one or two pimples per month. I was using anti acne cream like clear gel which includes clindamycin to cure my acne problem. It suppress active acne but does not do anything for the marks which acne leaves behind.so here I am writing the recipe of a wonderful face pack which works as a miracle drug for acne marks ,blemish and wide pores. It has significantly reduced and lightened my blemishes which I had on the rare ends of my cheeks.

Ingredients:
·         Honey-½ Teaspoon
·         Milk-½ Teaspoon
·         Nutmeg Powder-a pinch
·         Cinnamon Powder –a Pinch




 
 
Mix all the ingredients well in a bowl and make a thick paste .Apply paste using face pack brush on the affected areas and leave it for 30 minutes. Afterward wash it with Luke warm water.

**All these ingredients are easily available in our kitchen.Nutmeg has major antifungal and antibacterial properties that work as an astringent and clean out pores. The cinnamon has antimicrobial properties that will bring the blood to the surface which will plump your skin as well as dry out problem areas. and honey serves as a natural anti-biotic. **

 

Stay Beautiful
Shikha Agrawal

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Exfoliation -The Secret of Smooth, Glowing and Healthy Skin


Spa @ Home
Exfoliation -The Secret of Smooth, Glowing and Healthy Skin

Hello Beauties,

Today I am discussing about how I indulge in a spa at home. I love to exfoliate my skin. Exfoliation removes dead skin cells, leave skin radiant and smooth. Exfoliation has the added benefit of increasing blood circulation, drawing blood and oxygen to the surface of the skin. It encourage youthful, energetic glow that is coveted by so many. So exfoliation should be an unavoidable part of your beauty routine. Friends here are some tools which I am using regularly to pamper my skin by exfoliation.
 
 
 
 

 Loofah is one thing which I use regularly. It goes very well with soaps and body washes. I sprinkle few drops of body wash on damp loofah and gently rub it in a circular motion it provides mild exfoliation and removes dead skin and dirt. It is one thing which can be used regularly to exfoliate skin. For daily exfoliation of skin using body washes we should opt for loofah with very soft weaving. Now a days many types of loofah are available in market from coarse to soft loofah made up of either synthetic or gourd fibers.

Exfoliating gloves are designed for use with or without scrubs, and most of them can be used on every part of your body. But I don’t prefer to use them on my face. Since they are very coarse in texture. Before buying exfoliation glove one need to get assured that it should fit properly in hand. They work very well with body scrubs. You need to add few drop of scrub on damp glove and then with gentle pressure rub it on your whole body. Once in a week I prefer to exfoliate my body with glove. They are quite coarse in texture so they should not be used on a daily basis and we need to be quite careful while using it.

 Do not use exfoliating gloves on sensitive areas. Rinse the gloves often while exfoliating to wash away dead skin cells and other debris. Add more soap or scrub as needed. Clean and dry your gloves per the care instructions on the package. Some gloves are suitable for machine washing, while others must be hand washed and hung to dry.

Facial cleansing brush is an automatic brush which either come with batteries or electric cord. It gently rotates on the skin area and provides deep cleansing of pores. I use face cleanser as part of my mini facial routine every fortnight. I have seen many significant changes after using it. It removes dirt very quickly and minimizes black and white heads formation. After cleansing with this brush skin became far more clean and soft.

It comes with different size of brushes which can be removed and attached easily and it is very easy to clean this brushes after use. It can be used with face wash and face scrubs both. I use cream based face scrub or gel based face scrub twice a week. And every fortnight I provide my skin deep exfoliation using Facial cleansing brush.

Moisterization is a most important step after exfoliation. It is necessary to moisturize skin after exfoliation.

 Dos and Don’ts of Exfoliation

  • Every exfoliation tool should be properly cleaned and dry to remove residues of scrubs and dead skin after each use.
  • We can also prepare our own DIY scrubs for body and face to exfoliate our skin with natural ingredients.
  • Body scrubs and polishes should not be used as face scrubs since they are quite coarse and can lead to damage of tender facial tissues.
  • Apply very gentle pressure while exfoliation of skin and take care of sensitive areas.
  • While using Facial cleansing brush one should be careful of hairline so as to not catch hair in the device and take extra care around the eye area. It is important not to get cleanser in your eyes. Pressing the brush too hard on the skin will stop the brush from moving and impede the effectiveness of the device.
  • One should select Scrubs and moisturizers based on skin types.
  • Extra care should be taken if you have sensitive or acne prone skin type.
  • Don’t forget to moisturize after exfoliation.

Stay Beautiful
Shikha Agrawal



 

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Binge eating


Binge eating

 
Bingeing or Binge eating is a disorder in which someone eats far more than required. It is a vicious cycle which knowingly or unknowingly forces a person to indulge in overeating. I feel up to some extent we all Binge. Don’t take me incorrectly, in other words we all crave for different food and when it is in front of us we generally overeat what we like most. But Binge eating as a habit is few levels higher then food craving. It result in overeating of certain food items repeatedly even though we are already full and we know it well. This leads to weight gain and sometimes no weight loss even after exercising.

So here I am sharing few key points which I have discovered while my weight loss journey, which may be useful for you also.

 

1.     Busy Bee-Be a busy bee, keep yourself engage in other activities so you will not think of food, occupy yourself with things you love. Try to learn new things or do some challenging task which you always procrastinate. In this way you can divert your mind from your craving.

2.     Hide your greed-I always keep all snacks and chocolates which I love most at quite unapproachable place at my home so they will not be always in front of my eyes.

3.     No more cookery shows please-When I watch any cookery show of tempting dish I always have desire to try. And sometimes I try that dish on the same day itself, so I quit watching cookery shows of tempting desserts and snacks, instead I engage myself in exploring low calories salad recipes.

4.     Calorie counters-If you have chart of what all the calories you have eaten in a day how much you are left for, you can easily manage to adjust your craving in a remaining calories bracket this habit will somehow restrict you from overeating.
 
5.     Substitutes-I know I crave for desserts after having my meals.so I satisfy my craving by eating a fig or a date they are sweet and healthy simultaneously so opt for your own healthy options for substituting junk from gem food.

6.     Plan your meal ahead-Make plan of your weekly meals including snacks. This will help you include all nutrition in your diet and this is a budget friendly approach since it will make use of all items available in your refrigerator, specially plan your evening snack because this is most vulnerable time when we eat fried and unhealthy snacks.

7.     Pack some healthy snacks in zip lock bag-Generally when we are hungry we grab anything and start eating them.so make small packs of healthy snack which you can grab when you are hungry and you have no time. Zip -lock begs packing will provide single serving according to your diet and help portion control.

8.     Maintain distance with kitchen and fridge-Sometimes we frequently go in the kitchen and open fridge again and again and see some tempting leftover or piece of chocolate and unnecessary eat them even if we are not hungry.

9.     H2O –Many times we feel like eating something even if we are not hungry.so have glass of fresh water it may sometimes satisfy unnecessary craving of our stmoch.So always carry a bottle of water with you. If you don’t like plain water you can flavor it by dropping some slices of lemon, cucumber or you favorite berries.