Archive for February 2016

Facial Oils are making their own mark in the beauty world now a days.Every renowned skin care brands are launching their very own facial oils and promoting. So here comes the review of the first facial oil that I bought and tried from The Body Shop and its OILS OF LIFE™ INTENSELY REVITALIZING FACIAL OIL.

First of all, the packaging! The Body Shop has really knocked it out of the park with this one- these bottles are just beautiful and really high-end looking. They have definitely dressed up my sink the last month or so.Facial Oil is in a glass dropper bottle and it looks absolutely classy.

The Intensely Revitalizing Facial Oil (Rs.3095) contains 99% oils of natural origin this is meant to be used regularly as your daily moisturizer. Well if your skin is very dry then you can put this one before applying your regular day cream or the Oils of life essence lotion from the same range. I did not buy the essence lotion and only used this as a moisturizer and then followed it up with my SPF lotion on a normal day. I have got a combination skin so oils does not suit me but then this one is really light and it gets absorbed in my skin in a second.

This oil claims to instantly give a smooth appearance to the skin and revive radiance. After 4 weeks, the signs of aging are supposed to appear reduced and wrinkles appear minimized, while your skin feels more elastic and firm. This oil also has that earthy, herbal scent but it quickly dissipates.

the body shop oils of life facial oil review

the body shop facial oil review oils of life

After using these products the past four weeks, I can honestly say that my skin looks much more radiant...to the point where I actually notice it. So many products claim to give your skin "radiance" but it's such a commonly used term and difficult to measure most of the time. Usually I don't even notice a huge difference but this time, I noticed that my skin was glowing after the very first day!

Normally, when it comes to skincare, I was never a big fan of "The Body Shop" skin care range,well I liked the drops of youth night mask and this is the second product which I found really impressive.

In the winter when my skin gets really dry, I'll definitely pick up one of the Oils of Life moisturizer to rejuvenate my skin.

Pros

Non Sticky and Light
Smells really good
Gets absorbed in the skin fast
Gives a radiant skin
Skin gets a noticeable glow
Suitable for dry to combination skin

Cons

Combination skin may sometimes get breakouts while using this
Not to be used at night as it becomes quite oily in the morning and will end up clogging the pores(combination skin)
Expensive
Its a glass bottle so its kind of breakable

In a single line I can say that if your going for a party or getting ready for your big day you can definitely include this one in your daily skin care regime for radiant healthy glow.

The product is available in all the leading stores of "The Body Shop" and also online in The Body Shop Online

M2M rating - 4/5

Quotes of tbe day

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."

Photo Courtesy - Google

Wrote by Piya

Maybelline has launched a brand new Lipgradation Pencil & Smudger (Rs.500 at SS)which is a new matte finish lipstick pencil available for Summer/Fall 2016 in a variety of 8 vibrant shades. I 'm a huge matte lipstick fan myself and when I visited ShopperStop the other day I found these pencils in their rack and was quite curious about the new Maybelline

Lipgradation pencils because they actually embrace a Korean lip trend that hasn’t really been in the spotlight here in India.

Let’s take a look and I’ll explain further.

Maybelline Lipgradation Pencil are a dual sided twist up lip pencil that contain a creamy lipstick on one side and a smudger on the other.The smudger actually acts to recreate a slight blur look.Hence this particular lip pencil can be used for both bold and blurry looks as claimed by Maybelline.

Maybelline Color Blur Cream Matte Pencils13

Maybelline Color Blur Cream Matte Pencil5

The general idea of the look is to apply the lipstick towards the center of your mouth and smudge it gently so it bleeds a bit into the outer lip area but not too much. You want more color towards the center of your lips and less color towards the outer lip area. It’s kinda a funky faded up ombre lip look. I tried it on my lips and kind of like it, although I think that technique doesn't really suit me.

On that note I will say I wore the shades as all over lipstick and thought they rocked in the pigment department. They provide solid, smooth color on lips with a single swipe and build beautifully. They provide opaque color with an even matte finish on my dried lips. They didn’t accentuate dryness nor did they look dry or settle into my natural lip lines. Although my lips tend to dry out mostly throughout the year.The finish was beautifully smooth and very even. The actual tip of the pencil is a flat design so you can apply easily. They glide on incredibly well! I barely have to touch color to my lips, it just melts right on with a soft, velvety feel. They have no fragrance or flavor that I detected.

Maybelline Lipgradation Pencil Swatches

The wear is delightfully long at around five hours and some shades leave behind a staining effect as they fade! They don’t migrate or feather through the wear nor do they fade! They remain quite vibrant and fresh through the wear however, at around hour two and into three, four, and five the product feels a little more dry than when I originally applied but it isn’t terribly uncomfortable and lucky enough doesn’t translate to the actual finish looking dry.

All in all Maybelline Lipgradation Pencils are a very nice lipstick product that takes on a very popular Asian lip trend. Whether or not anyone gets on board with the faded out lip look is the question.

Tried them?

Do share your thoughts!

Rating - 4/5
Products are available online in http://www.jabong.com/

Quotes of the day -
"The best thing is to look natural, but it takes makeup to look natural."

Calvin Klein

Pic Courtesy - Google

Wrote by Piya

This is going to be my first movie review and please bear with me for the silly mistakes if they come but after watching Neerja I could not stop myself from writing about it.First of all the latest change that our beloved Bollywood is going through have really astonished me.Movies like Baby,Airlift,Mardaani,Talvaar,Madras Cafe and Neerja are coming up which are completely changing the ideas of the new generations whose assumptions are that Hindi movies only consist of melodramas,mediocre love stories and dancing in rains.Well its not that I don't like Hrithik Roshan's dance moves and SRK's romance but a change,rather a change for better is always welcome.
Neerja, well honestly I did not have much idea about the bravest girl in the country until I got the news of the movie in making and I liked the idea of Sonam playing the role of an Air Hostess.After the release the movie got overwhelming response and great reviews which is not quite common for Sonam Kapoor's movies so I trusted that this movie might be a special one.

Story
The film is set on September 1986, when Neerja Bhanot the young purser of Pam Am 73 was being shoot point blank while she tried and succeeded in saving the passengers of the flight in Karachi which was being hijacked. The movie opens in a middle class happy-go-lucky family in Mumbai celebrating and dancing with their neighbours and their dearest daughter Neerja who is a flight attendant, a model, a lover and a die hard fan of Rajesh Khanna. She is peppy, bubbly, filmy, repeats the dialogues of her favourite hero every time she is in a funny conversation. She is friendly to everyone and keeps on repeating the dialogue " Babumoshai zingadi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahi(our lives should be grand not long)". On the other side it shows the plots and planning of the hijack taking place in Karachi at the same time. Shabana Azmi plays the character of Neerja's loving and caring mother, Rama Bhanot who is always worried about her "Ladoo's(which is Neerja's pet name) health and safety and keeps on reminding her about everything. She is the closest to Neerja in the family and she believed that after her two sons Neerja is the fruit of her prayer to god for a daughter. Shekhar Ravijani of Vishal - Shekhar has got a very little role as Neerja's love of life does his debut,who keeps on encouraging Neerja on starting a new life by forgetting her past which consists of a broken bad dowry burden marriage where Neerja was being tortured mentally and physically. Yogendra Tikku is perfectly cast in the role of Neerja’s father, effectively offering a glimpse into the welled-up emotions of a concerned parent.

What I think of the Film -

For me the real hero of the movie is the stupendous script by Saiwyn Quadras and director's Ram Madhvani's work which wastes very less time in setting up the drama. Sonam Kapoor who is famous for her fashionable attires and titzy bitzy roles in Bollywood proves everyone wrong and have done an excellent job in showcasing the country's youngest Ashok Chakra recipient's role.

The atmosphere of dread and violence is created well, for the most part.

We see the hijackers brutally put down any hint of resistance.

We see the terrified passengers cowering in their seats.

We see the crew being cowed into submission, being jabbed repeatedly by AK 47s. And we see the exact moment when

Neerja draws upon her memories of being defeated in a

past life, and reaching out for steely resilience: most

importantly, we see Kapoor do this, believably.Although in some scenes she was a little blank instead of being scared but they are momentary. She makes us believe that she is, was Neerja.The hijackers seems to be little ill planned and weak to me, could have been better in certain scenes.

Shabana Azmi is the one of the strength in this movie who plays the role of a very loving and caring mother so effortlessly that sometimes it will make you forget that she is playing a role. The scene where Neerja's body was being brought in a coffin and her mother putting the yellow dupatta which her dearest "Ladoo" has asked for her birthday is definitely going to bring tears in your eyes. Her last speech for Neerja is again a very important scene in the film and its definitely going to give you a lump in your throat.
Songs were soothing especially the " Kyun Ma" song which I came out humming while leaving the theatre but honestly this movie does not need any song and sometimes I feel that they are unnecessary and misplaced.

Rating - 4/5
Yes this movie has done great in box office and will continue to do so, but thankfully this time it is way better than our regular "100 crores club" movies. So guys I know weekend is over, those who have already seen it do share your feedback and those who have not please go fast and make a plan, its really worth it and do not forget to carry a tissue, you will need it, trust me.

Quotes of the day -

“Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.”
― Jim Morrison

Wrote by Piya

Monthly subscription boxes are like surprises to me every month. I really enjoying un boxing them. Sugarbox demands that their stylists handpicked every items minutely and to match the tastes of their subscribes and I quite like their style. February's Jumpstart Edition was quite on hype and me too was really excited to receive it. Although it arrived a little late this month but well it seems it was worth the wait. This month's "Jump start edition"box has targeted to give us an adrenaline's rush and hit the gym. Here goes the list of the goodies -

Cartoon Earphones
"I love NUTELLA" Muscle tee
"Oh-my-nelf" nail paint
Doowie donut
Bucket bag (baby pink)
Sunnies
Woolen head band

I loved the cartoon earphones, they look super cute although sound quality was that not good but yeah I can definitely use them during my regular workout sessions.

Next is the " I love Nutella" muscle tee which is quite cool for gym wear and for the coming summer its just perfect. Sugarbox provides normal size T-shirts which can easily fit anyone.

I received a purple shade of the "Oh-my-nelf" nail nail paint. Although I have not got the time to try it on yet.I wish there were more makeup products in the box.

Loved the yummy chocolate donuts from Doowie. It was fully covered with chocolate with a Bavarian filling. I have always got sweet tooth for donuts and hence it was my favourite product in the box.

Well the pink bucket bag was kind of cute but it was a bit tiny for me, as I prefer carrying big handbags filled with stuffs. Still its a bucket bug and its now in trend so I can carry it sometimes in my coffee and movie spins.

I received a red sunnies in my box and honestly I did not like it much. Its kind of retro made up of fibre and is round in shape.

Woolen head band arrived in the offset of winter so its of no use right now, maybe I will be using it next winter.

Briefly, Sugarbox has been my favourite monthly subscription box so far and it has never disappointed me. It keeps on surprising with the awesome goodies but this time products were quite ordinary, expected more.

Quotes of the day -

"A good life is when you assume nothing, do more, need less, smile often, dream big, laugh a lot, and realize how blessed you are."

Pic Courtesy : -www.sugarbox.in

Wrote by Piya