Archives for February 2014

Just Gossip Vol. 29 – A Blind Test and The Week!!

February 27, 2014 Swati 4 Comments

the blind test for Love Long Hair Range at Perfect Skin Care for you

PS: I am sorry for posting this but my post went up live quite before it should have been!!

So, I was preparing lunch today taking instructions from my mom on phone when P got this courier. It could never have come on a more opportune time! I was just waiting for the bhindi to get fried to go for a head bath. I had slapped quite a generous amount of oil in my hair right when I got up thinking it would be a nice day to give my hair a very relaxed weekend.

What courier am I talking about? Ok, I was approached by these PR people to be a part of a blind test they are conducting. An international brand is launching itself in India with its Love Long Hair Range and it has found out a very innovative and interesting way to get everyone’s attention.

So, I think many of the bloggers would be getting these shampoo and conditioner bottles with no names or anything and we have to test the product for two weeks and get the verdict out before the brand reveals itself!! Did it catch your attention? Well, it did mine!

And, I am soooo excited to test this product out. The best part is the conjecture about what brand it could be? Well, the conditioner smelt something familiar to me. My guess right now is on Pantene but I have to say that the shampoo did not really lather that much! Update: Now, I think it is L’Oreal coz it smells almost like the Total Five Conditioner!

Anyways, lets wait up to two weeks and see how the product works out for my hair. For now, I can say that, even though I thought it would fail, it did pass in removing all the massive amount of oil from the hair in two washes!! And, yup, today, I made the first almost entire meal of my life 😀 It is so damn exhausting to work the entire day in the kitchen 😐

So, how is your weekend going on?

Salon Range Products or Natural Products for Hair? {Your Opinion}

February 25, 2014 Swati 1 Comment

I have always been torn between these two. Well, for starters, I love experimenting with natural products and home remedies!! But, on the other hand, professional products are well-researched and prepared and categorized exactly for your hair type and issue.

If you ask me to choose between the two, I would be hard-pressed. These days my hair care routine or habits have changed so much. If I look at all my hair diaries which started way back in 2012, I used to use over-the-counter products and stressed more on natural brands (mainly Biotique) or home remedies. But, slowly, I can see myself transition into using hassle-free products.

I have started spending more and buying SLS-free shampoos and professional range conditioners because the regular conditioners do not work for me at all. Ok, one reason I can say natural products or herbal brands appeal more is the expense. The professional products are usually very expensive. I would love to give Kerastese a try, its not that I can not afford it but somehow I do think before going for it, not that I can guarantee Kerastese will work fabulously on me!!

Also, lately, I have started hating applying products which are gooey and need a lot of pre-processing or post-processing like mixing some herbal hair powders with water or something else or mashing banana and papaya into a mix and applying it or even curd, for that matter. For one, the smell is awful and second, you really need to make sure nothing is dripping all over the house while you are working with all that on your head.

So, I have reached a compromise with myself and have started buying ayurvedic oils which I try to diligently apply before every hair wash. I do love to check out different ones so you will never find me sticking to one which is quite sad in one way!! And, I have started buying organic shampoos and conditioners, not professional yet, which reduce my time in the bathroom. Also, as a leave-in, I am sticking to natural oils for now because they are working great.

What do you prefer – the natural or herbal products or the salon or professional ranges for hair care?

Update on Onion Juice for Hair Growth – Part I {Hair Care}

February 24, 2014 Swati 39 Comments

Since I have done the post on benefits of onion for hair and how to use onion juice for hair growth, I have received an onslaught of questions from various readers and they all ask me the same kind of questions. So, I thought I would create a small FAQ sort of post which will be helpful for one and all. Also, there have been some updates over the three years so check out the post for more!!

How does Onion help with hair growth?

Well, onion has sulphur which is an essential nutrient for hair growth. So, regular application of onion juice on the scalp enables the scalp to absorb the nutrient and nourish the follicles.

Big onions or small, red onions or white?

Big or small does not really matter but big makes the job easy! For one application of onion on my scalp and hair length which is medium, I prefer half an onion of medium size. And, red onions have more sulphur content than white ones so prefer them.

How to apply onion juice?

Grate the onion – squeeze the pulp and extract the juice in a bowl – take a cotton ball – dip in the juice – apply on scalp – cover the entire scalp and hair length – let it dry for an hour – wash off.

Onion juice becomes powdery when it dries off so be careful and do not comb your hair after applying the juice!

How many times should the onion juice be used on the scalp?

It is completely safe so it can applied as many times as you want. But, if you want my advise, apply it every time before you shampoo depending on the condition of your hair.

Femina Salon and Spa Magazine Review

February 20, 2014 Swati Leave a Comment

Femina Spa and Salon Aditi Hydari issue at Perfect Skin Care for you

Price: Rs 100

Femina presents its latest addition to the slew of magazines in her kitty, Femina Salon and Spa. The goal of this magazine is to promote the beauty basics customized to the Indian skin tone and hair type. And, it does that with a bang in this issue of its!!

So, let me start with the cover girl feature of Aditi Rao Hydari. I totally love this lady and the magazine covers a snapshot-cum-tutorial session detailing gorgeous hairstyles ranging from refined fish-tail braids to carefree waves and an interview with this lady discussing her beauty secrets (click on the below picture to enlarge it and read the tutorial)!

its so chic!

She is one of the very few woman I actually admire looks-wise and reading her interview was fun. The flawless skin is thanks to the female genes in her family and she loves her eyebrows the most. I do too (her eyebrows, I mean)! The shape is just awesome. And, she loves natural remedies and relies very less on makeup.

i love this!

Princess Jasmine knots from Walt Disney cartoon Aladin

my favorite current trend – the OMBRE effect I would love to get dark mahogany with blue highlights!

Moving on, the hair care section is HUGE! It includes all the latest trends in the hair styles right from braided twists to ombre hair effects. The section has a talk with Chelsey Lloyd, global expert, TIGI about hair coloring basics and which colors best suit the Indian skin tones and the Do’s and Dont’s for the hair colorists. And, she also emphasizes that the colorist should make sure that the hair should be healthy initially so that the color would show up nicely.

these are my two favorite looks of all!!

Next is a section on makeup, the higlight of which in this issue is the dramatic use of eyeliners. Followed by a tete-a-tete with Bobbi Brown. And, a few Q&A sessions with Ojas Rajani and Colleen Khan.

And, the final section is the spa and salon section which talks about some of the professional spas, a little about salons across the metros, features hair stylist Deepak Jalhan and a lots on hair color which is very useful if you are one for it!!

My Verdict

Overall, the magazine is a treat for beauty addicts with the bonus of being customized to Indian audience which makes most of the tips practically usable. A few things do bother me like some of the color combinations in the magazine are little difficult to read. They have used red at some places which glares in the eyes instead of being readable.

And, the glue for the magazine did not hold well. I, for one, handle the books and magazine delicately but still it did not stand well which is sad 🙁 I do not know if that should be mentioned in a review but then here it is!!

Have you read the first issue of the magazine which features Yamini Gautam?

Do you love searching for new products? {Your Opinion}

February 18, 2014 Swati 3 Comments

I have always loved going to supermarkets and checking out their beauty section. And, always, more often than not, I find something interesting to buy which is not so widely known of or available. Yesterday again I got a chance to go to a new supermarket with my colleague for her household shopping.

And, I got a hair oil concentrate which should be diluted in usual coconut or mustard oil and applied on the scalp. It sounded so interesting and it was also very inexpensive so I got it immediately and I am dying to try it out!! Of course, I will let you know about it if I like it or not!!

Recently on one of my trips, I also found out that Dabur sells tiny vials of clove oil for prevention from tooth aches. Now, I have mentioned that I love using clove oil for my hair. And, these clove oil bottles will work perfectly as they are so tiny and one vial can be diluted with 100ml of regular hair oil.

Also, there I found something called kalonji oil which is black seed oil. I have no idea about how it really helps but it has multitude of health benefits but there is no scientific evidence on the beauty benefits for now!! So, these are small kinds of things which I love to explore and come to know when I go to the supermarkets.

Also, a few days back, while we were on a walk, we found the Art of Living divine shop which is just like the patanjali shops. They have suddenly cropped up quite a lot of places. I got a body oil from there!

They have almost a huge section of cosmetics and I got to know about some other better products from there which I am itching to go and buy. Will talk about them once I am convinced of their quality.

Do you love shopping beauty in supermarkets? Or, do you just prefer to go to the regular brands?

What would be an ideal first gift?

Do you think it is safe to use a bleach?