Swathy

Baby Oil vs Vegetable Oils {Skin Care}

Swathy · February 11, 2013 · 20 Comments

I have been using the regular Johnson’s baby oil to remove sunscreen from the skin. And, in the meantime, I have been searching for a more natural product to use instead of mineral oil. In this interim, I also came to know that usage of mineral oil daily accelerates the aging process.

Whether that point is true or not, I can not say. But, I can point out one thing that while I was using baby oil, I was not able to get rid of my blackheads. And, in fact, my blackheads were getting worse day by day. The day I started using the coconut oil, I could see them gone soon enough.

Also, I had been using groundnut oil a year back when it had totally eliminated my blackheads. Also, from the perspective of money, coconut oil seems cheaper at Rs 42 for 200 ml. I am currently using the Patanjali one. Whether it is pure or not is something I can not answer.

But, I do have a question which if you can answer, please do so. When I went to the Kama store couple of months back, I saw that they were selling 100 ml or something at 800 bucks which makes it literally 8 times more than the Patanjali one.

One would say its the quality difference but is the price difference really justified??? I do not know how to react to such difference in prices. No, this is not the only instance either. Anyways, this post is about baby oil vs vegetable oils.

And, my experience says that the vegetable oil is anytime better than baby oil. What do you say?

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Blogging Series Vol. 4 – How am I able to try out so many products and its affects on my skin?

Swathy · February 10, 2013 · 4 Comments

This is a question which I have been asked quite a lot of times. Being a beauty blogger, I do get lot of opportunities to try out various products and being an enthusiast, I love to discover new brands. Anything which appeals to me, I make a point to try it.

Over the years of blogging, I have found many brands which appeal to me and I have also found out what kind of products appeal to me more and what are mere whims.

Good Skin Genes

I am thankful to both my parents for having great skin. Though, I prefer my mom’s skin a lot more but its hell lot sensitive as well. Mine is just perfect which troubles me with only a few products!

Good Skin Care

Changing products very frequently does wreak havoc on the skin. But, I have a few things in my routine which never change. One of those habits is using oils. I always treat my skin to something familiar everyday so that at least one aspect of my skin care does not change.

Also, when trying out a lot of products, always keep in mind to change one product at a time instead of changing the entire set. That will ensure you know what does not agree with your skin.

Also, another thing which helps is being able to judge what will suit you or not. That is where the knowledge of ingredient list comes in handy. Also, when you are trying out natural or herbal products, you should be shrewd enough to make out which brand is merely advertising for its benefit and which brand is actually worth it.

Another point which I would like to make here is that always remember that price tag does not reflect quality. Some product may be heinously expensive and do nothing for you. So, always try to judge the products objectively and take time in doing so because sometimes we just get carried away. And, the ads and product packaging these days really don’t help there either!

One more point is that I always stay away from the products having actives like retinoids and other such things which can wreak havoc on skin. Once your skin gets used to those things, it becomes very difficult to judge how will the skin react to other products.

Patch Test

Ok, this is something I have never done but this is extremely important. Always try to do a patch test before trying out any product. And, instead of using your inner elbow, do the patch test on the skin behind the ear. Because, the skin on the inner elbow and the face can have different sensitivities.

How do you take care of your skin?

“The Seeds of War” by Ashok K. Banker

Swathy · February 8, 2013 · 1 Comment

love the illustration

Note: I was traveling for the past two weeks and came back only on Monday so I started reading the book only on that day. I am supposed to put up the review within a week after receiving the book but I am not sure when I received it. Thus, I am publishing it today and hoping that it would considered valid. Also, I have not yet been able to finish the book because it is very involved. Thus, my review is based on the part I have read.

Ashok K. Banker is a famed author of the Ramayana series. All of his previous novels have been quite a hit, apparently! Ok, I have to admit that I did not hear about the author before I got this novel for review.

But now, I can say that I would definitely want to check out all his previous books. His previous work includes modern interpretation of Ramayana among others and now he has started on Mahabharata.

I have to say this that among the two great epics, Mahabharata appeals more to me because of the cacophony of emotions. There is love, jealousy, anger, hatred, passion, pride, virtue, misery, loyalty and what not? Each character in the epic is worth a study. And, every book I have read on the subject opens a new perspective.

The Seeds of War is the second book in the Mahabharata series being written by the author. Since I have not yet read the first one, I can’t comment on the flow of the story but I think you can read the books independently.

click on the pic to read

The author clearly states in the introduction section that he has stuck to the original story and simply narrated it in his own style. This particular book narrates the story of people living way before Bharata who started the line of Pandavas and Kauravas.

The book is divided into 9 pakshas or parts. I have read only 3 parts yet and am going to start the fourth. This book is about Bhishma and his vow of celibacy and to be a protector of the throne. And, how it leads to Mahabharata.

The goal of the book is to show how did the earlier events culminate into the ultimate war. It depicts The Butterfly Effect – a single event can cause a reaction in the chain of consequent events. When some great event is going to happen, things start falling in place much before the immediate people who affect or get affected by the event are even born.

As I said I have not yet read the entire book, I can only say that I have liked the book so far. The author has an easy way of writing and he mentions the philosophy involved in the dialogs very clearly. But, yes, you would need time to read the book. It is not one of the light and easy reads.

This review is a part of the biggest <a href="http://blog.blogadda.com/2011/05/04/indian-bloggers-book-reviews" target="_blank"> Book Reviews Program.</a> for <a href="http://www.blogadda.com" target="_blank">Indian Bloggers.</a> Participate now to get free books!