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Auravedic Pure Brightening Skin Polish Amla Tamarind {Product Review}

· · 16 Comments

An amazing scrub from Auravedic!!! I don’t know the price but you can get the price list and the availability here on Bhumika’s blog.
Ingredients
Ingredients as listed: Kokum Butter, Mango Butter, Beeswax, Sunflower oil, amla extract, mulberry extract, lemon oil, polymer granules, jojoba beads, tamarind extract, olivem 1000, oliwax, purified water, phenoxyethanol

All natural and amazing ingredients. Special mention about Kokum Butter: substitute of cocoa butter and is high in essential fatty acids for skin. Read more about Kokum butter here.

My Experience
It is more of a butter than a scrub

Amazing scrub. When you open the lid, you are greeted with a faint smell which is herbal and doesn’t irritate. There is a vacuum lid which prevents spilling of the scrub outside so no problem of the scrub getting on to the lid or the sides of the bottle. The scrub is really gentle. Ok, here is a con of the product. It is supposed to be a body polish but it is so gentle that I simply used it only on the face. There are very less scrubby granules and more of butters so ultimately it proved to be a moisturizing scrub. I did not even try it on my body so can’t really say how it will work there. But, thing is that I like something more granular on the body. But, it is great for face and neck. The granules are enough to scrub the skin and they are not harsh at all and very sparse but they do scrub well. It does remove the blackheads too. Though, I do not use scrubs daily and do not even recommend but I have been using the scrub daily at night and I faced no problems with using it everyday. No breakouts on my combination skin even though it is full of the butters and oils in the product. It brightens and makes the skin glow immediately and makes it really soft and the best part is that it keeps the skin moisturized and hydrated. I follow this with the Auravedic Facial Repair Moisturizer.

My Recommendation
Yes, definitely!!! Amazing product but you can get the products only in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Goa and Bangalore 🙁

Milk Powder Face Pack {DIY}

· · 11 Comments

An amazingly hydrating face pack for all types of skin except acne prone skin.
Ingredients
  • Milk Powder (2 small pouches or 2-3 table spoons)
  • Rose Water
Method: Mix the ingredients in a small bowl. Pour very little of rose water and make a smooth paste. The consistency would be very watery and thin. Apply a thick layer on the face and leave it on til it dries. After 15-20 minutes, the mask starts to harden gradually (it takes a little time) into a white layer on the face. After the complete mask hardens, remove the mask by taking a little water and gently scrubbing it off. Wash off and moisturize.
The result is a supple and brighter skin which feels extremely soft. The mask is so gentle that it can be applied daily.
Tips:
  • You can use any liquid in place of rose water. I used my Rosemary – Black Pepper toner.

Dry Skin and Cracked lips in Summers {Reader’s Query}

· · 4 Comments

Dry Skin and Cracked Lips in Summers are a very unusual occurrence and can be due to the nutritional deficiencies in the body, especially of B-complex Vitamins. So, my first advise would be bring a change in your diet. Eat a lot of Vitamin E (almonds and other dry fruits, take care while eating cashew nuts coz they are high in cholesterol too). If you are a non-vegetarian, then eating fish in huge quantities would be good because it is high in B-complex vitamins. Replace your chicken with fish and other seafood. And, for egg-eatarians, eggs are extremely healthy and rich in B-complex vitamins. Now, coming to vegetarians, don’t despair. You too have a lot of choices – cereals, milk and other dairy products, pulses and vegetables.
Now, the most important part of the diet which is often over-looked. Salads. Make a colorful salad everyday and add seeds (lots and lots of them) – flax seeds (which probably are not available in India), sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, papaya seeds and all the other seeds which are available. Seeds have all kinds of minerals and vitamins and you can use them in almost everything from salads to curries and desserts. Seeds and Nuts have essential fatty acids which make the skin soft and supple from inside. So, gorge on them.
Now, let us talk a little about skin care routine. Cleanse, Tone and Moisturize is something you have heard a lot about. So, use skin care products which are suitable to your skin type.
Or, otherwise, you might want to go for besan + milk for a cleanser as an alternative (definitely use it at night). Another alternative is Episoft cleanser. Ask for it in the pharmacy. It is a little difficult to get but the Apollo people generally get it for you. If you are unable to get it, the next best option is Cetaphil cleanser which is available very easily. These cleansers are extremely gentle on the skin and clean it without drying it.
Now, let us talk about a toner. Stay away from alcohol toners in case you are using them. Read the ingredients of your skin products and chuck out all those which have anything saying ethyl alcohol or denat alcohol. But, do not chuck out product having cetyl alcohol. Only ethyl and denat alcohol dry the skin. All others are useful for cleansing process. Or, you can simply use rose water.
Moisturizer is a little tricky coz not all moisturizers suit us so I can recommend Cetaphil moisturizer. I haven’t tried it but have heard rave reviews about it so you can give it a try or use something which already suits you.
Apart from the CTM routine, one thing which should not be neglected is exfoliation. Yes, you should exfoliate regularly even if your skin is dry. Twice a week with a gentle exfoliator is good idea. Natural apricot scrubs are a good option or using besan is also another good option. They are gentle and would not harm the skin. And, moisturize repeatedly. Buy a good body lotion which is thick enough like probably Nivea classic might suit you or some other intensive body lotion. Do not have a bath in extremely hot water.
Another good option is oil massage for the body using almond oil or coconut oil or sesame oil once or twice a week. That will moisturize the body very well and also simultaneously exfoliate your skin. Oil is a very good option for removing the flaky skin which is generally a reason for dry skin. Also, while massaging your body, be sure to apply oil in the belly button as it is somehow magically linked to soft lips.
Coming to cracked lips, exfoliate twice a week using the tooth brush or this lip scrub. And, always use a lip balm. Well, I would say don’t go for vaseline but go for shea butter or cocoa butter based lip balms. If you are able to find them, well and good. Otherwise, a simple nightly treatment for your lips is to apply a tablet of Evion (Vitamin E) daily on your lips and massage them. Also, include your face in this treatment.
Coming to health reasons, now, you might have naturally a very dry skin for which you can actually visit a dermatologist. The doc will get a few blood tests done and probably would be able to tell you even without the blood tests what is wrong with your skin. So, in case, all the above treatments don’t work, go to a dermatologist in 2-3 weeks time. Don’t ignore.
And, don’t forget, hot temperatures and extreme humidity can also cause dryness of the skin so always keep your skin hydrated from the inside.