Swathy

Books 2014 Vol. 7 – “Keep the Change” by Nirupama Subramaniam [Weekend Post]

Swathy · September 13, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Well, as I mentioned while reviewing If it’s not forever, It’s not Love that I am not a major fan of Indian fiction, especially the romance genre. But, when I was browsing through the catalog of Just Books online, I came across this book and picked it up based on the hunch that its cover illustration is interesting.

Needless to say, I found nothing in the book which could justify the title!! It is a typical story of a South Indian Tam Brahm, on the verge of being over-aged for marriage, breaks through her boring life in Chennai and moves to Mumbai for a corporate experience and new life.

Sometimes I think Jimmy is totally detached from our work and doing timepass. I like this new word – timepass, like eating peanuts on the train, chumma. Amma will be shocked to know that chumma does not mean timepass in Mumbai but kissing, as I discovered a few days ago, much to my embarrassment and Jimmy’s amusement. – From the Book

The Plot

Damyanthi is 26 and is despair of her parents. She refuses to marry any of the guys brought forward by her well-meaning relatives and for good reason, to be fair to her. She wants a man who does not have oil slick hair and dreams of a life far away from Chennai where she could do all the forbidden things. She wants to live her life on her own terms and not dictated by the rules of the society.

And, finally, her dreams come true when she is recruited by First Global and shifts to Mumbai in face of much reluctance. There she comes across Jimmy (her colleague and best friend), Sonya (her hot flatmate), CG and finally, Rahul. She meets Rahul on her training program in Goa. He is everything she had ever wanted in her man. But, was he THE one?

My Verdict
It is one of the lighter reads which you can carry for a train journey. It will leave you with a happy smile though I have to say it will do you good to skip a few pages, here and there. The story breezes through and it is more or less like talking to one of our friends or neighbors and hearing their story. The regular Indian story. Try it out if you are a fan of Indian authors Book Club.

Have you read the book? What do you think about it? Do you want to read the book? Any other Indian author book you think is good enough?

Loving It / Using It Vol. 7 – Madara Colour and Shine Shampoo for Colored / Treated Hair

Swathy · September 11, 2014 · 2 Comments

Madara Colour and Shine Shampoo for Colored / Treated Hair product review

I had been looking around for quite sometime for a SLS-free shampoo other than organic surge when I came across this brand on flipkart. I have been using the product on and off since then and its almost on the verge of finishing so I thought I might as well share my thoughts on this with you.

Loving It / Using It : Using It

Price. Rs 900 for 200ml. Definitely expensive!

Availability. Not available in stores. Guess flipkart is the only website which carries the brand for now!

Smells of Rosemary. Love it.
Packaging is not really great. Sort of a seesaw opening and then you have to press the product out.
Usage. One dollop of shampoo is enough for two uses. Lathers pretty well.
Removes oil completely. Does not require lot of water to wash off.

Adds shine to the hair.

Makes hair soft and rough at the same time. I do not know how to explain this. When I am washing my hair, I can feel it is rough. And, even when hair is drying, I do not find it soft. But, as the day progresses, my hair becomes soft. In fact, this is one phenomena I have noticed with the recent shampoo I am gonna review soon. I guess it is a SLS-free shampoo trend!
Makes my hair frizzy. Unfortunately, I think lack of care for my hair and the dryness due to this product both dry out my hair and frizzes it.

Overall Verdict

I would say this product is not really worth the money I ended up paying for it. And, my search for another SLS-free shampoo carries on. Sometime back, I noticed that flipkart was out of Organic Surge shampoos which made me start hunting for other options. I checked again and the OS is back and available! So, get your stock before they run out of it.

Have you used the product? Or, are you searching for any SLS-free shampoo?

SLS-free shampoos vs Regular Shampoos {Five Series}

Swathy · September 10, 2014 · 2 Comments

Ok, it has been like 2 years now that I have shifted to the non-commercial shampoos. It is not like I have completely chucked out the over-the-counter products which makes it even more easy for me to analyze and appreciate the difference between both types of products.

Yes, it takes time for one to adjust to the SLS-free shampoos because the feel of the hair is way different after using either of them. So, let me enlist the differences and see if you can agree with them!!

Feel of Hair

This was one of the major difference which I felt. When you use SLS-free shampoo, hair feels rough when you are washing it. Later on, it might not look as if you have get rid of oil entirely coz the hair feels a lot bunched up just like it does when you apply oil!!

This happens because of the silicone content in the regular shampoos. The silicon coats the hair and makes it feel smooth. Due to the absence of this ingredient in SLS-free shampoos, the hair does not feel as smooth.

Lathering Issues

It is a myth that SLS-free shampoo do not lather well. It really depends on the composition of the shampoo but of all the SLS-free shampoos I have used, organic surge, Madara, Omved, all of them have lathered generously enough.

Not all SLS-free shampoos are same

Well, just like the regular shampoos, these shampoo category also suffers from the same issues. The one thing which is important is that not all SLS-free shampoos have the same cleansing power. Some cleanse well and are good at removing oil but some might be just good on non-oiled hair and some might be too harsh for the hair as well because of their compositions.

SLS-free does not mean chemical free

This is the most important point I would like to make. There are brands which do not use SLS but they use ALS which is more or less harsh on hair or they can use parabens or any other chemical but not SLS. So, do remember to buy organic shampoos instead of just going for SLS-free ones.

Expense

Yup, they are comparatively expensive because of the demand and supply difference!!

What do you say? Have you used SLS-free shampoos? Do you find them different from the regular ones?