Guest Posts

Why A Beauty Regime is Part of Inner Beauty? {Guest Post}

Swathy · November 10, 2011 · 3 Comments

About the author: Want to know what makes you beautiful? Resham Khiani is the founder of InnerBellissima, a blog dedicated to helping women tap into their inner beauty. Follow Resham on http://innerbellissima.blogspot.com/.

We have one body for the rest of our lives – our bodies aren’t suits that can be changed on a daily basis, so nurturing and taking responsibility should be a primary goal, be it in the form of a cream, nutritional supplement, daily exercise, or healthy meals. Yeah, I’m obsessed with any girl who has “perfect” skin and have just gaped at women in public transport who haven’t got a single blemish on their face or just look effortlessly beautiful – I just put this down to healthy scrutiny; a kind of motivation to take care of myself, rather than allowing the inner voices of criticism to proverbially drown me.

I came across a wonderful quote recently: “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul”. For me, it sums up how mind, body and soul require attention, a sort of unconditional pampering because without it, we’ll weaken, perhaps even deteriorate. Indulging in a weekend of deep tissue massage, saunas, healthy eating, yoga and meditation are path ways to tapping into the wellness package. Consider it practical means of cleansing your mind, body and soul.

Now you may ask, how does all this physical pampering relate to inner beauty? Good question: What I like about beauty regimes is that they offer pleasurable solace, away from the daggers the media throws at us woman for not having womanly curves, a perfectly shaped button nose or seductive pouty lips. It’s that time, in the evening or day, when you can look at yourself in the mirror and enjoy the process of applying a mask – and purely for the fun of it, without the prickly worries of being called vain or insecure.

Beauty regimes are play time for us ladies – or should be considered that way. Our faces look like a purple grape, we soften ourselves with copious moisturisers and indulge in facial steam baths. Just think, it’s time to connect with your feminine self.

Soulflower Rejuvenation Set {Product Review}

Swathy · November 9, 2011 · 5 Comments

About the author: This post has been written by VA.

I have been using natural soaps for as long as I can remember due to my sensitive skin. What attracts me to natural soaps is the ingredients. I always check the ingredients section of the product to make sure I can use it. ‘Soulflower’ is a Thai and Indian company and they make sure their soaps are quality made and also label them with ingredients. Soulflower soaps are sold in Homestop and malls and also can be bought online at http://www.soulflower.biz/.

Last week I bought the Soulflower body rejuvenation set which includes a Jasmine soap, a refreshing massage oil that has lemongrass in it, and the rose and geranium ocean mineral bath salts. It costs Rs 350 and I bought my set from Homestop.

My Experience

The massage oil comes in a small plastic bottle. I wish the packaging was different because sometimes too much of the oil can come out. Otherwise, the massage oil smells really great and also feels good when applied on the body.

The soap was great and did not irritate my skin and leaves it feelings soft and smelling nice. The only part I wish was that it didn’t have artificial coloring added to the soap to make it more decorative.

I used the bath salts as a foot soak and it felt soothing. It also smells great.

Ingredients

Jasmine soap – Jasmine essential oil, fresh jasmine flower, Vitamin E, glycerin, aqua, olive, coconut, castor, palm and palm kernel oil .

Rose Geranium bath salts – Rosehip Essential oil, Geranium Essential Oil, Thai Herbs, Olive Oil, Vitamin E, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Borate, Epsom Salts, Sea salts and Permitted Colorings .

Refreshing Aroma Massage Oil – Essential oils of orange, lemongrass, mint, rosemary, tea tree, sweet almond oil, olive oil, and sesame oil.

My Recommendation

Overall I do recommend their products and hope you will give their products a try. What matters is you choose the soap you of your choice that is good for your skin type.

Have you tried any all natural soaps and if so what was the name of it ?

My Skin Care Routine by Ansh {Guest Post}

Swathy · October 1, 2011 · 25 Comments

Hello everyone, I’m Ansh from Vanity No Apologies and Swati has taken a back seat today 😛 I was quite confused when she asked to guest blog at her place since there were a gazillion topics in my mind but then I picked this one up since I’m a curious cat and like to know about other girls’ skin care routine. So I thought of letting you peep into my treasure of secrets.

For the record, I’ve combination/oily, acne prone and super sensitive skin. Yeah the worst kind imaginable! So, basically very few products suit me and I try not to mess up with my skin care because my skin rules me rather than other way round. Here I’ll share the very basic and natural things I use for my face and body.

Cleansing

I use honey and mix a few drops of lemon (2-3 max since I’ve sensitive skin) and use it to wash my face every morning. Honey is a great cleanser. I sometimes use raw milk and apply all over my face with a cotton wool and wash off after 15mins, regular usage has lightened my dark spots. As for the body, I use the masoor dal and turmeric pack whenever I’ve time. It has helped me with the tanning and reduced the elbow pigmentation.

Toning

We have all heard that rose water is a natural toner, so I tried using the Gulabari spray freshener and it was just HORRIBLE! It made my face red, blotchy and itchy. For a long time, I didn’t use any toner, simply because none of them would suit me and infact would give me allergic reactions. From lakme to aroma magic, I didn’t leave a single toner untried. So, now I resort to natural methods of toning my face. Most of the times I end up using over-the-counter products but keep in my mind to use a natural toner at-least before sleeping. I now use a home made green tea toner. For it, mix green tea leaves in hot water and add a few drops of tea tree oil and lemon. I agree its time consuming but worth the effort.

Moisturizing

I use aloe vera gel all over my face to moisturize. I’ve an aloe vera plant at home and get it direst from the leaf everyday and store the remaining in the fridge. If you don’t have it at your home, there are a lot of brands with aloe vera tubs to offer at great prices. I sometimes use the vitamin e capsules in the over-the-counter moisturizers. Other than that I use Liz Earle and Fab India. Instead of using a body lotion, I use olive oil + coconut oil on my body straight after a hot shower. It takes care of the dryness to a very great extent. Must for the coming winters.

Exfoliating

Take 2-3 tbsp of raw oats and mix it with honey and a few drops of tea tree oil. Regular usage of this scrub has shown a great improvement in my skin texture. I used the lemon and sugar scrub once and it was a disaster! So, this shows no matter how much natural and home made the tip might be, use your brains and go ahead only if it is meant for your skin type. I use St. Ives scrub too, so if don’t have much time then it is a good option as well. And I started using that clean & clear scrub but it’s of no use, save some bucks.

Face Packs

Earlier I would apply face packs like a maniac..2 per day and then go on for months without even touching them once. No prizes for guessing that it never helped me. You need to keep your patience with the homemade things, don’t expect miracles overnight. Apply face packs atleast thrice a week according to your skin type. Applying a banana or curd pack to a very oily skin would only worsen the situation. So, keep your skin type in mind.

Papaya…yes that not-so-tasty (or the most yuck fruit if I’ve the liberty to say so!), yes that healthy papaya. I don’t even like the smell of it, so ripe and gross. But it does work wonders to your skin. Mash a ripe papaya and apply on your face. If you can’t bear the smell…then breath from your mouth silly and shut up your nose for those difficult 15 minutes!

You see how these mixtures use the ingredients which are very easily available. I agree they take a lot of time but you can do all of this while watching TV or something like that…time management! 😉 Hope it helped you and I’m here to answer your queries, if any.About the Author: Ansh is a Fashion and Beauty Blogger based in Delhi. Check out her blog at ‘Vanity – No Apologies’. You will find everything from her dress hauls to her reflections on the products she has used on her blog. Her particular specialty, if I may say so, is in how to deal with sensitive problem-prone skin which is, of course, very useful for all of us as the experience is first-hand. And, don’t forget to check out her blog. I am sure you will enjoy her blog.